pantry and freezer week - day 10

Yesterday was a perfect day in regards to our Pantry and Freezer Week challenge. Take a look at the eats:

Breakfast

I amped up my usual steel cut oats with the last of our red quinoa that has been hanging out in the pantry waiting to be eaten. It wasn't enough to make a meal out of it - so using it my my oats was a great idea.

And the oats were amazing! I need to hurry up to a local co-op to pick up some more as I see this combo becoming a regular in my morning routine.



In the mix::

• 1/4 cup steel cut oats
• scant 1/4 cup quinoa
• 1 whole frozen banana
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1/4 cup water
• sprinkle salt, cinnamon and a splash of vanilla
• topped with peanut butter and a little brown sugar

I then came across this variation of breakfast that I am going to have to make soon.

Lunch

Mystery soup from the freezer. Well, not a total mystery. In the Fall my favorite soup to make is a roasted squash soup seasoned with curry. Problem is, I never follow a recipe when I make it and am always adding in random ingredients depending on what is in our fridge.  I can, however, guarantee, that this soup is packed with good stuff.

It would have been good with a slice of toasted bread, but again - dug deep in our pantry to see what we had that might take it up a notch.



We topped the soup with the following:

• Rice noodles that were left over from our successful night of making spring rolls
• the 10 remaining peanuts from a jar that has been in our pantry for months (years??)
• the last six, yes SIX, raisins that were for some reason saved instead of being used in the last recipe/dish that raisins were used for. Like 6 raisins would have just totally ruined that last recipe/dish that they were used for...weird.

Great combo! The soup was thick and the noodles gave it added chew. We could have eaten this dish with chopsticks.

Dinner

Nic was working late, so I was on my own for dinner. I knew I wanted to use two ingredients for sure - kidney beans and squash puree - but really had no idea what to make. So I asked a few people and most suggested I create pumpkin chili. Okay!

I looked at a few recipes online, but seeing that most called for canned tomatoes or tomato paste (both of which were no where to be found in my pantry), I did what I always do and did my own thing.

Winner winner chicken dinner....without the chicken. :)

One-Half Cup Pumpkin Chili


We had absolutely no clean dishes...

In the mix::

• 1/2 T canola oil
• 1/2 cup onion - chopped
• 1/2 cup carrots - chopped
• 1/2 jalapeño - seeded and diced
• 1/2 cup bell peppers - chopped
• 1/2 cup corn
• 1/2 cup squash puree
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup stock or beer (I had neither and used water)
• 1/2 cup kidney beans for you
• 1/2 cup kidney beans for me
• 1/4 t cumin, garlic, chipotle chili powder, salt, and oregano
• 1/2 cup spinach per serving

Over medium heat, heat the canola oil. Add onion, carrot, jalapeño, bell pepper and corn. Saute until tender. Stir in squash, water, and stock or beer, kidney beans and spices - bring to a simmer.  Simmer until heated through and you are ready to eat.

Spoon half of the chili over 1/2 cup of shredded spinach. This makes two servings.

The result was outstanding! I can't wait for leftovers.

For dessert I was absolutely craving chocolate. After the crappy day that I had just suffered through, I was set on feeding my emotions. Unfortunately we had nothing in the house that fit the bill, so I had to make something. 

What I wanted was a single serve brownie that was still gooey on the inside.  What I ended up with was close, but no cigar.  I am going to work on this recipe for a few days to see if I can't come up with something worth sharing.



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I am really hoping today is a much better day that yesterday. You know when you wake up and the all the little things just annoy and frustrate you? Well that was yesterday for me.  I know I shouldn't cave to letting the little things in life bug me, but sometimes they are just hard to shake. Top that off with Maia being an absolute brat (barking outside for at least an hour straight while I tried every trick in the book to get her in - of which, all attempts were unsuccessful and I was this close to calling the cops on her myself...), a few tears of stress were shed.

I was able to get myself away from the house for a meeting with our local Young Professionals chapter. I went just to share my thoughts and left being a member on the temporary board. Not my intentions, but the group is in need of a major revamp and I am happy to be a part of it.

The Y was next on my list. After I walked in a talked for a few minutes with people, I really just wanted to leave and had no desire to workout. However, I know better.  The knee hurt, so I jumped on the elliptical for a few minutes while I familiarized myself with the new lifts of New Rules of Lifting for Abs, Phase 2, Workout 1.

I am in love with this new New Rules book. The workouts are quick and I always leave feeling good. I must admit, I do usually skip the warm up as I normally run before lifting. So I might not be getting the full benefits of this plan - but I do see the beginnings of a beautiful six-pack forming! :)