Tips for saving money in the kitchen

[OhPleaseJustQuit]

Nah she's a native Texan.
I swear she brings up these weird casseroles just to fuck with me.

I hated all the casseroles my mom made when I was a kid, but since she's gone, I miss them.

 

[The Duke]

I learned a lot of money saving tips from my granny, when it came to food.
She grew up during the depression and they never threw anything out.
Everything had a purpose or was reusable.


1. Use bones to make soup stock.

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2. Dry cooked/used bones for pet treats.

Don't throw bones away! 3 creative ways to use leftover bones from broth — CANINE WORKS

These calcium rich recipes will work with small bones. Learn super easy recipes for making bone sauce, bone pate, bone cookies and bone treats!

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Doggy Approved Puréed Bone Treat - Zero-Waste Chef

Before I start this post, let me point out that I am neither a vet nor a dog nutritionist, if that’s a thing, which it likely is because where I live, we have not one but two dog ophthalmologists (that I know of). I don’t have a dog. I had hoped my cat Bootsy might […]

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3. Stale crackers, cereal, bread can be made fresh again.
Crackers and cereal........
Heat up your oven to 200 degrees, then turn it off (both crackers and bread).
Spread out your crackers or cereal onto cookie sheets and place in oven.
Keep in oven until it has cooled off completely.

Bread.............
Dampen a fine milled, clean kitchen towel (all cotton, no fuzz on it).
Wrap your bread loaf in it.
Place on cookie sheet.
Place in oven until it's cooled enough so you can grab pan with bare hands and not burn yourself.


4. Turn stale crackers and bread into croutons.
Crackers.....
For one box of crackers..........
1/2 cup of canola oil
1 packet of dried, instant Ranch dressing mix
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes (you can leave these out if you want)
Whisk the mixture ingredients together.
Put on some clean rubber gloves.
Empty all crackers into large mixing bowl.
Pour mixture over crackers and GENTLY use hands to fold in the crackers to the mixture.
Once all crackers have been coated, place on cookie sheets and put into a 300 degree oven for 10 minutes.
Turn off the oven and leave for 5 more minutes. Take crackers out of oven and let them cool off.
You now have your own snack crackers or break them up for croutons for soups and salads.

Bread..........
Cut bread into cubes (any size you like).
Place cubes onto cookie sheets, place in 300 degree oven for 5 minutes.
Remove from oven and place into large mixing bowl.
Cover with same mixture for crackers. (or you can use Italian dried dressing mix instead of Ranch)
Gently fold in bread squares so they all get covered in mixture.
Place back onto cookie sheets and bake at 300 untile golden brown.
Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

5. Stale crackers, bread, and cereal can be used for coatings.
Make your own "Shake n Bake" coating mixtures for chicken, beef, corndogs, or whatever.
Can also be used as "fillers" or stabilizers for soups, casseroles, and meatloaf.

Dry out the crackers, cereal, and bread completely.
Heat up oven to 300 degrees....turn the oven OFF, and place all ingredients on cookie sheets.
Place cookie sheets in oven until it is completely cooled off.
If bread is still a bit soft or wet, then heat up oven for 2 minutes, and turn it off. Leaving bread to stay until cool again.

Place super dried out ingredients into a food processor until the consistencly you desire.
Place in air tight container until ready to use.

Making your own "Shake n Bake"......
Place 3 cups of processed crumbs into a large zip lock baggie.
Place one packet of your favorite dried packet of dressing (Ranch, Italian, etc....)
You can put in your own spices you want, if you don't like the premixed spice packets. Ms. Dash also works well.
Zip close the baggie, shake it up well.
Place your prepared meat pieces (even veggie pieces) into your bag, a few at a time, and shake them till coated.
Drop in hot fryer or place in oven to bake, or even air fryer.
If you place in air fryer, you might want to spray them first with an oil, otherwise the crust might burn quicker or fly off.

You can use "batters" as well........
In a bowl, make the crumb mixture you want, then add one cup of buttermilk, milk, or water to make a thick batter you can dip your meats and veggies in. Good for fried mushrooms and corny dogs!!


