Cooking on a budget, it's easy

There is nothing wrong with being on a budget. And your meals do not have to be the same thing every night, and they don't have to be boring. Planning your meals when items are in season, and playing around with other items, you can enjoy a variety of meals. Sales are a great way to stock up, and dollar store items don't hurt either. Now a days there are alot of dollar stores selling food products, like can goods, pasta, and even spices.

What do I mean by in season products. Products like apples, oranges, sweet potatoes and yams are winter products. They cost less to ship when they are in season. So if you can use in season products you save more money, than buying them when they are not in season. Spring season you have your artichokes, honeydew, limes, and even snow peas. Summer season products give you most of your berries, your tomatoes and eggplants.

Also if you can, you can stock up on your season products to.

During your season's you can create great tasting recipes like summer salads, winter soups and so forth.

Canned beans are a great staple to have on hand for any fixed budget. They can go along with just about any meal, soup as well as salads. And they are great even by themselves. Chili is one favorite, and can be made very quickly with black beans as well as kidney beans. One great chili recipe is adding your favorite beans to a can of tomato sauce with either ground beef, pork or turkey. Add your favorite spices, and simmer in a crock pot or cook on the stove. Garnish with some cheese or sour cream and green onions and you have a great tasting low budget meal. It is not only low cost, but also healthy.

As I said many times give me pasta seven days a week and I will never starve. Pasta recipes are endless. They are inexpensive, and available almost any where including the dollar stores. Put your own sauce on, or a jar sauce with some Italian seasoning, some cheese and you are good to go. Add a salad and you have a complete meal in minutes. But don't stop there, pasta can also create some great Asian dishes. The best pasta for this is angel hair. Cook as you normally would, drain and then add some great ingredients. You can add soy sauce, sesame oil, pea pods, or any other Asian ingredient you may have. I love making my own Lo Mien noodles, with some sliced slivered carrots and peas. Don't forget you can also add some chicken to.

And why we are talking about chicken, did you know that it is the least expensive meat there is. It's a great product to stock up on. And it can be easily transformed into many dish's. Chicken made Asian style with a marinade of brown sugar, soy and hot sauce, garlic and sesame oil. Use what ever chicken you wish. If you would like to do chicken breast, then cut up into bite size pieces and marinade. Overnight is best, but one hour does fine to. Place some oil of your choice into a hot skillet, turn out your chicken with half of the marinade, and cook turning until the chicken is cooked through. You can serve over rice or pasta. Chicken with onions and peppers and cherry tomatoes is another great idea. Cut into bite size pieces and cook on skewers. Grill until done. You can marinade them or just season with your favorite spice blend.

Have a budget tip, let me know.