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All I want is a dairy cow and a flock of chickens. Until I get my wish, I must settle for being as frugal as possible on dairy luxuries. I don’t know about your part of the country, but prices are going sky-high for meat and dairy in our area. Here are a few ideas for how we save on this part of the grocery bill:
I. Our first step in saving on meat and dairy is to scour the local ad papers for the best sales on these items.
II. I try to find meat deals at $1.00-$1.20a pound or less. Some of the meat I’ve found at these prices are:
–Pork ribs, roasts, and steaks
–Ham
–Hotdogs
–Turkey burger
–Chicken breasts, thighs, and leg quarters
–Turkey, whole and breasts
–Hamhocks
–Bacon
–Sausage
–Spam-type canned meat
As you can see, pork is the most economical meat around these parts. We usually try to use our meat in one-dish meals or in sauces with rice or noodles. Main-meat meals are reserved for special occasions only.
III. Making the most out of a 10-lbs. Bag of Chicken: We can get a 10-lbs. bag of chicken leg quarters at Wal-Mart for around 50 cents a pound. When we get it home, either my daughter or I will sit down at the table with
- a great pair of kitchen shears
- a large platter
- and 3 gallon-size freezer bags or foil
Follow this process with each leg quarter:
1. Begin by thoroughly washing your hands.
2. Slip your thumb under the rib cage and separate the thigh from the rib as you bend it apart.
3. Cut through the meat at that joint.
4. Place the rib portion in a freezer bag.
The rib portions can be used for stock/soup. When we make stock, we scavenge the meat from the boiled chicken backs and make stir-fry out of it. Otherwise, the meat goes into the soup. Sometimes, I put a few extra pieces of meat in with the backs just to add a little more protein to that meal.5. Find the joint between the leg and thigh and cut through it with the shears. Avoid pulling them apart since this causes the meat to separate from the end of the leg. Now, that’s no big deal when you are boiling it, but it just doesn’t look right when served in a main-meat meal.
6. Divide the legs and thighs into two other freezer bags or foil and plan on using them for two meals.
I might add extra legs and thighs to one of the packages in order to have a main-meat meal like barbecued or fried chicken, then reserve the smaller package for a one-dish meal or stir-fry.
7. Label all three packages, including the date you put them up, and keep them frozen until ready to use. (Thaw by running some warm water over the package to loosen the bag/foil, then salt well, and cover with tepid water. May be kept in the refrigerator over night or on the counter for the afternoon, changing the water and adding more salt as the water chills.)
8. Wash your hands with soap and water and carefully disinfect anything which came in contact with the chicken.
IV. We make our menus according to what is on sale, staggering bean meals with meat meals to further save on our protein intake.
V. We also stagger eggless breakfasts with eggs every other day of the week and have a meat meal for dinner on the night we go without eggs.
VI. We use real bacon bits instead of bacon. We can now get it from our local Aldi store for $1.29 for 3 oz. The jury is still out on whether or not we save anything, but the time savings is really great! Check back later to see how our experiment turns out.
VII. Our daughter makes all of our yogurt. It is really much easier than you think. See the Our “Dairyman’s Daughter” Makes Yogurt” post for details. This is by far the cheapest way to enjoy this healthful dairy item.
VIII. Egg prices are totally outrageous in this part of the country ($1.99 a dozen sometimes!). We have drastically cut back on egg-based breakfasts, then add a little sour cream, cream cheese cubes, cheese, bacon bits, Spam, sausage, sauteed onions and peppers, mushrooms, or other add-ins to stretch the scrambled eggs and omelets.
IX. We rarely find hamburger for less than $1.49 on sale, so we have begun to mix it half with $.99-a-pound ground turkey. Just add a little beef bouillon, soy sauce, and/or garlic to the recipe for added flavor.
X. Eat more beans. It’s that simple. Be sure to include some whole-grain bread of some sort, such as whole-wheat or corn tortillas, cornbread, or whole-grain bread, to make a complete protein. You may also use half beans and half burger when preparing Mexican dishes if your crew balks at no meat.
How do you save on meat and dairy? I would really like to know!
