Do Not Buy That

It is the time of year when gasoline prices go up, compliments of travel. Funny how we say that, even though they never go back down. Oh, wait, that is another post. Are you looking for a few ways to cut your budget? If you can stand to keep a few bills in your wallet, squirreled away for something delicious or fun, keep reading. If not, click share! Someone you know can.

We are willing to spend a minor fortune for convenience. We are especially prone to spending  far too much in the grocery store for convenience, alleged healthy foods and mixes.

What if you could save up to 90% off the price of these things? Would you invest 15-30 minutes to save that much? It is a really good hourly rate.

Even if you are a confessed non-cook, recipe burner or designated reservation maker, you can permanently cross these items off of your grocery list.

Flavorless, salty, expensive...what's not to like?

Tomato Pasta Sauce

A jar of spaghetti sauce is one of the more vile inventions of the 20th century. Under glass, you get tomato products with very little seasoning and a load of salt, sugar and high fructose corn syrup. All of this will set you back between $2 and $6. You can make the equivalent 32 ounces of sauce for $1…minus the high salt and sugar content.

Easy Way

1 Large can of crushed tomatoes or
fresh tomatoes, rough chopped and crushed (peeling optional)
1/2 C red or rose wine or 1/4 C wine vinegar
Herbs
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
Chopped vegetables (optional)
1/2 tsp salt (optional)

Over medium high heat, toss tomatoes and wine into a large skillet or four-quart sauce pan. Add your favorite herbs. Use all or your favorite combination of the following:

4 TBS fresh shredded/torn
or 1.5 TBS dried oregano
4 TBS fresh shredded/torn
or 2 TBS dried basil leaves
4 TBS fresh shredded/torn
or 2 TBS dried parsley and/or cilantro leaves
2 TBS fresh shredded/torn tarragon
or 1 TBS dried tarragon leaves
1.5 TBS fresh (stemmed, chopped)
or 3/4 TBS dried, crushed rosemary leaves
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or chopped
or 1.5 TBS minced garlic
or 1.5 tsp garlic powder

If you will not be adding vegetables, consider adding:
1/2 tsp celery seed
1 TBS minced onion
4 TBS dried sweet pepper
1/4 to 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 dashes hot pepper sauce

Add in chopped vegetables. Use any of the following to add up to one cup for thinner sauce or two cups for chunkier sauce.

  • Sliced or diced button, cremini, portabello and/or shiitake mushrooms
  • Bell and/or banana peppers
  • 1/2 to 1 jalapeño, green chili, tabasco or habañero pepper
  • Grated, shredded or finely diced carrots
  • Finely chopped celery, including tops
  • Slivered green onions or shallots, whites and greens
  • Finely diced white, yellow or red onion
  • Sliced or crushed green or black olives

Bring sauce to a boil for one minute, stirring gently, but constantly. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for one hour. Taste, adjust seasonings. If you choose, stir in sugar and salt.

Recipe easily doubles. Use one of those old jars to store sauce cooled to room temperature in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Can be frozen in a plastic zipper bag for up to two months.

Gourmet Version

Add more pizzazz to your sauce with the following upgrades:

  • Completely coat fresh, crushed tomatoes, garlic cloves and a sheet pan with olive oil. Roast 20-30 minutes in a 425°F (215°C) oven, turning once. Use in recipe above.
  • Add 1/2 to 2/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese to the sauce for the last five minutes of cooking.
  • Add quartered artichoke hearts to sauce in the last 15 minutes of cooking.

Remember…

The more herbs and spice you use, the less salt you need. If you choose to use salt (or sugar), stir them in last, cooking an additional five minutes to evenly distribute.

Gimme ten!

Let’s be frank. Pre-formed, frozen hamburger patties are another vile 20th century invention. Let’s look at a few facts about them:

  • More frozen beef has been recalled in the United States in the last ten years than fresh meat in the last 25 years worldwide.
  • Frozen beef can be up to 15% pink slime, legally.
  • 70% of all frozen beef contains pink slime.
  • One patty can contain more than 80% the USDRA of salt.
  • Average price per pound of frozen beef patties is $6.50.
  • Average price per pound of fresh beef is $3.89.
  • Frozen beef patties arrive in 350% more packaging than fresh beef.

Buying beef in bulk means big savings. Over pre-formed patties, bulk packages of meat are as much as $4 per pound cheaper. This means you get as many as five more quarter-pound patties for the same price as one pound of frozen ones. What is the real investment? Ten seconds.

