Second Frugal Friday of December 2022

Welcome to Friday! 
Quote of the Week

I sure hope you’ve all had a great Thanksgiving. As the years fly by and things change, and people are no longer with us, more than anything, I am so thankful for the wonderful memories.~ Mandy @ Read Write Mom 

My Frugal Week
I said last week that I would make up for the short blog post, so here goes…
This week was odd as Sunday felt like Monday and then Monday felt like Sunday. I was leisurely reading some of my favorite blogs on Monday morning, which made it feel like Sunday since I usually enjoy reading on the slower pace of the Lord’s day. 
Thank you all very much for the sweet comments you left last week about Beaux Gatsby. We had him cremated and placed his ashes next to Big Kitty. The crematorium gave us a clipping of his fur and a print of his paw made into an ornament for Christmas. 
Bailey and I went to town last Friday and stocked up at the grocery store. We also finished our Christmas shopping. We did that so we didn’t have to enter another store before Christmas as it gets very busy, as you know, at this time of year. 
This year we bought a new Christmas tree as our old pre-lit one died last year. We spent the week decorating and making the house nice and cozy for Christmas time. On Tuesday I was able to finish wrapping presents, so now I feel like I can enjoy the holiday more.
One way to save money at Christmas time is to make it acceptable to receive second hand items for presents. Bailey knows that second hand gifts are perfectly acceptable to me. Let people off the hook and let them know this is OK. 
Gary Chapman in his The 5 Love Languages book writes about five ways people feel loved, including acts of service, physical touch, quality time, words of affirmation and gifts. One of my favorite ways of showing someone I love them is through acts of service. Folding someone’s laundry for them, or making them their favorite meal or beverage costs less money and is usually always appreciated by that person. 
The Driveway & Traffic Cones
Even though we recently had our driveway repaired, there is still some work that needs doing. We have traffic cones set up in some areas where we have tiles/culverts, which divert rainwater away from the new gravel. The UPS man accidentally drove over one of the traffic cones because I’m sure it was too dark for him to see. 
The fix was a $5 can of spray paint, which was money well spent to protect a $3,000 driveway. 
Here is a photo of the before and after:
 
New Washing Machine
Guess what we had to buy this week? A washer! 🤷‍♀️ 
We bought our last washer in the first year of the pandemic in the summer of 2020. It was a mid priced ($699) GE Brand washer. We decided to buy into the mid price range models to see if it would last longer, but due to planned obsolescence we should have known better. 
We had trouble with it from the start, had multiple repairmen out to look at it to no avail and it finally quit working this week, so we went looking for a new one. 
We looked at Lowes and Home Depot and then decided to stop in at a locally owned appliance center. The salesman wanted to sell us a couple of washers for $799, but we were a little gun shy that they wouldn’t last long. 
We decided to buy a preowned washer for $250 from the locally owned store. It’s a Maytag washer and comes with a thirty day warranty and so far it’s been working well, no issues like we had with the last washer. Now we are all caught up on the laundry for the moment. 
Time will tell as to how long this machine lasts. If it lasts two years like the last one we will have saved money in the long run. I’ll keep you all updated here like I usually do with our washers/dryers. 
Freebies
Our local community has a Trading Post event where people bring stuff they no longer need, bring them to the event and set them down and then walk around and pick up things they do need. 
We went to one this week and brought several articles of clothing, a lamp, a cat toy, and a  Starbucks reusable cup. 
Here are two photos of the items we were able to pick out:

Reynolds’s foil sheets, one green pepper, cucumber, and onion, two sweet potatoes, grape tomatoes, blueberries, chocolate chips, a bag of organic potatoes, two cabinet lights, and some Waverley fat quarters. 

