Y’all will have to forgive the lack of a picture till I get one taken. I cannot believe I have never posted this, but here is my recipe for pulled pork.

Easiest recipe ever. Double it, because it’s even tastier the next day.

1 pork loin. I use a 3-4 lb one.
1 bottle of good barbecue sauce. Kraft just isn’t the answer here. Sweet Baby Rays or Garland Jack’s works well.
1 cup of water
1 good splash (1/4 cup) of Worcestershire sauce
Your favorite meat seasoning. I like a mix of granulated garlic, dehydrated minced onions and steak seasoning. It’s up to you.

Take all of the above ingredients. Place into 5 quart or so crock pot. Turn on low if your meat is defrosted, turn on high if your meat is frozen. Cook until time to eat. Shred meat with forks. Serve on buns with pickles and onions. Eat and enjoy.

Kristin

Kristin Holt Duncan

About the Author: Kristin Holt Duncan is a Houston area extreme couponer. She enjoys saving money on the foods that her family actually likes so that she can spend more money on things like Nutella. And Danskos. And Coach purses. You can find her elsewhere on the web, below.

   

Coupons are great. We can get lots of things free or for next to nothing with coupons. So how do you avoid trying to serve the kids Yakisoba with canned corn? Use a recipe generator to help you use up what you have. Get creative. Keep track of your stockpile.

Recipe generators like Food.com’s Recipe Sifter, SuperCook.com, Recipe Matcher and Recipe Puppy can all help you figure out how to best use what you’ve got on hand. You can figure out the best recipe with a minimum of fuss. I like the SuperCook site the best, but your mileage may vary. These sites are a great way to repurpose a stockpiled ingredient.

Learning how to get creative in the kitchen can save you lots of money. Instead of baked chicken and two sides every week, branch out. Try a new recipe using items you already have. Experiment. You’re already saving a ton on your groceries. It’s okay if it’s not a success – you’ve got frozen pizza. Or peanut butter and jelly. Or cereal.

Make sure you know what’s in your stockpile. Some people keep lists, some people use a spreadsheet, some people use a dry erase board on the pantry, but the goal is the same – making sure you don’t have 27 jars of spaghetti sauce and no pasta. When you know what you have, you can use it effectively.

I love using coupons, and I love saving money on the things I was going to buy anyway. But sometimes, it’s good and cheaper to try something new. You never know – it just might become a new family favorite in your house!

Kristin

Kristin Holt Duncan

About the Author: Kristin Holt Duncan is a Houston area extreme couponer. She enjoys saving money on the foods that her family actually likes so that she can spend more money on things like Nutella. And Danskos. And Coach purses. You can find her elsewhere on the web, below.

   

Tomato sauce
Ricotta
Mozzarella
Parmesan
Egg
Lasagna noodles
Foil

This is one of my family’s favorite meals.  When I make lasagna, it’s an all day production.  Usually, I can make 5 pans for the freezer for $50, if not lower.  Much cheaper, and much more tasty than Stouffer’s any day of the week.  It’s definitely slightly easier to make it in bulk, and cheaper too.  If you’re buying everything from scratch, and not shopping from your pantry, you might look for huge cans of crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce in the restaurant aisle, or at Sam’s Club.

I start with a large pot of tomato sauce.  Lots of crushed tomatoes, lots of ground beef, and lots of garlic.  You want it slightly thinner than spaghetti sauce, because it’s going to cook down.  Allow to simmer while you get everything else ready.

These next amounts are for 1 pan at a time.  If you find an Italian blend of shredded cheese on sale, use that.  My feelings won’t be hurt.

Combine a large container of ricotta with about 1 cup grated mozzarella and 1/2 cup of parmesan.  Add in one whole egg and mix to combine.

Rinse 1 box of lasagna noodles to remove excess starch.  I don’t parboil my noodles.

Using a large glass baking dish, or a foil dish for the freezer, layer sauce, noodles, sauce, cheese, noodles, sauce, cheese mixture, until you reach almost to the top of the dish.  You want to end with a layer of sauce and grated parmesan.  Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 45 minutes.  Remove the foil and allow to bake 15 more minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to set for 10-15 minutes.  I usually use that time to make a pan of garlic bread.

Eat and enjoy!

If you’re making extra for the freezer, make sure you wrap it well and label it so you’re not trying to figure out what it is next summer.

Kristin

Kristin Holt Duncan

About the Author: Kristin Holt Duncan is a Houston area extreme couponer. She enjoys saving money on the foods that her family actually likes so that she can spend more money on things like Nutella. And Danskos. And Coach purses. You can find her elsewhere on the web, below.

   

Feeling a little overwhelmed by meal planning?  Check out Food On the Table!

Here’s one that’s going on my meal plan:  Penne with Chicken and Pesto.

I bet I can make it for less than they did, though.    Check them out and see how you like them!

Kristin

Kristin Holt Duncan

About the Author: Kristin Holt Duncan is a Houston area extreme couponer. She enjoys saving money on the foods that her family actually likes so that she can spend more money on things like Nutella. And Danskos. And Coach purses. You can find her elsewhere on the web, below.

   

I’m a big fan of pantry glue. Take pasta, protein, and a sauce and you can hold just about anything together and make it tasty…

1 lb of bacon
2 lbs of pasta (I used rotini)
1 small onion, chopped finely
8 oz of mushrooms, cut with an egg slicer into uniform pieces
2 tsp chopped garlic
chop seasoning (salt, pepper, sugar, garlic powder, onion powder) or your favorite blend
2 lbs of chicken, cut into 1/2″ dice
1 jar of alfredo sauce
1 can of cream of mushroom (found at the WAY back of the pantry)
1 can of evaporated milk (again, found at the WAY back of the pantry)
2 cups of shredded cheese – I had smoked mozzarella
handful of sun dried tomatoes, cut into 1/4″ strips

Start water boiling for pasta before you start chopping ingredients. Salt liberally. Add pasta when water is boiling, and cook according to package directions. Drain and return to pot.
Cut the bacon into 1 inch pieces and start in a cold pan over medium low heat.
Chop onion, mushrooms, chicken and sun dried tomatoes. Set aside in separate bowls.
Drain bacon when crisp, reserving 2 tbls of fat. Set aside. Smack hands of any kid brave enough to try to steal.
Saute onion, mushrooms and garlic over medium heat in 2 tbls of bacon fat. When onions are translucent and mushrooms are cooked, remove from pan. Add to cooked pasta.
Saute chicken on medium high heat, season with your favorite blend. Remove from pan when done and no longer pink. Add to cooked pasta.
Combine alfredo sauce, cream of mushroom, and evaporated milk in pan over low heat. Add sun dried tomatoes. When sauce is warm, begin melting cheese. When cheese is melted, remove sauce from heat. Add to pasta and combine ingredients thoroughly.
Serve with bacon pieces on top.

This makes a lot, so feel free to freeze half if your family doesn’t eat like mine does.

Cost:
Pasta – $1.00
Chicken – $4.00
Alfredo sauce – $.50
Cream of mushroom – $.08
Onion – $.15
Garlic – $.10
Fresh Mushrooms – $.99
Bacon – $1 on markdown

About $8 total.

Kristin

Kristin Holt Duncan

About the Author: Kristin Holt Duncan is a Houston area extreme couponer. She enjoys saving money on the foods that her family actually likes so that she can spend more money on things like Nutella. And Danskos. And Coach purses. You can find her elsewhere on the web, below.