This year many families are struggling to buy Christmas gifts because times are hard. Last week, I read a really great article called Christmas on a Zero-Budget.  It really got me thinking about what kinds of things people could give for gifts that cost little or no money using items already around the house.  I think these homemade gifts are more special when I receive them.  Anyone can go out and buy a gift, but only a few will take the time to use their talents to make an item with you in mind.  Here are a few ideas of some things you can make to give as gifts on a limited budget.

Homemade Bath Salts

This past year I was able to get together with a group of friends and make several items.  One of those items was Bath Salts.  I was quite surprised how easy they were to make.  Look around your house for jars or other containers to place your bath salts inside.  You can also use leftover ribbon and fabric to decorate your jar or container.  Here is the recipe I used.

Homemade Bath Recipe

3 cups Epsom salts

1 tablespoon glycerin

Food coloring

A favorite perfume or cologne.

Use a glass or metal bowl (not plastic-because it will stain). Pour the Epsom salts in a bowl, then add 1 TB. glycerin, a few drops of food coloring and some of your favorite cologne or perfume (or you can mix the glycerin and food coloring first), Stir the ingredients until they’re combined and the color is just right! You can add more color, too. Place in an airtight container. A tight-fitting lid is key to keeping the fragrance and moisture intact. Attach a small card or tag to the container with instructions on use: Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup to a warm bath.

Homemade Jelly

Last Christmas I made small gift baskets for family and friends. One item inside them was a jar of  homemade jelly.  You can easily make jelly at home using 100% fruit juices.  Look around your house for jars to place the jelly inside.  You can keep this jelly in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.  If you want it to last longer you will need to use the proper canning jars and process in a boiling water canner.  After the jars have cooled, you can use scrap ribbon and fabric to decorate the jar.  This jelly is easy because it is made with fruit juice.  I like to add Red Hot candies to the apple juice jelly recipe to make it a pretty red for Christmas. This recipe is for Cheater Grape Jelly.  Just substitute the grape juice for with apple and add 1/2 cup of the red hots to make the jelly a pretty red color.

Rice Filled Heating Pads

Several years ago, I decided to make rice filled heating pads for Christmas presents for my family and friends.  This gift does require some sewing, but it goes together really quickly and is a great way to use scrap material from other projects.  You can also use old clothes that are still usable to make this project.  I made several with some old flannel shirts. These rice filled heating pads can be microwaved and placed behind you neck to give you some relief. 

Homemade Mixes

Another great idea for a homemade gift is placing mixes in a jar or other container. This makes it so easy for another person to make some food item quickly. I love this EZ Bread Mix idea to place the dry ingredients for a loaf of  in a container bought at the Dollar Tree.  These containers already have Christmas decoration on them so all you have to do is add a bow and the instructions for making the bread.  Here are a few other items that make great mixes to give as gifts.

Homemade Pancake Mix

Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix

The Master Mix

Hot Cocoa Mix

Freezer Meals

After reading another article this weekend from Once a Month Mom, I added freezer meals to my list of something I could give as a gift.  They have some really great ideas on giving freezer meals as gifts as well as some great recipes.  Busy families or new moms would love this gift.

So figure out your talent and decide on a gift you can give without spending a lot of money.  After all the season is not all about gifts or even how much we spend on them. 

The cost of food continues to rise and many people are looking for relief to make their money go further at the grocery store. One thing you can do is make it yourself. A lot of things that we buy for convenience at the grocery store can easily be made at home. It may take us a little longer to make these foods, but in the long run we will save money on our grocery bill, and sometimes this can be more than you might expect. I also think that a lot of what you make yourself even tastes better! Here are a few items that I make for our family that have saved us money on our grocery budget.

Breads

A loaf of bread at the store can easily be over $2.00 a loaf. Some people think making bread is just too hard to even try. There are several gadgets available that make bread making quicker and easier. My favorite gadget is the bread machine. This machine will basically make the bread itself and all you have to do is add in the ingredients. I have one recipe that I like to make for our sandwich bread. I measure out all the dry ingredients and place in zip lock baggies. This saves me time when I am ready to make the bread. With a little practice, bread making is not really that hard. Here are some breads I make for our family.

