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 6 of the Pantry Challenge, one in which I slept in, puttered in the kitchen, and got to my desk before the sun went down.
Since we had two Christmases, I’m still in holiday-recovery mode. The younger kids are still on break, and it feels like the limbo land that I typically experience between Christmas and New Years.
Eventually I will catch up with the rest of the world, right?
Today was pretty chill in the kitchen. I don’t think the children loved my micro-managing of their breakfasts and lunches; they’ve had a lot of freedom these last few years to make what they want when they want.
In an effort to avoid waste and help those on kitchen duty not go postal, I’ve curbed activities a bit this week. There’s been no mutiny, so I think we’re good.
I spent some time going over my inventory worksheet and mapping out meals for the month. We have more than enough to get us through without my buying any new proteins.
When I asked the kids their favorite frugal meal, the answer was chicken. This was interesting since chicken is not something I typically freeze. I had a few bad experiences with it drying out, so I’ve bought it fresh the last few years and made sure to cook it in time.
Stocking the freezer going forward will definitely look different after January!
I also dug around in the kitchen freezer drawer. It tends to become a catch-all of sorts, so I relocated full containers of things and now it truly is just a catch-all of half bags of vegetables and partial containers of ice cream.
The kids are due for an ice cream feed as there are way too many containers open right now. And I’m not eating ice cream until after my cardiology appointment, so I can’t even join them!
What We Ate
Breakfast – I reheated a frozen cube of Steel Cut Oats and topped it with Cranberry Sauce and the last of a bag of pecans. That was pretty good.
I had pulled Carrot Bread from the freezer last night. Some kids ate that as well as toast, salami sandwiches (don’t ask me why) and leftover minestrone soup.
What can I say, but we’re okay with savory in the morning.
Lunch – I reheated some of last night’s Broccoli Cauliflower Soup and leftover brown bread. One child had minestrone; another had an egg salad/tuna salad combo that she’s into. The others grazed I guess?
Those on campus today packed their lunches.
Dinner – I cooked up a pot of Instant Pot Black Beans and another pot of Rice. I also cooked up a two-pound package of ground beef/pork to season with Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix.
I rehydrated what corn tortillas we had left in the fridge and made a batch of Taco Shop Style Salsa. Everyone could make what he wanted: tacos, burritos, bowls, etc. Not exactly Chipotle, but way cheaper.
Hoping there’s leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
What I Prepped
- Prepped dinner.
- Sorted stuff in the freezer drawer.
- Cooked extra beans and rice.
- Made sure leftover soup in Souper Cubes made it to the freezer.
How did Day 6 go for you?
Kathy
Kathy from Ohio. January 9 2022
I’m also doing
the challenge again, posted once then my husbannd I both got sick, ugh Good to see a lot of old people. Organizing the freezers and the kitchen pantry is my goal for this week. Going to use the last of the Christmas ham for dinner tonight already used most of it for bean soup.
Cindy
Darn – posted this on the wrong day
Cindy
Breakfast: hubby’s usual – cereal, oj and mid-morning smoothie, I had a protein shake
Lunch: hubby had a feeezer leftover of “tamale pie” and I had the last piece of the frittata from last night and a whole wheat English muffin
Dinner: Meatballs (from the freezer), home canned pasta sauce (from this summer) and spaghetti (from the pantry) and a salad, red lettuce that desperately needed to be eaten!
Linda B
I made a big pot of sausage tortellini soup to use up a package of frozen tortellini and a package of frozen ravioli (it needed using) and a partial package of cream cheese that was starting to get a little dried out. My sister told me she puts cream cheese in her tortellini soup, so yeah! We ate it for dinner and I left it on the stove to cool so I could package for the freezer. An hour later it was still pretty hot, but I put it into freezer containers and put it out in the front porch to finish chilling for the freezer. It was -8° here, so it probably cooled and froze pretty quickly. That was actually two days ago and my husband just said, “You know you still have this soup out in the porch.” Oops! No, I did not remember because I haven’t stepped foot out the door in days. So, it’s getting moved to the freezer now. Not to worry….it’s been colder outside than in the freezer for several days now. Also, I had one miss. There were two packages of tortellini in my pantry I planned to use up in the soup. When I looked at them they were more than a year past the best by date. I opened them intending to use them anyway, but they smelled like they were spoiled, so I tossed them both. And that is why we NEED to do pantry challenges!
Cindy
The last of the Christmas ham used up!
Breakfast: hubby had his usual of cereal and orange juice, for me peanut butter protein bar and green tea
Lunch: he ate random leftovers and I had a salad and a mandarin
Dinner: ham, scallion, green pepper, jalapeno frittata w/the last of the artisan bread I made Sunday toasted and cantaloupe – one small piece of frittata left for my lunch tomorrow!
Heather M
Yummy frittata! It’s such a great way to use up little bits of things!
Kimberly
I always forget about frittatas or quiche, you have reminded me of another way to use up those odds and ends! Thanks for the inspo!
