Four Frugal Things -- Unphotographed Pizzas & Brass Candlesticks

1) We had the kids over for our weekly Family Dinner and I gathered ingredients for a make your own pizza buffet. It would've been easy to let the ingredient costs spiral, but I kept it fairly simple.

I carmelized onions and slow cooked tomatoes, both of which I already had on hand. These steps concentrate the flavors and keep the the pizzas from getting watery.

I par baked half the pizza crusts, but left some raw dough balls for people in the mood to roll out their own. This guy misread the memo -- full on thought he was pita bread!

Stupidly I forgot to photograph even a single completed pizza, which I suppose confirms how quickly we chowed down on our creations!

The toppings:

• Carmelized onions
• Tomatoes
• Mushrooms, again sautéed ahead of time to minimize wateriness and concentrate the flavor.
• Canned artichoke hearts from the pantry.
• Pepperoni
• Cheese -- shredded mozarella, sliced mozarella and crumbled feta.
• Snipped basil from my anemic plant.
• Spinach
• Both marinara and pesto sauce options.

Afterwards I par baked crusts from the leftover dough. which I threw in the freezer. Will likely replicate the meal for tonight's dinner, although I promise to snap a few photos this time!

2) I picked more free plums, (I was at Trader Joe's for pizza ingredients) and sent baggies home with our guests. Free food = good food.

3) I started reading a library copy of Sandwich, by Catherine Newman. I'm about a third of the way through the book, but am not completely in love with it. The stream of consciousness style of writing is not my favorite, but I'll likely finish it as it's a fairly short read.

I know other people adore this book, so I'm giving it a full chance.

4) I put together an eBay listing for some mismatched vintage brass candlesticks that I picked up from various Goodwills. Mostly the pay-by-the-pound bins, so I'd guess I have maybe $6 into them.

I started buying them a few months ago after seeing this collection in a YouTube video, but it's time for them to move along.

Click HERE to see the listing.

5) I set a calendar alert to go on the library website on September 30th at 11:55 P.M. to scout for free cultural passes. I've forgotten to do this over the past few months and have missed out on some cool opportunities.

The library releases new passes on the first of each month and the early bird gets the worm/museum passes.

Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?

Katy Wolk-Stanley 

"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."

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This blog post contains an eBay referral link.