What we're eating during the Pantry Challenge

 

I've decided it's time for a Pantry Challenge.
Hubby & I are both teachers, so it's especially important that we mind our budget during the summer months.  This will help us with the grocery part!
Jessica at Life As Mom and Good Cheap Eats is hosting this challenge, so stop by to get inspiration, encouragement, and ideas.
I'll be keeping a daily diary of sorts, of what we actually eat each day.



Monday, July 30
It's here.... braces day.


Breakfast: eggs & bacon, waffle, none for me
Lunch: out for ds's request while he could still eat without pain :/
Dinner: penne pasta with alfredo sauce for ds and me (I added broccoli and chicken to mine), penne with spaghetti sauce and a stuffed pepper for hubs


Sunday, July 29
 I've decided to keep posting until the end of July, because I like keeping track of exactly what we're eating.


Breakfast: eggs & bacon, waffle, half a turkey & cheese sandwich
Lunch: out for that steak dinner before ds gets braces
Dinner: stuffed peppers and spaghetti


Saturday, July 28
I had to go to the grocery store today...
We needed more milk!!!


Breakfast: eggs & bacon, turkey sandwich for me.  Ds#3 was at a lock-in, so instead of eating, he came in and went to sleep.
Lunch: Pizza
Dinner: Leftover chicken in mushroom gravy over egg noodles


Friday, July 27
I can't believe that in exactly three months, my baby will be 12.  Ouch.
He went to a lock-in with a friend tonight, so hubs & I were kidless as we watched Olympic ceremonies.  (Ds#3 would probably have been bored, so he got a reprieve.)


Breakfast: eggs & bacon (hubs), biscuit & bacon (ds), turkey & cheese sandwich.  I think I'm going to experiment with smoothies for breakfast...anyone have any suggestions in this area?
Lunch: Hubs wanted to go out for a salad bar, and we had a coupon, so I caved.
Dinner: Eggplant parm (which was seriously YUMMMM), homemade ice cream for dessert.




Thursday, July 26
Summer is rapidly drawing to a close. I spent a chunk of time today working up at school, and as I looked at the calendar, I realized that my leisurely mornings are coming to an end.  Sigh.  Must savor the moments...


Breakfast: eggs & bacon (hubs), biscuit and bacon (ds), turkey sandwich for me (my family made fun of me all day for my non-breakfast food!)
Lunch: boys ate at the bowling alley, and I skipped lunch because I was working
Dinner: we had planned to go out for a steak dinner because of ds#3's upcoming braces, but he had a cavity filled today and did not feel like steak, so he selected another restaurant... and all I can say is My Word... Caramel Pie.


Wednesday, July 25


Breakfast: eggs & bacon (hubs), biscuit and bacon (ds), biscuit with strawberry jam (me)
Lunch: turkey & cheese on pumpernickle (hubs), bowling alley lunch (ds), eggplant pie (me)
Dinner: cookout for friend's b-day


Tuesday, July 24


Breakfast: eggs, waffle, breakfast meeting w/coworker
Lunch: bowling alley lunch
Dinner: Chicken breasts in mushroom gravy, whole wheat egg noodles, green beans


Monday, July 23


Breakfast: eggs, waffle, whole wheat bread w/turkey
Lunch: bowling alley lunch
Dinner:  Out to dinner to celebrate a family birthday


Sunday, July 22


Breakfast: standard eggs for hubs, waffle for ds, and I had a turkey sandwich.  Sorry, I'm just not a breakfast kind of girl.
Lunch: I had planned leftovers but my guys informed me they were not up for leftovers so we went out after church.
Dinner: The leftovers made it - chili cheese nachos :) 
Dessert: homemade chocolate cake with homemade icing!


Saturday, July 21
I headed out early this morning to pick up some groceries we needed.  Can't do without toilet paper! I bought two gallons of organic milk, LOTS of cheese (we go through that stuff like crazy), pasta, corn meal, paper towels, bacon, limes, garlic, cream (for ice cream!) and wheat berries (for grinding into flour).


Breakfast: eggs, waffle, granola
Lunch: Ds had leftovers from the pizza outing last night; hubs had two sandwiches, and I had one.
Dinner: Pioneer Woman's simple perfect chili over macaroni. My guys loved it.




Friday, July 20
We planned all week to go out to the beach this afternoon for a stargaze, but the weather was so 'iffy' that we weren't sure what to do until about 5pm.


Breakfast: the standard - eggs for hubby, waffles for ds, and I treated myself to Chick-fil-A while the guys were at the dentist and I was running errands
Lunch: hubby met a professor friend, while ds made a burrito from leftovers (for the second day in a row), and I had a sandwich
Dinner: the big question mark of the day! We ended up each eating a sandwich before we went to the beach, and went with a cooler of snacks. We flew kites with a buddy and chatted while the sun set, but when it was time for the stargaze, it was too cloudy so we all went out for pizza.  Not exactly as planned, but a very enjoyable afternoon/evening.


