Crazy Cheap Croutons

Okay, for some of you this is going above and beyond in the Betty Homemaker category, but if you are like me and run out of croutons and still want a crunch on your salad, this is an EASY way to save a couple of dollars! Those of you who laughed when they read my post about making homemade breadcrumbs can just skip past this post ;)

Okay, to make homemade croutons, all you need is old/stale bread, butter, and seasonings. I had a package of dry hamburger buns that I kept for this very reason, so they came in handy the other night for dinner. Just cut them up into small cubes, put them on a pan (I put mine on my baking stone), drizzle some melted butter over your bread, season with garlic powder/spread, parsley, oregano, pepper, or whatever seasonings you like, and bake at 350 until they are golden brown. For leftover croutons, just store in a tupperware and they will last for a couple of days. Because you used fresh butter, they will begin to taste stale if you keep them on the shelf too long. I am sure you could keep them in the fridge if you needed to.

Put these delicious and EASY croutons on your favorite salad for the perfect crunch!

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Money Saving Tip

I was making a recipe the other day that called for 3 cans of chicken broth. I couldn't remember if I have shared my chicken broth tip with you or not? There are several items in my kitchen that are 'must haves'--for example: lime juice (we go through this like water in our kitchen), Montreal Steak Seasoning, Costco's Garlic Spread, etc. The list could go on and on. One must have in my kitchen though is Chicken and Beef Base or Bouillon.

Many recipes call for chicken/beef broth or chicken bouillon in recipes and to buy it by the can is extremely expensive. I was just at Walmart the other day and their Great Value can of chicken broth was almost $1--ugh! If you add 3-4 cans in a recipe that is an expensive addition.

So, the tip: Keep your kitchen well stocked with Chicken and Beef Base (this is least at Costco or Sam's Club-McCormick or Tone's makes are good brands) and large #10 cans of Chicken and Beef Bouillon (you can get this online, Maceys, or most Walmarts).

I keep a glass mason jar in my spice cabinet filled with the chicken and beef bouillon so I can easily measure out a tablespoon or teaspoon, add with water and use in my favorite recipes. The chicken and beef base needs to be kept in the fridge once it is open, but will last at least a year once it is opened. The base is a little more expensive but has an awesome flavor, so I ration that on my 'high end meals' and use the powdered bouillon for large soups, stews, etc.

These are also great items to have in your food storage in the event we had to live out of our storage and eat all of our dried beans, rice, noodles, etc. we would want some flavor!

That is probably the longest post in history about bouillon, but it really is one of my FAVE items in my kitchen! Have fun cooking!

**One other benefit is they are MSG free!

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Great question..How do you keep your food budget low??

I just signed up hoping desprately that your site will help me and my family with our goals to spend less, while still eating healthy foods and build our storage up at the same time. So far I really like what I see, however, if I was to budget based off of your weekly menu's (keeping in mind that I'm just starting out) It looks like I'd spend about 200$ a week! Right now I budge 450$ a month.We figured we could bump that up another 100$ for the purchase of storage items, but I still think that after 2 weeks, I'd be out of money. We have a family of 6 (Me, my husband, and 4 little kid) I find that I'm going over budget all the time so I'm hoping your site will help us stay within that range. My question to you is if that is even reasonable. I noticed you mentioned on your blog that you also have 4 kids, how much do you budget? And what should I expect to spend each week at the store while I'm just starting out?
~~Anne


That is a great question! Our family also has 6 people and I spend about $400-$500 a month (depending on how much food storage I am stocking up on). I could definitely spend less if we didn’t cook so much and go through our food so quickly. I am always entertaining, and at least a couple of times a week cooking for over 15people (our family parites a lot!). So..if I can spend that, you should definitely be able to stay within that range.

Now, the fact I have all of my food storage will save me money, but you will be there over time. If I were you I would focus on getting a 3 month supply of food. On the weekly deal sheets, when a food storage item is on sale for a ‘red’ price, divide the year total by four and that will give you the 3 month supply per person. Times this by 6 and you will have a good number to begin stocking up on. If you are trying to get your whole year supply all at once, you will be spending more than the $400 a month. If you have the money however, this is the way to get your year supply in one years time (if not faster).

