Monday, October 20, 2008

What's in YOUR pantry


This is a rhetorical question, of course. Wouldn't want a mob of hungry people at your door, if you tell us that you have enough stored away to last into the next decade. hehee.

I ask this, because I have had my pantry come to the forefront of my mind this last week. My pantry was a HUGE mess just a couple of weeks back. It's still not in excellent order, but you can at least see what is available, and pretty much know the general area where something might be if it's needed. I found that I do have a variety of items, but there are really some areas that are LACKING. Such as spices, canned meats, mayonnaise, oil, etc. So, it is a goal of mine to start listing some of the immediate needs that our family might need. (working toward the 3 months supply of food that we have been counseled to obtain)

Here is an example of one person's 3 months supply list, it will vary extremely from family to family. Depending on size, finances, tastes, etc.

3-MONTH SUPPLY OF FOOD PLAN

This is how much food we need for 3 months (14 weeks). There are 12 dinners, because we can make 6 dinners per week and have leftovers on the 7th day of the week. And then I multiplied those dinners x 7, because 12 dinners x 7, including leftovers, is enough for 14 weeks worth of dinners. For lunch we can have leftovers half of the time and peanut butter jelly or another kind of sandwich the other part of the time. Breakfast can be oatmeal or bear mush most of the time, and a bread product made from scratch like bagels or muffins less of the time. We will keep a list on the fridge, separate from our regular grocery list, and mark all these items, so that when we use one up, we can write the item on the list to be sure to replace it.

Dinners:
1. pasta, marinara, canned green beans
2. tuna casserole with peas
3. lentil burgers, broccoli
4. stir fry vegetables and rice
5. boston baked beans, rice, broccoli
6. chickpea ratatouille, spinach
7. festive dal soup, bread
8. homemade “spaghettios”, green beans
9. “everything” rice
10. chicken veggie fajitas, spinach
11. sub ball sandwiches, broccoli
12. mac and “cheeze”, canned green beans


WHAT WE NEED:

BUCKETS:
3 buckets of hard wheat
1 bucket of oats or oat groats
1 bucket of sugar
1 bucket white flour
1 bucket brown rice
1 bucket kidney beans
1 bucket navy beans
1 bucket chickpeas
1 bucket red lentils
1 bucket regular lentils
smaller bucket of raisins
smaller bucket of bear mush


CANNED:
3 containers of salt
8 jars jam
8 jars peanut butter
8 cans crushed tomatoes (28 oz.)
8 cans cream of mushroom soup
8 cans tomato soup
14 cans green beans
14 cans tuna
16 cans petite diced tomatoes
16 cans regular diced tomatoes


DRY PANTRY:
14 lbs. macaroni
4 lbs. penne
4 lbs. fettuccini
4 lbs. spaghetti
bag of instant yeast
2 jars baking powder
1 gallon vegetable oil
1 container molasses
1 container maple syrup
1 bottle soy sauce
1 bottle stir-fry sauce
1 container olive oil
2 bottles ketchup
1 bottle mustard
1 jar mayo
1 tub breadcrumbs
1 container lemon juice
1 bottle vinegar
8 cups nutritional yeast (a big bag full)


FREEZER:
15 pounds butter
8 lbs. frozen green beans
4 lbs. frozen spinach
8 lbs. frozen broccoli
4 lbs. frozen peas
4 lbs. frozen corn
1 bag frozen bell pepper
8 lbs. frozen stir-fry vegetables
8 lbs. ground beef
8 - 12 lbs. frozen chicken breast

Please share a couple of your meal ideas & recipes, and what you might buy at the store that would keep well for at least the 3 months.

1 comments:

Unknown said...

My Mom makes something called 'Nacho Soup' There are basically 5 ingredients.

Tortilla Chips
Hamburger
Green Beans and/or corn
Spaghetti Sauce
Grated Cheese
optional: Sour cream

DINNER NACHOS (Simple and tastes good too) Serves 4 -6 people

1 Lb. Ground Beef (more or less) Browned in a large skillet, (drain off some fat)

Add: 26 oz. bottled or canned Spaghetti Sauce (more or less)

Add: 15 oz. can green beans, drained (or corn for a change)

Heat the above three ingredients in the skillet with a lid on. Stir often to heat through.

1 C. Crushed Tortilla Chips for each person (more or less) on individual plates

2 C. Grated Cheese (more or less) on a separate plate

When ready to eat, each person layers the chips, the sauce, then the cheese on a plate. A salad and garlic bread go well with this meal or it can be served alone.
----
The chips can be stored in your pantry for probably 3 to 4 months without going stale (if it's dry) just always use the 'first in, first out' rule.
Hamburger stores in the freezer for about a year (cooked about 6 months) You can also can your hamburger.
Beans & corn store for a year or more, the same goes for Spaghetti Sauce.
Cheese lasts usually 3 months in the fridge...block cheese stores best. you could also substitute with nacho cheese sauce from a can.