So........I'm deep cleaning and reorganizing the kitchen

[Coyote_Bandit]

Scrubbing down everything including all the dishes and all the pots and pans and all the assorted gadgets and replacing all the shelf liner. Pantry has been cleaned out (what was I thinking when I bought some of that stuff?). Have started cleaning the freezer. Where possible I'm using up (or donating) stuff rather than tossing it. Doing it a little at a time. Finding some surprises. And definitely looking forward to being done with this project.

It has occurred to me that when I'm done I'd like to have a much better planned menu rotation in place. It'd help with shopping, planning, food storage, waste reduction. I'd eat better and healther. I live alone, prepare most all of my meals and usually cook for two - saving the leftovers for lunch the next day. If I cook more then I'm either planning on having guests, or freezing to eat later or planning to reuse the leftovers in some other incarnation (e.g., various uses for leftover chili). I try to eat semi-vegetarian and to include fish/seafood regularly. I love soups and stews. I'm a creature of habit when it comes to breakfast - coffee with toasted English muffin (a little peanut butter on one half and fruit, preserves or apple butter with the other half).

I thought I'd try to put together a 4 to 6 week menu rotation. If I eat out twice a week that would be six meals for two to prepare each week. I haven't quite worked out the details yet but my first inclination is to have each weekly menu include
2 meals out,
2 salads,
2 fish/seafood entrees,
2 pasta, grain, rice, or potato entrees,
2 seasonal, ethnic, or expirmental entrees,
4 soup, stew, chilli, bean or egg entrees.

This kind of feels like I'm restructuring my small little culinary world.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone here uses a menu rotation plan. If so, can you offer any suggestions?

[Tesha]

1. I don't...

I'd never be able to be that organized...:crazy:

but I do a few things that cut down on the crazy of wasting time and money.

Leftovers either become a second meal, a lunch, or part of a soup or stew - always..
One of the most fun parts of cooking for me is to look in the fridge and find bits
and pieces to create something special while being frugal (mostly).


Your plan sounds great - and so does your reorganizing!:hi:

[Coyote_Bandit]

3. I think this will give me the opportunity

to be more creative in the kitchen. I'm going to plan to include experimental and seasonal entrees. With a long rotation I should be able to include quite a bit of variety.

I tend to get stuck in a rut and to prepare the same things over and over. Hoping to change that up a bit.

I originally considered doing seasonal rotation menus. This small beginning may eventually morph into that.

[Warpy]

5. I've been rediscovering the basic white sauce

I'll reserve a cup or so for a gratineed fish or veggie something or other, then do variations on the rest (cheese, mushroom, whatever) for my naked Quorn cutlets or to dress up a side of rice. One batch of white sauce gives me luxurious meals for several days.

Today it will be codfish divan, a cod fillet on a bed of broccoli, cream sauce on top, shoved into the oven until it's bubbly, slightly browned under the broiler. Heaven.

[Coyote_Bandit]

6. Yummmmm - sounds so good!

That's a great idea.

I'm pretty familiar with recycling leftovers into various incarnations. But I can use a little help on taking something basic like a white sauce and then finding multiple ways to use it. Not sure why really. I guess I've just never planned ahead well enough to consider those kinds of alternatives.

Thanks.

[Warpy]

7. Julia Child taught me the theme and variations on white sauces

and basically, you can add all sorts of flavorings to change them into things that are really special. Minced onion and thyme in white sauce is one of my favorites, saute the onion and thyme in the butter before adding the flour, thicken as usual, then strain. I used that one a lot when I was a veg head. Sauce aurore has tomato sauce added. Add freshly grated cheese(s) to make a cheese sauce for veg, macaroni, or anything else. Saute mushrooms in butter, season with a little nutmeg, then pour the sauce into the pan for an amazing mushroom gravy for meats or to serve over toast.

