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 17 of the Pantry Challenge!
We had an extended weekend with Martin Luther King Jr Day today, so everyone was home. While I really needed to do meal prep, it just wasn’t in the cards today.
Instead I let the college boys have the kitchen and prep their meals for the next couple days. That will work better in the long run.
I did a Walmart pick-up but they were out of quite a few things so I ran to Ralphs to get what was missing. While I was there, I noticed quite a few empty shelves. I’d heard shortages were a thing, but I haven’t been in the store more than twice this month so I hadn’t seen it for myself.
I talked with an employee stocking cheese and he said the last three weeks were the worst, but he thought things were getting better. I still wasn’t able to get some of things I wanted, namely PAN to make arepas and gluten-free lasagna noodles. Both are more specialty items, but I’m finding I need to transform my kitchen to more gf items so that food is safer for my son.
One of the college boys made a run to ALDI as well to do his meal prep. He checked with me first to see if there was pantry challenge stuff he could use, but we didn’t have a lot of the things he wanted.
Since our deal with the kids is to provide room and board and a stipend for college expenses, I feel like this is an okay spot to veer from my pantry challenge.
As it was, he only spent $37 at ALDI. Coupled with the Walmart order and today’s Ralphs stop, our monthly total is up to $352.58. Just $9.36 of this is out of pocket since I had Ibotta credit from last year.
My goal was to spend $700 or less this month, so we are more than on track to hit the goal, provided things don’t go off the rails these last two weeks. We shall see, eh?
What We Ate
Breakfast – Kids had a variety of things, including cereal, oatmeal, eggs, toast, and leftovers. I made a breakfast burrito with scrambled eggs (including the egg white I didn’t use in yesterday’s egg wash for the danish) and the leftover Pico de Gallo from last night.
Lunch – Bryan grilled burgers, both beef and turkey. I made homemade Thousand Island Dressing (mayo + ketchup + chopped dill pickles). I had my turkey burger on the last Meal Prep Salad from last week! It still looked great. We cooked 14 patties and there are 2 left. Somehow, there are 8 buns left. Not really sure how that happened, but I’ll toss them in the freezer for another burger night.
Dinner – My last few batches of soup haven’t been amazing, so I tried to redeem myself tonight with Minestrone Soup with Sausage. I omitted the tortellini because we didn’t have any and cooked some elbow macaroni on the side. That way the soup could be gluten-free and the noodles didn’t bloat.
I thawed the last ALDI baguette from the freezer and served that with leftover Boursin from yesterday’s snack trays. I reheated some Broccoli Cauliflower Soup for myself because I prefer that over minestrone.
Overall, it was a good day and I spent very little time in the kitchen.
How did Day 17 go for you? Only 2 weeks left!
Jen in Ohio
All the kids were home for MLK day today.
B: I think everyone may have skipped? Kids slept in
L: LOs for the adults, I had 2 bananas on their way out, so smoothies and snacky plates for 2 kids, pb sandwich w/ fruit and crackers for the non-smoothie lover child
D: LO spiral sliced ham from last night, roasted carrots with dill, stovetop “roasted” potatoes, salad
Kimberly
My boys and I went snowboarding with the day off for MLK day. So I made a heavy breakfast and we ate lunch on the mountain, just bringing granola bars for the ride home. We had a great time,
B- bacon, egg, & cheese biscuits with milk or juice
L- burgers and fries out, hubby brought his usual sandwich to work
D- I was tired after the drive home so hubby was in charge. Beef & bean nachos, all with ingredients we had at home. I was especially excited that we finally finished off both those 1/4 bags of Tostitos
My pantry challenge goal remains to use up those random things that have been in my pantry and freezer for way too long. Still have several to go, but I have started to make a dent. I have found some new recipes with those specific ingredients so just have to keep working at it.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
1/17/22
Still had a bit of leftover cream that I didn’t want to waste, so I made homemade biscuits this morning and finished it up.
I decided to purchase some Romaine lettuce. The organic Romaine was out, as was the sale beef and chicken. I’m not sure if this is due to supply chain issues, or our usual shortages for a holiday weekend in a resort area. When our visitors come, the shelves empty. I also purchased onions. I’d been making do with onion powder the last few days, but figured I needed real onions to go with peppers for Italian sausages that I’m planning to fix sometime this week. So another $6.05 for a total of $20.76 for the month. Hoping to keep the total less than $50 for the month, so good so far.
