My New Stand By Meal - PIzza

We all have them, those stand by meals. The meals you can always make from ingredients on hand. The meals that are quick and easy. The ones you fall back on when you didn't plan dinner (common around here,) the plan fell through (forgot to get the meat out of the freezer,) or you don't feel like sticking to the plan (I'm way too tired to deal with lasagna tonight!)

For years the stand by meal around here was spaghetti. Cook up some noodles. Throw a jar of sauce in a pan. (Yes, I know a jar of sauce? I rarely make sauce from scratch. Old habits die hard. Maybe if I get it together this summer we will can homemade sauce.) Voila! Dinner!

Though we still use that some, the new stand by meal around here is PIZZA! Pepperoni and mozzarella cheese are staples here as are the rest of the ingredients needed. First the crust, from scratch. We've used several recipes over the years. Below is the current favorite. The recipe is from my favorite cookbook, Settlement Cook Book, the 1965 version.

1 package dry yeast
2 TB warm water
1 C boiling water
2 TB shortening
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
3 C sifted flour

In a large bowl soften yeast in warm water. In a separate bowl add boiling water to shortening, salt and sugar. Cool to lukewarm and add to yeast. Add most of the flour and beat until smooth. Add remaining flour and knead. Cover and put in a warm place to double in bulk. Punch down and press dough firmly onto greased pan.

The recipe is actually supposed to be for two 12 inch pizzas. We like our crust a little thicker and I use one recipe per baking stone. I prefer a baking stone. If you use one and it is seasoned you won't need to grease the pan.

Next, I brush the dough with olive oil and then spread on the sauce. My sauce depends on what I have on hand. Sometimes it is leftover spaghetti sauce. Often it is a small can of tomato sauce and occasionally tomato paste. If I am using tomato sauce or paste I sprinkle on some spices. Garlic, basil, oregano, a bit of salt and pepper.

Next I put on a layer of mozzarella. We like a lot of cheese and I've found it cooks better with a thin layer first and then another on top. Put your favorite toppings between the cheese layers. For us this again depends on what we have on hand. Tonight, one was pepperoni, the other pepperoni, onion and mushroom.

Bake at 450 F for about 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and just starting to brown.

Pizza is our most common stand by meal around here. What is yours?

Thursday 13 #1- Deals after Christmas

Tim was off work on Tuesday. I had a few things to return, and of course wanted to check out the after Christmas deals. I was a bit leery of the crowds I might encounter, but couldn't resist the chance to go shopping alone, so off I went. Really, it wasn't too crowded. Here are some of the things I found, in no particular order.

13 Deals I Got the Day After Christmas

1. A John Deere play set for Nolan's birthday. Regularly $17.93 Sale $10.76

2. A coat for me. I returned the coat I had ordered online. It was a just a bit too small, *grrr!* but found one I liked even better. Regularly $68 Sale $34

3. Underwear for Tim. It was packaged for Christmas. Compared to the normal packaging, the underwear was almost half price.

4. Tape, a four pack for $1.49. I saw it in another store for $3.25. It seems weird to me that they mark down tape. The only Christmas-y thing about it was it was located next to the wrapping paper.

5. Flashlights. A pack of five with batteries, for $5. These were also packaged as a gift set. They aren't the best quality, but flashlights get "misplaced" around here a lot, so it is nice to have some cheap ones for the kids to use.

6. A couple of Christmas presents. No specifics sorry. My family is not getting together until the 8th.

7. A Hello Kitty clock for Lydia's birthday. Marked down 20%.

8. New Dr. Seuss toothbrushes and tooth paste for Lydia and Nolan. 2 brushes and 2 tubes for $4.24. Again, they were in a gift pack.

9. A new tree skirt. Half price.

10. A new tree topper. Half price.

11. Two boxed sets of brushes and hair accessories. One for me. One for Lydia. Each $3.99.

12. A pair of coveralls for Kellen. Not Carhart, but similar. $ 35.99 These were marked down 20%. (They may have also been marked down before Christmas though too.) This was a replacement gift for something else he got a duplicate of. I debated whether to get these or not. It was more than the gift I was replacing, and I hate to spend that much on something that he may grow out of after one season. In the end, I decided it was worth it because he will get a lot of use out of them while they fit and they will probably save me some laundry. They also should still be good to pass down to the other kids.

