Andrea Dekker

Cookbook Giveaways {2 Winners}

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure here.

This giveaway is now closed. Congrats to:

Megan (simplythriftymom@…)

Leslie (torello.leslie@…)

I will contact you shortly with the information I need to get you your books!

A few months ago, I received a copy of The Frugal Foodie Cookbook AND a copy of Fix It, Make It, Grow It, Bake It for review.

I procrastinated a bit…but then a read them — and totally fell in love with them!



Let me start with The Frugal Foodie:

:

I have read and flipped through lots of cookbooks over the years, but I usually give them away because I’m more content to find my recipes online. However, the Frugal Foodie Cookbook is different — and I will NOT be giving my copy away!

I would defintiely consider myself to be a VERY frugal person, but after reading through the recipes, tips, and ideas in this cookbook, I have SO many more ideas to stretch our super small grocery budget. I also love that every chapter has a “Cents-able Solutions” section where the author gives all kinds of extra tips to stretch a dollar.

Here is some information the publisher sent me:

The recession has put a lot of strain on the grocery bill, especially for those with families or friends to feed. But that doesn’t mean having to skip gourmet food and a balanced diet. Noted chef and “four-star frugal gourmet” Lynette Shirk shows readers how to creatively and cleverly use ingredients and leftovers to produce wonderful inexpensive meals for any occasion.

This book has everything, from roasting coffee at home to concocting inexpensive crave-worthy casseroles to whipping up snacks on a shoestring.

Chapters include “Bankable Breakfasts,” “Lunch for Less,” “Snacks on a Shoestring”, and “Dinner on a Dime,” and feature irresistible recipes from Shaved Shrimp Rolls and Gourmet PBJ to an Exponential Chicken that stretches the bird over five different courses.

So far, my favorite recipe is the Homemade Instant Oatmeal Mix {page 14}

The other book I received was Fix It, Make It, Grow It, Bake It:

In case you don’t know me, let me just assure that I am a HUGE D.I.Y. junkie! If I can figure out how to fix it, make it, grow it, bake it, and/or do it myself — you better believe I will!

So obviously the title of this book caught my immediate attention, and it’s no surprise that I absolutely loved reading all the frugal D.I.Y. tips packed into the pages of this book.

Here’s more information from the publisher:

In this D.I.Y. guide to the good life, readers learn how to edit their lives, since in the long run, less is more — pedal now or paddle later! The best things in life are free — or very nearly free — and author Billee Sharp shares her freecycling, budget-savvy, barter-better wisdom.

Based on a sensible foundation of global responsibility and foresight for the next seven generations, Billee Sharp’s philosophy is compelling. From the radical common sense introduction to the practical how-tos and yummy recipes, this is a step-by-step handbook to revolutionizing spending habits and reclaiming quality of life in the process.

Learn how to start a community garden and to seed share, raise organic veggies in the front lawn, eco-clean the house with lemons and lavender, cure minor maladies from the kitchen cabinet, organize a trade-for-what-you-want free flea market, and cook meals for pennies.

See — doesn’t it sound amazing???

My favorite chapter right now is chapter 4: Homely Habits. It talks all about simple ways to save money, save time, and go green in your own home.

 

So, who would like to win BOTH of these books?

Viva Editions & Cleis Press is giving TWO lucky Simply Organized Living readers a copy of both books…pretty cool huh!

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment telling me your best “frugal” recipe, tip, idea, etc. And if you don’t have any frugal tips, then just say why you would love to win these books!

This contest is open until Tuesday, July 5, 2011, at 10:00 pm EST. TWO winners will be selected at random and announced on Wednesday, July 6. Please read my full disclosure policy and contact me with any questions you might have. I received a set of products for review, however all opinions are my own!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Holly says

    We don’t have a refrigerator with water and ice in the door. My kids always wanted something cold to drink so I bought one of those square plastic drink dispensers and keep it on the shelf in the refrigerator. They drank 10 times the water they normally would have last summer.

