After going through the pantry and cleaning out the freezers just before the New Year {the one in the kitchen and the deep freezer in the garage} and discovering we had a ton of food in those places {including a crazy amount of pork chops, turkey and blueberries and mystery containers of leftovers} we decided to forgo the grocery store for January and eat from our pantry instead. With one exception: milk.
Last year we spent a whopping $2909.98 on groceries {an average of $242.50 a month} which was the highest amount we’ve spent on groceries in about 9 years. True, after selling our house last year we moved to a tiny apartment for a few months so we purchased more ready made meals, and then there was the big move across the country. PLUS our eating habits have changed a little but still, I’d like to get the food bill down to the $150-$175 range this year if possible. {I know it’s possible, I just need to have the willpower to not buy so much cheese!}
The big reason to eat from our pantry {and freezers} this month is to eat what we already before it goes bad {the pork chops are from last June and the turkey breasts from October}. The other reason for doing this of course was to get a kick start to the New Year with a lower than normal grocery bill for the month of January.
So far so good. We didn’t even have to go to the store for milk.
On our last grocery trip of 2018 we decided to get rations for big salads. And they did not disappoint. And then the HH promptly said we needed to eat more salads. And I told him we would…. In February. 😉
One frozen zip baggie of turkey bits down…. many more to go. Homemade turkey soup on a cold winter’s day = Mmm Mmm Good!
Homemade meatballs. Perfected. {Recipe coming soon}
And served with THIS bread.
Tamales from Texas. The gift that keeps on giving.
Tell me again why I felt the need to freeze 10 million batches of refried beans? I need to cut the recipe in half next time.
And then there was our brunch date to the Cracker Barrel. Have you ever eaten at Cracker Barrel? Do you think it’s strange they serve the food on SO MANY plates? I feel sorry for the person who has to wash all those extra dishes.
See what I mean? Pancakes, eggs and bacon…. all on one plate. One less dish to wash {times about a million customers}. The HH, he doesn’t agree with me on this. He LIKES the fact that his bacon and eggs were served separately.
And what about those mini individual syrup bottles? On one hand I like having my own personal bottle. But on the other hand, geez, what a waste. And then there’s the part about what to do with the extra syrup in the bottle if you don’t use it all on your breakfast. Do you leave it behind to be thrown away? Or do you pour the extra syrup from one bottle into the other and bring one bottle home wrapped in a paper napkin and stuffed in your pocket like a shoplifter?
Ohhh Cracker Barrel. I can’t wait to go back. It’s like a new game of I SPY.
Total Spent This Week $0
Total Spent in January on Groceries $0
How about YOU? Are you eating down your pantry in January? How did YOU DO? Curious minds want to know. 🙂 🙂 🙂
Have a great Monday everyone,
~Mavis
You can go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories.
Jessica says
Cracker Barrel Syrups…The kids like to crack 1 at a time and share.. to use the least possible in the restaurant.. then bring hope the unopened and the last in the opened ones.. they feel fancy using those at home.. I finally caught on to my son who was refilling the tiny bottles from the house container…. so once they get lazy and things get sticky I toss them! lol But their blueberry pancakes are FABULOUS! My husband LOVE the Sunday Chicken!
Kathy says
Love Cracker Barrel.
Nicole Modlin says
Love Cracker Barrel. My mom and aunt save the bottles (opened and used) and bring them home to make mini hot pepper vinegar bottles. Then they will get used at large family parties or at church dinners. Each table gets one and the bottles don’t go to the trash.
Laurel says
I bombed! I went into a store, enough said! I went into a store for non food and they had GF items on sale, so I am not kicking myself too hard, but Inhad just stocked up in Dec. Then I went into a second store for one thing…my bill was under $15. Hoping to just not go in stores the rest of the month!
Rosaleen says
Mavis, you COULD dehydrate some or all of those refried beans, storing them in vacuum sealed glass jars. Add hot or cold water, allow to rehydrate, abd use to make burritos, etc., later. This can be done with salsa, as well. Too busy or too hot to cook? Road trip? One meal at the ready.
Melissa says
Can you share the recipe for homemade turkey soup? It looks great!
Cheryl says
I would like that recipe also. You paid for that syrup when you ordered the pancakes, those cute bottles go home.
Katie says
Oh I LOVE Cracker Barrel. I’ve been eating there since I was a kid. It used to be the special treat when family came to visit. I loved playing the peg game, and still do when I can get it away from my 3 year old. It was also so fun to sit in the rocking chairs and play checkers with my grandma. I used to always order the blackberry pancakes.
Now my husband and I like to take the kids because it’s really good food for a great price. We split our food with the kids (because there’s always a ton) and we usually have leftovers. And they always give us a to-go cup of coffee, which the bring to the table full with fresh coffee 😀 Having so many plates can be difficult when you’ve got toddlers at the table and are trying to keep the plates out of their reaching distance. But the extra plates do make it handy for sharing with them.