Ten seconds!

Ticking Clock

Ready...start!

It takes ten seconds to measure out a quarter pound of ground meat and form a circular patty. Now, if you are still convinced you are pressed for time, make a full family package of beef into patties and freeze the ones you will not use today.

Put each patty on a square of waxed paper. Wrap the patties in groups to feed your household. Freeze them in zipper bags (with the air pressed out) or wrap them in two layers of freezer paper. Including packaging, you are saving money and producing less waste.

Upgrade

When you make your own patties, you cut out all the added salt. Season them with a salt-free herb spice blend, a package of dried soup mix (salty choice) or ranch dressing packet. Add fresh onions and peppers or mushrooms for added flavor.

When it can taste better and still be cheaper, what are you really saving by buying prepackaged food?

Before you say it…

I have heard it all.

What is the number one excuse for not doing this? Cost of spices. If you do not have the spices readily available, it can be expensive to leap from jarred and frozen to fresh and healthier. Make the switch gradually. Each week, purchase one of the spices you see in the recipes.

Soon, you will have a well-stocked spice rack. As we continue this series, you will have many ways to use those spices. Within three to fours uses, a spice has paid for itself.

Make a difference for your own health and budget. You can be saving money your next trip to the grocery.


~~~~~~~~~~

What is your favorite add-in for pasta sauce? Do you know what pink slime is? Are you going to make a difference to your health and wallet by dropping some of the convenience foods? Do you want more ways to start saving money in the grocery store?

(c) Ann Marie Dwyer 2012
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44 Comments

  1. You must’ve read my mind. I’ve been thinking of making my own sauce and here, you lay out the recipe for me. Thanks. Luckily, I’m not in the states, where tomatoes can be quite costly (and my diet calls for fresh foods, so fresh tomatoes it is). Plus, this will give me something constructive to do. I learned to make egg plant yesterday from a Sudanese woman. Hope I don’t have too much of a problem locating those ingredients for the sauce.
    totsymae1011 recently posted..Speaking Southern 101: Acquiring Conversational Skills, Lesson No. 3My Profile

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    • Red

       /  May 18, 2012

      Oh, yum yum yum! Eggplant is the best!! I hope you are taking care of yourself and staying hydrated. This would be a great recipe for you. It is just as good chilled as it is hot. If you like, you can make this one with 4 cups of veggies as a chunky soup or thin it with broth or water to make it a veggie soup. {HUGZ} I am SO very glad to see you today (now your tomorrow). <3

      Reply
  2. Kitchens might be the only things that hate me more than words, Red! It’s a pretty close call, anyway.
    🙂
    spilledinkguy recently posted..Translucent GreenMy Profile

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    • Red

       /  May 18, 2012

      LOL! So, is Annabelle good at kitchens or reservations?

      Reply
  3. Great post! I love “public service announcement” posts that actually contribute something meaningful! Not like my work…

    Reply
    • Red

       /  May 18, 2012

      LOL! The PSA are the Thursday morning posts. Click the tab for Make A Difference. We use a global approach around here. You are not the only Canadian. 😉 And humor is definitely adding something. Check to be sure your CommentLuv box is checked. It leaves a link to your last post so others can go to you place (sans Gravatar). Stop by the Green Room and leave a link to your space…

      Reply
  4. I’ve moved away from prepared foods, for the most part. I do my own sauce, and have found a local butcher where I can choose my piece of meat – a chuck roast, for example – and have it ground for me, right then and there. I don’t eat many burgers, but I often cook the meat with onion, celery and pepper and then freeze in individual bags for later use.

    I do keep some Lean Cuisine meals in the freezer for those nights when I just can’t face cooking, but I also keep small bags of precooked chicken breast in the freezer, to thaw and add to the frozen meals.

    I do enjoy an occasional filet – but they’re so expensive! So, I buy one and cut it in half horizontally, then grill. Two meals from one piece of wonderful beef. I take off the bacon that’s wrapped around it, chop it up and freeze – using it bit by bit to flavor baked beans, green beans or an omelet.

    Now, I’m ready for supper!
    shoreacres recently posted..Liberating LanguageMy Profile

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    • Red

