I made this the other night. I had high expectations, especially considering I love all the ingredients. But it was wholly disappointing. Very bland. Even with my own added seasoning, it just didn't work. Sorry Martha...they can't all be winners.

Thanks @merstar - that's more of what I was looking for.

My Beagles are named Ginger and Ebi (which means "shrimp" in Japanese - she was the runt of the litter.) They were named during a fantastic sushi meal.

It's pretty amazing how many Latke recipes there are out there. I like to cut the potatoes into cubes before running them through the food processor, which results in smaller threads and less like a hash brown. I also just simply lay them on paper towels to get some of the excess water out. Much faster and easier than using a cheese cloth.

I don't consider Sandra-Lee an evil doer like a lot of other foodies, but I can't say I would consider using a Latke mix from a box. I like your experiment, though!

@MadelynRodriguez - I was actually surprised/impressed with the vegetarian selection during our stay. However, I completely understand what you're saying. I lived a meat-free life for a long time and I was always stunned at how many people would say "yes, it's made with chicken stock. But not actual pieces of chicken. So you can't tell." Sigh.

@betteirene reminded me of how good the food was after giving birth to my daughter, and again after my son. But labor is so much work, I wonder if anything would taste good.

My absolute favorite. The kind that makes your mouth want another one, even though your belly is full.

http://veryculinary.com/_blog/2009/04/08/grilled-muenster-cheese-with-turkey-and-tomato/

I posted a recap last week of all the awesome (and most common) suggestions. Several aren't included because they came in after I posted.

http://veryculinary.com/_blog/2009/07/09/money-saving-tips-on-food/

I have taken everyone's comments to heart. Hopefully I can report back soon with some good news.

I'm still checking and reading. Thanks everyone. Really, really fantastic stuff.

@cybercita - excellent. I already started reading a few of his articles. I also found The Simple Dollar. Really great tips on there, too.

@PeanutButter & @radish - I am so so guilty of this. I know I have many cans and boxes of food stored in my pantry that could be utilized. So ridiculous. Thanks for pointing that out.

Lori F - will check out your site, thanks!

Thank you everyone. Even more excellent suggestions!!

Compared to a lot of other people that have lost their jobs, we're actually pretty solid. We sort of saw it coming and started to plan, but as I said before, I'm not creative when it comes to saving on food and I'm really trying to be smart. Hopefully it will change my shopping habits for good.

A lot of people tend to think that Minneapolis is pretty inexpensive, since it's the midwest. This is not the case at all. Perhaps in terms of housing, but certainly not as far as insurance, property taxes, and food. My mother was recently out visiting (from San Francisco no less) and had sticker shock when she saw the prices at my local grocery store.

Anyway, sounds like I need to stop buying pre-cut anything, invest in a freezer, cook with less expensive meats, cut coupons, looks for sales, frequent the farmer's market, and make more soup. Got it. I can do all of this!

And I was afraid nobody would chime in. You Serious Eaters are great.

@joyyy - I'm not tied to organic, luckily, so I will absolutely buy generic or anything on sale. I love your suggestions of downplaying meat as the lead ingredient and utilizing more eggs. Ah, the dried beans. Yes, I always buy the canned to save on time, but now it's about the money. Excellent suggestions.

@CJ McD - I do already have a garden, but it's limited to tomatoes and herbs. I will try and plant some of the other veggies you mentioned if they're still available. Great idea about soups! I forget about soup as the weather warms up.

I still work and we actually have savings, so we're no where near needing to go to a food bank or work for trade. Hopefully it won't come to that. I'm just trying to be smart and stay ahead of the game. I would much rather leave those resources to people who truly need it.