Has anyone found and/or tried the dry Stouffer's mac and cheese?

[taxlady]

I thought about putting a small box into the freezer to contain the chicken breasts and other small meat packages, but my freezer is too small for that. So what I do is stack stuff like the hamburger and take anything in boxes out, then stuff the chicken breasts around the corners of food. Of course, when I need something, I have to empty out half the freezer to find it.

Same thing with my pantry. Just trying to find the honey last night and the corn starch tonight was a major battle.

That's a major drain of energy for me. I am all too familiar with that scenario. It makes it take a lot longer to prep the food, when you have to play hide and seek with your ingredients. Yeah, sure that recipe will be read in 20 minutes. It might take me that long to get all the ingredients out.

 

[caseydog]

Are they in the freezer section?

Yes, they are frozen. If the store has them, they will be with the other Stouffer's frozen foods.

CD

 

[caseydog]

That's a major drain of energy for me. I am all too familiar with that scenario. It makes it take a lot longer to prep the food, when you have to play hide and seek with your ingredients. Yeah, sure that recipe will be read in 20 minutes. It might take me that long to get all the ingredients out.

My fridge and pantry are pretty easy... especially my pantry, which is large and well organized. The freezer is a lot tougher, because frozen foods in vacuum seal bags don't stack well, so when I pull one thing out, four things slide off onto the floor.

Pantry (there is more to the right of this picture).

CD

 

[dragnlaw]

One reason I've lost a great part of my oomph for cooking is due to the very reason taxy mentions. Hide & Seek. Also distance to travel for seeking ingredients. Sink (think laundry tub) is also distant to actual cooking. Boiling water for potatoes, pasta, etc, takes planning and timing for carrying pot of boiling water a distance, draining it, returning it. Ditto for pantry items.

The frozen meals sections at the grocery stores are actually starting to look pretty good to me.

 

[Aunt Bea]

One reason I've lost a great part of my oomph for cooking is due to the very reason taxy mentions. Hide & Seek. Also distance to travel for seeking ingredients. Sink (think laundry tub) is also distant to actual cooking. Boiling water for potatoes, pasta, etc, takes planning and timing for carrying pot of boiling water a distance, draining it, returning it. Ditto for pantry items.

The frozen meals sections at the grocery stores are actually starting to look pretty good to me.

I don’t cook very often anymore and when I do I tend to overeat.

I find the prepared frozen single serve options to be best for me.

For the hot water situation, I would try pouring the boiling water into a mop bucket and carrying it to the sink after it had a chance to cool.

 

[taxlady]

I keep a bucket for water in my kitchen near my sink. Whenever I have to get rid of water with lots of small stuff in it, I empty it into the bucket and before it gets half full I throw it outside. I'll see how well that works come winter. Every frelling winter, my drain slows down a lot. It has gotten worse every year.

I live in a condo in a townhouse. There are eight townhouses in the block I'm in. Six of those townhouses are between me and the municipal sewer. Some of those people are not careful with what they put down the drain. That part is out of my control, but I don't wash muddy hands directly in my sink. I have a strainer in my sink that has really small holes. I work hard to minimize how much grease goes down my drain.

So, bucket near the sink is not a foreign idea to me.

 

[dragnlaw]

I have on occasion, kept a washing up bucket on the floor under the table. Plunk small water and dishes in.

 

[taxlady]

I have on occasion, kept a washing up bucket on the floor under the table. Plunk small water and dishes in.

Do the dishes get plunked into the bucket while it's still under the table?

 

[dragnlaw]

No, I "place" them in, usually cause there might be is a thin stemmed wine glass there.

 

[taxlady]

No, I "place" them in, usually cause there might be is a thin stemmed wine glass there. View attachment 70982

So, why did you use the term "plunk"?

And do you place them in the bucket while it's still under the table or do you pull it out from under first?

 

[rodentraiser]

Yes, they are frozen. If the store has them, they will be with the other Stouffer's frozen foods.

CD

Then we must not have them. Darn.

My fridge and pantry are pretty easy... especially my pantry, which is large and well organized. The freezer is a lot tougher, because frozen foods in vacuum seal bags don't stack well, so when I pull one thing out, four things slide off onto the floor.

Pantry (there is more to the right of this picture).

View attachment 70979


CD

I am DROOLING over this pantry. This is what mine looks like and before anyone says anything, it really is (sort of) organized.

OK, it oculd be a little more organized. A lot of stuff got moved when I was looking for the honey. Those small bags of rice over by the right wall will be going into a canister as soon as it dries out.

 

[Aunt Bea]

My fridge and pantry are pretty easy... especially my pantry, which is large and well organized. The freezer is a lot tougher, because frozen foods in vacuum seal bags don't stack well, so when I pull one thing out, four things slide off onto the floor.

Pantry (there is more to the right of this picture).

View attachment 70979


CD

One of my friends has a pantry similar to yours, when the kids were just starting out they called it the 7-Eleven.

 

[rodentraiser]

LMAO. That space where my pantry is is actually where the washer/dryer is supposed to go in my trailer. It has a solid floor to it so it's the only cabinet where the mice can't get in. I keep the paper towels, toilet paper, kleenex, paper plates and bowls, and plastic eating utensils, plus all my freezer bags underneath the pantry. I have an actual, pull-put cabinet that will fit all of my pantry stuff plus all the spices, but pulling it out requires a team of oxen, so I'm going to have that removed as soon as I can afford it.

 

[dragnlaw]

So, to enter into the world of semantics....

So, why did you use the term "plunk"?

And do you place them in the bucket while it's still under the table or do you pull it out from under first?

I do not pull out the bucket from under first, raise my hands, holding the dish/plate/bowl/coffee cup/etc. above my head, and let go.
I do not stand across the room and attempt a frisbee toss, hoping to have the dish/plate/bowl/coffee cup/etc. land in the bucket unharmed.
I do not gently lower into the bucket - whether or not it is still under the table - the dish/plate/bowl/coffee cup/etc. to not make a single sound or noise but use a modicum of effort not to break anything else. Nor do I overthink my actions, if I've done it quickly I might, just might, use the term plunk.
However, I do expect most persons to understand in general what I'm trying to say... I don't think it's complicated.