Dejah

Walmart had cap-off AAA Angus rib roasts on sale, this week - &5.77 / lb!. They started bringing them out yesterday. I picked up 2 single rib and one 2-rib roasts as I am actually out of smaller roasts (result of freezer challenge! I don't usually buy meat at Walmart, but they have been bringing in some good looking meat. Cooked a single tonight. We has a slice each and still have enough for lunch tomorrow - a sandwich and topping for my salad. The meat was very good! Roasted the meat at 325F for an hour along with some baby taters. Served with au jus, buttered carrots, and coleslaw for me.

Using the last rack of lamb from the freezer - March 2017 - not bad! It was cryovac and marked down at Safeway. I could never walk past a red bold 50% on a package. Decided we've had enough grilled racks, so I sliced it up, marinated the meat with ground cumin, wine, oil, soy sauce, and a bit of cornstarch. Other ingredients included 2 little Thai red chilis, red bell peppers, green onions, cilantro, Sechuan peppercorns and toasted cumin seeds. Cooked up some peas and cauliflower (a couple tiny tomatoes ) in curry paste, and basmati rice with cumin and cardamom seeds...all good...all good!

Many have minis, 3qt, 6, and 8 - ALL the sizes. I bought the 8-qt when Amazon Prime had them on 50% off. I think it would be the most versatile as the size allows for batch cooking, baking a cheese cake, etc (which I haven't tried). It takes up room on the counter, but I use it nearly every day, so it's fine sitting in the corner.

Sauerkraut was what we didn't have with our meal, and I was too tired to go to the store. Instead, we had stir-fried cabbage with caraway seeds with our spicy Italian sausages along with the last of my frozen cranberry / raisin/pecan chutney. Warmed the cockles of my tummy on a fall day...

Not much time to ponder dinner menu these days with outside fall work when it's not raining and a heavier teaching load. The Instant Pot has been my best friend. From a frozen package of top sirloin steaks to Beef Curry (Patak Hot Curry paste), some Indian curry powder, carrots, onions, and a couple of potatoes, dinner was ready in an hour. The hardest part was cutting thru' the frozen steaks. I did throw them into the microwave "thaw" for a few minutes, which helped.

A recent purchase - August - boneless pork rib roast. I had picked up several different spice packets while down in Dallas - Irving area. Thought I'd try one, Tomato - Tarragon Spices on the pork. It was a nice flavour with a light tomato tang. Mashed cauliflower, Shanghai bok choy, and coleslaw accompanied on the plate. The last 6 bone-in chicken thighs from the freezer - spring 2017 purchase. Chilly rainy days are still here. Comfort food WITH carbs was needed. Sandpot Ginger Chicken and Rice it is! Added sliced lap cheung for that extra flavour. Supper with some stir-fried bok choy in a fun bowl, Walmart has young turkeys out...+7 KG birds for $20.00. Thought of picking one up - 8.26 kg as I now have room in the freezer. I resisted as the sales WILL be coming up soon.

Using up the other 2 top sirloin steaks I pulled out earlier in the week. Had a fun garden club meeting in the evening, so it was fajita for supper. I picked up a bottle of Smoky Paprika Chipotle seasoning at Winners, and added that to the seasoning base. It was lovely! Guac, shredded habanero cheese and greenery (included 2 jalapeno peppers for hubby) on the side in low-carb tortillas (commercial)

@ElsieD: Here's the link to the recipe I used. http://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a21033/vadouvan-curry-shrimp-recipe-opr0213/ Let me know how you liked it. I really appreciated my Instant Pot today - a windy rainy chilly day. I forgot to bring out soup bones from the freezer. A package of frozen pork neck bones, half a pot of water, 15 minutes under high pressure and I had great broth. Threw in a bag of Sher Li Hon (much like Chinese mustard greens), a few slices of ginger, and I had soup! Had pulled out a tray of top sirloin steaks bought on sale but had no inspiration, especially after a large bowl of soup. Cut off some thick strips, rubbed on Creole spices and seared on the cast iron grill. Broiled some steamed broccoli with shredded Habanero cheese, made a big salad, and supper was all she wrote!

