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 28 of the Pantry Challenge!
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I am up and about, but staying out of public just in case. I figure it’s better to err on the side of kindness if I don’t need to go anywhere.
What We Ate
Breakfast – I dropped Miss 17 at college and grabbed a free Chick-fil-A breakfast sandwich that was in my app.
Lunch – I picked up the girl and we came home for Tomato Soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.
Dinner – To keep things easy, I had Bryan grill pork tenderloin and we had frozen veg and baked potatoes.
How was Day 28 for you?
Tasty
Glad to see your are hopefully over your bug, Jessica. Karen, my heart goes out to you and your family as deal with all that’s happened. A good thing you and hubby are close enough to be able to help.
The weather here has just been awful. The weekend was cold and snowy, we stayed in and we’re just fine. By Tuesday, our regular canning day, it was supposed to be cold with just a dusting of snow so we went ahead with our plans. What a mistake that was – my drive home was the worst conditions I have seen in at least 25 years. However, we all made it home safely and are fine – perhaps a few more gray hairs then when we set out in the morning. Wednesday afternoon turned out to be more of the same but at least I was safely tucked up at home. Fortunately today has been sunny and bright, but we’re running out of places to pile the snow here at the condo. Thank goodness we don’t have to shovel!!!
What we ate Jan 28
B – hubby had his usual, I had a yogurt and a toasted English muffin
L – more of the tomato soup I made earlier in the week
S- I had a seasoning pack for Bulgogi in the pantry which I needed to use. We like Bulgogi at the local Korean restaurant so when we saw this pack a few months ago, we bought it. We ate our meal but it wasn’t great and I certainly won’t buy it again. The seasoning just overpowered the meat and the vegetables. Oh well, it’s not there taunting me any more plus pork and vegetables disappeared from the freezer and there is less rice waiting to be used up! You win some, you lose some!
Heather M
Jessica, glad you’re doing better! Yay! And Karen J, thanks so much for the update. Sounds like things are going as well as can be expected for such an incredibly traumatic thing. Glad your daughter has great neighbors, workplace, and insurance, not to mention family. All of that will help though the trauma and long term effects will(and should!) take time. Sending you all my love.
Tuesday, Jan 27: which I mostly described in Jan 26th’s post. C flew away, L trudged to metro, I got a peek into the rough road and driveway situation. Felt grateful to have others deal with our mess and to live near important(fire station) and bigger roads.
Brunch: C made himself a toasted turkey and cheddar sandwich; L had lunch out with a colleague down from NY; I had a leftover raspberry waffle with raspberries and banana
Dinner: C reported that the lounge at National Airport served Jose Andres tapas(he has one of those fancy travel credit cards since he’s on the road so much right now) and figured he’d be happily full the rest of the day/night lol; I made an easy and yummy salmon chowder with lots of carrots/celery/onions, veg broth, milk and a little heavy cream(I try to keep shelf stable in the cupboards, though I prefer half and half for creamy soups), 1 1/3 smallish cans of salmon(I buy a pack at costco, so they’re the size of tuna cans, not the larger ones), thyme, etc. We had TJs aloha rolls on the side.
Wednesday, Jan 28: In which I went to my longtime adored PCP for a check up and we discussed a potential upcoming big surgery my GI group is recommending. I had two bouts of bad infection(and painful) this past year, one requiring hospitalization, the other an ER visit, both with a nasty cocktail of meds my body doesn’t love. To keep it from happening more (it’s in the same location) they recommend surgery which would also involve another area which will need surgery sometime in the future as it is narrowing due to my version of crohns. It’s not urgent but also an emergency situation could come up. BUT I would effectively be out of travel commission for close to 3 months(it’s really 2 surgeries- a big one and smaller one 6-8 weeks later plus pre and post things) and if anything were to happen with mom…. So I’m really in a quandary trying to decide. She urged me not to wait. I guess you all will know next January what happens.
Brunch: L took a salad with the rest of the canned salmon, kiwi and raspberries, almonds; I was gone a long time and hadn’t eaten prior to my appt. When picking up my new prescriptions after, I succumbed to the frozen pizza calling my name. Luckily it was small and cheap ($2.19). I ate it, a pear, and some sun chips.
