How to stretch your pantry/fridge

Kaitum said:
One cost savings we've done is to buy the family pack of pork chops at Costco and then repackage them into vacuum sealed packets for 2 when we get home. The price per pound usually works out well.
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This is what we do in my house as well.
There are a couple local butcher shops that have weekly family sized deals on meat.
I'll buy one that strikes my fancy and then break it down into smaller meal sizes. Vacuum seal and throw in the deep freeze
 
If you know anyone that owns a restaurant (and really likes you), see about ordering meat through their supply.
Sometimes it is about the same cost/lb as Sam's Club so you have to compare.
Also be prepared to have the storage space, as it will be way more product than you expect
 
rideold said:
I don't think I can stretch my pantry any more than I have. Learned early on when my wife started her first graduate degree that we either learn some tricks or starve. I have always bought whole chickens, watched the meat counter for sales and stocked the freezer when the price came down enough, save every garlic/onion/carrot/celery/parsley etc. trimming along with the backs from the whole chickens to make broth. We went so far as to buy a whole cow and butchered it to fill an empty freezer one time.
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Forgot to add that I bake all our bread and grind my own flour. That has paid off in spades over the years. It costs me about a dollar to make our two weekly loaves. At around 50 cents a pound for wheat berries compared to upwards of $2 a pound for flour the cost of the grinder was paid off long ago.

The other strategy I've developed over the years is to always buy the most basic ingredients I can. The closest I get to prepared foods is canned tomatoes, the occasional salami and some snack items and things like that. It's amazing how much the grocery bill goes up when we add just a few prepared food items to the cart!
 
rideold said:
Forgot to add that I bake all our bread and grind my own flour. That has paid off in spades over the years. It costs me about a dollar to make our two weekly loaves. At around 50 cents a pound for wheat berries compared to upwards of $2 a pound for flour the cost of the grinder was paid off long ago.

The other strategy I've developed over the years is to always buy the most basic ingredients I can. The closest I get to prepared foods is canned tomatoes, the occasional salami and some snack items and things like that. It's amazing how much the grocery bill goes up when we add just a few prepared food items to the cart!
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What wheat grinder do you use/recommend?
 
We eat in 90% of the time, with a weekend treat of tacos or pizza or something like that. Usually try to make large enough meals that we can scrounge for dinner a couple of times a week on leftovers. Leftovers are also the usual for lunch.

We're canning this year. The wife's gardens are coming along nicely in the 2nd year. Soil is better and the peas have been awesome. We've frozen a bunch of snap peas already for use in stir fry through the year. Beans are just coming on and we should have enough tomatoes to get several gallons of stewed, marinara & other product. Building a potato box for the basement this summer as well, but need to make sure it's mouse proof, so need so source some galvanized sheet metal & the right sized box. Will likely do the same for cabbage that we don't turn into kraut or kimchi. Canning is happening this year as well and we'll have a lot of squash laid in.

I've got 3 deer tags in my pocket and for once, I'm not going to be so danged picky & just fill the freezer. Hoping to add a bunch of birds as well, all locally harvested. Might end up looking for a cow elk opportunity as work allows but that's low on the list at the moment.

Salmon fishing next month, and we'll be stocking up on smallmouth bass, walleye and other fish as the summer progresses.
 
I like taking leftover meat and adding it to a can of beans for burritos. Chopped up steak, leftover barbecue, hamburger, etc.

Heat some butter, fry some onions, add garlic and a few pickled sliced peppers, dump beans on top, heat and stir, throw in the meat, etc..

Throw it all on a tortilla with some shredded cheese, go out to your truck and find that fire sauce packet that you know is somewhere under the seat, add that, roll it up and enjoy.
 
Kaitum said:
One cost savings we've done is to buy the family pack of pork chops at Costco and then repackage them into vacuum sealed packets for 2 when we get home. The price per pound usually works out well.
Click to expand...

