Menu Plan Week 108 - Using What We Have
*Hey Hey ... better late than never ... sorry ... been busy and I missed my Sunday afternoon post ...*
O M G ... it's February 1st. WHERE has the last 31 days gone?? It's officially too late to say "Happy New Year" to anyone that I've not spoken to in a while ... well, in the last 31 days ... which you'd be surprised how people just pop up out of nowhere ;-)
So. The "Pantry Challenge" is officially over. Actually, it's been over for a week or so but I just never made the announcement. I question whether or not I really had a pantry challenge, to be honest ... I mean, sure, we used what we had, like ALWAYS, it seems, but the pantry and freezers are still just overflowing with stuff. I really need to just clean everything out once and for all, chuck what we are not going to be using (hello salmon in the guest freezer) and move on with my life. BUT then I say, oh, there's a really good looking salmon recipe on Pinterest that I want to try ... and then I get distracted by real life and 4 months later, there's that bag of salmon winking at me ... ugh.
Ok. Enough of this rambling and self-pity mode ;-) ... I am really thankful that I do have tons of food in the house and feel quite confident that IF I had to, I could feed the family and neighbors for at least a month with what we have on hand ... might not be exciting but there's enough to go around.
So ... who did you cheer for? Seahawks or Patriots? I had hoped for the Seahawks, just because ... and well, even though the ending really really REALLY sucked, I'm glad it was an exciting game, unlike the last NE game against the Colts (oh, as an Indiana girl, it breaks my heart to reflect on THAT game) ... we will be having a few people over and I'm excited to make these pizzas ... will hopefully be able to document with pictures so I can do a post soon! UPDATE: the pizzas were good but what a PAIN in the behind ... not so sure I'd make them again, to be honest!
I've been trying to stay on top of doing a little meal preparation on Saturday and Sunday ... be it just sauteing the veggies and having them already cooked to just reheat has really helped out with the final meal prep in the evening ... I just need to stay on top of what I've prepped and make sure we eat it before the dead by date that I impose to prevent food waste ;-) I will be making a big batch of rice in the rice cooker on Sunday so that we will have that ready to go, in addition to the sauteed mushrooms and onions, and roasted veggies (broccoli and cauliflower).
Here's what we are looking at eating this week:
Sunday - Deep Dish Pepperoni Pizzas and meatballs in marinara sauce ... only thing that I had on hand was the meatballs (Costco, freezer) and marinara sauce (Costco, pantry) ... the rest of the stuff was bought last week specifically for THIS night ... feeding 12
Monday - I'm going to be quite confident that we willNOT have any leftovers so meatball subs it is! so Chicken Stirfry (chicken from freezer as is the veggies) ... will serve with rice. Feeding 4
Tuesday -Taco Tuesday (of course!) Chicken Stirfry ... chicken and veggies from the freezer! I also whipped a small batch of roasted broccoli and wish I had made a heck of a lot more! Everyone was sitting around the kitchen nibbling on the broccoli like it was a snack ... the other shrub hater who was visiting said he'd eat that instead of chips, popcorn and other crap ... yup, its that good when you roast it and make it a little charred! Feeding 4
Wednesday - Yum Yum Chicken ... will serve with a side of rice (pantry) and roasted veggies (fridge). Feeding 6
Thursday - I'm thinking this might be my Costco run night ... if so, will let everyone fend for themselves, leftovers, soup (pantry) and sandwiches, etc. Yes. A Costco run ... I am getting low on eggs, half and half, salad stuff, etc. I need to make sure I only buy perishables and nothing for the freezer or pantry (except the marinara sauce that we LOVE) ... we shall see ;-) Feeding 4 I believe ...
Friday - Flatbread Pizzas ... flatbread in freezer (Costco), cheese in freezer/fridge and the toppings are in the fridge/freezer also. I think for ME I will make a margarhita frittata (eggs and other ingredients are in fridge. This is new recipe and I'm really hoping it works out!) ... feeding 6 to 8
Saturday - Hubby's choice ... I will probably stir him towards chicken of sorts on the grill as I think the weather will be Be.U.Ti.Ful ... ;-) I do live in PARADISE, remember? :-) Feeding 8 to 10 as we have some friends we haven't seen in a while! Most likely will lean towards a Summer Feast on the grill along with some Caprese Bites (tomatoes from Aldis, cheese from Winn Dixie, basil from 'garden' and balsamic/oil in pantry)!
