This is Linda Loosli, creator/author of the wonderful site, Food Storage Moms (www.foodstoragemoms.com). I wish we were related. I learn so much from her site.

She says one of her goals is to teach the world how to save money on groceries. That’s been one of my goals as well. And it’s a timely goal. Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, and considering the cost of things today, when it comes to gift-giving, we need way more than a penny in an old man’s hat!

So if you can relate, I thought I’d share a few of her tips. I know our Cook’n readers are savvy shoppers and even savvier cooks, but maybe Linda’s come up with something you’ve never thought of before:

TIP 1: Linda likes to cook a bag of chicken tenderloins (cheaper than breasts) in a slow cooker or pressure cooker. You can bake them boil, them or whatever. Then you shred the meat with two forks. Measure the chicken into freezer bags (portions that work for you and your favorite recipes). The point, though, is to have a bag of 1-2 cups of chicken always available when you need it ASAP.

And here are just 12 suggestions on how to use this handy chicken:

Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Tacos

Chicken ala’King

Chicken Tostadas

Chicken Salad

Chicken and Rice Casserole

Chicken Divan Casserole

Chicken Haystacks (cooked rice, Chinese crunchy noodles, chicken and gravy, grated cheese, chopped celery, pineapple chunks, and shredded coconut)

Barbecue pizza

Baked buttermilk chicken tenders

Chicken Potpie

Chicken Chimichangas

TIP 2: Do the same thing with ground beef. I like to buy the family packs and brown it while I’m putting all my groceries away. I drain off the fat and spread it out on cookie sheets and pop them into the freezer. As soon as the meat is frozen, I crumble it into freezer bags in 2 cup portions and pop it all back into the freezer. I call this “hamburger gravel.”

I also chop up lots of onion and celery and freeze them on cookie sheets and freeze them in recipe portions as well.

And by the way, when it comes time to cook some for dinner, and you have a big group to feed (more than 2 or 3 people), don’t hesitate to add 1 cup or so of rolled oats or cooked cracked wheat to your cooked ground beef. Both grains are neutral in flavor, so they don’t add anything to the taste of the meat. But they do add whole-grain-goodness, fiber, and bulk. When you add other ingredients (sloppy Joe sauce, for instance), you don’t even know there’s a grain mixed in. Super way to feed more people for less money!

Here are suggestions for using your frozen cooked ground beef:

Tacos

Beef Enchiladas

Beef Tostadas

Taco Salad Taco Salad

Beef Burritos

Hamburger Soup

Chili

Pizza Pockets

Ground Beef Stroganoff

TIP 3: And finally, how about a soup night? If you’ll take the time to always have a few quarts of homemade chicken, beef, and vegetable broth in your freezer (or boxes of them in your pantry), you can always whip up a delicious soup. At our house “Kitchen Sink Soup” shows up at least once a month. The name simply indicates there’s everything in it but the kitchen sink. The good flavor of this soup hinges on a good-tasting broth or stock.

And I’ll conclude with a few other soup ideas. I know you could add to this list.

Hamburger Soup

Beef Stew

Vegetable Beef Soup

Bean with Ham (or bacon) Soup

Chicken or Turkey Noodle Soup

White Chili Chicken Soup

Clam Chowder

Corn Chowder

Potato Chowder

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Cream of Cauliflower Soup

Butternut Squash (or any other winter squash) Soup

Tomato Soup

Cheese Soup

Onion Soup

I also know you have money-saving grocery tips as well. (Like you, one of my favorite dollar-stretching secrets is turning to my Cook’n app for recipe ideas. I love that I can enter the ingredients I have on hand and all sorts of recipes come up.) Anyway, why not take a minute to share yours? After all, we could all use a little extra money!