Monday & Tuesday Dinner, IGA Run

I made a run to IGA on Monday morning after dropping my daughter off at school. This is what I picked up that day:

 Cranberry Salad – 50¢ (Markdown in the Deli)

Siler Baby Lima Beans -1 pound - $1.49

Carrots – 1 pound – 99¢

2 cans Southgate Chili – $2.00

Lea & Perrins W-shire Sauce – $2.29

Pork Roast $3.91

Pork Roast $5.50

8 pounds potatoes - $2.49

After I came home,  I got busy putting dinner in my crockpots. I put the pork roast with some of the potatoes and carrots in my big crockpot and I put the dried Lima beans & water in the smaller crockpot. I served this with the leftover broccoli from Sunday night's dinner. Here is a picture of one of the dinner plates:

On Tuesday, I came home from work and made a stew out of the remains of the pork, potatoes, and carrots. I added the leftover corn and peas from Sunday night's dinner and we had pork stew for Tuesday's night dinner. 

I fed dinner to four people on Monday night, three people on Tuesday night, and lunch for two people the next day. So, out of this pork roast dinner I was able to make nine meals in all for approximately $1.42 per serving. That certainly beats the price of eating dinner or lunch out of the house. 

Here is a picture of the stew that I included in my lunch the next day:

Have you been stretching any of your meals lately? We would love to read all about it in the comment section. :)

Belinda
© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2012.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

Saving on Medicine

We have three allergy sufferers in our household, and all three of us take a daily allergy pill as a result.  

Pictured above is a package of Loratadine, which is an allergy medication, that I purchase at Sam's Club. This is a 400 count package of Loratadine and it sells for $13.50, which is a little less than four cents per pill/day. I used to buy this at Walmart, which sells the 120 count box below for $13.42 or eleven cents per pill/day. 

I save money by buying this product at Sam's club verses buying it at Walmart or even having a monthly prescription for $4.00. 

Let's look at the savings:

Sam's Club: 4¢ per day equals  $14.60 per year multiplied by three people equals $43.80

Walmart: 11¢ per day equals $40.15 per year multiplied by three people equals $120.45

Monthly RX: 13¢ per day equals $4.00 per year multiplied by three people equals $144.00

Therefore, buying this product at Sam's Club verses Walmart or a monthly prescription saves me $ 76.65 or $100.20 a year, which more than pays for our $40 yearly Sam's Club membership. 

This is just another example of how we save money at the Frugal Workshop and why we enjoy our Sam's Club membership.

Belinda
© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2012.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

Sunday Dinner: Meatloaf

There are a lot of recipes out there for meatloaf and this is how I make mine. You can tell from the photo I took yesterday that I was using up the last of two different bottles of ketchup. I had a new bottle of hand, but I wanted to use these up before I opened the new bottle. 

I start by cutting up the green peppers and onion:

Then, using my food processor, I make crumbs out of the saltine crackers:

 Today, I used eggs fresh from our chickens:

Afterwards, I mix all the ingredients together in one of my big bowls and then shape this into a loaf in the crockpot. This is the finished product:

 
 Here is a breakdown of the recipe:

Meat Loaf

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef
1 to 2 packages saltine crackers
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup milk
2 large eggs
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped
Worcestershire sauce - just a splash
Salt & Pepper 

Dad brought us a huge head of fresh broccoli from the Flea market that he picked up for $1.00. I wish I had taken a picture of it because it was big! So, I served the meatloaf with steamed broccoli, corn, and peas. 

What did you have for Sunday Dinner?

Belinda
© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2012.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

Thanksgiving Day Recipe Series ~ Cornbread Dressing

Image Credit

Cornbread Dressing

Ingredients:

2 pans cornbread
2 - 14 ounce packages Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Stuffing Mix
1 bunch celery
1 onion
2 sticks butter
2 packages onion soup mix
12 cups chicken broth - can use 3 boxes (32 ounces each) or  6 cans (15.5 ounces) 
Sage

Directions:

I start making dressing by baking two pans of cornbread. I make my cornbread by adding four cups of cornmeal to three to four cups of buttermilk and then baking that in a 375 degree oven for approximately 40 minutes. I don't use the cornbread mixes, but use 100% cornmeal as I do not care for the flour mixed in with my cornbread. 

