First Frugal Friday of June 2023

Welcome to Friday! 
Quote of the Week

Kindness begins with the understanding that we all struggle.  

~ Charles F. Glassman

My Frugal Week
It’s been lovely spring weather here this week. I’ve opened the windows and let the house air out in the cool of the mornings. I haven’t had to use the air conditioner in my bedroom, which helps to save on the electric bill. 
Last Friday was laundry day, so I stripped my bed and washed all my bed clothes and put on a new set of Pioneer Women sheets on the bed. She sure does make some beautiful merchandise these days. Afterwards I washed what laundry I had and then folded mine and Bailey’s laundry and put mine away while Bailey put hers away. 
Last time I went to town I managed to step in something that messed up my shoes and they needed to be cleaned thoroughly, so I put them in the washing machine and then later the dryer. They came out neat and squeaky clean. 
We sent a birthday card to a very dear friend in Florida who turned 85 on Sunday. She was the girlfriend of Bailey’s grandfather who passed away in 2014. She doesn’t need or want for anything in life, so a handwritten card is perfect for her birthday. She is the epitome of frugality and I’ll have to write a blog post about her sometime. 
Bailey shopped the local thrift store’s buggy sale where you can buy a cart full of items for $20. She loaded up on clothes for her online shops. In order to get the most bang for her buck she will pick up what she wants to buy and then add additional clothing items to fill the shopping cart completely. 
The additional clothing items are then sent to ThredUp where they will hopefully be sold and then a check sent to her share of the money.  She will also look for free clothing at yard sales to add to her ThredUp boxes.  It’s a good way to make some extra money without too much involvement on her part. 
This week I tackled the back porch. In the winter time we line the back porch with big cardboard boxes to keep the wind off the cats since they live outdoors. In the spring time those are taken down and put away until next winter. 
I moved all the cat “furniture”, swept it all off, and then swept the porch really good and set everything back into place. I also took some hot soapy bleach water and scrubbed several sections that needed cleaning. 
On Tuesday I saw where the Habitat for Humanity store was having a fill a bag for $5 sale, so Bailey went and found several items we needed. She also stumbled across a yard sale. She picked me up a hair dryer, new boxes of wipes and gloves, and a new quilt for my bed. All things that I had on my needs list. I love the second hand market as it saves us so much money. 
This Week’s To Do List
Anything crossed off has been completed. 
Daily Kitchen TasksRefill Disinfectant Spray BottlesLaundryClean House Clean & Sanitize Zero Water FilterScrub Back PorchFinish June 2023 BudgetPeruse Grocery Store Sale Ads & Make Grocery List of Sale Items
Freebies
Earlier this month my Insurance company sent me a free $50 gift card to Walmart as an incentive to get my yearly physical done, which I had done in February. I filled up my gas tank with it and then spent the rest on groceries. 
Question of the Week
When I was growing up in the 1970s we called shoes that appeared to be athletic, tennis shoes. 
After doing a little reading on the subject now I’m wondering if this is another southern term I learned from my parents since they both were born in the south. There is definitely a lot to read on this subject in a Google search of the topic. 
I don’t know if young people still call them that, but I still use that name. How about you? We also called them gym shoes or sneakers. 
Avoiding Spending
We couldn’t avoid spending money this week this week as I needed to fill up my car with gas for a doctors appointment on Thursday. Then the cats ran out of cat food because something else has been eating their food throughout the day. 
It could be a number of different animals as we’ve seen the neighbor’s cat, two dogs, and a fox here this week, so I’ve only been putting a little bit out at a time, but we ran out on Tuesday, so I ordered a bag from Sam’s Club via Instacart. ($20 off your first order link)

Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
My kitchen is a working kitchen with a working pantry. It’s not meant to be a showplace, but rather the heart of our home where I make food to nourish my family. 
Since it’s near the end of the month and our meat supply is lower and dried bean supply is high, we’ve been eating plenty of beans this week. We’ve had soup beans (great northern) and October beans (aka cranberry beans, my favorite) this week, and Bailey put in a request for 15 Bean Cajun beans, so I’ll be making those soon. 
I used my last very ripe banana and some not very sweet blackberries to make us smoothies for breakfast one day. I added some spinach that I stuck in the freezer from a fresh bag from our produce drawer.  #useitup #nofoodwaste
We had a ham in the freezer that I took out one day, thawed, and then ground it up in my food processor and made pinwheels with it for dinner one night. I also used the ham to make a Fluffy Baked Omelet for dinner one night, and added some of it to eggs for breakfast one day. 
I made lentil tacos on Tuesday for Taco Tuesday. I had and used a bag of sprouted lentils that a friend gave to me recently. I also used up the last of the salsa we saved from our takeout order of Mexican food earlier in May. #useitup
I made my own taco seasoning mix this week. I have a recipe in the recipe section located here if you’re interested. I like making my own as that way I can control the ingredients that go into the mix. I don’t like anything spicy hot, so I leave out red pepper flakes and I can control how much salt is added. 