Another way I keep my food budget down is I DON'T buy ANY item that is not on sale for the ‘red’ prices!! I generally shop at Walmart and price match all of the ‘red’ deals and do one stop shopping to save the most money. (I have tips on my blog if you need help with price matching www.myfoodstoragedeals.blogspot.com).
I also don’t buy hardly any snacks, prepackaged/processed items, chips, cookies, pop, frozen dinners/meat, etc. I cook everything from scratch and stick pretty close to my weekly menu planner. If you were to cook every meal on the menu planner it would cost you around $100 a week. However, for most families the eight meals will last you at least 1-1 ½ weeks. You will most likely have leftovers, eat out, or cook quicker meals on some of the nights. I try to shop only every week and a half (unless there is a screamin’ good food storage deal on an item I am low on). The less I am at the grocery store, the less I spend each month. If you are planning your menu to last you 1 1/2 weeks, you will find you will spend less.

I also shop at Costco only once a month! Costco can eat up my money faster than any other store! I make sure I only go once a month and stock up on the items I will need that month (lettuce, cheeses, butter, spices, condiments, mushrooms (they have the best price!), peppers (usually the least), etc.) Their produce is such great quality, I find that if I buy enough of their produce, it will last me nearly the whole month (I buy 3 packages of their Romaine lettuce. It you keep it in the crisper, it will last for weeks! It is awesome and a great price!).

One other aspect of my food budget is that EVERY year at tax return time we spend close to $500 on beefing up our food storage. We do this every year and just plan on a portion of our return to go to our storage. That month I do spend a lot on food, but that will help me spend less throughout the rest of the year.

Ways to save you at the grocery store is to not go hungry, try to not to bring your children, bring your list, stay focused, and only buy items on sale! If you need your money to stretch even further, incorporate less expensive meals into your weekly meals…grilled cheese & soup, spaghetti, macaroni & cheese, etc. They are not the healthiest meals, but can be inexpensive and quick when you are running low on time & money! That is why having a food storage is so fabulous!! This last week I was running low on groceries, was sick, and didn’t want to cook (You know I am sick when cooking isn't fun!!). I was able to make a big pancake dinner, spaghetti, and had Progresso soup and grilled cheese the next night and it was all out of my food storage (except for the cheese). It was great not to have to run to the store and I could stretch my food budget by three days because I have plenty of food in my storage. Now that I am feeling better I can go shopping again and cook better meals. Yippee!!

Hope that helps! Staying within a food budget can be hard. But if you are disciplined and organized, it can be easy & FUN!! With the help of Deals to Meals you should find that you are eating healthier/homemade meals, saving less at the grocery store, and stocking up on all of the basic food storage items your family needs to be prepared. It is such a GREAT feeling!!

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Money Saving Tip

With Thanksgiving come and gone, how many of you used SEVERAL cans of chicken stock? Well, I have a simple and inexpensive solution for you. Instead of buying Swanson Chicken Broth at .50 a can, but the McCormick Chicken or Beef Base from Costco. It is like Chicken bouillon but in an easy to use container that stays in your fridge. You just add a teaspoon of the chicken base with some water and you have chicken stock. This container of the beef/chicken base at Costco is around $3 and mine lasts for 6 months or more! I have SEVERAL of each flavor in my food storage. They don't have to be refrigerated until they are opened. For the same price as a few cans of stock you get ALL of the flavor without the expense. I also use the base in rice to add more flavor, soups, gravies, on my roasts, etc. It is nice and salty & one of my favorite 'special' ingredients...next to my beloved Montreal Steak Seasoning :)

Also shown in the picture is the Morning Moo Chicken Base. This will last longer in your storage and is another inexpensive option instead of stock or bouillon cubes when bought in bulk (wait until February for the next case lot sale for this to go on sale). Enjoy!

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COUPONS--TO BE OR NOT TO BE???

