Use It Up Days 2-6: Tomato Soup

Hey everybody!  Thought I'd bring you up-to-speed on the use it up adventure.  We are still going strong!  Sometimes using it all up isn't to exciting, thus I haven't blogged the past few days.  But last night was . . . eventful.  So I'll get to that.

Day 2: Breakfast was the best sandwich ever, which involved homemade bread, homegrown tomatoes, farm eggs, and fancy cheese.  See?

Dinner was rice made with leftover Asian broth from that time I poached a chicken, and I also did a quick stir fry using frozen veggies and soy sauce.

Day 3: Leftovers.

Day 4: Sandwiches on the road.

Day 5: Chicken Cacciatore! Impressed?  You should be, but not with me.  My dad made it while we were visiting, and it was gooooooood.  =)

Day 6:  Ok, well.  We got back in town last night, fed Malachi and got him to bed, and then my pregnant body decided it wanted grilled cheese and tomato soup....again.  I didn't have any canned soup, so I decided to make it from scratch using this recipe I found from Rachel Ray.  I didn't have any heavy cream so I made some from scratch by melting 1/3 cup of unsalted butter and adding it to 2/3 cup whole milk.  I also don't have an immersion blender, so I did what I have done successfully several times before and blended the (HOT) soup in my regular blender.  Except that I overfilled it (stupidstupidstupid).  And the lid flew off.  And really hot soup rained down all over my arms and my chest.

I screamed, jumped back, and pulled my plastered shirt off my chest to keep from burning worse.  Jeremy came towards me looking the scared-est (but most in control) I've ever seen him and started to try to lift my shirt, and which point I looked down at my red-splattered clothes, realized what he was thinking, and gasped out "It's not blood!  Turn off the blender!"  Relief flooded his face, he did turn the blender off, and then he followed me into the bathroom where I jumped in a freezing shower.  When I got out, I realized the burns on my arm were much worse than my chest, and the pain was bad.  Like, Jeremy asked me later if it was worse than labor, because apparently I gave him that impression.  By the time the night was over I had gone through half a bottle of aloe, propped my arm on multiple pillows, almost hyperventilated, taken two kinds of pain reliever, scared the crud out of my husband, and vowed to make tomato soup from a can for the rest of my life.  Jeremy cleaned the entire kitchen, brought me my dinner, prayed for me, and never once mentioned how much worse he had it when he got 2nd-degree burns on his feet two years ago (and then had to continue to walk around at work, in shoes.  I have a whole new level for compassion for him now).

And yes, it's a little better this morning.  My right arm is fine short of a few little red spots, my chest has some red spots but overall is a lot better, and my left arm....really hurts.  But at least it's not throbbing and excruciating.  I can type, and move, and pick up Malachi, none of which I could do yesterday.

So yeah.  Day 6, done.

I'm pretty excited about this week.  I planned out my menu based on some of the things I really want to get rid of, and this week I am hopeful to clear out some potatoes, cornmeal, leftovers, lasagna noodles, and BBQ sauce, not to mention there are only 4 items on my grocery list this week, including my exceptions.  Woohoo!  Stay tuned!

Tomato Soup
Adapted from here

• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• about 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup of heavy cream, or 2/3 cup whole milk and 1/3 cup melted butter

Cook tomatoes and broth over medium heat until bubbling.  Add cream, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.  Use an immersion blender until mixture is smooth, or blend a little at a time into a regular blender.  Serve with preferred toppings.

Use It Up Day One: Squash Casserole

Don't adjust your monitor, I really did just blog two days in a row.  I know, right?  I'm proud of me, too.

Day one of Use it Up wasn't terribly creative, but it was tasty!  I call it "A Meal of Two Souths."  We had pan-fried pork chops that I rubbed with a whole bunch of spices (onion powder, garlic, chili powder, salt, pepper, oregano, paprika, cilantro).  I've never liked pork chops much (partially because they aren't kind to me), but I have finally learned how to cook them in a way that tastes good and stays juicy.  It's fairly simple but worth knowing.  Steps 1-6 here give you the basic idea.

seasoned and seared

I had a ton of chopped cilantro left over from a taco salad party, so I decided to make chimichurri sauce for the first time ever.  Chimichurri is a cilantro-based sauce popular in Argentina to serve on steak.  Here's the recipe I used.  It was pretty good!

