Eat From the Pantry Challenge - January 2009

I have once again accumulated more food than my family can reasonably eat so long as my food buying habits continue. My pantry items are spilling out and being stored in grocery bags on the kitchen floor. Because of that, I am delighted to participate in Crystal's (of Money Saving Mom) Eat From the Pantry Challenge.

I have created my own customized set of rules to set my family up for a healthy, frugal January. The timing of this is good too, since we go a little more than 5 weeks between paychecks this time of year.

Here are my three rules for January 2009:

1. Only buy produce and dairy items at the grocery store or farmer's market.
2. Go to the grocery store no more than once a week.
3. No eating take-out food because I had a busy day and forgot to defrost something. (Planned dining out for dates or social occasions is acceptable.)
   

And here is my first exception:

1. January 2nd is my dad's birthday and the party is at my house. I'll be providing the meal and dessert so those groceries and that trip to the store won't count - it is one of my gifts to him.

I already know I have a lot of canned tomato products in my pantry so I will specifically be looking for yummy recipes to use those up. If you have any, pass them along by leaving a link (or the recipe itself) in the comments.

Check back in a couple of days to see how well I am doing and if I can master homemade sandwich bread!