Menu Plan Monday ~ Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen

 

My Frugal Week

I've been reading a lot about people wanting to save money on groceries and spend less in 2025. It's very encouraging to read other people's stories on how they save money on groceries. I think a lot more people are going to be tightening their belts this year when it comes to food for a variety of reasons. 

Home production of food is one way to save money on groceries and a good way to stretch your income and increase your skills and talents. It is a way to teach your family to be self-sufficient by learning the fundamentals of work, industry, and thrift.

The apple butter I made for Christmas was a big hit with all the recipients. I used apples that were given to us and turned them into a gift for others and ourselves. 

Photo of the Week

Restocked on oranges, cheese sticks, and my vanilla caramel tea bags this week. 

 

What’s for Dinner

Friday ~ Honey Baked Ham & October Beans, Deviled Eggs, Cornbread Casserole, and a Pear/Cottage Cheese Salad. 

Ham cost $9.50 and I made three meals out of it, so $3.17 for ham, the portions I used for the following ingredients cost 56¢ for beans, 35c for butter, pears 29c, and cottage cheese 25c. Jiffy cornbread mix, eggs, and corn were given to us, so no cost for those items. 

I served this on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Each meal was $4.08, but $5.16 on Friday when I served the pear salad. This served two people each day and was definitely cheaper than eating out. 

Saturday & Sunday ~ Skillet Lasagna ~ I was thinking about what to make with the pound of bison I had in the freezer that I got on markdown for $5.00 and decided to make a skillet lasagna. I did not have lasagna noodles on hand, but did have chickpea rotini, which is why I decided to make it in a skillet. 

Bison was $5.00, dry spaghetti sauce mix was 91c, mozzarella was $1.04, Parmesan cheese was minimal, and cottage cheese was 96 cents for the amounts I used. Garlic, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and noodles were free.

Total cost was around $8.00 and made thirteen cups of lasagna, so around 62 cents per serving.

Some of our grocery items we use to make meals are obtained by us for free. Sometimes we go to community clothing giveaways and they also give away free food, sometimes we drop off food at the little free pantries and see something we will use and pick items up that way too. That is how those programs are intended to work, “take what you need, leave what you can”.

Sometimes the local churches will have free food giveaways also. There are just some ways to get free food in our community and it honestly helps us to stretch our budget since we are a lower income family. We try to do the best we can with the resources we have and this is one of the ways we do that. 

One of the ingredients I use in my kitchen is Lawry’s seasonings. My mother and grandmother used Lawry’s seasonings in their kitchens and I’ve continued that tradition. I also use other brands of spices, but Lawrys holds a special place in my heart. 

Back in the early 1980s my Dad took several of us to Lawry's Prime Rib Restaurant located on Ontario Street in Chicago.

I can still remember the carts of prime rib they rolled out on a silver trolley cart and allowed us to choose the cut we wanted. And, their famous original spinning salad bowl was really something to watch as the waiter had it spinning about two feet up in the air.

Eventually the Chicago restaurant closed its doors, and although they have other locations in the United States, I will always remember the Chicago restaurant fondly.

What’s been on the menu in your home this past week?

Belinda

Homemaker at Heart

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