Menu Plan Monday ~ Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen

Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen

My Frugal Week in the Kitchen

We were really good about using up food we have on hand this past week and not buying more food. I used frozen turkey burgers, multiple cans from our food storage, pasta, and rice mixes. It's a great way to save money in the kitchen for other items in your budget. 

We didn’t eat all of the turkey baked beans I made this week, so I portioned them out into individual servings and froze them for future meals. 

Have you seen the price of potatoes lately? Walmart is selling an eight pound bag of baking potatoes for $12.98 while a ten pound bag is selling for $7.97. I have never seen such high prices on potatoes! 

Recipe of the Week

Vegetable Fried Rice is a great meal to use up some leftover meat or vegetables, using what you have on hand.

Vegetable Fried Rice

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 teaspoons garlic, minced

2 teaspoons ginger, minced

½ cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped bell peppers

1 egg, scrambled

2 cups cooked rice

½ cup frozen peas and carrots

3 tablespoons soy sauce

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Add vegetable oil to the skillet and heat.

Add onions, bell pepper, garlic and ginger, and sauté. 

Add egg and scramble. 

Add rice and peas & carrots and heat through. 

If you have any meat leftover like chicken add now and heat through. 

Serve and enjoy!

What’s for Dinner

Meatless Monday ~ I took out some lentil taco meat I had previously frozen and thawed that for dinner. For some reason it turned out soupier than I had hoped, so I made up some rice to put under it and spooned the taco meat over the rice. It had really developed a good flavor while in the freezer. I served this with tortillas, green peas, chipotle ranch, and pineapple salsa. 

Tuesday ~ It was movie and pizza night for Bailey, but I was tired and didn’t watch the movie, so I opted for beef stew instead. I had carrots, potatoes, onions, and peas in it and served it with buttermilk cornbread. 

Wednesday ~ I had two bacon turkey burgers in the freezer that were given to us by a friend. I didn’t have any buns, but I did have some baked beans, so I doctored up the turkey burgers and added the baked beans for dinner. I also made Tuna Macaroni Salad earlier in the day for lunch and served that in case no one enjoyed the Turkey Baked Beans. 

Thursday ~ I pulled chicken thighs from the freezer to thaw and made Hawaiian Chicken with them. I also made some deviled eggs, green beans with onions, and cornbread. I also made jello cups with fruit, more popsicles, fresh iced tea, and another tuna macaroni salad as the first one I made was a big hit. 

Friday ~ Salmon Patties with tarter sauce, soup beans, and deviled eggs.  By the time dinner rolled around it was too hot to cook, so I rested for about thirty minutes. I had made the soup beans earlier in the day and the deviled eggs were already made, so all I had to do was make the salmon patties. 

Saturday ~ still in the middle of a heat wave, so I made sandwiches (Italian Subs) for dinner tonight with baked chips and Cole slaw. Iced tea, lemonade, koolaid, or water to drink. 

Sunday ~ I wanted to use up the salmon patties that I made on Friday, so I served them with soup beans and greens. I also made up some cornbread batter and added some soup beans to that and had cornbread bean patties. Delicious. 

What’s on the Menu for This Coming Week

These are the items we have on hand that I can use to make meals this week. We do plan on going grocery shopping this week. Be sure to come back next week to see what sides we serve with these main dishes. 

Pork BBQ

Vegetable Fried Rice

Kielbasa

 15 Bean Cajun Soup Beans

Spaghetti

and raid your cupboards or

Belinda

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

Homemade yogurt that didn’t set up well – mixed with some homemade jam;

Leftover Jell-O that didn’t set up well or Jell-O that you make for this purpose from a store brand.

Juice or syrup left over from canned fruit. 

Juice that has been in the fridge and needs to be used up.

Kool-Aid or lemonade mixes bought on sale.

Final Frugal Friday of July 2023

Welcome to Friday! 
Quote of the Week

I learned the difference between wants and needs. I found that my actual needs are rather simple and easily attainable.

