Recipes Archives - Sweet Frugal Life

Freezer Chicken Recipes and How to Freeze Bulk Chicken

November 20, 2020 By: Sweet Frugal Life4 Comments

This Check out these easy freezer chicken recipes.

One of my favorite ways to save money on groceries is to buy my chicken in bulk. Bulk chicken is usually priced much lower than buying smaller amounts. This is also a great way to save time in the kitchen! When I buy my bulk chicken, I like to prep some of them for the freezer for quick to fix dinners. Today I am going to show you how to prep bulk chicken for the freezer and 6 of my favorite easy freezer chicken recipes.

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Where To Buy Bulk Chicken

There are many different places you can buy your chicken in bulk. Watch for sales at your local grocery store. Bulk chicken will go on sale multiple times throughout the year and is usually an excellent deal.

I have also bought bulk chicken at Savory Butcher and Butcher Box, and honestly was so happy with both!

Savory Butcher

Savory Butcher is a meat coop community offering discounted meats to multiple areas around the United States. Their meat are all humanely raised, antibiotic free and no added hormones.

They are currently delivering meat to areas in Texas, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Oregon and more! Products include beef, pork, seafood, and chicken.

I just tried out Savory Butcher for the first time, and I was SO impressed! The customer service was incredible and the meat was high quality and delicious! Plus, the price is right which is so important to me.

I chose to purchase the 40 lb case of chicken, which was only $1.99/lb. This is a smoking deal! Their chicken comes fresh from the farm and already trimmed (this makes life easier, trust me!).

Butcher Box

Another great place to buy meat and get it shipped right to your door is Butcher Box! Be sure to click here for my full Butcher Box review.

How To Freeze Bulk Chicken

I just spent a couple of hours prepping my bulk chicken. It makes me happy to stock my freezer full of chicken for quick, easy dinners. I prepped 8 ready to cook dinners; and 6 bags of plain chicken. It does take a little bit of effort to prepare your bulk chicken, but the amount of money you save is SO worth it!

Related: How to freeze Pancakes for a Quick Frugal Breakfast

If your chicken comes trimmed (like mine did) you can start putting them into freezer safe packaging, right out of the box.

Sometimes bulk chicken is sold still needing trimmed. Take a few minute trimming off the fat and then you can begin packaging.

When preparing chicken for the freezer I highly recommend using a vacuum sealer. This one simple purchase will make freezing bulk chicken much easier and does a great job of preventing freezer burn.

My sealer was not working (resulting in quite a bit of frustration on my part!). So, I used freezer bags instead. These don’t work quite as well as a vacuum sealer does, but they can get the job done.

To prep your chicken for the freezer you will need to separate your chicken into dinner sized portions. For my family I put about 2-3 chicken breasts per bag for my family. Place each portioned chicken into freezer bag, remove all of the air and seal tightly.

Your chicken is now ready for the freezer! Yay! Your chicken will stay fresh in the freezer for 6-12 months.

Easy Freezer Chicken Recipes

While you are preparing your chicken for the freezer, you can whip up a few of these easy recipes at the same time. I love these recipes because I can pull the chicken out of the freezer in the morning, and half of the work for dinner is already done! They are perfect for busy days, or when you just don’t feel like cooking!

Slow Cooker Honey Chicken

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Ingredients

2 lbs. chicken breasts
Salt and Pepper
1 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 Tbsp diced onion
4 Tbsp ketchup
2 tsp garlic powder
4 tsp cornstarch
6 Tbsp water

Instructions

Combine chicken, salt, pepper, honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup and garlic powder in a freezer bag.
Let all air out of bag. Seal tight and freeze.
When ready to prepare take it out of freezer and allow to thaw.
Dump entire bag of chicken and sauce into slow cooker. Cook on low for 3-4 hours.
When finished cooking take chicken out of slow cooker and leave the sauce.
Combine cornstarch with water, stir well.
Add it into slow cooker with sauce. Cook sauce on high until it begins to thicken (5-10 minutes).
Slice chicken into small chunks. Return to slow cooker and stir with sauce.
Serve over rice.

Barbecue Chicken

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Ingredients

2 lbs. chicken breasts
1 container of barbecue sauce

Instructions

Put chicken in a freezer bag. Pour entire container of barbecue sauce on top.
Let all air out of bag. Seal tight and freeze.
When ready to prepare take it out of freezer and allow to thaw.
Cook on grill. Top with barbecue sauce to serve.

