Okay, here's the original post that I will be referencing.
Back in Spring 2011, I'd begun keeping an inventory of my freezer, pantry, and refrigerator contents. My intention was to update that inventory (done on Excel) every week, so that I'd know what was in my fridge...and thus, prevent overbuying of foodstuffs.
However, you know how things go, one week became two...two became a month. I updated the spreadsheet about once a month, until about nine months ago, when I took up the call again to regulate the frequency (look at me, Ma, sounding all scientific!) With a renewed interest in being frugal and resourceful, and having some free time to consider matters such as these, I realize it is indeed time for another Refrigerator Purge. After all, as of right now, there's roughly 50+ pounds of beef, pork, and chicken in my freezer that needs to get used...along with 30-some cups of cheddar and mozzarella cheese (a great deal at your local Costco).
My goal in the next weeks is to "eat down the fridge", in which I devise family menu plans based on what's in my fridge. As I make my weekly trips to the supermarket, I buy only what is absolutely crucial (i.e. perishable) to the family's eating patterns.
So. Week One looks like this:
Tuna Noodle Casserole and Sweet Potatoes (gone: two cans of tuna, a can of Cream Mush soup, and a half-bag of egg noodles.)
Beef Cube Steaks, Fingerling Potatoes, and Salad (gone: steaks and potatoes)
Hamburger Helper (I feel dirty even admitting that we're having this, but it was my daughter's idea of bargain purchase. She had a coupon and my husband had no willpower. Of course, I wasn't there!! Anyway, gone: the box of Processed Satan and the last pound of ground beef)
Chicken Enchiladas and Arizona Baked Corn (gone: a whole chicken bought on sale several months ago, tortillas, jarred jalapeños, guacamole, frozen corn, and one of the many 2-cup servings bags of mozzarella cheese)
Dijon Chicken (gone: about half the breasts out of a bag of individually sealed and frozen breasts from Costco)
This isn't a complicated menu, nor is it particularly refined. It is my hope that in 40 years' time, I can do this same exercise...except I will have years of wisdom and knowledge along with my desire. Imagine the exquisite, fine dining dishes that will be before you.
If you're still subscribed to this blog, that is. If there is still a Blogger.com. If there's still the Internet. If we're all not dead by that time, for crying out loud!
Hopefully, by that time (at which I'll be a nubile, spry seventy-eight years young), I'll have an idea what to do with such things like:
Oyster sauce and clam juice
or
Two packages of beef liver
or
Two packages of rice paper
or
Two pounds of flax seed
Because it's likely those items will still be in my fridge 40 years from now.
Back in Spring 2011, I'd begun keeping an inventory of my freezer, pantry, and refrigerator contents. My intention was to update that inventory (done on Excel) every week, so that I'd know what was in my fridge...and thus, prevent overbuying of foodstuffs.
However, you know how things go, one week became two...two became a month. I updated the spreadsheet about once a month, until about nine months ago, when I took up the call again to regulate the frequency (look at me, Ma, sounding all scientific!) With a renewed interest in being frugal and resourceful, and having some free time to consider matters such as these, I realize it is indeed time for another Refrigerator Purge. After all, as of right now, there's roughly 50+ pounds of beef, pork, and chicken in my freezer that needs to get used...along with 30-some cups of cheddar and mozzarella cheese (a great deal at your local Costco).
My goal in the next weeks is to "eat down the fridge", in which I devise family menu plans based on what's in my fridge. As I make my weekly trips to the supermarket, I buy only what is absolutely crucial (i.e. perishable) to the family's eating patterns.
So. Week One looks like this:
Tuna Noodle Casserole and Sweet Potatoes (gone: two cans of tuna, a can of Cream Mush soup, and a half-bag of egg noodles.)
Beef Cube Steaks, Fingerling Potatoes, and Salad (gone: steaks and potatoes)
Hamburger Helper (I feel dirty even admitting that we're having this, but it was my daughter's idea of bargain purchase. She had a coupon and my husband had no willpower. Of course, I wasn't there!! Anyway, gone: the box of Processed Satan and the last pound of ground beef)
Chicken Enchiladas and Arizona Baked Corn (gone: a whole chicken bought on sale several months ago, tortillas, jarred jalapeños, guacamole, frozen corn, and one of the many 2-cup servings bags of mozzarella cheese)
Dijon Chicken (gone: about half the breasts out of a bag of individually sealed and frozen breasts from Costco)
This isn't a complicated menu, nor is it particularly refined. It is my hope that in 40 years' time, I can do this same exercise...except I will have years of wisdom and knowledge along with my desire. Imagine the exquisite, fine dining dishes that will be before you.
If you're still subscribed to this blog, that is. If there is still a Blogger.com. If there's still the Internet. If we're all not dead by that time, for crying out loud!
Hopefully, by that time (at which I'll be a nubile, spry seventy-eight years young), I'll have an idea what to do with such things like:
Oyster sauce and clam juice
or
Two packages of beef liver
or
Two packages of rice paper
or
Two pounds of flax seed
Because it's likely those items will still be in my fridge 40 years from now.
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