Price of Gas 
Ouch! Gas has definitely gone up here and was up to $3.35 at our local station. 
My Frugal Week
Last Wednesday the drain to our kitchen sink stopped draining and I called a friend to help me with it. By the time he was able to help, it was almost 4 o’clock on Friday afternoon, so most plumbers wanted to wait until Monday to help me out. 
Washing and rinsing dishes in a dish pan feels like camping. I couldn’t wait to get the kitchen sink fixed. Doing without it was definitely extra work. 
Kitchen Sink Update
I had someone who promised to come, ghost me over the weekend, so on Monday morning I decided to make more phone calls and by 8:15 had someone already on their way.
He and his partner snaked the drain, which took about an hour or so, and cleared the drain line. He said it was just a buildup of soap in there and showed me and said that he has had drains that took hours and hours to clear and ours wasn't that bad. 
Needless to say, I'm very happy to be back in business with my kitchen sink. It was work, but we did it without resorting to paper plates or paper towels too, which saved us money. 
You know that old saying, "when it rains it pours?" Well, an electrical storm took out our main air conditioning unit last Wednesday. It is covered by our homeowners insurance, so that won’t be an issue. 
While we’ve been waiting I’ve been watching our daily electric usage go from around 100 kWh per day to around 49 kWh per day. The electric bill will definitely be lower next month. I like using the usage tool from our electric company because I can tell when certain activities like using the washer and dryer cause a spike in our usage. 
In other news...
On Tuesday Bailey had a business errand to run that took her two hours from home. She asked me to go with her, so we took off on a road trip through the rural Georgia countryside. We brought drinks, cheese, and granola bars in case we got hungry. 

We downloaded the Little Free Library app and stopped at several little free libraries along the way. We brought books with us to leave in the libraries too. Our four hour road trip turned into seven hours and we had the best time. 
It was nice to get out of the house for a while and see the sights. I saw so many vegetable gardens, which were just beautifully maintained, which you know involves a lot of hard work. 
While we were on our road trip on Tuesday, we listened to the book, The House by the Cerulean Sea, on Scribd. We were able to finish eleven chapters on our trip. 
I received a coupon in the mail from Target for $40 off a $40 purchase! It expires in August, so I’m trying to think of the best way to use this. 
Since the month of August is upon us, I went ahead and worked out my budget for August and made up a grocery list of items we need.  Knowing what I have to pay out gives me a peace of mind that is very calming. 
On Thursday I woke up early and started deep cleaning my bedroom. I moved all the furniture and vacuumed underneath everything. I dusted everything, sorted thru some paperwork on my desk, and picked out some things I no longer need for the Sweet WeePeets consignment sale coming up in September. 
Freebies
Thanks to our visit to the Little Free Library, I was able to pick up several copies of Cooks magazine for free. 

Joy of the Week
Definitely our road trip and the little free libraries. 
Avoiding Spending
I did no grocery shopping this week and or yard sales last weekend. I didn't have to put gas in my car either, so this was definitely a no spend week for me. 
Saving Money YouTube Videos
I Will Teach You To Be Rich channel by Ramit Sethi, author of the book by the same name. 
What I've been Reading This Week
How to Save on Electricity ~ by Michael Blue Jay aka Mr. Electricity

Thank you for dropping by my frugal blog, you are always welcome here. 
I hope you have a wonderful weekend filled with lots of love, A bit of sunshine, and so many blessings that your cup runneth over.

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

Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen ~ Menu Plan Monday

Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen

My Frugal Week

Can we just start this section with UGH?! 😂 While I was washing dishes on Wednesday our kitchen sink stopped draining water. I spent the next two days washing dishes in a dish pan and draining the water in the bathroom. 

I tried to clear the drain with chemicals, but that did not work. Then I watched several YouTube videos on how to remove the pipe underneath the sink to see if it had a blockage. I just didn’t have the strength in my hands to remove the PVC nuts to check those, so I called a friend for some help. 