B: coffee DH: French toast, coffee
L: LO corn chowder and biscuits for me DH: ate chowder and chicken noodle soup and added ham to some of the biscuits
D: stuffed spuds (baked potatoes, chili, cheese, sour cream), Jessica’s Pear and Bleu cheese salad (I love this salad. It is so good. I substituted apple slices for pear)
Sarah
Did some shopping and took a trip to Costco since we were completely out of chicken and ended up spending $125 with meats, Parmesan cheese, grapes, and a surprise restock of Clio bars. We stuck to the list and I was proud!
I pulled the hambone out of the freezer over the weekend and made an amazing white bean soup because I hadn’t gotten around to it and I was cranky and threw stuff in the instant pot and said whatever happens is dinner. It turned out soooo good!
Maybe you need a cranky soup?
Gluten free can be tricky but I try to catch sales and also buy on the gluten free mall website. Also, checking out different stores in the same chain because our local grocery chain has one tiny store with a huge gluten free section and lots of frozen/fridge stuff because someone in the managers family is GF.
I think the barilla GF pasta is pretty close to the real thing and it works well in soups/liquids. I dislike any pasta trying to be healthy aka made of beans and/or quinoa.
B: GF crispbread w/ laughing cow wedge and an apple
L: leftover bean soup and gf crackers
D: creamy chicken and rice in the IP since my BF was having a rough pain day. It’s basically chicken pot pie but with rice instead of noodles. Very comforting.
S: Lindt chocolates (had a ton of cvs coupons so they were super cheap)
Kathy in Denmark
I love the cranky soup 😀
Lily R.
B: yogurt and granola with blackberries/raspberries.
L: assorted leftovers from afternoon tea. Still so yummy!
D: seafood vindaloo, basmati rice, samosa, aloo gobi and raita. Hubby’s brother and sister in law are visiting and I asked what they wanted to eat on their first night before they got here. They do not have good Indian food where they live, and I have access to so many ethnic markets that I was happy to indulge them.
Dessert/Snacks: I tried my hand at assorted Indian sweets. I made ladoo, rasmalai and gulab jamun. They turned out really well!
I can’t believe we are halfway through- I will definitely be continuing into February. I hope you are all doing well and chugging along!
Julie T
We were gone for the weekend. Ate meals at guests house, one dinner out, and I brought home canned goods to our guests.
So for Monday:
B- steel cut oats done in the crockpot with apple butter. Chopped apple, walnuts, and maple syrup on top. 2nd to last apple used from our apple harvest from fall. HoneyCrisp apples store well in the crisper.
L- quesadillas made with peppers and onions from the freezer and some leftover frozen cooked chicken.
D-hamburgers on home made hamburger buns (freezer), last of the frozen French fries (made in the air fryer), and home canned green beans.
I have spent $27.50 on groceries so far and used 20 jars of home canned food. My goal is to keep the grocery spending to $50 and to open 50 jars of home canned food.
Kathryn M
B: cereal, applesauce
Lunch: grilled cheese sandwich, carrots and celery sticks, pickle spear
Dinner: BBQ chicken wings, pasta salad, the last of the cheddar bay biscuits.
Laurie in TX
It sure seems like time is flying! I’m sooo ready for cedar fever season to be over. It has really kicked my hiney. The wind is blowing hard today which doesn’t help. My brain feels like mush.
B – cereal for hubs, peanut butter toast and milk for me
L – hubs had sliced ham and carrots, I had half a ham sandwich, carrots and chips
D – hubs made us tacos with the leftovers from Sunday night. We had chocolate chips left from Sunday too.
Jennifer
We were snowed in yesterday and I was in the mood for comfort food + plus I had the time.
B – leftover apple bread, strawberries
L – I tried to cook things from the freezer as well as eat stuff that we don’t take for school lunches – french bread pizzas, fish sticks, yogurt, apples
D – stew! I used a very nice deer roast my dad had sent us. I cooked it up with a carton of beef broth, 3 cans of whole potatoes (I never buy these, but did last fall when they were $0.59 per can), a can of diced water chestnuts and 2 large carrots. Served with homemade beer bread. Yum! I was seriously licking my plate.
