Pantry Challenge - Week 3 Update

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The third week of January has already come and gone, and I'm excited to share with you the progress we've made on our Pantry Challenge Goals over the past week!

My Pantry Challenge Goals Update

Reduce Dry Pantry Goods 
I'm starting to finally see some gaps emerge on the folding bookshelf where boxes of cereal previously resided. I am trying to resist the urge to shuffle items around just yet, as I want to see the progress in the individual spaces of focus before condensing them completely.

I mentioned previously that I'd like to clear off all the items from on top of our kitchen cabinets. My hope is that once we have worked through enough boxes of cereal and taco shells, the rest will be able to come down from the cabinet tops and live on the bookshelf. I do think I'll continue to keep my extra tea and bags of chips up there (typically just one or two).

The white skinny shelf is my working shelf, so I do not anticipate that much more will be used up, but it did greatly benefit from a cleaning and re-arranging last week.

This week we used from the pantry:
  • Half bag of stuffing mix in this Chicken Stuffing Casserole Recipe (I halved the recipe)
  • Russet Potatoes that were going soft for baked potatoes
  • Can of cream of chicken soup (for the stuffing casserole)
  • Can of black olives
  • Two boxes of Corn Chex - one in Muddy Buddies, one I gave to my mother-in-law who makes Chex Mix, I found the corn flavor to strong for Muddy Buddies
  • "Used" powdered sugar that was excess from dusting homemade marshmallows at Christmas was used to coat the Muddy Buddies
  • One jar of pasta sauce in Instant Pot Spaghetti
  • One can of diced tomatoes in the spaghetti
  • More oatmeal packets
  • Chocolate chips for chocolate chip cookies
America's Test Kitchen "Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie" - They were good!

This week we used from the fridge/freezer:
  • Chicken bones for making stock, which I used in the stuffing casserole
  • Celery and bell peppers from the freezer for stuffing casserole
  • The last of some buttermilk for waffles
  • Half a loaf of Zucchini bread from the freezer
  • Steak from the Freezer
  • Pesto from the Freezer
  • An egg white leftover from a recipe, scrambled with a whole egg for a breakfast sandwich
Repurpose Freezer Space
In my post last week I mentioned that we had gotten a new fridge. I'm still trying to figure out the "flow" of this fridge, and where the most efficient spot to store the most frequently used items is. I'm experimenting with bins to help contain like items and draw attention to those items that need using up first.

On the freezer front, I am also trying to keep everything contained in bins. The bins I'm currently using I think I will end up switching out for something different, as they do not maximize the space well. I'd like to reduce what is in this freezer by about 30% to ensure that there is always space for ice trays and a cookie sheet if needed.

The end goal is to only use the fridge freezer for items that need to be used up next, or are "component" items that are used frequently in meals (such as little pucks of tomato paste). I'm almost to this point, we just need to finish using up a few things and make space in the chest freezer to move some items down that should have been put there in the first place.

Keep the Top Level of the Chest Freezer Clear
This past weekend while on the hunt for some chicken, I realized that our chest freezer could really use a defrost. It is supposed to stay under 32 degrees this coming weekend, so I think we might empty the freezer and let it defrost overnight. We will probably have to help it out a little by scraping/wiping out the ice since it will be quite cold still. The freezer contents should do fine in the garage where it will remain around freezer temperature.

In the hunt for chicken, I also noticed that we were lower on chicken than I assumed. We do have quite a bit of beef and sausage, so when we take everything out I plan to reorganize the contents to ensure we are getting to some of that older beef and target items to use up so that we can take advantage of any chicken deals when we see them. This is exactly why I want to get rid of the "top layer" of items - bins were not being rotated as they should've been!

This should also help us get that "top layer" of items down into bins where they belong! When I was on my "chicken hunt" - I only had to remove a few items before pulling the bins out, so I know we aren't far off on this goal!


Leftover cheese & egg white equals a delicious breakfast sandwich

Spend only $100 on Groceries
So far this month we have spend $117 on groceries. I was hoping to spend my last $6 dollars this past week on just a few produce items, but I ended up needing to pick up a few extra items for a birthday cake request, which put me over. One of the local stores also has a great sale on cheese and grapes this coming week, so I think I will go ahead and pick those up since we are getting low on fruit and block cheese. I plan to continue using up excess items next month, so we will try again!

What We Ate This Past Week and a Half...

Breakfasts
Cereal w/ Milk
Oatmeal with frozen fruit
Granola Bars w/ Peanut butter
Breakfast Sandwiches
Waffles

Lunches
Chicken Stuffing Casserole w/ Broccoli
Leftover Steak, Baked Potato, & Broccoli
Chicken w/ Pesto Pasta & Green Beans
Other misc leftovers that I've forgotten!
A few days of prepped lunches ready to go. We love these shallow 3 cup Pyrex dishes.

Dinners
Chicken w/ Pesto Pasta & Broccoli, plus side salads
Steak w/ Baked Potato & Side Salads
Ham Steak w/ Rice and Broccoli
Instant Pot Spaghetti w/ Green Beans
Nachos from a local bowling alley - this was supposed to be a snack but we were stuffed!
Leftover Nights

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