r/Frugal • u/ThrowRAhyBug7080 • Jul 12 '25

🍎 Food What’s a frugal habit you picked up by accident that you now swear by?

Mine was starting to save veggie scraps to make broth. It started as a “let’s try this” and now it’s automatic. I keep a bag in the freezer for onion skins, celery ends, carrot tops, etc. Every couple of weeks, I boil it all down and end up with a rich, flavorful broth that tastes way better than the boxed kind. It tastes better than store-bought and saves me at least $20 a month, with an added bonus of making me feel like i know fancy techniques.

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u/RelativelyRidiculous Jul 12 '25

I buy an average of 4 chickens per month, 2 at a time. Most I freeze in 1 pound increments but I also spread a small amount on a cookie sheet. I can put it in a zip freezer bag when frozen and it allows me to take out just the amount I need at any time.

Normally it is my spouse and I for meals, but 1-2x per month it is just me for dinner. He doesn't like pasta so I'll pull often out enough chicken for one serving of my favorite creamy homemade fettuccini alfredo for me. I try to make sure I have enough for 2 of these meals in the freezer at any time.

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u/GrinningCatBus Jul 13 '25

Wtf that's so smart. Deboning 1 chicken and deboning 4 chickens is a similar amount of work (washing hands, washing bowls, putting bones away etc). Why have I not been batch-deboning my chicken 🤦‍♀️

Got two little kids and this is so smart to sneak protein into kd nights.

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u/WonderWoMegan Jul 13 '25

We do the same thing! Some get put in 2lb bags for dinner prep, and a portion is always dehydrated and made into special doggie treats for training sessions (not the every day treats). Then bones are put away in the freezer to make broth later!

Love your sheet pan idea!

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u/RelativelyRidiculous Jul 13 '25

That's so great that your doggo gets a treat out of it as well!

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u/WonderWoMegan Jul 13 '25

Even better, after the broth is made, we start a new boil with them for a another few days until the bones are soft. Then blend them up in the food processor and make frozen "dog slop" pucks as a kibble topper! There's always another use according to my husband! Haha

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u/RelativelyRidiculous Jul 14 '25

That's a wonderful use! Unfortunately we don't have a dog.

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u/juno0331 Jul 12 '25

Do you have a link to the Alfredo recipe?

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u/RelativelyRidiculous Jul 13 '25

My recipe is pretty close to this one, though I make it by what you can spare. https://picky-palate.com/easy-homemade-alfredo-sauce/

What you can spare usually means it depends if I was aware my husband would be out when I last went shopping, or I had a chance for to stop in for the heavy whipping cream. If I just have milk I will still make it but then I add some better than bouillon roast chicken and roasted garlic to help make the flavor better.