Dinner for 4 for less than $3

Tired of turkey yet? Ready for something completely different? Lighter, maybe, but still flavorful? A nice diversion from the traditionally heavy Thanksgiving dishes? Let’s throw in easy to prepare and inexpensive—a total cost of $2.90, or $0.73 per serving.

Southwest Couscous and Black Bean Salad is a vegetarian main dish that can be served warm or at room temperature. It’s high in fiber, low in fat, saturated fat and sodium, and contains no cholesterol. And it’s real food, made with whole grain, beans and vegetables.

Southwest Couscous and Black Bean Salad

©2009 Carol Wiley Lorente, from the upcoming book, The Frugal Vegetarian (Frugal Living Press)

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup couscous, preferably whole-wheat

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained well

5 small tomatoes (such as Campari), cut into fourths or sixths, or 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes

1 can (15 ounces) corn, rinsed and drained well

1 green onion, chopped

2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro or more to taste

1 small jalapeño, cored, seeded, and minced

1 small red bell pepper, chopped

Juice from 2 limes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (optional)

1. In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil. Stir in couscous and olive oil. Return to a boil. Cover. Remove from heat. Set aside while preparing the rest of the recipe.

2. In a large bowl, combine beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, cilantro, jalapeño, and bell pepper. When couscous has absorbed all the water, fluff it with a fork, and add it to bean mixture. Stir well. Mix in lime juice. Serve warm, cold, or room temperature. Makes 4 (3/4-cup) servings.

Per serving: 324 calories; 11g protein; 4g total fat; 0.6g sat fat; 63g carbohydrates; 23mg sodium; 0mg cholesterol; 10g fiber

Note: The day I shopped for the ingredients for this recipe, cilantro was on sale for $1 for three bunches; limes were $1 for 15, black beans were $0.79 a can, and tomatoes were a twofer at $1 for 2 pounds. The box of couscous from the Middle Eastern food aisle was $2.29 for a 17-ounce box; the name brand, by the way, was $2.59 for a 10-ounce box.

Cost of recipe: $2.90

Cost per serving: $0.73

Black beans $0.79

Cilantro $0.15

Corn $0.69

Couscous $0.33

Green onion $0.05

Jalapeño $0.05

Limes $0.14

Red bell pepper $0.45

Tomatoes $0.25

Staples: Olive oil, salt, pepper

Enjoy.—Carol Wiley Lorente

Become a BF Warrior

The retail rush that is Black Friday (BF) has become an American tradition. Whether you decide to hit the brick-and-mortar stores or the online versions, there are BF Web sites that can help you strategize and organize your plan of attack:

Black-Friday.net On the right side of the screen is a list of stores that have published their BF ads already, and if you scroll to the bottom, you’ll find categories. For instance, if you click on desktops and laptops, it will list a computer, where it is on sale and the price. Click online sales, and scroll down for BF deals available now. Click on “shopping list” to create an account. You can add an item by clicking on the red plus sign next to it. Print your list, and take it with you to the store. This site also has a good FAQ section.

Blackfriday.info This site offers BF ads for products that are currently available and the stores that will publish their BF ads in the next few days. The site also has a shopping list option. However, “coupon link” will take you to a different site that has specific item coupons, (like Wii or HP) but it is not BF-related.

TheBlackFriday.com The home page clearly lists all the stores that have ads on the site, and you can break it down by category, too. This site seems to be working in conjunction with another site and has various links, including one that gives price comparisons, but once you click there, you are no longer in BF land anymore.

And if you’re looking for suggestions and planning strategies from other frenzied shoppers, the BF forum is very helpful. For instance, one forum member asked how to decide which store to go to first. Answer: “All depends on what you want, but keep in mind both of them should be price matching, so you might be able to get what you want from both stores, in just one place.” Excellent advice!

My suggestions:
· Take a list and a rolling shopping cart (shopping carts are not guaranteed).
· Work in tandem with a friend: He can buy things for you in one store while you buy things for him in another store.
· If the item you want is sold out, always ask for a rain check.
· Many stores will now stay open throughout Thanksgiving evening and into the morning, so at least you can wait in line out of the cold. Lines for individual items will be organized on a first-come, first-served basis, so if you want two items, you might want to bring a friend who can wait in one line while you wait in another. See article.
· Order online whenever possible. See if you can get free delivery if you pick up the item at a store near you.
· Take ads from other stores if you are going to a store that matches other store’s prices.· Do a Google search for specific item coupons, and try to use them. Some stores will allow discounts on BF items; some will not.

Good luck. And happy shopping.—Alice Rose Kieft
Added 11/21-Just read that best day of year to buy a new car is BF! Click here to find out the particulars!

This just in...

Thanksgiving dinner for six for less than $26? We discussed how you can save money on your holiday dinner in "A Frugal Thanksgiving Feast" (below). Now you can get the details—free—in A Frugal Thanksgiving Celebration. Get this 12-page mini eBook free with any purchase now at www.FrugalLivingPress.com. It's everything you need to know to shop for a traditional home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner for less.

Just purchase one of our books (see titles and links at right). After your purchase, you'll be directed back to our Web site, where you can select from a list of our free mini eBooks. (We call them our Frugal Freebies.) Just click on A Frugal Thanksgiving Celebration to download your copy and find out how we were able to cook up a made-from-scratch holiday dinner for six for less than $26.—Carol Wiley Lorente

A Frugal Thanksgiving Feast

In my book, Real Food, Real Cheap, I outline dozens of ways to save money on your grocery bill, but the thing that will always save you the most is to avoid processed foods and get cooking. I hear so often that eating right and cooking real food from scratch costs more than using processed foods. It’s simply not true. Let’s take Thanksgiving dinner as an example.