    I also make it a point to have several bags of ice in our big freezer. I just let the ice maker run all the time. When it gets full, I fill up a plastic grocery bag and stick it in the freezer. That way, we don’t have to buy ice when we are filling up a cooler.

  2. MaryBeth says

    One of the easiest ways to save $$$ is to eat at home. It really adds up when dining out a few times per week. I love cookbooks and these look fabulous – would love to add them to my collection!

  3. Rachelle says

    A frugal tip I’ve been using is to keep gallon jugs on hand to use before we take a shower. Our hot water takes so long to get to the shower that I let the cold water run into the jugs until the water is warm enough to get in. We usually waste about 1 1/2 gallons of water waiting for it to heat up. I then use the gallon jugs to water plants, boil water for pasta, etc.

  4. Pamela says

    My biggest frugal tip is rather mundane, BUT IT WORKS! It is to stay home. It is so easy to spend money when I’m out and about, but when I’m at home I do cheap things: cook, bake, clean, play with my kids, etc…..

  7. Mrs.Pettigrew says

    My frugal tip would be to use 1/4 cup of vinegar in your rinse cycle when washing clothes. It is a fabric softener and doesn’t leave your clothes smelling like vinegar either.

  8. mama marchand says

    We went to the all cash method at the beginning of the year to cut back on spending. We found that using our debit card was too easy for us and we spent more money that way. So far so good! I DEFINITELY need tips on how to cook better and cheaper. These books look fantastic! 🙂 Thanks for the giveaway!

  9. Natalie M. says

    Frugal tip: I buy rotisserie chickens from costco (usually 2 or 3 at a time). I use up every bit of the meat for various meals and then use the bones for making stock. It’s not original by any means but homemade chicken stock has changed my life!

  10. Kiely says

    To save money on berries and fruit year round, I always buy the largest containers available of strawberries, raspberries, etc in the summer because they are cheapest and then either freeze the extras or make them into jams, berry sauces for pancakes and deserts, or mixes for smoothies and daquiris. I also pick wild huckleberries in the summer and then freeze them to use year-round.

  11. Jackie says

    Now that I’ve moved out on my own I’ve been obsessively clipping coupons and watching sales and trying to plan my meals around that. I’d love to learn even more from these cookbooks!!

  13. Rachel V. says

    to save $ we use:
    -cloth diapers and wipes (used off Craigslist)
    -rags instead of paper towels (with all those spills the kids make every day it can add up)
    -homemade cleaning/laundry solutions with vinegar, washing/baking soda, borax, hot water

  14. Sue says

    I would love to win these books.. anything helping saving money it for me.. My best tip is using my crock pot.. I am in love with it.. It is like having my own personal chef.. When I walk in the door after work, she has dinner made for me !
    Sue in NJ

  15. Ashley F says

    I don’t really have a frugal tip, but I would love to win these books. I have 5 kids and the economy has really hit us hard when it comes to grocery shopping. I would love to read these books and learn how to be more frugal when cooking for a small army =)

  16. Brittany B. says

    Best Frugal tip: Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do with out!! 🙂

  17. Laura says

    One of the more recent ways my family has learned to be frugal is to eat more at home! We use to eat out 3-4 times a week but now we’ve limited that to once a week! We have also been planning out our meals based on what we have on hand and only buying items we need at the grocery store. It’s saved us over $200 a month, so far!

  18. Heather says

    Awesome giveaway! I would love to have these books, because I’m about to move out on my OWN for the first time, and I’m beginning to realize that life is just way too expensive! I need help! 🙂

  19. Mandy says

    I make my own baby food from the vegetables I grow in my garden. Easy, doesn’t take long and saves lots of money.

