Cookbooks on Loan

I have a confession to make. I love cookbooks. New, old it doesn't matter. I do prefer the ones with all the pretty pictures but look at the others too. I probably own no less than 100 cookbooks.

I use to purchase cookbooks for one or two recipes that looked good. Now, I borrow cookbooks from the library for 6 weeks at a time. If Jessica and I use it a lot and love the recipes, I will purchase a copy for our home collection. If we don't like it then we have saved ourselves $15 to $25.

The library is one of the best sources I know of for trying new cookbooks. This really works well to keep my home library under control.

Have you ever bought a cookbook and wished you hadn't? Now, try before you buy. It works for me.

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Works For Me Wednesday

Know Your Pantry

Last night, we made the Chicken Salsa Chili on our menu plan. While putting the ingredients in the dutch oven, we realized that there were no red kidney beans in the pantry. Jessica(my daughter) remembered that we had a can of black beans and suggested that we use them instead.

I never would have strayed from the recipe in the past. Having a daughter who likes to cook has taught me a lot. Now when we open a can of green chilies, we use what we need and put the rest in a baggie in the freezer. When we have another recipe that calls for green chilies, we break off what we need.

We used medium salsa in the recipe. We left out the crushed red pepper. We used three packets of True Lime instead of lime juice. Next time we make this recipe, we will use 6 packets. We also added 2 cups of sliced baby carrots.

The chili was really yummy. My daughter had never eaten hominy and informed me that she really likes it.

The next time you're making a recipe and don't have an ingredient, check in your pantry or fridge for a substitution. Having a well stocked pantry is what works for me.

Are there any tips you use in the kitchen to save money? Please feel free to leave a comment. I love hearing from everyone and read all my comments.

This post is linked to: Works For Me Wednesday