What Did you have 4 din din? Pantry style!

http://www.5dollardinners.com/2009/10/poor-mans-stoup.html

So we decided on this recipe and it turned out great. This month we will be doing the pantry challenge so we had to improvise with things we had on hand, BUT I think it really did add to the flavor of our dish *and i'm sure the calories too. Below is the recipe with my pantry substitutes in bold.

Please come back and share your pantry challenge recipes so we can share ideas and encouragements. Good luck and happy Pantry month!!!

Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef or chuck (sausage or chicken works well too) ($1.50) Had on hand from Albertsons quick sale: $1.03
Carrots (from the garden) Left over from the last Bountiful Basket and NEEDED to be used up.
Celery ($.20) In the freezer from Bountiful Baskets a few weeks ago
Onions (from the garden) In the freezer from Bountiful Baskets a few weeks ago

Beef stock (2 cans)/also works with chicken stock ($1.00 bought on sale for $.50 a can) chicken stock we made from the bones in the freezer from the roasted chicken we had last week
1 to 1 1/2 cups of rice ($.25) used knor chicken broccoli rice i had on hand from an Albertsons deal a few weeks ago, about $.50
Bay leaf, thyme, parsley, salt and pepper, terragon, sage ($.25) I knew that spice rack online deal would come in handy, and it has!
1 can of cream of mushroom/chicken ($1.00-unfortunately not on sale) one of those back of the pantry items, hubby hates cream of anything but it's well hidden in this soup!
dollop of sour cream ($.15) Luckly we had this on hand from our last shopping trip because it makes the soup.

parmesan: in the freezer from an albertsons clearance a while back.

Directions
1. Brown hamburger in a stock pot. Drain, rinse and return to pot.
2. Add grated carrots, chopped onions, and chopped celery and let them sweat out until tender.
3. Add beef stock and bring to a boil.
4. Add rice (not cooked); 1 bay leaf, couple shakes of thyme, parsley, terragon, sage and salt and pepper, then turn down heat to simmer and let it cook until dinner time.
5. 10 min. before you eat, add the cream of mushroom/chicken, and the sour cream and parmesan. Give it just enough time to heat through, about 3-5 minutes.

Cost $4.45 < dirt cheap ;)