Concept: Making a recipe less expensive.

It is a misconception that just because one doesn’t have all the ingredients for a recipe that the recipes is off limits.   Many recipes come from the home economists that work for a food company.   Naturallly , their object is to sell their products.   That doesn’t mean that you can’t substitute scratch for something in a can or box and not sacrifice flavor.

1. Chicken boullion (low sodium ) can be substituted for a box or can of chicken broth.  Better yet, you can freeze chicken broth that is home made .  
2. Parmesean cheese can be substituted with any hard cheese.   Buy whatever is cheapest.   Sometimes a blend of Romano and parmesean is cheaper.   Buy fresh, in a deli type tub or a wedge.  Don’t buy the stuff in the green box.  It has wood pulp in it and the taste is a whole lot different. 
3. You can buy biscuit mix at costco pretty cheap, but you can also make it without preservatives and hydroginated oils.  
4. Shallots can be substituted with green onion tops ( cut off the tops and plant the bulb part and get more for your money. Or use chives . 
5. Taco seasoning is a lot less expensive than the envelopes and you control the heat. 
6. Instead of whip cream, you can use a little less milk. 
7. Canned beans can always be substituted for cooked dry beans for a fraction of the cost....like as much as a dollar a can.
8. Diced tomatoes can be substituted for any recipe that calls for tomatoes.   Buying one kind of canned tomatoes saves a lot of aggravation.  Simplify canned goods to make life easier. 
9. Homemade enchalada sauce is a lot cheaper than canned.   Canned sauce tends to be expensive.   Green sauce for enchaladas is easy.  
10. Almost everything you can make that calls for cheese can be made with mozzarella, Mexican blend, or parmesean.   Again, simplify.