Kitchen Ways to Cope With These Tough Economic Times

We're all looking for ways to save money during these tough economic times, and there are a couple things we can do in the kitchen that can shave a little off the grocery bill, allowing us a little extra money to put to other bills, etc.

For instance, making our own sour cream from cottage cheese can save us money, and knowing how can also help out when we are making a recipe that calls for it and all we have in the fridge IS cottage cheese. Here's the what to do:

COTTAGE CHEESE "SOUR CREAM"
2 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 C creamed cottage cheese

Put ingredients in bowl and mix 'til smooth &creamy. Use as a base for dips such as anything calling for sour cream. Recipe doubles well. (Yield: 1 C)

Another very cool thing we can do to save a little on the grocery bill is to double our butter. Here's how: Soften a pound of butter to room temperature. Place in mixing bowl. Whip 'til fluffy. SLOWLY add in 1 1/2 C to 2 C of ice water (a tablespoon at a time). This takes a little while, but the butter will accept all the water. The result? You have doubled your butter from one pound to two, and cut the calories and fat in half! One thing though: this doubled butter won't work well for frying, cooking, or baking, as the water will separate out. But it tastes just the same as undoubled butter on toast, rolls, bread, spuds, etc.

So if a pound costs $2.25, you now have two pounds at $1.13 a pound. Saving a $1.13 may not seem like much at face value, but over the long haul, every little bit adds up.

Do YOU have money-saving kitchen tips you could share? I'd love to hear from you--let's pass on the good stuff--we're all in this together, remember. And until next time, happy cook'n!