My quest to empty my pantry...

Over the last six weeks, I have decided that I needed to empty my pantry and fridge in preparation for moving. (The moving story will come in another blog later). The movers won't move food or liquid so I am trying to get rid of as much as I can so that I don't have to be the one to move it. Plus, I know that it saves money in the long run.

I went to the grocery store on Aug 2nd and picked up a few things that I needed to last me through the weekend because we were leaving the next weekend to take the boys to Alabama to their dad's house. I think I spent only about $30. When I returned home on Sunday, I decided I was going to "boycott" the grocery store since the boys weren't around for me to constantly need food and I could survive feeding myself with the things still in the fridge/freezer and pantry. So, my quest began...

Several weeks went by and I still didn't visit the store. I was able to make so many different recipes just with the things I had in my pantry. I made Chickpea and Black Bean soup, a chicken and pasta recipe, creamed spinach, and MUCH more! Many of the recipes I didn't have all of the ingredients but I was able to substitute for some things. For example, I didn't have fresh tomatoes so I used a can of diced tomatoes. I didn't have penne so I used rigatoni. I didn't have hamburger so I used ground turkey. Things were flying out of my pantry left and right! I ran out of eggs, milk, bread, and other essentials. I was finding that I needed one or two items in order to make a meal. So, I jotted down the things I would need in order to use up other items in my pantry. My list only made it to about 8 items. I was soooo thrilled! But, I didn't want to go to the store. It almost became a quest to see how long I could survive without purchasing groceries. But.....

Labor Day weekend was around the corner and I decided I was going to host a cookout. So, I had to visit the dreaded grocery store. I picked up the items I needed for the party and a few other essentials for me. I got eggs, milk, butter, a few canned items and some FRESH fruit and veggies! WOW, it was SO nice having fresh fruit and veggies again! I think I spent about $45 for the items I needed.

I hosted the party the next day and to my surprise (I am being sarcastic) there was a lot of leftover hotdogs, hamburgers, buns, and fixins. Of course being the "frugal" person I was in the last few weeks, I decided I needed to freeze the hotdogs and hamburgers and I would find something to do with the buns and fixins (tomato, lettuce, onions). Of course the leftover onions was an easy fix for me, I just sliced them up and froze them for sauteed veggie night (I purchased squash and zucchinni so I intend to use them for that). I cut up the tomatoes and added some sugar, onion, vinegar, garlic and italian seasoning to make my own pizza sauce. I intend to make "mini pizzas" with the leftover hamburger buns, the sauce I made and some shredded cheese I have in the freezer. That used to be one of my favorite lunch meals as a kid! Now, what to do with the hotdog buns....

I decided to make Google my first stop...as it generally is when I am looking for a recipe or just an answer to anything. I typed in "use for leftover hotdog buns". Lo and behold, a recipe for bread pudding came up. I have never made or eaten bread pudding so I was a little apprehensive. But, I decided I might give it a whirl. First, I decided to look up other bread pudding recipes to see how this one differed from the rest (other than the hotdog buns). I ended up finding a blog that was about bread pudding. This lady posts nothing but bread pudding recipes! I scan through the titles and one caught my eye..."Orange Marmalade Bread Pudding". WOW, that sounds good. And what do you know, I have a jar of orange marmalade in the fridge from a recipe I made weeks ago that only called for 1 tbsp. PERFECT!

I grabbed the hotdog buns and started cutting them up into little squares. I wanted to use all that I had, so it ended up being more than what the recipe called for. I decided that if I can cook, I can bake and I just decided to add a little more of the liquid ingredients to make up for the extra bread. I reluctantly prepared the recipe and stuck it in the oven. Actually, the recipe was for a slow cooker pudding but I didn't want to have to drag my slow cooker to work today to share the rest of the pudding. So, I decided I would look at other recipes and see what the general baking instructions were so that I could use a pyrex dish with a lid to take the leftovers to work. All the recipe prepared and into the oven....

45 mins later the pudding was done. I patiently waited for it to cool enough to not burn my tongue and I helped myself to the first serving. I dropped a dollop of vanilla ice cream on the top and crossed my fingers that it was good (cause I was hungry!). First bite....WOW! It was actually good...at least in my opinion. But, this is coming from someone who has never eaten bread pudding. I let the rest of the pudding cool and place it in the fridge anxious to take it to work for the critics to decide....

(See.....)

I carried the pudding into work and was stopped instantly with inquiries. I warmed the pudding up in the microwave and relecutantly left it on the counter for all to enjoy. Before I could even walk away the spoon was dipping the first serving. The guys at work tried it and said it was good. I told them that I really needed honest feedback. A little bit later some of the ladies tried it and I had two requests for the recipe. I still didn't feel like the pudding was good and that maybe they were just trying to be nice to me....

Then, I got an email from the most honest lady in my office. She said, "The pudding kicked @$$. Can I get the recipe?" This was the point when I decided that it really must have been good. This lady is the most honest person I know. When we need fashion advice, food advice, anything, she is the one to ask. We know she won't lie. So when she said it kicked @$$ I was elated! I was happy that my first bread pudding was a success!!

My quest to empty my pantry yeilded a fabulous dessert! Who would have known....