Frugal Pantry Challenge, Week 3

This week I cooked:

• red beans and rice, using brown rice and the last of the dried red beans in my pantry, as well as green pepper, onion, garlic, and spices from pantry and bacon from freezer. Delicious!
• salmon with Old Bay seasoning, poached on stovetop, from freezer. Delicious, part 2!
• banana bread, with old bananas

Next week, my plans include:

• lentil soup, using lentils and canned tomatoes from pantry with frozen broth from fridge

• potato-leek soup, with potatoes from pantry and leeks from fridge
• more banana bread (more brown bananas!)
• maybe some apple cake (lots of fading apples in my crisper)

• cranberry-orange muffins for students/rehearsals with cranberries from pantry, etc.

I'll be overseeing my students' projects in performance Monday through Sunday, so a quick bowl of soup (something that can be microwaved hot fast is a good thing... especially with lots of protein in it). That will replace my annual binge of fast-food as my usual fare during this time... ugh. I give myself a pass to eat McD's every night usually, because hey! drive through, french fries, open really really late: not good!

Again, it is more about planning than anything else. If I procrastinate on making the meals, it won't get done "later," and I will be eating McD's. So although I want a nap, I gotta cook... or I'll be sorry.