A Tour of My Frugal Fridge

I know most people who are just beginning to learn how to reduce their food bill are pretty curious to know what is hiding in a frugal foodie's refrigerator - so I thought I'd give you a little tour of mine. These photos were taken a few months ago (back in April) when my fridge was (ahem) a wee bit more organized than it is right now!

Top Shelf:

-jug of milk reconstituted from skim milk powder (for cooking and baking)
-fresh milk for drinking
-chicken carcass awaiting the stock pot
-jars of homemade jam
-bulk-purchased oats, wheat bran and wheat germ
-bottle of lemon juice (for canning - I use fresh lemon for cooking!)
-sale-priced salsa (we didn't can our own last year but we're planning on it for this year!)

Second Shelf:

-homemade yogurt in single-serving containers
-eggs (purchased at rock-bottom sale price)
-leftover gravy from roast chicken
-Mason jar full of bacon fat
-leftover cinnamon sugar from making donuts with Refrigerator Bread Dough
-cut up pineapple chunks from a sale-priced pineapple
-bacon and assorted sale-priced cheeses in meat crisper

Third Shelf:

-bowl of Refrigerator Bread Dough
-sale priced pork (99 cents a pound!) to be portioned and packed for the freezer
-carrots from a 10 pound bag bought at rock-bottom sale price

Bottom shelf:
-cabbage
-bulk-purchased cornmeal
-container of pigs-in-a-blanket made with Refrigerator Bread Dough

Crispers:

 -sale-priced fruits and veggies (obviously, these will vary with the seasons; when I took the photo it was apples, avocados, cucumbers and sweet peppers)

On the door:

-bottle of brew-your-own wine
-mayo, several kinds of vinegar (white wine, red wine, rice wine), ketchup, mustard, a few store-bought dressings for nights when I'm too lazy to make my own :)
-ground flax seed (I put it in my bread dough)
-sale-priced butter

Obviously, the contents of my fridge are not exactly the same from one week to the next, but this is fairly typical of what's in there on any given day. Often there are more little bits of leftovers (like cooked veggies and rice) waiting for creative reuse. There's usually a pitcher of orange juice in there, too; I guess we were all out on the day I snapped the photos!

What's hiding in your frugal fridge?