@Kerry Beal : No...This was a rushed job of regular Yorkie. I saw a low-carb version somewhere but can't seem to find it again. But, if I am going to have Yorkie with roast beef, it's GOT to be the real thing, even if it is a rushed job! Continuing on my freezer challenge, which has become easier now that I can see what all is in the freezer! Pulled a bag of 16-20 count shrimp and made Vadouvan Curry Shrimp - new to me. Loved it and it was easy to put together. WiKi said about Vadouvan:The spice blend is thought to have originated from French colonial influence in the Puducherry region of India

That October 2016 rib roast from the above post - became this tonight! Stuck it in 275F oven at 1:30. Pulled at 140F at 5 pm... Threw in baking potatoes and Yorkshire pudding (last minute decision), carrots and green beans made a grand meal. We ate barely one rib width for supper. Cut the rest into 2 big portions. One portion, in Foodsaver bag, went back into the freezer along with 8 Yorkies. The other portion and 2 Yorkies are for...maybe Monday. Food Truck Warz are in the city, so may well hit that for supper tomorrow!

Cooked one of 4 one lb packages of pickerel I bought from a local fisherman in June. Breaded with low-carb coating and eaten with tofu, peas, and cole slaw (been carving and eating this all week!). Here is my real dedication to cooking my way through my freezer. This is one of 3 rib roasts that were at the bottom of the old chest freezer. It was too heavy and too far down for me to pull out. Now, there is now escaping my grasp! In view of the heavy teaching load I have this term, and the marking load to go along with it, I want to have lots of leftovers for lunch and dinner. There are only the two of us at home, so some of the cooked meat MAY go back into the freezer. It was such a great price, I couldn't refuse. This one is dated October, 2016...3.975 kg! The weather has really turned chilly : 7C today and rain. Doing a slow roast for this hunk of meat will take the chill off the air.

One package of baby back ribs, purchased Dec. 2016 - rubbed with Harissa spice and slow-roasted in the oven. Eaten with cauliflower "fried rice" and peas - from the freezer. 3 more packages of ribs to use up...

Steelhead trout in foil, with lemongrass, cilantro, green onion, ginger, Kaffir lime leaves, lemon slices in place of absent lime. A colleague gave me his lime tree, and I am SO pleased to have access to fresh leaves whenever! The tree will be moving inside for the winter.

One of three chickens (sold as 3/bag) - rubbed with Ethiopian Berbere spice and left for the day. I wanted to cook it in the Big Easy, but the ignition knob is, I think kaput... Cooler day, so the oven was acceptable. Steamed up a a couple of clumps of frozen mixed vegetables (from somewhere in the old chest freezer), and the last 1/4 of a humongous spaghetti squash from a friend. Since the arrival and organization of the up-right freezer, I haven't bought any new protein except for a piece of steelhead trout!

@DiggingDogFarm: HAD to, really...Too much food was buried, and I am no longer young enough to continue "freezer diving"! Last couple of meals: Another rib steak as I slowly work down that stash! Rubbed with Creole Spice that I picked up on one of our trips south of the 49th ... Found a package of Hot Italian sausage, so it was Keto- Tuscan Zupper in the Instant Pot. Switched out the potato with cauliflower. Tonight, pulled 3 lbs of lean ground beef from the freezer and made Instant Pot Chili. Served over Shirataki tofu fettuccine , topped with cheddar cheese and avocado. Fast, low carb, and tasty!

@lindag no...it's a manual defrost. I could have gotten a 16 cu ft upright for a little more, as opposed to &749.00 for this one, but I wanted the bigger one. Could have gotten the 20.9 frost-free but would have been over $1000.00. The salesman said that manual is better as the frost-free cycles melt a thin layer of frozen meats = freezer burn. I trusted him. Besides, the upright will be easier to defrost than a chest freezer. Cooked a rack of lamb for tonight. It was purchased at 50% off - close to "best before" date of March 20th, 2017. Rubbed with Greek seasoning and grill. Make Greek lemon taters and peas with fresh mint.

