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 29 of the Pantry Challenge!
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Today’s my guy’s 63rd birthday. We got engaged on his 31st. January 29 holds all kinds of meaning for us.
Bryan’s been struggling with back and neck pain so he was home today. There were four of us eating today.
What We Ate
Breakfast – I ate some leftover potatoes from last night. Creative, I know. Bryan made an omelet. Not sure what the kids did.
Lunch – I found some top sirloin on clearance so I cooked one in a pan and we made quesadillas for lunch.
Dinner – I thawed a package of pretzel rolls from the freezer, nuked some potatoes, and Bryan grilled the rest of the top sirloins and some veggies. I also baked this Flourless Chocolate Cake.
How did Day 29 go for you?
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
1/30
Sounds like a great way to celebrate Bryan’s birthday. I had to chuckle when you said you “only” ate 2dozen enchiladas! Big difference in larger family cooking!
B I had oatmeal, DH had cereal
L pimento cheese sandwiches, plus DH had a slice of lo pizza. Both of us had raw veggies too.
D we both ate lo pizza. Jessica’s goat cheese pizza was just as good the second day. Again had celery, peppers, carrots and ranch to round out the meal.
Getting very low on coffee, my husband’s main concern! Blending bits of samples etc. So far, still works! But a limited shop in the works today when I head up the beach.
A friend gifted us a bag of fresh made sausage. Now we have room for it in the freezer. We cook all of it (bake it), freeze it on cookies sheets and then re-bag it. That’s the way my daddy always did it so you can take out one link at a time. It’s so good.
Heather M
What a fun treat to get the sausages!!
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
They are so good. Freshly made by a country butcher. Yum.
Jessica Fisher
Thank you! And yes. Enchiladas or tamales are a massive project here.
Diinaus
B: lo fritter
L: not sure, think an apple and 3 eggs at work
D: ungrilled nachos for everyone else. I made taco bowl with sauted daikon raddish I had in the freezer. Fridge nearly ready for a clean. Freezers need a defrost so that may be this weekend job and I can better plan from there. At the moment it’s a bit hap hazard pulling out from the top level of the chest freezer and making a meal out of it. Had to purchase cheese bread and milk this week and a bag of fruit for lunches. Not sure exactly what has been spent.
Diinaus
Happy Birthday to Bryan!!
Jessica Fisher
Thank you!
Lynn from NC Outer Bankd
Diinaus, remind me where you live?
Diinaus
Morning Lynn,
I’m in Australia:)
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Thank for letting me know you’re an “Aussie“. I just love that the responses here are from the west to east coasts of the US and in between, and then from Denmark, Canada and Australia and maybe other places as well. The internet can certainly shrink the world! So fun to learn about shopping , cooking and meals worldwide:) It’s a great space Jessica has created here.
Jessica Fisher
I love it so much!
Diinaus
I love it too. I’ve been appreciating this resource Jessica put together since I was a newly-wed trying to get my head around budgeting and feeding a growing family on the cheap but real food diet.
Danielle Zecher
Happy birthday to Bryan.
01/29/24:
Breakfast: I had cereal. Nick skipped.
Lunch: Leftover French dip sliders, mac & cheese, and three bean salad.
Dinner: It was kind of a weird day. There was a Neighborhood Compatibility Meeting for some proposed rezoning for our neighborhood in the early afternoon, so I started work early to be able to go to that, and never got around to starting the crock pot soup I had planned. We ended up going out for dinner after the meeting since I still had a few more hours of work ahead of me and really didn’t want to cook before that.
Jessica Fisher
Thank you!
Kathy in Denmark
Happy birthday to Bryan!
Day 29
B: Oats and milk for DH, oatmeal for DD1, rye porridge for DD2. HM bread with jam and coffee for me
L: DH eats at work, DD1 had a packed lunch, DD2 has lunch served at school. I had rye with danish meatballs as a topping
D: Pulled pork burgers (veggie burgers for DH) with chips (fries)
Pulled pork and veggie burgers were made earlier and frozen. I have none left of either any more! Chips from the freezer as well. The buns were HM the day before. I simply took some of the dough from baking bread and made buns. They turned out well, so I will do this another time.
I also baked my sourdough bread today after it had risen in the fridge over night.
Jessica Fisher
Thank you!
Kathryn M
lunch – pulled a mystery leftover container out of the freezer that turned out to be crockpot chicken, stuffing, and green beans. I made that in early December.
Dinner – tacos from Del Taco on the way to evening shift at work. Not helping to get rid of food around the house but it was cheap and quick.
Snacks – potato chips and rice crispy treats. All my flavored chips are gone and now I am down to eating the plain ones…..
