I am always leery to post recipes that I didn’t come up with myself. Because let’s be honest, you could Google just about anything, but I can’t keep this one in. I am a self proclaimed salsa snob/addict. Chips and salsa are my desert food. If I were stuck on a desert for the rest of my life with just one food, it would be chips and salsa. But again, I am so picky about salsa it’s ridiculous.
I have been on the search for the best salsa recipe and am know for sure I’ve found it.
What does this have to do with being Thrifty you may ask. Well first of all, anything you can make from scratch and not outright buy or go to the store almost always saves you money. Second, I am known for sending my husband regularly to the mexican restaurant for chips and salsa togo. That bill is always just over $6. With this recipe which is BETTER than most every salsa I’ve ever had, I can make 10 times as much for half the cost.
Are you sold on this salsa yet? If you are looking for the best salsa ever, look no further. The Pioneer Woman has done it! Please make this and tell me how it changes your salsa world! I’ve copied the recipe below to make it easier for you to make 
Oh and the best way to eat this is definitely baking chips for about 7 minutes in the oven at 350 until they get nice and crispy. You’ll think you were eating out.
What You Need
1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice
2 cans (10 Ounce) Rotel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies)
1/4 cup Chopped Onion
1 clove Garlic, Minced
1 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin
1/4 teaspoon Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1/2 cup Cilantro (more To Taste!)
1/2 whole Lime Juice
What To Do
1. Throw the onion, jalapeño and cilantro in a food processor and chop it all up.
2. Throw everything else in.
3. Pulse to desired consistency. I like my pretty runny.
4. Test it and adjust seasonings.
5. Refrigerate for at least an hour. The longer it sits the better!
Enjoy.
Thank you Pioneer Woman.
And your welcome to anyone that starts making this.
One of the most expensive items in your shopping cart will be meat. Actually it probably is your most expensive item. You can definitely find sales and shop in bulk to cut down in cost, but another thing you can do that will actually make a difference is go meatless for a couple of meals a week. You’ll see your grocery bill go down a bit. But don’t worry, you don’t have to sacrifice taste for your wallet.
Here are some great meat alternatives.
1. Black beans and chickpeas. Most recipes that call for ground beef like tacos or spaghetti sauce are actually quite good with either of these alternatives. They mostly soak in whatever spices you put on them making it even better! I do highly suggest rinsing both of them before preparing them though. Cans of these items are incredibly inexpensive too!
2. Veggies! Yes vegetables are a great meat alternative. When you are making something like lasagna substitute the meat with eggplant or strips of zucchini You seriously won’t miss it! I bet even your kids dive into it with open arms.
3. Tofu. Although it’s not as cheap as say black beans, it is cheaper than meat. And remember this too takes on the flavor of whatever it’s cooked in so it’s a great alternative for protein without the pricetag.
4. Nuts. No, I’m not crazy, they are a great alternative. I recently tried a curry dish using no meat, but just using raw cashews that I soaked in water for a couple of hours and roughly chopped. It was A-MAZ-ING. Almonds are awesome too!
What are some dishes you cook without meat?
Happy Valentine’s Day!
We don’t always do much around here for Valentine’s. However, there’s been lots of Valentine talk around my 4-yr-old. So, I thought we’d do a little something to make it fun.
First, I added just a little shape to cookies that I make all the time for us. They are healthy almond flour, sprouted oatmeal, chocolate chip cookies. (There’s actually much more in there. But, that gives you the idea.) So, for a handful of the cookies, I tried a little experiment: shape them into hearts.
They are the same cookies we have around here every day. Literally. Every day. But, I was amazed at my daughter’s response. She was thrilled at the “heart shaped” cookies. It was as though they were a completely different cookie. For the rest of the day, she asked for “heart shaped cookies.” It was so cute and such a reminder that little differences can go a LONG way.
Meanwhile, I’d been keeping an eye out for something fun, different and EASY to make both for the children and for my husband for Valentine’s and I stumbled upon this golden nugget! I used to love Almond Joy and Mounds as a child (and beyond) but, over the years and with lifestyle changes, they just don’t taste as good to me as they used to. So, when I found this recipe for homemade Almond Joy with only 5 ingredients, I HAD to try it. And, I did…but, I left out the almonds. So, I suppose you can say that my version is of the Mounds variety 
Here’s the recipe:
2 cups unsweetened coconut (shredded)
1/3 cup maple syrup
6 oz melted chocolate (I used 85% cocoa dark chocolate)
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1. Put coconut and syrup in a food processor for about 2 minutes until it resembles a course meal.
2. Use about 1 1/2 Tbsp for each ball/mound. Form and place on a cooling rack on top of a baking pan.
3. Add the coconut oil to the chocolate and mix until smooth. Then, drizzle the chocolate over the mounds of coconut and chill for at least 10 minutes.
