Pantry challenge update #1

I apologize for writing so many posts in a row without photos, but I’m working on a post about some of my favorite holiday gifts that includes photos, and hopefully that will be done soon. And Thrifty Threads returns this week, with photos of course.

I’m so excited that so many of you are joining in the January pantry challenge! And thanks so much for the bread recipes, which I’ll be trying later this month.

I wanted to tell you that I cleaned out and “inventoried” our pantry, freezer, and refrigerator, and I’m feeling pretty good about the challenge. We have food on hand for several meals, with just meat or a vegetable to add. And a lot of the meals sound great to me, so we’re not going to be deprived.

Here are some of the things we’ve been eating this week:

Black-eyed peas and greens, my husband’s sausage/tomato sauce pasta, sweet potato fries and salmon patties, and lots and lots of leftover holiday sweets. Tomorrow I’ll be making a savory bread pudding to use up some stale bread, and Friday is pizza night, which my husband cooks from scratch. Not a bad start to the challenge!

Here are some of the meals we’ll be eating this month:

Chili, risotto, soup, chicken curry, clams linguini, Mexican crockpot chicken, and tuna casserole. For lunches we’ll eat leftovers, quesadillas, and veggie burgers. Breakfast will be homemade granola for me, and my husband has promised to eat the oatmeal and pancake mix in the pantry, plus fresh fruit, or protein shakes because we have tons of frozen bananas and other fruit stashed in the freezer.

Here’s what we need to use up:

Dried figs, raisins, and dried coconut (past expiration date). Any ideas?

The best part is how short my shopping list is this week. Here it is:

Eggs, ground turkey (for chili), milk, yogurt, 1/2 & 1/2 (for tomato soup), bananas, spinach, arugula, and tortilla chips (one treat for my husband, who is such a good sport and makes homemade pizza every Friday night).

How are you doing with the challenge so far? What have you been eating? Let us know in the Comments section.