Yep its time to start cleaning out the Freezer and Pantry... Lets see what we all can come up with...

[barkley]

I have a huge family package, of leg quarters that I am really not sure what to do with at this point...

Suggestions Please...

Then the other 6 quarters - I will roast in the oven, and make shredded chicken for taco's later on in the week...

i was going to suggest putting it into the oven (or a crockpot) and cooking to shred. i use it for chicken w/noodles (to use up carrotts/celery i have on hand cuz i always have egg noodles), chicken salad or a variety of other stuff. if it's frozen meat that has been defrosted and cooked it's fine to freeze again so i will make up shredded stuff and freeze it in 1# baggies.

I have never made corned beef... I would like to try, everyone has said it never turns out right... Thoughts or suggestions?

do you have a pressure cooker or instapot? that's the key-the seasoning comes in a packet with the corned beef so it's all in cooking it right.

I know 50 years ago when my dad worked at a cannery they couldn't sell dented cans. I grew up on dented cans of fruits and vegetables that he brought home from work.

growing up the local grocery store wouldn't sell them dented or with torn up/off labels so they sold them to their staff at cost. we had a family friend who worked there and saved on their family grocery bill by buying as much of their canned goods as possible from this source-he had it down to a science where he could pick up a fully unlabeled/unmarked can and just from the size/shaking it-could identify it's contents (his kids would tell you this came after years of trial and error on his part which resulted in some very odd re configuring of meal preparation on their mom's part).

 

[tvguy]

growing up the local grocery store wouldn't sell them dented or with torn up/off labels so they sold them to their staff at cost. we had a family friend who worked there and saved on their family grocery bill by buying as much of their canned goods as possible from this source-he had it down to a science where he could pick up a fully unlabeled/unmarked can and just from the size/shaking it-could identify it's contents (his kids would tell you this came after years of trial and error on his part which resulted in some very odd re configuring of meal preparation on their mom's part).

My mom had all the codes stamped on the lid memorized.

 

[BayouQueen]

Great thread for the season. I was just thinking about this. I really like to clean out the pantry so I know what baking stuff I have on hand before "the baking season" starts. Otherwise I'm buying ingredients that I already have. Let the games begin, as they say.

 

[Sinder]

During the beginning of the pandemic I stocked up on alot of dried beans and lentils, plus canned tomatoes, pumpkin, coconut milk and more.
Next week starts soup making month. Every week I'm going to make a couple different kinds of soups.

 

[goofyernmost]

My cupboards are pretty neatly organized but I cannot read "Best By" dates unless I take them out of the cupboard. A week or so ago I noticed a box of Kraft Mac & Cheese so I took it out and read the date, November 2012. I opened it an it looked fine, nothing discolored and even the cheese powder was small grained and dry. I used it and it was just as good as new. Gotta love those dry good type foods.

 

[JBRB828]

I actually just went through all my spices. The worst one was poultry seasoning from 2019. I’ve started marking the bottom with my purchase date.

I have 2 freezers, fridge and a chest one in my basement. I do keep a list of what I have for both and as I use the item I mark it off.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

We just had some friends in a rock band over.
They cleaned out the fridge.

 

[Micca]

A week or so ago I noticed a box of Kraft Mac & Cheese so I took it out and read the date, November 2012. I opened it an it looked fine, nothing discolored and even the cheese powder was small grained and dry. I used it and it was just as good as new.

I think with dry mix stuff like that your only risk is the deterioration of the taste, you're not gonna get sick from it.

I applaud people who combine pantry supplies to make meals, but I inevitably am always missing some vital ingredients. Sometimes I just have to throw stuff away.

 

[LovesTimone]

I actually just went through all my spices. The worst one was poultry seasoning from 2019. I’ve started marking the bottom with my purchase date.

I have 2 freezers, fridge and a chest one in my basement. I do keep a list of what I have for both and as I use the item I mark it off.

