# A Use-Up-the-Pantry January...anyone with me? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 3, 2012, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-use-up-the-pantry-january-anyone-with-me/608305 "2012-01-03T22:48:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-use-up-the-pantry-january-anyone-with-me/608305/41 "2012-01-09T01:40:42Z")
We love Baked Oatmeal, and it’s a great way to use up a good few cups of rolled oats. Recipe here: [http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-oatmeal-ii/detail.aspx](http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-oatmeal-ii/detail.aspx) Some folks serve it like cereal, but I like to eat it like cake. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-use-up-the-pantry-january-anyone-with-me/608305/42 "2012-01-09T01:44:44Z")
We’re pretty poor, so our cabinets are already clear. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-use-up-the-pantry-january-anyone-with-me/608305/43 "2012-01-09T02:19:43Z")
> [@Lissla\_Lissar](#): > > Strawberry-cranberry crumble, with the oats, strawberries, and cranberry sauce? Sounds like it would be good… Interesting… I should try something like that. Maybe with some added _real_ strawberries (or at least frozen) because of the cloying gloppiness of the canned strawberry filling. Or some other fruit. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-use-up-the-pantry-january-anyone-with-me/608305/44 "2012-01-10T00:43:51Z")
Last night: vegetable soup: used up existing canned tomatoes and a cabbage, existing barley though I had to buy more, everything else new. Right now, **Moon Unit** is making pumpkin cookies with a can of pumpkin we had on hand, some of the flour (obviously), and some chocolate chips I’d bought for a recipe that I never made. ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-use-up-the-pantry-january-anyone-with-me/608305/45 "2012-01-10T01:35:15Z")
Tacos last night for Tbone’s birthday! Used up ground beef from freezer, everything else was in the fridge except taco shells. I got them for 36 cents a box because there was a $1-off coupon on the box! Tonight was tortellini and leftover birthday cake. Tomorrow…vegan succotash! Except maybe I’ll add meat. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-use-up-the-pantry-january-anyone-with-me/608305/46 "2012-01-10T01:58:18Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Interesting… I should try something like that. Maybe with some added _real_ strawberries (or at least frozen) because of the cloying gloppiness of the canned strawberry filling. Or some other fruit. I was about to offer that the cranberries would take care of some of the cloying-ness of the pie filling, but then I realized you had cranberry sauce instead of dried cranberries. Oops. What about something like this for the pie filling: [Semi-Homemade Cherry Cake Recipe](http://southernfood.about.com/od/cherryrecipes/r/bl30618g.htm) And this for the cranberry sauce: [http://cookeatshare.com/recipes/cocktail-weiner-sauce-121969](http://cookeatshare.com/recipes/cocktail-weiner-sauce-121969) Both sound kind of gross, but I can attest that they’re pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-use-up-the-pantry-january-anyone-with-me/608305/47 "2012-01-10T12:17:31Z")
Gradually doing smoothies to use up some of the frozen fruit. Tonight, probably goulash with frozen peppers and canned tomatoes. ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-use-up-the-pantry-january-anyone-with-me/608305/48 "2012-01-10T21:59:35Z")
I opened the small freezer today and nothing fell out on my head! 😃 The succotash–which I have decided is more of a Cajun beans and rice dish anyway–turned out well, but there is a LOT of it. I may freeze some to use later in other dishes. Luckily there’s a little space in the freezer now… ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-use-up-the-pantry-january-anyone-with-me/608305/49 "2012-01-11T01:34:08Z")
I’m cooking up my previously-mentioned previously-thawed chicken breasts with the dregs of a jar of teriyaki sauce for tonight’s dinner, and stir-frying some veggies of questionable freshness to go with it over some rice. Success! ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-use-up-the-pantry-january-anyone-with-me/608305/50 "2012-01-11T20:29:34Z")
I’m hoping that in a few days we’ll have cleared out some space in one of the freezers. Tonight we’ll have the ravioli and pesto because I don’t feel like cooking much. ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-use-up-the-pantry-january-anyone-with-me/608305/51 "2012-01-11T22:46:40Z")
Leftovers tonight…I added the 1 c of taco meat to about 1 cup of yesterdays bean mix (from the spicy succotash), mixed in some salsa and a little more taco seasoning, and tadah! burrito time! They were good…better than the original meals, I think. Where did I get so many burrito wraps? and why do I have so many bags of frozen peas? It’s odd how things stack up around here. ---
**Author:** ![adhemar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@adhemar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhemar)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-use-up-the-pantry-january-anyone-with-me/608305/52 "2012-01-12T06:00:29Z")
> [@papergirl](#): > > Any uses (besides the obvious) for those cheapo dinner rolls you can get for next to nothing after a holiday? The kids like them just heated and brushed with butter, but it’s possible that I have…oh, let us say _several_ packages of them. > . if they are the raw kind…monkey bread! quarter thawed rolls, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. pile in a bread pan, rise and bake. I think it would be good with italian sesoning and parmesean cheese and other savory combos. If they are brown and serve I got nothing. ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-use-up-the-pantry-january-anyone-with-me/608305/53 "2012-01-12T19:42:23Z")
