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Tomato Sauce - one of the original five mother sauces can provide you with an array of economical meals! Pictured above is my homemade spaghetti/marinara made with 2019 garden tomatoes we cooked down and canned. Making your own large pot of sauce which can be frozen is something I highly recommend to folks on a tight food budget. There are some keys to making it inexpensively: Often stores have 10 for 10 sales on tomato products and that's when you buy your plum tomatoes, tomato puree and tomato paste - stock up. Another on sale item is your pasta. In my area some brands will go on sale for $1.00 per box and that's when I stock up. Third, our store makes a wonderful Italian sausage and I buy it on sale - it is at times so much less expensive than ground beef and is a great meat addition to any Italian style dinner. I am a fan of fresh garlic and onion. However budget cooking often requires that you go less expensively. There are brands who offer a frozen variety of chopped oni...

With the flavors of Thanksgiving, this budget recipe is a great replacement for the big Thanksgiving turkey dinner. I haven't blogged in a very long time and am so excited to share this wonderful recipe, Thanksgiving Chicken with you!  Family pack chicken thighs (bone-in)  3-4 carrots, sliced into bite sized pieces  2 large celery stalks, medium dice  1 cup onion, small dice  1 - 32 oz. box chicken broth  5-6 medium sized red potatoes - cut into small bite sized pieces  1 pkg. fresh sage, minced (be sure it's full of good sized leaves)  1 1/2 cups (dry measure) corn kernels  2 tbsp. olive oil (regular), canola or vegetable oil  1 tbsp. butter   2/3 cup all purpose flour  salt and black pepper to taste  granulated garlic to taste  onion powder to taste  gravy master or kitchen bouquet - just a few drops Before I get into the how to make part of the recipe I want to speak about how it originated. With two prev...

Comprehensive Guide to Kitchen Information ~ food safety storage, cooking times and a whole lot more! Today I have something really special to share with you. It is certainly not easy to eat well and eat healthy these days when your food budget is really low. However, as proven here at Cooking On A Budget time and again there are recipes you can make for dinner that are wholesome, delicious family friendly recipes that won't break the bank! There are some things you can learn if you don't already know them that will help you organize your kitchen, keep your family safe by following basic guidelines, the best way to cook proteins and vegetables as well as measurements! Read more »

Sausage and Beef American Goulash ~ a family favorite with a slight twist that's easy peasy for weeknight suppers! My husband grows tomatoes in the summer and we always cook them down and can them for sauce year round. With this fabulous tomato sauce we create spaghetti sauce and it's just delicious! There's nothing like homemade but if you don't have homemade sauce or the time to put it together, I have a recommendation. The closest sauce to homemade (in my humble opinion) is Ragu's Homestyle Sauce . I did a post using the sauce quite some time ago and I meant every word about how good it is. Read more »

Silky Chocolate Mocha Frosting ~ a frosting worthy of the name. My husband as I've mentioned here a number of times is a true chocoholic; he has to have some form of chocolate on a daily basis. I kid you not - he's addicted. Those ice cream bars with chocolate he loves are expensive frozen treats so I have taken to having on sale cake mixes in my pantry and the staples to make homemade chocolate frosting: cocoa powder, cream cheese and confectioner's sugar. I grab those when they are on sale and today I made cupcakes with this Silky Chocolate Mocha Frosting . Read more »

Mushroom Risotto ~ toasting and creaming Arborio rice into a scrumptious risotto! While the cats away the mouse gets to play - in the kitchen that is! My husband has gone up north with his brother to work on his brothers eventual retirement home and I have five glorious days by myself. Whenever my husband has left for a few days it gives me an opportunity to cook things that only I enjoy. Risotto is one of those dishes. Read more »

Chicken and Vegetable Stir-Fry ~ in 30 minutes or so you have a scrumptious meal on the table for your family that costs so little to make. We haven't done in a stir-fry meal in quite some time. Because of the condition of my right arm, my husband has done most all of the cooking for the last 4 months so we did family meals we enjoy and that he knows how to cook. With my second steroid injection having been done and some relief in my arm, I am back in the kitchen and sharing the cooking duties. With that being said, I think you are going to enjoy this Chicken and Vegetable Stir-Fry recipe where I based the sauce off of another dish I created a while back, Sizzling Shrimp with Yakisoba Noodles . That recipe was phenomenal and we think this dish was outstanding as well. Read more »