This is a family recipe that’s been around for years. Moosie was a friend of my great-grandmother who lived up in Chicago.
This pot roast recipe is what Moosie served when they had company from out of town. It’s easy enough to make for your family any night of the week. The leftovers (if you have any) make a great open faced sandwich.
Moosie’s Pot Roast
Ingredients
1 2-3 lb. pot roast, your favorite cut (I like Chuck Roast)
1 can reduced sodium cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope powdered onion soup mix (I like Lipton’s)
Directions:
Brown the pot roast, place it in the crock pot.
In a small bowl, mix the soups, and pour over the roast.
Place cover on crock pot and cock on low for 6-8 hours.
Before serving, shred the roast with a fork.
If you would like creamier gravy, add 4-6 tablespoons of low fat sour cream 20-30 minutes before serving.
Serves about 6-8. Serve with mashed potatoes or broccoli.
You can also place 1 whole onion, sliced in the bottom of the crock pot, then the roast, and then poured the gravy sauce overall of it.
Recently, a friend asked me for some non-soda uses for her Soda Stream machine. Since I use ours at least 2 times a week to whip up liter bottles of fizzy water, I figured I’d share some of my concoctions!
Fill a fancy pitcher with 2-3 cups of chilled, sliced fruit. I like Apples, oranges, lemons, Kiwi, and berries (not necessarily all together). Pour 1 liter of chilled carbonated water from the Soda Stream. It makes the best fruity fizzy water!
Try Torani Syrups in place of Soda Stream syrup. It comes in tons of flavors, in both regular and sugar free, including fun fruit flavors!
Instead of adding syrup, why not try ice cubes made of fruit juice? Fill an ice cube tray with orange juice, pomegranate juice, or whatever you have on hand. Add ice cubes to your carbonated Soda Stream water and enjoy!
If you are looking for a different taste, try the powdered beverage mixes in your carbonated Soda Stream water. Mix slowly, and carefully, since some of the powders may cause the water to get a little extra fizzy. I like Crystal Light sticks, Snapple Sticks, and a few store brands that come in cranberry and cran-pear.
Mio or other concentrated liquid beverage mixes are also great in your your carbonated Soda Stream water, and since you control how little or how much you add, your drink can be different each time!
If you are looking to jazz up your beverages, try an Italian Cream Soda. It’s a pretty easy recipe:
Italian Cream Soda
Ingredients:
Ice,
1 ounce syrup,
carbonated Soda Stream water (8-12 oz, depending on your glass size),
1 ounce cream,
whipped cream (optional, but everyone loves whipped cream).
Directions:
Scoop ice into glass
Pour your carbonated Soda Stream water over the ice cubes
Pour 1 ounce syrup over the ice and water. Stir with a stir stick.
I bet a lot of you see the coupons for Greek yogurt and pass it by. Maybe you’ve sampled it at Costco or the grocery store and were turned off by it’s thick texture or tart taste.
Greek yogurt (or strained yogurt as it is referred to in other parts of the world) has a lot more going for it than the sugary yogurt in the little cup with a french name.
1- It’s got double the protein than regular yogurt. That means you’ll stay fuller longer.
2- It’s lower in Carbs. That’s because most Greek yogurts don’t contains all kinds of funky sweeteners.
3- It works well in all kinds of recipes in place of sour cream, mayo, and oil. I use it in baked goods instead of the liquid oil or butter. It adds a richness without adding fat.
4- It makes a killer chip or veggie dip, baked potato topping, or chili topping plain or dressed up with herbs and spices.
Greek Yogurt is a frugal ingredient because it’s so versatile! You can eat it as is, dress it up with herbs, fruit, granola, or use it in recipes. We buy the large carton of Fage at Costco every few weeks. It’s the cheapest place in town for us to get Greek Yogurt. If you aren’t a Costco shopper, keep your eyes open for coupons and sales! Here are just a few:
Here is my favorite dip recipe with Greek Yogurt- perfect for sharing at any potluck! It’s got thicker texture, and it’s not for a wimpy chip- I dip pita chips and veggies.
cheese cloth (It’s on the baking aisle at the grocery store)
Directions
Wet the cheesecloth, wring out and stretch over the mouth of a bowl. Secure with string or a large rubber band.
