Last weekend I ran out of time to do a good inventory of our freezer and large pantry closet. I did it tonite. I found this helpful- 1 Month Menu Plan Grid It's a nice sized, free printable menu grid/calendar. I also found this nice, simple freezer inventory list here- Organizinghomelife.com
This got me started to write the basics of what we have, in the freezer and pantry closet. Unlike most people we don't have a lot of frozen meats, since we don't eat a lot of meat. We eat lots of vegetarian foods!
We had 2 meals so far- frozen chicken smothered in homemade frozen pesto, with leftover french bread and salad. Ditto the leftover chicken, with taters and more salad.
Tonight I made- Spicy black bean soup and corn bread, good for a cold, rainy night. I use the pre-made "soup" as a base and added what's in the photo, + 1 more can of corn & spices. I mashed the canned beans slightly. Yummy and filling with the corn muffins made with buttermilk.
Main pantry closet
Chest freezer, a great investment!
Our version will look a bit different, since we're not feeding a family with kids. With just the 2 of us, our meals can be more flexible. I know I won't be able to do a whole month without fresh veggies, milks and fruit. I may buy more meats too, since I don't store a lot of those. Some of the items in my pantry are for long term/emergency food storage so they are off limits for this purpose. I am generally just challenging myself to use up more everyday stored foods, to rotate them and then will work on replacing with newer foods. I have a lot more fish than I thought so I'll make a Finnish Salmon Pie. I made it last year, added lots of peas, and great flavor! There's always lots of fresh eggs too. Speaking of the hens- they'll get any freezer-burned foods (if any) so they will be recycled :)
I got out these handy sheets I hadn't used yet to play with menu planning-
Here's a few more tips to save money! Lessons Learned on the Front Lines of Frugality
I've been doing her challenges for a couple years now. It is a great way to rotate items in the pantry. I differ from yo as far as meat in the freezer. seeing how we raise beef cattle for sale I always have beef in the freezer. Funny thing is, we (I) eat very little meat too. When we get one butchered it lasts us a couple of years and that's after giving away about a 1/4 of it.We do it cause we know what went into are meat.Good luck on the challenge. I can get really creative with meals.
ReplyDeleteA friend and I were talking about how coupons aren't really the way to go with saving money, and said more and more lately, sales are better. I'm not a coupon gal, but I do stock up organic meats when I see them on sale. It really helps cut the food bill for our meals.
ReplyDeleteYes, I buy some meats at out local grocery outlet, especially natural, uncured bacon:) Yummy! That's where the freezer comes in handy, stock up on sales...
ReplyDeleteInspiring! That's a great kind of challenge.
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent challenge. I wish we had the space for a chest freezer. Thanks for submitting it to the HomeAcre Blog Hop. Feel free to stop by again this week at www.PintSizeFarm.com or one of the other hosts and submit another :)
ReplyDeleteSo need a chest freezer. I would love it if you joined and contribute your awesome posts at my link party at City of Creative Dreams, starts on Fridays at 9AM eastern time :D Hope to see you there at City of Creative Dreams Link Party.
ReplyDeleteWe got ours at Costco, smaller size, but works great!
ReplyDeleteEvery meal in our house is like a challenge... we stand in front of the pantry and turn our heads side to side an try to come up with ways to combine things we have on hand. LOL It is a nightly game lately. Thanks for sharing on the (mis)Adventures Mondays Blog Hop!
ReplyDeleteI think watching cooking shows, looking up new recipes helps, so I don't get stuck in a rut~~~
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