Pantry Challenge...here we go

Jessica at Life As Mom and Good Cheap Eats is hosting a Pantry Challenge for the month of January.  This is something I've done for the past couple of years, as it helps us to trim our eating AND our spending after the holidays.

My goals for this month are:
to minimize trips to the grocery store by using what we have
buy milk, bread, and fresh veg only when ABSOLUTELY necessary
clean out my deep freeze by eating what's in there already

So today...
Dinner was stuffed peppers and spaghetti.  I used peppers from our garden, and stuffed them for hubby.  Then I made a sauce from tomatoes I'd roasted and frozen during the summer when they were coming out of our ears so abundant.  I boiled pasta for ds and me, and that was dinner - simple, satisfying, comforting on the first day back to school for the new year.

Tomorrow's plan has already been amended -
hubby has an after-school meeting and is taking some folks to dinner, so ds & I will have something simple - probably some kind of leftovers - here at the house.

And we'll see how it goes!

January Pantry Challenge - menu for the month!

Happy New Year!


Here's to a year full of blessings!



Every year in January, I map out a menu for the month.  It's my goal to minimize trips to the grocery store, to use what we have, or to creatively do without.  I'll buy milk, maybe some bread, and perhaps a little fresh produce, but for the most part, we'll eat what we've already purchased.

For the past couple of years, I've joined Jessica at Life As Mom and Good Cheap Eats in this challenge.  It holds me accountable, and gives me a few ideas as I try to use all my creative tricks in staying away from the stores!

So, without further ado, here's January's plan:

Sunday~ Happy New Year!  Ham, blackeyed peas (from our garden), collards (also from the garden), a little rice, and a little beef tenderloin and swiss beans left from our New Year's Eve dinner
Monday~ Spaghetti and stuffed peppers (this is comfort food for us, and our first day back to school is going to require some comforting food!)
Tuesday~ Taco Night! Taco salad, quesadillas (my guys have informed me this should be a weekly tradition)
Wednesday~ Breakfast for dinner: eggs, bacon, grits, biscuits
Thursday~ Chili Mac (use any leftover meat from Taco Night)
Friday~ Roast in the crockpot, mushrooms, egg noodles, green beans
Saturday~ East meets West Chicken, homemade mac'n'cheese, coleslaw


8~ Turkey (from the freezer) & gravy, stuffing, broccoli with cheese OR green beans
9~ Taco Night! (I'm going out of town later this week, so gotta get it in early)
10~ Hubby & ds#3 are attending a dinner together, so Mom's on her own
11~ Leftovers
12 - 14 ~ I could make dinners, but I'm going out of town to a conference, and I know my guys will eat out...so I'm not going to obsess about it.


15~ Pasta Fagioli (already prepped and in the freezer - just add pasta when soup is cooked)
16~ MLK Holiday: Grilled chicken, steak, and burgers
17~ Meatballs w/brown gravy, egg noodles, green beans or salad
18~ Leftovers/Fend For Yourself (Taking girls from school to see a local production of Madame Butterfly)
19~ Taco Night!
20~ BBQ chicken, baked potatoes, collard greens
21~ Marinated flank steak, tossed salad


22~ Ham slices (frozen after Christmas), blackeyed peas, mac'n'cheese or these 5-minute individual potato gratins
23~ Breakfast for dinner
24~ Roast & gravy, French onion soup (which we still haven't had) green beans
25~ Taco Night
26~ Frozen Pizza, salad
27~ Spaghetti and stuffed peppers
28~ Leftovers or something on the grill


29~ Chili
30~ My sister's birthday -probably dinner out with the fam
31~ WHEW - we made it - OUT TO EAT!

As always, I share my menu plans at Laura's Menu Plan Monday, 

and this month I'll be linking up to the Pantry Challenge too.  

Come on in!

It's a Pantry Challenge for January

January is the perfect month for a Pantry Challenge in our house.  After all the huge menus from Thanksgiving to Christmas, our waistlines AND our checkbooks could use a little scaling back.

Every year in January, I plan our menus for the month, to use up what we've got.  I will go to the store and get milk and VERY necessary items, but for the most part, I'll use it up, make do with what we have, or change the plan and do without.

Jessica at Good Cheap Eats is sponsoring this challenge.  She keeps running posts on what her family eats that day, and how they adapt for this challenge.  I usually post weekly, but may try posting daily, just to keep track of my details.

Join in!

From Christmas to New Years Eve... our menu

What a Christmas...

Airman Son arrived on Friday evening just in time to have dinner with our extended family - grandparents, great-grandparents, and aunt, uncle, and nephews.  It was amazing to have him home.

The weather was rainy, in the 70s, and very un-Christmas-like.  But on Saturday...

