Thrifty Thursday: How to Save on Meat (Part 4)

Welcome to the last post of the How to Save on Meat series!  Today I’ll finish up saving on meat in the kitchen. You can read the previous saving on meat posts if you’re just tuning in.

–Make meat a side: It seems customary to think of meat as the main dish, so it’s usually the largest portion served in meals.  Instead, use smaller meat portions and load up on the veggies.  You may also want to cut large pieces of meat such as chicken breasts in half before serving.

–Use less meat in meals: Consider using less than the recommended amount of meat in prepared meals.  You can add in additional veggies, carbs or beans to compensate for using less meat.

• use less in soups
• use less in casseroles
• use less in pasta dishes

–Use the crockpot:  The crockpot (or slow cooker) is great for cooking meat!  It helps all the meat to literally “fall off the bone” and keeps everything tender & juicy.  You don’t want to trash bones with good meat still on them! A few other ways to reduce meat waste:

• Use drippings to make soup or stock
• Boil a chicken carcass for Chicken Noodle soup
• Boil a ham bone for Navy Bean soup

–Freeze before spoils: One of the biggest ways to waste money on meat is to not use it (and other foods) before they spoil.  Make sure to freeze leftovers that will not be consumed within a few days.  You can always freeze the last little bit of meat with extra potatoes and corn together in a foil pan making a frozen dinner.  The portion is perfect for sending as a work lunch or as a quick dinner.

Next up, Saving on Produce

What are your tips for saving on meat and produce? Comments left that are not on my notes, will be added in a separate post at the end of the series.

This post is linked to Life as Mom,  Madame Deals and My Coupon Teacher