Pantry Challenge 2014: Day 9

Well today is officially day nine of the pantry challenge.  It sure has helped reduce our grocery bill these past two weeks as we continue to eat things we have.  We have had to go out and purchase some groceries as the challenge does not limit you from shopping.  However, our purchases have been primarily on milk, produce, and bread.  This challenge has also helped me decide on menu plans based on meat we have on hand and items we have to go with it already.

Breakfast:

The kids had omelette I made using my Pampered Chef egg cooker.  They sure love eggs this way.  Ashlyn realized what I was making and had to help.  Jeff made some bacon and fried eggs.  I had intentions on making a bacon sandwich, but ended up just drinking my smoothie.  My smoothie today consisted of an apple, two tangerine oranges, and a small carrot.  It was okay, not my favorite, but I'm enjoying experimenting.  

Lunch:

I went to Wal-Mart near lunch time, so Jeff and The kids had corn dogs for lunch.  When I came home, I toasted some of the gluten free bread and madea quick peanut butter and jelly sandwich along with some banana chips.  

Dinner:

Tonight's dinner was leftovers.  Jakob ate spaghetti, Ashlyn ate her normal hot dog request, Jeff had nachos, and I had a salad.  

Pantry Challenge January 2014: Day 8

I can sure tell we have been working through our pantry goods which is exciting!  We are slowly getting the pantry more organized since it is now not overstocked.  The picture below is from yesterday's challenge, day 8.

This morning, I had to go to Wal-Mart to pick up a few basic needs including breads, fruits, and vegetables.  The most exciting is I had a Wal-Mart gift card that still has about $5 remaining on it and through this challenge we have spent approximately $90 on groceries and household goods within a two week period!  Since it is on the gift card also, it is not effecting our regular budget which is severely helping us to payday on the 20th!  From reviewing our budget from December it shows we spent over $600 on groceries!  I know it could be partially due to Christmas, but it could have been from just truly over spending.  It feels so good to get back on track!

Pantry Challenge January 2014: Day 5-7

Well, the past few days have been extremely hectic since school started back up and I went back to work teaching 8th graders!  So we have done well on eating what we have, but I missed a few pictures.  We will need to go to the store this weekend primarily for produce, but overall I am expecting our grocery bill this weekend to be lower than normal.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014: Day 5

Wednesday, January 8, 2014: Day 6

Thursday, January 9, 2014: Day 7

Pantry Challenge January 2014: Day 4

Today was a busy day with going back to school today.  The students return tomorrow, but it was a busy day of lesson planning, making copies, meetings, and other professional development.  Many things were accomplished including updated seating charts and reorganizing a few things in my classroom.  I did go out to eat with a few teachers to Subway because during the school year I barely have a lunch at all!  So we enjoyed the afternoon out to eat and visit!

Breakfast:
Monday's are usually cereal days due to the hectic mornings.  Today was not as hectic because Jeff ended up deciding to work from home since he was not feeling 100% due to being out in the cold weather Saturday night with the Cub Scout campout.  (He's still not 100%, but so far no fever.)  I also had a banana with breakfast along with my milk.

Dinner:
Tonight was an easy going night because the boys ate a late lunch and then Jeff along with Ashlyn snacked on Chex Mix before I arrived home from school.  So we put together some simple peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fruit, and chips.

Smith Family Menu ~ Week of January 6 - January 12

We will be continuing our Pantry Challenge for this upcoming week.  So the menu consist of things we still have in the freezer, fridge, and pantry.  I did not include lunches yet, but will hopefully have them ready by next week!  I really like all the ideas from Pinterest for lunches, so it is my goal this week to make similar ones and post pictures to remember what I like best!

Breakfast:

• Cereal (gluten free)
• Smoothies
• Mini sausages
• Bacon Sandwiches (gluten free bread)

Kids' breakfast:

• Cereal
• Pancakes from freezer
• Waffles from freezer
• Scrambled eggs

Dinners:

• BBQ Rub pork chops, roasted squash/zucchini, and corn
• Hot dogs, chips, and fruit
• Crock-pot roast with carrots and potatoes
• Shake 'n Bake Chicken, potatoes, roasted 

Need other ideas, check out my previous menu plans.  Want more ideas, see a bunch more menu plans where I linked up at Org Junkie!

