Accidental Crockpot Creation

I have no idea how this happened, but I'm pretty happy it did.  If you've been following the blog for awhile you know that I'm completely afraid of my crock pot.  I don't know how to use it, the recipes that I've found are usually multi-step, include cream of something, and I'm always afraid that I'll leave for work and burn the house down. 

I was inspired by Hy-Vee's $3 dinner idea for Beef and Vegetable Lo Mein when I logged on to activate my new fuel saver card.  It was yum at first site and I wasn't sure how I was going to pull it off...enter the crock pot.  I knew I had a package of frozen steaks in the freezer that desperately wanted to be eaten, so in the morning I popped them (still frozen) into the crock pot with a garlic clove, half an onion, a little olive oil and a splash of soy sauce.  I turned it on low and hoped for the best (and that our homeowner's policy was current.) 

Over my lunch hour I stopped at Hy-Vee, which is literally my place "where everyone knows your name", waved hello to all the friendly employees that I have come to love, and ran into several friends who were also grocery shopping sans kiddos.  I picked up some fabulous produce, including the organic broccoli and seasonal oranges pictured above, and only broke the rules for four cans of diced tomatoes.  My total was $68.04. 

When I came home from work about 5:30pm we still had a kitchen to speak of and the meat smelled incredible. I quickly washed and chopped up some broccoli, mushrooms, and scallions, heated a pan and coated it with olive oil. I threw in another garlic clove and sauteed the mushrooms and broccoli.  I sliced the meat and put it in nearly last since it was already cooked.  I added a little of the drippings from the crock pot to the pan for extra flavor, and squeezed half an orange for a little citrus note.  Scallions went in just before I put everything on the plate.  While all of this was going on in the pan, I quickly boiled some lo mein noodles (which believe it or not, I had in my cupboard!)

It was a truly fabulous Use-it-Up night!  I still don't totally trust my crock pot, but I might be gaining just a little more confidence in it...

What I Used-Up:
Three frozen steaks
Lo Mein Noodles
1/2 onion
1 orange
1 head of broccoli

The BIG Overstuffed Kitchen Reveal

"The most expensive food in your kitchen is the food you are throwing away." - Melissa D'Arabian

That is exactly what Use-it-Up is really all about.  We are so fortunate to live in a country of abundance, of overabundance at times, and as such it becomes too easy to throw food out without really thinking about its value.  Not just its cost (which is important) but also on a slightly deeper level its value, what did it take to get those eggs from the chicken to your refrigerator.  How about that avocado that's traveled pretty far to get to the Midwest in the middle of winter.  Not to get too heavy here, but that kind of thinking starts to reshape how we think about the food we buy and the opportunity to use it, not loose it. 

I stole an idea straight from the binding of Kathleen Flinn's "Kitchen Counter Cooking School" (which I'll tell you more about another day...I know, the suspense!)  Kathleen did a personal exercise where she went through the contents of her refrigerator and stuck a post-it note on every perishable item with an estimated price.  If she threw the item out without using it, she stuck the note to the inside of her cabinet as a physical reminder of the cost.  I did this last night and have already racked up $2.25 that in hind site, I really wish would be going to a Starbucks latte and not into the trash.  In just about 10 minutes, this little exercise totally helped me rethink what I was going to serve last night and for the rest of the week. 

You might have noticed that in the last post, the "What I Used-Up" listing included a bag of pre-packaged Caesar salad.  I rarely buy this, but it was on sale 2/$4 and I thought it was a good deal, which it is unless you toss it without eating it.  Truthfully I had no plans to eat it until I had to put that $2 sticky note on it. 

Now, off my soap box (or more appropriately - cereal box) and on to the BIG REVEAL.  I think it might be worse than last year.

Cupboard

Round-a-bout

Refrigerator

Ugly Unorganized Freezer

And last but not least, the Spill-Over