Food pics #15 (and a challenge!) - YouLookFab Forum

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Food pics #15 (and a challenge!)

Runcarla

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It has turned cold, and I've been baking up a storm! Not much to show for it since the Mongol hordes have swept most of it off before I could snap pics. Banana bread, apple cake, regular white loafs and a sesame-poppy seed braid. Made another chicken soup for sick DH and used wild rice instead of noodles or regular rice.

Below is a salad and scalloped potatoes to accompany meatloaf! (Tonight's dinner.)

I'm off work this week, and have challenged myself to make as many meals as possible with ingredients on hand and to shop only for items (milk, butter, fresh veg) that I ABSOLUTELY need. I want to clean out my pantry and move anything in the fridge or cupboards that are approaching their 'best before' date! I'm also hoping to economize a bit - my weekly grocery bill is around $300 !

Please post your food pics and share what you are cooking and/or eating.

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22 replies

Latest reply was from Joy

Style Fan

Veteran

The salad and scalloped potatoes look so delicious. Our grocery bill is way too high. I am trying to figure out ways to cut back as well.

Anonymous

Both look great, but the scalloped potatoes are making my mouth water and it is only 10 am here.

gradfashionista

(website)

Veteran

I hear you on trying to reduce pantry size. Mine is overflowing at the moment, and many of the items are foods that takes months to go through (dried fruit, spices, etc.). Sometimes I wish I could start anew and stick to bare bones essentials.

I started selling dairy-free macarons on the side; pictured are honey lavendar, pistachio, and speculoos.

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Anonymous

My husband thinks we may be attacked by zombies, or worse, at any given moment and need to have a pantry stocked and ready. I don't necessarily subscribe to that worry, but we do have more stuff in it than I would like. Speaking of spices, I have yet to find a system of storage or what to buy that works- I always have far too many jars and bags, and most of it loses freshness before I can ever use it up. Plus , I have yet to find a storage system I like. I lack counter space for spice racks - plus I don't want to have one out anyways, and currently have mine in a big plastic tub in a cupboard. Totally ridiculous and space wasting .What do you all do for storage and buying ?

Sara L.

Veteran

Omg, the macarons are so pretty and cute! And dairy-free! My oldest son is allergic to dairy so I'm always on the look-out for dairy-free items.

Lisap - If I was home, I would take a picture of my spice cabinet. It's a mess too. I have large jars, small jars, bags, etc. I can't keep any of it straight. When I cook I find all the spices before I even start because there's a chance it will take me 10 minutes to find something that needed to go in right away.

I made these crunchy taco cups this weekend (sorry I didn't take any pictures but they looked just like the recipe). They were easy, cute, and everyone loved them. I made a few changes to the recipe - added potatoes to the meat for filler (I realized I only had 1 lb of ground beef for 10 people and no chance to go to the store), used homemade taco seasoning since I think the store bought stuff tastes weird, and left out the tomatoes. I sliced up fresh tomatoes as a optional topping along with lettuce, sour cream, and avocados.

http://www.kevinandamanda.com/crunchy-taco-cups

kerlyn

Veteran

Your scalloped potatoes look delicious!
I actually just got my pantry cleaned out and organized over the weekend. I had bought a jar of cream of tartar (as my daughter was going to bake snickerdoodles), came home and found 2 more in the back of the pantry! Aargh! I'm still pondering over a system for spices, though. I bought a small shelf and stacked some on top and some below. For now, it's better.

My next challenge is to tackle my overflowing freezer. I like your challenge about using up what you have and hope to plan the next couple weeks worth of meals around freezer items.

Of course I say that AFTER I get home from the grocery store! My husband just got home from Poland, and we're going to attempt to make "bigos", a polish hunters stew! Has anyone had it? Im excited to try it!

Zibbets

Veteran

Carla your salad and potatoes are beautiful. I love your idea of using up what you have. I need to try to do that too.

Kerlyn, I make a vegetarian version of the Polish stew you're talking about. We don't keep vegetarian, I just happened across the recipe in a book, tried it and we all like it a lot. It has fresh cabbage, sauerkraut, garbanzo beans, fresh tomatoes and paprika, among other things. I have come to crave it after a few days of heavy winter meals. On vacation near Glacier National Park a couple of years ago we enjoyed a with-meat version at a Polish restaurant which we enjoyed very much too.

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anchie

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I am happy with my spice storage - it is simple pull out shelf that my husband custom made.
No picture of food but I am intrigued with all your recipes, I love trying out new things

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kerlyn

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Zibbets,
Thanks for posting your recipe! It looks great. Like you said, perfect for those days you don't want a heavy meal.