EZ Bread

Bagels

Tortillas

Yeast Rolls

Biscuits

Hamburger/Hot dog buns

Pizza Dough

English Muffins

Mixes

I have several recipes that use mix packets like spaghetti and taco mix. Some of these mixes can easily be made at home with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. These mixes can end up costing pennies per serving. If you buy these at the store you could end up paying over $1.00 for each packet. This can be a great place to cut your grocery budget. You could make bulk quantities with these mixes which will save you time later. The mixes are easy to make and only take a few minutes. Here are a few mixes that I use for my family to help lower our grocery budget.

Taco Seasoning

Ranch Dressing Mix

Chili Mix

Pancake Mix

Hot Cocoa mix

Instant Oatmeal Mixes

Condiments

Many of the condiments we use can easily be made from scratch. I think that finding the right recipe that your family will like makes all the difference. Here are a few that I have tried.

Mayonnaise

Ketchup

Salad dressing

Peanut Butter

Some families like to eat certain things on Halloween night. I have heard of spaghetti, chili, and soup to name a few. My family has always ordered out pizzas on Halloween. These make trick or treat night quick and easy for my family. This year ordering out really is not in our budget, So I will be making homemade pizzas for my family. Even the good frozen pizzas are more expensive than making it homemade. The way I have always made homemade pizza is not very quick since I make the dough in the bread machine. My community’s trick or treat night is on a Monday this year, so I have to get things done really quick since the kids are in schools all day and I will only have about one hour to get them ready and fed. Here are some ideas to making frugal homemade pizza quicker and easier.

Pizza Dough

The pizza dough will usually be the part that takes the longest because it will have to rise. There are several things you can do to make it quicker. First you can buy pizza crust mix in a bag at the store. These are usually around $1.00 or less and all you have to do is add water and let rise for five minutes. You can also have homemade crust quicker with a little pre-planning. You can make the dough in your bread machine and freeze it in a zip lock freezer bag. On the day you are ready to bake, take it out of the freezer and place in a large bowl and leave on the counter. It will defrost and rise during the day and be ready to bake that evening.

Another idea is to use a no rise pizza dough recipe. Here is one that I have used that I like. This recipe is made by hand but I mixed the ingredients and kneaded in my Kitchenaid mixer which made this super quick. If you want to make this taste more Italian, I recommend using the optional spices.

No Rise Pizza Crust

1 Tablespoon active dry yeast (I used quick rising yeast)

1 cup warm water

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 ½ cups flour

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon basil (optional)

1 teaspoon oregano (optional)

1 teaspoon minced onions (optional)

Dissolve yeast in water. Add rest of the ingredients in order listed in the recipe and mix until it forms into dough. Place dough onto a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes. Roll out and press down on a greased pizza pan (I like to use my stoneware for pizzas). Add toppings and bake at 350 degrees F 12-15 minutes.

Pizza Toppings

Choose pizza toppings your family will enjoy. I can find pepperoni for around $1.50. Other meats will probably cost you more. Use veggies like onions and green peppers (I chop mine up when they are on sale or from my garden and freeze them so I can use them on pizza later when green peppers are more expensive.) or canned mushrooms to cut down cost. Cheese can be an expensive topping so go light on it and that will cut back on calories as well. There are also lots of inexpensive pizza sauce recipes online, but I found that buying a large bottle of spaghetti  sauce is cheaper and quicker for me. You could also save money by only having cheese sticks.  Roll your dough into a rectangle and leave off the sauce and add pizza only.  Cut into sticks after cooking.  These are super easy and kids love them.  Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

Halloween Pizza Ideas

As I was searching blogs and recipe sites for Halloween themed pizzas, I came upon this recipe for Spooky Spiderweb Pizza that is so cute. It would make your Halloween pizza more special. You could use some of the decorating ideas in that recipe and still use some of the quick frugal tips given in this article. You can also use cookie cutters to cut out spiders in cheese slices to decorate the top of your pizzas. Cut these before and store in the refrigerator to make decorating quicker.

