Homemade Pizza

A couple weeks ago I shared with you the bread kit idea from The Grocery Shrink. This week I used the first kit. We made homemade pizza which turned out really good! I was sure to document it all for you too.

First, here's a quick sneak peak at my kitchen update! :) More before and after pictures coming soon...

Back to the pizza. All I did was pour the water and bread mix into the bread machine. Turned to the pizza dough setting and let it do it's thing. 

While we went and did our thing...a little trip to the park and ride on bikes!

 When we came home we took the dough out of the machine, let it rise for a few minutes:

Divided it into two pieces! Two pizzas come from one batch of bread mix. 

Then you need to find yourself a cute little helper like this one to roll out the dough:

My husband got busy putting the toppings on while I was taking pictures of my cuties before I had a chance to snap another picture, but you get the idea. Here it is the final product: 

It was yummy! It's so great to know what's in your food and make it the way you want for your family. The entire process from start to finish probably took just under 2 hours (but that included a trip to the park too). Actually "effort" time was probably about 15-20 minutes.

Cheap & Easy Dinner

A while ago I shared with you how handy having frozen meatballs around can be. Today I'm going to share with you another cheap and easy dinner idea to use up more of those meatballs you bought!

I got this recipe from one of my best friends in college. It's seriously one of the easiest  S&S recipes. You can also make it with rotisserie chicken/leftover chicken or chicken nuggets. I'll give you the actual amounts for the sauce (enough for 4 people) and then you'll have to adjust the meatballs and rice according to your preference and family size.

Sweet & Sour Meatballs
-1 Pot of rice $1 
-1/4 bag of meatballs $1.25
Make according to packages. I usually brown my meatballs in the oven. 


Sauce:
1 C pineapple juice (add water if necessary)
1 T vegetable oil
Heat on low for 1 minute.

6 T water
3 T corn starch
1 T soy sauce
3 T vinegar
1/3 C sugar
*Mix together in the juice mixture. Stir on medium heat until thick.
Approx. cost for sauce ingredients thus far $1


1 Can of Pineapple Chunks $1
1/2 Chopped Green Pepper $0.50 (assuming they are 1/each, but can be found for less)

Add pineapple and peppers. Heat until hot and serve over meatballs and rice.

Total cost for dinner: $4.75

Linked up to

Cheap & Easy Dinner

It's been a while since I've posted a cheap and easy dinner. I have a few to post, but today I'll link you up to this article that has 7 one pot meals for under $10.

Cheap, Easy Dinner

This cheap, easy dinner came from the Philadelphia Cooking Creme's recipe book I got for hosting a party. It's called Chicken Primavera with Pasta and here's the run down:

1 lb. chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces $1.79
2 C frozen stir-fry vegetables $1
1 Tub (10oz) Philadelphia Italian Cheese and Herb Cooking Creme $1.50 (if you use a coupon)
2 C cooked fettuccine $0.50 (estimating that's about 1/2 the box)

Total estimated cost for the dinner: $4.79

To make it cook and stir the chicken in a large nonstick skillet on medium heat for 5-6 minutes. Add vegetables; cook 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Add cooking creme, cook and stir 3 minutes. Stir in pasta. The recipe says it serves 4.

Our family thought the flavor was great, but the consistency of the creme is a little too think. I added some liquid (you could use milk or water) to water it down some, but it still seemed to be a little too thick. So, maybe I should've added even more...will do next time.

The great part is that it was a cheap and easy dinner though!

Cheap, Easy Breakfast

Today instead of giving you a cheap, easy dinner idea, I'm giving you a breakfast idea! I did this a couple weeks ago and have been meaning to post about it, and just haven't gotten to it! My breakfast idea is breakfast burritos. My husband fends for himself at breakfast since he gets up at 3:45 AM--yikes! So I decided to make up a large batch of breakfast burritos for him. It really didn't take much time and was reasonable budget-wise and then I wrapped them in foil and put them in the freezer, all ready for him to just heat up and enjoy.

