Jamie is a never-ending source of money saving information. She truly is a money magnet and one site I visit daily [either directly or through feed-reader]. So, when Jamie put out a call for thrifty tips, a new weekly meme she started, I couldn’t resist sharing a tip [or two] of my own.
With My Own Two Hands
… mostly.
Around our house Friday night is pizza night. For our family of four [or five when Megan is home from college] this can get a bit pricey if we opted for ready made pizza – be it store bought or fast food/restaurant bought.
2 Little Ceasar’s pizzas costs roughly $11.00 + tax or $5.50 per pie.
Our solution? Homemade.
… mostly.
There are 20 cups of flour in a 5 pound bag of flour.
I buy my spices and such in the larger containers from Sam’s which saves me money. Stock up on tomato sauce when there is a good sale. I recently paid just 19¢ a can [15 oz].
Mozzarella cheese is probably the biggest cost when it comes to making pizza. As with the sauce, find a sale and stock up. Remember, cheese can be stored in the freezer to extend its life.
If you like toppings, then you will have to figure these costs individually. We usually make pepperoni which I find on sale or buy the store brand if it’s cheaper.
2 Homemade large pizzas costs roughly $3.44 or $1.72 per pie.
{ 90¢ [dough] + 50¢ [sauce] + $1.00 [cheese] + $1.04 [pepperoni] }
Personal-sized Heart-shaped Pizza
Sure, there is time to consider. My regular pizza dough recipe requires letting the dough rise for 1 hour, then another 15 minutes after you punch it down and separate into 2. But there is a quick dough recipe that may be used instead.
Don’t have time during the week? You can make your dough ahead of time and freeze it for up to one month. Just thaw at room temperature prior to using.
The best part – you know what went into it, how it was prepared, and it is truly made-to-order. That’s just good stuff!
Got a thrifty tip to share?
Why not head on over to IAmAMoneyMagnet.com and link up. It’s a great way to share and get a little link love to boot!
Oh, and I ♥ comments! Why not leave me one below. And let me just say THANK YOU in advance. 
Yum! I love your heart shapped pizzas too cute! Making your own definitely saves money. Though, I have to admit every Friday we order a pizza from Little Ceaser’s
It’s only $5.99 and feeds the two of us for dinner and lunch the next day! Thanks for linking to Thrifty Tip Tuesday!
.-= Jamie shares some words of wisdom ..CVS Shopping- Yummy Gummies! =-.
[Reply]
Anne Bender
Twitter: AnneOnline
Reply:
March 3rd, 2010 at 7:56 am
@Jamie, Even it were just the two of us, Dwayne likes my pizza over anything pre-made. And now I’m working on making homemade noodles since we eat pasta at least once a week. Next up, learning to make my own flour.
[Reply]
Twitter: justcommentary
Wow, $3.44! We could make four homemade large pizzas for less than the tip for the delivery.
.-= Brian D. Hawkins shares some words of wisdom ..Connect With Me – Leave Your Links =-.
[Reply]
Anne Bender
Twitter: AnneOnline
Reply:
March 7th, 2010 at 9:30 pm
@Brian D. Hawkins, It’s really not that hard either. There are dough recipes that don’t require the rise time, but I prefer the longer method. And now that I do this every Friday I’m actually getting pretty good at it. Practice really does make perfect.
[Reply]