The Tightwad's Guide to Cooking from Scratch

[Wifezilla]

Tips? Ideas? Questions? Post em here

To start things off...

Often your cheaper cuts of meat are actually your most nutritious. Fattier cuts contain more nutrition but are often the ones passed over by your average consumer. Same goes for liver and other offal.

 

[Wannabefree]

I stretch ground beef by adding oatmeal, sometimes. I use it for burgers about half the time as long as DH isn't standing in the kitchen watching

 

[Wifezilla]

I use chia seeds. Really makes for a moist burger, but the chia seeds aren't exactly cheap.

 

[FarmerJamie]

Meatloaf around here is about 1/3 ground beef, 2/3 various chopped veggies.

 

[Wannabefree]

Meatloaf around here is about 1/3 ground beef, 2/3 various chopped veggies.

My husband, the carnivore, would wither and die :/ I go half and half and he complains

ETA: When I am running low on milk I will add as much as 16 ounces of water to a half gallon. There is no taste difference. DD goes through about a gallon a day at times!

 

[FarmerJamie]

Meatloaf around here is about 1/3 ground beef, 2/3 various chopped veggies.

My husband, the carnivore, would wither and die :/ I go half and half and he complains

ETA: When I am running low on milk I will add as much as 16 ounces of water to a half gallon. There is no taste difference. DD goes through about a gallon a day at times!

When we do beef, I end up packaging the ground beef products (meatballs, meatloaf, etc). Anyone around here that doesn't like it, can gladly take the responsibility from me!

 

[Wannabefree]

I always rewrap our beef, because I buy it in 3+ pound packages for better prices. If I DON'T repack...DH uses wayyyyy too much when he cooks.

 

[Martyg]

I boil a chicken, then skin and debone it. I then boil the skin and bones, wing tips, back, etc. and make stock. You can strain it - or not if you are making soup later. If you want the chicken stock to be clear, strain it. It freezes well. I usually put it in the frig overnight so I can take the fat off the top before using it further.

I live alone, so I use part of the chicken for a couple of meals, or sandwiches, part to make chicken salad, and toss what is left in the soup pot. I try to make soup when the potatoes and onions are "going" and/or when the frig needs cleaning out so I can use the "dying" carrots, celery, bell peppers, etc.

When I need only part of an onion I chop the entire thing, put part in a small container and freeze the rest. Peppers and Mushrooms freeze well also if you have them and aren't going to use them right away.

Celery keeps forever if you cut it from the stalk, and put in water. Even wilted celery will revive with water. I cut the stalks in thirds, and put in a container - like a vase if you have room, or in a covered container with water.

Lettuce keeps a long time if you store it in a large, covered container after you wash it. Make sure it doesn't get bruised and it will last two-three weeks.

 

[FarmerJamie]

Yeah, I hear you. I'll add another idea to this thread. Get good at applying fractions to your recipes. A lot of recipes serve 4. With a family of 5, I'm trying to convince the rest of the family to just increase the ingredient amounts by 50%, rather than simply doubling it and creating a bunch of leftovers that no one will eat but me.

Except the approach doesn't need to be applied to chocolate chip cookies......

 

[Neko-chan]

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