Frugal Friday

Welcome to Friday! 
I want to send a thank you to Teresa G. this week for helping me by supporting my blog. I tried to send you an email, but it came back to me as undeliverable. So, I wanted to let you know here how much I appreciate you supporting my blog. And to the special person who supported the blog anonymously recently, thank you too. I appreciate you so much and just wanted to let you know.  
We had thunder storms on Thursday of this week. We are thankful there was no damage here and are keeping those in the path of the tornados in Alabama in our thoughts today. 
Quote of the Week

"Your number one wealth building tool is your income. Millionaires don't give away their money to Sallie Mae, Best Buy, Ford, Visa or Walmart. When you give your income to someone else you don't have it anymore. When you give your income away you have given up your economic future all for a flat-screen tv."  

- Dave Ramsey

My Frugal Week
On Tuesday we made a trip to town and dropped off my sewing machine for a tune up. We also picked up a small order from Aldi and picked up some more red bag chicken. 
We also did a pick up order from Publix, which we realized was incorrect after we got home. They gave us half of our items and half from another person's order. We did get a refund on the items we ordered and didn't receive. And, we also got to keep the items we did not order, which were a small container of chicken salad. vegetable Tator tots, a Caesar salad kit, and two kombucha probiotic drinks. 
 

My sewing machine was bought for $25 at a yard sale during the summer of 2017. This machine has been a workhorse since then and I've used it to save us money and stretch our income since that time.  It was in need of a tune up though and I look forward to getting back in about a week or so. 
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
No food waste this week as we used up two bananas in Peanut Butter Chocolate Muffins. 
Used up the last of some BBQ for one lunch. 

I turned the bottle of Dawn over to drain into my bottle of dishwashing detergent. The big bottle is too heavy for everyday use, so I buy the big bottle to save money, and then decant it into a smaller bottle for everyday use. 

Meals This Week:

Saturday: Deconstructed Eggrolls
Sunday Baked Potatoes(68 cents)
Monday: Tacos were on the menu for today. I used one of the leftover baked potatoes from Sunday, and put it through my Vidalia Chop Wizard and added it to the taco meat to s-t-r-e-t-c-h it out. I served these with lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, and onions. 
There was enough left of the taco meat to have the for several lunches this week along with a couple of breakfasts too  I like how the potato stretched the meat out to last for multiple meals. 

Tuesday & Wednesday: Since I had thawed ground beef  from what I did not use for the the tacos, I made cabbage rolls. I read a tip a few weeks ago to freeze your head of cabbage to easily pull the leaves off. I tried it and let the cabbage head thaw out and the leaves came off just as easily as if I had boiled the head to remove the leaves. Cabbage Rolls, Mashed Potatoes, Steamed Broccoli, Pickled Beets
Saving on Entertainment
For movie night this week we watched the movie, Brave. 
YouTube Videos I Watched This Week
Prepper Princess Extreme Cheap Living
What I've been Reading This Week
9 Things the Rich Do That The Poor Do Not
30 Pioneer Skills We Cannot Lose
The Ultimate Guide to Living Within Your Means
How was your week?
Belinda~ Living within our Means ~
If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting this site. 
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 2. My PayPal Tip Jar

Flourless Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins

Today I made a new to me muffin recipe that I saw on TikTok. I thought they looked easy to make and moist and I had two bananas that needed to be used today, so I made these. 
Turns out they are gluten free, if that is important to you. 
Two tricks that I used on these muffins:
I used an ice cream scoop to fill the muffin tins. Turns out it is the perfects size to fill one muffin cup. And before I used it, I sprayed the scoop with non-stick cooking spray and the batter slid right out of the scoop into the muffin tin. 
Turns out these were really moist. 
Flourless Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins
Ingredients:
2  bananas. mashed1 cup peanut butter2 eggs1/4 cup honey or maple syrup (I used sugar)1/4 cup cocoa powder1 teaspoon baking soda1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions:
Mash bananas in bowl. Add peanut butter and mix well. Add both eggs and mix together. Add sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and vanilla and mix well. Fill muffin tins with one scoop of batter. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 16 to 18 minutes.Makes 12 muffins.
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

