When I go grocery shopping, I usually stock up on things when they are on sale. Then I shop from my pantry to make meal planning a lot more affordable! Click here to get my free meal planning printable list.
For example, we had 3-pound packages of ground beef on sale for $4 a few weeks ago. I bought 8 packages and put them in 1.5-pound freezer packs in my deep freezer.
When Perdue boneless, skinless chicken goes on sale for $1.99 per pound, I usually grab about 25 pounds and store it in my freezer.
In the past, I have also bought 1/4 cow and 40 pounds of chicken from farms.
Jars of sauce usually go on sale for .99 cents a jar.
Bakery bread is always going on sale so I also grab things like a 12-pack of mini bagels for .59 or my Kroger has Cheesecake Factory bread that has been on sale for $2.19 per package.
I bought a deep freezer a few years ago at Best Buy for $100 – and it’s been a great investment for our family.
I don’t do it to hoard food but to have a nice stockpile of things we are always using so I don’t have to pay full price. (Everything listed above was about 50% cheaper than if I bought it when it wasn’t on sale.)
We also lived in Mexico City for 12 years. We had access to a lot of foods but there were many things that were very expensive so we just learned how to make things from scratch.
So below is a list of some of my favorite things to make “from scratch” or that are semi-homemade. Many of these things you hopefully have in your home already. (My pictures are horrible – so please know they are still yummy and I should re-do my pictures 🙂 )
My Favorite Recipes From My Pantry
Homemade Pancakes – these taste a lot like McDonald’s and they are the most popular recipe on my blog. They get so fluffy!
Granola Bars – Here is a recipe for Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars Recipe or you can make No-Bake M&M Granola Bars.
Energy Bites – This only has 6 ingredients. My kids love to snack on these!
Wacky Cake – This is a Chocolate Cake that is egg-free and dairy-free (The cake is dairy-free – but I added an icing that does have butter in it – but it’s optional.)
Magic cream cheese-filled bagels – You do not need yeast to make these. My kids love them! And they are much easier to make than bagels!
DIY Chili Seasoning – you may just want to make your own all the time!
DIY Taco Seasoning – I love this recipe because I know exactly what is in my seasoning mix.
Caramel popcorn – made in your oven without a thermometer!
Easy Homemade Granola – Just 5 Ingredients
Easy Baked Ziti – I used provolone for this recipe. But you can use more mozzarella if you have that instead.
All the bread recipes:
- Buttery Bread Machine Rolls – we have used this recipe to make burger buns.
- Bread Machine Pizza Dough – we love this for calzones too!
- Bread Machine French Bread Recipe
- Bread Machine English Muffins
- Bread Machine Croissant Recipe (Freezer Friendly)
- Cinnamon Roll Recipe With Cream Cheese Icing
- Pizza Muffins
- Whole wheat rolls (perfect for my Sloppy Joe recipe)
- Cheddar Bacon Scones
What are some of your favorite recipes to whip up with ingredients you have in your home?
Christie
Monday 16th of March 2020
I will be trying those pancakes!