I've been having a terrible time getting meals together and shopping since I had my last little munchkin. We're be living on milk and bread too much from Costco, with a pizza thrown in for good measure. I've been trying to get an idea of how much food I need to buy in bulk per month and found this list, with most of the stuff I need...although looking at it this is what we'd go thru in a week easily. We're still waiting on the food stamps...we got some emergency funds in February, and hubby went to see the supervisor a couple of weeks ago to see why we still don't have them. I really don't know what's going on, but she put another month on our card. Each case worker has around 1,500 applicants to work thru, how crazy is that. I don't know if we'll get any more, we'll see. Hopefully hubby will have some work, he's had a bit here and there, and we've had good tax returns, we were a couple of years behind. He had a job for a supervisor with a friends site in the city, but that hasn't started yet.
I'm finding the womans day monthly menus great too, I just tweak them for our needs.
http://www.womansday.com/Articles/Food/Month-of-Menus!
http://www.byui.edu/ce/assets/documents/conferences_homeandfamily_handout_lindsey-dewey_groceryList1_2010.pdf
http://www.familieswithpurpose.com/family_meal_planning_grocerylist.pdf
Here is the list for us:
1 lrg Oatmeal
1 bag Grits
10lbs Flour (5lbs All-Purpose and 5lbs Whole Wheat)
10lbs Sugar
2 lb Brown Sugar
5lb Potatoes
5 bags frozen veggies
3 bags frozen broccoli
6 cans tomato sauce
8 cans tomato paste
6 cans diced tomatoes
10 pkgs raman noodles
2 bags dried beans
6 cans beans
4 lbs spaghetti pasta
1 lb elbow pasta
2 bags egg noodles
6 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 tub margarine
1 lb butter
3 doz eggs
4 gallons milk
1 dry milk (last 2 months)
4 gallons Apple Juice
5 lbs various cheeses
2 lrg containers vanilla yogurt
1 lb lunch meat
1 bag popping corn
3 boxes Graham Crackers
2 boxes Saltines
1 jar Peanut Butter
1 jar Simply Fruit Grape spread
1 bag Choc Chips
1 box Family Size Tea Bags
10 pkgs flavored drink mix
3 boxes instant pudding
2 boxes Pancake/Waffle Mix
1 Pancake Syrup
1 Lrg bag Dog Food
Meats I buy when I find Manager's Specials and Markdowns so I never really pre-plan. Generally I have a good freezer selection of meat. I want to limit myself to $40 per month of fresh meat. Things I look for marked down are:
whole chickens
chicken thighs
chicken breasts
Beef Roasts
Top/Chuck Roasts to cut into stew meat
Ground Turkey
Sweet Italian Sausage
Ground Beef
Pork Butts
Bacon
All of this based on our current prices runs right at $200/month. We like soups/stews, casseroles, pasta meals and baked potato dinners. And, since we homeschool all our meals are at home. With this list I should be able to add another $50 per month for misc (spices, baking needs etc as needed) or a special treat here or there. And then another $50 for diapers and HBA items. That should get me to $300!
http://www.frugalvillage.com/forums/kitchen-basics/92606-monthly-grocery-list.html
Sat 1st – Salmon en croute with red pesto, roasted sweet potato, asparagus, baby corn, carrots
[Salmon fillets spread with red pesto and wrapped in filo pastry]
Sun 2nd – Falafels, pitta breads, salad
[First attempt at these – basing mine on an Ainsley Harriot recipe]
Mon 3rd – Vegetable biryani
[Usually make this with prawns but trying a veggie version this time – onion, garlic, carrots, peas, green lentils, tinned tomatoes, curry paste, basmati rice, veg stock made from stock cube]
Tues 4th – Greek salad frittata, jacket potato, salad
[Another new recipe, can’t remember what inspired it now! Red onion, feta cheese, eggs, olives, tomatoes, oregano]
Wed 5th – Chilli con carne pie, carrots
[Chilli con carne base already in freezer, frozen peas to be added to base, then top with mashed potato with tinned sweetcorn mixed in and some grated cheddar on top]
Thu 6th – Pasta with spicy tomato sauce, roasted peppers, capers, olives and fennel seeds
[Peppers roasted in oven with a sprinkling of fennel seeds, then added to cooked pasta along with homemade spicy tomato pasta sauce, some olives and some capers]
Fri 7th – Chicken fajitas
[Chicken breasts, tortilla wraps, Chicken Tonight fajita paste, mixed peppers, onion]
Sat 8th – Sausage and pea risotto
[Grilled sausages chopped and added to fried onion and garlic, along with frozen peas, rice, chicken stock made from stock cube, oregano, chilli flakes and Worcestershire sauce…if I’ve got any in the cupboard I sometimes add sundried tomatoes to this]
Sun 9th – Caramelized onion soup, garlic bread
[Been bumping this on and off my menu plans for months now, but WILL make it this month! Onions, garlic, stock, herbs, little bit of sugar to encourage the onions )
Mon 10th – Tuna and mushroom pasta bake
[Cooked pasta mixed with tinned tuna, chopped fresh mushrooms, tin of low fat condensed mushroom soup, herbs, chilli flakes and a drop of water, then topped with grated cheese]
Tues 11th – Lentil soup, pumpkin bread, cheese
[An old favourite – onion, carrots, celery, red lentils, veg stock, peppercorns and herbs]
Wed 12th – Salmon with fennel, mash, broccoli, carrots
[Another new experiment…thought I’d bake some salmon fillets topped with fennel seeds and maybe a little dab of butter, then served with mashed potato with stir-fried fresh fennel added to it, and the other veg listed]
Thu 13th – Chickpea and spinach curry, naan bread
[Chickpeas, homemade tomato sauce, spinach, curry paste, mustard seeds, cardamom pods, ground coriander, veg stock, will get OH to rustle up some home made naan bread!]