Gently pour the yogurt over the stretched cheesecloth, and spread evenly over the cheese cloth. What you are doing is straining out any extra whey (liquid) from the yogurt. This is cause it to thicken up and make one helluva dip! You can leave it on the counter for 1-2 hours to drain, as long as the temperature in your house is at or under 75 degrees. (We never turn on the heater at our house, so that’s never a problem). If you house is warm, you can place the bowl in the fridge.
In the mean time, spray a saucepan with spray release (or you can use a little EVOO if you prefer), and saute the shallots, onions, and garlic over low for 45-50 minutes until they start to caramelize. Remove from heat, and pour int oa large bowl. Place in fridge to cool.
After yogurt has drained, scrape the yogurt solids from the cheesecloth into the bowl with the sautéed shallots, onions, and garlic.
Mix well and add herbs. Place in fridge for a minimum of 1-2 hours before serving. I make this dip the day before I want to serve it.
Discard the liquid that drained off the yogurt and the used cheesecloth.
Serve the dip with veggies, pita chips, or use it as a topping on your baked potato or chili.
Serves 10-20.
If you like your dips sweet instead of herbs and veggies, you can add a few tablespoons of jelly or jam to strained yogurt and a smidge of cinnamon to make a fruit dip.
As you can see from the photo, we buy a lot of fruit.
I bought this fruit late last week, and within 3 days, the raspberries and cantaloupe were GONE.
So why am I sharing this photo of my fruit purchases? To illustrate that you can eat healthy on a budget.
I visited Our local Ralphs, armed with 8 $1/1 Driscoll Coupons (Internet printable coupons from their surveys), a $5/$15 Produce E-coupon on my Ralphs card (like them on Facebook here and you’ll be notified when new produce coupons are added- usually once a month), and a free Muller Yogurt E-coupon (Free Friday Download).
The raspberries are $1.28/carton, so after $1/1 Q they are a paltry .28/carton. SCORE. I saved over $50 with my coupons and ralphs club card. UGH. I can’t imagine paying full price for anything.
The only not so “real food” purchase was the whipped topping. I made the Cool whip into Bachelor Mousse (1 small box instant chocolate pudding, 1 1/2 cups milk, whole carton of cool whip, beat together and serve with fruit) and we had it for dessert a few times. It’s quick, easy, and the boys LOVE IT.
So you can do it- keep your eyes open for sales on produce, meat, whole grains, and other stuff your family likes to eat. Don’t forget to take advantage of printable coupons and rebate/money saving apps!
This is a family favorite, even little man loves it!
You can make as much of it from scratch as you’d like, or if you’re in a hurry, you can use pre-made sausage and sauce.
This recipe is also great because you can make it vegetarian with soy crumbles, or even vegan if you use alt. cheese. Use Gluten Free Pasta and this dish Gluten Free!
This is a great dish to take to potlucks!
Italian Sausage Casserole
Serves 8-10
Ingredients:
1 box of pasta, your choice, cooked al dente and drained
1 jar of your fav pasta sauce, or 4 cups home made sauce
1 lb bulk Italian sausage, crumbled, cooked and drained (or 1 package soy crumbles) You can use ground beef if you prefer.
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded (or 1 cup vegan cheese)
Directions
In a large baking dish, mix the pasta, sauce, and sausage.
Top with cheese.
Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until cheese is bubbly and melty.
Lil’ Man loves him some waffles. And pancakes. Pretty much anything hot that he can have slathered in butter.
Recently the awesome folks over at Nicole’s Natural’s offered me a canister of their gluten-free waffle and pancake mix to try out. We’re not a GF family due to allergies or sensitivities, but I love trying new products, especially new breakfast products!
What I really liked about these waffles is that despite being Gluten Free, they cook up super crispy. They contain brown rice, corn meal, and GF oatmeal, all of which gives the waffles an amazing texture. Even when I re-heated some the next morning in the toaster oven, they stayed crispy, as if I just made them!
