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!
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Wow! Last day? How did we get here?
Thank you so much for your participation this year and your graciousness as I work through energy and health issues.
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 – I made a breakfast sandwich with the last of the freezer rye bread.
Lunch & Dinner – I shot three recipes today, so watch for those updated images. They are basically what’s to eat today for lunch and dinner: Sauerkraut and Pork, Crockpot Chili Mac, and Rice and Black Bean Salad.
And that’s a wrap, folks!
How did the Pantry Challenge go for you?
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
2/3/24
B DH had sausage on an English muffin. I had avocado on an English muffin.
L We had vegetable soup I made the other day using fresh and canned veggies and egg salad sandwiches.
D Had a special meal in preparation for our big basketball game: Carolina vs Duke. Hooray Tar Heels! Bbq ribs (freezer) baked sweet potatoes, lo green beans and ambrosia. DH loves ribs.
Karen J
February 2nd
Breakfast-I wasn’t feeling well so toast was it
Lunch-chicken and wild rice soup from the freezer
Dinner-we call it the Mexican Layered Thing, I’m sure it must have a real name somewhere. Ground turkey cooked with lots of taco seasoning for the bottom layer, refried beans for the next layer, a drained can of green chiles next, then a corn layer, then grated cheese, then the whole thing is topped with a cornbread muffin mix (like Jiffy) and baked. Then topped with salsa and sour cream -if you have it-when done. Since it was pantry challenge I used ground turkey (usually ground beef but I was out) and freezer refried black beans (usually I use refried pintos or canned) I made a 9×9 pan and there are always leftovers, but it tastes good the next day too.
Allie from Ontario
We also have our own version of a “Mexican layered thing”….doesn’t everyone?
Maureen
DH was out of town for work most of the week, so the 3 of us still home did a fair bit of meals on our own using up a couple of freezer items and leftovers. I completely cleaned out the fridge and wiped it down. I’ve decided it really shouldn’t get more than 1/2 full or we lose things in the back…it’s a constant battle. I haven’t gotten around to more freezer digging and inventorying, so that’s on my list for this weekend. But, I did just make my meal plan for the next 10 days. There should be virtually no leftovers based on the plan. I didn’t fully plan for snacks and a few lunches, so we’ll pull from the freezer based on what people are in the mood for.
I also tried a new recipe that we liked. We have a large bottle of honey that’s crystalizing and a recipe popped up in social media for sticky garlic chicken so I tried it. It was good and not nearly as sweet as I feared. Brown chicken cubes (after dredging in corn starch and garlic powder), but don’t fully cook. Simmer in sauce (1/2 c. honey, 1/4 c. soy sauce, 5 cloves of minced garlic) until chicken is cooked and sauce has thickened. We had rice and sauteed veg with it. I’ll definitely make it again, maybe adding some heat to the sauce.
Allie from Ontario
The chicken dish sounds great!
Karen J
I am so going to make that chicken dish as I have everything and it sounds yummy. Thanks!
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
2/2/24
B: I had oatmeal, DH had English muffin with sausage
L: we finished up the turkey noodle soup from freezer. DH had a ham and cheese sandwich using up bits of ham from freezer with his.
D: fixed Jessica’s Catalan meatballs using ground chicken and some of my husband’s martini olives 😉 As she suggests, served it with boiled potatoes, green beans and orange slices. It was good! I was reminded of it when reading old comments.
S: Hershey kisses, which of course I didn’t need!
Karen J
Usually in January and February, since retiring, we are road tripping south to get away from the lovely (not) Seattle weather. Whenever we are near Corning, California we stop at the Olive Pit to stock up on olives. They have so many choices!
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
We don’t have anything like that here. Sounds like a fun store to shop!
Allie from Ontario
Feb 2
Brunch – I had beef barley soup from the freezer + a piece of toast and T had the leftover sloppy Joe meat with 1/2 a toasted English muffin.
