It's only a can of beans. The one can that hid in the dark recesses of my pantry. I pulled it out and it had expired last year. My rational brain says that it may still be good but my instincts tell me to toss it.

I tossed it without a second thought. You see, if any of you have ever had food poisoning you know why I didn't try to salvage it. It is not worth the risk of being sick for over a week for a .89 cent can of beans.

I will be more diligent in rotating my food pantry as I put the foods that will expire soon in the front so I will use them first. I may write a list of items to use by month in my pantry to remind me of their expiration dates.

The refrigerator was the next place I looked for expired foods. I usually do a good job at using up food in the refrigerator. The only thing I need to use up is a half box of raisins that will expire in April. I am making raisin quick bread today. I noticed I have a half package of dates in there too that need to be eaten by April so I will make a mental note to eat those as snacks next week or make more quick bread with them next weekend.

This month we have been eating pantry foods. Today I made a chicken spaghetti casserole and a spinach quiche to eat on for the weekend.