Lisa Park, Author at Saving Cent by Cent

Baked Parmesan Zucchini Chips

August 7, 2020 by Lisa Park Leave a Comment

These Baked Parmesan Zucchini Chips are easy to make and taste delicious. And they make a great side dish to a summer dinner.

As our garden continues to produce a large amount of zucchini, I’m always looking to make new zucchini recipes to use up the zucchini that starts gather on the counter in the kitchen.

These Baked Parmesan Zucchini Chips are so easy to make and are tasty. My family loves to pop these baked zucchini chips into our mouths.

If you are looking for more ways to use up the zucchini from your garden, be sure to also check out these 25 Easy Zucchini Recipes. They include dinner, snack, side dish and dessert ideas.

How to Slice Zucchini:

Slicing up zucchini into round coins is probably the most common way to cup up zucchini. To slice the zucchini, use a knife to cut the two ends off the zucchini, then make cuts across the zucchini to slice coins.

If you want to ensure your round zucchini coins are all the same size, then use a mandoline food slicer. First, cut of one of the zucchini ends, then drag the zucchini across the mandoline to make the sliced coins.

How Do you Make Zucchini Not Soggy?

Here are a few tips to make zucchini not soggy. First, slice and salt the zucchini and allow it to sit for 10 minutes. The salt will pull out some of the water, as well as season the zucchini. Dry the zucchini well with paper towels and cook it quickly over high heat to brown it before it gets soggy. Also cutting zucchini into larger 1/2 inch thick pieces will help it not get soggy.

If baking zucchini, place it on a baking rack that is then set on top of a baking sheet. This allows air to circulate all around the zucchini and helps the water evaporate while it’s being cooked in the oven.

Step-by-Step Parmesan Zucchini Chips Instructions:

To prepare these Parmesan zucchini bites it takes about 5-10 minutes. Here’s how to make this easy recipe:

Slice up a zucchini.
In a medium bowl, combine bread crumbs, Parmesan, salt and pepper.
Lightly brush the front and back of each slice of zucchini with melted butter.
Place the zucchini in the bread crumb seasoning and coat both sides.
Grease a baking pan with cooking spray, then put the zucchini chips onto the pan. Sprinkle the zucchini with shredded Parmesan cheese if desired.
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes until it begins brown.

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Filed Under: Recipes, Side Dish

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25 Easy Zucchini Recipes

August 3, 2020 by Lisa Park Leave a Comment

These 25 easy zucchini recipes will give you ideas of how to use up the zucchini from the garden.

Every year we plant zucchini in our garden, and I’m always amazed at how much zucchini one plant produces. At first, I manage to stay on top of using up the zucchini with our dinners and baking breads and desserts. But after a few weeks, it begins to pile up on my counter and I can’t use it fast enough. Can anyone else relate?!

I compiled a list of 25 simple zucchini recipes you can make with the zucchini that’s sitting on your counter. But before we get to all of the the delicious zucchini recipes, here are some commonly asked questions that people have about zucchini.

What Does Zucchini Do For Your Body?

Zucchini is rich in vitamins and minerals and offers several health benefits. It can boost potassium intake, which can lower the risk of a stroke, and it may also lower the odds of developing heart disease. Zucchini is also high in vitamin C, which may help the lining of blood cells function better, lowering blood pressure and protecting against clogged arteries.

How Do you Make Zucchini Not Soggy?

What Can I Do With Too Much Zucchini?

There are so many options with how to use up your zucchini!

As you acquire a lot of zucchini and can’t use it up fast enough, try shredding or cubing the zucchini and then freezing it. It’s then ready to pull out of the freezer and add to soups, dinners and breads for months after there is no more zucchini to pick from your garden. Shredding and cubing then freezing zucchini is an easy way to preserve zucchini from your garden. Be sure to read these tips on how to freeze zucchini so it doesn’t clump all together in the freezer.

The 25 easy zucchini dinner and dessert recipes on this post are just some ideas of how to prepare and eat the zucchini.

