Summer Pantry Budget Challenge....

[thebeesknees]

Thanks for the recipe! I was going to add that sometimes, I bake a bunch of potatoes, then cut them in half, scoop out the insides, and make twice-baked potoes with them, but don't bake them the second time. They freeze really well, then when I want them, I just pull them out and pop them frozen into the oven. Easy-peasy side dish.

We used up some pantry stuff and made raspberry cobbler for dessert tonight with the fresh raspberries from our yard. Some of them were past their prime, so this was a great way to use them up, and the kids had fun with their fractions practice while we mixed up the dough.

 

[momto1]

I'm in again! I just spent most of my grocery money for the next 2 weeks stocking up at our favorite meat market and on fresh veggies from farm stands.

I have a small freezer that I need to defrost. First I need to get the meat out of it. I started last night and was surprsied at the number of ground beef packets I had. This is the freezer that stores our beef from the cow we purchase.

So...tonight is chuck roast from said freezer, new potoates and fresh beets.
Lori

 

[dsilva51]

I'm in again! I just spent most of my grocery money for the next 2 weeks stocking up at our favorite meat market and on fresh veggies from farm stands.

I have a small freezer that I need to defrost. First I need to get the meat out of it. I started last night and was surprsied at the number of ground beef packets I had. This is the freezer that stores our beef from the cow we purchase.

So...tonight is chuck roast from said freezer, new potoates and fresh beets.
Lori

How long do you keep your meat? I'm just curious, I just found some london broil in the back of my freezer from last September and ditched it.

 

[tavettava]

I'm in again. This week dh and ds are at boy scout camp, so its just dd and I till Saturday. The only thing I need to buy this week is bread, milk, and some fruit. My garden is doing great and have more than I need (5 different tomatoes, zucchinni, squash, green beans, cucumbers, onions,eggplant, carrots) I still have watermelon, and potatoes that I haven't harvested yet, still growing. Our menu for the week is: (wed we eat my dad's)

*Enchilada chicken, mexican rice, corn, tomatoes and cucs
*grilled hamburgers, baked potato, grilled zuchinni and squash
*chicken fried rice
*BBQ chicken, campfire tatos, and grilled eggplant
*grilled parmasan -herb cornish game hens, grilled potatoes, cuc salad with tomatoes (this is for the boys when they get home Sat)
*grilled garlic lime chicken and some veggies and maybe some potatoes I'll play it by ear.

Can you tell what I have found in the freezer? I have tons more chicken and need some more recipes if anyone would share some yummy ones with me.

 

[charming23]

We leave on Friday morning to go and visit my family in Pennsylvania so I am trying to use up some stuff before then.

We have like four boxes of different flavors of chex that are about to expire soon so this afternoon I made two batches of chex mix, one to keep for ourselves and then gave the neighbors one. I also made a batch of monkey munch to take with us for snacking in the car.

Dinners will be easy the next few days

Last night we had BLT's with some bacon we had in the freezer, tomatoes and lettuce we got in Amish Country on friday.

Tuesday will be ground beef tacos (meat from freezer, leftover lettuce and tomatoes) and spanish rice (from pantry)

Wednesday will be grilled chicken tenderloins (freezer) with the fettuchine alfredo (freezer).

Thursday will be leftovers of anthing we have left from the week.

 

[lisam427]

hello everyone! this week i wanted to go to pricerite (much cheeper) but ended up at wegmans. i spent $39.00 there and then went to cvs and spent $19. i have $6.99 in extra care bucks for cvs so im probably just going to use them up to stockpile tp. from now on i am going to do my shopping at pricerite and cvs.

sunday we had turkey burgers, boxed mac and cheese, and corn. yesterday we ate my aunt's house. tonight we probably will be eating at my sisters. if not we will be having tuna melts with fruit. i am just not in the mood to cook at all. if we end up eating at my sister's house the tuna melts will be tommorrow's dinner. if we dont eat at my sisters tommorrow we will be having breakfast for dinner. thursday we will be having chicken and rice casserole. turkey burgers or marinated chicken thighs on the george forman will wrk for saturday. sunday we will have beef stew in the crockpot.

i am going to have to do a stockpile again soon for the freezer. i dont have much meat left at all. i have frozen vegis that need eating but thats pretty much it. the meat i have on this weeks menu i bought this past sunday (with the exception of the stew beef). i am probably going to do a good sized order from angel food ministries this coming august. they really are a good deal when it comes to meats. hopefully the list for august will come out soon.

 

[charming23]

So I am back from my trip to see my family in Pennsylvania. My younger cousins are too adorable and I love spending time with all of them. We ate a ton of really good food and now I am planning our menu. I am grocery shopping tomorrow as I am way too tired to do it today.

