I am a new homemaker, and I am looking for ways to cut costs in the kitchen since we are down to one income. I love to cook, but I have never had to watch what I spend before. I was actually thinking of starting to grow my own veggies; the only problem is that I don't have a green thumb! Any advise is appreciated!

Beans, pasta, rice, and eggs are big budget stretchers when you cook. You can buy them in bulk and store them, beans are as much protein as meat so you can meatless with beans. You can even toss extras in a ziploc bag and freeze the extras. You can also save extra rice and pasta. Toss cooked rice or pasta in a ziploc bag with a touch of oil or butter, then it can be microwaved for next days meal. Eggs you can use for omlettes and fritattas which are good uses for extra veggies you may have. Another way to save extra veggies is to place extras in a bowl or ziploc bag in the freezer. When the bowl or baggie is full it makes a great soup. You can save any bones from any meat you make, freeze, and use later to make broth. Drain, then this is a basis for soup. If you have leftover meats and it is a small amount, freeze it to go in soups or stews. Something like meatloaf can become tomorrow night's burritos, tacos, or chili.

Remember you pay for convience. Buy fresh veggies and fruits and cut them yourself. Bake your own breads and pastriesif you can. In some cases store brands are just as good as name brands, but that will take some experimenting to find what you like. Use coupons (the price of a Sunday paper is worth it) Find store that double or sometimes triple coupons and have rewards programs and use those. Plan your meals a bit so that you can use what is on sale for that week. Some stores now are giving you a bit of a credit if you bring in your own bags, so good canvas bags are cheap but will save you some change in the long run.

I hope this helps you. This is the way I was rasied and still do many of these to this day. Good luck

PS. There are many recipe websites that can give you great cheap recipes and tips. You just have do a bit of searching.

My favorite way to cut costs in the kitchen is by making casseroles. Usually the ingredients for making a big casserole are much cheaper than cooking a meat and potatoes meal and if your family is small you can eat on them for 2 or 3 days!

Something else I've tried recently (thanks to finding it on this message board) is a website called angelfoodministries.com. It is a church based organization that you can order food from each month at low cost. There is no application to fill out or no qualifications to meet. The food is good quality and you really get your money worth!

I tried to post this before, here we go again. You don't really need a "green" thumb. Depending on your space, pick out the veggies you like, we like green beans (look for "Bush" beans, takes less effort). When picked, blanch, then freeze. Just found out that corn on the cob, pick, don't remove leaves, then freeze. It works. But corn does take room to grow. We found that ONE tomato plant works for us, you can buy them at most any grocery store or veggie stand, but if you want more, got for it. Don't be afraid to be creative with left-overs. Make up your own meals. Some will work, others will not. Good luck.

For growing veges: Search for your local or state cooperative extension service. They usually publish free guides with information specific to your area's soil types, climate, seasons, etc. Publications usually include best times to plant, harvest, watering amounts, and information on how to store fresh veges for year round use.

For general money saving: Buy in bulk, especially meats. It's a little more work to repackage into the serving sizes you need before freezing, but it will save you a lot. Watch the sales and buy more of items that store well when they are on sale. Use coupons, especially if your store doubles or triples them.






--- Edited by BayouBlonde2 at 2008-11-07 12:00:35 ---

Welcome to the RR boards!!! I love this place, it's great for finding wonderful ideas and other things for making great meals and friends. Here is a website that I found that can help save you or anyone some $$, I have found that using coupons are a BIG money saver, this website is great
http://www.afullcup.com/forums/cmps_index.php

Also buy in bulk, and get a small freezer if you can afford one, there are great when you buy in bulk. I also have a 1 income family, (thanks hubby) I can't work so I cut corner's and try saving money anyway I can so we are able to stretch every buck I can. Hope this helps. If you have any ?'s feel free to email me and I'll try to help ya.

Energy Wise in the kitchen, i use my real large electric fry pan. I can cook diced potatoes on one side, & meat on the other side, then when the potatoes & meat is done i can do the eggs in the same pan saving alot on electric power.

Another way to save in the kitchen, buy a whole chicken, a roast & Hamburger. I bake the whole chicken,eat the leggs,thighs, & wings. Then the the breast meat for sandwiches & last the carcass for soup. The leftover roast, I make tacos,hash & whatever. Works out real well with lots of meals.