Danielle L Zecher
Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast
Lunch: Leftover Cottage Pie
Dinner: I had ramen. Hubby had leftover soup and crackers.
I did go to the grocery store last night for some fresh produce (though there was NOT much to choose from) and a couple of other things. I made it out for just under $25.00, so I’m calling it good.
Heather M
Yeah it’s still not perfect here yet, either, though I had luck late yesterday for at least some salad things. The broccoli, zucchini, yellow squash, etc? not so great. Was talking with my brother last night (I’m typing this Saturday morning) in San Diego County and he said the shelves are totally full and normal there, so it’s definitely weather related here on the east coast. Solidarity, lol!
Danielle L Zecher
Hopefully we won’t get anymore snow for a while and things will get back to normal here.
Lisa S
I have been doing the challenge, just been too busy to report as of yet. I needed this very much though. It was good to inventory and clean pantry and freezer especially. I planned a whole month of dinners for the first time! Yay me! We had 12 boxes of cereal, so I’m not planning a single breakfast other than that 1 can of cinnamon rolls left in the fridge.
What we’ve eaten so far: ham and beans, bean and rice soup w/seasoned ground turkey and veggies, stew, pork chops (surprise find from the freezer inventory), and last night, everyone’s favorite tuna rice with a side salad. For lunch, I had leftover ham and beans.
Things to look forward to this month: more tuna rice, more porkchops, two rounds of spaghetti, lasagne, chicken fajitas, monterey chicken, chicken curry, chickpea curry, two rounds of pancakes for dinner, ham quiche…. Had four bags of potstickers in the freezer (cuz sales), so we are having those each Saturday for lunch. Tons of deer cubes so lots of stew, stroganoff, mongolian (not)beef, etc.
Things I’ll need: bread, produce, tortillas, tofu, and bacon. And the answer to why Kroger always puts my favorite things on sale in January. Happy 2022 everyone!
Heather M
Hi! I’m very curious how you make your tuna rice. Tuna is one of my very favorite things and I’ve found many ways to incorporate it into main dishes (w/pasta, quinoa, etc) aside from traditional tuna casserole. But I’ve yet to use it in a rice dish (though I make fried rice, just with all the other kinds of leftover proteins). Great job on meal planning for the entire month!! Very impressed 🙂
lisa s
You will love it, but I warn you, I adapted it from a Southern Living recipe, so it’s not light on the saturated fats.
Pot 1, small w/lid: 1 cup rice, 1.5 cups broth, 1 can tuna in water undrained (we use skipjack), bring to boil, drop to low, simmer 15 mins.
Pot 2, small: melt on low while rice is cooking. 1 stick butter, 1/2 cup cream. Once melted add 2 tsp dried parsley, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/4 tsp sea salt, dash nutmeg, and 3/4 cups fine grated parmesan. Once cheese is melted, add this all to the rice when done. This is just an Alfredo recipe you can put on 12oz pasta instead.
I am lactose intolerant, so I sub out the cream for 1/4 cup broth and 1/4 cup lactose free sour cream. Also if you only have the bag/tub of long shredded parmesan, you will need to up it to 1 cup due to extra air pockets, but note it doesn’t like to melt/incorporate as well, it may get clumpy. Sometimes it works for me, sometimes it’s a hot mess literally.
I usually serve with peas, but my Kroger has been out of frozen peas weirdly lately.
Maureen
I love the way you laid out/thought about your plan. I think I’ll do it that way for February, after I’ve gotten rid of some of the random things and excess. I feel like there’s just too much here at the moment to do it that way, but maybe I’m just being lazy.
Sandy
Made my first run to the grocery. We had to go to the Farm Service Agency to sign some papers, so while we were in town I got the necessities to get by. Mostly produce and a little dairy. Spent only a little more than $25, so I did good staying out of the other areas.
B-Used up the last of the fried potatoes with sausage by reheating in the skillet and adding 2 eggs to it for hubs. These cold mornings make us hungry after milking! I had Grapenuts and banana and some almonds. Kids had yogurt and granola bars.
L-Leftover burrito bowl for me, casing sausage from the freezer for hubs with sauerkraut, carrots and dip and apples
D-I had a 5 lb. bag of chicken tenders thawed. I had bought a case of them in November from an Amish supplier. They were in vacuum sealed 5 lb. bags so I let them in those bags because I was short on time to reseal in smaller bags at the time. I roasted some in a seasoning we like to add to salads and wraps and then made a breading with some cereal that needed used and panko and made baked chicken fingers out of the rest. Made a homemade Chick-Fil-A sauce and had salad and green beans from the freezer with it. The beans were still from my 2020 garden. Found a stash of them when I cleaned out the freezer last week. They still were in great shape though.
S-Christmas cookies and candy
tasty
Thursday January 6th
So far we`re doing quite well on using up what needs to be gone.
