Recipe: Greek Dressing

One of our favorite dressings for salads and marinades is Gazebo Room Greek Dressing (pictured left). While coming in at over $3 at the register (and probably will continue to rise with inflation), I thought I could come up with something just as good, but cheaper. Then we moved to a region that did not carry our favorite Greek dressing, so this gave me an opening to get creative.

Just using the items I typically keep in my pantry, I came up with the recipe below. This is our "go to" dressing.

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp basil
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp brown mustard
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup white vinegar

Directions: In a clean sealable jar, add the oils and spices. Then shake the jar to mix ingredients. Add the vinegars and shake. If you're somebody that really like tangy flavor, you can reduce or omit the sugar.

This can be stored on the kitchen counter...no refrigeration required. We use this not only for salad dressing (salads will keep you feeling fuller with a little bit of fat), but to marinade chicken for the grill, dress cubed potatoes for roasting or dressing for our pasta salad. All very yummy!

Beauty Scrub

I have sensitive, dry skin, so I need to be extra cautious with skin care products on the market. Instead of going through the testing phase to see if I'm allergic to a product or paying the extra costs for hypoallergenic, I learned to make my own using ingredients that won't cause an allergic reaction. They're really cheap and easy to make, while giving me a pampered feeling.

For sensitive, dry skin, try the Baking Soda Facial scrub a few times a week. I use this on my face to exfoliate, then wash it off with soap and water. It leaves my skin very smooth, and provides the moisture my skin craves. It'll keep in an airtight container for at least a few weeks. I only make small batches, so I'm not sure if it'll keep pass that time frame (I don't see why it wouldn't).

Baking Soda Facial scrub
3 tbsp Baking Soda
2 tbsp Oil (i.e. Canola, Olive)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract (or a drop of oil of essence). It's for fragrance only.

Mix all ingredients together to make a small batch to last a couple of weeks.

To exfoliate my body, I use a sugar scrub that I absolute love. I prefer more of a gritty scrub than the baking soda one. I knew I was onto something when my husband kept making remarks about how smooth my legs were (without me prompting him). This works well on tough spots like elbows and knees. Much like the baking soda scrub, this will keep for at least a few weeks. Because it is so easy to make, I only make small batches.

Sugar Scrub
2 tbsp Baking Soda
2 tbsp White Cane Sugar
3 tbsp Oil (i.e. Canola, Olive)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract (or drop of oil of essence). It's for fragrance only.

Mix all ingredients up and store in a sealable container.

For really tough spots like feet, the below is the pamper scrub I use, but I must warn you that it only keeps for a few days. It starts to harden after a while. This has real grit to sandblast my callous feet.

Sugar Salt Scrub
1 tbsp Baking Soda
2 tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Epsom Salt
3 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Mix together and apply liberally to your feet. You can either let your feet soak or immediately wash the scrub off.

With all these scrubs, I wash it off with soap and water.

Mind Set..

Many people think that being frugal means going without, which is not necessarily true. Being frugal is a mind set where you try to get the most value out of your money. Resources are finite, so you learn to make due with what you got.

You can accomplish this through various way, such as finding another use for an item. For example, we buy clementines in these little wooden boxes. Instead of throwing out the box once we're done with all the clementines, we find another purpose for it. We use one of the boxes to store our spices, which keeps our spice cupboard organized. Another box we used to keep the cat's food dish in, which helps keep the mess down. A third box we used to organize my children's arts and crafts supplies. These items are providing another service at no additional costs to me. As you can see (besides the fact we eat lots of clementines), stuff that was once heading for the trash may have another purpose.

Homemade items are better than you think. There are various of recipes to make items at home, such as sugar scrubs, soaps, tasty dishes and more! Before the grocery stores expanded their aisles to hold various merchandise choices, families were making stuff at home. Also, there is something rewarding about making your own stuff.

Find activities to preoccupy your time and fill your life. Life is not about stuff, yet we're a society that seems so focused on it. Life is about memories. The memories from my life do not revolving around stuff, but rather around doing things with friends and family. Taking walks, riding bikes, trips to the library, sitting around talking, creating crafts, playing in the snow... All of these are joyful memories that did not require expensive items.

