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.
Want to save this post?
Enter your email below and get it sent straight to your inbox. Plus, I’ll send you budget recipes and money-saving tips every week!
Yes, the tree is still up. Since I’ll be out of town tomorrow and this week has had its fill of stuff to do, I decided we’ll go the full 12 days and I’ll take it down on Monday. May just have to make something special for Epiphany to go with!
You know how I reuse the old post from last year and just update it with this year’s doings? Well, apparently sinus trouble is a thing for me. I had it this time last year and I have it now. I wonder if it’s seasonal or something with the house. Hmmm….
What We Ate
Breakfast – I have no idea what the working men and woman had for breakfast. I had my skyr oatmeal with blueberries. My home girl had Greek Eggs with leftover potatoes the kids made last night.
Lunch – My girl made a burrito and veggies; I cobbled together a snacky lunch and ate way too many Pecan Pralines from my stocking.
Dinner – Friday is alway pizza night, so we had a variety of pies tonight on Sourdough Pizza Crust with Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dip. Our old landlords from our old house came from dinner. How fun is that?!
That was our day 3. How did yours go?
Karen J
A busy day today with taking my sister in law to her oncology appointment, taking oldest granddaughter to her Welcome Party at the community college where she is starting a new program, and having youngest two grandkids over night. Happy for once to have leftovers to help with meals.
B-Greek yogurt, dried cherries and almonds
L-leftover chicken curry/rice
D- a smorgasbord of leftovers
Leftover pork roast turned into pulled pork sandwiches for Grandpa and me, little smokies (from Christmas) added to kids’ Mac and cheese, cucumber slices and carrots
after dinner snack-ice cream with squirt whipped cream
Allie from Ontario
What we ate on Jan 3
Based on what we ate on Friday, I’ll explain that we have found that it is best to invest time into dividing large pieces/packages of meat into more sensible portions for the 2 of us before freezing…we are lucky to have the time for this & I love our FoodSaver! For example, ribs get cut into in smaller sections, tenders are trimmed off chicken breasts & frozen in their own packs, thighs are divided into packs of 2, 4, 6 & 8 and the tapered ends of both flank steaks & pork tenderloins are trimmed off to leave a nice uniform piece for grilling/pan roasting etc and those ends are packed in smaller portions for lots of uses. A 12 oz piece of pork tenderloin or flank steak (with side dishes) is more than enough for the 2 of us. Grd beef & pork are also frozen in 4, 8, 12 & 16 oz portions. One friend asked “what about having company?” Hmmm….take out 2 portions OR got to the store ?!?
Brunch – So , T had thawed & cooked a small pack of ribs for a couple of lunches, so he ate some of that after his yogurt. I finished off the enchiladas.
Dinner – I took out around 10 oz of flank steak ends and braised them in tomato sauce with a big mix of sweet & hot peppers until it was shreddable. We spooned this over a couple of pretty small baked russets and had some frozen peas on the side.
We also finally opened a box of mini toffifee bites (from a gift basket) which neither of us remember ever trying and have now decided it will not be a hardship to finish those guys off 🙂
Have a great weejend everyone!
Karen J
I am in total agreement with you in using a FoodSaver when there are two in the household. During my inventory, I found I had seven FoodSaver bags of chicken tenderloins, each in two people packs. So much easier to cook and not have leftovers to deal with. I’m on my third FoodSaver, this latest one is so much more compact than the bulky ones of years ago.
Heather M
I love that you portion out in different sizes! I also freeze things but generally in 1lb ish portions across the board. I’m rethinking this now. And why have I never thought of cutting off the tapered ends of meats to freeze separately? Great idea! Love your dinner of shredded beef and peppers-yum!
Tàsty
Day 3
B: our usual mix of fruit, yogurt and granola with a muffin
L: hubby had a Cornish pasty he had found in a local grocery store – they’re all gone now! I had some leftover salad with a hard boiled egg.
S: a new to me recipe for ‘saucy chicken’ (chicken and mushrooms in a creamy sauce) with rice and some fresh broccoli. Some Christmas cake with our coffee. The new recipe needs a few tweaks but certainly something to play with. It did use the chicken thighs that needed to be used from the freezer. We do prefer white chicken meat so was glad to get the thighs gone!
I made a dozen muffins to replenish the freezer stock. So far no trips to the store but that will change Saturday – a couple of things we do need.
Heather M
Jan 3 (2025) doings:
After cleaning out the fridge last night, I had an idea of what we needed so headed to 2 stores for a few things. Spent $$25.24 at Trader Joe’s on a 3-pack of romaine, bags of butter lettuce & spinach, various tomatoes, 2 english cucumbers, green onions, celery, a green bell pepper, and sourdough bread. Then at Harris Teeter I bought the hugest cantaloupe you’ve ever seen, a bag of tricolor cole slaw mix, red and yellow bell pepper, 2 baby avocados, and some deli turkey all for $10.75- all on sale. Total spent $35.99. The first half of January is quite busy so I know I won’t try my hand at making bread, hence the sourdough in case we need sandwiches for certain people (son).
