Wow! It's been so long since I've worked on this section of my blog that I decided to make a whole new menu (for illustrative purposes). So some of the information in this step may be repetitive from the previous steps. Bear with me- I'm a work in progress here!
Mandarin Oranges 10 cans (8 oz)
Pineapple tidbits 3 cans (15 oz)
Mushroom stems & pieces 8-10 cans (8 oz)
Cream of Chicken soup 9 cans (10 oz)
(try using this recipe instead)
Salsa 32 ounces
Beans (kidney) 4 (15 oz) cans
Beans (black) 4 (15 oz) cans
Beans (chili) 2 (15oz) cans
or small red beans if using dry (1 lb)
Mayonnaise 16 oz
Mustard 1 bottle
Hot sauce 1 bottle
Tomato Sauce 28 (8oz) cans
Tomato soup 2 cans
Diced Tomatoes 10 cans (15 oz)
Green beans (if not using fresh/frozen) 3 cans (15 oz)
Corn (if not using fresh/frozen) 7 cans (15 oz)
Dry
Spaghetti Noodles 3 lb
Macaroni Noodles 1 lb
Egg Noodles 2 lb
Lasagna Noodles (or use this recipe) 1 lb
Flavored Gelatin 5 small boxes
Small Red Beans (if not using canned) 1 lb
Black Beans (if not using canned) 2 lb
Kidney Beans (if not using canned) 2 lb
Dry bread crumbs or Stuffing Mix
Tortilla chips
Ranch dressing mix (click here for recipe)
Dairy
3-4 (16oz) Sour cream
1-4 (16oz) Cottage cheese
4-6 gal Milk
4 lb (according to taste) Cheese [cheddar]
1 lb Cheese [Parmesan]
1.5 lb Cheese [ Mozzarella]
2 16 oz blocks Cream Cheese (optional)
2 lb Butter
64 oz Plain Yogurt
Staples You shouldn't have to buy all of these every month. Most of these items are much cheaper to buy in bulk. Plan to buy one or two of these bulk items from this list each month to keep your pantry stocked.
Yeast (Usually cheapest to buy in 1 lb compressed block)
Bread Flour
Flour
Brown Sugar
Corn meal
Baking powder
Baking soda
Pinto Beans 2 lb
Rice (white or brown) 2 lb
Oil (olive, or vegetable)
Dry Milk
Chicken Bouillon or soup base
Corn starch
Step Five- Making a shopping list
Read through your menu and make a list of everything that you will need to make it happen. Then go through the list and cross of any items that you already have or don't want and add any extras that you may need. If you are careful and shop the sales, you can buy everything needed for this menu for about $200.
Meat
3 whole chickens (freeze at least one right away for later in the month)
2, 3-4 pound beef roasts [whatever is cheapest] (transfer to freezer bags & freeze)
1 small pork roast (1 ½ - 2 lb) (transfer to freezer bag & freeze)
10-12 lbs hamburger (freeze in 1 lb packages)
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (transfer to freezer bags & freeze)
Produce- (Here are some of the things that we like best but we usually get most our produce from Bountiful Baskets. This allows us to spend as little as $16/week in produce. I usually just change my menu to fit what I get in my baskets. It's not hard if I already have a basic idea of what I want to make- usually just means changing a side dish.)
5 lb Apples
4 lb Bananas
2 lb Berries
2-4 lb Broccoli
2 heads Cabbage
3-5 lb Carrots
2 bunches Celery
6 lb Corn
1-3 lb Grapes
4 lb Green beans
1 bunch Green onions
2-3 heads Lettuce
1-2 lb Mushrooms
5 lb Onions
5 lb Oranges
5-10 lb Potatoes [Russet]]
10 lb Potatoes [red] (or just add more Russet potatoes)
5-6 large Tomatoes
Any other fruit or vegetable you desire such as:
Avocado, Sprouts, Spinach, Lemon, Lime, Snap Peas, Asparagus, Peaches, Pears, Melon, Winter Squash, Summer Squash, Cilantro, Garlic
Canned - I treat almost everything on this list as optional. I've found that it's so much cheaper and healthier to just use fresh fruits and vegetables, especially with Bountiful Baskets, and make other things from scratch such as cream soups. This will, however, help you to make all the recipes on this menu in a pinch as well as give you some extra side and/or breakfast options.
