These days, we're all scrounging around our couch cushions for nickel and dimes. So how considerate of Oprah to feature Tyler Florence and Iron Chef Cat Cora showing easy, tasty and budget saving home made meals for us to watch, while we pat down the sofa! You can catch a rerun of the segment here.

In case you missed it -- there were three family interventions, if you will.  Being the guilty, quick-fix TV dinner girl over here, I tended to relate to the first family, who ate almost entirely from the freezer to the microwave!  Once the chefs demonstrated the whole slow cooking thing that's been all the rage lately, I started to consider dusting off that crock pot hand me down (thank you cutey pa tootey Tyler Florence). Check out both Tyler’s family favorite recipes, as well as Cat’s complete 7-day menu, which includes a week’s worth of breakfast, lunch, and dinner recipes for all under $150.

Oprah’s not the only day time gal teaching us how to save some dough while watching dvr-ed shows. Sandra Lee just finished taping her first 13 episodes of Sandra's Money Saving Meals which premieres on May 10th (2 days before SC's B-day, in case your curious). We did get some behind the scenes on Ms. Lee, so keep a lookey-loo out for that video on here. Let me just say, even with the dollar scrimping, her plates don't make any color cuts.

Tell me dear readers what is your "recession budgeting" tips for tasty meals? We're all in this together and as much as I'm loving my slow cooker, it’s uh, a bit slow. Let me know. Heres to keeping it real and hot!