Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Hear ye! Hear ye! I'm "The Biggest Loser"

Okay...all bets are off people. I am a "Pantry Eating Challenge" loser. A dropout. I could not do it. Truth be told, I never started. I just could not get my act together after the holidays to sit down and focus on a month's challenge of meals...with the little we had in the house/pantry/freezer and no good deals on the horizon. (Unless, of course, we were going to eat from cans for the month since every store is now having "Can-Can Sales"). Chef Boyardee anyone?? No thanks. So, I've been restocking for the month, and I think I'm now ready to start the challenge...just about a month late.

Here are some of the great deals I've found this month to help stock up. Needless to say I stocked my fridge, freezer, and pantry to the max with these sales! I'm able to feed our family, and frequent dinner guests since it's that time of year and my husband is having his Seniors over every now and then for College planning.

Ground beef: $1.68/lb.
Boneless chicken breast: $1.99/lb.
Frozen organic veggies: 12 bags free with coupons
5lb. organic potatoes: $.78
Organic tomato sauce/pasta sauces: $.65
Whole grain pastas: $.78 box
2lbs. white and brown rice: $.77
bacon: $1.88/lb.

Another great and frugal find (don't know why I didn't look for these sooner...since I'm a loyal shopper there!!) at Sam's Club: Can't beat these deals with a stick!!
Bulk Yeast: 2 lbs: $4.16!!
25lbs All-Purpose Unbleached Flour: $7.83
So...I'll be baking up all of our rolls, breads, and pizza dough (when I make sicilian...we still have shells from Sam's which are still our fave for regular pizza!!)

I have all of the ingredients on hand to prepare the following meals. Here's what will be on my menu plan this month (and longer):
Many of these meals are Under $5!
Meatloaf
Bowties alfredo with grilled chicken
Penne Vodka w/ grilled chicken
Cheeseburger Pie
Shepherds Pie
Burgers on the grill (homemade rolls)
Lasagna
Stuffed Shells
Chicken Potato Pancakes
Chicken & Wild Rice Pancakes
Ziti
Stuffed French Toast
Penne/Cavatelli & Broccoli
Creamy Chicken
Potroast
Quiche
London Broil
Chicken, rice, gravy
Porcupine Balls/Mashed Potatoes
Teryaki Chicken, Vegetables & Rice
Spaghetti & Meatballs
Chicken Fried Chicken
Chicken Parmesan
Chicken Soup
Potato Soup w/ bacon & cheese
Beefaroni
Sloppy Joes (homemade rolls)
Grilled chicken, bacon & Cheese
Popcorn Chicken
Crispy beef & Broccoli (recipe to come)
Crispy beef & fried rice (recipe to come)
Chicken fried rice (recipe to come)
"No Es Mexicana" "Enchilada"
Ravioli
Chicken Alfredo Pizza
Pizza
Sicilian Pizza (recipe coming soon!!)

Side dishes of: veggies, rice, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, roasted potatoes.

I figure my weekly shopping lists will consist of: (Budgeting for $20 wk.)
cheese
milk
yogurt
fruit
veggies

An "Eating from the Pantry" challenge is a great idea...any month of the year! And doing it when I'm prepared, stocked, and ready Works for Me!!
Linked to: Works for Me Wednesday

2 comments:

  1. I am a drop out too. Only, I thought I would do better considering I had a baby on January 4th and had made up more than 6 weeks worth of dinners. But I think we spent almost as much on groceries even though we didn't do real grocery shopping. It was thanks to palate burn out and picking up too many convenience foods. But, I did an inventory, and now my plan is to empty the freezer and restock with more variety over the next 6 weeks.

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  2. Right now you're in what I call "survival mode"... so you're entitled to as many convenience foods you need!! Good luck with that new baby! And keep in touch with your progress!!

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