13.The final thing is the deal I didn't get. I didn't get next year's Christmas cards. At the store I was at there were still plenty of Christmas cards at 1/2 off, but I must have missed the sign that said, "Husbands wait here." All the husbands were standing in front of the shelves the cards were on, waiting for their wives to browse the ornaments and wrapping paper. (BTW wrapping paper was also 1/2 off, but I have plenty for next year.) I tried to look, but it was one of the last things I did. By then, I was tired and just didn't feel like putting forth the effort. Maybe another day!

More Thursday 13 here.

PPP Love

There are lots a ways out there to make money on the internet. I am fairly new to all this, but I have to say that Pay Per Post blog marketing is my favorite so far. What I love about Pay Per Post blog marketing is that I have almost total control over how often and what I get paid to post. With some other programs you wait for an assignment and then decide if you want to complete it or not. With Pay Per Post there are many opportunities listed with the amount they will pay. You click on what interests you and fits with your blog and then you are given the requirements for the post. You post and submit and in thirty days get paid. How easy is that? That is why I love Pay Per Post blog marketing.

This is a sponsored post.

Blackberry update

Yes, I said blackberry update. Yes, it is December and no, there are no new blackberries to pick. If you are new around here, we have lots and lots and lots of wild blackberries. (and a few raspberries, but mostly blackberries) I lost count of how many quarts we picked, but it felt like 100's! Believe it or not, I am now actually wishing we had picked more.

Last summer was the first whole summer we have lived here. I tried lots of different things with the berries. I like to try new things and it was the "experiment" year. You know, try different things to figure out what we want to do with the berries next summer. The problem is I liked everything, so I need to pick a lot more berries! LOL

One thing I tried was making vinegar. This was my first attempt at vinegar. It really is so easy. I followed a recipe in Bootstraps and Biscuits. You just put a few things in a gallon glass jar and let it sit until it is done. The done part was a bit ambiguous. I checked several sources and could never really find a good way to decide when it was done. I guess it is just one of those things you learn with experience.

I was pretty sure my vinegar was "done" awhile back, but I hadn't strained it yet. I decided I wanted to use it for our salad Christmas day. I strained it through a cloth and put it in bottles.

The vinegar is a lovely color and it smells great. Christmas day we made Blackberry Vinaigrette. This recipe was a bit sweet for my taste, but the blackberry flavor was incredible!
I can't wait to use this vinegar in some other recipes.

So now you understand why I am updating you on blackberries in December. We are just now enjoying the vinegar. I will be making vinegar again. I may try to make some other kinds of vinegars also. Do me a favor though would you? This summer if I start to complain about the heat and the scratches I am getting while picking berries, remind me of this post and the shortage of blackberry jam on my shelf in December and tell me to quit my whining and go pick berries! *grin*

Merry Christmas

We are about to go through the woods and over the river to Grandma's house for a few days. Before I go, I wanted to wish you a

Merry Christmas!

Enjoy your time with family and loved ones. Take the time to be thankful for all the blessings we have and for the greatest gift of all, Christ, whom we celebrate on this day!



See, there is a family photo where Tim is smiling!

Back for more frugal talk next week!

My clothes pin holder

When we first put up our clothes line here, I went and bought a plastic clothes pin holder. It worked fine, until I dropped it. Then one of the plastic tabs broke and it wouldn't stay together anymore. On another Wednesday, I talked about "All those shopping bags. " Well as they saying goes, "Necessity is the mother of invention." I made a clothes pin holder out of a shopping bag.

I simply put the clothes pins in the bag and used two clothes pins on the handles to hang the bag on the line. It was intended to be a temporary fix, but it worked so well I just kept using it.




Two months later, I still have not purchased a new holder. Yesterday, I did have to get a new bag as the clothes pins were starting to poke holes in the old one.

To see more Works for Me visit Rocks in My Dryer.

After Christmas Creep?

