Week 5: As usual, the first part of the list is just like the first four week’s shopping lists: bread, peanut butter, cereal, milk.  and so on. The pasta has made a significant change.  Instead of being a staple for your back-up meal plans this week, it it included in the menu list for Fettucine Alfredo.  You may like this so well that the ingredients (cream cheese, butter, Parmesan cheese, milk, noodles) remain on your weekly list.  Remember to check your supplies for other things like Ziploc bags and add them to the list if you are running low.  By now, you are most definitely out of toilet paper and paper towels and you may be running low on dish soap.  The brownies keep their permanent place on the list and the fruit is the same: bananas, pears, apples, etc. but add in strawberries or peaches, depending on the season.  You are also making two pie crusts this week (chocolate pie and quiche Lorraine) so make sure you get Crisco shortening if you don’t have it left from week 3.

Cost Check: The cost for the week’s shopping will probably be higher due to the special ingredients you are buying (asparagus, blueberries, pecans, Swiss, Parmesan, and Blue cheeses, cooking wine, sherry, etc.) but even though you use up the fresh produce this week, you will get several months’ usage out of the bottles and spices. My estimate: $180 for four people this week.

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 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)
• 1 box of butter sticks (1 lb.) or oleo-maragine sticks like Parkay, Imperial, etc.
• 24 eggs (use 3 in chocolate pie, 4 in brownies, 4 in quiche)
• 2 boxes Betty Crocker Supreme Brownie Mix with Hershey’s syrup
• 16 oz. package Fettucine noodles
• 16 oz.  cream cheese
• 8 apples
• 8 oranges
• 8 bananas (buy slightly green)

• 5 yellow onions
• 1 red onion
• 1 shallot (small purple onion in light brown papery skin – substitute regular red onion if you can’t find a shallot)
• 2 garlic pods (a pod contains multiple cloves)
• 1 bag salad spinach
• 1 box fresh blueberries
• 1 bunch celery
• 1 bunch bok choy
• 2 bell peppers
• 1 bag shredded carrots
• 1 box fresh mushrooms (look for lightest, whitest mushrooms, can buy pre-sliced if you cook the Moo Shu Beef early in the week)
• 1-1/2 lbs. asparagus
• 1-1/2 lbs. mini potatoes (red or yellow)
• 1 bag Fresh Express Mediterranean 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 chili and the grilled chicken meals.
• 6 Roma tomatoes (Gazpacho)
• 2 lemons
• 1 cucumber
• 2 bunches green onions (also known as scallions)
• 1 package rosemary (fresh if you can find it)
• 1 ginger root (about the size of your palm)
• 1 package fresh basil; herbs are often found in the packaged salad section of store
• 1 head butter lettuce (or Bibb lettuce, red tip lettuce, or green leaf lettuce – used as wraps in Moo Shu Beef)
• 1 bottle white cooking wine
• 1 bottle cooking sherry
• 1 bottle red wine vinegar
• 1 small can sliced or chopped black olives
• 1 small bottle green olives stuffed with pimientos (Spanish-style olives)
• 1 bottle Tabasco sauce (if you don’t already have some kind of hot pepper sauce from Weeks 1-4)
• 1 can spicy V-8 juice (look in grocery story on juice aisle)
• can chicken or vegetable broth (12-16 oz.)
• 1 bag frozen blueberries
• 1 box Minute-brand boil-in-bag rice
• 1 package Argo cornstarch
• 1 package cocoa (Hershey’s or Nestle’s brand; cooking cocoa NOT hot chocolate mix, look for cocoa on a top shelf around flour and sugar), if you didn’t buy it in week 3
• 1 12 oz. can Pet evaporated milk
• 1 package (4-6 oz.) crumbled blue cheese
• 12-16 oz. Swiss cheese (buy the grated kind if you can find it, otherwise, buy the block and grate it yourself)
• 8-10 oz. shredded Parmesan cheese (buy the bag of cheese, not the can, the canned cheese you use on pizzas is very dry and crumbly)
• 1 small (4-6 oz.) bag pecan halves or chips for Blueberry Pecan salad
• 1 small container Crisco shortening (can or sticks) – check before you buy, you may have some of this left from Week 3.
• 1 small bottle extra virgin olive oil or other vegetable oil like corn oil or canola oil (check your pantry to see if you still have some left before you buy more)
• 2 foil pie plates (for pie and quiche)
• 2 8×8 or 1 9×13 foil cake pans (for brownies)
• snack and sandwich size Zip-loc bags

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

• 1-1.5-pound package boneless skinless chicken thighs (for Chicken Yakitori)
• 1 pounds extra lean ground beef or turkey (for Moo Shu Beef)
• 8-12 oz bacon (fry for Quiche Lorraine)
• 1 package chicken tenders (if you want chicken with your Fettucine Alfredo)

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

• 1 or 1-1/2 lbs. fresh broccoli crowns to steam and server with Fettucine Alfredo instead of adding in chicken
• 1 package extra firm tofu (cut in small cubes and fried up firm as substitute for beef in Moo Shu Beef)
• 1 frozen package Morningstar chick’n strips (substitute for chicken thighs in Chicken Yakitori)
• 1 package spinach (substitute for bacon in quiche)

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
• air freshener for bathroom and kitchen