The Beginning

I've wanted to do this for a while now, but didn't really think it was worth the effort, since perhaps no one would be interested. But, with the economy tanking and everyone's salaries getting cut, I figure maybe people will be interested? At least I hope so.

I started doing this after Nick was born, when I was still in shock about going from two incomes to one. I was trying to figure out how to slash my grocery bill, but still eat something more than Ramen noodles and rice. I kept hearing people say that they stuck to their budget by "only shopping the sales," but I could never really figure out how people were that creative in their menu planning. I mean, let's say that green peppers and bananas were on sale that week. If I'm trying to come up with recipes out of my head that include green peppers, I really only think of fajitas and stuffed peppers, and I HATE stuffed peppers. And bananas? I'm even less creative--banana bread is the only "recipe" I can think of that includes bananas. Anyway, I just didn't see how people were creating a week's worth of menus with this stuff.

So, I decided to organize my recipes by these non-staple ingredients, and then try to plan meals based around the sale items in the store circulars. And it really did make a difference in my grocery bill, plus I found that I was cooking a lot more nutritiously, too. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy! I assume that you have staple ingredients on hand--things like chicken, rice, and onions. I also assume you have spices like garlic and ginger on hand, so you won't see those listed as specialty ingredients. Oh, and if you want to slash your grocery bill even more, check out grocerysmarts.com--love them!