Here’s another 5 ways to use what you have and save money in the kitchen.

1. Make your own dried grated lemon and orange peel. I always have lemons and oranges around for eating and cooking. The last time I bought a small bottle of grated lemon peel to keep on hand it was so expensive! $5-6 for a tiny bottle! The truth is, if you have citrus fruit in the house, and a microplane grater, you can do it yourself. grate off only the top colored layer, no pith, and spread it out on a piece of wax paper. Leave it on the counter overnight. in the morning you’ll have totally dried peel – crush it up if needed to break up lumps, and store in an airtight bottle or jar. Use in any recipe calling for lemon or orange peel.
2. Buy in bulk – whenever I can I buy large packages of things I use regularly. Not only does it save on packaging material that I then have to dispose of, but usually the cost is lower per unit (be that an ounce, pound, cup or quart). Often this is something like flour, sugar or other baking products. Pet food is usually more economical in larger bags, as well as the large packages of necessities like toilet paper.
3. Make your own buttermilk from the bottom of a store bought quart. When you’ve emptied the container down to the last 1/4 or 1/5th of the container, add fresh milk, shake well, and let the container sit out overnight. In the morning, give it another good shake and put back in the fridge. It will automatically culture the milk and turn it into more buttermilk. And you can continue this cycle endlessly. No more buying buttermilk for several dollars a quart! And it tastes better than the milk with vinegar/lemon juice hack – which works in a pinch if that’s all you’ve got on hand.
4. Thanks to Bobby Flay for this idea, which I saw early one morning on his brunch show: save apple peels and cores and turn them into tea! Simmer with some water and spices, and now you have a warm drink, or put over ice for a refreshing cool glass. Find the recipe here.
5. And lastly, buy whole spices whenever possible. Not only are they usually cheaper – no processing costs – but whole spice keep longer in your cabinet. And will taste better with a more pronounced flavor when freshly grated. Get out that microplane grater again for cinnamon, or nutmeg, or use a spice grinder for smaller spices like cloves, cardamon or caraway seeds.

And a bonus thought this column – make sure you use up left overs. You need not eat the same thing twice: turn left over chicken into soup or chicken tacos. Slice up left over pot roast into open face sandwiches. Turn some leftover corned beef into hash when fried up with potatoes. Americans throw away far too much food – reinventing leftovers is a money saving thing to do!