Krista
B DD, myself and my parents went out, DH had eggs
D we had late breakfast so skipped lunch, and DD and I stopped at mcd’s on way home
S chips and dip
Lots of white space in fridge now. When it’s like that, my daughter has always commented that “the fridge is naked”. She’s 23 now but has said that for many years LOL
I have spent a quarter of my normal budget this month, so that’s a huge win. It was really nice to get a lot of frozen meats and randomness out of the freezers. Based on our paydays, my next grocery shop shouldn’t be until next Monday, so I’m going to see if I can make it. I do need a few items, but will keep it as low as I can.
Heather M
You’ve done so well!!! Keeping to a quarter of your usual spending is fantastic!
krista
Thanks! Yes I think so. Where I live, they take taxes out at the beginning of every year, until maxed. Such a horrible way to do it, instead of spreading out over the whole year. So that means that the paycheques are higher from May ish onward, but every Jan thre’s a reset which means the take home pay goes down by about 1000 per month. It’s awful. So that’s why we are on a very strict budget right now.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Krista, that method of tax paying sounds tough! Much harder to budget when it’s not monthly. Where are you? Congrats on saving from the food budget.
Jennifer
Sunday saw a trip to the store for loss leader deals and the 2 things forgotten the day before. $57 spent, but $12 of that was coffee
B – I had a scone and mocha when we went out after church. Dh had eggs at home
L – I made a parfait with vanilla greek yogurt, mini chocolate chips and strawberries, dh had my leftovers from dinner out the night before
D – I made a beef stew with gnocchi, carrots, and water chestnuts – 1 can down, 8 to go lol, served with honey sriracha brussels sprouts and crescent rolls
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Those sprouts sound yummy!
Heather M
Happy Birthday to Bryan! I hope you’re starting to feel better. Being sick is no fun.
Days 28-29:
I decided I did NOT want to cook this weekend. I just wasn’t feeling it. So, we both fended for ourselves and ate random things over the 2 days. Here is what I saw get eaten up, in no particular order or meal:
L ate: pear, ww eggnog choc chip bread, hardboiled egg, nuts, plaintain chips (found an old opened bag that was still edible), toast, the leftover pasta w/arugula and tomato, leftover rice w/the last bit of leftover white chicken chili, snacks at an event he attended on day 29. Possibly other stuff?
I ate: hardboiled egg, ww eggnog choc chip bread, pb&J sandwich, the last of the leftover rice w/ some cheese, cheese and crackers, air popped popcorn, a pear, a couple eggnog sugar cookie bars
That’s all I can think of. Back at it today, and looking like no shopping necessary until February, since the few things I bought Friday are helping, the fact that I cooked nothing over the weekend, etc. Onward and into February I go, getting things cleared out.
Kimberly
Sometimes eating all the odds and ends is even more satisfying than cooking!
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Happy birthday to Bryan. I hope you are feeling better. Thank you for mentioning your brownie recipe. I think I may still have one mix in the pantry, but after that, I’ll plan to try your recipe.
Jan 29
B: oatmeal with walnuts and blueberries (frozen from our bush last summer)
L: bean soup, chicken salad
D: LO chicken, baked sweet potato, last of 3 bean salad
S: Chex mix-more football games, more Chex mix making 🙂
I had coupons for free products from one of our stores, so I went in to get those items. They were good until the 31st but I was worried that they might be out then. They were great freebies. I was able to pick up a free package of Kings Hawaiian sweet rolls (priced at 4.49) and a family sized package of Wheat Thins (retails for 4.79). I then had a bogo coupon for chips, so came home with a bag of chips for my football watching DH, who was pleased with that purchase. Spent $1 so total for $67.12 for the month. If I hadn’t bought the whole pork loin ($17), I would be EXACTLY at my goal for the month. But it will provide many good meals in the months ahead at a good price.
Heather M
Those were great freebies! And how great to get such a deal on the chips for football watching. You’ve done amazingly well this month!!
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
I thought they were great freebies too. I like to make the party ham sliders with the Hawaiian rolls (ham, Swiss cheese, poppy seeds). I often make them up ahead (when I find the ingredients on sale) and freeze them so if/when company comes they are ready to go in the oven. We haven’t had Wheat Thins in a while, so they will taste good as snacks and DH was thrilled with the chips. Doesn’t take much to make him happy! I remain surprised that I get these freebies as it isn’t even the store where I do most of my shopping, but I totally appreciate it!
Kimberly
I love when freebie coupons are on in-stock items! And these days, a good deal on protein cannot be passed up, totally worth it!