Thursday, July 19
It rained today.  All afternoon.
Which was a good reason for me not to go anywhere.
Which I didn't want to do anyway. ;)

Breakfast: eggs, waffle, whole wheat bread w/cheese
Lunch: I had leftovers from last night's dinner, ds#3 made himself a burrito using leftovers, and hubs had lunch out
Dinner: Breakfast! Grits, eggs, bacon, bread. Yum.




Wednesday, July 18
I can't believe it's really only Wednesday.
Also, I should save up for "Doctor Appointment Week" in the future.
We have spent $900 on them so far this week, and we still have a dentist visit to go.
OUCH.
As far as what we ate, it was pretty much as expected.


Breakfast: eggs, donuts (I caved and bought some awful-for-you kind), cold pizza
Lunch: drive through at Chick-fil-A after ds had his eyes dialated
Dinner: Soy-Lime marinated chicken breasts, rice, green beans
Dessert: Cherry 'crisp'.  Why yes, it is yummy! :)


Tuesday, July 17
Orthodontist appointment today.
We've been going for a couple of years for 'observation'.
Today, the observation stage ended.  
My boy had impressions done of his mouth, along with a myriad of x-rays, while I signed paperwork and wrote checks.  I should count my blessings, as he is the only one of the boys who has required orthodontia - poor kid - he got my teeth.


Breakfast: eggs, waffles, leftover pasta (yeah, I know...)
Lunch: Newman's own pizza, eggplant pie
Dinner: Taco salads and burritos - LOVE taco night!  Put some pinto beans in the crock pot this morning and they were ready to go for dinner - just add tortilla chips, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and seasoned beef with the beans, and voila! Dinner!


Monday, July 16
My day did not begin as I had planned.
I was meeting a friend for an early Bible study, so I ran around the house this morning trying to get some things organized... and once I got there, we sat and talked....and talked...
And then it was lunchtime and my husband called me.
And he said, 'We're going to our favorite Mexican spot.  Join us there.'
And I said, 'Okay.'  My lunchtime plan fails again.
Sigh.
But it got better.


Breakfast: Eggs, waffles, breakfast with my friend (yogurt w/blueberries, fresh watermelon. YUM!)
Lunch: out...
Dinner: I pulled out some beef and some chicken that needed to be used up and we had sandwiches w/BBQ sauce, oven fries, and salad.  That redeemed my lunch snag.




Sunday, July 15
We are entering week three of our challenge.
You can see our plan for the week and the update on our goals here.


We picked up the beef & chicken order last night, and when we got home, I shoved it in the fridge in the garage, and planned to work on it today.  And work, I did.  I split 40 pounds of chicken breasts, and packaged them for the freezer.  Then I packaged ground beef in one-pound portions, made some hamburgers, made some meatballs, and had some for dinner.


Breakfast: eggs, waffles, whole wheat bread w/turkey
Lunch: BLTs on homemade bread, homemade pasta salad
Dinner: Spaghetti and meatballs, and this time, my portions were perfect!



Saturday, July 14
The beef & chicken order that was due in early this morning has been postponed until late tonight.  So hubs & I will go pick it up, shove it into the space I've carved out in the fridge, and I'll deal with it tomorrow.


Breakfast: eggs, waffle, and I had a small slice of lemon blueberry yogurt cake.  Hey - fruit, yogurt, whole wheat flour... all the important elements, right???
Lunch: I had just baked a loaf of bread, so hubs & ds#3 had BLTs.  I also received some eggplant, and one needed to be used immediately, so I made myself an eggplant 'stack' - like eggplant parm, but mozzarella cheese and tomatoes stacked between instead of smothering with sauce.

Dinner: Leftovers. Hotdogs, chili, lasagna, whatever suits your fancy. Hubs asked me to make him a 'stack' like I had for lunch, and after he ate that, he had a hotdog. Ds#3 had a chili dog, and I had lasagna.




Friday, July 13
Last day of bowling camp.


Breakfast: as usual, eggs for hubs, waffle for ds.  For myself... well, I'm trying to replicate a strawberry scone that I had at Panera...

I ate two then wrapped and froze the rest.  I'm trying to think ahead to the school year (which is coming much faster than I'd like!!!).
Lunch: Hubs met a friend, and I picked up ds#3 from bowling, where he ate pizza.  Then he went to a movie with a friend, so I took myself back home and ate some linguine tossed with cherry tomatoes and romano cheese.  
Dinner: I made lasagna on Thursday, so that it would cut better today, so we had lasagna and garlic bread.  After dinner I discovered that my husband had eaten all the banana nut muffins (I wrapped and froze 4 earlier in the day), and my son had eaten all the triple chocolate cookies.  Does that happen in anyone else's house???  So I made this scrumptious Lemon Blueberry Yogurt Cake from Hallee the Homemaker.  The whole kitchen smelled like lemon and I couldn't wait to dig in!  I made it in an 8x8 pan instead of a loaf pan, and it turned out just fine.

