Things are starting to get busy over here.  For example, this week, we have something in the evenings in addition to baseball practice for 4 of the 5 days!  I am working toward simple easy filling meals. The other change that is becoming apparent is lack of leftovers for lunches.  It is time to get back prepping most lunches on Sundays!

I am actually doing really well for the pantry challenge. I have not been to the grocery store in 10 days. I will be going to Costco on Tuesday to get my tires rotated but I am using my reward certificate to cover any spending I may have!  We are currently out of milk as I turned the rest into greek yogurt on Friday. However we do have Almond Milk that will work for the short run if anyone wants cereal.

Breakfast- Saturday- Pancakes  Sunday-I had fried eggs and others had poptarts.  Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday- find it (breakfast burritos, muffins, oatmeal, omelets cereal and milk, French toast sticks, sausage, pop-tarts, and eggs).  I made a couple of bowls of the egg scramble from Sunday night and also added 8 additional breakfast burritos to the stash!
Lunch- Saturday- Fix your own convenience food.  Sunday- Mexican Restaurant  Monday, Tuesday, -Wednesday, Thursday I have a veggie tray for one day, chicken salad and crackers or sandwiches and Friday is my day to eat out!

Dinner- Saturday-White chicken chill.   Sunday- Breakfast bowls Monday- Gyro Tuesday- Pizza from Costco Wednesday- Pork Chops with rice and green beans.  Thursday-Homemade Chicken bowls   Friday- homemade pizza

I think anyone would consider this month a fail for the pantry challenge. So far we have spent $740. This amount is actually less than my budget so I am totally fine with it. I do suspect that we will have a much lower spend in the month of March.  Small steps make a difference. We are also beginning our busy season with at least 2 kids having something going on in the evenings.  Dinner wil become more of heat and eat or at least that I what I am anticipating.   I did have an extra day off today for President’s Day”  so I cooked a bit.  More details on my shopping and planting hopefully coming tomorrow.  In other food related news, our dishwasher has finally died. We purchased a new one that will be delivered this Friday.  We are currently using as much disposable things as possible and washing dishes every other day.

Breakfast- Saturday-Bacon and mini quiche Sunday- Matt treated to Biscuit King.  Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday   and Friday- find it (oatmeal, omelets cereal and milk, French toast sticks, sausage, pop-tarts, and eggs).  We did consume the last of the muffins last week. Matt and I made scrambled eggs that can be used to help in the mornings. My goal is to continuing using what is in the freezer.
Lunch- Saturday-Cracker Barrel   Sunday- Mexican at a local restaurant.  Monday, Tuesday, -Wednesday, Thursday leftovers and Friday is my day to eat out!

Dinner- Saturday-I made a copy cat Chicken gnocchi soup. (I will definitely repeat this one).  Sunday- Left-overs as we can’t see the fridge shelves. Monday- Chicken pie, squash casserole and green beans.   Tuesday- Taco Hashbrown Casserole (new crockpot recipe). .  Wednesday- Pork chops and rice. .  Thursday-Spaghetti   Friday- Steak and mashed potatoes.

I just want to feel better and not sneeze or cough.  I started a second round of being sick on Thursday night. I came home from work on Friday and did not leave until this morning.   We did manage to stay on plan for the most part. I sent Matt to the store on Friday night to strictly pick up fruit. He spent $23.34. We are still under $200 for the month at $194 so I am counting this as a win!

Breakfast- Saturday- Bacon and biscuits.
Sunday- Find your own. I had grits Monday and Tuesday- Sausage Maple syrup muffins (We made a batch on Sunday) Wednesday, Thursday and Friday- find it oatmeal, omelets cereal and milk, French toast sticks, sausage, pop-tarts, and eggs. Depending on my energy level, I may add a baked Oatmeal in the mix.
Lunch- Saturday- Left-overs Sunday-East Coast Wings Monday, Tuesday- leftovers, Wednesday. Thursday and Friday   – left-overs and grab and go is the plan. We still have 2 completely full shelves of leftovers so we have no problem finding something to eat. The kids also make mac and cheese at least once a weel.

Dinner- Saturday-Matt picked up from Mocksville Family Restaurant., Sunday-Leftovers, I made myself an omelet. . -Monday- Beef tips and gravy, green beans and choice of mashed potatoes or rice. Tuesday-Walking Tacos in a bowl.  Wednesday- .Spaghetti and meatballs Thursday Chicken biscuit and French fries – Friday- Country style steak and gravy with broccoli and choice of mashed potatoes or rice.

I did not even go out to the freezers this week but I will be headed down to bring up more food soon.  I have started to move some food around. Just a couple cans at a time. Seriously thing this challenge could last till June at this rate.   I have concerned actually making this last to June by only restocking what is out of stock. This way I know we will rotate food. I will have to buy some items but I think that in the long run this is a good strategy for the first six months of the year.  I do see a Costco trip in February and I know my subscribe and save is going to double so I may shoot for a $500 budget for the most part.

