Comments on: Inexpensive Family Meals

By: Lando

Lando — Wed, 07 May 2008 22:04:48 +0000

I’ve been trying to save some money by cooking at home as well. I found that Trader Joe’s offers a huge selection of great things to cook. Ever since I stopped by there I was hooked. Yesterday I cooked a dinner for my girlfriend that had mushroom puff pastries, alfredo, chicken sausage, and raspberry creme brulee, for all under $15. You can’t beat that price. Plus the food was tasty.

By: kim laidlaw

kim laidlaw — Tue, 06 May 2008 01:16:14 +0000

Thanks for so many yummy economical ideas for dinner! I have two inexpensive staples that are both delicious and super cheap: Spanish tortilla and Butternut-Chickpea Curry. Both involve only a handful of ingredients (for the tortilla you only need a couple of potatoes, onions, and eggs plus some olive oil; for the curry just a squash, an onion, a can of chickpeas, a can of coconut milk and a few Indian spices) and served with a simple mixed green salad, you are in heaven. Another way to save money is to always buy your spices in bulk. I frequent Rainbow Grocery, and only purchase what I need. It also ensures that my spices are very fresh.

By: Steve Sando

Steve Sando — Tue, 06 May 2008 00:41:27 +0000

These are all good ideas, but please don’t sell your readers short by suggesting they use canned beans. By the time you drain the liquid from your average can of beans (and it’s not a treasure as the liquid from homemade beans is), there aren’t a lot of beans and penny for pound, making your own beans is the same price, even with my heirloom beans. Cheaper still are homemade commercial beans but they are going to lack the depth of an heirloom variety. But both alternatives are preferably and financially comparable to canned. And if you’re busy, place unsoaked beans in a crockpot with a little olive oil and some aromatic vegetables in the morning and come home to fabulous cooked beans in the early evening.