No canned beans

Do you buy canned beans for recipes? Don't. Instead, buy dry beans, cook them in your slow cooker or on the stove, then package them in two cup portions or whatever your recipes call for, then freeze them. Thaw them in the refrigerator or microwave when you need them.

Ramen Noodles

They're not nutritious, but they can help create a meal or a snack cheaply. Use them in egg drop soup to make it more filling, add meat and vegetables for soup, or use them as a cracker substitute (uncooked!). Ramen noodles can double as spaghetti in a pinch or, crushed, stretch a meatloaf or casserole. Keep a few packages on hand, just in case. If you don't use the flavor packages, save them for soup.

Quit buying food

Interesting concept, right? Try it for a week or two weeks. Now, in the summertime, it's easier because you can forage and/or be the recipient of OPGs (other people's gardens). You might be able to barter for meat or eggs. Think hard about ways to get food without buying it (no stealing or begging!).

Soup stock from garbage

Save onion skins, potato peelings, carrot trimmings and everything else from your vegetables when you prepare them. Wash the vegetables first, then trim and put the trimmings in a bag in the freezer until you have a gallon or so. Plop them into a pot of boiling water and boil a half hour to an hour, until everything is tender, then strain the broth and freeze it, drink it hot or use it to make soup. The taste is excellent and it's loaded with vitamins and minerals.

Free Food Safe Containers

Plastic two liter soda or sparkling water bottles are the perfect size for storing many things. They're almost ideal, as a matter of fact. The lids are airtight, you can see what's in them and you can store them either upright or stack them on their sides. You can store liquids (as in water) or solids (as in rice, flour, oats, pastas, grains, salt, sugar...) Even if you don't buy soft drinks in these containers, they're so common that someone you know will surely save a few for you.

Are Salvage Grocery Stores Extreme?

Is it extremely frugal to shop at salvage grocery stores? I got into a conversation with someone who thought so. She thought the food there was out of date, crunched cans and ripped packages. I tried to tell her that the government didn't allow food like that to be sold for human consumption.

So... do you shop at salvage grocery stores? I do. And I don't think it's extreme, but I think it's smart.

Dibs and dabs

Do you save the salt from the pretzel bag? How about the sugar from a package of candied ginger? Cookie crumbs? Bread crumbs? Those things add up faster than you might think if you have a special place to put them. And USE them. There's no sense in keeping dibs and dabs if you don't use them.

The last package of candied ginger I used yielded enough sugar to sweeten a cup of tea. Why not? I paid for it.

Grow your own salad

You can grow fresh radishes and lettuce, etc, inside during these cold winter months and save on salad, if nothing else. Make sure you have good dirt, deep pots and enough light. On warm sunny days, set the pots out doors in the sun. (Don't forget to bring them in if your nights are freezing temperatures!)

Convenience food: Chicken

When you come across a good buy on chicken, buy as much as you can, then boil it and take the meat from the bones and package and freeze it in cup sized portions. It's much cheaper than buying canned chicken for those quick recipes.

Free bread crumbs

Every bread sack has a few crumbs in it when it's "empty". Shake these crumbs into a container and freeze them until you need bread crumbs for a meatloaf, stuffing or topping. It's like getting them for free.

Free food for the picking

See an apple tree no one has tended to? Ask if you can pick the apples. It's too late for plums, but there may be pears available still. Go for a walk around your neighborhood and keep your eyes open. There's free food out there. Go get it.

Bread crumbs and cubes

Need bread crumbs? First off, don't buy them! They're just what they say: bread crumbs. If you ever have bread in the house, you have bread crumbs. If you need more than what is in the bottom of the bread sack, put a slice or two on a plate and set it on the refrigerator or other out of the way place for a few days, or put them in the oven on very low. Spread them thinly and they'll dry faster. Do you need bread cubes (croutons)? Cut into cubes, season and bake at a low temperature until they're crisp.

Ok, here we go again...

Back at it. I moved Extremely Frugal to Blogger.com because I kept wanting to post to it and couldn't, for the life of me, figure out how to migrate to another URL.

Anyway... tip of the day? Don't. Just don't. Don't window shop; that's dangerous to your budget. Don't get so thirsty that visions of Colas and Snow Cones dance in your head. Drink a big glass of water before you get to that point. Don't get so busy and hungry that the thought of a McD's hamburger makes you swoon.

Believe it or not, just keeping ahead of things, and NOT allowing yourself to go too far will save money.

Frying bacon without curling

Ok, I'm back... just couldn't stand it when I have only a little to say. :)

You could buy something to hold the bacon flat when you're frying it (it can curl even in the microwave, I've found!), but simpler and cheaper because you don't have to buy anything extra: Lightly dust the bacon strips with flour before frying. The fat will fry out of it, and the flour will lightly crust and make the bacon hold its shape. It tastes great, too!

Free green onion sprouts

Put the bottom quarter or so of an onion in a container filled with dirt and keep it watered. It will develop roots and give you green sprouts for salads or sandwiches. Tip: don't cut it all the way down, and you can continue to harvest it for several weeks.

Quick potato soup

Still have leftover mashed potatoes from Thanksgiving? Use them this way:

* 2 cups of leftover mashed potatoes
* 2 tablespoons of dehydrated onions
* 1 small can evaporated milk or 1 cup of milk to which you've added 1/3 cup of instant milk powder.
* salt, pepper to taste
Put the onion in a cup or so of water, and set to simmer. Add about half the milk and mix into the potatoes well, then add to the onions. Add water if it seems to thick, then let the mixture simmer until the onions are tender. Add the rest of the milk and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with corn bread or homemade yeast bread.

Self rising flour

Sorry, I've been missing! Life gets in the way sometimes...

Don't buy self rising flour unless you can get it cheaper than all purpose flour. First, it's not very healthy, since it has a lot of salt in it and secondly, it's very easy to make as you need it. Take a cup of all purpose flour, add 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Mix it thoroughly. If you use it a lot, mix up a bigger batch and store it just like you would any flour.

Most frugal foods

This time of year is great for frugal food! Use in your diet now and as long as you can get them: Cabbage, carrots, potatoes and pumpkins. All of them (even with the rise in the price of potatoes) give great nutrition and versatility to your menus. (Look for recipes online if you don't believe the versatility part!)

Squash blossoms

If you have a garden, you're probably sick of summer squash by now. Eat the blossoms instead. Pick them either at their peak or a little spent. Simply saute them in a little butter, or get fancy and stuff them with cheese and bake. They're very good and they're free. (If you've been supplied with zucchini by a neighboring gardener, ask for the blossoms!)

Forget the Bisquick

Why would you buy something when you can make it cheaper with very little trouble? Here's a self rising crust that's great for cobblers. For meat pies, just omit the sugar!

1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 TB oil
Enough milk to make a thick but pourable batter.

Mix it all up and dump it in a baking dish, put the fruit in on top (two cans worth) and bake about an hour at around 400 degrees.