Cooking at Home

One sure fire way to save money is to eat at home.  We rarely eat fast food because we live 11 miles from the nearest McDonalds.  I consider myself a pretty good cook and prefer to eat at home much of the time.  We usually dine out once on the weekend at a nicer establishment and with a fast food meal for 2 adults and 2 teenage girls topping $22 (which is 1/10th of my food budget for 2 weeks) it just seems a good idea to eat at home.

Successfully saving money by eating at home does take some planning.  I don't plan my meals around what is on sale (which would save me a LOT more money) but I find that too rigid for my taste-buds!

Thoughtful preparation of a weekly menu is critical to success.  I use a loose leaf notebook.  I make a note of what events occur during the week and make sure my menu takes those in to consideration.  If I only have 30 minutes to get the food to the table I need a plan to make that sure to happen.  I plan my weekly menus on Saturday or Sunday so I can grocery shop for any "exotic" or fresh ingredients I may need.  No last minute runs to the grocery on a busy weeknight!  This Dining with Diana post may give you some ideas to help you get into the habit of meal planning  http://dining-with-diana.blogspot.com/2010/08/meal-planning.html

Secondly, it is imperative that you have some basic ingredients on had at all times to use to create a home cooked meal.  By the time I decide what to prepare, shop and arrive at home I am too exhausted to cook!  This prevents that from occurring on a regular basis.  My Blog, Dining with Diana ( http://dining-with-diana.blogspot.com/) has some suggestions on how to stock a pantry.   http://dining-with-diana.blogspot.com/2010/08/well-stocked-pantry.html 

Don't these pictures make it look like my pantry is stocked with nothing but JUNK food?

Lastly, I always have a go to meal in the freezer.  It might be a Stouffers frozen pasta meal, a frozen pizza or my meatballs.

If planning a week's worth of menus is too overwhelming for you at first, start by planning 2 days worth of meals.  I guarantee the time you save is well worth the effort.

Happy $aving$!

Diana

Who doe$n't like Free?

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