Cornbread (Makes one pan, double to make two pans for dressing)

Ingredients:

2 cups white cornmeal

1 & 1/2 cups buttermilk

1 large egg

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Pam type spray to coat pan

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place oil in your cooking vessel and place in oven to heat for a few minutes.

Place cornmeal, buttermilk, and egg in bowl and mix together.

Remove pan from oven and pour hot oil onto cornbread batter and stir the oil into the batter.

Spray cooking vessels with cooking spray and add batter.

Place in the oven and cook for 25 to 35 minutes or until done. 

This will make one pan of cornbread and I make two pans for dressing.

I use an eight inch round cake pan to make my cornbread. 

If you want to leave the egg out of this recipe that is fine as we are just going to crumble the cornbread up to add to the dressing. 

Allow cornbread to cool completely.

While the cornbread is cooling, I chop up the celery and onions and saute them in a skillet with butter until the vegetables are soft. After the cornbread has cooled, I take my largest mixing bowl and crumble the cornbread into the bowl. I then add the Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Stuffing Mix and stir well. Then I add the celery, onion, and butter mixture along with the onion soup mix and a little bit of sage (approximately one tablespoon). 

After that is all mixed together well, I start adding the chicken broth. You can use homemade or store bought. I add enough to make sure the dressing is well moistened. This makes a very large batch and what I usually do is put some in a 9 by 13 inch pan to bake in the oven for that day and then put the remainder in the freezer for another day. I bake this in a 350 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes, uncovered. 

This is a tried and true family favorite recipe used by three generations in my family. When I was growing up, my grandmother worked for Pepperidge Farm and this was just one of several Pepperidge Farm products that graced our holiday tables down through the years. 

Belinda
© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2012.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

Quick Update

I wanted to take the time to make a quick update this Tuesday morning. My sister and her family arrived here on Friday morning and while I was busy working that day they finished cleaning the rest of Mom's room out and rearranged the furniture making even more room for the hospital bed than my daughter and I had made.  Turns out that was a good thing since most everyone has been hanging out in Mom's room since she came home on Saturday. The medical equipment arrived on Friday evening after I arrived home. 
 
Mom is moving her arms very well and can sit up in a chair on her own, but is still not walking although we are working on it. The home health nurse and physical therapist were here yesterday to work with her. 

I love having my sister here because she likes to have a clean home and she will clean ours when she has free time and that is exactly what her and my brother in law have been doing. They've moved all the furniture in the house and vacuumed under everything and cleaned all the walls.  We have more items to donate to charity and have even gotten rid of a couple of pieces of furniture. We removed the entertainment center in the living room and replaced it with a solid wood cabinet. I should have taken before and after pictures, but I didn't do that. 

We've been cooking up a storm and eating every meal at home. Friday night my sister made spaghetti for dinner, bring real Italian sausage from Chicago with her to make it. It was delicious, and when the sauce ran out over the weekend, I took the leftover pasta and made a pasta salad, so no waste there. 

I hope you all are having a very good week and I hope you have a wonderful, blessed holiday with your friends and family. I know we have a great deal to be thankful for this year. I wish all of you wonderful blessings this week.

Belinda
© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2012.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

Our First Egg

Guess what I found in the Chicken Coop today? Our first egg from our 4-H chickens that came here in the Spring. 

Here are some of the chickens, pictured below, free ranging in the yard. 

The big one in the middle has been named, and rightfully so, Foghorn Leghorn, by my Dad. He is a BIG rooster with a deep crow. 

If these chickens are anything like the last batch of 4-H Chickens we had, I can expect to be swimming in eggs before too long. A nice "problem" to have. :)

 Belinda
© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2012.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

An update from the Frugal Workshop

Here is a photo of Wednesday night's dinner. I had half a pound of ground beef that I browned in a skillet with some onions and afterwards added a can of beefy mushroom soup. I also made some green beans with onions and evoo. I also used up one of the bags of Ore Ida County Inn Creations Peppers & Onions Hash Browns that I bought in September from UGO.  I added a can of cream of potato soup from the pantry and sour cream and some bread crumbs and made a hash brown casserole. The entire dinner cost just under $6.00 to prepare and there is enough left for lunch today. 

For Thursday night's dinner, I am going to use the other 1/2 pound of ground beef and season it with taco seasonings. I have some Mexican Rice I took out of the freezer this morning along with some cheddar cheese. I have tortillas on hand and will make something for dinner along this theme. 

