When we looked at the Frugal Foodie Challenge entries and tried to choose just three, the head judge (aka Rob) couldn't pick just three - they all looked (and sounded) delicious! So ... we're making all seven entries!
And that brings me to my Tip of the Week. Since I'm cooking SEVEN full meals this week, I needed to buy a lot of ingredients. Thing is, all of the recipes use mozzarella, and some of them repeat on other things. So, I "consolidated" my grocery list - figured out how many of each item (for example, chicken breasts) I needed and purchased accordingly. If I had planned seven meals for the week that had no major ingredients in common, I probably would have spent $100+ dollars on the shopping trip - things like beef, chicken, fish, pork, etc all add up quickly.
However, because I was able to use the same ingredients in several different dishes (i.e. chicken), I spent less because I could buy in larger quantities.
Another great example of this is when I had first started the blog - anyone remember the Neverending Can of Tuna?? (To make a long story short, I made meals for almost 2 weeks out of a 5-pound can of tuna fish). Because I didn't have to shop for multiple protein sources, I saved a TON of money!
The other area in which clustering can save a few dollars is on expensive specialty ingredients. For example, I never use pesto. Until this week, I'd never bought it before. The reason - it's almost $5 in our grocery store and it takes a lot to eat it all. However, if I had three recipes (or even two) that called for pesto, I can split its cost out over several meals and use an expensive ingredient - without spending a ton or wasting food.
Have you ever tried clustering? Does it work for you? Why or why not? Leave me a comment!!
Showing posts with label Tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tips. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
Grocery Shopping Tip of the Week: Making a List
You know that old Christmas song that goes, "He's making a list, he's checking it twice ..."? Well, its not just Santa Claus who needs to make a list. Right up there at the top of my money-saving grocery shopping tips is: MAKE A LIST. And even check it. Twice, if you want!
Why? Well, have you ever gone to the grocery store, bought a whole cart full of stuff, then got home and realized you were still missing the one thing you needed for that pie you were going to make (or whatever)? Or what about going to the grocery store for a couple of onions and a gallon of milk and coming home with $50+ worth of stuff??
Sure, it happens to all of us, the urge to impulse-buy. But for some reason, most of us are WAY more prone to overspend at the grocery store than the mall. Maybe because everything is so (relatively) cheap at the grocery store? Who knows. But admit it, this has happened to you.
My Solution: As simple as it sounds, I recommend just making a list and sticking to it. There are several smaller steps that are part of this process, and that's what I'm going to expand on.
1. Make a menu for the week. I've been "mentally" doing this for a while. For example, this week I work Wednesday through Saturday. So I will make two meals this week - one Monday and one on Tuesday. They will have to last R (via leftovers) for the entire week. Plan out breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, and drinks. Don't go overboard, but say you always eat cereal and yogurt for breakfast (like me). You know you'll need those two items, plus any "sides" - enough to make it through the week. Don't forget snacks of some sort - and drinks.
2. Make a list of all the ingredients you KNOW you'll need, and in what quantities. For example, if I'm going to make fajita chicken, I know I need the fajita chicken itself, plus tortillas, salsa, a little cheese, wondra (for the gravy) and potatoes.
3. Next, do an "inventory" of all the stuff you already have. It's always irritating to come home from the store and realize you already have enough of something you just spent money on.
4. Finally, when you get to the store ... STICK TO THE LIST. Don't buy stuff just because they are doing a sample and you like it. Don't buy stuff because it looks good. Don't buy stuff just because its on sale. If its not on the list, DON'T BUY IT.
So there it is ... the Tip of the Week. What do you think? Any other suggestions or strategies I've missed? Leave me a comment and let me know!
Why? Well, have you ever gone to the grocery store, bought a whole cart full of stuff, then got home and realized you were still missing the one thing you needed for that pie you were going to make (or whatever)? Or what about going to the grocery store for a couple of onions and a gallon of milk and coming home with $50+ worth of stuff??
Sure, it happens to all of us, the urge to impulse-buy. But for some reason, most of us are WAY more prone to overspend at the grocery store than the mall. Maybe because everything is so (relatively) cheap at the grocery store? Who knows. But admit it, this has happened to you.
My Solution: As simple as it sounds, I recommend just making a list and sticking to it. There are several smaller steps that are part of this process, and that's what I'm going to expand on.
1. Make a menu for the week. I've been "mentally" doing this for a while. For example, this week I work Wednesday through Saturday. So I will make two meals this week - one Monday and one on Tuesday. They will have to last R (via leftovers) for the entire week. Plan out breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, and drinks. Don't go overboard, but say you always eat cereal and yogurt for breakfast (like me). You know you'll need those two items, plus any "sides" - enough to make it through the week. Don't forget snacks of some sort - and drinks.
2. Make a list of all the ingredients you KNOW you'll need, and in what quantities. For example, if I'm going to make fajita chicken, I know I need the fajita chicken itself, plus tortillas, salsa, a little cheese, wondra (for the gravy) and potatoes.
3. Next, do an "inventory" of all the stuff you already have. It's always irritating to come home from the store and realize you already have enough of something you just spent money on.