I've been doing this since I saw my mother split up packs of meat. Fantastic way to save big cuts of chicken, pork & beef.
 
RobertD said:
I like taking leftover meat and adding it to a can of beans for burritos. Chopped up steak, leftover barbecue, hamburger, etc.

Heat some butter, fry some onions, add garlic and a few pickled sliced peppers, dump beans on top, heat and stir, throw in the meat, etc..

Throw it all on a tortilla with some shredded cheese, go out to your truck and find that fire sauce packet that you know is somewhere under the seat, add that, roll it up and enjoy.
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mmm. there's a cheap way to do lunches that i've been overlooking recently.

tortillas and meat, don't even need the beans. though, good to add in some beans. adding in lettuce and onions is a cheap and delicious bonus, but also not necessary.

usually there is more than enough orphaned hot sauce in the work fridge to get some spice too.
 
My sister has a food truck. When I visit I make sure we stop at the restaurant supply store to stock up on non-perishables.

I don't buy a ton of meat (except fried chicken), but whole pork loins are always cheaper than chops. Get to cut them as thick as you'd like.
 
Kaitum said:
One cost savings we've done is to buy the family pack of pork chops at Costco and then repackage them into vacuum sealed packets for 2 when we get home. The price per pound usually works out well.
Click to expand...
We do the same, but usually get the whole pork loins, then I cut my own chops and freeze. It's not a huge savings, but enough to make it worth it.
 
I got a second cow tag in the leftover draw. If the food supply chain tightens before fall, I’ll be ready. I may be burning $7 gas to go get those cows though.
 
In these days of ever-rising health care costs I've found it a worthwhile investment to eat healthy 'real' food rather than consuming the cheapest/fastest/most processed options and paying the price at the dr's office down the road. Watching sales, using coupons, store brands instead of name brands, and buying in bulk allows me to use the savings for things like good quality olive oil instead of cheaper questionable seed oils, real butter and big blocks of cheese. Switching out soda for ice water with an infusion of mint from my garden. Cooking from scratch. It takes time and effort in the kitchen but I'd rather invest my time there than in a medical center waiting room. I've also started shopping with Azure Standard to support American producers rather than buying imported products wherever I can.
 
270.Rose said:
In these days of ever-rising health care costs I've found it a worthwhile investment to eat healthy 'real' food rather than consuming the cheapest/fastest/most processed options and paying the price at the dr's office down the road. Watching sales, using coupons, store brands instead of name brands, and buying in bulk allows me to use the savings for things like good quality olive oil instead of cheaper questionable seed oils, real butter and big blocks of cheese. Switching out soda for ice water with an infusion of mint from my garden. Cooking from scratch. It takes time and effort in the kitchen but I'd rather invest my time there than in a medical center waiting room. I've also started shopping with Azure Standard to support American producers rather than buying imported products wherever I can.
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We've been buying bulk wheat from Azure. Its a good way to go.
 
Kaitum said:
Two places I frequented in college: one place had $0.10 wings every Tuesday, the other offered free pizza during happy hour (beers were $1). Haven't come close to those cost savings since.

One cost savings we've done is to buy the family pack of pork chops at Costco and then repackage them into vacuum sealed packets for 2 when we get home. The price per pound usually works out well.
Click to expand...
We dothis with the chicken and ground beef too. For whatever reason you can get a pound of chicken breast for about 7 bucks or 5 pounds for 12 doesn't really make sense but I always buy the large packs and repackage to use or freeze at home. Chicken thighs are the cheapest and imo have the most uses as well. Buy the 5 lb logs of ground beef and repackage at home.
 
I picked up a 6x6 walk in cooler and a 4x6 freezer a couple years ago for reasonable price . I put the together a few months ago to replace 2 stand up freezers and a refrigerator in the shop. I had to build shelves for both but they run at around 1/4 the cost of the others and hold more than double the products. An added bonus is I made some hanging racks for the cooler. IMG_20220523_144132352.jpg
 
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