Homemade Deluxe Pizza

My family loves Pizza Hut.  Not only is it costly but unhealthy to boot. What really sealed the deal for me, the post oven ‘garlic spray’.  Not sure if I was supposed to see that last step but when I saw it, I totally called them out on it.  “Uh, its garlic spray” said the man as he continued to spray. Ehrm.   Looked more like spray oil if you asked me – which totally explains the grease that drips down your hand as you’re trying to eat it.  Thus born the necessity of learn how to make homemade pizza.

Pizza toppings: two types of cheese, pepperoni and homemade pizza sauce

More toppings: leftover cubed chicken breast, onions & peppers

Whole wheat crust, partially baked. (yes its store bought dough)

Loaded and ready for the oven!

Who’s ready for dinner?

Now, while I didn’t do a full analysis of what it costs to make a homemade pizza vs store bought – I do have a good idea.  When we buy 2 – large pizza’s it’s about $45 taxes in.  What I made here cost about $7-$10 for a 9×13 pan. While the size isn’t the same, it’d still be less if I made two pizzas.  Also, this is a deluxe pizza with cubed chicken breast and an extra cup of cheese – normally I only use one.    End result = every bit just as yummy as Pizza Hut (in its own way) for much less in terms of calories and cost. The ultimate bonus, both men love it!  To me, that’s a win!

Food Waste Friday (5/17/13)

Ugh! Haste = waste! (Sorry this post is a day late – we’re hosting family for the long weekend)

We’ve been super busy lately and have been ordering take out or eating out as its easier and creating leftovers. Thought we worked through them all til I found some shoved to the back of the fridge as I trying to find room for the new leftovers. Wah-wah!

The victims were: 1 small KFC coleslaw salad, 1/2c leftover KFC gravy & 1 whole wheat Greek style pita. Odd combo but that’s what you get for a busy week right?

How’d you do?

On Friday’s, I share what food items that I have ‘wasted’ by letting spoil during the week from forgetfulness and/or neglect. Kristen over at The Frugal Girl has inspired me to publicly post in hopes of reducing waste. (Food Waste Friday is now being co-hosted every other week with Simply Being Mum – pop on over to take a peek!)

Chinese Dumpling House

While out running dad around getting errands crossed off our list, we decided to pop into this little place for lunch: Chinese Dumpling House.  The food was ideal, prices were great and quality was just a bit above average. Nothing to write home about but still good enough to consider popping back in for another lunch.  You know what quality to expect each visit.  The decor was simple and appeared to be a little outdated. But hey, you’re there for a quick bite to eat, right?  Not a bad little joint if I say so myself

Dad ordered beef tendon noodle soup

I had wonton soup (no noodles)
These were pork wontons vs the traditional shrimp ones

Pan fried pork dumplings

(Source)

Food Waste Friday (5/10/13)

No waste this week

How’d you do?

On Friday’s, I share what food items that I have ‘wasted’ by letting spoil during the week from forgetfulness and/or neglect. Kristen over at The Frugal Girl has inspired me to publicly post in hopes of reducing waste. (Food Waste Friday is now being co-hosted every other week with Simply Being Mum – pop on over to take a peek!)

Impromptu Carrot Cake Muffins

A friend shared her vegan carrot cake recipe and it sounded so simple yet tasty enough that I really wanted to try my hand at it. Like, literally after reading her recipe.  However, I used what I had on hand therefore making it not vegan.  What I ended up with was something that was super moist and tasty! The hubster has been asking if I had made it again since that one time…I think that’s a clue?

See this deliciousness?

When its all mixed together, it looks like this.

And once baked it looks like this.

And once cooled, looks like this

Diner Breakfast

Had an opportunity to meet up with a friend that I hadn’t seen in a while. Was great to catch up over a the classic greasy diner breakfast!  French toast, eggs over easy, home fries & a plethora of bacon accompanied by an endless cup of coffee. YUM! Definitely a once in a very blue moon treat I wish there were more diners in our area.

Don’t you just love diner food?

