A word on seasoning

When you start to make all of your own food from scratch, little is more important than the spices. I've always had the staples; salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cinnamon, but I was weary of spending money on a whole jar of spice to make one recipe (just ask that five year old bottle of molasses sitting in my pantry how that worked out). How different would it taste if I used regular paprika in place of smoked paprika anyway? But once I found myself making the same recipe enough times, I finally decided to invest in the proper seasonings, and it was worth it. I'm surprised at the varying costs of a spice depending on where you get it, I suppose an argument could be made about quality, but I've never tasted a difference between the $.50 garlic powder, and the $3 garlic powder. There are a few things I choose to go out of my way to purchase, but when it saves this much money, spices is one of them. At my local grocery store, I can get small Kroger Brand tins for a few bucks, but I can go down the road to walmart and get large 5th Season brand bottles for one dollar or less.

Step out of the spice aisle- Depending on the spice, I've been able to find great deals on things like cayenne pepper by taking a stroll down the mexican aisle. Sure it came in a bag, but I just saved my old cayenne container and poured it in.
My grocery store has a small bulk section, sometimes the prices look a bit high, but when you consider the prices are based per pound, you can be sure your finished price wont be that steep.