Menu Plan Monday ~ Saving Money in My Frugal Kitchen ~ First Week of June 2026

Welcome to Frugal Workshop where every Monday I share the simple strategies used to save money in my kitchen over the past week, along with the meals that made it to our dinner table. You'll find practical tips on how we saved money on food hopefully to inspire your own meal planning using the foods you have in your own pantry.

Use It Up Item Of The Week

I made chili this past week, so I was able to use up two cans of tomatoes and two cans of beans from my pantry. 

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ Leftovers

We have a choice of Beefy Baked Beans or Egg Roll in a Bowl from the weekend, so we will use those up, get a "free" dinner out of them and not waste any food. This was served this with roasted sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli. 

Tuesday ~ Movie Night for Bailey who had a spicy chickens sandwich while I had macaroni and cheese. 

Wednesday & Friday ~ Homemade Chili

Using another pound of ground turkey (79 cents/pound) from the freezer, I made chili for dinner. I grated up three onions, garlic, and a zucchini, so it had a lot of vegetables and fiber in it, making it a healthy option. The zucchini made it taste sweet, which we really liked. 

Thursday ~ Spicy Chicken Sandwiches  

It was a long day with a trip to Chattanooga and the aquarium and then coming home to the neighbors working on the tree, so I jumped into help with what I could do too. So dinner was easy with spicy chicken sandwiches for Bailey and just regular chicken for me. 

Saturday ~ BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

My blood sugar was all over the place this day, so I made an easy dinner and didn't go get free vegetables because I was unsteady. I'll go on Monday when they're open again. 

Sunday ~ Salmon Patties, Caramelized Sweet Potatoes, and Steamed Broccoli. 

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

Did you build up or organize your pantry this week?  

How are you managing food prices? 

We would love to hear all about it in the comment section. 

Belinda

Homemaker at Heart

~ Living within our Means ~Frugal Workshop Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27

Image Credit

Fifth & Final Frugal Friday of May 2026

Welcome to Frugal Friday
Each Friday here at Frugal Workshop, I love sharing the frugal wins, quiet savings, and simple strategies that helped us stretch our budget over the past seven days. It’s a gentle look back at the small things that make a big difference. 
My Frugal Week

We had bad thunderstorms last Thursday evening and when Bailey went to leave for book club on Friday evening, she couldn’t get out because a tree had fallen across the driveway. So, I called our neighbor and he came right over to help clear it and Bailey made it to her book climb with minutes to spare. 
On Sunday she baked him a chocolate cake to thank him for helping her with this. 

This is me in my hot pink compression socks helping to clear up the brush, so Bailey could get to book club on time. 
Than, the very next day, Saturday, another tree fell further down the driveway! We warned the people coming on Sunday to be careful. 

On Thursday another neighbor and friends came to cut the tree down and move it out of the driveway. 

Last Sunday we had a relator come and look at the house, Spectrum came and installed fiber internet, and I was expecting my neighbor to come and help with the tree, but then it started to rain again, so that had to wait. Instead I measured and packaged over fifty items for Bailey's online shops. 

The realtor made us an offer on the house, which I immediately turned down as it was well below our agreed upon initial offer. My brother and sister were disappointed and tried negotiating with him, but they are also in agreement with me over the realtor’s low ball offer. 

One day I was walking in the yard picking up fallen tree branches and throwing them into the woods when I picked up one and this snake was hiding under it. This is a small, harmless gray snake, but I won't be doing this again until the cold winter weather comes again because we have poisonous snakes here too. 
I was able to get a big majority of the yard weed eating this week. I also moved the picnic table to a better spot in the jar. I took all my canning jars from upstairs and put them in the cabinet downstairs. I think in the future I will fill some of them with water to store downstairs. 
With rain on both yard sales days last weekend we decided to stay home. Being a holiday weekend also has an impact on the number of sales we've noticed over the years. 
Other frugal things this week include...
- Received a check from Adsense for $119.56 for four months of blog revenue- I made a deal with my garbage man to barter some of Dad's machinery in exchange for garbage service, lawn mowing, and repairing some things around here.- I made my own hummingbird nectar using 1 cup water to 1/4 cup of sugar. 
The Great Cleanup
Last Friday before the garbage men came, I went downstairs and filled a contractor bag with trash for them to haul off with our household garbage. If someone asks me how I got rid of my Dad's hoard, I can tell them "one bag at a time". LOL 
Freebies
- Free vegetables on Saturday from PHO & Mennonites- Ten pound bag of King Arthur bread flower from my friend
Saving on Electric
I’ve been running my bedroom air conditioner on the eco setting to save on electric when I do have it turned on. 
Photo of the Week
With the higher costs these days I find myself having to make changes,  learn new skills, think of things in a different way, and sometimes learn to make do because of the cost of items these days. 

