Friday, November 13, 2020

Frugal Friday


Welcome to Friday!  We ventured out on Wednesday this week to pick up a batch of clothing for my daughter's business. Other than that we have stayed home and did not buy any groceries this week. Warm weather and humidity returned this week, so we have been running our air conditioner as needed. 

In My Frugal Kitchen

This week we did the usually thrifty things like meal planning, cooking at home, washing dishes by hand. 

I made a new to us recipe for Olive Garden's Crockpot Chicken Pasta. Bailey liked it and I liked it, but I wouldn't make it on a regular basis. I'm not a fan of dishes like Stroganoff, Alfredo, or Cream Cheese Spaghetti and this falls into that category for me. Your Mileage May Vary. :) 

One thing that I really liked about this recipe was the fact that it was a crockpot meal, which meant that I set it up to cook in the morning, which freed up my afternoon. I was able to make tea, garlic bread, a salad, and clean up the kitchen really well all while dinner was already cooking. I really liked that. 

On our last grocery order we bought a lot of fresh produce, so I have been keeping a good eye on it and using it everyday, so we do not have any waste from it. This produce came from Aldi and is so much tastier than what we have been getting from Walmart, so this was easy to do. I’ve made more salads this week since I already have the salad items prepped and ready to eat. 

Several gallons of sweet tea were made this week along with a chocolate cake for those who wanted something sweet.  I made white popcorn on the stovetop for a snack this week. This is less expensive than bags of potato chips or Doritos type chips, which we rarely buy due to the cost. 

Meals This Week

Grilled Chicken, Vegetable Stir Fry
Maid Rite Sandwiches, Carrots, Green Beans with Onions
Taco Rice, Green Beans with Onions, Carrots
Chicken Pasta, Garlic Bread, Salad
Baked Potato Bar
Baked Salmon, Brown Rice, Steamed Broccoli

Saving on Entertainment

While we were driving to pick up inventory for Bailey's shop, we listened to an audio book in the car. This is Me: Loving The Person You Are Today written by Chrissy Metz who plays Kate Pearson on the tv show, This is Us

It's not often that I read or listen to a book that captures and holds my attention, but this one did. It's an  inspirational book about her life and the lessons she learned along the way. I would definitely recommend this one especially if you enjoy biographies. 

For movie night this week we watched The Hate U Give, which is based on the best selling novel of the same name. When a teenager witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood friend, she must find her voice and stand up for what’s right.

The book has been banned in Katy, Texas schools due to inappropriate language, and although it isn't based on a true story I could see this happening today. The protagonist struggles with keeping herself safe or taking a stand for her friend. I found it to be a very good movie that kept my attention the entire time. 

We payed Ramen Fury, Sorry, and Uno on game night this week. Ramen Fury is a fun board game where you prepare bowls of ramen filled with tasty ingredients, You collect combos of cards to score for different recipes while adding garnishes to boost your points. 

We really enjoy this fast paced game and it's fun for both children and adults. Bailey is very good when it comes to playing games. I tease her that I can see the wheels spinning in her mind to calculate her best moves. So, I have to be on top of my game or she will beat me every time. 

Other Frugal Things


Bailey cleaned out her sock drawer this week and found some new socks she wasn't wearing, so she listed them for sale on eBay and they sold the same day. 

Freebies

Vickie over at Vickie's Kitchen and Garden listed some really nice free coloring pages this week. You can find them here

This week I earned a free $5 Amazon gift card from the Hilton Honors program, and a $10 Amazon gift card from Microsoft Rewards. At this point I'm not sure if I'll use this for a Christmas present or for groceries. 

Fly Lady has a free holiday control journal on her website, which you can print out. Here is a link to the file if you want to read or print it.  

Other Stuff


Bailey put some clothes that were not worth selling into a box for the cats, so now they are taking turns or sharing the box to sleep. Here you can see Simba and Polka Dot sharing the box for one of their daily cat naps. 

How was your week?



Belinda
~ Living within our Means ~
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25 comments:

  1. AAahhhhh kitties. Too cute.
    Sounds like a good week. Mine has been nice as well.
    Have a good weekend.

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    1. We do love our kitties, don't we, Cheryl? I'm glad you've had a nice week. I hope your weekend is a good one too.

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  2. You had a really good week. One of the thing I am looking forward to besides just having my kiddo home is playing board games and cards. DH is not really a game player, but I think I am going to try and see if I can get a cribbage board and have us start playing that at least or two handed card games. I will give the Olive Garden recipe a try. If its in a crock pot I am already a fan.

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    1. I'm a fan of crock pot recipes too, Sam. I just love the easiness of it. I hope you can get your dh on board to play cribbage with you. That sounds like fun.

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    2. Sweet Kitties! Sounds like you had another good week, meals for this week sound good too. There has been zero spending here this week. Have a great weekend :)

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    3. Thank you, Martha. Sounds like you had a good week too with no spending. That's terrific. II hope you have a good weekend too.

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  3. We've had a good, if reasonably quiet week. It's a nice change after last week - full of anxiousness & binge watching the news. I've heard great things about the book (The Hate You Give), so will have to try it.

    In frugal news, the eBay sales have been crazy slow this week. I did sell something this morning, but first time this week!

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    1. Oh, I'm sorry your eBay sales have been slow. It must be the time of year. I remember last year at this time was slow too. Let me knw if you get a change to read or watch The Hate you give.

