Plan to WIN

I did GINORMOUS shopping trips last week. About $500 worth...

 Pause, take a breath, as I won't need but a few fillers, another produce order,  plus bread, milk, and maybe eggs for about a month. Seriously, I don't have to go "grocery shopping" again for a month or more. I easily have meat and most sides for 35 dinners. We'll get some leftovers to take for lunches. For 4-6 people, depending on who is at the house.We get to eat well, avoid take out and pizza as well as $60 restaurant tabs... for a MONTH!!

I started with my produce co-op order. The main basket comes with what it comes with... while they tell you a few days ahead of time what is EXPECTED to be in it, there's always a variance... so it's a little like a birthday present. This represents $21.50 plus some a couple of fees to become $23:

These are the extras I ordered... about $35 for these, sweet potatoes, mixed bell peppers, local honey, tortillas, cheese, and wing sauce. Cilantro, lemons/limes, and a bag of mixed fruit.  One of the real draws for me for this co-op is that I order online and then just show up at pickup time. Grab and Go. Fantastic. (I used to volunteer to help sort out produce for the orders, but work has removed a bit of my free time lately).

I had started my grocery list by checking our staples. Then adding what we usually use, by grocery store. I also ordered the items by where they are in the store, on a list on my phone. I use my phone because I always have it AND can add to it whenever I think of something. So I put things like mac n cheese, baked beans, noodle mixes, and etc on list to fill in some of the "sides" below. "Sides" are also fruits and vegetables from the produce co-op. In my "plated" pictures, you'll frequently see strawberries, grapes, and quartered orange slices.
Our usual SUMMER meals include:
Chicken legs + sides (grill or oven)
Chicken wings + sides (grill or oven)
Chicken breasts + sides (grill or oven)
Stir fry - chicken, beef, pork, or shrimp
meatloaf + sides(crockpot or pressure cooker)
pork roast + potatoes (reg or sweet) + carrots/celery (crockpot or pressure cooker)
pork chops + sides (grill or oven)
Fajita Thursday (crockpot)
burgers/dogs + sides (grill - hate burgers in skillet! greasy ugh!)
steak/kabobs + sides
I always start with items I know we'll eat. There is some shift between the seasons, from lots of things on the grill during the summer, to soups and stews as the weather turns. Then I perused a couple of cook books, picked out a few recipes that I won't need to buy much for, but include some different flavors. They also happen to be crockpot/pressure cooker recipes. As I've mentioned before, I like to mix up flavors, cooking method, ease/complexity, using many of the same cuts of meat and ingredients I already purchase:
Chicken Paprikash
Curried Chicken
Chicken Chili
Vindaloo
Sauerbraten
Mexican Stew
I scanned the recipes and jotted down the non-usual ingredients I'd need like black and northern beans, tomatoes, coconut milk, and brown rice.

I didn't take pictures from my hauls from Aldi and Costco. Honestly, it was 300 degrees outside and maybe 400 degrees in my garage. It was hot, I was getting cranky, and just wanted to get stuff put away before it thawed. Can't refreeze meat/fish and dairy loses days by getting warm. I dragged home the first part from Aldi, dropped off at house: put meats in freezer and delegated pantry and fridge items to the 13yo. He was putting that stuff away as I ran to the Greek and Asian markets... pitas/tsatzikis/hot pepper sauce and teriyaki, ginger, and rice, respectively. Then I swung past Costco, bought some meat and frozen fish, ran home, tossed in freezer. Trust me, freezer has been stocked... to the gills. Chicken breasts, thighs, legs, and wings. Stew meat, pork roasts, pork chops, and meatloaf. Frozen fish filets: salmon and mahi mahi. Plus assorted odds and ends from the sale bin like , kielbasa, cube steaks and burgers. My pantry and fridge are overflowing... and so is my spice stash. It's Christmas in July! Or, at least it always feels like Merry Christmas to me when I get a Penzey's shipment! They now offer free shipping on $30+... this is awesome!

 Most of the meats I bought this time were already either meal size for the package, or pre-portioned like the fish filets, various cuts of chicken, and pork roasts:

I did buy a few packages that needed something done with them before being tossed into my abyss of freezer like stew meat, ground beef, and pork chops. I divided the pork chops in to 2 bags, meal sized portions and sprinkled on a couple of seasoning blends.

 For the hamburger, I made 2 meatloaves and a mess

I added one envelope of onion soup mix, 2 eggs,  and 1 can tomato paste per meatloaf. You could add breadcrumbs if you like, I tend not to. Strictly preference.

 Dumped ingredients into mixer. I HATE raw meat on my hands and under my nails... we'd only ever eat pre-portioned, frozen chicken chunks if I HAD to handle ground beef to make meatloaf! I use gloves to pat out hamburgers!

This is where it got messy... 2.3lbs ground beef plus condiments is the max load.

 Mixed up and ready to package up.

 Dump half into each of 2 gallon sized storage bags

 Roll bags on counter to form meatloaf shaped lumps, gently place in freezer or they'll reshape themselves into whatever lumps they became from being tossed in (from experience).

 For the stew meat, I checked on my list of recipes and just divvied up into 2 freezer bags.

 I can decide what to do with them when I'm ready to use them.

Let's cook! Meal plan for the next several days...
Chicken Pita Pockets
Salmon + Salad
Chicken Noodle Soup
Grilled chicken legs +mac n cheese+ green beans
Steak n Chicken +sweet potatoes + corn on the cob
Chicken Stir Fry + rice
Pork Roast + cabbage + potatoes
Chicken Wings + fruit salad
Chicken Paprikash + salad
Curried Chicken + rice
Chicken Chili + northern beans
Chicken stuffed with spinach stuff
Vindaloo + rice or couscous
Sauerbraten
Cube steaks + mashed potatoes
Mexican Stew
Grilled chicken breasts
Korean Pork Steaks

Time to print the list and stick on fridge for reference! See! That wasn't so bad...