pulsed and served

And to round out our Argentinian meal I made squash casserole, which any true Argentinian will tell you they've probably never heard of.  Oh well.  It's southern (think: ya'll-land) just not as southern (read: Cazuela de calabaza es tan norteamericano.)  Southern food is GOOD, people, but it's not known for being good for you.  In the south, you can go out to eat and order a "Vegetable Plate" (choose any three!) that contains macaroni and cheese, french fries, and fried apples.  Go to a good-ol' Southern Baptist Church potluck supper and you'll be luck to find any vegetable that hasn't been breaded, fried, creamed, or candied, which is why I usually bring a salad.  But, I do love some southern food, and any vegetable is better than no vegetable, right?  So, tonight, I present to you a vegetable that has been creamed, cheesed, breaded, and baked.  You're welcome.

Squash Casserole

• 6 cups diced zucchini and yellow squash (or other squash)
• 1 medium chopped onion
• cooking oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup sour cream 
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 cup crushed Ritz crackers - In the spirit of using it up, I did not have Ritz so I substituted regular bread crumbs.  It was fine, but you really want that buttery taste Ritz crackers provide

sauteed and mixed

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Butter bottom and sides of a glass casserole dish (I've used an 8 by 8 square, a 7 by 11 rectangle, and a medium Pyrex circle.  All turned out fine.)  Saute the squash in hot oil over medium heat for about 15 minutes.  Line a colandar with a cotton dishtowel (not terry!) and dump squash in to drain.  While squash is cooling, saute the onion for about 5 minutes or until it becomes translucent and slightly browned.  Squeeze excess moisture from the squash, then mix together squash, onion, sour cream, spices, and cheese in a large bowl.  Spread into casserole dish, then top with crackers.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until crackers are browned and mixture is slightly bubbly.

Not the most flattering picture, I realize.  Don't let that deter you.

Use It Up!

My family recently set a new budget for ourselves.  It's working great and we haven't had to change much to meet it.  The one thing that has changed is that I'm now in charge of tracking how much we spend in different categories.  Yikes!  I actually enjoy it, but it can also be stressful, too.  The next couple months we're trying to scale back a bit  so we can do our Christmas shopping without taking a hit.  Babygirl is already causing a big enough hit this year!

So, I'm announcing a new project that will turn into a series on this blog - For at least the next 2 weeks (maybe more) I won't be going grocery shopping.  I'll use up all the stuff I have in my cabinets, fridge, and freezers and save money as a result.  I'm super-duper excited, and we started a couple days ago!  I'm going to chronicle what we eat each night and post recipes where I think they'd be cool - I have a feeling it might get kind of funny near the end.  The first two days we hardly noticed a difference.  We'll see how that changes.  

Now, to all great rules there are exceptions.  The first is my 80% off exception.  If it's something I need or frequently use, and it's 80% off or more, I will still buy it.  Case in point: clearance bin at Kroger.  I got 5 cans of stuff we use on a regular basis for $1.18 yesterday just because they were dented.  That, to me, makes more sense than not buying them and having to pay full price when we go shopping and need them again.  My other exception comes in the form of a hungry, running toddler.  Because of him, and because I am not willing to compromise my family's health, I will still be buying milk, juice, eggs, 1/2 and 1/2 (IknowIknowIknow, but I chose 1/2 and 1/2 and Jeremy chose orange juice), and fruits and veggies.  It does kind of seem like a lot, even to me, but I will be using up all the fruits and veggies we already have in the house before I start buying new ones.  Which leads me to . . . 

What I Have to Work With / What I Want to Get Rid Of

Lots and lots and lots of canned goods!  Seriously, wow.  Things in this cabinet I am most excited to get rid of:

• pineapple slices we bought by accident instead of pineapple chunks
• long-cooking rice that I've had forever, because I always forget about it until it's too late, and then I reach for my minute rice
• barbecue sauce!  I seriously have 6 or 7 bottles of it.  It was free!

