Use it Up

[euphrasyne]

Cinnamon Applesauce Pancakes

1c flour

2 T sugar

2 t baking powder

1/2 t cinnamon

1 egg

1c applesauce

1 t vanilla

1-3 T water as needed.

Mix Wet into dry and add enough water to consistency.  Let sit 5m and fry as usual.

 

*notes, batter will be thick and puffy, it pours thick and comes out with a moist texture in the middle.  I made a quadruple batch and they raved over it.  Flash freeze leftovers and stack in a freezer bag for later meals.  The individual applesauce cups are roughly 1/2 c each;  I used 8 in a 4 batch.  Use flavored applesauce to change the flavor of the pancake.  Change cinnamon to another spice if desired.  

[Ambergris]

That sure looks good.

[Littlesister]

That sounds great. I am going to have to give that a try. DH loves pancakes and waffles.

[euphrasyne]

We have a plethora of single serve frozen corn from the school.  I mixed what I had on hand and we have  a winner that got rave reviews.    I've made it twice now and they like it with either green chilis or green salsa.  

 

Southwest Corn for 4:

4 containers of corn (less than 2c total)

2 huge heaping spoons chive and onion cream cheese

sprinkle dehydrated onions

3 slices chopped raw bacon

2 T green chilis or green salsa

pinch red pepper

Salt & pepper

Milk to achieve desired consistency (slightly less than 1 school carton *1c)

Mix all in a saucepan and bring to a simmer.  Turn heat down and cook until bacon is done.  *45m while the main dish cooks.  

[euphrasyne]

They are sending a lot of frozen things recently.

 

Peas

4 containers frozen peas (*2c)

1 can mushrooms

2T butter

minced garlic to taste

sprinkle dehydrated onions

lemon pepper to taste

salt & pepper.

2c water

2t chicken base (bullion)

Bring to a simmer over medium flame, turn down to low and cook until done.  *45m

 

 

[euphrasyne]

They keep sending yucky looking sweet potato chunks that no one will touch.  They taste like someone canned them in orange juice and then just plopped them into plastic containers.  Each container is about 1/3 c sweet potato chunks.

 

Mashed Mixed Potatoes  serves 6

3 school containers sweet potatoes  

1 c white potato flakes

5 T butter

*1 1/2 school carton milk (*1c per carton)

2 T powdered sugar (it was what I had)

cinnamon to taste

Dump potatoes into pot along with liquid and mash with fork.  Add potato flakes and mash together.  Add milk to consistency you prefer.  Add butter, powdered sugar, and cinnamon.  Cook over low heat until butter is melted and it is heated through.  

 

*less sweet and a milder flavor than the holiday casserole.  It went over well.  It is a good way to use up the sweet potatoes we seem to be getting every other week.

[euphrasyne]

They seem to prefer frozen individually packaged everything over shelf stable lately.  We keep getting diced fruit in applesauce or pudding type containers.  You can buy them on the shelf at the supermarket, but these say 'keep frozen' in big letters all over.  

 

Cobbler

1 stick butter

1c flour

1c sugar

1c milk (1 school carton)

1 t salt

2 t baking powder

4 containers frozen diced peaches in juice defrosted (*2c)  (any fruit will do)

Melt butter in dish.  Make a batter out of the remainder and pour over butter.  Dump fruit over top.  Swish to mix in fruit, but do not actually stir.  Bake 350F 45m.  

 

 

 

[euphrasyne]

Random bits and bobs of school food we found a way to work with:

 

Containers of miniscule blueberries:  drain, rinse, drain again on paper towel.  Mix up some muffins and spoon a bit of blueberry into the center of each cup.   Bake as usual.  Any flavor muffin, any type of fruit.  This also works for individual packets of jam and such.  Apple slices can be diced up or just stuck whole into the center of each muffin. 

 

Diced or mixed fruit in juice:  drain juice and drain fruit on paper towel.  Add to lettuce or fruit salad.  

 

Small 1/8 and 1/3 c portions of minced meat:  Add to baked beans or soup.  Also makes a good filling for pastas or hand pies (think homemade hot pocket, piroshki, or meat pie)

 

We have 8 oz milk coming out of our ears.  Drink it, use it wherever milk is called for, coffee, freeze it.  It is overfilling my freezer to the point where I'm about to start throwing it out.  Chocolate milk instead of white milk in cakes, puddings, anywhere chocolate milk might taste good.

[Ambergris]

Have you tried making banana bread out of the sweet potatoes?

Poking around the internet, I find various recipes for non-sweet bread using sweet potatoes.  Paleo diet bread using cassava flour, vegan bread using spelt and vegan butter, etc.  I'm sure you can simplify something up.

Edited February 6, 2021 by Ambergris

[Mother]

I was just thinking of that Ambergris.  Or perhaps tossing them into a soup.  One with tomatoes in it would help cover the taste easily enough. 

[Virginia]

Pumpkin Muffins

 

1 cake mix, any flavor

1 can pumpkin

2 eggs (optional)

 

I used some products just to get them used up.  This is so simple and mine was delicious.

used DH Banana cake mix, Libbys canned pumpkin, and that was it.  Beat well and pour in muffin tins, bake per instructions on box.

