Frugal-Lisa Friday: Checkers

Josie's been on a Checkers kick lately. She's made her own boards with cardstock, paper circles and crayons, but they never seem to last. Tuesday, while Ellie was on a field trip and Josie didn't have school, she and I made a "real" checker board with a $2 place mat, paint and a few beer caps. We even sewed a matching case out of a fabric scrap and a shoelace. It's perfect!

Frugal-Lisa Friday

Last spring I bought a raffle ticket to the WGVU Travel Raffle. The $40 ticket paid off. Not only was it a donation to public radio, but I won two-nights stay and a $125 gift card for the Amway Grand Plaza downtown Grand Rapids. (Our favorite "fancy" hotel!)

Enjoying the view from our 18th story window

Beautiful view of the Grand River

We planned for an afternoon of ice skating at Rosa Parks Circle ($2/person to skate, rental included), but found that there were no children's sized skates left, and their wait list was so long that they stopped adding to the list. The girls were a little disappointed, but the warm pool at the hotel was calling their name.

Handmade ice cream from a vendor at the Downtown Market

Saturday night, Kyle treated us to dinner at The Chop House across the street from the hotel. Josie and Ellie agreed they could eat that dinner every night of their lives. (Salmon, steak, creamed corn and asparagus. We all could!)

Requisite photo in front of the fountain and chandelier

First time we've had a tablet as an interactive menu

Instead of dessert at the restaurant, we used some of the gift card and rode the elevator to the top of the hotel and enjoyed beautiful night views, dessert and after-dinner cocktails at Cygnus27.

Our footwear for dessert at Cygnus – Kyle and I only brought boots
the girls insisted on wearing the flip-flops the brought for the pool

After indulging in a room-service breakfast (the rest of the gift card and a first for Ellie and Josie), we walked back to Rosa Parks Circle and were able to try our hand feet at ice skating. Both of the girls agreed that it is a lot harder than it looks!

We had a fantastic weekend as a family, and aside from the dinner Saturday night, quite a bargin for a $40 raffle ticket and $8 in ice skating!

Frugal-Lisa Friday: Kitchen Mixes Printable

Remember all of those kitchen mixes I've been sharing the past few weeks? Need a last-minute gift idea? Whip up some cocoa mix, pumpkin pie spice, heck…even some taco seasoning. (Ok, so that might be a stretch, but I'd love a box full of homemade mixes for Christmas. Seriously.)

I've put together a printable PDF that has the mix instructions/ingredients, as well as directions for the use of each mix. Each circle has a guide for what size jar and lid to make it in. Easy as pie! (Or pumpkin pie spice. That's easy too.)

Printable File Here

Frugal-Lisa Friday: Shake and Bake Mix Copycat

Growing up on a pig farm = not a big fan of pork chops. (We had them all the time!) Kyle, on the other hand, loves them. Especially old-school…with Shake and Bake. That boxed breading isn't something I have on hand. So…I make my own. It's in the cupboard, ready to be shaken and baked at a moments notice.

Recipe: Shake and Bake Mix Copycat

Ingredients
2 cups of Panko breadcrumbs

1 sleeve of Ritz (or similar) crackers

1/3 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon celery seed

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried parsely

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Directions

Mix all ingredients in a blender or food processor until combined. Store in airtight jar.

For pork chops or chicken: place 1/2 cup of mix in a large ziptop bag and shake chops or chicken until coated.

Printable version here.

Frugal-Lisa Friday: Hot Cocoa Mix

Recipe: Hot Cocoa Mix

Ingredients

1 cup of powdered sugar

1/2 cup of cocoa powder

1-1/4 cups of powdered milk

1 teaspoon of cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon of salt

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a quart-sized Mason

jar and shake until combined.

To make cocoa, heat 1 cup of milk.

Stir in 2 tablespoons of the cocoa mix.

Enjoy!

Printable recipe here.

Frugal-Lisa Friday: Italian Seasoning Blend

Italian Seasoning Blend

Ingredients
3 tablespoons of dried basil
3 tablespoons of dried oregano
3 tablespoons of dried parsely
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon of thyme
1 teaspoon of rosemary
1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper

Directions
Mix together. Use in place of store-bought Italian Seasoning.

Our favorite recipe to use it on? A variation of these chicken thighs. Soooo good, inexpensive and hard to mess up. (Just replace the seasoning mix they call for in the recipe with the Italian Seasoning above and some kosher salt.)

Printable version is here.