Guiltless Gourmet: Save Money, Savor Flavor

I do all of this and it does save money.

I want to start gardening. Especially, to save money. The tomatoes and spinach are our biggest expenses. Not only is making your own salad dressing more cost effective, but it is sooooo much healthier. Great article.

Good tips!

We buy chicken from a friend who farms them. Every year he slaughters and cleans quite a few to sell. We buy 5 or 6 and keep them in the freezer. Not only are they much meatier than the ones I find at the store, but I know where they are from and I save money that way too!

Wow, I am doing all three of the above tips already - did not know I was a Guiltless Gourmet!

Great article- Fortunately for me, I do have a rotisserie - Ronco is the best one I've tried. Get many meals out of one oven stuffer that I get on sale. Thanks erincoop for the stock comments.

Great comments! Don't be afraid to try making your own stock . Once you've tried making it from the leftover chicken bones (roasted or not) you'll want to do it again and again. The flavor is so much richer than canned broth and contains virtually no sodium. Simply place the bones and scraps in a good-sized sauce pan,cover with cold water, add a handful of diced onion, 1/2 a handful of diced carrot, 1/2 a handful of diced celery, a bay leaf, 3 peppercorns, a pinch of thyme and a parsley stem. Simmer 4 to 6 hours and strain. Use within 7 days or freeze for later.

Samiam , I agree with you ; one main meat for more then one meal is so the way to go!!! Who goes wrong with chicken salad (smile). And of course Nanny , I use the remaining bones for stock ..there's nothing finer!

Ahhh -- I love the idea of using the old marinade for chicken marinade. Brilliant! I learned how to make that vinaigrette (with the dijon) as a kid at French camp, and I still love it! My other favorite -- because I'm just not the hugest fan of cutting up chickens -- is to buy the rotisserie chicken at my local produce market ($3.99 on sale or $4.99 regularly) and using that -- for hot sandwiches with the fresh, hot meat, for chicken salad with day one leftovers, and for chicken noodle soup (made with stock I make from the leftover carcass) for he last of the chicken. Yum! Then again, I suppose at some point I need to get over my chicken issues and buy my own rotisserie to make them... I'm sure it's cheaper to do it with my own whole chicken!

Great tips! I have seen whole chickens for next to nothing compared to buying cut up chicken. I already make my own salad dressings and find that they have more flavor than the ones that I could buy at the store, I love the idea of growning my own herbs.

love the ideas, my family too likes rotisserie chicken & you can get them pretty cheap if you shop late (usally half price) in the deli department (while there look for other discounted items too you will be suprised what goes on sale stores try to move things close to the date on their packages but thing is this is not the use by date but the sale by date so take it home repackage into freezer type containers & you have high end products for less than generic prices

I love fresh herbs and it taste better and its cheaper you can cook more gourmet and still be on budget. I love the salad dressing recipe.

Fresh herbs are easy to grow, and great for sharing with your fiends! I always buy whole chickens and cut them up my self. Not only do I sav money, I also freeze the carcuses and use them to make stock.

Whole baked chicken is one of my family's favorites. We've been trying to cut calories and fat so yesterday I removed the skin before baking the chicken; just a spritz of Pam, a sprinkling of spices and roasting in a covered pan made a moist, lower-fat version of this favorite.

This makes me willing to try buying a whole chicken and using every part - except maybe the carcass and making broth!