This is a question I get quite often...so, here is my philosophy on coupon clipping (PLEASE no one be offended ;) If coupons work for you, then that is great! This is what I have found though...

I used to be a 'coupon clipper' and still do on occasion, but I have found that watching the deals each week saves me more on groceries than cutting coupons. I know you may beg to differ :) I do have several people who are avid coupon clippers that use my sight and wish I did more with coupons but here is my philosophy:

1- You can still use coupons along with my program. When you see something on sale for 'red' prices AND you have a coupon--by all means, use your coupons. The only problem is I have found this rarely happens. It seems items that are not on sale for Red/Great prices are not the ones that have coupons (red deals mean they are less expensive than Costco, Walmart and other warehouse stores). I have found that coupons (generally) are on items that are not necessarily long-term food storage items and are on mostly frozen goods, processed foods and specialty items. These items are great to buy one or two, but the idea of our program is you are stocking up on your year supply of items that go on sale, not just one or two. For example, last week ketchup was on sale for .50 a bottle. When items go on sale for these prices, you are to buy as much of that item as you can afford (a year supply is 15-24 bottles per family). With coupons you may save $1, but when you buy 24 bottles, that savings isn't as significant as the $20 you saved by buying them at RED prices.

2- Buying your year supply saves you time and money! I found that when I clipped coupons I was only buying one or two items at a time (mostly because Utah stores don't double coupons, so each coupon had a Limit 1 on them). So..if I bought one or two items at a great price, that only lasts me so long, so when I run out of that item, I then have to go to the store and buy another one at regular price. If you stock up on items when they go on sale for ROCK BOTTOM PRICES, and buy a year supply, then you won't have to buy that item again for a YEAR--and can guarantee you bought that item at the best price.

3- Coupons do 'sweetin' the deal if they are used on the right products. A few weeks ago the newspaper had coupons for the Lawry's marinades, Best Foods Mayo and Lipton Sides. All of these are some what basic food storage items (counting towards your oil, grains, etc.) and were worth clipping the coupons for because they were items I would add to my food storage anyway. I DO look through the newspaper every week and cut the coupons out for the items I KNOW I will buy anyway (I post coupon information in the 'tips of the week' for members). For example, cereal coupons and toothpaste coupons are worth clipping for me because I KNOW they will go on sale and then I will get the item basically free. Granted, I only get ONE for free, but every bit helps. This week General Mills cereal is on sale for $1 at Harmons (with in ad coupons), if you have coupons for $1 off General Mills cereals, go ahead and use it and get a box of cereal for free. I buy 25-50 boxes of cereal at a time when they go on for this price, so I'm not sure how much I care about the ONE free box of cereal--but it makes me feel good! (I get the newspaper because of my 'business' but I still think I haven't saved enough to make my monthly newspaper subscription worth it).

4- Focus on foods your family eats on a regular basis and you won't waste money on groceries you don't eat. Go to our website and download under the FREE DOWNLOAD tab the FOOD STORAGE RECIPES and get an idea of recipes that you can make the COMPLETE meal with items found in your food storage. The idea of food storage is that in the event you have to feed your family solely out of your storage, you would be able to make complete meals. Instead of focusing on which coupons there are to cut each week, focus on basic food storage items that your family eats.

5- Learn to cook from scratch! In my experience many of the coupon deals are items that I could LESS EXPENSIVLY make on my own. This seems to be a lost 'art' for many. Our society is so used to eating out of boxed items, prepackaged foods and processed foods that we have forgotten how to make meals from scratch and how to use basic food storage ingredients! Why buy pancake mix when you can easily make your own with a little sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, milk, oil and eggs (all of which are BASIC food storage ingredients). Learning to cook this way will save you SO much money!

6- Use the Meal Planning Tips (post below) to help you plan your families weeks menu and save you time and money by not having to make extra trips to the grocery store.

