Category Archives: Pantry Challenge

Monday Menu Planning

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We again have two swim meets which makes things a little different for us this week. You will notice that we are continuing to use up left-overs and I have been able to move around some of my pantry. I am happy to report that I have been able to clean out the laundry room and actually made up 12 bags of dry ingredients for baked oatmeal. I think I am back on track and will actually be able to move and turn off a freezer in probably two months. We are also starting to have a surplus of eggs so they will become more prominent in the next couple of months. Another change that is occurring is that our foster child is not a huge fan of anything other than chicken nuggets and potatoes..  We are attempting to balance his preference with need to increase nutrition and variety.

Breakfast- Saturday- Sausage link Dutch pancakes.  Sunday- grits and eggs  Monday-toast and gravy  Tuesday-Zucchini bread , Thursday- muffins  Wednesday, Friday– find it (oatmeal, omelets, cereal and milk, sausage, pop-tarts, and eggs)

Lunch- Saturday- Leftovers from Restaurants  Sunday-Time Square Pizza  .  Left-overs are always great for lunches. We are also taking some prepared soups for lunches as well.  Chicken nuggets in some form or fashion happen at least every other day for now.

Dinner- Saturday- Leftovers from home cooked food only. Sunday-  Dad’s Chicken Stew Monday- Tomato Soup and Grilled cheese  Tuesday- Left-overs and snacks before a swim meet.  Wednesday- Burrito bowls made with left-overs and canned foods.   Thursday-Spaghetti and Meatballs  Friday- Corn dogs and french fries.

Positive Budget Adjustments

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This is typically one of the times that I search to make sure that I am getting the best deal of all the normal bills. The reason is simple, I am thinking about the new year and a new budget.  We switched our internet provided right at a year ago. The first three months were $50ish then it went up to $86.75 which was still less than we were paying. We have been receiving promotional offers in the mail from the original provider  (Spectrum) but nothing outstanding aka worth the time and effort.

Well luckily that changed last week. We received an offer for $50 a month for 12 month at the same speed we had.  I went on line to make the change and also saw an offer for $50 free which I grabbed. I knew it would take some time to get everything switched so I scheduled for last Sunday. Of course it did not work out so a technician came on Monday and got it switched over.  We are going to save $26.75 a month for 12 months or $321 for the year.  This offer also included a free mobile phone line.

This offer required a little bit more research but we decided to go ahead and switch Kendall’s line to save an additional $35 a month.  I was actually trying to get a transfer pin from Verizon online when I managed to trigger a $20 a line discount for 12 months with the catch that I needed to call to get this discount.  Of course it did not come that easy. I spent 45 minutes on hold waiting to talk with someone who was only able to immediately apply it to 4 lines (one of which was Kendall’s).  I have been promised that we should receive the additional $40 discount in the next four business days.  But the hassle is worth it. Currently by changing Kendall’s line and given the $60 discount on the three lines our cellphone bill has decreased by $120 a month or $1440 a year!

That means that I am $1761 closer to paying off Home Depot!

Pantry Challenge update

I did a quick shopping trip on Tuesday 12/30 to end out the year.  I am going to attempt to only buy diary that we are completely out of or other items that are necessary in order to keep eating.  I am also significantly reducing my Amazon subscribe and save orders as well. This past week we have been focused on celebrating birthdays and eating left-overs.  Today, I realized that we are out of ranch powder and I used up the remaining thyme in our soup tonight.  Neither are required to eat so we should be good.

Pantry Challenge/ Saving Money

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Yes I am writing this on a Sunday. I did most of the work for this on Saturday. But I wanted to share about the building that feels like it is sucking up most if not all of our time.

I work all summer long to get easy to prepare meals in the freezer to make the school year go easier. I also wanted to start using up alot of the food we have here so that I can reduce the food bill for the rest of the year.  I have  not been to Costco since the first of August before school started.  I am picking up items that we are completely out of but I am making a conscience effort not to buy items unless absolutely needed.  We are about 6 weeks in and at the point where our convivence foods are gone. Yesterday we finished up both the chicken nuggets and bagel bites. One of the items that I have the most of is ground beef. When we purchase a whole cow, we get alot of ground beef and I know we can eat it. I am thinking that at this point we have almost 50 # left in the freezer.   We used up the last of the Costco meatball about a week ago.

