Probably what I need to do then. I had left the packages sealed in the original package. Which should be vacuum sealed. Should be.
Probably sublimation removing moisture from the cheese.





Probably what I need to do then. I had left the packages sealed in the original package. Which should be vacuum sealed. Should be.
Probably sublimation removing moisture from the cheese.





^^ Damn science. Ruins everything.
We buy the huge bags of shredded cheese and big blocks of regular, portion it out, then vacuum seal them. However I will say I only attempt it with firm cheeses (cheddar, monterey jack, colby jack and the like) never with feta, queso blanco or soft cheese. Works well with American cheese too.





I buy the pre-sliced tillamook cheddar from Costco regularly. It does not seem to like freezing though.





All this talk about the wine and beer budget part of the groceries.... I remember when one of my ex's and I first moved in together, we ate out every day... So the only thing we had in our fridge was one row of all beer, another row with bottles of Zinfandel, and the top row with fruit, milk and yogurt. My neighbor, who was roomates with a girl who was being a total bitch to me, came upstairs to introduce herself and apologize for how her roommate was being... I offered her a beer, and when I opened up the fridge, she screamed...like actually screamed, and told me that was the best fridge shed ever seen in her life, and I was her new best friend![]()
Don't blink. Don't even blink. Blink and you're dead. Don't turn your back. Don't look away. And don't blink!





About $500 to $550 per month for 2 adults and 3 little children and that is virtually all in meats, dairy fresh fruits and vegetables and some bakery and deli odds and ends. About the only thing we take from the freezer case on a regular basis is ice cream and not many cans end up in our shopping cart.
Ours is a cooking household and even the soups are homemade, which really keeps the costs down and the quality high. In fact, if we cut out the higher end steaks (rib-eyes and NY strips) and some specialty produce items, the tab would probably drop to $400 per month and, if we were truly motivated, we could get it down to $300 per month and still eat very well, albeit with less beef in the diet.
Groceries are not a big part of my annual budget anymore, but old habits die hard and I cannot stand the thought of overpaying for groceries as a matter of principle. As med said, making the move on bulk sales and freezing is the key. We have about a 2-3 week supply of meats in the freezer at any one time, including steaks, stew beef, pork (chops and tenderloin), ground beef, a pot roast, chicken, kielbasa (for emergency meal prep needs) and Italian sausages. During weeks when sales are light, such as holiday weeks and certain times in the summer, we can simply hold off until good deals show up on quality meats.
Last edited by rickdugan; 04-01-2012 at 10:31 AM.





$400ish/month. just me.
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