Pantry Challenge Jan 17 - 23

I am having fun with the pantry challenge - though it may make a boring post!  It's time for me to begin to get creative.... using things that have been shoved around in the freezer / pantry.  Still way too much in there - I might just extend into February with this challenge - .... or maybe I can make it a habit of deliberately using on a more regular basis?  Maybe... 

But I start this week with the easy nights.... we ate out one night and they accidentally gave us a larger pizza than we ordered... so there was enough left over for a lunch and dinner!


Another couple of easy nights.... one with hot dogs, oven fires & a couple of random soy burgers I unearthed..... and another with a Schwan casserole + an additional bag of mixed veggies.  (I do keep a few frozen ready-to-go items for when my brain won't cooperate)

I have a half bag of frozen chicken tenders (now I have one quarter) that I used in this recipe One Pot Creamy Garlic Noodles  Altered - of course to fit my own food collection!  I replaced one can of chicken broth with an aging can of veggie broth.. and didn't have enough milk (almond) so added water to make up the difference.  Also added an extra bag of frozen broccoli on the side to mix in.  I like extra veggies, in case you haven't figured that out yet.

And then I finally got around to using the supplies for Cajun Red Beans and Rice.... an authentic recipe that I tweaked.  I used the spice mix I made up last week (now nicely stored and labelled in a cleaned out empty spice container), the rice I cooked in one of the clearance cans of veggie broth that needed to be used.... and the red beans (I slow cooked) and a Chicken Hardwood smoked sausage from the freezer.  I must say that this is a really spicy recipe so tone it down if you don't like fiery food!

So far, I still am not buying anything on sale or to stock up!  Just bread and fruit and wine so far.....  And pet food, but that doesn't count!

Which is hard.... but I feel good about the $$ savings using what I already stocked up ON.

The problem with buying to stock up is having a PLAN to USE the stuff you buy :-)  I've done better in the last year or so... I still have too much.. but I have made a habit of envisioning a specific use in the near future before I buy anything.

Like fabric or yarn ..... has to have a specific use in mind.....  the same with food.  No buying simply for a sale.  I think that has been one of the best improvements for me financially.  Not that I still don't have way too much!