The 99 Cent Chef

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I just found your website through Living On A Dime. Thank you for your great posts! When I'm at the grocery store, I am always on the lookout for "manager's specials" which are usually items that are approaching their sell by date. I once found Lender's bagels for $0.25 per package and Sargento sliced cheese for $0.99 per package. I can usually find meat that's reduced as well. It's fun to see what all I can get.

Posted by Lisa on August 07, 2008 8:11 AM

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I like to go to food wholesalers such as Costco or Sam's Club. While there, I'll buy massive quantities of tilapia, chicken breast, or other meat staples. When I get home, I'll take the twenty chicken breasts for $8.99 and segregate them into sandwich bags (two breast/bag, since it's just me and my husband), and add a variety of seasonings. I'll freeze the seasoned meats, and when I get home from work, all I have to do is defrost the meats and stick them in the oven for 20 minutes. I can make five or six meals out of the rations. Just add some (cheap) brown rice and a veggie and *poof*, dinner's done!

Posted by Taylor on August 24, 2008 7:06 PM

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Save lots of money by buying what I call "quarter water", instead of expensive bottled waters in grocery stores. Simply save your quarters and save gallon water jugs. Outside many grocery stores are self-filling water machines. Glacier Water is a popular one in my area. Each gallon will cost 25-cents to refill yourself. You can also refill the larger bottles for $1.25 ea. To take water when going out I simply have a good quality empty water bottle, fill it with ice and add my "quarter water" and I'm off.

Posted by Catheline Garrity on December 05, 2008 3:52 PM

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Lots of money can be saved on kitchen wrapping products by simply reusing them over and over again.

Editor's Note: This comment has been moved to the tip section.

http://tiphero.com/tips_633_save-on-aluminum-foil-parchment-plastic-wrap.html

Posted by Catheline Garrity on December 05, 2008 3:57 PM

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I've found that if you take one boneless skinless chicken breast (bought on sale, of course!) and pound it flat and then cut it in half, it will feed TWO people adequately. Especially if you are going to use breading on it, for, say, Chicken Parmesan with pasta.
I somtimes dip each half in egg wash, then self-rising flour, and deep fry it - it cooks very quickly - then serve it with mashed potatoes and gravy.
Each chicken breast half will also make about 5 nice chicken nuggets which I serve with homemade honey-mustard sauce for dipping.
Of course, this works best if the chicken breast is not extremely small to begin with. When I find a too-small one, I use 2/3 of it for one person, saving the other third in a little container in the freezer. When I get a couple of pieces, I make a small pot of chicken noodle soup for two with leftover chicken broth, vegetables and pasta; I do a fridge-cleanout!
I have become quite an expert at stretching food, but we eat very well and NOTHING ever gets wasted.

My mother used to joke that if she were to be stranded on a desert island, she'd want me with her because she knew I would always manage to feed us with whatever's available! :)

Posted by N. McCoy on December 18, 2008 5:00 PM

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Having raised 5 daughters, I had to be creative with meals, and also with leftovers. On any day, usually Friday, we would spread ALL leftovers no matter the quanity and have "MUSTGO". This means that everything in the refrig. must go !!! My girls loved it,now they have "mustgo" nite with their families. Nothing gets wasted.

Posted by aggie houk on December 30, 2008 10:08 PM

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My older 3 were kids in the late 60's. That was when tv dinners were new. Since their father traveled alot, we splurged frequently with those tv dinners. Now, being a thrifty person, I saved the alum. containers. I made surprise tv dinners out of our homecooked leftovers. If I had 2 helpings of, say mashed potatoes,I'd start 2 dinners, then as I had a little left the next night,the same thing and so on. At any time,I may have 7 or 8 dinners in the freezer,UNMARKED of course. When their dad was gone,I'd let them pick their tray.But, They never knew what they were getting til it came out of the oven.Oh my, the suspense. Who would get the liver and onions?

Posted by aggie houk on December 30, 2008 10:20 PM

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I found you on Thifty fun.Running out of food looking for cheap meals to feed my family.This is wonderful real meals.I love it thank you.Tonia

Posted by Tonia on January 07, 2009 12:47 PM

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I like that T V dinner thing that is smart.Thank You Tonia.

Posted by Tonia on January 07, 2009 12:57 PM

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I discovered organic ramen noodles at the grocery store -- 99 cents. No MSG included as in other brands. I cooked the noodles and tossed them with stir-fried garlic, broccoli and leftover cooked chicken. I mixed the seasoning packet with some broth, lemon juice and honey. It was still an inexpensive meal. I like the idea of buying sale-priced groceries and coming up with a creative meal.

