It's tax season, and if you're freelancers like we are, you may well end up owing the government some money. For those of you for whom Tax Day means refunds, check out Big Spender Menu here. For the rest of us, we've put together our best tips and tricks for saving money when you cook at home. And hey, if you're interested in home cooking in the first place, we'll assume you've also got a mind for thrift and a weakness for cheap ingredients that taste like a million bucks.
--Cara and Phoebe of Big Girls, Small Kitchen
**Tips and Tricks**
1. Shop for the week. Make a plan and try to stick to it. Think about whether you'll be going out to dinner,
having friends over,
attending a potluck, or
packing your lunch for work. The more accurate you are with your shopping list, the more money you'll save--and the less food you'll waste. Write down a list before you go to the store, and avoid impulse buys.
2. Make leftovers intentional. Cooking with an eye to your weekly plan means leftovers won't be a drag to get through, they'll be a joy. With any leftover herbs,
make pesto; it keeps well in the fridge, and its use is not limited to
pasta. Spread it on
salmon sandwiches, use it in
potato salad, and eat it with
eggs. Â Same goes for sauced spaghetti; today's pasta for guests is tomorrow's
Spicy Tomato Sauce Pasta with Olive Oil Fried Eggs.
3. Use your onion. And your
garlic, your
leeks, your
scallions, your shallot, and your other cheap stock vegetables that can imbue even the simplest dinners with seemingly fancy flavor. Slow-cooking leeks makes a soft and buttery confit, great for adding to
savory pancakes and
flautas; tossing them into a
Chicken Stir-Fry immediately gives the dish more bulk. Caramelizing onions also creates layers of sweet, salty goodness in a dish: Spread
Apple Cider Onion Jam on
Roast Beef Sandwiches and
Pizettes. We use scallions raw and cooked in dishes like the ever-satisfying
Ginger-Scallion Noodles and as a
pizza topping that's way cheaper than pepperoni. A head of roasted garlic makes these
Mashed Potatoes transcendant.
4. Highlight with fancy. You don't need to serve lobsters as the main course to your party of 6 (unless you're a
big spender). What you can do is buy a little bit of lobster meat, say, and add it to your tomato sauce just before spooning it over spaghetti. Same goes for
Littleneck Clams and pasta. Serve
tiny portions of rich, expensive fresh mozzarella--but make them count.
5. Bulk up with carbs. As for the rest of the meal, be sure to fill it out with the non-costly choice: carbs.
Grits and
quinoa are less traditional picks;
pasta,
rice,
bread, and
potatoes are the obvious ones. It goes without saying, but not only are these carbs cheap, they're also bona-fide comfort food, a reason unto itself to serve them frequently.
6. Invite your friends over. Not heading out into the restaurant scene will save you tons of cash. Hosting at home not only means saving big, but it also usually means you'll have great leftovers for the week (see #2). Have friends contribute to the meal by bringing booze,
dessert, or a side ingredient (bread to serve with the
salad, or tortillas if you're making
tacos).
7. Prioritize. Figure out what ingredients are most important to you to
buy organic, and if you're entertaining, decide what course matters most to you. Spend money on that ingredient or dish and then skimp on the rest, using carbs, cheap vegetables, and bean dips (see below) to round out the rest.
8. Make a bean dip. Seriously, this is foolproof. Combine a can or two of beans--black, white, or garbanzo--some flavoring, some olive oil, and a bag of chips or sliced baguette and you've got a delicious, crowd-pleasing addition to dinner parties and picnics--or a cheap lunch. Our favorites are
White Bean, Caramelized Onion & Rosemary Puree,
Black Bean Dip, Â and Spicy
Chipotle Hummus.
9. Use your freezer. OK, not for leftovers: we're just not that on top of things. What the freezer is brilliant for is sale purchases. When pounds of butter dip down a dollar, buy several boxes. Same goes for frozen shrimp and frozen berries or vegetables. If there's a freezer-friendly ingredient that you use a lot, stock up when you find it for cheap and shop from your freezer later.
10. Eat for Eight Bucks. We write a
weekly column over at Serious Eats focused only on food you can make for $8 (not counting pantry items). Check out our archive of creative, inexpensive dinner mains
here.
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per lb. of srimp stuck in my face Please get real.
You are causing me to tear-up for what I can no longer do.
I get literally sick when I go th the store and have to try
to buy within my means.
http://www.therecipelesscook.blogspot.com
http://casa-giardino.blogspot.com
Also, check restaurant supply stores for some of the items that Costco doesn't carry -- mini-corn on the cob for Cobb salad, olives, tahini, condiments (chutney, even) all at a fraction the grocery price.
Most anything pickled, brined or sweet like chutney will keep nearly forever in the fridge -- these were some of the earliest food preservation methods, so with refrigeration too . . . you can buy larger sizes and be OK.
Containers of herbs will grow on any sunny window sill -- big money at the grocery. A patio pot can give you grape or cherry tomatoes and mesclun.
cheap stuff. And is that a bag of walnuts in front? And that little clamshell of fresh herbs, dirt cheap I'm sure.
French bread
pizza suace
cheese
spices (pepper,oregano)
10 minutes to make-easy-inexpensive. Kids love it.
If you get bags of dried chickpeas and lentils and soak them in water instead of buying canned, it's even cheaper.
http://www.therecipelesscook.blogspot.com
I will admit for lunch I do not eat healty. I will do the bad for you processed foods such as store bought burritos. I can get a pack of 8 for under $3.
But for my dinner, I will do teh healthy thing. I make my own pasta. That isn't cheaper, but it is easier to make what I need for the month instead of guessing, and I feel it tastes better as well.
I am also lucky I live in the Midwest in an area with many farmers markets. I will hit those weekly and can or freeze many vegies for year round use.
I am in heavan when the rhubarb comes into the markets.
The topping possibilities are endless (imagine my joy when my 2 lil ones
loved a red pepper/broccoli/cauliflower pizza) and there is really something
to be said for kneading & stretching pizza dough with your hubby in the kitchen ;)
Crudites and Pita Bread triangles with hummous or Baba Ganoush
Baked potatoes with Earth Balance Buttery Spread, Imo, and Chives (add Daiya shredded "cheese" if you like), Spinach salad with slivered almonds, orange or tangelo sections
Stir-fried vegetables with Brown Rice (use Bragg's Aminos if you wish)
Black-eyed Peas with Collard Greens
Insalata Tricolore (Endive, Radicchio, and Arugula) Serve with Pasta al Pomodoro. (Make a lot and use for lunch), Garlic bread.
Miso soup (buy instant miso) Sunomono (Cucumber salad) and Braised Tofu with Broccoli in Hoisin Sauce and Steamed Rice (Ma Po Tofu).
Tabbouli salad (Homemade or from Costco), Assorted olives, Artichokes (with Vegenaise)
For dessert: fresh fruit (Watermelon, Strawberries, Grapes, etc.)
Breakfast: oatmeal, cream of wheat, grits with 1 slice wheat toast, cantaloupe slices
Snack: So Delicious coconut milk yogurt, almonds, raw cashews, dried fruit