Menu Day! Part 4- Creating the grocery list

After selecting my recipes, it's time to decide which ingredients I'm going to have to buy and make the grocery list.
I do this by using a blank sheet of paper for my list, and my inventory lists as well. I need to know how much of each item I wind up needing so that I will know if I need to buy more.
For example- I currently have 2 onions on hand. I need 1 for chili. So I make a mental note that I only have 1 onion left. As I go through the next recipes, when I find another one that needs an onion, I make a mental note that 'now I am out of onions'. So any other recipes that need onions I will have to buy more.

I also try and keep in mind that I want to do freezer meals this week. So I want to make extra of certain meals, including chili.
Normally I use 5 cans of red kidney beans and 1 lb of meat. This time I will use 6 or 7 cans of red kidney beans and 2 lb of meat.

 

 This is my grocery list post-shopping.

For my own brain dead reasons, sometimes I have to write next to the item why I am buying that item so I know which one or how many to buy. Hence the words in parenthesis. Otherwise I might forget why I have Craisins on the list, think I'm just buying them for a snack, and not get them to save money. But since I write on there (chicken salad w/flair) I know they are for a dinner and I must get them.

Unfortunately the HEB Plus we went to was out of ground turkey and serrano chilis, so I'm going to have to go to back later this week to get them (which I hate. I will wait until I am out of wine and have to go back. No woman should have to wait until their shopping day for their wine.)

I spent almost 3 hours at the grocery store on this dang list.
I read label after label.
We took the kids to the bathroom 3 times.
I had no idea there were so many options for EVOO now. Italian, Greek, Californian.. oh my. Even some cheapo stuff from about 4 different places. I was actually really torn on buying the Italian vs the Californian. I believe the Italian is going to be more authentic, but Californian is buying local...  I wound up going with Californian. Since I've only ever bought EVOO once before, I'm no connoisseur, so I'm not going to know the difference between olive oil from California or Italy when I'm using it.

Along with these items on my list, I bought things I forgot I needed, stuff I just wanted for breakfasts/lunches/snacks, and a few things that were such a great deal, it would be stupid to pass up!
Quinoa (organic weeee), butter (NOT margarine! HA!), ketchup (hfcs free!), whole grain pasta ($.98 on sale!!), a fly swatter, baby wipes for hubby to take in the truck, paper lunch bags for Bountiful Baskets, Dawn, some Hot Shot flying bug spray (cause the ACV is helping with the gnats, but it's sloooow), a pack of scrapers ($1! And I could finally throw away the ones I inherited from my mom that were half melted and warped!), nutmeg, cinnamon sticks, shampoo, M&Ms (for hubby. He's an M&Maholic), cream of tartar, vanilla beans (cause I've had two in vodka for about 8 months now and it's still too much vodka, so I needed to add more beans), a shower pouff for DD, and laundry soap (on sale to boot! I usually make my own, but since we've been in Texas I can't find everything I need OR a good deal on baking soda).

My budget comes into play while I am shopping. I wanted to stay under $200, and had I stuck to the list it would have been easy. I spent $225. Had I not strayed from the list, I would have spent $142. But I'm ok with $25 over my intended budget for what I got.

So, shopping is done for the next 2 weeks. Recipes will be posted as I create them!
Hope you enjoy making your menu, and hopefully something I have shown you will help you do so. Feel free to ask me any questions, I will do my best to help :)