It seems like every week when my husband goes grocery shopping the prices go up. With 4 hungry kids still at home, ages 16,14,12,and 10, we go through the food! lol

I am always trying to cook frugally, and always have my eye out for new frugal recipes.

Friends can be a great source of new recipes, and the preferred choice, but the internet is also a great tool for finding frugal recipes.

I always try to be careful, though, I don’t want to make a recipe only to have no one want to eat it. There’s nothing frugal about tossing out food because a supposed frugal recipe was inedible.

So I thought I’d share my favorite frugal recipe sites, as well as some of my favorite frugal recipes.

These 2 sites are my favorites. I have used numerous recipes from them, and all have been great.

Hillbilly Housewife
$5 Dinners

Frugal Recipes is a new favorite of mine. I will be making the Chocolate Oat Snack Cake very soon!

Here are a few of my favorite frugal recipes that I have shared here:

My Homemade Chocolate Sauce

Crockpot Cheeseburgers
Homemade Sports Drink
Brownies for a Crowd
Homemade Chocolate Sauce
Cooking & Freezing Dried Beans
Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix
Make Your Own Breadcrumbs

Do you have any great frugal recipes to share? I’d love to try them!

For more frugal ideas, visit:
Frugal Friday at Life as Mom
Fantastic Frugal Friday

Bread crumbs are one of those things that are so easy to make, that I often as myself, “Did I really used to buy these?”

There are many different methods for making bread crumbs. From putting fresh bread into the food processor for fresh crumbs, to toasting or baking the bread for browner, drier crumbs. You can also use different kinds of breads for crumbs.

Here’s how I make my crumbs.

I start when we finish a loaf of bread, except for the heels. No one likes to eat the heels. So as we finish a loaf of bread, I put the heels in the freezer.

When I need bread crumbs, I take out the number of heels that I need, and throw them in the food processor. No need to defrost first.

If you don’t have a food processor, or don’t want to have to wash it for only a few bread crumbs, you can use a hand grater. Use frozen bread for the grating.

If  you prefer to make a lot of crumbs at once and store them, you can toast the bread in the oven, then grate. You can store your crumbs in the freezer for a longer shelf life.

For more frugal ideas, visit:
Frugal Friday at Life as Mom
Fantastic Frugal Friday
Kitchen Tip Tuesday

I like to make my own cleaners. Vinegar and baking soda are favorites of mine. I use vinegar for just about everything. It cleans windows to a shine, it dis-infects as it cleans sinks and counter tops. I use it as a fabric softener and a drain cleaner.

For the drain cleaner, I put baking soda down the drain, then heat up a couple of cups of vinegar, and pour down the drain. It will bubble up and clean the drains. It works well in the bathroom as well as the kitchen.

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I sprinkle baking soda on the carpet, let it sit for a few minutes, then vacuum. It freshens the carpet. If you mix a few drops of essential oils with the baking soda, before sprinkling on the carpet, it leaves a nice scent.

I make a paste of baking soda and water to spread in the oven. Let it sit for a little while, then wipe off. It will soften and clean baked on spills. For tough ones, though, you may have to repeat. I prefer to repeat the process, than use chemicals.

Here’s a recipe for Homemade All Purpose Cleaner.

Here’s a recipe for Safer Bleach Alternative

Edited to add: I just found another link for 6 cleaner recipes!

You can make all kinds of cleaners yourself. It will save you money, as well as keep chemicals out of your home. That’s a win – win combination.

For more frugal ideas, visit Frugal Friday at Life as Mom.