Easy Homemade Birthday Present for Kids

Our friends hosted a birthday party for their son on Saturday, and this is what I made for him. Homemade play dough is the perfect, frugal children’s birthday gift. It didn’t cost me a cent!

• I used some of McCormick’s neon food coloring, which is a fun change from the usual colors. I dyed the play dough neon green, neon blue, and green. 
• I have 8 oz. tin containers from when I sold candles in my Etsy shop (now I just focus on my spool stands). 
• I stacked them and tied them in a mesh bag that I got from who-knows-where (you know, one of those things that I would see sitting in my closet and think, "Why on earth am I saving this?").

Homemade Play Dough Ingredients
1 cup flour

1/2 cup salt

1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup water

1 1/2 tablespoons oil

Food coloring (I used five drops)

Homemade Play Dough Directions

1. Mix the flour, salt, and cream of tartar in a pot. Set aside.


2. In a glass measuring cup, mix the water, oil, and food coloring.


3. Pour the wet ingredients into the pot of dry ingredients. Carefully mix well until combined.


4. Cook over medium heat while stirring for about one or two minutes. This step can go quickly, so carefully watch the mixture lest you overcook it. The dough will get clumpy, and then it will start to pull away from the sides of the pan. When this happens, it is done. 


5. Quickly scrape the dough into a ball and remove it from the pan. Let is sit on parchment paper. It will continue to harden as it cools off. Once cool, store in an airtight container. 

Using Coupons to Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

When I stumbled upon this recipe, my mouth began to water. It looked delicious! It also seemed to be really convenient. However, it appeared to be very pricey – it calls for a box of brownie mix, pouch of cookie mix, and a container of frosting. If I paid full price for these items at my grocery store, the total would be $7.07! However, these products frequently go on sale, and coupons are nearly always available here.

Here is what I paid to make this recipe:

2 boxes Betty Crocker Original Supreme brownie mix – Buy 1 for $2.99, get 1 free sale
(Used one “$.50 off two boxes” coupon)
Paid $.99 per box

2 pouches Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookie mix – Buy 1 for $2.19, get 1 free sale
(Used two “$.50 off one pouch” coupons)
Paid $.09 per pouch

1 container Betty Crocker Rich & Creamy chocolate frosting – On sale for $.99 cents
(Used one “$.55 off one container” coupon)
Paid $.44 per container

So, I paid $1.52 to make one batch of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies. (The rest of the ingredients I already had on hand.) That might not be as cheap as baking from scratch, but it is a lot cheaper that $7.07!

Pendant Light Transformation on a Budget

For only $20.99, we transformed our outdated entryway light into a stylish, vintage-looking chandelier. (I thought I had a picture of the original light fixture, but I don't. The light looked a lot like the one shown in the “before” picture.)

Step 1: For $17.00, we purchased this pendant from IKEA. This IKEA light is actually only a “shade” (i.e., the light fixture is not included). So when we removed our old light fixture, we retained the base, electric cord, socket, and chain. I spray painted the base and chain with silver spray paint. Then we slipped on the new shade and attached the base back to the ceiling. I am very pleased with the results.

Step 2: For an additional $3.99, I purchased this light bulb. I learned about these bulbs here on Apartment Therapy, and I found them at my local grocery store. The bulb reflects a lovely light pattern on the ceiling and adds such a nice touch!

Frugal Side Dish: Sautéed Corn, Bacon, and Scallions

I strongly recommend keeping this recipe on hand. This side dish is a perfect option for mealtime, and it is a great dish to bring to a party or event. It is easy to make and very tasty. And best of all? It is inexpensive! The ingredients are corn, bacon, scallions, and red pepper flakes. I slightly modify the recipe because I use frozen corn.

{Photo from Martha}

Budgeting For Thanksgiving

A Thanksgiving meal can put a strain on one’s weekly budget. I’ve been preparing for Thanksgiving by stocking up on sale items; however, many ingredients must be bought fresh. In order to not go over budget, I’ve decided that all our dinners leading up to Thanksgiving will be cooked with only the food that we already have on-hand. Our meals will utilize the frozen chicken in our freezer, frozen vegetables, and applesauce. So my grocery list this weekend will primarily consist of groceries for Thanksgiving. By cutting out some of the things I usually buy on a weekly basis, I can make room in our weekly budget for the special occasion food.

