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 31 of the Pantry Challenge!
Wow! January flew by in the blink of an eye. How did that happen?
At the risk of sounding like a weirdo, this was probably the easiest challenge yet. I don’t know if it was having fewer people home during the day or the fact that I’m not all that jazzed about grocery shopping, but it wasn’t really stressful.
I didn’t do any big stock up at the end of the December, but I guess our baseline has probably risen over the years so that there’s generally more on hand. (Thank you, pandemic.)
And there aren’t six hungry kids wandering into my kitchen 24/7. Weird!
After all was said and done, including Amazon prots orders, we spent a little more than $700 during this Pantry Challenge. Yay!
Thank you so much for following along with me as always. If you’d like to continue the conversation, feel free to do so in the comments section of this last post.
What We Ate
Breakfast – We still had some quiche and egg bake as well as some frozen unbaked muffins from Sunday. Those were delish fresh from the oven this morning! My son threw together a bunch of leftover sausage, rice, and beans and made himself a type of jambalaya.
Lunch – I made the Best Tuna Sandwiches, but on wheat bread because that’s what we had. Jambalaya Son also baked up a batch of Bilbo’s Seed Cakes.
Apparently Bryan has never had them — the kids eat them too fast when they’re made! He grabbed a bite and said he might request it for his next birthday.
Dinner – Yesterday I thawed two pounds of turkey meat so we had Baked Ground Turkey & Black Bean Tacos. Easy and good!
And that’s a wrap, folks!
How did the Pantry Challenge go for you?
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
3/20
Traveled out of town for a funeral but saw Baby coming and going for a few hours which was wonderful. Made sandwiches to take with us. I also took food to my DS and DIL including baked oats, baked chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy and 2 soups.
On return, I stopped at Aldi since we don’t have one of those and bought bread and fruit. DH was with me, so some additional non-planned items were added to the cart (eye roll), so the total was higher than planned, but I don’t want him feeling deprived during this continuing semi-pantry challenge. Total 16.66 so about 139 for the month. Again, a bit higher than I had planned but still under budget so I’m good with it.
3/21
L: soup (freezer) hm pimento cheese from pantry
D: Lemon pepper chicken, sweet potato, Waldorf salad, rolls
3/22
L: hm chicken noodle soup, pimento cheese sandwiches
D: Catalan meatballs, potatoes, green beans and LO Waldorf salad
Heather, I agree, this was a good recipe! I, too, made it just as Jessica suggested with the potatoes and green beans. DH liked it too. Thanks for the mention and review which motivated me to make it since I had everything on hand. I need to remember to leave a review for Jessica.
3/23
L & D: LOs from yesterday with ambrosia added to dinner
Made some more purchases today for items that we were out of or just about out of. Also, there were some stock up prices on cheese, coffee and beef. I tried not to over buy but did want to take advantage of low prices. I’m trying to strike this balance with my shopping these days. I think I’ve spent ~$186 for the month. Again, not as low as I’d planned, but I’ve included a few health and beauty items (body wash) and food gifts so I’m still good with this total. I remain under budget with a surplus, so that’s a win in my book, especially since I’ve been buying more items as I’ve exhausted them from my pantry stores. I’m still hoping to cook either the roast or turkey in my freezer, maybe for Easter!
3/24
D: BBQ cheddar chicken breasts, baked potatoes, slaw
3/25
D: Leftovers
3/26
L: hm cabbage soup, pimento cheese sandwiches
D: baked ziti, salad
3/27
L: LO soup, chicken sandwiches
D: LO ziti, salad
Spent 2.02 on pepper. I think that’s about $188 so far this month.
3/28
L: Philly steak sandwiches
D: Quiche Lorraine, marinated carrots, apple slices
3/29
B: LO quiche
L: at church
D: Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, sauteed cabbage
3/30
D: herbed chicken thighs with LO potatoes, cabbage and marinated carrots
3/31
D: Leftovers
Virtual friends, I’m finishing my pantry challenge a day early. I have some items for Easter that I need to go on and pick up. After my intentional purchases over the past 3 months, I have some room to do some stocking up with the Easter sales. I’ve not had ham for a while, so will be picking that up along with other loss leaders. It’s been fun as always. I’ll see you all back next January. Perhaps I won’t have bulging freezers and pantries then. Hope springs eternal! Happy Easter to all.