Posted by All About Food on January 12, 2009 11:17 PM

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I am new to this site and looking for lots of ideas on saving on food bills.
My kids aren't big on left over but the "surprise" frozen dinners just might do the trick.

Posted by Colleen on January 17, 2009 11:35 AM

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Although it may already be on this website, I just want to mention Angelfood Ministries food Coop. It is a wonderful way to save money on groceries! It is available all over the country just look up the website
www.angelfoodministries.com for your local site.

A basic box is designed to feed a family of 4 for one week. It's just my daughter and I so I bought a small used box freezer for $60, now I usually purchase two basic boxes ($30 each) and two fruit & veggie boxes ($21 each). For $102 each month we have so much food I usually have to give some away!

PS- thanks for the TV dinner tip it was great!

Posted by Lisa on January 26, 2009 9:56 AM

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If a casserole type dish calls for meat, I will usually cut the meat by half. This saves money, but doesn't really change the flavor of the dish.

Posted by Lori Jo Bushey on February 11, 2009 1:51 PM

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I always plan for leftovers=they are actually the next day's lunch, or when I cook pasta, I add extra, and us the extra batch in a new cold pasta dish.
Check out the special deals on meats...sometimes early in the morning, like around 6AM or so, they are marked for clearance.

Always separate the meat or chicken into different freezer bags, its much easier.

I buy the cheaper priced frozen vegetables, add that to ramen noodles for a bulkier lunch or dinner for myself.

We share at work, and sometimes one of us willbring in treats, or leftovers, or some type of desserts or muffins or such. Whenever I can, I bring in something for others. Its a nice way to share and be 'shared with'.

Posted by di on February 13, 2009 10:53 AM

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This Site is "Awesome" Thanks for all the cool tips!Something that can be made cheap & the mess is hardly anything, we call them Hobo Dinners;
use foil to cook them in,make hamburger patties,little salt & pepper,slice of onion then a few slices of potatoes & a few slices of carrots.

Wrap them all up throw them on a grill or turn on your oven to 350 throw them in until the potatoes are cooked. (approx.30 min)

Posted by Kathy on February 18, 2009 3:56 PM

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Buy your bread items ONLY from the baker's clearance rack of things that must go that day... freeze it when you get home, and only take out slices you need at a time to thaw or toast. It will stay good until the end of the loaf - expensive foccacia and such for pennies on the dollar!

Posted by Liney on February 23, 2009 7:47 PM

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When freezing leftovers or extras like chopped raw onion or peppers, distribute them by large spoonsful in old-fashioned ice cube trays. After they are frozen pop them into labeled freezer bags and keep frozen until needed. The small cubes allow you to thaw out only what you want to eat or need for a recipe. The small size pieces also thaw more quickly & evenly than a big clump of frozen food will.

Posted by memurphy5 on February 27, 2009 12:40 PM

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Great ideas!!! Stumbled across this from CPF and other links. I 'created' a simple potato recipie...cut up small russet potatoes into 1/2 inch slices, boil till just tender, season with salt if preferred, coat with a layer or two of your favorite BBQ sauce, put in the microwave for about five mins or so and serve with veggies and your favorite meats-buffalo wings, chicken nuggets, etc. Even my pickiest eaters[little boys] love the taste and will eat broccoli with the wings.

Posted by momofboys with a smile on February 28, 2009 7:56 AM

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Lisa...Thank you so much for the angel food coop link. I never knew that anything like this existed. This is a fantastic way to save money. Thanks again, this will really help out a lot.

Posted by Donna on March 01, 2009 6:51 PM

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I love thrifty sites and all of the ideas. I have used Angel food in the past and loved it, however I havn't use it for a while as we now have an Aldis grocery store nearby. The majority of their boxed, canned, and frozen food prices are unbeatable, even Wal-mart can't touch them. In the summer their produce prices are fantastic, ex. quart of strawberries for 99 cents, whole fresh pineapples, canteloupes for 99 cents, and on and on. If they order too much bread, etc. around the holidays, sometimes they mark it down to 25 cents a loaf. I love this store. Before it came along I also shopped at Save-A-Lot. They have really good buys as well and a wider variety, however, they can't beat Aldis. Yes you have to buy your own bags (or bring your own canvas) at Aldis and bag your own groceries, but the savings are worth it. You also have to pay a quarter to "rent" the buggy, but when you return it to the rack, you get your quarter back. Try it if you have one near you. If you are truly thrifty, you won't know how you lived without it.

