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Subject: Tips for Cooking on a Budget

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What are your favorite tips for cooking on a budget?

Mine are to (1) Make a plan, (2) Don't grocery shop while you're hungry, (3) Check out your local farmers markets for produce, (4) Find ways to make each ingredient stretch into other meals.

When I make a roast chicken, I will make extra to use in a casserole.

Jim

My tips are, use what you buy.

If the bread is getting stale, I usually cut it into cubes and make croûton's. Other options for bread, I will put it in the food processor, and make bread crumbs, I toast them after blending them, so they last longer. If I don't have time to do these right away, I put the bread in the freezer and take out what I need to make these items.

I also make several "planned-over" meals. When I make pork loin, I make it with rice, and make extra, the next night becomes pork-fried-rice. When we have spaghetti, the next night is make at home pizzas or calzones. If I make some flank-steaks, the next night is usually steak sandwiches.

Bananas that going bad get to be banana bread, apples become apple sauce. I also have been known to dehydrate them and make some nice dried fruit.

Cook once, eat two or three times. It is just me and my husband, so a casserole or soup will reappear several times. Even little bits of leftovers get saved for later. I used to have leftovers go bad and have to throw them out. Now, everything (if it is not used) gets put in the freezer. A cooked hamburger patty will reappear in chili or spaghetti sauce. That little piece of steak reappeared in some chinese rice.

I also cook from scratch for most everything - make my own bread, salad dressings, etc. We very rarely eat out. Only a take and bake pizza (at my husband's insistence) so far this month.

Planning is key to success in our home. My husband and I both work full time and we're tired by the time we get home. If we don't have a plan in place for dinner established ahead of time, we usually end up eating out because it's easier. As silly as it may sound, executing a plan is far less daunting than having to come up with a plan and then put it into motion after a long day at work. Each week when making our grocery list we plan menus for each day of the week and stick to that plan each night. This reduces the number of times we're eating out and helps to ensure we're only buying items we need at the grocery store, eliminating our tendency to purchase items that "look good" at the time.

I like to get a deal on produce. In the summer, I can get the freshest local produce at a farm stand. In the winter, It's Produce Junction an indoor suburban version of Philly's Italian Market curbside produce stands. My staple veg are carrots, rutabagas, celery, cabbage, and onions because they cheap and nutritious. So are winter squash and sweet potatoes, but my family isn't so fond of them. I like to put a whole medium to large onion in a dinner entree for 4. Broccoli, green beans, and peppers are a little more. Often, cauliflower is a good value. I round things out with some Romaine or green-leaf lettuce, even though it isn't the cheapest. Mushrooms, eggplants, fennel, snow peas, asparagus, and interesting specialty vegetables are the "treats", and mushrooms and eggplants are meat substitutes. I don't buy as many potatoes as I used to, because I'm looking out for better carbs these days.

I'm a huge fan of farmer's markets but in my area of the midwest they run only from May to October. When summer hits you can find the absolutely best produce, meat, wines, specialty offerings, etc. I will make extra large servings of recipes and freeze leftovers for future use.

I also see what local grocery stores will be having on sale for the upcoming week and plan menus accordingly.

I have recently come across a program called Angel Food Ministry that sells a box of food for $30 with no requirements for income or other guidelines. The box is meant to last a family of four for one week so I usually buy multiple boxes. It usually contains various meat offerings as well as staples like rice or beans and an assortment of frozen vegetables and a dessert item. If you buy one or more regular boxes you can purchase a special box of selected meats or fruits & vegetables. This program has cut about $200 out my monthly grocery bill so I am happy with it. If you go to www.angelfoodministries.com you can look up participating locations and get a copy of the monthly menu. They also have special offerings for senior citizens.

Thank you to Wineguy818 for the tip about Angelfood Ministries. My friend and I were able to catch the deadline for a church near her. I will see how I like it, I am sure I will like it alot. I also work with low- income families, I will be giving them information about churches near them. There is no income limit like Food Stamps or a foodbank, and by participating you are helping support the ministry.

[edited February-17-2009]

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