Week 3: The first part of the list is just like the first two week’s shopping: bread, peanut butter, cereal, milk.  and so on.  Remember to check your supplies for other things like Zip loc bags and add them to the list if you are running low.  The brownies are so good, they have a permanent place on the list, even when I am cooking another dessert for the week. Also, your fruit is the same: bananas, pears, apples, etc.  Changes on this week’s list are for the recipes for week 3. This week, I thought your total cost would be more like $180 for 4 people for 1 week because you are buying some spices and staples like flour and sugar that can be used in future weeks.  But when I shopped with the list, I didn’t buy anything I still had left from the previous two weeks of shopping — like sour cream, pasta, sauce, peanut butter and popcorn.  The total shopping bill was $127 for 4 people for 1 week at Fiesta on May 12, 2010.

DON’T PRINT THIS PAGE: This blog page is too long to print in its entirety, so copy the shopping list to Word, Excel or some other print-friendly application if you need a hard-copy list.

• 1 loaf sliced bread (white or wheat)
• 1 loaf French or Sourdough bread – goes with your Red Beans and Rice
• 1 jar peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
• 1 jar jam or preserves (grape, strawberry, or apricot)
• 1 jar Nutella
• 1 box Ritz crackers
• 1 box microwave popcorn (6-10 bags)
• 2 boxes different kinds of cereal (Frosted Mini Wheats, Pops, Apple Jacks, or granola)
• 1 gallon milk (whole, 2%, 1%, skim, or soy)
• 6-12 eggs
• 2 boxes Betty Crocker Supreme Brownie Mix with Hershey’s syrup
• 1 12-16 oz. package dry pasta (spaghetti, rotini, bow-tie, etc.)
• 1 24 oz.  jar Classico sweet basil marinara sauce
• 8 apples
• 8 oranges
• 8 bananas (buy slightly green)

• 4 medium yellow onions (every entree seems to use onions this week!)
• 1 English cucumber (seedless) or 1-2 regular cucumbers
• 1 bunch celery
• 6-8 green bell peppers
• 4 medium to large Russet potatoes or 1 lb small, thin-skinned red potatoes
• 1 bag Fresh Express Mediterranean Supreme complete salad mix (or other flavor) – use only half the dressing and toppings, save the rest for the other package of lettuce
• 1 bag Fresh Express hearts of romaine or other salad blend – use your two salads with the Red Beans and Rice and Stuffed Bell Peppers
• 1 bag lettuce shreds (these seem to go bad fast, so make tacos early in the week)
• 5 Roma tomatoes
• 3 lemons
• 1 bunch green onions (also known as scallions)
• 1 bunch cilantro or parsley (for Greek Chicken)
• 1 envelope Taste of Thai Yellow Curry paste (find in Asian section of store)
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes and chilies
• 1 can coconut milk (find in Asian section of store)
• 1 can chicken or vegetable broth (12-16 oz.)
• 1 small can tomato paste (about 4 oz.), for the stuffed bell peppers if you don’t have enough fresh tomatoes
• 1 bag or box (about 12 oz.) orzo or vermicelli pasta
• 1 pound bag dried red kidney beans
• 1 bag regular white rice (about 1 lb.) – you need 2 cups for Mediterranean Rice and Orzo
• 1 family size box of Minute Rice (4-6 bags, makes 2 cups of cooked rice per bag)
• 1 package Lawry’s Taco seasoning
• 12 Old El Paso taco shells
• 1 small container sour cream
• 1 container plain yogurt
• 12-16 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
• Dried oregano (look in the spice aisle, usually around flour and sugar)
• Dried bay leaves (one bottle contains about 12 leaves)
• Dried thyme
• Ground cumin
• Old Bay Seasoning (if you can’t find this yellow can in with the other spices, look around the seafood section of your store)
• 1 small bottle vanilla (if you didn’t buy it for banana pudding in week 1)
• 1 bag unbleached flour, about 4-5 lbs (if you didn’t buy it for banana pudding in week 1)
  
• 1 bag granulated sugar, about 4-5 lbs (if you didn’t buy it for banana pudding in week 1)
• 1 box or 1-lb. bag powdered sugar
• 1 box cocoa powder
• Pecan halves – about 4 oz. or 1/2 cup
• 1 small container buttermilk
• 1 small package American or Velveeta cheese slices (about 8-12 slices)
• 1 small container Crisco shortening (can or sticks)
• 1 box unsweetened butter or oleo-margarine (also called vegetable spread, packaged in sticks, brands like Blue Bonnet, Parkay or Imperial)
• 1 small bottle extra virgin olive oil
• 1 roll (15-25 feet) foil
• 1 9-x-13 foil cake pan if you don’t have a real cake pan in your pantry yet
• snack-size and sandwich-size Zip-loc bags
• 2 8×8 or 1 9×13 foil cake pans (for brownies)

Meat?  Check with your roommates to find out if you can buy chicken, ground beef (at least 95% lean), or sausage.  If you add meat to the first week’s cooking, buy the following:

• 2 1-pound packages chicken tenders (for Yellow Curry and Greek Chicken)
• 2 1-lb packages extra lean ground beef (for Tacos, Stuffed Bell Peppers)
• 12 oz to 1 pound low fat or light beef kielbasa or other link sausage (add to Red Beans and Rice)

Vegetarians: buy additional quantities of celery, onion, and bell pepper and saute 2 cups of mixed, chopped vegetables to replace meat in recipes.

• 2 bunches celery
• 4 onions
• 4 bell peppers
• 3-4 turnips, cooked before making Yellow Curry

Necessities that don’t go in the pantry

• toilet paper (buy a minimum of 1 roll per person per week)
• 1 roll paper towels (if using as napkins with meals, buy two rolls)
• recycle your plastic grocery bags as trash can liners or buy can liners