I have to agree with the spices... A few years back, I decided to limit my spices... So salt and pepper, garlic salt, Herbs de Provence, cumin, chili powder, Italian seasoning, dried parsley, I think that there might be a couple more... and that's about it... now for the holidays I will need a few spices. I start planning my recipes now, so that I know how much I'm going to need, and try to find recipes that I can use the same seasoning or flavoring in.

 

[LovesTimone]

During the beginning of the pandemic I stocked up on alot of dried beans and lentils, plus canned tomatoes, pumpkin, coconut milk and more.
Next week starts soup making month. Every week I'm going to make a couple different kinds of soups.

OP here,

So what kinda soup you making?

I would really love a good broccoli and cheese soup recipe and a good chicken noddle recipe, I would like to use egg noodles I just like the taste better...

 

[Sinder]

OP here,

So what kinda soup you making?

I would really love a good broccoli and cheese soup recipe and a good chicken noddle recipe, I would like to use egg noodles I just like the taste better...

I've never made a good chicken noodle soup LOL but I am going to try a lemon chicken orzo recipe.
I do a creamy cauliflower cheese soup that I add broccoli too but I've never made a traditional broc. and cheese one.
My plans for soups include a couple different lentil soups (vegetable lentil, one with sausage, a Moroccan one, a curry one).
Other plans are for a vegetable coconut curry, a pumpkin curry, roasted red pepper & tomato, chicken fajita, sausage and bean, chickpea curries, split pea, and a potato ham chowder. I'd love to find a copycat Panera creamy tomato too.
Some I have made and some are new recipes. I'll take a day each week to make a couple for that week and use my instant pot and/or stovetop.
I love soups especially in the fall and winter, and I'm lucky to have a household full of soup eaters. They are so easy to make and good to have to pack in lunches or quick dinners paired with a salad or sandwich.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

Why did I click on this thinking we were going to post pics of the oldest dates in our pantries, sort of like shaming ourselves into clearing out?

We've been quarantined twice since school started and once during summer school so I was already kind of forced into clearing out the pantry and freezer pretty recently.

 

[barkley]

I would really love a good broccoli and cheese soup recipe and a good chicken noddle recipe, I would like to use egg noodles I just like the taste better...

check out yummly. they have great soup recipes-i like that you can plug in the ingredients you have on hand and it will find something to utilize those ingredients. they have a stuffed bell pepper soup that's fantastic.

I've never made a good chicken noodle soup LOL but I am going to try a lemon chicken orzo recipe.
I do a creamy cauliflower cheese soup that I add broccoli too but I've never made a traditional broc. and cheese one.
My plans for soups include a couple different lentil soups (vegetable lentil, one with sausage, a Moroccan one, a curry one).
Other plans are for a vegetable coconut curry, a pumpkin curry, roasted red pepper & tomato, chicken fajita, sausage and bean, chickpea curries, split pea, and a potato ham chowder. I'd love to find a copycat Panera creamy tomato too.
Some I have made and some are new recipes. I'll take a day each week to make a couple for that week and use my instant pot and/or stovetop.
I love soups especially in the fall and winter, and I'm lucky to have a household full of soup eaters. They are so easy to make and good to have to pack in lunches or quick dinners paired with a salad or sandwich.

i love soup and make it about once a week during the colder months. now, i've not tried making it yet but todd wilbur's top secret recipes website does list panera's creamy tomato. if it's as spot on as their copycat of olive garden's zuppa toscana it's bound to be great.

 

[BayouQueen]

I actually just went through all my spices. The worst one was poultry seasoning from 2019. I’ve started marking the bottom with my purchase date.

I have 2 freezers, fridge and a chest one in my basement. I do keep a list of what I have for both and as I use the item I mark it off.

I've been putting dates on my spices for a while now, too. They've gotten so much more expensive than they used to be! I don't want to keep them forever, but want to make sure I don't replace them too soon either.

