Hello, my long neglected Blog. I have returned to post regarding another challenge I have made with myself. One week ago I completed shopping for Thanksgiving, having spent just over $150 not counting my turkey, which was just over $38. I pledged to not grocery shop again, except for fruit, until December 3. Today will mark the beginning of this challenge for me, and I have decided to extend it for as long as possible into December. Necessities will include milk and fruit; otherwise the pledge is to use up as much stored food as possible.
We have not yet tired of leftovers, but the pie is all gone so my first pantry baking will be a dessert. There are plenty of frozen chocolate chip cookie clumps in the freezer to make the base of these bars. They were mixed with some oatmeal, supposedly to make these healthier, and all but 3/4 of a cup was pressed into the bottom of a 13 x 9 pan and baked.
The recipe called for caramel topping and semi sweet chocolate chips, both on hand although a bit short of the quantity needed for the recipe. Good enough for me, since now both of these items were used up. While the bars baked the remaining 20 minutes, I began my freezer/pantry inventory.
After a quick inventory, and the disposal of a few long gone items, I discovered I had all the ingredients needed to make one batch of slushy punch for Christmas. Done. Dinner is planned and I have many ideas to use up the remaining freezer/pantry items.
This week will include Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin, Crab ala King on biscuits, Rachel Ray's Stale Bread Lasagna with Meat Sauce, homemade pizza, and probably Mimi's Chicken Soup.