 

 

[Ambergris]

What sized can?

[Virginia]

15 oz can, store brand.  Duncan Hines cake mix, but just a standard box.  I did add a couple of tablespoons of apple sauce I had simmering.  I can't believe how good and easy this was.  

[Annarchy]

1 1/2 cups of plums leftover, going to make plum sauce, waste not want not.  DH wants a bit to add to his cereal.    

[Jeepers]

Sounds good Virginia! My first thought was a spice cake mix. 

[Littlesister]

Yesterday I made chicken salad, tuna salad and egg salad. Be nice if you could can that. We eat a lot of that stuff. Last night was egg, tuna and chicken salad on  a plate of lettuce and tomatoes with some club crackers, (unsalted of course).  I have already gotten the boston butts out of freezer, made vinagar based barbeque and canned that up. Turned out really good.  Just wish they made hamburger buns with only 2 and 4 to a pack instead of eight. I don't always have room in freezer for extra bread. I really do need another small freezer but need to be able to get into garage to clean up what I had to move out for the ramp. Don't ask how I manage to get the car into garage. 

[euphrasyne]

Southwest Soup (serves 8 to 12)

Handful frozen celery.  

Handful dehydrated bell peppers

Handful dehydrated onion

3 Velveeta type cheese tubs individual size from school *1/8c ea

4 individual salsa cups from school *1/4 c ea

1 tub taco meat school *1/8c

1 tub shred cheese school *1T

1 can chicken breast

3T chicken  bullion

12c water

1 packet taco seasoning

4 individual tubs school corn *1/2 c ea

Mix all and heat over medium to gentle boil.  Turn to low and simmer for about an hour.  Crush 1 packet school Doritos (from walking taco meal) and dump on top of 4 bowls with a pinch of shred cheese to serve.  

 

Winner!  Kid who didn't like soup liked this.  I served it with a pan of Mexican cornbread and virgin daquiris.

 

Virgin Daquiri for 4:

6 tubs frozen strawberry freeze (school basically frozen strawberry slush *1/2 c ea)

1 tub grape juice (*1/2 c)

2 fruit punch juice pouches.  Says fruit punch looks and tastes like apple juice again school stuff

Defrost strawberry tubs on counter for half an hour.   Dump all in blender and process.  Serve in fancy glasses.  Adults may have tequila as desired.

 

Edited February 14, 2021 by euphrasyne

[euphrasyne]

Shepherd's Pie

Dump and mix the following in a casserole dish:

2 tubs frozen peas (*1/2 c ea)

1 tub frozen carrots (*1/2 c)

Diced leftover leg of lamb *2c or so

1 can mushrooms

handful dehydrated onion

Montreal chicken seasoning to taste

Leftover lamb shawarma w/onion and mushroom (*1/3 c)

1 packet brown gravy mix

beef broth to desired consistency.  *about half a quart.

Make mashed potatoes and spoon on top of the casserole.  Bake 350F for 60m.

 

Duchess Mashed potatoes for shepherd's pie.

2 c potato flakes

2 cartons school milk

1/2 c water

3 T butter

Heavy cream to consistency

2 eggs

salt & pepper

Mix milk, water,  and potatoes.   Microwave 2m.   Add in remainder and mix to consistency.  Microwave 2m.  Spoon on top of casserole and bake for at least 30m+   *Can be done on stovetop instead of microwave.  Bake in oven on something or by itself afterwards b/c of eggs.  

 

 

 

[euphrasyne]

The school now adds dinner and a snack to the breakfast/lunch bags they send out.  My tetris game is getting bigger.   I need to either can some apple butter or fried apples today, they are overflowing.  The frozen veggies they keep giving us are giant round containers that hold about 1c but are only 1/3 to 1/2 full.   DD12 and I took them all, opened them, and dumped like items into the 1c breastmilk bags that came free with my machine.  They work much better and take up a lot less room.  I used a quart bag for the broccoli --when it is full, I'll make stirfry.  

 

We have so much 1% milk that I'm thinking about making homemade cheese, yogurt, or no-churn ice cream.   Between the fridge and freezer, I have at least 7 gallons white and 7 gallons chocolate in 1 c cartons.  

 

This week we have 4 types of burger/sandwich and french bread pizza.  I'm glad all mine like sandwiches.  I'm glad they are feeding the kids, but the tax money wasted on grab and go meals because people cannot be bothered to prepare food is truly sad.

[euphrasyne]

Mexican Soup

Mix All in Crockpot on low until done--its a soup and amounts are not important.  Just add what you have and liquid to desired consistency.

2 lb brick of velveeta type cheese (used aldi brand)

leftover black beans cooked cuban style *3c or so

leftover onions and mushrooms from gril * 1/2 c total

leftover olives sliced *8 olives brined not pickled

pinch dehydrated jalapenos

pinch dehydrated spinach (because i confused it with the jalapenos at first)

handful dehydrated bell peppers

leftover shredded pork roast *1.5c

chicken

pouch school corn *1c

packet taco seasoning

big spoon salsa verde

can rotel tomatoes

container school milk *1c

Water or chicken broth/bullion to desired consistency *6c

 

serve with homemade mexican cornbread.  

