Do you want to know the cheapest way to “buy” food? Shopping your freezer and your pantry. You know, using up what you already have. I think it’s been about 4 or 5 weeks now and all we’ve bought at the store has been milk and loaf of bread.
Which is pretty darn amazing if you ask me.
I think sometimes we forget all the stuff we’ve packed away in our freezers and pantries intending to use… Later. But somehow the food ends up getting forgotten and then tossed because the product gets freezer burn or is way past their expiration dates.
Case in point; evaporated milk. 🙂
I have no idea when I actually bought all the cans of evaporated milk that are in our pantry but what I do know is that all the cans are now 1 year past expiration. Whoops!
So instead of buying milk this past week, I’ve been using evaporated milk in my tea instead. Have you ever done that before? Substituted evaporated milk for regular milk?
In things like tea, oatmeal, and hot chocolate it works like a charm. Basically you can either dilute it 50/50 with water, or just use about half the amount you normally would. I can’t even taste the difference!
Another big win in the cleaning out the freezer mode that I am in is smoothies! I still haven’t tried cherries in a smoothie yet, but since so many of you said that you do, I think I’ll try a cherry smoothie this week.
I’ve also been making my way through all our frozen cookie dough. Freezing cookie dough. Do you do this? You should.
More things we ate last week:
As for the meals we ate last week {ones other than freezer meal lasagna and soups} beetloaf with peas and sweet potatoes was a big hit.
Not only did I get to use up some of the ketchup I canned last summer, some peas I had grown {and frozen} and the sweet potatoes my MIL sent last month, but the meal lasted 2 ½ days and I LOVE when that happens!
There was also chicken curry and rice that lasted a few meals. Normally I would freeze the extras to enjoy later, but since I am trying to use up what we have, I didn’t.
I also whipped up some slow cooked beef with horseradish cream. This was the first time I had made this dish {anyone want the recipe?} and it turned out fantastic!!! I used the beef tips and potatoes the HH picked up at Costco in early July.
The leftovers are still sitting in the fridge so we’ll probably be having this for dinner tonight.
Hannaford $2.99
And last but not least, the big purchase of the week was a loaf of Sara Lee wheat bread for $2.99. I totally could have made a loaf of my Dutch oven crusty bread for pennies, but the HH was craving a PB sandwich on normal bread so he picked up a loaf.
All in all I think he’s doing really good at buying just the basics at the grocery store these past few weeks. The big question is, how long will it last. 😉
So how did YOU do at the store this week? Did you find any deals? Do you ever just get in the mood for shopping your freezer and then you’re like, stores, we don’t need no stinkin’ stores.
Peace Out.
~Mavis
Total Spent This Past Week on Groceries $2.99
- Total Spent in August for Groceries $7.53
- Total Spent on Groceries for July $376.89
- Total Spent on Groceries in June $41.56
- Total Spent on Groceries in May $288.51
- Total Spent on Groceries in April $35.36
- Total Spent on Groceries in March $82.28
- Total Spent on Groceries in February $101.14
- Total Spent on Groceries in January $167.33 {this includes buying groceries on Fair Isle}
- Total Spent on Groceries in 2023 $1,107.14 for our $100 a month grocery budget for 2
Brianna says
I blew my budget on school supplies for my kids, so I am going to get my proteins from the freezer this week. I am not sure if I missed the sales or what for school supplies, but everything was expensive….about $110/kid! They need the supplies and I am not going to send them to school short, it is hard on the teachers and embarrassing for them to not be prepared, but wow, what a shock. Dry erase markers use to be the “big expense” for back to school, but this year it was 3 and 5-subject paper notebooks.
I bought cheap stand alone shelving last week for the pantry and got it organized so I can finally see what I have and stop buying duplicates or not buying items because I thought I had it somewhere. I will be making a list for items to add that are missing or low and shop next week for those. I have been wanting to buy some canned artichoke hearts for awhile for a favorite recipe, but those have been over $4/can. They will probably never go down, but I keep checking.
Elle says
Freezer provided:
Thursday: mac n cheese with (from the freezer) peas and diced ham.
Sunday fried rice: riced cauliflower, peas, diced ham (from Christmas). It all had plenty of ice crystals but dang good pot of meals! There are 2 vacuum sealed bags of ham remaining-4 servings each.