Here's the run down:
-12 tortillas- $1.60
-6 eggs- $0.79
-1 package of hash browns (I used ones I made, but I've seen them on sale for $1 a lot)-$1
-1/2 lb of breakfast sausage (didn't buy it, but I'll estimate a price for you)-$1.50
-1 C of salsa- $0.25 (estimate)
-2 C of cheese- $0.50

Total cost for 12 breakfast burritos: $5.90


After cooking all of the ingredients separately, I scooped small amounts of each ingredient into the tortillas, wrapped them up in foil for easy freezing and baking. If you freeze them, you can bake them to reheat them or unwrap them and warm them in the microwave.

Cheap, Easy Dinners

I know I've mentioned soups as being a cheap dinner on here before, but this time I thought I'd give you the price breakdown of one that is also SUPER easy to make, Chicken Noodle Soup:

 

It depends on the recipe that you use, but the traditional, main ingredients are all really inexpensive and there are ways to make it even cheaper. This is a perfect use for left over rotisserie chicken or from a whole chicken that you have roasted or boiled. Usually you can get a whole chicken for under $1 a pound. Bags of celery and carrots (I just saw an ad today for $0.88/lb for organic ones) are also easily found for under $1/lb as well. Then you add a pound of pasta for about $1 too! Chicken broth depends on your brand of choice, but lately I've been using the chicken base or bouillon cubes and water. It seems to be cheaper to me and also less wasteful if you don't end up using all of the container for your current meal. This is also a great meal to actually make your one broth with. You boil the chicken in the pot you'll be using for the soup and add the seasonings you like and that'll give you a good flavor base to work with for the soup. So lets add this all up shall we? 

2lbs of chicken (I'm going to use $0.80/lb for a whole chicken since I've seen that price) $1.60

1/2 lb (estimating on these) of carrots $0.50

1/4 lb (estimate too) of celery $0.25

2 lbs (this will make a large pot!) of noodles $2.00

Chicken broth $1 (depends on your brand, this is for 2 cans of cheapest brand, but you may need to add more water for an extra large pot or make your own! :))

Total: $5.35

This should get you a pretty large pot of soup too, of course the price is an estimate, but I believe it can be done for pretty close to this price if you find the sales and cheapest brands. Add some seasonings that you have on hand and possibly some bread on the side and you have a healthy dinner for easy and cheap! :)

Cheap, Easy Dinners

I thought it would be fun to every once in a while post about cheap dinners. My goal is to get them as close to the $5 mark as possible, hopefully that'll work out! ;)

So here is the first one I have in mind:

*Spaghetti and Meatballs, Veggie or Salad and Bread

--Side note about meatballs: these are one of the best things to keep in your freezer and have on hand. They are fully cooked and you don't have to thaw them before cooking them. It's literally 15 minutes from freezer to plate with these little beauties! :) They are filling and can be added to all kinds of meals in a hurry. If you have the time and are able to make them yourself and freeze them, you'll probably save even more money, but currently they are just a convenience item I buy.

Meal directions and price run down: I'm trying to think of meals that will feed larger families (at least 4) and families that have bigger eaters (husbands, teenage boys, growing kids!) So, the portions can be decreased if your family doesn't need as much. I'm also rounding up on some of the prices, trying to do prices that aren't the "sale" price so it's more realistic for times when you just pick these items up.

-A box of pasta (1 lb): $1, but have seen them regularly for cheaper ($0.89)
-1/2 a bag of meatballs (this will be a significant amount, I use about 1/4 each time and that's plenty for us and if this doesn't seem like enough for your family, I'd recommend using more pasta or breads on the side rather then more meat if you're hoping to cut costs) about $2.50 (the cheapest brand, full bag is around $5)
-Vegetables that are in season and are priced under $1/lb.
-Marinara sauce, if you canned it's free now! If not, you can get a variety of sauces at the store, but the cheapest I've found is a can, I believe it's Hunts brand, and costs about $0.88 for a large can. It can be found by the canned tomatoes at the store.
-French Bread with Garlic & Butter-$1-$1.50

Meal price: $6.38 (depending on which kind of bread you choose & your marinara sauce).

I'm going to also list off a few other bread ideas because I think sometimes seeing more options helps us get out of our "usual" that may not be the most cost effective choice. Other options: Jiffy mix ($0.50), frozen bread or rolls (approx. $1/loaf), frozen garlic toast ($2-3 depending on the brand).

This should be a pretty decent size meal too, even if you need to make even more then this, it's still a family dinner easily under $10 and can be made quicker then you can order carry out!

Watch for more quick and easy dinner ideas to come! :)