Eat From the Pantry: Week 1

Yesterday I made my plan for our take on the Eat From the Pantry Challenge.  I did a rough inventory of our freezers, pantry and cupboards to see what needed to move along, and started various lists:  meal ideas, vegetables and fruit available and other misc food items that needed to be eaten, among others.  It went fairly quickly, since we are busting at the seams with food somehow.  We could probably do this for two months instead of one!

Just to recap, one of my goals is to cook at least one beef, pork, chicken and bean dish each week, as well as two pots of soup/stew.  Lunches are leftovers and mainly the soups, as well as anything else we come up with on the fly.

To keep you in suspense (and because I'm not sure when we'll be in the mood for what), I'll just share our meal plan for Week 1.

Saturday:  Chili, bread
Sunday:  Trash Can Turkey, lentil sausage soup
Monday:  Spaghetti and meatballs, roasted vegetables
Tuesday:  Braised pork steaks with olives and mushrooms, sauteed zucchini, potatoes, applesauce
Wednesday:  Southwest bean casserole with cornbread topping, some sort of red cabbage side dish
Thursday:  Turkey and dumplings with lots of peas, carrots and celery
Friday:  Rump roast in the crock pot, carrots, potatoes, prunes

So far so good.  There have been a couple occasions that I had to remind myself that I couldn't really add anything to my grocery list, so this is already working!  It's all about creatively using what you have and not just picking up everything you want from the grocery store.

Are you participating in the Eat From the Pantry Challenge?  Tell us about your progress!  Eat well and enjoy your week.