Pantry/Freezer Challenge Update

I've been continuing on with a Pantry & Freezer Challenge this month, focusing mainly on using items from my freezer that need to be used up. My grocery purchases have been mostly for fresh dairy, fruit, and veggies - but I also have purchased some sale items.

Boneless, skinless chicken breast was on sale at No Frills last week for $1.49/pound! I should have purchased more than I did, as that is such a great price, but I already have a fair amount in the freezer from previous sales. I also made a quick trip to Sam's, and among other things, purchased their 5# bag of shredded cheddar cheese, which I divided up into 1 cup portions to put in the freezer. These are handy to pull out for various recipes, and will last awhile. So far this month I have spent $140.88 on groceries - less than normal, as I am trying to use up items on hand.

One way I like to stretch the budget is to cook a turkey occasionally, and divide up the cooked turkey into 2 cup portions to freeze. These bags of frozen cubed turkey come in so handy for a number of recipes that I have. This past week I cooked a turkey from the freezer, and it provided us with one meal on the day of cooking, plus another portion set aside in the refrigerator for turkey sandwiches later this week. And also - 8 bags of 2 cup portions of cooked turkey. Adding in the turkey carcass which will be great for making broth for Turkey Noodle Soup, we will enjoy 11 meals from one turkey purchased at a great sale price. Actually it will be more than 11 meals, as most of the recipes made from the 8 bags of cubed turkey will last for more than one meal.

It's been good for me to focus on using items from the freezer this month. Earlier in the month I made an assessment of what I have in our two freezers, plus the freezer in our side-by-side refrigerator. I found a number of things that needed to be tossed, and am focusing on using up the other items that need to be used soon. Here's a link to a post with some great charts to keep track of what we keep in our freezers - click here.

Linking up at Tasty Tuesday, and Good Cheap Eats