  This is after hubs got into it... yeah, he's like that. ;)

Thursday, July 12
Today, I didn't have to do anything I didn't want to do.  YEA! :)


I had to go to the grocery store to get cheese and milk...my boy is going through the milk.  I spent $7 on organic milk and cheese.


Then I did a lot of cooking.


This morning, after hubs and ds#3 left for bowling, I put leftover taco meat into the crock for chili tonight.  I diced a bell pepper from the garden and threw it in, and I drained the pinto & red beans I soaked last night and threw them into the mix as well.  I added some homemade seasoning, and then I pureed some tomatoes from the garden that I roasted yesterday to add in.  A touch of honey to balance the acidity, and dinner was on its way!


I made some waffles for ds#3's breakfasts - he ate the last one from the freezer this morning.  I also baked some banana nut muffins from bananas that my hubby intentionally allowed to turn brown so I would make banana bread!  I plan to freeze some because they'll make a quick breakfast when we start back to school.

Then I made lasagna for dinner tomorrow night, because it's always better after it sits for a day - easier to cut, too!

Breakfast: eggs (hubs), waffle (ds#3), cheese on whole wheat bread (me)

Lunch: Guys ate at the bowling alley, and I had a salad with romaine lettuce, leftover chicken from last night, blueberries and craisins.  Delish!

Dinner: Chili - and I must say, it was a hit.  Ds#3, who is not usually a fan of ground beef in anything, ate three helpings.  Hubby had two.  There's just enough left for lunch! I had planned for lasagna on the menu, but switched to chili in the crockpot when I thought I'd have a meeting later this afternoon (I love my crockpot!!!) It turned out I didn't have a meeting, but the chili worked just fine.

   
Wednesday, July 11
Today started with a list of things I had to do for other people but DID NOT want to do at all...and because I was off and running so early and then had to go into work, breakfast was a little different.


Breakfast: eggs (hubs), waffle (ds#3), Chick-fil-A (me)
Yes. Yes, I did.
Lunch: The boys ate at the bowling alley.  And probably will continue to do so all week.  Ds#3's lunch is included in the bowling camp, but hubs will eat there too.... I made some pasta tossed with cherry tomatoes from the garden for myself.
Dinner: I had a really nice dinner planned (yummy side dishes which would take some time to prepare but which we all love), but then hubby got a call from a friend who needed to talk, so we simplified.  Which was fine.  BBQ chicken, baked potatoes, collard greens
Snack: Triple chocolate cookies... yummmm!!!!! 




Tuesday, July 10
Breakfast: eggs (hubs), waffle (ds#3), whole wheat bread (me)
I had to take my grandparents to the doc this morning for what was supposed to be cataract surgery, and what turned out to be a pre-op appointment. Which threw off everyone's day.
Lunch: At the bowling alley for my guys, leftover mac 'n' cheese for me. 
Then we went to my parents' house to swim.  Also to help keep my nephews - 2 y.o. and 5 y.o. - entertained so my mom could have a break.
Dinner: Macho Nachos! Yummmm!  (This just means tortilla chips topped with cheese and meat and salsa and sour cream - add as little or as much as you like of whatever you like!)




Monday, July 9
Tonight is the Home Run Derby!  After being married to a baseball fan for 17 years, he's finally rubbed off on me, and I'm actually excited about watching it. ;)


Breakfast: eggs for Hubs, waffle for ds#3, tomato sandwich for me.
Lunch: ds#3 ate lunch at the bowling alley as part of his bowling camp, hubby joined him (love that man, but he CANNOT pass up an opportunity to lunch out), and I ate at home - had a baked potato with broccoli & cheese.
Dinner: For the Home Run Derby, what else could it be but hotdogs?  And baseball-shaped mac 'n' cheese! (I mix some butternut squash in there for added veggies.)






Sunday, July 8
I love it when a plan comes together!
After church today, hubby said, "Do you have a plan for lunch today?" and I said, "Yes! We are having spaghetti."  He said, "Okay... just checking... 'cause ya know, if you didn't have something planned, we could go out to eat..."  which is the reason I HAVE a plan!!!


Breakfast: eggs, waffle, whole wheat bread w/cheese for me
Lunch: Said spaghetti.  But, I underestimated the amount of food my guys would eat!  This led to a little munching, but we did okay.
Dinner: Breakfast. Scrambled eggs, bacon (cooked in the oven), and cheese grits.  Simple and yummy.  By the way, this is the first time I've cooked bacon in oven (after reading several raves about it).  Hubby loved it, and said, "It tastes different cooked this way.  I like it better."
Dessert: Hubs requested a chocolate cake...

