Menu Plan Monday ~ Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen ~ Week #3 July 2025

 My Frugal Week

I avoided most of the food waste the second time in the hospital unlike the first time I was there. But, I’ve been vigilant this week to use up anything that needed using. Things have settled down a little bit this week and I’m hoping this week will be even better. 

I made more gelatin fruit cups on Thursday as we had eaten all the ones I made before  and they are perfect especially when you’re not feeling well. 

I cut up a cabbage, broccoli, and onions for Thursday night dinner. And also air fried peaches and bananas for dinner the last few nights. One of my friends said they air fry pineapple, so I’m going to try that soon too. 

I was really in use it up mode this past week or so and used up several food items from the freezer that had been hanging around such as a package of hot dogs among other things.  

It's such a good feeling to use up these items and not let them go to waste. As a result of using up what's in the freezer, we had plenty of room in the freezer for our turkey sausage deal we got in on last week. 

Recipe of the Week

I made this quiche recipe for dinner on Friday since we have a lot of cottage cheese on hand, lower amounts of meat, and it only calls for four eggs, a win-win in our situation. 

Cottage Cheese Crustless Quiche

Ingredients:

1 & ½ cups cottage cheese

4 eggs

1 cup spinach, sauteed

1 cup onions, sauteed

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

¼ cup parmesan cheese

One pinch nutmeg

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Grease a small casserole dish. 

Crack eggs into a bowl. 

Add cottage cheese, and spices.  

Whisk until smooth. 

Add in and stir other cheese, spinach, and onions. 

Pour into a casserole dish. 

Sprinkle with a little extra parmesan if desired. 

Place into the oven and bake for 40 to 50 minutes until golden and set.

Let cool slightly before cutting. 

Can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days.

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ Grilled Chicken Salads, Cantaloupe. 

Tuesday ~ Pizzas we picked up on the way home.

Wednesday ~ Grilled Chicken Salads, Queso & Chips, and Watermelon 

Thursday ~ Chicken Sausages, Fried Cabbage, Onions and Broccoli. 

Friday ~ Homemade Quiche, and the Fried Cabbage Stir Fry from Thursday. I also made a bean salad to go with dinner for the next few days too. Air fried peaches and bananas (400 degrees for 15 minutes), so delicious! 

Saturday ~ Beenie Weenies, Bean Salad , and Air Fried Peaches & Bananas. 

Sunday ~ Ground Turkey, which I turned into Italian Sausage. I served this with Penne Pasta in a Homemade Meat Sauce, and served Cauliflower as the vegetable. 

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

Belinda

Homemaker at Heart

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

Image Credit

Saturday Free Yard Sale

On Saturday we went to one yard sale, which was hosted by Crossroads Community Church. They host this yard sale every summer and everything is free.

In the picture above you can see several of the hard goods I picked up such as a tea cup & saucer, a pillowcase kit, brand new Pioneer Women place mats, a paper towel holder, a Matilda Jane water bottle, a metal food processor, a pink rug, several spurtles, storage jar, and Swiffer dry wipes. 

These were just a few of the things I picked up and I did get more things that didn’t make it into the picture. Things like a crossbody bag, more Keen shoes, fabric, basket, several pieces of jewelry and plenty of clothes. I just about filled my Hulken bag with clothing.

They had big ticket items too, but I didn’t look at those items as I was too busy looking at the fun stuff. They had a lot of furniture, bed clothes, pillows, and Christmas stuff, which I didn’t look at either as I was busy looking at things I enjoy. 

The crowd was a big one as you can imagine when everything is free, but was not overwhelming. Items did get picked up quickly and by the time we left was very much picked over. I thanked several of the volunteers on my way out for hosting such a terrific event in our community where people could get things they needed and not have to pay anything. 

It was a lot of fun, held indoors in the air conditioning, which was a plus. It was raining outside, so there weren't many yard sales otherwise. Bailey picked up several things for herself as well and had just as much fun as I did. 

Belinda 🫶 💕 Homemaker at Heart 💕 ~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27

Third Frugal Friday of July 2025

Welcome to Frugal Friday! 

Quote of the Week

Stop overspending on things you don’t need. Just stop. Decide and stop. There’s no secret magic wand. ~ Sara from Frozen Pennies

My Frugal Week
On Sunday evening we trapped the raccoon that had been tormenting us. I’m so glad to have him rehomed somewhere else. 
On Monday & Thursday I worked on getting the laundry washed including my bed linens. On Wednesday I worked on my other usual household tasks, which keeps our home running smoothly. We also weed eated in the yard some. 
Back on July 5th an anonymous person left me this comment about a can opener…

This is the NUFR Heavy Duty Crank Can Opener I’ve seen on Amazon, so I ordered it last week. I don’t have a number ten can in the house to open right now, but when I do I’ll be ready. I've had so much trouble with other can openers lasting for any length of time when it comes to the number ten cans. 

