Menu Plan Monday ~ Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen ~ First Monday November 2024

My Frugal Week

We had multiple four ounce peach cups in our freezer that we were not eating, so I decided to put them in my ice water to flavor it and keep it cold. 

What we did not eat of the Chicken Enchilada Soup was put into individual bowls and put in the freezer for future meals. 

I emptied two jars of bought on markdown bread and butter pickles into my Tupperware Pick-a-Deli container and washed the jars to save for later. 

I straightened up my freezer one day this week putting all the frozen fruit together. I have so many strawberries on hand that I might make some strawberry jelly for Christmas. 

We washed & folded our kitchen laundry over the weekend. This saves us a great deal of money each month.

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ Chicken Enchilada Soup & Cornbread. 

Tuesday ~ Homemade Pepperoni & Black Olive Pizza.

Wednesday ~ I had no meat thawed for today, so decided on Salmon Patties with roasted potatoes and green beans and onions. 

Thursday ~ BBQ Pork Chops, Hot Potato Salad, and Green Beans with Onions. I used up the last of a bottle of BBQ sauce and then rinsed the bottle out and put the dregs of it in the crockpot with the porkchops. 

Friday ~ Sausage & Vegetable Stir Fry, Hot Potato Salad, and Corn. 

Saturday ~ Homemade Chicken Nuggets, Butter Beans, Peas & Carrots.

Souper Sunday ~ Broccoli & Cheese Soup, Cornbread.

What’s been on the menu in your home this past week?

Belinda

Homemaker at Heart

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

First Frugal Friday of November 2024

 Welcome to Frugal Friday! 

My Frugal Week
We went to Joann Fabrics last week to pick up a few things and to use our 60% off coupon. I was surprised at some of the prices on things like Batting and Mod Podge. Seems like crafting has become a rather expensive hobby like many other things in this economy. 
I’ll be making some large casserole hot pads for Christmas presents and I want to make sure I have enough supplies on hand. The last time I gave them out for Christmas they were a huge hit.
This will be a short Frugal Friday post as I have a doctor appointment this morning. I’ve stayed home all week working on projects here and keeping the house running smoothly. 
I perused the grocery store sale ads online not finding anything to write home about. 
How was your week?

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.

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

Menu Plan Monday ~ Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen

 

My Frugal Week

On Monday I stopped in at Gordon’s for a curbside pickup of black olives. I find their prices to be rather high lately except for the black olives, so I removed the temptation of impulse shopping. 

On Sunday I made six gelatin and fruit cups using orange gelatin and mandarin oranges. I also made a Chicken Tortilla Soup for dinner using up several cans of food from the pantry  such as corn, beans, and tomatoes. I also used up several items from the fridge such as the lingering bowls of red peppers, tomatoes, and black olives.  

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ Teriyaki Chicken, Fried Rice, Stir Fried Vegetables of Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots, and Zucchini. 

Tuesday ~ Baked Potatoes with Cheese, Tomatoes, & Black Olives. 

Wednesday ~ Chicken Fajitas, Red Peppers, Onions, Romaine Lettuce, Corn, Flour or Corn Tortillas. 

Thursday ~ Baked Potatoes with Cheese & Black Olives.

Friday ~ Mexican Grilled Chicken, Chopped Tomatoes, Salad. 

Saturday ~ Grilled Chicken Burrito Bowls. 

Souper Sunday ~ Chicken Tortilla Soup

What’s been on the menu in your home this past week?

Belinda

Homemaker at Heart

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

Fourth Frugal Friday of October 2024

 

Welcome to Frugal Friday! 
My Frugal Week
I sold two items on eBay this week. 
I measured & processed clothes for Bailey this week.
I mended a pair of pants that had a hole in the seam.

This is a three day snapshot of our electric usage from last week. 17.60 kWh on Saturday is pretty low and I'm tickled with that. I would love to have more days like that, but running the washer or the air conditioner runs the bill higher. Not running the air and wearing clothes more than once helps save money. 
Bailey was gone over the weekend to a friend's home and thrifting while I stayed home. I decided to get busy using up the many apples we have here and started by adding them to my crockpot on Saturday morning. 
By Sunday afternoon they were turned into six half pint jars of homemade apple butter. The only cost to me was for the lids as both the apples and jars were gifted to me at various times. 

