Last week, I
read about the Pantry Cleanout Challenge and thought: Hey. I should do that.
And then I forgot.
But when
a reader commented that she recently cleaned out
her freezer and fed her family of four for the next month, plus spent only $100 at the grocery store on items like dairy and fresh produce, I
knew I had to do it, too. And this time I didn't forget.
So this weekend I emptied out my freezer, took an inventory of every item, and re-organized it all. It was a little embarrassing to discover I had more than 15 pounds of pork, turkey, chicken and beef “ that is: the meat in our freezer weighs as much as our daughter “ plus bag upon bag of frozen veggies, fruits, cheeses and puff pastry dough, as well as three pounds of butter. Seriously, who am I? Paula Deen?
This morning I glanced over my freezer inventory and made an entrée list that I think will last the next five weeks (since there's just two of us, we generally always have leftovers “ I ™m incapable for cooking for two):
- International Quinoa Salad (I ™m using up fresh produce before digging into the freezer)
- Southwestern Tostadas
- Turkey Tacos
- Cranberry Pork Roast
- Shepherd's Pie
- Spaghetti
- Dijon Pork Medallions
- Quiche Lorraine
- Chili
- Chicken Pot Pie (speaking of Paula Deen, hers is my favorite recipe)
- Pork Fried Rice
- Enchilada Casserole (idea stolen from Nicole)
- Breakfast Quiche
- Pork Chops
- Swedish Meatballs
I ™ll try to post pictures and recipes as I go through this list, because these dishes are so fabulous that you should have them in your repertoire, too.
So: who's with me? Are you doing a pantry or freezer cleanout challenge? Or have you recently finished one? (And if so: do you have recipes to share?)
For the record, you aren’t Paula Deen – but you are pretty darn close! I’d totally join you except I have this thing about not having tons of food in my freezer. Pretty much the only thing in there are frozen Healthy Choice meals, frozen waffles and frozen pineapple & blueberries for snacking. Oh, and in the summer months I am known to have a box of Popsicles – currently I’m harboring the coconut flavored ones from Mexico {yum!}. So even though I can’t join you – I can’t wait to see what you come up with!
We have a new fridge being delivered tomorrow. So this weekend we have been working on using up as much of our stored food in the fridge and freezer so we have less to transfer to the new one. Wow! Did we find lots of forgotten food! And why do I have 3 half used tubs of Cool Whip in the freezer? Great post. Next we’ll have to work on that pantry. I’ll bet I can find some box or can of food that is several years old in there 🙂