Lemon Garlic Chicken

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Ingredients

2 lb. chicken breasts sliced thin
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Combine chicken, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt and pepper in freezer bag.
Put chicken in a freezer bag. Pour entire container of barbecue sauce on top.
Let all air out of bag. Seal tight and freeze.
When ready to prepare take it out of freezer and allow to thaw.
Cook chicken on grill.
Serve with rice and veggies.

Balsamic Chicken

This balsamic chicken recipe is available as part of my Free 5 Days to Frugal ecourse. You can sign up below and my 5 favorite frugal recipes will be emailed to you on day 3 of the challenge!

Sweet and Spicy Chicken Tacos

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Ingredients

2 lb. chicken breasts
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Instructions

Combine chicken, tomatoes, brown sugar and red pepper flakes in freezer bag.
Let all air out of bag. Seal tight and freeze.
When ready to prepare take it out of freezer and allow to thaw.
Pour chicken and sauce into slow cooker.
Cook in slow cooker on high for 5 hours.
When done cooking shred chicken in sauce.
Serve in flour tortillas with your favorite toppings.

Grilled (or baked!) Island Chicken

This grilled island chicken recipe is available as part of my Free 5 Days to Frugal ecourse.

You can sign up below and my 5 favorite frugal recipes will be emailed to you on day 3 of the challenge!

Favorite Baked Chicken

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Ingredients

2 lb. chicken breasts
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tsp garlic powder

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in freezer bag.
Let all air out of bag. Seal tight and freeze.
When ready to prepare take it out of freezer and allow to thaw.
Bake in 375 degree oven for 30 minutes.
Serve with baked potatoes and veggies.

Related: Mel’s Home Cooking Recipe Book

Honey Lime Enchiladas

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Ingredients

1 lb. chicken
6 Tbsp honey
4.5 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
10 oz. can green enchilada sauce
flour tortillas
shredded monterey jack cheese

Instructions

Combine chicken, honey, lime juice, chili powder, and garlic powder in freezer bag.
Let all air out of bag. Seal tight and freeze.
When ready to prepare take it out of freezer and allow to thaw.
Pour chicken and sauce into slow cooker.
Cook on low for 8 hours.
Shred chicken in sauce.
Pour a small amount of green enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan.
Fill tortillas with shredded chicken and cheese. Place in pan.
Pour the rest of the green enchilada sauce over the tortillas. Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake uncovered in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

In Conclusion

I love buying my chicken in bulk. It has proven time and time again to be a money and time saver for me. Feel free to try any of these recipes for any chicken, it doesn’t have to be in bulk. Let me know which one is your favorite!

If you are looking for more easy recipes be sure to check out my very own recipe book! Mel’s Home Cooking offers 65 simple, delicious and easy recipes for one low price. You are sure to find a new family favorite!

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Mel’s Home Cooking Recipe Book

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Enjoy these easy freezer chicken recipes!

How to Make Butter in a Jar

November 18, 2020 By: Sweet Frugal Life1 Comment

Learn how to make homemade butter in a mason jar!

Do you know how to make butter in a jar?? It is one of my favorite activities to do with my kids! The butter tastes fresh and delicious, and it is so easy to do!

Homemade butter is a fun pioneer activity to teach kids about how life was in the 1800s. We have also made it for our Thanksgiving dinner before! It was so fun for my kids to serve their very own butter at the table.

I had a container of heavy whipping cream sitting in my fridge for a few weeks. I kept looking at it, knowing I needed to do something with it, but never knowing exactly what! My sister finally suggested to me that I should use the cream to make butter in a jar with my kids. Best idea ever!

Making butter in a jar is so so easy, cheap, and my kids absolutely LOVED it!

It was so fun watching my kids shaking their jars and checking every 5 minutes to see if the butter had formed. My daughter even said, “Wow! They use to have to work hard in the olden days! I can’t imagine doing this every time we needed butter.” This led into such a great discussion about the conveniences we have now and how hard our ancestors had to work in order to survive.

How To Make Butter In a Jar

All you need to make your own butter is a mason jar and a carton of heavy whipping cream. Seriously, that’s it! I told you this was easy!

To make your butter you will need to pour some whipping cream into your mason jar. I filled our jars about half full, but if you are doing this with your kids, or for the first time, I would recommend only filling it about 1/4 full. It just makes the process easier and quicker for the kids if the jar has less cream in it.

Once you have your whipping cream in the jar, put the lid back on, and screw it tight.

Now, all you have to do is shake the jar! Shake, shake and shake! The amount of shaking the butter will need will depend on how much cream you put in the jar. The more cream, the longer you will need to shake.

When we did it today it took us about 45 minutes of hard shaking. If I had done less cream I’m sure it would’ve been much quicker.

