I did not buy it, but I did cook it

Hi,

People die, friends move or downsize, then whatever foodstuffs they cannot take with them, it is left with me.

Someone I do not know bought two bags of frozen meat and black bean burritos. These were given to my sister who brought them over here. One bag was open with three burritos, which I heated in the microwave to check out. Not anything I would have bought, though too good to throw away.

Believe it or not, I really was not sure who would take them off my hands. I guess unwanted food stops here.

These burritos were each about the size of a blintze. I consulted the internet where I found people made casseroles from these burritos. I lined eight burritos sitting on their edge to fill the casserole. I mixed a can of cream of mushroom soup and sour cream, then spread it thickly on top. I arranged a quantity of mozzarella on top.

This went into a 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes. At this point, I really wasn't quite convinced they were heated through and available time was running out. I used the microwave to heat it through for five minutes.

It was a serviceable meal that likely will not be repeated nor ever rank as a family favorite. It got the burritos out of the way, so I can make something else.

In the recipe found on the internet, they also add canned jalapenos mixed in with the soup and sour cream. They suggested salsa, sliced avocados and other stuff to make it taste and look better. We just wanted to erase it from our cupboards.

Regards,
Cathy2

The DW brings home quite a bit of the "leftover" groceries that neighbors leave when they are selling their house or returning north for the summer.

The latest problem child is 5# of dried cherries and a bottle of hot honey. Both are being used very gradually.

I have asked her to call me head of time so that she does not bring stuff that we will never use.

I would have used the black bean burritos. I buy healthy burritos when they are on sale. I buy Amy's, O Organics burritos, and 365 burritos. I almost bought some bean and rice burritos at Whole Foods tonight for $1.69, and I had a bunch of Amy's black bean burritos that they put on clearance at Jewel. I finally ate the last one last night.

It would take me forever to use up five pounds of dried cherries, and I don't think I would be interested in the hot honey.

Hi,

Actually, I did think about you Nancy and your recent burrito binge purchasing. I don't think these would have met with your approval. If on the very thin chance they did, it would have been a pain for both of us to find each other.

Plus my family got to see what life could be, if I did not cook for them. It was like checking to see the if grass was really greener on the other side food-wise. The experience was serviceable.

This person's foodstuffs I recently inherited came with several jars of, shelf stable until opened, lard. I also receive two quarts of duck fat, which I do have an idea of what to do. A half-empty and full jar of Brazilian salt, which I am sure is just wonderful, I guess.

I also got three boxes of Cheerios, which I quickly gave to others. If it were Honey Nut Cheerios, I would have eaten them myself.

For two years, I had two boxes of pumpkin spice flavored cereal. Every time I tried to throw them away, my Dad would intervene. He did not like them, but could not deal with my tossing it away. I made a deal with a visiting sister to take it with her, then throw it away out of sight of our Dad. I love the empty spot it once stood.

Regards,
Cathy2

I don't know if it would do this now during the pandemic, but pre pandemic I would have left the two boxes of pumpkin spice cereal in the lobby of my condo building, and somebody would have taken them. Maybe six months ago I saw some Asian food that I was not interested in there free for the taking. My Sister that has the farm in Michigan who I have not seen since Christmas of 2019 used to clean out her kitchen and give me tons of stuff like a four pound bag of barely used organic wild rice that had expired two years before, or a few things that were five years old. The five year old cans I tossed. I did not go there last Christmas because I did not consider it safe. I still have some Mentos mints that she gave me in 2019.

NFriday wrote: I still have some Mentos mints that she gave me in 2019.

You could entertain yourself by dumping Mentos into Diet Coke and see if it really explodes like on the videos.

Regards,
Cathy2

Cathy2,

You get much better stuff than I am getting although I probably get a lot more in terms of volume.

A lot of what I get are low volume use condiments and salad dressings - worcestershire sauce, tartar sauce, etc. or unusual products.

By the way, the hot honey works out really good in a lot of recipes where you need heat and sweet. It is not something that I would consume on a biscuit.

jlawrence01 wrote:By the way, the hot honey works out really good in a lot of recipes where you need heat and sweet. It is not something that I would consume on a biscuit.

