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Well, not a food item but something I made at home today..... sidewalk chalk paint. My daughter has tons of sidewalk chalk (which is dirt cheap to buy) but beggged me for some of the liquid kind at Walmart the other day. It was $20 for a couple small bottles and she's go thru that pretty quick...
Googled it and found some people just ground the chalk and mixed with water and some people mixed corn starch/water/food color. I thought water and chalk might be too watery, but I dont like to use food color (worried about staining) so I did ground chalk/water/cornstarch.
And it actually worked pretty well for pennies compared to the store bought chalk (plus the store bought stuff came with a lot of non recyclable plastic packaging)
I agree with you. Or fruits, or bagged salads and those crazy Lunchable things that, I'm sure, could be made at home a lot cheaper. As a cashier I see what people buy every day and it amazes me. Gallons of Ice Tea are another one. I can make a gallon at home with one extra large tea bag. I notice the 'party trays' of fruits or veggies run around $13 and, if I'm willing to do the work myself, can probably be done for $5-6. And bagged sliced apples? Why?? All I can figure is laziness because it sure doesn't take THAT much time to cut things up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by in_newengland
To me that's the height of laziness. Frozen pancakes? Frozen French toast? You're right, it's just as easy to make it yourself.
For pancakes I make my own mix and just keep it on hand. I add egg and milk and that's it. (Probably cheaper than buying pancake mix, I'm not sure). All it is, is flour, baking powder, salt, you can include powdered milk and then you don't even have to add milk. But I have to live dairy free so I add rice milk.
French toast--you just soak a piece of bread in some milk and egg. How hard is that. Fry it. Save money.
The "non-frugal" convenience items at the grocery store are still way cheaper than going out to eat. Usually they are healthier, too. Better to buy some pre cut veggies for your homemade meal than to declare slicing vegetables too much effort and go out to eat instead. Frugality isn't binary, it's a scale -- if you ask me, virtually anything bought at a grocery store is at least a little frugal, since it's not from a restaurant.
And specifically regarding the veggie and deli meat trays, I've had to buy those a lot for work meetings. It's looks nicer than bringing a bunch of old gladware containers.
And specifically regarding the veggie and deli meat trays, I've had to buy those a lot for work meetings. It's looks nicer than bringing a bunch of old gladware containers.
Heh. You buy one - then take the tray and cover home from work and wash.
And the next time you do your own
Heh. You buy one - then take the tray and cover home from work and wash.
And the next time you do your own
Presentation is key. I prefer the fruit/veggie/cheese trays I put together myself, but I can't fault someone else who doesn't want to go to that effort or simply doesn't have the time. I actually have a few plastic and glass trays I use for potluck type events. If you're looking, you can usually find some nice ones on clearance at the end of the season. Or you can make do with a couple of pretty plates from home. Red, green or white plates and trays pretty much work for any holiday or season. I add fun things like Halloween spiders, pretty flowers or other doodads if I want to make it even fancier.
Pulled pork BBQ. Just throw a pork loin or Boston Butt in the slow cooker with a can of root beer (!) and let it go for 8 hours. Shred it up with a couple of forks and add your sauce of choice and there you go.
Pulled pork BBQ. Just throw a pork loin or Boston Butt in the slow cooker with a can of root beer (!) and let it go for 8 hours. Shred it up with a couple of forks and add your sauce of choice and there you go.
Didn't know about root beer.... I must try it... thanks!
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