Dinner: I wasn’t super hungry (shocker!), so I served L the rest of the tuscan pasta and the rest of the chicken enchilada soup(salmon chowder was just enough for two so none left! leftovers gone!). I had a few crackers with some fun cheese and a couple peanuts. We finished off 1 of the 2 ice cream containers left from christmas.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Heather, prayers for wisdom as you weigh the medical options. I hope whatever you decide, that it will provide you with improved health and peace of mind.
Heather M
Thank you, Lynn. It really is a conundrum. Hoping by next Thursday to have better feelings about which way to go.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
1/28/26
Jessica, glad you continue to feel better. Karen J, I responded to your post yesterday and was glad to see your update. Yes, maybe by next year’s PC, things for your daughter’s family will be settled and better than ever.
B: yogurt with the last of the LO ambrosia and coffee
L: I made a true “stone soup”. I took out all the little containers of sauces, bits of meat and vegetables from the freezer to make soup. I definitely need to improve my labeling. I wasn’t sure at first what I even had in some of the containers! DH asked what kind it was. I said kind of vegetable beef, as I found some beef bits among some leftovers that will be dinner tomorrow. He gave it a thumbs up, which was good as I wasn’t sure at first! It did wind up being tasty and bags and containers are gone. He had a ham sandwich also. I just had the soup.
D: pintos (freezer made from dried) with more beef bits, peppers and onions. I added LO cornbread, made slaw and Waldorf salad (without celery as I didn’t have any). It was still good.
My plan had been to buy some chicken on 2/1, but like one of Heather’s earlier post I’m rethinking that. They are now calling for us to receive 5+ (I know Erin and Tasty, just another day for y’all!) inches of snow starting Saturday, so I am probably going to need to shop today or tomorrow so that there will be some food left around here with all the panic buying! I’ve got food to easily make it til then. And since as Jessica says-my rules-I may buy in January but apply it to February, continuing to eat what I’d planned for the challenge. I am however looking forward to a return to salads and chicken again! It looks like we are all finishing strong!
Heather M
Lynn, GO TODAY! There will be little left by tomorrow in the stores, if your area is anything like here. And you will absolutely be getting a nice snowfall where it rarely snows. It’s time to get some food. Rules do need to be adjusted when weather happens, and especially since you’ve done such a good job of eating down your supply! I know veg is getting low, so that alone is a good reason to shop. And, you can keep your shop to things you are out of or almost out of and use regularly, to keep the spirit of the challenge in the shop. Sorry if this came off as bossy (I am the oldest of 5 and was always the bossy oldest sister lol), but I well know what it can be like. I wish you well for the coming storm and that you stay warm and cozy and enjoy the beauty of it.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Thanks Heather! That’s exactly what I decided to do, and I’m glad I did. There were tons of shoppers everywhere I went, and stores were definitely getting low. DH was getting concerned that we were low on fruit too. So I shopped just as you said- for those fruits and veggies that were low and whole chickens. I bought oranges, a couple of apples as we still have a few, lettuce (yay!), grapes DH requested, bananas, cucumber and kiwi. I bought a bag of chips in case we need nachos again while watching ballgames. DH thought we “have no snacks”. Oh he of little faith! I still have plenty of options ?(cheese, crackers, hummus, olives, deviled eggs, dried fruit, nuts, popcorn, etc and now cukes) I completely forgot carrots so I’ll get them sometime later. Plenty for a charcuterie board or snacky dinner. And now that I have 2 whole chickens, I will cut off the wings and have those available to make also. I did give in to convenience and bought hamburger buns and a loaf of bread. I am going to make it a priority to learn to use the bread machine or (to make manually) a bit of our bread over the next little bit. I will report on that for next year’s PC!!
And Heather, no offense taken! I can be a bit of a “bossy pants” myself! 🙂 LOL. And, now that we’re all prepared, we’ll be able to do as you said-enjoy the beauty. I’m curious to see what the final forecast and outcome will be.