B: L skips; C took a leftover blueberry muffin; I had a leftover pastry from NY
L: L took a salad like last night’s, except with added cooked and sliced cracked pepper/parm chicken sausage; sliced pear; almonds (he takes a variation of this every day for work now- it was clear he needed to be eating healthier at work, so we switched to this general menu as the norm back at the end of the summer and it’s amazing how good it’s been for him). C took a thing of shrimp fried rice from costco freezer section with an added chicken sausage(same as above) and a Kind bar. I made myself an egg scramble with 1 egg and a bunch of egg whites(somehow I bought the large thing of egg whites at costco in early december… not sure if it was a mistake or not yet-waiting on the exp date to see how much is left lol) and added the last of the old spinach and arugula plus some chopped onion, a little cheddar and pepperjack. I had a few crackers with it. Yum!
D: made the MOST delicious soup, with another item I bought at costco in later december thinking we needed good snack food with the daughter and BF coming home (what was I thinking? We had social things involving food most days/nights they were here!). I made a sort of creamy mexican chicken black bean veg soup. I used canned chicken and black beans, carrot, celery(the only new item), onion, frozen bell pepper(froze before we left town since they were starting to go), a little frozen roasted corn, chicken stock, a few good glugs of Herdez guacamole salsa, various seasonings, and the crowning touch: Costco’s Street Corn Dip. If you’ve never had this, it’s delicious. And was that impulse snack buy. I only opened it tonight. And let me tell you, this soup was soooooo good. I’d serve it to anyone. Maybe I’d use not canned chicken for company, but otherwise? Amazing. Still have piles of the dip (it’s a huge container). We also had a few tortilla chips with it. Then the guys took off to see a 9pm movie and I had a few bites of ice cream.
Happy Weekend everyone!
Allie from Ontario
Heather! You have sent me down a black hole trying to find that dip somewhere in Ontario “close” to me. It does not appear that the closest Costco (1.45 hrs) carries it…I’ll have to keep looking & sick some city friends on the task. And your soup sounds like my kind of food for sure:)
Heather M
Perhaps it’s only in US Costcos. Even different regions here vary with some items. We don’t get sourdough bread here or near the variety of mexican food ingredients they get in southern CA, for example (how i wish! whenever I’m home visiting family, I go with mom and am a bit envious). If so, I am truly sorry. It’s delicious! And, based on what I recall from years past, this soup is indeed right up your alley 🙂
Karen J
My latest favorite find at Trader Joe’s are the dried mandarin oranges. Sounds strange, but I love them added to my oatmeal. But then again, what isn’t a favorite at Trader Joe’s?
How clever of you to use the Street Corn Dip in soup!? Sounds delicious!
Heather M
Ooooooo I need to check that out Next time I do a fuller shop (february?) there, I’m going to grab a package and try them. Trader Joe’s is life, lol.
Krista Matheson
That dip is at my Costco here in Vancouver BC
Kim from Colorado
Had to drop my hubby at the airport ridiculously early this morning so ate two snacky breakfasts. The first in the car was tea, banana, blueberries. Then I came home and slept two more hours before I had to get my son to basketball. I ate a pastry with milk on the way out the door this time.
L- we had BLTs again with berries and semi-homemade lemonade
D- new recipe for a Thai chicken bowl with rice, spicy tangy chicken, and “salad” of mango, cucumber, avocado, lime juice
I did have to buy a cucumber but I love them and still have half for another day so I am good with that
Heather M
Those early morning airport runs… :). Your dinner sounds delicious!!
Tasty
Those days of early morning airport runs are so long ago, I’d forgotten about them. Certainly not something I miss!! Hubby doesn’t miss the travelling either.
Danielle Zecher
Breakfast: Eggs (we’re chicken sitting for our neighbors and they told us to take the eggs while they’re gone) and toast.
Lunch: Nick had a (homemade) burrito from the freezer. I had a stuffed chicken breast from the freezer.
Dinner: Cheese tortellini (from the freezer) with jarred sauce and mozzarella, kale salad, and garlic bread made from leftover rolls from NYE.
Kim from Colorado
Ooh, I think I need to become a chicken sitter! Enjoy those eggs!
Heather M
Chicken sitting! that is awesome! Enjoy the free and fresh eggs!
Danielle Zecher
Kim and Heather, we’re fortunate enough to be able to trade pet-sitting with our neighbors. We currently have five cats (the number has ranged from 3 to 6 over the years), and “basic” pet-sitting costs about $40.00 per day here, usually extra if they’re on medications, which three of ours are. So, we are very happy to trade pet-sitting with our neighbors. The eggs are a nice little bonus!
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.