Clear Out Your Pantry Challenge!

Ok, for about 1 1/2 weeks now, I have not bought a single thing and decided to just use whatever I had on hand.

I first PREPARED myself that I may not be able to do much.

Then the REAPING began. Whatever's in the pantry, cupboards, fridge, freezer-fair game!

I didn't tell my family what I was doing, so ANTICIPATING their reactions to what I made was part of the fun.

I was so glad when no one YAWNED at what I made. Woot!

SCOPING out all that I have allowed me to be creative and create more of my own recipes. Score!

Let's see what I made, shall we?

Smoothies-Berry, Fusion, Pina Colada

Sorbet-Berry & Pineapple

Chicken Adobo

Chicken Tinola (chicken broth with ginger)

Chicken with Root Veggies in Tomato Sauce

Crab Cakes

Lime Garlic Couscous

Steamed Veggies

Quiche

Palabok (Filipino noodle mix) with boiled eggs

Ganache for & with Cream Puffs

Omelette (Spinach, Eggplant & Tomato)

Steamed & Fried Rice

Spaghetti & Homemade Sauce

Lemonade

Nesquick & Hot Chocolate

Wow! Can you imagine all of that food just lurking around in my kitchen?

I challenge you to do the same; just take a good look everywhere, start pairing ingredients and see how many you can deliciously create!

What's For Dinner?

Isn't this the age-old question of every household?

Well, it is mine and my friend Heather's as well. She has MS (and a spokesperson for Chronic Disease Fund), and is currently in a wheelchair which makes cooking very tiring and overwhelming; but her spunky and loveable nature have not been touched by this awful immune system attacker at all. LOVE HER!

Well, it was an honor to be asked again to help her put together a dinner menu using ONLY what she has in her pantry and fridge. It has to last a while and has to be varied enough for her picky son, Chase.

The last time we did this, she only had a 3-lb roaster chicken and whatever she had lying around. Well, I know I can meet this challenge since I did it before, but at her place...

We made 19 meals! Yes, 19! Including chicken noodle soup and fried rice!

Today, I brought some stuff for her to have on hand, and--

Today, we wanted her to focus on nutrition so in under 6 hours, we made...

Power Smoothie- no ice, no sugar (4 servings)

Berry Sorbet- frozen fruits, no sugar (3 servings)

Roast Beef with veggies (6-8 servings)

Beef Stew a la CAM (4-6 servings)

Creamy Potato Soup with Ham (4-6 servings)

Health-ier Meatloaf (ground beef & breakfast sausage) (4-6 servings)

Spaghetti Sauce (6-8 servings)

Baked Tilapia with Lime Butter Sauce (4 servings)

Green Beans & Tomatoes (3-4 servings)

We PLANNED the cooking day (not the menu), RAIDED her pantry, ASSEMBLED each meal according to cook time, YAMMERED happily about life and nutrition while we cooked, and SUCCESSFULLY made meals big enough to feed 3-4 people though there's only her and her son!

My angle, make meat the side dish, not the main item. You focus on the nutritious sides, and meat suddenly just becomes the flavoring!/

BERRY SORBET

1 C frozen blackberries

1/4 C POM Pomegranate blueberry juice

1/4 C frozen pineapples

1/2 fresh orange juice

1/4 fresh lime

Put all the frozen fruits at the bottom

Add the other ingredients and blend.

Put in a freezable lidded container and mix every 15 minutes to "fluff" the sorbet to keep it from freezing solid.

Til next time!