Frugal Friday #4 of December 2021

Welcome to Friday! 
Quote of the Week

“Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more?” ~ The Grinch

My Frugal Week
I had a broken tooth on Thursday of last week that was giving me a great deal of pain, so I went to the dentist and had an extraction. The cost was $287 and I was thankful for the emergency funds on hand to cover this. 
On Saturday the church was giving away free food again, so I went and came home with carrots, onions, turkey, fruit snacks, taco kits, and 24 cans of Pepsi. 
I’m very grateful for all of the food. I was going to put the Pepsi in the Little Free Pantry, but Bailey said to keep it, so I did. 
Earning Money
My income from Adsense came for my blog this week. The income threshold before you get paid is $100, so I usually get a check every three months. It’s just enough to pay for my health insurance this month, so I am grateful for that. 
Avoiding Spending
Other than groceries and one prescription, I didn’t spend any other money this week. All the presents I am giving for Christmas had already been bought and wrapped before this week. 
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
We finally had groceries delivered on Wednesday, until then I was successfully making meals out of what we had on hand.   We bought enough groceries to last for the next month and had it delivered to avoid the crowded grocery store. Bailey made sure to leave the delivery person a big fat tip since it was a big order right here at Christmas time. 
Some of our items were substitutions and turned out to be better deals. We ordered the Crisco butter shortening in the four pack, which they were out of and substituted the 48 ounce can instead, which cost $1.86 more, although we paid the lower price. 
We paid $3.68 for Jimmy Dean sausage instead of the $4.00 because they were out of the Swaggerty sausage I ordered. Bailey likes Jimmy Dean the best, so I was happy to get this substitution. I had ordered two of both Jimmy Dean and Swaggerty just to make sure I got one or the other for Christmas. 
I bought a beef rump roast for Italian Beef on Christmas Eve, but they substituted that for a chuck roast. We will just make do with what they gave us. It turned out to be a two pound roast, which isn’t much, but at $6.00 a pound cost $12.00. 
As far as meat goes, we paid $2.64 per pound for ground beef, and $1.99 per pound for two packs of chicken. I divided the ground beef into 16 packages and the chicken into 4 packages, so right there gives us 20 meals for the next month or so.
I also bought pork sausage, smoked sausage, Polish sausage, and tuna, which is enough for 16 or more meals, so we have plenty of meat to last for the next month and then some. 
Bailey is making Jalepeno Dip and BLT Dip for Christmas appetizers.  I’ll be making cheesecake, tuna pate, hash brown casserole, broccoli casserole, croissants, cheeseball, jello salad, sausage balls, dressing, and sweet potatoes. Some of it will be for Christmas Eve and some for Christmas Day. 
I saved money this year for Christmas by only making one dessert, which was the cheesecake. We just don’t need anymore sweets than that. Besides I like the savory foods better than the sweet ones. 
One day for breakfast I made cheese quesadillas. I used the flour tortillas from a taco kit that was given to us. 
Meals This Week
Friday: Better Cheddar Smoked Sausage, Seasoned Fries, Broccoli
Saturday: Hamburger with Brown Gravy over Buttered Basmati Rice, Green Beans with Onions.
Sunday: Tamale Pie, Corn, Salad
Monday: Chicken Pot Pie, Cornbread Bake
Tuesday: Homemade Pizza, Salad
Wednesday: Polish Sausage, Fried Potatoes, Green Beans with Onions
Thursday: Polish Sausage, Macaroni and Cheese, Green Peas

Recipe of the Week
This is a recipe Bailey made for the first time three years ago. The secret to making this not be hot is to scrape out all of the seeds in the jalapeño peppers. I am not a fan of spicy hot foods and even I liked this. It’s definitely a keeper. 
Jalapeño  Popper Dip
Ingredients:
2 (8 ounce packages) of cream cheese, softened
6-8 slices of bacon, cooked till crispy and crumbled 
1 cup mayonnaise or sour cream
4-6 Jalapeno's, chopped & seeds removed
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cut mozzarella cheese shredded
1/4 cup diced green onion
Topping:

1 cup crushed Ritz crackers
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup of butter melted
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray 8x8 casserole dish and set aside.
Blend cream cheese until smooth and creamy.
Add to cream cheese mixture: bacon, mayo, jalapeños, cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese & diced onion. Mix well.Transfer mixture to casserole dish. Spread evenly in dish.
In a small bowl combine Ritz crackers, Parmesan cheese & butter.
Sprinkle all over the top of the dip.
Bake the dip for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly
Saving on Entertainment
I’ve been watching Miss Potter on YouTube this week. It’s free to watch with advertisements. 

I created a new to me playlist on YouTube of Christmas music, so I can play it when I’m busy doing things around the house. 
What I've been Reading This Week
15 ideas for Consumable, Sustainable, & Homemade Gifting
Freebies

Our local Farm to Farm shop had a giveaway the other day on Facebook for a free bar of soap and I won. I thought that was pretty neat right here before Christmas. 

On Wednesday our local Walmart was giving away what Christmas trees they had left. 
That is all the news to report on our frugal week in Tennessee. Thank you for dropping by, you are always welcome here. We hope you have a wonderful Christmas filled with lots of love. 
Belinda~ Living within our Means ~