Each 22 ounce canister makes about 8-10 waffles, depending on your waffle iron size and how thick you like your batter. I got 12 waffles out of the mix, but I added a little extra milk because the batter was a little too thick towards the end of the bowl.
All you add to the mix is water (or milk of your choice), melted butter or coconut oil, and eggs. It’s easy peasy.
Nicole’s Naturals Mix:
Is Gluten-, Wheat-, Dairy- and Soy-Free (but definitely not taste-free!)
Contains 150 calories per serving
Has only one gram of sugar (much less than other mixes that contain upwards of nine grams per serving) and two grams of fiber
Is independently tested at less than five parts gluten per million, far below the FDA regulation of 20 parts per million for products labeled gluten-free.
12 waffles is a bit much for the three of us, so after we had eaten, I cut up the remaining waffles into quarters, let them cool and put them into a freezer bag. The next morning we enjoyed them again after a quick trip through the toaster oven.
San Diego Residents can find Nicole’s Natural’s at the following stores:
I was given a canister of Nicole’s Naturals gluten-free waffle and pancake mix at no charge to facilitate my review, however I was not financially compensated for my review.
One of the ways that we save money is to cut down on food waste. For me that means once we are home from the store and all of the perishables are put away, I pull out the cutting board, a sharp knife, the spiralizer, some zip top bags, and reusable storage containers.
This was last weeks fresh fruit and veggies (plus 3 bags of baby carrots and a cantaloupe- not pictured).
I set to work, chopping, packaging, and spiralizing. In less than 30 minutes I had all of the fresh fruits and veggies prepped and measured into small bags to be dropped into lunches, or packed into plastic containers.
This of course is only for the fruits and veggies that require prep. The oranges, apples, and bananas require no prep to eat, so they just go into the fruit bowl.
Fruits and veggies all ready for a week of healthy lunches!Cantaloupe chopped up and ready for my belly!! The bottom container has 3 spiralized Italian zucchini squash, ready to be made into “pasta” salad.
By spending a little time each week getting veggies and fruit ready to eat, you’ll cut down on food waste, because the food is all ready to eat. No scrambling to cut up cucumbers for lunch early in the morning, no putting off eating something because you are short on time in the evening.
You will also be saving money over purchasing pre-chopped and pre-packed vegetables and fruit. All of this produce was purchased at 99 Cents only for less than $12.00. So you can eat well (and healthy) on a budget!!
And if it turns out atthe end of the week that you aren’t able to eat all of your veggies and fruit and they can be frozen (pretty much anything except melons), toss the bags in the freezer and you now have veggies for a casserole, or fruit for a smoothie!
The average American family of four throws away $25.00 in food a WEEK! Here are a few more tips to help your family curtail food waste!
Eat your leftovers: this seems like a no brainer. When you divvy out your portions for dinner, make yourself your lunch for the next day. If you won’t eat it right away, pop it into the freezer- label it, so you don’t forget what it is.
When it looks like your fruit is about to go south, freeze it. This includes bananas! You can use defrosted bananas in banana bread or frozen bananas are great in smoothies. Other frozen fruit can also be used in smoothies.
Citrus fruits can be juiced and frozen or the juice can be consumed for breakfast or put in smoothies. Apples can be peeled cooked into applesauce or made into apple butter.
When I buy fresh tomatoes and they get just a little too ripe- I freeze them whole, then I bake them with chicken breasts and herbs and top with fresh parm- Yummy!
Buy less. I know it seems like a strange concept, especially with all of the really great deals you will be finding, but, the one proven way to waste less is to bring less home to waste.
For those of us living in CA, NV, AZ, TX we have the opportunity to save money by shopping the great deals at 99 Cents Only. 99 Cents Only is different from other discount/dollar stores in that the majority of locations feature a refridgator and freezer case with a variety of name brand foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables. In addition to fesh and frozen foods, most locations have a great diverse stock of shelf stable foods too.
And 99 Cents only has more than food, they carry the same types of items that you have grown accustomed to seeing at discount/dollar stores, such as health and beauty aids, school supplies, and kitchen tools.
