$$$ Challenge! I have told Bub that due to our decrease in household income,

I second those suggestions--having the bones from whole birds gives you the base for other meals

Homemade stock is light years away from canned or boxed. I like to buy whole chickens because I can choose a better quality bird and cut it up. Or roast it whole--a roast whole chicken seems to go so much further than one in pieces. Either way the back and neck can be saved for stock, raw or cooked.

Ham is expensive but if you get one on sale you can dice the leftovers and get so many meals out of it. A little goes a long way and the bones make stock for split pea soup. I try to buy a few each Easter when they are on sale. I freeze the chopped leftovers 2 cups at a time.

If you still have your garden you can get a lot of return on greens and roots: chard, kale and collards keep on giving. Beets and turnips are so easy to grow if you can get your family to eat them. So are lettuce and other salad greens. Other crops save money too but the greens and roots are easiest and most productive.

And as always, dried beans, peas, and lentils are the last great bargains. A pot of one of them each week turned into a soup, salad, curry, or stew can make a dent in the budget. They're nutritious and can replace other proteins.

 
Pulled pork!

Shoulder/butt is pretty inexpensive and packages can be thawed for tacos, wraps, hamburger buns, etc. Lunch or dinner.

 
Thanks, Ang. I have a lot of the strategies and techniques down, but need some

recipes to help me along.

 
With country or western pork ribs on sale

We use Gretchen's method of lightly coating ribs in brown sugar and black pepper, tightly fill a large roasting pan (tall) side-to-side, fat side up, slip into the oven to sit for an hour and then bake at 225 degrees overnight for 8 hours or so until the internal temperature is 185. Remove fat (or not) and bones and pull meat with forks. We freeze in many 4 cup portions to use as Michael suggested. We love pork open face sandwiches on half of a plain, toasted hamburger bun, sprinkled with pepper vinegar sauce and topped with lots of cole slaw and BBQ sauce! We also use these same ingredients, without the bun, and wrap in a lettuce leaf. The meat is great on a salad for lunch (or breakfast). Sometimes I fry shreds in a bit of orange juice for carnitas or add defrosted cooked pork to potatoes and onions for a yummy hash.

 
Ron's Meatball-less minestrone

When the frozen mixed veggies are on sale, I stock up and we make a large pot of Ron's Meatball Minestrone, without meatballs but with extra vegetables and protein-rich beans. We serve it as the main course along with a small meat/fish/chicken/pork/egg "side dish". Meat as a condiment!

Our most recent batch had 1 large onion coarsely chopped and 2 cloves of minced garlic sauteed in a bit of olive oil, adding 4 cups of low sodium beef stock/broth, 4 cups of low sodium chicken stock/broth, 1 can Campbell's consomme, plus half of that can filled with red wine, 2-28 oz undrained cans of Dei Fratelli Italian diced tomatoes (Fresh & Ready), 1/2 tsp dried rosemary, 3/4 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp dried basil (used 1/4 cup Costco pesto), 1/4 tsp black pepper, 6 peppercorns, 2 bay leaves, 2 small chunks of parmesan rind, 8 cups of frozen mixed veggies and 2 packages of Green Giant frozen Vision blend (for the zucchini). Simmer for 45 minutes and then add 1/4 cup of ditalini pasta (or 1/2 cup macaroni/shells), 1 drained and rinsed can of garbanzos, 1 can of drained, rinsed and mashed cannellini beans (or toss into the food processor with some of the soup broth), and as many fresh spinach leaves as I feel up to stemming, rolling and chiffonading. Simmer for another 30 minutes. Freezes well.

Ron's Method: In drippings from meatballs, saute onions, stirring occasionally, until soft. Stir in broth, tomatoes (break up with a spoon)and their liquid, beans and their liquid, oregano and basil. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add carrots and celery. Cover and simmer for 10 more minutes. Stir in pasta. Cover and simmer until pasta is cooked al dente--about 10 minutes. Place meatballs in soup and heat through. Makes about 14 1-cup servings

http://eat.at/swap/forum/index.php?action=display&forumid=19&msgid=12

 
Potatoes are inexpensive here. I sometimes get them for 10lbs/1.00 on sale.

I will definitely give these a try. It reminded me of the smashed roasted red-skinned potatoes that my family inhaled when I made them for a holiday dinner. Thanks!

 
I am guilty of that store run too, and usually after I have been working all day

So it is really tempting to pick up some easy dinner items. I usually don't get out of there for under $20. I am friends with the produce manager so he will give me a box of produce that isn't perfect for around a dollar usually. I enjoy that because I really get to use my imagination. Sort of like a rural "Chopped" episode, but I am the only contestant so I always win.

 
keep the faith and when you are ready try to find an heirloom version

we've been dealing with food allergies in our kids for several years now. My oldest can now tolerate dairy again after several years of allergies to everything from dairy, gluten, corn, soy to even strange things like mangos.
In my opinion this explosion of food allergies is directly related to the genetic modification of our food. Something like 98% of all of the wheat in the U.S. comes from one, single genetic (patented) source. Nature doesn't like that. That's why I mention the heirloom. There are examples of celiacs who can eat heirloom wheats. I grew some heirloom potatoes a few years back. They were purple on the inside and made awesome potato chips. Nice thing about CA is you can grow just about anything.

 
Michael, thanks to you...I picked up a pork shoulder tonight. PS. I missed

the update. What color did you choose for your Le Cruset?

 
We finally decided on Caribbean. But we will work on convincing ourselves that Caribbean and Flame

look great together. I believe it's working.

Our favorite purchase is the 2 qt Batter Bowl. In fact we liked it so well we bought a second one for when the first is dirty or being used.

If you live near an outlet store and sign up for their emails you get an 40% off instead of 30%.

http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/oo124/MichaelJohn52/PG4000_16_17_Bowl_Batter_2QT_Caribbean_thumb_zps4f88ebe0.jpg

 
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