Menus for the week of January 4th

Being on a Pantry Challenge makes you think about all the food that you have on hand and the best way to serve it to your family.  In the past I have been extremely poor at using up leftovers.  They sit in the fridge and get pushed to the back and eventually turn into a science experiment and get thrown out. 

I have been making a conscious effort to use up leftovers or to freeze leftovers for later use. Here is what we had to eat this week. 

January 4th - My DS's 17th birthday.  We had sirloin filets (purchased in the fall on sale), baked potatoes, tossed salad and of course birthday cake and ice cream.

January 5th - Homemade scalloped potatoes with smokie links on top; Steamfresh peas; tossed salad and of course - leftover birthday cake and ice cream.

January 6th - Oven baked BBQ bone in chicken breasts (I make my own BBQ sauce), leftover scalloped potatoes, corn, tossed salad (Normally I serve corn bread with this meal but I forgot to make it.)

January 7th - Leftover chicken; oven fried sweet potatoe fries; broccoli salad  (There was not enough corn to eat tonight so I took the small amount and tossed it into a container I keep in my freezer to use for soup making.)

January 8th - Spaghetti with meat sauce, garlic bread, leftover broccoli salad.

I also baked bread this week so the honey wheat bread was available at supper also.  For lunches my DS eats at school, my DH eats sandwiches from whatever we have on hand.  I had a package of O.M. bologna in the freezer and pulled it out and he ate that this week.  Otherwise he eats ham, turkey or PB & J sandwiches with some chips and fruit.  I eat a tossed salad for lunch or Progresso soups that I purchased on sale last month. 

For breakfast we eat toast or bagels or cereal.  I eat oatmeal with raisins and some brown sugar.  On a few occasions I get up early and have made eggs, waffles and such but since my son now has to be at school at 7:00 a.m. for early bird classes, I have not been doing this. 

Our meals are simple meals.  I try to have a salad at each supper meal whether it is fruit or a vegetable salad.

The only leftovers in my fridge are some spaghetti and sauce; garlic bread and some broccoli salad.  My DH and DS will be going to a basketball game tonight so I will be eating these leftovers for my supper.  They will enjoy a meal of fast food - which is a treat. 

My stockpiling over the past several months has paid off with a freezer loaded with meat and a pantry that is well stocked.  I will continue to spend little especially this month to meet the challenge and I will also continue to be a strategic shopper.