One can save money (and make healthier food) if they make things from scratch, but it can take time. With a little planning, you can save time and money. Here are some ways I save money and time while making supper...
1. Cook double
Cook extra ground beef, peppers, onion and celery and freeze for a future casserole, pasta or tacos.
Cook a large batch of meatballs and freeze half for meatball sandwiches, pasta or Stroganoff meatballs.
Cook a big batch of beans for chilli, dips, and quesadillas and freeze what you don't need right now.
Note: many people like to freeze completed meals (stews, soups, casseroles). But I like to freeze the components so that I have some flexibility to choose at a later date. If I'm thinking ahead I pull the items out of the freezer ahead of time to thaw in the fridge. I do sometimes make two meals that use similar ingredients at one time one for tonight and a casserole for the next night.
2. Re-invent leftovers
Leftover stew can be made into pot pie with the addition of a top crust.
Leftover meat, veg and potato can be made into a casserole with the addition of gravy.
Leftover chicken or turkey can go into quesadillas, chicken pot pie, chicken salad, curry, make stock from the bones.
Leftover mashed potato -- Top for shepherd's pie, filler for fish cakes. I have heard that adding cheese to mashed potatoes keeps them from going watery when you freeze and thaw them.
Leftover cooked corn on the cob -- cut off the cob and add anywhere you would add frozen or canned.
Leftover roast beef can be served on buns, cut into strips for stirfry or fajitas.
Leftover rice -- Fried rice, add a cup to shepherd's pie for added fibre, rice salad, or freeze for a future meal. Make up a batch of custard according to directions on can, add 2c cooked rice, rasins and cinnamon for a quick rice pudding.
Leftover ham goes into mac'n'cheese, on pizza, in stirfry, in pea soup, on sandwiches, in omelets, on eggs benedict, on english Muffin egg sandwiches.
Leftover Italian Bread -- If you can resist eating the whole loaf when it is fresh, it can be made into the following when it has been around for a day or two: Panini sandwiches, cheesy garlic bread, French Toast, croutons, bread pudding, added to meatloaf, burgers or meatballs, ground up for bread crumbs.
Leftover pasta sauce -- add to chili, use as pizza sauce, use for meatball sandwiches.
3. Buy ingredients that can be used in a variety of recipes.
This reduces the number of items you have on hand so you're less likely to throw stuff out.
Mozzerella cheese -- pizza, lasagne, cheesy garlic bread
Ground beef - tacos, meatballs, lasagne, shepherds pie, pasta with meat sauce, chili
Cheddar-- tacos, grilled cheese, burgers, quesadillas
Burger/sausage buns -- burgers or sausages, pulled pork, roast beef on a bun, cheesy garlic bread buns.
Mushrooms, Onions, Peppers, Celery -- staples for many recipes!
Soft tacos -- Tacos, fajitas, quesadillas, roll-up sandwiches, wrap sandwiches, thin-crust pizza.
4. Buy Large Quantites
A large pork roast can be cut and frozen into portions to be made into stirfry, pulled pork, pork chops or roasted.
A large bag of dried beans is much cheaper than canned and does not have the added salt.
I buy the large cans of tomato paste and diced tomatoes. If it is too much for a recipe, I freeze what I don't use and add the leftover to chilli.
I know that some people freeze cheese. I haven't tried it myself. We go through it too fast.
5. Crockpots and Casseroles
These don't necessarily take less time, but because they are prepared earlier they do not require much attention at supper time. I mostly make stew and pulled pork in my crock pot. I do not have a recipe for the stew, but here is the recipe for the pulled pork
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Pulled-Pork/Detail.aspx
I use a pork loin instead of pork tenderloin, and I find cola gives a more-tender result than rootbeer.
I find cooking times are shorter than stated, and adding salt while cooking makes the beans tough. Once the beans are cooked, I rinse, drain and freeze them in yogurt and sour cream containers.
6. Stock your pantry
Keep the items you need for your regular recipes on hand in your pantry. Watch for sales and buy those items when they are less expensive. I have a white board on the fridge and list the meals that I have ingredients to make. I update this list as I bring groceries home or use items up. I can look at my list to quickly see what we will be eating for the week. I choose what I will make based on how busy I will be that day or when an item needs to be cooked by, or sometimes the weather (I don't want to BBQ in the rain or use the oven on a really hot day)
7. Cook from what you have on hand.
If I'm missing an ingredient I will look on the internet for substitutions rather than going out to buy the missing item. (I always buy more than I tend to when I run into the store for something.)
When I'm clearing out the fridge or freezer I sometimes cook something new from what I have on hand. Soup from the last of the vegetables, surprise casserole, peanut-butter and banana on hotdog rolls.
8. Plan your menus around seasonal/sale items.
I decide what we are having for the week based on what is seasonal or on sale.
9. Eat Vegetarian
I save some money by eating vegetarian once or twice a week. My family loves eggs, grilled cheese, mac'n'cheese. Eggs are super fast too!
10. Make your own mixes.
There are several websites on the internet to make a master mix for all your baking.
Personally I make a bisquick type mix and store it in the fridge to make quick biscuits or dumplings or topping for pot pies. I mix up a quantity of the dry ingredients for buiscuits and store it in the fridge. I use the baking soda biscuit recipe from the back of the Comany's Coming Casseroles recipe book.
I do sometimes mix up twice as much of the dry ingredients for cookies or muffins when I am baking.
The mixed up cookie dough could be frozen (instead of buying pillsbury).
11. Prepare stuff in stages
I do this for items that take a lot of time or energy. This is especially nice for menus that generate a lot of dirty dishes. The hardest part of a big meal is a big cleanup!
At chiristmas I make the cookie dough on one day, and bake it on the next. Gingerbread takes a third day for decorating :)
I love home made pasta. I will make the dough one day and roll it the next.
On New Year's eve we make an Indian feast. I make the raita, curry sauce, and cook the chicken a day before. I finish the curry chicken, make the saffron rice and dal the day of.
12. Have a leftover night.
Everyone gets a little of this and that reheated. I might only have to cook a vegetable side dish or make a salad to go with the leftovers.
13. Freeze small portions of leftovers until you have a big portion.
I like the idea of this, it is the next level of frugality, but I haven't really gotten into it yet.
Small amounts of chilli or pasta sauce can be added to a container in the freezer until there is enough for a whole other meal.
Freeze chicken bones, ends of celery and onion, etc. until there is enough to make a chicken stock. I have done the bones before, but I am just starting to save the bits of veg.
