Freezer Meals + Regular Meals + Stockup
Meal List: (There are two sections this month! One for meals I’m freezing and one for meals we’re actually eating this month)
It’s a lot of food. Probably three times what I usually cook. But most of it went in the freezer. I feel pretty good about that!
List 1 – what we ate (enough food here for two adults and three little children):
1. Spaghetti and Meatballs
2. Hamburgers
3. Spinach phyllo bundles with baked mac and cheese (didn’t go together and the phyllo bundles were way too much work. Oh well!)
4. Soup from freezer with fresh bread
5. Salmon, Jasmine rice, salad
6. Steak, potatoes, roasted veggies
7. Pizza with sausage, pepperoni, pineapple (the things I already had)
8. Pork roast sandwiches
9. Cheese potato and ham casserole
10. Stir fry (onions, broccoli, peas with a soy sauce and ginger sauce)
11. Salad
12. Pita bread with hummus and greek salad
13. Chicken pot pie
14. Tuna melts
List 2 – what I froze:
(3) Lasagnas
(3) White Cheese Chicken Lasagnas (used uncooked noodles and a tiny bit extra sauce)
(3) batches of Black Bean and Rice Enchiladas
(3) Chicken Pot Pies
(3) Beef Pot Pies (but with sliced beef roast and beef broth)
(1) batch of Baked Potato Soup
(2) batches of Meatballs – made 5 bags of 28 meatballs
(2) batches of Pioneer Woman Meatballs and Sauce
(1) batch of White Chili
(2) batches of Cincinatti Chili
TOTAL SPENDING: $490.27
Ouch. After seven years of averaging about $200ish a month on groceries, this was a big bust! I’m really happy with the things I purchased this month, though. Next month (May 20-April 16th – our next four-week cycle), we are eating beans and rice. That should decrease our grocery expenses by quite a bit. I wonder what my average spending per month will be on groceries by the end of the year? I’m thrilled that it’s almost berry season and that our garden just started producing enough lettuce and spinach and radishes for semi-regular salads. Yay!
Grocery Detail, for the obsessive among us. Like me.:
Grocery Cycle 04/22/2012-05/19/2012 (4 weeks)
$27.78 – Fred Meyer – 04/22/2012
$7.50 – Shredded Cheese – 3 lbs.
$2.50 – Mozzarella Cheese – 1 lb.
$2.99 – Bread – 2 loaves
$3.98 – Yogurt – 2 big tubs
$2.00 – Canned tomatoes – 4 cans
$3.75 – Milk – 1.5 gallons
$2.11 – Bananas – 3.29 lbs.
$2.95 – Apples – 3.35 lbs.
$219.58 – Winco – 04/24/2012
7.80 – Bread – 5 loaves
1.48 – Ketchup
8.00 – Lasagna (weird – pasta prices are up?) – 4 lbs.
3.12 – Tomato paste – 48 oz. (that’s 4 big cans)
.98 – BBQ Sauce
3.80 – Diced tomatoes – 112 oz. (that’s 4 big cans)
1.90 – Whole tomatoes – 56 oz.
4.44 – Crushed tomatoes – 56 oz. (no cheap brand… weird again)
2.60 – Chicken broth – 58 oz. (just in case the homemade frozen stuff runs out)
1.95 – Roasted red peppers
9.08 – Applesauce – 4 jars
2.54 – Whole wheat flour – 5 lbs.
2.47 – White flour – 5 lbs.
14.24 – Cottage cheese – 8 lbs.
2.60 – Beef broth – 58 oz.
3.36 – Sour cream – 2 lbs.
1.68 – Jelly, grape
3.98 – Pace Salsa – the big container
3.48 – Jelly, strawberry
3.48 – Jelly, berry
2.96 – eggs -2 1/2 dozen
2.61 – Powdered sugar – 3 lbs.
1.98 – Parmesan cheese
2.49 – Frozen spinach – 30 oz.
16.80 – Yogurt – 10 big tubs
4.98 – Tortillas – 60 medium flour tortillas
3.58 – Half & Half – half gallon (part for cooking, part for ice cream)
2.27 – Sugar – 4 lbs
3.48 – Brown Sugar – 4 lbs.
2.58 – Milk – 1 gallon
.88 – Cream of Chicken
5.40 – Orange Juice (frozen) – 5 containers
4.90 – Apple Juice (frozen) – 5 containers
3.09 – Chocolate chips (did I really just pay that much for one bag??)
.71 – Tomatoes, fresh – 1.04 lbs.
2.21 – Apples, fuji – 2.25 lbs.
2.29 – Apples, jonagold – 2.34 lbs.
.61 – Zucchini – .78
.98 – Carrots – 2 lbs.
1.48 – Lettuce, head
1.78 – Whipping cream – pint
1.33 – Banana, 2.3 lbs.
11.80 – Mozzarella Cheese – 4 lbs.
1.68 – Spinach, bag
2.04 – Bell peppers, green – 3
9.96 – Cheddar cheese – 4 lbs.
.98 – Peas, frozen
1.44 – Cucumbers – 3
5.96 – Sausage, hot – 2 lbs.
9.96 – Cheddar cheese, different brand – 4 lbs.
.38 – Cilantro, fresh
5.97 – Almonds, raw – 1.5 lbs.
1.76 – Broccoli, raw – 1.8 lbs.
1.09 – bulk cereal – .58 lbs.
1.67 – bulk cereal – .92 lbs.
2.42 – Oats – 4.04 lbs.
.47 – Raisins for a car treat – .14 lbs.
2.38 – Potatoes – 10 lbs.
2.96 – Onions – 10 lbs.
4.12 – Asparagus that I DID NOT BUY… (but got charged for)
$103.00 – Safeway – 04/25/2012
3.59 – Cereal (not what I usually buy)
3.18 – Dry beans (thought I already had them – should have bought from Winco. Still much cheaper than canned)
5.55 – pasta (spaghetti and orzo) – 5 lbs.
89.82 – Hamburger – 33 lbs. of 93% lean at 2.69/lb
$28.60 – Fred Meyer – 04/30/2012
3.74 – Applesauce, 2 tubs
3.38 – Canned tomatoes, 2 big cans (whole and crushed)
2.19 – Mayonaisse
5.49 – Brown Rice Flour (big Bob’s Red Mill bag… 3 lbs?)
8.00 – Bread, 6 loaves
4.00 – Milk, 2 gallons
1.80 – Bananas
$11.10 – Fred Meyer – 05/06/12
1.19 – onions
3.81 – Apples
2.62 – bananas
1.19 – celery
2.29 – carrots
$64.41 – Fred Meyer – 05/13/12
10.00 – Butter – 6 lbs.
16.00 – Ice cream – eight tubs of Breyers
7.98 – Tillamook Cheddar – 4 lbs.
2.65 – Bananas – 4.14 lbs.
3.37 – Capri Sun 100% juice packs
3.75 – Milk – 1 1/2 gallons
2.50 – Fish crackers – 2 little bags
2.79 – Fuji apples – 3.59 lbs.
1.45 – Gala apples – 1.87 lbs.
6.40 – Pasta – 8 lbs.
4.16 – Parmesan cheese – 2 containers
3.75 – Bread – 3 loaves
$35.80 – Zaycon Foods – 05/18/2012
35.80 – Chicken fingers, $1.79/lb – 20 lbs.