Meal Planning-down and dirty/do you realy know what you have on hand and can make?

[barkley]

the recent threads on meal planning got me thinking. i know off hand when planning meals what items i generaly have on hand or have recently bought so i can select/rule out a particular recipie. but then i got to thinking-what do i REALY have on hand, and what are all the options for meals i might not initiatly think of.

so yesterday i went head to head with the fridge, big freezer, pantry and all the kitchen cabinets. i went through and started listing everything (a side benefit was refilling the spice jars and figuring out which spices i need to restock). then i sat down and listed meals into 3 categories-breakfast/lunches or snacks/dinners, just started listing out what i could make from just what was on hand.

by looking at it from an ingredient standpoint (and being hungry at the time cuz i skipped breakfast) made me think about stuff i've made in the past but maybe had'nt recently because it did'nt occur to me i realy had all i needed on hand.

dinner was'nt a huge surprise-i think that's because most of us moms (or dads who cook) tend to think of meal planning most in this arena, so we know more of what we have on hand.

snacks/lunches were a bigger surpise-when i sat down and listed all the different types of sandwiches that could be made, the quick microwavable stuff on hand, the things the kids never think to grab but inhale when it's offered (microwave popcorn/kettlecorn) or could make in minutes but don't realize that by combo'ing whats right in front of them they can (nachos-freaking nachos which they love, we always have shredded cheese, we've got canned refried beans, we've got salsa-even little cans of sliced olives, bagle pizzas-again with the cheese, we've got jarred pizza sauce and canned mushrooms) it boggled my mind.

the biggest surprise though-breakfast foods. when i sat down and looked at everything we've got in this house and started thinking about it, we could open a freaking ihop. and it's not stuff that most people i know don't have-it's just sitting down and figuring it out. when i did i realized we have the ingredients for-

eggs

omletts (cheese, onion, canned mushrooms, tomatos, canned ortegas, canned chili, salsa-and a variety of breakfast meats)

"breakfast meats"-sausage, bacon, cornbeef hash

potatos (which can be done into hashbrown or country style)

waffles & pancakes (use the same mix)-plus i realized i have those cans of fruit for pies that can be used to make fruit topped ones + the can of whipping cream in the fridge.

french toast (if you've got bread, eggs and milk you're there)

bisquit & gravy (we always have a can of pop and fresh on hand and if you've got milk, flour and sausage it's fast to make gravy)

bagles and cream cheese

toast (and butter, or jam, or peanut butter or cinnamon)

fruit (canned or fresh)/yogurt

cerals-cold, instant oatmeal or grits

then i remembered what was in the baking cabinet-and my list got increased by coffee cake, muffins and scones.


i ended up making what the family is now referring to as "mom's psycho food lists"-but they detail out what we've have and i told them i no longer want to hear "i'm starving but there's nothing to eat". we have way more to eat than any of us realized.


SO-anyone else ever do an entire listing and realy look at what you can make with it? if not think of it as a 'top chef' challange-instead of thinking about the recipie and finding the ingredients to suit it, look to the ingredients and see what you can make with it.


anyone who tries it-post and let us know what you discovered

 

[lovemygoofy]

Every couple of months I do an empty the pantry week or two. I hate seeing so much stuff in there and seem to just add more to it. It's the same with the fridge and the freezer.

I will buy the basics like milk some fresh fruit/veggies and bread.

Starting that Sunday I make a list of every bit of food in the house and make my menu from it. We have all the meals for at least a week from just this.

I love seeing my pantry full but I hate that most of it wasn't being used because I just brought in more stuff that was on sale, knew we would use at some point, or bought for a specific meal.

Back when money was really tight and I cared alot more, boy that just sounds bad doesn't it? lol Anyways I would list on the outside of every pantry/cabinet door what was inside on the shelves. I kept a running list on my fridge about all fresh and frozen stuff and then on my menu calendar I would keep a running list of what I needed when it was time to grocery shop.

 

[MIGrandma]

I cleaned out my pantry last winter and was amazed at the outdated stuff I found lurking in the back. I'm totally ashamed to admit it but I even found a bottle of French dressing that had turned black, and was 7 years outdated!!

I threw out all the outdated stuff and then made "rows" in the pantry. Like, 4 cans of tomato soup with the oldest date in the front. 4 cans of tomato paste, 4 cans of cream-of-mushroom soup, etc. etc. And when I get down to 1 can I buy 3 more, and put them in the pantry behind the oldest one that is left. Same with boxed stuff like mac & cheese, oldest stuff in front with new behind and don't buy more until down to the last box. That system has worked out great for me.

As far as cooking goes, I tend to go through my recipe box and see what I want to make and then go to the pantry and see what ingredients I already have, and write down what I still need to buy.

It's only DH and myself now, but I do keep supplies on hand for bigger meals just in case the power goes out during the winter and our kids/grandkids have to spend a night or two with us (we have a generator). I like to keep stuff on hand at all times to make big pots of spaghetti/meat sauce, goulash, chili, and breakfast stuff like eggs, bacon, pancake mix, stuff for French toast, etc.