With my resolve kicked to the curb in favor of a self-indulgent caffeine hit, I walked into the nearest Starbucks with my wallet in hand. It had been years since I’d ordered a Frapp, so I was fairly shocked by the variety of flavors available, but I was mostly appalled by the price — $3.45 (plus tax) for a tasty Tall! WTF? (Yeah, what the Frapp?)

Take a guess: One is real. The other is cheaper, but just as tasty.
 

Now I’m not a complete cheapo (cough) and I do enjoy an indulgent treat every now and then, but shelling out nearly $4 for a chilled coffee beverage seemed a bit steep. What’s in a classic Starbucks Frappuccino anyways? Coffee, milk, ice, and sugar? For $4? How’s that for a brain freeze?

The Starbucks barista must have been used to caffeine-starved customers with mouths agape, ’cause she stood there patiently waiting for me to order. But the only words that dropped outta my gap formed this question: What ingredient keeps the Frapp from separating?

“Oh, that’s just a little xanthan gum — it’s a food thickener, and it keeps blended drinks mixed,” she said.

So I bit my frugal tongue, ordered a classic Tall Frappuccino for $3.86 (including tax), and went home to replicate this costly drug for dimes a drink.

Frapp Price Attack: You’re saving around 92%

Talk about a steep latte factor — a copycat classic coffee Starbucks Frappuccino (using my recipe) can save you 91.7% on a 12 oz (354 mL) Tall sized beverage. Can you really see the difference?

Here’s the caffeinated cost breakdown for each ingredient scaled to a Starbucks Tall.

Bottom Line: Make your own copycat Frappuccino at home and save $3.54 — that’s nearly 92% — on a Tall.

But here’s the thing — my tasty recipe yields around 2.5 cups of frappy goodness. Since I got a little cranked on caffeine for this experiment, I did the mathy math for the total cost of my recipe too.

Bottom Line: Share a little chilled coffee goodness with a friend (or pour yourself a second serving) for just $0.53 per recipe.

But what about my Mocha Soy Venti? I only did the math on a Tall classic Frappuccino. Calculating the cost of coffee grams per cup, sugar weight, milk measurements, and xanthan gum nearly killed me. Feel free to measure the cost of a homemade Mocha Frapp on your own dime — I’m almost certain you’ll save a lot of moolah!

Homemade Frappuccino Recipe

Make a copycat Starbucks Frappuccino for a fraction of the cost in three easy steps.

STEP ONE: Gather your ingredients.

Frappuccino ingredients: makes 2.5 cups (590 mL)

• 1 cup double-strength Starbucks coffee OR 3/4 cup fresh espresso (cold)
• 3/4 cup milk (low fat, 2%, whole or whatever)
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar (or to taste)
• 2 cups ice
• Secret ingredient: Pinch of xanthan gum OR 1 teaspoon dry pectin (keeps Frapp from separating)

Since I don’t own an espresso machine, I went to Costco and bought a bag of Starbucks Pike Place roast to best mimic the Frappuccino recipe. Brewed strongly, I think these beans did the trick.

STEP TWO: Toss your Frapptastic ingredients into a mixer and blend. Some of my friends swear by the Magic Bullet blender, but I’ve been happy with my simple Cuisinart for years.

Depending on the strength of your blender, it may take a few stirs to get the ice moving.

STEP THREE: Pour Frapp in a cup. Use an authentic Starbucks cup to fool your friends. Sneaky, I know.

Warning: Photographing a Frappuccino for hours may cause coffee separation. Grumble.
 

Admire your handy work. Add toppings at the will of your waistline. Oh it’s summer so friggits — full whip with chocolate syrup, please!

Your Thoughts: What’s in your homemade Frappuccino coffee drink? Are the savings worth it?

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• How to make a budget (series with downloads)
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• 50 Ways to Save $1,000 a Year
• Credit Card Calculator
• Download your free 92-page eBook: The Insider’s Guide To Frugal Food & Fitness

Now, I’m the first to admit that making your own peanut butter is not going to save you mega millions. I don’t care if you bathe in the buttery stuff daily, ’cause putting more effort into paying down your mortgage, paying off your credit cards, and avoiding hefty investing fees is where you’ll bite back on the biggest bucks.

There are advantages to making your own peanut butter when compared to buying the branded stuff though, especially if you don’t mind the extra steps needed to turn a few peanuts in a blender.

Advantages

Homemade nut butters won’t contain the hydrogenated oils, stabilizers, emulsifiers, excess sugars, and salts found in many branded varieties. Plus, with the numerous concerns about salmonella contamination at large processing plants and peanut butter recalls, you can chew a little easier knowing that your homemade stuff is likely safer for your family.

Blending your own at home also gives you full control over the peanuts — country of origin, organic or not — while allowing you to mix in other nuts or seeds for a unique blend not available in stores. Boost the healthfulness of your nutty butter by adding a little flax seed oil, and enjoy the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids for far less cost than other nut butters containing flax seeds. Homemade peanut butter just tastes fresher.

Price Check: You’re saving more than peanuts!

I can’t believe I did the mathy math and crunched the numbers on peanuts. Anyorganicpeanuts, I compared the pricing of my recipe to peanut butter made only with 100% organic peanuts — figuring out the math on added salt, sugar, and oil is not my idea of a party. Besides, I only buy peanut butter with one ingredient, and that’s peanuts.

In a nutshell, the store brand organic peanut butter cost $3.69 for 500g ($0.738/100g), while my organic raw unsalted peanuts cost $10.50 for 5lbs ($0.463/100g).

Bottom Line: You’ll save 37% by making your own organic peanut butter at home — that’s a savings of $1.37 per 500g jar.