Oh and the BISCUITS <3
Lana says
We like our pancakes at CB on a separate plate so yes to the plates! Yes to pouring the leftover syrup together and bringing it home. Our location always gives two syrups per person so we always have syrup to bring home.Lana
Cindi says
Definitely take those syrup bottles home — the bottles are handy for all kinds of things.
And Mavis– did your mom not gift you with a collection of items she saved throughout the year? Maybe she didn’t want to mail them, but I always looked forward to that post to see what she collected throughout the year!
Connie says
Yes am slowly getting through my freezer as well..mostlt meat as the frozen veggies were recent costso buy. Have some tamales which I love. Going to the city tomorrow. May have to eat at cracker barrel. It’s been awhile
Stephanie says
I’m only buying fresh things in January, in an attempt to eat down the stores in my freezer and pantry. I’ll need to replenish dairy products and fresh fruit, tofu, and maybe some jarred curry sauce (one of the few premade things I buy, because buying it ends up being cheaper and MUCH less work), but hopefully I can keep costs low, we can nom on some creative meals from our stash, and be healthy while doing it! 🙂
I totally take the extra syrup bottles from Cracker Barrel. No shame! 🙂
Jenn from Ma says
I’m conducting a little experiment with your no knead sun dried tomato olive bread. Since I can’t wait the 12-18 hours for it to proof I am using the same ingredients but I kneaded it a little and have it proofing in my counter top oven that has a proof setting. Its way too chilly here to proof anything on my counter top. Fingers crossed that it turns out ok and I can eat it with dinner tonight! If not that’s ok too- nothing ventured nothing gained 😉
Michele says
Great post and we are in exactly the same position. Would anyone have advice on how to meal plan with all these random ingredients? I know I have a ton of food frozen and in the pantry but always end up going to the store “for a few items” any help is appreciated.
Diane says
Try http://www.allrecipes.com. Not only can you search on a recipe name, but you can also input ingredients and it will search for recipes using those ingredients. That might help you use things up!
Julie T says
went gluten free Jan 2 so I’m having to spend, spend, spend to make the conversion. I’ve spent more this week than I do in a month’s time. Hope it’s worth it.
Teresa says
Hi Julie,
If you have access to Netflix, there is a 4 part documentary series called “Cooked” it explores the gluten verses non-gluten. It all has to do with the grains that your wheat products are made with. I don’t know how sensitive you are but it’s worth checking out. It’s the one on bread but all four are excellent watching. Good Luck
Carrie says
If it were up to me I would never eat at a chain restaurant like Cracker Barrel but my 93 year old grandma loves it so we go about once a year. I guess we never order breakfast because I’ve never seen those tiny syrup bottles but you bet I’d take them if they are offered!
Deborah says
We first are at Cracker Barrel over 30 years ago when we were routinely traveling through Tennessee. Now they are everywhere but we still only eat there while traveling.
Heidi says
For sure the separate plates for pancakes and eggs. I CAN’T eat eggs that have been contaminated by maple syrup!
Lindsey says
Me either!
Deborah says
Don’t want maple syrup on my eggs, but don’t mind it on my bacon. I order the breakfast with grits, biscuits and gravy, and eggs over easy and move it all to one plate because a runny egg makes everything better, imho.
Julie P says
I think better all on the same plate, seems a waste I would eat them together so …. We are in Spain in the RV escaping the cold of U.K. I emptied my pantry pretty much into the RV, we have a son home for four months while we are away but he is vegetarian, I am freezer, fridge and pantry living for January, we have spent €9.69 for bananas salad leaves, a cucumber and tomatoes and a few incidentals, like celery, herby soft cheese, four egg custards for my hubby and a cookie for my hubby !!!
Laurie says
Inspired by your yearly goals, I decided to do the same this year and came up with 12 for now. Last week was the list making task, this week will begin my action on said list. I am doing a minimal spend January by buying only what I truly need grocery wise. I am also a big fan of Creacker Barrel! Unfortunately I tend to go carb heavy with grits, hash brown casserole and biscuits & gravy as my meal of choice.
Connie says
Looking forward to your meatball recipe. I’d love a great recipe so I can make my own meatballs. I’ve bought various frozen meatballs, but never found a great one. Thanks!
Laura T. says
That soup looks yummy! I’m about to make some vegetable soup. The temperatures here in Illinois are in the 50s & about to drop into the 20s by Wednesday so we’ll need the soup! I’m with everyone else on the syrup bottles, they come home with me! :0)
LaToya says
Your Sunday and Monday posts are my favorite. Always a nugget that gives me a chuckle. We “shoplift” the syrup from Cracker Barrel. I’ve never thought about all the plates!
