Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen ~ Week #5 September 2025

My Frugal Week

These are some different vegetable trays I served with several meals this week.

Meal planning that incorporates budget friendly groceries with good nutrition is the name of the game here. It can’t be overstated how critical a good budget is these days while the cost of living remains high, but it’s also very important to me to keep the most nutritious food possible on our table. 

Publix had my favorite Almond Breeze unsweetened chocolate almond milk on sale for $2.00 each last week. I normally buy ten of anything I’m stocking up on, but the cashier informed me that Publix has a limit of eight sale items, which I didn’t know. No worries though as I was able to get eight for $2.00 each rather than the $2.75 they normally sell for, which saved me $6.00. 

It pays to watch carefully when buying anything. I went into UGO to buy their turkey pepperoni, which was on sale for $1.00, so I bought ten. Red bell peppers were also $1.00, so I bought four making my total $14 plus tax, but it rang up at over $17. 

So, I asked the cashier why and she said peppers were $1.48 each.  I told her about the sign and she asked the manager. Turns out they were $1.00 each, which lowered my total to $14.35, so paying attention pays off. 

On Wednesday I washed the kitchen laundry and multitasked by reading blogs while I was folding that laundry. One way we save money here is by not purchasing disposable, one use items.

Instead of paper towels, we use dish cloths, dish towels and reusable cloth napkins. I've not bought paper towels or napkins in years, so that is not an expense we have here. Also, I do not buy Kleenex as I use reusable flannel cloths I sewed years ago expressly for that purpose. 

Instead of dryer sheets, we use wool dryer balls. 

And we do not use paper plates, cups, or plastic utensils. This does involve a little extra cleaning, but does help us to save money here. 

If we do have any of these items here it's because someone gave us the items. I am not however, derogatory toward anyone for using paper plates or any of these disposable items as they can be a handy time saving convenience and I understand that is important to them. We simply don't use them here in our efforts to save money. 

This is rosemary that I picked free in the community garden and have hanging up in the kitchen to dry. 

On Friday People Helping People put the word out again that they had bread and vegetables to give away. So, I went and got the limit of two breads and more corn, okra, and a butternut squash. I just love that they give these items away for free. This time I was able to get twenty ears of corn. Here is a photo of them after I shucked them. 

These vegetables are grown by the Mennonites who live in our community and at the end of their sale week (Saturday evening) they donate what doesn’t sell to the lady who runs People Helping People. And she wants people to come get it, so it doesn’t sit there and go to waste. It’s a win-win situation for everyone. 

On Sunday I got busy processing all of that fresh produce. I broke green beans separating them from the field peas, which I will string later to dry. Shucked, washed and bagged the corn, washed and cut up the cucumbers and radishes, washed the mustard and salad greens, and made a cucumber salad to go with dinner. 

Breaking beans always bring back fond memories for me of breaking beans with family members who have since passed away and gone h0me. They taught me so many skills that I still use to this day and I consider it my duty to pass on to the next generation so these skills are not lost over time. 

Recipe of the Week

I went to ChatGPT for an eggplant recipe to use up the eggplant we received from People Helping People this week. 

I made this for dinner on Wednesday and I really liked it, although Bailey just thought it was so-so. The combination of the spices is what makes it taste good. 

I didn’t brush the oil mixture onto the eggplant slices, but rather poured them over the eggplant in a bowl, stirred to combine, and then placed them on a baking sheet. 

Roasted Garlic & Herb Eggplant with Tahini Drizzle

Ingredients:

2 medium eggplants

3 tablespoon olive oil

4 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon smoked paprika (I used regular paprika)

1 teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons tahini

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons fresh parsley

Directions:

Slice eggplant into half inch slices. 

Sprinkle lightly with salt to draw out extra moisture, and pat dry. 

In a small bowl, mix olive oil, garlic, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper.

Brush on both sides of the eggplant.

Roast in a 400 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes flipping halfway through. 

Make sauce by whisking tahini, lemon juice, and water until smooth.

Place eggplant on a serving dish and top with tahini sauce. 

Sprinkle with parsley.

Photo of the Week

This is a photo of me at People Helping People picking the free vegetables. I didn’t realize the owner took my picture and put it on Facebook telling people to come get the vegetables until after I came home and saw it on Facebook. I told Bailey I was famous now. 😂

 What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ Chicken, Sliced Tomatoes, and Bean Salad. 

I had an appointment and errands to run and didn’t get home until time to make dinner, so leftovers it was. It worked, we were fed and didn’t spend money on takeout. 

Tuesday ~ Homemade Pizza, Zucchini & Yellow Squash, Ranch Dressing. 

I used keto buns for Bailey’s pizza crust and the bottom half of a Joseph’s pita bread for mine, both bought on mark down. Her keto buns have so much fiber in them like 17 grams. I topped them with turkey pepperoni, black olives, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and Italian seasoning. 

Wednesday ~ Eat Meati Cutlets, Roasted Garlic & Herb Eggplant with Tahini Drizzle and Corn on the Cob. 

I had these Meati cutlets in the freezer and wanted to use them up. They are made of mushrooms, so I wasn't sure we would like them. Turns out they were really good! So, if I find them at the closeout store again I will buy them. I served this with the eggplant recipe listed above and the fresh corn on the cob, both of which we picked up for free from People Helping People. 

Thursday ~ BBQ Pork Chops, Hot Potato Salad, and Baked Beans. 

I put the pork chops into my smallest slow cooker in the morning along with some BBQ sauce to cook all day. I put the potatoes in my instant pot in the early afternoon, so when it  was time to make dinner all I had to do was mix my ingredients for the potato salad together. I served this with baked beans. 

Friday ~ Bailey had book club and I had a tutoring session after school, so we didn’t have dinner together. She had chicken sausages, potato salad and baked beans. I made myself a pita pizza once I got back home. 

Saturday ~ Meat Sauce with Spaghetti Squash, and Green Peas.  

I had two spaghetti squashes in our fridge that needed using, so I took a small package of ground beef out of the freezer to thaw, turned that into a meat sauce, and served that mixed into the spaghetti squash. I served this with green peas.

Sunday ~ Meat Sauce with Spaghetti Squash, Fresh Corn on the Cob,  Garden Greens to top with Cucumber Salad, and Radishes. 

After getting and processing all the vegetables from the Mennonites and PHP, what I really wanted for dinner was an old time vegetable plan, which we will have on Monday. So this night we had spaghetti squash with meat sauce, corn on the cob, salads topped with cucumber salad, and radishes. 

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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