Before I launch into a month of tracking how much I spend on a month's worth of groceries, I am getting a head-start now at cooking from my pantry. Yesterday, I took inventory of what I have in our pantry, freezer and fridge, and typed all the ingredients into supercook.com. I love that website! Once all my ingredients are on the list, it searches recipes all over the internet and tells me all the stuff I can make. So easy to use, and it saves me money by delaying my trips to the grocery store. It also came in handy when we were planning to leave town on vacation, and will be very helpful when we prepare to move at the end of this year.
Our pantry has a hodge podge of ingredients, because since May 29, we've either been traveling (total days gone this summer = 31) or cooking theme weeks! In between our three family trips, we chose a different cuisine and planned our entire menu that week around it. One was Mexican, the next was Asian, and the latest was Italian. There were a few special ingredients purchased for each one which weren't all used up. Also, I've made at least two trips in the last 2 months to take advantage of combined sales with coupons.
From all that, I came up with a list of 8 things I can make from what we have on hand, so I have a week's worth of dinners planned already. Those ideas go on a list on a piece of scratch paper onto my fridge. My first shopping trip in August will probably be small, just milk and fresh fruit. I have plenty of breakfast cereal and bagels on hand, and some waffle mix. I have two loaves of bread in the freezer for sandwiches for lunch, although we sometimes have leftovers from the last night's dinner. My garden is currently producing onions, green beans, swiss chard and zucchini plus basil, oregano, cilantro and parsley. Our pantry/fridge/freezer includes:
alfredo sauce
allspice
american cheese
applesauce
bacon
bagels
baking powder
baking soda
balsamic vinegar
banana
barbecue sauce
basil
bay leaf
beef steak
beef stock
bread
breadcrumb
brown sugar
brussel sprout
butter
canned tuna
canola oil
carrot
cayenne pepper
celery
chard
chicken
chicken soup
chicken stock
chiles
chili beans
chili flake
chili pepper
chipotle chiles
chow mein noodles
cilantro
cocoa
coconut
coconut oil
cooking spray
cooking wine
corn
corn syrup
cornstarch
cracker
cranberries
cream cheese
cumin
dijon mustard
Dream Whip mix
Easy Mac
eggs
flour
frozen pizza
fruit juice
garlic
garlic powder
graham cracker
green beans
grits
honey
hot dog
italian seasoning
jelly
kamut
ketchup
lemon
lettuce
lime
maple syrup
margarine
marshmallow
mayonnaise
milk
mozzarella cheese
mustard
nutmeg
oat
oatmeal
olive oil
onion
onion powder
onion soup
oregano
paprika
Parmesan cheese
parsley
pasta
peanut bars (Nature Valley)
peanut butter
peas
pepperoni
Philidelphia cooking cream (2 pkgs)
pickles
pie filling(cherry)
popcorn
powdered sugar
prunes
pumpkin
raisin
ranch dressing
red pepper flake
red wine
refried beans
relish
rice
rice vinegar
roasted red peppers
sage
salami
salsa
sausage
sesame oil
shortening
shrimp
sour cream
soy sauce
suddenly salad mix
sunflower seed
syrup
taco sauce
taco seasoning
thyme
tomato
tomato paste
tomato sauce
tuna helper
tuna
Uncle Ben's rice pouch
vanilla
vegetable oil
vegetable shortening
vinegar
wine vinegar
Worcestershire
zucchini
A week from now, we'll see what's left!
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