 

For the chicken, I used 3 school chicken legs and 3 tubs of school chicken wings in a very nasty sauce.  I rinsed all the sauce off, decided I'd never get the flavor truly out, and deboned it all.  I then tossed meat into mexican soup because the strong spice pattern would overwhelm the sauce previously on the chicken.  I tossed the meat into the crockpot as I deboned it, so I never measured it.  It made about 8 quarts of soup.  Mexican soup freezes well, but be sure to reheat on low or the cheese will separate.  Don't boil this soup.  I did not add more spices to the soup because the black beans were very heavily spiced mostly with tropical sazon and more would have been overwhelming.  I'd have added more taco/fajita seasoning or some sazon if the beans were not so heavily spiced.  

 

 

Edited March 5, 2021 by euphrasyne

[euphrasyne]

I'm trying to rotate the pantry.  We are down a teen and up a baby and the other adult and teen are on diets.   I'm still super tired from the accident so this should be fun.

 

Pasta Bake (husband RAVED over it)

In a casserole dish Mix the following without measuring:

Leftover penne pasta in a vegetable and marinara sauce from several days ago (i think artichoke, mushrooms, zucchini were in it)

Cottage cheese

sour cream

a can of pasta sauce

Top with mozzarella cheese and bake 350F 45m.   

 

Mississippi Sin Dip  (redneck edition) (kid and husband loved)

Mix random amounts of cream cheese, sour cream with some garlic powder,  paprika, and a packet of ranch seasoning.  Add in a bag of shredded cheese, some Worcestershire sauce, and 1 can of diced spam.  Microwave 3m.  Stir.  Microwave 3m.   Place in leftover bread bowl from Panara and serve with sun chips.  *Makes a ton.   good as a dip or a sandwich filling.  

[euphrasyne]

I was sick over the weekend so we ended up with a lot of takeout by choice.  I'm back to the pantry rotation this week.

 

Last night we had Basil Bread and Curried Tomato Soup.   It was a huge hit and everyone loved it.

 

Basil Bread

scant cup water

1 1/2 T olive oil

1 T sugar

1t salt

1 T milk powder

2 1/4 c flour

1 3/4 t yeast

giant handful basil from garden washed and shredded.  

It makes about a 1lb loaf, but run it through 1.5lb loaf French cycle on bread machine.  It gets extra spongy rise.  

 

Curried Tomato Soup

2 cans tomato soup

2 cups liquid Milk (from shelf stable)

1 t garlic powder

1 T curry powder

small handful dehydrated onions

large handful of chopped pear tomatoes from garden (small like cherry tomato but yellow and pear shaped)

Dump all in pot and heat thought on Med low for about half an hour.  Pour in bowls and artistically top with a sprinkle of Mexican cheese, small handful fried onions canned, a few canned bacon bits, and a few slices of reserved pear tomato cut into rounds.  

The curry gives it a sweet mild taste and everyone thought it was the best tomato soup I've ever made.  

Edited September 14, 2021 by euphrasyne

[Littlesister]

Euphrasyne, glad you are feeling better. I will have to try those recipes. They sound good. Will be looking for new things to try when the kids move in with me for 3 months. As for my granddaughter's husband, as long as it is not peas, mushrooms and I think one other thing. He will eat anything.

[euphrasyne]

Tamale Casserole (kid favorite)

pour 2 cans chili in a casserole dish.  I used the no beans type but homemade or beans is fine.

Open and unwrap 2 cans tamales and lay them on top of chili.  Reserve liquid.

Top with misc cheese mostly Mexican and Munster.  

Pour reserved tamale liquid over top

Bake 350F 30-45m

 

Mexican Corn (mmmm  I'm having a bowl of this leftover for breakfast so good!)

1 can cream corn

1 cup frozen corn

4 slices bacon diced

dehydrated onion 1/8c

dehydrated bell pepper 1/8c

dehydrated jalapenos pinch

2 splashes heavy cream to consistency

Large sprinkle tropical sazon seasoning (its like a lime-y mexican)

Dump all in pot and cook over med heat till bubbling then turn down to low and simmer for about 45m.  

 

 

I forgot last saturday.   We had hash and pinwheels.

 

Hash

2 cans corned beef hash

6 eggs

Press hash into cast iorn skillet and make wells.   Crack an egg into each well and bake 350F 45m

 

Pinwheels

Take 1 can crescent dough and unroll without making triangles.   divide in half.   spread leftover spinach artichoke dip on one half and leftover Mississippi sin dip on the other half.  Roll up and cut each log into 8 pinwheels.   Place cut side up on baking sheet and bake 350F  20m.

 

Spinach artichoke dip

Take leftover creamed spinach and mix with canned marinated artichoke and cream cheese in amounts desirable to how much creamed spinach you have.   Serve with chips then use for whatever after leftover.

 

I can cook fancy and I can cook redneck.  It never ceases to amaze me that the redneck always gets better reviews.   

 

[Jeepers]

That Mexican Corn Bowl sounds good and something that could be made up and stored in the freezer. 

 

Thanks for all of your recipes!