Yesterday’s project of organizing the pantry yielded some food that needed to be used up soon. Time to do some bulk cooking. These are items that were nearing the expiration dates or had just over stayed their welcome in the pantry.
What I didn’t mention in yesterday’s post is that I actually cleaned out two pantries, plus a smaller three-section bin that usually holds produce. In the latter, was a five-pound bag of organic potatoes that were just threatening to grow eyes. I hate potatoes with eyes. Ew. I mean, really ew.
So, this afternoon I decided to attack the isolated pantry items and get to work with some bulk cooking using the food from the pantry. I made:
Five pounds of creamy mashed potatoes. I’ll scoop them into large muffin tins, freeze for 30 minutes, pop them out of the muffin tins and place them in freezer bags. The potatoes reheat well in the microwave or oven on busy nights or when I need to bring meal to someone in need. Not only did I get to use up the potatoes, but I also got to use up a couple of cans of evaporated milk.
1 pan of brownies. I had a mix and through in some chocolate chips to make the brownies extra special. These won’t be frozen but serve as dessert during the week.
12 corn muffins from a mix. I normally make more than 12 muffins at a time, which is why this mix has been languishing in the pantry. The muffins can be frozen and used for breakfast and snacks as needed. Since I had the oven on anyway for the brownies, I didn’t mine making such a small batch, and all I needed to add to the mix was water.
Sloppy Joes. This was planned for dinner tonight. I make them with ground turkey. We had leftover rolls and no lunch meat, so the Sloppy Joe mix will fill them nicely.
Various canned items. I found a couple of cans of different kinds of fruit, so these will be combined for a fruit salad that can accompany meals. I also found some canned vegetables that will be used up during the week.
I also made some bread from a mix (remind me not to buy another bread mix) which tasted awful and was tossed out.
I think I got off pretty easy this time from organizing the pantry. What do you think?