Have you ever wanted a hot dog or hamburger, but had no buns in your pantry for them? Maybe you also just did not have any more money left in your food budget to buy them. Why not make them yourself, from scratch? Sound a little too hard for you? You should consider using your bread machine to do most of the work for you. I tried several recipes until I came upon this one from Full Bellies, Happy Kids and this is definitely my favorite. You will never want to go back to store bought buns after tasting these homemade ones.

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups milk, slightly warmed (I used skim milk) ($0.13)

1 egg, beaten ($0.10)

2 tablespoons butter, softened at room temperature ($0.20)

¼ cup white sugar ($0.10)

¾ teaspoon salt

3 ¾ cups bread flour ($0.47)

1 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast ($0.25)

Directions

Place all ingredients in pan of bread machine in order according to your bread machine manufacturer’s directions. Select dough setting on your bread machine. When the cycle is complete turn dough out onto a floured surface. Cut the dough in half and roll each half out to a ½ inch thick circle (The original recipe called for 1 inch thick, but ½ inch seemed to work best for me). Then cut out to size for desired buns.

For hamburger buns: Cut each half into six 3 ½ inch rounds with an inverted glass as a cutter. You may have to collect dough and roll out several times to get all six rounds.

For hot dog buns: Cut the one inch thick circle into 6 long hot dog shaped pieces and roll them a little to look like hot dog buns. Make sure they are long enough to fit the hot dog.

Place buns on a greased baking sheet far apart and brush with melted butter (I decided not to brush them with the butter and they still came out fine). Cover the buns and let them rise for one hour or until doubled. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 9 minutes. If they are not done after 9 minutes add a few more minutes until done and slightly browned on the top of the rolls. Cool on cooling rack.

Freezing Buns

You can actually freeze your bun dough. Form dough in one big ball and then place it in a freezer bag and seal getting all the air out. Label and place in your freezer. On the day you plan to use the dough place the dough in a large bowl and allow it to thaw out, it should be ready by dinner time. This will also allow it to rise. You can also do this overnight in your refrigerator and then allow it to rise in the morning after taking it out. Either way has worked for me. Then cut them out and bake as directed in the recipe.

You can also freeze baked buns. The most important thing is to allow the buns to cool completely. After they have cooled completely, I like to wrap them individually in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil (this helps prevent freezer burn) and then place them in a freezer bag. I place enough buns for one family dinner, in my case six. Then I get all of the air out of the bag and seal and label them and place them in your freezer. When I do this I like to use the buns within a month. When I’m ready to use them, I just defrost them on the counter and then place them in the microwave for about 6-10 seconds.

Extra Buns

These buns also work great as a dinner roll, so if I have extra I will plan to use them for the meal the next day. I just place them in the microwave for about 6-10 seconds and then serve them with dinner. They are always great the next day.

Price Comparison

I estimate this recipe to cost $1.25 for 12 rolls. I found in the grocery that most buns were between $2 for a pack of 8 buns and $3 for a 12 pack. That’s at least a 50% savings and well worth it for me to make my own. I also think the taste is so much better than the store bought. Those factors make me think twice about going back to store bought.

Since so many fruits are in season during the summer, you can usually find them on sale at the store.  I like to wait until my berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries) go to $1.00 a package and then I buy them up and freeze them for later use.  It’s so nice to be able to make a pie or cobbler in the winter with fresh fruit from my freezer, and I think they taste so much better than store bought frozen.  Another thing I like to do with those berries is make muffins with them and then freeze those muffins for later use.  This makes a quick and frugal breakfast for another busy morning.

Freezing Muffins

Freezing muffins is really easy.  After cooking the muffins according to your recipe, let them cool completely.  I like to wrap each muffin individually with wrap and then place enough for a family breakfast in one large freezer bag.  Make sure you get out all the air in the bag. I like to wrap them individually to prevent freezer burn. The muffins can stay in the freezer for up to three months, so make sure you label and date your bag.

Reheating Muffins

Reheating muffins from the freezer is really easy and quick.  First, you can get them directly from the freezer and place them back in the muffin tin and then place them in 350 degree oven until heated through.  If you have time to thaw them out before using them, you can just place them into the microwave for 20 second interval until you the muffin is as hot as you like.

