The Frugal Pantry — Saving Money by Using What’s On Your Pantry Shelves

Last week, we announced a new weekly series called “The Frugal Pantry.”  We hope that you enjoyed last week’s post and are as excited as we are about this new series.

One of the things that we noticed in our house was that even though we make a grocery list and we plan (ok…loosely plan) our meals for each day of the week, what we actually plan doesn’t always sound good for that night.  So we have started just opening the pantry door and looking only at the front of the shelves (yes…sometimes I pull certain things forward because I know what we are going to do!!!) and we try to figure out what we can make with the meat we have laid out, those ingredients, some ingredients from the fridge, and spice pantry.  We’ve also saved money by using ingredients that we bought for some reason but haven’t used but are still in the expiration date.

It’s working for us and we hope that maybe some of our ideas might help someone else who might have the same ingredients on hand.

This Week’s Frugal Pantry

This morning I laid out some frozen unbreaded chicken tenders or strips in the refrigerator.

From the Fridge:

• Ranch Dressing
• Canned Bisquits
• Teriyaki Merinade
• BBQ Sauce
• Tomatoes
• Swiss Cheese

In the Freezer:

• A bag of Broccoli
• A bag of Asparagus Stir-fry

In the Pantry:

• Mac & Cheese
• Linguine Noodles
• Country Gravy
• Tri Color Spiral Pasta
• Sub Sandwich Rolls
• Black Olives
• Green Chiles
• Chicken & Herb Soup
• Brown Rice

What would I make?

I would make a Chicken Ranch Sandwich.  I’d stir fry the chicken with a little olive oil and then drain well.   Then I’d put the chicken on the bottom of the roll and top with a piece of cheese.  I’d put the sub roll with the chicken and cheese in the toaster oven and lightly toast until the cheese was melted.  I’d use the Ranch dressing instead of mayo for the dressing and add tomatoes.

For a side dish, I would cook the Rotini noodles and add Ranch Dressing with some black olives and chopped tomatoes.

What would you make?  We look forward to your comments and meal ideas!!!

Till next time,

JT Locke
The Frugal Housewife