Pantry items!  Though our pantry is a little sparse, things I am most excited to use up are:

• those stupid leftover lasagna noodles
• the 8 boxes of noodles I have hanging out upstairs in the stock pile
• snacks we never eat
• boatloads of popcorn
• CHIPS.  See here.
• Jeremy's soda collection

Freezer junk!  I have a LOT of freezer junk.  Stuff I'm most excited to use up:

• Frozen leftovers ohmyword.  Including, but not limited to: leftover Asian chicken broth from this, 4 pounds of chicken parmesan Jeremy brought home from work, a nasty casserole that Jeremy wouldn't let me throw out (enjoy, babe!), brunswick stew, spaghetti sauce, Asian pesto.... I'm sure there's more.
• Lots of bread.
• LOTS of breadcrumbs.  Probably 15 cups or so.
• MEAT.
• Random mostly-empty bags of vegetables that were leftover from recipes that didn't call for the whole bag.
• And lots of stuff from my deep freezer, which I forgot to take a picture of, but which includes:
• Catfish nuggets.  Stupid pains-in-the-butt to cook.
• Frozen pizza
• Enough ice-cream and ice-cream products to last a long while
• Things yet to be discovered....dun dun dun

Other random stuff, which includes:

• Corn products.  I don't usually like them, unless they are a chip.  I bought the corn meal to make polenta, which Jeremy didn't like, and the corn starch gets used almost never and probably should be replaced.
• Apples!  I love apples, and I bought a heckuvalot at an apple festival a couple weekends ago.  Confession:  I broke my rule and bought white cheddar cheese today to make these.  I couldn't resist. But none of my other apple recipes call for stuff I don't already have.
• Lunch meat!  I will have to freeze it, but then use it eventually.  We way overbought when Jeremy's parents were visiting, and now it's all chillin' in the fridge.

And that's it!  Just remember this is a money-saving activity.  I won't use up all the bread crumbs just to use them up, since those are something I already use to save money.  The idea is to use up all the things that I could use instead of buying something else.  Ready to get started? 

Simple Southern Mashed Potatoes

I realize that it's been almost two months since I last blogged.  It is sad.  It was one of those things where it got to be soooo long since the last one, that I started thinking, "Well, what's another day?  Or week?  Or...month."  Kind of like that thing going around: "That moment when you have so much to do that you decide to take a nap instead."  Same idea.  So in the meantime, I've been trying to decide what I want this blog to really be.  Originally I wanted to be easy recipes for young people who didn't know much about cooking.  But I have too much fun making recipes that aren't easy to only blog about that.  So then I thought I'd make a homemaker blog.  But I don't home-school, my son isn't quite old enough for all the cool stuff I see going around, and I'm hardly a picture of organization, so I decided not to go that route either.  So then I was kind of stumped.  Also, due to pregnancy brain (it's real), I kept taking pictures of meals I was cooking and then forgetting to ever take a picture of the finished product.

Something finally got me out of my blog-funk though.  Well, a few somethings.  One was that people started pointing out how long it's been since I blogged (by people, I mean my husband and mom, but whatever).  The second was that we stopped our crazy summer traveling. And the third was that I made mashed potatoes.  These aren't just any mashed potatoes, mind you.  They are my grandma's mashed potatoes - so fattening they don't really qualify as a vegetable anymore, and so good that you just don't give a schtick (of butter).

So, while you are eating mashed potatoes tonight (because seriously, if you've never made mashed potatoes this way, why put it off any longer?), think about some of these ideas.  I was thinking I'd do some series type blog posts.  One would be "meals so easy and good you could slap your momma."  One would be inspired by the "Chopped" challenge.  Maybe one could be inspired by (Ican'tbelieveI'msayingthis) Sandra Lee's semi-home-made.  But just the concept, not the recipes she comes up with.  Seriously.  Then I was thinking of doing a "fiscal fast" series, where I don't spend any grocery money for two weeks and have to cook using what I have.  I'm kind of excited!  Hope you are too.  Leave a comment to vote on what I should do first.

Simple Southern Mashed Potatoes
This is enough for two people plus one serving of leftovers.  Simply double the recipe for more.

• approximately 2.5 pounds russet or yukon gold potatoes
• 2/3 stick salted butter
• 5 ounces evaporated milk
• salt and pepper to taste

Wash and peel potatoes.  Chop roughly into 1.5-inch pieces.  Place potatoes in a large sauce pan and cover completely with water.  Add about a teaspoon of salt to the water and bring to a boil.  Boil potatoes until they mash very easily with a wooden spoon against the side of the pan, about 15 minutes.  Drain water and transfer potatoes back to the pan.  Add the butter and put the lid on until it melts.  Add milk, salt, and pepper, and beat with an electric mixer until creamy and fluffy.  

