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msclavel
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| Posted: Sept 20 2007 at 7:27pm | IP Logged
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I know there have been so many threads on food budgets and cooking...
This may seem silly, but I have a question on the quantity of food to prepare for a large family, especially once a couple of the kids start hitting the teen years. I think I need to readjust again as to how much I buy and prepare...just when I had gotten the hang of it. And I say this because I am trying very hard to limit runs to the grocery store and I get the sense I'm not buying enough on the "big" runs.
So I need the basics, like how many pounds of meat for chili, how many chicken breats, how much rice, pasta and so on. I hope this makes sense.I like to make most everything from scratch, healthy diet..And we don't mind some leftovers.
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Bridget
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| Posted: Sept 21 2007 at 3:04pm | IP Logged
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Well, I just used two 12 oz. boxes of of spiral pasta for a pasta salad. It nearly fills the big tupperware bowl with the add-ins.
It is a whole new food world isn't it? The 5 lb. packs of ground beef make two big meatloaves, but thats only two meals. The #10 cans don't look unreasonable anymore. My kids can eat one of those pineapple cans in two days. 25 pound bags of flour last a month.
We're up to a gallon of milk a day.
I can still get away with cooking one chicken breast for each person because the littles only eat a third of one.
I cook 4 cups of steel cut oats in the morning and 3 cups of brown rice for dinner.
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Sept 22 2007 at 2:41pm | IP Logged
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for chili.. I wouldn't up the meat.. I'd up the amount of beans in it.. that's one way to cut corners.. be sure and brown the meat and get it chopped up real fine.. the smaller the pieces the more it'll be all through the "whatever".
You can always fill up on cheaper items.. so that everyone may only get 2 slices of bacon at breakfast.. they can fill up on potatoes and eggs etc.
But the amounts are going to be different for individual families.. the size of the people and their activity levels will make a huge difference on what and how much needs to be served.
You might just want to make a list.. write a meal down.. and then write down if you had to feed extra pb&j sandwiches to fill up hollow legs ;) or if there was leftovers for 1 or 2 or whatever.. then the next time you have that meal you'll know how to adjust that for YOUR family.
I was just figuring out some bulk purchase items for our family.. and I'm shifting some amounts up.. I think we're using more.. but it's sorta hit and miss.. hard to tell just from a "feeling" that more is being eaten (kids getting bigger) that that means you need 2 cases of canned mushrooms instead of 1.5 cases 
I buy grains and canned goods in bulk about once a year.. and then just fill out the year if I miss by buying at the grocery store. I have the feeling what I may end up doing though is going to a twice a year order rather than keep trying to buy more.
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joann10
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| Posted: Sept 22 2007 at 6:03pm | IP Logged
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Well, we have big eaters around here. Yesterday as I made homemade mac and cheese I thought of this post. I used 3 pounds of macaroni, 3 pounds of extra sharp cheese and 8 cups of milk. This doesn't all fit in my giant crock-pot so I keep some out for left overs for little kid's lunches. If I didn't do this they would eat it all for one meal. As it was, they did it everything in the crock pot.
Tonight we had chicken and bisquits. I bought 4 pounds of boneless chicken thighs. We made 32 large bisquits, and added 8 cups of corns we had frozen a month ago. It is all gone.  It was very yummy.
It is certainly a very individual thing from family to family. Mine are big eaters, but the biggest ones also help pay for the groceries, if not there would be alot more rationing of food around here. As it is I do put a limit on how much milk the big kids can drink. (I remind them that it costs more than gas around here right now.  )
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LisaR
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| Posted: Sept 22 2007 at 7:42pm | IP Logged
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ok, can I peek in here?? Food quantity is not my problem (I'm the same as Bridget's post to a "T") but fridge space, pantry space, large enough pots and pans, keeping the dishwasher to only one "run" per 24 hr period, etc, is what is pushing me over the edge. I'm running out of room! and I am not a packrat in any of these areas. I constantly clean out, use up food in the fridge, I USE every single pan I have, and have no more space for anymore, yet I need bigger sizes.
Sometimes I can't get everything in the oven that I want to! (I'm big into making use of the heat to make a few things at once in there)
***What pans/pot sizes do you use and where do you buy them??***
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chicken lady
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| Posted: Sept 22 2007 at 7:56pm | IP Logged
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JodieLyn wrote:
| I buy grains and canned goods in bulk about once a year.. and then just fill out the year . |
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I would love to hear your meal planning. Sounds like you have a system in place that I might get ideas from.
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Sept 22 2007 at 8:15pm | IP Logged
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The nice thing about my "system".. is that I may or may not plan meals ahead.. but because I know what foods we eat.. and buy the ingredients for those ahead.. I can just decide that tonight I want speghetti and I'll find the spices and tomatoes and noodles in the cupboard and hamburger and onions and peppers in the freezer... if I think of it early enough in the day I'll even have the stuff on hand to make an italian bread.
