Slowly but surely, the pantry is getting cleared out. It’s kinda neat to look at each shelf and know exactly what’s there without having to shuffle things side to side or remove large containers! Who knew a pantry could be so calming?!
Last weeks’ menu included a few new recipes. Some were good, some weren’t so good, and some were benched for a future menu (that isn’t limited to the pantry).
Cornbread Pancakes – These were benched and I made a simple mini-loaf of cornbread instead. The kids and I had peanut butter and banana sandwiches on the mini-slices and the kids LOVED it. The entire loaf was consumed in that one lunch (with momma eating her fair share too). Whether it was the cornbread in lieu of regular bread, or the fact that the sandwiches were miniature-sized (aren’t they cute), it was definitely a fun lunch that’s worth repeating. It also offers an idea for using up those one or two leftover cornbread muffins.
Honey Quinoa Bread – This was a complete and total bust. I’ll take the blame, but to be honest, I think there was too much dough ingredients in my standard Kitchen Aid mixer for it to properly. It never got to a “solid ball” state. There wasn’t enough room for it to rise and double in size. Because of the poor kneading (and poor rise), I ended up with two loaves of bricks. We tasted it anyway, and the flavor was there, but if I attempt this recipe again it’ll be halved.
Spiced Carrot Bread – This is a new-to-us-classic recipe that was altered according to the pantry. A little bit of oat flour, extra spices and substituting flax for half of the egg resulted in a delicious loaf. The kids ravished this just like the cornbread sandwiches. Not only was it requested every morning for breakfast, but The Boy wanted it for lunch too! Another loaf is on the project list for this week – without eggs and vanilla chips. Maybe some sunflower seeds will make their way into the batter…
Black Bean Brownies – We made a slight deviation from the original recipe since we didn’t use black beans, but the brownies themselves were AWESOME. Very rich, chewy and chocolaty – exactly what a brownie should be!
Oven-Roasted Chickpeas – Since the pantry didn’t magically produce garbanzo beans, this recipe was benched for a future meal planning session. I definitely want to try the recipe though and chickpeas have already been added to the grocery shopping list.
Very Little Bother Bread – This was not on the list last week, but after the honey quinoa bread failure, I needed bread! This turned out pretty good and it was relatively painless. Don’t be surprised if you see this on my menu again… this week (since the family already ate both loaves).
Progress was made in the mini-goals too:
- Finish prunes in pantry
- Finish 1 cup of cornbread mix in pantry
- Empty last jar of jelly in the fridge
- Eat bag of frozen mixed veggies in the freezer
- Finish last can of chicken noodle soup
- Finish black beans
Curse those black beans!
The final week of my first pantry challenge looks delicious. There’s a new bean recipe planned for Thursday, a fellowship meal on Friday and a new family favorite planned for Saturday.
Sunday
Breakfast: kids eating at grandma/grandpa’s; smoothies for mom & dad
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: family dinner
Monday
Breakfast: egg-less spiced carrot bread or oatmeal for kids; smoothies for mom & dad
Lunch: chicken noodle soup for kids; beans & rice for mom; seed salad for dad
Dinner: leftovers (back-up plan of grilled cheese sandwiches for kids & dad; egg white omelet w/veggies for mom)
Tuesday
Breakfast: egg-less spiced carrot bread or oatmeal for kids; smoothies for mom & dad
Lunch: snack-y lunch of granola bars, carrots, celery sticks and fruit for kids; beans & rice for mom; seed salad for dad
Dinner: squash (from freezer) and fresh pasta
Wednesday
Breakfast: egg-less spiced carrot bread or oatmeal for kids; smoothies for mom & dad
Lunch: peanut butter and apple butter sandwiches (homemade bread) & fruit for kids; beans & rice for mom; seed salad for dad
Dinner: leftovers (back-up plan of grilled cheese sandwiches for kids & dad; egg white omelet w/veggies for mom)
(By the way – this last batch of granola bars had prunes, dried blueberries, coconut, chopped almonds, cranberries, cherries, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and chocolate chips… YUMMY!!)
Thursday
Breakfast: egg-less spiced carrot bread or oatmeal for kids; smoothies for mom & dad
Lunch: snack-y lunch at the park of granola bars, carrots, celery sticks and fruit for kids; beans & rice for mom; seed salad for dad
Dinner: crispy baked chicken, Mediterranean beans & rice, cauliflower
Friday
Breakfast: egg-less spiced carrot bread or oatmeal for kids; smoothies for mom & dad
Lunch: peanut butter and apple butter sandwiches (homemade bread) & fruit for kids; beans & rice for mom
Dinner: fellowship over homemade pizza at a friend’s house (we’re bringing dough, sauce and various toppings).
Saturday
Breakfast: egg-less spiced carrot bread or oatmeal for kids; smoothies for mom & dad
Lunch: lunch out
Dinner: buffalo chicken wraps with homemade ranch and tortillas, carrot and celery sticks
Pantry Challenge Mini-Goals
- Finish last can of chicken noodle soup
- Finish black beans
- Find and make one recipe using cranberry sauce
I think I went overboard last Thanksgiving on the cranberry sauce… 8 cans were lurking behind the chicken noodle soup in my pantry. YIKES! Anyone know of a good recipe using this? (By the way, I have jellied and whole…)
What’s on your menu this week?
This post is linked to OrgJunkie and StoneGable.
We’ve been doing an informal pantry challenge and it sure is nice to see some bare shelves. I have no idea what to do with cranberry sauce though…we’re not fans so we don’t even have it at Thanksgiving.
I saw a recipe that used whole cranberries, oatmeal and vanilla chips and bought one can to make it. The recipe was delicious, so when I saw the cranberries clearanced after the holiday, I stocked up… and then apparently forgot we had them, lol.
Curse you whole cranberry sauce! I have three cans and my family only eats the jellied kind (so why do I have three cans of WHOLE?!?) I’ll be waiting to see if you find some use for it, I haven’t been able to yet. I’m thinking of a cranberry chicken recipe though.
Ooh, I’ll have to share the cranberry bar recipe I mentioned to Steph. It’s super easy and great for holiday parties. I’m hoping for a muffin or bread recipe though since we’re trying to stay away from sweets. Cross those fingers!
I use cranberry sauce for a chicken recipe. 1 can cranberry sauce jelly or berry, 1 packet onion soup mix, and chicken. Dump it all in the crockpot and cook for 6 hours on low. It is absolutely delcious. My kiddos don’t know what it is but they always ask for seconds of this chicken.
Mmmm, sounds good! I can see serving this over some rice (with a hint of cinnamon), or on a sandwich too! Thanks for the recipe!