I will try to remember other things my granny taught me in the kitchen and post on here.


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Always recook everything after 3-4 days or make something else with it.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

I get my filet for about $5.50/lb. Of course, I have to buy a half a cow to get that price -- same price as every other cut.

The Wife and I used to be big on the filet just for its reputation.
We learned that it was just a reputation and not based on flavor.
Give me a ribeye all day and everyday.
In fact were going to cook up some dry aged prime ribeye from the new meat market this evening.

 

[The Duke]

As I said...it has to be something I really like.
Some good seafood gumbo I'm all in. Same goes for a great pot of Charro beans with cornbread.
If it's some kind of average dish I want nothing to do with it on day two.
Of course my Mother was never a great cook which I think is what made me try and be the best cook I can be.

The Wife and I used to be big on the filet just for its reputation.
We learned that it was just a reputation and not based on flavor.
Give me a ribeye all day and everyday.
In fact were going to cook up some dry aged prime ribeye from the new meat market this evening.

Oh boy! July 4th. I bought a $5/lb Columbian rib roast. I cooked it right, but that must have been some kinda mean old tough Camel bull. It looked good, but it was tough! (the outside parts were) I buy roasts anymore, it's cheaper. Buy roast, cook, slice into steaks.
Bone-in or boneless rib roast is the pinnacle. Next up is tenderloin. I like fat, though.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Oh boy! July 4th. I bought a $5/lb Columbian rib roast. I cooked it right, but that must have been some kinda mean old tough Camel bull. It looked good, but it was tough! I buy roasts anymore, it's cheaper. Buy roast, cook, slice into steaks.

We came real close to buying a dry age unit from france but it wasn't available in the US yet.
They said they'd let me know when I could get one here in the proper voltage and all that.
They finally sent me an email saying I could now buy one of their units.
It's $4500 bucks and I was ready to pull the trigger when I started to find other options.
I still havent written it off just yet. But now I wish I'd bought it at the original price they offered.

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[Baron Von Murderpaws]

I find I save a lot by eating dog food one meal per day.
The injuries create a problem though.
Just the other evening, after dinner, I fell off the damn couch and dislocated my collar bone......I was trying to lick my balls and BAM !

Some people laugh............

But theres a lot of people that can't afford food. They actually eat this stuff.

I will never forget I was working as a bag boy at a grocery store once..........this old couple came through.
All they had in their cart was a few cans of cat food, loaf of cheap bread, and jar of mayo.

Yes, I know it could have just been coincidence..........but I've heard of too many seniors getting their money cut down so bad, they have no choice.

This was before the progression of dollar stores on every corner though.

 

[Likkmee]

Some people laugh............

But theres a lot of people that can't afford food. They actually eat this stuff.

I will never forget I was working as a bag boy at a grocery store once..........this old couple came through.
All they had in their cart was a few cans of cat food, loaf of cheap bread, and jar of mayo.

Yes, I know it could have just been coincidence..........but I've heard of too many seniors getting their money cut down so bad, they have no choice.

This was before the progression of dollar stores on every corner though.

Dog food is expensive.
I buy menudos(liver, gizzard, necks, back) for 800 colones ($.85 us pesos/2.2 lbs) for a kilo
18 kilos feed 2 hefty dawgz for a month. I use broken rice as a filler(from the mill down da road) and add in greenbeans, carrot, squash,plantain,,,,a lil fish, eggs,cheese(I make) and whatever else pops in. Whey,banana,mango, avocado. Shit from the farm.
BRB . Smoking some trout and crayfish right now

 

[Baron Von Murderpaws]

Leftover meats can be ground up into pet food.

Actually, unless your pet is allergic or unable to digest certain foods, most leftovers can be turned into pet food.
Just make sure that all of the ingredients are ok for your particular pet to eat.


Stale or moldy leftovers can be used as compost matter.
My granny would dig a hole near her tomato plants and bury old stale food.

