Friday, January 18, 2013

Mission: Eat Through the Pantry

No matter how many times I re-organize my pantry, the "after" picture never looks much better than the "before" picture.  I've decided that it is time to use all of this food, as well as everything in the extra freezer, before buying more.  My goal is to clear out as much as I can before buying more pantry or freezer items. I will still have to go to the grocery store for things like produce and cheese but hopefully I can mostly shop out of my own food.

Here is my current pantry:


Oh how I would love to have one of those Pinterest style pantries - with excess space and ability to hold small appliances. I have thought of installing pull-out shelves so that the items in the back are more accessible; however, the pantry goes about 4-6" from the door jam which makes this option more difficult.

One way that I am working through the pantry is with weekly soup & grilled cheese dinners.  I also have a bunch of chicken broth cans so I'm going to find crockpot recipes to use those up. 

In our garage, we also have an extra upright freezer.  I love having this additional freezer so that we can stock up on meat and freeze fruit during the summer.  A few months ago we went to a local butcher and stocked up on a 50 pound variety pack.  I also have bought a bunch of clearance meat that is in here.  I see a lot of chili, smoothies and spaghetti in our future.


Have you ever tried something like this?  Have an idea of what I can do with ground beef and chicken stock? Wish me luck!

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7 comments:

  1. ~koJanuary 18, 2013 at 7:04 AM

    We do this once a month and it's awesome! And I totally agree, oh to have a pintrest pantry ;)

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  2. MadelineJanuary 18, 2013 at 7:45 AM

    Chicken stock is great for homemade soups! Also good for risotto, chicken rice (rice cooked in chicken broth). Ground beef: lasagna, tacos, meat sauce for spaghetti, stuffed zucchini, pizza, etc.

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  3. Naptime ReviewJanuary 18, 2013 at 12:59 PM

    My freezer and pantry is a mess! That is actually on my to-do this weekend.
    www.thenaptimereview.com

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  4. MillaJanuary 18, 2013 at 8:33 PM

    I hear you! We just cleaned ours too.I had a lot of beef too. So i made lasagne, meatballs, shepherds pie, minced pies, burritos... :) Let us know how you go! :) I also made a few soups with the chicken stock! And a chicken casserole dish! At one time i googled recipes with whatever ingredients I had to use! haha

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  5. KellyJanuary 20, 2013 at 10:02 AM

    This is such a great idea, I should try this with the items in my fridge!

    xx
    Kelly
    Sparkles and Shoes

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  6. AshleyJanuary 20, 2013 at 12:27 PM

    I just wish I had a pantry! hahaha... but yes, we try to eat from our cupboards and freezer too.

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  7. Melissa JoJanuary 28, 2013 at 7:45 AM

    I'm always amazed when I try to 'eat through my pantry' how much I actually have! My favorite things with chicken broth are trusty crockpot recipes like soup, or italian chicken. I'll put a few frozen chicken breasts in with chicken broth and packet of the dry italian salad dressing mix (near the hidden valley ranch packets) and let that cook all day. It's a great juicy flavorful recipe that is perfect shredded for any meal or by itself whole with some veggies.

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