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| a soup I tried from one of my recipes. Quite good - has quite a few veggies in it! |
A lot (not all) of last week's menues were not used - mostly because events, refrigerator and freezer space, my bank account and the need to run to the store (what do you mean I'm out of fish??!!!) all coincided to give me a week of leftovers and some make do meals with such things as Mexican style spoon bread, entirely too many omelets (I do love omelets!), homemade chili (which I also dearly love!) and basically trying to use up all my odds and ends in different ways. I STILL have a lot of items to use. AND I need to clean my refrig! So - I'll list my leftovers - then make up menues/new items from there.
vegetables
- lettuce - obviously needs to go in a jar with other salad fixin's. Outside leaves get shredded and added to soup
- cabbage - was supposed to be for corned beef and cabbage - forgot I'm on a salt free diet. Yeah - right! Cabbage goes for cole slaw, soups (cranberry cabbage soup - oh yum!), and the "refrigerator soup" that I'm making from tired veggies.
- parsnips - I LOVE parsnips - although I tend to regard them suspiciously ever since my mom added the Dutch cleanser instead of salt when I was 8 yo
- Butternut squash - I really like it baked, boiled - really almost anything - will make a recipe with this that I haven't tried before
- eggplant - that I re-hydrated last night - but this gets used today anyway in an eggplant-cheese-tomato casserole - sort of like an eggplant parm I think - new recipe. Would almost rather fry it I think.
- carrots - coins Also honeyed.
- 2 sad mushrooms that will be gone - probably before Sunday evening - via omelet - or will appear in the goulash.
fruits
- apples
- an orange
- raisins
- dried (almost desiccated) figs
- Cranberry preserves - I use this instead of jams and jellies often - but this time will go with the cabbage for the sweet-sour cabbage soup (almost a borscht)
dairy - never any problem using this area up!
- mild cheddar
- mozarella
- cottage cheese
- yogurt
- eggs - not really a dairy - but I generally put them here
- sour cream
prepared whatevers
- dibs and dabs of this and that that will get used up Sunday evening. ie, leftover hot cereals will end in a grain pudding along with any bread crusts. May toss in an apple or two and lots of raisins and spices, rum or brandy flavoring. Recipe - I wing it. Has certain basics - like an egg (or 2), grain, maybe liquid if not liquid-y enough, some sweetening - usually honey although any sweetening will work
this is what is in the refrigerator proper. the freezer has other items in it.
freezer
My freezer also has frozen goodies in it - especially since this is where I put all the leftovers or those portions I saved out ahead of time (when I cook - if something has 6 portions, 4 get popped into 2 separate containers and frozen BEFORE I sit down to eat! I still have enough for seconds this way - or for my leftover meals.) HOWEVER this does need to be gone through now and then.
Fish - fried - and frozen.
Dibs and dabs - a serving or two for lunches at work
6 quarts of frozen homemade soups - could be chicken and rice, chili, bean soup, and I do have 2 mysterious soup containers in there to furnish a bit of adventure.
I have other things - but I'm trying to get all - or most of what I have USED UP!!!
pantry
I also need to focus on using up my pasta (yay!) - which includes spaghetti, orzo, rotini, shells, mostaccioli. Mostaccioli is easy - since I can make Hungarian goulash - using my frozen ground turkey instead of beef, and my tomatoes/peppers and other good stuff that I dehydrated - or even adding the jar of spaghetti sauce I just found in the frig door.
Another "easy" - spaghetti with veggies, sauteed and tossed in with tuna to make tuna fusilli. And then, of course, orzo does nicely in soups - although I don't use this form of pasta often enough, while shells are my favorite to use when making mac and cheese. Rotini I like to use in salads. All (except orzo) are dibs and dabs and need to be used up!
+6 containers frozen soup
+frozen fish fillets (cooked)
+Tuna fusilli - spaghetti with veggies, sauteed and tossed in with tuna
+Hungarian Goulash
+apple orange raisin salad - I love this! rarely any leftovers!
+corned beef and cabbage - de-salt - soak -
+eggplant/cheese/tomato casserole
+grain/bread pudding
+cole slaw
+pasta salad
+macaroni and cheese
+refrigerator vegetable soup.
+cranberry-cabbage sweet sour soup
+lettuce salad with fixins
TONIGHT
L:eggplant/cheese/tomato casserole
D:refrigerator vegetable soup
SUNDAY
B:Poached egg - variation (frothy whipped whites, yolk and poach, butter, black pepper), toast points, tea
L:chicken rice soup
D:Hungarian Goulash, lettuce salad, baked apple
MONDAY
B:Bulghur wheat with yogurt, brown sugar, butter
L:bean soup
D:Tuna fusilli, greens, apple orange raisin salad - I love this! rarely any leftovers!
TUESDAY
B:Corn meal muffins (Jelly muffins?)
L:soup, Pasta salad,
D:turkey burgers, tossed salad, southern style stewed tomatoes, grain pudding
WEDNESDAY
B:baked eggs espagnole, toast points, tea
L:soup,
peanut butter, fig spread for sandwich
D:macaroni and cheese, frozen fish fillets (cooked), greens, fruit
THURSDAY
B:kasha, yogurt, brown sugar, butter
L:leftover frozen surprise casserole,
cole slaw
D:Butternut Ravioli Stew, salad, whole grain rolls
FRIDAY
B:popovers, cranberry preserves, tea
L:soup
D:corned beef and cabbage - try to de-salt the corned beef first, boiled potatoes, fruit
SATURDAY
B:spicy apple coffee cake
L:cranberry cabbage soup, tossed salad, cheese, crudites, fruit
D:Pizza, salad
SUNDAY
B:scalloped eggs, biscuits and tea
L:soup
D:leftovers
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