Pantry/ Grocery Challenge Update

Dear Ones,

Happy Monday! Happy Feast Day to Saint Sebastian! Check out the Saint of the Day Calendar @Franciscan Media, and learn something about a Saint every day. Saint Sebastian stood up against Cruelty to Christians. We could all learn from Him. Saint Sebastian, pray for us!

I’m here today to UPDATE you on my Pantry/Grocery Challenge Progress. If you are NOT familiar with this challenge, go to Good Cheap Eats and follow Jessica on FB, Instagram, etc. Most “make sense”, real person… I mean – no hoopla, she really cares and tries to help.

If you recall, on January 7th, I created some goals for my family and I to stick to. It’s really been going well. I am happy to say that we are REALLY sticking to it. Here are the basic rules (I screen shotted it for ease of use).

In the kitchen, I keep two white boards on the wall, next to the fridge. One is a calendar, so that we can make a meal plan, and one is where we write our grocery list. Taking stock of what meats and things we have in the freezer has really helped us plan the dinner meals. Much of lunch is leftovers, or bento-style boxes (which I will explain below), or maybe a protein smoothie, so I don’t have to put a whole lot of thought into that. Taking stock of the pantry, has reminded me that I have plenty to make bread, pizza dough and other things. Also – I apparently am a cheese and a spice hoarder. Who knew!

This past couple weeks, we only bought water, eggs, creamer, milk, and produce. Not a lot of produce. Just supplemental.

For Dinners we had:

• Stuffed peppers
• Rotisserie Turkey
• Sword Fish
• Chicken & Veggies
• Stir Fry (code for throw all the extra into a pan)
• Hot Dogs with various toppings

For Lunches we had:

• Bento Style:
• We use these two containers, depending on what we have: Container 1 and Container 2.
• If the boy child has a practice or goes to the gym, we also add a protein bar or shake to the mix, and an extra water. Here are some of our lunch favorites.
  • Boiled Eggs
  • Raw Veggies/salad.
  • Various Fruit
  • Wraps
  • Cheese Sticks
  • Tuna or Chicken Salad
  • Thai Chili Dipping sauce (or ranch or salad dressing)

For Breakfasts we had:

• Whole Grain Cereals
• Egg Cups
• Bacon/Sausage
• Wraps

If I am being honest, lunches and breakfasts are basically the above during the week. Occasionally I make pancakes or waffles. But we are all watching our non veggie/fruit carb intake. And so – that is not we actually took a meal to a family in need AND took desert to a Pot Luck and didn’t have to grocery shop for extra because I had extra on hand. Let me explain — I keep all kinds of crazy baking things for holiday baking…. so – that is where much of it comes in. But, in the pictures below…

Pics 1 & 2 were for a potluck at our Parish. 1 – Deep Dish Brownie (scratch) with white chocolate chips, roasted coconut, and maraschino cherries baked in them, chilled and iced with vanilla whipped cream (scratch), and embellished with cherries, chocolate syrup, coconut and almonds. 2 – The M&M covered brownies are the rest of the deep dish brownie batter, baked with mini m&m’s in them and then on them. The other half of the tray is a bag of Betty Crocker Peanut Butter cookie mix (I swear to you they are fantastic), baked in an 8×8 pan, and melted chocolate chips as the topping. Pics 3 & 4 were for a family. Pic 3 is MacNCheese, the same Peanut Butter brownies, and french style green beans. Pic 4 is chicken cutlets – some for their family, some for ours. Pic 5 is the fantastic stir fry I made from so many veggies – onions, garlic, yellow bell pepper, parsnips, and zucchini on top. We added some beef marinating in teriyaki sauce and it was divine.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

We are enjoying using what we have. And we aren’t missing anything. Y’all, the fun we have trying new things.

Tomorrow I will be making bread. My husband’s birthday present came in and y’all we are excited to use it. It’s a slicer…. I have found one of the best things to do to ensure we love Italy, is to make sure we have what we need to cook like we did in Texas. We are truly blessed y’all. I’ll share how it goes. But first…

May I ask for prayers y’all? My husband is having a medical procedure tomorrow. It’s a normal – I’ve turned 60 – kinda test. But pray the outcome is good. Additionally, and probably more earnestly – pray peace and comfort and healing over my friend Nancy. She is starting Chemo tomorrow. I hate not being there. And I love her so. Standing with her – praying with me, I’d sure appreciate it.

I’ve gotta go get dinner for my son and I. We have a great neighbor who gave us a pasta dish, so we won’t have to cook since the hubs can’t eat today as he’s prepping (and now you know what the tests are). HA

Love and hugs, Dear Ones.
Praying for you!
LadyEm