After a very quiet and relaxing summer the final countdown to our two and a half week vacation begins. In the past we’ve packed the car to the brim with coolers and groceries, but this year we’re driving the jeep, which is unbelievably tight on space.
So rather than preparing to take all of our half-opened bottles and leftover food along for the trip I’ve decided to focus on cleaning out the fridge before our vacation begins. I plan to spend the next two weeks cooking recipes that will help us ‘eat down’ the food in our fridge.
Being the type-A girl that I am, I took every item out of the fridge, (which presented a perfect opportunity to clean the shelves and bins), and catalogued a long list of things we should consume.
The countdown officially started tonight. My husband converted leftover grilled chicken into some scrumptious chicken steak sandwiches, while I ate a hodge–podge of fruits and veggies straight from the fridge.
We have a ton of produce on hand. The list included lemons, limes, apples, red peppers, carrots, lettuce, blueberries, cantaloupe, oranges, onions, garlic, ginger and two fine looking eggplants. Honestly, fruit and veggies don’t usually last more than two weeks, so I already planned to incorporate these items into our meals.
We also have a boat load of half filled bottles stacked on the door of the fridge. These are the items we typically drag along for the ride. Over the next two weeks we’ll need to find uses for hot sauce, mustard, lemon curd, chutney, pizza sauce, tomato sauce, soy sauce, sour cream, orange marmalade, salsa and jelly.
I’d also love to clear out the half-eaten bags of frozen peas, french fries, pre-made meatballs and hash browns that have been taking up space in our freezer.
I’m actually quite excited by the goal of ‘eating down’ all the food in our refrigerator. It’ll lighten our load down to the beach and force us to get creative in the kitchen.
I also am doing this because most likely we will be moving within 6 weeks and I prefer not to have to move food so I told my DH we are eating out of the fridge for a month. I hope I last 🙂
won't some of those half-filled bottles stay fresh while you're gone? i usually keep that stuff around for ages (jams, mustards, salsa, hot sauce ..)
Moonblossom — A whole month! I'll be lucky to make it through two weeks. Good luck and let me know how it goes!
elizabeth — A lot of those items will stay good while we're gone, but I think it'll feel good to clean as much out of the fridge as possible before we go. When we return it'll feel like a new beginning!