Posted by Amanda on March 04, 2009 8:01 PM

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thank you everyone for sharing all your tips and ideas, specially in these hard times. God bless you all.

One thing I do, is peel bananas and place them in a freezer bag and place them in a freezer and later use them for shakes. You can also do the same with the yellow plantains, they last for months and are precut and ready for frying.

Posted by Rosa on March 05, 2009 4:54 PM

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Smart to peel the bananas first. I always put them in skin and all and then have a bit of a mess when I take them out.

Posted by anonymous on March 05, 2009 5:06 PM

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Great ideas, but when recommending a store or facility if it isn't a nationally known chain, please tell us the location (city,state) so we know whether it is near us. Thx

Posted by Don S on March 14, 2009 6:43 PM

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Dehydrators are cheap at garage sales- you can dehydrate just about anything when it is at give away proces in season-store in plastic freezer bags in a dark cool area and use in winter and spring when things like red pepper are high or dehydrate fresh out of the kitchen garden like greens. To my suprise even chopped asparagus dries great and you can make soup or add to salad as if it was fresh. Greens are great too, lifting cream soups and casseroles to a valuable addition. I have dehydrated mint, kale, collards,mustard,bellpeppers,tomato,eggplant, green beans, onion, fruits of all kinds and mushrooms. Rehydrating takes a while so give it an hour for thick things, greens just crumble into stew. Saves a lof of freezer space.

Posted by Larry on March 14, 2009 8:29 PM

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Thank you so much, Lisa, for your post about Angel Food Ministries. We desperately need help with discount food and your post was a God-send. Thank you!

Posted by Christian on March 16, 2009 10:50 PM

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i am a 25 year old bachelor. i am so happy i found this site it has been so helpful ... i can't help but think what my mother is gonna say next time she comes over

Posted by Cameron on March 17, 2009 2:27 PM

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The frozen banana idea is great--but don't toss the peels because ground up in a coffee grinder with a shake of epson salts, you have a great fertilizer for in-door plants: Just poke a tsp of ground peel mixture into the soil, water the plant and volia! blooms and blossoms!

Posted by anonymous on March 22, 2009 2:10 PM

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This is a MONEY and a TIME saver. When ground round is on sale, I buy as much as I can at the time. Cook a few pounds, drain, cool and stick in plastic sandwich bags. Press out air, 'twist-tie' the top, and freeze for later use in casseroles, tacos, etc. You don't really need a whole pound when you're adding it to cooked pasta and veggies casserole, or to a pot of chili.

As for the rest, I add my breadcrumbs, seasonings and maybe eggs for one or two meatloafs. Line your loaf pan with foil, add the ingredients, close up the foil, wrap in a piece of plastic wrap and freeze. To cook, remove plastic wrap, pop it back into the loaf pan, and thaw it in the fridge overnight til ready to pop in the oven.

The other seasoned beef is made into meatballs and burger patties, then frozen til ready. By adding the breadcrumbs and other ingredients before freezing, you're actually adding bulk and getting more meals from the same amount of meat than if you were to go buy 2 pounds of beef for a meatloaf and using it all in one meal.

Posted by queen of thrift on March 25, 2009 1:47 PM

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One of the easiest ways to stretch your food dollar is to learn to cut meat yourself. My dad taught me how to cut a chicken up(he used to be a butcher) and it's one of the most useful kitchen skills I've ever learned.

I got whole chickens the other day marked down to 55 cents per pound (I bought 8!). I cut a chicken in half right down the middle, roasted half, then deboned and skinned the other half and ground the meat of the other half (if you have a stand mixer you likely can get an attachment for it that will grind foods-very handy, though an expensive initial investment).

The roasted meat made a meal on its own, the bones left from the roast and from the other half of the chicken made broth which turned into soup with the addition of some of the leftover roast chicken, the ground chicken has made egg rolls one night and fried rice another, and the rest of the roasted chicken will go into a chicken stew that will be ladled into homemade bread bowls tomorrow. Not bad for a $3 chicken. I think all these meals together might have cost me $12 (that's being generous-I don't pay full price for anything), with all the vegetables, rice, noodles, and other side items, to feed 2 adults and a child dinner for 5 days.

You can make all sorts of things from chicken, both raw or leftover roasted chicken-wraps, soups, stews, pasta bakes, etc.

I also purchase whole pork loins, large hams, basically any large cut of meat because the price is always cheaper per pound.

I was given a huge chest freezer by someone that needed the garage space, and a little elbow grease, steel wool and appliance epoxy later, I have a place to store all my great finds!

