Kelly's 12 Most Delicious Cheap Meals of 2009

It's that time of the year when people start compiling "best of the year" lists. We decided to do it last year and I published the 10 Best Economical Dinner Recipes of 2008. It was quite popular, so I'm doing it again this year. Here is the list of my favourite economical recipes of 2009.

I generally focus on recipes for every day eating that won't break the bank, but this was a difficult year for a lot of families and the emphasis on frugality was even more important. An interesting pattern emerged as I was pulling all of these recipes together. I found myself choosing a lot of recipes from my series on One Pot Meals, and also from my series on crock pot cooking. It turns out that not only was I being frugal with money, but with my time and clean-up as well. Not only that, almost all of my choices are vegetarian, so I'm also being easier on the environment.

Even though budget restraints may be a consideration, you can't cut corners on healthy eating. You'll find lots of legumes and vegetables here, and all of these recipes were made with local and seasonal ingredients. I leaned a bit more toward the heartier recipes, because, well, it's cold here right now and hearty food is appealing.

Of course, the easiest way to save money in the kitchen is to buy only what you need, and then use it. Too much of our food finds it's way onto the compost heap. Use up your leftovers rather than letting them rot in the back of the refrigerator. Be creative and turn them into soups or pies rather than just reheating them.