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Over the last month, we focused heavily on 1930s depression-era recipes. It was a hugely educational experiment, but my family is very happy to be back to our normal diet! Many of you have asked how we manage our normal groceries. Today, I am sharing our complete weekly from-scratch menu. We have nine people living at home. We cook almost everything from scratch for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
You can follow along as I pull all the ingredients for our weekly from-scratch menu straight from the pantry in the video below.
How We Meal Plan for 9 People
Building a weekly from-scratch menu in our house is actually very simple. Every family member gets to pick one or two recipes they want to eat that week.
We rely heavily on recipes that we already have on repeat, using The Little Mountain Ranch Family Cookbook and Tieghan Gerard’s Half Baked Harvest cookbooks the most. Because we stick to a familiar rotation, meal planning rarely requires much deep thought.
Once everyone picks their meals, we “shop” straight from our pantry shelves.
Pulling from the Homegrown Pantry
A successful weekly from-scratch menu starts with our homegrown pantry. We save a massive amount of money by growing our own food. Here is what we pulled from our own harvests to feed us this week:
- Beef & Chicken: We raise our own dairy calves for beef. We also raise our own meat birds. This gives us high-quality, grass-fed meat for a fraction of the grocery store price.
- Frozen Peppers: I freeze garden peppers in simple Ziploc bags. When I need them for a breakfast hash or soup, I just run them under hot water. I squeeze out the excess moisture, and they are ready to cook!
- Root Vegetables: We use a lot of homegrown potatoes, carrots, onions, and garlic. I am using my last stored cabbage and some beets to make a big pot of homemade borscht.
- Canned Goods: We pulled jars of spiced peaches, strawberries, zucchini relish, and tomato sauce. We will use the tomato sauce as a base for homemade tomato soup.
- Dried Herbs: We rely heavily on our homegrown parsley, freeze-dried kale, and homemade Italian seasoning blend.
Utilizing Bulk Staples
We buy all of our dry goods and dairy in bulk to keep our weekly from-scratch menu affordable. Here is what we grabbed for this week’s meals:
- Cheese: We buy large blocks of cheddar and marble cheese. Tip: We cut the large blocks in half and vacuum-seal them before storing them in the fridge. This completely stops them from molding!
- Baking Goods: We go through a lot of bulk flour, thick rolled oats, sugar, and yeast. We make almost all of our own bread products on the day we need them.
- Wholesale Condiments: We buy mayonnaise and ketchup in massive wholesale tubs. We transfer them into smaller, restaurant-style squeeze bottles for daily use.
- Smoothie Supplies: We go through large bags of frozen blueberries and bulk whey protein powder from Costco for our daily breakfasts.
Our Complete Weekly From-Scratch Menu
Here is the exact weekly from-scratch menu we built from those pantry items:
Dinners:
- Grandpa’s Mac and Cheese
- French Onion and Mushroom Pizza
- Smothered Garlic Parmesan Salisbury Steak
- Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese
- Hearty Beef Stew
- Meatballs and Rice
- One-Pot Spiced Chicken and Dumplings
- Homemade Beet Borscht
- Baked Beans
Lunches & Breakfasts:
- Breakfast Hash with Potatoes and Peppers
- Egg Salad Sandwiches
- Chicken Melts
- Pancakes
- Yogurt Bowls with Chia Seeds and Almonds
- Baked Oatmeal with Canned Strawberries
Baking & Sweets:
- Homemade Granola
- Blackberry Donuts
- Mocha Almond Streusel Donuts
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
The Real Reason I Shop This Way
People are often surprised when I admit this. Even though I wrote a cookbook and run a channel about food, I do not actually love cooking. I also avoid grocery shopping like the plague.
Feeding my family good, healthy food is a massive priority. However, the real reason I shop in bulk and plan a weekly from-scratch menu is convenience.
It involves far less thinking. It involves less planning. Keeping my pantry stocked keeps my overall stress levels completely down. You do not have to do this on a massive scale to see the benefits. Even just a little bit of bulk shopping can alleviate the daily stress of figuring out what is for dinner.
Are you looking for a clear, consistent learning space to master these timeless skills? I invite you to join us inside the Little Mountain Ranch Community. We host regular class-style teaching calls and open Q&A office hours. You also gain access to a comprehensive resource library.
You can click here to learn more and see if it is a good fit for you.