Month-long Meal Plan: The grocery list

Heather asked that I post a grocery list for this month-long meal plan. Many of the meals are on my list because I already have ingredients on hand to make them, and I need to start cleaning out my pantry and freezer. I did do a grocery trip this weekend, and spent $40 at Aldi and $10 at Meijer, and (theoretically) won't have to go shopping until September, except for perishables like milk, and maybe some lunch supplies.

For those of you playing along at home, however, here's a master list of what would need to be in your pantry/freezer to accomplish this dinner meal list. Not all of these items will be used during the month, but, for some of them, the smallest amount that can be reasonably bought is "one package". Some of the amounts I'm totally estimating, and hope they're in the ballpark. Do keep in mind, I'm only meal-planning for 2, your amounts may be different. Enough with the disclaimers:

MEAT:

• 1 package Pepperoni (Day 4, 30)
• 1 lb Ground sausage (Day 9, 18)
• 3 lb Ground beef (Day 1, 6, 15, 19, 23, 28) **
• 2 whole chicken (Day 3, 5, 7, 14, 20, 26, 27) **
• 3 lb Boneless skinless chicken breast (Day 10, 22, 31)
• 1 pkg Hot dogs (Day 8)
• 1 lb steak (Day 12)
• 12 slices bacon (Day 13, 25)

PRODUCE:

• 4 lbs Potatoes (Day 1, 12, 13, 20, 25)
• 3 pints (or equivalent fresh) Green beans (Day 3, 10, 22)
• 1 C Peas (Day 7, 20)
• 1 C Carrots (Day 7, 20)
• 1 Tomato (Day 27)
• 1 head Broccoli (Day 12)

PANTRY*:

• 1 can Pizza sauce (Day 4, 18, 30)
• 1 can Spaghetti sauce (Day 6, 19, 31)
• 1 pkg Rice (Day 5, 7)
• 2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup (Day 5, 14)
• 3 cans Refried beans or pinto beans (Day 15, 23, 28)
• 1 can Black beans (Day 27)
• 1 can Salsa (Day 27)
• 2 cans Tomato soup (Day 16, 29)
• 1 can Tomato sauce (Day 28)
• 2 pkg Spaghetti (Day 6, 14, 19)
• 1 pkg Fettuccine (Day 26)
• 1 pkg Macaroni (Day 8, 11, 21)
• 1 pkg Bread crumbs (Day 6, 10, 31)
• 1 pkg Hot dog buns (Day 8)
• 1 loaf Bread (Day 16, 29)
• 1 pkg Taco shells (Day 15, 23)
• 1 pkg Tortillas (Day 27)
• 1 pkg Tortilla chips (Day 28)
• 1/2 C (or 3 pkg) Taco seasoning (Day 15, 23, 27, 28)

FRIDGE/FREEZER:

• 6 C Mozzarella cheese (Day 4, 18, 30, 31)
• 10 C Cheddar cheese (Day 8, 11, 14, 21, 27, 28)
• 1 doz Eggs (Day 6, 7, 13, 25)
• 1 gal Milk (Day 8, 9, 11, 20, 21)
• 1 lb Butter (Day 8, 9, 10, 11, 16, 21, 29)
• 1 pkg Velveeta (Day 16, 29)
• 1 pkg Refrigerated biscuits or pie crust (Day 20)
• 1 pint Heavy cream (Day 26)
• 1 pkg Parmesan (Day 26, 31)

* I'm not including staples like flour, oil, salt, yeast, baking powder/soda, standard spices, etc. These are negligible, and will be replaced throughout the month if I run out, but I doubt I will...


** You'll notice a LOT of meals after these meat items. I' try to stretch my meats as far as possible- a whole chicken, for example, will be eaten one night as "roast chicken", and the remaining meat will be shredded and thrown into casseroles for another 2 or 3 meals. One pound of beef stretches to about 3 taco meals for the two of us.


My next step should be seeing how much this would cost if I was shopping for it all at once. Also, many of the things on the list are "convenience foods" that could probably be made at home, instead of buying pre-made pie crust or canned beans or breadcrumbs, for example. The cost of the menu could be lowered by cooking from scratch even more so, but I have the most likely (easiest) way I'll make the dishes listed.

Looking at this list, I realize how this looks like a really bad-for-us menu. I'll report on how I work more veggies into the meals, because I KNOW we eat more vegetables than what is listed. Also, we eat whatever is coming out of the garden, so I hope corn-on-the-cob and more tomatoes will appear on the menu, but I don't want to count my chickens, er, ears of corn, yet.