It’s a great way to declutter items you no longer need and then trade them for items you do need and no money changes hands. 
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
Doing all the usual things like avoiding food waste, using up what we have on hand, freezing leftovers for another meal another day. 
One thing I do is to watch what my family leaves on their plate and adjust accordingly. If my daughter leaves her cucumber salad because I made too much other food, I will save her individual portion and serve it to her at another meal. It takes planning, but will save money. 
Meals This Week
All of our meals are served with plenty of vegetables and/or salad. 
- Homemade Vegetable Soup- Chicken Teriyaki, Steamed Cabbage, Carrots, Onions, and Broccoli. - Vegetable Plates (Potatoes, Carrots, Corn on the Cob, Cucumber Salad). - Chicken & Dressing (recipe below), Green Beans with Onions, Carrots. - Vegetable Stir Fry, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, and Kale Greens. - Meatloaf, Sweet Potatoes, Steamed Broccoli. 
* If you see a dinner in bold print that means we had it more than once this week. 
Recipe of the Week
This one is definitely a favorite around here. 
Chicken & Dressing Casserole
Ingredients:
4 cups cooked chicken
1 - 10.5 ounce can cream of chicken soup
1 - 10.5 ounce can cream of mushroom soup 
(I substituted using the recipe found below)
1 cup milk
1 stick butter
1 - 8 ounce package dry stuffing mix 
(Pepperidge Farm is my favorite as my grandmother worked there)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray
Whisk together soup and milk and add chicken.
Pour into casserole dish. 
In another bowl, melt butter and add dry dressing mix and mix well. 
Sprinkle over chicken mixture in pan. 
Cover dish with foil, but remove 5 minutes before taking the dish out of the oven. Be careful and watch the top so it won’t get too dark. 
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
Ingredients:
6 Tbsp butter
2/3 cup flour
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup chicken broth
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
Salt & Pepper to taste
Directions:
Melt  butter in saucepan.
Add flour and mix into a paste.
Whisk in milk and chicken broth. 
Add onion & garlic powder, salt & pepper.
Continue to whisk until smooth and creamy.
I also added about one cup of sour cream to make it very creamy.
Use 1 & 1/3 cup to replace one 10 & 1/2 ounce can of cream of chicken soup in recipes. This recipe makes the equivalent of two cans. 

Saving Money YouTube Videos
Inflation Fatigue by Frugal Queen
Stretching Our Food Budget by Frugal Queen
Saving on Entertainment
Facebook has been showing me old Leave it to Beaver episodes recently. Some shows from that time period show the father/husband to be domineering, but this show didn’t do that, which I find refreshing. It’s free to watch on Facebook if you’re interested. 
One of my favorite tv shows is American Dreams. The father/husband is domineering in this show, but I still enjoyed it, but it only lasted three seasons as the show didn’t really find an audience. Only the first season is available on DVD, but there are some shows on YouTube for free if you’re interested. 

What I've been Reading This Week
This week I’ve been reading Doctor Caldwell B. Esselstyn’s book, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease. 
His son Rip Esselstyn is the one who created The Engine 2 Diet while his wife Ann and daughter Jane have a new book out called Be a Plant Based Woman Warrior. I have that last book on my Amazon wish list for Christmas. 
Ann and Jane also have a YouTube channel, where they share many of their plant based recipes for free from several of their family’s books. If you’re interested in plant based eating you will want to check out this resource. 

Thank you for dropping by my frugal blog, you are always welcome here. I love hearing from you! I always respond to comments, so please don’t hesitate to leave a comment. 💕 
BelindaMortgage & Debt Free~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27

First Frugal Friday of December 2022

Welcome to Friday! 
My Frugal Week
We are heartbroken this week as our sweet kitty Beaux Gatsby passed away unexpectedly on Sunday. We only had him for six months and he was only a few months older than that. We decided to have him cremated and placed next to Big Kitty. 
Bailey went with her bonus Grandma last Friday to the aquarium in Chattanooga. Her friend bought all three of them tickets. 
One of the Christmas presents I bought was reduced in price with both a discount code and a $10 rewards certificate. ($18 saved)
Joy of the Week
We had a nice surprise come here this week. UPS dropped off a package on Wednesday evening. It was a Ghirardelli gift basket from my sister and her family. 
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
My big money saver this week was a stockpot of homemade vegetable soup, which we ate all week long. 
Meals This Week
ChiliChicken TendersPot Roast, Mashed Potatoes, CarrotsChiliPizzaCheesy Potatoes Vegetable Soup

