Stuffed.

Some points of smart cooking I find to be common sense. To others, this might not be the case.   After my mom shared this little tip with me that I'm about to share with you, I never looked at cooking magazines or websites boasting "$10 dinners!" the same.  It's not just me right? You noticed all of these 'money saving recipes' pop up all over during this recession of sorts.  Don't get me wrong, I'm all about eating good food on a tight budget--but to be honest, many of these articles lie and call for ingredients you may never use again and make you think you're saving a buck in the long run by only using 20cents worth of this spice or that nut.  When only cooking for a few people or using ingredients that you only need a small amount of hit your grocery store to meet your new best friend that allows you to only buy exactly what amount of each ingredient (especially perishables) you need...the salad bar.  Now, I can't speak for every cook but I hate spending $3 on a red bell pepper, heart of celery, or 3lbs of carrots for one side salad, one batch of farm fresh potato salad or even family taco night, just to throw out the rotting extras a few days later. Many grocery stores today offer salad bars featuring a wide range of artisan ingredients--nuts, sunflower seads, boiled eggs, avacado.. all of which can be pricey when purchased in larger than needed ingredients. 

The smell of bacon was too much for Ranger..

I used my salad bar short cut to make double stuffed potatoes for a quick week night dinner using leftover potatoes from christmas dinner. For less than $1 I hit my local salad bar for some bacon crumbles, red onion, and cheddar cheese. I scooped out the insides of my potatoes and mashed them with sour cream and the salad bar ingredients. I topped with a small pat of butter and some additional cheese and baked them for 15 minutes.  You could add any toppings you love on potatoes--think ham and cheese, veggies and salsa, even chili from the grocery store soup crocks!


Quick, cheap & impressive dinners can be made using your brain and the change found in your couch cushions. Thanks Ma!