Frugal Friday

Welcome to Friday! The weather here has really warmed up and has given me extra energy, which I love. I've had more energy and have been busy doing all sorts of little tasks around the house. 
My Frugal Week
This week we had a grocery order delivered to our home on Wednesday.  One of the things I bought was allergy medicine, and buying the generic version only cost me $4.00.
We stayed home all week and ate all of our meals here. We work hard to earn the money that we make, so we reserve eating out, or take away right now, for special occasions. That frees up more of our money to do the things that are important to us like saving money. 
Earning Money
Each month I barter with Bailey, I steam and process clothes for her and she pays the Internet/cell phone bill. She gets work done that she needs and I don't have to pay the Internet/cell phone bill. A win-win situation. 
Two eBay payouts posted to my checking account this week. One for $10 and one for $7, so that was good.  A refund also came in the mail this week on an item that I returned for $19. 
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen

Meals This Week
Saturday ~ We had some of the salmon in pouches that no one was eating, so I took them and turned them into salmon patties. I had been sneaking them into the tuna salad, but this way I figured I could get a dinner out of them. I served them with roasted carrots, onions, potatoes, and radishes. 
Sunday ~ Homemade Vegetable Chili with corn tortillas, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, and onions. 
Monday ~ We were building our grocery order online and were getting towards the end of our last grocery order from February 17th.  I had only intended for that order to last two weeks, so to stretch it to one month was pretty good. We still had frozen fries in the freezer along with some sausage and mixed vegetables, so that is what we had for dinner. 
Tuesday ~ We put our grocery order in for Wednesday and needed to come up with something for dinner tonight. I had one can of salmon on hand, but we already had that this week, so I kept looking. 
We had plenty of beans, tuna, spaghetti, tomatoes, soup vegetables, and corn on hand. It was just a matter of coming up with something for dinner.  I found some mozzarella cheese and pepperoni, so I made a pizza crust that morning to let the dough rise all day and be yeasty tasting by dinner time. I realized later that I had all of the ingredients to make soup, and decided to save that idea for another day. 
Wednesday ~ This was the day our groceries came and we had a late lunch of sandwiches, so we were not very hungry at dinner time. I ended up making each of us a small hamburger. 

Thursday ~ French Dip Sandwiches, Celery & Carrot sticks
Friday ~ Today I will be making Deconstructed Eggrolls for dinner. 
Saving on Entertainment
For movie night this week we watched Because of Winn Dixie, an older movie, but good to watch.
What I've been Reading This Week
The Iowa Housewife shared a recipe for Freezer Coleslaw this week. I really like her website because she is only feeding two people in her home and her recipes often reflect that. 
Minority Mindset has an article on 5 Smarter Ways to Spend Your Stimulus Check.
Decluttering
This week I decided, for various reasons, to go through my pictures and photo albums. I tossed multiple pictures that were of no consequence to me. like landscape photos, dark photos, photos where people had their eyes closed or were not looking at the camera. 
In the past, people would take more than one photo to make sure they "got it right". With digital photography you can know instantly if the photo is good or not, so there is no need for multiple photos of the same thing. Now the photos take up less space and I like that. 
How was your week?
Belinda~ Living within our Means ~
If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting this site. 
 1. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a small percentage that helps me to earn a living. Any items you place in your cart from one of my links means I will earn a small percentage from that sale. 
 2. My Frugal Workshop PayPal Tip Jar

The One Year Anniversary of the Pandemic ~ March 13, 2020

Last year on this day, Friday March 13, 2020, our lives changed in ways we could not have imagined. We had no idea of the impact it would have on our lives. 
President Joe Biden had this to say about the pandemic while the WHO marked the one year anniversary as well. Both of them mark the anniversary as March 11, 2020, but for me it will always be March 13, 2020. 
I remember the  principal standing in the gym at school and telling the students and staff that she believed we would be back in session in two weeks. Oh, how little did we know at the time how our lives were about to change. 
I have always enjoyed blogging and over the years it became a record for me of all my frugal wins and losses, a place to keep recipes and prices for things from different times in our lives. 
And then I made many friends and felt such comradery that the blog became to mean a whole lot more to me. It is a record of what the years have been like for us. 
So with that in mind, I want to mark this day as a reminder of the day that changed our lives for a long time to come.  I hope and pray that you all are well and that someday soon this will all be behind us. 
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Frugal Friday

Welcome to Friday! 
Quote of the Week

Squandering resources is the opposite of being thrifty.

