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Looking to make some tasty Fall recipes? Our pantry shopping guide has got you covered. Find out what ingredients and kitchen tools you need to create the perfect comfort food.
Preparing For Fall Recipes In Your Kitchen
So you want to start preparing Fall recipes but aren’t sure you have everything in the kitchen?
It’s time to dust off the crock-pot and casserole (casa-roll-eh) Canadian dish because the Fall chill is on, and it’s time for some comfort food.
Today, we’re going pantry shopping for the Fall season to ensure we have all those precious essential ingredients and must-have kitchen tools to make some of the tastiest Fall recipes.
We agree that the crock pot or instant pot is the number one kitchen tool for making Fall recipes.
If you don’t have one, invest in one for under $40, and you’ll see just how easy cooking can be.
We own a sizeable programmable crock-pot that we’ve been using for years and love.
It was undoubtedly a worthy investment for our kitchen.
Once you’ve got your crock pot, it’s always handy to have baking sheets, loaf pans, and other baking essentials ready to bake up those Fall smells.
What other essential kitchen tools can you think of for Fall?
Tastes of Fall Recipes
What kinds of foods, smells, and tastes can you think of when September rolls around, kids are off to school, and the days and evenings are getting cooler?
All things Autumn, lots of spices, ovens warming the house, and comfort food.
That’s what I think, but to achieve this, we must be on top of our grocery shopping game with the ultimate kitchen and pantry essentials to create tasty Fall recipes.
Is your kitchen pantry list up to date?
Fall is the best time to do a spice clean-up, so take the time to go through the cabinet and toss any old spices that won’t add the best flavors to your dishes.
Spices lose their aromatic smell and taste over time, so buying fresh herbs is essential.
Keeping a spice list with best-before dates is an ideal way to track what you have in the cabinet.
If your kitchen isn’t stocked for the seasons, you risk eating out more or getting lazy, repeatedly making the same foods.
Who likes to do that?
That is not me, so we always ensure that pantry essentials are in hand.
There are only so many grilled cheese and chicken salads a person can eat in a week unless they have to or want to.
Work Your Pantry Ahead Of The Seasons
Working with a limited grocery budget, don’t get discouraged because building a pantry and kitchen stash takes time, but it’s not impossible.
The key is to be prepared, know what you need, and start shopping early to spot the deals and grab them as soon as possible.
If you live in the country and only shop once or twice a month, stocking up for the seasons might be challenging but not impossible.
Just before Christmas, male shoppers scramble to stock up on Christmas pantry items.
Even though there are decent grocery sales, some ingredients, such as nuts, can cost a fortune that skyrocket in price between November and January.
Buy them on sale early and freeze them; that’s what we do without issue.
Start early, find your turkey and whatever else you can on sale, and focus on the smaller items, which cost more because they are seasonal.
Off-season shopping has always been our favorite, but remember the expiration date, even though plenty of items extend past it.
One of the worst things for any home chef is to find out they are missing ingredients just before they start a recipe.
Keeping a running pantry list is essential to tap into what you need and don’t need when you head to the supermarket.
When I think about this, I think about the number of products we use and the space to store them.
Having a seasonal stock-up in the kitchen is a great way to keep things simple and organized.
Ultimate Pantry Essentials To Create Fall Recipes
You can download a free printable of THE ULTIMATE PANTRY ESSENTIALS FOR FALL RECIPES for review and to take when you grocery shop.
Discussion Question: What other ingredients should be on this Ultimate List of Fall Recipe Essentials? Leave your comment below and tell me why.
Fall Recipe Ingredients From The Fans
Must have for fall include onions, potatoes, carrots, squash, pasta sauce, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, apples, eggs and oatmeal.
There are lots of must haves, but without that list it isn’t fall here.- Angela M.
I make sure I have things on hand like cooked pumpkin, carrots and cream cheese for carrot cake, Chocolate chips for cookies….all those goodies that I don’t make in the hot weather as it heats the house up too much. – Christine W.
In the autumn I always had winter squash, pumpkin, local grapes (those blue ones), baking apples, eating apples, cabbage roll fixings, etc.