What about Costco? My article, The Complete Guide to Costco, shows you how to find the biggest savings at everyone’s favorite warehouse store. But when you compare Costco’s organic peanut butter selling at $10 for a 2kg jar ($0.50/100g) my homemade recipe is still cheaper, and perhaps tastier.

Homemade Peanut Butter Recipe

Here’s how to make your own cost-cutting peanut butter in three easy steps:

STEP ONE: Roast your nuts (I’ve always wanted to write that) at 350°F (180°C) for 10-20 minutes in a shallow baking pan. Only roast one layer deep at a time to ensure even cooking. Stir frequently to prevent burning. Let cool for 15 minutes after roasting.

Skip this step if you’re into a raw diet and prefer green peanut butter. Some argue that roasting helps kill any bacterial contaminants that might be on the peanuts.

What about the skins? Peanut skins are high in antioxidants and give the final product a unique taste — and a slightly pinkish color.

STEP TWO: Place roasted peanuts in a food processor and grind until smooth. Processing may take several minutes.

At first the nuts break into a fine crumbly mix. A few minutes longer and the nuts begin to bind as the oil is released.

If your butter appears dry or your food processor cannot turn the mixture, go ahead and add one teaspoon of peanut oil or flax seed oil — don’t overdo it! A little oil goes a very long way.

Optional: Add a little salt or your favorite nuts and seeds to blend the perfect nut butter.

The food processor may form a big peanut butter ball if you didn’t add a lot of oil.

Crunchy peanut butter: Reserve a half cup (or more) of ‘chopped’ nuts right at the start and set them aside. When the peanut butter is almost done, stir them in.

STEP THREE: Remove peanut butter from the food processor (it will be warm) and refrigerate in an air-tight container for up to two weeks.

Serve as a delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or use as a dip for fresh fruit slices — either way you’ll go nutty.

Your Thoughts: What do you put in your homemade nut butters? Are the savings worth the work?

Love the blog? Get the book: 397 Ways to Save Money

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• How to make a budget (series with downloads)
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Stretching a whole organic chicken into 22 healthy servings for $49 bucks is easy. It’s the meat measuring, food photographing, blog writing, and penny counting that nearly killed me. Unless you scrapbook every morsel of food you eat, stretching a chicken shouldn’t be this onerous for you. Promise.

Anycrazyblogger, so why did I attempt such an arduous frugal food experiment? Easy. I wanted to prove that eating healthy, organic food on a budget is possible when you take the time, put in the effort, and have a plan.

Yes, I am certain you can make these healthy meals cheaper by using a non-organic chicken. So if an organic chicken is not in your budget, that’s OK. The point is that eating healthy food is not as expensive as so many people often whine about. Buying packaged products and eating out is what kills the family budget, not healthy meals made at home from scratch.

Now, before taking on this task, I laid a few ground rules just so you know I didn’t wing it. Here goes:

Squawky’s Chicken Stretching Rules:

1. Rule One: Must use a whole organic chicken (read why).
2. Rule Two: Meals must be healthy and frugalicious. No deep fried battered chickens on a stick.
3. Rule Three: Most food must be from fridge or pantry. No big shopping trips!
4. Rule Four: Each meal must feed at least two people, leftovers are encouraged.
5. Rule Five: Meals must have some variety.
6. Rule Six: Meals must all be made in my slow cooker. I’m lazy, busy, and I love coming home to a hot meal.
7. Rule Seven: The cost must be reasonable — I’m not trying to out cheap the internets, but rather have an honest go at making healthy meals with the food in my house while using mostly organic ingredients. Cheapest isn’t always bestest, anyways.

I’ll stop flapping around now. Here’s how I stretched a single organic chicken into 22 healthy meals for $49 bucks — this includes side dishes too people!

Day One: Oven Baked Whole Chicken Dinner

I started this frugal adventure with a single 6.28lb organic chicken for $21.92. Not so frugal you say? Admittedly, this chicken was by far my biggest expense.

I used to be scared of baking a whole chicken. Not anymore. Follow my instructions and you’ll be fine.

Dinner Details:

• Recipe: Oven Baked Whole Chicken
• Meals: 2 servings
• Chicken consumed: 1/2 breast, 1 leg, 1 wing, 1 thigh
• Sides: spaghetti squash, salad, roasted vegetables, quinoa.

I prefer light meat while Carl enjoys dark. And yes, Carl got a little annoyed (and hungry) while I photographed his meal. Being married to a blogger can be brutal.

Why only 1/2 breast and a few chicken pieces? Well, the amount of meat on this organic chicken was mind boggling. I took the time to measure just for fun. Each chicken breast measured about 8 inches long, 3 inches wide, and 1.5 inches thick. That’s bigger than any boneless non-organic chicken breast I’ve bought from the grocery store. Plus, the amount of meat from the carcass, legs, thighs, and wings was astounding.

It sounds funny, but I think our organic chicken yielded far more meat than the non-organic birds I’ve bought in the past. So I deem this pricey poultry a winner!

Homemade Chicken Stock

After our baked chicken dinner, I removed most of the meat from the leftover chicken carcass and made homemade chicken stock in my slow cooker. The idea was to further stretch this chicken by making healthy soups and stews with homemade chicken broth.

Making chicken stock is very frugal and super simple. I basically used ingredients I might have otherwise discarded, such as: the chicken carcass, past prime carrots, celery, and onions.

Chicken Stock Details:

• Recipe: Homemade Chicken Stock
• Meals: see below
• Chicken used: 1 chicken carcass

If you’re new to slow cookers or crock pots, check out 6 Reasons to use a Slow Cooker and then see How to Buy a Slow Cooker for a few frugal buying tips.