Tea-Poached Chicken

Well, guys, this is the last of the recipes I had hanging out in my "to-blog-about" folder, and now I'm going to have to get back to actually cooking new stuff so I can come up with blog material.  Sigh.  Normally I like that idea, but right now I'm just eating whatever feels like it won't fight back later, which really doesn't leave a lot of options.  For now I'm not big on meat or fish or hot carbs (Yes, you read that right.), and I crave poached eggs (exciting, I know) and frozen burritos - need a tutorial on that?  Didn't think so.  Sadly, even my burritos did not like me today, so I guess those are out for now.  My Recipes to Try Pinterest folder is overflowing, but at the moment, I just want to eat bowls and bowls of limey-corn salad and guacamole and not much else.  Soooo.....this poached chicken thing might have to hold you all over for a while.

Sadly, I did cook a couple things lately that were really, really good, but I didn't take pictures.  One was a pasta primavera that wasn't creamy (because creamy is also out) and the other was a mushroom quiche, which I decided not to take pictures of because I didn't have the kind of cheese I wanted and felt like that was cheating.  Then we ate it.  And I'd just like to say, I am very, very sorry for not blogging about it.  But rest assured, I'll make it again soon(ish).

Chicken wrapped in cheesecloth boiling in a pot is, surprisingly, not very artistic. 

I never thought I'd poach a chicken.  The idea of boiling meat always sounded really odd to me, but for some reason I found this recipe appealing, so I thought I'd give it a shot.  I should have tried it sooner - the main thing I have against cooking a whole chicken is how dry it tends to get, but, Surprise!  Stuff doesn't dry out when it's boiling. 

So here's my live and learn tips from this recipe.

1. BUY KITCHEN TWINE.  I didn't have it or anything like it, so I decided to wrap my chicken in cheesecloth to hold in the stuffing.  HA.  It didn't work too well.
2. Don't over-stuff the chicken.  Even if the cheesecloth doesn't hold the stuffing in well, if you over-stuff the chicken, the rice that is left in there won't cook, then you'll have to take it out and boil it until it's done, and it will get all weird.
3. There is no substitute for dried fruit if you don't have dried fruit, but if you dump some honey into the pot it gives it some sweetness.
4. Don't put peanuts in rice if the people you are eating with don't like peanuts.

This is one of those recipes I shouldn't write about because I didn't do it perfect (or even close) the first time, but oh well.  I seriously doubt any of you who I know read this will ever make it regardless, amIright?

Tea-Poached Chicken

Adapted from here

• 1 whole chicken
• 1/4 cup sea salt
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup uncooked short grain rice
• 1 cup roasted peanuts
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 2 black tea bags (I used some smoked tea that my sister gave me.  This is similar.)
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 cup chopped cilantro

Gut chicken, then rub with salt.  Cover and chill 2 hours or more.  Rinse and pat dry.  Combine rice, peanuts, and ginger and stuff into chicken.  Tie legs together with string (STRING, people).  Heat broth and 8 cups of water in a stock pot and bring to boiling.  Add chicken, breast side down, and tea bags.  Return to boiling.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 45 minutes, turning chicken after 30 minutes.  Remove chicken from broth and cut to serve.  Strain broth, reserving any rice mixture.  Stir soy sauce and honey into remaining broth, and salt to taste.  Garnish with cilantro.  Serve with rice stuffing and a side of broth.

 

Hawaiian Chili

This chili isn't really Hawaiian, I don't think.  I call it Hawaiian Chili because my sister-in-law taught it to me, and she learned it in Hawaii from friends who were living in Hawaii at the time.  Therefore, in my head, it's Hawaiian.  So the other day when I googled "Hawaiian chili" I was kind of surprised to see all sorts of recipes calling for ham and pineapple, and not a single one calling for taco seasoning.  Amazing, I know.  I guess this chili is probably equivalent to the "American pizza" I ate in Brazil, which was American because it had corn on it.  Yeah.  Well, whatever, you don't care, right?

