Celebrate Memorial Day Without Breaking the Bank

Memorial Day is just around the corner and what is a fantastic celebration without a fantastic feast? The weather will cooperate, family is coming over and ‘food’ is on the menu. Traditional fare usually involves expensive cuts of beef followed by more food and then topped off with dessert. With a little planning Memorial Day and any other summer celebration will go off without a hitch. Everyone will get their fill and you’ll be with some cash left over in your pocket.

Plan in Advance

Buying groceries for the long weekend should not happen on the Friday prior to Memorial Day. Friday the stores will be crowded and people’s nerves will be frazzled. Scan the local grocery flyers for the best deals and buy in bulk now.

Plan the menu. A simple barbeque of burgers, dogs, corn, beans will satisfy most palates. Of course what is a barbeque without a potato salad and fresh bread and butter?

Take this handy shopping list when preparing for the barbeque:

• Hamburger – make your own patties. They will save money and taste better and don’t have the additives that preformed, frozen burgers have. For added flavor add some herbs such as oregano, some chopped onion (or onion soup mix) and garlic.

• Hamburger buns

• Hot dogs and buns

• Corn on the cob – grilled on the barbeque. Before placing on the barbeque, place the corn, with the husk still on, in a container of water. Leave for about an hour. Then place each ear, with the husk on, on the barbeque. Slow roast it and turn often. The soaking steams the cobs and keeps them sweet.

• Baked beans – don’t worry if you don’t have time to make your own. Canned beans can be jazzed up and no one will be the wiser. In a pan melt a pat of butter and fry up approximately ¼ cup of diced onion. To the onion add 1 tablespoon of mustard, 2 tablespoons of molasses (use brown sugar if you don’t have molasses) and 1 tablespoon of ketchup. Swirl this with 2 tablespoons of water and add to one can of beans. Then put the whole concoction in a slow cooker, on slow for the day. By the end of the day the onion, mustard and molasses will have melded and produced you own ‘home made’ beans.

• Homemade bread – bread makers are great for this but if time is already thin then buy a loaf of French bread or a frozen dough to thaw and cook on your own.

• Potato Salad – you can’t go wrong making your own potato salad. The hardest and most labor intensive part is slicing and dicing the potatoes. Peel, and cook the potatoes. This can be done several days in advance of the holiday. After they are cooled, cube them in to ½ inch squares. Then add mayonnaise, salt, pepper and what ever else you may like into the mix. Some people add chopped boiled egg, olives and my personal favorite a pinch of curry powder!

• Desert – something simple like ice cream topped with fresh fruit is a simple yet inexpensive desert. Kids love sprinkles and a little goes a long way. Have some cookie crumbs in the bottom of the package? Even granola or chocolate chips works just as well.

With this simple menu your barbeque can be a hit without breaking the bank.