Cooking Cheap

I'd like to share a few things I've recently tried that have saved me money and time, and in some cases, are healthier.

"Cake" cookies
If you're like me, you love cookies, but hate spending the time making them. Mary Hunt, author of "Live Your Life for Half the Price: Without Sacrificing the Life you Love," shares some of her economical recipes. She suggests in her book to make cookies from a cake mix. I tried it, and they are awesome! She says that you can basically make cookies out of any cake mix by adding:
1/2 c oil, 2 eggs, and a dash of water (I use skim milk). I tried her lemon cookie recipe, by using a yellow cake mix, squeezing in some real lemon juice, the oil, eggs, milk, and some vanilla. This will make a nice dough that you can scoop onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake at 350 until they are golden brown (I also put a cookie sheet under the sheet I am baking cookies on, to prevent burning). Last week I used a white cake mix and added chocolate chips and crushed peanut butter cups. Delicious! I made these on my birthday, and they were a hit. Get creative - the next one I'm going to try is Devil's Food with white icing.

These cookies are still somewhat homemade, but do not involve the laundry list of ingredients. Often, you can find a cake mix on sale for under $1, and this recipe makes a solid 2-3 dozen cookies, depending on the size you want. I still love to bake cookies from scratch, but this version can save money and time! Try it!



Slow Cooker
In the same book (it's a great read, by the way), Hunt also suggests digging out your slow cooker, because the cost of running one for eight hours is only pennies! I love my slow cooker, and I can get about 4-5 meals (for under $10!) out of a basic roast or pork, carrots, celery, onion and potatoes. Whatever I don't eat, I freeze in Tupperware or put in the fridge for later in the week. Most meats are already marinated at the grocery store, or you can spice them up on your own. I also dump in the celery leaves for added flavor. And it's healthy!
There are some great slow cooker books that you can get at the library, but a site I like is thatsmyhome.com. See Slow Cooking link to the left.



Homemade pizza
If I'm craving pizza, I make my own using a jiffy pizza crust (under $.50, just add water), can of pizza sauce (under $.60) and some grated mozzarella cheese that I usually have on hand. I can make a nice 12-inch pizza for under $2 !! Again, whatever is left over, I can refrigerate in plastic wrap or freeze. If I have them, I'd add tomato, mushrooms or black olives, but usually I just use cheese. If you sprinkle some pepper, oregano and basil on top before going in the oven, it adds the right amount of kick. I'm still working on making a homemade sauce. Cooks.com has some that I want to try, but you might beat me to it. :)