Fri 14th – Spaghetti Bolognese
[Another old favourite! Beef mince, onions, garlic, celery, carrot, mushrooms, streaky bacon, tinned tomatoes, beef stock made from stock cube), oregano, bay leaves and Worcestershire sauce]
Sat 15th – Off to best friend's hen do – Pizza for OH
Sun 16th – Mushroom and spinach risotto
[Another new dish to try – onion, garlic, mushrooms, spinach, chilli flakes, rice, veg stock, herbs]
Mon 17th – Bacon and roasted pepper tortilla, salad
[Fancy omelette type thing really! Fry bacon and onion in large frying pan, then sliced cooked potatoes, roasted pepper pieces and herbs, then add beaten egg and cook until egg is nearly set on top…finish under the grill making sure frying pan handle is not directly under the heat…not that I would do a thing like that of course…]
Tues 18th – Chorizo and chickpea soup, crusty bread
[An unusual but tasty soup, very filling! Fry onion and chorizo…fat from chorizo should be sufficient to cook these in…add chickpeas, chopped savoy cabbage, chicken or veg stock, chilli and herbs…simmer for a bit and serve with some nice crusty bread to dip in]
Wed 19th – Cheese and red bean pie
[Another pie without a flake of pastry in sight! A base of onion, garlic, red kidney beans, chilli, and homemade tomato sauce, topped with a mashed potato and grated cheddar…very simple, cheap and very tasty!]
Thu 20th – Salmon with garlic, ginger and chilli, roasted sweet potato, broccoli, carrots
[Salmon fillets topped with crushed garlic, grated fresh ginger and dried chilli flakes and roasted in oven wrapped in foil]
Fri 21st – Spanish chicken risotto
[A special request from OH…red onion, garlic, chicken, chorizo, peppers, olives, herbs, rice and chicken stock]
Sat 22nd – Moussaka, salad
[Made with Bolognese sauce as I don’t like lamb]
Sun 23rd – Chicken en croute with red pesto, potato gratin, courgettes, braised celery
[Using up some more of that filo pastry]
Mon 24th – Carrot and coriander soup, bread, cheese
[Can’t beat a bowl of homemade soup can you? )
Tues 25th – Cottage pie, brussel sprouts, swede
[Made with Bolognese sauce, tin of baked beans on the bottom, then mashed potato on the top]
Wed 26th – Cauliflower and green bean curry, rice
[Cauliflower, green beans, homemade tomato sauce, curry paste, mustard seeds, cardamom pods, ground coriander, veg stock]
Thu 27th – Rustic pasta
[Another of OH’s favourites – grilled sausages added to homemade tomato sauce along with frozen peas, and then mixed into cooked pasta]
Fri 28th – Steaks, homemade potato wedges, salad
[OH’s birthday so using the last of the lovely sirloin steak we bought back from Devon with us at Christmas]
Sat 29th – Have left this day blank for now as OH’s family are coming for the day – there is talk of a big picnic but will make firmer plans nearer the time
Sun 30th – Chickpea enchiladas
[Chickpeas, homemade tomato sauce, cumin seeds and chilli flakes, spooned into tortilla wraps which are then rolled up and popped into a baking dish, top with some grated cheddar and bung in oven until cheese is melted and browning a little]
Mon 31st – Toasted sandwiches, salad
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