Posted by schmoo on March 29, 2009 7:17 PM

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I buy no yoke noodles. They tend to be about 1.50-2.00 but better for you. I get two bags at a time. My husbands loves them and so do I. I or he cooks the whole bag. We make beef and noodles one night which is usually left over beef from a roast. We then have left over noodles, which I make a noodle wrap for my husbands lunch, flour tortilla shell, left over noodles, and whatever lunch material (sandwhich) we can find. Then He puts a favorite salad dressing on top for seasoning.

We also freeze our carrots. We found that it's much easier buying wise and we love the taste better they arn't so hard and it's a great treat for us and our dog.

Posted by rosefroggie on March 30, 2009 5:13 PM

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The Shelton WA Safeway has had top round beef cut thick for London Broil at prices ranging from $1.85-$2 over last couple months. I ask a butcher tech to run it through their tenderizer which they'll do after cutting the meat in half (ie from 1.5" thick to 3/4" thick. That gets me cube steaks for $2 a pound while the regular cube steaks at that store were $4.29 a pound. That is good for making Swiss steak. I'll also get it ground so I end up with 100% lean ground beef for $2 a pound and that when their "lean" ground beef was $2.70 a pound which has 20% fat.
Finaslly I had them slice it thin for fajiitas and Stroganoff, they did that too.

Posted by Larry on April 16, 2009 9:50 PM

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I was born during the war in Paris and as far as the late 50's we still felt the effects. I am so thankful that my mother taught me well.

When I shop for radishes. I make sure that I buy a bunch with lovely green leafs. I wash the leafs and cook with a couple potatoes, onion, carrots, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. Really any leftover veggies would do. I pureed the soup and serve, yum. If you want you can add half and half or milk to make it creamier. I applied the same principle to the outer leafs of cauliflower, why throw them away?

Posted by Chantal on April 19, 2009 1:52 PM

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My best tip is to put the leftover spoonful or two of veggies and rice in a container in the freezer. When the container is full, my husband makes a big pot of soup.

With too ripe bananas I cut them into pieces and freeze them for banana bread or smoothies. I keep adding until the bag is full. Pieces can be separated easily to get the amount required for the recipe.

Posted by lavendergal on April 23, 2009 12:52 PM

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for free cooking lessons about stuff we should know but don't, such as cutting up a whole chicken and many other basics, i discovered gourmet.com. go there and you come out ahead-especially in the wallet.

Posted by anonymous on April 27, 2009 8:30 PM

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came across this site by accident. But I enjoyed it very much. Who doesn't want to save a buck.

Posted by anonymous on April 28, 2009 3:57 PM

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My favorite is when it is a very busy week I make a Large Meatloaf the day before we start the running!!(Cook it on the cookie cooling rack inside the baking dish so all the grease drips off the loaf).

Night 1> 1/4 of the Meatloaf with Yorkshire pudding.

Night 2> Cheeseburger sliders using 1/4 of the loaf.

Night 3> Take last half of Meat Loaf and make Maco's - crumble loaf, heat on stove with partial bag of taco seasonings.

Night 4> Take the remaining Maco Meat and add it to Spaghetti sauce.
Night 5> Add Veggies you have at home to the Spaghetti leftovers for Goulosh!!

Posted by Mary Batts on April 28, 2009 9:49 PM

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I buy ramen 6 for .99 every Sunday. and I eat that everyday for lunch. with 1 orange off of my tree. My daily lunches cost me .16 a day.

Posted by Joanne the dog faced girl on May 06, 2009 1:51 PM

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Thank you, Chantal, for the tip on the radish leaves. As soon as I read it, my husband went out to our garden and picked some beautifully leafed radishes. I plan to fix your soup tomorrow. It's great to find new uses for veggies, especially when the radishes grew so well, we were wondering what to do with all of them. Never heard of using the leaves.

Posted by Terrye on May 24, 2009 6:22 PM

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I am in love with mexican food so I start out the week and cook a pot of beans. The first day I may have beans and cornbread, then the 2nd day I will make burritos by smashing up the beans and flavor them with chili po and cumin and fill a tortilla with the bean mixture and roll it up then 3rd have beans and rice with a thai sweet chili sauce ( so good ) then I will have bean soup by adding lime juice avacado and cilantro and onion ,can have a baked potato and salad with this...Walking taco = a handful of chips in the bottom of a cereal bowl then 1/2 cup of beans topped with chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and shredded lettace. Really good tasting and healthy meals all week from a pot of beans..pleanty of other idea's tortilla soup, regular taco's , black bean salad, (I like black beans and my husband likes pintos, so I cook two pots ) toastadas, quesadillas, and enchaladas are some more idea's ..Are you hungry yet ? if so you'll have a fatter wallet !

