Frugal Grocery Shopping

I can't believe how much folks spend on groceries. Most of these same folks complain about the price of their utilities, gasoline, or clothes in the store. There are a few things you can do to save money at a grocery store.
As for me, I make a weekly menu. If you are really smart you already have a list of recipes you have used over time. Here are a few secrets from a frugal shopper.

1. ALWAYS make a weekly menu for dinner.
2. I also make a list of what we will have for lunch since both of us take our lunch to work.
3. Breakfast is easy as long as you have milk, eggs, butter (yes butter not lard), bread, and some sort of meat product. I buy Canadian bacon.
4. I look at the weekly ads for my local store and design my menu. If tomato sauce is on sale or hamburger design 3 meals that week around those ingredients.
5. Buy items on sale in bulk. If hamburger is on sale buy extra for the freezer. You don’t have to go to Sam's or Costco just get it there in smaller amounts. Wrap in foil and freezer bags.
6. Make your meals. It’s cheaper to make spaghetti sauce rather than grab a jar of it. Plus look at the ingredients. See my posts for various recipes WITH OUT PREP PACKED INGREDIENTS.
7. If you make spaghetti for dinner make enough for two meals and freeze the rest.
8. I have been making whole food meals for years so I do stock up on some items: flour, cane sugar, butter, baking soda, baking powder, spices, vanilla, and such.
9. Desserts for us are usually apples or some fruit. Occasionally I will make tapioca, jello, or apple crisp.
10. And the most important is KEEP TO YOUR L IST. You can find some things cheaper at the Dollar Store or Dollar General. Watch out not all items at the Dollar General are a good price. Make sure you read the ounces. ALWAYS compare items by weight or number of. Keep your cell phone or a calculator with you. (Divide the price by the ounces to find out $ per ounce) Some stores tell you the price per ounce.

 

After the grocery store, make sure you do your post grocery cleaning and storing. See my post on

Post Grocery Shopping

http://www.tincancooking.blogspot.com/2013/01/post-grocery-shopping-prep-work.html

 Keep the Grocer Honest.

http://www.wenchcrafters.blogspot.com/2012/08/keep-your-grocer-honest.html

BROCOLLI BEEF STIR FRY

Serves 2

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in large frying pan or chicken fryer on medium heat.
Add:

1 sliced onion
1 large minced garlic clove
1 Tablespoon grated ginger (1tsp dry)
½ sliced bell pepper
½ C sliced mushrooms
Cook 5 minutes (if it gets to dry add a bit of water)

Remove from pan, set aside.

Add 1 tablespoon sesame oil
½ pound sliced beef (you a less expensive cut)
2 C beef broth
2 tablespoons lite salt soy sauce
1 tablespoon chili sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar

Cook on low heat until beef is tender.
Take two tablespoons of liquid out and add 1 tablespoon corn starch to it. Add to pan. This will thicken the mixture

Add veggie mix, ½ teaspoon sesame seeds, and a handful of Canton Noodles. Mix and cover for 5 minutes until noodles are soft.

If you don’t want noodles serve beef mix over rice.

POST-GROCERY SHOPPING –PREP WORK

The work week can be busy enough as it is. By preparing your produce you can save time.

Here are some hints for post-grocery prep work that saves me time.

1.     ALWAYS wash produce when you get home. You don’t know who has touched your produce.

2.     Wipe off your cans and boxes. During flu and cold season these containers spread germs.

3.     Buy meat in bulk for the week and break it down covering it with aluminum foil and place in freezer bags. Always label your freezer goods and add a date. Note: Buying in bulk when an item is on sale

4.     Never wash off mushrooms. You can take a damp cloth and brush off the dirt or purchase a small basting brush or small soft painting brush and get rid of the dirt. Wrap them in paper towels and seal in bag.
Note: Mushrooms absorb water. When you cook them they release water as do onions.

5.     If you make salads during the week chop up the vegetables you use like carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers, and such. This way you just grab a handful of produce to top your salads.

6.     Leftover bread is buttered or brushed with olive oil and garlic then chopped up and made into croutons or toasted for bread crumbs.

7.     In winter or summer if I have to heat up the oven I use it for multiple projects.
Note: croutons, broiling peppers, cookies, bread, muffins for the week. I try to make all my dressings and sauces on the weekend or the day I grocery shop.

8.     I buy my oatmeal, flour, sugar, rice, nuts, and snacks in bulk. Make sure you put the new product on the bottom.

9.     Wash lettuce, dry off leaves, and wrap in paper towels the put in zip lock bag.

10. If you use cabbage for stir fry’s, soups, and slaw or mostly chopped up, slice cabbage and soak in water with 1 teaspoon salt. Drain on towel and wrap in paper towel and again store in plastic zip lock.
NOTE: ALL ORGANIC PRODUCE WILL GO BAD FASTER. EAT WITHIN A WEEK.