B – Hubby had cereal, I had rhubarb, yogurt and a slice of toast and jam.
L – Scrambled eggs on toast
S – Creamy chicken vegetable soup with homemade bread. The bread turned out the best I have ever made for a French bread. The soup used some chicken thighs that I wanted gone. All sorts of fresh and frozen veggies went into the soup. Only trouble is that it gave me 2 new containers to go into the freezer!! Oh well, a couple of meals at a later date that just need heating.
Heather M
Hi tasty! What was different about the homemade bread this time to be the best you’ve made? Dinner sounded delicious and perfect for a cold winter day. 🙂
tasty
Sorry I didn`t see your question before this Heather.
I`m not sure what I did differently but the crumb was nice and soft and as soon as it came out of the oven, I brushed the crust with melted butter. I made one small French loaf and the rest I made into buns. Really hoping I can replicate this.
Jen in Ohio
Yesterday included takeout for lunch and a grocery run, but both were planned. My son (age 11) is still on winter break, and we really haven’t done any takeout while he’s been off, so he and I got Chick Fil A before going to the grocery store. Having him with me did mean I got a couple extra things, but they’re for his school breakfasts and lunches, so that’s fine. And we spent less than half of what we normally do for a week, so big win there! (Though they were completely out of grapes, which is the only fruit my stepson likes to take in his lunches, so I need to check again before Monday when the kids come back over.)
B: me – leftover quiche, no idea about DF, son slept in again (lol, we’re working on transitioning back for school Monday…it’s not going well)
L: CFA, DF – leftover burger & chicken fajitas from earlier in the week
D: beef teppanyaki appetizers from Costco (purchased as a potential NYE app), last of a bag of frozen wontons, rice w/ cilantro from our farm share, frozen edamame and salad.
Dinner was really fun & yummy and also cleared up some space in both fridge and freezer – win-win!
Anna
My win for the day was making smoked turkey enchiladas with your recipe! We had everything on hand. And I even added in a little sour cream to the mix because I had a lot of meat to use… It was so good! We even shared with our neighbor.
Jessica Fisher
Yay! So glad to hear it! When you have a minute would you leave a review on the recipe? I’m guessing it’s this one: Creamy Turkey Enchiladas?
Maureen
I agree…it’s nice that my kids are old enough to fend for themselves, but they rarely check the fridge and prioritize items that need to be used up (and they aren’t great at washing their pots afterwards, either). I would really like to use my kitchen freezer as a catch-all for things that I want to use up, staging for the week, and items for the kids for easy access (desserts, snacks, and meals). I think it’s going to take me more than a week to clear it out enough to function that way, but we’re working on it.
3 out of the 5 of us started getting sick Tuesday night. It’s not horrible, but definitely slowing us down and my high schooler has missed 3 days of school. My son moved out temporarily to avoid getting sick, so he’s doing his own thing for meals. For the rest of us, it’s been mostly simple meals and leftovers. It helped that I had a list of meals to make with freezer items that I could chose from. I was exhausted last night, though, so we ended up ordering pizza. I cleaned out a few things from the fridge/freezer (a few random things we ate, and a couple others got tossed). So, our progress has slowed, but we’re still on track. I need to rummage around in the freezer to generate more meal ideas. We have some partial bags of frozen fries and appetizers that I was planning to work on this week, but I’ll likely wait until next week when we are feeling better and my son is back. Not sure if I’ll get the fridge all wiped out this weekend, either. I might make a point to cook lunch both days this weekend in an attempt to direct the food consumption to the items that I want gone, instead of letting everyone do their own thing. I definitely need to do a bit more planning.
Jen in Ohio
Hope you and your family are feeling better soon!
Kimberly
All this sickness going around is no fun. Hope you all heal quickly!
Heather M
I hope you’re all feeling better! Ordering pizza in a situation like this is totally called for. 🙂
Stephanie M.
Thursday, January 6, 2022
B – Paul had cereal. I had overnight oatmeal and peanuts.
L – Paul had the last of the hamburger soup. I had a meat loaf sandwich using up the last of the meat loaf.
D – salmon burgers, rice pilaf, broccolini, and cucumber salad.
Charyse
I don’t usually like to freeze chicken either because of the dryness. But I watched a video on Instagram yesterday where they cut halfway into the chicken and crisscrossed all the way across the top of the breast. Then they made sure that the marinade was all rubbed in the little slits that were made all along the breast. I believe that I saved it on Instagram, I will tag you if I can find it again!
Laurie in TX
B – I had a blueberry muffin plus some cashews. No idea what hubs ate.
L – we decided to have tacos again today. Only problem now is we don’t have enough tortillas to make the chicken enchilada casserole I had planned on. Hubs will probably pick some up this weekend. We used up the New Year snacks of guacamole and pico de gallo.
D – since we had a big lunch, we just snacked around for dinner. I had sliced turkey lunch meat, cheese stick, carrots and crackers. Hubs had cereal. We both had ice cream.