He took the pipes underneath off and plunged the drain and then added some liquid fire, but neither of those worked. So, I had to call a plumber. So far, I've not been able to get anyone here due to the weekend, so stay tuned. 

Saving on Popsicles 

It’s summertime and nothing beats the heat better than a popsicle on these hot summer days. Making my own popsicles lately has been a real money saver. 

I used the juice from some canned fruit and made popsicles out of that one day and used some apple juice another day to make more popsicles. 

I also took plain Greek yogurt and added sugar free strawberry jam with a spoonful of monk fruit and then froze it into a popsicle. One frozen, it was delicious. I will definitely be making this again. 
Other possibilities can include plain yogurt mixed with jelly, gelatin or even drink mixes like Kool-Aid.

Saving on Chicken

On Tuesday I stopped in at Walmart to get a few groceries like chicken, cheese, almond milk, strawberries and grapes. Of course there was the usual sticker shock, but here is one thing I did to purchase chicken at a lower price.

Great Value sells these bags of Chicken thighs, twelve boneless thighs in the three pound bag for $9.44 or twelve with bone in the four pound bag for $7.98. 

This works out to 77¢ or 67¢ per four ounce portion depending on if you buy bone in or not. This will last Bailey and I for six meals each. 

The bone in chicken thighs come out to $2.00 per pound, which is a good price these days for chicken thighs unless you find them on sale, which I’ve seen priced even higher than chicken breasts recently. 

And wouldn’t you know it, the sale ads came out this week and Food Lion has whole roaster chickens on sale for $1.49 a pound this week while Kroger has chicken legs and thighs for 99¢ per pound, and Save a Lot has chicken leg quarters for 69 a pound this week. As always, be sure to check your prices and stock up if possible when the price is right. 

Recipe of the Week

Baked Chicken Thighs

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, or dried oregano

2 teaspoons paprika

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt, or ½ teaspoon table salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

3 pounds chicken thighs

2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions: 

 

Preheat the oven to 400° F. 

Line a 13x9-inch baking dish with parchment paper.

Whisk together the seasonings.

Rub both sides of the chicken with the olive oil. 

Sprinkle and rub the seasoning on both sides of the chicken thighs. 

Bake in the oven for 30 (boneless) to 40 (bone-in) minutes. 

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ This day we had Tuna Pate for dinner along with Mexican Chopped Salad over Cruciferous Crunch salad, corn on the cob, and the last of the golden honeydew melon. It was a refreshing summer time dinner in the middle of a heat wave. 

Tuesday ~ Movie night, so Bailey had her usual chicken pizza with red onions. I decided on a grilled chicken salad instead. 🥗 

Wednesday ~ Grilled Cajun Chicken Salads, Steamed Carrots, and Chopped Mexican Salad. 

Thursday ~ Baked Chicken Thighs, Corn on the Cob, Green Salad. Bailey prefers the dark meat over white meat and really enjoys these cooked with the recipe above. 

Friday ~ Baked Chicken Thighs, Green Beans with Onions. 

Saturday ~ As a treat, Bailey brought home Pizza Hut pizza for dinner. Yum!

Sunday ~ Chili with Cornbread baked on top just like my Mom used to make. 💕 

What’s on the Menu for This Coming Week

These are the items we have on hand that I can use to make meals this week. Be sure to come back next week to see what sides we serve with these main dishes. 

BBQ Pork

Chili Tacos

Soup Beans, Greens & Cornbread

Turkey Bacon Burgers

Tuna Pasta Salad

Beef Vegetable Stew

Macaroni & Cheese

 resourceful and raid your cupboards or

Belinda

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

set up well or Jell-O that you make for this purpose from a store brand.

Kool-Aid or lemonade mixes bought on sale.

3rd Frugal Friday of July 2023

Welcome to Friday! 
Quote of the Week

Most people want the benefits of frugal living, but don't want to do the work of frugality.