3 whole chickens (freeze at least one right away for later in the month)
2, 3-4 pound beef roasts [whatever is cheapest] (transfer to freezer bags & freeze)
1 small pork roast (1 ½ - 2 lb) (transfer to freezer bag & freeze)
10-12 lbs hamburger (freeze in 1 lb packages)
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (transfer to freezer bags & freeze)
Produce- (Here are some of the things that we like best but we usually get most our produce from Bountiful Baskets. This allows us to spend as little as $16/week in produce. I usually just change my menu to fit what I get in my baskets. It's not hard if I already have a basic idea of what I want to make- usually just means changing a side dish.)
5 lb Apples
4 lb Bananas
2 lb Berries
2-4 lb Broccoli
2 heads Cabbage
3-5 lb Carrots
2 bunches Celery
6 lb Corn
1-3 lb Grapes
4 lb Green beans
1 bunch Green onions
2-3 heads Lettuce
1-2 lb Mushrooms
5 lb Onions
5 lb Oranges
5-10 lb Potatoes [Russet]]
10 lb Potatoes [red] (or just add more Russet potatoes)
5-6 large Tomatoes
Any other fruit or vegetable you desire such as:
Avocado, Sprouts, Spinach, Lemon, Lime, Snap Peas, Asparagus, Peaches, Pears, Melon, Winter Squash, Summer Squash, Cilantro, Garlic
Canned - I treat almost everything on this list as optional. I've found that it's so much cheaper and healthier to just use fresh fruits and vegetables, especially with Bountiful Baskets, and make other things from scratch such as cream soups. This will, however, help you to make all the recipes on this menu in a pinch as well as give you some extra side and/or breakfast options.
Mandarin Oranges 10 cans (8 oz)
Pineapple tidbits 3 cans (15 oz)
Mushroom stems & pieces 8-10 cans (8 oz)
Cream of Chicken soup 9 cans (10 oz)
(try using this recipe instead)
Salsa 32 ounces
Beans (kidney) 4 (15 oz) cans
Beans (black) 4 (15 oz) cans
Beans (chili) 2 (15oz) cans
or small red beans if using dry (1 lb)
Mayonnaise 16 oz
Mustard 1 bottle
Hot sauce 1 bottle
Tomato Sauce 28 (8oz) cans
Tomato soup 2 cans
Diced Tomatoes 10 cans (15 oz)
Green beans (if not using fresh/frozen) 3 cans (15 oz)
Corn (if not using fresh/frozen) 7 cans (15 oz)
Dry
Spaghetti Noodles 3 lb
Macaroni Noodles 1 lb
Egg Noodles 2 lb
Lasagna Noodles (or use this recipe) 1 lb
Flavored Gelatin 5 small boxes
Small Red Beans (if not using canned) 1 lb
Black Beans (if not using canned) 2 lb
Kidney Beans (if not using canned) 2 lb
Dry bread crumbs or Stuffing Mix
Tortilla chips
Ranch dressing mix (click here for recipe)
Dairy
3-4 (16oz) Sour cream
1-4 (16oz) Cottage cheese
4-6 gal Milk
4 lb (according to taste) Cheese [cheddar]
1 lb Cheese [Parmesan]
1.5 lb Cheese [ Mozzarella]
2 16 oz blocks Cream Cheese (optional)
2 lb Butter
64 oz Plain Yogurt
Staples You shouldn't have to buy all of these every month. Most of these items are much cheaper to buy in bulk. Plan to buy one or two of these bulk items from this list each month to keep your pantry stocked.
Yeast (Usually cheapest to buy in 1 lb compressed block)
Bread Flour
Flour
Brown Sugar
Corn meal
Baking powder
Baking soda
Pinto Beans 2 lb
Rice (white or brown) 2 lb
Oil (olive, or vegetable)
Dry Milk
Chicken Bouillon or soup base
Corn starch
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