This month, we’re shopping our kitchen in order to use up what we have so we can save money and clear kitchen clutter.
Here we go with Day 11 of the Pantry Challenge!
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Blast from the past: two years ago today I was in the midst of perfecting this. And last year I was reshooting this. Yum!
Today I finished the prep work I did finish yesterday. I cooked up some ground wagyu beef for a casserole I’m experimenting with. (More on that tomorrow.)
I strained most of the drippings as I think that would be considered tallow, right? I didn’t add any seasonings so the boys will cook with it because they like that kind of thing.
What We Ate
Breakfast: Everyone was home today. Saturday’s are a fend-for-yourself kind of day. One of the girls made me scrambled eggs and toast.
Lunch: Bryan had a frozen burrito. The kids made Alfredo Pasta. I had cottage cheese and pineapple.
Dinner: Saturdays are a prep day for me, so I like to keep dinner simple. We did an Ultimate Snacky Dinner.
How did Day 11 go for you? We’re ⅓ done!
Karen J
Day 11
breakfast -egg muffins at home plus coffee
lunch-snacked
dinner-baked spaghetti made with freezer meatballs and three cheeses (lots of leftovers), green salad and garlic bread from the freezer
As it’s a rainy Sunday, I am planning on re-organizing my freezers and taking another look at my monthly meal plan that I made at the first of the month. (I just put dinner possibilities that I could make from what I have hand on a calendar, then pick and choose what I feel like making ) Also taking stock of my fresh veg to see what needs to be used first. I’m surprised I still have some lettuce that’s good.
Heather M
Sometimes lettuce can be sneaky like that. I’ve found that if I put a paper towel in with greens(whatever kind), they last a little longer. Hope the freezer reorganizing went well!
Danielle Zecher
Breakfast: I skipped. Nick had instant oatmeal.
Lunch: Leftover baked spaghetti.
Dinner: Chicken pot pie, using pre-cooked chicken and frozen veggies from the freezer, and some milk that was getting close to expiring.
Erin in Ontario
A snowy day yesterday, and a storm watch for today. The guys are out for martial arts, so hopefully the major snow will hold off until this afternoon.
B: Weekends are a fend for yourself, so I have no idea what anyone ate. I wasn’t hungry until around 11, so I skipped it.
L: I had leftover black beans and mango with coconut rice. The others dug into the freezer and found various appetizers they had bought “for science” on an occasion where my husband was doing the shopping. It seemed to involve pigs in a blanket and breaded dill pickles, possibly something else as well. Not healthy but probably very tasty!
D: Teenager made a big tray of lasagna and a salad for everyone.
Snacks that I saw included smoothies, cookies (yet more “science” purchased by dad) and some really firm and delicious grapes.
Allie from Ontario
Hmmmm……my post for today has disappeared….maybe a typo in my user name? I’ll wait before reposting
Allie from Ontario
Carrying on with my “stock the freezer with dental surgery soups”, I made a curried sweet potato, carrot & red lentil soup that is quite good. I have decided that sweet potatoes should be the mascot of the “save ugly produce” movement. I picked the oldest, gnarliest one from my shelf and of course the flesh was beautifully orange & unblemished under that crazy exterior 🙂 And the mason jar of red lentils is now empty. Fitting these soups in the upright freezer has been a bit like a game of Jenga but is possible thanks to this challenge.
Also we have not done ANY grocery shopping other than T’s need for WHITE 2% milk (my bad) last week and he picked up some skim milk for me yesterday. So far so good.
What we ate on Jan 11
Brunch: Steel cut oats etc early for me followed by a mug of tomato soup early in the
afternoon. T finished off the last of the Italian soup early followed by the rest of the pork chops later
Dinner: We went out to a friends for dinner…she makes the best apple crisp in the world!
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
1/11
B: dh and I finished up the last of the egg casserole, plus coffee
L: hm chicken (freezer) salad along with peanut soup. DH had crackers with his soup and a sandwich with the chicken salad. I ate a few crackers with my soup and chicken salad.
D: I got my meals mixed up when reporting. Last night we had soup, cornbread, apples and cukes. Tonight we finished up Jessica’s jambalaya on half and half rice/all cauliflower rice, sautéed cabbage and apple slices again.
S:nuts, Christmas cookie
S: boiled egg
Kathryn M
No breakfast except caffeine. Had an emergency errand to run as soon as I got up.
Today ended up being Mexican day.
Lunch – Tacos. Tortilla chips. Pulled out a pound of hamburger and other stuff to make an enchilada casserole for dinner so we just cooked up the meat at lunch.
Dinner – enchilada casserole (with the leftover meat and almost a whole pound of cheese) and canned refried beans. Since the meat was already cooked it was easy to assemble and just toss in the over to heat.
