Calling Creative Cooks

[PIE!]

We’re moving in a week. We’ve been trying to empty out the pantry, fridge, and freezer before we go. Some of our meals have gotten quite, um, creative. But now I’m running out of ideas. Here is what we have left. Buying something from the store to complete a meal is no problem, as long as there won’t be leftovers. Buying a bottle of something that I’m only going to use half of defeats the purpose.  I know we won’t be able to use up everything. We’ve got way too much yeast and molasses for a week. So if you had to use up these ingredients, what would you make?

 

Here is what I have:

lemonade

lemon juice

honey

1 can of pears

1 can of relish

1 can of carrots

dry figs

quinoa

3 cans of venison

peperoncini

sriracha

Worcestershire sauce

white rice

sushi rice

pinto beans

lentils

frozen hatch chilies

chia seeds

2 cans evaporated milk

beef base

chicken base

yeast

molasses

flour

white sugar

brown sugar

karo syrup

butter

baking soda

cocoa

gelatin

corn flour

gluten

2 bags frozen edamame

 

Things I forgot to put in the picture:

4 eggs

a gallon of vegetable oil

a jug of white vinegar

small bottle red wine vinegar

small bottle apple cider vinegar

mustard

bbq sauce

mayo

soy sauce

most common seasonings

 

Things we have but I know what to do with:

cereal

milk

peanut butter

jam

bread

pear chips

frozen fruit (will use for smoothies)

 

[justasque]

Rice and beans/lentils is an obvious choice, but instead of looking at your list with the idea of "use it all up", you might want to think about which are the most expensive and/or hard-to-find ingredients, and plan your meals around those.  It would be nice, for example, to use the can of carrots, but in the end you aren't out that much if you don't get to it.  

Think also about perishables and opened containers - it's easy to donate a can of carrots to the local food bank, whereas a half-used tub of cocoa would have to be trashed if it's not used.  Maybe put the non-opened, non-perishables into a box and see what you can do with the rest of the items, pulling from the box if it's helpful, then donate the box before you leave.  That might give you "permission" to let some things go when the meals get a little more "creative" than you'd like.

[helena]

one meal:

I'd make sopes with the corn flour (that's masa, right?)

a pot of pinto beans

mexican rice using white rice and chicken broth (dice carrots and add in before covering rice)

venison/hatch chili stew (guisada?)

 

maybe a caramelized fig and pear desert? 

 

Salted edamame with a good movie, because moving is exhausting and you have to rest once in a while. 

 

Can you clean the dishwasher, coffee pot etc with the jug of vinegar? 

[Erica in OR]

Here's one that was on a previous thread in the forums. It would use up quinoa and lentils. We usually eat it over rice (or with tortillas or tortilla chips) with cheese and sour cream on top. You could sub in whatever you have for sauces, skip the onion if you don't have it.

 

Lentil Tacos

chopped onion (about 1/2 of a medium onion)
1 garlic clove
1 1/2 cups of lentils
3/4 cup quinoa
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsps cumin
1 tsp oregano
6 cups of water
some salt to taste

Combine all in crock-pot and cook on low for about 8 hours. This will seem like a LOT of water for a crock-pot recipe but the quinoa acts as a sponge and soaks it up. If you are around while it is cooking you can check it and may even need to add more water as the time goes on.

(If you think you don’t like quinoa, try this recipe anyway. It makes the taco filling very thick and gives it the texture you expect from tacos, almost meat-like. You can make it just with lentils but you’ll have to adjust the water a bit. And I think it’s better with the quinoa.)

Use the lentil mixture as filling for tacos, soft or hard. Add whatever toppings you like (cheese, sour cream, lettuce, pico de gallo, guacamole).

[TammyS]

I'm cheap and I like a well stocked pantry, so I'd probably box it all up and take it.  At the very least the shelf stable stuff.  It would be last thing on, first thing off the truck. 

[magic]

You could do fondue with the venison.  My mom used to cook cubes of venison and give us a variety of sauces to dip it in and we loved it.  She would also do a cheese or sour cream sauce for us to dip veggies and pretzels in and a chocolate or caramel sauce for fruits, marshmallows, and cereal.  

 

Edamame and carrots would be good on rice with a little soy sauce. 

 

You could make a chocolate pudding cake- not a meal but does not have eggs in it.  No bake cookies but you would need oatmeal or crushed cereal.

 

 

[unsinkable]

Can't you take that stuff with you?

[idnib]

Stir fry with the white rice, edamame, soy sauce, and 4 eggs. I don't know what chicken base is, but can you add it for flavor?

 

If you drink tea or coffee, add the evaporated milk. It's pretty good in a pinch. 

[PIE!]

Thanks for all the ideas! We are planning on packing any shelf stable leftovers, and giving away anything perishable that we don't use. But since we still have a week, and we have to eat, we might as well use up all we can. You guys have some great ideas. :)

[justasque]

--Lemon juice can be made into lemonade.  Use 1 part lemon juice, 1 part sugar, and 6 1/2 parts water.

--Egg salad can be made with hard boiled eggs, mayo (enough to hold it together), and some of the relish (if it's the kind I"m thinking of).

--The butter, cocoa, flour, and eggs will make a nice batch of brownies.  

--You can make a couple loaves of bread with the yeast, flour, gluten, and molasses.  They would be handy to have while travelling - pair with cheese or hummus.