How do you create a food budget that works? I mean, you could just buy what you want and let the chips fall where they may. You could buy only what you need, but sometimes, uh, you really need a gallon of high-end ice cream.

As boring as it sounds, having a food budget — a distinct allowance for grocery shopping — really is important. In fact, it’s key to living within your means and achieving your financial goals. Without a food budget, it’s very easy to let spending get out of control without a lot to show for it. Here is my food budget 101 — start from scratch to achieve a budget that really works for you.

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Keep a bag of frozen tortellini tucked away in your freezer and you can rest easy knowing that a quick meal is always at the ready. This series on fast tortellini dinners will show you how to transform frozen tortellini into dinner using pantry staples and a few surprising techniques. Pasta sauce is just the beginning!

Once you’ve made your way through soups, crostini, and salads filled with tender roasted vegetables, give this quick and easy weeknight pasta dish a try. All you do is toss warm roasted veggies — everything from broccoli to cauliflower to sweet potatoes is fair game — with cooked tortellini and a heaping spoonful of pesto.

Serve this meal warm for something a bit more comforting or try it chilled or at room temperature with a green salad on the side. It might just become the reason you start roasting vegetables in the first place.

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If last night’s chicken dinner is already looking sad and slightly spoiled, odds are that you’ve got a refrigerator issue on your hands. But how do you know if you really need to replace your fridge or if it just needs a little TLC? Try looking out for the following tell-tale signs of fridge problems, then have a heart-to-heart chat with yourself about whether it’s really time to let go or not.

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Here we are on Shrove Tuesday (aka Pancake Day), a high holy day for those devoted to pancakes. I’ve got more than four decades of dedication to the griddle under my belt, so I’m sharing my 10 Pancake Commandments to help steer you to some of the best pancakes on the planet.

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Do you strive to get weeknight dinners on the table in 30 minutes or less? I know I do, and I have a hunch I’m not alone. Choosing the best recipes for the job is one step in the right direction, but there’s an even more important tool to achieve this dinner victory: The real key to mastering 30-minute meals is your pantry.

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How many times have you purchased produce from the grocery store or farmers market, only to have it go bad a couple days later? It’s a huge waste of money and time, not to mention the environmental impact. It’s no wonder our readers love tricks and tips for extending the shelf life of fruits and vegetables! We’ve shared our advice in the past, but a new product wants to make it even easier for you.

It’s Fresh!, a food tech company, is working on preserving produce with the help of filter papers. These special papers hit the pause button on the ripening process of fruits and veggies and, in turn, extend their shelf life.

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It’s interesting to me how financial experts, mothers-in-law, and total strangers on a Facebook page all have distinct opinions on how much you should spend on groceries. The thing is, while food costs certainly shouldn’t be complex, they can vary from person to person and household to household — even region to region.

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Keep a bag of frozen tortellini tucked away in your freezer and you can rest easy knowing that a quick meal is always at the ready. This series on fast tortellini dinners will show you how to transform frozen tortellini into dinner using pantry staples and a few surprising techniques. Pasta sauce is just the beginning!

When you want something for dinner that doesn’t require an extra trip to the grocery store, you can lean on that bag of frozen tortellini you always keep stashed in the freezer. Along with your favorited jarred pasta sauce and a bit of shredded cheese, frozen tortellini is the key to a quick meal. Here’s what you need to know to make this three-ingredient dinner tonight!

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Lofted ceilings, bay windows, and a bathroom that you can actually fit inside — you finally found the perfect apartment! The only problem? The appliances look like they’re straight out of Don Draper’s house. And if you have big plans to actually, you know, use them, that can be kind of a deal-breaker.

The good news is that just because those appliances are currently there, it doesn’t mean they have to stay there! Whether you’re just about to move in or you’ve been in the apartment for years, you have some sway to get your landlord to splurge on something a bit more current.

Here are seven ways to get newer stuff — without footing the entire bill yourself.

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This isn’t a very sophisticated recipe, but it’s also the recipe my husband eats as if he will be fasting for the following week. His eyes get kind of teary whenever I make this; he’ll show up for dinner early when he knows it’s on the menu.

It’s nothing new under the sun, but once you try this delightful stovetop dish, you will understand the deepest meaning of the word crowd-pleaser. And it all cooks in one skillet. Even the pasta, which cooks right in the sauce! I know, I know — it’s the little things.

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