Big day today! My new upright freezer was delivered this morning. Was rushing to get the old chest freezer emptied (thus no picture)so the delivery guys can move it out to allow room to maneuver the new one into the corner. I LOVE IT!...no more freezer diving. I kept the baskets used in the chest freezer - fits well. Took a while to get everything sorted and placed in appropriate shelves, baskets. There are three 3-rib prime roasts (one dated Dec. 2016!), a couple of dozen steaks, 2 trays of baby back ribs, 2 of side ribs, chicken, shrimp, pickerel, lots of frozen fruit, and so on... Organized now, but we'll see...No shopping for proteins for a while! Thawing old chest freezer - Hydro PowerSmart program will come and haul it away. I get $50.00! New 20.9 cu ft upright Door shelves:Low-carb breads, Chinese ingredients, etc Shelves with protein, joongzi, and frozen fruit And...where's the beef? And, one rib steak didn't make it back into the freezer! Supper tonight - steak, pan-fried new potatoes, and sauteed mushrooms.

A partial package of scallops, a few shrimp, and a small halibut steak - from the freezer. Coated with Lefty's Spicy Fish and Chicken mix, pan fried. Eaten with new taters boiled and fried in ghee, and leftover steamed green beans. Don't think it made much of a dent in the freezer, but at least they got used up!

Tonight's dinner could have gone in Freezer Challenge, Instant Pot, or here...so here it be. Marinated baby back ribs (purchased "a while back" at 50% off) in an experiment concoction of fresh lemongrass, Kaffir lime leaves, ginger, garlic, Ponzu, and coconut oil in the afternoon. Supper time, ribs were cooked in Instant Pot, high pressure for 30 minutes with chicken stock and all the bits from the marinade. Quick release, brushed the ribs with a Keto-friendly spicy BBQ sauce and charred under the broiler. Eaten with roasted cauliflower and bell peppers (sprinkled with Chakalaka seasoning), and steamed green beans with cracked black pepper butter. All tasted pretty fine!

I finally caved! A 20.9 cu foot manual-defrost upright freezer will make its way to my garage on Thursday. The +30 year old chest freezer has been "challenged" down to half empty. What's down the second half ? There is still lots of protein, but I am sure lots discards as well. Here's hoping my shopping, hoarding tendency will be curbed somewhat, and my organizational skills will improve. This meal could be on either the Instant Pot thread or challenge, so I'll put it here to continue my freezer purge! Leftover re-hydrated Chinese mushrooms from making Joongzi and 8 drumsticks (purchased at 50% discount), ginger, a splash of oyster sauce and chicken stock were steamed for 18 minutes in the Instant Pot. One of our favourite meals.

Fall is in the air! Paid homage to this change in season and to my husband 's ancestors by making Nana Campbell's Peach, Apricot, Pineapple Conserve. Just eating the leftover container as I ran out of sealers. Great with toast and spoon - jar method! There's no ice-cream in the freezer, but that may also be an option for breakfast! A friend gave me a fresh loaf of whole wheat quinoa and molasses bread. It was GREAT toasted!

Thanks!

@Mmmpomps: More info' on the IP Pork Belly, Please! I have a piece in the freezer (maybe should be in Freezer Challenge!) I've been thinking about doing siu yook in the Big Easy, but now I'd love to try in the IP. Had plans to buy yet more plants at a lily nursery (1 hr. drive) with friends today. In the morning, I made the filling for a steak and kidney pie in the IP. It turned out beautifully. When I got back close to supper time, I put the pie together with pie shell and puff pastry from the store. Sauteed mixed vegetables, and hubby was so happy he didn't even ask how much $ I spent!

Posted a couple of meals in the Instant Pot thread...now I'm wondering if we are supposed to just keep text on that thread and continue to post pictures here?

OK...now I am wondering if photos of food should be posted here...or just comments? and photos to remain in "dinner thread"?