1. Buy less tender cuts of meat and slow cook them in a crock pot. I like to brown meat on the stove first so that it gets heated up quickly. Once the meat has been cooked through thoroughly, I add the meat to the crock pot with some kind of sauce, juice, canned soup or gravy and let it tenderize and slow cook for hours. I try to do this in the morning, so that when my kids get home from school they can help themselves to a healthy crock pot meal instead of filling up on snack foods. On days that I'm organized and have some free morning time, I'll have a couple of different crock pots going with two different entrees, usually a roast and a hearty soup or stew. One recent favorite dish at our house is pork chops slow cooked with orange juice, and topped with orange marmalade before serving.
2. Use your leftovers to make soup. Every couple of days I'll go through the fridge and chop up any leftovers and wilted vegetables, mix with chicken stock and make a truly unique soup of the day in the crock pot. If you don't have enough leftovers to make a crock pot full of soup, you can use what leftovers you do have and then add other easy soup ingredients such as frozen mixed vegetables, a chicken breast or a can of beans.
3. Save your vegetable and meat scraps to make soup stock. I just put water on high in the crock pot, and once it is hot I toss in all of my saved up scraps - carrot peels, chicken bones, onion peels, zucchini ends, etc. After any meat scraps have been cooked through thoroughly, I turn the temperature to low and let the stock simmer for an hour to let the flavors meld.
4. Keep a price book so you know the cost of everything you regularly buy. Many retail store sale prices may not even be as low as the Costco or Sam's Clubs' regular prices.
5. Shop at Costco or Sam's Club. A local consumer magazine in our area found the prices at these warehouse stores to be almost 40% lower than comparable items at retail supermarkets.
6. Use coupons selectively. Only use coupons for products you regularly use or know your family will enjoy eating, otherwise you are just wasting your time and money. Combining coupons with items already on sale can be a real money saver.
7. Stockpile frozen or nonperishable products when they are on sale. You can get a 100% rate of return on your money by buying necessities in advance at 2 for 1 sales.
8. If you pay your charge cards off every month, consider paying for your groceries with a cash back credit card. Currently some cards offer as much as 2% back off every day purchases.
9. Have a list of quick meals for busy nights that you can make from pantry or freezer ingredients you always keep on hand. That way you won't be tempted to resort to getting fast food on nights when you are busy or haven't had time to plan a full evening meal. One of my quick meals is chili fries made with frozen French fries topped with canned chili. I serve it with a green salad and some fruit for a complete meal that only takes a few minutes of preparation time.
|
S. L. Simmons is a thrifty mom of two and the editor of Always Frugal. Visit her web site site for frugal and healthy recipe ideas and more ways to save money on food. This article may be freely reprinted as long as the author's box is included and the links remain active in any online publications. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=S._L._Simmons |