 

[Baron Von Murderpaws]

 

[Baron Von Murderpaws]

You can make easy and even fun meals with the kids with canned biscuits!!!
Cheap and YUMMIE!

Mini Pizzas

Flatten out your canned biscuits to the size you want.
Place on a cookie sheet.
Put on what ever toppings you want.
Bake until done.


Hot Pockets

Use some flour and a rolling pin to roll out your canned biscuits to about 5-8 inch diameter.
Place your favorite filling on one side of the biscuit, leaving room for the edge to seal.
(use leftovers for filling too!)
Use your finger and some water to wet one side of the biscuits edge.
Fold it over and "seal" it with your fingers or a fork, by pressing the seam down all the way around.
Place on a cookie sheet.
Use a toothpick to poke two holes in the top (this is so it lets the steam out and doesn't explode).
Bake until done.

Substitute the dinner ingredients for canned pie filling, and brush butter over the tops and sprinkle sugar cinnamon and bake till done, and you have a dessert hand pie!!


Biscuit Casserole

Flatten your biscuits with the palm of your hand.
Place biscuits on the bottom of a deep, buttered casserole dish.
Use your favorite filling on top.............
Tuna Casserole = 1 cans of drained tuna, 2 cans of Cream of Mushroom soup (or cream of broccoli if you don't like mushroom), 1 small minced onion, 2 Tablespoons melted butter or margarine, spices to taste. Mix well in a bowl and then spread over biscuits. Bake with lid on or tin foil lid until done. For well done/dry top, take lid off 10 minutes before done.
Sprinkle with parmesan cheese before serving.

Chili Casserole = 2 cans of your favorite chili (or homemade), 1 small onion minced, 1 - 8 ounce package of grated cheddar or Jack cheese, 2 Tablespoons of melted butter. Spread minced onions over biscuits, then sprinkle cheese over biscuits and onions, and then pour both cans of chili over all that. Bake until done with lid on or tin foil on.

You can pretty much dump anything you want on top of the biscuits.......even if you want to make Faux Faccia bread!!!!

Melt half a stick of butter or margarine and pour over the biscuits in the casserole dish.
Sprinkle a heavy dose of cinnamon sugar over all that. Use canned fruit or pie filling or even custard...........dump on top of the biscuits, bake until done, and you have a Cheaters Cobbler!!!

 

[JustAnotherNut]

You can make easy and even fun meals with the kids with canned biscuits!!!
Cheap and YUMMIE!

Mini Pizzas

Flatten out your canned biscuits to the size you want.
Place on a cookie sheet.
Put on what ever toppings you want.
Bake until done.


Hot Pockets

Use some flour and a rolling pin to roll out your canned biscuits to about 5-8 inch diameter.
Place your favorite filling on one side of the biscuit, leaving room for the edge to seal.
(use leftovers for filling too!)
Use your finger and some water to wet one side of the biscuits edge.
Fold it over and "seal" it with your fingers or a fork, by pressing the seam down all the way around.
Place on a cookie sheet.
Use a toothpick to poke two holes in the top (this is so it lets the steam out and doesn't explode).
Bake until done.

Substitute the dinner ingredients for canned pie filling, and brush butter over the tops and sprinkle sugar cinnamon and bake till done, and you have a dessert hand pie!!


Biscuit Casserole

Flatten your biscuits with the palm of your hand.
Place biscuits on the bottom of a deep, buttered casserole dish.
Use your favorite filling on top.............
Tuna Casserole = 1 cans of drained tuna, 2 cans of Cream of Mushroom soup (or cream of broccoli if you don't like mushroom), 1 small minced onion, 2 Tablespoons melted butter or margarine, spices to taste. Mix well in a bowl and then spread over biscuits. Bake with lid on or tin foil lid until done. For well done/dry top, take lid off 10 minutes before done.
Sprinkle with parmesan cheese before serving.

