Taco Pizza

We didn't have any taco shells, so I decided to breakout the old pizza starter instead, so I guess that you can call this being pseudo-frugal, As you can see from the shape, I've given up, for now, on the round pizza variety and decided to play it safe and just form the dough into the shape of the baking tray. Hey, on the highway of life, if it's easy, I'll take that off-ramp.

I pre-bake the crust (you can use the pizza dough recipe from My Pizza Dough Recipe and after it cools, I slather on the sour cream and then sprinkle the cheese over the top. I cook the meat and once it cools, I spread that over the top and then cover with the remaining cheese and bake.

Anyway, here's the cost breakdown of this meal:
Meat...$5.13
Cheese...$2.85
Sour Cream...$1.50
Spices...I have no idea, but it's under $1.00 (I make my own taco seasoning)

Total...$10.48 (I just added the $1.00 for the seasoning)

Okay, I can see that you might be saying, "what's so frugal about that???" That's kind of pricey for a meal. Well, I would have to agree, but this wonderful pizza provided three meals for my family. The per-meal cost for each person was: $1.16.
($10.48 / 3 people= $3.49 / 3 nights = $1.16)...not too bad, actually.

Friday Fotos: 3/12

Firstly, I would like to announce the winner of the $25 Kroger Gift Card Giveaway. By a highly scientific, random drawing (basically all the names went into a hat and my daughter closed her eyes, reached in and grabbed a slip of paper), the winner is...BeadedTail. Congratulations and I will be in touch. I also want to thank those of you who took the time to enter this contest. I hope everyone has a great weekend and now, on to the Friday Fotos...




This sounds about right...

courtesy of... graphjam.com





courtesy of... lolpix.com




Can't you tell I'm a Star Trek fan...

courtesy of... roflrazzi.com




Yep, this is very true...

courtesy of... icanhascheezburger.com

My Frugal Ways, Part Deux: A Trip to the Bulk Bin

The next time you happen to be in your grocery store, take a look around and see if they have bulk bins. We do a great deal of our shopping at Winco (Idaho) and they have a huge bulk bin section. The amount of money we save buying from those bins is incredible. Some of the items featured there are: Nuts, Dried Fruit, Noodles, Parmesan cheese, Parmesan Romano cheese, Beans, Rice, Spices, Honey & Peanut butter station, Baking goods, Breakfast Cereal, Snacks, and Candy. These are just the categories, the actual selections are massive. For example, there are thirty items in the Noodles section alone, with prices in the noodles section ranging from $0.75 - $1.28 per pound (the cheeses and specialty items in that section are a bit more expensive).

Can you see the potential for savings here? If your store has a bulk bin, please check it out, because you can save a great deal of money by buying some of your staple items there. Why pay twice or three times more for the same item, with the only difference being, that it's in a nice, pretty package. Why pay for the advertising, when you can get the same thing for less money. Not sure if you'll like the product, just buy a small amount and give it a try. Chances are, you will not be able to tell the difference.

Now, I'm not saying that everything in the bulk bins will be less expensive, so you'll need to do a little research to discover that for yourself. Yes, it means spending a little extra time in the store, but if you end up saving money, wouldn't it be worth it? When you go to the store, take a pencil and paper and do some comparison shopping. Check-out the prices of the products you usually buy and compare them to the same items that are in the bulk bins. Once you have a list of those products from the bulk bin that are cheaper, why not give one or two of them a try? Also, find someone you can ask to discover how often the bins are refilled, because the more often they are refilled, the fresher the product.

I realize that some of us have our own individual comfort zones when it comes to trying new things at the grocery store, so just try one or two items the first time. I'm hoping that you will discover that trying new things can not only be exciting, but economical as well.