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  4. I love my crock pot! Dinner ready without slaving over the stove is a win for me.

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  5. First your cats are the cutest!
    I played sorry with granddaughter yesterday. It was so fun.
    Aldi produce does taste better for some reason.

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    1. Thank you, Vickie. We love our cats. I would say your granddaughter loved playing Sorry with you. It's one of my daughter's favorite games.

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  6. What sweet kitties! They have a cozy spot.
    Sounds like a frugal week, and I'm glad you were able to do an Aldi pickup. Yay for fresh veggies.
    Your meals sound good. I love cheese but my son is allergic to dairy so I can't fix too many cheesy meals. :( Off to google maid rites as I never heard of them before. Sounds like you and Bailey have lots of fun. I need to break out the board games too. Thanks for the inspiration.

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    1. You're welcome, Kathy Maidrites are just like loose meat sandwiches. I take ground beef with onions and brown it, add some garlic and Worcestershire sauce and then add some cheese and met it all together. You don't have to add the cheese but it does help them hold together. LOL

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  7. I so wish we had an Aldi here. I get to shop at one with my sissie when I am in DC and it is so much less expensive.

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    1. I wish you had one too, Kim. Maybe someday. We didn't have one here for the longest time, so I know how you feel, unfortunately.

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  8. Belinda, you made me feel better about the air conditioning. I had to run ours on a needed basis. It is really crazy we are running air conditioners in November! :) NOAA said we are supposed to have an above average Winter.
    I love Chrissy Metz. She is such a sweetheart and a great role model.
    Thank you for Vickie's link for coloring pages. I am obsessed with coloring.
    I love Simba & Polka Dot. Polka Dot is the cutest name.
    Week is good. Trying to stay safe. DH's work the majority of employees don't know what stay at home means. They are gathering in groups with family. DH is naturally introverted so he doesn't like to be near a lot of people. It is still worrisome. He has been with his company for over two decades. Has decided to leave and look for another job where he can be by himself. He's a driver so it shouldn't be to hard. Cross fingers for us.
    Did go to WalMart neighborhood Market for the first time in ten months. I needed vitamins. WM's website was crashing with Black Friday & Playstation orders. I didn't want to fight in that mess. I didn't want to go to a SuperCenter on a Thursday Black Friday ad. I noticed people were panic shopping in Neighborhood Market. It was so odd because my regular grocery store there is no panic shopping. They are limiting on certain things but no panic shopping at all. SuperCenter there is no panic shopping. It was odd panic shopping like Holiday Dinners items. I got the majority of my items I needed except Iodine. I found that strange it was out. I needed a specific vitamin that is unique. I don't think that was due to panic shopping but more due to it being specific and not a regular stock item at a smaller WalMart.

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    1. Hi Safyne!

      It's been a while and so nice to see you again!

      I am frugal so I can have air conditioning. Now you all know my secret. LOL

      Polka Dot is named that because he has Polka Dots on his body. LOL

      I wish your husband the best in finding a new job. I hope it won't be hard like you said it shoudl be fairly easy.

      I've not been in a store since March, so I don't know what it's like now. We do the curb side pickup or order online and have it delivered. I will be so happy when we do go back because I miss it.

      I was one of the people who likes grocery shopping and I like to take my time doing it. I don't want to rush in and out and I know I would need to do that now because of Covid.

      My brother told me yesterday that he runs in and out as fast as he can while holding his breath. He's joking, but you know what he means.

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  9. Belinda....baked potato bar?????? I can't get that out of my head!!! :) Talk to me....lol. What a great frugal week! Today I made some Camembert cheese (if you're not familiar it's This One). My recipe makes 2 wheels and costs me $6.75. It's one of our favourite cheeses and 2 wheels at the store cost over $20. I also found cauliflower on sale, so I bought 2 of them, one has already been eaten in a quiche and the other is in the freezer. Oh and I found a neat way to preserve green onions! Keep them in a jar of water on the counter! I just put the white ends in a small bit of water and I'm not kidding, they've been on my counter 3 weeks now and they are GROWING. I love it!

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    1. http://savingmoneyinmytennesseemountainhome.blogspot.com/2012/08/baked-potato-bar.html

      Rain, We love Baked Potato Bars here. You just bake your potatoes and fil up bowls with toppings. Sour cream, butter, chili, taco meat, dill, chives, salsa, broccoli, tomatoes, cheese, bacon, whatever you like on yours. Delicious!

      I love that you are growing your own green onions, that is so cool as is making your own cheese. So terrific!

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    2. You just made my day with that baked potato bar...I love that idea. I've done many "bars" in the past, pretzel bar, pasta bar, sundae bar...I'm going to add potato bar to my repertoire, thanks so much!!

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    3. You're welcome, Rain. It's one of my favorite dinners to do. I need to do a pasta bar now. Thanks for the idea.

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  10. All your meals sound delicious. I too like crockpot meals.

    Because of hurricane Eta, school was closed on Thursday. So I only taught 2 days this week. Fortunately Eta was downgraded to a storm when it came to this area, and left without any damage.

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  11. Very cute cats. They seem to like the box.

    You had a very successful and frugal week.

    God bless.

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  12. I enjoyed visiting and seeing what you've been up to. I'm off to check out your shops.
    Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage

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