The Great Pantry Challenge of 2016

I'm embarking on something that excites as well as scares me. A pantry cooking challenge.

So what does that consist of?

Basically, it's taking an inventory of what food you have in your house, use it for meals, and purchase absolutely as little as you possibly can.

My psychic senses tell me that you're wondering why I have enough food in my house to pull this off. One reason is location. We live in the middle of Bovineville, which is 20 miles away from the nearest town, so grocery shopping is kind of an ordeal. That's just simple staple items. If we actually want to have more than one option (i.e. better prices, larger selection, more than one store), then we have to drive 50 miles into the "Big City" for shopping. That's where I hit up Sam's Club, Walmart, Aldi, Big Lots, etc. I usually plan one large shopping trip a month there, sometimes two.

Another reason is saving money. It's the beginning of the year, the holidays are just over, and most wallets aren't quite as padded as they were a few weeks ago. It's always nice to get out of the overspend mode and back to normalcy.

I'm also a big believer in challenging myself. "It'll be fun! You'll learn new recipes! It'll be a growing experience! You'll save money and no wasting what you already have! Psh, embrace your Laura Ingalls Wilder a little more!" See what I have to live with?

A crazy reason is the convenience of having things on hand. Going back to the fact that we live 20 miles from the nearest town, you don't really want to have only a week's worth of food in your house for various reasons.

* Sickness - If you and your whole family get sick, it's nice to have some easy, reliable backup meals on hand. Even pre-prepped freezer meals are wonderful. This is a wonderful way to be your own BFF.

* Drop-in company - This is the South, so southern hospitality is a must, whether you were expecting these folks or not. And while you might "bless their hearts" in your mind, you're smiling while setting them a place at your table and not freaking out about having enough food for guests. Just brew that sweet tea and smile because your pantry is badass.

* Weather - Again, this is the South and Mother Nature seems to enjoy playing roulette with the weather. 70* one day, 25* and several inches of snow the next. Seriously. I am also not a fan of shopping the day before or the day of a weather change. It's all, "Hide yo bread, hide yo milk! They be flurryin' err-whurr out here!" I don't want to have to lay anyone out in the aisle over the last loaf of bread. Orange is not my color.

*Emergencies - This is the major knock-on-wood section. Having a well-stocked pantry is handy because you have a backup in case of lay-offs, unexpected time off work, or heaven forbid, something worse. If you're depending on a paycheck to buy your food weekly and then the paycheck is gone, do you have a backup plan? It's a good thing to think about.

*Zombies - Yo, I am not going to eat canned dog food from someone else's pantry because my life depends on it. "Where's Carl?" He's probably out scavenging for something lame because he didn't have a pantry stock. And "zombies" is probably the quickest explanation if you have someone asking you why you're buying so much. Or just wearing your cross-bow and leg holsters to the store actually eliminates question asking altogether. So I hear. Don't judge me.


I'm trying to avoid going to the store for anything except milk, bread, eggs, and basic produce for the rest of the month. I've already got a plan outlined, menus written down, now to stick to it. If you want to join me in this challenge, let me know!! I'd love to have some backup.

Here's a peek at my meal ideas and menu plan for the rest of this week.

**All memes found on Google Search.