Bottom line, you need to find a system that works for you! We all will obtain our food storage and feed our family differently. The important thing is that we are working towards a goal and saving money in the mean time! If you have the time and energy to clip coupons, then go for it! That is great and hopefully between your coupon clipping and our program you will be saving more than the rest of us ;)

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Meal planning tips to help you SAVE money

WHAT'S FOR DINNER?

Here are a few ways I have found that help me save money on my monthly groceries and help make menu planning a cinch! Of course you can become a member of My Food Storage Deals and I will do ALL the work for you--but if not, here are some easy tips to save money! (You can download all of these from our website under the FREE DOWNLOAD tab and the MEAL PLANNER TIPS PDF file.)

1. Decide how many times a week (on average) you cook a home cooked meal. Take into consideration how many times you go out to eat, or make quick frozen meals (i.e. frozen pizza, burritos, etc.) This number might change week to week, but it will give you an idea of how many meals you will be making in a two week period.
2. Get out the cook books! Make a list of each of the meals you cook for your family. Add to this list any new recipes you want to start incorporating into your families dinner menu. Be creative and try new things. Don’t get stuck in a rut of cooking the same meals every night. You will reference this meal list when choosing which meals you want to cook in the next two weeks. Search the internet for food blogs or recipes that give you fun ideas on meals to make for dinner. One of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE FOOD BLOGS (infact that's where the photo came from) is http://www.workingwomanfood.blogspot.com/ . It is created by a woman after my own heart! She tries recipes and then blogs about what she did or didn't like about it and has great pictures so you know what your food will (or should) end up looking like! Check it out--it's great!)
3. Plan meals for a one week to two-week period. This will save you time and money from not having to make impulse shopping trips to the grocery stores. Produce will last about two weeks, so I’ve found this time frame works best.
4. Take your meal list from above and organize the meals into starches and categories. This means, organize which meals you generally have with the following: rice, pasta, potato, soup, salad and sandwiches. It is easy to eat the same meat two times in a row, but not as enjoyable to have the same starch. This will make menu planning easier because you can choose one meal from each category for each day of the week you cook. This will keep your meals interesting and give you some variety.
5. Choose which meals you decided you want to cook in the next two week period. You don’t need to decide which day you will cook each meal, just which ones. Once you have this list, you can begin creating your shopping list. Find each recipe for each meal and look over which ingredients you already have in the fridge or pantry. Try to choose meals that you already have most of the ingredients for.
6. It’s time to shop! Never go to the store without a shopping list. You will spend more money, and it will take longer, if you don’t know exactly what you need. Watch the ads carefully. Buying items when they are on sale, and buying multiples, will keep your pantry stocked and cut down on trips to the store. As your pantry becomes stocked, it will not only start your food storage, but it will save you from buying items when they are not on sale.
7. Choose meals every now and then that you can double the recipe and save half for a later date (as a freezer meal). It doesn’t take much longer to cook double the amount, but it saves you a lot of time on a busy day, when you don’t have time to cook. Label your freezer meals clearly so you know what items are in your freezer. If you plan your meals around what food is on sale in the ads, this will also save money because you will be making two meals at a great deal.

These are all pretty basic tips, but it is amazing the difference it makes when you plan your meals and have a well stocked pantry and food storage! It really makes cooking fun! I was talking to a lady the other day and she mentioned how she hates to cook because she makes the same dinners over and over. I told her I would hate to cook too! The part of cooking that is fun for me is trying new recipes and switching up my weekly menu with fun salads, cooking on the grill and trying new flavors and dishes. This weeks meal planner has a few adventurous meals that I think everyone will love! Some of those 'new' dishes are Thai Steak Tacos with Cilantro and Lime Slaw, Coconut Shrimp with Pina Colada dipping sauce, and Walnut, Apple & Bleu Cheese Salad, and Egg Salad BLT's (see picture above). Why pay $40 to go out to dinner when you can play around in the kitchen and come up with recipes that are even better than the 'real' thing!

Have fun cooking and if anyone has favorite recipes they would like to share...I would LOVE to hear about them. Just email me at Shandra@myfoodstoragedeals.com. Good luck saving money and planning your meals this week ;)

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