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After returning from a “baby-ready pets class,” my husband and I discovered my new 5lb bag of potatoes had been dragged from the kitchen counter to the living room floor. That bag of potatoes was to be my return to a more frugal way of cooking, after a long and hypocritical hiatus of lavish, yet wholesome foods. That bag also let us know we apparently have a ways to go with our dogs Edna and Stella.
I love a potato, and I’m thinking you probably do too. Potatoes were a staple in depression cooking, providing energy, nutrition, and that undeniable “filling” effect on the stomach, all for a very good price. Because of this combination of characteristics, I’m singing the potato’s praises today, and suggesting that you too, find yourself a sale bag of potatoes (I got that 5lb bag of local spuds for $1) and make yourself a potato-based meal.
We are having Yankee Pot Roast tonight. Simmering just 4 feet away Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: cheap eats, food, ingredients, preparing meals, recipes
I’ve always found the volunteer vacation idea to be really appealing. You know, like building mud huts in the Kalahari or helping people in the third world get glaucoma treatment. Unfortunately, these kinds of trips are often expensive, even if the offer super-high value to you and the recipients of the help.
So, what about marrying the idea of the “staycation” with volunteerism? The truth is, many of us need a break, and we also need to save a little cash. I think the “staycation” has become a staple in American culture, but often linked to entertainment, spending, and sedentary activity. Some people are even so dis-engaged from the opportunities of their staycation, that they check their work emails for fun.
Don’t let this happen to you!!!
Make your staycation about something greater than yourself and commit big chunks of your time to helping others. Here are just a few ideas that could make your staycation fun and worthwhile (and make you feel like you EARNED that huge reward dinner at the end of your day). Please feel free to add on by leaving a comment of your ideas too.
- daily, extensive dog-walking, cage cleaning and generalized help at the local pound
- choose a stretch of roadside to clean up, and gently plant a few flowers
- visit nursing homes in your area, bringing flowers, magazines or baked goods to residents
- support a local homeless shelter by doing some extensive cleaning for a day or two, or large-scale cooking for a food line
- offer your help to spend the day driving/accompanying senior citizens or others in need to appointments and activities (call local senior centers and ask how you can help)
Tags: staycation, volunteer
This tip will make you feel as if you are eating more interesting foods more often, and so is all about getting value out of your time and enjoying the good life, without going out to eat!
I noticed that whenever I make a really complicated dish, like my roasted butternut squash white lasagna, that while I’m making every pan in the house dirty… I’m also creating lots of interesting flavors in many components that make this dish taste so good. Now I’ve taken to simply making extra roasted butternut squash cubes, sauteed mushrooms and spinach, basil pesto and freezing the overage of complicated ingredient ‘clusters’ for a repeat performance in another dish later in the month.
All of a sudden, a quick pasta dinner takes on new complexity when previously lovingly roasted butternut cubes are tossed with cream for a yummy sauce, or the mushroom-spinach mixture makes a Sunday morning omelet worth staying home for…..
So, here’s the tip:
If you are cooking the big-ticket, time consuming item, cook extra of the components of it… and freeze it up in ziplock bags, marked with the date. Vegetables, sautees and roasted items are particularly handy. So are caramelized onions and any heavily herbed or seasoned garnishes, and fancy hors d’oeurvres. Then, when you are uninspired (or tired), whip these ingredients into otherwise one-pan quick dinners and make them taste like a million…..
Buon Appetito!
Tags: freezing, gourmet, ingredients, preparing meals, save time
So, like most Americans, I tend to crave entertainment when I have a bit of free time. Now that I am pregnant, rock climbing and wine tasting are out, so I’ve been trying to figure out a way to keep myself adventurously busy, without spending much money.
While pondering this– like a vision (or actually just using my vision)–I looked out the window, and saw a kayak languishing out back behind the house where it had been unused for 2 years. I also looked in a closet (that needed to be cleaned to make way for baby stuff), and noticed a soccer ball, tennis racket, roller blades, bike locks and other assorted sports equipment. What if I decided to treat this stuff like it actually has value, and get excited about using it?
This was a long shot, but after hosing down the kayak, and force-ably jetskiing out some of the biggest bugs I’ve ever seen, I went for a nice little paddle. Okay I also went without a life preserver, but seriously, the river was only 3 feet deep. So an adventure was to be had for nothing but a tiny bit of effort… and I even got to run from Mr. Law while I was at it for an added sense of excitement.
Take that, expensive movie house!
What equipment do you have hanging around?
Tags: low budget ideas, sports, use what you have
So, after my big low budget debut, I had this exciting feeling (enhanced by my mother’s early review) of “we’re gonna be rich!” So we promptly went out and blew our entertainment budget for the week. Not to say that we were flying to catch 1st row tickets at a Broadway show or anything. For us, a big day out was the bargain matinee of Bruno followed by a 5 pm dinner at our favorite Asian restaurant.
Truly, there was value in the operation, but now, I am left feeling slightly phony as I write this, clinging desperately to the fact that I had cheapo smoked bluefish on my bagel instead of the 12.99/lb smoked salmon lox this morning. I also decided (and was immediately noticed by my husband) that if we were going to “blow it” in one area, that it was appropriate to get right back on the horse and get frugal in another area… normally, I would have bought our bagels out on the way to the dog walk.
If there are bonus points top be earned in the world of pseudo luxury, I hope I get some for smearing an oily gray fish, instead of an oily coral colored one onto my bagel…. I do have to say however, that this is a very good substitute for real lox, and so if nothing else, is a solid, lowbudget gourmet ingredient.
Tags: cheap eats, food, recipes
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