Eating Inexpensively


Slow cookers aren’t just for winter anymore!

You can do so much more than soups and stews in your slow cooker. Now is the time to enjoy your favorite comfort foods without heating up the kitchen. You can also cook some of your favorite summery foods, while you’re away at the pool all day.

It’s also the perfect way to prepare the side dishes for your summer barbecue. Grill the entrees outside, and keep the heat out of the kitchen. And, did you know there are dessert crockpot recipes? That’s one thing I miss when I retire the oven for the summer — yummy baked treats.

So, as we approach a busy summer—not to mention a super hot week—here are 30 slow cooker recipes to keep your kitchen cool:

If you’re looking for a new slow cooker, I’ve been pleased with mine so far. I have the Hamilton Beach Set ‘n Forget Slow Cooker. I like it because the lid latches on, making it perfect for transporting to potlucks without making a mess in your car!

Photo Credits: Kalyn’s Kitchen, Real Food Allergy Free, Real Mom Kitchen, American Family, This Chick Cooks, Elissa Braun


Frugal Easter Dessert Recipe: Easy Strawberry Pie

As the holidays approach, our grocery budget usually gets stretched quite a bit. And sometimes, we even have a get-together to go to and would like to take something spectacular & delicious but don’t want to spend tons of time & more, importantly, tons of money. This Easy Strawberry Pie is really good, easy to [...]


{The New Home Ec} 7 DIY Projects for a Better Garden

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Half Off Restaurant Certificates

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Great Big List of Birthday Club Freebies

With my birthday on Monday, the free birthday club coupons have been piling up in my email for weeks. There’s no way I could ever use them all, but I’m giving it my best effort! I enjoyed a birthday lunch with the hubby, dinner with the family, and I have plans with friends to use [...]


3 Ways to Dine for Less on Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner—are you celebrating? Our evening typically features a candlelight dinner for five. It started when we didn’t have a babysitter, and it continues years later out of tradition. The fact that it’s more frugal than dinner out is just a bonus at this point, but cooking from home is [...]


{Babble: The New Home Ec} 8 Steps to Thanksgiving Dinner on a Budget

As the last of the leftover Halloween candy dwindles, it’s time to turn our attention to Thanksgiving—truly, my favorite holiday of the year. In just three weeks, I’ll be hosting my family for the big feast—at least 13 people in…


Frugal Dinner Idea: Stir-Fry Splash (Plus NAKANO Splash Madness Sweepstakes Details)

We cook with a lot of fresh produce around here. Sure, it can get expensive, but I have a few tricks to keep it under budget. First, I plan my menu around the sale items, then I make sure none of it gets wasted. One of our favorite ways to use up a lot of [...]


How To Use Easter Leftovers

If you celebrated Easter this weekend, you probably have a fridge full of leftover ham, eggs and mashed potatoes. We spent the weekend with my parents, joining my extended family for dinner yesterday. It was quite a feast—ham, chicken, potatoes, noodles, deviled eggs and desserts. Oh, the desserts. Luckily, being gluten free kept me away [...]


Planning Ahead for Easter Dinner Savings

Easter dinner is pretty standard around here. There will always be baked ham, mashed potatoes & gravy and deviled eggs from leftover Easter eggs. As for the rest of the meal, I plan a few different options, then wait to see what I get on sale over the next few weeks before making my final [...]