There's no need to order out for pizza! Save your money and make these at home.
Easy Mini Pizzas
Non-stick cooking spray
1 can refrigerated biscuit dough (I used Pillsbury)
1 cup shredded mozzarella
2 large pieces fresh mozzarella
1 can tomatoes
Basil and garlic to taste
Pre-heat oven to 350° F and spray baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Chop fresh mozzarella into small pieces. Chop tomatoes, garlic and basil. If you're lucky, you can get Italian-style canned tomatoes that already have the basil and garlic added. Separate dough into 8 pieces and flatten each piece between the palms of your hands. Lay out each piece on the baking sheet, then add tomato mixture on top. Top with fresh mozzarella and shredded mozzarella. Bake for 10 minutes at 350° F or until dough is cooked through.
I had biscuit dough that I bought on sale plus canned Italian-style tomatoes that I bought with a coupon from the Whole Foods newsletter, so I decided to give these a try over the weekend. I tried making half with fresh mozzarella and fresh tomatoes, and the rest with the canned tomatoes and shredded mozzarella. The canned tomatoes actually worked a lot better and there was more than enough in the can for a second batch.
[Recipe adapted from FreeQuickRecipes.com]
Monday, September 29, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Coupons: $5 off any $20 Walgreen's purchase
Here's another one! Printable coupon from Walgreens that's good for Friday and Saturday only (via The Bargainist).
Disaster Preparedness, Part II
Just as an addendum to my post from a few days ago:
The Simple Dollar has a post today on surviving a natural disaster. Among the things I forgot to include in my list was having enough cash on hand for an emergency.
The Simple Dollar has a post today on surviving a natural disaster. Among the things I forgot to include in my list was having enough cash on hand for an emergency.
Saving Money at Whole Foods
Whole Foods has a reputation for being expensive because they carry natural and organic products, plus they don't carry the same national brand names that advertise in your Sunday paper. However, that doesn't mean that you can't save money there. Here's some tips from the Whole Foods Blog on how to save money.
→ Mambo Sprouts has a quarterly publication that carries coupons for organic and natural products. They will start offering e-coupons later this fall, but for now you can sign up to get offers by mail and e-mail.
→ Organic Valley has printable e-coupons for their organic and soy dairy products. It looks like they're being offered through coupons.com, so keep your eyes open!
→ Organic Prairie has printable e-coupons for organic meat products, including steaks, hot dogs and deli meats.
→ Pick up a copy of The Whole Deal newsletter when you get to Whole Foods. The copy I got last week has budget recipes and meal planners for under $4 a serving plus over $30 in coupons.
Whole Foods also goes one step further and gives you 10¢ off your purchase for every bag that you re-use, and even if you're re-using bags from another story. Those 99¢ re-usable bags pay for themselves after 10 trips.
→ Mambo Sprouts has a quarterly publication that carries coupons for organic and natural products. They will start offering e-coupons later this fall, but for now you can sign up to get offers by mail and e-mail.
→ Organic Valley has printable e-coupons for their organic and soy dairy products. It looks like they're being offered through coupons.com, so keep your eyes open!
→ Organic Prairie has printable e-coupons for organic meat products, including steaks, hot dogs and deli meats.
→ Pick up a copy of The Whole Deal newsletter when you get to Whole Foods. The copy I got last week has budget recipes and meal planners for under $4 a serving plus over $30 in coupons.
Whole Foods also goes one step further and gives you 10¢ off your purchase for every bag that you re-use, and even if you're re-using bags from another story. Those 99¢ re-usable bags pay for themselves after 10 trips.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Easy One-Pot Noodles For One
Well... I did say that creativity made me forget I was eating ramen every night.
Easy One-Pot Noodles For One
1 package Maruchan ramen noodles
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen corn
1 chicken breast, diced
1 tsp olive oil
Prepare frozen vegetables according to package directions, usually in the microwave. Add olive oil to saucepan and stir-fry chicken until fully cooked. Remove and place in soup bowl, adding cooked vegetables. Prepare noodle soup according to package directions, and then add on top of vegetables and chicken. Stir and serve. Makes 1-2 servings.
The beauty of this is that you can make substitutions for the vegetables and chicken. Instead of peas and corn, use whatever vegetable medley you have on hand. Skip the chicken and use whatever meat you want. I've even done it with tofu.
Easy One-Pot Noodles For One
1 package Maruchan ramen noodles
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen corn
1 chicken breast, diced
1 tsp olive oil
Prepare frozen vegetables according to package directions, usually in the microwave. Add olive oil to saucepan and stir-fry chicken until fully cooked. Remove and place in soup bowl, adding cooked vegetables. Prepare noodle soup according to package directions, and then add on top of vegetables and chicken. Stir and serve. Makes 1-2 servings.
The beauty of this is that you can make substitutions for the vegetables and chicken. Instead of peas and corn, use whatever vegetable medley you have on hand. Skip the chicken and use whatever meat you want. I've even done it with tofu.