You can make the shaking part fun. We turned on some music and danced around while shaking our jars. If you are only making one jar of butter you can have everybody take turns shaking it for 2 minutes and then switching to the next person.

Related: 50 FREE activities to do with your kids over the Summer Break

As you shake your jar you will notice the cream will slowly becoming thicker. After a while the butter will begin separating from the cream. Keep shaking until the butter forms together in a nice solid ball. Once this happens, you are done! See, so easy!

Drain the leftover cream, rinse your butter, and then transfer it to a plate. Wah-lah! You have made butter!

Now is the fun part! You get to enjoy your butter on some fresh bread or rolls. I am so excited for you! This butter is delicious!

Butter in a Jar

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Ingredients

Heavy whipping cream
Mason jar

Instructions

Pour heavy whipping cream into your mason jar. Fill it between 1/4-1/2 full. The fuller it is, the longer the butter will take to make.
Screw lid onto mason jar to secure a tight fit.
Shake jar vigorously for 15-45 minutes (the more cream, the longer you will need to shake).
Once butter has separated from the cream and formed a ball, you are done.
Take butter ball out of jar and lightly rinse with water.
Enjoy on your favorite bread, rolls, or muffins!

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Don’t forget to pin for future reference:

I hope this helped you learn how to make butter in a jar.

Easy Huckleberry Muffin Recipe

November 17, 2020 By: Sweet Frugal Lifecomment

The best Huckleberry Muffin Recipe.

I am so excited to share my easy Huckleberry Muffin Recipe with you! These are our favorite muffins and I look forward to making them each year with our newly picked huckleberries.

Have you ever had a huckleberry? It is one of my favorite treats! They grow in the wild here in Idaho and we love picking them as a family each summer. The best way to describe a huckleberry is it’s very similar to a blueberry, only more purple and smaller. They are also the perfect mixture of sweet and tart.

Huckleberries are considered “gold” where I live. Every summer, around the end of July, we head up to the mountains with buckets and spend a few hours picking berries.

It always takes a little bit of hiking and searching to find the best picking spot, but once you find that perfect place, you are in heaven! The unwritten rule in Idaho is to never tell anyone where your huckleberry picking spot is….because you want to save it for yourself! If someone gets to your spot before you do, it’s such a sad day!

We love to use huckleberries in syrup, pies, jam, and muffins. But, they are also wonderful to eat plain!

How to Make Huckleberry Muffins

I usually flash freeze our huckleberries after picking them, similar to this method I use for freezing strawberries. The flash freeze will preserve the fruit so I can use them throughout the entire year.

My favorite part of this easy huckleberry muffin recipe is that I can use my frozen huckleberries to make it, no thawing required!

I also really love the crumb topping on these muffins. It gives them an extra flavor and crust, which is to die for!

When cutting your butter into the topping ingredients I recommend you use a pastry cutter, it makes this step so quick and simple! This is the pastry cutter I use.

Easy Huckleberry Recipe

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Cook Time 30 mins

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup frozen huckleberries

Topping

1/4 cup butter softened
3 Tbsp flour
3 Tbsp brown sugar
3 Tbsp granulated sugar

Instructions

Cream butter and sugar together in large mixer.
Add eggs, sour cream, and vanilla.
Mix together well.
Add flour, salt, and baking powder.
Mix gently, just until ingredients are mixed together.
With spoon, stir in huckleberries.
Pour mixture into prepared muffin tin. Leave each cup 2/3 full.

Topping

Mix flour and sugars together in a small bowl.
Use a pastry cutter to cut in butter.
Sprinkle over each muffin cup batter.
Bake in 375 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until lightly brown.

If you don’t have any huckleberries in your area, you can easily substitute blueberries in this recipe and the muffins will still be amazing! But, if you ever get a chance to try a huckleberry, try it!! You will love them!

Want More Easy Recipes?

If you are looking for even more recipes you might love my very own recipe book, Mel’s Home Cooking. It has 65 of my favorite, easy, family friendly recipes! Make sure to grab it here!

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I hope you enjoy this easy huckleberry muffin recipe!

How To Make A Recipe Binder

October 28, 2020 By: Sweet Frugal Lifecomment

Grab your free Recipe Binder Printables below!

You want to know what the biggest game changing with Meal Planning has been??? My Recipe Binder! I made my first recipe binder a few years ago and still use it every single day. This article is all about teaching you how to make a recipe binder for painless meal planning.

What is a Recipe Binder?

