A patched together lifestyle of thrift and charm...

Aug 3, 2017

How to Use a Cookbook for Budget Meals - Thrifty Thursday...

Thrifty cooking and meal planning begins at the grocery store.  
I've shared about that in this post.

Today I'm sharing an easy way to do that planning...  
its all about the style of cookbooks you use.

Now of course - you can do Pinterest and web searches for what I'm 
about to show you.   But I've discovered that those searches alone 
cause me to miss out on a lot of recipes.  And... I need less screen time.

So... Are you familiar with the Taste of Home or Quick Cooking magazines?  
Then you're probably also aware that every year they make a
 hardback compilation book of recipes.  These sell new for about $25.  
BUT... they are plentiful at thrift shops and yard sales for $2 & under.  
Just pick some up when you see them.  I have several.

In the back of the book - you can search by main ingredient -
such as 'sausage'.    Here's what I did for planning tonight's supper...

I started with a search in the back of a book for 'sausage' - 
as that is a bargain meat that I have on hand right now.

I was looking for a main dish - and found several that will work
 with the sausage and ingredients I have.


I happen to also have a pack of turkey bacon open - 
so I zeroed in on
 'Zesty Sausage and Beans' (or a version thereof).

And here's a link for the recipe online (now that I know the name).


Done!  I find this planning method to be quick & simple.
I did it last night in my 'quiet time' before bed without a 'screen'.

  Love it when a meal comes together!  Of course there are other
 cookbooks that offer similar elements.  But these are readily
 available for cheap and I love the pretty pictures.  

Now I'm off to get my thrifty supper in the crock pot!  ~Joyce

2 comments:

Regina said...

I used to get Taste of Home and Quick Cooking magazines. I really enjoyed them. I usec to have several TOH cookbooks but I got rid of many of them because I had too many cookbooks. I have only the 1999 TOH cookbook now.
Thanks for sharing!

Betsy said...

I also used to subscribe to Taste of Home magazines but after the kids moved out I stopped. I'll have to look for a few of the hardback books. I have a lot of cookbooks though and probably don't need more. The thing I like about Taste of Home though is they use ingredients that I usually have at home without having to go shopping for some exotic thing that I'll never use again and end up throwing the majority of it away. I don't like being wasteful.
Blessings,
Betsy

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