Before Thanksgiving, many of us were lamenting the "Christmas Creep"; how it seems Christmas in the retail world (and planning in our own minds) comes earlier and earlier every year. But how about the after Christmas creep?

I love to find bargains at after Christmas sales, but it seems to get some of the best after Christmas finds, I may have to start before Christmas. In the last couple weeks I was in two different stores that had already marked down their ornaments and other tree trimmings 50%! This worked well for me, as I was shopping for ornaments: the first time for the kids annual ornament and the second for an ornament exchange.

Last week Mamaw found Christmas cards also marked down 50% already. It seems that the after Christmas sales now begin before Christmas. Do the mark downs really need to start before Christmas? I assume the mark downs will be greater after Christmas, but at the expensive of selection. I shouldn't be surprised I guess.

I don't think I will be looking for the deals until after Christmas. In fact, I am hoping to not do any more shopping until after Christmas, though I may have to do one last grocery run. I hate going this time of year. It is always crowded and people are . . . .well let's give them the benefit of the doubt, and say they are distracted by what they need to get finished. If I do go shopping between now and Christmas, I won't be taking all four kids and I probably won't be taking the time to look for after Christmas bargains.

Little Helpers in Action

I love making homemade items for Christmas. I am not the most crafty person, so most of my "homemade" is edible. I enjoy doing it. It is frugal and everyone loves edible homemade gifts. Uhh. . . . don't they? I am having a sudden onslaught of self doubt here. Ok, if you really don't love edible homemade gifts please let me know. For those of you on my list, it is too late for something different this year, but let me know for future reference ok? Anyhow. . . this is not the subject of this post.

My little helpers enjoy making these gifts also. Some projects can be quite challenging to complete with four little ones around. I am always trying to find projects they can help with. Yesterday, while the baby was sleeping, we made chocolate covered pretzels. This is a perfect project to do with the kids.

I melted three colors of chocolate, one for each kid, in the microwave. The red and dark were candy wafers, the white was baking chips with a little shortening added.






They dipped their pretzels (small rods and regular pretzels) into the chocolate with a fork and tapped off the excess, then laid the pretzel on wax paper to dry. Nolan didn't do too many, but was content to watch and eat pretzels. The other two did quite a few pretzels. Here they are when we finished.


We will be using these in some gift baskets we are making today.

The perfect project: Yummy, easy, frugal and the kids can help. If you want to see it from an 8 year old perspective click here. Of course, clean up was their favorite part. No, really it was!

While you are wrapping. . . .

Just a quick frugal tip:

While you are wrapping this year's presents, start making a list of the supplies you are running low on. Will you need paper, name tags, bows, tissue or even tape (I keep several rolls in my box of wrapping supplies) for next year's wrapping? Make a list now and shop for these items after Christmas. You can stock your wrapping box at deeply discounted prices at the end of this season and be all ready to go for next season.

More ideas for what to shop for after Christmas later. Happy wrapping. (And list making!)

Save the date - Magnets

Awhile back I posted about Save the Date cards. Well, now they have taken it a step further, instead of cards people send out Save the Date Magnets. While I am still not convinced of the necessity of save the date anything , I do tend to think that Save the Date Magnets would be more effective than just cards. A card gets lost in the paper piles in this house, (Yes, organizing the office is on my to do list.) but a Save the Date Magnet I would stick on the fridge or filing cabinet and if the kids didn't get a hold of it, I would be able to find it again when I needed it. Now, at what cost? I am not sure.

More Retail Bargains

I realize that I have been posting a lot about shopping here lately. I don't normally post much about retail shopping because I usually don't shop much, but this time of year there is Christmas shopping to do. Retailers have such great sales (to try to capture our holiday dollars) that I actually enjoy shopping this time of year. My favorite time of shopping though, is after Christmas when retailers slash those prices even further. Just remember it isn't a bargain if you don't need it. Stick to your list! It also isn't a bargain if you do not have the cash to pay for it. Don't run up that credit card debt!

With all that said, I have to tell you about my online shopping last night. I went shopping at Old Navy through Ebates. I really love Old Navy . I love their clothes and their prices are decent, though I usually only shop the sales. Online, shipping is always $5. I like that because it is simple and cheap! They are having a great sale right now. Lots of items for $5, $10 and $15. Plus if you shop online and spend $75 you get 10% off.