They’re the brown and serve. But you can’t go wrong with butter, cinnamon, and sugar…if I slather them thickly enough they’ll become dessert! ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-use-up-the-pantry-january-anyone-with-me/608305/54 "2012-01-12T20:12:25Z")
I just googled “uses for old bread” and got quite a few hits. In addition to the default bread pudding (which I find to be a delicious use!!), here are a few: > **[Got Leftover Bread? These 8 Recipes Make Days-Old Bread Taste Good as New](https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/recipe-collections-favorites/quick-easy/ways-to-use-leftover-bread-recipes)** > > Looking for some creative ways to use your leftover bread? This list of recipes will help you use up your stale bread before it's too late. Dishes include Tuscan bread soup with beans, French toast casserole, and more. I wonder how they’d be made into croutons? ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-use-up-the-pantry-january-anyone-with-me/608305/55 "2012-01-12T20:21:09Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > I just googled “uses for old bread” and got quite a few hits. In addition to the default bread pudding (which I find to be a delicious use!!), here are a few: > [How to Store Bread So It Doesn't Get Stale](http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/recipe-collections-favorites/popular-ingredients/delicious-uses-day-old-bread-10000001181042/index.html) > > I wonder how they’d be made into croutons? And from [here](http://www.wisebread.com/17-uses-for-stale-bread), where they suggest feeding it to the birds: > [@](#): > > OK, I’ve heard that bread isn’t good for birds and all that. I’m sure that the Audubon Society would have me stuffed and mounted for saying so, but seagulls aren’t really birds, are they? No, they are just big, flying cockroaches, and bread won’t hurt them at all. :D. ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-use-up-the-pantry-january-anyone-with-me/608305/56 "2012-01-12T20:45:17Z")
I should try to make croutons. I buy a certain kind for snacking–New York style? something like that–for snacking. I always have a lot of pretty solid, chunky, artisan type bread which would probably work well for that kind of thing. Maybe I’ll fiddle around with it this weekend and use up some of my aging bread supply! ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-use-up-the-pantry-january-anyone-with-me/608305/57 "2012-01-13T01:05:46Z")
For the rolls, you could do a savory bread pudding. I love this one, but it’s a bit of work and a gazillion calories: > **[leek bread pudding](https://smittenkitchen.com/2010/04/leek-bread-pudding/)** > > I feel like I have been sitting on this leek bread pudding recipe forever, though it has technically only been six months — the New York Times ran this recipe from Thomas Keller’s Ad Ho… ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-use-up-the-pantry-january-anyone-with-me/608305/58 "2012-01-13T02:37:38Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > I was about to offer that the cranberries would take care of some of the cloying-ness of the pie filling, but then I realized you had cranberry sauce instead of dried cranberries. Oops. > > What about something like this for the pie filling: [Semi-Homemade Cherry Cake Recipe](http://southernfood.about.com/od/cherryrecipes/r/bl30618g.htm) > > And this for the cranberry sauce: [http://cookeatshare.com/recipes/cocktail-weiner-sauce-121969](http://cookeatshare.com/recipes/cocktail-weiner-sauce-121969) > > Both sound kind of gross, but I can attest that they’re pretty good. Actually we’ve done the dump-cake thing before so I know that’d be OK. And the wieners: I’ve heard of similar things involving grape jelly so I’d bet that would be good as well. Someone else posted a link to baked oatmeal and I’ve actually made something like that before. That would help me use up the brown sugar and raisins as well. I might try that with a bit of canned pumpkin (though we’ve already used up our can, so I’d have to buy more, LOL). ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-use-up-the-pantry-january-anyone-with-me/608305/59 "2012-01-13T12:00:09Z")
I should do some baked oatmeal, part to eat now, and part to freeze. Tomorrow’s birthday party for kidlet number one should use up the spanakopita and a lot of the broccoli. I’ll make broccoli cheese soup. I baked bread yesterday, and will make the birthday cake tomorrow. I think tonight will be chicken nuggets and fries. We have a big bag of fries in the freezer. ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-use-up-the-pantry-january-anyone-with-me/608305/60 "2012-01-13T13:16:18Z")
My eldercare client has been sick, so I think I’ll make Pioneer Woman Italian Chicken Soup for him, or something close to it. I have some veggies and definitely plenty of chicken… The Weeping Princess has a birthday celebration coming up and has requested chicken strips and macaroni and cheese. (Technically, perhaps I suggested the menu and she just agreed, but still.) I have everything I need, and found a decorated cake at the food pantry last night, so I parked it outside in the freezing weather (no room in freezer for it) until Sunday night. I cleaned out the fridge yesterday, so have a better idea of what I’ve got inthere. Lots of eggs, quite a few veggies, lots of cheese (quiche in our future, I think). Lunch meats! Collards!Milk and yogurt! If I didn’t enjoy cooking so much, we could snack-and-sandwich our meals for quite awhile… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-use-up-the-pantry-january-anyone-with-me/608305.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-use-up-the-pantry-january-anyone-with-me/608305.md?page=4)