Dinner – We hosted 6 friends for dinner and had a great time. I had shopped for this night last week, mainly buying raspberries, chicken thighs, romaine & heavy cream. When we cancelled, I made the intended raspberry sauce and froze it + along with
some whole raspberries. I also froze the chicken thighs. My plan had always been “fancy freezer raid dinner” and it worked perfectly. A bag of shrimp (lemon-garlic sauteed shrimp) + 4 cups of frozen nuts (cashews, pecans & almonds made into rosemary-chipotle spiced nuts) for apps, a big Italian chicken-basil skillet using the thighs + both canned & frozen tomatoes (a whole quart jar of frozen grape tomatoes now gone) and thawed whole milk for the homemade buns. As dessert was Eton mess, I took out the last 4 frozen homemade meringues + the raspberry sauce & whole raspberries for dessert. We had a great night that didn’t need an epic shop to pull off!
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Your dinner sounds delicious! Smart to go on and make the raspberry sauce since they are so perishable. The nuts sound really good too. Do you have a recipe for that? And homemade buns. I’ve made bread a few times and even Jessica’s buns one time. I hope to do more of that at some point this year.
Allie from Ontario
Hi Lynn….you can find the nut recipe by googling “Barefoot Contessa chipotle and rosemary roasted nuts”. I make a 1/2 recipe using roughly equal amounts of cashews, almonds & pecans to total 4 cups. She also uses walnuts but I’m not a fan of walnuts in these kinds of recipes. The 1/2 recipe fills my Pampered Chef large stoneware bar pan (internal dimensions 10.5″ by 16″) and because it is well seasoned, I never have trouble cleaning the pan at the end (lots of hot water does it perfectly). These are VERY popular amongst our circle of friends. Also , we were gifted a bag of Hershey Kisses at Christmas – we don’t really eat them and the unopened bag looks accusingly at me every time I open that cupboard 🙂
Karen J
Allie, I’m glad your delayed dinner party went well and you were able to gather with your friends-and what yummy food!
I had no idea you could freeze meringues. Thanks for that knowledge 🙂
Allie from Ontario
Hi Karen J
If you google “king arthur store your meringues in the freezer” you will find a good article on the topic.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Allie, thanks for the info on the nuts. My husband loves nuts and this is a new way to eat them. I imagine walnuts have a stronger taste than the other nuts you mentioned. I’ll keep that in mind when I make them. I’m running low on bulk nuts, tho DH bought a large container of mixed nuts at Aldi the other day. I’m looking forward to trying them!
Tasty
Sounds a lovely meal Allie, and great use of your freezer and its contents.
Diinaus
Some big expenses coming up. We get a new air-conditioning this week after going without for 2 years. This current humidity heat wave has left me bushed. Hats off to the pioneer folk who were of tougher stuff.
So will have to be creative a while longer. Pulled a pk of sausage out of the freezer. That was dinner with a skillet of 1/2 a bsg French fries and some onion,salt pepper and a knob of butter to make a chunky gravy. Tossed in the burger sauce.
Hope to get some more produce tomorrow. Normally by now the garden is growing something but my back being what it is has greatly hinderd planting.
Kathryn M
Lunch – Since I didn’t eat all that sandwich yesterday I pulled the lettuce off and grilled it. Dill pickle and ambrosia salad for sides.
Dinner – took a nice salad to work and also finished off the ambrosia salad.
Snacks – cookies. rest of the mochi ice cream.
SUMMARY ;Even though I really only made it to day 29 before restocking on new items I consider the challenge a success as I got a lot of the fridge/freezer stuff cleaned out. Didn’t make a dent in the shelf stable stuff yet but will work on that over the next couple of months. I also stuck to my $80 budget with 98 cents to spare at the end. That is probably the cheapest I have ever done for a month of groceries. Extra $ went to February car payment so that was a win.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Kathryn,
Well done, and under budget! Thanks for mentioning ambrosia. I’m going to make some of that for us!
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
I had left you a reply but it disappeared. You did great with the challenge and remember Jessica says you make your own rules! Thanks for mentioning ambrosia. I think I’ll add that to some meals as a bit of a way to mix up all the oranges we’ve got.
Karen J
Breakfast-mcmuffin at home
Lunch-snacked on random things
Dinner-pizza with Jessica’s pizza dough recipe- I had three hot Italian sausage links from the freezer that I took out of their casings and fried, then some sautéed mushrooms, peppers and pizza sauce also from the freezer. My pizza dough over rose (rised?) to a huge level as I had to run a bunch of errands so it was super stretchy and made the pizza quite rustic looking in my attempts to wrangle it into the pizza pan.
