Host a "use it up" party to help with cleaning your kitchen for spring

You know you have (at least) one -- a pantry lurker. There's that bottle of hot sauce you were gifted years ago that's become a dust collector at the back of a shelf, or a jar of pickled onions that you bought on a road trip that's older than the Carter administration.

In the spirit of spring cleaning, AJC food editor Ligaya Figueras hosted a use-it-up party, asking guests to bring a dish that made use of an ingredient that had work out its welcome in their kitchen.

The ideas were inspired -- read more about the party here, and check out some recipes that used up shredded coconut, pickled green tomatoes and frozen meat (in separate dishes, of course).