Day Two: White Chicken Chili

The White Chicken Chili feast was easily my favorite meal of the slow cooked bunch. Perhaps I was in the mood for something spicy, or I just love beans — either way this one was a winner. I had to invent my own version since most chicken chili recipes call for raw chicken. I also wanted to make do with the ingredients I had on hand.

Dinner Details:

• Recipe: White Chicken Chili
• Meals: 4 servings
• Chicken consumed: 1 whole massive breast, 1 cup homemade chicken stock
• Sides: salad and a wrap

The most expensive part of this recipe were the two cans of chopped green chilies totalling $3.98. I couldn’t find a fresh alternative where I live, hopefully you can (and skip the cans).

Day Three: Chicken Noodle Soup

By day three of this frugal food experiment my gorgeous homemade chicken stock was ready. On this day we also experienced a cold snap and Carl got a case of ‘the sicks’. A sick man stuck inside a cold house is a grumpy (and sad) scenario, so I fired up my slow cooker and made a whole lot of chicken noodle soup.

Dinner Details:

• Recipe: Chicken Noodle Soup
• Meals: 4 servings
• Chicken consumed: 1/2 chicken breast, 1 leg, 1 wing, 6 cups homemade chicken stock
• Sides: quinoa, salad, and a wrap

I enjoyed this recipe. But since I cannot eat gluten, I made my own helping with quinoa — a tasty gluten-free alternative. Learn how to cook quinoa for the details.

Day Four: Chicken and Chickpea Stew

For this frugal chicken-stretching recipe all you need is a little leftover cooked chicken, a slow cooker, and some chickpeas. Easy, tasty, frugal, and good.

Dinner Details:

• Recipe: Chicken and Chickpea Stew
• Meals: 6 servings
• Chicken consumed: 1 cup chicken, 1 thigh, 1 cup homemade chicken stock
• Sides: salad and a wrap

This recipe really stretches leftover chicken since it contains chickpeas and potatoes. We dined on this stew for two lunches and one dinner. I was thrilled to cut costs further by using tomatoes frozen from my summer garden.

Day Five: Chicken and Lentil Soup

On my final chicken-stretching day I really didn’t feel like eating chicken. Carl still had a bad head cold so I made chicken soup for him, and added lentils for me.

Dinner Details:

• Recipe: Chicken and Lentil Soup
• Meals: 6 servings
• Chicken consumed: 2 cups chicken, 2 cups homemade chicken stock
• Sides: salad and a wrap

I enjoyed this simple soup. Next time I’ll make it with less onion though. Or maybe next time I’ll just make another batch of White Chicken Chili.

Final Thoughts, Master Grocery List

Adding up my frugal food budget the total cost for all 22 healthy meals (including side dishes) came to $48.60, or $49 bucks if you prefer a nice rounded-up number. That’s a frugal $2.21 per meal for healthy, organic food — less than the cost of a single fancy latte coffee thinger at your local coffee shop. Here’s the budget breakdown with a master grocery shopping list:

Master Grocery List:

• 1 whole organic chicken, 6-7lbs: $21.92
• 1 spaghetti squash: free from garden
• 2 romaine lettuce, 2 leaf green: $3.97
• 8 carrots: $1.49
• 8 celery stalks: $0.73
• 7 medium onions: $1.51
• 3/4 cup mushrooms: $0.58
• 1 cup green beans or broccoli: $ 0.79
• 5-6 cups fresh spinach: $1.49
• 4 large tomatoes, or 1 28-ounce can: free from garden
• 2 medium potatoes: $0.34
• 1 garlic bulb, 5 cloves garlic: $0.23
• 2 cups dried quinoa: $1.82
• 1 cup dried white kidney beans: $0.53
• 1 cup dried green lentils: $0.51
• 1 cup dried chickpeas: $0.54
• 1.5 lemons: $1.05
• 1/2 lime: $0.25
• 1 small bunch fresh thyme, rosemary, sage, or mix: $1.79
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley: $0.13
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh coriander: $0.18
• 3 bay leaves: $0.17
• 2 tsp ground coriander: $0.16
• 2 tsp ground cumin: $0.16
• 2 tsp dried basil: $0.15
• 1 tsp dried oregano: $0.10
• 1 tsp chipotle chili powder: $0.12
• 1/2 tsp paprika: $0.07
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme: $0.10
• 2 cans chopped green chilies: $3.98
• 4 cups egg noodles: $1.15
• 1 bag of wraps: $2.49
• 1/2 tsp olive oil: $0.03
• salt and pepper (to taste): $0.07

TOTAL COST: $48.60
PRICE PER MEAL: $2.21

There you have it — 1 snarky blogger, 1 sick husband, 1 organic chicken, 22 healthy meals, all for $49 bucks. Yes, you might dine on fewer meals if you’re a construction worker. And perhaps you could stretch this cluck even further if you eat like a little person. Regardless of your caloric needs and consumption, I deem this frugal chicken-stretching experiment a success!

Squawkback: How many meals can you stretch out of a single whole chicken? (and how did I do?)

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Call it chicken stock or chicken broth, either way it will warm your soul on a cold winter’s day. And if you’re lucky, a nice hot bowl of homemade chicken soup (or stew) made from your own stock might just cure whatever ails you. Well, maybe not your ailing credit card debt, so we’ll leave that one for another day.

Anyfrugalfood, making your own homemade chicken stock is a very easy and frugal thing to do. Many stock makers just boil their broth in a pot, but I like to use my slow cooker.

