Despite what the calendar says, my grocery budget has reset so I’m meal planning for August. Before I jump in, I want to do some quick reviews of the new recipes I tried last month, just in case anyone was eyeing them and wondering if they’re actually good or not, lol.
Week 1
Spinach Dip - pretty good. I think I messed up somewhere because while I thought it was “good,” other reviewers absolutely loved it. I think my celery was the culprit, so I’ll give it another try sometime before ruling it out.
Homemade Rolls - Lip-smacking, melt in your mouth buns. I’ll never buy store-bought again and will make this recipe for years to come.
Week 2
Buffalo Chicken Wraps (pictured at the very top) – Quoting the husband, “This would be really good on a pizza night, you know, instead of pizza.” If that weren’t enough, he had it for lunch for the following three days. Needless to say, it’s a keeper, and next time I’ll use my homemade ranch dressing – so good!
Week 3
Chicken Verde Enchiladas – I made homemade flour tortillas this time and while the tortillas came out really good, I think the enchiladas I were better when I used an all-grain version of store-bought tortillas. This recipe is a definite keeper thought – and I’ll just smear some butter on the homemade tortillas and eat them plain next time!
Week 4
Beer Bread - I didn’t plan on making bread this week, but I’m sure glad I did! Mr. Crumbs loves it and so do the kids. Two thumbs up, and recipe coming tomorrow!
If you tried any of these recipes, or any others that I’ve posted, please let me know in the comments. I’m always interested to hear how people customize recipes to suit their tastes!
Now back to our regularly scheduled program… I mentioned this on Friday, but I’m attempting to do my very first pantry challenge for the month of August.
Dun dun dun…
What exactly is a pantry challenge? It’s a challenge to purposefully eat from your pantry as much as possible for a period of time. For me, it’ll be four weeks. It doesn’t mean we’ll starve if our pantry is empty, nor does it mean I won’t set foot in a store. It just simply means I’ll have to meticulously plan every meal to ensure success in my goals, and I have three for my first challenge:
- Eat the random “food” we have in the pantry, fridge and freezer.
- Devise some new recipes.
- Spend less on groceries.
I’ll have to supplement what we already have on hand with fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy and meat later on in the month, but I’m going to try extra hard to make do whenever possible. I enjoy trying new variations in my green smoothies each morning, but I’m willing to suck it up and have strawberries every day with the abundance of strawberry puree in my freezer!
Since a pantry challenge requires intense planning, I’ll be planning week by week instead of the entire month like I normally do. Just a heads up – you may notice that not all of us eat the same things at meal time. This is partially because of our individual preferences, but partially because of the pantry challenge. I’ve even fore-warned Mr. Crumbs, just in case any recipes are “out of the ordinary,” and he’s totally on board. Score!
In preparation for the challenge, I’ve slowly been taking inventory of what is in my pantry, fridge and freezer over the past few weeks. Strange to see just what type of food we’ve been collecting, lol!
Holidays / Hosting Company / Potluck Fellowships – We’re having dinner with friends on Tuesday night. I plan on bringing dessert – strawberry pretzel salad – only because I have everything needed in my kitchen!
Sunday
Breakfast: kids eating at grandma/grandpa’s house; smoothies for mom & dad
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: family dinner
Monday
Breakfast: strawberry pancakes for kids; smoothies for mom & dad
Lunch: chicken noodle soup for kids, seed salad lunch for mom & dad
Dinner: leftovers (back-up plan of grilled cheese sandwiches for kids & dad; egg white omelet w/veggies for mom)
Tuesday
Breakfast: kids choice of pancakes or oatmeal; smoothies for mom & dad
Lunch: quinoa energy bars; seed salad for dad
Dinner: dinner with friends, bringing strawberry pretzel salad
Wednesday
Breakfast: kids choice of pancakes or oatmeal; smoothies for mom & dad
Lunch: peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, seed salad for mom & dad
Dinner: leftovers (back-up plan of grilled cheese sandwiches for kids & dad; egg white omelet w/veggies for mom)
Thursday
Breakfast: kids choice of pancakes or oatmeal; smoothies for mom & dad
Lunch: quinoa energy bars; seed salad for dad
Dinner: summer squash over pesto risotto
Friday
Breakfast: kids choice of pancakes or oatmeal; smoothies for mom & dad
Lunch: spaghetti o’s for kids; quinoa energy bars or seed salad for mom
Dinner: homemade pizza
Saturday
Breakfast: kids choice of pancakes or oatmeal; smoothies for mom & dad
Lunch: out to lunch, or sandwiches or leftovers at home
Dinner: macadamia crusted baked chicken with homemade spaghetti sauce
I know some of you may be confused at the meals I have planned (spaghetti o’s aren’t exactly considered “healthy”), but they’re in pantry, leftover from the earlier not-as-healthy days. Since throwing away food is throwing away money, we’re going to eat them to rid them and create more cabinet space for the healthy choices.
How about you – have you ever done a pantry challenge before? How did it go?
This post is linked to StoneGable and Org Junkie.
Funny you’re having this challenge this week. Having Camp at home last week I didn’t make it to the grocery store. We’ll be having a similar meal planning challenge till grocery day!
Ooh, if you come up with a new recipe from the pantry, let me know! I may need some when the pantry gets bare in a couple weeks!
Love your monthly challenge, I need to do this! Thanks for this!
It seems I do Pantry Menus for weeks in the early part of the year. We’re usually overflowing in both freezers and pantries then. I plan dinners based on what’s on the shelves and in the freezers, then purge and donate what’s left. So, yeah, some meals get “interesting.” But it looks like you’re doing well, and I love the backup plans! Visiting from Menu Plan Monday.
I usually do a pantry challenge in January and July, but this year, I think we’ll continue into August (partly because July was not too successful…) Do you have smoothie recipe? Thinking of incorporating those for my own breakfasts.
Angela – my sincere apologies for missing your comment? I don’t know how I missed it!
Here is my basic recipe for smoothies: http://dontwastethecrumbs.com/2012/07/7-days-of-green-monster-smoothies/
I’ve actually made some updates and those will be posted tomorrow, 8/20!
Please let me know if you enjoy smoothies – it’s so wonderful to hear all the different variations!
Love your site! A question for you..not sure if you have this on your site already …but, what is your recipe for homemade spaghetti sauce?
Thanks Mary! I haven’t posted it yet, but here’s the very simple generic sauce that we love:
1 big can of tomato sauce (from Costco)
1 lb spicy pork sausage
1 lb ground turkey or ground beef
1 head garlic
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1-2 carrots (depending on the size)
1-2 stalks of celery (again, size)
Cook the meat, seasoning well with salt and pepper. Drain excess fat and put all ingredients except tomato sauce in a large crockpot (ours is 6 qts). Add as much tomato sauce as you can; stir. Add more sauce until it’s full. You may have sauce leftover (we usually do, 1/2 – 1cup maybe?). Cook on low for the longest setting you can, like 10-12 hours. At the halfway mark, taste and season as needed. Honestly, I use whatever is in the pantry – thyme, basil, oregano, parsley, sage, rosemary – add a pinch or splash or whatever suits your fancy, tasting as you go, adding more of what you like (smelling first helps if you’re not too familiar with herbs). When it’s done, use an immersion blender to blend it all up! Viola!