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Friday, July 14, 2023

Second Frugal Friday of July 2023



Welcome to Frugal Friday! 

My Frugal Week

Two weeks ago we picked up a computer at a yard sale for $20, but then couldn't use it here. We ended up selling it on Facebook Marketplace for $60. 

We used that money to go to multiple yard sales on Saturday. We went to seventeen yard sales, which took us about four hours. 


I came home with two refrigerator containers, a set of measuring cups, one metal water bottle, and a new to me book, United Tastes of the South, written by Jessica Dupuy.  


From Amazon…
From the Gullah-Geechee rice pirlaus of coastal South Carolina to Delta Hot Tamales from Mississippi's alluvial plains, the food of the South is a multicultural melting pot. In United Tastes of the South, food writer Jessica Dupuy, […] focus on the diverse cuisines of the American South. 


Bailey, who loves to read, came across a great yard sale with several books on her wish list. Her and the lady running the sale made a great deal on her books. Bailey also came home with inventory for her shops. 

One of the things we picked up at Goodwill last week was a Deluxe Waffle Bowl Maker from Yes Chef. I used it on Sunday morning to make Egg and Cheese Hash Brown Waffle Bowls. You can also use it to make waffle bowls for ice cream, but I won't be doing that. You can also use it to make bacon bowls. 


On Wednesday I drove to the little free pantry to drop off a gifted to us two liter bottle of Mountain Dew that we do not drink. I swung by again after my errands and it was already gone. I love it when that happens. 

Freebies

We had several food items gifted to us this week and some that we will not use, so I offered it up on our community Facebook page and it was taken that evening. 

This Week’s To Do List

๐Ÿงบ Laundry
๐Ÿณ Kitchen Duties
๐Ÿงบ Kitchen Laundry

Avoiding Spending

We couldn't avoid spending this week as we were running low on laundry detergent. 

Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen


I ran into Food City while we were out yard sale-ing and picked up two of
these taco salad kits for $3.00 each. I also picked up some ripe bananas on markdown.

I mentioned last week that my doctor wants me to follow the Mediterranean diet while another doctor of mine wants me to follow a low carbohydrate diet.  So, in order to do that I've been revamping some of my older recipes while using up items we have on hand at the same time. 

For example, I have a recipe for Poppy Seed Chicken with Ritz crackers and butter as a topping. The carbohydrates from that recipe are higher than I want to eat, so I removed those two items entirely from the recipe. 

I also had one can of organic Pacific Foods cream of mushroom soup, which was gifted to us, which I can use in this recipe. A win-win situation for us lowering both the calories, carbs, and using up what we have on hand. 

I’ve been using the Lose It app to keep track of the amount of carbs I’ve been eating. We definitely stay away from processed food for that reason, but even some fruits and vegetables are high in carbs like bananas. In that case, it’s best to just add part of a banana to a fruit smoothie rather than multiple fruits, which would really increase the carb count. 

I made my own popsicles this week using apple juice as the base. It sure does save money over store bought popsicles. 

Meals This Week

I'm going to try a change and see how it sticks. I'm going to go back to the way I used to do my Meals this Week blog post and post them on Monday. 

Recipe of the Week

Bailey really likes the chipotle sauce from Taco Bell. She even buys it over the counter at the grocery store. 


So. I bought this can of La Costena Chipotle peppers at Walmart for $1.48 and made some at home to save money. Bailey declared it a hit, so here is the recipe if you're interested. 

Cottage Cheese Chipotle Ranch

Ingredients:

1 can chipotle peppers (very strong! we used less than half the can)
1 - 24 ounce container of low fat cottage cheese
1 package ranch seasoning mix (I used Great Value)
Salsa or in our case, taco seasoning

Directions:

I used my high powered blender to puree the cottage cheese into a more sour cream consistency and then added the other ingredients. I stored the dip in the cottage cheese container when I was done. The measurements are arbitrary, so feel free to add or decrease them to suit your families tastes. 

Saving Money YouTube Videos

Poor Man Meals when Money is Tight by Southern Frugal Momma

Mediterranean Diet/What I Eat in a Day on a Budget by Mediterranean Living

What I’ve Been Reading This Week

The Mediterranean Dish 



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





21 comments:

  1. My girls and I watch Southern Frugal Mama. Her style and voice are so homey and calming. She has great ideas for stretching budgets, even if I'd prepare very few things the same, the ideas are there. Nice yard sale finds.

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    1. Thank you, Sam. It is so great to see you posting. I hope you are doing well.

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  2. (Little Penpen) I’ve never seen the waffle bowl maker before, but it looks awesome. Tell Bailey that A Man Named Ove is one of my all time favorite books. My husband and I have been low carb’ing for approx a month now. I’ve lost 13 pounds and I’m really enjoying finding new recipes to try. We splurged and bought a box of Carbquik mix and we’ve made pancakes with SF syrup a couple of times. Those seem to satisfy my sweet tooth when necessary.