This week I began saving the cans from when I open a can from our pantry. I used to do this and can’t recall why I quit doing this, but the scrap yard will pay me for the metal. And since we are recycling the metal downstairs I might as well add this into the mix. Throwing these away would be like throwing money away. 
Savings of the Week
On Tuesday I had some errands to run in town and went to a new thrift store that opened recently. I feel like I hit the motherload as the "pantry" items were 50% off.  
They had Swanson's wonton broth priced at $1.50, so 75 cents for those and I bought ten of them. 

Then they had cans of pasta sauce priced at 25 cents each or four for $1.00, or twelve for $2.00, so after the 50% off, so I bought 24 cans for $2.00. I love finding new sources of inexpensive food for our pantry. 

I bought these boots in my size there for $5.00. They were marked $20, but everything was 50% off, but when I went to pay them for them she said she was only going to charge me $5.00, which was great!
Saving Money YouTube Videos
Roll Into Retirement is the YouTube channel of a middle class Gen X husband and dad over 55 waiting on his wife to retire. His mother is a 92-year-old grandma named Joan who shares frugal tips and budget meal preps. I've watched several of her videos and it is hard to believe she is 92. I hope to get around that well when I am lucky enough to make it 92. 
She lives on social security in a small house in her son's backyard. Her story is sad as she used to live in an upscale retirement home, but was evicted when she was 80 because her other son, who was an investment counselor, invested all her resources and lost everything. She didn't find out until after he died that everything was gone.  
Saving Money on Entertainment

On Thursday we went to the Tennessee aquarium in Chattanooga to use the free tickets I won a few months ago. Here is a picture of Bailey and the alligators and her with the penguins. 

We had the best time! I think my favorite spot was the butterfly garden and I even had a big butterfly land on me there. It was so neat. 
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.

Belinda 🫶 💕 Homemaker at Heart 💕 ~ 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 ~ Fourth & Final Week of May 2026

 

Welcome to Frugal Workshop where every Monday I share the simple strategies used to save money in my kitchen over the past week, along with the meals that made it to our dinner table. You'll find practical tips on how we saved money on food hopefully to inspire your own meal planning using the foods you have in your own pantry.

Today is Memorial Day, when we pause and honor the brave men and women who gave their lives while serving our country. We remember those who never made it home, and we hold close the families who continue to carry that loss every day. The freedoms we enjoy today were made possible through their sacrifice, and on this day, we gratefully remember those who gave everything for our nation. 

My Frugal Week

Monday I was walking through the yard in Dad's old garden spot and and found two strawberries and about a cupful of sugar snap peas. I washed them and served them with our dinner that night. 

On Friday I boiled two and a half dozen eggs to have in the fridge for lunches, snacks, and deviled eggs. 

I peeled and sectioned the last five oranges in the refrigerator and put them back in a container for eating as well. Remember I bought five bags at the beginning of the month? They've been great to have on hand to eat this month. 

I took inventory of the meat I have in the freezer and made notes about meals for the upcoming week. 

I've been reading online about how expensive it is to eat out these days and read a comment from someone who bought three burgers, one fry, and a drink from Five Guys and spent $46.75 on the meal. Yikes!

And I've been reading articles like this one about groceries just had the biggest hike in years, rising 2.9% in April. Bad growing weather, tariffs, and rising fuel prices have all contributed to the huge changes.

One thing we can do to combat the high grocery prices is to eat healthy foods that are less expensive than others such as eggs and cottage cheese to make meals. Quiche, with no crust for those who are low carb, is a good meal and can be made inexpensively.  

Pictured above is a photo of the vegetables I picked up for free on Saturday night. 

Choices included:

Greens

Lettuce

Beets, red and golden

Zucchini

Cauliflower

Broccoli

Squash

Cucumbers

This is such a great resource and really helps lower my grocery budget through the week. 

Recipe of the Week

I was reading the other day about Julia Child's Magic Quiche ratio. You can read about it here or do a Google search. 

Magic Quiche Equation

Crack 3 eggs into a measuring cup.

Add enough milk to reach 1 ½ cups of liquid total.

(eggs vary in size, so adjust as needed).

Add whatever fillings you like such as cheese, veggies, ham, or whatever else you have on hand. 