Stephanie M
Wednesday, January 28, 2026
B – Paul had fruit, yogurt and a whole wheat English muffin. I had cereal, fruit and nuts.
L – Paul had a buffalo chicken quesadilla. I had an egg salad sandwich.
D – we had zucchini quiche, fried leftover whole wheat spaghetti from the other night, and leftover asparagus.
My freezers are full of appetizers and snacks leftover and a lot of them unopened from the holidays and also some visitors. There are also a lot of pastries in there and some Christmas cookies still left. I don’t eat those things and Paul has decided he doesn’t want them either now that the holidays are over and he would like to get back to healthy eating. So we gathered everything up and also the snacks in our pantry and when we go to New Jersey in two weeks we’re bringing them to our daughter for her three boys. One is almost two, the other is 7 and the oldest is 13 so these boys can eat!!!! I’m sure none of this will go to waste. All that said, my freezers are now or will be as of two weeks from now quite emptied out. I do not have an outrageous amount of meat/fish in there and it won’t take long at all to finish it all up. I honestly at this point have more snacks and appetizers in there than meat so I’m happy to be in much better shape than I thought. I anticipate at most another month until I’m completely done with meat in there. And that’s only because there’s only two of us eating it.
Lynn from NC Outer Bankd
That sounds like a great use of the snacks and appetizers! The boys will probably be thrilled to have those options!
Stephanie M
Hi Lynn. That’s true. They will love them. Lol
Heather M
So great to pass on the goodies and appetizers to the boys up in NJ! I can’t believe how old they are now! Amazing. You’ve done so great on the challenge! Great work!
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Stephanie, I’m like Heather-those boys grew up fast over the OC years 🙂
Allie from Ontario
Karen J – Many thanks for the update on your daughter & her family. When I was telling my husband about what happened, it triggered lots of emotions linked to when his family lost their home to fire when T & his 2 brothers were aged 12 – 16. The way people & local organizations rallied around them sounds very much like what you are describing. Lots of love to all of you.
And Jessica…happy to hear that you are feeling better 🙂
What we ate on Jan 28
Brunch – I had a bowl of the chicken soup I made & T ate the rest of the chicken potato broccoli stuff + a banana before hockey.
Dinner – Yet another chicken dinner…this time a little pan of enchiladas. I wanted to make a “suizas” version using home canned tomatillo salsa verde + more of those roasted green chiles from the freezer BUT it also called for sour cream and I don’t have any. Wait…I remembered making similar enchiladas that called for cream cheese using a recipe from…Good Cheap Eats (!!)…so that’s what I did. They were delicious and an open package of corn tortillas, the full 1/2 pint of salsa verde + a couple of open fridge jars are now gone.
NOTE – I am planning on a pan of meatballs made with ricotta in a red sauce for tonight & when I was scrolling down to get to today’s comment box I saw my post from 2024 and I made the exact same thing on Jan 28th…can I possibly be that predictable???
Heather M
Lol the same pan of meatballs is so funny. But also, great winter dish! Also, I’ve made those GCE enchiladas before and they are delicious! I bet with your homemade salsa they were just delightful!
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Allie, I’ve chuckled at some of the meals I’ve eaten in earlier PC posts as well! I’ll bet Jessica’s recipe with cream cheese made the enchiladas even richer. And yay for emptying jars.
Maureen
My oldest got lunch at school even though it was a 1/2 day. The youngest snacked when she got home. And I had leftovers for brunch. We grabbed a mid afternoon light meal out between appointments with the promise that dinner would be a clean out the fridge affair. I also popped two older bags of microwave popcorn for snacking.
Kathy in Denmark
I feel like this part of the challenge is always hard for me. Maybe it’s because we are back to all the activities for the kids and I am gearing up for DD2’s birthday on the 4th.
Anyway, I haven’t been able to post, but I have written our dinners down, so I could share them 🙂
Day 21: Buddha bowls with LO hummus, Falafel or veggie kebab plus whatever veggies and couscous I had in the fridge.
I love this meal and often have something like it for lunch. DD1 has requested it in her packed lunch as well, and whenever we have the ingredients, I pack it for her 🙂
Day 22: Veggie burgers and chips (fries) from the freezer.
