Welcome back to the Eating from The Pantry & Freezer Challenge! Here’s what it’s all about or you can read the post from Week 2.
Here’s my update from last week
I took a little hiatus last week since we had family visiting and we were all over the place! We feasted on burgers, hot dogs, pizza… all the healthy stuff 😉 Needless to say, we still have quite a bit of stuff in our pantry and freezer!
This week should be different so we should be going through quite a bit of stuff.
Getting creative with what you have left
At this point in the challenge you may have come to a point where you need to be creative when it comes to using up what you have an abundance of and filling the spaces of those things you wish you could go out and buy.
There are a few great websites out there that will come up with some recipes for the ingredients you already have on hand. All Recipes is one of them. Simply input the ingredients you have and the ingredients you don’t have and it will pull up a list of recipes you could make! Recipe Matcher, Supercook and Ingredient Chef are also good resources!
Here’s what we’ll be eating this week:
Since not many of my planned meals got made last week, you’ll see some recycled meals on this week’s menu.
Monday:
- Breakfast: Refrigerator oatmeal
- Lunch: Smoothies
- Dinner: Asian Vegetable Pasta (with chicken and using healthy ramen noodles from Costco), artisan bread in the slow cooker
Tuesday:
- Brunch: Waffles or pancakes
- Dinner: Slow Cooker Sweet & Sour meatballs, mashed potatoes, veggies
Wednesday:
- Breakfast: Banana chocolate chip muffins, yogurt, fruit
- Lunch: Leftovers
- Dinner: Oven roasted Sausage, potatoes, carrots and peppers
Thursday:
- Breakfast: refrigerated oatmeal
- Lunch: Potato soup
- Dinner: Quiche, salad
Friday:
- Breakfast: muffins, yogurt, fruit
- Lunch: Egg salad sandwich
- Dinner: Chili Rubbed Pork Chops with Lime, Roasted potatoes, steamed veggies
Saturday:
- Brunch: Bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, toast
- Dinner: Leftovers
Sunday:
- Breakfast: French Toast from the freezer with strawberries and whipped cream
- Lunch: Leftovers
- Dinner: At my parents
Now it’s your turn, what’s your update and what will you be eating this week?
Those meals sound delicious! I just reorganized my pantry AND freezers last week, so doing this challenge will be a lot easier now that I know what I have 🙂 I was able to organize everything in the freezers so well that I was actually able to empty one completely, saving me time looking for things AND money on running a half-full freezer. I’d say that’s a win-win!
Fantastic! It feels to great doesn’t it? 🙂
Yep, it sure does! It’s been on my to-do list for a very long time.
Your meal plan sounds delish!
Just one thing though, Sunday is Mother’s Day and was wondering, are you doing something special?
My family enjoys going for picnics to a different park each year, and love the easiness a picnic can produce! Bunwiches, salads, drinks, treats…
Happy Mother’s Day!
Oh gosh, I forgot, but yes, every year we go on a picnic to a different park! Some years they are mini road trips!
This is a great and necessary challenge! I’m only starting now but am totally inspired by your ambition. For some reason it never occurred to me to start by taking inventory of what I already have filling up the freezer… Thanks for giving me a framework to start this daunting task.
This challenge is helping me get lots used from my freezer and cupboards. I’ve vowed not to buy any meat, frozen products, canned goods,; I simply look at what is here and use what appeals. I live on my own so I can always find something…Stir fries, omelets, soups, etc can be made easily.
I am de-cluttering so many aspects of my life.
I just wanted to say I love your site. I’ve found so many great resources and links here!
I’m not participating in the challenge, but I have been following along! 🙂 You’ve inspired me. I’ve just started meal planning/freezer cooking this week and already I’m amazed at how the food is piling up in the deep freeze.