Garlic is one of my favorite ingredients to use in cooking. I use it in practically everything, onions as well. It is funny, because my husband always says that he doesn’t like either, but yet he eats them happily in his food almost every day.
Some people tend to shy away from garlic and onions, because of their potency. But using them in your cooking really adds something to your food. It can turn inexpensive meals into ones that are extraordinary. You can jazz up meat loaf, for example and make it worthy of a favorite dish. Garlic and onions are also very inexpensive.
Another benefit to using garlic and onions is that both are good for your health. So you get the antioxidants without having to purchase expensive pills.
To get the most savings, I look for sales on onions. Usually you can get packages of them pretty cheaply, although when there aren’t any good sales, I go for single onions and only purchase as many as I need for the week. Kept in a cool place, onions will last for a while. Just don’t put them near potatoes. For some reason, the gasses released by both onions and potatoes make each other spout!
For garlic, I don’t usually bother buying the actual cloves. Instead, I purchase a large jar of minced garlic. The jar lasts for months and months in the refrigerator, and makes it easy to add garlic to almost anything. Just open the jar, measure out your tablespoons or teaspoons and you are all set–no prep work!
You can usually find jars of minced garlic in the produce section or the spice section of your store. They don’t cost much, especially when you consider how much you get in a single jar.
One bit of advice about garlic and onions. They can change flavor a bit when you freeze them, so keep this in mind for any freezer cooking. Use a bit less and don’t overwhelm the dish. Frozen onions when but them selves tend to go a little blander.