Brewing broth in a slow cooker is effortless since it’s a hands-free activity and you don’t have to babysit a boiling pot on your stove. Besides, there are other things I’d rather do than watch a pot of bubbling broth. If you’re in the market for a slow cooker, see How to Buy a Slow Cooker or Crock Pot for the details.

Yummy: A bowl of chicken noodle soup made from homemade chicken stock.

OK, so making chicken broth is cheap. Don’t believe me? Let’s compare the cost of buying that prepackaged Swanson chicken broth stuff to using what’s in your fridge. According to Amazon, Swanson Chicken Broth, 32-Ounce Aseptic Box (Organic, Pack of 12) costs around $38.

My organic chicken broth cost me a leftover chicken carcass and a few past-prime vegetables — all foods I would have discarded or composted without a second squawk. Plus, homemade chicken broth is far more environmentally friendly since it doesn’t require the disposal of those nasty aseptic boxes.

OK, let’s get to the good stuff!

Chicken Stock Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken carcass (neck, wings, and bones)
• 1 unpeeled onion, halved
• 2 celery stalks with leaves, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• pinch each salt and pepper
• 6-8 cups of water, or enough to cover the carcass

Tip: When making vegetable or chicken stock, avoid using vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts because their strong flavors will dominate the stock.

Chicken Stock Recipe: Five Easy Steps

Here are five simple steps for making homemade chicken stock.

Step One: After roasting a whole chicken, remove meat for subsequent meals. Remove skin and discard.

Step Two: Place carcass in slow cooker. Add unpeeled onion, celery stalks, carrots, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Pour in water to cover the carcass and vegetables.

Step Three: Cover and slow cook on low for 12 hours, or longer.

I often place my slow cooker outside on my deck and let the broth simmer for up to 24 hours.

So by the time the snow melts, I know my broth is done.

Step Four: Discard chicken. Strain stock into a large bowl using a cheesecloth or sieve.

Place bowl in refrigerator.

If your German spouse likes to drink German beer, feel free to set your broth next to the beer. Place an apple in front of the brew to distract the internets from seeing your gorgeous organic broth next to less gorgeous inorganic beer. Smirk. I’m secretly hoping that Carl will reach for the apple before grabbing a beer. Yeah, unlikely I know.

Step Five: Refrigerate stock until fat rises to the surface — about 8 hours. Skim the fat and discard.

Pour chicken stock into mason jars or containers. Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month.

That’s it! Fresh chicken stock for all your soups and stews. Or use a cup to flavor side dishes like rice or quinoa.

Squawkback: How do you make chicken stock? Which vegetables do you add?

Love the blog? Get the book: 397 Ways to Save Money

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• How to make a budget (series with downloads)
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• 50 Ways to Save $1,000 a Year
• Credit Card Calculator
• Download your free 92-page eBook: The Insider’s Guide To Frugal Food & Fitness

To stretch a whole chicken you need two things. First, you need a whole chicken. Second, it helps to have a plan. Since I squawked about buying an organic chicken at the beginning of this series, let’s get crackin’ with the first part of the plan — and that’s baking or roasting a whole chicken.

I used to be scared of baking a whole chicken. Since a raw chicken isn’t stunning to look at, has a daunting cavity space where my grandmother used to stuff things, and looks like a meal that requires a lot of work, I tended to steer clear of the full cluck in favor of prettily packaged boneless skinless chicken breasts. Wow, what a costly mistake! Here’s why:

Non-Organic Chicken Breasts vs. an Organic Whole Chicken

• Non-organic chicken breasts are expensive to buy, and cost around $4/lb in Canada (where I live). You get very few meals from this costly meat.
• A whole organic chicken costs around $3.49/lb, and can be used for multiple meals.

The price I used to pay for so-called ‘convenience’ chicken is no more, thankfully.

Anyscaredofchicken, I got over my fear of cooking whole chickens when my good friend Beth had me over for a frugal roast chicken meal. She called her pleasant feast ‘The Perfect Roast Chicken’ — and she was right. Using a simple recipe from Jamie Oliver’s cookbook, Jamie’s Food Revolution, she quickly and easily chopped a few veggies, stuck the chicken on top of them, and in under two hours served a delicious, and very affordable, dinner. I was gobsmacked. Beth’s tasty meal served four adults, one child, and there was A LOT leftover for lunch and dinner the next day.

How to cook a whole chicken

My ingredients differ slightly from Jamie Oliver’s recipe. He uses olive oil to coat the chicken and vegetables, but I skipped the added grease — chickens are pretty fatty as-is.

Ingredients:

• 1 chicken, 6-7 pounds (free-range, organic, or what your budget allows)
• 2 medium onions
• 2 carrots
• 2 celery stalks
• 1 garlic bulb
• 1 lemon
• salt and pepper
• small bunch of fresh thyme, rosemary, bay, sage or mix

Preparing your chicken:

Here are 10 simple steps to cooking a whole chicken. Yes, you can do it.

Step One: Remove your chicken from the refrigerator 30 minutes before it goes into the oven.

Step Two: Preheat your oven to 240°C or 475°F. Got a convection oven? Try this convection calculator to get the temperature and timing right.

Step Three: Wash and chop vegetables coarsely, and don’t peel them. Break the garlic bulb into cloves, leaving them also unpeeled. Rinse your chicken.

Step Four: Place all vegetables in the middle of a large roasting pan.

Step Five: Prick lemon with a fork, and place it inside the chicken’s cavity with herbs. Add a little salt, pepper, and herbs to the chicken. Place your chicken on top of the vegetables, then into the preheated oven.

