Freezer Pantry Challenge – Day 5
January 5, 2010 by christine
Filed under Freezer / Pantry Challenge
Breakfast: I had a few things I just wanted to get rid of this morning. So… everyone had something different. Ryan had two Blueberry Poptarts. Christian had 2 Eggo Waffles. Dane had 1 Strawberry Toaster Strudel. Annika had Maple Gerber Graduates and diced dried peaches. Matt had a breakfast Hot Pocket. We ALL had the same smoothie we had yesterday (well, not the same – a fresh one… but the same recipe) A bag of frozen peaches, some frozen strawberries & apple Cider blended in the Vita Mix. That’s it there on the left. YUMMY!
Lunch:
Ryan took in his lunch box – basically his normal: Homemade Strawberry Jam Sandwich, Beef Jerky, Go-Gurt, String Cheese, Strawberry Fruitabu, Baby Carrots & Oreos.
The younger two boys and I had leftover Scalloped Potatoes, deer sausage (Like a Beef Stick Summer Sausage type thing), Potato Chips (strange I know with scalloped potatoes, but I just had a few left and they wanted them), Dane had a Strawberry Fruitabu, and Christian had a fresh mandarin orange. Annika had an Ella’s Kitchen Carrots Apples and Parsnips Baby Food Pouch, a couple crackers and string cheese. We also had a special drink.
Kool-Aid Slushies
1/2 C. Kool-Aid with sugar already added (we had strawberry)
1 C. Water
3 C. Ice
BLEND – This is where I LOVE my Vita-Mix! Our older blenders would leave small ice chunks when we blended ice, the Vita-Mix makes it completely smooth. I had never made these before, but I had some Kool-Aid in the pantry… I think we’ll be making them again – the kids loved the yummy treat! Although, it would be better if it was 80 degrees out instead of 10.
Dinner: Chili and Cornbread
Chili
1/2 a Medium Yellow Onion – chopped
1 1/2 pounds Ground Beef or Turkey
2 T. Chili Powder
1 T. Oregano
1 t. Cumin
1 t. dry ground mustard
2 T. fresh minced garlic
15 oz. Pinto Beans
15 oz. Great Northern Beans (or Black Beans)
28 oz. Diced Tomatoes (undrained)
1 C. Chicken Broth
Brown ground beef or turkey with onion. Drain. Rinse Beans. Combine All ingredients in a large pot or slow cooker. Simmer in pot for 30 Minutes, or cook on low in slow cooker for 2-6 hours.
*This is not a super soupy chili. If you like soupy chili, you might like to add some more liquid. We like thicker chili
The cornbread was out of a mix. I prefer homemade cornbread and I have a great recipe, but I didn’t have any cornmeal and I did have the packet… So…
And NEWS ALERT: My picky 9 year old who claims he hates chili ate this!
I had my first grocery expense of the month today – I had my husband pick up 2 dozen eggs – $5.12 (I will try to keep a running total for the month.)
I had an email question about the meat in our freezer. Yes, we have a lot of meat… We purchase 1/2 a cow and a whole pig at a time. We buy organic meat from local farmers. My husband is a pastor, and we have many farmers in our congregation, so generally we get a great deal, and this is a very economic way to support local farmers and feed our family. If you live in an area where there are local farms, I encourage you to seek out the opportunity to buy local organic foods (fruits & veggies too!) – it is a benefit to you and you are supporting a family in your community.
If you want to join us for the Freezer / Pantry Challenge, be sure to sign-up with Mr. Linky on the original challenge post!
C-
Great post. I posted yesterday on my blog about buying locally to. Must be an overall yearning for spring. I’m anxious to try out those smoothies myself. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Love it. I have also adopted your challenge too. We are stepping out a bit further and not going out to eat for 30 days too.
I was so tempted to go out and get more breakfast tea, but thought better of it since I had a big box of Lipton I could use. I like the idea of the vitamix blender. I love slushie’s with tiny bit of flavor, but could never get my ice to slush right. It may be something to look into.
Sounds like you are doing fantastic so far.
My kids had another snow day today. The weather here in Nebraska is making this challenge easier as who wants to drag 3 kids including the baby out in the snow? BTW, eggs must be really expensive where you are, that is outrageous! Thanks for the motivation!
We are looking at a snow day here tomorrow or Friday – big storm coming. Eggs.. UM YEAH… I sent my hubby and he was at Wal-Mart (not a Super Wal-Mart with the groceries) but they had high priced eggs apparently… and he was there… so that’s where he bought them. I said the same thing “What the heck? Over $5 for 2 dozen eggs?!?)
I have been following your blog religiously since you started this challenge. I haven’t really committed to the challenge, other than I haven’t been to the store all week, and have been using items we have had on hand to prepare all our meals and snacks. So, even if I didn’t intend to take part in such a challenge, I have successfully, at least for one week, went without having to go to the store for anything. Great idea! Plus, it feels good to use up some of the items, in lieu of tossing them because they have reached expiration or whatnot! Thanks Menu Mom!