Ice crystal blueberries went into and on top of buckwheat pancakes on Sunday. Who doesn’t love that?
Grocery store run: Bought an amazing local watermelon (my favorite all-time fruit), bananas (HH preference) and hash browns (also HH preference).
Garden finally providing: tomatoes and cucumbers for a fabulous Greek Salad, using up the dregs of a container of Feta. Dried basil from last year’s garden.
That’s it off the top of my head. A lot of Greek Salad in my future as well as ratatouille going into the freezer for winter consumption. And as long as available, that oh so sweet local watermelon.
Meg C says
Yes, this exactly! I spent about the same on my kids for back to school supplies (not including their clothing needs) and our budget really took a hit as a result. We ate rice & beans most of this week and are luckily harvesting tomatoes, cukes still producing, green beans, etc. that have been helping us with our grocery costs.
Tracey says
good morning! This was a timely post (for me) as we’ve been scraping the bottom of our chest freezer for meals all summer and this weekend I was able to give it a good wipe down before heading over to Stop&Shop for the $1.99lb Bell&Evans chicken sale going on this week!! Filled 1/4 of the freezer with chicken – a good start to winter prep. I was trying to zoom in on your Costco photo but I cant see the label on the beef clearly enough to tell which cut of meat your husband uses for beef tips. Would you know ?
We would love the recipe for tips with horseradish cream. I found a 1/2 lb bag of shredded horseradish root in the freezer last week LOL
Mavis Butterfield says
Flap meat, also known as bottom sirloin butt from Costco.
Elise in the SF Bay Area says
Flap meat is so great, and versatile too! Sometimes I can’t find (or can’t pay $25/lb) for skirt steak, and I get flap meat instead. It’s a really good substitution!
Holley says
My mom always used evaporated milk in her tea. No one in our house drank milk, so I guess just keeping a can in the refrigerator was insurance that milk wouldn’t go bad! I think I’ve used evaporated milk in recipes that call for regular milk when I haven’t had any! It’s a great pantry staple in my house.
Elise from the SF Bay Area says
Our power went out for 3 days several years ago, and I did the exact same thing! (the food didn’t defrost, we left it completely shut and I had added a lot of water in containers a few days before). It was an interesting challenge!
I was going to leave it empty after that, but about 3 weeks after I finally cleared it ALL out (not just protein, EVERYTHING), COVID hit and I got nervous and started filling it back up with proteins that we would eat. Time to do a more regular clean-out of it again!!!
Mona R McGinnis says
Shop at home is routine around here. I always take stock of what there is and what needs using before menu planning. I once vowed to not add any protein to the freezer before using what was there. It took 6 mos to eat down the freezer.
Elise from the SF Bay Area says
Our power went out for 3 days several years ago, and I did the exact same thing! (the food didn’t defrost, we left it completely shut and I had added a lot of water in containers a few days before).
I was going to leave it empty after that, but about 3 weeks after I finally cleared it ALL out (not just protein, EVERYTHING), COVID hit and I got nervous and started filling it back up with proteins that we would eat. Time to do a more regular clean-out of it again!!!
Meg C says
I regularly use evaporated milk in place of “regular” milk. I mostly use it in recipes that call for milk but have been known to use it in my tea, kids hot chocolate, etc.
Hawaii Planner says
We definitely check our freezer for protein before we shop. I do try to regularly work through our freezer stash, with varying degrees of success.
Rosemary says
I made some meals from our freezer this past week. I had Italian sweet sausage and bell peppers (orange, yellow and red ones) in the freezer, so I made sausage with peppers and onions (the onions were in the fridge). I didn’t have any sub rolls, so I took one of the bread bowls from the freezer and dumped my sausage meal into that. I had made bread bowls a while back (for soup) and froze them for when I make soup this winter. That meal lasted for 2 days. I also made a pork loin and an herb & butter rice dish to go along with it. We had some leftover for the next day. And I finished up the last of the French toast that was frozen. I’m not trying to eat down the freezer, but I do want to use up what is in there so that nothing gets wasted. And it gives me room in case I come across a good sale.