Snack – The last ice cream sandwich out of the freezer. Peanuts.
I got rid of a half package of opened taco shells at lunch. I chopped up the bit of green onion and the very last garden tomato lingering in the fridge. I also got rid of canned enchilada sauce the had a Jan 7, 2025 best buy date. The corn tortillas and the cheese came out of the freezer – winning the freezer battle a little at a time.
Heather M
Winning the freezer battle a little at time sounds like how my month is going. It was so full-overstuffed- that it still looks full, yet we’ve used up quite a few things from it.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Kathy, yes thank you for your explanation of rye porridge. I too had wondered about it. I ate cream of wheat many years ago and I thought it might be similar to that, except with rye but it is certainly different from that. It sounds quite healthy and that’s great your little one will eat it regularly. My husband is not too keen on hot cereals. Maybe he’d like this since it has beer as an ingredient! Haha 🙂
Kathy in Denmark
LOL about your husband!
It’s definitely a healthy and very economical dish! I also very rarely waste any rye bread, because I use up the stale bread in this dish 😉
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Oops, I got so busy justifying my purchases that I forgot to record dinner using those thighs in my post.
D: spiced chicken thighs, baked potatoes,Mediterranean salad and mandarins.
Jennifer
B – we had pumpkin chocolate chip muffins – and as soon as I took a bite I knew I had left something out – thinking back it was the oil. The recipe calls for over a cup of oil and I added none! Oops…they are edible for sure, but dry and look different – but hey I saved money on olive oil lol
L – I went back to work for the first time since my surgery in November. I took a snacky lunch of randomness – not a good way to start back to work. Dh took leftovers
D – Tyson spicy chicken sandwiches (used the last 3 patties), roasted sweet potatoes. This is one of my fast emergency meals that I started during Covid when you could never find chicken I found these patties. We all like them well enough and its different than a frozen pizza. I figured I would be wiped out plus we had an evening commitment so it worked out
Nancy
B. Oatmeal
L. LO taco soup with chips, cheese and sour cream
D. Invited to a friend’s house. They served salmon, grilled chicken, buffalo roasted cauliflower, ceaser salad, rolls with mozzarella tomato spread and chocolate cake
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
I’ve got to catch up!
1/10
B: toasted English muffin with coffee. Can you tell I don’t mind repetitive breakfasts?
L: dh ate the rest of his takeout sub. I think I had yogurt for lunch on this day. D: the last of the tetrazzini, lo broccoli salad and orange slices.
S: I’m pretty sure there was some snacking done, just can’t remember what.
Cold weather was approaching and we had no soup. So I got that huge turkey carcass out of the freezer and made turkey 😉 noodle soup. For some reason I think it’s the best I’ve made. Sometimes the broth in my noodle soups are lacking in body. I seasoned it and prepared like always, it just came out especially good! I’ve put aside a quart to take to a friend that’s a widower, plus that limits the leftovers.
1/11
B: I switched it up today and had avocado toast and coffee. DH made himself an egg and cheese English muffin.
L: we had the soup and hot open faced sandwiches with gravy (freezer)
D: since I was afraid we might start gobbling from all the turkey we’ve been eating, I broke down and bought some chicken thighs. My favorite kind was on sale so I got a family pack at .86# for 5.10. Not bad.
BUT, then I went to our Harris Teeter. My husband went in with me which is never good! He wanted some nuts since we were out. I thought I had some at home but wasn’t sure, so I put those in the cart – reluctantly. (Of course I found the big container of mixed nuts when I got home:( Then there was leftover oat milk from the holidays and he wanted cereal to go with it! I don’t remember the last time I bought cereal, since I find it expensive. Then, he had been going on and on about cookies (not that either of us need any). I told him he was worse than the children were growing up while in the grocery store!! This next purchase, Jessica had a hand in- LOL. I had viewed her post with those yummy cookies, including the chocolate crinkle ones with Hershey kisses. They looked so good, and with my husband continuing to talk about cookies… At the store, the Hershey kisses were marked down 75% and those bags just jumped into my cart!! So now I sit with only a third of the month over, having spent $40+ which is what I usually about what I spend the whole month! I’ll need to buckle down for sure the rest of the month.
I’m enjoying everyone’s posts. Glad most everybody has recovered from all the ailments.
Now, I’ve got to go make those cookies!
Tasty
Funny how the grocery bill goes so much higher when husbands come grocery shopping!! I suppose I don’t really mind as long as everything does get used. I know when I’m shopping in a store I really know, I pick up what I want but I don’t look at what else is there whereas hubby looks and will often notice something different.
Karen J
Breakfast-omelets with ham, mushrooms, onion, poblano, and cheese I love it when I can toss the last bits of things in eggs and have it turn out tasty.
