Pantry Challenge Day 1-2

It has been awhile since I posted... ok not just awhile but 5 months.  I meant to post but then life gets in the way and I totally forget.  M and I have gotten in this bad habit of not planning our meals, picking up stuff at the grocery store day after day or just eating out.  It started at the beginning of summer when his schedule got easier and with me juggling 2 jobs- by the time I got home I just didn't want to cook anything.  

Well with school starting back up-which means M's schedule will be busy, I am working 2 jobs plus taking a class at the University: we will sure be busy-we have to get back on schedule with our meal planning and eating healthy. 

Last year we did a Pantry Challenge- which meant for a week anything we ate had to be made from within the pantry, freezer or fridge.  Also this meant not buying a coffee or pop out.  Everything had to come from the home.  It helped us figure out what we had in our pantry and helped us come up with interesting recipes to use all the ingredients in our home.  

Day 1 of our pantry challenge- Breakfast and Lunch were a mix of cereal and sandwiches, then for dinner we had mac n cheese with hot dogs: Not the healthiest but boy was it yummy!

Day 2 Pantry Challenge: Breakfast: Egg Special- English muffin with fried egg and mustard.  Lunch I had leftovers from the night before while M had a sandwich.  For dinner I made a recipe I found on Allrecipes.com.  Of course, I didn't have all of what it called for so I subbed what I did have.  

Cuban Chicken: I was a little nervous to add all these ingredients together but they actually mixed well together.  M was a little curious of the raisins but really loved this recipe and asked it be added to the rotation.  

Ingredients:
1tbs oil
1 onion- chopped
3 cloves of garlic- or 3 squares
1/2 c of chopped bell pepper
1 can of no salt added diced tomatoes-not drained
1 12 oz can of chicken chunks-drained
1/2 c raisins
1/2 c of stuffed olives-sliced (we used jalapeño stuffed olives
1 tbs red wine vinegar
1 tsp of oregano
1/4 tsp of cumin
2 bay leaves

Directions:   Heat oil over M heat.  Cook onions, garlic and peppers until soft.  Stir in tomatoes, chicken, bell  pepper, raisins, olives, vinegar, oregano and cumin.  Cook 5-7 minutes.  

Serve with rice.  Delicious!  Great for leftovers too!