Hey, if you ever buy anything from their store, they do free gift-wrapping. It’s cute, and country-lookin’.
We’re not on a no-spend, but we are on a significant cut down the grocery budget this month. We’re hosting family dinners on Saturday nights for the last 2 weeks, and then again this coming and we’re doing it all out of what we have on-hand and in the freezers. We have 2 big ones in the garage and the one in the house. We have so many popsicles in one of them … why though??
Jennifer says
I can’t afford to buy real maple syrup, so yep, they go right in my purse for later. We went to CB for the first time in over a year, even though we drive by it 5 times a week. I’m not a breakfast person, but dh and I always look at the menu and joke about “who’s going to order Uncle Hershels'”. He usually gets Mama’s pancake breakfast with a side of grits. You can’t eat eggs without grits, imho. 🙂
Dina says
Unfortunately, it is no longer 100% maple syrup. Now it is 55% maple syrup, 45% corn syrup.
Dina says
technically cane syrup, so actually a little better than corn syrup, but still not REAL maple syrup
Rebecca in MD says
Really looking forward to your meatball recipe.
What’s your monthly budget for meat and toiletries since you don’t include them in your “groceries” category.
In 2018 I tracked all my grocery expenditures and averaged out to $137 week (down from $150 week in 2017). That’s all in including meat, toiletries, cleaning products, cat food, and paper products.
Debbie - MountainMama says
I did my monthly shopping on the first Tuesday of the month, as has become my habit (saving an extra 7% that day!) but won’t shop again for another month. I’m trying to do a no-spend for the rest of the month….praying for strength, ha ha!
bobbi says
We are eating out of the freezer too this month! CB is ok. We usually eat there when we travel but not really any other time. Don’t care one way or the other on the plates, as long as I don’t have to do them, haha.
Marcia says
Life is too short to cut your spending on cheese. I mean, really.
I did such a good job eating out of the pantry in December to stay under budget for 2018 that we were drastically low on everything. So I’ve already spent $45 over my typical “week” in the first week of the year. Costco always does that.
I’m with your hubby too – eat more salad!!
Amy says
First, let me say thanks for your blog! I’ve been enjoying it since I happened upon it about six months ago. I commend your determination to whittle away that grocery bill! I wish I were as determined as you to meet goals! Bravo, lady!
IMHO, when something goes into the freezer well-wrapped (to seal out air, freezer burn, etc.) the clock stops. I’m always mystified that there are so many calculators that say “don’t eat this frozen food after X amount of time in the freezer” because the freezer is like suspended animation once the food is frozen. At least that’s the way I handle it, and we’ve never had a problem, though I go like to rotate my stock.
One of my many ambitions this year is to try some of your delicious recipes from last year, and have a good stock of jellies/jams/preserves to give away next year!
Again, many thanks!
Amy
MaryAnn Smith says
The syrup jars make great vases for little flowers like petite daffodils or forget me nots. I put a bow around the top and give as gifts when visiting friends.
Shirley says
We skipped the store this past week as well and last night’s dinner was homemade tamales from the freezer! Our freezer is almost empty except for the 8-10 frozen bananas and some fruit for the kiddos smoothies. He’s off to college with the other one, so I better make some ice cream with the fruit.
Julia says
We rarely eat at CB. My son husband love it. I would so take the mini syrups, full, part full, and empty home. We recently ate at another restaurant and I scored two tiny bottles of tobacco sauce and a mini catchup bottle. I use them for vacations at our time share.
Valerie says
We bought a house and I put my house on the market…so eventually I will move. So I started shopping my freezer and pantry for cheap meals. I spend evenings planning where everything will go and what I need to purge.
Marybeth says
I love the little syrup bottles. They are great to take on camping trips or vacation.
Sallie Borrink says
I use the little bottles for pansies. They are the perfect size to put anywhere and everywhere in the house in the spring and autumn.
Sherry in Sumner says
Mavis, I remember a few years when you did a shop from your pantry segment in April. I decided to do the same for the month and only had to buy milk one time that month. It was really enjoyable and I had fun planning the meals. One of my goals this year is to deplete my freezer so I can give it a good defrosting/cleaning. I’ve already replenished fresh vegetables at the beginning of the month but will shop from my pantry the rest of the month. This is a fun thing for all your readers to chime in on. Thanks for heading it up.
Heather says
We partly ate from the pantry and freezer for the last few months and we will continue this month. But, that said I bought $50 from Smith’s case sale on December 31st – multiple canned beans, tomato sauce, frozen ground turkey, etc. That should last us a while. We have gone shopping a few times, but I have been trying to get the super sales and items that we need to complete a meal. I hoping to stay out of the grocery store until at least Friday.
CB – the only time I went to one was when I was traveling for work to South Carolina. I was overwhelmed with how much food was served, especially since I was in a hotel room with no fridge. We don’t have them out west where we live.