Speaking of sales, Publix had a couple of BOGO sales this week: Barber’s Stuffed Chicken and Voila Skillet meals. I bought 4 stuffed chicken packages and 2 skillet meals packages. I only buy them when they are BOGO (even if I still have some in the freezer). They come in handy when I don’t want to do any “real” cooking. Ha ha ha
It’s hurricane season and I try to keep the freezer and pantry well stocked for emergencies. Depending on how fierce the storm is, the roads may be blocked by downed trees & power lines, and the stores may not be able to open, etc. And I can stay home instead of running around trying to find supplies.
PS: I keep dry milk and evaporated milk in the pantry in case I run out or can’t get milk.
Ramona says
Growing up in the 60’s my Dad used evaporated milk for coffee. He would make me a small cup that was more milk and a couple teaspoons of sugar for my coffee. As an adult I don’t care for can milk , that’s what we always called evaporated milk, in my coffee.
I do use it in my tea all the time. I got that from an Aunt that always used can milk in her tea.
My family always uses it for mashed potatoes and for my favorite, pumpkin pies.
I was wondering after a year past expiration if it still had the same taste?
Lana says
You don’t realize how much you rely on your pantry until you are away for two weeks. We pack everything we can from home but there are always things I know are at home and purchased for the best price so we learn to substitute or just do without. We were arriving home last night so on Saturday I placed an order for delivery from Walmart plus. It was so nice to get up this morning knowing that the perishable foods we needed were on the way and there were no impulse buys.
Maureen says
I use evaporated milk if I’m making a quiche (now that eggs have come down, it’s another way to use of bits of this and that) and we don’t have any half and half. Since we usually drink skim milk, it seems a bit thin so the canned milk works. But I try to find small cans when I can otherwise we make another quiche or creamy soup or something to use it up.
Sharon says
Freezer/ pantry shopping is a normal mode for me. I stock up about once a month including produce. Then I meal plan with what’s on hand and what will need to be used first (fresh produce like lettuce and asparagus, then broccoli and cauliflower, finally Brussels sprouts. I put frozen produce next then finally canned. I pull meats from the freezer and pastas, rice, potatoes from the pantry. It keeps me from impulse buying as I love a good markdown!
Meggan says
Last week when I saw the upcoming heat forecast, I tried to plan ovenless meals from my freezer. My crockpot has gotten a workout, but I wish I knew more recipes with boneless skinless chicken thighs in the crockpot. I’ve been subbing them for chicken breasts cause I have been finding awesome deals all summer, sometimes under $1/lb
Patti says
I have used evaporated milk for coffee but I mainly use it for my macaroni and cheese from scratch. I also use it in quiches and try to find other ways to use it up or freeze what is left so that it doesn’t go to waste. We constantly eat from our freezer and it is never truly empty but I keep trying. We have just stocked the first two shelves with our summer vegetables and I have made some dishes from vegetables for later eating (a tomato pie, squash casserole, etc.). Seems like when I try to eat down the freezer, we just add more to it – cook a chicken and then make chicken pot pie. Never ending…
Terry McA says
I don’t keep evaporated milk, but I do have a stash of dry, powdered milk. It’s great to be able to make small amounts of milk for recipes, especially when most of us don’t drink regular milk.
My freezer is down to only 1/3 fill. Still eating off what I had prepared, (I was out of work all summer due to pancreatitis). SOOOOO glad the school year is starting and I am back in my classroom.
This week we are keeping it simple due to the heat. Crockpot Italian beef (cheap roast, beef bullion cube, dry italian dressing mix and water), Pork Egg roll in a bowl (cabbage from garden), Italian sausage stuffed acorn squash (from garden), Salads and sandwiches on hot days (still have 3 loaves of bread in freezer).
Hope you all have a good week!
Bess says
I have a small farm. Garden, chickens, dairy & meat goats. Buy very frugally from store — mainly staples like flour, sugar, coffee, salt, etc. Most of my food is fresh raised, canned, dehydrated, frozen. Fresh eggs & milk all year. I make cheeses, yogurt, butter, bread. Usually spend less than $25 a month from Nov-Mar.
Garden — even in pots, if no yard. Healthy and economical! I’ve spent years staying healthy by not eating processed, chemicalized foods. Try it!!