Nothing changes a plain Jane dinner into something luxurious like a couple of tablespoons full of a velvety sauce. If you put it on a cup at a time, yes, you'll get fat on them. However, if you keep it to a reasonable level, you'll find it adds luxury without piling on the calories.

[madmax]

dupe plz delete

[madmax]

2. No, haven't thought of that one

I do however have a very long list of other OCD's :evilgrin: :hug:

Seriously, I'm a nut about organization but, my husband is sloppy. After 26 years I realize he's not going to change and all I'm doing is getting aggravated.

[Coyote_Bandit]

4. :-)

I am not a nut about organization and tend to accumulate plenty of clutter.

My house is small late 50's vintage with a small galley kitchen. I've been here for awhile now and find that cabinets, freezers and pantry are either overfilled or in such a state that I'm having problems finding stuff. This needs to be done to make the kitchen more functional.

Maybe you should think of this as OCD meets hoarders. :crazy:

Aggravating? Yes, I understand.

[madmax]

9. LOL My Mom was a bit of a hoarder

vestiges of living during the depression.

I do need to do some serious planning for my kitchen to make it functional. It's a new Townhouse but, whoever designed it never used a kitchen or was fresh out of design school. It's a frickin nightmare. Never have I seen such a convoluted floor plan. corner pantry which is big inside but has an 18" door opening and no light so I can't find a damn thing even during the day. Forget mid-night snacking ;) Cabinets 42" I can only reach the first 2 shelves without a step stool. Annnnnnnd for the biggest BS only (1) ONE wall cabinet for glasses, dishes, cups, etc.

Yeah, yeah, I was awake when we bought it but, husband said - in his infamous b.s. as always. "We can change that, no big deal." Right pal, as soon as I get my tools out I'll get right on it as I've always done. Three times, as a matter of fact. :mad: Excuse me now, I'm p.o. I think I'll find him and slap him just on general principle. See you guys later ;)

[Paper Roses]

8. Do you rent your cleaning services? I need help.

Come to my house and start pulling stuff out of cupboards and the kitchen closet. For some reason I can't seen to do it. I take a good look in the closet, wonder why I have 2 waffle makers,a George Foreman grill, a GF Rotisserie, 3 Irons, assorted bowls, Corning Ware, wine glasses, cookbooks---you know the drill.

My kids are sick of me asking if they want a -whatever-. The answer is always no, I can't seem to otherwise dispose of this stuff. I guess there is always a possibility that I will make waffles for a crowd. I may even make something from the NY times cookbook.....Not likely.

I think it is a case of growing up with so little that I find it hard to part with some of these toys. What if I ever need to rotisserie cook a chicken? Not that I don't have a oven and BBQ to cook with. I will tell you that the stuff is clean and neat but I need someone to come and take it away when I'm not looking.

[Tesha]

10. If you have too many...

of anything - and you don't want it to sell, consider FreeCycle.
That's where we received our sweet and perfect little waffle iron.


The cool part is, someone may post something on the site that YOU'D like.

[Dover]

11. I've been considering something similar, so I'll be interested in learning

with you as you go through this shift. And for me, Fall is a great time
to get started because I just LOVE to cook autumn/winter meals. But I don't think I can plan effectively past a week. MAYBE two.

I cleaned out pots/pans/utensils last year which was SO helpful and felt so good. But it's time to revisit the pantry and reconsider the whole food storage issue (how much, what to keep available, how to shop/plan smartly, etc.). My biggest downfall is the accumulation of condiments in both the
pantry and frig. Not regular condiments like mayo, but novelty items like
some exotic sauce or other;things that are not familiar territory so they
don't easily fit into my meal plans. They require special planning.
So unless I'm purchasing something for a specific meal and it will be consumed in its entirety (instead of half a bottle waiting forever for the next inspiration), I'm going to make that the only justification for allowing myself to be seduced by some exotic item. Sometimes an unfamiliar item will stimulate experimentation, but if I don't use it right away it seems to be a case of out-of-sight, out-of-mind as it eventually gets shoved to the back of the pantry shelf.

