So we’re smack in the middle of our 30 day “Clean Out the Freezer/Pantry Challenge” because I overspent the grocery budget last month. It’s 5:30 pm and I should have something cooking by now. In reality, I have no idea what I’m making tonight and the options have seriously limited themselves over the past two weeks.
I have no idea how I ended up with some 52,000 cans of diced tomatoes, but let me tell you – they are getting harder and harder to disguise and I still have about 51,000 left. (Okay, really I have about 14 left.) Fourteen cans of diced tomatoes still to go. I’m still scratching my head on that one.
Half-Pint House 
make a soup! yum!
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make a soup! yum!
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gazpacho?
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If you have black beans, corn, cheese and spices, you can make a tasty quesadilla filling or nacho topping with ground beef or shredded chicken and those dreaded tomatoes … that was our pantry-cleaner-outer meal tonight. Thankfully our grocery budget refreshes on Saturday!
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LOL! I always end up with tons of extra cans of diced tomatoes, too, and can never figure out what to do with them. They should have a resource somewhere on what to do with your odds-and-ends ingredients.
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I use canned diced tomatoes in:
spaghetti sauce
tortilla soup
lasagna soup
black bean soup
veggie beef soup
Brunswick stew
And I happen to have used my last 2 cans tonight. 😉
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We were in the same place a couple of weeks ago. It gets tricky, being creative with what you’ve got, trying to bring an assortment of ingredients together so they resemble a meal–especially at the end of the day. I hope you were successful.
As for canned food, I’m pretty sure that it multiplies in the bottom of the pantry. Every couple of months I go through my canned food and find that several things have expired. This always mystifies me, because canned food takes years to hit its expiration date, and I hardly ever buy canned goods in the first place.
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I will warn you I put a lot of links in this comment. I am sorry, but it might save you some time looking for recipes.
Cook them down on a low heat for an hour with Italian seasonings, a little olive oil, a dash of pepper flakes, and 1/4 tsp of fennel (optional) and use it for bruchetta sauce.
OR,
Tomato-Curry Lentil Stew :
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Tomato-Curry-Lentil-Stew/Detail.aspx
BUSH’S® Caribbean One-Pot Stew:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/BUSHS-Caribbean-One-Pot-Stew/Detail.aspx
Middle Eastern Cabbage Rolls:
http://www.recipeatlas.com/middleeasternrecipes/malfufrecipe.html
Make-Believe Middle Eastern Chicken:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Make-Believe-Middle-Eastern-Chicken/Detail.aspx
Wintertime Tomato Soup:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/27/dining/271mrex.html?ref=dining
And finally, make gumbo.
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Hey try this website for some new ideas:
http://www.supercook.com/
(thanks StumbleUpon!)
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Wow, you all! I’m going to totally post my next cooking funk right here and let you plan my menu for me!! Thanks for all the linkage and ideas.
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Here’s my favorite tomato bisque recipe
http://recipes.robbiehaf.com/T/2.htm. I use honey instead of the sugar. I also leave out the worchester sauce.
Maybe we could trade cannned goods. I’ve got a dozen canned beans. Which is weird since I almost always use dry.
LikeLike
gazpacho?
LikeLike
If you have black beans, corn, cheese and spices, you can make a tasty quesadilla filling or nacho topping with ground beef or shredded chicken and those dreaded tomatoes … that was our pantry-cleaner-outer meal tonight. Thankfully our grocery budget refreshes on Saturday!
LikeLike
LOL! I always end up with tons of extra cans of diced tomatoes, too, and can never figure out what to do with them. They should have a resource somewhere on what to do with your odds-and-ends ingredients.
LikeLike
I use canned diced tomatoes in:
spaghetti sauce
tortilla soup
lasagna soup
black bean soup
veggie beef soup
Brunswick stew
And I happen to have used my last 2 cans tonight. 😉
LikeLike
We were in the same place a couple of weeks ago. It gets tricky, being creative with what you’ve got, trying to bring an assortment of ingredients together so they resemble a meal–especially at the end of the day. I hope you were successful.
As for canned food, I’m pretty sure that it multiplies in the bottom of the pantry. Every couple of months I go through my canned food and find that several things have expired. This always mystifies me, because canned food takes years to hit its expiration date, and I hardly ever buy canned goods in the first place.
LikeLike
I will warn you I put a lot of links in this comment. I am sorry, but it might save you some time looking for recipes.
Cook them down on a low heat for an hour with Italian seasonings, a little olive oil, a dash of pepper flakes, and 1/4 tsp of fennel (optional) and use it for bruchetta sauce.
OR,
Tomato-Curry Lentil Stew :
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Tomato-Curry-Lentil-Stew/Detail.aspx
BUSH’S® Caribbean One-Pot Stew:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/BUSHS-Caribbean-One-Pot-Stew/Detail.aspx
Middle Eastern Cabbage Rolls:
http://www.recipeatlas.com/middleeasternrecipes/malfufrecipe.html
Make-Believe Middle Eastern Chicken:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Make-Believe-Middle-Eastern-Chicken/Detail.aspx
Wintertime Tomato Soup:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/27/dining/271mrex.html?ref=dining
And finally, make gumbo.
LikeLike
Hey try this website for some new ideas:
http://www.supercook.com/
(thanks StumbleUpon!)
LikeLike
Wow, you all! I’m going to totally post my next cooking funk right here and let you plan my menu for me!! Thanks for all the linkage and ideas.
LikeLike
Here’s my favorite tomato bisque recipe
http://recipes.robbiehaf.com/T/2.htm. I use honey instead of the sugar. I also leave out the worchester sauce.
Maybe we could trade cannned goods. I’ve got a dozen canned beans. Which is weird since I almost always use dry.
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Chicken chili?
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Chicken chili?
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I just made a curry, lentil, chicken stew for my husband and used a can of diced tomatoes (with chiles)- generously donated by my MIL since I almost never buy them.
Just saute some chicken, onion and garlic in a pot, throw in 1-2 tablespoons of curry powder, add one cup of lentils and about 4 cups of water. (recipe courtesy of epicurious.com- original recipe called for lamb, not chicken but lamb is in short supply at our house.
Why is it so easy to lose track of how many canned goods one has?
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I just made a curry, lentil, chicken stew for my husband and used a can of diced tomatoes (with chiles)- generously donated by my MIL since I almost never buy them.
Just saute some chicken, onion and garlic in a pot, throw in 1-2 tablespoons of curry powder, add one cup of lentils and about 4 cups of water. (recipe courtesy of epicurious.com- original recipe called for lamb, not chicken but lamb is in short supply at our house.
Why is it so easy to lose track of how many canned goods one has?
LikeLike
What’s wrong with canned tomatoes? They’re like…. the most important thing in your house! (except for the kids of course..) Can you tell I’m half italian? *lol*!!!!
Really, you could use them to cook up lots of different veggies.. a can of tomatoes, some garlic, olive oil and basil for company to green beans.. delicious!
Same goes for any other kind of bean (white, brown, kidney, broad beans) or lentils..
LikeLike
What’s wrong with canned tomatoes? They’re like…. the most important thing in your house! (except for the kids of course..) Can you tell I’m half italian? *lol*!!!!
Really, you could use them to cook up lots of different veggies.. a can of tomatoes, some garlic, olive oil and basil for company to green beans.. delicious!
Same goes for any other kind of bean (white, brown, kidney, broad beans) or lentils..
LikeLike