My Frugal Week
On Sunday I did three full loads of laundry. We have already went through our homemade detergent and are now using Purex and only using the smallest amount of detergent needed to get our clothes clean. We also use the wool dryer balls in the dryer rather than dryer sheets. Both of those save us money when doing laundry. 
We had been reading about the vaccine and our phase opening up here on March 8th. First thing Monday morning I was able to make us both an appointment for that afternoon. We had to wait in the car line for 1 hour and 15 minutes, so not bad.  This makes us one step closer to getting this pandemic behind us. 

The charger to my tablet hasn't been charging it lately. So, I borrowed Bailey's charger and checked it against mine. Turns out it was the cord that went bad and not the charger part. So, I replaced the cord with a new one for only $19 instead of the $52 it was going to cost to replace both pieces.
With the warmer weather allergy season is already here. I used part of my $10 Amazon gift card to purchase a bottle of allergy spray, so my out of pocket cost was zero.
Earning Money
This week I sold two things on eBay, both were Mike and Molly DVDs. 
Avoiding Spending
Waiting to get the vaccine on Monday made me really anxious for some reason. I was closing my eyes and deep breathing through it while waiting in the car line.  Eating during times of stress like that makes me feel better. I told Bailey that we needed to stop and get something to eat afterwards.  
After we received the shot though, I was able to calm down and the anxious feelings passed. Instead of stopping for something to eat, we came home and made dinner instead. Victory!
I didn't expect to feel that way and would have brought something with me to eat if I had known how stressed I would feel. Live and learn as the old saying goes. Although there was really no reason to feel anxious, I have to wonder if it was a build up of emotions from  staying home for the past year. Either way, I will be bringing a snack with me when we get the second vaccine just in case. :)
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
One thing that saves us money in the kitchen is that we do not mind eating leftovers, which helps us by avoiding food waste, which means we can get by on fewer groceries too. 
We had a substitution from Walmart on Great Value Peach Yogurt. We ordered small yogurts. They subbed four of the 32 ounce containers, which normally sell for $1.84 but sold to us for $1.55 each. 
Weekly Menu
Italian Sausage, Oven Baked Potatoes, Mixed VegetablesPlanned Over Italians Sausage, Potato Pancakes, Mixed VegetablesChili Tacos with Lettuce, Tomatoes, and OnionsSpaghetti, SaladTaco Salad  with lots of lettuce, tomatoes, and onions
The potato pancakes were made using leftover mashed potatoes. 
Saving on Entertainment
This week I watched the film, Amish Grace, on Amazon Prime, which is based on the true story of the Amish school shooting on October 2, 2006 at the West Nickel Mines School in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The film explores the Amish community's forgiving reaction to the shootings. 
What I've been Reading This Week
My Pantry List
Freebies
Choose FI has a free Financial Independence 101 course on their website. The  course is designed to guide you from financial literacy to financial independence. 
How was your week?
Belinda~ Living within our Means ~
If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting this site. 
 1. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a small percentage that helps me to earn a living. Any items you place in your cart from one of my links means I will earn a small percentage from that sale. 
 2. My Frugal Workshop PayPal Tip Jar

Sweet & Sour Chicken

This morning I was thinking about this recipe and couldn't believe that I did not have it on the blog. This is another dish that is easy to make, tried and true and has been made and enjoyed here for many years.
Sweet & Sour Chicken
Ingredients:
3/4 pound boneless, cubed chicken1 cup green and red pepper strips1/4 cup light soy sauce3 Tablespoons Vinegar3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil1 Tablespoon Corn Starch1 can (8 ounces) chunk Pineapple1/2 teaspoon ginger1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Directions:
Cook and stir chicken in hot oil in wok until well browned.Add peppers, cook and stir one minute.Mix cornstarch and soy sauce.Add to pan with pineapple and juice, vinegar, sugar, ginger and garlic powder.Bring to a full boil
Notes:
Serve chicken over hot, cooked rice.



Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Frugal Friday

Welcome to Friday! 
Quote of the Week

"Though I'm dutifully aware of all that is going on in the world (Matthew 24:42) I'm also dutifully choosing loveliness today (Philippians 4:8)" Jes @ Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth

My Frugal Week
Last Friday we had to go to town to pick up my prescriptions. We also picked up a grocery order at Aldi for tortillas, lettuce, milk, almond milk, cheese,  eggs, bananas, buns, pickles, and Kirkwood Breaded Chicken Filets or as some people call it the "Aldi red bag chicken". Some people say it tastes just like Chic-fil-A, and I've been wanting to try it and find out if it does. 
Update ~ The red bag of chicken filets from Aldi are very similar to the Chick-fil-a chicken sandwiches. They were very tender and flavorful and we enjoyed them and will buy them again.  The bag costs $6.59 and there were six breasts in the bag, so $1.10 each, which makes them cheaper to make at home than to buy at Chick-fil-a. 
What a difference one year makes. Our local county clerks office did not accept debit cards before the pandemic hit. You couldn't pay your license plate renewal online either. Yesterday my renewal came in the mail and I was able to go online and pay it. That is one change from the pandemic that I like. :)
In the past I've mentioned that our stove tops two big (8 inch) burners were not working, which is why I have not been canning the last few years.  I've tried to fix them myself using items my Dad gave me from a friend who worked for Whirlpool in their oven manufacturing plant, but that didn't work. 

For some reason it occurred to me last week that perhaps the elements were bad. I initially assumed they were OK since my Dad's friend got them from Whirlpool. So, I decided to order one new element just to try it out. I didn't want to be stuck with two in case that wasn't the problem.
The new element arrived on Sunday from FedEx and I promptly tried it out. The first burner still did not work, so I tried the second burner and voila, it worked! I was so excited and a little mad at myself  for not realizing this years earlier. I mean I have been without these burners for over five years. And I have seriously thought about buying a new stove top for this reason. Ugh!
Earning Money
My income tax refund check came over the weekend and I paid towards medical debt with it, so it was put to good use. 
Avoiding Spending
We stayed home this week and did not spend any money on groceries or necessities. It seemed odd not to have any packages coming this week. 
I did not spend my income tax refund on anything that I wanted, but rather put it to good use. Do you remember when Frugal Queen was paying off her debt and she would write about getting paid and paying her bills and leaving only enough money for groceries? She inspired so many people with her actions and encouraged them to tackle their own debt.

“It meant living on £57 a week instead of £500. The budget had to cover food, bills and other necessities,” says Jane 46. “Treats such as wine and takeaways had to go.” Frugal Queen

If you have debt, consider it a flaming emergency and get it paid off as quickly as possible. Don't be like my parents and go into retirement mired in debt. In fact if you are in debt, I would encourage you to read this article at Mr. Money Mustache regularly to keep you motivated to pay it off as quickly as possible. 
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
I used some leftover rice from dinner the night before to make rice and cheese for breakfast one morning, so no food waste. 

Another night I made Mexican Rice for dinner and the next day I divided it up into five different containers, labeled those, and stuck them in the freezer. Now when we want a side dish of rice, all I have to do is pull one from the freezer. 

I save all of my parmesan cheese containers as they make good storage containers for spices and the lids will even fit on a mason jar.

We found a local farm that is selling pork products, so we bought five pounds of sausage to try from him. I'm excited to have someone local who I can trust. 

The first morning after I bought it, I made sausage gravy for breakfast. I served this with biscuits and scrambled eggs. 

I made a batch of cookies this week. This is the recipe Bailey found on TikTok and really likes to make. It makes about a dozen cookies, so not too many, which makes it an easy recipe. 
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar1 cup peanut butter1 egg1 teaspoon baking soda1/2 cup chocolate chips
Directions:
Mix all ingredients well together. Drop spoonful onto parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. 

