Well, … now everyone is trying to save on the food budget and stretch the dollars a little farther. So now I just appear normal, and my budget friendly habits seem timely. Whereas before, I believe the word “cooky” might have been slung in my direction.

Here’s a tip for your freezer. If you eat vegetables at your house, you probably don’t always finish the dish. For plain vegetables (served with butter and salt – or alone) toss the extras in a gallon sized freezer bag in the freezer door. Every time you have some leftovers of this nature, toss them in the bag. It doesn’t matter if they’re different. You’re making a collection of veggies. When the bag gets to capacity – you’re ready to make vegetable or chicken soup.

If you choose Chicken Soup, here’s another money saver. Use inexpensive thighs or legs to make your broth and provide the meat for the soup. These pieces are less popular, but they make a much richer base for your soup; no one can really tell what part of the chicken little shreds of meat came from in the bowl anyway. As a bonus, you can usually get those cuts of meat for MUCH less than cut up birds or chicken breasts.

Happy cooking!!!