Reducing the Butter Recipesby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 10 Feb 2009 06:40 AM
Recently, though, I have been trying to get by with less butter. It is getting very expensive here, and I haven't found many good sales lately. If we continue to purchase butter as we normally would, our grocery bill would expand out of our budget. As a result, I've had to change my baking schedule a little bit, to accommodate a reduction in the amount of butter we use. For some uses, we have been able to substitute the less expensive margarine. We can use it as a spread and in some limited stove top cooking, although I usually use olive oil for the latter. I can also add it to frozen vegetables for a quick microwave side dish. But I have never found margarine to perform as well as butter in baked goods, so I just can't bring myself to use margarine for baking. Instead, I've been choosing more recipes that do well without butter, such as corn bread or corn muffins, bran muffins and carrot muffins. The resulting muffins are just as filling, more nutritious and help stretch the budget. Once in a while, I will bake a favorite muffin, such as chocolate chip for the family. I've also looked to other types of goods to act in the place of those muffins, such as whole wheat pancakes or waffles, both of which can be grabbed on the go and heated in a microwave or toaster oven, just as muffins might. Another baked good recipe that I can make without butter is homemade dinner rolls. They are easy to make in the bread machine or by hand, and they can serve as emergency bread for sandwiches if needed. Are there any foods that you have reduced or eliminated to reduce your grocery budget? Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here or subscribe to the blog using the subscription box on the right. Favorite Deal Websites: Related Articles: More Budget Baking (and Cooking) Substitutions Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments  thequeenofthecastle (413) 10 Feb 2009 11:34 AMWe have greatly reduced our consumption of meat in general. I have been learning to use more beans, eggs, and other fillers. I've found that mushrooms really have a way of tricking you into thinking there is more meat in a dish then there is. So, if I 'm making mexican food, I throw in a lot of black beans. If I'm making italian, I throw in mushrooms (usually clearance finds because the wilted ones are just fine when cooked), and if I'm making Asian, we use more veggies and rice with eggs mixed in. I figure this is probably healthier anyways. PS... don't tell my family.. I haven't told them and they haven't really noticed yet... :)  Mary Ann Romans (26886) 11 Feb 2009 09:04 AMI love that mushroom tip, and I am planning to try it out myself! Thanks so much!!!! Painter (5) 23 Feb 2009 01:19 PMI bake a lot of muffins. You don't have to give up baking muffins and quick breads. Just replace 1/2 the amount of butter with 1/2 the amount of unsweetened applesauce. The applesauce provides the muffins with great moisture and doesn't effect the chemistry of the rest of the ingredients. It saves money, saves a few calories, and is heart healthy as well! And here's another tip - you can cut the sugar in the most recipes by 1/3. Use 2/3 of the sugar called for in the recipe with no noticeable change, and with no substitution. Happy baking! Mary Ann Romans (26886) 23 Feb 2009 04:32 PMThanks Painter. Applesauce is especially good in bran muffins, I think! Community Tags butter, frugal cooking, frugal living, recipes Discuss this article
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