My Frugal Week
It’s been one year since I bought a new air conditioner for my bedroom. The one I replaced was thirty years old or more and no longer energy efficient. July is the month of the year when our electric bill is the highest. In July of 2022 the bill was $461.87 while the bill for this month is $323.86, which is a difference of $138.01. 
On Monday I returned to the retina specialist. He said there were some improvement in my left eye, but it was still leaking more than he wanted and needed a lot of work still. He gave me another injection for Lucentis and I am to return in four weeks. 
This week I earned an Amazon gift card for $10 for completing a survey from Consumer Opinion Institute. 
I went to Walmart on Tuesday and one of the things I needed to do was to get a refund where they charged me for three melons when I only bought two. I was looking over my new receipt as I was waiting and saw where they charged me twice for something else and needed to be refunded. This was over $13 in refunds, so be sure to check your receipts! 
Question of the Week
Have you tried monk fruit yet? What do you think about it? I tried it for the first time this week. It doesn’t sweeten things like sugar does, but also doesn’t have the aftertaste of some sugar substitutes. 
I made myself some tea and sweetened it with the monk fruit and it was refreshing, and it was a change of pace from drinking water, but I don’t see myself making tea with it very often. 
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen & Meals This Week & Recipe of the Week
These three subjects will now become part of my Monday blogging series. So, if you’re interested in these topics, please come back on Monday to read all about how we save money in the kitchen in our frugal home.
Saving on Entertainment
West Texas Hummingbird Cam
What I've been Reading/Watching This Week
Blue Zones ~ Secrets to a Long Life ~ thanks to Bobbi for the suggestion in last week’s comment section, I went looking for and found this documentary on the Blue Zones. It’s free to watch on YouTube. 

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

Menu Plan Monday ~ July 17, 2023

Monday ~  I've mentioned that my doctor wants me to follow a low carb Mediterranean diet. In order to do that I've been revamping some of my older recipes. For dinner on Monday I made Poppy Seed Chicken, but left out the Ritz crackers and butter topping. I used a can of Pacific organic cream of mushroom rather than an unhealthy version of cream soup. 

Tuesday ~ I decided to make Taco Rice for dinner. Since I’m keeping a lower carb count these days I decided to use chopped cauliflower instead of rice. One cup of cauliflower rice has 25 calories with 4 grams of carbohydrates while one cup of rice has 206 calories and 45 grams of carbohydrates, which will make a difference in my blood sugar numbers. 

Wednesday ~ I had some grilled Cajun chicken in the refrigerator that I wanted to use for dinner, so I made a nice garden salad to go with it. I had stopped in at Trader Joe’s earlier in the day and picked up some cruciferous crunch and added that to our salads along with red peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers. 

Thursday ~ I made Bean and Cheese Enchiladas for dinner tonight. I made a chopped salad to go with it and served it with steamed carrots and yellow squash. 

Friday ~ Chicken Stir Fry with cauliflower rice, yellow squash, and carrots. Golden honeydew melon for something sweet. Chicken Stir Fry with onions, yellow squash, carrots, cauliflower rice, golden honeydew melon. 

Saturday ~ We decided on Salmon Patties for dinner along with more of the chopped salad, steamed carrots, and yellow squash. I usually serve green beans with salmon, but we have plenty of vegetables already cooked, so there is no need to make more. I also cut up two of our golden honeydew melons to have something sweet.

Sunday ~ Tuna Pate, Mexican “Rice” Salad, Golden Honeydew Melon. 

Recipe of the Week

Mexican Rice Salad

Ingredients:

3 cups chopped cauliflower rice

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 red onion, chopped

2 cups tomatoes, Pico de Gallo or your favorite salsa

1 can or 1.5 cups of your favorite beans, drained and rinsed

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon lime juice

Directions:

Mix all ingredients a large bowl and chill in the refrigerator before serving. 

Thank you for dropping by my frugal blog, you are always welcome here. 

We would love to hear what’s for dinner in your home this week.

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