This week is:
Tonight: Chicken paprikash (we have leftover in the freezer from last time we made it)
Tomorrow: pork souvlaki with cucumber yogurt sauce and rice pilaf
Friday: Homemade macaroni and cheese with salad
Saturday: Beef stew in the crockpot
Sunday: pulled chicken sandwhiches with sweet potato fries
Monday: ground beef tacos with spanish rice
Tuesday: pork chops with apple butter with buttered noodles and corn

 

[tinkmom2]

I hope everyone is having a enjoyable summer! I have been really busy with working each day 1-6. It has been a real challange for me to have dinner on the table by 6:30pm every night plus there are so many things to do over the summer. I went shopping yesterday and spent $135.00. It did include some splurges like T bone steak which was on sale but not something we normally eat. Also I spent about $12.00 on sushi. (if I go to this store I always get it.) On the plus side I did save about $35.00 in coupons. It was double coupon day.
Here's a pic of my full pantry. I am getting down to the nitty gritty on my can goods. Really who wants to eat soup when its 90 degrees out? I am saving those for fall. Here's a pic of my full pantry.

I got my new issue of Food and Wine and it features Southern cooking so I am going to use some of those ideas for this week.

Here's the menu:
This A.M. I made bananas Foster pancakes with pecans and sausage
Cheese quesidillas with pico guac and chicken rice
Chicken and andouillee Etouffee
Shirimp and grit casserole (It's ifffy if I am going to turn on the oven)
Tuna steaks
Take me out to the ball game.. eating out
Wisconsin State Fair Grazin days ...eating out and using my Groupon
Grilled T bones with mushrooms and red potatoes
cold tuna salad with peas and shell pasta
Sweet and Sour crockpot chicken wings

Here's a pic of the etouffee I made. It was yummy!

 

[Priorityonecb]

Since starting this pantry challenge last Spring, we *finally had to go out yesterday and restock the freezer! We bought meat to last about 3 months, with great sales for only $55.00! Here are our meals for the week...still trying to use up a few things from the freezer.

Sat- Rib Eyes, baked sweet potatoes, grilled zuchini
Sun- Shrimp Alfredo, garlic bread, salad
Mon- Three cheese chicken, steamed broccoli and cauliflower
Tues- Taco salads, fresh fruit
Wed- Fish sticks (why did I buy such a huge bag?) baked potatoes, corn
Thurs-We will be in Williamsburg, Water Country USA!
Fri- Roast beef or turkey sandwiches, salad, fresh fruit
Sat- Out to dinner, then seeing Eat, Pray, Love! Yay!

 

[lisam427]

hello everyone!! went to cvs yesterday. i bought a bottle of dawn dishsoap and got a 12 pack of tp (scott) for $1.47 using coupons and extracare bucks. i also went to walmart. spent $48 And saved $26 in coupons. some of this was not grocery or health and beauty items though. i have stocked up on health and beauty items, soaps, tp, etc..now my next goal is to stock up on pantry items and meats as cheeply as possible.

tonight-good earth restaurant dinner kit for chicken, salad
monday-crockpot lasagna, salad
tuesday-hamburger helper, green beans
wednesday-breakfast for dinner, fruit, milk
thursday-goulash, salad
friday-breaded fish fillets, rice, veg from freezer
saturday-Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, veg from freezer

lunches for the week will be leftovers, egg or tuna salad.breakfast i have frozen waffles, bagels,yogurt, fruit plenty of cereal, eggs, etc..

have a good week everyone

 

[beansmom]

i'm home from vacation in NC...a lovely place to visit...and we're ready to rock this challenge.

we plan to eat mcdonald's with our grandchildren for dinner tonight we are havng sliced leftover steak and stir fried veggies with thai noodles and home-made chinese plum sauce. We will prolly have the same for lunch at work tomorrow.

I think we'll grill drumsticks and have veggies from our garden or fridge for supper tomorrow night. I'll cook breakfast in the morning-eggs, turkey sausage and toast.

I can only do a day at a time right now but i'll get in gear soon.

 

[charming23]

We did our grocery shopping this past thursday night and scored some good deals but the best one was they had meatloaf mix on manager's special for $.69lb. It was a sell by date of that day so I cam home and froze all three packages. So for three packages totaling $2.64 I got 3.82 lbs of meat. We are using one package tonight for meatballs and the other three are still in the freezer for future use. I also only spent $57.72 on groceries and it is the first time we had shopped since getting home.

We redid the menu based on sale items and what we had tastes for. Last night we ordered in pizza and wings because my uncle was in town and he treated.

Menu for 8/8 thru 8/14
Tonight: Spaghetti and Meatballs with garlic bread
Monday: Pulled Chicken sandwhiches with sweet potato fries
Tuesday: Beef stew in the crock pot
Wednesday: Chicken enchiladas with Spanish rice (using the leftover chicken from the sandwhiches)
Thursday: Pork chops with noodles and glazed carrots
Friday: Crock pot potato and double corn chowder
Saturday: Chicken cutlets with lemon butter sauce over rice with mixed veggies

 

[MEM]

I'm in too! We have 11 days before we leave for WDW. The menus look like this (heavy on the boneless skinless chicken breasts and use of crockpot). Most are served with side of brown rice or whole wheat couscous and a vegetable:

1. TJ's chile-lime chicken burgers
2. chicken-black beans-salsa in crockpot
3. BBQ chicken in crockpot
4. chicken and dumplings in crockpot
5. chicken and pasta sauce in crockpot
6. chicken and Italian salad dressing in crockpot
7. TJ's Indian-flavored veggie burgers
8. chicken and salsa again in crockpot
9. chicken in crockpot with Masala simmering sauce and petite peas
10. "porcupines" in crockpot made with extra lean ground turkey and two cans of Progresso tomato basil soup
11. ??? night before we leave. Might do cold sandwiches so no clean up.