BrieN

Veteran

Runcarla - It is not cheap to feed mongol hordes. : ) And I know athletes such as yourself need more calories in general. Your dishes look delicious!!

rachylou

Veteran

I read this caption in a magazine talking about a soup served over bread... and next to it was a pic of a different soup involving kale and beans... and then I went to the grocery which didn’t have cannelli, but had coba beans, which I’ve never cooked before... and in any case, I put it all together and made this. It’s pretty tasty if I do say so myself...

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Stagiaire Fash

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There must be something in the water here at YLF, because this is what I started doing over the weekend. I pulled everything out of the pantry, so I could see that stuff in the back and wipe down containers that needed it, cleaned out the space, and organized things differently, putting them away with the least-frequently eaten things in front.

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Stagiaire Fash

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GF, my niece loved those when she was in Paris. I wanted to get her some for Christmas at a shop here in Tampa but they are so expensive! Is there anything you have found to be particularly helpful in making them? Are those silpats with spaces for cookie halves really a useful thing?

Runcarla

Veteran

Rachylou! I want that recipe!

So, I had left over ham slices and Swiss cheese from lunch making that I used up with skinless, boneless chicken thighs to make chicken cordon Swiss (having previously used my food processor to make bread crumbs with old bread). No pics.

Then I made waffles with a recipe from a running magazine (uses corn meal, rolled oats, flour, etc. -didn't have butter milk so used the last of some plain yogurt mixed into regular milk). The waffle maker is new - so these are a bit of a novelty and I got asked to make them a second time.

Yesterday was pork tenderloin, mixed wild rices, the last of the veggies in the crisper (carrots and zucchini).

DS#2 and I got crafty and tried a recipe for bath bombs from the internet. They came out great!

Today was peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, and a simple macaroni casserole (comfort food) for dinner.

Tomorrow I will use the left over tenderloin to make a curry.

I am having fun during my stay-cation, and getting caught up on must do's.

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Aida

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Love seeing all the yummy food pics! Just in time for dinner....

I've got my spices pretty well-sorted in a built-in lazy suzan. Top shelf is spices, herbs, hot sauces, etc. Bottom shelf is all tea 0:} We get most of our stuff in bulk, so there's a variety of jars and containers in there and we make sure that nothing is stacked so we can see everything. I've also got a little label on the tops of most jars with what's inside since the side labels aren't often visible. From there, it's sorta organized by "taste" across the rack: hot sauces, hot spices, peppers, salts, savory spices, herbs, more herbs, sweet spices, honeys. That way we can easily open and rotate to about the right area then start looking for whatever it is that we want to use.

rachylou

Veteran

Haha. My recipe is totally made up. Literally beans, carrot, tomato, a bit of chopped leek, broth, pepper, kale added at the end... and a nice rustic bread. Threw a poached egg on top next day.

kerlyn

Veteran

GF-your macarons look great! My daughter would like to try making them. I have to admit, though, I'm a bit intimidated.

rachylou

Veteran

I have more beans left. I’m gonna try making refried beans tonight...

Emily K

(website)

Veteran

I've been cooking, too! We will be traveling for Thanksgiving and I'll cook a dinner for our family after our return, but I've been craving the tastes of the season, so I've been making pie dough (for now and for the freezer), pumpkin pie, and apple-cranberry compote (planning to use the relish as a spread, along with cream cheese, for turkey sandwiches). Earlier this month it was "all pumpkin, all the time!" and I made batch after batch of pumpkin loaf, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin cornbread, and various curried pumpkin soups.

eta: additional photos of skillet cornbread and the cornbread/compote situation.

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Runcarla

Veteran

EmilyK - what a beautiful pumpkin pie! My #1 favourite pie.

Emily K

(website)

Veteran

Hi Carla! Thanks! I like pumpkin a lot but I also like berry pies quite a bit.

Joy

Veteran

Your food photos make me hungry!
Spices. I have conquered mine with small jars ( from Penseys) and double level lazy susans, small diameter. I have all my Tex-Mex on one level, all baking spices like cinnamon and vanilla and other extracts on another, one level with salts and peppers, meat seasonings on another level, herbs and seeds on another and so on. Extra of frequently used and seldom used like some Asian and stir fry spices love in a Rubbermade container in the freezer. Most in small plastic bags that stack effeciently. I write " freezer" on small jars that can be refilled as needed. It is easy to get carried away in a spice shop. Go in with a list and stick to it.
Since retiring DH has happily taken over most cooking and grocery shopping and we eat more simply and eat less. However, we are hosting Thanksgiving dinner and most are vegetarian or on low fat, low carb or have other dietary troubles to consider. I am still trying to come up with a menu. Has anyone tried cabbage rolls stuffed with squash or pumpkin?