I usually join in with Good Cheap Eats for the eat from the pantry challenge in January. It's always a great time to save a little money and eat up some of the stock pile. It really helps to keep your food rotated so you don't find a ten year old box of Hamburger Helper in the back of your pantry.
I've decided to do the same thing this summer. Ronnie bought another cow this Spring, which means I'll have a full freezer again this fall. No better time to eat up what we have. In past challenges, I would still go to the store for the basics like milk and eggs. I've never counted those kind of staples in my challenge. The point is to use what you have. Take advantage of all those great sales by actually using what I bought.
I've decided to not be quite so militant about it this time. If I find a great deal in the ads on Sundays, I'll probably still stock up. But for the most part, I'm going to try to be creative and use what I have. This should help me thin out the freezer for Lucy 2's big day (the cow) and as a nice bonus, I can shift some grocery money to help pay the $307.17 I owe UHC for all of Joshua's medical testing. Ouch.
I'm also going to try some freezer cooking with what I have on hand. I was amazed at just how convenient having meals in the freezer really was.
I'll keep you updated on how it goes.
If you need some freezer meal recipes- I have a great cookbook called "Once a Month cooking". She makes 29 meals and only eats out one's a month- cooking day.
ReplyDeleteTeresa, I would love to take a peek at that book. I don't know if I could be that hard core about OAMC, but I'm sure she has some great ideas.
ReplyDelete