February's Frugal Menu

I  did a freezer inventory today, and boy do I have a lot of stuff in there!  Per Sharon, I'm getting a whole month of dinner menus together in preparation for a no-spend February.  Basically, ever dinner this month will revolve around something I already have in my freezer, which will hopefully knock the grocery bills down a bit right off the bat.  When possible, I am combining things in the freezer to make a meal.  I've approximated the materials and costs after each dish. 

1. Shrimp Okra Gumbo - frozen shrimp + frozen okra - $0
2. Steak and Side veggie - frozen steak + frozen veggie - $0
3. Red Beans with Goat Sausage - dish from freezer and rice to put it on from pantry - $0
4. Pan Sauteed Wahoo with salad- Wahoo from freezer + butter & dressing from fridge, romaine bought - $4
5. Baked Turkey with greens - Greens and Turkey from freezer (locally grown on pasture - yum!) - $0
6. Turkey Sausage Gumbo - Stock &meat from 2/5 Turkey, Goat Sausage from freezer, buy veggies - $5
7. Steak and Side Veggie - frozen steak + frozen veggie - $0
8. Tomato Soup and Hot Bread - Soup from Freezer and Bread made from pantry - $0
9. Trout Meunière - Trout from freezer, lemon from yard, flour from pantry, butter & parsley from fridge - $0
10. Red Beans with Goat Sausage - same as 3 - $0
11. Steak and Side Veggie - steak from freezer, veggie to be purchased - $4
12. Mu Shu Pork, Pork from freezer, chinese cabbage (used instead of pancakes) to be purchased - $5
13. Fried Shrimp - shrimp from freezer, flour and seasonings from pantry - $0
14. Pan fried Grouper and Redfish with salad - Grouper & Redfish from freezer, lettuces, butter bought - $9
15. Squash and Beans Soup with Greens with hot bread - dish from freezer, flour to be purchased - $10
16. Steak and Veggies - steak from freezer, veggies to be purchased - $4
17. Red Beans and Goat Sausage - same as 3 - $0
18. Trout Meunière -  same as 9, with parsely re-purchased  - $1
19. Baked Turkey with greens - same as 5 - $0
20. Turkey à la King - Turkey from 2/19, cream of mushroom from pantry, bread made, cheese bought - $5
21. Steak and Veggies - steak from freezer, veggies purchased - $4
22. Potted Goat with Lemon - Goat from freezer, lemon from yard, all other ingredients from pantry - $0
23. Amberjack and Greens - Amberjack and Greens from freezer, butter from fridge - $0
24. Red Beans with Goat Sausage - same as 3 - $0
25. Steak and Veggie - Steak from freezer, veggie purchased - $4
26. Veggie Stir-fry - some veggies and stock from freezer, some veggies purchased, rice from pantry - $7
27. Adobo - Goat from freezer, all other ingredients from pantry - $0
28. Trout Meunière - same as 9 - $0

Adding it up, if all goes well, I will spend $62 on dinners this month.  This includes items like butter and flour that can also be used for breakfasts and lunches.  As part of this challenge, I am also planning to bake all the bread that we eat for the next month, which should save us a few dollars a week, not to mention a ton of preservatives. 

Another big budget buster for us is frozen pizza for Mr. Goat to snack on in the middle of the night.  At $5-7 each, they add up fast.  So I am planning on buying a half a dozen of this pan and making them myself.  At $17.88 each, I figure each pan will have paid for itself after pizza number 4, as long as I don't use fancy toppings on my pizzas.  Now I just have to figure out how to make pizza dough with my bread machine (yes, I am that lazy).