Menu Plan Pantry Challenge - Week 26
Yes, that's right, we have gone half of the year without buying meat, canned foods, pantry staples, or frozen foods from the store.
So what I have I purchased? Milk from a farmer, fruit (and even a lot of that has been given to us by friends/family with fruit trees or from our own garden), a few specialty items, vinegar (we go through a lot of that around here) and the occassional loaf of bread.
Note to self: really must make bread making a priority.
We have had parties and brunches and dinners with friends from our stash.
You know what has been amazing has been the variety of stuff we have had in the freezer/pantry. But my saving grace has been all of the freezer cooking that I have done at different times. That's why we have been able to do things like whip up a quick dinner for 9 at the drop of a hat. :)
Sunday - Leftovers
Monday - Beef & Pepper Stir-Fry over Rice
Tuesday - BBQ Sausages, Sweet Potato Casserole, Greens
Wednesday - Soft Tacos, Rice, & Beans (carried over from last week)
Thursday - Turkey Pasta and Tomato & Cucumber Salad
Friday - Date Night
Saturday - Party!!!!!!
This is part of Menu Plan Monday.
When the days are this hot I'm so glad to have freezer meals to thaw and quickly reheat!
ReplyDeleteMe too!!!! Plus, once I'm done pickling and preserving for the day, making supper is not that exciting of a prospect. It's nice to be able to pull something out really quickly.
DeleteI'm just coming over as a newbie from Menu Plan Monday at Org Junkie. So I have no idea why you're doing a pantry challenge but glad you've been successful! Our goal is to be ABLE To live off our home store (you could call it a pantry) if we had to. So we're building it up with lots of freeze dried fruits and vegetables, as well as freeze dried cheese and meats. When my husband lost his job 3 years ago, we were faced with trying to not go to the store as much as we could. And found the dairy items were a big reason we had to go. And so now I'm finding ways to not have to do that if we had that experience again.
ReplyDeleteWe're also growing a garden, but I need to learn how to preserve some of those items.
As for with the heat, I'm not a fan of freezer meals unless they can go into my crockpot. I just don't want my oven on at all!
Sounds like you have faced your situation with grace and have manuevered quite well. Thanks for stopping by. :)
DeleteI don't think we could last anywhere near that long living out of our pantry¬ I'm currently working on emptying out ours a bit in preparation for our trip to the US this summer and I think we could last probably about a month, but no more. However, pantries, fridges and freezers are smaller here in the UK - so that's okay.
ReplyDeleteOh I remember those UK kitchens and lack of storage space quite well, not fondly, but well. :) Have a good trip home!
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