Easy Stuffed Zucchini Boats from Lil’ Luna – Stuffed Zucchini Boats filled with Italian sausage and tomatoes are a go-to healthy dinner idea. Topped with cheese, parsley and bread crumbs, you can’t go wrong with this zucchini dish.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins – These muffins are delicious and make great snacks for the kids and also for school or work lunches. If you can’t eat all of them within a few days, the muffins also freezer great. Once cooled, put them in gallon-size freezer bags and place them in the freezer. When you want to eat a muffin, pull it out of the freezer and allow it to thaw.

20 Minute Healthy Chicken Parmesan with Zucchini Noodles from Pinch of Yum – This is a healthy chicken Parmesan that is crispy, cheesy, saucy, and served over zucchini noodles. So easy and extremely delicious! Use a spiral slicer or mandolin spiralizer slicer to turn your zucchini into the noodles for your dish.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Recipes

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How to Make Homemade Ice Cream in a Bag

July 3, 2020 by Lisa Park Leave a Comment

This homemade ice cream in a bag has only 3 ingredients to mix together, and within about 10 minutes it’s ready to eat. It’s a fun summer activity with the kids to make a cool, sweet treat when it’s hot outside.

If you have ever wondered how to make homemade ice cream in a bag, I’m here to share with you how easy it is to make. The recipe is just three ingredients! And it only takes 5-10 minutes to make, then it’s ready to eat.

Years ago, my sister-in-law introduced me to this homemade ice cream in a bag. My kids had so much fun making it that it’s something we do together every summer.

This is a fun summer activity and treat to do with the kids when it’s hot outside. Kids have fun shaking the bag, and they love that they get to eat ice cream within minutes.

You can watch the YouTube video above, or you can read below how to make ice cream at home with step by step instructions.

Here are some questions people have asked before making the ice cream in a bag for kids:

How Does Ice Cream in a Bag Work?

The key to making the bag of ice cream freeze is by adding salt to the ice cubes. The salt lowers the melting point of the ice.

When you use ice to cool the ingredients for ice cream, the heat is transferred from the environment, which includes your ice cream mixture and your hands that are holding the bag of ice, to the ice making the ice cream mixture colder.

When you add salt, it lowers the freezing point of the ice, so even more energy has to be absorbed from the environment for the ice to melt. This makes the ice colder than it was before, which is how your ice cream freezes.

How Do You Make Ice Cream From Scratch in a Bag?

Here is how to make homemade ice cream in a bag:

1. In a bowl, mix the half and half, sugar and vanilla extract. (See the recipe below.)

2. Place the cream mixture in a pint-size re-sealable bag, and make sure it’s sealed tight. Set aside.

3. In a large gallon re-sealable bag, fill half way full of ice cubes. Add 1/2 cup rock salt on top of the ice cubes.

4. Place the pint-size cream mixture bag inside the gallon bag. Add a few more ice cubes on top of the small bag. Seal the gallon bag.

5. Shake for about 5-10 minutes until the ice cream thickens.

6. Take the pint-size bag out and quickly run it under cold water to rinse off the salt.

7. Stick a spoon in the bag and enjoy!

Do You Have to Use Rock Salt to Make Ice Cream?

You don’t have to use rock salt to make ice cream. You can use table salt instead. However, rock salt works better than table salt.

Rock salt isn’t processed as much as table salt, and is much chunkier. It also contains a lot of impurities, which is why it isn’t used for eating.

When making ice cream, you can control how fast the ice cream forms by modifying the amount of salt you use. Rock salt has larger crystals that takes longer to dissolve and may result in a smoother ice cream.

The ingredients needed to make ice cream in a bag for kids are half & half, vanilla extract and sugar. The other items you’ll need are rock salt, ice cubes and re-sealable bags.

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Filed Under: Family & Home, Recipes

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Easy Homemade Strawberry Shortcake Recipe

April 22, 2020 by Lisa Park 34 Comments

This is an easy homemade strawberry shortcake recipe that really delicious. Add whipped topping and strawberries to the top to make it a perfect summer treat.

I absolutely LOVE this homemade strawberry shortcake recipe because my mother used to make it for me when I was a kid. It is easy to make and tastes delicious! And it is so much better than purchasing the dessert cakes at the grocery store.

Sometimes my mother made her own whipped cream topping (see the recipe below), which tastes so good. But to make it easier, sometimes we purchased the store-bought whipped toppings. Of course, the store-bought whipping cream in the spray can would always end up being sprayed into kids’ mouths as much as it was added to the top of the strawberry shortcakes. Oh, the memories!

