I’ve got a number of very good ingredients just sitting in there going to waste, as I try to figure out a way to manage to eat them before they go bad. If I can use these up in good quantity, post your ideas. I’m a fairly accomplished cook, so don’t worry about difficulty.
OK, the stuff in the fridge that needs to move ASAP:
Spinach, cilantro, feta cheese, mozarella cheese, tomatoes, bell peppers, limes, broccoli, veggie sausage (ground), turkey sausage (link) and pepper-crusted bacon.
From the pantry that I’d like to see gone: Rice (basmati, standard american long-grain white, brown long-grain), tomato juice, tomato juice, penne pasta, angel hair pasta, whole grain tortillas, and a wonderful balsamic that I just can’t find enough use for.
In the freezer, I’ve got salmon, tilapia, and chicken breasts.
Get crackin, dopers. I could theoretically get rid of all this on my own, but some outside thoughts might really help me think outsie of the box.
Also, if you’ve got suggestions for general dishes that lend themselves well to “throw whatever the hell in there, it’ll be fine” I’d love to hear that. Mostly I just toss my leftovers into fried rice, omelettes, or sautee them and toss with pasta, but that’s getting boring.
And healthy is always better. I’m very particular about what I put into my body (well, when I’m the one cooking it, at least). So if your recipe is a high on veggies and protein and low on starch and fat, you get extra credit
edit: I almost forgot! There’s some ginger and tamari (high grade soy sauce) just dying to be used for something other than fried rice.
Take two of those tortillas, put an assortment of cheeses/meats/veggies/etc in between them and turn it into a night of quesadillas. That is what I would do anyway.
You have the ingredients for my favorite easy dinner. Sauteed chicken with broccoli and peppers. I use one chicken breast with a stalk of broccoli, a red bell pepper and/or a big carrot, a yellow onion and as much garlic as you like (I recommend half a head). Trim the florets off the broccoli, then lightly peel the stalk and slice it into approximately quarter-sized pieces. Cut the onion and pepper and/or carrot into similar pieces. Smash and mince up the garlic. Cut the chicken into pieces no larger than the broccoli florets. Saute it all in olive oil in a hot 12" skillet. The carrot/broccoli slices go in first. Give them a minute or two, then add the pepper/onion/chicken pieces. I like to add a half teaspoon each of cayenne pepper and oregano at this point. Keep it all moving in the pan and add the broccoli florets after a few more minutes. A couple more minutes and throw in the garlic with an optional tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce and teaspoon of Tobasco sauce. Cook a couple more minutes and its ready to serve. You could also cook some pasta on the side to throw in at the final moment…I use rotini, but you could use your penne. Time it to finish at the same time as the chicken and toss them all together in the skillet.
Tomatoes in the frig? According to Alton Brown that’s not good. It turns off their flavor, which is already hard enough to find this time of year.
Sounds like you have the makings of a good pasta dish with the spinach, feta, peppers, penne pasta and tomato sauce. Could include the chicken as well. Saute the veggies and chicken, cook the pasta to al dente then drain and toss with the veggies, chicken, tomato sauce, seasonings and feta cheese. pour into a baking dish, top with shredded mozzarella and bake at 350 until the cheese starts to brown. mmmm
How about a nice spinach / feta cheese salad. That would use the spinach, bell pepper (if it’s red or yellow, green would be a little strong and overpower the spinach while competing with the feta) and feta along with the bacon. Throw in the odd bit of onion and a hard boiled egg and top it with the basalmic vinegar made into vinegariette and you’ll have a meal.
Oh god, that was a bad idea. I think I gained four pounds in one night alone. A month of exercise and careful diet demolished by “yeah, cheese…mmmmmmmmmmmm that sounds good.”
I made that for dinner last night. Here I was looking at my bowl of spinach with cheese and some vinaigrette, thinking I would just be hungry again an hour later. Wow. Surprisingly tasty and filling, to boot.
For what it’s worth, I make a delicious balsamic vinaigrette. I make a new batch for the restaurant I work at every week and put it on everything from salads to grilled portabellas. I’ve never made it at home before, and I can say that my Colavita kicks the everliving crap out of that giant jug of balsamic at the restaurant.
That’s actually the dish I made and now have leftover ingredients from, only I used sausage instead of chicken. Great minds and all that…
For what it’s worth, my go-to dish when I’m using stuff up is risotto. Use a bland broth if you’re tossing in two or three featured ingredients (no more), or a strong broth if you’re featuring only one filler. (This past weekend, I made risotti using porcini, based on a from-scratch veal broth I’d cooked down overnight. Knocked my guests out of their chairs.)
Another great thing is that it provides a basic foundation that’s easily adjustable for different types of ingredients; I’ve made a series of Asian-themed risottos by using dashi instead of chicken or beef broth and sake instead of wine.