Day 28: In the Home Stretch

We are now in the home stretch for "Use-it-Up" February.  I think this is a great time to give a review of the successful month.

In the last 28 days I have made 17 full dinner meals, not to mention ALL those leftovers; 4 lovely breakfasts (one is a bonus that I'll share at the end of today's post); 3 desserts, 1 appetizer; and of course enough frosting to effectively cover my kitchen floor in a permanent coat of sticky white powder.

I have completely used up approximately 61 ingredients from my cupboard, roundabout, freezer and refrigerator, and made a massive dent in countless others.

I have a sparkling clean refridgerator, which I count as a humungous success!

I had to stop at the store on the way home tonight to get the following essentials. 
And the grocery bill grand total for the entire month of February...drumroll...dunt, dunt, da, da...$127.28.

So I promised a bonus breakfast recipe at the end of today's post, and here it is.  Do you remember those completely delictable pumpkin waffles?  Well, remember that I halved the recipe because I was only cooking for one and half persons, which left me with half a can of pumpkin.  I stored that in an airtight container in the fridge.  It haunted me a bit, because I didn't know what to do with it, and I really didn't want to throw it out.  Should I make waffles again?  What does one do with half a container of pumpkin (or as I measured later roughly 1 cup of pumpkin puree?)  The answer dawned on me late Saturday night as I contenplated what to make for Sunday's breakfast.  Pumpkin muffins!  This recipe is actually for pumpkin bread, but I was really hungry Sunday morning and didn't want to wait for the bread, so I put the batter into muffin cups and cut the baking time way down.

Pumpkin Muffins

3 cups canned pumpkin puree

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

4 cups white sugar

6 eggs

4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves

(I actually cut this recipe down to 1/3 because it said it would yield three 9x5 inch loaf pans.  Whoa, that's a lot, and I only had one cup of pumpkin, so breaking it down to 1/3 of the recipe just made good sense.  If you like a lot of pumpkin you can go all out, pumpkin bread/muffins freeze really well.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line your baking cups (this makes about 12 muffins that are filled 3/4 full.) Or one loaf pan.

In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, oil, sugar, and eggs. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves; stir into the pumpkin mixture until well blended. Scoop batter into baking liners about 3/4 full, I like my muffin to have a nice little top - it's the best part after all!

I wish I could tell you how long I baked these...approximately 20 minutes, or as long as it takes to let the dog out, make a bottle, wipe off the counter, snuggle a waking baby, and change a quick soggy diaper.  About that long or so.  The best way to tell is your kitchen will start to smell delicious, the tops will start to brown slightly and you can check them like you would a cake; if your knife comes out clean, they are done.

Day 27: 20 Minute Dinner

I asked Kevin an important question tonight, "So...the name of my blog is "Use-It-Up February" What happens when February is over?"  His answer came in the form of another question. "Did we actually use everything up?  I doubt it.  If you like it, just keep going."  Hmmm...And the countdown to February's end begins. 

I'm not exactly sure if I will continue or jump back in with a new project for March, but I do know this little experiment has been a ton of fun, not to mention productive and a grocery saver.  I'm looking forward to posting all the final results later this week.

Tonight's "use-it-up" meal was a good one.  Two kinds of ravioli, creamed spinach, and garlic bread.  This is the kind of meal that I love, hot, tasty, and you can get it on the table in less than 20 minutes.  Here is the cast of characters.

Store brand toasted ravioli, and Costco squash ravioli that I love, love, love!  The toasted ravioli goes into a hot 425 degree oven for 12 minutes, and the squash ravioli gets started a little later with only 4-5 minutes of cooking time in boiling water. 

While that is going I started to heat the tomato sauce, and melt a little butter into a saute pan with garlic for the creamed spinach.  The garlic you see is my cheater version that comes already minced.  This is really handy to have on hand to add quickly to sautes or sauces. I took a picture because I thought the colors were even pretty on the stove top.

The spinach was about as lucky as a leafy green can get because it got wilted into the hot butter and garlic and then sprinkled with a little mozzarella.  I watched Guy Fieri or maybe Giatta add a little lemon to wilted spinach once, and I actually had lemon on had (thanks to the chicken casserole recipe) and tried it.  Amazing!  The brightness of the lemon adds a pop of flavor to the bitter spinach and mellows nicely against the garliciness. And I almost forgot to mention the garlic bread! (By the way this entire month I have gotten by with out buying bread of any kind.  We had no fewer than 4 packages of homemade rolls in the freezer from my Great Grandma Pearl.  I'm so grateful to have these on hand!) The garlic bread is just dinner rolls that have buttered with a little butter and garlic mixed together with a sprinkle of cheese on top.

