Pantry Purge

On Sunday of last week I realized that it was still February {aka - a few days until pay day}, we had spent almost $400 on groceries and house-hold purchases in one month alone. HOW is that possible? I was shocked when I added it up. We must have been very hungry in February. BUT - I also realized that I still did have quite a few groceries in the freezer, fridge and panty. Yes, we were dwindling in the produce, dairy and bread categories... but decided we were going to stick it out for the week eating only what we had in the pantry. So, I wanted to share with you are menu for the week. We actually had some pretty tasty {and healthy} meals!

Pantry List:

1 box whole wheat spaghetti

2 cans of black beans

1 can of corn

1 cup of rice
panko breadcrumbs

2 sweet potatoes

1 onion

Fridge:

1/2 bag spinach

1 tomato
1 cucumber 

1 avocado

1/2 pint of greek yogurt

1/2 can of marinara
Salsa

Deep Freeze:

4 fish filets

1 pd. turkey meat

1 bag lima beans

frozen bell peppers from the garden

The menu for the week:

Day 1: Southwest Sweet Potatoes with Turkey 

We saw this recipe on the biggest loser and had to try it! It was actually really good. We added black beans and avocado and used all regular salsa, no green. Awesome, easy to make dish. This will defiantly go into the rotation. 

Day 2: Spinach Salad with Panko-Crusted Tilapia

This dish was a simple throw-together. We crusted the tilapia in olive oil, parmesan and panko bread crumbs, cooked it on the stove top and served them a top spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, croutons, pecans and sesame sticks.  I just threw in whatever we had in the panty and it was great.  I will recommend a great, cheap salad dressing - Kroger brand Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette. 

Day 3: Turkey Spaghetti & Lima Beans 

Hands down, some of the best spaghetti we have made. I think it was the organic low-sodium marinara from trader Joes that made it so yummy!  We sauteed peppers, onions and garlic before adding the turkey meat, italian seasoning, pepper and garlic. It sauteed for about 15-20 minutes and came out quite yummy. Served over whole-wheat pasta with lima beans on the side. {I know - random} Next time we will try it over Spaghetti Squash! 

Day 4: Burrito Bowls with grilled Tilapia

I forgot to take a picture, but it was super easy to make and you can really add anything from the panty!

• Rice
• 1 Can black beans
• 1 can corn
• Sauteed Bell Peppers & Onions
• Salsa
• Avocado
• Greek Yogurt
• Grilled Tilapia on top {We would have preferred chicken or beef, but not on the pantry plunge week - ha} 

We made several creative recipes over the weekend, using random food from the pantry and deep freeze.  On Sunday I made this apple streusel adding pecans and using spray butter.  For dinner sunday night we tried this old fashioned mac n cheese!  Of course, those we not on the pantry plunge either - but we tried to use some some random items we had left in the freezer & pantry, like phyllo dough, breadcrumbs, butter and cheese.

We've been eating pretty good these days... even without going to the store!  

Any fun recipes you have made lately?