A recipe binder is a binder where all of your recipes are organized in one simple spot. Instead of having 5 cookbooks and hundreds of recipe pins saved, you can print off all of your tried and true recipes and keep them organized in one simple spot.

The recipes that you put into this binder should be ones that you have tried multiple times. These are recipes that you want in your regular cooking routine.

How Does a Recipe Binder Help With Meal Planning?

Meal Planning can be made so much easier when you use your binder.

Here’s how I Meal Plan using my Recipe Binder:

Pull out my Binder and look at the Meal Ideas I have previously written down.
Choose a few meals to make throughout the week, writing them down on the Meal Plan printable.
Look through all of the recipes in my binder to find the ingredients I will need to buy at the store that work.
Jot the ingredients down on the shopping list.
And done!

See how easy that was?????

When you meal plan with a recipe binder it takes out the stress of wondering:

What should I make this week?
What foods do we like?
What do I need to buy at the store?

Supplies Needed

To make a recipe binder you will need:

A Binder. I recommend a binder between 1″ to 2″, depending on how many recipes you will be putting in it.
Page protectors. Don’t skip this step! They will keep your recipes fresh for a long time and can be wiped clean. (when I cook, it gets messy…)
Pocket Dividers. Dividers in the binder are great, to help you find all of your food sections quickly. I also love having dividers with pockets, as a place to put all of my random recipes when I don’t have time to organize them.
Recipes. Spend a few hours finding all of your favorite recipes. Don’t forget to look through cookbooks, pinterest, or magazines. Just make sure to only choose the recipes you have tried multiple times and love. The point of the recipe binder is to have one spot for your favorite recipes. You want to be able to open it up and know every recipe inside is a good one.
Recipe Binder Printables. You can grab these for free by signing up for my newsletter below.

Putting it all together

Now, for the fun part, putting the recipe binder together! Fortunately it’s so easy to do too!

First off, slide the Favorite Recipes cover into the front of your binder. It’s always fun to see something pretty from the beginning.

Next, search through all of your cook books and favorite recipes and collect the recipes you want in your binder. You can print these out from the internet, make a copy from your favorite cookbook, or reuse recipes you already have printed.

Once you have found all of your most loved recipes take some time to put them and your Recipe Binder printables into page protectors. This is a great activity to have your kids help with or to do while watching a movie!

Next, take out your pocket dividers and write the different categories you want in your binder onto each tab. A few of the categories I have in my binder are:

Breakfast
Lunch
Appetizers
Salad
Soup
Chicken
Meatless
Drinks
Veggies
Bread
Side Dish
Snacks
Crock Pot
Seafood
Pasta
Pork
Cakes
Pies
Cookies
Dessert

Lastly, put all of your recipes, recipe binder printables, and dividers into your binder. Organize them in the way that will make the most sense to you! I included a blank category so that you can personalize it for the recipes you use most.

Don’t forget to use the Meal Ideas printables. These are really the secret sauce to quick meal planning.

Write down all of the recipes that you chose to include in your binder (remember, these should all be recipes you have already tried and loved) and put these papers at the front of your recipe binder. The next time you can’t think of what to make for dinner, just look at the Meal Ideas in your binder!

Finishing Up

That’s it! Your recipe binder is complete! Now, it’s time to use it regularly. Here are a few tips for getting the most out of your recipe binder:

Put it somewhere you will see it often. I keep mine on my cookbook shelf, right next to the kitchen. This makes it easy to grab, and also helps me remember to actually pull it out and use it (which is important….for obvious reasons…..)
Set a specific day each week when you will pull out your recipe binder and meal plan. The day I have chosen is on Sunday afternoons. I am almost always home this day and it’s a great way for me to start the week organized.
Update your binder regularly. As the years go by you will hopefully find new recipes you enjoy, and maybe a few you tire off. Make sure you pull out your binder every now and then, throw out the recipes you don’t enjoy anymore, and add your new favorites.

Need more help meal planning? Check out my article, Start Meal Planning For The Complete Beginner, where I share all of my best tips for beginners to make a successful meal plan.

Alright! It’s your turn! Grab your free Recipe Binder printables below to make your own Recipe Binder today!

Need recipes for your binder????

Are you needing some new, fresh recipes to try? Something easy to make that your family will be sure to love??

Check out my recipe ebook! Mel’s Home Cooking contains over 60 of my favorite, easy, and family friendly recipes.

Want to make rolls, but don’t have time to roll them out??? Try the fairy rolls!

Looking for something different, yet easy, to make your family for breakfast? You will love the Hootenany pancakes!

Are you tired of the same old dinners, but don’t like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen? Try my chicken pesto pasta recipe!