Freezing Muffin Batter

Another way to freeze muffins is to just freeze the batter. In this method, all you do is make your batter as directed in the recipe and then place the batter as you would in the muffin tins.  Next, place the whole muffin tin in your freezer until the batter is frozen solid.  Then all you do is break the frozen batter from the tins with something, like a butter knife, and gently get it out.  Then place them in a freezer bag and get out all of the air. Make sure to label and date the bag.  Frozen muffin batter will last for about four months in the freezer.

Reheating Frozen Muffin Batter

To reheat frozen muffin batter, just place the batter back into the muffin tins.  You will then need to wait until the batter has completely thawed. Then you can heat the muffins as directed in your recipe.  This method is not one I choose for a quick breakfast.  If I know I’m going to have the muffins in the morning sometimes I’ll place some wrapping over the muffin tin and then thaw the batter overnight in my refrigerator.  Then all I have to do is place it in the oven in the morning. 

Berry Muffin Recipes

There are lots of berry muffin recipes that can be found searching online.  Here are a few of my favorite ones.

Berry-Smash Muffins

Blueberry Muffins

Raspberry Muffins

Photo Credit: Dano

Memorial Day is a day we celebrate and remember our deceased relatives and soldiers. For many people, it is also a time to welcome summer with a three day weekend of summer activities. In fact, many people pull out and fire up the grill and have a cookout. Cookouts do not have to be expensive or hard work.  Just make sure to plan ahead to make this a day of fun and relaxation. Take advantage of this holiday by looking for specials in the grocery store, there are usually lots of deals. Here are a few simple items you can make to save money and still have a yummy cookout and also a relaxing weekend.

Hot Dogs/Hamburgers and Buns

I like to stock up on hot dogs during this time because I can usually find hot dogs on sale for $0.5o a pack. I also like to get ground beef and make my own hamburger patties. This is so much cheaper than buying the frozen patties and I think they taste better too because I can add what I want to season up my burgers.  Another way to save money on hot dogs and hamburgers is to make your own buns. You will want to do this a couple days ahead because they do take a little work. This will also give you more time to enjoy your family on the actual cookout day. Here are the recipes I like to use.

Hot Dog Buns

Hamburger Buns

Potato Salad

I like to make potato salad with my cookouts. I really do not have a recipe. I just throw a bunch of stuff together. I boil the potatoes which I cut into smaller pieces before boiling, and then I add salad dressing, mustard, vinegar, sugar, and some small boiled egg pieces. I usually have everything on hand in my kitchen to make this salad too.

Baked Beans

Baked Beans are an easy addition to a holiday meal. You can just take them out of the can and put them in a casserole dish and heat them, if that’s all you want to do. I like to add a bit more to my baked beans, so I usually make it the night before and put it in my refrigerator and then heat it up the next day. I brown a pound of ground beef and then add that to the beans in a casserole dish and then add mustard and brown sugar. I just add enough mustard and brown sugar to get it to taste like I want, so add a small amount at first and then add more to taste to your desire. The next day I cook them at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Canned baked beans are also a summer item I find easily on sale during this time of year.

Vegetables

I like to add a vegetable of some sort to my cookout dinner. Corn on the Cob is so easy to cook right on the grill. You can cook the corn in the husk and I think they come out so much better when cooked that way. Here’s a recipe that I use when grilling corn on the cob.

Grilled Corn on the Cob

Desserts

I have several money saving dessert ideas. My favorite idea is to buy a Watermelon. I seem to see these go down in price this time of year. They cut up easily so they do not require a lot of extra work. Another item I find on sale in the summer is strawberries. I like to buy a one step angel food cake mix, bake it and then top with strawberries and non dairy whipped topping. I cut up my strawberries and add sugar or Splenda to them and then use them on top the cake. My final idea for dessert is banana pudding. It is so easy to put together and people seem to really love it in the summer. Here is a recipe for banana pudding that I like to make.

Uncooked Banana Pudding

Leftovers

I love having a cookout because we always have leftovers that I can use for a lunch or sometimes even a dinner. This also saves me more money and time after the cookout. So, plan for leftovers.