While 99 Cents Only does not accept manufacturer coupons, they frequently send out coupons that are good for a free item when you purchase X number of items (most recently they have been buy 5 items, receive one free). And there are a few apps that are not retailer specific (such as checkout51, snap by groupon, Mobisave, berrycart, shrink,and shopnimium) that you can submit your receipts to to earn a little extra cash back!
Not everything is .9999/each, many of the items are .7999/each, .6999.each, 2/.9999, or 4./9999. .9999? What? That’s right, after many years in business, last year 99 cents only had to increase prices just a fraction to keep up with inflation. So at .9999/each (or really, rounded up to $1.00), many things are still a screaming deal.
Here are just a few of the great deals that you shouldn’t pass up:
Carrots. A 20 ounce bag (that’s 1.25 lbs) of baby carrots is .9999. At most regular grocers The same bag is upwards of $2.50.
Bagged greens. Most locations carry multiple brands including Dole, Ready Pac, and Earthbound Organics (just to name a few), which can sell at most mainstream grocers for upwards of $4.00/bag!
Disposable person care items, such as cotton swabs. 1000 cotton swabs for $1.00! That’s a lot of clean ears! A box of 500 or so can run upwards of $5.00 at most mass merchandisers.
Men’s dress socks. I’m serious. At $1.00/pair, you’re saving approximately 75-80% over department store prices. Most of hubs socks come from 99 cents only, and he’s been wearing them for about 2 years.
Cake mix. I’m talking name brand here. Unless there is a sale and you have a coupon at the local grocery store, you’ll be spending a few bucks for a cake mix. Drop by your local 99 cents only and take a gander, you’ll be surprised by the variety and brands of cake mixes available. Last time I stopped in to my local store, they had Pillsbury cake mixes!
Bananas. Most grocery stores in San Diego charge .65/-.80/lb for bananas! Most 99 cents locations have bananas for just .49/lb. some select locations have 3 lbs/$1.00!
School/art supplies. Perfect for the parent of an artistically minded kiddo or a homeschooler, most locations have a great selection of construction paper, paint, craft kits, and bulletin board supplies. We get most of our craft supplies at 99 cents only!
Party Supplies, from disposable plates and utensils to goody bag filler, most locations have a decent variety. Not just plain colors, but fun themed goodies as well. Our local store has princess, pirate, minion, TMNT, frozen, sweet 16 themed party supplies.
Bread. This photo isn’t the best representation of what they have most of the time,cut most stores have a variety of fresh breads from companies like Sarah Lee, Orowheat/Arnold’s, and bread in the freezer case too from brands like Ecce Pannis and Texas Toast. Don’t forget to look for bagels and buns too!
Ethnic spices. Making a batch of menudo? Trying your hand at curry? Need Jugo? Don’t forget to check your local 99 cents only for ethnic spices before you start cooking! I get a large bag of bay leaves twice a year and split it with a friend. Perfect for soups and stews!
There is a lot of stuff that may be a good deal, depending on what your rock bottom price for specific items is. To determine if something is a good deal for my family, I keep a price book with the prices of the top 20 items I buy most often at the 5 stores I shop at most in my area. You can learn more about price books here.
Yummy fresh strawberries- right off the truck!
Recently I spied .79/can Starkist Tuna can, 10 lbs of potatoes for .99, 1 lb packages of fresh Dole Strawberries for just .99, and name brand ketchup, mustard, and BBQ sauce for just .69/each.
If you are hesitant to buy produce at a discount store because you are concerned about freshness, call your local store and ask them what day their produce truck comes. Most of our local stores receive their produce truck on Thursday mornings, so I am ready to shop for fresh fruits and veggies as soon as I drop the Kiddo off at school.
For my family, 99 Cents Only is the starting point for my shopping each week. I start by filling my cart with tons of fresh fruit and veggies, checking the freezer case for any deals, and picking up any needed canned goods that are not on sale elsewhere. By starting my shopping at 99 Cents Only, I am able to keep our food budget at $50/week! When there are really good deals (like the case of Larabars for only 99 Cents!) I tend to spend a few extra bucks and stock up, since quantities are limited and 99 Cents Only doesn’t offer rain checks.