These recipes have all been in my kitchen for decades and I am so excited to share them with you! You can learn more about Mel’s Home Cooking ebook here.

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How to Make Sweet Zucchini Relish Recipe

August 12, 2020 By: Sweet Frugal Lifecomment

Easy Canned Zucchini Relish Recipe.

When I married my husband, I had no idea the plethora of new and delicious recipes I would learn about. My in laws have introduced me to so many yummy foods that I never even knew existed. One of them is this Sweet Zucchini Relish recipe.

This is honestly the very best relish I have ever had. Every single person who I have shared this relish with loves it! I am always being asked to share the recipe. Zucchini relish is perfect to eat this relish on hamburgers, hot dogs, biscuits and gravy, and sandwiches.

I love to make a big batch of zucchini relish every summer to use up our garden zucchini surplus. A jar of zucchini relish makes a wonderful gift to give to new neighbors, friends or as Christmas gifts.

Sweet Frugal Life is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Related: How to Make Zucchini Noodles With a Spiralizer

Zucchini Relish Prep

Zucchini relish is so easy to make. It takes a little prep and planning, but the steps are really simple.

First, you need to grate 10 cups of zucchini and 4 cups onion. If you have a food processor, I suggest using it. Sadly, my food processor was broken so I used my grater.

Dump your shredded zucchini and onion into a large bowl.

Next, add 5 tablespoons of salt and stir well.

Cover bowl and put in fridge and let it sit overnight.

The Next Morning

After your relish sits for 12 hours (or overnight) get it out and put it into a strainer.

Rinse with cold water.

Afterwards, use a spoon to try to push out as much moisture/water from the relish as possible.

Once you have gotten out as much moisture as possible, pour the zucchini mixture into a large pot.

Shred 2 green bell peppers and 1 red bell pepper. You can use 3 green peppers if you prefer, the red just adds a little color. Put the shredded peppers into pot.

After that add the following ingredients to the pot:

6 cups sugar
2 tsp. celery seed
2 1/2 cup vinegar
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. black pepper

Stir well. Turn stove to low and cook mixture for 30-1 hour.

The more moisture your zucchini has, the longer it will need to cook. It’s OK for it to still be a little runny/watery when bottling.

Fill hot mason jars with relish and top with a hot canning lid.

Process pints following canning procedures in hot water bath for 15 minutes.

Let sit on counter to cool and lids to seal.

Enjoy! Let me know if you have any questions!

Related: Easy Banana Bread Recipe

Sweet Zucchini Relish

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Ingredients

10 cups zucchini
4 cups onion
5 Tbsp salt
2 green bell peppers
1 red bell pepper
6 cups sugar
2 tsp celery seed
2 1/2 cups vinegar
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp black pepper

Instructions

Use food processor or grater to shred zucchini and onions. Put in large bowl.
Add salt to mixture.
Cover bowl and put in fridge to sit overnight.
After sitting overnight put zucchini in a strainer and rinse well with cold water.
Use spoon to press out as much moisture as possible from zucchini.
Pour mixture into a large, heavy pot.
Grind peppers and add to mixture.
Add sugar, celery seed, vinegar, nutmeg, dry mustard, turmeric, cornstarch, and black pepper. Stir well.
Turn stove to low and cook relish for 30-60 minutes. The more moisture the zucchini has, the longer it will need to cook. It is OK for it to be a little runny and watery when bottling.
Pour mixture into hot pint sized mason jars. Process in hot water bath, using safe canning procedures, for 15 minutes.

I can’t wait for you to try this sweet zucchini relish recipe! You will love it!

Pin this recipe so you can make it again:

How to make canned zucchini relish.

How to Make Zucchini Noodles With a Spiralizer

August 8, 2020 By: Sweet Frugal Life2 Comments

How to make zoodles with this easy tutorial.

My zucchini plants have been generous this year, and I have loved it! Zucchini is one of my favorite veggies because it’s the vegetable that just keeps on giving (and giving and giving and giving…..); plus it is so versatile! We have been enjoying zucchini in bread, cookies, on the grill, fried, etc. One of my very favorite ways to cook zucchini is to turn it into zoodles! Zoodles is a great, healthier alternative to noodles (and if you pick the zucchini from your garden….it’s also FREE!). I love to serve zucchini noodle with marinara or Alfredo sauce, but any of your fave pasta sauces will work great! If cooked correctly, the zoodles are really not a lot different from regular noodles. They are also much more filling, with much less calories! Sometimes my kids don’t even realize what they are eating……emphasis on the sometimes. I’m excited to teach you today how to make zucchini noodles with a spiralizer.