On Friday, I took a pound of ground beef and decided to make some meatballs to go with our spaghetti.  They turned awesome, so good in fact that I decided to go ahead and make a huge batch. I turned 5 pounds of ground beef into 96 meatballs that can be used for spaghetti, meatball subs and even Swedish meatballs.

While the last batch of these were baking yesterday, I ended up gathering up all the ingredients for Taco Soup. I decided to make a double batch so that I could can up some for quick and easy lunches.  We are eating the soup for dinner this evening and I will have 5 half pints and 12 pints of taco soup to use for lunches or even future meal!  I am excited to have these convivence items instead of purchasing.

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  1. We have been extremely busy the last several weeks. We are in the process of converting the fabric metal pole structure that covered the beetle (Matt’s Volkswagen) to a  wooden structure covered in metal.  I knew it would be a process but did not think it would take over a month.  We really focused on getting it under roof.  Last Saturday we spent close to 8 hours solid on it and I made the decision that it was not a worth to try and continue at that pace to get it under roof. The current plan is to get a door on tomorrow. A tarp is currently over the roof and  it will likely be a month before we work on the roof.  My current plan is to start sharing pictures tomorrow.
  2. Zach’s truck broke down in the school parking lot on Monday. We had it towed home and then after some working and investigation, it appears that the fuel pump is part or all of the problem. The goal is to get that replaced tomorrow however the part was delayed so it may take a little bit on Sunday as well.
  3. Working has been a bit much. I am struggling to get in a routine. But I am hopeful that things will start to improve.
  4. Next week Braxton’s baseball starts which means that we have at least 3 evening of games.
  5. I am planning to do some big meal preparation over the weekend. The current plan is to make a double batch of taco soup with half or more canned for convivence. The second big preparation is meatball. The Costco meatball are all gone and we have lots of ground beef that can be used.

Monday Menu Plan

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This week may just be one of the most full for the Spring season. We have four baseball games to attend!  I am really starting to think about what I want to accomplish over this summer in regards to food preparation but this also means I need to make an effort to clean and organize the foods we have in order to make room for new items.

Breakfast- Saturday-Pancakes and sausage balls.  Sunday-biscuits and gravy.   Monday- Mini muffins- used up the last 3 packs for this.  Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday Friday– find it (breakfast burritos,bagel thins (previously purchased on sale) oatmeal, omelets, cereal and milk, , sausage, pop-tarts, and eggs.

Lunch- Saturday- pick a convenience food or left-over Sunday-Mexican at a small place in Welcome  Monday- crackers  Tuesday,  Wednesday, Thursday- left-overs.  Friday- eat out.

Dinner- Saturday- Flatbread pizzas Sunday- Salisbury steak, gravy, mashed potatoes, and green beans Monday-  Spaghetti and garlic bread.  Tuesday- Chick A Filet ,  Wednesday-  Hamburger and French Fries, using homemade buns. Thursday- Pepper Steak and rice.  Friday-  Cheeseburger pizza

Pantry Challenge

1. Use at least one “meal/meat portion of the meal” from the stand-up freezer each week. (This is where most of the meals are)   hamburger patties and pizza filling.
2. Use at least 3 jars a week from the canning pantry. We will use several jars including spaghetti sauce and green beans this week.
3. Use one item a week from the connivence freezer in my room.  We used sausage and convience items this weekend from this freezer.
4. Each Monday after menu planning provide a list of how I followed the guidelines for the week.  Done!

5 Things Friday

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  1. The weather has absolute beautiful with highs in the 70s and lows in the 40s.  I have decided to turn off the heating and air unit in order to save money. In the past I can typically turn this off the first of April but even if I need to turn it back on then we are still saving money!
  2. Zach has been having baseball games or practice 5 days a week which means that our evening are even more pushed and busy.  I am learning that for away games we need to have a food option with us and home games we can typically eat at home if something is ready.  Unfortunately, this was an expensive lesson as we ended up spending $65 on a game day for food and entry.
  3. I am hoping that we are able to complete some outside upgrades and maintenace this weekend as we have 5 weeks till our typical last frost date.  I am planning on continuing with my weekly garden updates on Sunday.
  4. Zach’s truck sold this week.  I have decided that we will not be on the lookout for another vehicle until the end of May.
  5. The pantry challenge is starting to work. I heard from kids yesterday that “there is nothing to eat at home”   In reality we have plenty of food but things have to be prepared and made ahead. I have plans to also do some of this prep work this weekend.