Baking your whole chicken:

Step Six: Once your chicken is in the oven, immediately turn down the heat to 200°C or 400°F. Cook the chicken for around 2 hours and 20 minutes for a 6-7 pound chicken. I used to wonder How long do you cook a whole chicken?. If your chicken is bigger or smaller, take a peek at this roasting chart for cooking times. Or just use an inexpensive (and classic) oven-safe Meat and Poultry Thermometer — I’ve had mine for years and it takes the guesswork out of cooking.

Step Seven: Roasting potatoes and other veggies? Get them into the oven for the last 45 minutes of cooking. Baste your bird halfway through cooking, and add a little water to the roasting pan if the vegetables under the chicken look dry. No one wants burned vegetables.

Step Eight: When fully cooked, transfer your chicken to a cutting board and let it rest for around 15 minutes. Cover it with a damp tea towel and put it aside.

Step Nine: Carve your chicken. It’s really not hard to carve a chicken, so I’m including a little video to help you along the way. Here’s how carve a chicken in under three minutes.

Step Ten: Enjoy! Oh, don’t forget to make gravy if you’re into that sort of thing.

Chicken Results: (so far)

The amount of chicken meat carved from this one organic 6lb bird is amazing. Can you guess the size of these chicken breasts?

Yes, I measured each breast. Smirk. And I swear I cleaned Carl’s measuring tape after I was done calculating the digits. The lengths I go to for you guys. Sheesh!

Each chicken breast measured around 8 inches long, 3 inches wide, and 1.5 inches thick. That’s bigger than any boneless chicken breast I’ve bought from the grocery store. Plus, the amount of meat from the carcass, legs, thighs, and wings was astounding. I must admit to being shocked with the value of this single whole chicken so far. And yes, the roast chicken dinner was amazingly tasty.

Read the rest of this chicken series:

Squawkback: When you stretch a chicken, how much meat do you portion per meal?

Love the blog? Get the book: 397 Ways to Save Money

Top Squawks

• How to make a budget (series with downloads)
• How to write a resume (series with downloads)
• Frugalicious Recipes
• 50 Ways to Save $1,000 a Year
• Credit Card Calculator
• Download your free 92-page eBook: The Insider’s Guide To Frugal Food & Fitness

I started singing this crazy tune (in my head) after spying a bulk bin filled with chocolate eyeballs at the grocery store. And then I realized, it’s time for some frightfully fun Halloween cupcakes. Boo!

Store-bought Halloween cookies, cakes, and cupcakes are super easy, but a little pricey. At $6.50 for a tray of six mummy cupcakes, I got the creeps. Making my own would surely be cheaper and a lot more fun. If you’ve got kids — or you’re just a super fun person — then give these Halloween recipes a howl.

Halloween Cupcake Ingredients:

• Chocolate cake mix
• Vanilla cake mix
• Icing (pick your flavor)
• Food coloring
• Halloween-inspired cake decorations

To keep this project less scary and mostly simple, I used no-name and generic boxed cake and icing mixes. At $1 for each, I couldn’t beat the easy, instant stuff. If you prefer, go ahead and make your cake and frosting from scratch.

Frankenstein Cupcakes

Making Frankenstein or Bride of Frankenstein cupcakes is freakishly easy. I started with my Scary Sculls Cupcake Tin to mold a ‘humanoid’ face shape. I’ve reused this tin a number of times for birthdays and even Christmas. The trick is to decorate the cupcake faces to fit the season.

Step One: Make the cake

Add a few drops of green food coloring to a vanilla cake mix to make green cake. My icing and frosting skills are not great, so it’s easier for me to start with a green cake and then lightly decorate.

A green cake base also requires less sugary frosting. Another method is to make vanilla cake and use green frosting.

Step Two: Bake cupcakes

Spray your cupcake tin with a little swoosh of no-stick spray, pour in the cake batter, and bake according to cake mix instructions.

Let cupcakes cool in the tin for at least 10 minutes before attempting to turn them out.

Broken cake faces are scary, and might give you a case of the sads, so be careful.

Step Three: Frost Frankenstein

If you own a piping bag or a cake decorating set, then you’re smiling. I don’t own any of this stuff. To decorate my cakes and cupcakes I often take a sturdy plastic bag, spoon in some icing, and use a pair of scissors to snip a little hole. This do-it-yourself cake decorating tool is not fancy and you won’t be able to make intricate decorative details, but it works for basic faces and simple icing sweeps.

Frugal Tip: Homemade piping bag Use a plastic sandwich bag filled with frosting as a piping bag. Use scissors to cut a tiny hole in the corner of the bag.

To make a Bride of Frankenstein cupcake, cut the back off your cake face and invert it above the head.

Be sure to use a sharp knife to do this little bit of cupcake surgery. Use your decorating bag to create Frankenstein hair loops. Don’t be nervous, and use even pressure to gently squeeze out the frosting.

If you make a mess, just remove the icing with a knife and start over. Add a few facial features using mixed Halloween candy. I used gummy hot lips, chocolate eyes, and vanilla and chocolate cake frosting. Easy.

His and her Halloween cupcakes. Frightfully fun for a girl and a boy.

My Frankenstein cupcake looks dashing, no?

Yummy Mummy Cupcakes

If a green Frankenstein dessert isn’t your thing, then go ahead and get wrapped up in a Yummy Mummy cupcake. Making a mummy is a little easier too. For this Halloween treat you’ll need a chocolate cupcake, vanilla icing, and maybe a candy or two for facial features.

Use your piping bag in a zig-zag motion to create the mummy wraps. For those with cake decorating tools, try using the basket weave tip.

Add candy eyeballs or leave the chocolate cake exposed in the eye area to give your mummy a spooky, empty look.