Delicioso!(In my best Italian accent!)

What I used-up:

Spinach

Remaining mozzarella

Dinner Rolls

Day 25: Lovely Memories and a Delicious Recipe

Food writers and chefs often refer to "food memories" which are tastes and flavors that evoke precious or sour memories in our psyche that can become as clear as looking at a photograph.  For me, most of my food memories are happy ones that summon feelings and memories of comfort, love, inclusiveness, togetherness, family, and a genuine lightness of heart.  At our home growing up we were very blessed to spend most evening meals together, and it is where I learned some of the most important lessons in life.  Opening in prayer together, listening to my parents talk about their days, sharing with one another, and partaking in nourishing meals.

To this day one of the meals that brings me right back "home" is chicken casserole.  This is a dish that was my mom's, my grandma's, and her mother's (my Edith Grandma's) dish, and probably a few generations before.  I'm not exactly sure of the history but I would venture to guess that it was derived out of all of their gifts for using up what they had available, which usually included chicken. 

Living on the farm having chicken didn't mean going to the freezer and taking out a pre-packaged bird from the grocery store.  More often than not, it meant raising the chicks to hens, and then being personally involved in the "process" of preparation, of which I won't divulge the details except to say there is plucking involved.  My Grandma tells the story of unexpected relatives coming to visit when she was a child and my Edith Grandma going out into the yard and selecting the evening's meal straight from the barn.

When you know the chicken that well, you definitely develop a full appreciation for using up every last part.  This chicken casserole is a great example of what you can do with the leftover meat if you have roasted or boiled a chicken for another purpose.

To start you will need a casserole pan (9x13 works well) that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, rice (instant will work just fine), one can cream of "something" soup although celery is my preference, mayonnaise, onion, celery, lemon, and chicken.

Start by cooking rice to package instructions so that you have approximately 2 cups cooked. Next chop 1 1/2 cups of celery or 5 large stocks.  Chop 1/2 an onion (I didn't have an onion, so I used up some scallions which worked well.

Next pour can of cream of "something" soup into a bowl.  (I have to pause here for a moment of confession.  I hate using cream of "something" soup in anything.  Not because I'm opposed to its contents - which I probably should be, but because I hate the bland color, gelatinous texture, and especially because I hate the "thuulmp" sound that it makes coming out of the can. I kind of have to do this and divert my eyes until its all over.) Next pour in 3/4 cup of mayonnaise.  Cut the beautiful yellow lemon in half and squeeze approximately 1 Tablespoon into the sauce.  The lemon is a very important part because it balances out the mayo and soup with a touch of sourness and sweetness, which in the end result give the recipe that "hmm, what is that" that will make you try seconds and thirds! Pinch of salt and pepper, and stir.

Chop the leftover chicken into bite sized pieces and place chicken, celery, and onion at the bottom of the casserole dish.  When rice is fully cooked, pour in rice. (Forgive my blurry iPhone picture, you get the idea.)



Next pour the sauce over everything and gently fold together until incorporated.  This will be incredibly thick, so with a spatula gently press mixture into the pan as you go. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake at 375 degrees for about one hour, or until bubbly.

This is where I should show a picture of the dish coming out of the oven for the finishing touches, but unfortunately I was in a hurry and didn't take one.  At about 45-50 minutes or so into cooking you can finish the dish by crushing potato chips on top, and finishing in the oven uncovered.  I would recommend this, as it gives a great salty, crunchy crust to an already amazing casserole.

I should have a final picture of the beautiful brown crust, the gooey delicious casserole, and my family devouring it.  But alas, I do not.  When this came out of the oven we ate it so quickly that all there was left to show by the time I remembered the picture was a half eaten casserole and empty plates.  Delicious success!

What I Used-Up:

Chicken

Celery

Scallions

Cream of celery soup

Day 23: My Teal Colored Dream Appliance

Hello beautiful, would you like to live in my kitchen?