I've been wanting a hamburger lately, so I stopped at Food City while I was out running errands the other day and found this package on markdown:

The package was just over one pound for $5.77, which is so much cheaper than eating out and why we refrain from eating out as much as we do. I also used my new bottle of Weber's Gourmet Burger seasoning, which I picked up brand new in bulk at a yard sale recently. 

Use It Up Item Of The Week

This would be the package of fish my friend gave me. I don’t like to keep fish in my freezer, so using it up gave us a free dinner this week. 

Savings of the Week

Walmart has raised the price of their three pound bag of Gala apples from $2.97 to $4.27, which is an increase of $1.30! Aldi has the three pound bag of Galas for $2.99, so I will get them from Aldi for the time being. 

Photo of the Week

This is a jar of the fennel and dill that I dehydrated after picking these up from PHP & Mennonites for free. Those are my birthday flowers from Publix in the photo too.

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ Grilled Chicken, Brussel Sprouts, Kale Salad. 

Tuesday ~ Movie Night for Bailey who had the last of the BBQ Chicken, and I had a serving of chicken salad on top of a bed of lettuce and tomatoes, which was refreshing. 

Wednesday ~ Mediterranean Baked Fish, Steamed Carrots, and Radishes. 

A friend of ours gave us a bag of frozen fish because they don't eat fish, so I made it for dinner on Wednesday. I marinated the fish in a little bit of EVOO, lemon juice, and spices before baking. I also included the last of the brussel sprouts from Tuesday on my plate along with a few grape tomatoes. 

Thursday ~ Grilled Chicken, Steamed Carrots, Roasted Broccoli. 

Friday ~ Bailey had book club, so it was every man for his self for dinner. I made Bailey an egg salad since I’d boiled all those eggs, using blended cottage cheese instead of mayonnaise. She had orange slices to go with it.

I made an individual enchilada bake for myself. But, when I went to make it, I realized I was out of canned enchilada sauce in my pantry. No worries though, I took one of the cans of tomato sauce,  bought at a yard sale last summer for 25 cents, and added a packet of chili season, which worked. Necessity being the Mother of invention and all that. 

Saturday ~ Egg Roll in a Bowl

I used the Napa cabbage from the Mennonites and chopped it up with an onion for this dinner. I like this type of dinner because I can also use it to "clean out the fridge", so I added some chopped peppers, onions, a bag of frozen stir fry, a package of stir fry rice seasoning, toasted sesame oil, and soy sauce. 

Sunday ~ Beefy Baked Beans, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, and Steamed Broccoli. 

This was such an inexpensive meal since the sweet potatoes and broccoli were free, and the beef was actually ground turkey bought at UGO when it was $1.00 per pound. 

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

Did you build up or organize your pantry this week?  

How are you managing food prices? 

We would love to hear all about it in the comment section. 

Belinda

Homemaker at Heart

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

Image Credit

Fourth Frugal Friday of May 2026

Welcome to Frugal Friday

Each Friday here at Frugal Workshop, I love sharing the frugal wins, quiet savings, and simple strategies that helped us stretch our budget over the past seven days. It’s a gentle look back at the small things that make a big difference. 

Making good use of our resources, making do and being content with what we have, hanging up laundry to dry, planning meals in our own kitchen, none of these things are huge on their own. But together, they can make a big difference. These small, steady, thoughtful habits help us fight inflation, stretch our budget, live well, spend less, and stay debt free, which is the frugal way we live our lives. 

My Frugal Week
This week on Monday I went for my two year DEXA scan to check the status of my osteoporosis. My left femur stayed the same since my last scan two years ago while my right femur increased from -2.1 to -4.3, which represents a severe and significant progression from mildly low bone mass (osteopenia) to severe osteoporosis. 
On Monday evening UPS brought me a package, which turned out to be a new box of Advantage to replace the one I bought that was dried out. I also received a coupon for a free Eden product to replace the can of beans that went bad in our pantry. 
The Great Cleanup
On Wednesday I went downstairs to fill a contractor bag with trash since it was garbage day. This is an easier way for me to declutter the downstairs without spending all day going back and forth in my car to the convenience center to haul off trash. Both ways work for me, but it depends on how I’m feeling that day. 
There are two filing cabinets in the office that I cleaned out last year. On Wednesday I took a photo of them and listed them for free on Facebook Marketplace and those are both gone now. 
I realized there are more cabinets lining the ceiling that have stuff in them. ::sigh:: From my view on the ground it looks like there is much less stuff in those cabinets since they weren’t easily accessible. I will have to use a very tall ladder to clean them out if I do.
My brother and sister still want this house sold and are now willing to let everything downstairs sell with the house. I’m not there yet, but we may be selling and buying another home sooner rather than later to get out of this one with my brother and sister. I’ll keep you updated. 
Yard Sale Saturday
Some of the items I picked up at yard sales last week include a Chicago Hoodie $1.00, 