Tasty
We are back home, arrived home April 1st.
We need to check on the proposed start date for the kitchen reno and then dismantle the kitchen and pack everything away for a few days, so I think I have to be done with the challenge for this year too. It’s been fun as always and the accountability means a lot.
Wishing any of you who read this a lovely summer – and room in your freezers,
Tasty
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Hi Tasty. Glad to hear you are back home. Hope it was a lovely, restful holiday for you. Best of luck with the kitchen renovation. Can’t wait to hear next January how it all went! I actually didn’t wind up shopping as expected in my post. We were called to help out with the baby, so we quickly dropped everything here, headed that way and enjoyed more cuddles. I’ll be doing my shopping today. Yes, room in the freezer is always a good thing 🙂 Have a great year!
Heather M
Best wishes with the kitchen reno! You’ll be loving life when it’s done. I hope the rest of your 2023 is wonderful and I look forward to seeing you here again in January.
Heather M
Lynn, it’s been great here with you a little longer! we, too have been out of town for a funeral ended up in NY Mar 29-Apr 2. I’m also basically done with my challenge, but still trying to use up things in my cupboards and only add things I’m out of. Need to use the random stuff up still. We are traveling the first 10 days of May, so aside from today’s costco run (it’s been way too long), which involved stocking up on items we were out of(aside from what’s in the little kitchen container, we are out of jasmine rice! don’t buy it often, lol) and also on coupon that we use regularly/were almost out of (like Pam, Laughing Cow) plus several produce items… It ended up being quite spendy, about $200 on food. I will still need to buy other produce, bread, a little dairy (mainly milk) over the next 4 weeks, but don’t plan on anything other than what we really need. We have plenty of proteins and other stock, so should do well with sticking to fresh only, and even then, being careful so nothing goes to waste. I hope you have a great rest of 2023 and keep enjoying the baby and life! See you in January!
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Heather, I too have done a bit of “stocking up” this first week in April. Like you, I have plenty of proteins again and plenty of everything else as well. AND, I still have space in the freezers and money in the budget. So, I’m going to try to remember the lessons of the PC going forward. I’ll be eager to see (and report back) how it all went in January. It has been fun with a few “hangers on”. Have a great Easter, a great year and travels and see you in 2024! Heading to see the baby tomorrow 🙂
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Tasty, that is interesting re: the prices in SC compared to Canada. And I think that SC prices may be a bit lower than, for instance, prices in NC, though I don’t know that for sure. I certainly would have thought they would be cheaper here as well.
Heather M
The past few weeks I think I’ve done pretty well, though I am hitting a grocery weekly. I’m keeping spending very under control and only buying fresh items or things we are out of, or on the last open thing of and use regularly. No big stock ups until i’ve cleared out most of the random stuff from the cupboards, which still have too much random or needing rotating out due to age. Meals have been mostly at home, too, or taken to work from home. And very good use of leftovers and keeping an eye on the fresh to use up so there has been virtually no waste of food, which is nice. Can’t remember where I left off, so…Dinners have included leftovers, turkey burgers on ww buns and corn spoonbread, steak onion mushroom frozen green veg sautee over half and half rice, cajun shrimp andouille sausage veg sheet pan dinner with half and half rice, spinach onion gruyere frittata and salad, chicken pinto bean pepperjack nachos with all the toppings, bbq chicken on ww bun with leftover spoonbread and apple cole slaw, thai steak red bell pepper onion and rice noodle dish with carrot and cucumber, mediterranean ground turkey stir fry (tomatoes, yellow bell, spinach, green onion, feta, etc) over half and half rice. Hope everyone is doing well!
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Not sure anyone else is out here, but here goes anyway 🙂
3/9
L: LOs
D: Had a bit of the filet leftover, but not enough for a meal. I sliced it and made it into dinner salads with boiled egg, blue cheese and bacon to up the protein plus lettuce from the garden, tomatoes, peppers, etc. Added sides and it filled us both up.
I spent 27.45 for coffee, carrots, cabbage, some canned veggies and a few more items needed like balsamic vinegar. The total for the month so far is about $83.00. I still need to pick up some whole chickens before Wed.