Being frugal is not about missing out, it is about using creativity to find other uses and finding value in what is around you.

Avoiding the Beverage Aisle: Confession of a Cola Addict

I admit it. I'm addicted to the sweet bubbly stuff. While my preference is Diet Coke, Coke Zero and Diet Dr. Pepper, I don't really have any brand loyalty. Typically I would consume 3-5 cans of soda a day. However, with the prices of soda rising and the articles warning about the health effects of diet soda, I knew I need to quit.

A price for a 2 liter of soda cost about $1.50-2.00.

If I was going to quit, I needed to avoid the beverage aisle and go cold turkey. My problem was I wanted my drink to have flavor. How could I find an acceptable alternative to that sweet stuff, but won't cause me to go broke in the long run?

Make my own drinks!

Cucumber Water. A pitcher of water with some cucumber slices is oddly very refreshing with a nice crisp flavor to the water with no extra ingredients (no sugar, preservatives). After letting the cucumber slices sit in the water overnight, I fish the slices out and save them for a small snack.

Lemon Water. A pitcher full of water with a few slices of lemon. I recommend warming up the lemon slices in the microwave for about 20 seconds, which makes the lemons juicer (flavoring the water).

Fruit Flavored Water. Strawberries are in season now, so we have bunch in the house. I sliced up a few strawberries and added them to a pitcher of water. It taste pretty good. For a sweeter taste like the bottled flavored water, I would probably add a teaspoon or two of sugar (not much). I also tried it with a kiwi.

Iced Tea. Add some hot water to a few bags of tea to brew, then place in the refrigerator. You can flavor how ever you want....sugar, mint, lemon, ginger (saw it in a Kung-Fu movie, don't knock it until you try it). Home brewed iced tea is so much better than the bottle store bought variety, which is more of a sugary, syrup than tea.

At night I fill a couple of water bottles with one of my homemade brews so I have a cold drink while at work. I'm able to quench my thirst without spending money at the vending machines or visiting the grocery store beverage aisle.

BBQ Beans

I swear there is nothing cheaper per serving than dried beans. It's also pretty healthy. In fact a serving of Northern Beans has over 50% of your daily fiber serving, as well as 8 grams of protein, all with very little fat. In a quest to find healthy and cheap, you should not over look dried beans.

Naturally it is not convenient as canned beans, but it is a minor trade-off.

Ingredients:
1 lb bag of dried Great Northern Beans
1 bottle of favorite BBQ sauce
12-16 cups of water

Directions:

You'll need to soak the beans. There are 2 methods, the overnight soak and the quick soak. Some swear by the overnight soak as the way to get the best tasting bean. To my unrefined palate, I cannot tell a difference. If you're planning ahead, do the overnight soak; it's easy, with very little work. If you're like me and don't plan that far in advance, the quick soak is the way to go. Don't worry, it is still easy, but has a little bit more work than the overnight method.

Regardless of what method you use, you'll need to rinse and sort through the beans to remove any pebble or weird looking bean.

Quick Soak: After rinsing and sorting through your beans, place the beans in large pot with 6-8 cups o hot water. Bring to a rapid boil. Once you reach a rapid boil point, boil for an additional 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 1 hour. It's okay to let it stand longer if you forget about it. Drain and rinse beans again.

Overnight Soak: After rinsing, place the beans in large pot with 6-8 COLD water. Place in refrigerator or on counter covered overnight.

For cooking, there are two methods, stove top and the slow cooker (a.k.a. crock pot). Again, what method you use depends on time and how involved you want to be.

Stove Top: Combine 6 cups with your soaked beans in a large pot. Simmer gently with lid tilted until desired tenderness is reached, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Slow Cooker: Add soaked beans in slow cooker. Add enough water to barely cover the beans. Place on low for approximately 8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.

Once your beans are done cooking, drain the water and add favorite BBQ sauce. Let bean sit for 5-10 minutes in sauce, then serve. For better flavor, let the beans sit overnight and reheat the next day; however, this requires planning.