We had the annual PT conference for DD2, so an easy meal was great, and it used up the last 4 HM burgers from the freezer and some hamburger buns which needed to be eaten.
Day 23: Rye bread with toppings. I made HM fish nuggets and DD1 I thought they were good, but DD2 didn’t like them. Sigh. I made nuggets with the fish for her sake, next time I’ll just steam the fish with some veggies.
Day 24: HM nachos. DH and DD1 made dinner, while I rested. I didn’t feel well, so it was good that they could do it. They used the last of the HM chilli beans, so a new batch was made a few days later. We are now set 🙂
Day 25: Spanish tortilla with bread and salad. So good!
Day 26: Veggie lasagne with salad and HM bread. I made two lasagne, only baking one that night. I had some ricotta that needed to go, so I added that to the béchamel sauce. It worked fine, even though the sauce wasn’t quite as smooth as normal.
Day 27: Indian inspired stew with brown rice. I had some LO vegetarian stew in the freezer, which I thawed for DH. I had thawed a pork loin, and I roasted part of it whole and cut up the rest and used in the stew. I also used a tikka masala kit from the freezer and the last bit of tikka masala spice mix from the cupboard. Very good and no one complained about the brown rice, so now I am going to serve more of that!
Day 28: I baked up the other lasagne and served it with mixed salad and bread again. I have choir practise at 7 pm on Tuesdays, so it was nice to have an easy meal.
Breakfast and lunches are about the same as usual, although I am trying to get in the habit of eating chia pudding some times. I actually really like it, it’s healthy and filling and it stretches the quite expensive Greek yoghurt.
Heather M
Hi Kathy, glad to hear you’re still plugging along. I too am having a harder time right now with the challenge, but doing the best I can. Sounds like you are too. Your dinners the past week and even making more chili beans and a double batch of lasagna, that’s so great. I’ve also been making chia pudding with greek yogurt this past year! It’s great, though I haven’t made any yet this month! Probably in February. Hope you’re doing well.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Kathy, you’re still working the challenge tho you haven’t post as frequently. That’s still a win! Your meals sound great and as Heather pointed out, you are already ahead with extra meals and beans.
Kathy in Denmark
Thank you for the encouragement, Heather and Lynn.
I guess I just didn’t feel like it was going too well, but at least we are eating and I am using things up, although my freezer is still quite full! I will use quite a few things from it for DD2’s birthday brunch, ie. bake from frozen croissants, frozen hash browns etc.
Hope you can eat whatever you want again soon, Heather!
Tasty
Day 28
B: hubby had granola and a yogurt, I finished the pears with yogurt and granola.
L: cheese and crackers
S: spaghetti bolognese
Pretty slim pickings here, not that we are short of food, the freezers still offer lots of options but I really would rather not start something new!! Even without trying, the coffee is almost empty. I think there is enough to make a pot after supper tonight (29th) and. one more in the morning before we head out. The plan is to have burgers – open pack – tonight and I had to buy buns. Can’t make just 2 and there is only about 4″ left of a French loaf.
Heather M
Sounds like you’ve done really well getting fridge cleaned out before your travels! That’s awesome. I hope you have a great time in warmer places, Tasty 🙂
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Tasty, sounds like you planned it all perfectly with your upcoming trip. Enjoy your time in our neighboring southern state!
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
1/29/25
Oh you Canadians and anyone else with snow, be careful! Just reading about your “adventures “ makes me nervous for you all.
Tasty, you’ve done well to be leaving your empty fridge before your trip.
B: cottage cheese and peaches , tea
L: a Siggi’s protein yogurt pack? It was a freebie and I took it with me. I felt kind of silly drinking/slurping from the pouch at my age, but it was convenient as I consumed it while driving. Added an apple also.
D: got home in time for dinner and to many of the leftovers I’d made for DH before I left. I think we’re good for lunches and a few dinners maybe.
We’re almost to the end!
Tasty
Glad to say Lynn that we are in the very south of Ontario and have just had a dusting of snow. No 3 feet for us, thank goodness. I do feel for those who have had that amount. Lots of strong winds here, but nothing we can’t cope with.