 Save paper bags for shipping paper or use the same bags next time you shop

Salmon Patties with Corn Relish

Even though it was a bit to done it was still great. I sauté all my veggies for the pizzas I make. I don’t have the oven pizza joints have, (the extreme heat) so cooking most of the liquid out first helps. It even helps to nuke or cook your meat first too...less grease.

Ingredients:

One single serving pre-cooked pizza dough

(I used Tandoori NAAN Roasted Garlic )

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic grated

Tablespoon butter

1/4 sliced onion

4 sliced mushrooms (I buy roons with very small stems since I cut them off.

(It must be the frugal in me)

1 diced roma tomato

salt and pepper to taste (remember salt brings out the flavor of these veggies)

1/2 tsp dried oregano

4 large basil leaves diced

Parmesan cheese

Put olive oil in small glass container with grated garlic and microwave for 20 seconds.

Saute onions in butter for 2 minutes, add mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes, add salt and pepper, tomato, oregano, and basil.

Put pizza dough in toaster oven on broil for 4 minutes. Flip over and repeat.

Brush on garlic olive oil, including the garlic, on the toasted pizza dough then add the veggies.

Top with parmesan cheese. As much as you want.

Put back under broiler and cook until cheese is melted.

Makes one serving

One-Pot Cabbage Rolls

One-Pot Cabbage Rolls served with cottage cheese.

This is a real easy dish. It's much easier than boiling cabbage and rolling meat inside. Besides remember my propane oven doesn't cook well and the toaster oven makes it so hot inside. I try to make most of my meals one-pot recipes. You can substitute tomato sauce, sugar, oregano, garlic, and Italian seasonings for marinara sauce and pork instead of beef.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 chopped onion

1 clove garlic grated

1 # ground meat (80/20)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

(left over rice or additional veggies optional)

1 15oz can tomato sauce

1/2 teaspoon cane sugar

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 head of cabbage

Brown onion in olive oil and cook for 3 minutes then add garlic cook one more minute. Add meat, salt, pepper, paprika, and optional rice and veggies. Remove from pan when brown. Drain grease. 

Add to pan: tomato sauce, sugar, oregano, and Italian seasoning. Add salt and pepper if desired. If you want it a bit heat add chili flakes or mild chili without seeds. Cook for 15 minutes.

Add meat mixture and mix. Top with cabbage and cook till cabbage is done.

Makes 4 servings.

One Pot Meat Loaf Revised

I am always updating and revising my meat loaf. This time hubby said it was so much better. I added red gravy and red spuds. I add salt and pepper in various stages. It's up to you how much you need. Always taste the gravy and adjust seasonings.
I hope you try this one.

Two cooked meat loaf logs

Meat loaf served with red potatoes and red gravy along with fresh wedges of cucumbers.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 large onion
1 large garlic clove grated
salt/pepper to taste
One Slice homemade bread diced
1 egg
1/4 C milk
salt/pepper
1 large roasted bell pepper from a jar diced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ItalianSeasonings
2 tablespoons basil pesto from jar
1.5 pounds 80/20 ground beef
1 beef seasoning packet
1/2 C water
1 1/2 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 tablespoon flour
1/2 C ready tomato soup
1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
1 teaspoon chili sauce
1/2 teaspoon cane sugar
salt pepper
2 large baked or nuked red potatoes cut in 1/4" slices.

Sauté onions in olive oil for 2 minutes add garlic cook 2 more minutes on medium heat add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.
Combine: Bread, milk, egg, bell pepper, oregano, Italianseasoning, basil pesto, meat and onion/garlic mixture.
Make two logs and put in pan where onions were. Brown on both sides and add beef seasonings and water. Cook 20 minutes on low covered.
Take logs out. Add butter, flour and add more to thicken. Add tomato soup, basil, chili sauce, sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Cook 10 minutes. Add sliced red potatoes.
Slice one meatloaf log and set on top of gravy and potatoes.
I saved the second log for lunches.

Easy Veggie Pizza

This is a bit on the DONE side. I got side tracked. 

Even though it was a bit to done it was still great. I sauté all my veggies for the pizzas I make. I don’t have the oven pizza joints have, (the extreme heat) so cooking most of the liquid out first helps. It even helps to nuke or cook your meat first too...less grease.

Ingredients:

One single serving pre-cooked pizza dough

(I used Tandoori NAAN Roasted Garlic )

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic grated

Tablespoon butter

1/4 sliced onion

4 sliced mushrooms (I buy roons with very small stems since I cut them off.

(It must be the frugal in me)

1 diced roma tomato

salt and pepper to taste (remember salt brings out the flavor of these veggies)

1/2 tsp dried oregano

4 large basil leaves diced

Parmesan cheese

Put olive oil in small glass container with grated garlic and microwave for 20 seconds.

Saute onions in butter for 2 minutes, add mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes, add salt and pepper, tomato, oregano, and basil.

Put pizza dough in toaster oven on broil for 4 minutes. Flip over and repeat.

Brush on garlic olive oil, including the garlic, on the toasted pizza dough then add the veggies.

Top with parmesan cheese. As much as you want.

Put back under broiler and cook until cheese is melted.

Makes one serving