Saving on Saturday- Food Edition

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Food is always a huge expense for us, and I am constantly trying to find ways to save money on this expense. The biggest way to save money on groceries is to not throw away food.  We are fortunate to have chickens that pretty much like anything and what they don’t eat they poop on which can be used for fertilizer to grow more food.   I should also mention that yesterday was Valentine Day which added a bit of “celebrating” to this post.

We typically have a special or meal out for Valentine’s Day, but I did not want to deal with the crowds yesterday. Matt offered to pick up take out, which was a great idea. We have been going to the same local Chinese restaurant for at least 20 years so that was my choice for dinner.  We have discovered that recently, ordering out actually gets you more food than eating in. We ordered a Sesame chicken combo dinner which included rice and a soup, and a large shrimp lo mien, total $21.75.  This actually was enough food to feed 4 people dinner and one lunch!  Matt and I headed out early this morning to attend Braxton’s basketball game, we planned to head to Costco to do a stock up trip as I had over 15 items on my Costco list.  I had purchased gift card for a couple of restaurants last year with my Costco reward certificate, so this was a perfect time to use the remaining $25 one for Bad Daddy’s.  Matt and I ate for $8 including tip after the gift card, and we decided to add a Starbuck’s just for fun. Total cost for “Date Day” not including Costco $25! ($8 was to enter the ballgame).

Now on to more food content, I purchased a rotisserie chicken for $4.99 at Costco.  For dinner today, we chopped up some and made chicken and rice, this will also probably be enough for at least 1 more meal and a couple of lunches so that is enough for 10 people to eat, I also will be making a double batch of chicken enchiladas, one for this week and one to freeze, another 10 meals.  That means we spent approximately 25 cent a meal on meat.  But to make this an even better deal, I currently have my roaster oven going with a huge batch of chicken stock with I will can tomorrow!

We have some mini cinnamon and raisin bagel that we purchased a couple of weeks ago and 5 are left, which are beginning to become stale, I have cut these up and will be using for a French toast casserole for breakfast in the morning!

Finally, I have a couple of ears of corn left in the fridge along with a small portion from a can, this will get used for a new honey corn hamburger casserole this week!

I don’t mind food going to the chickens but I prefer to use what we have!

Monday Menu Planning

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This week the focus is on cleaning out the refrigerator in preparation for Junk Food Sunday.  I will be continuing the pantry challenge this month and plan a separate post tomorrow to discuss the results in January.  I am excited that Lily wants to help with cooking on the weekends.  This should also be the least busy week for the remainder of the school year.

Breakfast- Saturday-  Biscuit King . Sunday- Beef and Egg casserole (my recipe, not a hit but it used up several items from the fridge. . Monday-  Apple sauce cake/bread. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday Friday– find it (breakfast burritos, oatmeal, omelets cereal and milk, French toast sticks, sausage, pop-tarts, and eggs, My goal is to make a baked oatmeal at least once this week but we shall see.

Lunch- Bad Daddy’s   Sunday- Kiminons    Monday- Corn chowder   Tuesday,- soup   Wednesday- eat out or leftovers Thursday- left-overs.  Friday- eat out.

Dinner- Saturday- Lily cooked    Sunday- Left-overs with cheddar bay biscuits and Peanut butter pie. Monday-Gyros Tuesday- Taco Bombs in the Air Fryer   Wednesday- No peek beef stew and rice  .  Thursday- Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza  Friday- Sloppy Joes on Hawian rolls

Pantry Challenge
1.Purchasing items that we are completely out of that are staples such as diary as well as buns or other items that will help use items we already have. Total spending for the three months of the 2025 will be less than $1200   Current total $11.30   I will have more thoughts on this tomorrow.
2. Use at least one “meal/meat portion of the meal” from the stand-up freezer each week. (This is where most of the meals are) I pulled out a pack of beef tips for Wednesday and the Pizza filling for Thursday was pulled several weeks ago.
3. Use at least 3 jars a week from the canning pantry.  Sloppy Joes on Thursday are from the pantry. I also will be using broth and salsa for Junk Food Sunday. Last week we used a total of 7 jars so this is actually going well.
4. Use one item a week from the connivence freezer in my room. Hawian rolls are out of this freezer.
5. Each Monday after menu planning provide a list of how I followed the guidelines for the week.  Done!

