Tag Archives: meals

Saving Money on Hamburger

Hamburger is a great food for the frugal diet. You can usually find it on sale, and it can go into so many different recipes. Here are some top notch ideas for saving money when it comes to hamburger. When you find hamburger at a really low price, stock up on as much of it as you can and freeze it. And if you are lucky enough to get it at anywhere near a dollar a pound, then purchase at least 40-60 pounds of it. An easy storage tip follows: put one pound portions of hamburger into individual freezer bags. … Continue reading →

How Much Does It Cost to Eat at Home?

Of course we know that eating at home is much more frugal than eating out. But, have you ever taken the time to actually calculate how much you save. You might be really surprised to know what a huge gap there is between eating out and eating at home. I’ll use my family as an example. There are five of us here, including one baby in diapers and on mostly mushy food. I’m going to count him as a full member for this example, because I still include his diapers in our grocery bill, which are expensive in themselves. So … Continue reading →

When Was the Last Time I Ate a Meal I Didn’t Cook?

It’s funny…there are some things that you take for granted when you are part of a couple or a “team”—even thought it has been years since I was part of a functioning couple or had the benefit of a partner to help out with childcare, parenting or household stuff, I do have faint memories of what it was like every once in a while to have someone else to do the dishes or to be able to spend an extra hour in the garden while someone else cooked dinner. It didn’t happen very often—but that was more that it has … Continue reading →

Chicken Caesar Salad

This is a great recipe for the summer. The chicken can easily be made ahead of time, such as during the cooler part of the day. This will help keep the heat out of your house when it is warm. For economy and convenience, you can also make some extra chicken and pair it later with a veggie for a meal in itself. The salad is refreshing, yet filling, and it has earned two thumbs up from even my pickiest eaters, ages six and two. I hope your family likes this recipe as much as mine does. This recipe will … Continue reading →

Three Ways for Frugal Summer Cooking

Enjoy some great meals this summer while being frugal. When it comes to frugal summer cooking, it is all about the heat. Well, minimizing the heat, that is. Generating heat while cooking and then having to cool your house of that added heat is probably the biggest expense in summer cooking. Normally, ingredients are the biggest expense in cooking, but with summer comes the availability of fresh produce at low prices that help you keep a frugal budget. So, let’s concentrate on reducing that cooking heat instead. Here are some great ways to do just that. The first way to … Continue reading →

Single Perant Travels: Schedule Meals

One huge difference between traveling as a single parent and traveling as a single person is the schedule. Granted, when I traveled before, I was also young, and didn’t need as much sleep to keep me going; this however is different, and it’s more than that. First and foremost, when we are home, I don’t think about feeding Jonathan, I just do it. There is always food on hand, and always something I can whip up in a heart beat. It is part of our routine, so it’s just second nature to me. While we were in Colorado, I actually … Continue reading →

Save Money When Eating Out: Free Meals And Discounts

Now we come to the best way to eat out, for free (or at least for a discount). In two earlier articles, the original Save Money When Eating Out, and Save Money When Eating Out: Ordering Strategies, I covered many of the ways that you can enjoy a family meal out at a restaurant and still so it frugally. Go check those articles out, if you haven’t read them, yet. Stock up on the coupons. I’m assuming that with kids and a frugal lifestyle, you aren’t going to any place that is called Chez Fancy Pants. Look for coupons in … Continue reading →

Save Money When Eating Out

Eating out can be a huge hit to any budget, but you can’t cook from scratch every night, right? It is fun to eat out. But, there are certain strategies you can use to save a lot, sometimes spending less than you would on groceries for a similar meal! Lately we have been eating out a lot. With our move to a new home and all that has entailed (no water for a few day, no refrigerator for a few more and then no power, heat or electricity when we were hit with a storm). We’ve try to do the … Continue reading →

Freezer Cooking: Meal Planning Advice (1)

Remember that this is just how I did it, and not how it has to be done. I am just showing you one way to ensure you always have a great variety of meals. One of the things I did at the start of freezer cooking, and have worked hard to try and maintain throughout the years, is to spend a little extra time every couple of months or so, preparing meals. Here’s why. At the start, I had decided that I did not want to spend one freezer cooking session creating several totally different kinds of foods, I’d rather … Continue reading →

Three Ways Your Crockpot Saves Money

I love my crockpots. Let me say that one more time for emphasis. I LOVE my crockpots. Not only are they very convenient, but they are a great way to save money in the kitchen. Notice I said “they.” Yes, I have two crockpots, and I use them both on a regular basis. There are three main ways a crockpot will save you money and help you bring frugal but hearty meals to your table. 1. The first way your crockpot saves money is by using less energy that traditional cooking methods, such as an oven. The low steady heat … Continue reading →