Reading the grim financial news these days makes me stress, so instead today I'm scoping out cheap meals for my family. The moms in the Cheap Recipes group have some great ideas: taco pie, homemade chicken noodle soup, mac 'n' cheese...yum!


One of my family's favorite cheap meals is homemade pizza. It's much cheaper than ordering in. Just use store-bought crusts, English muffins, or make your own dough; then top it with whatever you have leftover in the fridge.


Mr. Cafe Kim makes a mean pizza dough so I asked him to share it.


Mr. Cafe Kim's Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe (adapted from Barbara Kingsolver's Friday Night Pizza Recipe in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle):

1 package yeast

1/2 tsp sugar

3/4 cups hot water (Heat water to about 130-140 degrees in microwave, about 1 minute, so that when you stick your finger in, it feels hot but not uncomfortable).

3/4 cups room temperature water

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

2 cups white flour

2 cups wheat flour

Pour yeast into a mixing bowl. Add sugar. Add hot water to dissolve the yeast. Add oil. Let mixture stand for a few minutes until frothy. Pour in the room temperature water. Add white flour, 1 cup of wheat flour, salt and any spices to taste (pepper, rosemary, etc.). Mix all ingredients together with hands. Transfer mixture to rolling area. Add the remaining cup of wheat flour and knead for a few minutes until dough is stiff. Put the dough in bowl and let rise for about 1 hour. Roll out dough, add toppings, and bake in oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until top is browned and crust is crispy.

Usually, we double or triple the recipe, freeze the extra dough in individual freezer bags, and pull out when needed. What a time-saver!