Planning Meals From Freezer/Pantry...

Borrowed from another forum...

Here is this lady's lesson on how to build a menu from a list in your freezer/pantry...

I am going to start this tonight and I will finish it tomorrow. A step-by-step method to my madness follows.

Sillicn's original list:

Freezer
1 Pizza - Spinach & Mushroom
Waffles - 6 Strawberry
Chicken Pot Pies - 2
Orange Chicken Meal
Stuffed Chicken Breasts - 2 Asparagus & Cheese and 2 Brie & Apple
Chicken Breast - 1
Cod Fillet - 4
Beef Chuck - 1.68 lbs
Pork Tenderloin - 1 lb
Hot Dogs - 1 package of 8
Ground Beef - 1 lb
Ham from T'giving - ½ lb
Turkey Broth - 2 ice trays
Sharp Cheddar - 8 oz block
Brussel Sprouts - 1 box
Blackberries - 1 qt
Carrots - ½ bag
Fries - ½ bag
Corn - 1 serving
Yeast Rolls - ½ bag
Spaghetti Noodles - 1 box
Cornmeal Mix - 2 lbs
Ice Pop - 1
Fudge Pops - 4
Butter - 4 sticks
Margarine - 4 sticks (don't use)
Saving for Holiday Parties - Spanakopita (½ box) & Little Sausages (3 lbs.)

Fridge
Carrots - 4
Broccoli - ½ head
Orange Prunes - 8 oz
Ginger - 2 roots
Lemons - 6
Mead - 2 bottles
Wine - 3 opened bottles & 3 unopened bottles
Mixer - 1 bottle
Mountain Dew - 2 cans (don't drink)
Buttermilk - 1 qt
Milk - 1 qt
Diet Dr. Pepper - 1 liter
Eggs - 5 boiled & 16 raw
Cottage Cheese - 16 oz
Yogurt - 2 servings
Sliced Cheese - 2 packages
Biscuits - 1 can
Crescent Rolls - 1 can
Cinnamon Rolls - 1 can
Chocolate Cookie Dough - ½ package
Chocolate Frosting - 8 oz
Ranch Dressing - 16 oz
Blue Cheese Dressing - 10 oz
Mayo - 16 oz
Chocolate Syrup - 2 to 3 oz
BBQ Sauce - 16 oz
Worcestershire - 3 to 4 oz
A1 - 5 oz
Soy Sauce - 5 oz
Raspberry Syrup - 8 oz
Strawberry Jam - 16 oz
Kalamata Olives - 12 oz
Green Olives -
Salsa - 8 oz
Pickles - 12 oz
Honey Butter - 2 sticks
Flax Seed - 12 oz

Pantry
Potato Flakes - 1 lb
Thin Mints - 1 box (for emergency use only ?)
Sweetened Dried Cranberries - 6 oz
Tomato Sauce - 1 large can
Stewed Tomatoes - 6 cans
Diced Tomatoes - 6 cans
Salsa - 16 oz
Peaches - 1 can
Soup - 2 cans
Black Olives - 3 cans
Green Beans - 3 cans
Chicken Broth - 1 can & 1 box (3 lb)
Frosting - 1 cream cheese & 1 chocolate
Hot Cocoa Mix - 2 box (8 packages each) & 5 loose packages
Tea Bags - 4 flavors of hot tea
BBQ Sauce - 18 oz
Duck Sauce - 10 oz
Chicken Breast - 2 cans (9.75 oz)
Tuna - 4 cans (6 oz)
Boxed Rice - 1 brown, 1 fried, 1 Spanish & 1 with black beans
Bag Pasta - 1 alfredo
Cornbread Mix - 2 boxes
Honey - 2 lb
Tomato Juice - 46 oz
Cocoa Powder - 8 oz
Sweetened Condensed Milk - 1 can (14 oz)
Confectioner's Sugar - 2 boxes (1 lb)
Dark Brown Sugar - 1 box (1 lb)
Mustard - 1 yellow, 2 brown, 1 honey
Ketchup - 12 oz.
Horseradish - 1 bottle
Rotini Pasta - 12 oz
Angel Hair Pasta - 16 oz
Brown Rice - 2 lb
Apple Sauce - 4 servings
Jello Singles - 6 servings
Cake Mixes - 2 yellow butter, 1 chocolate & 1 spice
Spiced Apple Bread Mix - 1
Carnation Insta-Breakfast - 20 packages
Popcorn - 2 packages
Muffin Mixes - 2 stawberry & 1 blueberry
Mixed Dried Beans - 2 lb
Garlic - 4 heads
Bread - 1 ½ whole wheat loaves
Cereal - 1 box

What I do..

1) Copy list to Word document

2) Sort out all the key things to build a meal around and put them at the top. Repeating meat items that can be broken up into two or three meals. The list I am working with now looks like this because I sort out the rest of the noise.