Make a Monster

Tap into your creativity and use some brain power to invent your own monster. Build a blue monster, a green goblin, or a human head with an exposed brain.

It’s Halloween, anything goes!

More Halloween Fun

If you’re looking for a few healthier Halloween recipes for your kids, check out my Freakish Frog with Fly made with dried fruit, nuts, and apples in: Recipes: Gross, Easy, and Fun Halloween Foods for Kids.

This is a very popular Halloween post from a few years back. What’s not to love about a crazy frog? Crunch!

Even more Halloween fun:

• Free Printable Pumpkin Carving Stencils
• 8 Pumpkin Stencils: Scary Printable Pumpkin Faces (and Marilyn Monroe)
• 10 Halloween Costume Ideas for Kids and Adults
• How to Carve a Pumpkin (without losing a finger)
• 10 Cheap Last Minute Halloween Costume Ideas

Squawkback: What is your favorite Halloween recipe or frightful food?

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So I got desperate and peeped into my freezer. Now, I’m not one of those people who keeps lots of frozen food kicking around in the depths of the cold box. Freezer-burned food kept long past the expiry date may be cold, but it sure ain’t cool. It just takes up space, costs moolah to keep cold, and no one ever eats it anyways. If you have a freezer full of food dating back to the Ice Age, do yourself a solid — clean it out or compost it, now.

So anyways, back to rummaging and foraging for food. My freezer proved fruitful. After digging around I found a bag of frozen organic apples left over from last year’s harvest, a container of dried organic cranberries I had saved from a Thanksgiving sale, and a bag of flour. Yes, I keep my flour in the freezer. Ever since my parents’ Great Weevil Infestation incident in the early 1990s, the whole Taylor clan stores their flour in the freezer. Trust me, you don’t want to start baking something delicious when your flour is wobbling full of buggy weevils. I still have nightmares.

Ok, so I have apples, flour, cranberries, and a hungry pit in my stomach. Luckily, I spied a bunch of overripe bananas sitting on my counter and decided that today was the day to make banana bread! Yay!

How to Make Frugally Easy Banana Bread

It’s really hard to screw up banana bread. Banana bread is just one of those recipes that demands you clean out your fridge (or freezer) and add ingredients already kicking around the kitchen. That’s why this recipe is frugal — you use the ingredients you already have on hand, and keep overripe fruits from hitting the trash can.

Ingredients like nuts, chocolate chips, eggs, spices, and even vegetables like zucchini go great in Frugally Easy Banana Bread. The only way to mess up banana bread is to buy it. Store-bought banana bread is usually stuffed full of hydrogenated oils with not enough bananas. Go figure! Plus, it can be costly to buy. So skip the store, rummage through your fridge, and bake your own banana bread.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 3-4 bananas (1 1/2 cups banana, mashed)
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup cranberries (or chocolate chips or nuts)

Step One: Prep ingredients and preheat oven

Assemble and measure your ingredients. Preheat your oven to 350F (175C) degrees. Add a little no-stick spray to an 8×4 loaf pan.

Call me a nerd, but I made my own apple sauce by putting thawed (previously frozen) apples into a blender. When it comes to making low fat banana bread, I find that apple sauce is the perfect ingredient for making banana bread moist.

I left the peels on because apple skins contain many nutrients. Besides, I find the peels pretty, they add fibre, and I’m too lazy to remove them. So there.

I put my homemade apple sauce aside for later.

Step Two: Mix dry ingredients

In a large bowl, mix together your flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, and nutmeg.

If you’re into chocolate chips or nuts, then mix those in as well.

Step Three: Mix wet ingredients

In a large bowl, mix together your mashed banana, apple sauce, egg, vanilla extract, and cranberries. Now that’s a very moist banana bread recipe despite the lack of butter and oil.

I must admit, this stage doesn’t look too tasty.

Step Four: Combine and pour into pan

This is super easy, people. Just stir and combine your wet and dry ingredients. Pour the batter into your pre-sprayed loaf pan.

Ok, I had a glass loaf pan. You’ve gotta work with what you’ve got.

Step Five: Bake your banana bread

Bake your banana bread in a preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Remove banana bread from pan, and let cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Smells so delicious. I love how pretty the cranberries look when sliced. Now serve with a cup of tea or a glass of milk. Banana bread would also be splendid in a back-to-school lunch or as a healthy weekend snack for the kids. Enjoy!

More tasty things to do with leftover fruit:

• Healthy Snacks: A tasty twist on homemade ice cream
• Fresh Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp with Apples
• Easy and Healthy Granola Bars

Squawkback What do you put in your banana bread? What’s your favorite ingredient? Ever find weevils in your flour? Ack!

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Doing the mathy math, microwave popcorn costs around $22.65 for 12 boxes with 3 packets per box (source Amazon) — that’s an eye-popping $3.53 per pound!

Sure, you may think you’re paying all that delicious cash for a magic metal-lined bag that pops better kernels and cooks your corn more evenly. But think again. I can do the same popping magic trick with a cheapo plain brown paper bag. And at a tasty 50 cents per pound, plain popcorn kernels bought in bulk cost FAR less than that slimy packaged stuff.

Now let me pop the big question: have you ever recycled your leftover microwave popcorn bags? I cringe to think how much of this product graces our landfills, all in the name of snack food. But no fear, by switching your home movie snacking habit using this frugal trick, you can compost or recycle your used brown paper bags and create no waste. See How To Compost Without Raising a Stink for easy composting help.

Speaking of waist, do you know how many calories are contained in those popcorn flavor packets? What about the ingredients? Here’s the ingredient list from the Act II popcorn page on Amazon. Note: I couldn’t find this information on the company’s website.