When occaisional boredum, writers block, or mid-afternoon sleepiness hits, or I just plain need to think about something else for a few minutes, I often find myslef perusing The Pioneer Woman woman website and blog.  I love Ree's story and I think her writing is not only delicious - food writer and all, but highly entertaining, lighthearted and funny.  Sometimes I think that if Kevin ever fully wins the "farm arguement" and we move out to the boonies, maybe I could be just like Ree...And then I think about the disgusting cow crap laden laundry that I get to do just once a week multiplying by seven days and start to change my mind again. 

A long way to say that I was reading Ree's blog today and she is giving away three of these beautiful, beautiful mixers!  I entered, but I never win anything (well that's not completely true, when I was 11 I won a disposable camera from the Mars Candy Company by sending in a UPC code, but that's it) so I'm not making space on the countertop just yet.  But I kind of am.  The truth is I have wanted a Kitchenaid Mixer forever!  I even started to rationalize this blog as the perfect excuse to splurge and get one.  a) Because of all the money I've saved using-it-up; b) I have used my hand mixer at a minimum of 7 times just this month; and c) it would look so beautiful on my countertop in my turquoise colored kitchen.  But then I remembered that our car is due for licensing, taxes, etc. and Poof! there goes my teal colored dream appliance.  Maybe if you all cross your fingers for me that I will win, my luck might improve.  If you do, and I do win, I promise to make the most fabulous cookies in the world as a thank you.  I'll use this for good...promise! (Do you hear that Universe?)

Okay, enough about that.  The real reason for posting tonight is to give you as promised a great "Day 2" recipe for that leftover runza mixture, stuffed acorn squash.  This is a dish that my mom stumbled upon not that long ago and let me tell you that I can not eat runzas now without hoping this round two is in the near future.  It's SO easy not to mention healthy and delicious! 

Cut an acorn squash in half, scoop out the innerds with a large spoon.  Place both halves yellow side up in a baking dish, and drizzle with olive oil.  Now I used up my olive oil way back on Day 4, so I melted a little bit of margarine and drizzled that overtop - works just fine.  Sprinkle with a dash of salt and pepper.  Place into oven at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes.  After the squash has started to soften scoop in the leftover runza mixture (beef, sausage, cabbage, and cheese) into the natural little bowls made from scooping out the squash guts.  Over with foil and bake another 20 minutes until squash is soft and meat heated through.

What I used-up tonight:
1 acorn squash
Remainder of the runza mixture
2 Tab of margarine
Extra energy day dreaming about my "someday" mixer

Disjointed Day 22

To any educators out there, I would like to propose that in between lesson plans on the parts of a cell, mitosis, and frog dissection that you work in Chicken Anatomy 101.  Over the last couple of years I have made a roast chicken at least once a month and call it unobservant, or perhaps under confident, but I can never remember which part goes up.  Recipes say that the breast should be facing up, but lets be honest once the chicken is horizontal in the pan, minus its head, feathers, tail, etc. it all starts to look the same. 

Really of all the topics that are covered in public school curriculum, this would be a very good subject to make mainstream.  I'm not talking home economics (or do they call it "life skills" now?) but mainstream curriculum.  This is a chicken.  This is the breast of the chicken, it goes up in the pan.  This is the underside (?) of the chicken, it goes down.  And maybe a handy chart, song or mnemonic devise might be nice as well.  This would only ensure that people could feed their children, feed their spouse, impress loved ones.  It would increase productivity at work because people would be Googleing "Chicken Chart," "How to Roast a Chicken," or looking at pictures of cooked chickens trying to decide which end is up! 

I was going to post pictures of our lovely roasted chicken, which by pure luck ended up with the breast side up, thank you very much.  But I tried a new recipe and while okay, it was just okay...The good news is I have learned that however you cook a chicken right side up, wrong side up, upside down, you can't really ruin it. Even if the initial results aren't exactly what you had hoped a good cooked chicken can make fabulous meals for days. 

So instead of a beautiful brown bird to share, I'm going to share a recipe that for me truly is a no-fail, super simple breakfast dish that we have come to love in our house.  When I first read the recipe for Amish oatmeal one reviewer described it as a breakfast cookie.  (Can the Amish eat cookies? Another good question for you teachers out there or Google.)

I like this description because it really describes the final texture more than anything.  Now I really like oatmeal, but when I make oatmeal (and when I say "oatmeal" I really mean instant oatmeal from the packet) I add about 1 Tab of hot water.  Just enough to bind it together, but never ever more than that.  The minute it gets soupy the texture starts to freak me out a bit.  I have recently learned that my little sister also eats her oatmeal this way.  I'm not sure where we picked it up; my dad wouldn't touch oatmeal with a ten foot poll and my mom likes hers really, really soupy made with hot water and milk.

