I know it can be baffling how I might manage to feed 5 of us, daily, for a month, when it appears that I could not have possibly purchased enough variety of ingredients.
Below, is a recap of how I used those ingredients (and others from the freezer/pantry) in meals for the month. These are the suppers I served over the course of the month. In addition, our breakfasts mostly consist of toast or muffins and milk, smoothies, oatmeal or granola and milk, and for some weekends, waffles or pancakes. Lunches are often peanut butter sandwiches, occasionally leftovers from a supper, or concocted casseroles and soups specifically made for lunch meals. I reserve the whole pieces of fruit, like apples, bananas and oranges primarily for to-go lunches, as they are tidily "packaged", and don't require a container or utensil to eat, as opposed to apple or rhubarb sauce or stewed plums. So, to last a month on 35 bananas and 11 apples (plus a few oranges from previous month) is feasible, if mostly using those fruits for weekday lunches. The nuts and seeds I buy are often used as an extra item in packed lunches, as I rarely buy those snacky foods like potato chips, crackers or pretzels.
Meat served as the "main event" at a supper only occurred 7 times in the month. I used cheese as the main protein source only 2 times (although I used it as a secondary protein source on several nights). I mention this because meat and cheese tend to be my more expensive ingredients, so I use both, modestly.
I used the corn tortillas for 7 suppers, and the tofu for 6 suppers. Pumpkin showed up in 11 of the suppers. Frozen spinach was used in 10 suppers. And canned tomatoes were used in some form or other in 14 suppers.
At the beginning of each month, I do a mental inventory of what I have a lot of, that I'd like to use up. Then as each week rolls around, I brainstorm various possibilities using those ingredients. I like good food, too. So one of the best ways to motivate me to cook every day is to think of something tasty to use the ingredients on hand. Hunger is the meal planning "method" that works for me!
Anyway, I just thought I'd put my shopping list together, with how I used the purchased items, so it would all make more sense to someone not living within a stones-throw of my pantry!
1-turkey and vegetables topped with biscuits
leftover pumpkin pie
2-ham (from freezer)
mashed potatoes (from freezer)
frozen green beans
3-homemade mushroom and black olive pizza (dough from freezer, quick sauce of tomato paste, water and dried seasonings)
vegetable medley of canned tomatoes, onions, frozen green beans and garlic powder
blackberry cobbler
4-veggie enchiladas
Spanish rice & black beans on the side
5-Fried rice, with spinach, mushrooms, peas, tofu and egg
Pumpkin-ham soup
Chocolate chip cookies
6-Black bean tacos
Tomato Florentine soup
Pumpkin pie
7-Black bean tacos
Oranges
Pumpkin pie
8-Pork roast with garlic and rosemary
Rosemary potatoes
Spinach and onions sauteed with bacon bits
Pumpkin pie
9-Fried rice (with eggs, peas, peanuts, onions, garlic), topped with a garlic and peanut sauce
Tofu and orange salad in a ginger-soy vinaigrette
10-Fried corn tortillas, topped with
refried beans, cheese, avocado, salsa and black olives
fiesta corn (frozen corn sauteed with onion, green pepper and chili powder)
oven-roasted canned tomatoes
11-baked chicken leg quarters
canned tomato, onion, garlic, green pepper and herb sauce
brown rice
pumpkin pie (from freezer)
12-Homemade wonton soup (yes, I made the wontons myself -- and this soup was so wonderful!)
Fruit salad of banana, orange segments and dried cranberries
Pumpkin pie
13-Chicken, rice, spinach, onion enchiladas
Avocado
Chocolate chip cookies
14-Heart-shaped pancakes with red currant syrup
Crustless mini quiches with spinach, onion and sausage
Bacon
Fruit salad
Cream puffs filled with frozen strawberries and whipped cream
15-popcorn and some cocoa
16-Southwest pumpkin, bean, potato soup, topped with avocado, salsa and Cheddar cheese
Pumpkin muffins
Rhubarb-plum sauce
17-Egg salad sandwiches
Roasted tomato soup
Pumpkin pie (from freezer, last pie from the batch)
18-Meatloaf with gravy (I made 2 and froze the other one)
Mashed potatoes (extras so I can make a turkey-rosemary-potato soup in a day or two)
Oven-roasted canned tomatoes
Grilled onions
Pumpkin pie
19-Chunky tomato soup
Focaccia, topped with leftover grilled onions, leftover roasted tomatoes and black olives
Stewed frozen plums
20-Rosemary, turkey and potato soup
Croissants (gifted to us from event my girls and I helped at)
Cucumber, avocado and roasted red pepper salad, topped with slices of boiled egg (cucumber gifted to us, roasted red peppers from pantry)
Assortment of pie to choose from (leftovers from event)
21-Skillet-fried wontons (homemade from freezer)
Ham and egg fried rice
Cucumber salad
Choice of cake or pie
22-Spinach and tofu lasagna
Choice of leftover chocolate cake or pie
23-Vegetarian tostadas -- fried corn tortillas, topped with Spanish rice, frozen corn, refried beans, cheese, olives, lettuce from greenhouse, roasted red peppers, salsa and avocado
Choice of cookies, chocolate covered cherries or mini-cheesecakes (leftovers from volunteer work at a tea over the weekend)
24-Meatloaf and gravy from freezer
Mashed potatoes from freezer
Frozen spinach
Pumpkin souffle
25-Leftover spinach and tofu lasagna
Chocolate cake from freezer
26-vegetarian chili, topped with Cheddar, avocado and fried corn tortilla strips
whole wheat toast
27-olive, onion and green pepper homemade pizza
candy apple salad
frozen green beans
28-spinach, onion and Cheddar quiche
frozen peas
brown rice
29-Salisbury steak with gravy
mashed potatoes with kale
pumpkin souffle
29-Salisbury steak with gravy
mashed potatoes with kale
pumpkin souffle