Making your own seasoning blends will save you money in your kitchen too. I use the Great Value spices (at least the ones they have) that cost $1.00 at Walmart as those save me the most money. I refill my bigger spice bottles with those. 
This weekend I will be making a grocery shopping trip to restock my pantry for the month. Fewer things are bought at the grocery store these days due to low supply and higher prices. We rely a lot on what food we already have here in our home, which I suspect many of you are doing as well. 
We continue to live a paper towel free life here and have for many years. Instead we use cloth napkins, dish clothes and towels, and then cleaning rags for cleaning. 
Meals This Week
Breakfasts
Cottage Cheese & OrangesScrambled Eggs & ToastFruit SmoothiesScrambled Eggs with Ham
Dinners
Soup Beans & Cornbread. 
Salmon Patties, Roasted Potatoes, Green Beans with Onions.
Mexican Pinwheels, October Beans, Red Onions. 
Ricotta Bake, Green Beans with Onions, Salad. (We were not fans of this dish as the ricotta had been frozen, which changed the texture. So, I broke out the makings for tuna salad and we had that to finish off our dinner.)
Lentil Tacos with choice of  lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, and cheese.
Taco Chicken Rollups (instead of White Chicken Enchiladas) ~ I made these out of canned chicken from my pantry, sour cream, taco sauce, taco seasoning mix, cheddar cheese, onion powder, minced onion, and one can of diced green chilies. Then I scooped some onto tortillas and air fried for a few minutes to melt the cheese. Served with spoon bread and green peas. 
Fluffy Baked Omelet, Green Peas, Spoon Bread
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Recipe of the Week
Plain flavored yogurt can be non-satiating because it has no flavor, so here is a way to change that and make it taste delicious. 
Back when I was growing up, jello salads often graced our holiday tables. Those were often made with cream cheese or sour cream and can be calorie laden. Using plain yogurt is healthier and lowers the calorie content of these recipes. 
The first time I tried this it was so creamy and reminded me of those jello salads. I’m going to add some canned mandarin oranges and or nuts next time and attempt to duplicate those holiday recipes from the past. 

Jello Flavored Yogurt

Ingredients:

1 box sugar free Jello, any flavor (I’ve used Great Value Black Cherry, and Peach which were both good)

1 cup water

1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt

Directions:

Heat water to boiling and add jello packet. 

Stir or whisk until jello is dissolved. 

Add in one cup of yogurt and stir until combined.

Refrigerate and allow mixture to set up like jello. 

Saving Money YouTube Videos
Whippoorwill Holler is a favorite YouTube channel of mine. In this video she talks about her workable, sustainable pantry. 

Saving on Entertainment
I’ve added several blogs to my blog reading list (in the right sidebar) this week if you’re interested in checking out some new blogs. There are some really good writers out there for us to enjoy all for free. 💕 
Sometimes people stop writing their blogs for various reasons, but sometimes I  leave them on my reading list especially those that I consider to be fountains of knowledge. 
What I've been Reading This Week
The Virginia Housewife by Mary Randolph
30 Easy Ways to Save Money on Food that will Save you Hundreds
Consumers Cut Discretionary Spending to Afford Essential Spending ~ Bailey and I have suspected this for some time now as we’ve noticed a slow down in people buying clothes from her online shops. We feel as if people are having to spend more of their money on essentials and do not have the extra money for non-essentials like they have had in the past. 
It’s a Good Time to Shorten Food Supply Chains ~ one way we shorten our food supply chain is by keeping chickens. Gathering them from our chicken coop definitely shortens our supply chain. Gardening is another great way to shorten your food supply chain. What ways do you shorten your food supply chain?

Thank you for dropping by my frugal blog, you are always welcome here. 
I’m thankful for the inspiration and encouragement I gather here & hopeall of my readers have a wonderful week. 

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

Menu Plan Monday

Good Monday morning! 
We are at the end of the month/groceries from our last monthly shop, so this is the time of the month to get creative. 
Here is a list of meals I came up with for this week. 
If you’re interested, come back on Friday to read about the side dishes I served with each meal. 
Until then, I hope you have a wonderful week. 

