Eat From The Pantry Challenge

My sisters have so inspired me by their Eat From The Pantry posts on their blogs that I decided to sit down and just see how many meals I could come up with from my pantry.

I am also motivated by my husband and I just sitting down recently and looking at what we spent on food last year, how much we averaged a week and month and so on and the desire to do even better in saving in this area. Robby is a huge encourager for me in this area and goes out of his way to always shop with me and help me find great deals.

So here are the meal ideas that I came up with:

1) Jumbo Shells (like Manicotti) - make a second pan for the freezer
2) Lentil Soup - freeze half for later
3) Spaghetti
4) Taco salad, try making Mexican rice with brown rice
5) Lentil Casserole
6) Basil Pesto Pasta
7) Homemade Pizza
8) Baked potatoes and salads
9) Brown Rice, Bean and Veggie Casserole - make extra for the freezer
10) Crispy Mexican Wrap Casserole (add black beans) - make a pan for the freezer
11) Chicken Pot Pie - make one for the freezer
12) Fajitas (with chicken)
13) Hamburgers with homemade buns (freeze some for later), Lettuce/Tomato sandwiches me

Sides: lots of potatoes and salads and veggies

This should last us for the next three weeks or so and all we should have to buy is mainly produce and dairy. This will be a huge help to our budget.

At least four of these meals have brown rice in them as I am trying to find more recipes to make with brown rice as I have a huge 5 gallon bucket to use and it is so much superior in nutrients than white rice.

Also at the end of these three weeks I will have five meals in the freezer as well!