       /  May 18, 2012

      That is enough to make me hungry. I am looking forward to moving back to civilization where I can go to the butcher. I miss having it truly fresh. Around here, the only fresh meat available is deer. Which I prefer to beef, hands down. Good to see you tonight, Linda.

      Reply
  5. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND
    RED …..
    PASTA SAUCE = RAGU ……..
    NOT TOO CREATIVE IN THE KITCHEN OVER HERE – I BURN EVERYTHING …….!!!!! LOL
    I HAVE TRIED AND TRIED ……
    PSA ANNOUNCEMENTS :)))))))))) YAY FOR RED ……
    LAST NIGHT’S WAS AWESOME – YOUR POST ABOUT CLOTHING AND DONATING …….
    AMAZING ……
    I STILL NEED TO FIND YOU ON GOOGLE +
    MAYBE IN A WEEK OR SO TWITTER ? WHO KNOWS – I AM STILL WORKING WITH A WHOLE NEW COMPUTER SYSTEM OVER HERE BETTER SUITED VISUALLY —— ANYWAYS I AM GONNA LOOK AROUND HERE FOR YOU G+ AND
    HAVE A LOVELY LOVELY WEEKEND XO
    I WILL BE AROUND – KIND OF ….:)
    REST AND MORE REST ….:)
    AND SOME QUIET XX
    THANX FOR THE FUN ALSO …………
    DELIVERIES ARE FUN …..LOL…………… 🙂
    XO
    HAPPY FRIDAY XO
    Cat Forsley recently posted..Quieting Down by Cat Forsley ©My Profile

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    • Red

       /  May 18, 2012

      I am really easy to find. Click on the About Momma button at the very top. All the links to social media are there. LOL! PSA…never thought of myself as a public servant! ROFL! Have a restful evening and a beautiful weekend. Glad your new system is an improvement, chickadee! {HUGZ} Red. xxx

      Reply
  6. I’m ethnic Italian American. My forebears would howl right from the grave at the thought of me saw me buying jarred tomato sauce…

    We certainly make our own sauces all the time. Slightly different recipe (passed along from my Grandmother) but the beauty of home-made sauce is always comparing tastes and flavors of each recipe. We also make our own burgers – we add a bit of fresh fine-chopped onion and one egg per two pounds of beef to make them a bit more moist when cooking. They freeze really well. Tastier and a helluva lot cheaper to boot.

    Love the practical advice Red. It’s rather frightening to think people are losing the ability to cook anything nowadays, unless it comes in a box with microwave instructions for time.
    Phil recently posted..Preakness Stakes 2012My Profile

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    • Red

       /  May 18, 2012

      Good to see you tonight, Phil. I get dizzy shaking my head at some people. The sitter was here, and I asked her to make something for the children. She opened the freezer and asked what she was supposed to fix. The Bambi look was enough to make me want to throttle her. *ugh* I am certain my grandmother would roll over in her grave if she thought of spaghetti sauce in a jar. Barf.

      I often cheat and add some of the sauce to the burgers…just as moist and even lazier than egg 😉

      Reply
  7. Many grocery stores sell “Spice Supreme” brand spices which cost less than $1.00 per jar for more spice than the typical jar of McCormick. All the spices are Kosher and Gluten Free (I called the company, spoke to a really nice guy with a Brooklyn accent) and taste and smell delicious. He told me there are a few mixes supplied by other companies which are not Gluten Free, but those are noted on the label as containing wheat.

    Just a Tip.
    MJ Logan recently posted..Fly-In Adventure Chapter 1My Profile

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    • Red

       /  May 18, 2012

      Fab advice. Look for that to feature in an upcoming episode.

      Reply
  8. Again….I am awaiting your cookbook or money saving idea book with recipes included.

    I have never made homemade sauce, but should try. I jazz up the crappy 99 cent can I buy with, mushrooms or roasted red peppers. I recently discovered how great spaghetti squash is. I know substitute half of the pasta I would normally use, with that.
    lorrelee1970 recently posted..Friday Frenzy (5/18/12)My Profile

    Reply
    • Red

       /  May 18, 2012

      Spaghetti squash is the schizz. I am getting together the things I need for a frugalista book. I have about another 50 pages to write. Perhaps, by the end of the summer you can have it loaded on your reader! And I am certain you can do the sauce.

      Reply
  9. I am unable to get to Penny Postage.
    lorrelee1970 recently posted..Friday Frenzy (5/18/12)My Profile

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  10. Despise store bought, anything. I don’t use salt or sugar in my sauce, just lots of fresh herbs and veggies.

    Great advice as always.
    valentinelogar recently posted..Secrets Define UsMy Profile

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