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Monday, August 7, 2023

Menu Plan Monday ~ Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen August 7, 2023

Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen


My Frugal Week

I perused the grocery store sale ads online as usual looking for any good loss leaders to stock up on this week. We went to Kroger on Wednesday and picked up several loss leaders. 


First off was this eight ounce block of mozzarella cheese for 63 cents. That almost trumps the time we bought cheese for 50 cents a block at the close out store, but that was twenty years ago. We also used a digital coupon and picked up the 32 ounce blocks of cheese for $4.99, normally priced at $7.99, which is also a great price. 


Second were these containers with four yogurts inside for $1.20. I normally pay $2.47 for the Great Value brand at Walmart, so this was a very good deal.
 


Next was a 33 ounce container of Noosa strawberry yogurt for $1.76, which normally sells for $5.49, so another good deal. This has the best flavor and was so good!


Next was this container of Everything Bagel dip for 66 cents.


We also picked up a garlic and herb rotisserie
 chicken on mark down for $3.20, which works out to $1.60 per pound. 


And finally from Food City, which I stopped in after my dentist appointment on Tuesday. I found this later in the afternoon around four o'clock, which surprised me that it was still there. The price worked out to $2.29 per pound, which is good these days. 

Recipe of the Week

This is my recipe I use for Dirty Rice. I’ve used smoked sausage, Polish sausage, pecan smoked sausage, pork sausage, and Andouille sausage. This week we used Holmes Smokehouse Pecan Smoked Kielbasa, which we bought from Publix and was delicious.

Dirty Rice


Ingredients:


Your choice of meat (12 to 16 ounces)

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cups cooked rice

1 onion, chopped

1 celery rib, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 to 3 teaspoons Cajun Spice Mix (recipe below)


Directions:


I cook my rice ahead of time using 1 part rice to 2 parts broth or water. 

Then I have leftover rice for another meal later in the week.

You can also cook your rice in with the meat after it’s browned, if you prefer.


Pan fry your meat selection in a skillet with a couple tablespoons of olive oil.

Add the holy trinity of onions, celery, and bell peppers.

Cook for five minutes or until softened.

Add rice and stir well.

Add two to three teaspoons of Cajun seasoning mix.

Mix well and heat throughout.

Serve and enjoy.



Cajun Seasoning Mix


If you want to make this more Creole style you can add some chili powder to the mix. I like making my own Cajun seasoning mix because I can control the hot spices that go into the mix. Feel free to add cayenne pepper to your spice mix if you prefer.


Ingredients:


5 teaspoons paprika

3 teaspoons salt

4 teaspoons garlic powder

4 teaspoons onion powder

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons dried thyme


Directions:


Add all spices together in a small mason jar.

Stir together well, label, and store with other spices.


What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ Dirty Rice with Pecan Smoked Sausage, Cole Slaw, Green Peas. 

Tuesday ~ I made extra rice on Monday, so today I made some Chicken Fried Rice. Of course, this is movie night for Bailey, so she had her usual movie night pizza with chicken and red onions. 

Wednesday ~ Chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and gravy. 

Thursday ~ Taco Thursday ~ We bought some ground chuck at Food City on markdown, so I fixed that for supper using my homemade taco seasoning mix. I served it with lettuce, tomatoes. And onions. 

Friday ~ Taco Meat with Cottage Cheese and Tomatoes.

Saturday & Sunday ~ White Chicken Enchiladas, Corn, Salad. I used the rotisserie chicken we bought on mark down for this dish, and I used blended cottage cheese instead of sour cream. I also made some more popsicles today using black cherry koolaid and jello along with some monk fruit as sweetener.

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 have a lot of chicken on hand, bacon, and pork, so I can make Chicken Fried Rice,  BLTs, and Quiche. Be sure to come back next week to see what sides we serve with these main dishes. 
 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




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.

18 comments:

  1. You got some great deals, Belinda! I love that you remember your cheese bargain from 20 years ago. I am the same way- a good deal is hard to forget!
    Thank you for sharing your dirty rice recipe- I've never made it before but I do like it.
    Also, I turned some leftover smoothie into popsicles for my boys because you had reminded me, and they loved them!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Kelsey. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time. As you know, markdowns can be hit or miss. Yum, smoothie popsicles sound so good. I’m glad your boys enjoyed them.I need to make some of those. 😊

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  2. GREAT deals!!!! I just love those markdowns - you can find the best things. Your menu sounds yummy.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Cheryl. I know you find some great markdowns at Kroger too.

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  3. You found some great deals! Love the cheese and yogurt prices. Your meals sound so good. I haven't tried the Holmes sausage, but I think our Food Lion carries the brand. I'm craving some dirty rice now. Thanks for the ideas. I haven't been able to think of anything I want to cook lately. Have a great week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Kathy. That Holmes sausage was delicious! I will definitely be buying it again. I get that “what am I going to cook for dinner now?” thinking process too. I’ve been making a list of meals we will eat over this past weekend. Hopefully it will give me some ideas. I hope you have a terrific week. 😊

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  4. I loved your rice and bean recipe and bet this dirt rice recipe will be a hit too.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Sam. We really like Dirty Rice and this recipe works well for us. 😊

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  5. I love a good markdown and love hearing about other's good markdowns. Tommy just browned the ground beef for spaghetti for two days. Plus, we have chicken leftovers. I need to cook more vegetables. I sliced two bell peppers and two onions to use in the spaghetti and for Tommy to put in salads. A can of green beans will help with the dinner tonight. Maybe we will buy more vegetables at the market tomorrow or next day. We are enjoying fresh blueberries, rhubarb, and peaches right now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love to hear about other people’s markdowns too. I’ve had a taste for spaghetti lately, so I’m going to have to break down and make some soon. This is such a great time to be enjoying the peaches and other fruits. We have a local orchard here and theirs were really good this year.

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  6. You found some seriously good deals.
    I tend to make my own spice blends also. I just save containers from blends I bought years ago and refill with the homemade stuff. It works for me and I don't have to guess what it is.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Anne. That is a GREAT idea to reuse your old spice jars for the same mix you make yourself. I love that idea!

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  7. Oh wow I wish we had a store with markdowns. My supervisor deal was BOGO Alfresco chicken sausage for which I used a $2 digital coupon and my final cost was 25 cents

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    Replies
    1. What a great deal on the chicken sausage, Lana. Chicken sausage has been trending on Tik Tok and it’s making me want to try it. I look at it at the store, but there are so many choices.

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  8. Great deals on the food. Your menu looks wonderful as usual.

    God bless.

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  9. HI Belinda! I sent you a message re: my blog. No worries if you've moved in another direction. Hope that all is well. Carol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for checking with me, Carol. It was definitely a mistake and I’m happy to stay in one of my favorite Facebook groups. 😊

      Delete

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