The items in my two over the refrigerator freezers are now consolidated into just the house fridge. And even it has some white space. January was a good use it up month.
I have been saving a ham that I bought cheap at Christmas. We are having a family birthday at our house this weekend so I will use that for dinner. (then have leftover ham which I like for multiple purposes)
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
I had the opposite problem with Jessica’s dough but my yeast was old which I think explains why it didn’t rise too well. Laughed at you “wrangling” the dough. That made for a funny image in my mind 🙂
Good for you in being able to consolidate your freezers. You’ve made great progress!
I’ve got one of those hams in the freezer too. My daughter and sil may be coming the end of the month with a friend. If so, ham will be on my menu too. They can help us eat part of it, with plenty of leftovers for the 2 of us.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
2/1/24
B: I had oatmeal again and coffee. DH had protein shake.
We headed out of town (out of the state really, into Virginia) to take care of some errands we can’t do here in our small town. DH stopped and got a breakfast biscuit en route.
L: we ate out. I usually drink water with my meals but unsweetened tea sounded good to DH and myself, and it was good to both of us, until the bill came. The tea was 3.99 each!! Gulp. Made the meal a bit more than we’d expected. I did get a go cup to take a bit with me. I finished a big salad and DH brought half of his sandwich home.
D: I was still full from my salad so just had a piece of toast for dinner. DH had the rest of his lunch.
S: we shared an apple and peanut butter.
While out I finally got my Aldi shop in. I spent $38 there stocking up on nuts for DH, bread, produce and some items for baby’s birthday party. Stopped by our Harris Teeter on the way home and picked up eggs and cheese, again, much for the birthday menu. Spent $11 there, so $49 right off the bat to start the month. The only other thing I plan to buy this week is the good Springer Farms ground chicken that I can get for 1.50/#.
Karen J
I so want to go to an Aldi store some day. My state has zero. Sad.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Although their prices have inched up, they are still much cheaper than other stores available in our area. It is a favorite of mine for sure. Some people in the past complained about their produce. Maybe they used to have a problem, but I’ve shopped there when on the road for about 5 years and never had a problem. Maybe an expansion will eventually head west!
Allie from Ontario
It is so dark and dreary this morning, no chance of a groundhog shadow! Yay!
Feb 1 meals
Brunch – I had tomato soup & a toasted English muffin (both from the freezer) and T actually dug around in the freezer for some hot dogs he is not super fond of (passing over the “good ones”) and ate them wrapped in bread. His best “embrace” of the pantry challenge effort so far (on Feb 1 !). I was weirdly proud 🙂
Dinner – As predicted, we had sloppy Joes which did use up a seasoning packet + a little can of tomato paste from the pantry and ground beef + last 2 burger buns from the freezer. We also ate some veggie sticks with some dip.
I have spent time in the last few days emptying, cleaning, organizing and taking inventory of the 3 freezer spaces we have (2 “under fridge” freezers and a full size upright) and this month really has made a dent in all 3. When we are using up so many small things, it doesn’t seem to have much daily impact, but my recent efforts do show that we have been making really good progress in using what we have.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Allie, bright and cold here, so I guess we’ll have 6 more weeks of winter!
I noticed the same thing about using bits from the freezer. I use glass canning jars in my freezer often, and I now have many more of them available as I’ve emptied their contents. Same with some of the plastic containers. Slowly making more and more room.
I definitely need to do a better job of labelling contents however. I’ve been surprised when some items weren’t what I expected!
Maureen
Yes, I’ve noticed more containers in my cupboard…a sure sign that my freezers are not as full. And I also have a few containers on my freezer inventory that are just question marks. I’ll have to get daring soon and thaw them.
Danielle Zecher
02/01/24:
Breakfast: I skipped. I honestly have no idea what Nick did; I’m guessing drive-thru on the way to work.
Lunch: I had leftover spaghetti. Nick ended up working through and skipping.
Dinner: We both worked a lot later than planned. Nick was ravenous, and I was more tired than hungry, so Nick ordered takeout, and I finished up some ice cream from the freezer, which freed up some freezer space.
Tasty
February 2
Just stopped in to see what was happening – lots of catching up for me to do. Congrats to everyone – it seems to have been a good year this time around.