Baked Ricotta Bowls

Soup Beans & Cornbread

Salmon Patties

Fluffy Baked Omelet

White Chicken Enchiladas

Chef AJ’s Lentil Tacos

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

Fourth Frugal Friday of May 2023

Welcome to Friday! 
My Frugal Week
On Monday I had an appointment with my retina specialist and received another injection in my eye. He told me the swelling was worse than it was six weeks ago and has me coming back in four weeks for a new medication injection in that eye. 
Other than that I’ve spent this week at home, not spending any money. I did some steaming and processing for Bailey and did a lot of cleaning, but other than it’s been a quiet week here. 
I cut open my favorite lemon toothpaste tube to get the last little bit out of the tube before tossing it. 
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
On Tuesday I deep cleaned my kitchen sink area scrubbing the top and bottom of my dish drainer, the counter top, behind the sink, the faucet and the wall behind the sink. I love how clean it looks after a thorough scrubbing. 
I made several items that day also such as more jello fruit cups, two dozen boiled eggs, soup beans, cut up two melons, and made some banana pudding. Except for apple sauce, I was out of canned fruit for the jello cups, so I used fresh clementines instead. 
Meals This Week
All meals are served with either salad or vegetables and may not always be listed here. 
* If you see a dinner in bold print that means we had it more than once this week.
Lunches:
Chicken and Olive Spread
Dinners:
Hamburgers, Roasted Potatoes, Corn on the Cob. Grilled Chicken, Green Salad, Roasted Potatoes. Hawaiian Chicken Thighs, Scalloped Potatoes, Broccoli. Same as Tuesday, but added Green Beans with onions as the vegetable. Broccoli Cheese Soup
Recipe of the Week
Banana Cheesecake Pudding
This is an easy recipe for banana cheesecake pudding using cottage cheese. 
There are four tablespoons in the small box of the sugar free pudding mixes and this recipe calls for two, so you can either save the other half for  another day or double the recipe. 
There are twelve grams of protein in the cottage cheese, so much more protein than if you were to use milk in this recipe. 
Ingredients:
2 bananas1/2 cup cottage cheese2 Tablespoons sugar free cheesecake flavored Jello
Directions:
Add ingredients to food processor. Pulse and then process until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate until chilled and ready to eat. 
Saving Money YouTube Videos
Saving on Entertainment
We’ve been watching Gilmore Girls lately as it’s been several years since we’ve watched it. We have all of the DVDs, traded for at McKay Used Books over the years. Based in the fictional town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut, it is home to Lorelei and Rory Gilmore, a mother daughter team figuring their way through life with a lot of witty banter thrown into the mix. 

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
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27

Third Frugal Friday of May 2023

Welcome to Friday! 
My Frugal Week
Rather than throwing them away, we’ve been feeding some of our food scraps to the chickens, and they love them! Tomato ends and strawberry tops are some of their favorite scraps. So far we’ve collected 156 eggs from them. 
Bailey set up a Mother’s Day tea for both of us this past Sunday. She made tomato sandwiches, strawberries, and cheese spread with hummus crackers. I had blueberry tea and then an orange roobios tea from Trader Joe’s. It was such a nice and relaxing way to spend part of the day. 
On Tuesday I went to town to run a few errands and went to Walmart to buy a few groceries. 
Photo of the Week

Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
One way I saved money in the kitchen this week was by using up some leftovers to make chili for lunch one day. 
One leftover hamburger became the inspiration for this lunch. Other leftovers from the fridge included part of a diced onion, one corn on the cob, some salsa and queso left from the Mexican restaurant. From the pantry I added one can of fire roasted tomatoes and a can of kidney beans along with some spices. 
This not only fed us for lunch that day, but also for dinner and lunch the next day. It was a real money stretcher. 
Meals This Week
All meals are served with either salad or vegetables and may not always be listed here. 
* If you see a dinner in bold print that means we had it more than once this week.
Chicken Fajitas, Mexican Rice, Salad. Grilled Steak, Butter & Herb Rice, Green Beans with Onions, Sliced Oranges.Hamburgers with Cheese, Tomatoes, Red Onions, Tater Tots, Corn on the Cob. Meatballs in Brown Gravy, Soup Beans, Roasted Vegetables. Veered off menu to use up some leftovers, so dinner was BBQ Pork, Roasted Vegetables, Soup Beans, Corn on the Cob, and Cucumber Salad. Chili, Corn on the Cob, along with a salad. 
What I've been Reading This Week
Arena Strength Body Bands Workout Guide

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
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27

Menu Plan Monday

Chicken Fajitas, Mexican Rice, Cauliflower

Salmon, Brown Rice, Spinach

Vegetable Fried Rice with Egg Rolls

Scalloped Potatoes with Ham, Green Peas

Hamburgers, Tater Tots, Corn on the Cob

Meatballs in Brown Gravy, Roasted Potatoes, Green Beans with Onions

Tacos Salads

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