3/10
L: LOs for me, DH met a friend
D: hm tortillas for carnitas with shredded pork (freezer) plus toppings (lettuce, tomato, cheese, salsa, peppers and onions, avocado), black bean/corn salsa with chips. I had planned to have mango slices, but it wasn’t ripe so back to oranges.
3/11
B: DH requested a breakfast casserole, so I made one with sausage from the freezer.
L: Hm pimento cheese from pimento in storage and cheese, last of soup, carrot sticks
D: dinner turkey sausage (freezer) on buns with pepper and onions, sauteed cabbage, cooked carrots.
3/12
B: LO casserole
L: Used meat leftover from carnitas to make nachos with chips, cheese and toppings.
D: pork loin (freezer), baked sweet potatoes, LO cabbage, orange
3/13
B: DH finished breakfast casserole, I had a boiled egg and avocado toast
L: DH had last steak sandwich and bean soup from the freezer. I ate a meal that I had forgotten to donate to the food bank. It was too close sell by date to donate. Mad at myself about that.
D: Chicken Divan (freezer-like Jessica, I use curry in mine also), LO carrots, slaw
Bought 2 whole chickens, marked down bagels, Hawaiian rolls and hot dog buns for $13.80. Monthly total of $96.97.
3/14
B: oatmeal walnuts & blueberries (freezer)
L: chicken sandwiches with Havarti and apple slices
D: roasted chicken, cauli/potato mash, asparagus, mango
Tasty
Hi, Lynn, I still pop in occasssionally to read. You are doing so well this far into March. How is the new baby doing?
I am doing anything but being thrifty this month but we’re on vacation. We’re eating out lots, way more than if we were at home and only a very few meals can I claim that we have cooked – more like heating up something from the store that we’ve picked up on our way home. We have been good tho and not wasted food. Breakfasts are still fruit and yogurt with maybe toast. No clever using up of odds and ends. We have another couple of weeks and then it will be back to our freezers full of stuff. Probably that for 2 weeks before our kitchen is being torn apart and who knows what we’ll manage to eat then!!!
Keep up the good work.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Tasty, the new baby is doing great. We are going to go see them again this weekend, so I’m preparing some food to take with us to help out there. We are passing through so not very long to visit, but still better than nothing! I can’t wait to hold her 🙂 Thank you for asking.
I hope you are having a wonderful time and that you’ve gotten some golf in. You are thrifty the rest of the time so that you can be not-so-thrifty on vacation! Enjoy! You’ll be back to a more typical routine soon enough. I lived through a kitchen renovation way back when and it was definitely challenging. Plus, it took twice as long and cost more than the estimates, but so it goes. The new updated kitchen was definitely worth it in the end.
We have some expensive bills to pay this month and we are making a big trip in May, so I’m trying to be as thrifty as possible for now. I’m still picking up some loss leaders but am glad to be getting some of the older frozen items out of the freezer. Good to hear from you!
Heather M
Glad you’re having such a nice break in warmer weather! And very excited for your kitchen redo! Imagine you’ll go home and just eat up whatever is in the kitchen itself and barely shop. Hoping the microwave and the occasional electric appliance become your best friends- maybe lots of reheating freezer item, cooking in an IP or toaster/convection oven? Enjoy the last weeks of your travels!
Heather M
I’m still lurking and not updating as much. Not exactly tracking my spending, but also not overspending. I think I’ve spent maybe $125 on groceries this month so far? And no plans to shop until sometime later next week. I’m so glad you’re getting to see your grandbaby so frequently. That’s the best. You’re still doing well at keeping spending low and believe it or not, when I’ve been shopping, I think about you and stick to my list so I don’t needlessly overspend. 🙂
Tasty
Only $125 on the third month Heather I would say you are doing really well. I thought prices were bad I Canada but I’m finding prices in South Carolina horrendous. Bearing in mind the exchange rate between the Canadian dollar and the US, I’m finding thata lot of things that costly $5 at home are costing at least $5 US. Granted some things are cheaper, but not too much.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
I had a reply to you earlier, but I’m not sure what happened to it, so I’ll recreate it.
We are enjoying seeing the baby so frequently for sure, but it makes goodbyes difficult :(. We facetime and they send pictures and videos most every day, so that helps.
