Frugal Living: The Kitchen

Regardless of the layout of your kitchen, the kitchen has to have the right tools if you're going to use it for more than just preparing meals. Having lots of counter space and places to put your tools is also important. Everyone will have their own preferences, but on my list of tools are several large stainless steel pots with lids.

Because I save and use everything, my kitchen is also cluttered with all my used washed out jars and lids and milk jugs. I also have an area where I dry my baggies after I've washed them out. There are actually gadgets you can buy to hang baggies on to dry, but I use my knife block and just hang my baggies off my knife handles.

I also have a nice food dryer, that for me is a must-have. I bought it at Wal-Mart for a cheap price and it has lasted me for several years. And I also have a simple juicer that someone gave me that I use.

I recycle everything! When we are done with a meal, any food scraps are either put in a bowl by the sink, or in my compost can. Rarely does anything go down the garbage disposal. A compost bucket for me is a must and gets mostly coffee grounds and egg shells. When it gets full, it gets dumped into my compost pile outside. I use a little stainless steel waste can with a flip open lid and removeable insert that I found cheap. A lid over your compost can is a must! Not only will it stink, but flies are attracted to it, so over the years I have found this little waste can to be the best so far. I also dedicate one plastic mixing bowl to food scraps that my chickens can eat. This is set on the counter next to the sink and thrown out daily to the chickens.

I also have a large area to store my grocery bags and baggies.

I don't buy already-prepared food. Period. Nothing boxed, nothing frozen. That is my first rule, and my basic rule! I prepare EVERYTHING from scratch. This alone will save you a lot of money!

With that in mind, you can get as fancy as you like when cooking, using your creative imagination to create all kinds of meals. But the key to saving money is in the core ingredients of your cooking, so keep that in mind when being creative. Don't spend that money on fancy ingredients! Instead, make a list of what your family eats and likes, and stick to those basic ingredients to get creative.

Our meals are very simple: pastas, crock pots, beans, breads, soups, casseroles. That's really about it! So I keep lots of pasta in the pantry, meat in the freezer, lots of flours, and cans full of beans.

All meals are usually supplemented with a salad containing lots of fresh veggies, and a thick slice of homemade bread or some muffins.

But that's me. You can get very creative with all of those. One caution: meat is really expensive, so instead of having a slab of meat for a meal (or every meal), use meat creatively in your meals. I remember Sunday dinners -- that was the main meat meal. What was left over from that ONE meat meal, went into casseroles and soups for the rest of the week. That is the way to stretch that dollar!

Casseroles can be made with a breaded or potato crust. Dumplings can be put into soups. We eat lots of potatoes, too, because they're cheap and also easy to grow.

With that menu in mind, I try to grow everything I need except the flour and meat (working on that!). So if I can grow most of what I eat, I don't have to buy so much of my food!

The other basic ingredients I always keep on hand are butter (many pounds frozen in the freezer that I pick up cheap on sales), chocolate chips, and nuts. We're cookie lovers, so we have to have our cookies now and then. The holidays are a great time to stock up on these ingredients!

Another thing that I always forget to mention because we just don't do it, is snacks. We keep fresh fruit and veggies to snack on, plus breads and muffins. Of course, cookies are available many times, but I just flat out don't buy ANY chips and stuff like that. We don't drink sodas, either, but instead drink lots of water with juices now and then.

One thing I do keep on hand for snacks right now (that breaks my rule!) is keeping lots of Top Ramen on hand. I have a teenager who has to eat all the time, and fruits and veggies don't fill that hole in his stomach well for very long. Top Ramen works great! We don't use the flavor packets (because there's lots of nasties in them!), but instead we throw in a teaspoon of quality bouillon or tamara sauce (soy sauce). I also use the noodles for stir fries. I stock up on Ramen when it's on sale -- sometimes a dime a pack! And Ramen noodles fill that teenage hole!

We use milk for our hot cereal (bought in the bulk section -- super cheap!). We don't buy boxed cereals at all -- WAY too expensive!!

I'll probably think of other things, but these are the main things we use all the time. I'll add to this as I go along.

There are so many things you can make so simply! The one item I learned to make made me go, "huh?" because it was so simple and I wondered why we have quit making it ourselves!

That is vinegar. Yes, vinegar. You CAN distill it easily, but I prefer the "lazy" method. And now that I'm thinking about it, the reason people don't make it any more is probably because they don't have access to lots of apples. But those of us who do have access, there is no excuse!

I make all kinds of things during apple season -- applesauce, jelly, dried chips, and now vinegar. I have a big pot with a lid that I keep under my kitchen work table. As I peel and core the apples for making things, I throw those peels and cores into that pot, add water to cover, and put the lid back on. In a few weeks, the apples have "done their stuff" and you have a pleasant smelling vinegar! THAT'S IT! Unbelievable, huh?

Remember those milk jugs I save? Yup, I strain off the liquid into those jugs, label them, and then use that vinegar to clean and put in the laundry (helps clean and soften clothes).

Another super easy thing to make is mayonnaise. All mayonnaise is is egg and oil and a bit of vinegar. Yes, you've got that right! Egg and oil and vinegar. You can add flavorings and spices to get fancy, but if you're like me who just needs some plain old mayonnaise for sandwiches, then make it!

1 egg
1 cup oil (just plain old vegetable oil, not olive)
2 T vinegar
bit of salt

In a blender, mix everything but oil. Once mixed, add about a teaspoon of oil at a time to blend in. This part is important! Just a tad of oil at a time as you blend. When it's all in, you will have your mayonnaise!

Too easy!