...ds#3 got a letter from Marine Son.

As soon as he found out he had mail, he raced to get it, and sat down immediately to read it.  He loves his big brother.  AND... his brother loves him.  It's enough to make a mama teary.  Then, as soon as he'd finished the letter, Marine Son called!  He was overjoyed.  It was almost more than he could stand.

It's now Christmas evening, and everyone is enjoying their presents while Mom & Dad relax.  Here's our plan for this week:

Sunday~ Merry Christmas!!  Ham, roasted potatoes, Swiss beans, fried okra (Airman Son's fave), crescent rolls (another fave). Chocolate cake, apple cherry pie, and ice cream pie for dessert.  Very full!!!

Monday~ Shopping day with my nieces.  We'll have leftovers for dinner.

Tuesday~ Greek Fest!  Because we haven't had enough to eat yet.  My brother and nieces are in town, and we'll pull out some Greek delicacies that we've purchased to enjoy a feast: moussaka, pastitso, tiropeta, Greek salad, and some grilled chicken for non-Greek fans.

Wednesday~ Lunch at a wonderful seafood restaurant before my brother & nieces head back out of town.  We did this last year and it was scrumptious, but we were so full that no one was hungry for dinner, so I'm not planning any.

Thursday~  Ina Garten's ham and cheese in puff pastry, tossed salad.

Friday~ French onion soup (that I've planned several times, but we've not eaten it yet), potato bacon torte

Saturday~ Undecided yet - probably Mexican, with a family movie night planned

Check out Menu Plan Monday for inspiration or to share in the brilliance!

It's finally here... CHRISTMAS! (and vacation)

Last week, our menu was a little wacky, but we survived.  Things got shuffled around to accommodate that thing called LIFE, and we made it work.

This week, we learned that Airman Son will be in on Thursday evening/Friday morning (WOO HOO!!!) so the menus will definitely reflect his preferences.

We made it to Christmas vacation.... here's to a little relaxing!



Sunday~ Sandwiches for lunch, out to eat after a parent/child bowling tourney
Monday~ Tacos and nachos
Tuesday~ French Onion Soup (rain is in the forecast)
Wednesday~ Party with friends, ds#3 spends the night with the grandparents
Thursday~ Spaghetti and stuffed peppers
Friday~ Our traditional outing with my grandparents: out to eat then back to their house for desserts and presents
Saturday~ Dinner and present-opening at my parents' house
Sunday~ CHRISTMAS DAY!!!  Honey Baked Ham, Swiss Beans, Fried Okra (ds#2's fave), Crescent Rolls, Mashed Potatoes.  Wow.  Already I feel full.

And there's more beyond that...
but I'll wait till next week. ;)

Share your menus at Menu Plan Monday.

The week that school gets out!!! Menu...

Last week's menu went fairly well, as I resisted hubs's advances to go out to eat until Friday - I could hold him off no longer.


Ds#3 and I did make sugar cookies on Sunday night.

11~The bowling tournament that would never end resulted in a trip for pizza.
12~ Meatballs, with either tomato sauce & noodles, or brown gravy, mashed potatoes & broccoli
13~ Out to eat then shopping with ds#3 (part one of History Fair for Dad)
14~ Quesadillas (ds#3's fave)
15~ Out to eat with the fam after ds#3's Christmas play! (part two of History Fair)
16~ Hamburgers & hotdogs....
CHRISTMAS VACATION BEGINS!!

**campout in the living room**

17~ Turkey rice soup, sandwiches


Come share your menu marvels at Menu Plan Monday!

Christmas is coming... the goose is getting fat!

Last week, I mapped out a plan for us up until Christmas Vacation begins.
(WOO HOO!!!!)
I also made homemade donuts, using this recipe form the Pioneer Woman.  (But I baked them instead of frying.)  They got two thumbs up from ds#3.

Then, hubs announced his plan to go back to a protein-heavy diet, which makes it challenging with some of the menus I've got planned.
So... we'll probably have some revisions, but here's where we stand.
4~ Nachos (use leftover taco meat from Wed)5~ Breakfast for Dinner
6~ **CONCERT NIGHT**  Pasta Fagioli in crockpot
(prepare pasta separately; combine to serve)    
7~ Pepper Steak, rice
8~ Leftovers    **CONCERT NIGHT**
9~ Frozen Pizza  this already got taken from the freezer, so I'll have to come up with some other marvelous idea...
10~ Chili Mac     **Christmas Parade**


It's a very busy week, but having a plan makes it much easier.  This time next week, all of my pressing duties will be over, and I'll feel like I'm on vacation already!  

Share your menus at Menu Plan Monday!