1 Pizza - Spinach & Mushroom
Chicken Pot Pies - 2
Orange Chicken Meal
Stuffed Chicken Breasts - 2 Asparagus & Cheese and 2 Brie & Apple
Chicken Breast - 1
Cod Fillet - 4
Beef Chuck - 1.68 lbs
Beef Chuck (1/2 of the above)
Pork Tenderloin - 1 lb
Hot Dogs - 1 package of 8
Ground Beef - 1 lb
Ham from T'giving - ½ lb
Chicken Breast - 2 cans (9.75 oz)
Tuna - 2 cans (6 oz)
Tuna - 2 cans
Sliced Cheese - 2 packages


3) Next I look for the grains to go with the protein. I generally won't have pasta/rice and bread at the same meal because one carb is enough.

Mixed Dried Beans - 2
Brown Rice - 2 lb
Bag Pasta - 1 alfredo
Rotini Pasta - 12 oz
Angel Hair Pasta - 16 oz
Spaghetti Noodles - 1 box
Boxed Rice - 1 brown, 1 fried, 1 Spanish & 1 with black beans
Bread - 1 ½ whole wheat loaves
Potato Flakes - 1 lb

4) Still working on the noise (all the other stuff on the list, I am going to move breakfast and lunch items out of the way. That list looks like this.

Yogurt - 2 servings
Cereal - 1 box
Muffin Mixes - 2 stawberry & 1 blueberry
Waffles - 6 Strawberry
Eggs - 16 raw
Cottage Cheese - 16 oz
Maybe some of the canned tuna or chicken above
Carnation Insta-Breakfast - 20 packages
Cinnamon Rolls - 1 can
Jello Singles - 6 servings


5) Sort out the sweets which get turned into desserts or snacks

Fudge Pops - 4
Spiced Apple Bread Mix - 1
Frosting - 1 cream cheese & 1 chocolate
Hot Cocoa Mix - 2 box (8 packages each) & 5 loose packages
Chocolate Cookie Dough - ½ package
Chocolate Frosting - 8 oz
Sweetened Condensed Milk - 1 can (14 oz)
Chocolate Syrup - 2 to 3 oz
Ice Pop - 1
Thin Mints - 1 box (for emergency use only ?)
Cake Mixes - 2 yellow butter, 1 chocolate & 1 spice
Blackberries - 1 qt

6) Gather all the possible veggies and sides

Carrots - 4
Broccoli - ½ head
Green Beans - 3 cans
Peaches - 1 can
Apple Sauce - 4 servings
Biscuits - 1 can
Crescent Rolls - 1 can
Cornmeal Mix - 2 lbs
Yeast Rolls - ½ bag
Brussel Sprouts - 1 box
Fries - ½ bag
Carrots - ½ bag
Corn - 1 serving
Cornbread Mix - 2 boxes

7) Sort out all the beverages but keep in mind there is wine, spirits for marinades and buttermilk...all key ingredients.

Mead - 2 bottles
Wine - 3 opened bottles & 3 unopened bottles
Mixer - 1 bottle
Mountain Dew - 2 cans (don't drink)
Buttermilk - 1 qt
Milk - 1 qt
Diet Dr. Pepper - 1 liter
Tea Bags - 4 flavors of hot tea

8. I am left with key ingredients for flavoring the meals.

Sharp Cheddar - 8 oz block
Turkey Broth - 2 ice trays
Chicken Broth - 1 can & 1 box (3 lb)
Ginger - 2 roots
Lemons - 6
Blue Cheese Dressing - 10 oz
Mayo - 16 oz
BBQ Sauce - 16 oz
Worcestershire - 3 to 4 oz
A1 - 5 oz
Soy Sauce - 5 oz
Tomato Sauce - 1 large can
Stewed Tomatoes - 6 cans
Diced Tomatoes - 6 cans
Salsa - 16 oz
Black Olives - 3 cans
BBQ Sauce - 18 oz
Duck Sauce - 10 oz
Honey - 2 lb
Horseradish - 1 bottle
Butter - 4 sticks
Margarine - 4 sticks (don't use)
Garlic - 4 heads
Kalamata Olives - 12 oz
Salsa - 8 oz
Green Olives -


That doesn't leave much out of the list but basic ingredients and popcorn. Looking at the list now grouped as I have it above, you just start with a protein, add a grain and then add a vegetable or fruit. Look at the flavoring ingredients and start coming up with themes.