Pantry Challenge January 2014: Day 3

Pantry Challenge January 2014: Day 3

Breakfast:
Ashlyn loves to help make scrambled eggs!  She beat the egg entirely herself and then with help we put it in the Pampered Chef Egg Cooker.  She put cheese on top of the egg and then I cooked it for about a minute.  I made a green smoothie this morning using spinach, apple, and oranges along with a little leftover bacon.  (The boys were still at the camp this morning with Cub Scouts.)

Lunch:
For lunch today, we made ham/turkey and cheese sandwiches.  I did have to run to Wal-Mart this morning for a few items including bread.  However, the purchase was right under $25 which is much lower than our normal weekly trips.  On average we spend about $100.

Dinner:
I cooked a Pampered Chef recipe for dinner, Rush Hour Chicken Fajitas.  This recipe is a quick recipe that cooks in the Deep Covered Baker.  I cooked the chicken a little longer than it needed, but it still was good.  I plan to use the leftover chicken breast on top of salads during the week.  We also had Mexican Rice from a package that was not expired, but I do not remember when I purchased it.

Pantry Challenge January 2014: Day 2

Day 2: Saturday, January 4th

Breakfast:
We all had different cereals this morning.  It was a busy morning with the boys getting ready to leave for the Cub-O Cub Scout camp out today/tonight.  

Lunch:
We ran to Ikea this morning and when we arrived, Ashlyn said she was hungry.  I learned after arriving they have inexpensive hot dogs on the lower level.  I always thought they only had the wonderful smelling cinnamon rolls.  We actually both had a hot dog and she had chips too.  This was around 10:30AM.  Then when we came home, she said she was hungry again!  Growing much? She had some more fruit before we attempted a nap.  Yeah, no nap.  I was still hungry since the hot dog was the only thing I had at IKEA and so I made a tuna fish sandwich on gluten free bread along with organic tortilla chips.

Dinner:

When I was sorting through the freezer yesterday, I found the fish sticks and told Jeff how Ashlyn could eat them today.  He laughed and said we have fish sticks?  See another reason for the pantry challenge.  (Don't worry, they were nicely sealed.). Well, we should have had enough for two servings, but Ashlyn grabbed the open bag and the extras fell into the floor!!  The animals got to them too quick, so I just tossed the extras.  While eating, she spilt her milk so she didn't eat many of the fries.  However, she loved the peaches this evening.  I on the other hand had all leftovers from the fridge.  Steak, green beans, and black eyed peas.

By Monday, I have to get back on track overall on not having gluten or milk.  I have been not as good this last week and I can tell in different ways.  One considerable notice is the sweets' cravings.  At least we are getting rid of more and more of it!!

Pantry Challenge January 2014: Day 1

Day 1: Friday, January 3rd

Today was the first day do our pantry challenge.

Breakfast:
My husband and kids had pancakes and bacon.  I made extras to restock the pancakes in the freezer for breakfast next week when school is back in session.  I skipped out on the pancakes because of the wheat and milk in the mixture.  Instead, I made a bacon sandwich on gluten free bread.  

Lunch:

For lunch, Jakob had Mac and cheese, leftover corn, and Apple sauce.  I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on my gluten free bread along with sweet potato chips and banana chips.  Later in the afternoon, I made a strawberry/banana smoothie (no picture).

Dinner:

For dinner, we had tacos.  The purpose of the tacos is to help clear old corn and flour tortillas.  Jeff and the kids had their tacos on there flour tortillas and I used the corn tortillas.  We also ate the tacos with some organic tortilla chips (no picture).

Pantry Challenge January 2014

As I plan our upcoming menus for the next weeks, my goal will be to use groceries we already have to save money and reduce waste.  This will help clean it out the pantry and the freezer of different foods.  I would also like to clear out more of the processed foods in the pantry and continue to learn how to cook more from scratch.  As also mentioned in an earlier post, we are eating more recipes that are Paleo and I am limiting my gluten consumption.  A cleaned out and organized pantry will give us additional room for any new items needed in the future along with making it easier to reorganize.

My goals for the Pantry challenge:

• Lower our monthly food budget
• Finish off the remaining processed foods
• Reorganize our pantry
• Clean out the outside freezer to allow it to defrost

Friday, January 3rd is officially our first day of the challenge.  However, the most recent items we have cooked this past week have been from my menu plan which mostly consisted of items we already had on-hand.