Menu Plan and Homemade Vegetable Broth Recipe

The Eat From The Pantry Challenge came at the perfect time for me. Bad weather over the last month, has forced me to shop at the Wal-Mart close to our home, instead of driving across town to Trader Joes and Whole Foods Market. I can buy organic fruits and vegetables, as well as, organic milk for a good price at there, but Wal-Mart has something that  TJ’s and Whole Foods does not have… Hot Wheels at the register! Yes, I have been a pushover for a little boy in need want of a car. Since our family has joined The Compact, we have committed to buying nothing new for the entire year, including .97 Hot Wheels. As part of the Pantry Challenge, I will only be going grocery shopping three times in the month of January, and I am planning to go unaccompanied on those few trips.

I do have a plan for when I start shopping with Rew again. I am going to carry a small toy from home, in my purse, and pull it out while in line to distract him at the register. I hope this will painlessly break the bad habit, but if not, I might be that mom with the screaming 2 year old in the check out line – please smile encouragingly at me!

Soups, stews, and chilis are great ways to stretch your food. I plan on making use of them this month as we eat from the pantry. When taking inventory of my pantry and freezer today, I noticed that I was low on vegetable broth and out of chicken broth. Since the chili and Garden Wedding Soup that I have planned for this week, plus many other recipes that I will want to make over the month require broth, I am going to make a large pot of vegetable broth. It is easy and inexpensive to make. In fact, you can make it with vegetable scraps: carrot and potato peelings, celery tops, leftover onion, etc. Just add the vegetable scraps to a container in your freezer and when the container is full, dump it in a pot, add water and spices, and simmer for an hour. Then strain and voila, you have vegetable broth. Just in case you don’t have a bag of rotting vegetables in your freezer, I have included a recipe at the bottom of this post.

Menu Plan

Monday – Thursday – My husband will be eating leftovers while my children and I visit my Grandma.

Friday – White Chili, salad, and G.F. Cornbread

Saturday – I still have vegetables from my summer garden in the freezer, I am going to use them in Garden Wedding Soup and serve it with a salad. This soup is so filling that I don’t feel bad about not serving any bread with it.

Sunday – Split Pea Soup and Strawberry Spinach Salad

Vegetable Broth
2 onions
3-4 cloves garlic
4 stalks celery
4 –5 carrots
1 potato
mushrooms, bell pepper, cabbage are optional
12 cups of water
pinch or two of your favorite spices, I vary mine, but I usually add parsley and basil, sometimes sage and oregano as well
dash of pepper

Add the water to a large pot and place on high heat. Do not peel the vegetables. Just wash them and coarsely chop them. Add them to the pot of water. Add spices and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil. Once it boils, reduce the heat, place a lid on the pot, and simmer for one hour. Strain the broth through a fine mesh colander. You can use the broth immediately. Freeze unused portions for future use.

If you would like to try making chicken or beef stock visit Coping with Frugality to learn how.