Fridge Finds: What's (Really) Cooking, Part 4

My turn!

Here's a picture of our lovely fridge that needs to be cleaned out.  This feels a little embarrassing, almost like opening my underwear drawer...but not quite.  Don't judge.  But go look at your fridge and tell me how you feel about it.

On the top shelf: yogurt, cottage cheese, odwalla fruit drinks, toddler leftovers
Next: orange juice, thawed salmon, pickles, leftovers
Drawer: Cheeses and lunch meats
Next: eggs, yogurts
Next: toddler leftovers, milk, a couple beers, tortellini soup leftover
Drawer: lettuce, radishes, green pepper, cucumber
Drawer: apples, carrots

Since we've been trying to minimize grocery shopping to 1-2 times a week instead of dropping by for 1 thing multiple times a week, our fridge can get pretty empty by the end of the week.  It's so funny because when I go to the grocery store, Bryce will come home and with a sigh of relief and joy, says "It feels so good to have a full fridge.  Just something about it..."  I agree!  At the same time, we forget HOW BLESSED WE ARE to even have a fridge to fill.  I mean, seriously.  I am really thankful.  I hope you can go to your fridge or pantry today and feel thankful for all the blessings you and I have.

Back to the purpose of this post...

I have to be honest, I prepared this post a couple weeks ago, so this isn't actually THIS week's meals.  But this is a very typical week (without any going out to eat or having friends over for dinner).

Dinners this week:

• tacos (flour tortillas, pinto beans, corn, leaf lettuce, sliced radishes, shredded cheese, and salsa)
• salmon and baked potato (on the salmon: melted butter, salt, pepper, and dill; baked potato restaurant style: brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with kosher/sea salt and baked until done)
• broccoli and beef with rice (recipe similar to this, just take out the oyster sauce)
• tortellini soup (recipe here off pinterest)
• breakfast for dinner (usually scrambled eggs, toast or biscuits with Bisquick, sometimes bacon)
• BBQ chicken pizza (cubed chicken breast sauteed with some onions if we have them, then add BBQ sauce to the chicken and onions and heat through, make the below pizza crust, add chicken mix to pizza and top with shredded mozzerella)

This pizza dough recipe is from a very special cookbook...the Blacksburg Wives Cookbook which was a collection of favorite recipes from a bunch of special friends I had in Blacksburg when we lived there.

Quick Pizza Dough (from Cindi)

2 3/4 to 3 1/4 cups flour

1 package active dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup warm water (120-130 degrees)

2 tablespoons cooking oil

(Can make 4 mini pizzas or 2 larger ones; if dividing dough to make multiple pizzas, do so before letting rest)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  In mixing bowl, combine 1 1/4 cup flour, yeast and salt; add warm water and oil.  Beat on low speed for 30 seconds scraping bowl constantly.   Beat on high speed for additional 3 mintues.  Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much remaining flour as needed.  On lightly-floured surface, knead in enough flour to make moderately stiff dough about 5 minutes.  Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.  (After this, I stretch the crust to fit on my cooking pans and place in the over for about 2 minutes just to prevent it from getting soggy from toppings. Then I take it out, add toppings, and pop it back in the oven for about 12 minutes or whenever it looks done.) 

Staples in my fridge/freezer:

Lettuce (one of the following is alwaysa in our fridge: green leaf, romaine, or spring mix)

Radishes

Cucumber

Carrots

Yogurts

Whole milk

2% milk

Ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce

Cheese (usually all these: sliced cheddar, shredded mozzerella, feta or blue cheese crumbles)

Lunch meat (turkey and/or ham)

Staples in my pantry:

White rice

Tortilla chips

Beans (a variety usually-black, pinto, kidney, Great Northern white)

Cereal (currently: Mini wheats, Honey Nut Cheerios, Raisin Bran Crunch)

Bisquick

Baking basics (flour, sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda, corn starch, yeast)

Noodles (spaghetti usually)

There's plenty more in there, but I think I hit the basics.

Most of our meals are quick and/or easy to put together with a toddler running around and only about 30 minutes to get it together before said toddler needs to be put to bed.  

Stay tuned for next week's Fridge Finds!