For the second part in my savings series I thought that we would tackle how alittle elbow grease can translate into big savings, in the kitchen. Stores are filled with items with convenience items that make our lives, and our kitchen prep, much easier, but the fact is that you pay for the convenience of these items. If you have the time to give, it could translate to big savings.
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| Ready to make breadcrumbs. |
-Make your own breadcrumbs – neither hubby or I like the ‘ends’ of a loaf of bread, so I keep them in the freezer, once I have enough , I toast them in the oven, grind them up in the blender and store them for use in a air-tight container.
-Make your own croutons – this is a case where the homemade version is so much better than the store. Use leftover French bread (or check your clearance aisle at the store for day old). The next step is to cut them into cubes, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with grinded pepper, and sea salt, and toast in the oven. These can be stored in an air-tight container until you are ready for them.
-Cut your own meat. Flank steak can be used for some much. Buying you meat as a whole steak, when it is on sale, will save you money on buying the convenient ready to use stew meat and fajita meat. Bonus is that it already in your freezer! This is also where you can make your money back on that COSTCO or Sam’s Club membership. TIP: the meat is easiest to cut when it’s still half frozen.
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| Ummm..Spicy Meatballs. |
-Make your own meatballs – this is a favorite at our house. Watch for the meat to go on sale at your local store (I like to check in the mornings, meat expiring that day is generally marked down). With this method you can control the fat content of the meat and other ingredients. I make up a batch, freeze them, and they are ready to go whenever you need them. Plus I don’t trust those ones in the freezer, how do you know what they have in them?
- Make your own spaghetti sauce, I just mix a can of tomato sauce with a can of diced tomatoes; add some seasonings (and meatballs!) which makes a nice chunky sauce. If you don’t like a chucky sauce you can go with either all tomato sauce or substitute a can of crushed tomatoes for the diced tomatoes. These can always be bought at a great stock up price.
-Here we go on the baby carrots. I usually do not buy the baby carrots either unless I can get a really good price or I’m in an extreme hurry. A bag of regular carrots is usually about ¼ of the price of baby carrots.
- Green Beans/Carrots/Corn; these are all great out of the freezer. Stock up on them during the summer, clean them, par boil them and freeze them in single use containers. There is nothing like sweet corn in the middle of the winter.
-Cookies, Cakes, and Muffins; again these are items I never buy at the store. Once you have made the investment in the ingredients, they will pay for themselves, and will taste a 100 times better.
-Waffles. Doesn’t always seem like you make too much batter? After you have finished breakfast, head back to the kitchen, and use up the remaining batter. Freeze, and then pull out of the freezer on hectic mornings to pop in the microwave or toaster. Same can be done with pancakes!
Another reason that I started these practices is that I’m really trying to cut down on the amount of processed foods that I bring into my house. In the past few months that I’ve been doing this, I’ve already lost about 20 lbs. The prep on these items is not as bad as it seems. I usually set aside alittle time on Sundays to cut veggies and fruits, and I leave myself reminders (on my phone) on what needs to come out of the freezer and when.
There are ways to save in every part of your house and your life.
-Learn to Sew; this is what I’m working on now. Learn to hem your pants, mend and replace buttons. It is way cheaper than paying someone else, and your clothes will last longer.
-Make your own household products; I’m not talking about making your own soap or laundry detergent (but you could); but I was looking for a way to clean my oven without all the harsh chemicals (who would want to cook anything in there after that?) and found a method that uses just baking soda (works great on burner covers too!). When we looking for another way to kill me ants near the baby kitty’s food a couple of summers ago, someone tipped us off to a spray bottle filled with 2/3 parts white vinegar and water. Worked great. One last tip on this subject, dust cloths, how I hate to invest money in something I’m going to use once or twice and throw away. You know those clothes/sheets and towels that are not good enough to give to goodwill? Cut them up and store them with your cleaning supplies, they are great for dusting (socks work the best!), hand mopping floors, and other general cleaning chores.
-Plant a garden. Can you imagine how good that salad would be if it all came your own garden?
The bottom line is this. There are ways to save everywhere, just keep your eyes open. Have any tips you would like to share? Drop me a line or comment below!
Good Luck! Have a great week ~Cyn
