A Challenge....eat out of your pantry/freezer!

Those following me on facebook have already had peek at the challenge.....try to eat out of your pantry/freezer as much as you can in the month of January.....then donate saved money to either your church or favorite charity.....I read about this on some other blogs and had to think really hard if I wnated to try it. Yes I am scared....now I have changed it a little to make it more flexible and custom  for each family. The first step I took was to go seee what was asctually IN the pantry and freezer...quite a bit more than I actually thought. Next I tried thinking of recipes and ways to use what was there. I bouth a one dollar calendar at the Doaller store next. Then I pencilled in activities that might interfere with my menus that I know about. Then became the real challenge....to pick what to eat using what I had. I've been bookmarking recipes I wanted to try, so I started going thru them....found some new ones to try based on what I had in the pantry....yes I am still going to  buy pop tarts and diet cokes for Coy, but my grocery bill should be signifiacntly less this month.....my goal is save at least $20.00 every time I run to the grocery store. That will add up!!!  I was thinking about writing the check $20.00 over time I go  and then stashing the cash....I will have to consult my banker on the best way to calculate my savings...This will be a true challenge for me as both my birthday and JoGail's are this month. Here's a recap of the ground rules...

1. Take inventory of your pantry and freezer.
2. Eat what you have!
3. Save money when you go to the store....
4. Donate the money to your church or a favorite charity...I recommend the March of Dimes and Team Marcy....

On the menu this month are the following...

ham steaks , veggies...have everything
spaghetti and bread sticks...have everything
chicken paprikas (sparkrecipes.com) have the chicken, sour cream, paprika, noodles
smoked sausage stew (gooseberry patch cookbook)..have the sausage
baked fish, spinach...have everything
shepherd's pie....have the meat, corn and mashed potatoes
slow cooker beef and mushrooms.....have the onion soup mix
pancakes (have mix)
cold shrimp (have)
corn pone pie...have meat, cornbread mix
sandwiches (we have these often for Sat lunch)

This gets us to our next payday which is Jan 25 and my grocery list has less than 20 things on it to make all this.....

My next line of thought is going towards the question of what to do for my lunch......I will have tothink on that and get back to you....that may add a tiny about to my grocery bill since I am leaning towards taking it and am trying to talk Coy into taking his. We have discoverd (thanks to Holly's mom) the orowheat flatbread at the store....1 gram fat and only 100 calories...makes a mean tuna sandwich!! have to think on this and will get back to you......a recipe I have found that I want to try is baked pineapple....ever had it?? I am going to try that this month.....I am leaving you with two of my favorite new recipes from 2009......easy chicken stuffing and cola chicken

Easy Chicken stuffing

1 pound chicken tenders, thawed
1 package instant stuffing mix
1 stick melted butter

***no idea where I came up with this**

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Arrange chicken in bottem of casserole dish. Sprinkle stuffing and spices on top. Pour butter over and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes......A family favorite and sooo easy to make!

Cola chicken
1 pound chicken tenders
1 cup ketchup
about 1/2 bottle diet cola (any flavor)

recipe from sparkrecipes.com

Put chicken in skillet and brown on both sides. I usually season with creole seasoning at this point. Gradually add and ketchup. Heat to boiling then reduce heat. Let simmer until sauce thickens (about 25-30 mins) . This makes it like a BBQ chicken. We like it over rice. Very low calorie. And I have been told you can make it with regular cola too. I just use diet to lower the calorie content. It looks a weird at first in the skillet, but don't worry it turns out good! Very filling and good to take for lunch. Reheats well.