Eating out of the Freezer/Pantry for January

[Sadie22]

We are off to a good start with this for January. The last two Sundays, I made a dinner menu for the week and hung it up in the kitchen, using freezer and pantry items mostly. I went to the grocery store for perishables only. It feels great to be using up what we already have. If I can just keep DH out of the grocery store for the month, we'll be in great shape (he likes to grocery shop to stock up on specials, which defeats my effort to clean out the food we have)!

As long as you rotate your stock, you should be fine. Congratulations on having a husband who knows to shop the loss leaders and stock up.

 

[Jerseymomof2]

UGH I failed! I tried not to shop but the deals were just too good this week.
Maybe next week sales will stink and I can resist buying.

 

[aclov]

We got snowed in for 2 days and DH was very nervous about what we were going to eat. So I went through the fridge and pantry - we both liked what we prepared!

 

[Deffenm]

I don't have a huge stock in the freezer or pantry but one of my goals for 2014 is to cut my grocery budget. I would love to join in to help keep myself accountable to stick to my budget and hopefully reduce it. I have a budget of $600 for January. I would love to get my budget to $450 or below. That extra $150 month would help pay for trips to WDW.

I coupon and have started planning meals. I think meal planning is going to be really helpful. We are a family of 5 plus one furbaby.

So far this month I have spent $156 out of the $600 budget.

 

[100AcreWood]

UGH I failed! I tried not to shop but the deals were just too good this week.
Maybe next week sales will stink and I can resist buying.

That's always my downfall! I LOVE A GOOD SALE!

 

[Arkansan]

Yes please! I have some overripe bananas too and was thinking about using the yogurt and bananas for banana walnut muffins. Banana cupcakes would be even better.

Sorry! I just saw this today. I believe this recipe was originally printed in "Cooking Light." I've had it for years. It makes 12 cupcakes and I usually double it.


Cupcakes:

3/4 c. Granulated sugar, divided
1 ripe, mashed banana
1/4 c. Butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
2 large eggs
1 c. All-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 c. Plain, fat-free yogurt

Preheat oven to 350* F. Combine 1/4 c. Sugar and banana; set aside.
Beat 1/2 c. Sugar, butter, and vanilla at med. speed until we'll blended. (Approx. 3 min.). Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana mixture to sugar mixture, beating well. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternating with yogurt, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix after each addition. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups lined with paper liners. Bake for25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool and frost.


Frosting:

1 3/4 c. Powdered sugar
1/2 c. (4 oz) reduced fat cream cheese, chilled
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp finely chopped walnuts, toasted (optional)


Beat the powdered sugar, chilled cream cheese, and vanilla at medium speed until just blended. (Do not overbeat.). Spread frosting over cooled cupcakes and sprinkle with toasted walnuts if desired.

 

[100AcreWood]

How is everyone doing this week? I'm feeling better about the end of my week since I've stayed out of stores and only spent $16.10 at the grocery store on produce.

I'm planning to work on my menu plan for this week tonight. I just need to go through the freezer to see what's next.

 

[100AcreWood]

I only spent $60 in groceries in the last 7 days. That's pretty good for us.

 

[Deffenm]

I am still on budget. I have $251.59 left in my budget however I will need to buy food this weekend and next so hopefully I can make to Feb. 1st and stay within my budget.

 

[100AcreWood]

I am still on budget. I have $251.59 left in my budget however I will need to buy food this weekend and next so hopefully I can make to Feb. 1st and stay within my budget.

That's really good. Don't you LOVE saving money?

I can see the bottom of my deep freezer now.

 

[AquaDame]

We spent more than intended on our vacation over the holidays and immediately started doing this when we got home! Glad we aren't alone!

So far we've taken down some frozen tamales, made-ahead burger patties, pork and leek dumplings, turkey meatballs and the lone corn dog from the freezer! Last night we pulled the salmon and tomorrow is the frozen udon we've had around for a year and never got to frying up with a recipe I had clipped! Our freezer was getting stuffed!

I've also made it a goal to get through our quarter of beef in the recommended six months. Last time it took us almost a year but having a good reason to eat at home never hurt anyone!

 

[redrosesix]

Just saw this... I should be doing this. The fridge is full, the freezer is full and the cupboards are so full I can't get any more in them. So why was I at the grocery store at all today? Plus we'll be in WDW beginning of Feb for almost 3 weeks. So no food needed for then...

Our big culprit is baking stuff -- esp partly full containers of stuff we bought for special recipes. Guess it's time to get creative and start baking at home instead of buying out

 

[dpswift]

I have done somewhat well with this challenge. I have bought very little just the basics and a few great sales.