I think of YOU when I’m shopping as well. I remember something you said a while back to the effect of not feeling deprived while doing the pantry challenge. I keep that in mind as my husband requests random items that aren’t exactly on my list. So, I try to indulge him while still preparing some snacks from items I have at home. You have also inspired me with some of your menu items as well. Jessica’s Catalan meatballs and the Tuscan tuna salad and mango chicken salad are all dishes I plan to make in the near future. I have most of the ingredients for them all, and like Jessica says, I’m shopping my pantry first! Here’s to continued frugal shopping and meal preps!
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Way far behind here so catching up.
3/1
B: peanut butter toast
L: more chicken salad with craisins and pecans-DH on whole wheat with lettuce plus chips, mine on whole wheat pita (trying to use it up) and orange slices
D: LO roast beef and gravy with mashed potatoes (freezer), cauliflower with cheese sauce, more orange slices. We’re headed out of town to see the baby (!) so put the remainder of the beef in the freezer for a meal upon our return.
3/4
D: Used LO roast beef from the freezer and added mushrooms, onions and sour cream to make it stroganoff, which we ate over LO rice, Asian salad
3/5
D: We went to see our DS, DIL and our sweet little newborn granddaughter for our anniversary (best anniversary ever 🙂 Upon our return, we celebrated tonight. We had filet mignons that I had bought on sale and were in the freezer, restuffed potatoes (freezer), Caesar salad, and sauteed broccoli leaves from the garden. We typically go out but were content this year to have this delicious meal at home instead.
3/6
B: We’ve been eating a variety of breakfast foods including biscuits, sausage, eggs, toast, oatmeal. DH was glad when I finally got more eggs.
L: used the last can of chicken for chicken salad with pecans and craisins. We have been enjoying this variation of chicken salad. It is quite similar to Jessica’s recipe. It also is frugal as the small can of chicken is 4.5 oz and is considered one serving. With the add ins, along with celery, I made 2 ½ sandwiches with enough for another ½ sandwich tomorrow. We had raw veggies with ranch plus more oranges with the sandwiches.
D: chicken meatballs paella-a real PC meal. Ground chicken in the freezer and a yellow rice mix that had been in the pantry forever. I used up hm chicken broth (freezer) along with veggies in the recipe. We had snow peas (freezer) and the ever-present orange slices!
3/7
L: DH ate leftovers, I had ½ chicken salad sandwich plus fruit
D: Spaghetti (sauce from freezer), green beans, scratch biscuits, oranges
3/8
L: I made soup with ingredients from the freezer (broth, LO ham, pork chop, tomatoes) and vegetables from the pantry. It was really good, and a great PC meal. DH had a steak sandwich (freezer) with peppers (freezer) and onions with soup. I just had soup.
D: Grilled chicken breast, asparagus, autumn rice pilaf (pantry items), oranges
I am pleased that both freezers (small chest, refrigerator) are noticeably emptier. My DH has even commented. Despite some purchases that wound up in the freezer (frozen chicken breasts), both have an increasing amount of white space. Finally!
I’ve spent $56 so far this month. I bought the chicken breasts @ 1.79/# plus eggs, asparagus, fruit and canned veggies. I also bought our must have creamers. They were at a price that I haven’t seen in over a year, so I bought 2. I resisted the urge to buy 4! I used a promo to get some free pasta. Will probably buy more items soon as we are low on coffee and our favorite is on sale this week, as well as whole chickens.
Heather M
So far so good this month! I imagine you are really enjoying this new grandbaby!!! Glad to hear you’re finally seeing some space in the freezers. Our sole freezer is in better shape, too. Still trying to use up a few random things I never should have bought. I’ll feel good once they’re used up and like my freezer will be used for the right purpose (not for random things but for things we actually use regularly or that I’ve already prepped). I still need to make a lot more headway in my cupboards. Of course, it would probably help if I inventoried and pulled the things I NEED to use to feel better about them. Maybe this weekend (who am I kidding…. it’s oscar movie prep binging. Probably won’t happen lol)
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Heather, oh we ARE enjoying the grandbaby! Just wish we were closer than 3.5 hours away 🙁 Thankful for technology so we can see her, if not hold her. But now, every trip west includes a stop to see her and DS and DIL. Currently, we’re averaging about every 2 weeks.
Did your choices win the Oscars? Lots of emotion on there last night.