Eating from the freezer and pantry has been very interesting! I'm surprised that it has given me a bit of a break from meal prep, just when I needed it. It seems to be a very prudent thing to get all the food cleaned out and used up. I really hate wasting food, so I feel very responsible forcing myself to use up that not-quite-so-tasty honeydew, watermelon, and cantaloupe from last summer. And the funny thing is, those unripe melons taste pretty good in the winter when economical fresh fruit choices consist mostly of apples, bananas and oranges!
Last week's menu underwent quite a few changes, some of them very interesting. Too interesting to mention here, right V---? I did wimp out a little, causing us to bring home pizza not once, but twice. I burned the fingers on my right hand pretty badly last Saturday (part of the interesting menu change), so I was really happy I didn't need to do much cooking at all. I'm feeling confident that it will be healed up enough so that I can make more fresh bread this week! And then people will stop asking me how I burned my hand, which is really pretty embarrassing!
I'm so happy to report that my goals have been met this month! The freezers were ready to be consolidated, and I was able to defrost the chest freezer just as a couple rare 50 degree days hit. All I need to do now is get out to the garage and wipe it out. I am convinced that I would have been over my monthly budget because of the Sunny Valley Country Store visit had I not been doing this Pantry Challenge, so THANK YOU Money Saving Mom! Not only was I able to buy more healthy bulk foods, I was also blessed on my last Kroger trip to be able to buy many natural home products that were marked off about 75%. I was quite giddy showing my husband and children all my great purchases Saturday afternoon! I still have to go buy milk from our dairy woman this week, but after that I should be about $10 under budget for the month. Hooray!
All that being said, it was weird making out this last menu. We're getting down to the bare bones here! I'm sorry to say I'm going to have to really cook again after this. I think I have learned some important lessons on how cooking ahead will really be a blessing to our family. I'm pretty sure I'll be spending a few days in February stocking the clean freezer back up with my very own homemade convenience foods. Okay, here's the slightly weird menu:
January 23
7-grain cereal
out to lunch
nachos
January 24
banana pancakes
leftovers, popcorn, smoothies
nachos, black beans and rice
January 25
eggs, muffins, and melon (fresh, not frozen!)
hot dogs & baked beans
roast turkey, green beans, mashed potatoes, rolls
January 26
banana pancakes
tuna salad pitas, sweet potato fries, jell-o
tacos, black beans and rice
January 27
7-grain cereal
tuna salad pitas, sweet potato fries, jell-o
stromboli, salad
January 28
pb toasts, smoothies
veggie beef soup, crackers
pesto pasta with snow peas and roasted red peppers
January 29
pudding, gingerbread scones
leftovers
visiting some sweet friends for dinner
Janauary 30
cold cereal
stromboli
bbq turkey on homemade buns, green beans, mashed potatoes, lemonade, homemade ice cream, cookies'n cream cake, lemonade
January 31
7-grain cereal
leftovers
popcorn & smoothies
February 1
mini breakfast pizzas, fruit
pb & crackers, fruit
bbq turkey, potato wedges, corn
Since making out this menu, the stomach bug has hit our house, so there will be many changes made!
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