Saturday, July 7
I went to the grocery store today.
We needed milk, sour cream, and my guys asked me to get a couple of other things.  So I spent $32.94 on organic milk, bacon, romano cheese wedges, potatoes, sour cream, all-fruit spread, crackers, Kashi cereal (had a coupon which made it $2), pasta, oats, and dishwashing detergent.  Not too bad - I saved $25.80 with coupons and store sales.


(I forgot to mention that I also went to the store earlier in the week to get the ingredients to make the fruit salad that we took to one of Friday's birthday parties.  That was by request, so no way to 'make do' with what I had at the house.)


So what did we eat?
Breakfast: eggs, waffle, hot tea for Mom
Lunch: layered taco dip with tortilla chips, quesadillas and taco salad
Dinner:  Hubs grilled burgers & dogs.
Dessert: It's National Strawberry Sundae Day!

Friday, July 6
Busy day today - two birthday parties!
Breakfast: eggs for hubs, waffles for ds and for me (topped mine with strawberries and blueberries - yumminess!!!!!)
Lunch: at party #1 - we had pulled pork, pasta salad, black bean & corn salsa w/chips, and I brought fruit salad.  Here it is all wrapped up to go:

Dinner: at party #2 - pizza and ice cream cake....followed by a trip to a local amusement park.

Whew! I don't think we'll do much tomorrow!

Thursday, July 5

We are all exhausted today!
Breakfast: eggs, waffle, none for me
Lunch: The boys went out for a father-son talk, I had a sandwich at home (Yes, those are green tomatoes, and they are actually ripe.  They have a stripe pattern on them and are one of the exotic varieties my husband planted this year.)

Dinner: Veggie plate! Blackeyed peas and sliced tomatoes from the garden, corn on the cob, cucumber salad, and homemade bread.




Wednesday, July 4
Happy Birthday, USA!
We did not eat much at home today...
Breakfast: eggs (hubby), waffle (ds), yogurt & berries (for me)

Then we went to the beach... 

and ate...
Lunch: fried chicken & baked beans (from a local grocery), homemade potato salad, and assorted drinks.

Then we came home, showered and were off to the ballpark!

At first we thought it would rain - it was raining all over the city - so they had the tarp on the infield.  But it cleared up and the game started.  It did sprinkle, but nothing terrible.  Then it passed and we had a very enjoyable afternoon.

And we ate.

Dinner: at the ballpark...burgers, hotdogs, sausages, pretzels, M&Ms.  Unhealthy.  But a fun splurge.

Then we stayed for the fireworks.

This was our view before it got dark and fireworks began.  We had a perfect spot to watch two other firework shows before 'ours' began.

Happy Independence Day, America!

Tuesday, July 3
Breakfast: eggs, waffle, sandwich

Lunch: Hubs took ds#3 to shoot a rocket :) and they went out to lunch afterward.  I had a burrito on a whole wheat tortilla with beans, cheese, sour cream, and homemade pico.
Dinner: Brisket sandwiches (leftover beef from Sunday) with homemade pickles on whole wheat buns, homefries, and mac 'n' cheese for ds#3 (pardon the chip on my dinner plate.  Keepin' it real here.)
We also made homemade ice cream today.  YUM!

Monday, July 2

Breakfast: eggs for Hubs, waffle for ds, half a tomato sandwich for me

Lunch: Flatout pizzas (Flatout bread or tortillas topped with spaghetti sauce, turkey pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese...or your choice of what you like!)

Dinner: Veggie tart was scheduled, but I found this recipe for a Tomato Pie, and since we have so many tomatoes on the counter right now, I decided that was a better use!

Snack: homemade macaroons.  An unusual treat for us... on Saturday, I went to the Farmer's Market in town, and came home with an enormous chocolate covered macaroon which I shared with my guys.  Today, they announced that I should make some... I knew I had some coconut in the fridge, so I found a simple recipe sans chocolate, and they've devoured them.

Sunday, July 1st
Breakfast: breakfast is usually farm eggs for hubby and whole wheat waffles for ds.  I'm not much a a breakfast person, and because of medication, usually have to wait to eat, so it's usually something like a tomato sandwich or yogurt.  Today was eggs (hubs), waffle (ds) and waffle with blueberries for me.
Lunch: hubby wanted to go out to eat after church, so we did...
Dinner: Beef brisket in the crockpot, whole wheat egg noodles, cucumber salad.  I did not have enough egg noodles (poor planning...) so I had brisket over a baked potato, and ds decided he did not like the meat, so he just had noodles.
Snack: Blueberry Streusel muffins