Adventures in cleaning out the kitchen

[sam_gamgee]

Inspired by:
a) my desire to start cooking on a more regular basis (okay, okay, in general)
b) my desire to do a bit of spring cleaning
c) watching No Reservations (which I really liked and definitely recommend)
d) and seeing all of you talk about food and randomly seeing Joe Mallozzi post to his blog about food,

This evening, I sorted through the cabinet where we keep the canned goods and cleaned out a few things that were past their expiration date. (One can was from 2002! And we had some Jello mix from 1998!) And I made a list of the "odd" things we have that we don't normally use (so who knows why my dad bought them). (So, for instance, the several cans of tomato paste and tomato sauce didn't make the list because we make chili and spaghetti sauce fairly regularly.)

Now, I have to find recipes to use:
- 1 bottle of mesquite barbeque sauce
- 1 bottle A-1
- 1 can red kidney beans
- 1 can black beans
- 1 can jellied cranberry sauce
- 1 can condensed green pea soup
- 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 3 cans of creamed corn
- 4 cans of salmon (which have an expiration date of *2013* - and I know we bought them a while ago)
- 5 cans of chicken broth
- 7.5 cans of peas (the .5 is from a smaller can that's about half the size of the others)


I know that there is at least one meal, if not two, in there because the salmon could be used to make salmon cakes, the creamed corn could be the starch/veggie, and the cranberry sauce a side.

But what do you do with 7.5 cans of peas?!? (And, yes, I realize that they don't need to be used all at once.) I don't think we've ever eaten canned peas - we always use frozen.

So, flist, any recipies/ideas/suggestions/whatever would be greatly appreciated. (And the recipies don't have to be just for these items - I'd be grateful for any recipies that you like.)

And to continue my adventures in cleaning out the kitchen, I will tackle our pantry either tomorrow or next weekend. And after that, the freezer! :-P

Comments

[wesleysgirl.livejournal.com]

Dude, that's a lot of canned peas, LOL.

I'd probably use the chicken broth for 1) homemade soup and 2) risotto.

I'd make chili with the beans and some green bean casserole with the cream of mushroom soup.

[sam-gamgee.livejournal.com]

It is a lot of peas! I guess it's good that I like them, but still....

I was thinking of using the broth for soup too.

I was actually thinking of making some sort of rice and beans dish with the beans (since I know we have an abundance of rice too).

And I'm not a big enough fan of green beans to make green bean casserole. The only thing I can think to make with the cream of mushroom soup is a chicken and rice dish, but that's not one of my fonder food memories from childhood. (My mom made it a fair amount.) *shrugs* I'm sure I'll find some use for it.

But thanks for the ideas! :-)

[monet1873.livejournal.com]

You have any olive oil, tomatoes, balsamic vinager, bell peppers and maybe plain canned corn? Mom has a yummy bean salad I could try to hijack from her... Oh, and you could always do a salmon salad or salmon cakes....Come to think of it, I have a cookbook dedicated to salmon I could pook through for more ideas...

[sam-gamgee.livejournal.com]

Ooh, that sounds yummy. I think we do have those items, or they should be easy enough to get. And I was thinking of making salmon cakes with the salmon (since I will actually eat that).

Hey - we're planning on going to Va La on the 26th, around 3. Feel like coming?

[njpax.livejournal.com]

Sam, Sam, how long has it been since you've cooked, and how much have you done??

I know of a great web site: www.allrecipes.com and they have a feature where you put in what ingredients you have or want to use and it will give you page after page of ideas using that or those ingredients. I use it a lot and come up with great ideas and recipes.

That chicken broth? If you make instant mashed potatoes, use it in place of the water. Nearly any chicken recipe you have that calls for water, use the broth. Use it in powdered chicken gravy. It gives it a much richer taste. If you're making a chicken casserole with canned condensed soup, thin it with chicken broth. It's a very versatile ingredient and I keep it on the shelf all the time. Just remember to refrigerate any that you don't use.

I don't have a clue what you'd use {shudder-shudder}condensed green pea soup for, unless you were filming a remake of "The Exorcist". But the condensed cream of mushroom soup is another favorite of mine. Try this: brown a pound of ground beef in a large skillet. Boil some medium or wide egg noodles (8 oz is enough) according to package directions. Add a little diced onion to the ground beef while it's frying, When it's all nicely browned, spoon in the soup. You can add a small (4-oz) can of sliced mushrooms, or buy some fresh ones if you prefer. Stir well and cook over medium heat. When it's all bubbly and your noodles have finished cooking and been drained, mix the noodles in with the concoction. Add about 1/2 cup of white wine or cooking sherry (which has no alcohol in it). After it's all heated through, take an 8-oz cup of sour cream and spread it through. Do not let it boil, just heat it (sour cream curdles if it boils). Voila, you're done and you've just made a ground beef stroganoff.

Try pouring the cream of mushroom soup over chicken pieces, bake at 350 degrees for about 30-45 minutes s. Or for chicken breast filets, I think it's about 30 minutes. You can dress this up by adding spices (McCormick's Lemon-Herb is a good one)or, after turning pieces over once halfway through cooking, sprinkle grated cheese on top or shredded cheddar.

I have a wonderful recipe for A-1 Sauce called "Fish Boats" but I'll have to look it up. Otherwise, buy yourself some big ol' butch steaks and grill or broil them with just a few pats of butter on top and a shake of salt and pepper. Serve with some gently warmed A-1 enough to cover.

I don't care for creamed corn, but I know you can make some delicious corn fritters with it. I've had them in restaurants.

The mesquite barbecue sauce generally goes best on a grill outside or if you have one, the George Foreman kind. Otherwise fix ribs, chicken pieces, or pork chops baking as you normally would, but brush on the barbecue sauce during the last 15 minutes or so of cooking.

I've only ever eaten cranberry sauce with holiday turkey dinners, but I've had some wonderful sandwiches, again in restaurants, where they put deli turkey slices on a heavy bread such as Italian or a sub roll, then top the meat with some jellied cranberry sauce and it was quite yummy! The turkey was warmed, as I recall. You could experiment.

I would have said the kidney beans for making chilli. Black beans, I have no clue! But I do know there's a black bean soup, because Hutch sang about it in one episode of Starsky and Hutch! I'll bet some S&H fans could give you a recipe!

You can use the canned salmon to make salmon cakes (I like mine topped with tomato sauce) or a salmon loaf, which is basically the same recipe only shaped different and baked in an oven. There are also salmon salads, which I bet you could find recipes for at that web site mentioned above.

And you're on your own with the 7-1/2 cans of peas! Pea soup, peas...hmm, are you sure someone in your family wasn't filming a remake of "The Exorcist"?

One final tip and then I'm out of here -- almost all of the food companies have web sites with plenty of recipes on them. I never buy cookbooks any more. Campbell's, DelMonte's, Lipton, just read your labels and you'll see a web site listed where you'll find recipes.

Hope I've been of some help!

Nancy

[njpax.livejournal.com]

Ah, all that writing and I just thought of something to add.

Re those peas... Make a tuna-noodle casserole and add peas to it. Usually not a whole can, but about 2/3 of one. Recipes for tuna-noodle casseroles can be found at www.allrecipes.com

Use some peas (good use for that extra 1/3 can you didn't use in the tuna-noodle casserole) in a tossed salad. They're a feature on a lot of salad bars, so why not throw them in at home?

Now I'm *really* out of here!

Nancy

[sam-gamgee.livejournal.com]

Thanks for all the ideas. I'll definitely have to check out the website. :-)

And I have done some cooking - I know my way around the kitchen, as it were. Just don't ask me to do anything fancy. :-P