Budget Cooking

Try budget cooking for a way to save money on something you do every day. Because eating is a necessity, many people forget that making meals on a budget can add up to as big of savings as cutting expenses on your Internet, television and phone.

Take a stab out of the food budget.

No matter how well you plan, you cannot start cooking on a budget without first implementing some frugal grocery shopping tips. Follow these steps to get yourself started with your budget cooking:

1. Prepare a grocery shopping budget. Then take out the amount of money for the week in cash, and only spend that amount.
2. Write a basic grocery list that consists of pantry staples, freezer items and fresh fruits and vegetables.
3. Use a free frugal menu plan to plan out the week's dinners. Cross-reference the meal choices with the current week's sales.
4. Combine the best sales with name brand coupons for the most savings. Purchase generic items if your savings do not add up for name brands.

Once you arrive home from the grocery shopping trip, separate out your cheap and easy finger foods from the pantry items and freezer items. This way, you have a cheap and quick snack while you put away groceries and/or cook.

As previously mentioned, you cannot begin budget cooking until you have mastered cheap grocery shopping. Create a budget cooking plan that works for your lifestyle.

Some people may advocate preparing an entire week's worth of menus on Sunday afternoon, ready to pop in the oven at a moment's notice. This is a great idea for people who tend to spend too much money at restaurants. It is also perfect for people who do not get home early enough in the evening to create an entire meal from scratch.

However, it is not feasible for everyone. Large families will need to budget cook for a crowd almost every day, and that means making large meals that are not easily stored in the freezer for future use.

Taking the leftovers from last night's dinner and using them in today or tomorrow's lunch and dinner is a way of taking menu planning to the next level. But, leftovers can get tiresome. Ideas for budget cooking with leftovers include:

• Meatloaf: Use leftover slices of meatloaf in sub sandwiches for lunch the next day. Crumble leftover meatloaf into spaghetti for dinner or into a chili soup base.
• Pasta: Double your batch of spaghetti noodles. Use half for spaghetti that night and save the rest for a baked pizza pasta pie the next day. Simply toss with red sauce, some ground meat, pepperoni and top with mozzarella and cheddar cheeses. Cut cold spaghetti noodles up for use in a chilled pasta salad recipe.
• Chicken: Start by baking or roasting a whole chicken. Shred the leftovers into a refrigerator container. Use some in soups, others in chicken salad sandwiches and still more leftover chicken in pasta and casserole dishes.
• Canned/Frozen Fruit: If you have a little bit of several types of fruit left, toss them together in a blender with a little yogurt for a quick and easy smoothie. Add smaller fruit pieces to pancake batter for a sweet twist. Puree fruits and combine with applesauce for a different flavor.
• Beans: Depending on the type of bean you are using, it can be turned into a number of different dishes quite easily. Black beans can fill chili recipes, be added to Mexican dishes or get tossed with corn and tomatoes for a quick salad. Try using green beans in chicken potpies, vegetable soups or in a cold three-bean salad.

Budget cooking is truly a combination of several skills. You need to know how to save money with coupons, how to menu plan and how to stretch your leftovers. When looking for recipes that are cheap to cook, consider asking for your Grandma's frugal recipes. Older generations are often savvy when it comes to little ways to save money that really add up.

• Cheap Creative Christmas Gifts
• Low Budget Recipes
• Frugal Presents for Kids
• How To Save Money At The Grocery Store
• Am I Saving Enough Money

• Great Clips Coupon
• Coupon for Olive Garden Restaurant
• Printable Online Coupons
• Free Coupons for Olive Garden
• Golden Corral Coupons

• Frugal Vegetarian Recipes
• Category:Saving Money
• Basic Grocery List
• America's Cheapest Family
• Meals on a Budget