4. Finally, when you get to the store ... STICK TO THE LIST. Don't buy stuff just because they are doing a sample and you like it. Don't buy stuff because it looks good. Don't buy stuff just because its on sale. If its not on the list, DON'T BUY IT.
So there it is ... the Tip of the Week. What do you think? Any other suggestions or strategies I've missed? Leave me a comment and let me know!
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Christmas Day
Our menu this year was varied, but only cost us $25.88 total. The reason? Free food from HEB!! They have these "meal-deals", where if you buy a certain item, all the other items that would typically go with that item as part of a meal are free. This year the item was spiral-sliced ham. We bought a 9.5 lb half-ham for the $25.88 and got everything else for free. Whoo!!
COST: $25.88
Honey Baked Ham - $25.88
Canned Peas - FREE with Coupon
Canned Corn - FREE with Coupon
Cranberry Jelly - FREE with coupon
Salad - FREE with coupon
Mashed Potatoes - already in pantry (approx $0.14)
Gravy - made from ham drippings - FREE
The only thing in this photo that we paid for was the ham. And the crackers and dip, but those technically weren't part of the meal. We were just using those as "pre-meal-waiting" munchies.
Cat says, "Merry Christmas!"
Sunday, December 30, 2007
How NOT To Make a Lemon Meringue Pie
SCENE: Tonight I made a lemon meringue pie for my father to celebrate his birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!) It's his favorite. I mentioned earlier that my mother gave me a handwritten, family-recipe-collection cookbook for Christmas. Well, my mom included "Dad's Favorite Lemon Meringue Pie" recipe. Since it was DAD's birthday and this recipe was for his favorite lemon-meringue pie, I thought it would be the perfect recipe to make.
Mistake #1: I decided that it would be a great idea (since lemon meringue is so time-critical) to make the pie mise en place. So I did a quick review of the ingredients, gathered them, and set about prepping and measuring so that everything would be ready when the time came. NOT a bad idea with lemon meringue. The bad idea entered the picture when I reviewed the recipe, had doubts about it (it didn't have any cream of tartar, only 1 tablespoon of corn starch, etc), and didn't double-check the recipe for accuracy.
Mistake #2: I followed the first set of directions, mixed the water with the sugar, salt and corn starch, and set it above the double boiler to thicken. Stirring constantly. This is not wrong. What was wrong was waiting more than 30 minutes for it to thicken before I started to wonder why nothing was happening. Did I mention I was stirring constantly?
Mistake #3: Trying to rescue the recipe, I took the whole mess off the double boiler and put it directly on the burner to thicken. It did - momentarily - then went back to a soupy, liquid mess. So I kept stirring, although by this time I was REALLY frustrated.
The aforesaid soupy mess. LOL
RESOLUTION: So finally I just said "the heck with it" and put it aside. I went and retrieved another (fool-proof) recipe and started over. But ... the new/improved recipe called for 6 tablespoons of corn starch - not 1. Therein laid the problem all along. More cornstarch and I'd have had an award-winning recipe!! Darn it all - but it all worked out okay.
LESSONS LEARNED:
• Never, never, never ignore your instincts. If a recipe doesn't look right, it probably isn't.
• When a recipe isn't working out in the first 20 minutes or so, don't keep trying. It will only lead to heartache and frustration for all.
• If your recipe has failed, compare it to other recipes for the same item. This will help you not only to learn what the problem was, but also to learn more about how ingredients work - both individually and together.
Mistake #1: I decided that it would be a great idea (since lemon meringue is so time-critical) to make the pie mise en place. So I did a quick review of the ingredients, gathered them, and set about prepping and measuring so that everything would be ready when the time came. NOT a bad idea with lemon meringue. The bad idea entered the picture when I reviewed the recipe, had doubts about it (it didn't have any cream of tartar, only 1 tablespoon of corn starch, etc), and didn't double-check the recipe for accuracy.
Mistake #2: I followed the first set of directions, mixed the water with the sugar, salt and corn starch, and set it above the double boiler to thicken. Stirring constantly. This is not wrong. What was wrong was waiting more than 30 minutes for it to thicken before I started to wonder why nothing was happening. Did I mention I was stirring constantly?
Mistake #3: Trying to rescue the recipe, I took the whole mess off the double boiler and put it directly on the burner to thicken. It did - momentarily - then went back to a soupy, liquid mess. So I kept stirring, although by this time I was REALLY frustrated.
The aforesaid soupy mess. LOL
RESOLUTION: So finally I just said "the heck with it" and put it aside. I went and retrieved another (fool-proof) recipe and started over. But ... the new/improved recipe called for 6 tablespoons of corn starch - not 1. Therein laid the problem all along. More cornstarch and I'd have had an award-winning recipe!! Darn it all - but it all worked out okay.
LESSONS LEARNED:
• Never, never, never ignore your instincts. If a recipe doesn't look right, it probably isn't.
• When a recipe isn't working out in the first 20 minutes or so, don't keep trying. It will only lead to heartache and frustration for all.
• If your recipe has failed, compare it to other recipes for the same item. This will help you not only to learn what the problem was, but also to learn more about how ingredients work - both individually and together.
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