Erin in Ontario
Another storm yesterday – the forecast had said light snow only in the evening, but a full howler kicked in mid morning and didn’t let up until the early hours today. We got about 3 feet of snow all told.
My husband had to drive through the blizzard to pick up our daughter at work in the next town, so he ended up dropping the teenager off with our other son and his family so he could still get to martial arts, but had to sleep at their house. I collected him this morning when dropping our daughter off again.
Anyway, on to food:
Breakfast was whatever anyone made for themselves. We had workers in for a reno, so I didn’t actually see any of what was eaten, and I forgot to eat some myself.
Lunch was grilled cheese sandwiches or veggies and hummus.
Dinner was a beef stew that I had cooking all afternoon. It made the house feel cozy instead of just feeling isolated 🙂 It was eaten with hm baguettes dunked into it and cleared a nice piece of freezer real estate.
Hoping everyone has a great Jan 29th!
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
3 FEET! Eyes popping!
Erin in Ontario
Lynn I’m giggling over here! 3 feet is not uncommon in northern Ontario, especially in the boonies like we are with very little windblock between pastures.
That being said, if I had my way it’d be 28C with a light breeze and sunny all year round!
Allie from Ontario
I am a few days behind due to my dental issues (which are not over yet – another 1.5 hour in the chair this am but at least it is at my own dentist). Monday’s drive to the specialist involved the crazy winds/blowing snow that Erin has described…big snow drifts across the highways along the straight, open stretches. I am now waiting to call the office to confirm this am because heavy snow overnight has cancelled all the school busses here.
What we ate on…..
Jan 26
Brunch – we both had the leftover pasta bake.
Dinner – I thawed 2 chicken thighs to make crispy chicken (in the airfryer) for sandwiches using a perpetual jar of crumbs, currently heavy on the cheesy crackers (ie Ritz, cheetos that I buy in little snackpacks at the gas station + any other “ends of cracker boxes” that I grind up). This makes great cumbs for chicken. We topped them with lettuce & the end of a jar of burger sauce T likes. I also finished off the fresh broccoli in an old school broccoli salad.
Jan 27
Brunch – nothing for me due to food/drink restrictions & T ate during his city errand run while I was in the chair.
Dinner – I managed some yogurt late afternoon & had a bit of tomato soup from the freezer later. T cooked a box of wings from the freezer, eating 1/2 with the leftover broccoli salad.
Jan 28
T finished his wings with some sliced tomato for brunch and then for dinner had a burger/bun (freezer) with the rest of his tomato, lettuce & the last dill pickle (I am saving the brine to marinate chicken fingers when I am back on solids)
I was on yogurt & freezer soup all day (finishing yesterday’s and then having broc & cheese later).
This is not the blazing finish to the challenge I had envisioned but at least we will see a big impact on our freezers!
Jan 28
Erin in Ontario
Allie – just a heads up that the weather gods have just issued another storm warning starting this afternoon at the latest, so depending on when your appointment is supposed to be you might want to reschedule if you can.
Heather M
OH gosh the timing of terrible weather and your dental appts. Glad you at least have had yummy soups to enjoy. Can relate to not feeling the blazing finish you’d hoped for this month. At least I know what I need to use up in the cupboards still. The freezer is more manageable, too. Hope you’re home and cozy and that your mouth isn’t bothering you too much.
Stephanie M
Tuesday, January 28, 2025
B – Paul had overnight oatmeal with yogurt. I had overnight oatmeal with cinnamon and a side of peanuts.
L – Paul had the last bag of Italian sausage soup from the freezer and the last slice of bread that we made on Saturday. He also had one of the puddings he made on Saturday. I had a roast beef sandwich with red onions, lettuce and tomato on whole wheat.
In the afternoon I had some cherries and almonds.
D – fish tacos and rice and beans and cucumber salad using the last cucumber.
Diinaus
Mad rush to get out the door.
L: carrots,apples,jam sandwich using up the jam stash. (Once the weather cools a little will find ways to bake with it) kids normally eat it down through winter with rice porridge.