I now make this easy strawberry shortcake recipe for my kids and they devour it when it’s placed in front of them. That’s how good it is!

Here are some questions, people sometimes ask about strawberry shortcake.

How do you make strawberry shortcake from scratch?

Here’s how to make my family’s easy strawberry shortcake recipe. All the measurements are in the printable recipe card at the end of the post.

In a mixing bowl, combine the butter and sugar. Add in the egg and mix.
In a small separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.
Alternate adding the dry ingredients and milk to the creamed mixture until mixed.
Add in the vanilla and mix.
Pour into a greased and floured 9×9 baking pan
Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.

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Filed Under: Desserts, Recipes

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9 DIY Cleaning Products that Will Save You Money

March 28, 2020 by Lisa Park Leave a Comment

This past month, shopping at the grocery stores have been crazy. Rows of shelves stand empty or are very depleted. And if the shelf is restocked, customers quickly fill their shopping carts with those items. It’s especially challenging to find items such as cleaning products, disinfecting wipes, baby wipes, hand sanitizer, toilet paper, paper towels and facial wipes.

To help those who are having a hard time finding cleaning products, I’ve compiled a list of 9 DIY cleaning products. These homemade cleaning products are Plus, it will save you money.

For the first of the DIY homemade cleaners, I made a video below of how to make a homemade disinfectant spray with bleach. If you can’t view it, head over to my YouTube channel here.

Here are 9 DIY cleaning products that will save you money.

The most effective way to use this disinfectant is to spray it on a surface and let it sit for 10 minutes before wiping it off with a damp cloth. This will allow time for the bleach to kill the bacteria.

Pour the vinegar and blue Dawn dishwashing soap into the spray bottle.
Shake it until the solution is mixed.
Spray the tub and shower with the cleaning solution. Wait for 15 minutes, then wipe/scrub it down. Rinse it off with water.
For tough soap scum build-up, spray the mixture on and allow it to sit as long as overnight, then scrub and rinse.
Note: Over time, the solution may become thicker. If this happens, then just add more vinegar to thin the solution so you can spray it.

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Filed Under: DIY, Frugal

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21 Tips How to Spend Less Money on Groceries

March 6, 2020 by Lisa Park 2 Comments

These 21 tips will teach you how to spend less money on groceries

One of the biggest expenses for families each month, after housing and transportation, is purchasing food. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans spend more than $7,700 per year on groceries and going out to eat. That’s almost $650 per month!

If you aren’t watching your grocery budget, those quick trips to the grocery store to purchase just $20 or $30 worth of food really do add up.

To help you spend less money on groceries, here are 21 tips how to save on groceries every month.

Above is a video of my top 10 tips on how to save money on groceries. If you can’t see the video, head over here to my YouTube channel to watch it.

And after making the video, I compiled this more detailed list of 21 tips how to save money on groceries and household items.

1. Meal Plan

I get asked all the time how to save money on groceries, because I only spend about $400 per month on groceries for our family of five. And the number one tip I share that helps me save the most money on my groceries is to meal plan.

Putting together a meal plan and making sure you know exactly what you’ll need to purchase at the grocery store can help you stick to your grocery budget. You’ll be able to save money because you won’t need to run to the grocery store multiple times per week, and you can just stick to your once a week (or in my case once every two weeks) grocery shopping trip. You’ll also save time because every day you’ll know what to make for dinner and you won’t spend extra time thinking about “What’s for dinner?”

If you aren’t sure how much money to budget for your family, a good starting place is $100 per each person in the family starting at base of $300 per month.

So for a family of four, the budget would be $400 a month. This is just a general starting idea, and of course there are exceptions to this guideline. Some families can get by spending less per month. For others, they will need to spend more if they have family members with allergies or teenagers who are growing and consuming a lot of food.

If you want to get better at meal planning or see how I meal plan, head over to the post 6 Tips How to Successfully Meal Plan. It shows you how I plan my family meals, gives you ideas of how to create a menu plan, and how to prepare meals ahead of time. I also share new dinner ideas on the post.

