(Almost) Home Cooking

Before Donnie and I committed to frugality, we didn’t really think about prices at the grocery store. We just decided what we felt like cooking and bought the ingredients, without even looking at circulars or cutting coupons. We didn’t set spending limits, and we often strayed from our shopping lists. We wasted a great deal of money that way.

Now that we have a weekly grocery budget ($30 for the two of us), we plan our meals around the foods we can get cheapest each week, plus whatever leftovers we have on hand. We occasionally get fantastic deals on packaged foods (such as prepared side dishes or canned soups), which don’t make such terrific meals in and of themselves. However, we’ve become experts at the art of (almost) home cooking with these products.

I wouldn’t recommend eating dressed-up packaged foods for dinner every day. Cooking from scratch is the healthiest, and typically the least expensive, way to feed your family. However, the next time you get a great deal on a prepared food item you wouldn’t normally eat, why not whip up your own not-quite-from-scratch dinner? I’ve included a few suggestions to get you started.

• Add ham and green peas to a box of au gratin potatoes, sprinkle with bread crumbs and grated cheese, then bake according to package directions.
  
  
• Melt cheese over cut-up, cooked chicken. Serve on a bed of prepared taco rice mixed with corn. Add salsa and sour cream at the table.
  
  
• Add cooked rice, cut-up cooked chicken, broccoli, and grated cheese to canned broccoli cheddar soup that has been prepared according to the directions on the label.
  
  
• Sautee a little ground beef with diced fresh or canned tomatoes, then add to a prepared cheesy-noodle side dish.
  
  
• Finely chop some cooked pork and carrots, then add to any Asian-style rice or noodle side dish.
  
  
• Pour canned chili over cooked rice or potatoes, sprinkle with cheese, and microwave or broil until the cheese is melted. Serve with sour cream and tortilla chips.

How do you transform your great grocery deals into culinary masterpieces? Share your recipes in the comments section!