Eating out of the pantry

The sales are pretty boring this week, even with the 2 Albertsons Doublers.

And, I have a ridiculous amount of food in my house anyway.

These photos are of my pantry. Its not a real pantry, its a large shelf in my utility room and I couldnt stand far enough away from it to get it all in one shot. So, I have decided that instead of shopping for even more food this week...or maybe even the rest of the month, that we would eat out of the Pantry. That is not to say that I will not shop (because Im addicted, if there is a really good deal going on out there I cant help myself), but we really need to eat some of this stuff up, especially before some of the dates start expiring on them. Besides, I need to make room for when my parents get home in the fall and eventually start restocking with items that we will use over the winter.

Part of being able to do this is having a pretty good idea of what I have (which as you can see is just about everything)the freezer is well stocked and my Garden is starting come in with Green Beans, Lettuce and Spinach. There are enough neighbors around me that have gardens too so I will probably be able to trade some of my produce for some of theirs to add variety.

I will still have to buy Bread, Eggs, Milk and Cheese. If I was real industrious I would pull out the Bread Machine because I actually have everything I need to make bread too, but I dont know if Im really that dedicated. I have created a Menu for this week that is based on everything I already have in the House.

Since it has been so cool that last few days I have been doing some freezer meals for later when the weather warms up again. I have a nice little supply of Chicken Rice Casserole, Chicken Enchiladas, Chicken Stew and Chicken Chili. Im hoping that I can add to that by making double and triple portions of my menu items and basically make life a little easier when its 900 degrees outside.