What are YOU cooking this week??
Looking forward to linking up with Organized Junkies Menu Plan Monday ... go check it out!
O M G ... it's February 1st. WHERE has the last 31 days gone?? It's officially too late to say "Happy New Year" to anyone that I've not spoken to in a while ... well, in the last 31 days ... which you'd be surprised how people just pop up out of nowhere ;-)
So. The "Pantry Challenge" is officially over. Actually, it's been over for a week or so but I just never made the announcement. I question whether or not I really had a pantry challenge, to be honest ... I mean, sure, we used what we had, like ALWAYS, it seems, but the pantry and freezers are still just overflowing with stuff. I really need to just clean everything out once and for all, chuck what we are not going to be using (hello salmon in the guest freezer) and move on with my life. BUT then I say, oh, there's a really good looking salmon recipe on Pinterest that I want to try ... and then I get distracted by real life and 4 months later, there's that bag of salmon winking at me ... ugh.
Ok. Enough of this rambling and self-pity mode ;-) ... I am really thankful that I do have tons of food in the house and feel quite confident that IF I had to, I could feed the family and neighbors for at least a month with what we have on hand ... might not be exciting but there's enough to go around.
So ... who did you cheer for? Seahawks or Patriots? I had hoped for the Seahawks, just because ... and well, even though the ending really really REALLY sucked, I'm glad it was an exciting game, unlike the last NE game against the Colts (oh, as an Indiana girl, it breaks my heart to reflect on THAT game) ... we will be having a few people over and I'm excited to make these pizzas ... will hopefully be able to document with pictures so I can do a post soon! UPDATE: the pizzas were good but what a PAIN in the behind ... not so sure I'd make them again, to be honest!
I've been trying to stay on top of doing a little meal preparation on Saturday and Sunday ... be it just sauteing the veggies and having them already cooked to just reheat has really helped out with the final meal prep in the evening ... I just need to stay on top of what I've prepped and make sure we eat it before the dead by date that I impose to prevent food waste ;-) I will be making a big batch of rice in the rice cooker on Sunday so that we will have that ready to go, in addition to the sauteed mushrooms and onions, and roasted veggies (broccoli and cauliflower).
Here's what we are looking at eating this week:
Sunday - Deep Dish Pepperoni Pizzas and meatballs in marinara sauce ... only thing that I had on hand was the meatballs (Costco, freezer) and marinara sauce (Costco, pantry) ... the rest of the stuff was bought last week specifically for THIS night ... feeding 12
Monday - I'm going to be quite confident that we will
Tuesday -
Wednesday - Yum Yum Chicken ... will serve with a side of rice (pantry) and roasted veggies (fridge). Feeding 6
Thursday - I'm thinking this might be my Costco run night ... if so, will let everyone fend for themselves, leftovers, soup (pantry) and sandwiches, etc. Yes. A Costco run ... I am getting low on eggs, half and half, salad stuff, etc. I need to make sure I only buy perishables and nothing for the freezer or pantry (except the marinara sauce that we LOVE) ... we shall see ;-) Feeding 4 I believe ...
Friday - Flatbread Pizzas ... flatbread in freezer (Costco), cheese in freezer/fridge and the toppings are in the fridge/freezer also. I think for ME I will make a margarhita frittata (eggs and other ingredients are in fridge. This is new recipe and I'm really hoping it works out!) ... feeding 6 to 8
Saturday - Hubby's choice ... I will probably stir him towards chicken of sorts on the grill as I think the weather will be Be.U.Ti.Ful ... ;-) I do live in PARADISE, remember? :-) Feeding 8 to 10 as we have some friends we haven't seen in a while! Most likely will lean towards a Summer Feast on the grill along with some Caprese Bites (tomatoes from Aldis, cheese from Winn Dixie, basil from 'garden' and balsamic/oil in pantry)!
Looking forward to linking up with Organized Junkies Menu Plan Monday ... go check it out!
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