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    1. The waffle bowl maker was so neat! I will definitely tell Bailey it is one of your favorite books. She said the online reviews for it were really good. I'll have to look up the Carbquik mixes. Thanks!

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  3. You did good at the yard sales. Hope you guys have a lovely weekend.

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    1. Thank you, Cheryl. We hope you have a lovely weekend too.

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  4. My husband has to eat Keto for a food allergy, and we try to keep things reasonably low carb. It does save a lot of unnecessary calories for sure. The feedback I've always been given is that fruit & vegetables is not where unnecessary calories are coming from, so don't sweat too much tracking those. Of course, everyone has different responses to various foods.

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    1. That is good advice, thank you. I mean how bad can a banana be for you? Right!? I'd rather be eating that that something processed. Thanks again.

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  5. Great yard sale finds, Belinda! I've been wanting to read that book "A Man Called Ove". Concerning the Mediterranean Diet: I highly recommend the book "The Blue Zones" by Dan Butner. There is also a documentary about it. It is just amazing. There is only one Blue Zone in America and it is in Loma Linda, CA, the Seventh Day Adventis (sp?). Blessings to you and Bailey!

    Bobbi

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    1. Thank you, Bobbi. I had heard of the a Blue Zones, but didn’t know there was a documentary on it, so all be sure to look for that this week. Thank you so much.

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  6. I love those refrigerator containers! They would come in handy in my fridge for sure. We follow the low carb diet ..we have found low carb bread and everything.

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    1. I love those containers too, Vickie. They come in handy to corral stuff in the fridge. Oh, that is great about the low cab bread. I would love to have some of that. I'll be sure to look for it.

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  7. Very nice profit on the computer! I live in the land of those Delta Hot Tamales mentioned in that Southern cookbook you got! Also great score on the refrigerator containers. I need more of those.

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    1. Thank you, Mandy. Yum, we love tamales. Lucky you for living where they originated from. ๐Ÿ˜Š

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  8. Sounds like a great week! You found lots of goodies, but I think that I would have been about to drop from seventeen yard sales in four hours! You have great stamina! What a fun waffle maker, and I love how you made the hash brown crust, yum. Thanks for the recipe, that sounds really good.
    My husband took me to Charlotte to see the musical Six for my birthday, and it was really fun. We stopped in Mt Airy and saw Pilot mountain, and I think those were the friendliest folks I have ever met, definitely Mayberry. :)
    Hope you have a great week.

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    1. Thank you, Kathy. I wondered where you were. How neat that your husband took you to Charlotte. I’m glad you had a good time seeing the musical, Six. We loved Mr. Airy when we stopped in there. You’re right, it’s definitely friendly and Mayberry. We stopped in at the Snappy cafe and had the pork tenderloin sandwiches, which were delicious. That was a fun trip for us too. I hope you also have a great week. ๐Ÿ˜Š

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    2. LOL, that many yard sales is definitely exhausting. I had to come home and take a nap. LOL

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  9. Oh how fun! We were too late to try the pork sandwich at the Snappy Cafe; I think they were only open for breakfast and lunch. I almost bought a jar of Aunt Bea's kerosene cukes at the mercantile, and I saw where "Barney" was giving tours in his police car. Sweet nostalgia.
    Now I just have to take a trip to Walton's mountain. :D

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    1. So neat Kathy! We have a picture in the jail using a cardboard cutout of Otis’s face. ๐Ÿ˜‚ I’m all in for a trip to Walton’s Mountain. I’ve always wanted to go there.

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  10. I love those days when you sell something you can't use and then have a shopping spree at yard sales or thrift stores.

    I love Bailey's books. Ready Player series is one of my husband's favorites. I love the Hunger Game series. I have to admit the Sarah J Maas series is not one of my favorites. I loved the secondary characters but I did not like the lead. V.E. Schwab always writes amazing books. Bailey got a really good selection.

    My husband loves Chipolte sauce from Taco Bell. He got an immersion blender last week during Prime. Thank you for the recipe. That was timing. :)

    I did a lot of heavy Prime & WM "Prime" shopping last week. Not frugal at all. I am set until next year. I did a lot of stocking up. I will only need to buy fresh food for the next few months. I did save a lot of money. It was so much work, lol. I am still worn out. I am really burned out on shopping now. :) Now, I can relax and enjoy thrifting.

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    1. I love days like those too. Some of my favorite days are spent at yard sales or thrift stores. Bailey was so tickled with the selection of books. She found a kindred spirit in the lady running the sale. She also really likes the chipotle sauce I made and puts it in a lot of stuff. I hope your hubby enjoys it too. Kudos to you for stocking up during the prime days! I ended up not buying my power bank as it was the same price on prime day as it was before, so no deal there for me. I’m glad you were able to get so much of what you needed to stock up. That is great!

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