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 4 of the Pantry Challenge.
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I love Sundays and I particularly love Sundays when meals are prepped and ready to go. While I didn’t get my regular Sabbath prep done, I did have a few things prepped that made our meals super easy.
As a result I was able to really relax today which was an added bonus.
What We Ate
Breakfast – There were leftover caramelized onions from pizza night and a packet of clearance pancetta that needed using, so I made a version of Egg Hash Brown Casserole with those items.
Lunch – We had leftover steak from last night so I chopped it fine and set up a quesadilla bar for everyone.
Dinner – I had a quart of Easy Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup for Cooking and chicken in the fridge left from Friday so last night I made two pans of Chicken Divan with Curry to bake tonight. No bread crumbs so I crushed up crackers. I served that with Instant Pot Rice and a big salad. I thawed a clearance cheesecake I had in the freezer and some leftover berry pie filling.
It was all really delicious!
How did Day 4 go for you?



Angela
B- breakfast biscuit with sausage, cheese & veggies baked in; hot tea with honey & lemon
L – Hubs grilled a huge batch of proteins for lunch. I made baked beans to go with. There will be plenty of leftovers for meals this week!
D – no one was hungry for dinner after our lunch feast!
Kathy in Denmark
Day 4:
Brunch: Softboiled eggs, bread, jam and cheese. Coffee and orange juice.
L: Skipped
S: Crisps and/or cookies
D: Burgers with HM pulled pork for DD1 and myself. Burgers with HM bean burgers for DD2 and DH. Oven chips (fries).
I had both bean burgers and pulled pork in the freezer. I froze the pulled pork flat, so I could just break off the amount I needed. There are also still some bean burgers left. The oven chips were made with some baking potatoes. I parboiled them and finished them off in the oven.
After dinner I cut up a honeydew melon and made the chia pudding. I also made lunches for the kids, as it’s back to school for them monday.
Roberta in So Cal
Sunday 1/4/26
B: For 3. Hubs had his usual cereal (w/ strawberries), toast, coffee, and OJ. I had coffee. Don’t know what son had or didn’t have as he was still asleep when Hubs and I headed off to church.
L: For 4. Hubs and I had ham & cheese sandwiches (LO Christmas ham I’d taken from the freezer), veg sticks, and apples & oranges. When the kids got home from church they fixed their own lunch and had turkey & cheese sandwiches and maybe veg sticks and fruit. I didn’t pay close attention.
D: For 4. Orange chicken (used another one of our oranges), rice, green salad, apple and orange slices. Sees candy (another Christmas gift for Hubs) for dessert.
Hubs and I did run to Sam’s to pick up fresh produce, some dairy, sandwich fixings (sliced turkey, sliced cheese, and two loaves of sourdough bread), ranch dressing, and yeast. Hubs heads back to work on Monday, and the college kids are home for another week. Having easy lunch stuff on hand will make my life easier. 😉
Kathy in Denmark
It’s always a trade off, isn’t it?
I enjoy baking bread, but if I don’t have time to get it done, I still need to have bread in the house, so I buy some.
Having something kids can make themselves is definitely worth it to me!
Roberta in So Cal
Yes, it is a trade-off. I still try to make the majority of our bread, but sometimes I just can’t keep up. The sourdough is soy-free, so I’m glad that’s an option. And cold cuts and sliced cheese are less expensive than eating out, so sometimes a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. ;}
Kathryn M
B- more whole wheat crackers
Lunch leftovers – one bbq pork rib, garlicy buttered egg noodles, green beans for me. I don’t know what the spouse scrounged out of the fridge..
Dinner – leftover spaghetti with a fenerous amount of parmesan stirred in to make it different.
Kathryn M
*generous amount of parmesean.* I can’t type apperantly….
Kathy in Denmark
A generous amount of parmesan makes everything better 🙂
Heather from Sacramento
I am almost embarrassed to write what I ate yesterday. Unfortunately I procrastinated a little too much and never made my soups.
B- coffee and oatmeal with slivered almonds and cranberries. I ate the last of the red grapes.
L- my Dad came over to pick up the cooked tri tip and he dumped the last of his apple pie on me even though I told him I didn’t want any. I had apple pie for lunch.
D- too late to cook so I had crackers and Brie cheese. I had to eat it up any way.
Snacks- I finished up the container of honey roasted almonds that has been sitting in my pantry forever!
Kathryn M
I have had a lot of those days where I snacked all day long. Get to bedtime and realized that I had no real meals…
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Heather, no judgment here. The last of a panettone cake kept calling my name. It was a pretty big “snack” and lots of calories, but now it’s gone! 🙂
Kathy in Denmark
Look at it this way: You are finishing up food that needs to be eaten. That’s a win in my book! The soup can wait 😉