And you will also like this post with 20 Easy Weeknight Dinners for the Family. If you are like me, I’m always looking for new and easy meal ideas for dinner that my family will love.

For those of you who are busy and want more help with your meal plan, Six Sisters’ Stuff has a weekly meal plan with family-friendly meals for just $48 a year. That turns out to be only $4 per month. Every week you’ll receive an email with 6 main dishes, 2 sides, 2 desserts or 1 snack/treat. You’ll also get a detailed shopping list of what to purchase each week at the store. Head over to Six Sisters’ Stuff to get more details or sign up.

2. Use What’s In Your Pantry, Fridge and Freezer

There are many people who skip this step and head straight to the grocery store. If you don’t know what’s in your pantry, fridge or freezer that can already be used, then you are going to waste money by throwing out food.

As you begin to meal plan, look through your pantry, fridge and freezer to see what you have and what needs to be used up. And build your meal plan based on these items that you have on hand.

If you have food you don’t know how to use in a meal, then use sites such as Allrecipes.com and SuperCook.com. Type in the ingredients you have and it will bring up new recipe ideas with those ingredients. This is a great way to not let food go to waste.

3. Look at Sales Flyers

Also as you meal plan,

For instance, if broccoli is on sale, then make Chicken Broccoli Casserole and also add broccoli as a side dish to one of the other meals. If pork chops are on sale, then make Crock Pot Ranch Pork Chops. And if cheese and tortillas are on sale, then make chicken enchiladas or quesadillas.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Buying Groceries on a Budget, Finances, Frugal, Grocery Tips, Saving Money

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Easy Valentine’s Cookies

January 29, 2020 by Lisa Park Leave a Comment

This is an easy Valentine’s Cookies recipe that makes soft and chewy cookies with red and pink Valentine’s M&M’s and white chocolate chips.

I made these easy Valentine’s Cookies for my family and they just loved them! It was a fun surprise for my kids when they came home from school and these Valentine’s cookies were sitting on a plate for them to eat.

It’s enjoyable to sit down with my kids after school, and while they snack on food, I talk to them about their day. Because I made these homemade Valentine’s Day cookies, they are now excited about Valentine’s Day.

These simple Valentine’s cookies made it more fun and exciting for the kids to think that Valentine’s is coming soon.

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Filed Under: Desserts, Recipes, Valentine's

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Popcorn Neighbor Christmas Gift Idea

November 25, 2019 by Lisa Park Leave a Comment

We love to wish our neighbors and friends a Merry Christmas each year and are always looking for a simple, yet affordable, way to let them know we are thinking of them during the holidays. Last year, we made these popcorn neighbor Christmas gifts and delivered them to friends and neighbors.

We picked up these boxes of popcorn from the Dollar Tree for only $1 each, and each box came with three packages of popcorn. We gave each of our neighbor and friend families a box.

If you are trying to be more budget conscious, or you are on a tight budget for Christmas, you could make this neighbor gift even more affordable and give each family just one of the packages of popcorn from the box. Check out these 6 Tips How to Give Holiday Gifts Without Spending Too Much.

With the popcorn box, we added a homemade tag that said, “Just POPPIN’ By To Wish You A Merry Christmas” and added our name at the bottom. I put eight of these sayings onto a single page and printed them on red paper. Then I used paper edge scissors to cut out the saying so it looked more decorative. And to finish it off, I tied it up with Christmas curling ribbon.

It was simple and didn’t take too much time, and our family enjoyed going around delivering them to neighbors and friends the week before Christmas.

You Might Also Like These Other Neighbor Christmas Gift Ideas:

Dishwashing Liquid Christmas Gift Idea

Dish Towel and Wash Cloth Neighbor Christmas Gift

Peppermint Vanilla Sugar Scrub

DIY Hand Warmers

6 Tips How to Give Holiday Gifts Without Spending Too Much

Filed Under: DIY, Frugal

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my Disclosure Policy here.

Quick and Easy Taco Soup Recipe

November 2, 2019 by Lisa Park Leave a Comment

This is a quick and easy taco soup recipe that is yummy.

I love soups for dinner when it’s cold outside, and this quick and easy taco soup recipe is perfect to make for your family on a chilly day. It only takes about 20 minutes to make this easy taco soup recipe.

