Cooking

5 Quick Fixes to Salvage a Good Meal

We all can make mistakes in the kitchen. Instead of throwing out what we think we have ruined, there are some handy tips that are so easy to do and can save an entire meal from the

5 Ways to Live Better Without Spending More

The most simple-minded measure of your standard of living is how much money you spend: spending more equals living better. Reality is more complex. There are a lot of ways to li

Teach yourself to cook

Everyone knows that cooking is cheaper and healthier than eating out. It's also better (i.e. more to your taste) than eating out, and easier than eating out (no driving, parking,

Tasty Treats to Make With Mulberries

It’s one of my favorite times of year. The volunteer mulberry trees in my yard have begun popping with mulberries, and the kids have come inside from a morning out in the yard wit

Hit Up Your Grandma's Cookbooks for Frugal Cooking Ideas

There are many families that share generational cooking traditions as a long standing family tradition. Since there are many families that are also feeling the pinch of the recessi

How to bake sourdough bread (and save a buck on every loaf)

I doubt if the cost of yeast is really breaking your household budget. If you bake a lot you probably already buy yeast in bulk, so you're not paying the per-packet price anyway.

12 Affordable Ingredients that Add Gourmet Flair to any Meal

Here is an expert list of a dozen common ingredients that will add some flair to your dish — for less than you'd expect.

8 Spectacular Uses for that Lone Can of Fruit

It doesn’t matter what it is: plums, fruit cocktail, or an awkward can of cranberries – it can sit there for years if not put to a creative use. When pennies must be pinched, the

10 Things to Do With Leftover Halloween Candy

Leftover Halloween candy can be a treat or an annoyance. If your kids came home with a huge stash, or you have many leftovers from your own home, the tummy aches can put a kibosh o

5 Easy Recipes Perfect for the Traveling Chef

All you need is a basic, stocked kitchen and widely available ingredients to prepare these travel-friendly recipes.

Cutting the Grocery Bill: Reducing the Cost of a Good Spice Rack

I’ve managed to cut my grocery bill in half, but I’ve struggled with one set of expenses more than I ever though possible. I use a lot of spices and every time I turn around, I fee

4 Inexpensive Breakfasts in Under Five Minutes

Time is a precious commodity in the mornings, but there are options beyond the drive through. Some of these recipes can be made even cheaper, if you’re willing to put in a

5 Perfectly Respectable Uses for Instant Mashed Potatoes

Like most people, I can tell the difference between authentic mashed potatoes, made from fresh spuds, and the dehydrated “flakes” that come in a box. This doesn’t mean that you can

Cheap and Romantic Ideas for Valentine's Day (And Any Other Day of the Year)

I have always loathed Valentine's day because everywhere I went I would see gaudy pink and red balloons and roses and men who are literally suckered into buying the useless thi

Bridging The Gap From Dining Out To Eating In

Feeling guilty about not having bridged the gap from dining out to cooking in? Don't. Follow my lead and I show you how to take baby steps from full-service to self-service.

Cooking Without Crepe Pans and Other Expensive Kitchen Tools

I like kitchen gadgets as much as the next girl, but I just can’t justify splurging on a crepe pan (or other tool) that I’ll use maybe once a month, at the most. So which kitchen u

Finding New Recipes, Without Paying for New Cookbooks

I have a hard time resisting the urge of buying every cookbook that comes along — I thoroughly enjoy trying out new recipes, especially cookies. I came to the conclusion, though, i

Waste Not! Revisiting the 5-Second Rule and other Kitchen Classics

Working as a line cook for almost four years exposed me to the dirtier side of the food service business. Generally, I was less-than-impressed

The new face of poverty is fat

Twenty years ago, I parked at a supermarket, near where a poor family had just parked. I knew they were poor, because they looked like poor folks are supposed to look: Their clot

The many reasons--besides frugality--to do for yourself

Doing for yourself--cooking your own meals, making your own clothes, growing your own vegetables, playing your own music, baking your own bread--is sometimes justified on the groun