c/frugal-cooking-tips

I just fed my family of four for a whole week on $47 and the grocery receipt felt like a trophy.

It started with a huge batch of bean and rice burritos using dried beans and a $1.50 bag of rice, and honestly, who knew a cheap bag of potatoes could stretch so far into different meals?

I finally got my bean soup right after three tries and it was all about the salt timing

Vent: I just realized how much money I was wasting on fresh herbs

I was cleaning out my fridge and found three plastic clamshells of wilted parsley and cilantro I forgot about. I added up the cost from my grocery app, and it was over $12 down the drain in a single week. It hit me that I buy these fresh herbs for one specific dish and then they just rot. I looked it up online and read that a single potted herb plant costs about the same as two of those plastic packs. I bought a small basil plant for $3.50 at the local garden center. I've been snipping off what I need for pasta and eggs for a month now, and the thing is still growing. It's sitting on my kitchen windowsill. How did I not do this years ago? What other fresh things do you guys grow at home instead of buying?

Found a great way to use up leftover rice from the Chinese place

Last Thursday, I had a big container of white rice from Golden Dragon that was getting dry. Instead of tossing it, I fried it with a couple eggs, some frozen peas, and a splash of soy sauce. It made a full meal for two people for basically no extra cost. What do you guys do with leftover takeout rice?

My pressure cooker's seal split during a big batch of beans last night

Honestly, I was trying to cook two pounds of dried black beans to freeze for the month, and the main rubber ring just gave out with a loud hiss. I had to finish them in a regular pot for another hour, which used way more gas. Has anyone found a good cheap source for replacement seals, or should I just look for a whole new cooker?

A lady at the food pantry showed me how to use carrot tops

I was picking up a box last month in Springfield and saw a volunteer chopping the green tops off carrots. She told me she used to throw them out too, but now she makes a pesto with them. She said to blend the tops with some nuts, garlic, oil, and a bit of cheese. I tried it at home with walnuts I had, and it made a full jar of sauce for basically free. Has anyone else found a good use for other veggie scraps?

PSA: Don't try to make your own seitan from scratch without a plan

I thought I'd save money by making seitan from vital wheat gluten, but I didn't realize how long the kneading and simmering process actually takes. It ended up taking me over 2 hours from start to finish for a block of protein. Has anyone found a quicker, reliable method that doesn't use a store-bought mix?

Can we talk about trying to make your own yogurt to save a few bucks

I thought it'd be simple, but getting the culture right and the temperature steady took me like 6 failed attempts over two months before I finally got a decent batch. Anyone have a foolproof method that doesn't involve buying a special machine?

Tried to make my own yogurt to save cash, turned into a whole weekend project

I followed a simple recipe online that said it would take about 8 hours. My first batch came out runny, so I tried again with a different starter. The second batch was too sour. I finally got a good thick batch on my third try, which took about 36 hours total with all the waiting and testing. Anyone have a foolproof method that doesn't take days to figure out?

Update: My pantry bean soup finally hit the $1.50 per meal mark

I swapped in a can of store-brand tomatoes and a leftover ham bone from a holiday dinner, and it cut the cost by another 30 cents. Anyone have other ideas for stretching a bean soup even further?

My neighbor saw me buying a single bell pepper and told me to always check the price per pound, not just the sticker price.

He pointed at the organic ones I was about to grab, which were $5.99 a pound, then showed me the regular ones right next to them for $1.79 a pound, and said 'they taste the same in a stew, trust me'.

Hot take: I'm still mad about the $8 bag of pre-shredded cheese I bought last month that turned into a solid, rubbery block in my fridge after two days.

I mean, idk if it's just me but that felt like such a waste, and now I'm back to grating a $3 block myself which lasts way longer, anyone else have a grocery buy that just totally failed you?

Found a way to stretch a single chicken into three dinners

Last Tuesday I roasted a whole chicken I got on sale for $5. That night we had roast chicken with potatoes. The next day I picked the carcass clean and used the meat for chicken fried rice. Finally, I boiled the bones with an old onion and some carrot ends for stock, which became a big pot of soup with the last handful of pasta from the box. Has anyone else tried this kind of three-meal plan with one cheap protein?