Yesterday was the first day I had been in IGA in at least two months. We've just been so busy with Mom in the Rehab Center that I have not had time to stop in there. I ran in for some milk, bread, and butter. While I was there I noticed they had cans of Libby's vegetables for 50¢ each, so I picked up eight cans. Four green beans, two corn, and two peas. If I can find the time between now and Tuesday I may go back for more. 

 Pictured above is a Verizon bag that I had carried some items in, but the bottom of the bag gave way and I was unable to use it anymore. I brought it back home to remove the nice handles though, so I could reuse them on another bag. There are many tutorials online on how to make your own gift bags, so I kept these to use for that purpose. This bag could also be used as a pattern to make another gift bag.

This is going to be the start of a very busy week for all of us here. Mom has been away from home for 52 days as of today and will be coming home on Saturday from the Rehab Center. Her Insurance would only pay for twenty days of rehabilitation and after that it would cost her $150 per day to stay there. They wanted her to stay for four months, but she cannot afford that and so we are bringing her home. My Dad will be here and my sister and her family are coming in from Illinois to help us out and will arrive on Friday morning. 

My daughter and I have spent numerous hours cleaning out her bedroom to make room for the hospital bed, wheelchair, lift, walker, and bedside commode that is being delivered tomorrow. That is where the majority of my time has been spent lately. My daughter and I hauled away three van loads full of stuff. I do believe my Mother saved everything she ever had. It was like a walk down memory lane. My sister's family will be here until at least next Friday while we get Mom settled into some kind of routine. Afterwards the majority of her care will fall on my daughter and me. 

So, I may or may not find the time to blog within the next week. Time will tell. I really wanted to post some of my Thanksgiving Day recipes and I may still find the time to do that. Hopefully we will settle back into some kind of routine here and life will settle down some. That would definitely be a blessing. 

Hope you all have a good Thursday. :)

 Belinda

© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2012.

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

FREE Sample of Scotch-Brite Botanical Disinfecting Wipes (FIRST 8,000!)

Hurry and see if you can score a free sample of Scotch Brite Disinfecting Wipes. Go to their Facebook page and like them. I just scored a free sample for myself. 

Request a FREE Sample of Scotch-Brite Botanical Disinfecting Wipes! 

Hurry, this is only available to the first 8,000! This won’t last long! Allow 6 to 8 weeks for delivery.

Belinda
© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2012.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

Dinners This Past Week

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Sunday

Sorry, No Photo

Grilled Pork Chops
Mashed Potatoes 

Lima Beans

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Monday

Grilled Chicken Salads

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Tuesday

Chili Tacos

I picked up a package of marked down ground beef this morning at the grocery store, so I decided to make Chili Tacos for dinner with it.  I already had the lettuce, tortillas, cheese and onions on hand, so this was an easy dinner. It is also a tried and true family favorite. :)

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Wednesday

Pizza & Salad

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Thursday

 Chili Mac

I started this dinner by cooking up an eight ounce box of elbow macaroni. I drained that and added the leftover chili from Tuesday nights dinner.  I then added some shredded cheddar cheese, but it seemed a little bit dry, so I added a little bit of sour cream, which helped and also made the dish a little bit creamier. The family really enjoy this one. :)

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Friday

Chicken Stir Fry

I started out with a mixture of onions, celery, and red peppers that I stir fried in a little EVOO. I then added my chicken and cooked that through. I added a bag of stir fry vegetables, which included items like sugar snap peas, broccoli, water chestnuts, and carrots. I then added a bowl of leftover rice that needed to be used from the refrigerator. I also added a can of pineapple tidbits along with the juice. I also added some soy sauce and lemon pepper for flavor. It made a big batch of Chicken Stir Fry with enough leftover for Saturday's lunch. The family really enjoyed this dinner as well.

 

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Belinda
© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2012.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

Saving Money on Oil Changes

Image Credit

Purchasing an automobile is one of the  biggest investments you will make during your lifetime probably the second largest investment after your home. Therefore, it is important to protect this valuable investment and that includes changing the oil on a regular basis.  Since this is a necessary task we might as well look for ways to save money on it. 

One way for the ladies to do that is to use Express Oil Change. Today is Tuesday, which is Ladies Day at Express Oil Change, which has locations all across the southern United States. I went today and had the oil changed in our van and since it is Tuesday, I saved $5.00 off the cost of an oil change. 

While I was there they also filled up my windshield washer fluid, which was empty, and filled the two front tires with air. Three things checked off on my to do list makes me a happy camper. 