Chili Casserole = 2 cans of your favorite chili (or homemade), 1 small onion minced, 1 - 8 ounce package of grated cheddar or Jack cheese, 2 Tablespoons of melted butter. Spread minced onions over biscuits, then sprinkle cheese over biscuits and onions, and then pour both cans of chili over all that. Bake until done with lid on or tin foil on.

You can pretty much dump anything you want on top of the biscuits.......even if you want to make Faux Faccia bread!!!!

Melt half a stick of butter or margarine and pour over the biscuits in the casserole dish.
Sprinkle a heavy dose of cinnamon sugar over all that. Use canned fruit or pie filling or even custard...........dump on top of the biscuits, bake until done, and you have a Cheaters Cobbler!!!

You can also make canned biscuit doughnuts & doughnut holes. Just use the cap from a water bottle to cut out the center of the biscuit. Fry both in hot oil & drain. Roll in sugar, cinnamon/sugar or powdered sugar......or whatever you like.


They work for breadsticks as well.......just roll them out, brush with melted butter with some garlic, parsley and parmesan cheese & bake

 

[JustAnotherNut]

Buy the leanest burger you can afford. The lesser fat content means more meat on your plate for the same price. Most burger ends up being seasoned during cooking so 'flavor' of the meat is less important in the overall dish. Unless you're making hamburgers, then use a little butter to cook it

Yes it's cheaper to buy whole chickens and cut them into serving pieces yourself. Cut off the wings, then cut into sections and save those in a separate bag in the freezer for a wing meal. Cut the breast off the keel bone and package those for another meal. Then the leg quarters for another. Save the wing tips & bones/carcass for broth. Trim & save all the fat & skin, then render it by frying it on low/medium low until the pieces are golden brown and all that liquid fat has been released. Strain off the bits & pieces. When it's cooled, pour the liquid fat into a container or jar and store in the fridge and use it in place of oil, butter or shortening for cooking. Kinda like you would with bacon grease. Those crispy pieces and bits are the same thing as pork rinds you buy in the snack aisle, just sprinkle a bit of salt. Or if you have alot, use them as dog treats.

Also, the chicken necks do have alot of meat on them as does the backs. I find it easier to pick the bones of any meat I missed after they've cooked.

Leftover cooked chicken.......like from a baked/roasted or even fried chicken.......any skin is pulled and saved for the dogs, then pick the meat from any bones and save those bones as well for broth. Even a small amount of meat can be added to something else to make it more.

Use refried beans or even leftover mashed, baked or boiled potatoes to stretch any meat used for a mexican dish.......tacos, enchiladas, tamales, etc A little bit of leftover steak, roast, chicken can be chopped up and added as well.......just test for seasoning.


Those little bits of different veggies, maybe a little gravy, little meat can be saved up over several days to get 'enough' to make a meal. Mix the saved meat & veggies with the gravy, add some water to thin out the gravy, then pour it all into a pie crust and top with another crust for a pot pie.


The best leftovers are those you didn't know you already had the first time. Don't do the same thing the second time around, change it up, use different spices, etc

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Buy the leanest burger you can afford. The lesser fat content means more meat on your plate for the same price. Most burger ends up being seasoned during cooking so 'flavor' of the meat is less important in the overall dish. Unless you're making hamburgers, then use a little butter to cook it

Yes it's cheaper to buy whole chickens and cut them into serving pieces yourself. Cut off the wings, then cut into sections and save those in a separate bag in the freezer for a wing meal. Cut the breast off the keel bone and package those for another meal. Then the leg quarters for another. Save the wing tips & bones/carcass for broth. Trim & save all the fat & skin, then render it by frying it on low/medium low until the pieces are golden brown and all that liquid fat has been released. Strain off the bits & pieces. When it's cooled, pour the liquid fat into a container or jar and store in the fridge and use it in place of oil, butter or shortening for cooking. Kinda like you would with bacon grease. Those crispy pieces and bits are the same thing as pork rinds you buy in the snack aisle, just sprinkle a bit of salt. Or if you have alot, use them as dog treats.