Last night I worked on the kids Christmas presents and I picked up a badly needed winter coat for myself. I can't go into many details about the gifts I bought, because my 8 year old reads my blog, but I got something all four needed, something practical for Vivian, (see Four for Christmas) and my winter coat. It will all be delivered to my door for $80. Ebates kicks back 3% of Old Navy purchases, so I will get a couple more bucks rebate from that.

This morning I finished shopping for the kids at Target.com, again using Ebates. The rebate is 4% there. The practical things I wanted for two of the kids were on clearance too! So now I am done with my kids. I still have a lot of work to do on the homemade things I am making, Christmas cards to finish and a few gifts to purchase for other family members. Since my side of the family is not celebrating until January, I will wait to shop for those I have left there after Christmas. Three of the four kids are going with Mamaw to her company Christmas party this afternoon. I have big plans for a productive day in relative quiet. Our church Christmas dinner is this evening. I need to get moving!

PHA6C - Plow & Hearth is s store I recently found online. From the name, I was hoping it would carry homesteading type things, like Lehmans. Instead, I found they have nice country living items for home and garden. Their items remind me of a log cabin or lodge. Anyhow, I thought I'd pass along a coupon code if you would like to check out their store:

Save $10 on orders of $75 or greater when you enter the promo code PHA6C. Offer ends December 17th!

Now, I need to go work on my Christmas cards!

An Early (and Frugal) Christmas Present

About five years ago, Kellen received a nice Little Tykes play set and sandbox from Grandma & Grandpa for his birthday. This play set has served us very well and is in great shape.

Here you can see Lydia playing on it the weekend of Thanksgiving. Now that the kids are older, they wanted a big kids play set. So, a play set went on their Christmas list. Mamaw and Papaw started to keep an eye out for them. Wooden play sets are very expensive new, but Mamaw and Papaw found a used one in pretty good shape with a very good price.

The dilemma though was how to bring it home and keep it a surprise for Christmas. We decided it wasn't possible to keep it a secret from the kids. The weather was very nice at the time (week before Thanksgiving) and the cousins were coming, so Papaw set up the play set (and even power washed it), and the kids got an early Christmas present.

It has two big kid swings, a baby swing, the two person swing thing (beside the baby swing), and a slide. The top of the set also serves as monkey bars, when no one is swinging. The kids love it. It has already gotten a lot of use.

But a just a swing set is not good enough for Papaw's grandkids. He had to do even more. He took an old tractor tire from the neighbors and "planted" it in the ground for them to crawl on and through. (sorry no picture of that one) For the thrill riders, (Kellen and the adult guys!), he put up a tire swing, very high in the trees. Here is Kellen taking a turn on it.

It goes very, very high! Kellen has a love/hate relationship with this swing. He goes on and Tim pushes him and he wants to go higher and higher. Then he gets scared and tells Tim to stop. He comes off the swing yelling, "I hate that swing!" Five minutes later, "Dad will you push me on the tire swing again?"

When the weather was warm, (it is very cold here now) the kids were in the back yard nonstop. They joked that we never needed to go to a park again because our back yard is better.

Everyone won with this Christmas gift. The kids got one of the "big" items from their Christmas list. Never once did I hear them even mention that the play set was used. They don't care. Mamaw and Papaw got to give them all a "wow" gift without the wow to their wallet. I got a wonderful way to get the kids out of the house for awhile!

If your kids have a big ticket item on their list, I encourage you to be creative. Could you get it used? Is there a less expensive item you could substitute? Could it be a group gift? (As this was.) Could others chip in for the gift? You may be able to find another way to find that gift that seemed out of your budget. This works for me!

Amazon sale extended

Thanks Heather, for posting that that the grocery sale at Amazon has been extended. You can get $10 off your grocery order of $49 or more through December 31st. So, if you missed it before or just want to stock up on a few more things, go to Amazon and check it out!

Another thing to consider, a Gift Certificate from Amazon would make an awesome gift for someone who is hard to shop for or who lives far away! Thanks for using the links from Stop the Ride when you shop at Amazon!