When Tice was still in Colorado and I was home alone for a week I decided to take a look through our freezer to see what sort of stuff I had forgotten we had in there. I found some Italian sausage meatballs, some pasta sauce, and some green curry chicken. All I had to do was cook some pasta and some rice and I was able to eat off of the pasta and curry for days! That then got me to thinking, what else could I make with the items already in our fridge, pantry, and freezer? I made some simple rules so that this game didn’t vanish after a meal or two. Here are the rules I came up with:
I can purchase one item per dish to help round it out, i.e. lettuce to make a salad
Double points if what I purchase for one recipe can also be used at the one item needed for another
I only have $30 a week to spend on any additional items I need to purchase. The $30 also needs to cover weekly necessities such as milk.
So far I have been playing this game for exactly one day and have made the following:
Pumpkin Scones with Spiced Glaze
I used the following recipe, via Pinterest. I had all of the necessary ingredients in the house
Chicken thighs with Grandma’s Noodles
Items Needed:
Water (Check)
Chicken Thighs (Check)
Chicken Bouillon Cubes- 4 of them (Check)
Grandma’s Brand Egg Noodles (Check)
Flour (Check)
Season Salt (Check)
I started with a large pot of boiling water, 6 cups, then added the bouillon cubes. I let the bouillon dissolve, slide in the two chicken thighs and then added the noodles which I had lightly tossed in a couple tablespoons of flour. Finally I tossed in a small amount of season salt and let the mixture cook for 3o minutes. Once the mixture was cooked I pulled out the chicken thighs and shred them with my fingers and then tossed them back in. Typically my mom served this thick stew over mashed potatoes so I used $4.47 to purchase russet potatoes and a gallon of milk.
And for dinner I made,
Sun Dried Tomato Ravioli with Garlic Toast:
Items Needed:
Mozzarella (I used a stick of string cheese and cut them into small disks, one disk for each ravioli- Check)
Romano Cheese (Check)
Wonton Disks (Check)
Sun Dried Tomatoes (Check)
Egg (Check)
Balsamic Vinegar (Check)
Water (Check)
Salt (Check)
Garlic (Check)
Chiabata Rolls (Check)
I began by laying out all of the wonton disks of pasta, I gave each of us five ravioli each so I laid out 20 disks. Then I chopped up the string cheese, the sun dried tomatoes, grated some of the Romano cheese and divided them each into small piles. Then I whisked together an egg and some water to create an egg wash. I filled every other disk with a small amount of tomatoes, Romano cheese, and a piece of mozzarella. Once the filling was complete I brushed the egg wash around every disk and then sealed each ravioli together with a fork. Once they were sealed I placed them in salted, boiling water and cooked them until they rose to the top of the boiling water. For a sauce I took about a ¼ cup of balsamic vinegar and placed it in a large non-stick pan and placed it over medium low heat to reduce. The vinegar turned into this thick syrup which I then drizzled over the tops of the ravioli. I also served garlic toast on the side, which was super simple to make. I just sliced two chibatta rolls in half, toasted them in our toaster and as soon as they were toasted, rubbed them with a clove of fresh garlic. Tice and I both through that they were delish!
On my docket for the remainder of the week I plan on cooking the following:
- Homemade Soft Pretzels with Warm Beer Fondue- I need to double check but I think I need yeast as well as 2% Cheddar/Colby blend cheese. If that is the case I will be considering the pretzels one item and the fondue another so that I am not breaking my rule of only one new item to complete.
- Korean Beef over Jasmine Rice (I need green onions)
- Bacon Butternut Squash Risotto (Need to purchase bacon)
- Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole (May need to purchase Swiss cheese)
- Semi Homemade French Onion Soup (I need onions and Swiss cheese but I am already purchasing the swiss cheese for the casserole so I'm good to go!)
Let me know- would this be something you would consider trying? How long do you think you could make it without having to purchase more then one item per meal?