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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 →

Sneaking the Leftovers

Using up your leftovers or having planned leftovers for meals is a great way to save money. You can use up all of the food you have through leftovers, especailly getting free meals. Also, cooking in bulk can save money and time. But not everyone is big on leftovers. Before I became frugal, I wouldn’t touch a leftover for my life. People who don’t like leftovers either avoid them because of some pre-determined idea that they won’t taste as good as the original or a feeling of being deprived, or a worry about being too cheap. Kids especially don’t like … Continue reading →

Avoid Waste with a Leftover List

Eating at home is one of the best ways to save money and practice a frugal lifestyle. If you followed my earlier article about calculating your cost per meal, then you know how great the savings is. Just yesterday, for example, I made a vat of homemade chicken noodle soup. Not counting the electricity cost in cooking, I estimate that the entire vat cost me about 40 cents, and that included a generous amount of egg noodles, carrots and leftover chicken pieces. The soup will serve four of us for two days. However, if we never get back to that … Continue reading →

Clever Cooks: Upcycling in the Kitchen

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I love upcycling. I love a good repurposed sweater, one made out of old sweaters. I love finding great finds off Craigslist and using them for novel purposes in my home. And yes, I love upcycling in the kitchen too. Yuck, you say? Not really. Clever cooks have been upcycling for years. When you save that last bit of rice in the pot or the three leftover apple slices from snack and put them in a pudding the next day, you’re upcycling. Having a limited student budget made me a good upcycler. After that, it was the child that did … Continue reading →

When I Could Have Saved Money but Didn’t

Do you know those times when you could just kick yourself for not saving money? A little foresight or planning and you would not have spent as much as you did or would have avoided fees or penalties? I had two of those moments this week. Good organization and just being aware of what is going on can usually save you quite a bit of money. From reducing your need to replace something that got lost or stolen, to paying high fines for not paying bills on time, being on the ball can pay off. So back to those two … Continue reading →

Meal Co-Ops (1)

In my previous article, I talked about forming co-ops to share resources and save money. One of the co-ops I talked about was the meal co-op. I think this is a great idea. So, let’s talk about it a little bit more. In a meal co-op you share meals. You cook once or twice a week and have a week’s worth of varied meals to enjoy. Not only do you save money by shopping and cooking in bulk, but you save time, too. You will be less likely to rely on convenience foods or take out foods on those busy … Continue reading →

Do You Need “Green Bags?”

Have you seen those new “green bags?” So far, I’ve seen them only on commercials and info-mercials. They are plastic bags that are meant for keeping produce fresh. The bags appear to be made of a lightweight plastic and are tinted green. In the commercial, the smiling lady offers examples of fruits and vegetables that have been in the bag and those that have not. The ones in the bag appear fresh and crisp, while the ones that aren’t in the bag are slimy, soft or moldy. Hmm, I thought. That could be something. Until I looked at the time … Continue reading →

Tips for a Frugal Thanksgiving

Serve a vegetarian meal. The cost of meat is usually a big part of any meal, whether you serve the traditionally turkey or a ham or both. My Italian family always served a lasagna for Thanksgiving, and it was a long time before I ever knew that a Turkey was the traditional main course. When hosting a family Thanksgiving get together, ask the relatives and guests to contribute to the meal by bringing a dish. You can assign dishes ahead of time. There are two ways of doing this. You can ask your sister to bring a “green vegetable,” or … Continue reading →

3 Meals that Feed Your Family for $1.50 or Less

Yes, you can actually feed a family of four or more for $1.50 or less. Keep these meals in mind during emergency times or add them to you regular meal planning. Here are three meals that will cost just pennies to create. They are completely flexible. These aren’t recipes, per se, but meal ideas that you can adapt to fit your family and what you have available. I didn’t count in the cost of drinks, since we usually just have water, which is free or sometimes milk, which can add to the cost of the meal. With these meals, you … Continue reading →

Saving Food: The Ice Cube Method

I have spoken a little bit about food waste before. Among the strategies to curb food waste (and money in the rash) are having a leftover or clean out the fridge night, using leftovers in savory muffins and keeping a container to make freezer soup. Now here is one more strategy: Using ice cub trays. We now have our water hooked up to our refrigerator and have automatic ice. I won’t get rid of the ice cube trays, though. They come in handy for saving leftover food, especially when you need small amounts of something. A good example for using … Continue reading →