NewlyWoodwards

an unconventional home

Week 1: The "eat-what-we-got" challenge

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The first week of eating from our fridge/freezer/pantry went really well. We ended up eating more leftovers, so that meant we made one less recipe, but the two new recipes I tried were awesome (particularly those meatballs, they were super awesome). Using the slow-cooker was really nice, since I’m in class three nights a week from 6-10 p.m.

Last week’s meals:
Homemade pizza
Frozen chili with corn bread
Slow cooker meatballs with penne pasta and frozen veggies
Slow cooker chicken tacos

And thanks for all the recipe tips. Several of them made it into this week’s meals.

This week’s meals

Slow cooker beef roast (recommended by longbrakeliving) – enough for two nights
Creamy tomato basil pasta (recommended by Sarah)

Slow cooker baked potatoes with toppings (recommended by Claire) – extras for lunches
Grilled chicken and fish with vegetables and fried hash browns
Breakfast – homemade breakfast sandwiches

And here’s the pantry list. I’ve colored the items I’ll be using this week in red and crossed out the used items, which will disappear in future weeks.

Meat
Pre-cooked ground sausage (ate some, but some is still left)
Chicken tenderloins
Chicken breast
Ground beef (2) (1)
Breakfast sausage
Beef roast
Pre-made lasagna
Chili (2)
Salmon
Tilapia

Vegetables
Frozen corn (4)
Frozen mixed veggies (2)
Frozen snap peas
Frozen peas
Frozen shredded zucchini and squash
Frozen Asparagus
Frozen winter squash
Potatoes
Hash browns (4)

Fruit
Strawberries
Peaches
Rhubarb

Cheese
Cheddar (4)
Mozzarella (3)
Italian blend
Mexican (2)
Cream cheese (4)

Pasta
Penne (2) (1)
Macaroni
Lasagna
Fettucini (2)
Linguine
Spaghetti (3)
Egg noodles (2)

Canned goods
Black beans (6) (5)
Diced tomatoes (2)
Mexican diced and whole tomatoes (6) (5)
Tomato sauce (7) (6)
Tomato paste
Pizza sauce (2)
Spaghetti sauce (5) (4)
Mushroom
Tuna (2)
Corn
Manwich (2)
Cream of mushroom soup
Cream of chicken soup (2)
Baked beans (3)
Olives (2) (1)
Artichoke
Enchilada sauce (4)

Misc.
Eggs
Bisquick
Taco seasoning (5) (4)
Tortillas (2) (1)
Beef stew seasoning
French onion soup mix (2)
Italian seasoning (3)
Corn bread
Walnuts
Brown rice
White rice
Raisins
Peanuts
Pecans
A variety of baking supplies, including flours, sugars, etc.

Any other ideas for next week’s meals?

Comments

  1. Cool idea! Those meals sound really good, especially the chicken tacos.

    We’re going on vacation for a week in August and are also trying to eat up the food we currently have before then, only buying the necessities at the grocery store.

  2. Oooh … so excited that you’re trying the tomato basil pasta recipe! You’ll have to share what you think … it’s on next week’s menu for us. 🙂

  3. Nice work. I like finding new crockpot recipes, I never seem to have much luck- things are too mushy, saucy or salty.

  4. You could cook the rice and then mix in black beans, pre-cooked sausage, Mexican diced tomatoes, corn, enchilada sauce and then top with cheese and bake until the cheese is bubbly. You may want to add part or all of a packet of taco seasoning too.
    I throw stuff like this together all the time depending on what I have on hand.