Menu Plan - Pantry Challenge Week 41

Okay so I know it is nearly unbelievable to think that we have been eating out of the freezer and pantry for so long but let me tell you, nobody thinks it's more unbelievable than I do.

Here's the thing, when a normal person shops sales and has a reasonable stockpile built up, their cupboards (and freezer) are full and a reasonable pantry challenge can take place.

But when you have a garden and have family and friends with gardens on top of receiving veggies from a CSA you end up freezing/canning lots of extra veggies.  Also, when your husband goes out hunting and fills up your freezer with venison, you have lots of extra meat.  All of this is on top of your reasonable stockpile; which quickly makes it a whoa!-this-is-a-lot-of-food! stockpile.

I will say that currently our deep freeze does look like some stuff has been taken out of it.

This weekend I had a little kitchen therapy to try and make ahead some suppers as well as use up some ingredients in the freezer/pantry.  So to give you an idea of where we are in the challenge, here is what I ended up making:

Venison Paprikash
Venison Pot Roast
Beef Stew
Chicken Pot Pie
Cornbread Wedges
Corn Dog Sticks
Mexican Beans
Creole Beans & Rice


All ingredients were on hand except for some celery and potatoes I got from my Momma.  (Sometimes it's very helpful to have your Momma around the corner.)  :)  Everything came from the pantry, the freezer, or our garden which is still producing a few things.

And where did all of those items go?  Yep.  In the freezer.  It's the circle of life, or, um, food.

Here's what we will be having this week:

Sunday - Fried Chicken, Carrots, Apple Slices

Monday - Beef Stew & Cornbread

Tuesday -  Pancakes, Bacon, & Sauteed Apples

Wednesday - Mexican Soup & Quesadillas

Thursday - Pot Roast, Rice, & Gravy, and Salad

Friday - Date Night

Saturday - Leftovers

This is part of Menu Plan Monday.