I'm not fortunate enough to be able to change the oil in the car myself, so I will take my $5.00 savings and be satisfied that I've done the best I can. 

How about you? How do you save money on oil changes or car maintenance? 
 
Belinda
© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2012.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

From the Frugal Workshop's Bookshelf

Here are two books, which I've been reading recently. 

The first one is called Living on Less and is written by the authors of Mother Earth News. This is an older book, written in 1984, but does have some valuable information. You can look at the Amazon page for more information on the book. 

I've also been reading Trent Hamm's book, 365 Ways to Live Cheap. Trent is the owner and writer of  The Simple Dollar Blog. This book is a list of 365 ways to live cheaply. You can also look at the Amazon page for more information on this book as well. I was lucky enough to find this book at McKay's Used Book store when we were there last time. It always tickles me to find a book there written by one of my favorite personal finance writers.

I would recommend borrowing both of these books from the library and see what you think about them before you consider purchasing either one of them.

What good books have  you been reading lately?

Belinda
© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2012.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

Saving Money on Hair Cuts

The other day after I had checked out at Walmart, I noticed a coupon on the back of my receipt for a $7.99 haircut at the Smart Style salon located inside Walmart.  

Getting a haircut was on my list of things to do that day, so I stopped in and asked if they could cut my hair and they said yes, so I had my hair cut that day for $7.99. You know I love getting a bargain, and what a great deal that was.

Lucky for me, more than one coupon printed on the back of my receipt that day, so I took my daughter in yesterday for another haircut for $7.99.  In fact, I also have two more coupons that printed that day, so I have two more to use since they are good until the end of the year. 

Be sure to check the back of your Walmart receipts to see if you can find a similar coupon.  And be sure to like them on Facebook and check out their website for future offers. 

Smart Style Salon on Facebook

Smart Style Salon Website

Belinda
© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2012.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

Saving Money on Phone Service

Our home phone service has been with AT&T for as long as we have lived in Tennessee. I can remember when we first had service and the bill was around $21 per month, but in the last few years the bill has inched upward until it now costs $38 per month and that is with no long distance phone calls. In other words, just your basic home phone service with no features like call waiting or caller ID. 

Last year when I bought my new cell phone the Verizon salesperson told me about their new program called Verizon Home Phone Connect. I thought it sounded interesting at the time, but I put it on the back burner at the time and hadn't really thought about it again until we were in the Verizon store last month replacing my daughter's broken cell phone. 

The Verizon salesperson explained to me that I could have home phone service for $19.99 per month. Always looking to lower our monthly costs I considered and eventually decided to use this new service. The switchover was rather painless and we even got to keep our old phone number.  

Here is what the setup looks like on our kitchen counter:

As you can see there is a black device from Verizon and the phone itself, which plugs into the back of the Verizon device.

Now I wasn't really thinking about what the final cost would be and didn't take into consideration all the taxes and fees that would be added to the $19.99, but in the end we are saving approximately $10 per month on our monthly phone service, which is a pretty good deal to me. The switchover from AT&T to Verizon has been completed and we are satisfied with the new phone service and happy to be paying less for one of our monthly expenses.

How about you? Have you been able to save on any of your monthly expenses lately?   


Belinda
© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2012.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

Frugal Friday

Image Credit

I wanted to show you all the great Swagbucks search I earned yesterday morning searching for "dinner bell". I won forty-seven Swagbucks for my search. So far right now I have $205 saved up in Amazon gift certificates that I have earned from Swagbucks recently. I am saving them up to go towards Christmas presents. 

In case you are still wondering about Swagbucks and what to do on the website after you sign up, I've created a Swagbucks for Beginners page to this blog. You can see it among the tabs running along the top of the blog. I hope you will find it informative and easy to use. 
 
For those wanting an update, my Mom has been moved to a rehabilitation facility, which is really just a nice name for a nursing home. Her insurance will pay for 20 days of rehab and we are hoping she can come home after that, but time will tell. She still has some confusion, which they tell us is from the medicine that had her on during the sedation. We are hoping to have the whole family together for Thanksgiving for her homecoming. 

My Dad made dinner for us today while I was at work. He made Meatloaf, Soup Beans, Brussel Sprouts, and cornbread. It was so good. I don't know what it is about someone else's cooking, but it tastes great. How was your Friday night dinner?

How has your week been shaping up? 

Belinda
© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2012.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”