My Kitchen Cabinets

A few folks asked me how I know what I need for the week and how on earth I stay on budget.  So I thought a peek into my kitchen cabinets would help! (Don't you judge me!  My kitchen was built in 1946 and is a little wonky!)

If we really needed to we could probably survive a week or two just with the stuff in our kitchen already.  My trip to the store on a weekly basis is to fill my fridge with fresh foods and to pick up a can or two of whatever we may need or are running low on.

Our home canned goodness is almost gone and will soon be replenished when we start canning this summer!  Right now we only have a couple jars of dilly beans and some salsa left.

I know by looking at this photo I will need to buy flour, sugar and olives this week.  I can also look at what we have and base my meal plan on what we have a lot of in the cabinets.

It may not be the fanciest kitchen you have ever seen but this system works pretty well for us.  I do wish we had more room but having a small space forces us to stay organized and to only buy what we need and will eat.  On a side note, I didn't include photos of my spice or my coffee and tea cabinets.  They look just about the same but smaller.

Pizza Night!

OK, so while I don't really have a recipe for pizza night I thought I'd make a quick little post just to get started.

For those of you who know me you are familiar with the way I cook.  I throw food in a pan or three, stir it up and call it good.  I very rarely measure anything and I hardly ever follow a recipe, unless I am baking and I taste as I go.  I make meals out of what is on sale, in my cupboards or leftover.  I normally shop one time a week with a mid week veggie or milk run if we need it.  I spend about $80 a week and we go out to eat once in a while.

I am a vegetarian, who sometimes...on occasion eats a little bit of shellfish or salmon when we are at a place that just simply doesn't have vegetarian options.  My lovely hubby Brad and smallest daughter are meat eaters and my tallest daughter is extremely picky.

I'll do my best to post my ingredients, the approximate cost of our meal and how I made it.  If you have any comments, questions or ideas I'd love to hear from you!