So here is our "Breakfast Cookie"
1 1/2 cup Quick Cook Oats
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Mix together dry ingredients and add milk, butter, egg and vanilla stirring until incorporated.  Pour mixture into a pie pan that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.  This goes into a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until the edges start to look golden brown. 

This is one big delicious breakfast cookie that in our house gets eaten throughout the day as a snack, dessert, you name it!  This is also a great use-it-up recipe if you have purchased quick oats for oatmeal cookies or to make granola and have some leftover. You can also measure out the dry ingredients into a Ziploc bag and put this in the freezer. Then you can have a breakfast cookie in a snap any time. (My mom's brilliant idea!)

Thanks for indulging this truly disjointed post.  I'm not exactly sure what chicken anatomy has to do with oatmeal, but that's just what this particular Day 22 looked like.

Runza vs. runza

I didn't have a Runza until I was in my teens.  I actually didn't think anyone else knew about runzas and that it was just our family's thing. You might think I was living under a rock.  Growing up my mom's runzas were one of my favorite suppers, and still the smell of browned meat and cabbage instantly makes me feel warm and cozy.

I have never made runzas before, but I thought I would give it a go.  I started by tracking down a dough recipe that didn't call for dried milk (who actually has that on hand?) My trusty Better Homes and Gardens cookbook had one that I will now make over and over again. I made mine with my handy-dandy bread machine that I love, love, love!  I rely on it a little too much for my bread making kneads (ha,ha) but it's really a fabulous tool.  I adapted the order of the recipe in the cookbook to follow the instructions of the bread maker which require liquids first.

1 cup milk
1/3 cup butter, margarine, or shortening
1 beaten egg
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 package active dry yeast

What I love is that you dump and go.  Pour everything into the bowl, push the setting for 2lbs, dough, and poof, 90 minutes later fabulous dough!

While the dough was doing its thing I prepared the stuffing mixture.  Start by browning 1 lb ground beef and 1 lb ground pork sausage.  You can use all beef, but I like the spiciness that the sausage adds.  Salt, pepper and approximately 1 tsp dried onion help develop the flavor.

Once the meat is fully cooked add in one 2/3 package of prepared coleslaw mix (you can shred the cabbage and carrots yourself, but it comes so nicely ready, my preference is to go pre-fab.)  Stir together and continue cooking until the cabbage starts to wilt.  Add in 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese for creamy decadence.

When your dough has risen and is ready, pull out little balls (I'm sure there is a technical term for this, but I don't know what it is) and form with your fingers little round disks, as though you are making super tiny pizzas.  No more than 5-7 inches in diameter.  When you have your disks prepared, scoop in a heaping spoonful of the meat mixture. 

 Now this is just cute (and I'm a little more than proud of my step-by-step photography here) but fold up the dough like an envelope bringing up opposite sides and pinching the ends together.  Then seal in any seems and tuck them into a little ball.  So cute!  Flip over so that the seam side is down.

 Allow these to rise again for about 15 minutes.  (If you have forgotten to pre-heat your oven like I always do, this is a good time to turn it to 375 degrees.)

Once your oven is ready, and the dough has risen slightly pop these in for about 20-25 minutes until just golden.  Your house will start to smell like the heavenly scent of fresh baked bread.

YUM!

This recipe results in 10-12 runzas depending on your disk size, so there are always plenty for leftovers.  These also freeze and reheat incredibly well for a quick meal another day.  You may also have leftover stuffing mixture, and I have a great idea that I'll share with you later in the week for using that up.

Runza vs. runza?  Mine would definitely win, except you have got to love their Frings... What I also love about the size of mine is that they are at least 1/2 as big as the restaurant which means that you can eat at least two without guilt. (Well maybe not completely without guilt!) I served mine with baked potatoes (and a sweet potato for me) and frozen vegetables. 

What I Used-Up:

1 lb ground beef

1 lb ground pork sausage

1 pkg coleslaw mix

Blogging in Bulk

A hurricane of crazy schedules, a well-baby checkup, and an impromptu shopping trip are among my list of excuses for not blogging for a few days. 

