Posted By FarmerJ on January 11, 2010

We’ve completed the first week of the Eat From Your Pantry Challenge, and we’ve done a pretty good job of making meals from items we already had on hand.  I did go to the grocery store last week ~ mainly to purchase the essentials…you know, flavored coffee creamer and toilet paper.  But, I did pick up some fresh lettuce, tomatoes, onions and bell peppers, too.

I guess I should take a step back and clarify our participation in the challenge.  It is only the dinner meal that I’m planning for.  Neither Darling Husbie nor I eat breakfast.  Darling Husbie sometimes eats lunch out, depending on what’s happening at work, and often times I’ll skip that meal, too.

So, here’s what we feasted on this week at the Farmstead:

Monday: Creamy Beef Noodle; Broccoli and Yellow Summer Squash ~ all of the ingredients were from the pantry and freezer; the vegetables were compliments of last summer’s garden.

Tuesday: Red Beans and Rice with Bacon ~ all of the ingredients were from the pantry and refrigerator; the bacon was an afterthought in an attempt to use up some scraps from a previous meal…it was a tasty addition.

Wednesday: Scalloped Potatoes and Ham ~ all of the ingredients were from the pantry and refrigerator; the potatoes were compliments of last summer’s garden.

Thursday: Jambalaya with Pork Sausage ~ all of the ingredients were from the pantry and freezer.

Friday: Pork Chili served with Tortillas~ all of the ingredients were from the pantry and freezer with the exception of the tomatoes, onion and bell pepper.  I substituted half of the tomato sauce with red enchilada sauce from the freezer…it’s time to use it up…four more pints to go!

Saturday: Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry over Jasmine Rice ~ all of the ingredients were from the pantry and freezer; used sugar snap peas, zucchini and yellow summer squash compliments of last summer’s garden.

Sunday: Leftover Pork Chili; also ate some butternut squash from the refrigerator.

Dessert throughout the week was the homemade Sweet Potato Pie and Blue Bunny Cherry Nut Ice Cream (Darling Husbie made a ‘stop’ on his way home from work one day.  Oy!)

Did you participate in the challenge?  How did you do?

Categories: Simply Saving
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