Tag Archives: frugal meals

Cookbook Review: Miserly Meals by Jonni McCoy

It isn’t very often that I give a book review that indicates that the book is mediocre at best or not worth even checking out of the library, but there is always a first time. Unfortunately, this book is Miserly Meals by Jonni McCoy, and it aims to provide “healthy, tasty recipes under 75 cents per serving,” something that we could probably all use. Out of all of the recipes in the book, I choose three promising ones and went to work. On the positive side, McCoy does take advantage of low-cost ingredients and provides plenty of good information, such … Continue reading →

Money Saving Meals for Busy Families

Busy families shouldn’t miss out on the savings just because they have little time to cook. Home cooked meals are one of the best ways to save on the food bill. With a little knowledge, you can spend very little to cook at home, no matter how hectic your life is. Here is how. Crockpot Recipes I’m convinced that the crockpot must have been invented by a busy mom. If you don’t have this little appliance, run out right now and get one. Don’t worry about the expense. You can pick your first one up for a few dollars at … Continue reading →

$5 Dinners

Feed a family of five for only $5 or less? Yes it can be done. Here are my favorite $5 dinners that we incorporate into our meal planning on a regular basis. Vegetarian Baked Beans Make your baked beans in the crockpot. Slow cooking all day doesn’t have to be work, and in fact, it is pretty convenient. Use dry Great Northern or Navy beans, which cost next to nothing. There is are several great recipes in the crockpot book, Fix It or Forget It. You can pair the beans with some cornbread for a meal, and then serve the … Continue reading →

How to Turn Leftovers into New Meals

Leftovers never go wasted in my house. If you love to use leftovers but hate having the same thing night after night, consider employing some of the following leftover strategies. Meal one night, side dish the next One of the leftover strategies that I employ is to make a meatless dish one night and have it as a main meal. Then any leftovers can be turned into side dishes. This allows you to use up your leftovers without overloading your family with the same tastes. For example, I may make homemade baked means and serve them over rive for the … Continue reading →

Choosing Wisely for the Thanksgiving Meal

Some food costs more than others. Here is how to make the best selections for your budget and still be true to a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. On Thanksgiving, we tend to go a bit overboard. I know this because the number of leftovers seems to grow exponentially over the years. Everyone has their favorite dishes, and all of them need to be prepared. Why have pumpkin pie when you can have pumpkin pie, apple pie, cheesecake, cookies and a cherry cobbler. Well, I’ll tell you why. All of that food can add up, and expensive ingredients mean expensive dishes. This … Continue reading →

Frugal Party Food

How do you feed 14 kids and 12 adults cheaply without being stingy? Here is how I made the most of the resources on hand to serve all of these people for very little money with a combination of store bought and homemade food (and I had a nice amount of leftovers). This past Saturday, we threw a nice-sized birthday party for my daughter, who by the way, insisted that we call her princess the entire time. Originally, we were going to pick up some pre-made food at our local pizza restaurant. The restaurant is a favorite one of ours … Continue reading →

Average Retail Milk Prices for September 2008

Milk prices have increase greatly since the first time I started keeping track of the milk pricing report that lists retail milk prices across the country. I remember watching the milk prices creep up a few cents here and there, with the average price somewhere around $2.31 a gallon for whole milk. Today things are a little different. The simple average of milk prices for a gallon of whole milk across the country is $3.82. And many cities find milk prices well over $4. That simple average has held up since the begining of the year, so while some cities … Continue reading →

Frugal Living Week in Review: October 13th Through October 19th

It is not too early to start thinking about the upcoming holidays. Early planning can often save you a bundle. You can take everyday ideas, such as making freezer meals and apply them for the holidays. Meanwhile, check out last week’s frugal articles. October 13th Five Little Grocery Shopping Tricks: Look Left and Right When it comes to shopping for groceries, we need all of the help we can get. Rising prices and reduced coupon values make reducing your grocery bill by 70 percent a thing of the past. And those grocery stores have plenty of tricks up their sleeves … Continue reading →

A Tale of Three Chickens 2

If you missed the first part of this story, click here: A Tale of Three Chickens. Chicken number one got roasted on Monday, along with some onions and part of the large amount of carrots on which I also got a good deal. On Tuesday, I placed chicken number two in the crock pot to cook on low all day, while I simmered the bones from chicken number one in the stock pot. The crock pot chicken just fell off of the bones, making it so easy to divide. Chickens numbered one and two got married in the form of … Continue reading →

A Tale of Three Chickens

On Sunday, whole roasting chickens went on sale at our local grocery store for 99 cents a pound. While this isn’t a great deal, it is the best one that I have seen in the last two years in my neck of the woods, barring the very infrequent buy one get one free sales or raising the chickens myself. These were for a particular name brand roasting chicken that I find generally produces more breast meat for the same weight as the store brand chickens. So, I stocked up a bit by buying three of the meatiest ones available. Now … Continue reading →