Potlucks

Another great way to save money is ask the people coming to the cookout to bring something for the meal. This will save you money and give you a good variety of yummy food and make less work for you.  Make sure you plan by asking people what they plan to bring so you do not end up with all the same foods.

My family loves bagels.  They seem to cost a lot more than I’m willing to pay at the grocery, almost $4.00 a pack, and you can even pay up to $3.00 for a freshly made one at a bakery.  They are so easy to make and cost less to make them at home, and I think they taste better.  I used a recipe that uses the bread machine to make the dough.  This made the whole bagel making process easier for me and took less of my time.  If you do not have a bread machine, you may want to try a different recipe. Here’s the recipe I tried and my family really enjoyed them.

Easy Bread Machine Bagels

Dough Ingredients

1  1/8 cups lukewarm water

3  1/2  cups bread flour

3  1/2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2  1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast or 1 packet

1 tablespoon white sugar

Egg Wash Ingredients

1 egg, mixed with 2 tablespoons water

poppy seeds, optional

sesame seeds, optional

Directions

Measure the first five ingredients into the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer.  Select the dough setting.  When the cycle is complete, remove the dough from the machine and place on a floured surface.  Divide the dough into ten equal parts.  Form into balls, gently press thumb through center of the ball and slowly stretch into bagel shape.  Place on a greased baking sheet, cover with a kitchen towel and set in a warm place to rise for 30 to 40 minutes.  Bring three quarts water and one tablespoon sugar to a rapid boil in a large saucepan. Use a slotted spoon to drop 2-3 bagels into the rapidly boiling water.  Boil on both sides for one to two minutes each.  Remove and cool on a wire rack for 1 minute.  Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds or poppy seeds, if you desire.  Bake at 400 degrees F on a baking sheet  that is sprinkled with cornmeal for 30-40 minutes or until the bagel tops are golden brown. After cooling, you can cut in half and toast and serve with cream cheese or butter. You could also slice them and use them to make a sandwich to pack in a lunch.

My Review

This is the first batch of bagels that I have ever made.  I am really glad I challenged myself to make them.  They are so easy to make.  I think the hardest part was shaping the bagels.  You had to make sure that you stretch them big enough so that you will still have the whole in the middle after the rising process.  I also thought that the bagels tasted really good.  My kids loved them.  I did not add anything to top the bagels because I was trying to keep the cost down.  I had all the other ingredients on hand so this recipe did not cost much at all to make.  I plan to make these again as they were so easy and tasted quite good.

Other Bagel Recipes

Stand Mixer Recpe: Homemade Bagels

By Hand: Homemade Bagels

Blueberry Bagels

Pumpkin Spice Bagels

I buy English Muffins at the store all the time.  My family loves them.  The ones we buy are about $3.00 a pack.  So, I decided I wanted to try to make them myself at home.  I am on a quest to try new things in the homemaking department and this has been on my list for a long time. English Muffins were orginally something the “downstairs” sevants made with the leftover bread and biscuit dough scraps and mashed potatoes in England’s Victorian society. Once “upstairs” tasted these rich muffins they requested them, especially during teatime.  They really are not like American muffin’s at all and are closer related to a crumpet.   I had all of the ingredients at home to make the homemade version and those ingredients are something I usually always keep on hand. I like knowing that I can make things myself without having to buy them from the store.  Here’s the recipe if you want to try it yourself.

English Muffins

Ingredients

1 cup hot water                                                               

1/2 cup milk

2 tsp honey

4 cups white flour (or you can use 1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat)

2 teaspoons instant yeast

2 Tablespoons oil

cornmeal

Directions

Add water , milk, honey and salt in a mixing bowl. (I mixed mine in my Kitchenaid.) Combine. Add 2 cups of flour and yeast, stir to mix until combined.  Cover with a clean towel and allow to rise for one hour.  Add remaining 2 cups flour and oil and stir until well combined.  Roll out onto a cornmeal covered surface and use a cookie cutter or cup, cut out into round shapes.  Let cut muffins rise, covered, for one hour.  Heat a griddle to medium high heat and coat with a little oil (I sprayed mine with nonstick cooking spray). Grill muffins on both sides until lightly brown.  Take grilled muffins and place on a cookie sheet.  Place cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes or until the middles are done.  I like to cut the muffins in half, toast them and serve with butter and jelly.  You can also serve them for breakfast, after heating them add egg and cheese and eat like a sandwich.  After making these sandwiches, you can freeze them and then microwave them on a busy weekday morning. I