  20. Janelle says

    I would love to win these cookbooks. I am always interested in learning how to stretch things a little further and to use my resources wisely. Best Frugal Tip – learn a drugstore game if you have one close by. I “shop” at CVS for all of my toiletries, TP and paper towel. It takes a little bit to get the hang of it, but I use my ECBs to purchase things that earn me ECBs, and also to buy the things that I need. This frees up money in my budget to spend on other things that are needed for my family.

    Another tip – I make my own apple sauce during apple season – which starts now and ends in the fall. I freeze it and then I am able to take it out during the year when apples are not in season. I know what is in my apple sauce and it does save us money!

  21. Jennifer says

    Best frugal tip – plan your menus! This eliminates tons of stress along with food wasting. I always plan in meals, especially lunches, that consist of leftovers, so we don’t end up with stuff sitting around too long.

    Bonus tip – read the Complete Tightwad Gazette. It is more about the outlook than the individual tips. I am positive it made a huge difference in our becoming debt free and saving well over the almost 10 years of our marriage.

  24. Megan Camp says

    We have a fairly small family (2 adults, a 3 yr old and a baby). We have a hard time eating a full 9×13 pan of food before some gets thrown out. I now almost always make it into 2 smaller glass dishes and put a lid and label on one of them and immediately freeze it. So, I usually end up with at least 4 meals from 1 recipe. We eat it for dinner one night and have leftovers (even with the smaller dish). I then can do the same thing again. We waste very little food this way.

  25. Ashley Bradford says

    My best frugal foodie tip is to use vegetable scraps that I would normally throw away to make vegetable stock. I have a freezer bag in the freezer…when I am chopping up vegetables to cook, any scraps that I would normally throw in the trash I was thoroughly and dump in the freezer bag. When the bag is full, I make a big pot of vegetable stock..delicious, nutritious, and basically free!

  27. Erin says

    I would love to win these! We eat almost all organic, so growing lettuce or other greens almost 9 months out of the year is my best frugal tip. Super easy, super cheap, and you can even do it in containers on a deck if you don’t have a garden.

  28. erin says

    i love to stretch one food item into three meals, like a whole chicken–> chicken for quesadillas–> chicken stock for soup. These books look so great, especially the second one!

  29. April W. says

    We save money on cereal by purchasing a tasty variety when on sale and mixing it with bargain basement corn flakes.

  30. dawn says

    I keep a “leftover list” on the door of the refrigerator, noting what it was and when it went in there and crossing it off when it’s used. Then I look over the list while planning meals to be sure to use up leftovers instead of throwing them out.

  31. Beth says

    One of my frugal tips is to buy unbleached coffee filters. Once the coffee us brewed I can put the grounds along with the filter straight into the compost! I would enjoy these books to help get some more frugal tips!

  33. Colleen says

    My best frugal tip is that I grow my own vegetables, and take out a different cookbook each month from the library to learn new ways of preparing them. Sauteed kale with balsamic vinegar is good, but every day it gets to be a bit boring. I’m always looking for new ideas, though!

  35. Tammy says

    I would love both of these books because I have very few frugal ideas. The only one I can really think of to share is that almost everything you can buy frozen can be made cheaper and healthier at home: pizza, biscuits, lasagna, desserts.

  36. Liddia says

    With baby number 3 on the way, I’m looking for ways to cut back so that it won’t hurt so much when we start buying more diapers! Cutting back on food seems like a great one to add to the list!

  37. Elizabeth says

    Would love great tips on saving on food costs…These books look great!

  38. Kerrie says

    I save bread crusts to make bread crumbs. And I get books on paperbackswap (adding these two to my list now).

  39. Andrea Watts says

    When washing dishes by hand, fill the sink half full. When you rinse the dishes, just run it into the sink. Saves gallons of water!

  40. Heather says

    This is not really a recipe or much of a tip, but I’ve saved so much money since I started drinking water with all my meals instead of soda. I used to spend tons on drinks (+deposits), but now that I’ve started cutting back I’ve saved so much.

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