Saving Money in My Frugal Kitchen ~ Week #3 December 2025

Welcome to Frugal Workshop where every Monday I share the simple strategies used to save money over the past week, along with the meals that made it to our dinner table. You'll find practical tips on how we saved money on food hopefully to inspire your own meal planning using the foods you have in your own pantry.

My Frugal Week

Last Monday I went to Ollie’s to restock on spices. I bought several Lawry’s seasonings for $1.29, which is a real bargain compared to the $4.12 Walmart price. 

All meals were eaten at home this week with no eating out, so we have more money to spend somewhere else. 

Use It Up Item Of The Week

My plan of using the "lurkers" in my pantry continued this week. My goal is to use up those items that we have on hand and incorporate them into our meals. 

On Saturday I went to Walmart to get the last few things I needed for our Christmas get togethers. I bought two large bags of broccoli and had to do some rearranging in my freezer to make them fit. 

No worries, I took the strawberries out from summer, and I recall they were not very sweet, so I added a can of crushed pineapple and a small package of frozen melon and used my stick blender to make a fruit sauce. The sauce will work for multiple uses this week, tastes delicious and no food was wasted.

 

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ Egg Roll in a Bowl with Turkey Sausage and Rotisserie Chicken. 

This was an experiment as I’d bought two rotisserie chickens on markdown at Kroger. I pulled the meat off the bones and used some in the soup on Saturday and some in the salad for anyone who wanted that. 

Then on Sunday I decided to use up the last of it for egg roll in a bowl. I included toasted sesame oil, marked down bag of coleslaw, onions, peppers, soy sauce, and fresh grated ginger and garlic. It was delicious

Tuesday ~ Ham & Cheese Sandwiches 

I put deli sliced home, bought on markdown at UGO, on croissants with cheddar cheese and baked the, in a 375 degree oven for 12 minutes. 

Wednesday ~ Hebrew Beef Hot Dogs & Pizza Beans

Using up two frozen assets to free up freezer space, I pulled out a container of pizza beans and a package of marked down Hebrew National hot dogs, which I served on keto buns. I served this with the last of some roasted potatoes and the last an individual serving of dressing. It’s good to use those items up rather than let them go to waste. 

Thursday & Friday ~ Cheesy Potatoes & Corn

I took a three pound chub of ground beef from the freezer, bought at UGO for $7.99. I browned all of it with onions and garlic, and saved two pounds for another day. Using one pound for dinner, I made a family  favorite, which was cheesy potatoes and I served corn on the side. 

Saturday ~ Turkey Sausage, Green Beans with Onions, and Baked Apples.

Bailey had the last of the cheesy potatoes with her dinner while I had turkey sausage. I served this with green beans with onions and baked apples, which were two items in my freezer I used up to free up more space. 

Sunday & Monday ~ Chicken Tacos, Chili Beans and Corn

I thawed some already cooked chicken breast meat from the freezer for this meal. I chopped up the meat, added onions and the last of the red and yellow peppers, along with some taco seasoning and salsa. 

I served this with choice of hard or soft flour or corn tortillas, extra sharp cheddar cheese, tomatoes, red onions, jalapeños, taco sauce, black olives, and my homemade chipotle ranch sauce. Sides were chili beans and corn. 

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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