Monday's Menu: Eating From The Pantry

We'll be eating from the pantry/freezer this week at my house.  This is something I try to do once every few months to make sure that nothing  is forgotten about, thrown out and wasted.  It's also a very easy way to save money.

There are many ways to be a good steward of our finances.  Eating from the pantry is just one of the many ways that we can do that.  I'm always amazed at how many meals I can make just by using what I have on hand.  Sometimes I have to get pretty creative, especially if I decide to eat from the pantry for an extended period of time, like a month or more, but it can also be very fun and rewarding in the end.

We have a weekly budget for groceries, so when we eat from the pantry that is just money we don't spend.  It can go toward something we're saving for, something we need, or we can choose to be givers of what we saved.  It's always fun to decide what to do with it.

Now, when I say we eat from the pantry that doesn't mean that we starve to death!  I  normally have plenty of staples such as rice, pasta and meat in my freezer.  Also, I will still shop during that week.  I generally make my menu up and see what I still need.  For example, I made up my menu for this week and saw that I still needed to buy milk, eggs, bananas and I need some bleach (no, not for eating, but cleaning my sink).  So, I'll go out today and get those things and then I WILL NOT enter a grocery store again until next week.

When we eat from the pantry the menu isn't always the greatest, but I don't think mine looks too shabby for this week.  However, if I were to continue this next week the meals would probably start looking a little more creative!  ;)

Here's what's on the menu:

Desserts/Snacks:
Texas Brownies (for company on Monday)
Banana Bread
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Breakfast:
Cereal
Toast with Strawberry jam
Eggs
Leftover pancakes
Oatmeal

Lunch:
PBJ sandwiches
Lunchmeat sandwiches
Leftovers
Ravioli

Dinners:


Monday~
Slow Cooked Pepper Steak (I'm using ground round instead of steak)
Rice
Salad

Tuesday~
Salisbury Steak (this isn't exactly what I do, but very similar)
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Baked Asparagus
Homemade bread

Wednesday~
Chili Mac
Corn
Deviled Eggs

Thursday~
Chicken 'n Dumplings (I don't have a recipe as I just make mine from scratch. This link is very similar to mine except I leave the veggies in!)
Bread
Fresh Fruit

Friday~
Leftovers

Saturday~
Hamburger Soup
Cornbread
Salad

Sunday~
A good friend of mine has Cereal Night at their house on Sunday's.  I've tried, but that isn't working at my house.  However, last night my family had "fend for yourself" night and it worked pretty well.  Basically, it was a compilation of whatever they could find in the fridge that was leftover from the week.  No one complained and everyone ate just fine.  They also had the choice of eating breakfast food.  We had leftover soup, pancakes, Tater Tot casserole and salad so as you can see nobody starved to death!  ;)  I'm going to try this again next Sunday! ;)  We usually have our bigger meal at lunch time and I haven't planned that out yet!