Finally, I made some cheddar muffins this week. This is a good recipe to use for when you have leftover mashed potatoes. I didn't have any, so I used one pouch of Instant mashed potatoes instead. 
Bailey doesn't care for the Instant mashed potatoes normally, and I have several pouches to use up. She really liked these though and so did I, so I'm tickled to find a way to use those up in a way that we both enjoy. 
Cheddar Muffins
Ingredients:
2 cups mashed potatoes1 egg1/3 cup vegetable oil1 cup shredded cheddar cheese1 & 2/3 cups flour2 Tablespoons diced chives1 Tablespoon dried parsley1 Tablespoon baking powder1 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Combine beaten egg, cheese, vegetable oil and mashed potatoes.Combine remaining ingredients & stir in potato mixture just until moistened.Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.Bake at 400° for 20 - 25 minutes.
Meals This Week
Broccoli Cheese Soup and Hot Ham & Cheese SandwichesBean & Cheese Enchiladas and Cheese EnchiladasAldi Red Bag Chicken, Roasted Vegetables, SaladLeftoversPasta Salad, Cheddar Muffins, Corn FrittersSwiss Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Mixed VegetablesItalian Sausage, Penne Pasta, Garlic BreadChili Tacos
Saving on Entertainment
This week for movie night we watched, The Lost Husband. Both Bailey and I thought the movie dragged a little bit in the middle, but then a surprise ending happened, which redeemed the movie for me. 
What I've been Reading This Week

We Paid off 45K of Debt in Two Years - Frugal Queen

70 Classic Homemade Soup Recipes

How was your week?   
Belinda~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting this site. 
 1. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a small percentage that helps me to earn a living. Any items you place in your cart from one of my links means I will earn a small percentage from that sale. 
 2. Frugal Workshop PayPal Tip Jar

Frugal Habits That Stuck with Oprah

Oprah Winfrey opens up about her penny-pinching ways, from saving fake eyelashes to making her own Spanx out of pantyhose. 
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Meal Plan Monday

Image Credit

About two weeks ago I had been feeling a little uninspired in the kitchen, and I heard that according to grocery store planners that happens regularly with people at this time of year. 
So, I made the effort to get back into some old family favorites and that has made a difference lately. 
Meals This Week

Aldi Red Bag Chicken, French Fries ~ I have been wanting to try this  chicken for a long time. This will be the week. 
Italian Sausage, Penne Pasta, Garlic Bread, Broccoli ~ have one package of Penne pasta I want to use up and this will be the week that I finally use it. 
Chili Tacos ~ The last time I made chili, I put some in the freezer for this meal. However, I ran out of tortillas, which is rare here. So I picked some up at Aldi this past week and can now have this on the menu. 
Swiss Steak ~ It's been a long time since we had this on the menu since beef is so expensive. It will be a welcome addition to our meals this week. 

Broccoli Cheese Soup and Hot Ham & Cheese Sandwiches. This was on the menu for Sunday (yesterday). We have enough soup left to have for lunches for several days this week. 

Bean & Cheese Enchiladas or Cheese Enchiladas ~ A family favorite, tried and true.

Sausage Cornbread Stuffing Bake - This will be a new recipe I am gong to try this week. loosely based on several recipes I've seen and I have the ingredients on hand and want to use those up.

Broccoli Cheese Soup
1/2 a bunch or 10 ounces Broccoli3 Tablespoons Butter3 Tablespoons Flour4 cups milk4 to 6 slices American Cheese (about 4 ounces)1/2 teaspoon salt1/4 teaspoon pepper1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Directions:
Steam broccoli and cut florets into bite-sized pieces. Drain and set aside. Melt butter over medium heat and stir in flour. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until bubbly. Add 1 cup milk and stir until smooth. Add remaining 3 cups of milk and cook, stirring constantly, for 7 to 10 minutes or until it just begins to boil. Reduce heat to low and add American cheese and stir until it is completely melted. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and top each with cheddar cheese. 
That is  wrap up on our meals for this week. How abut you? What are you planning for meals this week?

Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting this site. 

 1. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a small percentage that helps me to earn a living. Any items you place in your cart from one of my links means I will earn a small percentage from that sale. 

 2. My Frugal Workshop PayPal Tip Jar