Also, the chicken necks do have alot of meat on them as does the backs. I find it easier to pick the bones of any meat I missed after they've cooked.

Leftover cooked chicken.......like from a baked/roasted or even fried chicken.......any skin is pulled and saved for the dogs, then pick the meat from any bones and save those bones as well for broth. Even a small amount of meat can be added to something else to make it more.

Use refried beans or even leftover mashed, baked or boiled potatoes to stretch any meat used for a mexican dish.......tacos, enchiladas, tamales, etc A little bit of leftover steak, roast, chicken can be chopped up and added as well.......just test for seasoning.


Those little bits of different veggies, maybe a little gravy, little meat can be saved up over several days to get 'enough' to make a meal. Mix the saved meat & veggies with the gravy, add some water to thin out the gravy, then pour it all into a pie crust and top with another crust for a pot pie.


The best leftovers are those you didn't know you already had the first time. Don't do the same thing the second time around, change it up, use different spices, etc

Hamburger needs to be 80-20 at least.
The rest of your post is kinda weird.

 

[JustAnotherNut]

Hamburger needs to be 80-20 at least.
The rest of your post is kinda weird.

Why weird??? It is kinda late and I'm tired, so the brain is flickering but........


I try to buy 90 or 93 burger and stock up when it's on sale. 85 if I can't get the other

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Why weird??? It is kinda late and I'm tired, so the brain is flickering but........


I try to buy 90 or 93 burger and stock up when it's on sale. 85 if I can't get the other

Fat is flavor.
Anything less than 80-20 sucks balls.

 

[JustAnotherNut]

Fat is flavor.
Anything less than 80-20 sucks balls.

yet the more fat in burger cooks off and you end up with a smaller amount of meat than what you started with.

Yes fat is flavor and in a hamburger patty is about the only way you'd be tasting the flavor of the meat, that if using a leaner burger than 80/20, smearing a little butter on it adds the flavor back. So if you start with a burger patty about 4 inches across and 1/2 inch thick, you'll not have as much shrinkage as you would with an 80/20 that will end up 3inches by 1/4 inch thick.


Other uses for burger, like for tacos, spaghetti or meatloaf or whatever else is flavored by the seasonings added so any meat flavor is usually pretty much lost to those seasonings. You could use ground pork or ground turkey or chicken instead of beef and once it's seasoned, you don't notice what type of meat was used

Any meat that will be seasoned can be of a leaner cut and with proper cooking will be just as tender as if there was more fat content. Marbling in steaks not only give flavor to the meat, but also make it tender.........which IMO is great in a ribeye, that's grilled or broiled and eaten straight up. But something like a round or chuck or other utility type steak that would make stroganoff, pepper steak, fajitas, carne asada, stir fry, swiss steaks, etc.......fat & marbling isn't as important because of all the other ingredients added to it.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

yet the more fat in burger cooks off and you end up with a smaller amount of meat than what you started with.

Yes fat is flavor and in a hamburger patty is about the only way you'd be tasting the flavor of the meat, that if using a leaner burger than 80/20, smearing a little butter on it adds the flavor back. So if you start with a burger patty about 4 inches across and 1/2 inch thick, you'll not have as much shrinkage as you would with an 80/20 that will end up 3inches by 1/4 inch thick.


Other uses for burger, like for tacos, spaghetti or meatloaf or whatever else is flavored by the seasonings added so any meat flavor is usually pretty much lost to those seasonings. You could use ground pork or ground turkey or chicken instead of beef and once it's seasoned, you don't notice what type of meat was used

Any meat that will be seasoned can be of a leaner cut and with proper cooking will be just as tender as if there was more fat content. Marbling in steaks not only give flavor to the meat, but also make it tender.........which IMO is great in a ribeye, that's grilled or broiled and eaten straight up. But something like a round or chuck or other utility type steak that would make stroganoff, pepper steak, fajitas, carne asada, stir fry, swiss steaks, etc.......fat & marbling isn't as important because of all the other ingredients added to it.

Lean cuts suck!!