Cleaning out the perishables

Since we have to move in ten days, it becomes imperative to clean out what's left in the freezer/refrigerator. Made more difficult by the fact that they were full to begin with.

So here's what I've got in the freezer, and here are my options:
1 whole chicken: probably chicken salad (bonus points for using up some of the celery and mayo)
Frozen corn, frozen spinach, potatoes: corn chowder (bonus points for bacon and vegetable broth)
More frozen corn, frozen lima beans: more lima bean, corn and bacon succotash
4 lbs of Italian sausage: this will be harder to use up, since I typically only use a link or two at a time, for flavoring. I may leave this alone and see if it can survive cross-country in a cooler.
4 lbs of andouille sausage: ditto above.
3 boxes of puff pastry shells: harder since these are shells and not sheets. I may have to resort to a whole crapload of eggs benedict served on the shells, with frozen spinach, without hollandaise sauce (since I don't have enough eggs to go around).
13 bags of frozen peas: sigh. So far I've got peas and proscuitto; peas and feta (got a half-pound of feta that needs to go); and just peas. Ideas, anyone?
1/2 lb of parmesan and 1 pound of pecorino romano: see above re: sausages.
Several pounds of butter: ditto.
The rest of the frozen spinach: okay, now I'm done. My brain hurts.

I do have a block of mozzarella that'll need to be used up, so maybe I can make a couple of frozen spinach, feta and bacon (or proscuitto) pizzas. Which will also use up some of the parmesan. And maybe I can use some butter and the rest of the cream to make a nice alfredo something-or-other. (I've got a bunch of penne...)

This doesn't even begin to cover what I'll make to take with us for road food, but I can't think about that right now. I have enough to worry about with the packing.

So, dear readers, if you have any suggestions on how to use up all this stuff, and/or for good road food, let me know!

Lima bean, corn and bacon succotash

The recipe is in the title. Continuing the "clean out the freezer" initiative, I cooked a few chopped slices of bacon; then added a bag of frozen lima beans and four handfuls of frozen corn directly to the cooked bacon/bacon grease. Stir, let cook for a few minutes. Maybe add some chopped parsley. Serve with salt and pepper. Yum.

Broke Foodie is moving!

That's right, folks, my husband has just accepted a new position outside of Boston. So Broke Foodie is moving from its current luxurious digs in San Diego to the western 'burbs of Boston. Get ready to hear a lot of bitching about the weather.

The good news is that I'll be able to find all the fresh seafood my heart desires, which for some reason is difficult to do in San Diego.

The bad news is that my access to year-round, fresh, local produce and fruit just completely disappeared. The Boston area has some great CSAs, which I'll be checking out of course, but not in winter. I'll be going back to my old New-York-winter recipes--lots of frozen spinach and peas, dried fruit, and canned tomatoes. I'll have to be extra creative, I guess.

Especially since we'll be in temporary housing for the next sixty days, which means I will not have my full kitchen at my disposal. It's already making me nervous.

Readers: anyone from Boston/New England? Advice?

Turkey meatloaf

Since we have to be out of our apartment in less than two weeks, I find myself in the position of having to eat away the entire contents of my freezer/refrigerator. Step one: the five pounds of ground turkey in the freezer. Which makes two nice-sized turkey meatloafs. (Meatloaves?)

1 chopped onion
A few chopped cloves garlic
2 tablespoons each Worchestershire and ketchup
1/3 cup broth (any kind)
2 lbs ground turkey
1 1/2 - 2 cups breadcrumbs (I used panko)
2 beaten eggs
salt and pepper

Saute the onion and garlic in a little olive oil until soft. Add the Worchestershire, ketchup and broth, let cook another minute, then let cool. Preheat oven to 375. Add the rest to the onion mixture and combine. (It will be wet.) Spread some foil on a cookie sheet and spray it down with some nonstick spray, then arrange the turkey in a meatloaf shape on the foil. Top with barbecue sauce, and cook for one hour. Let rest a few minutes, and serve with more barbecue sauce.

I know that picture doesn't look too appetizing, but boy, was it tasty.

Guest post at Mom-in-a-Million today!

Today I have a guest post over at Mom-in-a-Million! Pay no attention to that part where she claims we were all drunk at college and saw various people in their underwear. I certainly had no part in such shenanigans.

Of course, I'll never be able to run for public office, due to certain proofs from that era. But that's another blog post entirely.

Cookbook review: The Pioneer Woman Cooks

I luuuuuurve The Pioneer Woman. After living in LA for many years, she married a cowboy from Oklahoma and promptly moved to a cattle ranch in the middle of nowhere. She then started a blog about it, and turned it into one of the most popular, most profitable blogs in existence. Turning THAT into a best-selling cookbook, an upcoming autobiography/romance novel, and several television appearances. Which is pretty much exactly what I want to do with this blog.

Anyway. I love reading her blog, because it's very funny and very well-designed, and she's a kick-ass photographer. She also homeschools her kids, so props for that.

Her cookbook features a lot of beef, as you might expect from a woman who lives on a cattle ranch. Which is fine, it's just that I don't eat a lot of chili, cheesesteaks, chicken-fried steak, pot roast, meatloaf, beef brisket, rib-eyes, or beef tenderloin, and man, were there a lot of potato variations to go with that. But hey, lots of people like meat-and-potato recipes. If you're one of them, you'll love this cookbook. It's simple, filling stuff, perfect for feeding four kids after a day on the ranch, but perhaps less useful if you like a little more variation/innovation in your food. Or you're a vegetarian.

The best part about the cookbook for me was the photography. She's got tons of pictures of her husband, her kids, her dogs, the ranch, and those amazing Plains sunsets. And, of course, the food.

Cookbook review: Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day is the perfect book for hesitant bread-makers. Essentially it uses one basic no-knead bread recipe, which you can make in bulk, store in the refrigerator, and then customize for dozens of variations.

The "five minutes a day" is making the dough in bulk, and then pulling off a loaf's worth at a time. The catch to this is that you need room in your refrigerator to store that much bread dough, which I typically don't. The good news is that yes, you can store pre-made bread dough in the fridge, and then turn it into everything from challah to sandwich bread to pizza dough. Pre-mixed, pre-risen, high-moisture dough keeps well in the refrigerator.

It also doesn't require a sponge or starter. Which is great, because I never had much luck with those.

So I'll definitely be trying this approach in smaller quantities. Just as soon as I make some room in my fridge.