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Friday, May 5, 2023

First Frugal Friday of May 2023



Welcome to Friday! 

Price of Gas 

$2.96 a gallon

My Frugal Week

On Wednesday we went to town to buy groceries. I perused the sale ads that morning and the only deal I found this week was at Kroger where they have butter on sale for $2.99 this week. 

We stocked up on laundry detergent, garbage bags, Dawn dishwashing detergent, and of course, groceries. 

On Thursday we went to town, so I could get two new tires on the back of my car. I also filled up my car with gas while we were in town at $2.96 per gallon. While we were there we ran across a yard sale and stopped. Bailey found several pieces of inventory for her shops and the gentleman threw in a potholder she wanted for free. 

I cleaned and decluttered some in my office over the weekend. I did some filing and tossing of paperwork too, which needs doing from time to time. 

I had a pair of sunglasses in Bailey’s car that I keep in her glove box for when I’m riding with her. The lens kept falling out, so I brought them in the house this week and used Gorilla Glue to repair them. They should last for a long time now and not need to be replaced. 

I changed out the air filter in my air purifier this week as it was time and I take care of the things I own, so they will last as long as possible. 

I earned $10 in an Amazon gift card from the Consumer Opinion Institute this week. They used to send $5.00 cash in the mail, but have since switched to the Amazon vouchers. I was out of some spices and used the voucher to get more. 

Here is a link to one of the egg tapping TikTok videos if you’re interested: 

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRwFAB9s/

Freebies

My second week of Mom’s Meals arrived this week. We put the majority of them in the freezer for future meals, but a couple of them have come in handy for lunches this week. Here is a list of what they sent this week…


Creamy Tomato Pasta with Italian Style Meatballs & Meatballs
Breakfast Pork Sausage Gravy with Buttermilk Biscuits
Macaroni and Cheese with Vegetables 
Vegetable Primavera with Penne Pasta, Sweet Pineapple and Apples
BBQ Pork Rib, Brazilian Blend Vegetables
Chicken Tender with Potatoes, Roasted Peppers & Onions, Smokehouse Corn
Butter milk Pancakes and Eggs with Apple Crisp
Mushroom Risotto, Peas and Carrots
Chicken Alfredo with Pasta, Peas and Carrots
Whole Grain Pancakes, Sausage, Cranberry Apple Crisp
 Heresy Chicken Rice and Broccoli, Sweet Pineapple and Apples
Korean Style BBQ with Meatballs, White Rice, Broccoli and Carrots
Swedish Style Meatballs in Creamy Mushroom Sauce, Pasta, and Carrots
Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy, Rice & Mixed Vegetables 
 3 Slices Wheat Bread
1 Fig Bar
1 Gelatin Cup
1 Applesauce Cup
1 Wheat Coney Bun
1 Oatmeal Cream Pie
1 Finer Spice Cookie

Free potholder from yard sale on Thursday. 

Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen

In the plant based community many people use water rather than oil to sauté vegetables due to scientific studies on oils. Not only is water sautéing better for your health, but it also saves money. 

I water sautéed peppers and onions in my morning eggs on Saturday, which is another small tip to save money in the kitchen. 



We really enjoy the baby Yukon Gold Potatoes in the 1.5 pound bag, which retails for $3.47 and depending on the store can cost as much as $4.99. 

I like to spritz them with a little olive oil and bake them in the oven, smoosh them a little bit with my Mix & Chop tool and then continue to bake until the edges get golden brown. 


Since they are so expensive, we don’t have them very often even though we enjoy them when we do. This week I found the five pound bags at Sam’s Club for $7.48, which is a good savings over the 1.5 pound bag. A difference of $2.31 pound verses $1.49 a pound, which is a savings of 82 cents a pound. 


This week I made some fruit gelatin cups using the sugar free strawberry banana gelatin we bought on mark down two weeks ago. 

I used half a cup of fruit in each cup and then added one cup of the gelatin mixture for a great snack or meal if I add some cottage cheese to it. They are so good and refreshing especially in the warmer months. 

I use my four cup measuring glass and add two packets of gelatin and two cups of hot water and dissolve. Then I add whatever juice I drained from the fruit as part of the cold water and then add enough water to make four cups. 

I made one dozen gelatin cups in all enough to last a week or more. 

