I feel like I cooked my brains out today. My day will sound like amateur hour to those who regularly do once a month cooking or feed large families, but man...I feel like I cooked up a storm today.

Bun 's and my frugal meal plan for the week necessitates a lot of stuff being homecooked or made from scratch, so I've been busy. So far today I've made...

2 small loaves of whole wheat bread
1 batch of potato salad
1 large loaf of white bread
1 batch of brownies (from a mix)

That doesn't look like a lot now that I write it down, but the bread was time-consuming. I have forgotten how much I love baking my own bread. I chose to do it this week because I had all the stuff in the house, rather than than having to purchase bread. Not to mention my bread is just better than the storebrand stuff we'd be able to afford on our budget this week.

I also have a batch of FiberOne apple cinnamon muffins to bake (from a mix that was in the pantry) but I think that will wait till tomorrow morning. I should also make and freeze a batch of pancakes (also from a mix stashed in the pantry).

On a separate note, when we did the inventory today I was amazed how much we had stashed away -- that $250 we spent at Costco a month ago is really doing the heavy lifting this week. By the time my big check comes on the 24th, the pantry and freezer should have been essentially cleaned out, which is a good thing -- nothing going to waste! As much as it sucks not to be able to just run out for something at the store, it sure does feel good to know we have enough in the house, with the little bit we spent today, to take us through the week.

( Meals for the week, for those interested. )