Here's what our fridge looked like at the end of the first week of Operation Mother Hubbard. More photos on Flickr.
We ate leftovers a LOT this week. Leftover veggie lasagna, leftover Irish stew from our favorite pub, leftover burrito filling, leftover dilly bean potato soup, and more.
But I also made several dishes from scratch with ingredients on hand, and we're still eating the leftovers from those:
- Pumpkin Enchiladas. These have been a staple in our kitchen for a few months now. I add black beans and wilted spinach for some more protein and vitamins. Also because the idea of a tortilla filled only with warm canned pumpkin is pretty unappealing to me. With this recipe, I used up some jarred taco sauce, two cans of pumpkin, a can of black beans, an enormous can of enchilada sauce, and assorted produce.
- Maple Parsnip Soup. Taken from the Mennonite Central Committee's Simply in Season cookbook, this recipe seems like it wouldn't be very filling, but it is. Especially when served with Bisquick drop biscuits. I substituted cream for the evaporated milk because that's what we had on hand, and I added some carrots for color (and because some of my parsnips had gone bad). I also left some chunks in the soup rather than pureeing it totally smooth, which I think enhanced the heartiness factor.
I also baked two loaves of banana bread (one with chocolate chips, one without) and a batch of oatmeal-cranberry-chocolate-chip cookies, most of which I sent to a friend.
We did cheat twice this week - I desperately needed cheap-o Chinese food yesterday after a long week, and tonight we ordered sandwiches and soup on impulse with some friends. But other than that, I think we spent about $15 on fresh produce and dairy. Not bad!
Now that I've burned through a lot of our staple ingredients like vegetable broth and white flour, things are about to get a lot harder. We're going to be relying more on previously frozen meals and the world's largest box of oatmeal. Not to mention Costco-sized boxes of pasta and sauce. I'll just have to figure out innovative ways to incorporate fresh produce. I seriously doubt if we'll make it a month, though, as I originally bragged.
Oh, and if anyone has ideas for how to use up half a dozen mealy McIntosh apples and/or some moldering clementines, leave 'em in the comments!
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