I know everyone says to buy whole chickens, but I found a cheaper way to get the same amount of meat.

After tracking prices for 3 months, I found buying a pack of 10 chicken leg quarters for $5.99 at my local Food Giant and roasting them all at once gives me more usable meat per dollar than a whole bird, because there's less waste from bones I won't use for stock.

Honestly, my power got cut for 3 days last week and I had to get creative with my pantry

My ancient blender gave up mid-smoothie this morning

It made a sad grinding noise and just stopped, leaving me with a chunky mess. I ended up using a fork and a bowl to mash the banana and oats together, which actually worked fine. Anyone have a good blender brand that won't die after a couple years?

I used to think cooking with dried beans was a waste of time until my power got cut for 2 days.

I used to think buying pre-cut veggies was smart, but my grocery bill told a different story

For years, I grabbed those bags of chopped onions and peppers thinking they saved time. My weekly food cost was about $120 for just me. That changed six months ago when I lost my job. I started buying whole vegetables and a cheap knife. Chopping them myself takes ten extra minutes, but I save nearly $15 a week. Now I put that money toward better ingredients. Has anyone else found a simple prep step that cut their costs way down?

I was wasting a ton of money on fresh herbs until my neighbor pointed it out

I was making a big pot of chili last week and went to buy a bunch of cilantro, which cost me $2.50 for a tiny pack. My neighbor saw me and asked why I didn't just use the dried stuff from my spice rack. I realized I'd been buying fresh herbs for every single recipe for years, even for long-cooked dishes where the flavor cooks out. Now I only buy fresh for things like salads or garnish, and my weekly grocery bill dropped by about $8. What other small ingredient swaps have saved you guys money?

My plumber, Frank, saw my pantry full of dried beans and told me his wife soaks them in leftover pickle brine from an empty jar to skip buying vinegar.

He mentioned it while fixing my kitchen sink last Tuesday, and now I use that brine for a quick, sharp bean salad that costs maybe a dollar a batch.

My roommate's mom taught me a trick with a can of beans that cut my grocery bill

She visited us in Austin last month and showed me how to stretch a single 15-ounce can of black beans into three meals. We made bean burgers for dinner, used the leftover mash for breakfast tacos, and blended the last bit with broth for a soup. Has anyone else found ways to make one cheap ingredient work for multiple dishes?

My 'fancy' bean soup turned into a science experiment

I was trying to stretch a bag of dried beans in my apartment kitchen last Tuesday. Forgot to soak them overnight, so I tried the quick boil method I saw online. Left it for 20 minutes, came back to find the pot had foamed over like a volcano, covering my entire stovetop in a weird bean goo. My roommate walked in and just said, 'Is this dinner or a biohazard?' I managed to salvage the beans and finish the soup, but it was a sticky mess. Anyone have a foolproof way to cook dried beans fast without the kitchen turning into a crime scene?

Warning: I just hit 30 days of cooking with only $40 a week for groceries

Everyone says you need fancy ingredients to eat well, but I've made solid meals like a huge lentil soup and a bean skillet. It forced me to get creative with spices I already had. Has anyone else tried a strict weekly budget and found it wasn't as hard as people say?

I finally figured out how to make my own veggie broth after a trip to the farmer's market

I was at the Saturday market in Eugene and saw a vendor selling 'broth bags' of veggie scraps for $4 each. I asked what was in them and she just said 'onion skins, carrot tops, the usual' and it clicked that I throw all that stuff away. Now I keep a gallon bag in my freezer and boil it with water when it's full. What other kitchen scraps do you guys save instead of buying?

Just realized how much I was wasting on fresh herbs

I read a blog post that said a single $3 bunch of cilantro often gets 75% thrown away. I'm trying to grow my own on the windowsill now, but the basil keeps dying. What's the easiest herb to keep alive for a beginner?