How To: Get Serious about Saving Money in the Kitchen

The economy, ugh what a dreary word. It seems like everywhere I go everyone is gloomy about the economy, the price of milk, the cost of oil. Ugh. And then I think of the Little House books and how incredibly poor they were...but how wonderfully resourceful! Honestly, we have been penny pinching at the grocery store (pretty much the only place I spend money besides Target) for quite a while now, so I didn't really notice that food prices have spiked. So here are some tips for those who really want to feed their family for pocket change...and no, none of them are about coupons!

1. Seriously curtail eating out. - when we eat out, we usually spend the same money on one meal that could have fed us breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 3 days. Dining out is a real luxury.

2. Learn how to cut up a whole chicken. There are a million recipes for boneless skinless chicken breasts - and of course they are good for you, but they cost the most of any cut of chicken. So eliminate the middle man and buy a whole bird - cut it up yourself. Cutting up a whole chicken is a bit of a lost art. I consulted several books and cooking shows to craft a technique that works for me. My first bird took an hour to disassemble, but now I can par down a broiler/fryer in under 10 minutes. I plan to either photograph or video tape myself doing this and post it in the future. It is a skill that can save you big bucks over time.

3. Think outside of the recipe. A lot of those boneless skinless chicken breast recipes can be easily modified for leg/thigh quarters.

4. Eat your oatmeal. When Caleb was a baby, we were probably in our tightest pinch ever, so I didn't want to buy expensive food for him to throw on the floor. Enter oatmeal - at 13 cents per adult sized serving, this humble whole grain is not going to bother me much on days my kids decide they just aren't hungry. Just be sure to skip the instant, it's expensive and who needs it when 1-minute oats can be cooked in the microwave in 45 seconds. Old fashioned oats must be cooked the entire 5 minutes or they will not be fully cooked.

5. Learn to love salad. Salad is one meal that has just gotten cheaper and cheaper for me. I love salad, when I was a kid I hated it. At first we saved by buying spinach to make salad with - I could make 6-8 individual salads with a $2 bag - and add my own carrots (whole is cheaper and tastes much better than baby), etc. Lately, I buy a whole head of romaine - about $1.69 per head, stays fresh over a week and makes 8-10 salads. Carrots are up about 25% in cost, but are still under $1/lb and make their way into my meal plan several times a week.

6. Waste not, want not. I have to repeat this old adage to myself often. Leftovers make great lunches! Be sure to do a full inventory before making a grocery list. It's annoying to find I didn't have enough money to buy something I wanted because I bought something I already had on hand.

7. CC your shopping - carry a calculator and use cash. Using cash puts a clear STOP sign on how much you can buy. Using a calculator helps you find that stop sign before you get to the check out!