Reuse and Rethink

I've been saving those Styrofoam meat trays for a few months now. Sweetie kept kidding me about the stacks littering the shelves and stuffed into paper bags so today I got busy. First, I got the trusty screwdriver and went around the house removing all the wall socket and switch plate covers. Then I tore the back cover off the calendar hanging on the fridge and used it to cut a few patterns - double wall socket plus, double and single light switches. Next, I laid two patterns on each tray and cut them out with an exacto knife. I was left with a stack of curved edge "frames" which I'm determined to use for something! Lastly, I re-attached the covers and stared at the stack of trays I still have. Give me some time, I'll think of something to do with them. Maybe a homemade bulletin board made of triple layered pink and white meat trays glued to a scrap piece of chip board. I dunno.

I've been re-thinking our food storage. Aside from stacking canned goods under the dining table and adding leg raisers to my wing chair and the sofa, we're about out of storage space. Soooo......... I'm gonna stock up on lentils, split peas, navy and pinto beans, potato flakes, flours and olive oil. We have six empty blue storage containers just sitting in a closet so that's where the bags of beans and flour will go with oxygen absorbers.

Last night I opened a 5 gallon bucket of rice I stored five years ago with no oxygen absorber and no gamma seal. No problem with the rice; no bugs, no moisture. Not that I recommend this method but it was great to discover that it had kept. I've never kept food stored that long. Somehow that bucket had been moved through three homes and never been used. Just goes to show you how important labelling, dating and rotating are!

Here's another recipe from the Hard Times Cookbook.

CHICKEN BOARD CHAIRMAN

1 frying chicken, cut up
1 Cup orange juice
1 Cup white wine
1 Cup pineapple bits
1 Cup sliced canned peaches; reserve liquid
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon clove powder
2 tablespoons oil
salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon curry powder

Dredge chicken pieces in flour and brown in oil. Transfer to a shallow baking pan. Combine all remaining ingredients EXCEPT CURRY POWDER in a bowl and pour over the chicken. Bake at 350 degrees basting often for 45 minutes. If more liquid is needed, add some of the peach juice you reserved. Raise oven temperature about 10 degrees for the last 10 minutes to form a nice glaze on the chicken. Serve with rice that has been seasoned with the curry powder.

Well, it's time to meditate with Mita the Miracle cat. Have a great Sunday everyone, Treesong