"Eating Down" the Fridge/Freezer/Pantry

Every so often, I go through my fridge, freezer, and pantry to use up the things that have been in there a while. This calls for some creativity on my part, having to throw together a meal with odds and ends.

I wanted to give you an example of a meal I made after finding the following things I wanted to use up: chicken tenderloins (freezer), marinated hearts of palm (pantry), cucumbers (last of the crop from our garden), risotto mix (pantry), carrots (fridge).

Here's what I came up with: Baked Chicken with Onions, Hearts of Palm, and Feta Cheese; Risotto with Vegetables; Honey-Glazed Carrots; and Quick-Pickled Cucumbers. Recipes below.

Baked Chicken with Onions, Hearts of Palm, and Feta Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. chicken breasts or tenderloins, cut into equal-sized pieces (and pounded slightly if necessary)
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 jar of marinated hearts of palm, mostly drained
• black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 C. crumbled feta cheese

Pour the oil into an 8x8 baking pan. Add the chicken and turn to coat. Sprinkle the onions, garlic, and hearts of palm over the chicken. Season with pepper to taste. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn the chicken over. Sprinkle the feta cheese on top and bake for 10 minutes more, until the chicken is no longer pink.

Risotto with Vegetables

I had a box mix for risotto, which was easy to make. Towards the end of the cooking time, I threw in some frozen vegetables. I read somewhere that adding frozen vegetables to boxed rice dishes or frozen pasta dishes  helps decrease the amount of sodium per serving and also gets more veggies on your plate.

Honey-Glazed Carrots

These are cooked on the stove-top, but they turn out nice and roasted.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of carrots, peeled and sliced into matchsticks
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Saute the carrots for about 15 minutes, turning occasionally. If you don't want the carrots to be very browned, turn the heat down lower. Before serving, drizzle the carrots with the honey and season with salt and pepper.

Quick-Pickled Cucumbers

Ingredients:

• 1/2 C. white wine vinegar
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp.pickling spice (or combine whatever you have on hand: dill, mustard seed, peppercorns, garlic, etc)
• 2 small cucumbers, chopped

In a small saucepan, heat the vinegar, sugar, salt, and spices over medium-high heat until boiling. Remove from the heat and add the cucumbers. Set aside to cool. Pour off the pickling liquid and spices before serving.