Homesteading: A Woman's Journey

Once a Month Pantry Shopping

03:12, Thursday, October 12, 2006 .. Posted in Around the Cookstove .. 0 comments .. Link

As mentioned in my last blog, we are starting a new way of shopping for our pantry supplies. We live about 45 miles from the store where we get our supplies. Having to go there each week to shop takes away from the time we have to work around the homestead. With Joe having limited time at home, we have to utilize it the best that we are able to. This is where shopping once a month will benefit us. Here is what we are doing.

I'm writing out 12 weekly menus. Each menu also lists on each day the location of the recipes used. On the back of the menu page, I am listing the shopping list for the menu. To make a month's menu, I choose 4 of the weekly menus. Then, I combine the shopping lists. This makes the basic list that I will need for that month. Since we don't have a freezer, the perishables will be bought every 2 weeks instead of once a month. Bulk pantry items, such as flour, are going to be purchased in large quantity. I bake alot, so I easily can use 20 lbs. of white flour a month, depending on how much wheat I grind and use. Some items are best purchased at the membership stores. I can purchase a twin pack of 1 pound bags of dry active yeast for about $4. This is enough yeast to last me several months. If I had to buy the little packets of the yeast at the grocery store, I would spend a great deal more.

With the autumn's cooler temperatures, I am now making alot of homemade soups and stews. This requires that I store the dried beans, lentils, split peas, and rice. Rolled oats, cream of wheat and grits also get stored in larger amounts. We love hot cocoa on cold evenings so I store extra baking cocoa powder. Popcorn is another family favorite that I store in quantity whenever possible.

One of the things that saves alot of time and money is make my own mixes. You can find many recipes and resources online for these. Some of our favorites are: the baking mix (similar to but better tasting than Bisquick), brownie & cake mixes, pancake mix, cornbread mix, homemade "hamburger helper" type meals, and flavored rice.

Hope that this gives you some ideas on ways to build our pantry.

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