I went to three supermarkets last week to compare the difference in prices between ingredients for a Thanksgiving dinner cooked from scratch and for a dinner made entirely of convenience foods. I calculated everything based on the lowest prices I found, taking advantage of sales and store brands.

Back at home, I opened my local newspaper to find a full-page ad from Walmart, advertising ingredients for Thanksgiving dinner for eight for less than $20, including turkey for $0.40 a pound. (A trip to Walmart revealed that the smallest turkey for $0.40 a pound was a hefty 21-pounder. I also learned that Walmart can’t sell turkey at that price in every state, so check it out before you go.) Here’s how it all shakes out, using the best prices from the four supermarkets:

A Made-From-Scratch Thanksgiving Dinner (for six people): Roast, whole, 21-pound turkey ($8.40 at the Walmart price or $11.88 for a more modest 12-pound turkey at $0.99 a pound); sage-cornbread dressing ($1.80), fresh cranberry sauce ($2.77), mashed potatoes ($2.51), gravy ($0), fresh steamed green beans ($3), mashed sweet potatoes ($1.32), cornbread ($1), and pumpkin pie ($3.77) with whipped cream ($1.39). Total cost: $25.96 if you go with the 21-pound turkey, or $29.44 if you buy the 12-pounder.

A Processed Thanksgiving Dinner (for six people): Prepared turkey roll with gravy ($10), packaged stuffing mix ($1.56), canned cranberry sauce ($1.67), instant mashed potatoes ($1.71), gravy from a packet ($1.19), green bean casserole ($5.14), canned yams ($5.58) with marshmallows ($1.29), cornbread ($1), and readymade pumpkin pie ($5.98) with frozen whipped topping ($1.50). Total cost: $36.73.

The Made-From-Scratch Thanksgiving Dinner saves you between $7.29 and $10.77, depending on whether you buy the 21-pound turkey or the 12-pounder.

Some stores give away turkeys to customers who spend a set amount for groceries in the weeks preceding Thanksgiving, so a free turkey means you would bring down the cost of the Made-From-Scratch dinner to $17.56, less than half the price of the Processed Dinner.

Also, a whole turkey, particularly a 21-pounder, will provide you with at least three meals: the Thanksgiving dinner, the leftovers (sandwiches, casserole, etc.), and a pot of soup made from the carcass. You can’t get that from a processed turkey roll from a box.

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday: Just cook dinner, eat, and be thankful for everything you have. Pretty simple. And simple, home cooking is the key to a feast that doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg. That’s something to be thankful for, too.—Carol Wiley Lorente

For more ways to save money on groceries, get Real Food, Real Cheap: How to Save Money on Your Food Bill and Still Eat Well, only $9.95 at www.FrugalLivingPress.com, or click on book title at right.

Saving Resources and $1,000 (or more) a Year

Former VP Al Gore was on the television talk show circuit this week, promoting his new book, Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis, which stresses energy conservation and renewable energy sources—essential elements of a frugal lifestyle.

I had actually started exploring these ideas long before I watched Gore on TV, of course, but energy savings really hit home last week when the furnace maintenance man came to install a new filter and instead had to turn off the furnace because it was emitting carbon monoxide gas. I now have a new furnace that works at 92 percent efficiency—my old one was closer to 80 percent—so my heating bill should go down accordingly.

I also learned a few things by living in an unheated house for a couple of days: I learned to wear a sweater or two (duh) and to use an electric blanket or mattress pad (but never together, to avoid overheating) on my bed at night. If I use a space heater (a new, efficient one) in the room where I am, it allows me to keep my house a degree or two cooler and save as much as a couple hundred dollars a year.

My furnace experience lead me to do some more research on saving energy. Speaking of sweaters, for instance, dress your water heater in one of those insulating blankets so the heat does not “leak” into the air. And dial down the temperature on your water heater to 120°F.

“Standby power” can use a lot of electricity, so unplug computers, printers, microwave ovens, programmable coffeemakers, electric toothbrushes, et al. To make it easy on yourself, plug groups of appliances into a power strip; then all you have to do is just unplug the power strip.

Wash clothes in cold water. Almost all detergents these days are formulated to perform well in cold water, even for white loads. Let your dirty laundry pile up: It takes less energy to do a full load of laundry than several small loads. You’ll use less water and less power.

Hang your clothes to dry (and to provide humidity, which keeps the furnace from kicking on as often—more savings). I use the dryer to avoid wrinkles, but if I take out the clothes after 10 minutes and hang them on hangers, the wrinkles are usually gone by the next day.

Shorten your shower to use less hot water. When you take a bath, use less water, and leave water in the tub for a while after you get out to let all that lovely warm humidity into dry, winter air.

I know everyone knows this, but replace your incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lights (CFL).

These suggestions may seem simple and even simplistic, but they’re easily implemented, and even Al thinks they’re important ways to save money and resources. And Michael Bluejay (Mr. Electricity) estimates in his “savings” table that following all these suggestions could save you between $1,000 and $2,000 a year on energy costs. (His Web site also explains watts, amps, kwh, etc., so that the lay person can understand it, and if I can, believe me, anyone can.)—Alice Rose Kieft