Friday, February 18, 2011

You can take my life, but you'll never take my pizza!

Ok. I'm sure that's a bit over dramatic, but I loves me some pizza. Like a whole lot. And yes, it does cost money out of a food budget to order said pizza. I've tried making it at home to save money, it just isn't the same unless it's cooked in a pizza oven. MMMMMM....oveny goooodnesss...

In my house growing up we had pizza once a week. Even when my parents were on that awful think thin diet we still had pizza. We didn't have a lot of extra money, so getting toppings was usually a no go for us. My parents found ways to get the pizza they loved and still save some money. So here are my family secrets to getting pizza, but keeping the cost to a minimum:

  • Make your toppings at home - My mother would cut up some green peppers (or red if we had them) and some onions, fry them up in a pan with a little Kitchen Bouquet (that's her secret to everything) and we'd have green peppers and onions on our pizza. It's a great way to add veggies to your dinner as well. You can do this with almost anything, say like some leftover ham from dinner a few nights ago, or some pineapples (ewwww) You'll save at least $1.50 for each different topping you put on your pie and you can control what you want without having to split toppings on a pie.

  • Eat a salad - I'm a huge fan of salads from the pizza place, mostly cause I'm lazy and don't want to make my own salad. But, if you are in a money crunch, best thing to do is buy a head of lettuce and make a tossed salad to keep in your fridge. You can probably, if your good and lucky, get a few days worth of dinner salads out of 1 head of lettuce, a cucumber, some onions and maybe even some tomatoes if you are inclined. Doing this saves money on the salad and again, you control the freshness of ingredients.

  • Pick up your pie - My local (and remember, I'm rural) delivery place charges 3 bucks to deliver to me. That's before tip and cost of the meal. Instead of spending that money for convenience, plan a pizza night when you'll be close to the pizza parlor and pick up a pie on your way home. It's worth saving the delivery charge.

  • Look for coupons - On Long Island, each week there are the Pennysaver and the other local mini-publications that come out. Each week you'll see various specials for pies and combos. WE don't' get a lot of those up here, but I will always ask what the weekly special is for pizza. Generally they offer a discount on a pie, which is great. It doesn't hurt to ask your pizza guy what he's doing for specials this week. Also check out the Internet for specials and coupons. Domino's will often send fliers in the mail with coupons and their website offers online ordering. Pizza Hut is another chain restaurant that offers deals.

Happy pizza hunting! And do save a slice for me!

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