Before becoming a crazy coupon lady, my pantry was typically pretty clean and bare. Since I’ve been getting so much free food (cereal, soups, rice, canned veggies, etc.) my pantry is beginning to look like a grocery store. And, really, I haven’t been obnoxious about stocking up, but when I see a rock-bottom sale I buy. For example, I needed to return a toy to Target last week, and I knew that I could pick up some Del Monte veggies for about 20¢ a can, so I printed the necessary coupons and bought 8 cans. Not a whole case, but a good amount of green beans and corn. Wish I had picked up more, but I’m not going to kick myself for it. It’s just corn. (Oh, and I got free hot cocoa mix, too! Hee, hee!)

SO, when I saw Money Saving Mom’s Blog Update link on Twitter about eating from the pantry for the month of January, I immediately clicked over and read. Yep. I’m doing it. In fact, we started a couple of days ago, just because . . . why not?

I quickly made a list of what I can feed my family from my pantry/freezer. This list was totally off the top of my head. I bet that when I really think about it, I’ll be able to come up with more meals. Oh, and keep in mind that I only have 1 refrigerator (which is usually NOT packed to the gills) and my only freezer is the one attached to the refrigerator. Normal stuff. If you have a deep freeze or extra refrigerator, you probably have more food than me, and thus more options.

Here’s my quick list:

1. Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (I froze some tomatoes from my garden this year and I’m looking forward to trying this recipe. I’ve made tomato soup from scratch in the past and it was amazing!)
2. Breakfast Casserole (I’ll substitute bacon for the sausage, because that is what I have in the freezer.)
3. Black Bean & Ham Soup and baking powder biscuits (I use canned black beans, canned tomatoes and red wine vinegar - I always have to mess with the recipe! LOL!)
4. Honey Dijon Salmon, Rice and veggies (Fixed this last night. The boys love it!)
5. Roast Beef with mashed potatoes and green beans- always a hit, and it’s a crock pot recipe!!
6. Corn Chowder and baking powder biscuits (YUM!! I use chicken broth instead of water.)
7. BBQ Chicken (crock pot - dump in chicken, top with BBQ sauce) with veggies and rice
8. Brown Butter Pasta with Spinach and Ham (It’s this recipe, except I don’t have tortellini, I’ll use frozen spinach and I’ll have to buy a red bell pepper. I’ll substitute Bow Ties and top with parmesan.)
9. Spaghetti and corn
10. Breakfast for dinner (pancakes, eggs, bacon)
11. Chicken and Rice (the Campbells recipe)
12. Chicken Brushetta Bake (the Stove Top recipe - back of the box)
13. Family Size Baked Burrito (the Pampered Chef recipe that I can’t find online)
14. Chicken Quesadillas
15. Black Bean Enchiladas
16. Stir Fry

It seriously took me about 10 times longer to type this post up than come up with these meals! LOL!

Can you imagine what my grocery bill will be if I can actually complete the challenge? SO cool!

(Although I do plan on buying more Wheat Thins and Triscuits before the Safeway sale ends, because I got the $1 off one coupon by becoming a fan on Facebook - click on the link or push the back button after the first coupon prints because you should be able to get 2 prints per computer. I’ll buy 5 boxes, which will make them $1 each, then I’ll use these 2 coupons, and a $1/2. I’ll use the Safeway Doubler on all 3 (-$1.50), and end up paying 50¢ for 5 boxes of crackers. Perhaps I’ll submit them for the $10/10 rebate and make some money! I dunno.)

If you are interested in joining me in this challenge, go ahead and RSVP on Facebook! And, leave a comment here if you are gonna do it!! I’d love to know!

Edit: MSM updated her blog with her plan! Read it! And, I love this plan from Fish Mama - She’ll be feeding a family of 8 from her pantry!

Oh, and if you want to follow me on Twitter, I’m KelleighRatz!

Edit again: Apparently I’m supposed to have a plan and goals, so here ya go:

• Only buy milk, produce and bread in January. And, maybe tortillas, because they are a staple in this house. I think my hubby’s client is going to start giving us farm fresh eggs! Yippee!
• Spend no more than $100 on groceries. Ack! Can I do it? Am I a total freak for trying? I’ll still keep the $$ in the envelopes, but just imagine if I can apply that money toward another category!! Maybe pad the “date night” fund! This’ll be tricky since my month is from the 15th through the 15th, so I’ll have to figure out the breakdown on this. I’ll let you know what I figure out.

I’m linking this post to Tasty Tuesdays at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam!

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