Pantry Challenge Day 4

Quick update for tonight's dinner...

Used from the freezer: 2 frozen pre-cooked hamburger patties
Used from the fridge: milk, Parmesan cheese
Used from the pantry: 1 box macaroni and cheese, 1 can fire-roasted tomatoes, 3 cans ranch style beans, 1 can refried beans

 We had frozen lean hamburger patties sauteed in the skillet with a can of fire roasted tomatoes and then topped with Parmesan... and macaroni and cheese.  The hamburger patties were some already-cooked HEB ones we had originally bought to actually make into burgers, and when we tried them in the store (of course they were sampling them the day we bought them, otherwise I never would have tried them), they were good.  Not so good once we got them home.  The meat was pretty dry... oh well.

This dinner started out as a "quick" dinner of macaroni and cheese and ranch style beans, which has been a go-to staple for Hubby and I for several years when we're really too tired to cook and just want something quick and easy that doesn't require a car ride and/or a drive through.  That's why you see "ranch style beans" on the pantry list of stuff we "used" tonight... haha, Hubby pulled out a can of beans... expired.  Pulled out another can... expired.  Same with the third can of ranch style beans and the can of refried beans.  That's when I decided to check the freezer to see if we had something I could turn into an edible meal quickly and came up with the hamburger patties.  I decided to try a trick my mom uses sometimes and just cook the meat in the skillet with a can of tomatoes on top, but when she does it, it turns out tasting much better.

Overall, not the best dinner we've ever had (by a long shot), but it was free and got some things out of the pantry, right!  I will say, if I'd ordered this at a restaurant (or something like it, and it came out tasting like this), I would have wanted my money back.

Oh, and the Boy had macaroni and cheese and a few bites of banana!