The December Challenge

After our more-expensive-than-usual Costco trip on Friday, Kenneth suggested a challenge: no more shopping at the grocery store for dinner items during the month of December. The first reason is that we had to throw away a few boxes of food that had expired without ever being opened-- what a waste!-- to make room for our Costco purchases. And these were "non-perishables"-- like Bisquick that was 2 years past expiration. The second reason is that I have this problem with stockpiling food-- I hate it when I find myself in the mood to cook or bake something, and I have no supplies on hand to make the thing when inspiration strikes. I take always being prepared seriously. So, we have tons of food on hand as it is, and while I think Kenneth was half kidding, I thought we might as well try it.

Here's what we're starting with. I took these to have a sort of "before and after"... Here's hoping our cupboards will be more bare on January 1.

"Pantry" cupboard: Potatoes, TONS of pistachios, tuna, quinoa (that only one of us eats-- one of us being me), and lasagna noodles of questionable age.

Spices/baking supply cupboard: I can pretty much bake anything from what's in here. Pumpkin bread ... brownies... cinnamon rolls ... chocolate chip cookies -- I'm ready for anything. You know what this means, right? Cinnamon rolls for dinner!

Freezer-- this is probably the number one reason why we might actually get through the rest of the month without buying any supplies for dinner. In here, we have chicken, pulled pork, fruit and veggies, meatballs, halibut, homemade and store bought marinara... and 3 gallons of ice cream (Safeway had a sale. FYI: When it's snowing outside and you buy 3 gallons of ice cream, people seem to think that's kind of weird). Oh, and 72 frozen cookies. It's way too full, and action must be taken. Starting with the eggnog ice cream.

Storage closet, where you will find yoga mats, office supplies, 2 jars of marinara, 2 bags of pasta, 1 can of chicken stock, instant breakfast, and a giant jar of peanut butter. And dog food. We won't be eating that.

And, so we can be cool like all those celebrities on Cribs, here's what's in our fridge: 3 pounds of spinach ($4 at Costco), lots of beverages, cream cheese, parmesan cheese, cheddar cheese... more cheese...half an onion, almond butter, and a dozen eggs.  Very exciting stuff in here.

Then we have the refrigerator door--- which is a little frightening. At the moment, I'm not sure which of the things in here are expired. But I do know the orange juice, wine, fish sauce, and butter are all A-OK. Which means I'll be making lots of... um... I'm not really sure what.

We're not going to take this too seriously-- but it will be fun to see how things go. Mostly I'm excited to free up some freezer space... so I can put more ice cream in it. Hehe.

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