Wilmes Party of 6: Cleaning out the fridge and freezer

I am a huge believer in that things should not go to waste and leftovers should be eaten (just not by me...I don't like leftovers). I am also a stickler for expiration dates. I never use anything that is expired and I clean out the fridge and pantry once a week. Ryan thinks I have OCD, but whatever...maybe I do. Anything that is going to expire is eaten first or used in a recipe before that date comes. My poor family last week...a bunch of food was about to expire, so it became a fun-filled 3 days of experimentation with recipes! We made veggie burger sandwiches, vanilla frozen yogurt, cinnamon applesauce, strawberry applesauce, oatmeal-applesauce bars, and doughnuts. I must say, some of the experimenting paid off...and some did not. Oops!

The applesauce was a huge hit at the house. And one big benefit of making your own applesauce is that I am able to control the amount of sugar and other things added to the apples....mmmm, good stuff!

Next came our adventure in Vanilla Frozen Yogurt! The girls and I followed (I use the term "followed" loosely. I almost never follow a recipe 100%. I adjusted the amount of sugar and vanilla according to the amount of yogurt I had.) a recipe by Dave Lebovitz: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/a-frozen-yogurt-recipe-to-rival-pinkberrys-recipe.html

3 cups (720g) strained yogurt (see below) or Greek-style yogurt
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Mix together the yogurt, sugar, and vanilla (if using). Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Refrigerate 1 hour.

Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. ***You really don't even need an icecream machine...but it in a plastic bag or some sort of plastic container and freeze***

To make 1 cup (240g) of strained yogurt, line a mesh strainer with a few layers of cheese cloth. then scrape 16 ounces or 2 cups (480g) of plain whole-milk yogurt into the cheesecloth. Gather the ends and fold them over the yogurt, then refrigerate for at least 6 hours. So, for the above recipe start with and strain 6 cups of yogurt.

Makes about 1 quart.

So we started by straining the yogurt for almost 12 hours...yes, I forgot about it in the fridge. We used a combination of Organic Vanilla and Organic Plain (both were about to expire and I'm all about using what I have instead of running to the store).

We continued to follow the recipe and ended up with some of the most delicious frozen yogurt I have ever had. The girls and I made ourselves pretty little sundaes to enjoy while watching American Idol :)

The one recipe that we will not be making again is the veggie burger sandwiches...my wonderful husband scarfed his down and finished mine, but I think he was just really hungry and didn't bother tasting them. Camryn is our little "garbage disposal" and she'll eat almost anything, unless Morgan tells her it is gross.

All of the ingredients alone are delicious, but together they are not so yummy!