February Menu & Accidental Once-a-Month Shopping

Due to the January Pantry Challenge, our stock of lots and lots of things was depleted.  So on February 1st we picked up our produce co-op offerings and I made a huge grocery list for 3 stores and ended up spending 4 hours shopping and the bulk of our grocery budget for the month. The good news is that I think I've got a plan for all this food and purchased more than enough convenience things to hopefully keep me sane. I admit I am compromising on health in favor of more time.  I'll still need to buy milk, butter, eggs and a bit of produce throughout the month, but for everything else we are set.

Here's the plan:

February Meals

Goals: Eat at home. Eliminate meal prep stress. Keep an orderly kitchen.

Dinners:

Sandwiches (on the marathon grocery shopping day)

Baked spaghetti (x2)

Super Bowl: chips with homemade salsa & guac, veggie platter with dip, buffalo chicken, smoothies

Spaghetti and meat sauce (up to 4 times)

Runza casserole, fruit salad, asparagus (+1 for another family)

Chicken rice soup, whole wheat bread, fruit

Garlic brown sugar chicken, brown rice, peas

Homemade pizza with beef, pepperoni, ham and/or peppers (x2-3) birthday meal

Buffalo chicken salad (x2)

Cheesy broccoli chicken & rice

Vegetable beef soup, biscuits

Beef brisket, baked beans and vegetable

BBQ brisket sandwiches on homemade buns, coleslaw

Broccoli cheese soup, angel biscuits

Steak tacos

Beans & cilantro-lime rice, cheese, sour cream, etc. (x2)

Pasta/veg/bratwurst skillet

Valentine's Day: Chicken enchiladas with sour cream white sauce, cherry bars or chocolate fondue

Sanity saver options: chicken nuggets & fries, peas / frozen lasagna / frozen pizzas

Lunches:

leftovers

ham sandwiches

pizza soup

fried brown rice (make rice ahead, freeze, and add veggies & eggs at the time of the meal)

frozen pizza

Breakfasts:

cereal (1-2x/week)

apple oatmeal (1-2x/week)

steel cut oats with blueberries (1x/week)

sausage or ham/potato/egg casserole (1x/week)

soaked oats with blueberries (1x/week)

toast from homemade bread (1x/week)

egg sandwiches on english muffins

Extras:

bring snacks for homeschool group (30+ people) – caramel corn, veggies & dip, brownie bites, bananas

***Do you have any suggestions on how to economically feed a large group of children with hollow legs? ****

Chocolate chip cookies

Little boy birthday! Cupcakes, goldfish, capri sun 

The shopping:

Safeway - $93.22

6 cans beans

3 boxes Cheerios

1 mayo

6 packages cheese (=12 lbs.)

4 packages hash browns

1 gallon ice cream

3 Digiorno pizzas

2 10 ct. English muffins

2 loaves whole wheat bread

Dairy markdowns: 4 4-pks Activia yogurt, 2 single serve Greek yogurt
1 family size Oreos

2 6pk. soda bottles 

10 lbs. sugar

5 lbs. boneless ham (I took this from the meat department to the deli and they sliced it free for a HUGE savings over fresh or packaged deli meat.)

1 red onion

4 large avocados

1 coffee creamer

King Soopers - $94.04

Dairy markdowns: 27 individual Greek yogurts, 3 gallons chocolate milk, 4 cartons cottage cheese

2 bags chips

1 pkg. beef for pizza

1 pkg. pepperoni

10 ct. razors - markdown

1 chicken burrito - markdown

1 Hormel REV snack (free - I ate this for lunch while out shopping)

5 Tombstone pizzas

4 sour cream

1 deodorant

2 bottles All laundry detergent

4 12-pks of soda

5 cream cheese

5 lbs. pasta

2 pkgs. hygiene products

3 10 ct. Capri Sun

2 large lasagnas

Costco - $145.74

12 lbs. organic brown rice

4 lbs. butter

2 ct. plastic wrap (1500 sq. ft. total)

3 lbs. sausage

3 lbs. bananas

5 qts. oil

2 qts. Famous Dave's pickles

30 ct. foil pans

5 lbs. ground beef

18 ct. extra large eggs

8 lbs. brown sugar

2 2-box packs of cereal

1 organic tortilla chips

2 lbs. fresh parmesan and romano

1 #10 can tomato sauce, 1 #10 can crushed tomatoes

coupon offers: Golfish crackers, veggie straws, 5 lbs. chicken nuggets, 2 - 3 lbs. bags boneless buffalo chicken

Total to date for February: $333.00 

February 1st Mega Grocery Shopping

Have you tried once a month shopping?  What are the pros and cons you've experienced?