Deal of the Week
UGO had Jimmy Dean turkey sausage patties on sale this week for $1.00 per box of eight patties. 

This is a big savings over the retail price at Kroger, which sells this same box for $6.49. 

We bought four boxes of them, which each held eight packages, which is a total of 32 boxes. The retail value of 32 boxes at Kroger would have been $207.68, but we only paid $32 for ours, which makes this the best deal of the week. 

Freebies
Keep The Beat ~ Heart Healthy Recipes 
Heart Healthy Home Cooking African American Style

Health News
I received a good report from my recent mammogram last week. 
On Tuesday I was able to get an opening and went back to the hospital and had the kidney stent removed. The urologist blasted the stone and put in a temporary stent to remove any fragments left from the stone. 
Photo of the Week
Here is an updated picture of me that I took on Tuesday. 

Avoiding Spending
We did not avoid spending this week as we needed supplies for several different things such as groceries and such. And Bailey plans on going to yard sales this weekend, so that will be money spent too.   
Saving Money YouTube Videos
6 Low Income Frugal Habits That Help You Survive on $1,170 a Month ~ This video comes from the YouTube Channel of Sara Conklin who creates content at Frozen Pennies. 
Sara has a speaking style that I enjoy as she is on task and says what she wants to say quickly without wasting your time. She also wrote the book Fundamentally Frugal. I think you'll enjoy a lot of her free content. 
Saving Money on Entertainment
This week I broke down and joined Netflix for $7.99 per month with ads. I just decided that with being sick lately, I wanted to be able to just veg out, lay in bed, and watch stuff. I don’t know if we will keep it or not, but it’s cheaper than going out to the movies. 
What I've been Reading This Week
SavingAdvice.com Blogs ~ There are some real gems here to read and learn to build your frugal skills. They also have forums here, like the old AOL frugal message boards, if you're interested in those. 
Cooking on a Small Budget ~  from The Frugal Kitchen
In Conclusion 
I hope you've had a good week. I've went ahead and planned out my budget for the month of August and hope and pray that it works according to plan. Here is hoping we all have a good frugal month. 

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 🫶 💕 Homemaker at Heart 💕 ~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27

Saving Money on Food from Home at the Grocery Store

If you are trying to save money by taking your food and snacks with you when you leave the house this tip is for you. 
Even with good planning on my part, there are times when we are out of the house longer than I had planned and we need something to eat. 
One time when we were out of the house with no food, I decided to go to the grocery store. 
Here is what I purchased:
I went to the deli and purchased 1/2 pound of the deli meat they had on sale, which cost me $2.50. I had them slice it thin to stretch it as far as possible. 
I also picked up a couple of single use mayonnaise packets from the deli, so no cost for those. I also picked up a loaf of bread for 86¢ (even I was expecting to pay more for the bread). 
So, for $3.36 plus tax, I was able to make us several sandwiches and put the rest into our cooler. 
We bring the cooler with us every time with ice and cold drinks. I placed the deli meat inside to take home for later, and we still had some of that deli meat to use for other sandwiches at home later. 
I would not be able to get that much food at a fast food establishment for such a small amount of money.
So, even when it seems unconventional, be sure to use the grocery store for food especially for times like this in your effort to save money. 

Belinda

Homemaker at Heart

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

Menu Plan Monday ~ Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen ~ Week #2 July 2025

M

My Frugal Week

Bailey had a porch pickup scheduled for Saturday night.  The pesky raccoon came and tried to get into the bag. I chased him off at least twice and I know he came back again. So, Bailey set the trap to catch him Sunday, and we caught him. So, now he will be rehomed. 

On Sunday I had to pick up one prescription for antibiotics, so I stopped at the peach orchard and bought more peaches as they’ve been delicious this year. 

 

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ BBQ Chicken, Field Peas and Snaps, and Corn. 

Tuesday ~ Homemade Pizza and Salad

Wednesday ~ Chicken Fajitas with Onions & Peppers, Flour or Corn Tortillas, Tomatoes, Black Olives, Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Queso, Chipotle Sauce, Taco Sauce, Corn. 

Thursday ~ Bailey had the Chicken Fajitas again and I had roast turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans and a roll in the hospital. The turkey was so good. 

Friday ~ Bailey finished the Chicken Fajitas and I had chicken tenders, vegetable broth (so delicious) French fries, and strawberry gelatin in the hospital. 

Saturday ~ Breakfast in the hospital was so good. They gave me an omelet with cheese and tomatoes, bacon, an English muffin with cream cheese, a fresh fruit cup and grape juice. 

