Chesapeake on the Cheap

Food Preparation Tips to Save Money

Okay, now you’re home with your groceries–here are some time and money-saving tips on preparation.

This first idea is one I grew up with, my mom having learned it as a child
of the great depression. Casseroles. Huh? What kind of an idea is that? Casseroles are a wonderful way to stretch the expensive ingredients (like meat) in your meals. Think about it–casseroles are mostly starches with meat, veggies and sauces mixed in. Need to stretch the meat further, don’t use as much as the recipe calls for. If you cut the meat quantity by 30%, nobody is going to notice.

You can adopt this same idea to the other expensive ingredients. For instance, chocolate chip cookies–2 cups per batch! My mom always doubled the dough recipe per 12 oz. bag of chips and we kids certainly didn’t notice.

Another way to stretch your meat budget is one I learned from “The Tightwad Gazette” by Amy Dacyczyn (which incidentally is one of the books that sent me on my happy way to frugal living). This tip sort of goes in the planning and shopping sections, but it also fits well here in the preparation page. What’s the idea? Well, it’s the use of TSP (textured soy protien) as an extender for hamburger. Soy is a fabulous source of protein. And hamburger is no longer the cheap meat it once was. In fact, it’s frequently more expensive than round steaks around here–and that’s for the high fat stuff! Of course, when I first read about TSP, I was a bit of skeptic… but I gave it a try anyway and have been using it for years. I add it to meatballs, meat loaf, taco meat, soup, etc. My kids and husband have never noticed. It comes in flakes and granules. I prefer the granules as they mimic the texture of hamburger better. When I’m making meat loaf, I typically add a handful of the granules to my pound of hamburger (the recipe calls for a pound and a half). Since the meatloaf is cooking for a while I don’t hydrate the granules first, but I do add an extra 2 tablespoons of milk. For everything else, I hydrate the granules per the package instructions. TSP is available in most markets locally in the health food section, but you’ll get a better price buying from a whole-foods market or online.

For a video on how to use one of my favorite, more obscure gadgets, check
out: How to Use an Apple Peeler-Corer-Slicer.

Since the food prep section could be a book in itself, I’ll be adding to this
page on a regular basis. That’s all for now.