EFTP Challenge: Week #1 Plan

Here's my plan for the first full week of January, and meeting my goals with the Eat From the Pantry Challenge!

Monday 1/4 - chili, cornbread
Tuesday 1/5 - calzones*, fruit
Wednesday 1/6 - sloppy joes, macaroni and cheese, broccoli
Thursday 1/7 - cheesy chicken strips*, baked potatoes, green beans
Friday 1/8 - chicken alfredo with broccoli (or spinach), garlic bread
Saturday 1/9 - chicken fajitas, homemade applesauce
Sunday 1/10 - family lunch out (no, I'm not cheating... a family member has a birthday :)

* denotes a new recipe I'm trying

So far this month, we've had:
Friday 1/1 - chicken parmesan bundles*
Saturday 1/2 - taco soup*
Sunday 1/3 - beef stew (which kind of flopped because I let it cook too long, and some of the meat disintegrated a bit... oops)

I really liked both the chicken parmesan bundles and the taco soup. My two-year-old wasn't thrilled with the chicken, which kind of surprised me, and she called the taco soup "chili" and ate a small portion. My husband didn't love the spinach in the chicken dish, but otherwise liked the meal. He wasn't a fan of the taco soup, which also surprised me because it was pretty close to chili, which he does like. I love my picky eaters, I love my picky eaters, I love...

Anyway. I looked through one of my cookbooks that I haven't pulled out in a while tonight, and bookmarked a few new recipes to try this month! The cheesy chicken strips recipe is from that book, and I was excited that I already had all the ingredients on hand, which is totally the point of this challenge... using what you already have!

Of all the meals I plan to make this week, I believe I have everything I need for them already. The only thing I really "need" to get at the store this week (I think) are things like milk, fresh fruit, and meats for meals to come. I do know I'll need to stock up on meats to put in my garage freezer, because there's no way we'd make it through the month if I didn't, or next week even. I saw the grocery store in town that I don't usually shop at (it's traditionally more expensive) is running a sale right now on "combo packs" -- large packages of beef, chicken, and pork that would feed our family for probably 5-6 meals for $20.

If anyone else happens to be blogging their similar efforts, please let me know! I would love to follow along and get some new ideas for recipes. :)