Here are some of the recipes I’ve had my eyes on: Roasted Turkey with Sage, Hard Cider Gravy, Thanksgiving Stuffing, and Favorite Apple Pie.

{Photo from Martha}

Spinach and Pears Dinner Salad

This dinner salad is currently one of our favorite meals. Not only is it attractive, but it’s also healthy, tasty, easy, and affordable! I use spinach leaves, broccoli, almond slices (or walnuts), diced pears, and chopped chicken. You can serve it with balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Yum!

Meatless Meal: Twice-Baked Tex-Mex Potato

I’ve heard some people recommend that the best way to lower your grocery bill is to eat at least one meatless meal a week. This is a great recipe from Whole Foods that I tried last night – it is healthy, frugal, and tasty!

{Photo from Whole Foods}

Handmade Gifts

I hope to give more handmade gifts for Christmas this year. They are often more economical and more personal. This blog contains several great craft tutorials. My mom’s birthday is coming up, and last week I made two felted pomanders for her. Instead of using felted wool, I just used regular felt sold at craft stores. They turned out beautifully! The pearl pins transform the felt into something elegant.

[Picture form Belz White’s blog]

Making the Most of Leftovers

After being thoroughly inspired by this post at Modobject at Home, I decided to try cooking a whole chicken last week. It must have been providential, because whole chickens were on sale for $.79 a pound that weekend! I cooked my chicken in a crock-pot, and it worked wonderfully. We had delicious, tender chicken that night for dinner, and we had plenty of pulled leftover meat for a big batch of white chili soup.

Now I am keeping my eyes open for recipes that can utilize pulled leftover chicken. Casseroles are so unhealthy, so I want some less fattening options. I was excited when the July issue of Real Simple arrived. It contained a delicious looking recipe for chicken enchiladas, and it called for rotisserie chicken. Instead of purchasing a rotisserie chicken, what could be more frugal than using my chicken leftovers? I tweaked the recipe a bit, so here is my variation of it. We enjoyed these enchiladas for dinner last night, and they were really tasty!

Healthy Chicken Enchiladas with Cilantro Flavored Dip
(Adapted from “Chicken Enchiladas” in Real Simple, July 2008)

Ingredients
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 small zucchini, diced
1 small onion, chopped
¾ cup frozen corn
1 ½ cups shredded chicken from a whole or rotisserie chicken
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 ½ cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
10-12 tortillas
¾ cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 small tomato
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp lemon juice
½ cup low-fat sour cream

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
   
2. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini and onion, stirring until the onion begins to soften, about 4-5 minutes. Add the chicken, corn, and ¼ cup of cilantro leaves. Cook for 2 more minutes. Add salt and pepper. Turn off heat.
   
3. Divide the chicken mixture among the tortillas, sprinkle some cheese inside the tortillas, roll them up, and place them seam-side down on a greased baking sheet. Bake until heated through, about 6-8 minutes.
   
4. In a food processor, pulse the remaining ½ cup cilantro with tomato, lime juice, and lemon juice until finely chopped. Add this mixture to the sour cream and mix thoroughly. Serve this dip cold with the enchiladas.

Sewing Projects – Making a Gift for Yourself or a Friend

I’ve seen tutorials for several cute sewing projects recently on the web. These three are my favorites. I would love to have these items for myself, and they would be perfect gifts—thoughtful, pretty, and frugal. I can’t decide which one to try out first!

Elle Tie-On Slippers by Tissuepapers
Linen Pear Sachet by Dacia Ray
Japanese Knot Bag by Show Your Workings

Low-Cost Tips on Organization

I am one of those people who love to find new ways to make my home more organized. The June issue of Real Simple featured a great article called, “99 Low-Cost Organizing Ideas.” The article contained some great tips, and you can view them here.

Retractable, Indoor Clothesline

When I saw this post on the Apartment Therapy blog, I immediately became interested in finding a retractable, indoor clothesline. The apparatus has a strong nylon cord with a button that pulls out of the housing unit and can be pulled across and attached to a plate on the opposite side. The cord tension is strong enough to hang heavy, wet clothes. It is perfect to use in a shower.


Apartment Therapy provided a list of some nice options, priced around twenty or thirty dollars. However, I was very excited when I stumbled upon one at my local grocery store the other day that cost only five dollars! I happily bought it, and I am very excited to begin using my indoor clothesline. This will be a great way to save on our electric bill, and if the five dollar version doesn’t work well enough, I can always upgrade.

Images from Apartment Therapy