Leftover Week

So, last week, we are on a "clean out the freezer/refrigerator" mission.   One of the things I have been trying to do is freeze some extra stuff as we go along from previous meals to make lunch and dinner planning easier.  Except that I haven't actually used any of them.  So, the goal this week was to get through some of the stuff.   I've noted the items that were defrosted.

Weekend Before:   Nothing except buy fruit. Oliver chose Halos -- again.  You could make muffins.

Monday
Broccoli Bites (defrosted)
2 Halos
Pretzels

Dinner:  Whole Wheat Pasta w/ Olive Oil and Garlic with squash and zucchini (the squash and zucchini were defrosted from when I made veggie lasagna about 5 weeks ago!)

Tuesday
Hummus (not leftover, but we had two individual servings left in the refrigerator that expire next week!)
Pretzels
Halos
String Cheese

Dinner:  Chili -- using the last of those black beans from last week!  Added some frozen corn and bell peppers.

Wednesday
Veggie Nuggets (defrosted)
Honey Mustard
Tofu
Muffin

Dinner:   Free for all night!

Thursday -- repeating Tuesday here
PB&J --cut in the shape of dolphins - as I stumbled upon cute sandwich cutter at the 99c store!
Halos
Muffin

Dinner:  Pea Soup (defrosted)

Friday
Veggie Nuggets
BBQ sauce
Muffin

Dinner: Shrimp and Green Bean Stir Fry w/ brown rice

About the Recipes:
The recipe this week is from the 100 Days of Real Food Blog.  I tried her Lemon Rasberry Muffins.  I made a few alterations.  I used honey instead of maple syrup, I used mixed berries instead of raspberries and added about a tablespoon of lemon juice (I would probably add a little more even)  It took a solid 25 minute to cook.   I used silicone baking cups in my regular metal pan.  These were tasty -- but a little bit crumbly.  But, a keeper nonetheless.  Oliver went crazy for them!

I had forgotten how great these veggie nuggets were.  A big hit when I made them the first time and again now.     A great alternative to chicken for us!   I used whole wheat flour and panko bread crumbs when I made these.

Wednesday night's Pea Soup came to us straight from our freezer and Ina Garten.  The flavor is great in my vegetarian version.   I would, however, add all my peas at once next time and use more liquid than the recipe called for.   It's just a little too thick.  Hence, half of it making it into our freezer!

Friday's dinner was a new recipe for us.  We had about a pound of frozen shrimp left and a ton of frozen green beans.   So I was super happy to stumble across this.  I actually replaced the chicken stock with water rather than make a batch of vegetable stock for 1/4 cup.   This was not great in execution -- but green bean/shrimp combo was surprisingly good and a keeper with a different sauce.  Oliver requested soy sauce on it - and happily ate it up when we obliged.