And it can be completed even faster if you keep already cooked ground beef in your freezer. I’ll take the ground beef out of my freezer, thaw it in the microwave and then put it in the pot with the rest of the ingredients.

Be sure to also check out these 12 Favorite Soup Recipes.

WHAT DO YOU EAT WITH TACO SOUP?

For our family, we like to add tortilla chips or Fritos on top. We also like to add shredded cheese and sour cream.

If you want some ideas for sides, this simple and quick taco soup would taste great with sweet cornbread, light and fluffy homemade biscuits, or easy Spanish rice.

HOW LONG IS TACO SOUP GOOD FOR?

Taco soup with cooked ground beef, when properly stored in an airtight container, will last for 3-4 days in the refrigerator. If you plan to keep it longer than that, then you’ll want to freeze it (See below).

CAN YOU FREEZE TACO SOUP?

Yes, you can freeze taco soup. To freeze the soup, put it in airtight containers or re-sealable freezer bags. Label the soup with the date and put it in the freezer. One tip is to freeze the taco soup in individual portions so you can take it out and eat it for lunch. The taco soup should be good in the freezer for 2-3 months.

When you are ready to use the taco soup, pull it out of the freezer and thaw it in the fridge for a few days. You can then heat it up on the stove or in the microwave. You could also put the taco soup in a slow cooker on high for 2-3 hours to heat it up.

And here are some other meals that freeze well: 7 Make Ahead Freezer Meals

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Filed Under: Beef, Main Dish, Recipes, Soups

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my Disclosure Policy here.

The Best Crock Pot Shredded Beef Tacos

September 26, 2019 by Lisa Park Leave a Comment

This is an easy crock pot shredded beef tacos recipe that has a delicious flavor. Put it in the crock pot in about 5 minutes in the morning and you don’t have to worry about it until it’s time for dinner.

This past summer, we had a family reunion in Washington. All of the families were assigned to make dinner on one of the nights while we were up there. My sister-in-law made these crock pot shredded beef tacos, and they were absolutely flavorful and delicious!

Everyone kept going back for seconds and thirds because they were so good. I’ve made these a few times now for my family, and we just love them.

I’m all about easy dinners, and this is a quick shredded beef tacos recipe that doesn’t take very long to combine the sauce to pour over the roast in the crock pot. It took me about 5 minutes mix the ingredients for the sauce and pour it over the roast.

I love to add lots of toppings to these tacos. Some of my favorites are fresh tomatoes, diced onions, and a lime that you squeeze the juice on top of the shredded beef. Another one of the many toppings we put on the tacos is this Herdez Guacamole Salsa. It’s a favorite topping that adds flavor and little bit of heat to the crock pot shredded beef tacos.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Beef, Main Dish, Recipes, Slow Cooker

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my Disclosure Policy here.

How to Slice Zucchini:

How Do you Make Zucchini Not Soggy?

Step-by-Step Parmesan Zucchini Chips Instructions:

What Does Zucchini Do For Your Body?

How Do you Make Zucchini Not Soggy?

What Can I Do With Too Much Zucchini?

How Does Ice Cream in a Bag Work?

How Do You Make Ice Cream From Scratch in a Bag?

Do You Have to Use Rock Salt to Make Ice Cream?

How do you make strawberry shortcake from scratch?

Safety Tip: Never combine ammonia-based cleaners with chlorine bleach or products containing bleach, such as powdered dishwasher detergent. The fumes they’ll create are extremely dangerous. Before doing any mixing, read the product labels first.

1. Homemade Disinfectant Spray

2. All-Purpose Cleaner

3. Homemade Glass Cleaner

4. Tub & Shower Cleaner

1. Meal Plan

2. Use What’s In Your Pantry, Fridge and Freezer

3. Look at Sales Flyers

You Might Also Like These Other Neighbor Christmas Gift Ideas:

Be sure to also check out these 12 Favorite Soup Recipes.

WHAT DO YOU EAT WITH TACO SOUP?

HOW LONG IS TACO SOUP GOOD FOR?

CAN YOU FREEZE TACO SOUP?

And here are some other meals that freeze well: 7 Make Ahead Freezer Meals

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