To be quite honest one of the main reasons for abandoning blog for the past four days has to do with the fact that the only Use-It-Up concoctions we have enjoyed were leftovers, leftovers, leftovers.

I once read a great book that will reveal the depth of my inner food-geek, "Alone In The Kitchen With An Eggplant," a comprising of food writers' and chefs' memiores and confessions about they eat when they are alone.  I felt like our menu on Day 16 could have come straight out of its binding. It was truly one of the strangest leftover menus we have had for awhile.  Jett and I dined on leftover V-Day pizza, lentil soup, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, and for dessert yogurt with blackberries. 

Yesterday's breakfast taught an important lesson.  You should never ever reheat leftover pumpkin waffles. What was once delicious and fluffy was found to be soggy, shrunken and funny tasting two days later.  I tried a bite and opted for Cheerios immediately.

However strange and slightly gross these combinations may seem, they have left my refrigerator successfully empty, with the cupboard coming close behind. The project has also resulted in 13 meals for my family, not including the bizarre aforementioned leftover meal.

This morning Jett and I celebrated success by cleaning out the refrigerator.  Now let me tell you that I generally do not think of myself, my husband or our son as a messy, disgusting human being.  That is until I cleaned out the fridge.  It was a little shocking what some of the cracks and crevices looked like, I won't go into the details.  But I'm proud to say that it now sparkles, and after a quick trip to the grocery store this afternoon, it is once again fairly well stocked for the week.

My bill today at the store...$48.77!  I am loving Use-It-Up February! 

Day 15: Waffle Meet Pumpkin Pie

One of the things I love about this project is that it has helped me think more strategically about what to make for supper.  I've really been feeling inspired to come up with new dishes based on what I have left to use-up.  Tonight's inspiration was "Waffle Week" and since Sunday's breakfast went so well, I decided to break out the waffle iron again with a different dish, pumpkin waffles.  Our house now smells like the best of Thanksgiving!

Here is the actual recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com. I halved the recipe because I thought it looked like a lot, and boy was I glad I did.  Jett and I would have been eating nothing but waffles all week. I did not have allspice or ginger, so I added an extra 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves.


First combine dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together the pumpkin, milk, and egg yolks.

Next whip the egg whites in a clean dry bowl until soft peaks form. (I think I have broken out the mixer more times in the last two weeks than all year.)




Stir in the dry ingredients and 1/8 cup melted butter into the pumpkin mixture.  Gently fold in 1/2 of the egg whites until incorporated. Then fold in the remaining egg whites.

Waffle meet pumpkin pie!  Beautiful light and fluffy consistency thanks to those laborious egg whites, and perhaps just a little bit creamier than a normal waffle due to the pumpkin.  I paired it with scrambled eggs with little smokies, and apples. 

Breakfast is one of my favorite meals to eat so I love reinventing it as a supper dish.  It's also a great on-hand alternative when you don't know what else to make.

What I used-up:
Can of pumpkin
Remainder of a 1/2 gallon of milk
Remainder of a stick of butter

Day 14: A Pizz-a My Heart

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope that you enjoyed time with someone you love. 

This year's Valentine's Day was probably one of my favorites so far.  Not because of romance, an over-the-top display of affection, or a nice gift.  Nope none of that occurred, it was a great day because I had a chance to make it special for me and the little love of my life. 

I think the reason that I have such happy memories of holidays and special occasions from growing up is because my mom did an amazing job of finding little ways to make the day special.  I remember one day around Valentine's when I was in preschool, a big box of red and pink art supplies arrived in the mail from a teacher supply store.  There were stickers, paper, boarder, and foam cut outs, and I just remember how much fun it was to go through that box and pick out what I wanted to use to make cards.  I also have some awesome memories of making card boxes for school. Having a mom who was also a teacher I always had the best access to supplies and great ideas!

Growing up Valentine's Day was also special because we got to go out to supper, which we didn't do very often. Lillie or I would pick the location, usually Wendy's or Valentino's because they both had ice cream.

Last night I was really craving Valentino's but with Kevin at district basketball, Jett and I decided to stay in and make our own heart shaped pizzas.  I had planned to make pizza dough from scratch, but my little buddy was in full play-mode when we got home.  So I went the easy route and used-up a pre-made mix. 

I also had everything for a beautiful Greek salad, which was a nice accompaniment. This salad had everything, grape tomatoes, cucumber, kalamata olives, feta, and a nice olive oil based dressing to finish it off.  I could have been back in Athens all over again. (Well, maybe it wasn't that good!)

