Frugal Pantry Challenge, Week 4

This week I cooked (and thus ate) lentil soup with bacon (Moosewood Cookbook recipe with added bacon), chicken breasts with roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, and green olives in a yogurt sauce (my own made-up recipe I'll share), and banana bread. One night I cooked Annie's organic white shells in cheese sauce; that night, I nearly ate it out of the box, I was so hungry and stretched thin for time...

As I thought, there was too little time to cook or eat at home most nights, so having something prepared was smart. Having something to come home to at 11 pm was even smarter, as after rehearsals I have a terrible desire to nosh and snack and stuff myself with empty calories.

This week, I will cook the potato-leek soup, the cranberry muffins, and something defrosted from the freezer... maybe. All of it is pantry-ready, with no extra stuff. My grocery lists have been limited to fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy, and cat foods. Oh, and wine.

My students' plays run through the week, till Friday.

Then, starting Saturday, I'll be on Spring Break. And I'll moving to the new apartment in dribs and drabs, starting with clothing. I'm going to use my spring break (9 days!) to simultaneously move and de-clutter once again. Clothes, kitchenware, paper records, and household goods. I'll be back to cooking and living like a regular person, not a theatre person.

Unfortunately that means I won't be visiting my friend in D.C., but I do plan to schedule a three-day weekend with her soon.