Meals This Week

All meals are served with either salad or vegetables and may not always be listed here. 

Mexican Queso & Chips, Carrots, and Canary Melon. 
Mexican Chicken Thighs, Roasted Baby Potatoes, Carrots. 
Just me for dinner, so I had roasted potatoes and carrots with some hummus. 
Split Pea Soup
Chicken Thighs, Green Bean with Onions, Roasted Potatoes.
Chicken Burrito Bowls with Pinto Beans, Pico de Gallo, Corn Salsa, & Red Onion. 
Chicken Wraps, Corn on the Cob, Steamed Broccoli. 

Recipe of the Week

I just love pico de gallo on some of my foods. Even if I don’t get the chance to make this, having fresh chopped up tomatoes will add such a burst of fresh flavor to foods. It’s great to have on hand. 

Pico de Gallo (No Salt or Oil)


Ingredients:


1 3/4 cup diced tomatoes

1/2 large red onion, diced

1/4 cup fine-diced jalapeño (remove seeds for less heat)

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

3 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp fresh minced garlic

Pepper, to taste


Directions:


Mix all the ingredients together and ground pepper to taste.  

Allow to sit and marinate for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.



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
Mortgage & Debt Free
~ Living within our Means ~
My Linktree

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



14 comments:

  1. Your gas is much better than ours - we are still around $3.50. I must have missed how you get all that yummy sounding food for free. Wow, it sounds like a windfall. Is it tasty? You had a good week.
    Have a wonderful weekend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The ones I’ve had have been tasty for sure. My insurance company sent them to me for 4 weeks worth of meals and this was my second shipment. I thought it was such a neat thing for them to do.
      I hope you have a great weekend too!

      Delete
  2. Our gas has been going up lately. We are about $3.80 for regular. My car takes diesel and it was $5.19 last time I bought some. My car gets 42 MPG or more so I hate to trade it in even though it is a 2001. As long as the car repairs stay down I will keep it. But with diesel prices getting so high it is no wonder food prices are rising. After reading about your food from your insurance company I checked to see it my insurance did that and they do. Sure wish I had known that last year when I had surgery. I would have tried for the meals but feel blessed that my church members brought me a couple of weeks of meals. This browsers is not letting me login. Stupid Google. Nancy from the PNW.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sometimes my bowser does that too. I’ve fixed it in the past, but for the life of me can’t figure out how to fix that again. I’m glad your insurance company does that too. Hopefully you won’t need it in the future, but if you do you’ll know you have it. I’m so glad your church stepped up to the plate for you. They’ve done that for me in the past and I’ll always be grateful to them. And yes on the price of diesel! I remember when it used to be cheaper than gas, but not these days. My dad’s truck is all diesel, and I know he feels your pain.

      I hope you have a great weekend, Nancy. 😊

      Delete
  3. Happy Cinco de Mayo! Thanks for the pico de gallo recipe; I'm going to make it tonight. I could make a meal off of chips and salsa. :D
    Sounds like a good week filled with fun and good food. Hope you have a great weekend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Happy Cinco de Mayo to you too, Kathy. 😊 Chips and salsa sounds delicious. Have you tried those new cauliflower tortilla chips? They taste just like real tortilla chips. So yummy with hummus too.

      I hope you also have a great weekend.

      Delete
  4. We love pico de gallo as well. Adds such a flavorful kick to pretty much anything.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great price on the gas..we are getting lower it's around $3.25 or so. Thanks for the recipe on the good potatoes. Sounds delicious! Have a great weekend

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Vickie. I hope you have a great weekend too!

      Delete
  6. (Little Penpen) hello Belinda! I’m still here and reading. My phone is old and it’s getting more doggie to leave comments these days. I need to break down and get a new one, I suppose. How neat that you are getting all that food! Enjoy!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That was supposed to say difficult, but I guess doggie works.

      Delete
    2. I didn’t even realize you said that. I read it as difficult. 😂

      Delete
  7. Those meals you are getting sound wonderful. I do hope they taste as good. It is a great idea to put them away for use later.

    Our fuel prices fell a little but not much, I hope they fall a touch lower. One good thing is that our natural gas company (pretty much everyone uses that for heating) is not being allowed to raise their prices as high as they wanted to. In the vernacular of WalMart, they rolled it back.

    God bless.

    ReplyDelete

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