Now we’re lucky if I have one small tin of pumpkin purée on hand or a few apples to snack on. Really miss winter squash the most.- Judy F. C.
It’s a time of real abundance here so my must have list includes pretty nearly everything at the farm market, plus locally caught salmon, locally hunted venison, freezer bags, and canning jar lids.
Oh, and a great big glorious chrysanthemum for my deck!- Beth A.
September Grocery Game Challenge
Join the 2017 Grocery Game Challenge (G.G.C.) fun and post about your grocery shop in each blog post’s comment section.
Here are The Grocery Game Challenge rules to get you started, and where you’ll also find a link for the 2017 G.G.C. schedule.
Please feel free to download, save, and even print the schedule.
Post your shop, and you can be next.
2017 Grocery Shop Results
Yearly grocery budget for two + 1 Toddler 2017: $3180 or $265/month (The above total does not include the stockpile budget of $300/year or $25/month.Points Overview (add any other sections you need to show us your savings)
- Total Grocery Budget for this Month: $265
- Total Grocery Budget with any carry-overs: $265
- Total Gift Cards used to date: $0
- Total Rewards Points redeemed this week: $0
- Total Rewards Points used to date: $0
- P.C. Points Plus Earned to date: 646,000
- Scanning Code of Practice (SCOP) to date $0
- Shoppers Optimum: 983,000 O.M.G.
Our Grocery Shop This Week
Below are the stores we shopped at and the products we purchased.
Costco
- 2kg Bag of Pecans $19.99
- Caesar Dressing Renee’s $5.49
- Mozarella Saputo $19.99
- Nescafe Coffee $10.49
- Bananas $1.59
Total Out-of-pocket $57.55
Marshalls
- Organic Pumpkin Oil $16.99
- Organic Cinnamon $16.99
- Jordan’s Pumpkin Spice and Pumpkin Caramel Sugar-free syrups $5.99 each
Total Out of pocket $51.93- $25.00 stockpile = $26.93
Grocery Shop Final Totals
All totals below have already been tax factored into them.
- Total to spend this month: $265- $18.51= $246.49 (overage from August)
- Stockpile budget 2016: $25.00/month
- Stockpile budget used this month: $25.00
- Total coupons used this week: $0
- Total coupons used to date: $1
- Total in-store discounts this week: $0
- Total in-store discounts to date: $652.80
- Total spent this week: $84.48
- Total spent so far this month: $84.48
- Total over/Under spend this shop: Over $18.23
- Total over/Under spend for the month: $
- Total left to spend for the month: $162.01
- Total Spent To Date 2017: (does not include stockpile budget) Jan $231.06+Feb $255.16+March ($5 budget increase) $263.60 + April $273.83+ May $257.15 + June $65.43+July $226.84+August $283.51+September $
Weekly Overview
We did a bit of a pantry stock-up for our Fall recipes, and although it may seem like we spent lots, it’s important to remember the size of these products is enormous.
We did a cost analysis, and it works for us.
Nuts are still cheaper at Costco than at the Bulk Barn until we can get them on sale and use the $3 off coupon when you spend $10.
We wanted to try the organic cinnamon new, and it’s a massive bag.
Some might think that’s a hefty price, but considering we paid almost $3 for a small bag at Food Basics, it was worth it.
This week’s big splurge was the aromatic pumpkin oil and sugar-free syrups, making delicious coffee, ice cream, and cinnamon pumpkin rolls.
A little goes a long way.
We still have tonnes of tomatoes, garlic, new potatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and beans to eat up from the in-law’s garden.
The gifted produce has kept us going for almost two weeks and has excellent savings.
