Sweeney - Best dollar saving dinners: cheap and easy meals that taste great

Photo Credits: Page 8: Elena Demyanko/Shutterstock.com; 10: Pamela Moore/iStockphoto.com; 12, 13: Mizina Oksana/Shutterstock.com; 14: minadezhda/Shutterstock.com; 17: Lilechka75/iStockphoto.com; 19, 27, 37: ALLEKO/iStockphoto.com; 20: Saharosa40/iStockphoto.com; 23: Teleginatania/iStockphoto.com; 24: Azurita/iStockphoto.com; 29: Arina P Habich/Shutterstock.com; 31: -lvinst-/iStockphoto.com; 32: ANNA WITKIEWICZ/Shutterstock.com; 35: Linda Hughes/Shutterstock.com; 39, 73: Nataliya Arzamasova/Shutterstock.com; 41: Elena Veselova/Shutterstock.com; 42, 43: Bon Appetit/Shutterstock.com; 44, 61, 99, 104, 116, 119, 122: bhofack2/iStockphoto.com; 47, 83: alisafarov/Shutterstock.com; 49: Stepanek Photography/Shutterstock.com; 51: Przemyslaw Ceynowa/Shutterstock.com; 53, 66, 95, 125: Lauri Patterson/iStockphoto.com; 55, 62, 63: Timolina/Shutterstock.com; 57: Stolyevych Yuliya/Shutterstock.com; 58: Gamzova Olga/Shutterstock.com; 65: ziashusha/Shutterstock.com; 69, 75: Joshua Resnick/Shutterstock.com; 70, 85, 111, 112: Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock.com; 76, 77: Aimee M Lee/Shutterstock.com; 79: eurobanks/iStockphoto.com; 80: juliedeshales/iStockphoto.com; 86: arinahabich/iStockphoto.com; 89: Seagull_l/iStockphoto.com; 90: atomich/iStockphoto.com; 92, 93: AS Food studio/Shutterstock.com; 96: martinturzak/iStockphoto.com; 100: B. and E. Dudzinscy/Shutterstock.com; 102, 103: Natasha Breen/Shutterstock.com; 107: Elena_Danlleiko/iStockphoto.com; 109: tvirbickis/iStockphoto.com; 115: circlePS/iStockphoto.com; 121: svry/Shutterstock.com Front cover (top to bottom): Jacek Chabraszewski/Shutterstock.com; Elena Shashkin/Shutterstock.com; Noam Armonn/Shutterstock.com; vvoe/Shutterstock.com; avs/Shutterstock.com; NinaM/Shutterstock.com Spine: Africa Studio/Shutterstock.com Back: alisafarov/Shutterstock.com; Joshua Resnick/Shutterstock.com Copyright 2016 by Hollan Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, The Countryman Press, 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110 For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact W. W. Norton Special Sales at or 800-233-4830.

The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows: Names: Sweeney, Monica, author. Title: Best dollar saving dinners : cheap and easy meals that taste great/Monica Sweeney. Description: Woodstock, VT : The Countryman Press, a division of W. W. Norton & Company, [2016] | Includes bibliographical references and index. : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Quick and easy cooking. | Low-budget cooking. | LCGFT: Cookbooks. | LCGFT: Cookbooks.

Classification: LCC TX833.5 .S944 2016 | DDC 641.5/12dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015045125 ISBN 978-1-58157-528-6 (e-book) The Countryman Press www.countrymanpress.com A division of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110 www.wwnorton.com TO JOANNE,
FOR YOUR IMPROV IN THE KITCHEN.

You dont have to spend a lot of money to do dinnertime right. In fact, as far as Im concerned, you really shouldnt spend a lot of money. There are countless ways to save your hard-earned cash while still providing your family with a hearty, satisfying meal at the end of the day.

This book provides you with fifty Dollar Saving Dinners to feed a family of four to six people for just a few dollars (or less!) per individual serving. Also included are some extremely low-priced meals I like to call Best Bargains. For these particular recipes, I include the dollar amount you can expect to spend per serving (based on grocery store prices in my area). These prices will of course vary by store and region, but they will give you a sense of how little you need to pay for a hearty dinner. Imagine all the grocery money youd save by preparing these bargain meals for even a few days each week! Thats just the beginning of how this recipe book can help free up more of your money every month: cost-cutting is a state of mind, and getting to that state of mind means reflecting on how you shop for and store food, and even how you treat your leftovers. Most of us have buying and cooking habits that are more expensive than we realize.

Whether youre guilty of tossing out a stripped-clean rotisserie chicken without boiling the bones for chicken stock, or have a knack for watching leftovers go bad because you get sick of the same old thing, its a common habit to waste what could be reused. This book will give you helpful suggestions for repurposing those boring leftovers in new and exciting ways! In addition, Ive provided a whole slew of savings tips to give you a head start as a Dollar Saving Dinner expert!

Buy big, buy on sale, and buy in-season. These are the three tried-and-true shopping rules for Dollar Saving Dinner. Nine times out of ten, that giant family pack of chicken wings is cheaper than the smaller portions. It may seem like more than you need, but its easy enough to portion those wings into space-friendly freezer bags that you can squeeze into the corners of your freezer and enjoy another day. Be flexible. Be flexible.

Dont go to the grocery store with a rigid list of items tied to specific meals. Allow sale items to inspire your weekly menu. Be most flexible with your meat and protein, since those items are usually the most expensive. If youre prepared to make a pork roast, but pork chops are on super sale, be ready and willing to make the swap and save big. Pay attention to whats in season.

The next time you sit down to dinner, take note of the way the food looks on your plate. The next time you sit down to dinner, take note of the way the food looks on your plate.

Most of us tend to cover about half of our plate with meat and split the other half between starch and veggies. It takes time and commitment, but if you change the way you portion your food, you can avoid overspending and overeating. Consider how much meat youre accustomed to eating, for example. According to the American Heart Association, a serving of meat should weigh about 3 ounces, which (from a visual standpoint) is about the size of a computer mouse. Keep this in mind when you serve your Dollar Saving Dinners and be careful not to dole out excessive amounts of meat, as its usually the most expensive part of the meal.

Theres a five-second rule for eating something that fell on the floor, but why not apply that same rule to food items before throwing them away? Before you toss that browning apple, that mildly squishy green pepper, or that picked-clean rotisserie chicken, stop and consider for five seconds whether there is still some part of it that can be salvaged. Theres a five-second rule for eating something that fell on the floor, but why not apply that same rule to food items before throwing them away? Before you toss that browning apple, that mildly squishy green pepper, or that picked-clean rotisserie chicken, stop and consider for five seconds whether there is still some part of it that can be salvaged.Next page