The last week has been very busy. I am finally starting to feel much better and get some of my energy back but unfortunately Matt has become ill. We enjoyed a slower than usual weekend. I did use up the butternut squash I grew last summer. It made am OK soup not something anyone wants repeated.  I did stop at the grocery store to stock up on 2 Liters of Diet Coke. My grocery budget sits at $171.40. Which is over my $150 for two months!   I would consider just throwing in the towel but even if I can keep the total less than $300 for 2 months that is a third of what I typically spend in one month. I am starting to see the end of somethings. In fact, I need to clean the shelves in the laundry room, get them reorganized and make a list of what we have. I do know that in March I will be purchasing both flour and rice from Costco. This works out to be a yearly purchase so not a bad thing. This week theme is simple.

Breakfast- Saturday- Breakfast bowls with bacon and sausage. We did use a container out of the freezer of gravy.
Sunday-Biscuit King   Monday- Sausage Maple syrup muffins (these are a huge hit and most likely a repeat).  Tuesday Wednesday, Thursday and Friday- find it oatmeal, omelets cereal and milk, French toast sticks, sausage, pop-tarts, and eggs. Depending on my energy level, I may add a baked Oatmeal in the mix.
Lunch- Saturday- Left-overs  Sunday- Gregg’s , Monday, Tuesday- leftovers, Wednesday. Thursday and Friday   – left-overs and grab and go is the plan. We still have 2 completely full shelves of left-overs so we have no problem finding something to eat. The kids also make mac and cheese at least once a weel.

Dinner- Saturday- Roasted Butternut Squash soup, Sunday- Lasagna soup. Everyone liked this recipe but we will use regular pasta next time to speed up the process. -Monday- Teriyaki Chicken in crock pot, rice, pineapple and egg rolls.  Tuesday-Brats and French Fries, Cucumbers slices as well. Wednesday- Left-overs from fridge. Thursday- Eating out due to swim meet. Friday-Last 2 boxes of hamburger Helper!  This is an accomplishment for sure!

I am committed to be transparent about grocery spending hoping that will keep me moving in the right direction. Instead of giving up!

We have now officially completed 15 days of the longest month of the year!  I am actually starting to be able to move food around. I do need to empty one of the freezers if not two prior to the summer.  My goal again this summer will be to stock the freezers with easy to grab, easy to prepare meals. It has certainly helped this year.  This month I have spent $130.69 on groceries including out subscribe and save. This is a very low amount !  And my goal is to continue. I did order some Listerine and we have picked up sour cream not once but twice!   But let’s celebrate the good things.

Breakfast- Saturday- Sausage links and German baby pancakes!
Sunday-Homemade Bagels and Waffles.  Monday- Carrot soufflé Tuesday Wednesday, Thursday and Friday- find it oatmeal, omelets cereal and milk, French toast sticks, sausage, pop-tarts, bagels and eggs.
Lunch- Saturday- Meatballs and Lil Smokies in the crockpot   Sunday- Sushi buffet, Monday- The kids and I tried out Freddie’s   Tuesday- leftovers, Wednesday. Thursday and Friday   – left-overs and grab and go is the plan.

Dinner- Saturday- Sour Dough Waffles or left-overs from lunch, Sunday- Taco soup-Monday- Meatloaf, squash casserole, green beans, mashed potatoes and meatloaf.  Tuesday-Baked Ziti from freezer Wednesday- Philly Cheese Steak Casserole (from freezer)  Thursday- Chicken Teriyaki Friday-Panda Panda (local Chinese) on the way to swim meet.

Now to just stick to the plan!

I had to make an additional trip to the grocery store this weekend as we were out of both sour cream and cocoa powder.  My total was $15.98 which brings my regular spending to $26 and including Amazon $98.   This is still well within my budget.   I am going to focus on using items in the pantry for this first month. In fact, I have made a list of at least 10 meals that I will be planning to use in January.   We do have two swim meets which means at least one of these we are going to be eating out.

Breakfast- Saturday- Quiche and cinnamon rolls
Sunday- Matt’s breakfast casserole.  Monday, Tuesday Wednesday, Thursday   and Friday- find it oatmeal,
omelets cereal and milk, French toast sticks, sausage, pop-tarts, bagels and eggs.
Lunch- Saturday-My Dad’s chicken stew using a whole chicken from the freezer.   Sunday- Mexican food from a new restaurant, Monday-
leftovers Tuesday- leftovers, Wednesday. Thursday and Friday   – left-overs and grab and go is the plan.

Dinner- Saturday-More chicken stew Sunday- Sausage and Potato soup-Monday-Baked potatoes- using the rest of our potatoes before they went bad!   Tuesday-Taco pasta from freezer Wednesday- Everyone is grabbing food on the way to the swim meet.  Thursday-Southern ground beef casserole from the freezer.  Friday- Chicken sandwich and French fries on the way to the swim meet.