Homemade Zoodles Tutorial

Zoodles might look fancy, but they are actually so easy to make; especially when you use a vegetable spiralizer. Honestly my frugal self tried for years to make zucchini noodles without a spiralizer and I just couldn’t do it! So, I bought this spiralizer and haven’t looked back since!

First things first, if your zucchini is long, you will want to cut it down into smaller chunks. This will make it easier to move through the spiralizer.

Next, you will need to prep your vegetable spiralizer. I use the Thin Spiral for my zoodles. Put your thin spiral attachment in the spiralizer and then stick one of the zuchinni chunks into the middle, in between the handle and the blade. Easy peasy!

Now, all you need to do is twist! This part is so simple (and…kindof fun….really!). The zucchini will spiral through the blade, be sure to have a plate to catch all the spirals! Kids love helping with and watching the noodles come out.

Related: How to Blanche and Freeze Your Garden Peas

If you want to eat your zoodles raw (which you totally can!) they are ready. I prefer cooking them over the stove for a few minutes (don’t worry it is quick!) to warm them up.

How to Cook Zoodles

Heat 1 or 2 tablespoons of oil in a sauce pan. Once the oil is hot, add the zoodles.

Toss zoodles in the oil and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Continue stirring and cooking for 2-5 minutes. I like them to be soft, but slightly firm.

And that’s it! They are done. Serve with your favorite pasta sauce. ENJOY!!!

What’s your favorite thing to make with your garden zucchini??? I would love to hear it in the comments below!

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Easy Tin Foil Dinner Recipe

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I hope you enjoyed this tutorial about how to make zoodles.

Easy Tin Foil Dinner Recipe

August 4, 2020 By: Sweet Frugal Lifecomment

The best campfire dinner recipe.

A few years ago I stumbled upon the best tin foil dinner recipe ever, for reals though…..I’ve tried a lot of tin foil dinners! I found it originally on Melyssa Saves Instagram Story Highlights. I’ve since adapted it to our own personal liking, but I still give her credit for introducing me to this amazing campfire dinner recipe.

This recipe has become our favorite camping dinner recipe. It’s easy to cook over the fire, and perfect for customizing to everyone’s preferences. We also use it regularly for backyard fires. When I don’t feel like cooking, or cleaning up a messy kitchen….I whip up these easy tin foil dinners and we eat outside. The kids think it’s a fun family activity, and I think it was the best way to keep my house clean…..

Ingredients

Like I mentioned earlier, this recipe is very easy to customize to your own specific taste preferences. So, don’t be afraid to take my suggestions and add a few of your own!

Little Smokies
Shredded Cheese (we like mozzarella, but you can also use cheddar)
Diced onions
Green Beans
Peas
Corn
Seasoning Salt
Shredded hash browns
Carrots
Jalapeno peppers
Butter
Salt and Pepper

You will also need:

Cooking spray
Tin foil

Putting it All Together

Pull out two strips of tin foil and lay them one on top of the other on your counter top. Spray generously with cooking spray.

Layer hash browns on the top tin foil. You can add as much or as little as you want. I always put less on the kids dinners and much more in my husbands (he likes to eat!).

Next add the little smokies. Again, there is no set recipe. Just add as many or as little as you want to eat.

Now it’s time for the vegetables. I try to use whatever veggie is in my garden at the time. We have used carrots, corn, green beans, diced onion, peas, and jalapeno peppers. All were good and delicious!

Sprinkle your veggies with your favorite cheese. We enjoy mozzarella cheese, but cheddar is also delicious!

Next add salt, pepper and seasoning salt to taste.

Add a few pats of butter on top.

And it’s all done! Look how yummy! Can you believe it even tastes better than it looks?!?!

All that’s left to do is roll your tin foil packet up and refrigerate until ready to be cooked.

Cook your tin foil dinner over hot coals until thoroughly heated through and cheese is melted. It usually only takes about 10 minutes, depending on the heat of your fire.

Pull a packet out and peek inside to test for doneness.

I promise you will love this delicious, easy tin foil dinner recipe.

Easy Tin Foil Dinner

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Ingredients

Shredded Hash Browns
Little Smokies
Favorite Veggies We like green beans, peas, carrots, corn, onion and jalapenos.
Mozzarella or cheddar Cheese
Seasoning Salt
Butter

Instructions

Lay two pieces of tin foil on counter top. Spray with cooking spray.
Layer hash browns on top of tin foil.
Add little smokies on top.
Put your favorite veggies over little smokies and hash browns.
Sprinkle with cheese.
Salt, pepper and seasoning salt to taste.
Add 2-3 pats of butter.
Wrap tin foil up tightly.
Cook over hot coals in camp fire until done.