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Kimberly, yes it’s good when they are in stock. I’ve learned my lesson. Since we are in a resort area, many food items often get picked clean and I’ve gone to get freebies right before the offering expires and been out of luck when the item wasn’t available. We’re in the off season for a little while longer, but I didn’t want to take any chances. (And of course, for a while there, supply chain issues were problematic as well) I agree-a protein deal can’t be passed up. It MIGHT have been on sale in the next few weeks, but “a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush!”
Karen J
Wow-great free stuff! Our Safeway sometimes has a free Saturday offer but it seems to be an energy drink or something I don’t want. I’ve not looked at grocery ads all month (which is really hard for me!) but sometimes still get emails. I am looking forward to shopping a bit in February!
ZC from MA
B: overnight oats as usual, with flax milk, almond butter and grapes
L: chicken and bell pepper stir-fry, noodles
D: tomato soup, toasted English muffin
S: more overnight oats—I had a little bit of flax milk and almond butter left so I used them up.
Emily
B- we went out for breakfast with my in laws. I had an egg and meat skillet.
L- we were all still full from breakfast so no one really ate lunch.
Snack- I had the last of the peanut butter bread with a hot chocolate. It’s getting down to -40 here overnight so it’s crazy cold all I want are hot drinks!
D- I made birria tacos. I received a tortilla press for Christmas and really wanted to try it out. Being gluten free my options are pretty limited and I hate the store gf tortillas I’m so excited to make my own. The tacos ended up delicious I will definitely be making them again.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Emily, that’s great that your tortillas turned out well. I know there are increasing options for those who are gluten free, but that’s good that you can now make your own. As you said, they tasted better and are bound to be cheaper. And, by the way, where are you located that it’s going to be -40? That makes this southern girl shiver just reading about it. I know that Julie T from Minnesota and another Julie from Nebraska last year wrote about similar subzero temperatures. I had asked them last year if those temps were with the wind chill, and they were the actual temperatures. Oh my. Tasty has low temps too. Wind chills were even colder of course. Brrrr.
Heather M
Making my own tortillas is something Ive never tackled, but always thought about. Did you make corn tortillas with masa? My daughter is also gf (celiac) and decent flour tortillas are one of the things she misses most. And the cold? Not as cold as you, but my son texted last night that his university was canceling class until after 10am today due to the below zero temps with additional windchill. It’s brutal out there for so many, and here in the DC area we are comparatively sweltering, expecting a high of 58 today when it’s supposed to be cold. And February isn’t looking good for cold enough to snow. Sigh. The weather.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Heather, like you, I’ve thought about making my own tortillas, but haven’t. I even bought a small bag of masa and there it sits-in the pantry. I should have made that a goal for this past month-to use at least part of it. Maybe I’ll do that as I continue into February. I think we are pretty low on torts now so that would be a good thing to try.
Emily
I used a brand called Pan fine ground cornmeal. It was super easy just the cornmeal, salt and hot water. I don’t think ile ever go back to store bought again.
Tasty
Sunday January 29th
B – hubby had his usual, I had canned apple with my yogurt and granola and a muffin
L – we finished off the chicken and salad from last night
S – no cooking as we were invited to friends
Stephanie M.
Sunday, January 29, 2023
Bb- I had a bagel and a yogurt.
L – I skipped. Paul had a turkey sandwich.
D – grilled chicken, Spanish rice and cucumber salad.
Maureen
Friday was leftovers for lunch and spaghetti for dinner. I made a full batch of spaghetti sauce, so there’s enough for 2 dinners and a couple of lunches going into the freezer for easy future meals. I had pulled a piece of french bread from the freezer for garlic bread, but it was hard as a rock, so I used a few slices of sourdough from the fridge instead. Note to self: don’t leave bread in the freezer for more than a week or two. Saturday started with a 3:30am alarm for a softball tournament for my high schooler. We packed snacks, had brunch out with the team between games, and ordered pizza with the rest of the family when we got home for dinner, since we were tired. Not sure what the others ate for breakfast/lunch while we were gone, but I think they ate at home. Then, my youngest made chocolate chip cookie bars for dessert. I’m seeing quite a bit of white space in the freezers and things aren’t falling out of the pantry at me anymore, so we’ve made a lot of progress. Still way more work to do into February and March, but we’re doing well.
Jennifer
I was traveling for a gymnastics meet Friday/Saturday. So mostly eating out. Ugh, but necessary.
Friday – B – cinnamon toast, grapefruit, or oatmeal
L – leftovers, fruit, yogurt
D – Piada’s on the road for me and daughter, hubby went out with a friend, no idea about oldest.