I once received a bottle of hot honey as part of a gift bag that attendees received at a charitable event. I don't think I ever would have even thought to try it but after trying it in a couple of wet cures -- in place of standard honey -- I ended up really liking it. It's now part of a couple of my cured/smoked meat recipes and I buy it regularly. I also think it works really well in stewed greens, like collards and kale.

=R=

Cathy2 wrote:

NFriday wrote: I still have some Mentos mints that she gave me in 2019.

You could entertain yourself by dumping Mentos into Diet Coke and see if it really explodes like on the videos.

Regards,
Cathy2

From my experiences at the 4-H pavilion at the Nebraska State Fair, to get the full impact, you need to drill a hole on about 15 Mentos and tie a string around them so that they are all stacked together. Then shove the whole column of Mentos into the Diet Coke bottle and back up quickly.

The 13 year old who performed this told the judges that she wished that she could do it in a manner that would leave the cap on and explode the bottle .... but her parents refused.

Cathy2 wrote: [edit]
For two years, I had two boxes of pumpkin spice flavored cereal. Every time I tried to throw them away, my Dad would intervene. He did not like them, but could not deal with my tossing it away. I made a deal with a visiting sister to take it with her, then throw it away out of sight of our Dad. I love the empty spot it once stood.

This.
On the inside front porch of the abode, there are boxes atop a clothes closet with boxes of italian pasta dating from 2008.
I am never going to cook these. But my upbringing includes the belief of your dad. Not to mention the still plastic-wrapped containers of Ragu spaghetti sauce ostensibly bought to be served with the pasta.
But then - mom had her first stroke in September 2008. Her cooking days were through. {Psst - her cooking up to this date was below average. But of course, you can't complain about your mom's cooking.} These have been sitting around ever since.
Would a food depository take these items?
There is a bunch of foodstuffs inside a cabinet in the kitchen which are also not going to be prepared anytime in the future. Along with a core belief that food cannot be trashed is my belief that I am not paying hundreds (if not a thousand) of dollars to throw things away.
Can somebody here put me on a track to determine what I should do?

Hi,

I suggest not giving it to a food depository.

Our local township has a food pantry. I don't know if this little exhibit still exists in the township supervisor's office, it was a small clutch of very old food donated earnestly and separated out. They called it a 'wall of shame' display of long ago outdated food. My favorite was made by General Foods, who has not existed as a brand name in a very long time.

If food costs you money to throw away, giving to a charity to throw away does not help keep their expenses in check, either.

In your circle of friends there may be one who is not put off by how old food it. Maybe give someone a pasta and sauce knowing it is no spring chicken for them to experiment. If it works out, they might happily take the rest.

Regards,
CAthy2

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

I suggest not giving it to a food depository.

Our local township has a food pantry. I don't know if this little exhibit still exists in the township supervisor's office, it was a small clutch of very old food donated earnestly and separated out. They called it a 'wall of shame' display of long ago outdated food. My favorite was made by General Foods, who has not existed as a brand name in a very long time.


Regards,
CAthy2

I would agree with you that you should not give away food that has expired years ago. However, if the product in dated 2020 or 2021, I would not hesitate to give it away. And for me, there have been two very efficient and easy ways to do it. First, there are a number of independent food banks (NOT connected to that large national one) which will take the product and place it in their market for their clients to take. Second, I am well aware of the hours of our other local independent food bank. I will stand out in the parking lot on distribution day, open my trunk and people want anything, it is free. That usually takes about ten minutes.

I live in an area where there is a lot of poverty and people tend to be a lot less picky.

jlawrence01 wrote:Second, I am well aware of the hours of our other local independent food bank. I will stand out in the parking lot on distribution day, open my trunk and people want anything, it is free. That usually takes about ten minutes.

I live in an area where there is a lot of poverty and people tend to be a lot less picky.

That is an outstanding suggestion!

Thank you!

Cathy2

Out of date food ... I thought that I had none in the pantry. I pulled out a can of corn that was dated 2017 today that came from my father's house.

Personally, it has been my experience that when seniors quit shopping and rely upon their younger relatives, the younger relatives tend to overbuy. I think that a lot of this is done in the efforts to get deals. However, a lot of it is overestimating how much the senior actually eats.

I can of Campbell's chunky soup would take my father three days to ear. My sister was buying 10 cans at a time which left me 125 cans of soup to deal with ...