Act II Popcorn Ingredients: Popcorn, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Salt, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Annatto Color. Contains: Fish, Milk

Fish? Milk? In my popcorn? Um, no thanks. I’ll skip the hydrogenated oil, fish, and milk additives in my snacks by sticking to my frugalicious and homemade popcorn version. Here’s how to make Microwave Popcorn in a Brown Paper Bag:

Step One: Get a brown paper bag

This is ridiculously easy, internet people. Just head on over to your local grocery store and pickup a package of no name flat-bottomed brown paper lunch bags.

I nabbed a package of 100 brown bags for around $2, on sale.

Step Two: Bag your popcorn

Add a 1/2 cup scoop of bulk popcorn kernels to your brown paper bag.

Fold the bag over twice. Don’t use staples to secure the bag — this might spark in your microwave.

This is so exciting. I’m popping with excitement.

Step Three: Pop in microwave

Stick the popcorn bag into your microwave. I set mine for 3 minutes on high.

Popping Tip: Stop the microwave when the popping slows to one to two pops per second. You don’t want to burn your tasty snack.

Step Four: Add gourmet topping

A pinch of salt with a dab of butter is the most popular way to eat popcorn.

But why not get creative and try some sweet or savory flavors to mix up movie night?

Try these toppings for some gourmet popcorn fun:

• Mexican: Add chili powder, hot sauce, and salt.
• Kiss My Breath: Shake in onion powder and garlic powder — hold the kiss.
• Cheese Please: Mix in Parmesan cheese with a little salt.
• Sweet Tooth: A dash of cinnamon, a sprinkle of sugar, and a topper of honey. Now that’s money.
• Classic: A shake of salt with a pat of butter.

Squawkfox: How do YOU make popcorn? Got a favorite gourmet popcorn topping to share?

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I’ve written about jarred gifts before in 8 Homemade Gifts in a Jar — so check it out if you’re less into pastry and more into mixes in a jar.

Pie in a jar is just that — it’s a small single serving of fruit pie made and baked in a tiny mason jar. These pies are frugal to make, awesome to gift, tasty to serve, and fun to sell at bake sales where there’s more than enough standard cakes and tarts to go around. Yes, every local bake sale has a tart or two. But I digress.

Anytartytarts, I’ve even given a few jarred pies to friends in need of a little cheer after a bad day. We’ve all had those days, and sharing a belly laugh over a tiny pie in a jar is far cheaper than visiting a shrink. But if you do need a shrink then please don’t drop by looking for tiny pie. It’s only pie, after all.

Not only are pies in a jar fun to make, but they are a flexible food to serve too. Bake up a fresh batch today or freeze a bunch for later when unexpected company arrives. These little marvels don’t take up your freezer space like traditional baking since they stack up nicely.

So to get you in the mood for some summer sweet and frugal pie, let’s get some mason jars, turn on the oven, and get baking. If you’ve got some kiddlets looking for a fun project, get them into the frugal fun too by teaching them to bake. Watching little ones eat tiny pies is kinda cute too.

Oh, and don’t forget to add these pies as gifts using the Budget Series Gift Giving Worksheet — where tracking even small gifts is as easy as pie.

Step One: Get the right ‘wide mouth jars’

Making pie in a jar is simple with the right canning jars. If you don’t want to have pie on your face, then skip the super cutie narrow-necked jelly jars and get the still super cute 1/2 pint wide mouth canning jars. You’ll thank me when it’s time to line the jar with dough and when it’s time to plate your pie. Besides, the wide mouth jars make it easier to label for a gift, or eat out of with a fork.

The 1/2 pint wide mouth jars yield a pie around 2.5 inches wide and 2 inches tall.

Don’t forget to wash or sterilize your jars before making pie.

Sterilizing is important if you plan to freeze your jarred pies for baking at a later date.

Step Two: Press in your pie dough

I will not lie to you. Filling these little mason jars with pie dough is not easy. When I had the patience I rolled out a little doily-shaped crust, fit it into the bottom of the jar, and then pressed it in to form the perfect (cough) crust. I also found that taking dough pieces and pressing them into the jar worked well too.

Jarring Revelations:

• Greasing the jar with butter before lining it with dough helps to remove the pie (in one piece) after baking.
• Swearing at either the jar or the pastry doesn’t help. You may scare your spouse. Besides, being a dough-head isn’t cool.
• Leave 1/2 inch of pie crust above the edge of the mason jar. This extra dough lets you roll and crimp the bottom of the pie crust to the pie top.

Now don’t give me the stink eye over my next admission — I used store bought dough for my pie in a jar. [Enter Stink Eye Here]. Making pastry is not my talent. If pastry is your passion then check out the Smitten Kitchen’s Pie Crust 101 tutorial and recipe. For everyone else, just buy three or four pie crusts from the refrigerator section at your grocery store. You’ll need around three pie crusts to fill six mason jars, but chances are you’ll make a mistake or two, or three. If you prefer thinner crust, then just roll out your dough and use two pie crusts. Easy.

As an alternative to pastry or for those on a gluten-free diet, swap out the dough and try my Homemade Granola Recipe as a pie crust. It’s tasty.

Step Three: Add some pie filling

Are you hankering for some apple pie or do you crave a nice sweet cherry pie? The choice is yours. I have a simple pie filling recipe (below), but I must be honest with you again — I used canned cherry pie filling for the pies in this post. Don’t hate me because I felt lazy today. Love me ’cause I’m honest. Smile.