Monday Menu Post

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Last week turned out to be different than expected with lots of weather involved.  I did not cook on Thursday, so the Bacon Cheeseburger pizza is moved to this week. I wanted to use up more of the leftovers so we could stay on track.  Both the kids and I are out of school today for the holiday, so I did a bit of extra cooking today.  I also went to the grocery store this weekend and started to purchase food for our annual junk food Sunday.

Breakfast- Saturday-Lily brought home bagels from Panera. Sunday- Dad’s Breakfast Casserole Monday- Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday Friday– find it (breakfast burritos, muffins, oatmeal, cereal and milk, French toast sticks, sausage, pop-tarts, and eggs. We are really low on eggs, so I have purchased some instant oatmeal and grits to add to breakfast.

Lunch- Saturday-leftovers   Sunday-Dinner out with Friends (CHRISTOS) Monday- corn on the cob and bacon Tuesday, – soup Wednesday- eat out or leftovers Thursday- soup. Friday- eat out.

Dinner- Saturday- Copycat Olive Garden Chicken gnocchi soup and breadsticks.   Sunday- Left-overs    Monday- Corn chowder (using frozen corn from our freezer) Pear sauce cake in the crockpot.  Tuesday- Burritos using Taco Rice in the fridge.    Wednesday- Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza (everything from the freezer) Thursday- Eat on the way to swim meet Friday- Parmesan Chicken (we have an excess of chicken in the connivence freezer)

Pantry Challenge
1.Purchasing items that we are completely out of that are staples such as diary as well as buns or other items that will help use items we already have. Total spending for the three months of the 2025 will be less than $900   Current total $514.46. This week we received an Azure order (first one in 18 months) and I started to gather items for our Junk Food Sunday. I also pulled out cash to use for groceries for the remainder of the challenge. I currently have $220 left to meet the goal of $900. Not sure this is entirely possible but even keeping that budget for 2 months would mean $800 in savings.
2. Use at least one “meal/meat portion of the meal” from the stand-up freezer each week. (This is where most of the meals are) Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza. I also pulled out 3 packs of frozen corn on the cob, 2 of which I will use this week for meals. This corn is from at least 2 years ago so I am very proud to be using it up.
3. Use at least 3 jars a week from the canning pantry. I pulled a pint jar of pear sauce and will be using at least 3 jars of chicken broth this week for cooking. My plan is to also use a jar of spaghetti sauce for the chicken parm on Friday.
4. Use one item a week from the connivence freezer in my room. I ended up giving my mom a bag of Chicken nuggets this week and I hope to use some of the chicken patties to make the chicken parm. on Friday.
5. Each Monday after menu planning provide a list of how I followed the guidelines for the week.  Done!

5 Things Friday

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  1. The weather has remained extremely cold. Today is the first time in a week the temperature has been above 45 degrees.  We are actually expecting even colder weather next week with the temperature to remain below freezing from Sunday night until Thursday. There is also a chance for snow as well.
  2. Zach and Kendall have attended school 4 days in 2024 and if they are able to continue with the schedule they plan. Then they will go 2 out of 5 days next week which will put them at 5 full days in the month of January.
  3. On Wednesday this week, I picked up a foster dog who may become a permanent part of our family. He appears to have some hound dog in him and some pit bull.  We decided to go the foster route just to make sure that he will be a good fit for us. So far, he appears to be very sweet but is having trouble remembering to pee outside.
  4. I am continuing to work on some budget items and plans.  I want to make a significant dent in our overall debt but I also realize that we can’t cut back to a bean and rice budget due to the kids and I want my kids to enjoy their high school years not think about what they can’t do.  Look for a post in the next week or so with some more specific details.
  5. I am staring to look ahead to our junk food Sunday!  I plan to purchase at least the chicken wings we need this weekend along with some bacon and sausage that we are currently out of.   The pantry challenge may be a bit more of a challenge as we look and plan ahead.