Food Waste Friday (5/3/13)

No waste this week!  Bought some discount/clearance peppers earlier this week and processed them quickly so they’d last longer.  You know, trimmed off the iffy looking parts (not really many of them to be honest) and sliced into strips and put into the fridge for a quick grab & go type snack OR for cooking. 12 med-large bell peppers for $2? Hello, bargain!! I was afraid I’d only get 3 good peppers outta the bunch but looks like I ended up winning! (and with no waste!)

How’d you do?

On Friday’s, I share what food items that I have ‘wasted’ by letting spoil during the week from forgetfulness and/or neglect. Kristen over at The Frugal Girl has inspired me to publicly post in hopes of reducing waste. (Food Waste Friday is now being co-hosted every other week with Simply Being Mum – pop on over to take a peek!)

Clean Out The Kitchen Soup

We’ve been having some crazy weather these past two weeks. One day, its winter. One day, its spring. Lather, rinse and repeat.  We’ve also been pretty busy so there hasn’t been much time to get creative in the kitchen.  In an effort to provide a decently nutritious meal without committing a lot of time, I pulled out the trusty crockpot.

What I created was a soup. I prefer to call it ‘Clean Out The Kitchen Soup’.  Anything in the fridge and pantry that needed to get used up, went in.  How easy and frugal was that?  What I ended up with was a very hearty and flavourful soup which pleased everyone. I’ll just call this a win

Don’t you just love your crockpot?

Food Waste Friday (4/26/13)

Hooray! Back to no waste again this week. I’m ecstatic about that and being able to see some sort of bare shelf space in the fridge. I like knowing what we have in there vs digging about trying to see.  Everything is visible with a quick glance. *thumbs up*

How’d you do?

On Friday’s, I share what food items that I have ‘wasted’ by letting spoil during the week from forgetfulness and/or neglect. Kristen over at The Frugal Girl has inspired me to publicly post in hopes of reducing waste. (Food Waste Friday is now being co-hosted every other week with Simply Being Mum – pop on over to take a peek!)

DIY Homemade Eco Orange All Purpose Cleaner – Part 1

In honour of Earth Day, I thought I’d post about a homemade eco cleaner

One of my favourite scents is citrus.  Especially when it comes to cleaning products. There’s just something about that scent that is very clean and refreshing to me.  (BTW: there’s nothing as awesome as the scent of a freshly cut orange, lemon, lime or grapefruit I tell yas! )

I have been noticing a lot of homemade orange cleaner recipes popping up all over the internet and since I already had the ingredients on hand, I figured I’d try my  hand at it.  What’s the worst that could happen, it doesn’t work & I have to toss it?  I’d only be tossing pennies away.  Yes. I know they do add up but if this cleaner works – I will be saving a lot more pennies having tried this lil science experiment and slowly replacing store bought cleaners with this thus saving me a small fortune!

What you will need: 

orange (or any citrus) peels, vinegar and an air tight jar

Place peels in the bottom of the jar and fill with vinegar. Tighten lid.  You’re done. Yep, that’s it. Easy as pie right?   Now, while I only have one orange’s worth of peels in the jar, I plan on adding more as I continue to eat them until the jar is packed full. I chose to only fill the jar half way because I’m not sure how this will turn out.  (Trying to prevent waste here remember?)

This needs to sit for two weeks minimum in order to create the yummy smelling magic.  Give the jar a good shake once a day. Apparently the vinegar smell disappears and all that’s left is the awesome orange scent. We’ll see. Is it so wrong that I’m giddy with glee with anticipation?

At the end of two weeks, pour the vinegar mixture through a strainer into a spray bottle. You can either use it at full 100% strength for tough/stubborn messes OR mix with water with a 1:1 ratio. You can use this anywhere where you’d normally use a vinegar cleaner.  Apparently you can re-use the rinds two more times and achieve the same effects but the colour won’t be as strong.

So, I have my jar of rinds going and will report back in about two weeks with my findings and review once I’ve started using it. I can’t wait!!

So tell me, have you ever tried making your own citrus cleaner? How’d it turn out?