Frugality Binge, Or How I Beat The Cycle Of Always Eating Out
A few months back, when things were not going well and I had an urgent need to cut back on spending, I went to rather extreme measures to save on food costs.
Ramen noodles.
I'd heard stories about people who were starting to serve ramen one night a week to cut back on grocery bills. I took it one step further, bought a 6-pack of ramen and a can of Spam, and challenged myself to make that my dinner for the next week.
Yes, I really thought I was nuts at first, but I felt a lot better walking out of the grocery store after paying less than $5 for a week of dinners. And really, ramen noodles were fast and easy to make even when I got home late, and they weren't so bad. The Spam was a little harder to get used to until I found that if you pan-fried it before serving, it didn't look so much like you were eating Spam. I also had a bag of frozen veggies in the freezer that help liven up ramen noodles after day 3.
After a week of keeping ramen noodles around for quick dinners, I happily picked up more and experimented with adding different proteins (sausage, chicken, tofu and yes, Spam) and different veggies so it was still a different meal each night. The money I save by not running out and getting take-out went to much better uses.
Granted, I'm single and not cooking for anyone else, so I'm sure ramen noodle night won't work for every family. But it taught me that a little bit of creativity helped me forget that I'm cutting back. It also helped me break the eating-out habit.
Ramen noodles.
I'd heard stories about people who were starting to serve ramen one night a week to cut back on grocery bills. I took it one step further, bought a 6-pack of ramen and a can of Spam, and challenged myself to make that my dinner for the next week.
Yes, I really thought I was nuts at first, but I felt a lot better walking out of the grocery store after paying less than $5 for a week of dinners. And really, ramen noodles were fast and easy to make even when I got home late, and they weren't so bad. The Spam was a little harder to get used to until I found that if you pan-fried it before serving, it didn't look so much like you were eating Spam. I also had a bag of frozen veggies in the freezer that help liven up ramen noodles after day 3.
After a week of keeping ramen noodles around for quick dinners, I happily picked up more and experimented with adding different proteins (sausage, chicken, tofu and yes, Spam) and different veggies so it was still a different meal each night. The money I save by not running out and getting take-out went to much better uses.
Granted, I'm single and not cooking for anyone else, so I'm sure ramen noodle night won't work for every family. But it taught me that a little bit of creativity helped me forget that I'm cutting back. It also helped me break the eating-out habit.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Are You Prepared For A Disaster?
Last week, while I was watching Hurricane Ike and thanking my lucky stars that I live in the Midwest, another disaster was looming. In Chicago, we had severe flooding that led to evacuations, and where my sister lives in Ohio, wind storms knocked out the power. I'd had a bad feeling going into the weekend and was watching my basement, preparing to bail water in case it flooded. What I hadn't thought of in advance? I hadn't bought any groceries.
By last Monday, I had relaxed a bit as the rain ended. Then my sister called to tell me that she had no electricity and they estimated it wouldn't be restored until Friday. She had an electric stove that was now useless for cooking the food that was going to spoil in her refrigerator. She managed to find a flashlight, but had no batteries on hand and Target was sold out.
The American Red Cross has some good read-it-ahead-of-time information, as does FEMA. As for myself, I'm stocking up on canned food and picking up one of those Costco cases of bottled water that take a year for me to go through. I have extra batteries on hand (and a flashlight, somewhere) and I have a spare travel charger for my cell phone in the car. I would like to convince my sister to get a landline for emergencies, but she doesn't feel that the cost is worth it just yet.
One habit I picked up when I had a dog was having a spare leash next to my bed, since he slept in my room. That way, if we needed to get out of the house in a hurry, I had a leash ready. In retrospect, it would have been a good idea to have him micro-chipped and know of a few emergency kennels.
How are you prepared to deal with a disaster? Share your lessons and tips in the comments.
By last Monday, I had relaxed a bit as the rain ended. Then my sister called to tell me that she had no electricity and they estimated it wouldn't be restored until Friday. She had an electric stove that was now useless for cooking the food that was going to spoil in her refrigerator. She managed to find a flashlight, but had no batteries on hand and Target was sold out.
The American Red Cross has some good read-it-ahead-of-time information, as does FEMA. As for myself, I'm stocking up on canned food and picking up one of those Costco cases of bottled water that take a year for me to go through. I have extra batteries on hand (and a flashlight, somewhere) and I have a spare travel charger for my cell phone in the car. I would like to convince my sister to get a landline for emergencies, but she doesn't feel that the cost is worth it just yet.
One habit I picked up when I had a dog was having a spare leash next to my bed, since he slept in my room. That way, if we needed to get out of the house in a hurry, I had a leash ready. In retrospect, it would have been a good idea to have him micro-chipped and know of a few emergency kennels.
How are you prepared to deal with a disaster? Share your lessons and tips in the comments.
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