3 Types of Beans

My babiest brother came to visit a couple weeks ago.  I loved having him here.  Not only is he my brother and I love him, but he also was so mature and helpful that it just amazed me.  My phone beeped?  He was off the couch to pick it up for me before I could lift a finger.  Dishes needed washed?  He helped until they were completely DONE.  Baby needed watching?  For the week he was here, Malachi thought Dan was the next-best thing to Daddy and Mommy.  And did Dan get super bored?  Probably, but he never mentioned it or complained.  When Sam came to visit a few years ago by himself, I had no children, so we went hiking and went to an amusement park and all sorts of stuff.  When Dan came, I have a child and some serious morning sickness, so we went to....Goodwill.  Also the grocery store.  And to get ice-cream once.  He did go to a movie with my hubby, and we went "out to eat" at Cook-Out and then shoe shopping!  Awesome!  But I think he had fun, regardless.  He's a trooper.

Nothing smells better.

He's had this chili before, and he ate it for lunch the following two days, so I figured it was a good bet to make it again.  I was right.

Malachi enjoyed his chlii, too.

This is a great dish to make for company - it's cheap, it's really easy, and everybody loves it.  I've made it in a crockpot or on the stove - you can really do what you want.  You don't have to add the onions or the dried cilantro if you don't want to.  Also, you should really use fresh cilantro, but I was out, and in the spirit of full disclosure I am giving you the recipe exactly as I made it.

Hawaiian Chili

• one pound ground beef
• 3 cans of beans - choose any three different varieties that you like.  I used black beans, kidney beans, and white beans this time.
• 1 small onion, or half a large onion
• 2 cans Rotel tomatoes with green chilis
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 1 packet Ranch seasoning
• dried or fresh cilantro, to taste

Brown the beef, onions, and dried cilantro together in a pan and drain the grease.  If you are using fresh cilantro, add it closer to the end.  Stir together all ingredients and heat through in a crock pot or a stock pot.  Serve with cheese, sour cream, and rice.  Enjoy!

White Queso Dip with Beer

I am watching the Olympics Opening Ceremonies right now.  I love the Olympics.  I have always loved the Olympics, which is weird, because I don't really like sports and I don't watch much of the Olympics once they are on each year.  In the 2010 winter Olympics my husband developed this very odd obsession with curling, and I was forced to watch hours and hours and hours of it.  I guess it's kinda cool.  But goodness.  Aside from that, though, I have seen all the big moments (i.e. Michael Phelps, the 2002 bribed pairs-skating, etc.) but not much else in between.  But I absolutely LOVE the opening ceremonies.  I love the excitement, the music, the magic, and of course, all the countries.

I have been a very reluctant American for most of my life.  I am grateful for this country, but I've never been particularly patriotic, I'm not big on politics at all, and I probably am a little too hard on the U.S. of A.  I don't like to admit that I'm pretty much an Americanized American - I'm not a third-culture kid, I'm not a missionary kid, I don't really speak anything fluently other than English, but every part of me yearns to travel and speak a million languages and eat all sorts of weird food and feel like a citizen of some other country.  That may explain why my one month in Brazil shaped a huge part of my adolescence and changed who I am as an adult.  It may explain why I will try anything once and have eaten (among other things) frog legs, baby squids, cow hoof soup, wild turtle, and wild boar.  It may explain why I love teaching English as a second language, but I love even more to make friends with my students and learn about their culture.  It may explain why I sought out random restaurants in NYC that served food I knew I wouldn't find anywhere else.  It explains a lot.

I've always wondered, though, what I would miss if I moved abroad.  I think I'd be really surprised.  I'm sure I'd miss a lot of important things, but I think I'd also miss dumb stuff like Goodwill and Velveeta cheese.

My baby brother is staying with us this week, and he specifically requested that I make this queso dip I made one other time he was here.  So I agreed, and then proceeded to change the ingredients and add some beer (because cooking it is the only way I can have any now, although thankfully my pregnancy body isn't craving it this time like last time I was pregnant - ha!).  Thankfully, he seemed to enjoy the dip regardless.

This is the classic recipe, which we call Sue's Dip because our dear friend Sue brings it to everything and no one will ever allow her to ever bring anything else to any event ever.  Mine is below.

White Queso Dip with Beer

• 2 lbs. Velveeta Queso Blanco
• 1 can tomatoes with green chiles (original spice level, or hotter if you like)
• 1 pound spicy pork sausage, cooked and crumbled
• 1/2 bottle of light beer

Cut Velveeta into cubes, combine all ingredients in crock pot, and cook until bubbling.  Allow to bubble for about 30 minutes, then turn to warm until read to eat.  Serve with scoop chips, because they are easiest to load up.