D: made fritters using lo risotto, grated carrot and pumpkin. Served with last of lettuce and a tin of beetroot and a small bag of grated pizza cheese.
Kathryn M
lunch – soup
Dinner – ravioli
Midnight snack – took the other mini pizza out of the freezer. I was starving after work for some reason. I did burn a lot of calories at work.
Other snacks – potato chips, rice crispy treats, candy
Karen J
Breakfast-kielbasa, eggs and hashbrowns We generally have a big breakfast on Sunday and read the Sunday papers, which aren’t like they used to be. I am showing my age.
Lunch Starbucks mochas BOGO
Dinner-ribs from the freezer (the pre barbequed sauce kind that you just heat up), baked potatoes, peas and rolls
A pretty much relaxing Sunday. I think I stayed home all day.
Kathy in Denmark
So, I had a bit of crazy week and didn’t post anything! I just finished reading all the posts and comments, and I just want to say to everyone of you who are struggling: you are in my thoughts!
We are plugging along with the challenge, and even though I have been shopping for groceries, my bank account tells me that I am under budget this month 🙂
In no particular order, I have made:
– HM sourdough pizzas and pizza rolls with the LO dough
– Another lasagne with the leftover veggie bolognaise and béchamel sauce
– Pan fried sliced pork belly with potatoes, carrots and parsley sauce
– Tortillas with HM refried beans, salsa and salad fixings
– snacky dinners a few times
– rye bread topped with different odds and ends from the fridge
I hope to post the entire menu from each day the last few days of the challenge 😉
Allie from Ontario
Jan 28
Brunch – we split the leftover stew from Thursday night and each had a “parmesan- garlic butter” dinner roll. I had thawed whole milk to make them for Friday’s party and then made them on Saturday since the milk was thawed anyways and I find making bread to somehow be very therapeutic.
Dinner – I made some meatballs with ground beef + mild Italian sausage meat + parmesan & lots of fresh herbs and thawed 2 different marinaras I made from the garden in the fall. I put blobs of ricotta around the pan, added some more parm, ran it under the broiler and then added some pesto to garnish. It was very good.
Yesterday was a “rescue day” for a tub of ricotta & some fresh herbs that needed to be used. Some of both went into dinner and I also made a bunch of stuffed shells which I freeze “unsauced” so I can pull out a few at a time & make a super small pan just for the 2 of us. There is still ricotta left…sigh.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
1/28
Happy birthday to Bryan. So glad you are finally better so you could enjoy and celebrate his day.
B DH had a shake. I had oatmeal with raisins and walnuts. I bought 10 lbs of oats when I went to Sam’s club with my mother a while back. What was I thinking?? For 2 people?! Anyway, I’m “ down” to 5#. That’s one of the reasons I recently made oatmeal choc chip cookies-to help use them up!
L made pimento cheese with pimento I canned last spring and chunk cheese in the fridge, which we had on sandwiches with raw veggies
S as expected, DH wanted chicken wings for the football playoffs. But he declined to buy pizza when I said I was going to make pizza for dinner
D made regular pizza for him and Jessica’s goat cheese pizza for me. After I found goat cheese in the fridge that I previously used in a salad, I wanted to try her pizza, using the leftover cheese. I only had dried sun dried tomatoes so I julienned them and soaked them in olive oil. They did great and remained soft and chewy. It was a delicious pizza. I added a bit of hm pesto to part of it and it was good too. I made do with some things, truly a PC meal. I found 2 dried up garlic cloves that were almost like powder that I used. Then my onion was sprouting. I’ll use the sprouts as green onions in another recipe and used the good part for the pizza. Even with the substitutions it was really good.
I was hoping not to shop the rest of the month, but we’re about out of coffee and several things I need for dear granddaughter’s birthday are on sale til tomorrow, so I’ll probably shop then which will be the first time since the beginning of the month. Being gone a week certainly made that possible. But unless there are really good deals, I’m not buying! I’m liking my empty spaces!
Julie
My family eats about 100 lbs of thick cut rolled oats a year. ? So 10 lbs sounds small but I know every family is different!