Today I felt like I used a lot of things up and that is a good feeling.
lisa s
B: cereal
L: sandwiches and l/o enchiladas
D: Mongolian venison w/rice and zucchini
tasty
Monday January 17th
B – regular brekkie for both of us
L – I pulled a container of Cream of vegetable soup from the freezer
S – quiche and salad
I made some bread in the afternoon and then tried a new-to-me cookie recipe. I found it to be a bit on the sweet side but hubby liked it. The quiche used a pie shell from the freezer as well as a piece of Canadian bacon that I had bought on sale a while ago for less than $1 (I still have a couple of other pieces left). So I am making progress but for a couple of oldies, it is slow going – we don`t eat like we used to for sure.
Sandi
L – PBJ
D – l/o ravioli lasagne, salad
Maureen
It was a good challenge day with the girls home from school (MLK Day). We ate up some leftovers for lunch. Dinner was Italian and everyone was happy…garlic bread and ravioli from the freezer, leftover alfredo. I opened a huge can of tomatoes for marinara, so the freezer is now stocked with a little marinara, pizza sauce, and some tomatoes. AND I finally completely cleaned out the fridge. I was happy to not have to toss much and found garlic butter for the garlic bread. I rearranged quite a bit to corral everything that needs to be used up and plan to just keep chipping away at it.
Danielle L Zecher
Breakfast: Muffins, toast, hot tea, and hot chocolate.
Lunch: Hubby had leftover baked ziti and I had leftover turkey pot pie.
Dinner: Hubby made calzones. So good!
We had some milk that needed to be used, so I made a batch of paneer to have in curry tonight. I tried to speed the process along and ended up scorching the bottom of the pot pretty bad. I think the paneer is still okay, though.
This may be a dumb question, but does it work to use powdered milk (mixed with water according to the package instructions) in soup? They’re calling for more snow for us Thursday night and Friday, and I’m trying to avoid a trip to the grocery store tomorrow if I can.
Jessica Fisher
I think reconstituted powdered milk should be fine. I’m sure that’s what they use in powdered soup!
Danielle L Zecher
Thanks! Now I can avoid the madness of the grocery store this week. 🙂
Stephanie M.
January 16
B – Paul had toast and a yogurt parfait. I had a yogurt parfait.
L – Paul had appetizers from the freezer leftover from Christmas. He now finished the first two kinds (crab rangoons and pigs in a blanket) and there are two more to go. He also had cucumbers and carrots with ranch dressing. I had a turkey sandwich and we both had clementines.
D – I had one bag of ravioli left in the freezer and two bags of home made sauce with meat balls and sausage so we had that. One more bag of sauce left out of four bags all leftover from a meal I made several weeks ago.
My challenge is going very well. I’ve been careful to only buy what I need rather than what’s on sale and I don’t really need it. Since there’s only two of us, it goes slower because many times we have leftovers but my freezer is showing a big difference from what it was.
Kathy in Denmark
I’ve been catching up on everyone’s progress over the last few days. Lots of yummy sounding meals!
Day 16
B: Weekend brunch: bread, softboiled eggs, jams, cheeses, coffee and juice
L: Ikea
D: Oatmeal and rye porridge for the girls. LO curry dish for DH and me
The bread we had Saturday and Sunday was actually from DH’s work. They get fresh bread every day and the leftovers are bagged up and anyone can take them home. He was one of the last to leave and took a bag of very nice bread home. Works for me 🙂
We are slowly buying all the furniture and other things needed to decorate our new second floor, hence the trip to Ikea 🙂 We figured we would eat in the restaurant since it’s affordable, kid friendly and has some pretty good food. We were so full from lunch that we all just had some LO for dinner. I Baked bread in the evening since I didn’t have to cook dinner, so we have that for the next few days.
Day 17
B: The usual
L: DH ate at work, packed lunch for the girls, HM bread with aïoli, cured ham and tomatoes for me
S: Hot cocoa with whipped cream after school
D: Rye with different toppings
The aïoli needs to be used up, so I am making an effort to use it where ever I can. It’s not like it’s the most awful thing to have to eat up lol
My kids love hot cocoa, especially the “real” cocoa, made in a pot on the stove, so I made some after school. The cream was just the stuff in a can, but it works fine in cocoa. We have some cocoa leftover but I suspect it will disappear quickly.
