Pantry Challenge Week #1

Week one of our pantry challenge is complete and we claim it a success. My grocery bill of the week was $31.13; a savings of $50-$100 for the week. On the official first day we had sausage & olive pizza and it was great. We used Greek pita flatbread as the crust and I used up some vegan sausage mixed with regular sausage. I admit I had purchased the flatbread to make pizza a week earlier, and when we finally got around to having pizza, it was a good thin crust.

I have made two pans of Multiple Choice Bars with the first pan being tastier than the second. Don't misunderstand, the second pan is disappearing quite fast, but we preferred the semi-sweet chocolate over the milk chocolate/semi-sweet combination on the second pan.

Another great success this week was the meatball sandwiches. Instead of using pizza sauce, I used up some Buster's BBQ mild sauce leftover from dear daughter's wedding. Hubby has requested all meatball sandwiches be made this way in the future.

One of my favorite from the week was a lunch I made just for myself. I used two thin slices French bread (left over from the wedding), turkey deli meat, whipped cream cheese, and cherry habanero pepper jelly. Spread the cream cheese and jelly on the bread, lay on the turkey, butter the outside of the bread and grill for a great warm sandwich. I am so tempted to purchase more deli meat just so I can have more! This sandwich did cause me to tighten up my pantry challenge "rules". They are as follows:

1. Vegetables and fruit can be purchased so we are trying to eat healthy.
2. Milk, eggs, and cheese can also be purchased although the cheese in limited quantity.
3. Ingredients for desserts can be purchased, but only one or two small ingredients per week and no more than $4 spent on the ingredients. Once I run out of the main ingredients desserts are out.
4. Cereal will stay on the weekly list.**
5. No soda pop.
6. I am going to hold off on buying meat for as long as I can.

(**I am not a morning person, dislike "making breakfast" at o'dark thirty, and cereal is what hubby and I like on work days. That said, I want it noted I made muffins on Sunday in an effort to stretch the cereal for the week, but hubby is eating them as a snack and they are disappearing fast.)

Today's list for the grocery store is very short. I am anxious to see the total cost. I am already making plans how to use all the money I save this month.