My kids love their salad dressing and ketchup and cheese and anything else they can put on top of their food.

I don’t love it when they pour out half a bottle of salad dressing on their plates! Or use mounds of grated cheese!

Saving Money on Condiments

I found these little condiment cups at Walmart. They are 2.5 ounce stainless steel cups. They were 97 cents for a pack of 4 (when I bought them). What a deal! 25 cents per cup, and I’m sure they paid for themselves in the first week.

I measured, and 2 tablespoons of salad dressing leaves plenty of room for dipping veggies or fries in the cup if that’s what they decide to do.

I give the kids their cheese in the cups whenever we’re having tacos, chili, and the like. They love having control over the cheese, and I love using less. I do it for us adults, too. We need to pay attention to our serving sizes as well!

You can teach kids the correct serving size for salad dressing, cheese, or any other condiment while saving money!

We love cheddar cheese…. a lot! We like to eat it plain, on top of casseroles, in homemade macaroni and cheese.

Cheddar Cheese can be expensive. So one way I keep the amount we use low is to use extra sharp cheddar.

I can use less cheese in the macaroni and cheese, and on top of casseroles and still get great cheese flavor.

This would work with any other cheeses, also. Just use a stronger flavored cheese instead of a milder one, and you can use less. And save money!

We love tomatoes of all kinds. We even like fried green tomatoes, the kids even like them. It’s very hard to get a tomato in the winter that actually tastes like a tomato.

We use Roma tomatoes in the winter (year round actually). They are red and ripe all the time. And the actually taste like a tomato. And the best part (as if a tomato that tastes like a tomato wasn’t good enough) they are cheaper than the slicing tomatoes that are so expensive in the winter.

You can even use them on sandwiches. Just slice them the long way, and use a slice on each half of your sandwich.

A tomato that tastes like a tomato in the winter!

For more Frugal Friday ideas, visit Life as Mom.

It is so easy to make your own broth. You can make it on the stove top, or in the crockpot.

On the stove top, put your chicken, turkey, or beef bones into the pan and cover with water. If I’m making chicken or turkey broth, I add a teaspoon or so of poultry seasoning. It depends, of course, on how much water you have in your pot. Some people like to add carrots, celery and onions while they are boiling the bones.

After they have boiled for a couple of hours, I strained the broth from the bones. I place the broth in the fridge overnight. I take any meat left on the bones off and put in the fridge or freezer.

In the morning, I skim the fat off the broth. I then use the broth for soup, or in a recipe. I also like to put it in the freezer bags, and place in the freezer. Make sure they are sealed completely, or it makes a mess. I put the amount needed for the recipes I like into each bag, and mark the bag with the amount. 2 cups, 8 cups for soup, etc.

To make broth in the crockpot, you follow the above, except cook in the crockpot overnight, or all day.

You can even make your own vegetable broth. Place celery, carrots, and onions in the pan or crockpot and cover with water. Instead of throwing away celery or carrots that are starting to limp, you can make broth with them. Add whatever seasonings you like. Garlic would be nice, too. After it has boiled, strain the veggies out. Then you have nice vegetable broth to use in soups or your favorite recipes.

So easy, and you can make it fat free and sodium free, so it’s healthier!

Frugal Friday ideas, visit Life as Mom