Pantry Challenge Wrap Up - Jan. 2010

Participating in the Eat From the Pantry Challenge was a HUGE success for us. I had so much food in this house and I just kept adding more and more, but not using enough. I can happily say that after this month I have room in my pantry, cabinets and freezer. I used things the were about to expire and be thrown out instead of adding more. This month I suffered from a bout of the flu and a sinus infection at the same time that put me down for 9 days. My pantry saved me. My dh was able to feed the family without resorting to take out (well, we did have Zaxby's once, but only because I finally wanted to eat and I was craving their house salad!).

I am most proud of the fact that I hosted Bunco for 10 ladies and our Supper Club for 12 this month with VERY LITTLE expense. I used my stockpile for both events. I only spent $15.00 for Bunco- a Baked Potato Bar and salad and $80.00 for Supper Club - a 4 course Italian meal with drinks. I have been known in the past to spend of $200 on Supper Club, so this was a huge success!

We still have a house full of food. I plan on continuing my own personal pantry challenge, only replacing items as we get low. For example, I only have one jar of spaghetti sauce left. This is just not acceptable in this house, so I will be stocking up on that item over then next few weeks as it goes on sale. I also used up all my precooked ground beef from the freezer, so that needs to be replaced as well. But, buying just to buy because it is on sale, well, not so much.

A very special thanks to Money Saving Mom and Life As Mom for hosting this challenge. It has certainly been very beneficial to my family.