 

[irishsharon]

I saw this thread and thought to myself "I bet there is a lot in there I don't even know I have"... so I took inventory and can NOT believe what is in there. I shouldn't have to shop for a month... what the heck was I thinking buying all this food!!!

Chicken Thighs – 4 pkgs.
Chicken Breasts – 3 pkgs.
Whole Chicken
Chicken Drumsticks – big pkg.
Thin Sliced Chicken Filets – 3 pkgs.
Pre-Cooked Chicken Breast Strips
Lemon Zesty Chicken Filets – 2 pkgs.
Ground Beef – 8 pkgs.
Steak – 2 pkgs.
Hamburger Patties
Maple Sausage
Al Pasor Meat
Ground Lamb
Ground Turkey
Gortons Salmon
Gortons Fish
Gortons Fish Sticks
Fish Filets
Tilapia – 1 little bag
Edamame
Corn on the Cob
Whole Kernel Corn – 4
Chopped Green Peppers – 2
Chopped Broccoli
Broccoli
Sliced Peaches
Blueberries
Strawberris
Frozen Chicken Nugget Meal
Frozen Dinner Rolls
Seasoned Fries – ½ pkg.
Chopped Onions - 2
Chicken Pepperoni – ½ pkg.
Tator Tots
Garlic Bread – 5
Tuxedo Brownies
Pumpkin Cheesecake Ice-Cream
Monster Cookie Ice-Cream
Triple Chocolate Cheesecake
Double Strawberry Ice-Cream
Strawberry/Banana Smoothie Mix
Limeade
Lean Cuisine – Chicken Enchilada Suiza
Lean Cuisine – Turkey
Lean Cuisine – Steak Tips Dijon
Jimmy Dean Breakfast Skillet
Mashed Potatoes
Southwestern Style Rice
Tyson Chicken Nuggets
Sloppy Joe Sandwiches – pkg. of 4
Fried Rice
Pepper Beef
Egg Rolls
Jalapeno Cheese Poppers
Chili Verde Chicken Burritos – 2
Crinkle Cut Fries
Zesty Fries

So when can I come over for dinner? You had me at pumpkin cheesecake ice-cream

 

[HLDisney]

Okay, I'm coming in late to this but I was recently unemployed and in an effort to reduce my expenses in the near future, I'm trying to commit to eating from my current food stash in the next few weeks. I hope to only need to buy dairy, fruit and veggies for the remainder of this month.

I will need to make an exception for a few extra things for some out-of-town visitors we'll be having later this month but luckily, they're two of my aunts who are very into eating the basics rather lots of processed foods.

Helen

 

[50sjayne]

Aack. I was organizing the garage freezer and found 9 pks of Michelinas swedish meatballs-- obviously I didn't like them so I was thinking I need to just open them all and throw them in the crockpot one day, add some garlic or somethuing to make it better. Anyone with suggestions on how to spruce these up I'd appreciate it.
*Never mind I came up with the brilliant idea of using my 15 year old swedish meatball packet....

 

[MEM]

Aack. I was organizing the garage freezer and found 9 pks of Michelinas swedish meatballs-- obviously I didn't like them so I was thinking I need to just open them all and throw them in the crockpot one day, add some garlic or somethuing to make it better. Anyone with suggestions on how to spruce these up I'd appreciate it.

Are they just meatballs with no sauce? I don't care for most frozen meatballs either, but I have found that two cans of a good quality cream of mushroom soup, like Progresso, thrown in the crockpot with the still frozen meatballs, will come out pretty tasty served over No Yolks noodles. You can also make a decent meatball soup called "albondigas" or an Italian wedding soup with baby spinach, shredded carrots and pastina...both in the crockpot.

 

[irishsharon]

I buy jars of sweet and sour sauce and cook that with the meatballs

 

[beansmom]

a jar of salsa and a jar of grape jelly tossed in with them. Delish.

 

[50sjayne]

Are they just meatballs with no sauce? I don't care for most frozen meatballs either, but I have found that two cans of a good quality cream of mushroom soup, like Progresso, thrown in the crockpot with the still frozen meatballs, will come out pretty tasty served over No Yolks noodles. You can also make a decent meatball soup called "albondigas" or an Italian wedding soup with baby spinach, shredded carrots and pastina...both in the crockpot.

They do come with the sauce and noodles-- i just thought they were kind of bland. So that's what italian wedding soup is...I have 3-4 cans of that in my cupboard I've been afraid of...huh. Have to try 'em. Another grocery bargain...