In O Magazine’s February 2011 issue I saw an article about combatting pantry clutter, so when I realized I was bumping up against the limit of my monthly food budget I decided to set myself a challenge: create meals for four days based solely on what was in my pantry, fridge, and freezer.
A quick inventory revealed the following odds and ends: two leeks; a bag of carrots; cans of diced tomatoes, chickpeas, sweatpeas; some chicken breast; and lots of rice and couscous.
While I have a solid collection of cookbooks, this was definitely the time for a quick Google search. Sure enough, ten minutes revealed my dinner menu for a few days of pantry living:
- Monday: grilled chicken with couscous, chickpeas and carrots
- Tuesday: Sweet Pea Fried Rice
- Wednesday: grilled leeks and chicken with an apple/carrot/cabbage coleslaw with light vinaigrette
- Thursday: Red Curry and Peanut Noodles
Then of course there’s breakfasts and snacks, and since I love to bake there’s usually a pretty decent stash of supplies on hand:
- Granola bars (will be saving on all those preservatives and packaging!)
- Strawberry-Banana Smoothies
- Apple Pie Muffins (a specialty of mine for years)
Yes, there will probably still be a few PB&J; sandwiches this week, but I don’t think we’ll suffer too much. And by the end my budget will balance, I’ll have new recipes in my collection, and my fridge and cupboards will be ready for a good spring wipe-down!
