January Pantry Challenge and Broccoli Salad

I am joining Angela Barton in her Pantry Challenge and declaring January an Eat from the Pantry month. My plan is to only go to the grocery store 3 times in January. When I go shopping, I plan to only buy dairy, fresh fruits, and fresh vegetables. My plan is to spend less than 150.00  for the month and donate the money that I save to a local food bank.

When I do a pantry challenge, I take inventory of my freezer, fridge, and pantry. Then I make a list of recipes that I can make with the ingredients on hand. I also take note of what I am low on so I can stretch those ingredients or find alternatives. I am low on cheese and olive oil. I will use the cheese sparingly and substitute walnut oil, grape seed oil, and applesauce where ever possible to stretch the olive oil to the end of the month.

The web is a useful tool when you are trying to make do with what you have on hand. AllRecipes.com has a feature that allows you to enter ingredients that you want to use, as well as ingredients that you don’t want to use, and will then list recipes that meet your requirements.

When I have a recipe that I want to make, but am missing a key ingredient I visit Baking 911, to see if I can come up with a substitution. Quite often though, I just wing it. And in doing so I come up with new favorites. Last weekend I wanted to make Nutty Broccoli Salad but was out of mayonnaise, sugar and sunflower seeds. My mother-in-law once described me as one determined gal, my husband loved it and it is what he calls me when I refuse to give in or give up. And that is what he called me when I decided to go forward with a salad although missing 2 of the 3 ingredients for the dressing  To make the dressing I substituted plain yogurt and honey and created a healthier version appropriate for keeping New Year’s resolutions.

Salad Ingredients:
5 cups broccoli florets
1 large apple, diced
1/2 cup cranberries
1/2 cup pecans
1 small onion, chopped
6 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 celery stalks, sliced

Dressing:

1 cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons balsamic vinaigrette (I used Annie’s Naturals because it is gluten free)
3 tablespoons honey

Directions:

Mix salad ingredients together in a large bowl.

Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl, stir well. Pour dressing over salad, mix until thoroughly coated. Refrigerate at least 3 – 4 hours, until chilled (I let it marinate over night). Serve cold.

How do you stretch your pantry and freezer to feed your family?

This post is linked to Hearth and Soul Hop, Tasty Tuesday, Kitchen Tip Tuesday, and Real Food Wednesday.