This is the first week of us cooking and eating only what we have in the house–no grocery shopping (except for fresh produce)! I decided to call it “Emptying the Storehouse” because it sounded better than “Eating from the Pantry” or anything else that came to mind.

We are excited about this challenge and I think we are prepared. I made a potential meal list the other day based on what we have in the house, and we made one last trip to Walmart on Saturday to pick up a few things. We did, however, forget to pick up some mayonnaise (we threw ours away when our refrigerator died), which will make tuna sandwiches difficult (unless we cave and buy it). I’m also nervous about our cheese supply–we don’t have as much as I had thought, so this will require creativity.

I will post links to recipes whenever I have them–some are from cookbooks that I only have in print.

Dinner Menu for Week One:

Sunday: Breakfast burritos and smoothies for brunch; dinner at church

Monday: Easy Garden Bake (changed my mind–updated at 4:37pm)

Tuesday: Skinny Baked Broccoli Macaroni & Cheese  (plenty of leftovers from this!)

Wednesday: Mexican Pulled Pork Tacos with black beans

Thursday: Dinner with friends

Friday: We will be spending the weekend at a “Bed and Breakfast” in Lancaster County, so we won’t be home until Sunday.

____________________________________________

Dinner Menu for Week Two:

Monday: Italian Sausage Soup with Zucchini

Tuesday: Leftover soup from Monday…

Wednesday: Applesauce Chicken (crock-pot) with steamed vegetables and quinoa/rice

Thursday: Chicken Taco Chili over brown rice

Friday: Leftovers from the week

Saturday: Out of town (Disaster Relief training)

Sunday: “Corndog Millionaire Muffins” (Hungry Girl) with salad (healthy, believe it or not!)

____________________________________________

Breakfasts consist of any of the following: cereal, smoothies, breakfast burritos, baked oatmeal, etc.

Lunches during the week (for me) are either leftovers, smoothies, or salads. Brennan is able to eat at work.

____________________________________________

I’m really looking forward to growing in my cooking and substituting skills (if substitution becomes necessary), and more importantly, I’m looking forward to an empty pantry. We have an over abundance of food thanks to the savings we’ve had from couponing, and it’s time to sit back and enjoy the “fruits of our labor” and not shop for a month!