Jett enjoyed the meal very much.  We ended our special date night with a rare treat, a few minutes of watching an Elmo's World video that we rented earlier in the afternoon.

What I used-up:

Pre-made pizza dough mix

Jar of pizza sauce

I hope that your day was special, and that you made it a special day for someone else!

Day 13: My Sweet Hearts

WARNING: If the site of crystallized sweetness makes you cringe, or if you flip the channel when an ad for high fructose corn syrup comes on, or if the very thought of diving into a container of frosting with a spoon evokes your gag reflex, this post is not for you. 

It all started when I was trying to find something to do with the powdered sugar...  I had done a couple of quick online searches for recipes that didn't yield anything I felt was very interesting.  Then I remembered a great baking cookbook that I had received for Christmas a couple of years back, "Butter, Sugar, Flour, Eggs" by Gale Gand. I stumbled upon a delicious looking recipe that didn't look way over my head and called for four cups of powdered sugar in the frosting.  BINGO!  Named Black-and-Whites (which I think is just boring) I like to call it the The Best of Both Worlds Cookie.

I had everything for the recipe (except for cake flour - substituted with all purpose), and instead of using an ice cream scoop to make circle shaped cookies, I put the dough in the refrigerator overnight and rolled it out like sugar cookies.  I rolled the dough to approximately 3/8 inch and cut out heart shapes in honor of Valentine's Day.  (This is the point at which I should impress you by not admitting that I actually didn't plan this at first, but just as I finished the dough on Saturday night, Jett decided that he didn't have the energy to stay up and finish baking so I put the dough in the fridge.  I then proceeded to fall asleep while tucking him in and and forgetting all about the cookies until morning.  But they were in the fridge, chilled, and ready to be rolled out.  Isn't there a famous quote about sleepiness as the onset to genius - no?- maybe there should be!)

On your far left you have phase one, an innocent shortbread cookie perfectly cakey, golden and buttery.

On the far right you have phase two, chocolate attack - half of the frosting mixed with cocoa powder and smothered on one side.  (I have to apologize to a couple of cookie recipients who received a treat plate yesterday that only appeared complete. Delicious, yes. Finished, no.  I ran out of time to frost the vanilla side. I owe you one!)

The finished product added vanilla on the other side made complete with just a little bit of festiveness and a whole lot of sugar buzz!

Pure sweetness!

Now if you are sugar adverse, but you kept reading anyways please close your eyes now.  Click that X in the upper right corner.  And if you decide not to heed this warning then you have given up your right to judge me!

The frosting was truly amazing!  It reminded me of the frosting on a vanilla glazed donut.  I may have eaten an ugly cookie or two.  And I may have found some Teddy Grahams in the cupboard and gave them a little dunk, or two or three.  

 

And just in case that wasn't enough sugar to float a bear, I decided to make cupcakes for my hubby's class for Valentine's Day.  I had a box of Funfetti to use up, and made my own sprinkle buttercream frosting to top it off.  That recipe was super simple:

1 stick of unsalted butter at room temperature

3 cups of powdered sugar

1/4 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Sprinkles to taste

With a mixer blend butter until light and fluffy.  Add powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until blended together and fluffy.  Fold in sprinkles.  Tada! 

What I Used-Up:

1 bag of powdered sugar

Finished the jar of vanilla extract

1 box of Funfetti

1 jar of sprinkles

1 stick of butter

Day 12: It's Waffle Week!

Last week I stumbled upon the Rachael Ray Show's proclamation of their second annual Waffle Week.  Can I get an AMEN? 

Each Sunday I try and make breakfast, you know actually fix eggs, pancakes, sausage, casserole, etc. instead of just pouring in the cereal.  Even if it is just Jett and I, this has become our little tradition.  So inspired by Waffle Week, I broke out the waffle iron, which I had to search for behind the blender and six crock pots (yes, I have six crock pots, but that's a story for another post!)  Let's just say it's been almost as long ago since I've made waffles as lasagna.

I LOVE waffles but they never turn out right for me.  Undercooked, overcooked, weird texture, you name it. I won't even get into the time that I tried to make savory waffles with bacon and cheese...

