Old cookbooks save money

Watch for old cookbooks at garage sales, thrift stores and second hand book stores. They have "from scratch" recipes, usually with money saving tips included.

Corn dogs

So they're not the best nutrition available... kids and adults still like and eat them! You can make them a lot cheaper than you can buy them.

1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
1 beaten egg
1 TBS oil
8 - 10 weiners

Combine dry ingredients, then add rest of ingredients and mix well. Put weiners on skewers or popsicle sticks, coat with flour, then dip into batter and fry in hot oil. Drain and serve or freeze for later.

Macaroni and cheese

If you make macaroni and cheese from a box that has powdered cheese, don't use all the cheese. There's usually more than enough, anyway, so save the last teaspoon or so and put it away. When you have enough, you can make cheese sauce for your own macaroni, or for vegetables or casseroles. Mix 1/4 cup of powdered cheese with 1/4 cup of butter or margarine (or half butter and half oil) and 1/4 cup hot milk. Stir until smooth.

Sweetened condensed milk

Don't pay that awful price for sweetened condensed milk! Make your own this way: Mix one cup of powdered milk (dry) with 2/3 cup of sugar, then add 1/3 cup of boiling water and 3 TBS of margarine or butter. Mix it until it's smooth. (This makes the equivalent of one can.)