Week 1 - Make some lemon bars for the sweet for the week.Ham and beans using mixed dried beans and leftover ham from Thanksgiving. Cornbread and steamed broccoli.Orange Chicken Meal (not sure what all this includes. If you don't have a side, cook up some brown rice. Add a little orange juice to the liquid for flavor.Cod fillets marinated in some of your open wine and using some of the ginger. You might want to make a wine glaze for it. Angel hair pasta tossed in some garlic and better. Steamed broccoli if you have any left or mix it with carrots as well.Beef chuck roast, potato flakes, gravy and carrots.Stuffed Chicken breasts ...either the Brie and apple or the asparagus. RiceEither stew or beef stir fry using what is left of the beef chuck. If you have stew, make some of the yeast rolls to go with it.1 Pizza - Spinach & Mushroom, SaladWeek 2 - bake a cake for the week.Tuna casserole using 2 cans of tuna, some of your noodles and cheese. Look for recipes on the internet. Brussel sprouts.Roasted pork tenderloin (I usually coat mine with garlic and pepper). Applesauce, green beans and crescent rolls.Spaghetti using ½ lb of ground beef and your tomato products and lots of the garlic. Salad.Hot dogs (you may need to get buns) - fries and raw carrots if you have them.Chicken alfredo using the one chicken breast (sliced thinly) and your bag of alfredo pasta..or part of it. Salad.Leftovers, there should be some.Make some sloppy joe type mix with the other ½ lb of ground beef. Spread the canned biscuits into muffin tins. Fill with the sloppy joe meat and bake until biscuits are done. Top with a sprinkle of cheese. Serve with peaches and green beans.Week 3 - Make cookies with the chocolate cookie dough.
Last of the stuffed chicken breasts if you didn't use them all before. Green beans and rice.Chicken Pot Pies and salad.Beans and wieners with the last of the hot dogs and any beans you have left. Serve with carrots and cornbread.Chicken and noodles using canned chicken, chicken broth and some of your noodles. Make a nice gravy with the broth. Or you can make a homemade chicken vegetable soup like southwest chicken soup and serve it with a crusty bread.Tuna salad with soup. Raw veggies.That uses up your protein sources.

Okay - I am ready to do this. We are having a Finance series at Church right now, and Wes (our Sr. Pastor) is encouraging everyone to at least buy the Financial Peace book. It wasn't in our budget last week - but Rick gave me the go-ahead to buy it this week.
This is HUGE - because although we are doing okay financially, I know we could do better, but he has been extremely resistant to budgeting.

It may take me a couple of days to get everything inventoried, but I am sure I have enough food on hand to last for a couple months - other than fresh stuff - veggies, fruit, milk, eggs, yogurt, bread.

A couple questions though -

1. Does that include non-grocery items (soap, shampoo, TP, etc....)?

2. So - if you find that you need to spend a little more than your budget, do you just do without - or do you go over budget?

Love this! I think I'll work on it this weekend. I need to go through everything in the house anyways to check expiration dates. I've lived here about a year and there is still stuff in the cubbards and freezer which I didn't purchase, they were here from my BF purchasing them.

Becky - Toiletries are another item in the budget.If you need to spend more and haven't budgeted, you try to go without.Becky, I think you'll love the program - glad to hear your church is doing it.Did you already buy the book? If your church is doing FPU, it might be cheaper to get the set in the long run then buy 1 piece.Ask DebbieJ, she coordinated FPU and can give some good recommendations.

ChefBeckyD said:

Okay - I am ready to do this. We are having a Finance series at Church right now, and Wes (our Sr. Pastor) is encouraging everyone to at least buy the Financial Peace book. It wasn't in our budget last week - but Rick gave me the go-ahead to buy it this week.
This is HUGE - because although we are doing okay financially, I know we could do better, but he has been extremely resistant to budgeting.

Click to expand...

My husband and I took FPU last March. I recommend it to everyone! We were not in any financial trouble but wanted to do better (like you, ChefBeckyD). I has been amazing...I was able to quit my full-time job to put full-time effort into PC in prep for starting our family. We are able to do this now during the recession. I have to say, we haven't felt the recession at all (because our style of living has changed after FPU). You really should buy the book. Make sure you do your budget. The software on mytotalmoneymakeover.com makes it sooo easy to track. The envelope system is also great for the categories where money just disappears unaccounted for Good luck!!:thumbup:

I also have recipes to make household cleaners from scratch. Very easy and effective. Not to mention safer if you have kids and pets.

ChefBeckyD said:

2. So - if you find that you need to spend a little more than your budget, do you just do without - or do you go over budget?

Click to expand...

You may need to do neither. You can always re-assess your budget at anytime and move money around. You may find that you are spending less than expected in one category (or are more willing to sacrifice) and can move money from there so you can by toilet paper...or other necessities

Get_Pampered said:

I also have recipes to make household cleaners from scratch. Very easy and effective. Not to mention safer if you have kids and pets.

Click to expand...

Are you still on the forum?

I'm back. The recipes I use are from
Pantry Cleaners: Recipes for Homemade Cleaning Products | Organized Home

Becky, if you take FPU, the Financial Peace book is in the membership kit.Also, www.half.com is a GREAT place for used books at reduced costs.

I think it's official now, I have enough food in the house to start my own grocery store.

It's going to take me all week to get it inventoried!

ChefBeckyD said:

I think it's official now, I have enough food in the house to start my own grocery store.

It's going to take me all week to get it inventoried!

Click to expand...

...just think how much you'll save in groceries for the next few weeks/months!

...and to know what you have and actually use it before it expires is good and then not a waste!

Keep chugging Becky!

I didn't get around to it this weekend, it was in my plan for saturday, but with the pipe bursting in the laundry room, I had to devote my time to cleaning that up. I think that I'll make it a priority to do this week in the evenings. I'll just have to remember to cross things off the list as I use them for dinners.

I have been wanting to work on meal planning to be cost effective grocery shopping, I just didn't know where to start.

Thanks again for posting this!