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Recently, as I opened the freezer below my refrigerator I was so frustratred looking for the parmesan cheese that I KNEW was in there, but I couldn’t find it–argh! (yes, it was labeled and I did eventually find it). There was just too much other stuff in the way. A similar thing happened when I was in the pantry looking for an ingredient for a recent recipe. You see, I had a lot of extra items in the pantry and freezer leftover from “I’m going to make this for dinner” type things but they never got used. Some were leftover from when I was stocking up if it was on sale. Others were leftover from when my hubby came home with a bunch of things he thought looked good when he popped into the store (but really had no idea what they would work with).
And while it’s true, I’m a meal planner, I’m not so great when something changes our plans and the ingredients that WERE planned for get left behind on the shelves. Sometimes it’s just “life” that gets in the way and changes our plan. Or sometimes I’m just to tired or uninspired at the end of the day to make what I had actually planned. I needed to start purging the contents of my pantry and freezer before they expired or freezer burn set in!So, being inspired by Money Saving Mom’s Pantry Challenge and the Use It Up weekly feature on Martha Stewart Eveyday Food radio’s host Sandy Gluck, I’ve decided to offer up a challenge for my own readers to join in (partly because Money Saving Mom’s challenge ended in January). My goal is to keep things going at least through March 31st–so just about six weeks.
It will be a fun challenge too, I think, to rediscover a purpose for that extra can of artichokes, bottle of roasted red bell peppers, maraschino cherries or half a bag of self-rising flour. Or maybe it will be the bag of Italian blend cheese that was on clearance or pita bread rounds that are now in my freezer. Perhaps I will actually make up those soups I had in mind when I threw the two roitsserie chicken carcasses in a bag into the freezer or the leftover ham bone too. Should be fun and I love the creative challenge!
The bonus? My grocery budget will also benefit because I’ll be spending less each week while using up the ingredients I’ve already got at home–it’s a double win!
I love how Money Saving Mom suggests that you consider setting aside the money you save from the Challenge by paying down debt, adding to your savings or donating to a charitable cause of your choice so I encourage you to do the same! Of course, it’s not required but won’t it feel great and maybe keep you even more motivated if you have an extra special goal in mind?
Ready to join the challenge? Then post about your plan on your own blog and come back here to leave a direct link to the post below for extra inspiration–then we can all learn new ways to use up what we’ve got. If you don’t have a blog, you can still join us by telling us about your plan in the comments section of this post. You can also take the little badge that I made and put it on your blog if you like! It’s my first attempt making a badge like this so I hope you like it!
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