My Results

If you want to make these you will need to plan some time to be at home.  While they really did not take much effort to make, there was a lot of waiting time for rising.  The hardest part is getting them the right size when you cut them out and grill them.  They do sell English muffin rings that you can buy to help you keep them the right size as you are grilling them.  My muffins might not been the right size or perfectly round, but they tasted great.  We made breakfast for dinner and enjoyed these wonderful muffins. I do plan to make these again as they were so easy.

For the last couple of months, snow days have kept my kids at home more than at school.  My grocery budget has had to expand now that I am also fixing them breakfast and lunch, which they usually eat at school.  I have had to come up with some inexpensive meals to have on hand for the kids when they have snow days.  I also like things to be quick as my kids are ready to eat as soon as they get up.  I also like to use these quick, low cost breakfast ideas for the weekend.  Here are some of the breakfast ideas my family enjoys.

Cold Cereal

I like to find cereal on sale and match it with a coupon and sometimes even use the store reward card.  I can usually get a box of brand name cereal for under a dollar and have even found some for free.  That is the big thing that makes this meal seem cheaper for me.  I usually keep milk on hand for my kids to drink.  I also try to serve a fruit with my kid’s breakfast like a banana or apple.  There are several cereal coupon on Coupons.com right now that you could match with a sale or reward card deal.  You can also check the Sunday paper inserts for more.

Oatmeal

A whole container of oatmeal cost me about $3.00 for the generic brand.  There are 30 servings in a container, so that makes this a pretty cheap meal.  I usually add some brown sugar to the oatmeal and my kids seem to eat it better.   I also like to serve this meal with some bananas to help my kids get in some fruits.  I like to make the Old Fashioned Oatmeal and it takes about 5 minutes to cook, so this meal can be made pretty fast.

Pancakes/Waffles

Most kids love to eat pancakes for breakfast. I have a couple recipes my family enjoys.  I like to make a big batch on Saturday when I have more time.  I take the leftovers and place them on a long cookie sheet placing wax paper (I found the brand name at the Dollar Tree) between the layers of pancakes so they will not stick together.  I place the whole cookie sheet in my freezer.  This is called flash freezing.  After they are frozen, I place them in Ziplock freezer bags.  When you are ready for breakfast, you take them out of the freezer and heat them in your microwave.  These are very similar to the expensive frozen pancakes you can buy at the store.  You can also freeze waffles the same way if you want to make those instead. These will save you a lot of time in the mornings.  Here is my favorite recipe for bulk pancake making, I usually double the recipe.

Fluffy Pancakes

2 cups flour

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1.5 tablespoon baking powder

1 large egg

2 cups milk

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 tablespoon vanilla

Mix the dry ingredients with a fork.  Beat the egg. Add milk, vanilla, and mix well.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients mixture. Slowly pour the liquid ingredients mixture into the well. You may need to add more flour or water to get your batter to the consistency you desire.  Do not over mix.  The batter should be lumpy.  Place on a skillet (I like to use my long electric skillet) which has been heated over medium high heat and sprayed with butter flavored nonstick cooking spray.  I like to use ¼ cups of batter per pancake.  Those come out great for kids.   Cook until large bubbles form and then flip until golden brown.  Serve and freeze the leftovers.

 My kids go through a lot of syrup and sometimes I just do not have any in my pantry at the time. So I like to keep some homemade on hand. It is cheaper than the pancake syrup at the store and really easy to make. 

 Cheap Homemade Pancake Syrup

 4 cups white sugar

½ cup brown sugar

2 cups water

2 teaspoons vanilla or maple (I use whatever I have in the pantry)

Mix the sugars and water in a pot and simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in flavoring. Cool and pour in a container.  I keep mine in the refrigerator, but you really do not have to do that.