Saturday – B – hotel for daughter and I, no idea on the others.
L – snacks at the meet.
D – Moe’s between sessions before heading home. Oldest made a frozen pizza, hubby got takeout. Clearly if I’m not home there is not cooking going on.
Heather M
Moving along and finally seeing a little space in the freezer. The cupboards feel like they haven’t changed much at all. Will be shopping carefully still in February.
Saturday Brunch: Cinnamon Oat Kodiak pancakes with fresh strawberries and maple syrup, chicken maple breakfast sausages (only purchased this month/fresh item- the strawberries)
Dinner: soup & sandwiches, leftover style, lol: we finished off the teriyaki meatball soup and the harissa chicken noodle filling in more romaine leaves. It wasn’t getting anything out of the freezer or cupboards but it did use up our leftovers and I liked not cooking. Breaks are nice.
Julie T
Enjoy the snow you easterners! In Minnesota we are having sun and a January thaw!
B-English muffin breakfast (think egg Mcmuffuns). I had bought the English muffins and Canadian bacon at Thanksgiving for when we had family here. Alas we were alone thanks to illness. We will be working on both the muffins and bacon this week. Both came from the freezer.
L-Hubby had potato chips and cheese whiz (uses it like a dip). Not my bag but one of his favorites. I had a banana and a pear.
D-Grilled brats with home canned sauerkraut, German potato salad (made with home canned potatoes and onions), and salads.
I am making progress but will continue working out of the freezer the next month. We have beef that is just over a year old. It is fine but needs to be used by fall so we can purchase another half. Today I am browning some older ground beef with onions and I will be canning it.
Stephanie M.
January 29
B – Paul made egg sandwiches for us. Poached eggs, turkey sausage and cheese on English muffins.
L – Paul had Christmas appetizers from the freezer. Taquitos and fried macaroni and cheese balls. He finished all of the crab rangoons and pigs in a blanket two weeks ago so now he’s on to this. After these are gone, that’s it. I had a platter with tuna salad, cucumbers, carrots, olives, triscuit crackers, and grape tomatoes.
D – we had a major snow storm overnight and this morning along the east coast and where we live in New Jersey, we got about 8 or 9 inches. Some areas got more and some less. And it was cold but Paul grilled a London broil and baked potatoes just the same. Lol. Inside I made broccolini and stuffed clams. He was outside blowing snow for two hours this afternoon so when he came in, I had some hot chocolate and cookies waiting for him.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
1/29/22
B: I skipped, the rest ate LO pancakes, eggs, sausage (freezer)
L: Since I didn’t have the turkey dinner last night, I was a bit challenged for lunch as I was counting on having turkey sandwiches. But I had LO pimento cheese and then made tuna salad so I would have enough for everyone. (The last can of tuna for me as well, Jessica). Also made chicken noodle soup (frozen broth, chicken) as an alternative to the LO minestrone.
D: Thanksgiving in January: turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, LO HM bread, Caesar salad, cranberry sauce, apple crisp for dessert
S: hummus, pretzel chips, red bell pepper strips, carrots, HM Chex mix
Whew. I have cooked much of the day. Our snow didn’t materialize 🙁 but it was still cold. We mainly stayed in, ate, watched our Tar Heels’ basketball game, played board games and enjoyed one another’s company. I will have plenty of turkey going forward for sandwiches and future meals. And I’m thrilled to have it out of the freezer!
Heather M
Delicious eating! What a nice day you had. :). I had to laugh about both you and Jessica using your last cans of tuna. I love it so much and once I open the last 1-pack from costco, or if I’m close to opening it and heading to costco, I always buy at least one more. I have to have plenty around lol.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
It was a great day. I remember reading that you are a tuna “aficionado”. I will be looking for some soon to purchase, as I like having it in the pantry for backup. I like it cold and a warm tuna melt can taste good on a cold day. My hubby likes it as well. I stretched the one can I had with some additional grated veggies and I had some leftover.
Tasty
Good eating choices for the birthday guy!
Saturday January 29th
B – hubby had his usual grapefruit and pineapple with yogurt and granola, I had granola.
L – i had chicken fingers (just a couple were left) and a latte and donut I brought home with me. My story – the coffee shop was giving the proceeds of the sale of a particular donut for the whole weekend to the Special Olympics – definitely a good cause!!! Hubby came home just as I was eating, he found his own lunch (?).
S – apricot chicken, rice and brussels sprouts. – all from freezer, pantry or fridge. I also made some Tropical Pineapple muffins to use some tinned pineapple that had been living in the freezer for a few weeks and needed to be gone so another good day for the challenge.