$50 Pantry stock up Challenge

I am getting ready to stock up my pantry. So I have a question for you...

If you had only $50 to stock up your pantry what would you add?

I am planning on buying:
whole wheat flour
organic sugar
yeast
canned black olives
canned black beans
canned chick peas
salsa
spaghetti sauce
popcorn..microwave only because I am scared of scratching my new stove top.
dried pinto beans
dried black beans
dried chickpeas

Menu Plan Monday

Once again, I didn't stick to my menu. It was crazy to say the least. This week the menu is going to be very basic. We got the bad news Friday that we have to replace our van within the next 2 weeks. The mechanic told us that it wasn't safe to drive it much longer. So we are going to be spending the evenings looking at cars. A lot of my baking recipes will be coming from my new cookbook, Vegan Baking. I will post the recipes if they work. Check out many more recipes over on Laura's Blog.

Monday:
B- Pancakes & chocolate banana shakes(these both were delicious!! I will post recipes this afternoon)
L- Free for all
D- Spaghetti with veggie meatballs & homemade bread
Dessert...not sure what yet.

Tuesday:
B- Omelettes, home fries, biscuits
L- "chk" quesadillas & corn
D- Veggie Fried Rice

Wednesday: (car decision day)
B- Cinnamon Rolls
L- Veggie Dogs & baked beans... or eat out.
D- Homemade Pizza & salad

Thursday:
B- french toast
L- peanut butter & jelly
D- vegan hamburgers & fries

Friday:
B- Breakfast sandwiches, hash browns
L- sandwiches ( hoping to go on a picnic if weather cooperates)
D- Calzones

Saturday:
B- cereal & muffins
L- free for all
D- Pancakes

A New Addition

I am so proud to announce the newest addition to my house. ....


Isn't it beautiful??? Please excuse the blurry picture. My old one was 20years old. This is soo sweet. I sat there tonight while watching our pizzas cook. Yes I know, I am strange. But my last range didn't have a window to look in or a light. Do you know what the greatest thing is???? I can cook LOTS at one time. For the first time ever I was able to cook all 4 personal pizzas at one time. I couldn't do that in my old stove..it had 1 rack.
I can't wait to start to really cook in it. I just don't know what to bake first. Cookies? Bread? Cupcakes? Overnight french toast? So much to bake..so little time.

Valentine's Day Cooking

DD & I made some Valentine's Day Cupcakes. We just used a white cake mix that I needed to use up. She did most of the work herself. I did learn one thing though. If you don't want red & pink sprinkles ALL over the place never leave a 6yr to decorate the cupcakes. LOL.


For dinner we had heart shaped pasta with veggies. I made a butter sauce(that is what my kids call it). I take minced roasted garlic, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder(we LOVE garlic here) and mix with melted butter. Then I toss the pasta in it and add parmesan cheese. I put mixed peppers, baby bellas & broccoli on top of the pasta. I served spinach and olive bread on the side. It was delicious! Personally I thought that it was the best sauce that I have ever made.

A New Book

I am sooo excited. Guess what I got in the mail today?????

The Joy of Vegan Baking

Oh I cannot tell you how excited I am. I cannot wait to start baking.

Menu Plan Monday

Notes from last week's Menu:
It was not a success. We ended up throwing away the menu by Friday. Things kept coming up and I didn't have the time that I would of like to devote to cooking. This week that will change. I am not going to be constantly on the go. A couple of things that I made last week were a big hit~ Calzones and Egg-Free Banana Chocolate Muffins. Dh liked the savory spread for his bagel, but found that it was too runny. Since we didn't follow last week's menu, there will be some carry-over meals.

Sunday:
Breakfast: free for all
Lunch: Bagel Bites & fruit slices
Dinner: Three-Way Sesame Tofu with Spicy Broccoli (This was DELICIOUS!!!)Monday:
Breakfast: Breakfast Pizzas
Lunch: quesadillas & corn
Dinner: Spaghetti & Veggie Meatballs
Snacks: fruit & ???

Tuesday:
Breakfast: Blueberry Pancakes
Lunch: Un-Tuna Salad Sandwiches
Dinner: Crockpot Spinach & Mushroom Lasagna

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Breakfast Sandwiches
Lunch: Out (doctor's appointments all day)
Dinner: Homemade Pizzas
Mozzarella Sticks

Thursday:
Breakfast: Waffles
Lunch: Grilled Cheese & waffle fries
Dinner: Valentine's Day Pasta w/ vegetables
Dessert: Cupcakes

Friday:
Breakfast: Quiche & home fries
Lunch: free for all
Dinner: Black bean tacos

Saturday:
Breakfast: Pancakes
Lunch: veggie sandwiches
Dinner: Kung Pao Tofu over rice


Snacks for the week:
Cookies, muffins, carrots & ranch dressing, taco wontons, mini egg rolls, homemade pretzels & fresh fruit

For more wonderful & yummy ideas go here to I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Calzones

Yummy! Yummy!

I rolled out pillsbury refrigerated pizza crust on a sprayed cookie sheet. I added 'toppings' on half of the crust and then folded the other half over and sealed. I baked it at 400º until it was brown. It was a HUGE hit here. I made 3 different calzones: spicy tofu & cheese, peppers, black olives & cheese, and fully loaded (spicy tofu, broccoli, black olives, peppers, mushrooms, spinach & cheese).