The Frugal Baked Potato

One of my favorite fast, frugal foods to prepare has always been baked potatoes. In fact, I almost continuously have them on hand, sitting in the darkness of our pantry, just waiting for an opportunity to come and be enjoyed at dinner.

There are not many foods that are as cheap as a potato. What other hearty food can be purchased in large ten and twenty pound bags for simply a few dollars? And if you are lucky and happen to have a farmer's market nearby, you can get even better deals.

For more, see my article The Frugal Baked Potato (1) and The Frugal Baked Potato (2)

Pantry Inventory

When something you use is on sale, STOCK UP!

Your first grocery trip on the road to saving money is actually to spend a little more than you are used to. Items that are staples in your pantry should be purchased in large quantity if possible. These include items such as flour, sugar, pasta, dry beans, rice, oatmeal, canned goods, etc. I have a nice little "should have" pantry list I will share.

Now, I have added and pared down multiple lists to come up with this list. If you are not cooking from scratch, some of these items might not be necessary to you, but some I don't have listed might be must have's!

Dry BulkGoods

•Flour(white,wholewheat,and bread)
•Sugar(white,brown and powdered)
•Cornmeal
•Dried beans (kidney,black,split peas,white navy, garbanzo)
•Oatmeal
•Pasta
•Rice
•Soups (cream of chicken, cream of mushroom)
•salt
•baking soda
•baking powder
•Yeast
•Vanilla Extract
•Maple syrup
•shortening
•spices
•dry milk
•dry eggs
•cocoa
•Vinegar
•Olive oil
•Canola oil
•Canned veggies (green beans, corn, tomatoes,tomato sauce,tomato paste)
•Home canned veggies(variety)
•Canned beans
•Canned Fruit(pears, peaches,applesauce,pineapple)
•Canned Meats
•Mac and cheese
•Peanutbutter
•Jellies
•Ketchup, mustard, mayo
•Crackers
•Ramen noodles
•Pasta Noodles
•Popcorn (stick with the kernels, not the "boxed variety") - its cheaper and healthier!
•Pretzels
•Coffee
•Tea
•Raisins
•Nuts (peanuts,walnuts, almonds)
•Grains-barley, wheat
•Cereals
and many, many more!

So these are the items you should try to stock up on as much as possible! There are many more I can add to this list but for now, this is a basic starter set. You have these, and you can whip up meals, even when you think you have nothing to cook!