Thank you for dropping by my frugal blog, you are always welcome here. This is a short blog post because it’s been a hard week here. I’ll be sure and do a longer blog post next Friday. 
BelindaMortgage & Debt Free~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree

Fourth & Final Frugal Friday of November 2022

Welcome to Friday! 
Price of Gas & Barrel of Oil this Week
Gasoline is $2.60 per gallon here while oil is $77.90 per barrel. 
My Frugal Week
It’s been a quiet week here even with Thanksgiving. This is the first Thanksgiving without Mom, and Dad returned to Illinois earlier this month. We do have company coming on Friday for two days, so that will be good. I made a stockpot full of chili for when they are here. 
I have about half of my Christmas shopping done already. I’ve also been thinking about what we will serve for Christmas this year. What do you plan on serving this year? I am thinking about Lasagne on Christmas Eve, and I’m going to start making my list so I can get organized ahead of time. 
Avoiding Spending
Remember the more effort you put into frugal and resourceful living during the times when you have more money than month, the easier it will be to get through the times when there is more month than money.
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
We did all the usual money saving tips this week like eating all the leftovers, keeping the dishes washed and kitchen cleaned so we feel like going in there to cook. It’s so much easier to start with a clean kitchen.
I make my hot chocolate with water rather than milk, so we can save the milk for cereal and/or cooking.
Meals This Week
All meals are served with either salad or vegetables and may not always be listed here. 😊 
Grilled Chicken SaladsMeatballs in Gravy, Corn on the CobMac & Cheese with HamChicken LoafChicken Cornbread Casserole (Recipe of the Week)HamChili
Recipe of the Week
This week I was watching a video from In The Kitchen with Mama Mel and she demonstrated four new chicken casserole recipes. 
Here is the video link: Chicken Cornbread Casserole
The first recipe intrigued me, so I decided to get the ingredients and make this. I knew Bailey would like it because it’s saucy and she likes Jiffy cornbread, which is sweet. This was delicious and definitely a keeper. We had the leftovers for brunch the next day. 

Farmhouse Chicken Cornbread Casserole

Ingredients:

Filling:

1 (10.5 oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup, not diluted

1 (10.5 oz) can condensed cream of mushroom soup, not diluted

¾ cup milk

4 cups cooked, diced chicken

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Cornbread:

1 (8.5 oz) box corn muffin mix (such as Jiffy brand)

1 (14.75 oz) can cream style sweet corn

⅓ cup sour cream

1 egg

2 tablespoons melted butter

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F. 

Spray a 3-quart baking dish with cooking spray. 

In a large bowl, whisk together condensed soups and milk. 

Stir in cooked chicken and cheese.

Pour chicken mixture into a baking dish.

Mix Jiffy mix, corn, sour cream, egg, and butter. 

Spread evenly over the chicken mixture.

Bake, uncovered, for about 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the topping comes out clean. 

Cover loosely with foil if it starts to brown too much. 

Let stand for about 5-10 minutes, then serve. 

What I've been Reading This Week
If you're looking for something new to read don't forget about Project Gutenberg, which is a library of over 60,000 free eBooks. There is also the FreeReadFeed website as well. 
Thank you for dropping by my frugal blog, you are always welcome here. 
How was your week? What did you do this week to spend less, save more and make do? We hope that you all had a blessed Thanksgiving and as always be safe and healthy.
We would love to hear all about your week in the comment section.

