Stretch Week

We have recently decided to get serious about our food budget. We have been very blessed to be able to live off of one income since our little one was born, but we still have some student loan debt to pay off so we've made a plan to 1) live off of 1/2 of our income and 2) budget for things like food and gas. July was our first full month of budgeting for food and while I am a pretty frugal shopper in general, setting a limit forced me to get creative near the end of the month. The result was nearly a week of hunting down new recipes online and subjecting my husband to all kind of interesting food combinations. Some of our meals were so fun that even though they don't all fit the pantry theme, I feel I have to share them. :) Along with some staples like fruit, salad, and cereal, this is how our week looked.

Stretch Week: Friday, July 25th -

Roasted a whole chicken

Made a Chicken Crescent Braid

Yummy and pretty! I modified the Pillsbury recipe for Roasted Garlic Turkey Crescent Braid by using chicken instead of turkey and skipping the sun dried tomatoes since I didn't have any on hand. I did have some baby spinach, however, so that got thrown in and was a perfect fit. I also left out the mushrooms.

Saturday, July 26th -

Went to the farmer's market and spent $10 on peaches, apples, 4 eggplants, and 2 "spaceship squash."

Made Peanut Butter Banana Bread (without the chocolate) from Peanut Butter Boy. Didn't get a picture b/c it was gone in a matter of minutes. lol!

Ate chicken sandwiches with mayo from whole chicken cooked Friday.

Sunday, July 27th -

Tuscan White Bean Salad from Elana's Pantry using two kinds of canned white beans with oven-roasted tomatoes from Gluten-free Girl - it was perfect! And the leftovers were even better on Monday!

hamburgers at a dinner party (free! wohoo!)

Monday, July 28th -

More chicken Sandwiches and leftovers. :) Easy-peasy.

Tuesday, July 29th -

Rustic Garlic Onion Pizza from Fun Foods on a Budget, with Beyond Salmon's Honey Garlic Grilled Eggplant on top.

I used way too much salt on the eggplant - but now I know. We picked a few pieces of eggplant off each piece and were good to go! The foccacia bread crust was the best.thing.ever.

Wednesday, July 30th -

Spaceship Squash Fritters from The Leftover Queen and 40 minute hamburger buns from Taste of Home. I didn't get a picture of these unfortunately, but they were GOOD!

And for lunch I whipped up some quinoa with tomatoes, garlic, and baby spinach.

Thursday, July 31st -

Falafel and pita bread from Iron Stef, and Eggplant Caviar from Sam Cooks.

I've gotta say - we ate well this week! I spent a lot more time cooking than usual but now I can log all of these away as having tried them and should I decide to make them again, it will go faster the second time around. Thanks lovely bloggers for the inspiration this week!