Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen ~ Menu Plan Monday

 

Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen

My Frugal Week

Good Monday morning to all my readers, I hope you are doing well this morning. The weather is cooling down here and you know what that means, it’s soup season and that includes chili. Don’t forget about the Universal Soup Recipe to build soup from ingredients you have in your home and my soup blog page dedicated to soups. 

This week I had a taste for something sweet and a glass of cold chocolate milk usually hits the spot. So, I made a batch of chocolate syrup this week and added it to a glass of almond milk. It’s definitely cheaper to make your own at home and it definitely tasted good. 

We received multiple items of free food last week, which I wrote about in my Frugal Friday blog post, so I added the new food to my inventory list to keep it current. Knowing what food we have on hand definitely helps in planning meals, which helps me save money on my food budget. 

I don’t know if you’ve heard of Water Tok or not, but it involves Jordan’s Skinny Syrups, which are zero calorie syrups you add to water or coffee to add flavor. I don’t use them as they bother my stomach, but a Bailey enjoys them. 

The pumps for the bottles are sold separately, and they come with just a regular screw on lid. However, I keep lids and various tops from certain bottles and had a couple in my collection with pour spouts, so I replaced the regular caps with the lids with pour spouts, which will make them easier to pour thus eliminating any waste. 

Recipe of the Week

Savory Baked Spaghetti

Ingredients:

1 - 16 ounce package spaghetti

1 medium onion, chopped

1 - 26 ounce jar spaghetti sauce

1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

2 eggs

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

5 Tablespoons butter, melted

2 cups small curd cottage cheese

4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions: 

Cook spaghetti according to package directions.

Cook beef and onion until beef is cooked through and then drain.

Stir in spaghetti sauce, seasoned salt, and set aside.

Whisk the eggs, parmesan cheese and butter.

Drain spaghetti and add to egg mixture, and toss to coat.

Place half of the spaghetti mixture in a greased 9 by 13 inch baking dish.

Top with half of the cottage cheese, meat sauce, and mozzarella cheese.

Repeat layers.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Uncover, and bake 20 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Photo of the Week

Making taco seasoning mix recently. Making my own spice mixes really helps me to save money in the kitchen over store bought spice mixes.

What’s for Breakfast

Breakfast Options for this week included waffles, cottage cheese, grilled cheese, toast with jelly, oatmeal, grits, eggs & toast, yogurt, and fruit options were nectarines, oranges, apples, strawberries, applesauce, apricots, pears, and blueberries. Yogurt parfaits were also an option. 

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ I made a teriyaki sauce using one cup water, 1/4 cup sauce sauce, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon garlic, and a slurry of 2 tablespoons corn starch with 1/4 cup cold water. I then used the chicken breast I made up in the crockpot on Sunday and added some to the sauce. It was more than enough for dinner and still have more chicken for tomorrow. I served it with rice and steamed broccoli. 

Tuesday ~ I used more of the Sunday chicken and chopped some up into bite sized pieces and stirred in some sugar free BBQ sauce. Then I made two baked potatoes in the oven and topped them with the BBQ chicken. They are always a big hit. 

Wednesday ~ I took more of the chicken from Sunday and added cheese and pepperonis to it to make it like a pizza with no crust. I served this with corn and cherry tomatoes. I also put the last of the chicken into th freezer for future meals. 

Thursday ~ I pulled out a package of bacon from the freezer and also pulled out some ground beef to thaw for Friday. For dinner Thursday I made breakfast for dinner, which can be a real money saver.

I cooked the bacon and used the drippings from that to make white gravy. I also made scrambled eggs with cheese and served them with the  gravy, toast and the bacon. 

There was also have plenty of fruit (peaches, oranges, apples, apricots and pears) on hand in case anyone was still hungry, which turned out not to be the case.

Friday ~ Meatballs (recipe below) in brown gravy, steamed carrots, corn. 

Second Recipe of the Week

Meatballs

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef

2 eggs

1 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 cup milk

Salt & Pepper

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup onion, chopped

Directions:

Add all ingredients together and mix well.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Makes 3 dozen meatballs.

Saturday ~ Meatballs, Green Beans, Corn.

Sunday ~ Fish & Chips ~ I baked some frozen salmon filets from the freezer and then flaked them into a bowl along with some lemon juice, dill, onion powder, cornmeal and an egg. I made them into salmon patties and browned them in a little olive oil. I served them with potatoes that I air fried into chips and some green beans. 

Beverages This Week

Sweet or Unsweetened Iced Tea

Herbal Hot Tea

Homemade Lemonade

Black Cherry Kool-Aid

Water, as usual

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. Canned salmon, ground beef, canned chicken, beef stew, baked spaghetti, BBQ, and plenty of rice and beans. Be sure to come back next week to see what sides we serve with these main dishes. 

Belinda

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