I could also do the same thing with just about any meal we like. there are a few that I need to check on perishable things.. like having sour cream on hand for stroganoff.. but most things I can make from my pantry so less planning ahead is needed for meals.. and when I shop I shop sales as much as possible.. and very likely I go to the store with some things on the list as a "check the price and if it's good buy and stock up".. other things are.. "buy one.. if on sale stock up".. and still others aren't really stock up-able or the little bit they go on sale is negligible so I can buy what I can of them.
Somewhere around here I have a pantry list and how I stock up... I'll look for it.
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Sept 22 2007 at 8:16pm | IP Logged
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Starting and Maintaining a Pantry
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G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
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Bridget
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| Posted: Sept 22 2007 at 8:18pm | IP Logged
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LisaR wrote:
***What pans/pot sizes do you use and where do you buy them??***
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We have a restaurant supplier, Gordon Food Service , here. They sell restaurant quality stainless steel pots and pans in the big sizes. Not expensive. The stainless is not pretty, but nearly indestructible.
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LisaR
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| Posted: Sept 22 2007 at 8:55pm | IP Logged
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Bridget wrote:
LisaR wrote:
***What pans/pot sizes do you use and where do you buy them??***
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We have a restaurant supplier, Gordon Food Service , here. They sell restaurant quality stainless steel pots and pans in the big sizes. Not expensive. The stainless is not pretty, but nearly indestructible.
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Oh, I have looked at those there! and you do not have a problem with food burning/sticking to the bottom??
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wifemommy
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| Posted: Sept 24 2007 at 8:27am | IP Logged
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Thanks for the pots and pan tip. We have a GFS near hear and I never thought about getting pots and pans there. Is there a crock pot bigger then 6 quarts  Annie
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juststartn
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| Posted: Sept 24 2007 at 1:14pm | IP Logged
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I saw one in the paper last month that was 7qts.
Don't remember the brand, though.
Sorry.
Rachel (who wants one, too)
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Sept 24 2007 at 2:06pm | IP Logged
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It's not quite a crock pot but an electric roaster can do many of the same things.. and you can get ones big enough for the thanksgiving turkey.. I cooke 5 lbs of dry beans in mine.. and still have room for another pound or so
You need to decide what you're cooking.. which pans you need.
I still need the smaller pans.. so I have a set of stainless steel pots and pans.. I have a 1, 1.5, 2 and 3 quart saucepans.. that's both enough and not too much.
I have a 6qt stockpot.. I love this pan.. it's a great size for so many things.. I need a second of this size.
I have a larger stock pot.. I think it's around a 16qt. great for big pots of soup or stew and the like. I use both pots when cooking steamed dumplings. I don't yet have a need for a second pot that size.
My skillets are cast iron.
I have 1 8" (perfect for corn tortillas), 2 10" and 2 12".. I don't like going bigger because the heat just doesn't distribute as evenly. When I do things like fried chicken or porkchops.. I just brown and then pop in the oven rather than trying to get them completely cooked on the stove. Also a 10" round griddle.. I want 2 of them but haven't found one in town yet.
The bakeware is where things get complicated for me.
I bought a rectangle roaster that I can also use for casseroles and such (most would use it for a turkey) I want 4 jellyrollpans/cookiesheets, 4 muffin tins (you can put two in side by side in the oven and have 2 getting ready with the next batch). 4-8 loaf pans (I can do a double batch of quick bread ~ 4 loaves and still have pans to be rising yeast bread)
multiple pie plates, double the number of cake pans,
the sets of casserole dishes just don't work.. the only ones I ever use are the largest of the set. So I got rid of the others that were just taking space
did I miss anything?
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JodieLyn
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Oh and on the stainless.. I have the copper bottom revereware.. except my big stockpot.. it was a special at Safeway but it has the nickle encased bottom and it's WONDERFUL.. so if I coudl I'd get ones with that heavy bottom.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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Lisbet
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| Posted: Sept 24 2007 at 5:31pm | IP Logged
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Aldi's has a crock pot advertised right now that is 8 quarts for $24.99! I just paid $29 for a 6 quart at WalMart. (the stoneware crock in my other broke, so I needed to replace it...) Wish I would've checked Aldi's first...
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LLMom
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| Posted: Sept 24 2007 at 5:35pm | IP Logged
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Bridget wrote:
We're up to a gallon of milk a day.
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Bridget,
How many cups a day are your children drinking? I assume this means that you cook some with milk too? It sounds like a lot of milk. I only allow my kids 1 cup of milk a day plus some on cereal or oatmeal for breakfast. But we aren't big milk drinkers. We go through 3- 4 gallons a week and that is with 2 ds who are teens.
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CAgirl4God
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| Posted: Sept 25 2007 at 10:30am | IP Logged
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since we moved here, and fod is more $$$ I am revamping our system (if you can call it that lol).
I know with milk, I cut it down to cereal and cooking only. occassionally the kids will have a samll glass with cookies, or I will make hot chocolate. but I have htem drink water now. they need it anyway with the hot tropcial sun beating down and them rnning all over the place lol.
as my kids get older they eat more (11, 8, 7 and almost 3) and dh is a big meat eater. but I also notice that they are getting braver about trying new things and their tastes are maturing that it is easier to try new recipies, heathier more filling recipies! lol
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Topic: How much food
