1. Gnocchi - I swear, legit gnocchi and it's made in Italy per the package. It's shelf stable, vacuum sealed with a best by date over a year out. No excessive preservatives. Cooks for 2 minutes max in boiling, salted water. I would definitely look into cooking it in a pan with a little water instead, but I'd have to research this. Served 4 hungry people. I will absolutely be buying a few of these for the package on my next trip, great deal at $1.25 a package.
   
2. Pizza Crusts - Pre-cooked, shelf stable, crispy pizza crusts. We tried out a couple of them and they worked fine. The kids like it. Feels like some of those super crispy “Sicillian-style” pizzas I’d get in Bergen County growing up.
   
3. Hunts Tomato Sauce (in a can) - Good value at $1.25, not great value. You can find cheaper tomato products at some grocery stores or Walmart. Didn’t like that it had high fructose corn syrup (less than 2%), but the taste and consistency was fine and the whole family enjoyed the meal regardless.
   
4. 14 inch pizza pan - Did the job! Worked fine with the pizza crusts mentioned above. The pizza crusts say to place straight on the rack, no pan, but considering how crispy they were on the pan, I think the bottom would be like a cracker if I put it on the rack and maybe the top would be half cooked. May have to do some more experiments. Dollar Tree cookware is a pain, in that you need to get the label glue off of the food surface, so you’ll need some pot scrubber compound or something food safe to do that with.
   
5. Hot Sauce - One entire brand of hot sauce was just a few days from best by date, so I did not purchase. Most of the hot sauces are in plastic, not glass, You get a much better value per ounce at your grocery store. I will keep looking at Dollar Tree in case I find a deal, but in general I did not and would not buy hot sauce there. The brands looked good though, if Dollar Tree was the only convenient store or you just need a small bottle on vacation or something.
   
6. Kids Ankle Socks - 3 pairs for $1.25, entirely synthetic. Decent patterns and dark colors. Bought, would buy again. There's a definitely lack of crew socks and absolutely no calf socks at our Dollar Tree, however there are sleep shorts, panties, and "footed leggings" if you are looking for those things. The leggings were probably $3.
   
7. Kosher Salt (large grain) - Nice size container, $1.25, good enough value. Might do better at Walmart per ounce, but this was pretty good.
   
8. Iodized Salt - Great deal! On sale at $0.79 per canister, I bought 2 for baking.
   
9. Epsom Salts - Some selection, $1.25 apiece, could be good for bath bombs, soaks, or DIY laundry detergent. Did not buy this time.
   
10. Washing Soda - No washing soda at the Dollar Tree, so no DIY laundry detergent today.
    
11. Borax - $1.25 for a middling amount, ok deal, not great. Lavender scented, which is pretty much a deal killer for me. Did not buy.
    
12. Baking Soda - I have seen baking soda at Dollar Trees, but it's usually not a good deal. Did not see any on this trip.
    
13. Soap Bars - Lots of popular brands, Yardley for one. Dove as well, I believe. No Kirk's, which is my hypoallergenic go-to soap, and no Ivory which is my backup. If you're following the DIY detergent thread, also no Fels Naptha.
    

(04-15-2025, 11:59 AM)gorzek Wrote: Hey, that's not bad.
Here's a simple one I discovered recently. Aldi sells these dry soup mixes. They're about $2.59 each. In most cases you just add water, maybe a couple other simple things (butter, tomato paste.) You throw it in a pot and cook it. 8 servings. Assuming a worst case of like $3 for the meal, that's about 38 cents a serving. Hard to beat that, and they're pretty darn good.
For cheap bulk coffee, you can't miss with Cafe Bustelo. Probably the best cheap brick-pack coffee there is.

• 1 cup dry milk powder
  
• ¾ cup corn starch
  
• 3 TBSP dried minced onion flakes, you can also use 2 teaspoon onion powder
  
• 1 tsp dried basil
  
• 1 tsp dried thyme
  
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
  
• ½ tsp dried parsley
  

• 3 tablespoons dried minced onion
  
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
  
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  
• 1 teaspoon salt