tips | Eat at Home

Drive. Play. Feed. Sports Season Suppers – Grocery Store Meals

August 16, 2011 by Tiffany

Last week, we talked about packing food to eat on the sidelines. Or in the car. Whatever works, right?

But there are times when packing just isn’t going to happen. When you didn’t make a plan, didn’t have time to think about it, forgot to look at the calendar (please tell me I’m not the only one!).

You still have to eat, but it doesn’t have to be drive-thru. Here are some grocery store meal ideas. Print this list and keep it in your purse or glove box of your car. It will only take a couple minutes to run into the store and grab dinner.

Don’t miss the tips below that will help this plan run smoothly. With most of these meal ideas, you will have leftovers that you can take home and eat later. [Read more...]

Filed under: cooking tips, tips, vacation food Tagged with dinner, picnic, sports, supper5 Comments

Drive. Play. Feed. Sports Season Suppers – Pack it!

August 9, 2011 by Tiffany

It’s that time of year! Fall sports schedules, combined with school starting can lead to lots of drive-thru dinners (and an empty wallet) if you’re not careful.

In my family, the sport of choice is soccer. We often find ourselves on the sidelines, watching a game during the dinner hour.

And even if it’s not game time, practices usually run at dinner time. It’s hard to cook when you’re not home to do it. But with a plan, it is possible to get everyone fed without resorting to the drive-thru.

That’s where this new series comes in. Tuesdays in August, you’ll find lots of ideas and tips on dealing with dinner, when you’re in the car, on the sidelines or coming home late after a long day.

Here’s the series schedule:

August 9 – Pack it!
August 16 – Grocery Store Meals
August 23 – Rock the Slow Cooker!
August 30 – 15 Minute Meals

Pack It! [Read more...]

Filed under: cooking tips, tips, vacation food Tagged with on the go, packing dinner, sports season15 Comments

Vacation or Stay-cation, Eating without Busting the Budget

May 23, 2011 by Tiffany

Instead of the usual weekly menu and grocery list, I’m participating with several other bloggers doing a series about Stay-cations. Tomorrow I’ll have links to the other posts for you. If you’d like to print a menu + grocery list, please check out the “Menus and Planners” tab at the top of the site.

Raise your hand if you have a stay-cation planned this year. With the price of gas and everything else, it makes a lot of sense to stay close to home and take in the local activities. After you budget for all the fun stuff you want to do, it’s time to think about feeding everyone. Boy, can that add up quick!

It is possible to eat at home on vacation without feeling like you’re slaving away over a hot stove. And it’s the best way to save money. We’ve been known to take our food on vacation with us, even if we’re traveling long distances. Lots of people do this if they are camping or going to the beach, but we’ve even done it in Disney World. So I know it’s possible to do it at home, make it special and keep it simple all at the same time. [Read more...]

Filed under: tips, vacation food Tagged with stay-cation, vacation17 Comments

Homemade Whipped Topping aka Make Your Own Cool Whip

May 19, 2011 by Tiffany

A few weeks ago, on Ingredient Spotlight, we shared frozen whipped topping recipes. Loy, one of my readers who you get to meet next week, shared a recipe for homemade whipped topping.

I’d never thought about making my own whipped topping before, but the idea was intriguing. And when I decided to make this cake, I knew this was the time to experiment (aka play) with the recipe. The result is light, subtly sweet and creamy. I really wished I could have added a hint of vanilla, but I didn’t want to use extract. I wanted to keep it pure white and I also was unsure about messing up the proportions of liquid.

Later, I thought about using vanilla infused sugar. You can do this at home just by putting a vanilla bean in sugar and leaving it there for about a week. (I must try this soon.) I think the vanilla flavor would greatly enhance the taste of the whipped topping.

Here’s what you’ll need to make it: [Read more...]

Filed under: Dessert, make your own, tips Tagged with cool whip, dry milk, frozen whipped topping, gelatin, sugar, whipped cream14 Comments

Menu Ideas for Graduation Parties

April 29, 2011 by Tiffany

Raise your hand if you have a new graduate this year!

