HomeCooking

Everybody knows the basic rules for saving money on food. Don't eat out. Ditch the steaks in favor of ground beef. Stick to staples. But a recent USDA report shows that, in 2011, some classic money-saving guidelines proved useless as food prices went through the roof.

Americans plan to apply a new DIY-attitude across the board this year -- to their vacations, staying in shape and even beauty maintenance. It's all part of the trend of trying to scale back and save more money.

Tell me if this sounds familiar: You decided to make chicken dijon. The recipe called for four chicken breasts, but the breasts came three to a package, so you bought two packages. For the garlic, you bought a full head, most of which is still left. Ditto the 1/2 onion that was left after you...

If there was one truly happy player in the harried, two-income, over-scheduled family of popular lore, it was the restaurant industry. With extra income and no time to cook, families ate their lunches and dinners out in huge numbers. But the thrust of women into the workplace has leveled off over...