Posted by anonymous on June 26, 2009 11:09 PM

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Thanks Rosa for the plantain recipe. I love fried plantain when they're ripe and did not know if I could freeze them, or how to do it so I could have a nice supply for a party coming up later this month. This website is so good for money saving!!

Posted by Cacia on July 02, 2009 11:12 AM

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Something that has saved both time and money for me is a rotisserie...the kind that the meat stands up in (as opposed to being skewered.) We buy whole chickens when they are 69 cents/lb., cover with a homemade seasoning rub, and cook for 1 1/2 hours...then cool, wrap in foil, and freeze. We do about six or more chickens back-to-back, stocking the freezer. Dinners are easy when you only need to thaw and reheat. The rotisserie is wonderful for pork and beef roasts, as well--purchased on sale, of course!

Posted by anonymous on July 19, 2009 11:18 PM

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To use the plastic bags you sometimes get with purchaes, I take a paper towel empty tube and place the bags inside of it. I keep one in the car to line my garbage can I keep in the car. To make it more attractive I take left over wrapping paper and cover the tube. This is one of the best ways to store plastic bags to be used again

Posted by Arritta on September 05, 2009 6:48 AM

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When my kids were little they would never eat the last piece of any fruit. So I took them all (there were usually 4-5 different types), cut them up, put a little mayo & honey on it, and they gobbled up the fruit salad.

Posted by anonymous on November 09, 2009 9:12 AM

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I have been able to get the best grocery deals since I started couponing again. I always hated doing it before I found this site: www.southernsavers.com

Jenny breaks everything down by store, tells you where the coupons are, and you can print your grocery list from her site! I attended one of her seminars and came away with awesome information. I still shop some items at discount stores, but since I started following Jenny's advice, I save 40 to 60 percent on groceries every week, sometimes more. I have stocked up on things I used to run out of, and I feel less stressed knowing I have what I need when I need it.

Posted by Elaine on December 07, 2009 4:51 PM

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Marked down produce, managers' specials and the like can save you a lot IF you can cook it as soon as you get home. Choose carefully but great bargains are there.

Cook some bargain chicken (managers' specials) and freeze in tiny containers. Add to that ramen soup for a great quick lunch which is still under 50 cents.

No need to buy chicken broth if you poach that chicken and save the broth to freeze.

A large bag of collards ($1) and a pack of red peppers (69 cents) along with finely chopped carrots, garlic and other veges almost ready for the compost heap can make a great stir-fry for dinner.

Grill the last bit of stir-fry with multi-grain bread from Aldi's and a little bit of cheese or a few nuts for another lunch or dinner.

When money is tightest, lunch for me is bargain beans with a tablespoon of cider or white vinegar. It satisfies.

Stay on the move when you shop and you add a little aeorbic exercise as you search out bargains. I swear by it and feel good after my "workouts". I think it is also fun to make a game of staying within a daily budget while searching out interesting, different foods. Thirty minutes can go by quickly and exercise is logged.

Posted by anonymous on December 10, 2009 10:34 PM

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Another idea for ramen: chef Mark Bittman recommends discarding the "nearly poisonous" seasoning packet that comes with the noodles and instead flavoring them with a tablespoon of soy sauce, a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil, and a dash of hot sauce.

Posted by haverwench on December 17, 2009 3:56 PM

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God bless whoever posted the SouthernSavers link!

Posted by anonymous on December 18, 2009 12:40 PM

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Please give some good soup recipes like taco soup and hardy soups as i love these in the winter!!

Posted by Geri on December 21, 2009 9:38 PM

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Lentil soup is a favorite at our house. Cook them up with a ham bone or hamhock, some celery, carrots and onions and serve with a hearty bread like Cuban bread. Yum.

Posted by Olivia on December 24, 2009 4:21 PM

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I like to make what I call stone soup. Two cans of diced tomatoes into a large sauce pan. Add salt to taste and basil and oregano if you want more of an Italian taste. Add a drained can of whole-grained corn, browned and drained ground beef, chopped cabbage, a potato diced, and a handful of macaroni. Bring to a boil and then lower and allow to simmer. This soup is pretty low calorie and is great microwaved. It is great to take to work for lunch.

Posted by Michael A. Smith on December 24, 2009 6:06 PM

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