Stuff you're cutting back on (due to the economy)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

One tip for those who find it hard to cook when they get home from work-
Try using a slow cooker (crock pot or other brands) more often. Good ones only cost about $25 these days, and last for many years.
It's a great way to eat more cheaply, easily, and more healthily.

You can literally just wash and roughly chop up a few vegetables in the morning, or even do the chopping the night before after dinner, and put the ingredients into a bag in the fridge overnight, and start the soup in the morning. Throw it in the crock pot with 6 or 8 cups of water and set it on low and go to work....come home to a wonderful aromatic hearty and healthy soup for very little money. Add a couple slices of crusty whole grain bread and you have a great meal plus leftovers. Also, the food can just stay warm in the pot if two people tend to come home at different times.

Some examples of things that can be thrown into the pot in pretty much any combination, chopped:

potatoes
yams
bok choy
spinach
carrots
celery
turnips or parsnips
eggplant
tomatoes
leeks
beets
cilantro or scallions
squash
green beans
kale
mushrooms
cabbage
onions
canned beans
dried small beans, lentils or split peas
barley
rice
small bits of chicken or cheap cuts of beef or ham if you like meat

There are a couple of good threads on TE already with slow cooker/crock pot recipes and advice.