Cleaning Out The Kitchen

As I mentioned last week, we finally pulled the trigger (and had the cash) to get a new refrigerator and stove. They've been delivered, installed, used, and we're in love. (Though I have to admit they really make our flooring and countertop replacement seem more urgent.)

My goal was to get through the food we had in the house and I was shocked by what (good) meals I was able to pull together. I didn't go grocery shopping for anything special, but we somehow ate better than we do most of the time:

Monday: Risotto with peas and baked chicken thighs with sweet onions
Tuesday: Salmon, rice, and broccoli casserole
Wednesday: Root vegetable soup (I had this in the freezer from earlier this month, roasted the Brussels sprouts, onions, and parsnips we had in the fridge, added some chicken broth and threw it in the crock pot)
Thursday: Chicken with corn, black beans, and tortillas (the only successful crock pot recipe that I've developed)
Friday: Ordered pizza
Saturday: Oven fried chicken and broccoli with American/Pepperjack cheese sauce

Without shopping for two weeks (except running to the store for milk), we were able to cover all of our breakfasts, lunches, and dinners from food we had on hand. (Yogurt, granola, cereal, and oatmeal for breakfasts and frozen soup, leftovers, and odds and ends for lunch.) And we still threw away a full garbage bag and a half of expired, freezer burned, or half eaten food.

Realizing how much food we had on hand made me feel like a total food hoarder. I'm not sending in an application for the show just yet, but what the heck? And think of how much food and money gets wasted... I'll never again be able to say we have nothing to make for dinner. If I feel that way, I'm obviously not looking close enough.

Hope this inspires you to take a look through your fridge, freezer, and cabinets and see what you can create. Waste not, want not. Right?