 

[tasha99]

I just organized my pantry about a month ago. It had gotten so bad that I'd end up looking 10 minutes for things that should be simple to find. But it's all organized, and I'm trying to keep it that way. The only thing I found so old I felt it needed tossing was some open cake flour. I make only about 1 cake a year, so that made sense.

My spice rack is good to go. I have an insane number of spices (from amchoor to zatar--I pretty never run into a recipe where we lack the spices).

The freezer is an issue. We normally eat it down and refill once it's about 1/4 full (put that quarter in coolers, defrost and clean, etc). Now, we feel this need to have items on hand because of shortages. So I'm going to try to be more diligent in rotating. What really has to go within the month are:

--3 lbs of brisket point that I cut into cubes from February, when I corned some beef. Plan is to make a big pot of stew tomorrow becausre it's going to rain

--2 trout. Plan is to use them in a couple weeks.

--Various bones (enough for maybe 2 batches of chicken broth, one batch of pork broth). Soup weather is on. I'm making chicken broth this week for some sopa de albondigas

-- Some poorly frozen garden zucchini. I didn't think ahead and it froze in a block. I'm going to half thaw then cut into blocks this week. Then go back to having some smoothies for breakfast till it's gone.

-- Some home rendered lard from earlier this year. DH has been asking me to make tamales, so that'll be it.

 

[Needsanap]

Yesterday my hubby had a turkey sandwich on ciabatta that was frozen. Dinner was talipia. Today a pack of chicken legs. Freezers still packed.

 

[jujubiee4]

Leg quarters baked in the air fryer are delicious! You would have to do multiple batches if it is a family pack, but you could do some plain and some with buffalo sauce.

The family is starting to use the air fryer more. I know i have tried wings but never legs.
Do you put anything on like seasonings? Im always concerned thicker meat wont turn out
as well.

 

[barkley]

last night i took out 2 one pound packages of turkey (boneless breast bought on sale last winter/cooked up and air sealed in portioned packages)-making 'thanksgiving soup' today (it's near the freezing point here so a nice simmering pot of soup sounds good). it will also use up the last of the fresh carrotts/celery i have on hand so double clean out bonus!

 

[leahgoogle]

The family is starting to use the air fryer more. I know i have tried wings but never legs.
Do you put anything on like seasonings? Im always concerned thicker meat wont turn out
as well.

We bake them first and then take them out and toss in buffalo sauce and then cook a few more minutes to set the sauce. It's really good. You can put sauce on first and bake, as well. We like precooking first better though taste-wise.

 

[LovesTimone]

OP here...

I have been so busy the last week or so... I have however been working on using up stuff..


Yesterday, I tackled my pantry... I was pretty aggressive... I threw a ton of stuff away, and reorganized... Which was a great thing... I have a large walk in pantry... So I shifted everything around, and moved some of my small kitchen appliance around to get to easier... Now they are all in one section from the top shelf running down to the bottom shelf, and I can see everything...last year when I reset and cleaned out, we added more shelving supports which was good so I did not have to worry about distributing the weight...

I need to figure out what to do with some paper and plastic goods, that I use for picnic's, boating, and holiday gatherings... right now I have a giant basket that they are just thrown into...

I did take my cookie cutters, and small tart pans put all that in one basket, and then in another all the muffin cups, and bunch of odd and end items for decorating in another basket.

What I made in the last week or so..

Grilled skinless and boneless Chicken thighs - made stuffin muffins..

Meatloaf

Johnsonville sausages... and made baked beans - using up the rest of the cans of Bush's ...

Chocolate chip cookies - I had 2 bags of mix to use up.

Hot dogs and mac and cheese -( Don't judge...LOL)

Upcoming meal ideas

I think that I am looking at having an appetizer night, using up some meatballs, and mini sausages, some frozen cheese sticks.

I have some taco meat that I froze and will make nachos with it most likely on Saturday or Sunday for a snack...

Veggie pot pie

Ribs on the grill.

Then I think that I am going to be close to finishing up...