Super easy…and yummy!
There’s no excuse to not do something a little different, a little special if you want to on this Valentine’s Day.
Are you making anything special for your Valentine?
Whether you were rooting for the Ravens or the 49ers, the game is over and your guests have (hopefully) gone home. But are you stuck with a lot of leftovers? Here are some practical uses for some common Superbowl food.
1. Artichoke dip pasta. Just in case any of this made it out uneaten, it’s amazing cooked in pasta. Cook fettuccine noodles like normal, then drain. Put back into the pan and stir in leftover dip. You’ll have to adjust according to how much dip was left, but this is amazing!
2. Freeze/cut up your veggies. There is no need to throw away the vegetables from your veggie trays. Use them in recipes that call for cut up veggies. Throw your carrots into a pot roast or cut up your celery and throw it in your freezer. There aren’t many veggies from those trays that won’t translate into another recipe.
3. French toast from rolls! We always have rolls leftover from parties. We love to buy them for little sandwiches, but we always have too much. In addition to more sandwiches the next day, those rolls make amazing french toast.
4. Lunch meats. If you have leftovers lunch meats for sandwiches or whatever, they are great for chopping up into omelets.
5. Donate it! There are so many charities and places that need food. Call and see if you can bring some properly stored leftovers. They would most likely love it!
Some things you shouldn’t keep or reuse are items that were left out for a long time with mayo or sour cream in them.
My husband is obsessed with ham lately. I am not a big fan, but I am a big fan of how many meals I get out of one ham! The one we got was HUGE so it will go far. Here is what I have so far.
1. Ham with macaroni and cheese. It doesn’t get much more basic than this, but the first day I just make a regular ham. But I put mine in the crockpot so it’s less work for me.
2. Split pea soup. Is there honestly a better thing to do with a hambone? I think not. It’s super easy to make and again, I just throw it all in the crock pot and forget it until it’s time to eat. HERE is the recipe I use.
3. Potato soup. THIS recipe will change your life. It’s the BEST potato soup of all time. This one doesn’t call for meat, but I throw in ham or bacon and it’s wonderful. It also is in the crockpot which makes it easy on me. Are you seeing a theme here?
4. Ham and cheese omelets. These are great to use your leftovers for breakfast. We don’t eat a lot of meat for breakfast so this is a great way to mix it up. You can also try a breakfast casserole too!
5. Sandwiches! If you happen to have any leftovers, just make sandwiches. I really think this may be my husband’s true reason for wanting ham. And honestly it doesn’t get much easier.
What do you do with your leftover ham?
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As a mom I am always looking for ideas for cheap snacks. It’s no secret that junk food is cheap, but there are tons of options out there for healthy snacks. Here are some ideas for you and your family.
1. Hummus. Oh how I love hummus! And it’s not the store bought kind that is cheap, but if you make your own, it’s less than $2!
All you need is
4 garlic cloves
2 cups canned chickpeas, drained
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons water or liquid from the chickpeas
Throw it all in a food processor and that’s it! Homemade hummus that is cheap and healthy!
2. Carrots. Half a cup of carrots costs around $.50. Don’t buy the baby carrots since they can be more expensive, but the sticks you have to peel yourself are very inexpensive. And carrots are so yummy!
3. Plain popcorn. This is a great healthy food as long as you don’t put tons of junk in it. All you need is a brown paper bag, some olive oil and popcorn kernels. Doing it THIS way is about a 1/4th of the cost of even the healthy brands of bagged popcorn and it’s just as easy to make.
4. Edamame. This is my most favorite snack ever. It’s so yummy and your can find it at Costco or in most freezer sections. They are crazy cheap, very filling and just plain tasty! LOVE it!
5. Boiled eggs. This may be obvious, but eggs are cheap and full of protein which keeps you fuller longer. They don’t call it the incredible edible egg for no reason!
Am I the only one with lots of leftover turkey still? I hate to throw it away, so I won’t I’ll make some turkey tortilla soup. I LOVE making tortilla soup because it’s crazy easy and I usually have all of the items on hand. Anytime you don’t have to go to the store for even one item, it saves you money. One item always turns into 10.
This recipe is also made in the crock pot AND it freezes beautifully.
What You Need
Whatever turkey you have left. Just throw it all in.
1-15 oz can whole canned tomatoes. Make sure you mash them up pretty well.
1-10 oz can enchilada sauce
1 yellow onion chopped
1-4oz can chopped green chilis
2-3 minced garlic cloves
1 cup water
1 can chicken broth
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 can whole kernal corn
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
Throw it all in the crockpot and let cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4.
I like to serve mine with tortilla chips and sour cream.
What did you do with your leftover turkey?
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