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 3 of the Pantry Challenge, a full day back at work.
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I’ve not been feeling great, lots of sinus trouble for weeks. Last night was the first night in awhile that I slept. Past the alarms. Past 8 am!
While I got a late start to work, I feel so much better!
What We Ate
Breakfast – I have no idea what the working men had for breakfast. I had my skyr and muesli with cherries and blueberries. The girls had Sweet Almond Toasts.
Lunch – I photographed both Salade Nicoise and Egg Salad BLTs so that was lunch.
Dinner – I’m developing a new Instant Pot Bean Soup recipe, so we had that along with some brown steakhouse rolls I bought on clearance.
That was our day 3. How did yours go?
Tasty
Wednesday 3rd
B: fruit, yogurt, toast
L: ????
S: We went out with our son, in the city. Son & I had French Dip and fries, hubby had butter chicken bowl
Kathryn M
Sandwich day today.
Found a pack of Justin’s cholate hazelnut and almond butter in my work snacks box, so that was my lunch sandwich.
Dinner was chicken salad sandwich and some BBQ chips.
Nancy
B. 2 hard boiled eggs, eaten in my car and making my car smell really bad!
L. Individual freezer pizza
D. Homemade Italian gravy from the freezer over spaghetti noodles, corn.
Danielle Zecher
1/3/24:
Breakfast: Drive-thru on the way to work.
Lunch: I had tomato soup, a grilled cheese, and grapes. Nick had granola bars/snacks at work.
Dinner: Cheesy Orzo Pasta Bake.
Karen J
I hope you are feeling better!
1/3
Breakfast- out with a good friend to catch up
Lunch-skipped
Dinner- Jessica’s Chile Cheese Enchilada Casserole-one of our favorite meals and so easy! I used up one of three packages of corn tortillas and previously roasted poblanos (so yum) from the freezer, and practiced using my Christmas gift rotary cheese grater. Served it with a frozen Santa Fe corn/black bean/pepper mix.
Jessica Fisher
Yum! Love that casserole, too.
Heather M
Jessica, I’m so glad to hear you got a good sleep. Here’s hoping your sinuses are on the mend. Today was another quiet day at home, L’s last official day off, though he did work some (he also worked Sunday- breaking news, we weren’t traveling like we were supposed to….). Otherwise we all just hung out, me trying to get a handle on the vertigo. It’s maybe improved a bit- I drove this morning(4th) and did ok, but I wouldn’t want to do a long drive yet.
B: we all slept in and skipped
L: no idea what L had(snacks); son had turkey and cheddar on sourdough and jalapeño artichoke dip with crackers; I finished the mashed potatoes and had a roll
D: for our son’s last night here, we got Lebanese takeout from our favorite place nearby, instead of our original canceled plans at Zaytinya in DC. Son had Lamb Sharhat w/roasted potatoes and veg; L had mixed kebab with rice and veg; I had chicken shawarma with rice, fattoush, and hummus. We also all had their delicious fresh pita. Lucky me, I have leftovers.
Aside from Saturday (my birthday), we won’t be doing much, if any takeout or restaurant eating the rest of the month.
Heather M
The meals were for Jan 3….
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
1/3
B: bagel and coffee
L: taco soup with toppings
D: mushroom/cheese chicken burgers on buns (rescued mushrooms before they went off), slaw, fruit medley
S: leftover Christmas cookies
I made a spinach quiche for later this week using spinach that was wilting.
I don’t even have room in my freezers for the chicken bone broth I made! ??
Heather M
Hi Lynn!! Happy to see you back 🙂 My freezer is stuffed silly as well. So I guess we both have our work cut out for us this month.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Yes, good to see you back too Heather 🙂
Indeed-as usual! 🙁 And I even got a TWENTY pound turkey out of the freezer, and I can’t even tell now! I usually do well with the challenge, and continue longer, but somehow, come January, I’m right back here in the same circumstances! Seriously though, I’m blessed to have this “problem”, as I’m well aware of those that struggle. But, I’ve still got to manage this better. My husband even said something about it, so I know it’s bad!!
