Frugal Cooking

Whenever you can, use the store brand of food in your recipes. Contrary to popular belief, the store brand is not necessarily lower in quality than the name brands. A pound of cheddar cheese with the store's label on it is just like the pound of cheddar with a label that says "Kraft". A package of frozen broccoli is the same no matter the brand. Nobody will notice if your beef and broccoli stir-fry was not made with name brand broccoli!

Consider the serving sizes of the food you are preparing. Eating more than is recommended as a serving size is not only a health issue but also a financial one. The USDA states that one serving size of meat is 3 ounces. That would mean one pound of burger should feed five people. Buy ground beef in bulk and then separate it yourself to save some money. If you have four people in your family and you buy four pounds of ground beef, you can use that for five meals instead of four. The same principle works for other types of meat and groceries, too.

Crock pot recipes can be used to make main courses that stretch for a couple of days. A crock pot full of shredded pork or beef can make sandwiches for lunch. The rest may be added to a casserole or soup for dinner. If your family does not eat meat, there are vegetarian crock pot recipes that will do just as well.

When you cook, do your best to make just enough to feed those around the table for the one meal. Most of the time, the leftovers are not enough to make another meal and it ends up either getting thrown out right away or it starts to mold in the refrigerator. If you would like to cook extra food, have another recipe in mind in which you will be able to use it.

Make a "refrigerator meal". When I first heard of this recipe I thought it sounded frightening and the truth is, it could be and it only works well if you have good instincts about which foods go well together. Take an inventory of the leftovers in your refrigerator and the various sauces and dressings you have. Even cupboard foods work for this!

Four pieces of boneless chicken, some leftover canned peaches, 1 apple, 1 orange, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, a couple of carrots, a little lettuce, and just over a cup of uncooked rice can make almost an entire meal for four.

Frugal cooking doesn't mean you have to eat beans every night. With a little imagination, it is possible to cook up a great meal without wasting time, money or food.