BelindaMortgage & Debt Free~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree

Third Frugal Friday of November 2022

Welcome to Friday! 
Quote of the Week

~ Knowing what to cook for dinner is half the battle ~ Belinda

My Frugal Week
Rain off the latest hurricane came through and with it all the leaves are gone off the trees now. Usually this makes our internet work better when the leaves are gone. That is one thing about living in the rural countryside, the internet can be sketchy. 
After the rain moved through, cold weather was right behind it. It was cold enough for snow on the mountain. Rather early for that already, but we haven’t turned on the heat yet. We want to enjoy the cold for a little bit. 
On Friday night Bailey and I decided to do some rearranging of furniture. We took the top off the dining room china cabinet and moved the bottom into the kitchen to be used as a counter top plus storage where there was none before. 
Bailey moved one of her shelves where the cabinet had been. It opened up a lot of space in that area. 
I was kind of sad because the cabinet had been Moms and she was so proud of it when they bought it in 1986. Nowadays people are not into china cabinets or even china for that matter. I just tell myself that life goes on and it does. 
I did find a couple of relics from our childhood, which my sister claimed after I sent her a picture saying, “look what I found!” So, they will be on their way to her home in Michigan. One day she will pass them on to her children hopefully. 
I picked up prescriptions from CVS a couple of days last week and ended up with $15 in extra care bucks. I gave it to Bailey who used it for body wash. She still ended up paying $1.50 for the body wash, but it still was a big savings. 
Both of us got our flu shots this week. We still need to get our third Covid booster shot though. 
Saturday was laundry and garbage day and I deep cleaned in the kitchen rearranging stuff to put inside the cabinet. We put the china cabinet top on Facebook Marketplace and it was gone the same day. 
My Dad had an old pickup truck bed in the yard that he had listed for sale and it sold this week for $200. He told us to go ahead and keep the money. 💕 
We buy the large bottles of disinfectant Lysol in the concentrated 144 ounce bottle. We then use about an ounce or two in a foam spray bottle and then fill the bottle with water. The way I’ve figured it each spray bottle of cleaner cost us around 30 cents to make, which is much cheaper than buying it in the single use individual bottles.  
Joy of the Week & Helping Others
There is a Hope Community Fridge located at the UMC in Chattanooga. They’ve been putting Thanksgiving baskets in the pantry/fridge the last few weeks to help people who are hungry to be able to have a free Thanksgiving dinner. 
The baskets consist of a ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese, yams, corn, green beans, and cranberry sauce. Eight items in all and at a cost of less than $10.00 to the donors. There are also rolls in the community fridge if desired. 
The pantry is free and open to anyone who is hungry. There is even a garden next to the pantry where people grow vegetables to add to the fridge. It really warms my heart that people do things like this for others.
Photo of the Week

Hope Community Fridge Thanksgiving Dinner

Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
Kim over at Out my Window has a great blog post on how she cooks an affordable dinner for Thanksgiving. If you are looking to save money on yours be sure to check her blog post out. 
Here is a link to my Thanksgiving day recipes if you’re interested: 
Thanksgiving Recipe Series
Last week I cut two tarter sauce containers in half and used a rubber spatula to get all the tarter sauce out. It’s impossible to get all the tarter sauce out with the design of the bottle unless it’s cut in half. You’d be surprised how much is left inside. 
Meals This Week
LeftoversPolish Sausage, Mac & Cheese, Broccoli  Dirty Rice, Broccoli, CarrotsBeefy Spanish Rice, Corn on the Cob, Carrots, Green Beans with OnionsHomemade PizzaLeftover WizardySausage Muffins, Rice with Cheese & Broccoli, Corn, Radishes
Recipe of the Week
This is a recipe I think I found on Tik Tok. I bought the Spanish rice a while back, but didn’t have any ground beef until recently when I bought some for $1.99 per pound. Then I couldn’t find that recipe I was going to use, so I just guessed at it. 

