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During these hard economic times it is imperative that families cut back on their spending. There are several ways they can reduce the grocery bill and still enjoy nutritional meals. Most of the recipes I'm going to share have been used in our family for many years. I am not a gourmet cook. The food I prepare for my family could best be described as "down home" or "soul-satisfying" food.

One of the best ways to save is to plan your meals around what's on sale .

Every few weeks our local grocers put family size packages of chicken breasts on sale for 99 cents a pound. Buy two packages, one to fix immediately and another to freeze for later. I use the Crock Pot Chicken and Rice recipe below to make a delicious dish which will yield several meals for the two of us. After it is cooked debone the chicken, freeze some small packages of the chicken pieces for sandwiches later and divide the chicken and rice into generous size portions for serving. It figures out to about 26 cents a serving.

Sometimes they put 10 pound bags of chicken quarters (legs and thighs) on sale for 48 cents a pound. I thaw them, put them in my soup pot with a lot of water, add herbs such as marjoram, thyme, and rosemary, and boil until tender. Debone the chicken, divide into meal size portions and freeze for later. Use some of the broth to make a chicken soup and freeze a couple of packages of broth for later use.

When they put pork chops on sale for $1.25 a pound (sometimes even as low as 97 cents a pound), I buy a family size package and cook them in the crockpot with a package of McCormick's Slow Cookers BBQ Pulled Pork. (Make sure you have the catsup, vinegar, and brown sugar on hand to mix with the package contents.) Delicious!

I shop at a grocery store that caters to the Hispanic trade. Their prices are good and the produce is above average. I use the herb epazote in soups and when I find it in the produce department I buy a couple of bunches, wash them and freeze them for making soups in the winter.
You can make your own bread . The Refrigerator Roll recipe below can be doubled if you have a large family. Bread hot from the oven can make any meal special. Your family will love you for it. You can make buns for submarine sandwiches. More people are taking lunches to work these days and these buns make delicious sandwiches for a box lunch. Fill with sliced lunchmeat, leftover meat from a meal, cooked chicken which you have frozen for sandwiches, or slices of turkey sausage with cheese.

Homemade cornbread or cornbread made with a mix makes a simple meal of Crock Pot Beans or soup a hearty meal.
Serve homemade pizza .

It really is very easy. Just use the recipe below which uses the basic roll recipe for the crust. Slices of pizza can also be frozen and warmed up later for a meal or put in a lunchbox.
Make homemade desserts and snacks. .

Don't buy packaged cookies and snack cakes. Using a cake mix you can economically make a dessert for the whole family, or bake your own cookies. My friend Charla has a recipe for Cake Mix Cookies in her blog this week. You also might enjoy Chocolate Cake in a Mug in 5 Minutes . One mug makes two generous portions and it's good with chocolate syrup on top.

Make S'Mores in the microwave. Put a marshmallow on a graham cracker, microwave for about 10 seconds, put a small Hershey's snack bar on it and top with another graham cracker. It's a quick, easy snack.

Popcorn also makes an easy low-calorie snack. You can get a stovetop corn popper and buy Orville Redenbacher's kernel corn to use in it.

Whirley-Pop Stovetop Popcorn Popper
Use store brands instead of name brand food and drinks .

Try store brands of different products. You will be pleasantly surprised. Many times the store brand is as good or better than the name brand product and costs much less. Have you noticed the price of name brand colas lately! Sam's Cola costs half what the name brands cost and we think it is just as good. Better yet, brew and drink more tea.
Brew your own coffee .

Some people could open a savings account with the money they spend on cups of coffee they purchase at shops.
Use frozen fruit juices .

We have discovered that you can buy frozen orange juice, reconstitute it, and have a drink as good as the kind you buy in a box or jug from the dairy case. If you buy the store brand of frozen juice the cost will be about half what you would pay for the same amount of fresh squeezed in a box.

Use coupons and shop discount stores .

I keep a master shopping list that I take to Wal-Mart every 3 or 4 weeks. The store where I shop will honor the specials run by other stores in the area. I just show them the ad and they ring up the product at that price. In between discount store trips I pick up milk and fresh fruits and vegetables at a Carnival store (soon to be Fiesta) near the house. Big Lots is a good place to buy cereal. They may not have the same selections every time, but you can get boxes of cereal for $2 to $2.50 a box.

If you use flax seed, Whole Foods is the most economical place to buy it in bulk. I grind the flax seed in a small grinder and use it on cereal every morning.

Use green bags to prolong the life of fruit and vegetables .

I have found that green bags really do work work for me in prolonging the freshness of most fruits and vegetables. The produce must be dry when you put it in the bags, so you can't prewash it. I find that they work for most produce except bananas, and bananas must be used within 2 or 3 days. "As Seen On TV" products which are available in some drugstores and discount stores carry "Forever Green Bags"

There are pros and cons about green bags. They worked for me.

Buy oranges on sale and squeeze your own juice .

This year for several weeks I was able to get 10 pounds of oranges for $3.99 or $4.99 at our local Fiesta grocery. There's nothing better than fresh squeezed orange juice for breakfast. I have probably bought 80 pounds of oranges for Murray and me this fall and winter. I squeezed them by hand for awhile, but with arthritis in my hand it became difficult, so I bought a Black and Decker juicer which works well and is not expensive to buy. We have stayed healthy this winter and I think the fresh juice every morning has helped.