Mom’s Money

Creating Wonderful Gourmet Meals For 99 Cents? Here’s How!

When Christiane Jory, a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, decided she was going to starve if she didn’t figure out how to cook, she went on a mission.  She didn’t just cook up big batches of macaroni like a lot of starving artists, she researched and learned to create delicious meals using, get this, only ingredients purchased from her local 99 Cents Only store.  After several years of cooking and compiling recipes, she wrote her book The 99 Cent Only Stores Cookbook: Gourmet Recipes at Discount Prices.

So, I’m thinking, if she can do it, so can I.  Reading her book has been an adventure.  More so than watching the cooking shows, which I love, but often feel intimidated by all the ingredients I’m simply not going to ever buy.  For two reasons:  1) They’re too expensive, and 2) I’ll never use them again and the bottle/can/box will go stale or rot.

What I’m thinking is that if you’re on a tight budget, Mom, and you’re looking at even a half dozen recipes to add to your repertoire, this may be the place to look.  It’s a great read and the recipes are simple and down to earth.  After all, what do you imagine is available at 99 Cents Only Stores?

We don’t have those stores here, but I’m certainly going to be able to find some of the ingredients at the dollar stores we have.  What I can’t find there, I will find at my local grocery store.  And there won’t be any fancy-schmancy ingredients to rob my food budget!