Cooking with Public Accountants

By Mark Hoversen CPA

"Cooking with Public Accountants" is a cookbook that has something for everyone, regardless of background or culinary expertise! The book is filled with more than 50 delicious recipes varying from pressure cooked soups to ribs and collard greens, totaling just over $2.50 a serving. The recipes can be perfect families of four, or even single dinners! Using the tips, recipes, and overall accounting concepts, readers will be able to calculate how much they are spending on monthly groceries and overall meals.

This is a creative and one-of-a-kind book that emphasizes the importance of preparing high quality meals that are financially feasible. You don't have to sacrifice taste or quality when you're following a budget! Whether you are cooking for pleasure or cooking as a necessity for sustenance, you will love the money-saving and delicious recipes in this book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Oct 12, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098397623

Book preview

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© 2021 Mark Hoversen, CPA. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-1-09839-761-6 (Print)

ISBN 978-1-09839-762-3 (eBook)

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.

To Mom and Dad:

Thank you for always being supportive,

allowing me to test out my weeknight meals

on you or for being a scribe taking notes

how much a teaspoon of oil costs.

To Chris Hayes: Thank you for your excitement,

for being a good friend, for being a tremendous artist,

and for all your hard work on the covers.

To the rest of my friends and family:

Thank you for telling me that I am the

most important person in my own life and

for pushing me to take care of myself

by doing what I do best.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Background

Chapter 3: Quick Tips to Save

Chapter 4: How many leftovers can I expect?

Chapter 5: How are you calculating this?

Chapter 6: Pantry and Fridge Essentials

Chapter 7: Pasta and Grains

Chapter 8: Pork

Chapter 9: Beef and Lamb

Chapter 10: Poultry

Chapter 11: Soups

Chapter 12: Seafood

Chapter 13: Summary and Conclusion

Appendix

Index

Chapter 1: Introduction

Have you ever gone to your inbox, whether that being your mailbox or email and just see the following: electricity bill, gas bill, water bill, credit card bill, rent statement, car payment statement. Oh, I mean the list can go on. It can be exhausting. And what do you do when you come home and see all these expenses that need to be paid? Maybe stress about it? Maybe pour yourself a drink and push them off till later? Maybe just come home and play with the kids or maybe just come home and kick your feet up and catch up on what’s new in the world of streaming. Or, maybe you figure the best way to handle the stress of everyday life is to have something as comforting as cooking a home cooked meal. But even that costs money! But that’s OK because here we are going to make that specific cost seem less like a burden, more like a challenge to be accomplished, and more delicious.

What do I mean? Well the bottom line is it costs money to live. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it, it costs money to live. This reality can be flat out tiring, stressful, and can cause anxiety. There are things one can do to reduce that stress and anxiety and feel more in control of their everyday living and spending. Since I’m here, well, it obviously is going to take place in the kitchen.

Let’s keep your bellies and wallets full!

Chapter 2: Background

I went to Marquette University. Graduated with a Bachelors in Business Administration with a major in accounting and 18 months later, graduated with a Masters in Accountancy. 18 months later I became a licensed Certified Public Accountant or CPA. Usually this means I sit behind a desk and crunch numbers all day. Whether that being crunching numbers in an effort to analyze the numbers or crunching numbers so they are reported correctly to the world. But it also means I get to use my knowledge of numbers and the resources I have accessible to me to try and find ways to either help an organization (or person) make more money or save on expenses.

Now, I feel like I’m an ordinary guy. Yes, I work a 9-5 accounting job, but I also try to see my friends and family on the weekends, I love to cook, I love sports, I love to combine family, friends, food and sports (see my other published work for reference. Also, how cool is it that I can actually say that). I love movies, TV, golf, and binge watching. I mean I could go on and on. But like every other person in the world, I have bills to pay. Whether that being a mortgage, utilities, a social life, or in this specific case, groceries.

I work hard for my paycheck, I mean who doesn’t? When I get paid, I feel good about the work that I’ve completed and feel like I have earned that money. So it really pains me when I don’t have the time to actually cook something and have to actually go out and spend up the wazoo to just get some takeout. I mean don’t get me wrong. When I come home on a Friday night, the very last thing I want to do at the beginning of a weekend is try to figure out what to eat, so takeout is a very viable option. But on an ordinary Wednesday evening, when I get home, I try my hardest not to go for takeout. Cooking on your own and making your own recipes not only has nutritional benefits, it’s also more enjoyable, and frankly, it is so much cheaper.

Cheaper, eh? What do you mean? How can one save money by cooking at home? Oh! Someone is asking a CPA, who basically moonlights as a cookbook author, how they can save money by cooking at home with nutritious, inexpensive, and delicious meals? Step into my office.

Now don’t get me wrong. There are obvious roadblocks for this book: taste buds, dietary restrictions based on nutrition, metabolism, or religious beliefs, but more accurately, just where a person lives or shops. Yes, different grocery stores charge different prices for the same foods based on quality and quantity. But also geographic location is a big roadblock. I was born and raised in Chicago. A meal in Chicago might be more expensive in Dallas. Prices are different everywhere, especially if someone lives in an expensive city. But here are my two thoughts on some of these roadblocks.

#1 This is not going to be an exact science. I’m going to have to shop at different stores to get ingredients which means different prices, I am going to shop sales (yes, I am that guy that looks at the weekly ads), I’m going to do a lot of butchering myself, and there are different prices for things at different times of the year. That being said, I believe this is probably a good place to start for people to try and save money by cooking themselves. #2 If I can provide at least 50, weekday