frugal living Archives - Page 17 of 23

Gift Idea: Grilling Spice Blends

June 20, 2011 by Aliesha

Edit: Welcome, Pinterest visitors! This would make a great holiday gift for any of the men (or women who love to grill) in your life! Enjoy!

For Father’s Day this year, I made grilling spice blends for both of our dads. This was an easy and fun gift to make, and I had all the materials/ingredients on hand!

Grill seasonings make great gifts for anyone you know who likes to cook and/or grill. It would be a great hostess gift for a summer BBQ, or you could even make these for Christmas gifts (the men in our lives love to grill year-round!).

I found recipes for three spice blends I wanted to make, then I mixed them up, put them in baby food jars (which I painted the tops of with chalkboard paint), and labeled them with fun new names. I made these blends: Kickin’ Chicken, Ragin’ Cajun, and Cuckoo for Cocoa (recipes below). I packaged them all in a little paper bag tied up with baker’s twine (and of course, a card made with my letterpress).

We hope our dads enjoy grilling with these spice blends!

Here are the recipes:

Kickin’ Chicken (a spicy rub for chicken)
2 Tbsp. paprika
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. dill weed
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Store in an airtight container.
Brush chicken pieces with olive oil. Season liberally with rub. Rub in gently. Cook over a hot grill.

Ragin’ Cajun (for fish, chicken, ribs, chicken, & pork chops)
3 Tbsp. paprika
2 Tbsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. onion powder
2 Tbsp. ground dried thyme
2 tsp. ground black pepper
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. dried oregano
Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Store in an airtight container.
Rub liberally into meat. Let stand 10 minutes. Grill as desired.

Cuckoo for Cocoa (for chicken, steaks, chops, ribs, & roasts)
2 Tbsp. sea salt
1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 Tbsp. white sugar
1 Tbsp. dark brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. garlic powder
1/2 Tbsp. onion powder
1 1/2 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. ground black pepper
Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Store in an airtight container.
Rub 2-3 teaspoons into each serving of meat. Let stand at least 10 minutes before grilling.

Enjoy!
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NOW: A Year of Swagbucks!

May 30, 2011 by Aliesha

I posted a few weeks back about Swagbucks and how I was almost to a year of Swagging. Well, I’m here now, as today officially marks 365 days of being a Swagbucks addict! I’ve earned 9,500 Swagbucks this year, which I have redeemed for $105 in amazon.com gift cards!

If you haven’t joined yet, what are you waiting for? It’s such an easy way to earn a little extra spending money!

If you have already joined, here are ways to earn swagbucks:
-install the Swagbucks toolbar to make searching easier
(by using the toolbar, you get 1 buck a day, usually)
-search the web using the Swagbucks toolbar
(I usually get 15-20 Swagbucks a day through searching)
-take the daily poll
(earn 1 Swagbuck per day)
-visit the trusted surveys page
(earn 1 Swagbuck per day)
-click through (skip) all of the NOSOs
(earn 2 Swagbucks per day)
-invite a facebook friend to join Swagbucks
(earn 1 Swagbuck per day)
-celebrate your birthday
(earn 50 Swagbucks each year on your birthday!)
-start getting referrals!
(Swagbucks awards you matching Swagbucks for all of your referrals – up to 1,000 Swagbucks for each friend!)

By using the toolbar, searching daily, and making a few other clicks (daily polls, etc.), you can easily earn 450+ Swagbucks a month – which is enough for a $5 amazon.com gift card!

Anyone else want to share their Swagbucks experience with us?

*Links contain my referral link

Harris Teeter Triple Coupons: Results!

May 20, 2011 by Aliesha

I normally am not much of a couponer (I shop at Aldi and think that I get great prices without having to coupon), but when I heard that Harris Teeter was doing a Triple Couponing Event this week (and I was already going into town), I just had to get on board!

The event is May 18-24, so if you haven’t gone yet and want to, here are some sites to check for coupon matchups and all the deals:
–Southern Savers
–Homemaking Mom
–The Coupon Challenge
–Coupon Teacher
–The Deal Scoop

Hope those links are helpful for you! I don’t get the paper, so I relied exclusively on printable coupons (the sites I mentioned above so nicely link up the coupons for you!).

I went to two different Harris Teeters, since the first one was sold-out of several items I really wanted.

At my first stop (pictured above), I spent $4.47, and my coupons totalled $23.96. So, I got almost $30 worth of groceries for under $5. At this stop, I got several items for FREE, including two boxes of family size tea bags, a box of instant coffee singles, and a bottle of garlic powder. I was also excited about the deals I got on coffee creamer ($.22!), salsa ($.50!), and almond milk ($.24!). I think I messed up somewhere and didn’t get as good of a deal on the salad dressing as I was expecting, but it was still less than what I normally pay!

At my second stop (pictured above), I spent $1.86, and used $20.55 in coupons. I was really happy to see the total come in below $2! This trip, I also got some FREE items, including two Greek yogurts, a bottle of honey mustard dipping sauce, a bottle of Worcestershire sauce, two bottles of hot sauce, a bag of shredded cheese, a flavored cottage cheese, a four-pack of cottage cheese. The rice was $.14 and the strawberries were marked down to $.69.

For my first experience triple couponing, I think I did pretty well!

What about you? Have you been to Harris Teeter this week or are you planning on going?

Gift Idea: Grilling Spice Blends

NOW: A Year of Swagbucks!

Harris Teeter Triple Coupons: Results!

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