We know that it’s cheaper to buy a whole organic chicken than to buy it in parts. I still don’t personally have a use for the bag of innards, but I finally have a way to make the most out of that meatless back portion and the dinky little wings!

32 ounces of organic chicken broth costs about $5. This recipe yields about 4 quarts and literally costs nothing. Just don’t ask me how you’ll use up all that broth in your freezer!

In your largest pot (I love my enamel cookware Dutch Oven for this), throw whatever raw chicken parts you won’t be using (you can use your cooked bones as well) into the pot and fill about ¾ up with water. You definitely want to toss some salt, pepper, and at least half an onion in there, but with everything else you can get creative using whatever is around the house – carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaves, parsley, rosemary, thyme.

Bring to a boil and then simmer with a lid for as long as you can stand it. At least two hours – three to four should suffice. Drain out the solid bits and freeze the rest in portions. Never buy store-bought chicken stock again or feel freaked out when a recipe calls for it!

Once upon a time I ate little packets of Oatmeal for breakfast. (Actually, once upon a time I ate Cinnamon Toast Crunch for breakfast, but let’s stay on topic).

I believed I was eating something super heart-healthy and organic, but it was also loaded with sugar and packaged in wasteful individual servings. So about a year ago I switched to plain old oats, bought in bulk and microwaved for 90 seconds with some skim milk. It was pretty plain, but enough to keep me sated until lunchtime.

But then I learned a little trick from a Martha Stewart magazine that I have made my own by dumbing-down and now share with you, minus any ideas of Martha Stewart measuring or perfection!

Take a bulk-load of oats and toast them on a baking pan for about 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Cool and then mix in a bowl with any combination of the following items by the fistful:

• Brown sugar
• Cinnamon
• Flax Seeds
• Sunflower Seeds
• Dried fruits
• Diced Nuts
• Whatever

Store in airtight container for a week. Probably longer is fine though. When you are ready to eat, mix about a fistful with skim milk and microwave for 90 seconds. If you are anti-micro you can break out the kettle. I can’t give up the microwave no matter how much radiation I am probably absorbing.

Whether you are trying to use up extra fruit or you’re thinking about a way to save money on extra-special homemade gifts, making your own jam can be quick and easy — something even the most harried mom (or dad) can do.

The foundation for this recipe appealed to me because it was the first I could find which didn’t mention something called “pectin,” which was not in my pantry and I didn’t feel like going out to buy. It claimed that the juice of a fresh lemon could substitute and still gelify the jam, so that was more in my comfort zone.

By dumbing down an already pretty simple procedure, I found that I could make quite good jam in about 15 minutes by doing the following:

1. Pit cherries or peaches (OK add in some extra time for this). If you are using something pitless like blueberries you can thankfully skip this step.
2. Put in sauce pan over medium heat and add the juice of one lemon. If you have more than say a pound of fruit, add more lemon. I was probably working with 4 cups of fruit so one lemon was fine.
3. Stir that bubbling pot a lot. After maybe 15 minutes add in some sugar. The recipe I was going from said you needed to use a lot of sugar to keep the jam from spoiling. But I planned to use my jam up in a couple of days and I really didn’t want to add loads of sugar. I used about 1/3 cup and it turned out very sweet.
4. Keep stirring over heat. It will miraculously become jam-like and you will know it when you see it. Shouldn’t take more than another 5 or 10 minutes – you don’t want to cook it too long or the sugar will caramelize and make everything taste funky.
5. Take off heat, put in a jar, and let cool and refrigerate.
6. If unopened, the jam can be stored in the fridge for a few months.  After it’s been opened you can store jam in the fridge as long as you’d keep ordinary opened jam – maybe a few days?

My preschooler likes nothing, but he loved this. And added to my homemade bread I could feel like the ultimate urban homesteader. Now if I only had a cow so I could churn my own butter…

Leftover bread? Devastating to throw away, especially when you’ve put all that effort into baking it. Or maybe your kid just won’t eat the crusts or the ends.

Breadcrumbs

1. Break up into easily toastable chunks.
2. Put in toaster oven or oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until it is very crispy but not burned.
3. Throw in a bag with some dried herbs (oregano works nicely) and beat the hell out of it with the back of a pan. This is therapeutic. Oh, and it also makes crumbs. Voila!

Croutons

1. Again, break up into toastable chunks.
2. This time, mix up in a bowl with some olive oil and garlic to coat. If you’re feeling adventurous, throw in some rosemary, Parmesan cheese, or other herb of choice.
3. Cook on a baking sheet at 300 degrees for 15-30 minutes. Check on them and shake them around a bit so they don’t get burnt!

When you serve a salad with homemade croutons or bread some fish in your homemade crumbs, you will feel like a domestic goddess!

Can I make jam without buying something called “pectin?” Can I make sun-dried tomatoes on a cloudy day? Do I really need cream of tartar (or was that tartar sauce?) to make Play-Doh?

Everyone wants to save money, be greener and healthier, be self-sufficient and feel like a superwoman. Suddenly keeping up with the Joneses feels more like keeping up with the Amish, even on the Upper East Side! But what if you are utterly terrified by the idea of canning?

This little series will offer a how-to guide for even the most clueless urban dweller. Learn how to take advantage of cheap, simple self-sufficiency even if you can’t keep a houseplant alive.

How to make Oven-Dried Tomatoes that taste like candy:

1. Cut tomatoes in halves or quarters depending on size and scoop out seeds with your fingers.
2. Lay on a baking sheet and sprinkle with olive oil and salt.
3. Bake at a super low temperature, like 150 degrees, for about 8 hours.

Eat them all in one sitting.