Simple Pie Filling Recipe:

• 4 1/2 cups cherries, berries, or diced fruit
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon butter, divide between the pies
• spices: nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, or to taste

Or better yet, hop on over to my Fresh Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp with Apples and try that filling since I’m stuck in a can today. It’s tasty and healthy.

Jarring Revelations:

• Only fill the jars to the 3/4 mark. Filling to the brim will make it tricky to top and crimp your pie. Also, the pie might bubble and boil over if over-filled. It happens.
• Add a little flour to the mixture if your fruit is super juicy.
• Top your filling with a little pat of butter. Yum.

Now on to the fun part.

Step Four: Create a pretty pie top

I hope you kept your mason jar lids handy because the inner ring makes the perfect pie top cutter. Just use a knife to trace the inner ring circle and voila — instant pie top.

Now personalize your pie top by using a small cookie cutter to create a little vent. Once you’ve placed the pie top into the pie jar (it’s tricky I know), go ahead and carefully crimp the pie crust bottom over the top. Put the lids and rings on each jar until you’re ready to bake.

Step Five: Freeze your pies (optional)

If you have cold feet or you’re not ready to bake your pies today, then go ahead and freeze them until needed. I keep a few jarred pies in deep freeze in case I need a quick gift, or for when company comes over. Ok, Ok, sometimes I just like a little tiny tart treat too.

An unforeseen bonus to making pie in a jar is the mason jars protect the pies in the freezer. No more dented pies! Also, the jars make it super simple to stack many pies without ruining the tender crusts — so you can optimize your freezer space and save the room for stocking up on grocery sale items.

One little trick for dealing with slippery mason jars is to wrap each pie jar with a little tin foil to get a better grip. I dropped one the other day and made a little mess. My dog was happy though.

Step Six: Get Baked

It’s time to get bubbly, tarty, flaky, and tasty. Start by removing the lids and rings from each jar. If you own a Silpat Nonstick Silicon Baking Mat, then place each jarred pie on your Silpat (on a cookie sheet) to prevent slipping. Sliding hot jars filled with boiling pie are not safe. Just a safety warning. I’m a safety girl.

• To bake from refrigerated: Preheat oven to 375-400 degrees and bake for about 45 minutes or until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbly. The bonus with glass jars is you can easily see if the crust is getting too brown.

• To bake from frozen: Follow the same instructions from above but preheat oven to 350-375 degrees and bake for around 60-70 minutes.

Oh, and don’t worry about baking in jars. Canning jars are very resilient when it comes to heat — they are meant to be boiled — so baking pies straight from the freezer is fine.

Step Seven: Serve or Decorate

Removing the pie from it’s jar can be a tricky situation. I’ve had some good luck by sliding a knife around the inside of the jar and using gravity to remove the treat inside. Eating the pie while it’s still inside the jar is easier, and lots of fun at picnics and when company drops by. For some reason my guests have loved being treated to a single serving pie. It’s a novelty. It’s fun.

If you’re gifting the pie, decorate the lids with pretty paper, jar labels, or add a little bit of ribbon for style. A decorated pie in a jar goes over very well at bake sales and fund raisers — so putting in a little creative decorative effort can make you some money too.

Get Squawky: Ever bake a treat in a jar?

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During the summer months I’ve found that it’s easy to get overwhelmed by too much ripe fruit. Local farmers will often harvest their crops and sell bulk amounts at a discount, or I go away for the weekend and need to deal with a few extra peaches, berries, or bananas. Throwing out perfectly good fruit fails to be frugal, and composting can be pretty wasteful too, especially if the fruit is still good.

So I’ve taken to freezing fruit and blending it together into a refreshing frosty treat. Oh, and since frugal fruit ice cream is low in sugar and bursting with whole fruit goodness, you know it’s healthier than most options sold through ice cream franchises, cheaper than branded gourmet ice cream, and the many variations can be fun snacks for kids too.

Tastes like Strawberry Ice Cream

My all time favorite sweet summer fruit is the strawberry. I love a fresh Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp (with apples) and enjoy my daily Strawberry and Banana Green Smoothie. But nothing beats a frozen snack when it’s hot outside and I’ve got some strawberries chilling in the freezer.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups frozen strawberries
• 2 frozen bananas, chopped

Optional: Add these ingredients if you prefer a creamy or sweeter snack.

• 1 cup yogurt
• 1/4 cup sugar, or sweeten to taste

Instructions:
1. Blend: Place the strawberries, bananas, and optional ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

2. Serve: Place strawberry ice cream in a bowl and serve.

Add ice cream toppings for fun! I love a few pieces from my Healthy Granola Bar Recipe.

3. OR Freeze: If the strawberry ice cream is super soft after blending and a firmer texture is preferred, then place mixture in a container and freeze. After an hour or two, use an ice cream scoop to serve.

Tastes like Peach Ice Cream

It takes a pretty hot climate to grow a peach. If you’re lucky enough to live in the land of peaches, then try taking this ice cream twist for a spin.

Ingredients:

• 2 frozen peaches, skinless
• 2 frozen bananas, chopped

Optional: Add these ingredients if you prefer a creamy or sweet snack.

• 1 cup yogurt
• 1/4 cup sugar, or sweeten to taste

Instructions:
1. Blend: Place the peaches, bananas, and optional ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

2. Serve: Use an ice cream scoop and serve.

3. OR Freeze: If the peach ice cream is super soft after blending and a firmer texture is preferred, then place mixture in a container and freeze. After an hour or two, use an ice cream scoop to serve.

If strawberries, bananas, and peaches aren’t your thing, then feel free to use raspberries or another type of high-sugar fruit to take a unique turn on your own frugal ice cream. Anything goes.

Squawkback: Got a tasty twist on a cool summer snack?

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