This turned out really good, Bailey thought it was just OK. I thought maybe an addition of chili powder and/or tomatoes would go well with it too, so I may try those additions next time. 
On Wednesday I added chili powder and tomatoes and used it in a tortilla stack, which used up all the leftovers, so no food waste. Tortillas are a great way to go when using up leftovers to feed your family. A package of 80 can be had here for $3.50 or so, which makes each tortilla about five cents each. 
The entire recipe costs less than $5.00 to fix and can easily serve five to six people, which makes each serving less than $1.00. It’s definitely a money saver especially when you can find ground beef on sale. 
Of course, you can save even more money by making your own Spanish or Mexican rice from scratch. 
Beefy Spanish Rice
Ingredients:
1 package Rice-a-Roni or Knorr Spanish Rice mix1 pound ground beef1 onion, diced1 can cornCheddar Cheese ~ optional
Directions:
Prepare rice as directed on package. In a separate pan, brown ground beef and onions and drain grease. Add prepared rice to ground beef with corn and stir together. If desired, add cheese.Enjoy!
Saving on Entertainment
The Snow Globe film by Chick-fil-A
What I've been Reading This Week
22 Super Easy Family Dinner Recipes 
Walmart Offering Last Years Prices on Thanksgiving Dinner

Thank you for dropping by my frugal blog, you are always welcome here. 
We would love to hear all about your week in the comment section.
BelindaMortgage & Debt Free~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree

Second Frugal Friday of November 2022

Welcome to Frugal Friday! 
My Frugal Week
On Monday we found a new in the box cat condo on Facebook Marketplace for $25.00. These easily sell for three to four times this much, so this was a great deal. 
Savings of the Week
This week’s award goes to Bailey who found brand new crates on the Walmart website for $1.00 each. She uses these for her business to store inventory. She has been slowly adding more to her business over the years via yard sales and thrift stores, but found a great price on the Walmart website and was able to stock up on them
Question of the Week
Have you gotten your flu shot yet? I received mine on Thursday and thanks to Insurance did not have to pay for it. 
Avoiding Spending
It’s harder to avoid spending during this time of year since I’ve been Christmas shopping this week. 
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
Used up all leftovers to avoid food waste. Stopped in at the bread outlet for bread nd hamburger buns. 
Food City had a good sale last week on canned vegetables and ground beef. If you bought $25 worth of store brand products they would sell you ten pounds of ground chuck for $1.99 a pound. 
They had petite diced tomatoes, corn, and green beans on sale for 59 cents per can with a limit of 12, so I bought twelve each of all three of those. 
I also bought the five for $19.99 meat special. Each item works out to $4.00 with this deal. I bought sausage in the 21 ounce package for that price while $4.00 is the going rate for one pound of sausage these days, this will give us five extra ounces for the same price. 
I picked up a marked down package of apples and one of potatoes while I was in Food City too. 
One way Frugal Queen is saving money in her kitchen is buying food for all three meals each day for the month before she buys anything else and then if there is any money left she might snacks with that money. We do two meals per day here, which include brunch and then dinner. 
Meals This Week
HamburgersTacosLeftovers plus cucumber tomato salad, grapes and broccoli Pork, Carrots, Potatoes, Corn on the CobPigs in a BlanketBaked Beans, Roasted Potatoes, BroccoliChicken, Roasted Potatoes, Corn
Recipe of the Week
This is a recipe for a small shell to fill with either sweet or savory contents. I’ve used it for tuna pate and for blueberry cheesecakes. It’s a good recipe to use with the holidays coming up and much cheaper than any you can buy in the store. 
Cream Cheese Shells
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened1 three ounce package cream cheese1 cup all purpose flour (do not use self rising)
Directions:
Combine butter and cream cheese, mixing well until smooth.Add flour and mix well.Chill for one hour. Shape dough into one inch balls.Place each in a well greased miniature muffin tin. Shape each one up the sides of the muffin tin. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.Allow to cool before filling.
What I've been Reading This Week
65 Things You (Probably) Shouldn’t Pay For

Thank you for dropping by my frugal blog, you are always welcome here. 
We would love to hear all about your week in the comment section.
BelindaMortgage & Debt Free~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree