Emeril Lagasse's recipe for a homemade worchester type sauce is pretty darn good. I actually prefer it to L&P's, but it's obviously easier to buy it. There is 1 recipe though that I absolutely won't make unless I have the homemade stuff because it doesn't taste right and isn't worth the trouble making without the homemade.
Sticker Shock - cost of living etc.
- Thread starter Jade Emperor
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As far as watching pennies, I buy pantry items, cleaning supplies, paper products, etc., when they are on sale, especially if they are BOGO. One of the grocery chains here puts chicken, parts and whole, on BOGO pretty often, so I always stock up when we are getting low, portion and freeze. They do that with other meats as well so I buy the sales. Produce as well. Our meals for the week are pretty much planned around our freezers and sales.
GinnyPNW
Master Chef
I've been buying the sales for a while now. Have a very decently stocked panty (actually turned the guest closet into a secondary pantry for sale items!) and a stuffed freezer too. If it is on sale, buy one for now and one for later. So, we've started using more of the freezer stuff lately. Especially with this heatwave...not going anywhere for a while. 108 yesterday! I do not do heat! Ugh. Stayed in, cooked and watched movies.
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
SO is out and about almost daily. She can't sit still. So we watch the sales at 2-3 different markets and buy sale items. 99¢/Lb whole chickens are a favorite. It's the sale item that keeps on giving - a hot meal or two, sandwiches then stock from the bones.
blissful
Master Chef
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- Mar 25, 2008
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Don't skimp on your favorite fruits or veggies. We have an extensive collection of low sugar puree or jam of all kinds of fruit. Today I'm cooking 17 lbs of peaches to make pint jars of puree (I have jam and peach salsa on the shelves already). I'll use these for baking or frozen dessert bars when peaches aren't in season. Asparagus is one of our favorite veggies but the season is so short. We dehydrate it and then use that to make asparagus soup the rest of the year. Get FRESH nuts and seeds and then freeze them so they don't go rancid. Our favorite fruits are berries for nutrition reasons and the pop of flavor, especially raspberry and blackberry. I like pineapple in my carrot slaw (apples, carrots, pineapple), and can those when they are inexpensive. Blueberries are mr bliss's favorite with oatmeal so we buy them on sale fresh or frozen and freeze them. We also have blueberry pancakes every other week. I like my cereal with blackberry puree, or raisins, or carrot slaw, or cranberries (canned). It takes a little planning but we are retired and investing in our health and enjoyment matters to us.
I'm actually trying to cut back on buying sale items. It's hard, but my freezers are stuffed and I really need to use up some of that stuff before sticking more bargains in there.
I am willing to try all sorts of store brands, as long as the ingredients look good. Oh yeah, that's one of my bargain hunting tricks. I often come across jams, pickled vegis, and other preserved stuff from Eastern European countries. Those are usually brands that I have never heard of. I check the ingredient list. I have found that the ones that only have food in that list taste good. I have been doing this for years and have been pleased every time.
I am willing to try all sorts of store brands, as long as the ingredients look good. Oh yeah, that's one of my bargain hunting tricks. I often come across jams, pickled vegis, and other preserved stuff from Eastern European countries. Those are usually brands that I have never heard of. I check the ingredient list. I have found that the ones that only have food in that list taste good. I have been doing this for years and have been pleased every time.
Kathleen
Cupcake
I won't skimp on butter. There are two brands I like. I either find them on sale or I can buy one of them at the big box store. I also filled a freezer with on-sale items, but have been shopping my refrigerator/freezer prior to looking at the store circulars to do weekly shopping. As Aunt Bea mentioned, Lee and Perrins - I don't substitute it....but I don't go through it quickly either.
Also, I am loyal to one brand of PB and one brand of Jelly for my PB&J. I need my diet coke!
I get most of these things on sale, but will break down and pay if I am out and need it.
Also, I am loyal to one brand of PB and one brand of Jelly for my PB&J. I need my diet coke!
I get most of these things on sale, but will break down and pay if I am out and need it.