Thanks for reading,
Mr. CBB
SEPTEMBER – Week #1 of 4- Sept 4-10, 2017
2017 GROCERY BUDGET / STOCKPILE BUDGET AND US RESERVE:
•Total Grocery Budgeted For Year: $190.00 x 12 = $2,280.00 for 2 adults
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REMARKS FOR THE MONTH:
Before we start our SEPTEMBER shopping off, I am going to make my “reserve” transfers:
Grocery:
$ 190.00 for the month
($100.00) trf to re-stocking – normally $15.00
($ 15.00) trf to holiday reserve–normally 15.00
($ 15.00) trf to summer reserve–normally 15.00
($ 0.00) trf to US Reserve –normally $45.00
CANADIAN Grocery Balance $60.00
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COMMENTS FOR THE MONTH:
We have a couple weeks of vacation scheduled this month so I figure we’ll do our main shop after we get back into our regular routine…using our new GGC (Great Grocery Clear-out) limit on the purchases. We’ll likely be re-stocking the milk, bread, eggs, onions, carrots & celery during GGC WEEK #3.
If someone has a burning desire for 1 other item per month…we’ll expand the shop by no more than 2 items – one for hubby and one for me. Hubby will probably pick romaine lettuce for his Caesar salads, I’ll be after cabbage for my soups!
However, since we are on vacation that means lots of picnics at lakes, parks, rivers…so many beautiful locations! We also have a birthday to celebrate, get-togethers with both sides of the family (read extra gas required despite the post-Hurricane Harvey pricing) and outings where we get lots of FREE stuff to help celebrate hubby’s birthday. So far he’s collected a nice piece of tiramisu from Olive Garden and we’ll get him a FREE Red Robin burger and fries later this week.
Vacation time is an excellent chance to channel some extra funds into our re-stocking reserve. When we get the Great Grocery Clear-out accomplished, we are sure going to need a hefty re-stocking reserve! LOL 🙂
How long do you think it will take us to accomplish our goal? I figure it will take at least a year!
REMARKS FOR THE WEEK:
This is a VACATION FUNDS SHOPPING WEEK (all $40.55 of it + $30 from the Re-Stocking Reserve) because we are doing a stay-cation for a good chunk of our time off & I want us to enjoy being local. Nice meals are a large part of enjoying our picnics & relaxing meals at home. This week’s meal plan is:
Monday – Hubby’s B-Day Lunch – Caesar Salad With Chicken Pot Pie <scored the pot pie for $1 at No Frills
Monday – Hubby’s B-Day dinner – Ham & Cheese Sandwiches for hubby & birthday Tirmasu FREE dessert from Olive Garden
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Tuesday – Lunch – PB Sandwich & apple (Picnic at Ambleside Park) before visiting the MIL
Tuesday – Dinner – Szechuan Green Beans & Chicken Chow Mein take-out (vacation funds)
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Wednesday – Lunch – Nectarine-Onion Salad for me / Tuna Melts with fries for hubby
Wednesday – Dinner – Cornbread Waffles with diced bacon, green chilies and pimento in them
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Thursday – Lunch – The Yellow Deli (vacation funds) to break up our day of shopping
Thursday – Dinner – Roast Chicken Thighs, Roasted Nugget Potatoes, Onions, Celery, Carrot, Peppers, Snap Peas and
Buffalo Cauliflower
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Friday – Lunch – Ham Salad Sandwiches (no bread for me) + quick pickled cucumbers & watermelon-feta salad
Friday – Dinner – Creamy Parmesan Tomato and Spinach Tortellini Soup with Warm Pumpkin Biscuits
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Saturday – Lunch – Chicken Salad Wraps (no bread for me) + Cucumber-SnapPea-Green Onion Salad with Iced Tea
(Picnic at Hayward Lake)
Saturday – Dinner – Crab Cakes with Coleslaw, sliced tomatoes and fresh corn on the cob
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Sunday – Lunch – Chinese Food Buffet (vacation funds)