7 Pioneer Woman dish towels 50 cents each, 5 washcloths $1.00, and several cleaning supplies from an estate sale including Clean Freak, Nature’s Miracle, and a carpet cleaner. 
Freebies

This isn't the best photo but does show the ice cream and flowers I picked up from Publix for my birthday freebies on Monday. I picked up the cherry ice cream, which is delicious. 
Savings of the Week
This week I took advantage of a birthday gift from Bealls for 20% off any purchase.  I buy Skinny Syrups there to flavor our drinks. I picked up one cotton candy, two orange soda, and one cherry flavored, all sugar free. 
The cotton candy and cherry flavors were ones I’ve been wanting to try for a long time. The orange soda is one of Bailey’s favorite flavors, which is why I got two of them.
When I went to check out, I had a $5 reward on my account and was able to use both discounts, so I ended up only paying $12.78 for the four bottles. These are $7.99 each on the Skinny Syrup website, so this was a great deal. 
Turns out I LOVE the cotton candy flavor, so I’ll definitely be keeping this flavor in my pantry. 
Saving Money on Entertainment
My Netflix subscription has increased from $8.75 to $9.84 this month. I would let it go except Bailey watches it and we made a deal at the beginning of the year that she pays for Disney and Hulu and I pay for Netflix. 
My Reading Nook ~ What I've been Reading This Week
I’m taking a free course from the Fannie Mae website on the home buying process, reading up on osteoporosis, and reading for pleasure also. 
How was your week?Have you done any decluttering?Saved money? Gone to any yard sales?We’d love to hear about it in the comments. 

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.

Belinda 🫶 💕 Homemaker at Heart 💕 ~ Living within our Means ~Frugal Workshop Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27

Menu Plan Monday ~ Saving Money in My Frugal Kitchen ~ Third Week of May 2026

Welcome to Frugal Workshop where every Monday I share the simple strategies used to save money in my kitchen over the past week, along with the meals that made it to our dinner table. You'll find practical tips on how we saved money on food hopefully to inspire your own meal planning using the foods you have in your own pantry.

My Frugal Week

On Tuesday I went to Aldi to pick up some red peppers, and blueberries, both fresh and frozen. I also went to Gordon's to pick up a number ten can of black olives on sale for $9.99. 

On Saturday evening I went to People Helping People for free vegetables. This week's selection included more Napa cabbage, lettuce, kale, yellow squash, radishes, and fennel. Some of these things will be dehydrated like the dill and fennel, which is already in the dehydrator. 

Before coming home I stopped in at Food City as they had their 32 ounce bags of cheese on sale for $5 with a limit of two. I also picked up some bananas from the reduced produce rack. 

On Sunday I prepped the free produce to have with dinners this week. Washed and cut everything up and worked on dehydrating the dill and fennel to use later. 

Recipe Of The Week

Since I had the kale from the Mennonites, I decided to use it to make this massaged kale salad, ,which was a big hit with Bailey. 

Kale Salad

Ingredients:

1 to 2 bunches of kale 

Dressing Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup water

1/8 cup lime juice

2 cloves garlic

1 inch  fresh ginger

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons tamari 

6 pitted dates, soaked in water if not soft

kale, about two bunches

Directions: 

In a high-powered blender, combine all the dressing ingredients.

Process until smooth and creamy.

Remove the large, thick stems from the kale. 

Chop the kale leaves and place in a large bowl. 

Pour dressing over the kale.

Massage dressing into the kale with your hands. (I used gloves)

Refrigerate any unused dressing

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ Cheeseburgers

Tuesday ~ Grilled Chicken Salads

Wednesday & Thursday ~ Chicken Tacos

Friday ~ Chicken Enchiladas 

Saturday & Sunday ~ BBQ Chicken, Savoy Cabbage & Onions, and Caramelized Sweet Potatoes.

We finished the savoy cabbage and onions on Saturday night, so on Sunday I made the kale salad posted above as our vegetable. It’s a very different dish from what I grew up eating, but it’s pretty tasty. Bailey really liked it. 

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

Did you build up or organize your pantry this week?  

How are you managing food prices? 

We would love to hear all about it in the comment section. 

Belinda

Homemaker at Heart

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

Image Credit