Cleaning Out the Pantry

We've been pretty good about sticking to our monthly budget with the exception of our food bill. This doesn't include our budget for eating out, strictly runs to the grocery store and farmer's markets. I use coupons, buy things on sale, comparison shop and I still end up going over budget. I was thinking I just need to increase the dollar amount I've set but it's a pretty high amount for two adults and a baby. After going through our pantry, freezer, and fridge, I realized we're not cooking to our full potential. Meaning Momma needs to start using the things she buys at the market. We have enough lentils to open a curry restaurant I could make gallons of soup with all of the canned butternut squash in the cupboards. Needless to say, we're wasting money and good food by not using what we already have and something has to change. My goal for September is to not only stay on budget in the food department but to also have an empty pantry and refrigerator by the end. This means menu planning, trying new recipes, and remembering old forgotten ones. We'll see how the Pantry Experiment goes and I'll share the progress as September moves along. If anyone has a good recipe using split peas, breadcrumbs, and hot sauce, please let me know.