A year ago, I was planning my oldest daughter’s high school graduation menu. I’ve noticed quite a few people searching for ideas for recipes to serve at graduation parties, so I thought I’d put together a list to get you started.

There are so many ways to celebrate a graduation. I’m not even going to try to cover them all. Casual is what I’m most comfortable with, so this list will include foods that can be served buffet style, can be fixed ahead of time, and serve a crowd.

[Read more...]

Filed under: holiday planning tips, tips Tagged with graduation, menu, party, recipes4 Comments

How to Save Money on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

April 12, 2011 by Tiffany

This is a guest post from my friend, Andrea at The Green Backs Gal. I asked if she would share with us some of the ways to save money on organic produce.

One of the toughest areas to save at the grocery store is in the produce department. This is particularly true during the winter when the growing season here in Colorado is dormant. So how can you pinch pennies but still enjoy fresh and delicious produce? Buy seasonal, buy local and buy organics when it makes sense.

Buy Produce in Season

Why Buy Produce In Season? By purchasing and eating food that is in season, you will not only be saving on your budget, you will be eating better tasting food! Produce that is not in season is grown somewhere else in this world, picked too early, and then is transported to your grocers. That cost is passed on to you! By eating seasonally, you might be eating grapes only in the Fall when the prices are low. But the beauty is, once you have kinda had it with grapes, the oranges will be sweet and cheap! We are all very used to getting what produce we want when we want it. But, if you are serious about saving money, you’ll find eating seasonally will definitely save you on your budget each month. Check out what is in season this month – with Spring here, there are some tasty choices! [Read more...]

Filed under: money saving tips, tips, Vegetable Tagged with buy local, buy seasonal, csa, farmers market, organic, produce, produce department, save money, u pick farm8 Comments

April Table Talk Cards, New Recipe Box Feature and a Chance to Make Eat at Home Better

April 9, 2011 by Tiffany

Table Talk cards are a free resource made available through my church. We love using them around our table. Some of the cards are serious. Some fun. Each month has a different focus. This month is Humility. In the past, the cards have covered: [Read more...]

Filed under: tips Tagged with family, table talk2 Comments

Gardens, Veggies, Meatless – Oh My! (and a few resources)

April 2, 2011 by Tiffany

It’s April!

Spring weather has to be getting closer, right?

Our focus for April here on EaH is going to be everything earthy. We’ll talk gardens and gardening, vegetables, farmer’s markets, meatless dinners… Not every post will follow this topic, but many will.

If you’ve been reading this blog very long, you know I don’t tackle these topics often. Not that I don’t have meatless and vegetarian meal recipes, and we do eat vegetables, of course. I’ve even got a few posts on square foot gardening. But this topic isn’t the most natural (pun intended) for me to write about.

So, I’ll be turning to some folks who can help out. One of those people is Katie from Kitchen Stewardship. She knows healthy foods like I know my slow cooker. [Read more...]

Filed under: gardening, tips Tagged with healthy food, snacks2 Comments

36 Recipes for Easy Restaurant Style Meals at Home

March 31, 2011 by Tiffany

Did you know the markup on food at a restaurant is about 300%?

Eating out can be fun, convenient and delicious. But if you need to save money, it’s often one of the first splurges to get cut from the family budget.

With a little planning and a few extra touches it’s easy to make restaurant meals at home. I’ve already shared 5 Ways to Make Restaurant Style Meals at Home Special. Now here’s a list of easy recipes to fix. Some of these are copy-cat recipes of favorite restaurant dishes. Others are just so good they could be served in a restaurant. [Read more...]

Filed under: cooking tips, tips Tagged with recipes, restaurant meals12 Comments

5 Ways to Make Restaurant Style Meals at Home Special

March 26, 2011 by Tiffany

During the month of March, we’ve been talking about cooking to save money. I’ve posted:

Today, we’re going to talk about saving money by cooking restaurant-style meals at home. This type of meal may cost a bit more than your weeknight fare, but will come in much lower than taking the family out to eat. Next week I’ll post a big list of easy restaurant style recipes. Until then, here are a few tips to making it special: [Read more...]