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How to Make Easy Beignets

July 23, 2020 By: Sweet Frugal Lifecomment

Enjoy this quick beignet recipe, for the non baker!

My kids and I wanted to try to make beignets the other day. We have been having an “Around the World” summer and knew beignets would be perfect for our stop in New Orleans!

Our Around the World summer began when I was trying to come up with something unique, original and fun to do with my kids over summer break.

After brainstorming a few ideas I came up with the idea of “Around the World Summer”. From the comfort of our home we will be “traveling” to a different country each week.

During our “travels” we will learn a little bit about each country through movies, games, food, activities and crafts! It’s been a really fun way to spend our summer. A few weeks ago we decided to stay in the United States and traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana.

And that is when I knew we needed to make beignets. My kids are always drooling over Tianas beignets when they watch the Disney movie, “The Princess and the Frog”.

My mom motto is to always keep things cheap and easy! I knew these one ingredient beignets would be perfect for this activity!

How to Make Easy Beignets

The first step to this quick beignet recipe is to gather all of your ingredients, which is only a three things (I told you this was easy!).

Ingredients Needed:

One can refrigerated Pillsbury Pizza Dough
Canola Oil
Powdered Sugar

Quick Beignet Recipe

1. Roll out pizza crust.

Open your refrigerated Pillsbury Pizza Dough and roll out the crust. This is as simple as taking the dough out of the can and laying it flat. Done and done!

2. Cut dough into squares.

Next, use a pizza cutter (or any kind of knife) to cut the pizza dough into squares shaped 2″ by 2″. I just eye balled this part, they don’t need to be perfect (we are doing easy remember!).

3. Heat oil over stove top.

After you cut your beignet squares it’s time to heat your oil.

Pour canola oil into a large skillet. This is another step you can eye ball. I tried to fill the skillet about 1/4 full of oil.

Next you will need to heat the oil over medium-high heat for several minutes until hot.

Do a quick test to ensure the oil is hot enough by sprinkling a few drops of water onto it. If the oil bubbles and pops, the oil is ready. If it doesn’t bubble and pop let it heat up for a few more minutes. It is really important the oil is hot before the dough is put into it.

4. Cook beignets in hot oil.

Once your oil is hot, add beignets one square at a time to the oil.

Cook each dough square for 1-2 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Flip it over and cook the other side for 1-2 minutes.

5. Sprinkle with powder sugar.

When the beignet is done cooking, transfer it to a plate lined with a paper towel.

Last, sprinkle with powder sugar and let it cool slightly. These are best eaten warm!

That’s it! See how easy these beignets are! You’ll be enjoying your yummy pastry in no time!

Quick Beignets

Enjoy warm, delicious beignets with very minimal prep work.

Print Recipe

Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 5 mins

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

1 can refrigerated Pillsbury pizza crust
canola oil
powder sugar

Instructions

Take pizza crust out of can and lay flat.
Cut 2" by 2" squares into dough.
Heat canola oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.
When oil is hot, add beignet dough to pan and cook until golden brown.
Once cooked moved beignet to a plate lined with a paper towel.
Sprinkle with powder sugar.

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How to Freeze Strawberries (the easy way)

June 3, 2020 By: Sweet Frugal Lifecomment

Easy tutorial for freezing strawberries.

I found the BEST deal on strawberries last week. I could not contain my excitement! They were only $1.25/pound! So….naturally….I bought 16 pounds. My kids eyes were wide open as I walked through the door with my two large flats of strawberries. They for sure thought they would get to eat every last one of those beauties! Sadly, I had to tell them that I would be freezing most of them (but, of course we also ate a bunch!). It was fun to spend the afternoon in the kitchen with my kids while I showed them how to freeze strawberries.

It’s so easy to freeze strawberries and a great way to save money on produce. If you can find a good deal, buy them in bulk and freeze them to use all year long! I’ll be showing you exactly how to do that in this easy tutorial.

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How To Freeze Strawberries

First, let’s gather all of the supplies. You probably already have everything you need at home (yay! love when that happens!).

What You’ll Need

Strawberries (yum!)
Small, sharp knife
Ziplock Freezer Bags
Cookie Sheet

Prepping the Strawberries

The first step to freezing strawberries it to wash all of your berries. You need to wash off any dirt and grime.

Once your strawberries are clean, set them on a paper towel and let them dry for 30 minutes or so. While they are drying look through the berries and throw out any that are mushy or dark colored. This is a sign they are going bad and won’t freeze well.