What’s your favorite thing to purchase at 99 Cents Only?
Who doesn’t love pizza? Ok, I know 1 person, but other than that, everyone loves it! Lil’ Man is no exception. He requests, “Cheesy pizza dinner” at least once a day, but I only acquiesce to his request once a week.
I tend to stock up on the crust mix and cans of salt free tomato sauce, so it’s easy to throw together a pizza on those days when I don’t really feel like cooking, or pizza is requested. With the only limitations being your imagination (and what’s in your fridge and pantry) you never have to have the same pizza twice!
Henry’s Cheese Pizza
Ingredients:
1 Betty Crocker Pizza Crust Mix (All you add is a 1/2 cup of hot water)- available at 99 Cents Only OR most grocery stores for $1.00 or less
1/2 c hot (not boiling) water
1/2 c (more or less) all purpose flour (for rolling out the crust)
1 small can tomato Sauce
Spices to taste (I use 2 T. Italian seasoning, 1 t. each granulated garlic and onion)
3/4 c. Mozzarella
3/4 c. cheddar cheese
(feel free to add up to 1 cup in additional toppings, such as veggies, meat, or even fruit!)
Directions:
Prepare the crust as per the package directions. I set the dough to rest for about 10-15 minutes on the back of the stove. I do this as the stove pre-heats. The dough relaxes and rises just a little.
While the dough is relaxing, mix the tomato sauce and spices together, set aside.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface, and transfer to a well greased cookie sheet.
Top pizza dough with about 1/2 of the pizza sauce, and the cheese
Bake per the package directions
Slice and serve. I usually get 3 or 4 servings per pizza. We like thin crust, so I roll the dough out to fill a cookie sheet.
This is another “Don’t eat this” recipe, but it’s oodles of fun to make and play with!
Play doh can get expensive, especially when the kids mix the colors or leave the lid off, and you are constantly having to replenish the supply. The following recipe is super easy to make, and most of you have the ingredients in the house. I don’t recommend having the kids help you make this recipe.
Play Dough/Doh
Ingredients:
1c flour
1c warm water
1/2c salt
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil (you can also use melted coconut oil)
1 Tablespoon cream of tartar (optional, but it makes the dough last longer)
In a sauce pan, combine water, oil, and food coloring, stir over low heat.
Add dry ingredients and stir until combined. cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring continuously.
Turn dough onto cutting board, and when warm to the touch, knead for 2-3 minutes until dough is elastic.
Store in zip-loc bags or air tight containers.
I made 5 batches last week, each one a different color for Lil’ Man and his buddies to play with!
I’ve made other recipes, including one with conditioner and corn starch (smells nice, but it’s super sticky and gets stuck to EVERYTHING), and by far, this is my favorite recipe. It lasts a long time, doesn’t get moldy (that’s important), and doesn’t dry out INSTANTLY if you leave it out.
Yes, the brown Play Dough looks like poop! But the kids don’t care- they were mostly concerned with having brown, so they could have dirt play dough for their cars.
You can also add glitter if you’d like. Some recipes recommend that you add essential oil or scent, but with littler kids, I do not recommend that, it will just encourage them to eat it.
Here are a few of the Play Dough toy sets that Lil’ Man loves:
We also use cookie cutters, a garlic press, potato masher, and whatever fun looking kitchen gadgets we find at the thrift stores or the 99 Cents Store.
What I really liked about these waffles is that despite being Gluten Free, they cook up super crispy. They contain brown rice, corn meal, and GF oatmeal, all of which gives the waffles an amazing texture. Even when I re-heated some the next morning in the toaster oven, they stayed crispy, as if I just made them!
(I usually buy it at Costco) in lieu of the tomato sauce, you can change up your base flavor.
We also use cookie cutters, a garlic press, potato masher, and whatever fun looking kitchen gadgets we find at the thrift stores or the 99 Cents Store.
Hewes Family Fun 