Cook smart

CEBU, Philippines – Carefully monitor leftovers. Use them as snack or lunch, or freeze them to use another time.

• Try to include “filling” food on your menus for the hearty eaters in your family. Chili, stew, soup, sandwiches and slow cooker dishes are good choices.

• Remember that sometimes quantity counts more than quality. For instance, you can serve two packages of chicken franks for almost the same price as one package of beef franks. But don’t substitute foods your family won’t eat.

• Prepare hot cereals for breakfast. They’re more economical and filling than cold cereals.

• Plan a “bake day” when all can pitch in. Assign kitchen tasks to family members and prepare inexpensive, homemade snacks to freeze or refrigerate.

• Recycle food scarps in soups, casseroles and omelets; even vegetable skins go into soup stocks.

• Substitute boneless chicken breasts or turkey cutlets in recipes calling for expensive veal cutlets.

• Make your own salad dressing by the bottle and keep it in the refrigerator.

• Save time and money with one-dish salad meals, fish or poultry with fresh vegetables.

• Don’t waste milk by using it for scrambled eggs or omelets. Milk makes eggs watery because it won’t blend with them. Use water, which makes egg fluffy.

• Create healthful, low-cost meals based on dried beans with leftover meats and fresh vegetables.

• Keep a pot of homemade basic brown soup stock, made of beef bones and vegetables, in the refrigerator. It’s a convenient – and inexpensive – base for delicious soups and stews. Boil it up every few days.

• To cook a stock overnight without worrying about it, cover the pot and place it in a 225 degree oven until the next morning.

• Buy good-quality pots and pans, even if they cost more. You’ll save in the long run because better equipment lasts longer.

— from Hints, Tips & Smart Advice By FamilyCircle (Mallard Press)