Here’s to January 25! But I hope we hear soon from Jessica how she is doing.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
1/31
Jessica, thanks so much for hosting us all again. This is a fun and informative “tradition” for me. It’s great catching up with fellow “challengers”, especially now that we have many international friends! Thanks for leaving the comments open for those of us who want to continue.
I hope you will soon have answers and a plan going forward so that you can again feel well and energetic.
B: I had oatmeal with freezer blueberries (I found another bag), walnuts. DH had a protein shake.
L: Dh had chicken noodle soup from the freezer and a grilled cheese sandwich. I had lo barbecue sandwich with slaw.
D: I joined the crowd making enchiladas. I made a small batch using what I had on hand. My crumbly corn tortillas made out okay in the recipe. We also had a black bean salsa with some substitutions that was still tasty with chips. Finished it off with oranges, which we always seem to have a lot of!
I was just rereading some posts from last year, and got some good ideas for future meals. I’m ready for some more inspiration!
For those who have finished up, it was great hearing from you all. I’ll “see” you all next January! For those others who are also continuing on, I’ll meet you back here!
Heather M
See you here for a bit still, Lynn 🙂
Karen J
Can’t believe it is February already!
Last day of January
Breakfast-egg mcmuffin at home with provolone
Lunch-Panera-I have been making very good use of my gift card this month and it is nearly gone
Dinner-teriyaki chicken, fried rice with the end of the frozen mixed veg (I pick out the green beans because they are yucky)
I did a small shop today (Feb 1) at Grocery Outlet, my favorite store and I hadn’t been there since December. Just under $23 for things we needed-cheese, chips, and three bottles of wine. Plus they had packages of Muir Glen organic diced tomatoes four in a pack for $0.99 (which at 25 cents a can, a basically unheard of price here) The old me would have snatched up multiple packages. The pantry challenge new me bought only one package because I knew I had plenty of tomatoes back at home. But that was hard! Do not overstock. Do not overstock….
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Karen J, that’s an AMAZING price on that brand (or even the store brand!) of tomatoes! I admire your restraint 🙂 I wish I had one of those stores around-or maybe not? Temptation!
It has been a fast month for sure, and an always fun one!
Karen J
I know, right? The original price said it was $19.99 for the pack of four cans. I don’t know about that as it seems too high, but for a dollar that was incredible.
Lynn, I’m glad you and others are carrying on for awhile. I will be too.
Heather M
Nicely done!
Allie from Ontario
Jan 31st
Brunch – I had the last of the leftover enchiladas and T heated up the previous nights smashed potatoes and added cheese & chopped ham.
Dinner – We went to an afternoon retirement celebration (teacher from my old school) and ended up eating at the pub. That is the 1st meal we have eaten out since…forever actually! Anyways, that means that last night’s “good old” sloppy Joes are on for tonight. No matter how many things I make from scratch, when it comes to sloppy Joes, we both still like the clubhouse seasoning packet & can of tomato paste version 🙂
I am shopping today for some staples (milk, onions potatoes etc) AND our cancelled dinner party has now been rescheduled to tomorrow night so I do need a few things as I tried to use up some of the stuff I bought for it last week. The plan was/is to raid the freezer for as much as I can and so that will make a dent.
I will be here for at least for a few weeks. Happy February everyone!
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
I’ll be here for a while as well!
Heather M
Sounds like some fun has been had! I’ll see you here in February too. Too much food to get through. 🙂
Danielle Zecher
Does anyone else feel like January lasted forever AND shocked that it’s already February?
1/31/24:
Breakfast: I had cereal. I think Nick had drive-thru on the way to work.
Lunch: I had leftover spaghetti. I think Nick snacked on stuff at work.
Dinner: We both worked late, so we ordered Indian food for dinner.
I’m hoping to get into a better rhythm for making dinner starting this month since I’ve had a little time to get used to some of the new responsibilities at work. And I’ll definitely be continuing the Pantry Challenge.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Danielle, that’s my feeling exactly. I remarked to my husband last night I was glad January was FINALLY over, but then the challenge has gone fast and now February is here.
I’ll be continuing along as well.
Heather M
Definitely feels like that for me, too. Glad to hear you getting into a good rhythm at work with new responsibilities, etc That’s awesome. I’m sticking around for a while too. 🙂
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.