Luckily, I live in Quebec and all of our butter is good. I can get the generic stuff at a better price and I'm still getting really good butter. We do have some specialty butters and some of them are even better. I don't spring for the cultured butter often, but it is really lovely. I found out that the butter here is really good when I got into a fight with my sister. We had both travelled to Denmark to help my mum with her apartment. My sister arrived from California via Air France. She had saved a couple of foil wrapped pats of butter that she got on the plane and wanted me to taste one. I said, "It's butter." Sister, "But, is it fabulous?" Me, "it's butter. It's good, but butter is good." She was very displeased with me. I told her to taste some of the Danish butter. (She should haver remembered how good Danish butter is. She lived in Denmark for about a decade as a young adult.) Anyhoo, after a few days, she apologized, because, yeah, the Danish butter was even better than the French stuff she had brought from the plane. And, I didn't think the French stuff was any better than the generic butter I get here.
I doubt very much that I would be able to tell too much difference between any butters. It would have to be a side by side taste test on bread (white).
I cannot believe the price of butter! £2.50 for a standard and £3 for a "posh" brand! Completely shocking! Like Dragn, I would struggle to tell the difference between them, but I think butter is a good product with no nasty additional ingredients - and I like to buy British - so that is what influences me on which one to buy. (ie not cost) A pack will last a good while, so I don't mind.
I have mentioned before that it is possible to buy cheaper versions of staples like tinned tomatoes and beans if you go to the "foods of the world" aisles, but even there the prices have skyrocketed! Not so long ago, I could get a tin of chopped tinned tomatoes for 30p - now 45p. (Still cheaper than the 60 - 75p for other branded versions though.)
I have mentioned before that it is possible to buy cheaper versions of staples like tinned tomatoes and beans if you go to the "foods of the world" aisles, but even there the prices have skyrocketed! Not so long ago, I could get a tin of chopped tinned tomatoes for 30p - now 45p. (Still cheaper than the 60 - 75p for other branded versions though.)
To a large extent, I don't try to save money by buying lesser quality foods. I would often rather just buy something less upscale. We don't eat as much meat as we did before. We don't eat as much beef. We almost never buy any "fancy cuts" of beef. I'll buy a decent sized chunk of pork loin and cut it into chops and chunks and small roasts. I haven't bought "pork chops" more than a couple of times in the past decade and I wished I hadn't. They were no better than chops I cut from a pork loin, just more expensive. i do miss getting bone in pork chops, but I resent paying more by weight for bone in meat.
Just curious, how much butter is that for £2.50? And how big is that tin of tomatoes?
Kathleen
Cupcake
We have butter wars in this house. One of us prefers one brand over the other. The other is reversed. And both can tell at first bite when their preferred butter is not in the butter bell. An ugly situation. 
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
Clearly you need a second butter bell.We have butter wars in this house. One of us prefers one brand over the other. The other is reversed. And both can tell at first bite when their preferred butter is not in the butter bell. An ugly situation.
Taxy, the butter is 250g (and actually now selling for £1.89 so has come down a fair bit!), and the tin of tomatoes is 400g (standard tin size here).
I agree with Larry - just get a 2nd bell! Red for you Blue for him.
So, having never heard of a butter bell I looked them up - very cute! But, and sorry if this seems like a really stupid question, how do you get the butter into it? (Bear in my, my butter comes in an oblong shape from the shops, so I put it into a butter dish - which is the same oblong shape.) Does your butter also come in a sort of dome shape or do you have to soften it so you can wedge into the bell?
Yup, we wedge, scoop, press, squish, shove it in. You should be able to leave the butter out on the counter to soften to room temperature, chop off a chunk and press firmly into the bell.
You can then leave the bell on the counter with the water creating a seal.
Keep in mind how much butter you go thru in about 4/5 days. Also depending on the weather as to how long it keeps fresh.
You can then leave the bell on the counter with the water creating a seal.
Keep in mind how much butter you go thru in about 4/5 days. Also depending on the weather as to how long it keeps fresh.
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
Butter bells typically hold a ¼ pound ( 1 stick) of butter. The key is to pack it in well. I use a metal spreader and press the butter into the bell so there are no empty space/air pockets. If you don't do that, you run the risk of the blob of butter falling out of the bell into the water below.
Aunt Bea
Master Chef
Now you can buy a stick style butter crock with a water seal.
Aunt Bea - you are a wealth of information! Where did you find that!
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