Dinner at home (yay!) was Chicken Tenders that we picked up on the way home along with French fries, and peach cobbler. I went to bed right afterwards and slept like a log. LOL

Sunday ~ Dinner at home was Salads as we still had Chicken Tenders left, so I cut those up and we topped our salads with them. I also cut up the red and orange bell peppers I bought this week. 

I’m hoping things settle down here this week. What’s been on the menu in your home this past week?

Belinda

Homemaker at Heart

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

Image Credit

Second Frugal Friday of July 2025

Welcome to Frugal Friday on Saturday night. 

Sorry this is later than usual, but I had a high fever on Thursday that warranted another trip to the emergency room. 
Turns out I had another infection from the kidney stone, so they gave me more IV fluids, antibiotics and cancelled my stent removal surgery scheduled for Friday. 
They also wouldn’t let me leave the hospital until I was fever free for twenty four hours. That turned out to be on Saturday around four p.m. and let me tell you I was ready and had one foot out the door. 
Anyway, the rest of this blog post is what I had ready to post up to the point I went to the hospital. 
I hope you enjoy it. 
My Frugal Week
Last week at the church yard sale, Bailey and I both had our Hulken bags with us shopping the sale. We received multiple comments on how nice the bags were. Bailey told one lady that I got mine at a yard sale the week before and she was so surprised. 
We would not dream of spending over our means. This only brings debt, trouble, and unhappiness.  There are so many choices we can make in our lives, in the homes we choose to buy, the food we choose to buy, and the presents we give, that we can choose a simple standard of living that brings us contentment. 
On Wednesday I had to go to the post office to mail some packages. I was right by the middle school where I used to sub, so I checked in their little free pantry and found it empty. So, since I hadn’t brought all my groceries up from the car yet, I went through them and placed a few items in there. 
Students are out of school for the summer and sometimes school is one of the few places they get to eat, and they miss out during the summer. So, hopefully this will bless someone. Afterwards I filled up my car with gas ($2.64/gallon) as it needed filling. 
I did not buying anything from Amazon Prime this week. 

On Wednesday I cut up a cantaloupe and a golden honeydew melon to have fresh fruit on hand. We also have peaches from the local peach orchard. 

I have a raccoon getting into the garbage this week, so I went ahead and drove the garbage and peelings to the garbage dumpster, so he wouldn’t get into it again. He even knocked down both of my hummingbird feeders and destroyed them getting the nectar out. 😢 

Freebies
A free cookbook from the Food bank of Iowa 
Free PDF of the Make Do and Mend booklet put out by the British government during World War II. 

We cannot believe the freebie we got this week! I just happened to check Facebook for some reason and came across a post from a lady who said the Walmart truck wasn’t coming and she had to get rid of some cottage cheese. 
It was the full fat version that Bailey uses, so I texted her and she messaged the lady and was out the door in about five minutes. 

She came home with 24 containers of cottage cheese! The lady even had more, but Bailey was thrilled with what she got and other people were coming for some too. How cool was that? She figured it was over $70 worth of cottage cheese, all for free. I’m so glad that I just happened to check Facebook. 
Health News
On Tuesday I went to my rheumatologist and got a good report from her. The nurse was so excited about my weight loss and walking that she hugged me!
I also went to the retina specialist for injections in both eyes. My eyesight is much better today as a result. 
Saving Money YouTube Videos

How to Live on $3 per Day One Dollar Meals ~ A Video Series by Life by Mike including six videos for 21 meals for seven days. 
Here is what he has to say about the first video:

In this episode we are exploring how to really survive, in a big way, on $1 a meal, that's $3 a day, and $21 for an entire week. I set out to figure out how it would be possible for someone to really eat, not only cheap, but still make amazing food and feel satisfied. 

Saving Money on Entertainment

There is an app I just started using called Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab, which I love! 
If you hear a bird song that you want to identify, this is the app. Just press the record button and it will tell you. 
The other morning I could hear this bird singing away, so I recorded the bird and this is what the app stated:
Carolina Wren
Medium-sized wren, familiar and fairly common in eastern North America. Fairly bright rufous above and unmarked buffy below with a bold white eyebrow. Tail is often cocked up. Disjunct population on the Yucatán peninsula is duller brown. Superficially similar to Bewick’s Wren but much brighter and slightly shorter-tailed. Usually hides in dense thickets and hedgerows, often close to human habitation. Occasionally visits feeders, especially for suet or mealworms. Listen for loud, ringing song and variety of harsh scolding calls.
It is just the neatest app. If you try it let me know what you think.

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 🫶 💕 Homemaker at Heart 💕 ~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27