So, I went to reach for the box of pancake mix that I usually would use for waffles only to discover that I had used it up. Waffles, from scratch?  Can I do this?  I felt like I was setting myself up for disaster.  A quick online search resulted in finding Emeril's Classic Belgian Waffles.  I had everything the recipe called for (almost, I substituted cake flour with all purpose flour and it worked just fine) and gave it a shot. 

Hello waffles, goodbye boxed mix!  These golden delights were light, fluffy, eggy and rich, but not heavy tasting.  They didn't even need half a bottle of syrup to choke them down.  I had mine with just a couple of blackberries. 

I think I've just found my new favorite February holiday...welcome Waffle Week!

Day 10/11: Loving Lentils!

Another combo post today.  Friday was full of work events, basketball games, and basic survival logistics. 

Today was an incredibly fun Saturday!  My best friend Brandi and I decided to take our toddlers to the zoo for their free family day.  Everyone told us that we had lost our minds when they heard we were going with the temperature predicted at a whopping 4 degrees, but we went anyways.  Let me tell you that I believe we stumbled upon a new tradition.  The normally chaotic zoo was nearly empty, the animals were active, and the kiddos loved it! 

It was also a terrific way to celebrate the end (almost!) of the winter sports season.

When we got home Jett was exhausted, but in a pretty decent mood.  He helped me take out all the spices out of the cupboard and check expiration dates.  It wasn't actually as frightening as I had thought and I only ended up throwing out about five little jars.

I had two jars of curry and cumin from an Indian food kick I pursue every couple of months.  I always forget which spices I have, and which I don't and end up with multiples. With the spice rack discovery and a quandary about what to do with lentils, I did a little bit of searching and found a really great recipe for Indian Summer Stew by Aarti Sequeira one of my favorite new Food Network stars. 

I was close to following the recipe but made a few of my own adaptations based on what I had available.  It is Use-It-Up February after all!  I omitted the coconut, although I'm sure that would have been fabulous, I just didn't have any. In place of the butternut squash I used acorn squash that I roasted with a little bit of butter at 350 degrees for about one hour.  I didn't have a Roma tomato, but did have a can of diced tomatoes which substituted nicely.  In the recipe where it refers to "tempering" I did not have mustard seeds or red pepper flakes, but I did have about 1/4 of a white onion that I wanted to use up. 

The result was hardy, filling, healthful and delicious!  Who knew lentils could be so good!  It was a great way to end a wonderful day. 

What I Used-Up:

1/2 bag of lentils

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 acorn squash

1/4 onion

1 clove garlic

Days 8 and 9: A Week in Review

No use-it-up style posts for Days 8 and 9.  This family is busy, busy!  (I'm not sure if I could go two hours without using that word...isn't that sad.) Yesterday I had a board meeting over lunch, and then we went out for prom.  No, we didn't go to prom (although who doesn't love a chance to put on a ball gown?) But we did enjoy supper at Runza to benefit Cedar Bluff High School's prom. 

Today over my lunch break I ran to Hy-Vee for stamps and milk.  No Valentine's Day stamps (boo!) but I did walk away with more than milk.  Two cartons of blackberries, two pears, five bananas, and two half gallons of organic, hormone free, pesticide free, (happiest cows on the planet - we swear) whole milk. $13.90.  The milk was pricey but worth it now that Jett is off formula. 

So instead of a use-it-up list, I'm posting pics of my fridge and cupboards as a week in review.  I straightened the cupboard just for you!

Yes, that is a gigantuan jar of pickles.  No, I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do with them...I bought them in bulk for Jett's birthday party (they were only $4!) but we didn't even put a dent in them.  A couple of weeks back I made tuna salad for lunch and dropped the vat on my foot and literally thought I had broke it.

Any ideas for lentils?  I bought them when I was pregnant or nursing...I don't remember, but I thought that I should have more protein in my diet.  I have no clue what to make out of these either. 

I've been having more conversations with friends on the topic of stocked cupboard.  It seems as if we all may be battling a similar problem.  So in the interest of camaraderie, I'd like to propose a Cupboard Contest.  From now until February 28th, you can post pics of your ugly, messy, stocked, or empty cupboards on this blog or my Facebook page, and a winner will be announced on the 29th.

Day 7: That's a Wrap!

I'm incredibly blessed that my mom and dad live in the same town that we do.  I'm also incredibly blessed that my mom is our care-provider for Jett.  He loves getting to spend time with Grandma everyday, and I love the chance to catch up over coffee or lunch with her too. 