Kathy in Denmark
Glad you got a good nights sleep, Jessica. Sinus issues make sleeping so hard 🙁
Day 3:
Kids still under the weather and DH working from home today (he does that every Wednesday). I slept in, I really needed it!
Brunch: toast and coffee for DH and I. Small portion of rye porridge for DD2 and small portion of oatmeal for DD1. They also both had a small glass of milk.
L: Rye bread with different toppings for DH and I. Toast with honey and some tea/apple juice for the kids
D: Carrot and lentil soup with naan bread
I just re-read my comment from last year, and I can see that we had this same soup on this day last year. This time I found some other frozen veggies to add and I also added a few potatoes. The naan was also from the freezer, so apparently nothing ever changes LOL
Heather M
Love you soup repeat. And glad you got a good sleep- perhaps that will
Help keep you from catching whatever it is your girls had. Glad to hear they’re slowly improving.
Jessica Fisher
Isn’t it fun to reread last year’s report? I do that before I erase it with this year’s and it’s so interesting!
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Kathy, nothing wrong with old favorites! We’ve got chilly weather so I’ve been eating soup of late myself, though I made taco soup for the first time. It’s good, especially with add-ons of cheese, sour cream and avocado.
Good to see you back. I always love hearing about meals and life in your “corner of the world”.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
It is interesting to reread the older comments!
Susan
I wish you wouldn’t write over the previous years posts. I like to go back and read over the years for extra motivation but also just to see how things change/stay the same.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Kathy, nothing wrong with old favorites! We’ve got chilly weather so I’ve been eating soup of late myself, though I made taco soup for the first time. It’s good, especially with add-ons of cheese, sour cream and avocado.
Good to see you back. I always love hearing about meals and life in your “corner of the world”.
Kathy in Denmark
Good to see you back too, Lynn!
I feel like vegetable soups are my go to after the indulgence of the Holidays. I crave vegetables but also want something warming, so soup is perfect 🙂
I should try taco soup, I think my family would like it.
Jennifer
Yesterday was dh’s first day at work after break. We are trying to get back into the routine, I am off until the 11th due to a surgery at the end of November.
B – I had sausage, yogurt drink and grapes, dh had oatmeal
L – triscuits with cheese, dh took leftovers and fruit
D – We had ravioli (holiday kind from Costco), using up 1/2 of a bag of frozen ground sausage. I brown a lb at a time, use half and freeze half. I can usually stretch the frozen 1/2 into 2 meals, 1 with spaghetti sauce and 1 to top pizza
Snacks – Christmas candy, and I used a reward at Starbucks to get a mocha
Erika C
Hi, all! I’m not sure how diligent I’ll be about posting since I’m usually chasing after two little ones, but I wanted to jump on here. My goals for the Pantry Challenge are to 1- reign in my grocery spending and 2- to improve in rotating stock from my stockpile and chest freezer. I love to find deals, but want to get better about putting them to good use and not wasting food.
I probably will mostly post about what I eat for the day since on weekdays my husband fends for himself for breakfast & lunch and remembering meals for a 2 year-old and 7 month old are minutiae that my brain doesn’t need to handle. 🙂
B- leftover slices of bacon & eggnog chai (my husband got a milk frother for Christmas and I am loving it!)
L- leftover bag of salad from post-Christmas deals and the remainder of buttermilk-dill dressing (thanks, Jessica! I’ll have to go back and leave a review)
D- bbq mac and cheese with leftover pulled pork
Maureen
I’m so glad to see so many familiar names (and new ones, too)! I’m sorry that so many of you are dealing with injuries and illnesses. Hopefully this month will be one of healing.
I’ve improved my grocery habits slowly over the last few months, with some necessary tweaks since my son went back to college…modifications to shopping, cooking for 4 instead of 5+, etc. But, I’m hoping to really up my game this month with all of you to motivate me.
Our second fridge/freezer died in November. We replaced it a few weeks ago and I’m determined to keep it organized and not stuffed, while I work on clearing out the other one. We have a glut of Christmas/NYE food right now, too. So, for the last few days we’ve been working on leftovers, etc. But, I think I need to clean out the fridge and freeze a few Christmas treats for later this month, as well as work on inventories and a meal plan. I did make homemade granola yesterday before realizing my son left some storebought that he didn’t like when he went back to school – oh, well…I’ll work my way through it all this month.
