sally1121

You guys are so inspiring! Tonight it's chicken lasagna using poached chicken breasts from the freezer and lasagna noodles that have been in the cupboard for, oh, I don't know...a zillion years. I dug out some tomatoes from last year's garden that I'm going to try to roast (a la Cream Puffs in Venice) as well as a bag of cut up, ripe bananas to make some banana bread. Someone called this "shopping in the freezer" and that hits the nail smack dab on the head. I really love this idea. No more guilt!

Ludja - That looks fantastic! I really want to try Megan's variation too. Meez - uhhhh...ok... guess you can call it whatever you like because I have no idea what you just said! LOL Marmish - I'm pretty sure this is going to go a LOT longer than one week. I STILL have a ton of food and I've not even touched (well...barely) the freezer. Thanks, again, to everyone who posted. I'm a little ashamed that I'm basically cleaning out my fridge and not touching much of anything else. However, I am NOT giving in on this. I fully intend to go as long as possible without buying anymore food. America is truly the "land of plenty". If we think in "survival" mode, we would see that much of what we buy is so over the top. When I was in college I survived on mac n' cheese at 35 cents a box. Or ramen noodles - 4 for a dollar. Not that I want to do that again, but do I really need 5 CANS OF GREEN BEANS (especially when the fresh green beans are hitting the stores right now). I wonder if this is a hold-over from my mother and grandmother's recollection of the depression where hoarding was a necessity. I don't know... just musing here. Anyway - keep up the suggestions and the wonderful photos of what you make. I'm so inspired by all of you. Thank you, again.

I'm overwhelmed by all the great ideas! O.F. - Carful! You never know what's lurking in those depths! Kerry - Your sandwich sounds fantastic! And MW on asperagus?! I never thought of that. I love asparagus so much it usually doesn't even make it to my plate! I stand at the stove and eat it from the pan. And, NO, I at least don't have Cheez Whiz in my pantry... LOL. Rehovot - Your pantry sounds MUCH more healthy than mine. I don't even know most of those ingredients you listed, but I'll come eat at your house any time! Megan - I. AM. SO. JEALOUS! That looks absolutely fabulous!! Nice picture, too. Bavila - I'm not exactly sure what CSA is, but it sounds like you get a lot of great veggies there. I think my boys would jump ship if I tried to push *too* many vegetables at them in one sitting. But, omelets are always a great way to use up bits and pieces of things. They're like soups - you can put ANYTHING in them and it'll be good. The kicker for me on your post is radishes? with snap peas? and dill???!!! I've never heard of such a thing. Is it good? Tell me how you do it. My GF is raising snap peas, and I have the radishes. I'd like to try it. Angela - Obviously, meal planning is my weak spot. Otherwise I would not have had to throw out my chicken. When I cooked at the nursing home the dietician planned the meals and I cooked them. Part of the problem for us is we never are sure when/what time we'll be home (which is what happened with the chicken). I thank you ALL for your great ideas and feedback. The food community is truly one of the best!

Hello everyone! Thanks so much for your input. To answer some of your questions: I have been keeping flour in the freezer for some time now. I don't do much baking, and even less frying, so I find it keeps so much longer in the freezer. And, yes I know that a bay leaf in the flour canister helps deter those nasty bugs. This just frees up counter space and is just as handy. Note: Be sure and let your flour come up to room temperature before trying to bake with it! Even though I live in a REALLY small town (800 people), we are fortunate enough to have a grocery store. I try to do most of my shopping there but will go once a month to Algona (20 miles away) to pick up things I can't find here. Also, at least once a month I go to Aldi's in Fort Dodge (40 miles away) to pick up cheap staples (or when they offer seafood like lobster or scallops). This whole personal challenge came about because I had just thrown out an entire chicken that went bad in my refrigerator waiting to be cooked. This wastefullness almost made me sick. It definitely made me mad, so I decided not to buy ANOTHER THING until I used up some of what I already had. Like most people I'm, shall we say, "well stocked" so this challenge won't be a particular hardship. Plus, it's summertime here in Iowa and my garden is growing like mad. But, when you can't even find the bottom of your freezer, it's time to do SOMETHING before loosing everything in there. I got a Food Saver for Christmas, so at the very least, I need to get some of this stuff vacuum packed before I start harvesting this years vegetables. Hope this helps. Keep the comments coming! And, yes, asparagus comes in cans. LOL