And I too am moving toward a more vegetarian diet, so I ought to have more
room in my frig and freezer for vegetables, leftovers and prepared nibble foods like devilled eggs in place of the meat.
All too often I forget what's in the freezer, or forget to take it out to defrost so I'm ready to go when its time to fix a meal. As a result I end up purchasing duplicate items. So this is where better planning would really come in handy.

Anyway, you've inspired me to get moving on that. I finished going through clothes closets two weeks ago and feel like if I can get over that hump, I can conquer anything ...even the pantry!

[Coyote_Bandit]

12. Good Luck!

I haven't made any progress in the past week. My ragweed allergies have been bothering me a lot - and I've been tending to one sick old dog.

It will probably take me awhile to complete this project. I work in small time increments - 15 or 30 minutes at a time. But I figure it doesn't matter as long as I finish. Pantry is cleaned out. I've gone through most of the stuff in cabinets and drawers. I still need to go through and toss some of the old spices and finish cleaning out the freezers and the refrigerator. There's still plenty of shelf paper to be put down and things to be washed. But I'm progressing.

Part of my problem is that I actually have far more kitchen stuff than I have room for in my small galley kitchen. So much that I've decided to devote some closet garage storage to some of the stuff. Like the KitchenAid mixer which does not fit in the pantry on any of the shelves or on the countertop under the overhead cabinets.

A few years back I got a bunch of stuff (mostly dishes and pans) from my grandmother. My parents moved last year and I acquired more stuff then. A family member died this summer leaving me with even more stuff. I've weeded out and disposed of a bunch of stuff already. But even when I finish my current kitchen cleaning and organizing project I can be certain that there is still more kitchen stuff in my garage! I'm trying to keep just the stuff that I think I will use or which really does have special meaning (e.g., dishes my grandparents got at their wedding).

I thought I'd start with the kitchen. I stil need to deep clean and organize the rest of the house as well. I have aging parents that live in another state. I'm their only surviving child and I suspect that eventually I will be required to help care for them. That means that my place needs to be in good enough shaoe for them to come for an extended stay - or to be quickly made showable and listed for sale.

The effort to create a rotation menu is as much an effort to eat and be healthier as it is to be less wasteful and better organized. It can be a real psin in the ass to cook for one - and that makes it easy to either go out for meals or eat odd food combinations or less than halthy meals.

[NJCher]

13. just wanted to make a comment

I'm big on these kitchen organization projects. They can go on for a long time because of work interruptions, ATTD on the part of the organizer, etc. But that's OK, I say. The important part is that the job is being tackled.

When I did my herb/spice reorganization project, it was astounding to me how much space I gained. I never in a million years believed that shelves and shelves of herbs and spices could be whittled (sp?) down to a few drawers.

The space-saver was the metal canister. I found that everything in a regular herb or spice bottle would fit into one of the little metal canisters. Furthermore, it's clearly labeled and easy to see under less than optimal light conditions.

We, too, have far more stuff than our kitchen can handle. I solved this problem by putting in a couple storage sheds off the kitchen entryway. I only store pans, extra dishes, etc., in them and I put them in plastic storage bins with tight-fitting lids. Everything stays clean that way.


Cher

[Coyote_Bandit]

14. Plastic storage bins

Not sure why I didn't think of that. Thanks.

My goal is to get the spices down to the small counter top spice rack (most used) plus the one small cabinet shelf that is designed to hold spices. And have them all be fresh and easily accessible. No more spice bottles stacked on top of and behind other spice bottles. No more having to dig through and take several bottles of stuff out of the cabinet to get to something. No more forgetting what is even in the back of the shelf. My palette requires the seasonings to do Tex-Mex, Italian, Asian, Cajun, fish, chicken, and a wide variety of soups and stews. That really big jar of mango rub can go.