Save $46.64 on family tradition this (and every) month AND the giveaway winner!

Let's talk your family's weekly pizza.

If you're shaking your head at the obviousness of homemade versus sit-down or pick-up, understand that we've tried this route before - substituting pizza in a box and pizza made with pre-made crust. Soon after each of these semi-homemade experiments, we were quick to return to our local pizza parlor, where the crust is always thin and perfectly crispy - very New York, very delicious.

Sunday pizza is a lovely tradition and a godsend for busy families gearing up for the week ahead. We grew up with this tradition, and perhaps you did too. In any case, and however you do it, it costs. And kind of a lot, if you really sit down and think about it. Which hardly any of us ever does, me included.

But then one day...I did. I rose my eyebrows (though not as much as when we realized we'd spent $200 on ebooks over the summer - which was not, unfortunately, fraudulent in any way).

Around here, you can get a pie for about $10 each, plus $2 per topping. For argument's sake, let's say you order two pizzas with onions on one and pepperoni on the other (we'll leave out the delivery guy in this scenario).

If you do that every Sunday, you will be spending $24 each week, or $96 each month - $120 if the month has five Sundays - of your hard-earned cash. On pizza! Yikes!

There is an alternative, and it's easy, repeatable, and just as delicious as what you can get at Joey's or Bruno's or Sal's. Maybe more - well, not in the case of Joey's. But very, very close.

Here's how.

You can stock up on Glen Muir organic sauce when it's on sale, or if you're a ShopRite shopper, wait for the Can-Can sale and fill your pantry. Not sure what happened to the picture of the pizza dough...

First, you have to go shopping. But don't fret. It's only a marginal number of extra items in your cart, or, if you're running out now for tonight, you can carry everything in your arms (though why would you - do grab a basket by the door ;)).

On your list will be: two balls of already-made pizza dough ($1.69 each, or $3.38 for two), two cans of pizza sauce ($.99 each, so $1.98 for both), and two bags of shredded cheese ($1.99 each, $3.98 total).

For the pizza that I'm showing here, we did one plain and one with onions (a small yellow one fished out from the back of the fridge, so free) and anchovies ($1.50 each can, so $3 for the two).

It doesn't have to be perfect. Start out spinning the dough over your fists, just like the guys do at the restaurant. Then lay out your circle and start rolling outward with your pin so that the thinner dough is always behind  it. The mass right in front of your pin will help push everything out to the edges, giving you nice thin crust in the middle and a nice roll around.

{Now, if you are a true domestic goddess/home economics maven, you are looking at my list thinking, "Why don't you make your own dough and shred your own cheese - that would save lots too." And you'd be right! Rest assured, I do hope to get there one day!}

So the grand total (not including labor, which is minimal - you'll see) is $12.34. That's roughly half what you'd spend out, plus the added bonus of being in the comfort of your own home, which also has all sorts of benefits when your children are still young, the primary one being that your food doesn't get stuck in your throat from the anxiety of dining out with little ones who perhaps didn't take as long a nap as they needed.

Have I convinced you yet?

Do try. It takes roughly 30 minutes from start to finish (including oven time). And the difference you'll have saved by month's end ($46.64 in a month of four Sundays) will prove very satisfying.

You could, perhaps, take $10 of those saved dollars and buy a new pair of flats for the fall. Just saying...

Thank you, Famous Footwear!

And now, for the winner of the "Fed Up With Frenzy" book giveaway!!!

That's you, Sheena! Please send me an email (raynastpierrehello@gmail.com) with your mailing address so that I can ship your prize promptly!

Have a wonderful week, all! And Happy Columbus Day!