Credit card bills racked up over the holidays are starting to roll in, or maybe the raise you hoped would welcome 2025 didn't pan out. Do you feel it?

January is when many of us tighten our belts, and cut back on spending.

At a time when a family-sized box of Cheerios can set you back more than $5, one of the first places we often scale back at is at the grocery store. Do we really need the bagged snacks, ready-made meals and other convenience items that add major bucks to the bill?

The easy answer is "no." But it still can be daunting to try to feed a significant other or an entire family when food prices are still high.

Even though consumer price index inflation — which measures the average change in price of a basket of consumer goods over time — is expected to cool slightly to 2.4% in 2025, the cost of many everyday items — eggs, beef, coffee and fresh lettuce, to just name a few — come with sticker shock. Grocery prices in the U.S. are 27% higher now than they were in February 2020, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As our ongoing series on budget meals has demonstrated over the past few months, you can still get a pretty good home-cooked meal on the table most nights if you do your homework by studying sales circulars and checking the web and cookbooks for simple recipes.

Being willing to shop at a discount grocery store helps, too.

I got the idea for this $10 dinner for two while wandering around my favorite big box retailer after Christmas in search of cheap paper towels and plastic food containers.

Last month, I received Jamie Oliver's latest cookbook, "Simply Jamie: Fast & Simple Food" (Flatiron Books, $40). Along with seven no-cook pasta sauces and various one-pan dinners, it includes a recipe for "speedy" microwave gnocchi with several serving possibilities. As a lover of Italian food who makes ricotta gnocchi fairly often, it stuck in my mind.

When I saw the mega-retailer had 5-pound bags of russet potatoes on sale for $2.78, I decided to build a meal around the soft and chewy dumplings using Oliver's easy (and cheap) recipe for carbonara sauce. Total cost, using bacon instead of pancetta: $4.49, or about $2.25 per serving.

A netted bag of Cara Cara oranges — $4.74 for nine juicy orbs — provided the building blocks for a bright and seasonal salad that totaled $2.33, while a bunch of bananas, some cocoa powder and half-jar of peanut butter made for an easy, gluten-free $3 dessert.

While the H5N1 strain of bird flu coupled with reduced chicken egg production has kept egg prices frustratingly high, I was happy to find a dozen Grade A large eggs for "just" $3.97 (33 cents per egg) in Walmart's cooler. Despite the price, eggs remain one of the cheapest sources of high-quality protein.

I still can't quite believe a single apple rang up at a whopping 77 cents.

As usual, when planning a budget meal, make a list before going to the store and always, always shop your fridge and pantry beforehand to see what you already have. Remember, too, that you can check prices for most grocery stores online, which can help a cook make mealtime decisions.

Buying generic or store brands instead of brand-name items, signing up for loyalty programs and checking price per-ounce/pound can also help lower the final bill.

Orange and Apple Salad

PG tested

Citrus is in season in January, and perfect for adding a bright note to salads. Here, juicy oranges are paired with crisp apple slices, then drizzled with a simple vinaigrette made with balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard and fresh orange juice. Toasted almonds add a lovely crunch.

For salad

2 oranges, peeled and thinly sliced

1 apple, sliced thin

1 tablespoon toasted almonds, optional

For dressing

Juice of 1 orange

1 tablespoons balsamic or cider vinegar

1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon honey

Cracked black pepper and kosher salt, to taste

Divide sliced fruit between two salad plates.

Make dressing: Combine orange juice, vinegar, mustard, honey and pepper in a small jar with a lid. Cover and vigorously shake until combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Drizzle dressing over fruit, top with toasted almonds, if using, and serve.

Serves 2.

— Gretchen McKay, Post-Gazette

Speedy Microwave Gnocchi Carbonara

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The original recipe for this surprisingly easy pasta dish calls for pancetta, but bacon was cheaper. You also could toss the gnocchi in marinara or tomato sauce. Or, fry the dumplings in a little butter, and add a splash of cooking water along with grated Parmesan to create a creamy cheese sauce.

For gnocchi

1 pound russet potatoes (about 2 large)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

For carbonara sauce

4 slices bacon, diced

Freshly ground black pepper

1 egg

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Prepare gnocchi: Prick the potatoes all over with a fork and microwave on full power for 12 minutes, or until they are soft. (Mine took about 10 minutes.)

Allow potatoes to cool slightly, then cut in half lengthwise and use a potato masher to squash out the fluffy middle into a bowl, putting the skins aside. (You can fry them in a little olive oil, sea salt and black pepper until crispy for a delicious snack.)

Mash the fluffy insides with a fork or potato masher, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Lightly mash in the flour.

Knead mixture until you get a smooth and pliable dough. Divide in half and roll into 2 long sausage shapes roughly 3/4 -inch thick. (I divided it into 6 sections to make it easier to roll.)

Slice the rolls into 1 1/4 -inch pieces to make your gnocchi. If you have a gnocchi roller, you can roll them to get the ridged edges, but it's fine if you don't.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add gnocchi. Cook until they float, about 2 minutes.

While gnocchi are cooking, make sauce. Place 4 slices bacon in a nonstick frying pan along with a generous pinch of black pepper. Fry over medium heat until brown and crispy.

In a small bowl, beat egg with grated Parmesan.

When bacon is golden, turn off the heat and use a slotted spoon to carefully add cooked gnocchi to the pan, gently tossing to coat.

Thin the egg mixture with a splash of starchy cooking water. After 90 seconds, when the pan has cooled a little, stir egg mixture into the pan with the gnocchi and agitate together to create a soft, silky sauce, thinning with cooking water as needed.

Serve immediately, with additional Parmesan cheese.

Serves 2.

3 Ingredient Brownies

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These dense and super-moist brownies require only three ingredients: bananas, cocoa powder and nut butter. An added plus: They're dairy- and gluten-free.

If you have any nuts or chocolate chips left over from holiday baking, add them to the batter. I threw in some white chocolate chips and chopped pecans.

3 large, ripe bananas

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup cocoa powder

Handful of chopped nuts, optional

Handful of white chocolate chips, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a small brownie sheet (7-by-7-inch) with parchment.

In a large bowl, mash 3 ripe bananas. When completely mashed, add peanut butter and stir the mixture until smooth.

Sift in cocoa powder, and stir until well combined. Add nuts and/or chocolate chips if using, and transfer mixture to the prepared brownie pan.

Bake in hot oven for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out clean, with just a few moist crumbs attached to the toothpick. Let cool completely at room temperature before slicing.

Serves 4.

— adapted from mattsfitchef.com

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