30 Days of Tips - Supper in Seconds

Tip #30: To save yourself from unexpected dining out bills, bookmark a site like our sister site, Supper in Seconds, for busy, rushed, or sick days. All recipes require only 5-10 minutes of hands-on preparation, making these homecooked meals even faster than a restaurant!

30 Days of Tips - Butter Wrappers

Tip #29: If you purchase your butter or margarine in sticks, don't ever throw out another wrapper! Stash them in a plastic baggie inside the fridge & use them to grease baking dishes. This works surprisingly well, and doesn't contain any chemicals or vinegars that can harm certain baking dishes.

casserole - another perfect frugal food

Since today is clean-out-the-fridge day at our house, it's the perfect day to introduce the versatile casserole into your dinner repertoire. It is another example of the perfect frugal food since you can use all those tiny little bowls of leftovers as well as any veggies on their last legs and round them out with ingredients you likely already have in your pantry. Here's what you need:

* A cooked carb
examples: rice, potatoes, beans, barley, quinoa, cracked wheat

* Cooked vegetables
examples: broccoli, green beans, cauliflower, carrots, green peas, sweet peppers, corn, spinach, sauteed onions

* A basic white sauce (recipe below)

* Added goodies (optional)
examples: olives, water chestnuts, mushrooms, minced garlic, cooked chicken, turkey or tuna

* A topping
examples: cheese, broken tortilla chips or crackers drizzled with butter & parmesan cheese

Just mix everything together in a large casserole dish & bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes for a complete dinner. If you are trying to make a couple vegetarian meals a week, this is an excellent dish to include, since you likely won't even miss the meat.

To make a basic white sauce, melt on the stovetop:

*2 Tbls. butter

After it has melted, add:

*1 cup milk

While it is warming up (before it boils), whisk in:

*2 Tbls. flour or 1 Tbls. cornstarch

Bring the mixture to a light boil. If it isn't thick enough for your liking, you can add more flour or cornstarch. When it is the right consistency, add spices such as garlic powder, onion powder, salt & pepper to taste.

You can also use chicken broth in place of some or all of the milk.

Get Moving: Even if you don't make a casserole for dinner tonight, take time today to go through your refrigerator and freeze or eat any leftovers that have been in there for more than 3 days but are still good. Also print this recipe and add to your recipe collection. After trying it once or twice, you won't even need to look at it & you will watch your food waste decline.

Annoying but necessary disclaimer: All information contained herein express my opinions only and are based on my health status & location. Each person's situation, health, and local laws & ordinances are different. By all means, use your own common sense & don't do anything you see here if someone more important than me (like your doctor, your local police, your own conscience) would disagree. If you're easily persuaded by everything you read, and you think I might cause you to hurt yourself or break the law, quit reading my site, please.