Week one of our "Eat from the pantry" challenge

Groceries for week one- plus 5 gallons of milk

We finished week one of our challenge. I found it was easy to use what I already had on hand, once I set my mind on the project (and of course, it is only our first week!). We bought about $30.00 worth of groceries, and about $15.00 of that was milk! I can see that I'm going to have to cut down on our children's milk consumption and have them drink water. We did use up our on-hand supply of juice, and I was at a loss of what to have to drink besides water or milk, so I decided to make tea. I used green tea bags, added raw sugar and a little honey, added some ice and voila!- variety!

Here is a break-down of what we had to eat, as well as some recipes that I modified to use what was in the pantry. The slow-cooker enchiladas were a huge hit and better than the originally recipe. The noodle bake was good too, but if I make it again, I need to add some type of seasoning to it. It was a little blah.

Creamy noodle bake: spaghetti, chicken, sour cream,
cream style corn, cream of chicken soup and
a little cheese

The boys really enjoyed it!

Sunday: We had some friends over for dinner and enjoyed spaghetti and meatballs, a veggie tray,
              garlic bread, and sausage and crackers.
Monday: We ate with friends at their house and feasted on some delicious soup
Tuesday: Slow-cooker enchiladas- delicious!
Wednesday: Get to church on-time night: Pizza (out of the freezer)
Thursday: Invited my parents to dinner and ate baked chicken, stir-fry veggies, and home-made
                Italian herb bread
Friday: Creamy noodle bake: used the leftover noodles from Sunday, leftover chicken from Thursday,
            and canned goods on hand
Saturday: Made a big pot of White Chicken Chili for the ice skating activity: No leftovers!

My recipes:
"Slow-cooker Enchiladas"
1 lb. meat (I used venison)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 can (15 oz) red kidney beans (rinsed and drained)
1 can  (15 oz.) black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 can red enchilada sauce (I used a 15 oz. generic brand)
1/3 cup water
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Colby jack cheese
6 flour tortillas (I used whole wheat tortillas)

In a skillet, brown the meat and onion until browned and onion is soft. Drain off any excess fat and add the beans, enchilada sauce and water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Combine cheeses. In a slow cooker (be sure to spray with non-stick spray) layer the beef mixture, one tortilla, a 1/3 cup cheese. Repeat layers. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until heated through. Enjoy.

White Chicken Chili:
2  packages white chicken chili seasoning  (McCormick’s)
4 - 15 oz. cans chicken broth
8 - 15 oz. cans great northern beans (can also use comb such as black beans                                      and/or kidney beans with the great northern)
2 – 15 oz. cans corn (can also use frozen)
1 – 15 oz. can Rotel (a spicy diced tomato product you can find in the   canned vegetable aisle)
Add cooked chicken of choice (you can use rotisserie or grilled-baked-boiled (about 4 breasts or equal amount of white/dark)

DIRECTIONS:
Put chicken broth in large soup pot.  Add seasoning.  Bring to boil, simmer 15 minutes.   Add rest of ingredients.  (I do drain the beans to reduce sodium, but it is not a necessity, I do not drain the corn.)   Simmer for additional 15-20 minutes.  (If using frozen corn, add 1 minute before removing from heat.) 
Serving suggestion:
Top with grated cheese, a dollop of sour cream and crumbled corn tortilla chips before serving.