Sometimes it really is the little things that can make all the difference in our schedules and in our budget. A couple of months ago I shared 5 things I regularly do that help me save time and money in the kitchen. I’ve been doing these things for a long time and don’t necessarily think they are anything special – and yet without doing these things my life would be more chaotic and my grocery budget would be out of control.
So, I thought I ‘d share 5 more things that help me save time and money in the kitchen.
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1. Stock up on eggs when they are on sale and freeze them. This past spring we had a lot of eggs. At one point we had 30 dozen eggs in our outside refrigerator. So, we started cracking eggs and whisking them together – this is the secret to freezing eggs. We did 2 at a time, 3 at a time and 6 at a time. We put them in snack size and sandwich size ziplock bags and wrote either a 2,3 or 6 on the bag. We have not noticed a differnce between fresh and frozen eggs for baking or for scrambling. They take just a couple of minutes to thaw out in a bowl of warm water.
2. Keep cooked meat in your freezer. Several people mentioned in my last kitchen tips post that they brown several pounds of ground beef at once and freeze it in meals size portions. I do this, too. I go ahead and add onions, garlic, salt and pepper to the meat when I brown it. Those are things I always put in ground beef anyway. But I also will roast several chickens at once, pick the meat off the bones and freeze it. I will use it to make a quick soup or cassarole or use it as a salad topping. When we grill we always cook extra and then freeze the cooked meat.
3.Don’t be a gadget junkie. When we were first married I would go kitchen home parties – you know, the ones that that show you how to use all different gadgets that would make your life sooooo much easier. Is it really worth it to get out a special gadget to get the hull out of a strawberry? Or will a knife do just fine? For the most part I try to only have gadget that can be used for multiple things – which means I have very few. What I found is that I could usually just use a knife or fork to do the job faster than I could find the gadget, use it and then wash it.
4. Manage leftovers. Did you know that the average American family throws away 25% of the food they buy? That means if you are spending $400 a month on groceries you could save $100 just by not letting food go bad (if you are the average American family). THAT is a lot of money. We regularly have a left over buffet once or twice a week. I also try to notice when things have been in the refrigerator for a while and figure out how to incorporate those into a meal. Also, don’t buy into the myth that feeding the leftovers to dogs or chickens means you’re not throwing out the food. Unless you are cutting back on the amount of dog food or chicken feed, left overs are just a treat for animals, they aren’t saving you any money. If you have small children, give them just a small portion of food on their plates and let them have seconds if they are still hungery – little bellies fill up fast.
5. Rotate your family’s 14 favorite dinners. I mentioned this to someone a while back and recently she told me how it has made her time in the kitchen go so much smoother. Find 14 meals that your family really likes (and are resonable both in time and cost to make) and schedule them out for two weeks. At the end of two weeks, start over – with the SAME 14 meals. Boring? maybe. But I have found it is long enough that my family doesn’t remember that we had that same meal 2 weeks ago. And in all honesty, they just want food…and in large quantities.
What are some of your favorite kitchen tips for saving time and money? Share in the comments below.
This post is shared at Homestead Barn Hop, Mostly Handmade Mondays, Homestead Blogger Tasty Tuesday, Backyard Farming Connection, From the Farm, Frugal Fridays,