I’m looking forward to hearing what everyone is up to in the kitchen and out!
Heather M
Hello Maureen! Ah the glut of leftovers (and so many treats!!) from the holidays. We are in the same boat, and only 2 of us to eat them all since the “kids” were only here for the holidays. Good luck with your goals in the kitchen and happy new year!
Brenda Fuentes
This was our last day of break before heading back to school/work.
B: find your own (eggs, toast, cereal, eggs, yogurt). Made homemade maple coconut almond granola to encourage eating yogurt w/ the bags :/ of frozen berries we have.
L: out to eat @ Skyline Chili
D: breakfast sandwiches, grapes
Jennifer
Yesterday was our first day back to work, so back to the grind it is.
B – leftover scones or muffins from the freezer along with turkey sausage from freezer or yogurt
L – dh and I took leftovers and fruit, no idea on the kids as I wasn’t here
D – BBQ beef sandwiches using very old buns from the freezer and the remains of a bottle of BBQ sauce. Also the last 1/2 bag of sweet potato fries and a sliced pepper
S – hot tea and chocolate
Kathy in Denmark
Day 3:
B: Oats and milk for DH, roll and coffee for me, oat porridge for DD1, rye porridge for DD2
L: DH eats at work. Rye bread with mackerel in a tomato sauce and cut up veggies on the side for the kids. Leftovers for me
D: Pureed vegetable soup and bread.
I am on the mend but still not feeling 100 %. This was the last day off for the kids. DH is back at work.
I wanted to make a carrot and lentil soup for dinner, but didn’t have any carrots…Then I remembered I had a Panang curry vegetable mix in the freezer, which consisted of a lot of carrots, a few other vegetables and curry. So I used that, along with a tin of tomatoes, some red lentils and vegetable bouillon. Blitzed it up with my immersion blender and added som rice cream at the end. I served it with crème fraiche and some hot sauce for whoever wanted it and a loaf of bread that DH brought home from work. They have lunch catered and there is often bread left over. If no one takes it home, it gets tossed and for some reason most of his coworkers aren’t interested in it. SO he often brings it home, which means we buy very little bread and I don’t have to bake as often. Works for me!
Heather M
Glad you’re on the mend! love your change of plan for dinner… it sounded like a delicious soup. And what a great thing to inherit all that leftover bread. That is fantastic for you and your family. 🙂
Kathy in Denmark
It wasn’t the best soup I’ve ever made, but it was quite good!
I really am very happy about the bread. It is high quality and whole loaves, so I can freeze it or reheat an entire loaf and have it tasting fresh again. A blessing for sure!
Heather M
Day 3:
I cleaned out the fridge and sadly had to toss some produce, but most I tossed was purchased in early-mid december when I was hopeful I’d cook food with produce. Alas, until Christmas eve, I couldn’t handle eating any. And once both kids were home, it was restaurants, favorite takeout, and friends for the holidays, then to NY. I was too busy to think about freezing any of it. Salvaged carrots, 3 bell peppers, a few radishes, and inner leaves of some romaine. Luckily the fruit all survived. We do still have onions and potatoes as well. And plenty of frozen veg. Between this stuff and the fact I won’t be cooking Friday and Saturday, I can make it until Monday before going to the store. And even then, it’ll be minimal- salad stuff for L, since I won’t be allowed any produce until dinner Thursday. I’ll likely shop again on Friday for fresh.
B: L slept in; I had some christmas raisin bread and stollen both gifted to us
L: When I got home from an appointment L was eating random goodies we have floating around; I had a tuna sandwich and a handful of chips (they need to go lol)
D: I rummaged in the freezer for some protein that would cook up quickly from frozen and found 2 separate ziplocs with 1 and 2 garlic asiago chicken sausages I’d frozen once we used what we needed at the time (and about 6 months apart!). Plus I had 1/3lb left of fettucine in an open box. So I made pasta with (2) peppers and a red onion, plus a bunch of seasonings and olive oil. Tossed the salvaged romaine with caesar dressing. Tasty, and enough for L to take leftovers for lunch.