Adventures in Freezer/Pantry Cooking: Week 1

My 2 freezers (fridge and the mini upright one we have) and our little pantry are full to the brim with food I've stocked up on from shopping the sales ads and from the meat that our parents have given us. With all that food, I figured we better start eating it down (up?), since we're planning on moving this summer (rent is getting too expensive) and why should we spend more money on food when I have a ton of it right here in the apartment?

My goal is to buy as little extra ingredients as possible and just cook with what I have. I'll still be buying the staples (bread, milk, eggs, peanut butter, etc) and fresh fruit. I have a ton of home-canned veggies, so those will be my go-to veggies for meals.

Meal 1: 1 Knorr Pasta Side (chicken & broccoli flavor) - I only buy these when they're $1 - 1 big chicken breast (4 hours in the crockpot, then shred and mix with the broth...so moist) - this was frozen from a meal Jordan made me a month or so ago - 1 pint home-canned green beans

• Outcome: 3 servings (one dinner for both of us, one lunch for me)
• Approx price: Less than $3

Meal 2: Small smoked turkey (all day in the crockpot; fell apart when it was ready to eat - yum!) - given to us by Jordan's mom last Christmas b/c she didn't want it - 1 quart home-canned green beans, 2 Knorr Pasta Sides (cheddar flavor)

• Outcome: 4 servings (one dinner for my sister, her husband, Jordan and I) PLUS 2 cups leftover smoked turkey and 2 cups broth (thinking of making soup) 
• Approx price: $2 (since our only cost was the pasta sides)

Meal 3: My office orders in food frequently, and I am not above taking home the food that will be thrown away! One place that sends a TON of food is Lydia's, so the last time we ordered from there, I took home all the leftovers and made 5 8x8 freezer meals out of them. 1 8x8 pan of pasta with red sauce, 1 pint home-canned green beans (2 servings), frozen brussel sprouts (2 servings)

• Outcome: 4 servings (2 days of lunches for both of us)
• Approx price: Less than $1

Meal 4: 1 Lick the Spoon Chicken, Bacon & Ranch pot pie, 1 head of lettuce for salad. This was a little bit of a disappointment - Lick the Spoon is in Sioux Falls, and they were having a special on their take&bake potpies (normally $8, on sale for $5), so I ordered 6 of them to pick up over Christmas when we were in town. The potpies that Lick the Spoons serves are a very generous meal for "one", so I knew that I could get a good meal for Jordan and I out of 1 pot pie. Much to my disappointment, the take&bake pot pies are smaller than the ones they serve in their restaurant (which are curiously priced the same...). Lesson learned.

• Outcome: 2 servings (lunch for us)
• Approx price: $6 ($5 for the potpie, $1 for the lettuce - we have dressing, etc at home already)

How do you plan meals? Do you have lots and lots of meals stocked up in your home? Or do you shop every week for what you need?