I have gotten several things out of the freezer and cupboard. I still have a ways to go. DH is having a fit about the cupboards being so full.

 

[Deffenm]

Yahoo I am so excited. My budget for Jan was $600. I have spent 593.48. I have no plans to buy any more groceries until Feb. 1st. My ultimate goal is to get my grocery budget to less than $400 a month but I am very happy that I stuck to my budget.

We are a family of 5 (2 are teenage boys). The kids and I take lunches to school/work almost everyday. I coupon, plan menu, and watch sales. I am going to try to start making more things from scratch like granola bars to see if that will help reduce our bill. Are there any other tips you can share to help me reduce our grocery bill? I garden in the summer so that helps with fresh produce. I am going to try to can strawberry and cherry jam this year as well as we have a cherry tree that produces a ton of cherries. You can only eat so many cherry pies and cobblers.

 

[100AcreWood]

Yahoo I am so excited. My budget for Jan was $600. I have spent 593.48. I have no plans to buy any more groceries until Feb. 1st. My ultimate goal is to get my grocery budget to less than $400 a month but I am very happy that I stuck to my budget.

We are a family of 5 (2 are teenage boys). The kids and I take lunches to school/work almost everyday. I coupon, plan menu, and watch sales. I am going to try to start making more things from scratch like granola bars to see if that will help reduce our bill. Are there any other tips you can share to help me reduce our grocery bill? I garden in the summer so that helps with fresh produce. I am going to try to can strawberry and cherry jam this year as well as we have a cherry tree that produces a ton of cherries. You can only eat so many cherry pies and cobblers.

Nice! I would love to get our budget down to $400 too but my dh already makes fun of how cheap I am. I don't have any tips other than the ones you have already mentioned. I garden too! But my dh says the money I spend in garden soil doesn't make it cash flow.

 

[writermommy6]

We're a family of six along with four furbabies so $600 is my budget now. We are sort of eating out of our pantry and freezer. I cleaned out and organized both refrigerators and the deep freezer. We issued our own eating out freeze so I have been baking more and cooking large pots of soup, chili, making ahead hamburgers and adding beans to whatever I can. The fresh veggies are being juiced, put into salads, sauteed, fried, or prepped for freezing.

I found a place that is given foods from places like Publix and Trader Joe's that is getting ready to expire or fruits and veggies that are near their "sell by", looking wilted, etc. I get two huge boxes for $15 and all I have to do is spend the next day or so cooking to make the best use out of them.

I am actually stocking up now so that we can do a eating out of the freezer/pantry closer to the last half of the year when the holidays take more of our budget.

 

[pocomom]

I hope everyone did well! We were away for part of the month, but did a good job of using up things in our pantry and freezer.
This week I made calzones utilizing some ricotta I had gotten on sale way back when, frozen spinach from our garden and other stuff on hand.
I made a BIG batch of veggie stock from veggie bits I've been saving in the freezer, and things getting past their prime. I roast them first, deglaze with leftover wine, then boil them in the stock pot and strain.
I made a super easy and amazingly delish pear tart, using puff pastry dough in the freezer, defrosted it, spread it out flat and roll up edges slightly to contain filling. Heat up apricot preserves (maybe about 1/4 of the jar) with a bit of water to make easier to spread ( I did it in the microwave) spread out on the pastry dough, add thinly sliced pears (we used 2 pears) top with remaining preserves and bake until done. New family favorite!
Tonight I'm doing a twist on this http://www.chow.com/recipes/29347-slow-cooker-root-vegetable-stew .
I cleaned out our fridge and took note of dates on our condiments, etc. Several are getting relatively close, so I'll be making sure to try to use them up. I've been making use of a menu board too, which I'm really enjoying. Makes dinner a lot easier knowing what I am going to make a week or so in advance, and anything we end up not making I just push to the next available day. Really cut down on fresh produce going bad before we use it.


I'll be still working on cooking down our pantry+freezer for Feb,

 

[momto1]

I just saw this thread today and have been doing this out of necessity this month. I have some lingering medical bills to pay off from the fall and dh just had to have an unplanned surgery and long term recovery when we returned from Disney. So...more bills!! We have plenty in our freezers and pantry t be used up. I am only buying produce, dairy and some beverages and have been right at $50 per week. I will keep doing this into February!
Lori

 

[lulu2]

I'm in! I'm looking forward to starting in Feb. need to make a plan and stick to it. I have a good stockpile so should do fine. I think if I post here I will be more accountable

 

[100AcreWood]

Well it's the end of January and I spent just under $400 on groceries this month. Not the savings I was hoping for, but still great for our family of 5! Even with couponing it's amazing how much money we spend on groceries!

I'm still eating out of the pantry and freezer. I have enough to last us through mid-February.