Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen ~ Week #3 September 2025

 

My Frugal Week

Last Monday I decided to take the leftover turkey carcass to the county dumpster. I've been battling a raccoon getting into the garbage here, which I didn’t want, so I fixed that issue. 

Since I didn't have much garbage, I decided to take advantage of that and went downstairs to clear out the few things left in my Dad’s refrigerator and freezer. Some yogurt, a frozen pizza, a couple of water jugs, and a chocolate cake I made him for his last birthday, which was a 9 x 13 size. He had frozen it so he could have a piece every now and then. 

All that remains in that refrigerator/freezer is the one turkey we have left. On a good note, we can use that fridge as a back up to ours upstairs in case we need any extra cold storage, which does happen from time to time.  

On Monday afternoon I sorted and rinsed some pinto beans and put them into a bowl of water to soak overnight and cooked them in the Instant Pot the next day. This made additions to various meals all week long. 

Photo of the Week

These are the acorn squash we received for free last week, nine in all. We enjoyed them two times last week. 

Recipe of the Week

This is a recipe for healthy brownies that I tried recently. I’ve tweaked the recipe a little and added my own touches to make them taste better. This is really good with just a tiny sprinkle of kosher salt on top, sort of like a sweet and savory combination. 

Brownies

Ingredients:

3 bananas, ripened

1/4 cup cocoa or cacao powder

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla (my addition)

1/2 teaspoon salt (my addition)

Directions: 

Mash bananas and add to a bowl.

Add peanut butter and cocoa and mix well.

Stir in vanilla and salt and stir together.

Place in an 8x8 pan and spread out.

I used parchment paper to keep them from sticking.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

 

What Was for Dinner

Monday ~ Turkey Salad on Pita Bread, Bean Salad and Corn 

Using the Jennieo Roasted Turkey I made over the weekend, I borrowed a tip from Carol on the Living Simply Facebook group and made Turkey salad for dinner. 

I cut up the turkey, added Greek yogurt, chopped onions, apples, pecans, celery, and raisins along with some salt, pepper, and light mayonnaise. I served these on whole wheat pita bread along with bean salad and corn as the side dishes. 

Bailey liked the turkey salad so much she asked me to repeat the process with the other turkey, so we may not be saving that one for Thanksgiving after all. 

Tuesday ~ General Tso's Chicken & Grilled Chicken Salad 

I had a General Tso Chicken from Whole Foods in the freezer, so I thawed that for Bailey to have for her dinner. I had a grilled chicken salad for my dinner. 

Wednesday ~ Turkey Polish Sausage, Pinto Beans, Cooked Carrots 

I had planned on making Lentil Loaf today, and even had the lentils cooked, only to walk into the kitchen at dinner making time to find Bailey working with tie dye in the kitchen sink, and then a mishap as a leak was discovered in her bin, which leaked onto the kitchen floor. 

After the cleanup I needed a new plan as there wasn’t enough time left to make the lentil loaf. So, I took a package of Turkey Polish Sausage out of the freezer and put them on the grill. I already had pinto beans cooked in the instant pot and would use those and put a bag of baby carrots in my other instant pot and those were done in ten minutes. Whew, crisis diverted. 😂 

Thursday ~ Lentil Loaf, Baked Acorn Squash, and Carrots. 

The lentils were already cooked for dinner, so this was an easy meal prep. This was an inexpensive meal as the lentils, oats and acorn squash were given to me, all I had to pay for was the onion, cheese, egg, and tomato sauce. 

Remember when I bought those eight can of tomato sauce this summer at a church yard sale for 25 cents? I used half of one of those in this dish, so this was definitely an inexpensive main dish. 

We just love this recipe so much! It’s delicious and I’m grateful to Jennifer who posted it on the Living Simply Facebook group. Bailey had two helpings as she really enjoys it too. The acorn squash was also delicious. 

Friday ~ Hamburgers with Cheese, and Corn on the Cob. 

I went to Food City to get some cheese for dinner. I spotted this 1.64 pound package of ground round on markdown for $5.90, so I bought it and when I got home Bailey wanted me to make hamburgers with for dinner, so that is what we had. I served them with onions, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, and pickles. 

Saturday ~ Bean & Cheese Enchiladas, Mexican Corn, and Salad. 

Pinto Beans were soaked overnight and cooked earlier in the week. All I had to do today was mash them up to make refried beans and then make the enchiladas. Rather than use sour cream in the recipe I used blended cottage cheese. I added some cumin and mild green chilies to the beans. I made eight of them and ended up with three leftover. 

Sunday ~ Leftovers, Acorn Squash, and Mixed Vegetables

We had enough bean and cheese enchiladas and lentil loaf to have for dinner tonight. Even after dinner I still have one slice of lentil loaf, which I’ll eat for lunch tomorrow. Sides were baked acorn squash along with a bag of frozen mix vegetables, which is a such a great convenience food to keep on hand. 

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

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