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.