I agree with Maribeth, that Angel Food is wonderful. They have a website at www.angelfoodministries.org and you can even order your boxes online now. The price of the fresh fruit and veggie box is unbeatable, especially in the winter months.

That's my mom's name too, Maribeth, incidentally. Spelled exactly the same!

hi, i found out about angel food last month AWESOME!!!!!
made huge order today...can't wait!!!!
another big one is the chicken thing---(rach should really show this on her show) buy the whole chickens and cut them up your self...my dad taught me how to do this when i was a teen and it has saved me lots of money.
chicken parts can be very expensive (esp bonless skinless),
a whole chicken can be as low as 99 cents a pound.
take home and cut it up, i seperate thighs, drumsticks, etc.
if you want bonless skinless...it really isn't hard to do.
all the rest i toss into a large ziploc bag and freeze. when the bag is full MAKE SOUP!!!
other large cuts of meat can be cut down at home.
and my fav......crock pot (the original set it and forget it)
cheap cuts of meat soooo tender. time saving HELLO put the stuff in in the morning and come home to dinner!!!!
(this is another thing rach needs to have on the show!!!!!)
good luck

I cannot wait to go on Angel Food what a great thing, but how about shipping??? Also don't forget on Rachael's website (not the show her own website) she has a whole section on budget meals. She also has lots of one pot meals stoups chilis pastas all our money saving and I think most of us like those meals anyway, and all of us are trying to save a buck wherever we can. Anyway thanks for the tip on Angel Food can't wait to check it out.

hey tap,
angel food ministries is great, only down side you order once a month and PICK UP once a month.....but upside you can order as many boxes as you want, not just for low income no questions,
they accept food stamps and thier food is awesome, 80% of thier for is NOT processed food. you go on the site search for a "host" site in your area, if paying with credit/debit card you can order online...cash or foodstamps you must go to the site to order. (at my site deadline to order is 12 oct and pickup is 17 oct). the food is great and this months menu AWESOME...couldn't wait to order finally did yesterday.
signature box is designed to feed a family of 4 for 1 week. approx $60 of food for $30.. and the fruit and veggie box is to die for this month.
let me know what you think!!!
susie

Here's something that you may not normally think of. I discoverd that by using a better odor absorber in my refrigerator, I seem to get less smell cross contamination of foods and it seems that some food, especially produce and fruits last longer. I found an activated charcoal product that really works called FridgeIT. Read about it from another blog, tried it and been a big fan for years now. I buy it right from the website although I've also seen it in stores. Love it and saves me from throwing out food early.

Hi there! I agree with nana_s. Buy in bulk. I have a couple of tips already on the message boards about how to buy in bulk and save money and time cooking for hamburger and sausage. Please look at them both. I think they'll will help with saving money for you. I know what it's like being a one income family. It sure has worked for us. And in this day and age they way the economy is you have to save every penny.

Pasta Roni, Rice-a-Roni, Hamburger Helper, ect... those type things are cheap and easy. Wal-Mart brand mac&cheese tastes just as good as Kraft, and it's only 50 cents a box.

Buying store brands, buying in bulk... also, checking your circulars for when certain grocery stores are having buy-one-get-one-free sales.

And, shopping at more than one store can also help. I did that before I had two kids and had more time to devote to it. I did half of my shopping at Bi-Lo and the other half at Family Dollar.

Now, we have a Super Wal-Mart and I shop either there or Sam's Club. Get into a good routine, know what's where and what's a really good deal, you can save big. Last grocery trip was $200 for two weeks worth of groceries.

I have a quick and easy tip for you. I save the liquids from canned veggies and freeze and reuse them in soups and stews instead of water. More flavor - YAY! You can freeze it and just toss in the cubes! Also, you can boil them with rice and pastas - can we say YUM-O!?!

dndmir, I just took chicken thighs and cut the bone out of them because if I would have bought them boneless it would have cost me more money. I took parmasan and herb shake and bake and shook the thighs in it then placed them in grease pan I used spray pam in the pan. Then I took stove top stuffing and added 3 eggs and 8 tble spoons of shed spread butter and 3 cups of water because I used two boxes of stuffing. Then I mixed the ramaining parmasan and herb shake and bake and stirred it around in the stuffing also. Then I poured the stuffing over the chicken thighs and baked it at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. It was quick and it was easy.

Sandra Quinn
Davenport Iowa