The slow cooked apple butter made the whole house smell good and reminds me of Fall. This is just the beginning of some Christmas presents I'll be making this year. 
I had an appointment with my diabetes doctor on Monday. My last A1C was 4.9, which is good, but we discussed my having low blood sugars lately.
Afterwards, I went to Gordon for a curbside order of black olives. I have found their prices have gotten high lately, but the black olives are still a good savings for my household. Plus there is no impulse shopping by not going into the store. 
I also stopped in at Whole Foods & Walmart for a few things. 

Walmart has their peppermint Soft Soap right now for $1.00, so I bought twelve of them for my gift closet. They will make a nice Christmas gift paired with something homemade. 

I also found two boxes of Post-It Notes on clearance for $1.50 or 30 cents each. These are going into my gift closet too. I'll be making Post-It note covers for these like the ones in this photo:

Ideas for Scrapbookers

I also have some magnets I could glue to the back for people to put them on their refrigerators too. Some of those designs even have a space for a pen or pencil. 
Speaking of Christmas, I looked on eBay to see if I could find an asked for gift lower in cost than the retail version of it, which I did and the seller had a "make an offer" button, so I used that he made a counteroffer and in the end I saved $8 off his original asking price. It doesn't hurt to ask. I have another gift I’m waiting to hear back on after submitting an offer. 
As I mentioned before, Bailey spent the weekend with a friend in Oak Ridge and they went to six different thrift stores. She is always so thoughtful and looks for clothes for me that she thinks I can wear. 
I was just telling her last week that I need a pair of fingerless gloves to keep my hand warms as cold weather approaches and look what she found:

She also picked me up six new to me shirts and two pairs of pants. 

My old Swing-A-Way can opener has been giving me a lot of trouble lately even after trying to repair it after watching a You Tube video. I was having a lot of trouble opening some cans even having to pry the lids off some of them, so I knew it needed to be replaced. 
So, I've been doing my research and looking for old new stock Swing-A-Way on eBay, and finally decided on the EZ DUZ IT Can Opener, which sells for $9.95. I've had it for about a month now and it works great. I thought I would mention it just in case you might be in need of a new can opener. 
Saving Money on Entertainment
The Magic of Ordinary Days is an older Hallmark film from 2005 about a pregnant out of wedlock, educated young woman who is pressured by her father into an arranged marriage with a lonely farmer during WWII. The characters are very gentle with one another, which I found refreshing. 
Amazon Prime wanted $4.29 to rent this film, even though I am an Amazon Prime member, so rather than pay that amount, I watched it for free on Plex TV. 
What I've been Reading This Week
Bailey just finished reading Set Boundaries, Find Peace ~ a guide to reclaiming yourself by Nedra Glover Tawwab, so she gave it to me to read. 

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.

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

Menu Plan Monday ~ Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen

My Frugal Week

I've used up all of the soups I had in my freezer for lunches, so I made another batch this week. My favorite soup has been the Chicken Tortilla soup, so I made another batch of that on Tuesday. 

Last Monday I had a grocery delivery order from Walmart. As you know, Thursday was Bailey's birthday, so I ordered ice cream and frozen strawberries to accompany her birthday cake. 

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ Chicken Taco Salad Bowls. 

Taco Tuesday ~ I had a late to me eye doc appointment at 2:40, so dinner was Italian subs we picked up from the deli at Publix and were delicious. It's so nice to have as a treat every now and then. 

Wednesday ~ Grilled Chicken Salads. 

Thursday ~ Bailey's actual birthday and she wanted to eat at her favorite Chinese Buffet.

Friday ~ Pizza 

Saturday ~ Bailey was out of town with a friend and so I made myself an Air Fried Chicken and added it to my Salad.

Sunday ~ Still on my own, so Homemade Pizza was what I had a taste for on Sunday. 

What’s been on the menu in your home this past week?

Belinda

Homemaker at Heart

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