There’s a two page spread in Feb Martha Stewart Living about how to save money in the kitchen. I read it eagerly hoping for some good tips.

– The first tip is to freeze leftover and overripe fruit for smoothies. This is a good idea, although the only time I seem to make smoothies is when we are in Florida and I’m in a tropical mood.

– The next tip is to save carrot peelings,  onion layers, bones, etc to use in making stock. I never throw out chicken bones and do usually use those. I also save leftover piece of steak and beef and use those to make a stroganoff. I don’t save the onion peels and carrots ends though. I will start a bag of these the in freezer. What I have been saving for years is leftover vegetables. Whenever I have leftover veggies from dinner, I dump them in a plastic container in the freezer, then I use it in soups.

– Another tip is a cast iron skillet. I don’t have one of these, but I remember my grandmother did. I don’t really like them and don’t see it as much of a money saver since I have other pans to use.

– Martha says to save leftover gravy, pesto, stock, etc and freeze it in ice cube trays. I really almost never have any of these leftover and I don’t have an ice cube tray, so I’m not sure this tip would work for me.

– Freezing foods in smaller portions is a great idea. My MIL told me once she freezes bacon in small packages.

– Buying olive oil in bulk is another suggestions. I do this. I have a big plastic bottle in the pantry and a small glass olive oil container by the stove that  I refill.

– She suggests having paper in the kitchen to make shopping lists. I have a magnetic notepad on the side of the fridge where I make my lists. And to be truly Martha-ish, I have different notepads for different seasons and holidays.

– Making your own nut butter is another tip. The only nut butter used in this house is peanut butter and I buy the organic store brand. I’m not wild about the idea of making my own since it’s not something used very often.

– I like the idea of making more of what you’re cooking. I do this a lot so that I can freeze half and have another meal. It’s not really a money saving tip though.