Hello to all this last day of September. Goodness, it is hard to believe another month is done. We are less than 90 days until Christmas folks!
65*F this morning and the first peeks of sunrise were absolutely beautiful. God sure is a fine artist! It has clouded up some at this point and we might get into the 80's today. Windows open and the fans on. Even on the chilliest nights, my house never gotten below 71*. That makes me happy.
We have talked before about knowing different swaps we can make to keep us out of the store! There are so many little tricks that can used in and around the kitchen that really can save money. If you go to the store for that ONE thing - odds are that isn't all you get. Regardless, you are spending $.
- If your baking calls for water to be added, think about using the end of juice, or stale pop, or even tea. Coffee added to something chocolate really makes the flavor better
- If you have paper coffee filters, you have drainage paper for fried goods, you have disposable popcorn or snack bowls. You have a splatter guard to put over food in the microwave. You can get packs of paper filters for next to nothing at the dollar stores
- When cooking chicken breast (boneless) - slice each in half (like you would for butterflying), you have a thinner piece of chicken which cooks quicker and it stretches the meat further. OR cut a breast into small chunks to add to a pasta or rice dish. Stretch that meat
- Making a 2 crust pie - some folks have trouble w/the top crust looking nice. Place your bottom crust, filling and for the top - just cut out small circles (like biscuit size) or even a us a cookie cutter and lay on top of the filling. It still works and is easy, and looks cute! OR make a galette - a rustic one crust type of pie
- It is always good to have coconut oil on hand. MUCH healthier than using shortening, and it is better than many oils. It lasts well, and if you check some discount places, not too expensive. ALSO it is great to use on dry skin and chapped lips!
- Keep buttermilk powder around for baking. Sure, you can use milk & vinegar or lemon juice to give you that buttermilk taste - but I just love the buttermilk powder. I keep it in the frig or freezer after opening and it lasts and lasts. **Just a fun note - use buttermilk in mac and cheese for a very lovely, upgraded flavor!!!!!! Great in homemade biscuits (scones) as well.
- No brown sugar for a recipe - mix together molasses and white sugar
- 3 Tbsp. of mayo = 1 egg in a recipe
- I make my own colored sugar for holiday cookies. Regular sugar and a couple drops of food coloring and mix well. You can make custom colors or make colors as intense as you want.
- You can replace some eggs in recipes with applesauce or bananas
- Use plain yogurt or sour cream instead of mayo in recipes - add your own flavorings
- Corn syrup is replaced with water & sugar
- 1 C of heavy cream for cooking = 1/3 C butter and 2/3 C milk heated together
- Here is an idea I saw recently. Making brownies form scratch - no cocoa - use hot cocoa mix! Reduce your sugar in the recipe some (cocoa mix has sugar). 3 packs equal about 1/2 C. You end up with a more cake like consistency and they say the flavor is great. Look for the deep sales around the after-holiday sales for the packets - you can use flavored as well. These can be added to smoothies as well with a bit of coffee for a mocha flavored drink (milk shake). Use to flavor homemade ice cream - all kinds of uses. Much cheaper than cocoa at the moment. I can buy a container of store brand cocoa mix at Kroger for about $4, and it is twice the size of cocoa - which is pricey.
- Of course, get after Halloween chocolate candy for half price - it can be stored in freezer. Chop and use in cookies, cakes, brownies, etc. instead of chips
- When making a crisp - think about mixing different fruits together, if you don't have enough of one - most combos are so good
What tricks do you use to stay home and swap and save?
I love hearing ideas.
Take care and have a wonderful day.
Nice list of substitutions.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was growing up sliced bread served as all of our buns, except for a cookout with friends and then Mom sprang for real buns.
One thing I have learned to do is to save all crumb from crackers, pretzels, tortillas or chips. I keep them in the same container in the freezer until I have enough to use instead of bread crumbs for a casserole topping.