First Frugal Friday of January 2022
Welcome to Friday!
The weather here this week has been odd to say the least. Over the weekend it was so warm that we broke the temperature record (78 degrees) for New Years Day. But then by Monday morning we had two inches of snow on the ground and freezing temperatures (32 degrees).
We received some good news at the end of last week and as a result had some money coming our way this week. The timing is excellent as I have auto insurance due at the end of the month and can replace the money into the emergency fund that we used for my tooth In December.
We said goodbye to Christmas this week as we put all our Christmas decorations away for another year.
My Frugal Week
This week I want to give a shout out to Bobi E for supporting me and being so encouraging in my work here. Thank you Bobi!
This week I took all of the towels out of the linen closet, refolded some of them, and reorganized the entire closet. It looks so much better now.
Hibiscus tea has multiple health benefits for the cardiovascular system, so I drink it several times during the week. I normally use the Traditional Medicinals brand, but recently found this strawberry flavor at Walmart.
The Great Value brand costs $2.24 for twenty tea bags, which makes it cheaper than the Traditional Medicinals brand. I like the strawberry flavor as it is sweet tasting without needing any sweetener. I made a half gallon pitcher of it this week, so I could enjoy it ice cold with dinner.
We stopped in at Publix on Tuesday and bought some Life cereal, which was on sale for buy one get one free. It is our favorite cereal and one of the few I will buy, otherwise I make my own granola/cereal at home.
Avoiding Spending
I didn’t avoid spending money this week as I paid for my auto insurance membership and my auto insurance, which are always due in January. I also had some RX that needed filling.
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
On Friday I made cookies to have as a treat. The recipe is below (under recipe of the week) if you’re interested.
Meals This Week
Friday: Impossible Sausage Pie, Air Fryer Brussel Spouts & Broccoli ~ We really liked the vegetables air fried. In fact, we ate the entire bag of both of these vegetables, which we normally don’t and have a small bowl leftover, so we will definitely be making these again. Saturday: Better Cheddars in the Air Fryer, Broccoli Casserole, CarrotsSunday: Bailey’s Big Mac PizzaMonday: Sticky Pineapple Chicken, Buttered Basmati Rice, CarrotsTuesday: Homemade Pizzas for Movie NightWednesday: Submarine Sandwiches, Celery & Carrot sticks with RanchThursday: A little bit of this and that...Chicken & Rice, Broccoli Casserole, Carrots, and Better Cheddars.
Recipe of the Week
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup peanut butter1 cup brown sugar1 egg1 teaspoon baking soda1/2 cup chocolate chips
Directions:
Cream brown sugar and egg together. Add peanut butter and baking soda and mix well.Stir in chocolate chips.Scoop into cookie dough balls and placed on baking sheet.Bake at 350 degrees for 7 to 9 minutes.Let cool and enjoy.
Saving on Entertainment
Games we played this week include Wasabi, Guess Who, Crazy Eights,
What I've been Reading This Week
The recipes at Cooks.com have really interesting notes by people who have made the recipes.
Saving Money in the Kitchen
Freebies
That is all the news to report on our frugal week in Tennessee. Thank you for dropping by, you are always welcome here. We would love to hear about your week in the comment section.
Belinda~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree
I bet those teas would be delicious steeped extra long and then over ice. We love the Good Earth Pomegranate tea, and find as ice tea, it is so much better than tea like at Starbucks or one of the coffee houses, and adding a splash of lemonade or even lemon juice and a touch of sugar and it really is a referesher.
ReplyDeleteYes, they are good when chilled with ice, Sam. And I like pomegranate too. I will have to try the tea you mentioned. I think that is why I like the grenadine in our drinks at Christmas time, because it is made with pomegranates.
DeleteGreat news about the incoming funds! That type of tea is right up my alley, so I will have to try it out. The Starbucks passion tea is one of my favorites. It would be great to have a make at home option. I have lots & lots of hot tea that I enjoy at home, but nothing quite like that.
ReplyDeleteSame here, we have lots of hot tea options, but that was the first one like that we’ve had. It’s definitely a keeper.
DeleteNow that is an interesting cookie recipe. No flour. That would be great for someone on a gluten free diet.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Oh, that is a good idea, Jackie. I hadn’t thought of that.
DeleteSo glad you got some good news! A little extra money is always a good thing. I'm going to have to try your cookie recipe as peanut butter and chocolate are two of my favorite foods. I've never tried an air fryer before, but your veggies sound so good. Is Bailey's Big Mac pizza recipe on your blog?
ReplyDeleteHope you have a great weekend. Wishing you the best in 2022!
Kathy, I will have to get the recipe from Bailey as she has in written down in her notebook. I’ll include it ASAP. I hope you have a great weekend and 2022 too. :)
DeleteYum, warm cookies right out of the oven, and homemade is so much better than store bought. Plus it saves money!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely Kim!
Deleteoh the Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies sound amazing! One day I'll have to try them. The struggle to stay away from something sounding so good is hard!
ReplyDeleteI packed them all up and gave them to Bailey. 😂 The temptation wasn’t as easy that way. LOL
DeleteSo happy you got some financial good news! I love peanut butter cookies, but have to save this recipe for another time. I recently froze all the leftover Christmas cookies as I'm trying to lose some weight.
ReplyDeleteI have found that several store brand items not only cost less than name brand, but actually taste better too (especially Walmart brand). So glad you found a new tea flavor you enjoy.
Thank you, Ms. Goose. We’ve also found that we enjoy the Great Value brand of ranch drsssing over the name brands, which can be a big money saver. I like to make my own, but don’t always have the inclination to do so.
DeleteCongrats on the extra money. I love that tea.
ReplyDeleteDH's new job honored his vacation from his old job. My DH had the entire week off. We mainly stayed home, caught up on TV shows, worked on a puzzle. We did go to WalMart, Big Lots & Dollar Tree this week. The stores hardly had any customers. Big Lots we were the only customers! We were masked, social distancing & boosted so we felt relatively safe. Stocked up on clothes, household items we couldn't get due to new job/drama moving messes.
Dollar Tree goes up to $1.25 next week. They told me last night it will be official on the 17th.
That is so sad about Dollar Tree, but understandable too. I like being in the store when no one else is in there. The day we went after Christmas shopping there were not many people in there. I guess becait was late at night.
DeleteThat was so nice of your dh’s new employer to honor the vacation from his old job. ThAt sounds like good news on how they will be as an employer. I hope your dh likes it there. :)
Great frugal week Belinda! The cookies sound delicious! Oh my gosh, thank you so much for mentioning the auto club...last year I hit "auto renew" to save another 10% and forgot to take it off and I'm sure it's due any day now lol...gotta go fix that! ☺☺
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rain. Yes, on the auto renew! We got hit with our Norton renewal in November, we were not expecting it until December, so we made sure to turn it off for next year. :)
DeleteThe cookies sound delicious, and no flour.
ReplyDelete