Lunch-leftover pot pie soup
Dinner-weiner wraps (weenie winks? crescent dogs?) cajun sausage links stuffed with cheddar, wrapped in dough-the whack can kind, topped with egg wash and everything bagel seasoning-very gourmet 🙂
also air fryer tater tots. I was going to add carrots and ranch but I forgot
Kathy in Denmark
We call your weiner wraps “pølsehorn” in Danish. It roughly translates to “sausage rolls” and I find them very tasty!
I always make them with a HM bread dough, but you can actually buy ready made dough just for these in Danish supermarkets. I like to make a big batch and freeze. It makes packing lunch a lot easier!
Karen J
I am happy to know that weiner wraps are an international treat! My youngest granddaughter, today eating leftovers, asked why are they so spicy. Well, that’s the kind of sausage I had in the freezer, my dear.
Allie from Ontario
Jan 11
Brunch – T had yogurt & I had a smoothie (making progress through various little bags/jars of frozen fruit) and later after errands, we split the rest of the meatball soup from Wednesday.
Dinner – I made a 1 pot farro-tomato-parmesan bake with sausage meat, basil & grape tomatoes from the freezer. I made a dent in the pantry jar of farro but I should have known to cut it in 1/2 (even if it said “2 dinner portions”) because even after 2 dinner bowls, there is a lot leftover. We’ve been good about eating leftovers right away and not adding much to the freezers I’m trying to empty but it’s bound to start happening.
The winter storm watch for my area has now been elevated to a warning with projections up to a foot of snow. Let’s hope they’ve got that wrong!
Heather M
Good luck with the snow! I, too, I’m trying hard not to have many leftovers. It can be a trick when only cooking for 2. It was a lot easier when our kids were home. You’re really doing great with using up odds and ends!
Tasty
January 11th
Once a week, usually on Thursdays, we go out for breakfast, Our regular haunt closed for about 3 months last week so we had to try somewhere new and it was just OK Somewhere else next week!!
B: hubby had eggs, sausage and hashbrowns with toast and jam, I had a small eggs benedict with hashbrowns.
L: Neither of us was hungry – I wonder why???
S: Cabbage rolls with mashed potatoes, using some of the ground beef I bought yesterday morning. But it used the cabbage that had been in the fridge for a while and I have 2 more dinners of cabbage rolls in the freezer now! There was also cabbage leftover so for us that means bubble and squeak (Mashed potatoes and cooked cabbage, or Brussels sprouts, – mixed together and fried) One of the very few things I fry.
So far my meals this week have all entailed cooking and lots of leftovers to refill the empty spots on the freezer. – 2 containers of chicken soup, 3 containers of chilli and 2 of cabbage rolls. The mashed potatoes also used up the last of the russets I had – something else GONE!!!!
Kathy in Denmark
I’m reporting from day 10 and 11 today 🙂
Day 10:
DH worked from home, as he does every Wednesday. DD1 back in school again.
B: Oatmeal for DD1, Rye porridge for DD2, yoghurt and HM granola for DH and I. Also coffee!
L: DD1 had a packed lunch, DD2 had the last LO pasta. DH and I had rye topped with whatever I could find in the fridge.
D: Tortillas with HM refried beans (from freezer), salsa, shredded cheese, crème fraiche and assorted salad fixings.
S: Cheese and crackers in the afternoon
Day 11:
B: Oats and milk for DH, oatmeal for DD1, rye porridge for DD2, toast and coffee for me
L: DH eats at work, DD1 had her packed lunch, DD2 had rye bread with mackerel in a tomato sauce and so did I. I also had a piece of bread topped with some leftover roast from Christmas. I slice it thinly and freeze in small portions, so I can just use it as a cold cut.
D: DH had to work late, so got fed at work. The girls and I had rice, chicken breast with a spice rub (DD2 had a fish fillet, since she doesn’t like chicken), boiled carrots and green beans and a hollandaise sauce from a box. I had asked the girls what they wanted, and DD2 wanted something with rice and sauce 🙂 Since DH only really likes rice with Indian dishes, this was actually perfect for this night!
S: DD1 had yoghurt and HM granola after school and I had a chocolate candy bar sometime during the day.
Heather M
How funny both our husbands worked late on the 11th. Glad you and the girls were able to enjoy rice with dinner because of it 🙂
Karen J
Everytime I read where one of your children has rye porridge I am intrigued. I have never seen it in stores around here. Rye toast is one of my favorite foods.
Kathy in Denmark
Hi Karen J!
The rye porridge is made with Danish rye bread (rugbrød) and is actually called “øllebrød” in Danish, which translates to “Beer-bread” LOL
It is a very old dish, which was made by soaking stale rye bread in beer overnight and then boiling it until it became porridge. You then sweetened it with brown sugar and sometimes topped it with whipped cream when serving. The beer used has very little alcohol in it, and is typically something we have around Christmas time. It is also very sweet! My husband likes it, but I can´t stand it. I do use it when I bake my own rye bread, as it gives it a lovely flavour which is hard to replicate. It is called “Hvidtøl”.
