Menu Plan Monday ~ Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen August 7, 2023

Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen

My Frugal Week

I perused the grocery store sale ads online as usual looking for any good loss leaders to stock up on this week. We went to Kroger on Wednesday and picked up several loss leaders. 

First off was this eight ounce block of mozzarella cheese for 63 cents. That almost trumps the time we bought cheese for 50 cents a block at the close out store, but that was twenty years ago. We also used a digital coupon and picked up the 32 ounce blocks of cheese for $4.99, normally priced at $7.99, which is also a great price. 

Second were these containers with four yogurts inside for $1.20. I normally pay $2.47 for the Great Value brand at Walmart, so this was a very good deal. 

Next was a 33 ounce container of Noosa strawberry yogurt for $1.76, which normally sells for $5.49, so another good deal. This has the best flavor and was so good!

Next was this container of Everything Bagel dip for 66 cents.

We also picked up a garlic and herb rotisserie chicken on mark down for $3.20, which works out to $1.60 per pound. 

And finally from Food City, which I stopped in after my dentist appointment on Tuesday. I found this later in the afternoon around four o'clock, which surprised me that it was still there. The price worked out to $2.29 per pound, which is good these days. 

Recipe of the Week

This is my recipe I use for Dirty Rice. I’ve used smoked sausage, Polish sausage, pecan smoked sausage, pork sausage, and Andouille sausage. This week we used Holmes Smokehouse Pecan Smoked Kielbasa, which we bought from Publix and was delicious.

Dirty Rice

Ingredients:

Your choice of meat (12 to 16 ounces)

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cups cooked rice

1 onion, chopped

1 celery rib, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 to 3 teaspoons Cajun Spice Mix (recipe below)

Directions:

I cook my rice ahead of time using 1 part rice to 2 parts broth or water. 

Then I have leftover rice for another meal later in the week.

You can also cook your rice in with the meat after it’s browned, if you prefer.

Pan fry your meat selection in a skillet with a couple tablespoons of olive oil.

Add the holy trinity of onions, celery, and bell peppers.

Cook for five minutes or until softened.

Add rice and stir well.

Add two to three teaspoons of Cajun seasoning mix.

Mix well and heat throughout.

Serve and enjoy.

Cajun Seasoning Mix

If you want to make this more Creole style you can add some chili powder to the mix. I like making my own Cajun seasoning mix because I can control the hot spices that go into the mix. Feel free to add cayenne pepper to your spice mix if you prefer.

Ingredients:

5 teaspoons paprika

3 teaspoons salt

4 teaspoons garlic powder

4 teaspoons onion powder

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons dried thyme

Directions:

Add all spices together in a small mason jar.

Stir together well, label, and store with other spices.

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ Dirty Rice with Pecan Smoked Sausage, Cole Slaw, Green Peas. 

Tuesday ~ I made extra rice on Monday, so today I made some Chicken Fried Rice. Of course, this is movie night for Bailey, so she had her usual movie night pizza with chicken and red onions. 

Wednesday ~ Chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and gravy. 

Thursday ~ Taco Thursday ~ We bought some ground chuck at Food City on markdown, so I fixed that for supper using my homemade taco seasoning mix. I served it with lettuce, tomatoes. And onions. 

Friday ~ Taco Meat with Cottage Cheese and Tomatoes.

Saturday & Sunday ~ White Chicken Enchiladas, Corn, Salad. I used the rotisserie chicken we bought on mark down for this dish, and I used blended cottage cheese instead of sour cream. I also made some more popsicles today using black cherry koolaid and jello along with some monk fruit as sweetener.

What’s on the Menu for This Coming Week

These are the items we have on hand that I can use to make meals this week. We have a lot of chicken on hand, bacon, and pork, so I can make Chicken Fried Rice,  BLTs, and Quiche. Be sure to come back next week to see what sides we serve with these main dishes. 

 resourceful and raid your cupboards or

Belinda

Mortgage & Debt Free~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27

Homemade yogurt that didn’t set up well – mixed with some homemade jam;

Leftover Jell-O that didn’t set up well or Jell-O that you make for this purpose from a store brand.

Juice or syrup left over from canned fruit. 

Juice that has been in the fridge and needs to be used up.

Kool-Aid or lemonade mixes bought on sale.