Ahhhh, frugal cooking!

Not much is happening at the Simple household these days! We had a busy beginning to our July, but now with the heat upon us, we are simply trying to beat the heat while still saving our pennies.

I thought I might share some of our favorite summer recipes today. Because everyone can always use a good frugal recipe, am I right?

Homemade Gatorade
(thanks to my girls at Frugal Village for this one...it is a real penny saver)
$0.50 ~ 2 envelopes unsweetened kool-aid packets (your favorite flavor)
$0.25 ~ 1 cup of sugar
Negligible ~ 1 tsp salt
$0.24 ~ 1 cup Orange Juice
Neglibigle ~ 4 quarts water
Makes just over one gallon. Is best served icy cold.
Total cost for 1 gallon of faux gatorade = $0.99!

SimpleHubby's Famous Burger Rub
The hubby came up with this after watching some food network. It make a really nice flavored gourmet burger at home on the grill!
Mix equal parts of:
black pepper
garlic powder
onion powder
paprika
oregano
chili powder
salt (to taste)
Mix and cover both sides of burger before grilling!

Homemade Cracker Jacks
Taste even better than the real thing. I have to make sure I pick up "real" popcorn at the Farmer's Market each summer for this recipe!
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. butter
3 TBS corn syrup
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp vanilla
8 cups popcorn

Comine brown sugar, butter, corn syrup & salt. Cook over low heat until melted. Cook without stirring for 3 minutes. Remove from heat, add baking soda and vanilla. Pour onto popcorn and mix until evenly coated. Bake for 15 minutes at 300 degrees.

Homemade Taco Seasoning
6 tsp chili powder
4 1/2 tsp cumin
5 tsp paprika
3 tsp onion powder
2 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/8 - 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Mix ingredients and store in an airtight container.

Homemade Chocolate Syrup
Great in ice cream or in chocolate milk!
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla
Mix the cocoa and water in saucepan. Heat and stir to dissolve cocoa. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Boil for 3 minutes. Add salt and vanilla and pour into a pint jar. Keep in fridge!

Applesauce
3-4 pounds apples (granny smith or fuji) (cubed & peeled)
lemon juice from one lemon
3 inch cinnamon stick
1/4 cup brown sugar
up to 1/2 cup of sugar
1 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
Put all ingredients into a pot, simmer on low heat for 20-30 minutes. Take out cinnamon stick and mash. Can be served warm over ice cream or cold like applesauce!

Homemade Hot Pockets
Hamburger buns
foil
1 cup cubed ham
1 cup shredded cheese
1/4 cup mayo
1 squirt of yellow mustard
garlic powder to taste
Mix all ingredients except for buns & foil. Hollow out buns, to make "shells." Spoon filling into shells, and wrap each in foil individually. Place on grill or campfire for 20-30 minutes. Serve warm!

Homemade Chalk
1 cup plaster of paris
almost 1/2 cup water
liquid tempera paint
Mix plaster & water to form a paste. Add tempera paint to get desired color. Put into molds (muffin tins work great). Let dry for at least 8 hours!