When I make the rye porridge, I soak the bread in water overnight and boil it the next morning. I sweeten it with mashed banana and add a little piece of butter and some milk or cream. I used to sweeten it with applesauce, but at some point I used a banana and my daughter prefers it that way.
She will eat this for breakfast every single day – she just loves it. It is incredibly healthy and filling, so I am happy that she wants it.
You can actually make rye porridge with rye flower or kernels, but it won’t be exactly the same and the kernels will need to soak and cook for a long time.
That was a very long explanation, but I guess its no wonder you haven´t found it anywhere, since it is a very unique Danish dish 🙂
Rye bread is a cornerstone in Danish cuisine and culture and even though you can get different types of rye bread in other countries, it’s just not the same. If you ever go to Denmark, you should try “Smørrebrød” which is open sandwiches with all sorts of different toppings (it’s what I have for lunch almost every day, but the smørrebrød you get at a restaurant is a lot more elaborate). Naturally, it is made with rye bread 😉
Jessica Fisher
I just made rye bread last night, but I’m guessing mine is really different from yours?
Karen J
Thank you for that great rye porrige explanation Kathy! I guess I may have to wait until we make it to Denmark (on our future travel list).
Kathy in Denmark
Hi Jessica!
That is one delicious looking loaf of bread, but you are right, it is very different from the type I am referring to.
The Danish type of rye bread is very dense, often has a lot of kernels in it and hardly any wheat. This means it doesn’t rise very much. It also means it stays fresh for a really long time, if you keep it in the fridge.
If you google “rugbroed”, you get some pictures of it.
Jessica Fisher
Interesting! Thanks!
Kathryn M
Leftover pizza and leftover burrito today. Christmas candy for a snack.
Tasty
What a great explanation Kathy, thank you,
Heather M
Jan 11: a day where plan B was enacted AND I resisted buying myself takeout after L had informed me he’d have to be at work very late so wouldn’t need dinner
B: I had a lot going on so had breakfast from the freezer- a wedge of leftover spinach grújete frittata I froze in the fall-still 2 left to eat, plus a small piece of the stollen. L skipped- he had to head into DC for a meeting before getting to his usual place of work, which also meant I couldn’t send him with food.
L: L grabbed some Panda Express. I was so tempted to grab something on my way home after being gone until 3ish. Instead, I popped a turkey corn dog from the freezer in the air fryer and sliced up an apple. It was so late!
D: work bought L dinner, a Cobb salad; I made myself a toasted cheese sandwich with Cotswolds double Gloucester cheese with onions and chives from Trader Joe’s (have you ever had this? I love it!) and thinly sliced Granny Smith apple(I saved some from lunch). It was delicious. I had raw veg with light dip on the side.
I didn’t need to grab takeout. So much food at home, and I got a few more bits (just bits) out of the freezer. Nothing from the cupboards(wait, I opened a spicy brown mustard for the corn dog, so I did!), but tomorrow I’ll get stuff out of both. I’ll be making what I’d originally planned for dinner tonight and I’m excited about it.
Heather M
That would be spinach Gruyère!
Kathy in Denmark
Well done not getting take-out! And I think all your meals sounded really good.
Heather M
Thank you 🙂
Tasty
Love Double Gloucester!!
Allie from Ontario
That cheese sounds lovely! Every time I hear about great things from Trader Joes, I’m a little jealous – no stores in Canada 🙁
Jennifer
B – muffins from freezer for me, toaster strudels for the others – served with fruit or yogurt
L – I took leftovers, dh and dd were home sick and had the soup I bought the day before and fruit
D – I made homemade alfredo sauce with bacon over bowtie pasta, served with cucumber and peppers – I used up the remains of a carton of heavy whipping cream combined with 2% milk to replace the whole milk it called for. I had dd pick up cream cheese and parmesan cheese for me. We were having company and I really wanted to make this – I thought I had what I needed until 5 pm, ugh, but dd was out so I had her stop
Emily
B- Cheese omlette with avocado, an orange and a piece of gf cornbread from the freezer.
L- leftover cabbage rolls and perogy casserole.
Snack- my kid took a banana and only had 1 bite so I took it and some strawberries we picked and froze last summer as well as half a yogurt drink the kids wouldn’t finish and made a huge smoothie.
D- tacos using half meat and half beans from the freezer.
Dessert- finished my kids leftover pudding from the day before
I am realizing how 50% of my diet seems to be finishing up my kids half eaten foods.
ZC from MA
B: overnight oats with hemp milk, nut butter and banana
L: bought at work
D: udon with shrimp
S: an orange