Today was unusual as I only had one meeting, only one and it wasn't over lunch for once.  When Jett was brand new to the world and I was nursing I made it a point not to schedule meetings over lunch if I could help it.  That way we could have some special bonding time and lunch together.  I've tried to maintain that, but it has become progressively harder as I've added more responsibilities to my job, which means more meetings over the noon hour.  But not today!

For lunch I brought over some of the remaining Mediterranean dip and sliced roast and we had the most amazing wraps.  I think that I may need to always make the two in sequential order for the benefit of this totally awesome combination later on.  Wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla, it was part gyro, part fajita and completely fabulous.  I could eat that for lunch every day!

That got me thinking, hmm... fajitas sound good.  Hello easy supper! I tossed some roast, onions and green pepper into a skillet with 1/2 tablespoon of butter and a half clove of chopped garlic, and within about two minutes dinner was served.

I topped my fajita with some sour cream, salsa and a sprinkling (what was left in the bag) or shredded cheese.

I've always enjoyed cooking at home and I always use up the leftovers, but this project has caused me to be more strategic about how I can use-up other ingredients as well.  I'm not a menu planner, but I think I could be converted.  I can definitely see the merit in it, especially when it comes to strategic grocery shopping and a use-it-up philosophy.  I've actually been surprised by the number of friends who have told me that they are menu planners and base their shopping on what they need.  I'm impressed with your organization!

So which are you?  Are you a menu manager, or a spur of the moment strategist?

Day 6: A New Redo Favorite!

The inspiration for tonight's meal came from Andi who commented that her favorite thing to do with leftover roast is to make Shepherd's Pie.  I've often wondered about Shepherd's Pie, but have never actually had it.  What has always stopped me is the traditional version uses ground lamb.  It honestly never occurred to me that this could be substituted for roast beef.  Wow have I been missing out! I didn't know where to begin, so I searched a couple of recipes online before I found one that looked simple and delicious. 

I started by chopping up some of the leftover roast beef and about 1/4 of a leftover onion (I had enough of both to slice some extra for fajitas tomorrow.)

I didn't have any leftover mashed potatoes, so I went ahead and made the instant version.  I prepared these according to package instructions while the meat and onions were browning in 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat for about 4-6 minutes (or until heated.)

I then steamed a package of frozen peas, carrots, green beans and corn.

While the veggies were heating, I prepped a biscuit layer by mixing 1 1/4 cup Bisquick with 3/4 cup milk.

(I should mention that I decided to use two loaf sized pans instead of a 9x9 so that we could eat one and freeze one.)

Once everything was prepared I layered the mashed potatoes on the bottom of the pan, followed by a layer of vegetables, and then beef and onions. The biscuit mix was poured over the meat. (I did not pour biscuit mix over the pan that I froze.)

Everything was put into a preheated oven of 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

 Ta-Da!  This was a huge hit. The top layer had a nice crunch, but was warm and gooey at the same time.  The onions and the beef were savory and played well with the freshness of the veggies, and the bottom was a delectable layer of mashed potatoes. 

My chef de cuisine loved it too!  He's such a big helper these days, and loves to stir with his spatula.  I ask him, "Jett do you want to cook?" and he replies, "I cook!"

So what did I Use-Up?

Leftover roast beef

1 pkg of instant mashed potatoes

1 pkg of frozen mixed vegetables

1/4 large onion

Remainder of the Bisquick mix

The recipe is adapted from Paula Deen's recipe for Shepherd's Pie.  Mine is similar, except I didn't use 14 tablespoons of butter (only 2 for me!) and of course she made her own indulgent mashed potatoes.

My adaptation:

1/4 large onion

2 Tab butter

Leftover roast beef, cubed

Instant mashed potatoes (prepared to instructions)

2 cups cold water

Pkg of frozen vegetables (prepared to instructions)

1 1/4 cup instant biscuit mix

3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large skillet over medium heat, saute onion and beef in 2 tablespoons butter until browned. Set aside.

Prepare instant mashed potatoes to instructions. Set aside.

Prepare frozen vegetables. Set aside.

Combine biscuit mix and milk. The mix should be thinner than that of a normal biscuit but not runny.

Spray either one 9x9 pan, OR two loaf pans with cooking spray. Layer mashed potatoes on the bottom. Next, spread a layer of veggies on top of the potatoes. Then add the layer of roast and onions. Pour the biscuit mix over the meat. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown.  Enjoy!