Monday is swim night for DD2, so we always have an easy meal. Tonight I made some fried eggs and fried some cut up boiled potaotes as well. I also had some “torskerogn” (basically cod caviar, but boiled and canned) which is very good fried in oil and topped with remoulade (a mayo based sauce with curry and pickles added) and lemon juice. It’s an easy way to get some fish in you and it keeps forever in the can, so I always have some in my pantry.
I went grocery shopping monday and even though I didn’t go crazy, I still bought what I felt we needed. A classmember of DD2 tested positive for covid during the weekend, so I feel like we might not be able to dodge this thing for much longer. We all tested negative and will go get tested again today, but I just don’t want to scramble to get us fed if we have to quarantine. Plus, my kids eat SO MUCH FOOD when we are all home, so I want to be prepared.
Heather M
Did you do an addition to your home? Sounds exciting and fun, a new second floor.
I love hearing about all the different fish things you have in Denmark. I love all kinds of fish (I could live on canned tuna, in sandwiches, salads, pasta, anywhere almost, but also love all sorts of fresh/frozen fish too). Torskerogn is a new one to me. And it sounds delicious, especially with a sauce like you describe.
Kathy in Denmark
The remulade sauce is something Danes crave when they live abroad. It’s one of those things you ask your guests to bring from home if they fly out for a visit 🙂
Well, we already had a second floor, but it needed to be redone and we also wanted to make sure the bones of the house were in good condition. This is something we have been planning and working towards since 2017, so we were happy to finally be able to do it. Our house is from 1890, so it’s always a gamble when you start ripping things apart 😉
We had our entire second floor ripped out and rebuilt in a different layout of the rooms, including a new bathroom and two new dormers. While everything was opened up, we had a ventilation system put in, which we are very grateful for now. The first floor hallway was also dug out and new flooring put in along with a new staircase. We also had the walls in the hall redone and more insulation put in. Lastly we had a small guest toilet and a small hallway combined into a second bathroom on the first floor.
It was a huge undertaking and we lived in our kitchen and one bedroom from just after Easter until July. The stairs were put in in the middle of august. Since we had no functioning bathrooms for quite a while, we had to use a toilet/bathroom parked in our driveway. It was very glamorous LOL
The good news is that the house looks great and the structure was absolutely fine! We can also sleep better at night because all the pipes, electrical installations etc. are up to par. And it’s a joy to have two new bathrooms and a house which looks very close to the vision we had for it.
Needless to say, this was ridiculously expensive! However, we had a fixed price for the biggest part of the project so we weren’t that affected by the rising prices on building materials.
We are in the process of building back our savings while buying what we need furniture-wise. The primary focus is on our girls’ rooms, the adults can wait 😉
Lily R.
Your comment about kids eating SO MUCH made me chuckle. Sometimes my sister ships her kids off to my house when she wants a break from cooking. No matter how many groceries I buy or how much I cook, there is hardly anything left when they leave! Both play various sports and are tall/lean with fast metabolisms.
Kathy in Denmark
It really is amazing how much growing kids can devour! We have two girls, aged 10 and almost 7 and they really do eat a lot. They are just naturally active and burn a lot of calories, I guess.
I cut up an entire cucumber to serve with dinner, thinking there would be something left for their lunches. DH and I each had a couple of pieces and the girls ate the rest! They also had a lot of other food, the cucumber was just “for fun” 🙂
I gave them cut up carrots in their lunches in stead!
It sounds lovely that your sister’s kids visit. My brother lives quite far away, so we don’t get to visit as much as we want.
Janie from WA state
I Love hearing how you are doing things with your older kids. Our oldest is almost 20 and away at school right now but this summer will move back home to go to school closer to home. We will be doing something similar with her with room and board, but always nice to hear from someone who is a little bit ahead of us.
B- hubby and I had poached eggs and toast, the boys were out of school today and had the last of the leftover cinnamon rolls and some cold cereal.
L- hubby either skipped or had lunch out as per usual on a workday. Boys and I had the last of the leftover chili and turkey and cheese Panini‘s on the artisan bread I made last night.
S- kombucha and zucchini bread at grandparents while visiting them today,
D- pork tenderloin, beer brats, coconut yam casserole from the freezer that I made around Thanksgiving, and canned peas. No one here likes canned peas but for some reason a colleague of my husbands had given him a box of random things about a year ago and I figured we needed to use them up even if they were not our favorite!
Overall a great day. Our oldest is back in Oregon for school and boys and I are back up work/school tomorrow!