Next, use your knife to cut off the strawberry tops and slice the berry in half.

You can keep your strawberries whole if you prefer, but I think they defrost a little easier when sliced in half.

Lay your sliced strawberries side by side on a cookie sheet. Fill the cookie sheet as full as you can, but don’t let the berries touch each other.

How To Freeze Strawberries

Once your cookie sheet is full, stick it in the freezer for 3-4 hours, or until your strawberries are frozen.

Once the berries are frozen it’s time to put them in your freezer bags. This part is so quick and easy!

Take your cookie sheet out of the freezer, use a spatula to scrape your strawberries off of the cookie sheet and put them in a Ziploc freezer bag. I like to use the gallon sized bags, so I can fit more inside.

Once your freezer bag is full, squeeze out all the air, seal it tightly, and write the date on the outside.

Throw your bag of strawberries into your freezer and enjoy! These berries will stay good for 6-12 months. I like to use them in fruit smoothies, pies and other desserts. My kids love to eat them frozen straight out of the bag!

Quick Freezing Strawberries Tutorial

Wash strawberries thoroughly
Let dry for 30 minutes, discard any berries going bad
Cut off tops
Slice or quarter each strawberry
Place strawberries on a cookie sheet
Put cookie sheet in the freezer for 3-4 hours, until berries are frozen
Once frozen put all strawberries into a large freezer bag
Get all air out of bag, seal and date
Toss the bag into your freezer
And done!

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I hope this easy tutorial helped you learn how to freeze strawberries.

5 Homemade Cleaner Recipes that Work Just as Well as the Store Bought Version

February 26, 2020 By: Sweet Frugal Lifecomment

Save money by making your own homemade cleaners!

Want to know a secret about me??? I use to spend way to much money on fancy store cleaners. It was admittedly a fun little hobby of mine. I absolutely loved browsing the cleaning section of the store.

I mean…why buy an all purpose bathroom cleaner when I could buy a toilet bowl cleaner, a shower cleaner and a cleaner for the counter top??? There were just so many fun choices!

Once I realized I needed to cut back my spending habits, my fancy store bought cleaners were the first thing to go (sad day!).

I began teaching myself new recipes and was blown away by how quick and easy and CHEAP homemade cleaners were to make!

Today I am sharing 5 of my favorite homemade cleaner recipes.

I go more into depth about homemade cleaners, how to make them and give even more recipes in my Quick Start Guide to Frugal Living eCourse, so be sure to check it out!

Recipe #1: Homemade Window Cleaner

I recently learned how to make these easy window cleaner (aka: vinegar water). I couldn’t believe how well it worked, better than any store bought cleaner I have tried!

Plus it only requires two ingredients! It just doesn’t get better than that!

1 part water

1 part vinegar

Mix water and vinegar in a spray bottle. (buy these for cheap at the Dollar Tree).

To use: spray on windows and mirrors and wipe clean with a paper towel.

See how easy!! It works like a charm!

#2: Homemade Outdoor Window Cleaner

I love using the vinegar water for my indoor windows, but my outdoor windows need something a little stronger (ehhh…anyone else????)

I have been using this homemade outdoor window cleaner for years. It gets all those pesky hard water spots gone and leaves my windows squeaky clean. Exactly what I need!

Click here for my fave outdoor window cleaner recipe!

Related: How to Keep White Kitchen Cabinets Clean

#3: Kitchen All Purpose Cleaner Recipe

This all purpose cleaner is what I use to clean just about everything in my kitchen. I use it on the counter tops, sink, microwave, etc. It works really well and is a breeze to mix together.

2 Tbsp baking soda

1 pint warm water

Mix baking soda and water together. Pour on a sponge. Use the sponge to clean kitchen counters and appliances.

#4: Homemade Carpet Cleaner Recipe

Carpet cleaners can get really expensive at the store. This recipe is the perfect alternative for getting out carpet stains, while sticking to your tight budget.

1 part dish soap

2 parts peroxide

Small amount of water

Mix together and spray on carpet stains. Let sit for 10 minutes. Wipe with damp cloth.

#5: Homemade Bathroom Cleaner Recipe

This all purpose bathroom cleaner is great for cleaning the entire bathroom! We use it for the bathtub, shower, sink, toilet, etc. I’ve been making it for years and there is nothing better! Even my kids love to mix the ingredients together!

Click here to find the full recipe!

I haven’t bought a store bought cleaner in years! And, my budget has been much better because of that decision. Plus, less chemicals are floating around my home, I’m calling it a win all around!

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