Sunday – Dinner – Leftover Creamy Parmesan Tomato and Spinach Tortellini Soup with pumpkin biscuits
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OUR “CANADIAN” SHOPPING:
RCSS – Pitt Meadows –
2 packages of 8 Mini Cukes @ $2.50 ea = $5.00
1 Large Bag of coleslaw $4.98
1 Clearance spinach $1.97
• TOTAL VACATION Budget OOP: $11.95
• TOTAL Stocking Up Budget OOP: $0.00
** Earned 0 PC.Plus Points on this shop **
** SAVED $0.00 in Rain Check/ Coupons **
** SAVED $0.00 Loyalty Savings on this shop **
—————————————————————–
Meridian – Maple Ridge –
1 Cauliflower @ $1.78 ea
• TOTAL VACATION Budget OOP: $1.78
• TOTAL Stocking Up Budget OOP: $0.00
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No Frills – Maple Ridge –
8 x Roma Tomatoes @$0.97/lb = $1.84
1 Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs Family Pack $4.97/lb = $14.01
4 Maple Leaf Chicken Pot Pies $1 ea = $4.00
• TOTAL VACATION Budget OOP: $19.85
• TOTAL Stocking Up Budget OOP: $0.00
** Earned 0 PC.Plus Points on this shop **
** SAVED $0.00 in Rain Check Coupons **
** SAVED $0.00 Loyalty Savings on this shop **
—————————————————————–
Walmart – Port Coquitlam –
1 x 3lb Green Apples $5.77
4 Corn on the Cob @ $0.30 ea = $1.20
3 x 1Kg Great Value Boneless Smoked Hams @ $10 ea = $30.00 < We're on our last ham so it's time to re-stock since hubby
eats ham absolutely ever week!
• TOTAL VACATION Budget OOP: $6.97
• TOTAL Stocking Up Budget OOP: $30.00
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OUR “US RESERVE” SHOPPING:
OUR NEXT USA SHOP IS SCHEDULED FOR MID-SEPT
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2017 Y-T-D GROCERY SAVINGS:
•Total Loyalty Card Price Reductions This Year: $141.70
•Total Coupons/Rain Checks Used This Year: $0.00
•Total Price Match Savings Used This Year: $0.00
•Total More Points Earned This Year: 308 Points
•Total Air Miles Earned This Year: 22 Air Miles
•Total PC PLUS Points Earned This Year: 20,000 Points
•Total Optimum Points Earned This Year: 4,100 Points
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• SUMMARY OF FUNDS Y-T-D:
$ 1,710.00 Grocery Budget JAN-SEPT
($ 308.13) NET RESERVE SAVINGS
($1,341.87) Actual CASH SPENT
$ 60.00 AVAILABLE Y-T-D GGC SPENDING NOT INCL RESERVES
• RESERVES Y-T-D:
$ 304.84 Re-Stocking Fund
$ 155.70 Holiday Season Fund + $200 RCSS POINTS + $10 Dream Air Miles.
$ 634.59 Summer Season Fund
$ 453.37 US Shopping Reserve
$ 34.47 GGC Savings Reserve
$ 0.00 Points Redeemed Reserve
OUR CURRENT TOTAL UNUSED RESERVES ARE $1,582.97. This means the $1,274.44 that we carried forward from 2016 PLUS AN ADDITIONAL $1,088.85 that we have added in 2017, LESS $780.32 that we have drawn out for use in 2017.
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Mr CBB do I get a ballot for this one?
oops Ballot #2.
You already gave me ballot #2 on the next post. So do I have ballot 1 and 2?
Oh… yes that is how it is #1 and #2. For some reason I thought it was the last post that I moderated. I didn’t look but i knew you had 1 and 2. 🙂 You’re all good now.
Hi Mary! What is the Great Grocery Clearout? Thanks!
Bonnie, hubby and I are shopping our pantry and freezers until they are all empty. We will only buy carrots, celery, onions, eggs, bread and milk until we finish the complete turnover. Since we are on holidays…I spent a little this week to make our stay-cation meals nice but we’ll be right back to clear-out mode next week. 🙂
Ok, I get it! Have a great vacation!
Hi Mary,
Wow that was a great price on the ham. Is that normal or a sale price? You also picked up great deals on the corn, apples and pot pies. What is a Buffalo Cauliflower? So this Great Grocery Clearout will take you approximately one year? That should be interesting to follow. I meant to ask you if you’ve been finding as many rain checks this year as you did last? You have a wonderful time on your holidays. Awesome shopping!! You get ballot #1~ Mr.CBB