Eat Down!

We are on an "eat down", as my mother-in-law calls it. An eat down is when you start looking through your pantry and freezer and find uses for the strange (or ordinary) ingredients that ended up there. I am not sure when my mother-in-law initiates an "eat down" but I generally start one when I notice an accumulation of things that I will never use unless I sit down and plan menus around them.

Like 4 boxes of Cheez-its?
Or 8 cans of peas?
Tamarind paste?
ghee?
chorizo?
tart cherries?
countless boxes of JELL-O pudding and gelatin?

So, my eat down is all about finding creative ways to use these ingredients (not all together) in recipes. We'll start with the Cheez-its....

My husband thinks that we need Cheez-its every time that we go to the grocery store, hence the 4 boxes in my pantry. His favorite thing to do with them is to dip them in cream cheese and pepper jelly. Unfortunately, I am out of both and the main objective of the "eat down" is to use ingredients that you already have in the kitchen.

#1) Cheez-it trail mix
2 cups Cheez-it
1 cup chocolate chips or peanut butter chips
1 cup raisins

I brought this to my sister's house for a party. I thought it would be good beer-snacking food. She laughed at me.

#2) Cheez-it chicken
5-6 chicken breasts
1 stick butter
1 egg white mixed with water.
2-3 cups Cheez-its (Tabasco-flavored), crushed
1 tsp. hot sauce

Put each chicken breast through the water-egg white mixture then coat with cracker crumbs. Place on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray like Pam. Do this with each of the chicken breasts. Melt butter, add hot sauce and drizzle over the chicken. Bake 40-45 minutes at 375° F.

This one was met with good reviews from the husband. Sorry, no pictures. It was that good!

Next, 8 cans of peas....