Menu Plan Monday ~ Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen ~ Week #1 February 2025

My Frugal Week

We did not eat out at any restaurant, get take out, or eat any fast food in January. I would love to do the same for February as it really helps save money by eating at home. 

On Saturday I was running errands close to Kroger, so I stopped in to pick up some sale items and to check their markdowns. 

I found these two tubs of power greens on mark down for $1.57.

For sale items, I picked up five bags of their two pound bags of cheese for $5.99. They were out of the three pound bags of onions for $1.99 though. 

I did find four packages of meat on markdowns though, which are now in my freezer along with the cheese. 

Food Added to the Pantry this Week:

3 cans pears
3 cans green peas
4 cans corn

1 can mixed vegetables 

Yukon Gold Potatoes

Oranges

15 Grapefruit

1 Sweet Potato

5 pounds russet potatoes 

2 bags frozen peas

5 - 2 pound bags cheese

1 pound pinto beans  

 

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ Turkey BBQ, Baked Sweet Potatoes, and Sugar Snap Pea Stir Fry. I took the last of the turkey breast and chopped it up in my food processor and added BBQ sauce, pepper, and onion powder. It was a big hit and that made me happy. 

Movie Night Tuesday ~ Leftovers, Chicken & vegetables for me and BBQ Turkey & vegetables for Bailey. 

Wednesday ~ Chicken Sausages, Baked Potatoes, Brussel Sprouts. 

Thursday ~ Tacos, Flour or Corn Tortillas, Red Onions, Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Tomatoes & Lettuce, and Corn. 

Friday ~ We were on the road to Atlanta, so no dinner at home. We had taco leftovers before we left and brought cheese sticks and granola bars with us in case we got hungry.

Saturday ~ Grilled Beef/Cheese Hotdogs sans buns, Sautéed Cabbage & Onions, Choice of Baked Sweet or Yukon Gold Potato.

Sunday ~ Chicken Fajitas on choice of Corn or Flour Tortillas, Tomatoes, Lettuce, Red Onions, Cheddar Cheese, Bok Choy & Garlic, and Corn. 

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

Fifth & Final Frugal Friday of January 2025

Welcome to Frugal Friday! 
My Frugal Week
We have a brand new Food City about five miles from our house now and I went on Saturday morning to get some of the Luck’s beans they had on sale for 50 cents each. I love their chili beans and haven’t duplicated them with their delicious sauce at home, so I like to keep them in my pantry. The new store is beautiful and I’m so happy it’s so close to the house now. 
It was so nice to get out of the house and drive again. My new knee is working very well and it’s so much easier to walk around in the driveway and get in and out of my car. I’m so excited to think about all of the possibilities in store for me after having limited mobility for so long. 
Wednesday was such a busy day that started with physical therapy and then I spent the rest of the afternoon on the phone with my brother, sister, and the realtor. It’s not that my brother didn’t want to sell the land, but he wanted more than his fair share of the money. But we had a long talk this week and worked it all out. 
Health News & Exercise 
This week I rode my bicycle pedals for one hour each day. 
Physical Therapy came three days this week while Occupational Therapy came for one final time. 
Physical Therapy has noted my blood pressure has been low multiple times when they've come to see me this month. So, I sent a message through MyChart to my primary care physician to let her know. She adjusted my medication accordingly. All through my weight loss my blood pressure medication has been reduced multiple times, which I love. I would love to get off of it entirely. 
Freebies
This was a good week for freebies. 

This was the best freebie this week. Three pairs of 2.5+ reading glasses from Zeno Optical. They are the highest quality too. 

Four bottles of hot sauces. I’ll be giving these to someone who enjoys hot sauce.
And a free haircut from Supercuts. I’m on an email group of theirs from a few years ago and every now and then they send an email offering free haircuts. So, I went on Thursday and had mine trimmed, it looks so much better. I have let my hair grow out some since my last hair cut. 
Saving Money YouTube Videos
Ali Lives Well on Less, her YouTube channel, and Ali’s blog are both very good resources. 
That was my week I a nutshell. It was very busy and a lot of talking on the phone. How was your week? I hope it was a great one!

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.

BelindaHomemaker at HeartMortgage & Debt Free~ 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 #4 January 2025

 

My Frugal Week

One thing I loved about my Mom is no matter what I made in the kitchen, I could always count on her to eat any leftovers. If I made something that I didn't care for, Mom would eat it. Now I can count on Bailey to do that too. It makes it so much easier to not waste any food. 

During my recovery from knee surgery I wasn’t allowed to drive since it was my right knee that was replaced. So, we didn’t do much grocery shopping at all, but rather used our pantry and freezer to make meals. As a result, our freezer has had a real thorough clean out. It’s amazing how many meals we’ve been able to make and yet I still have a list of meals we can make. 

This week’s Pantry Additions:

5 pounds Idaho Potatoes

10 cans Luck’s Chili Beans

Half gallon Almond Breeze almond milk

What’s for Dinner

Monday & Tuesday  ~ Honey Baked Ham & Soup Beans, Stir Fry Vegetable & Cornbread. I used my last Honey Baked ham bone for this dinner and used soup beans (great northern) to cook with it. I had stir fry vegetables left from Sunday Dinner and made cornbread to go alongside. 

Wednesday ~ BBQ Pork Chops, Hot Potato Salad, Green Peas. 

Thursday ~ Turkey Polish Sausage, Baked Sweet Potatoes, and Steamed Broccoli. 

Fish on Friday ~ Salmon Patties, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans with Onions. 

Saturday ~ Grilled Chicken, Green Beans & Onions, Corn, Grape Tomatoes. 

Sunday ~ 

What’s on the Menu for This Coming Week

We regularly serve one or two meatless bean based meals each week in order to money on meat.

Monday ~ Bean Based Dish

Movie Night Tuesday - Leftovers

Wednesday ~ Pasta Night

Thursday ~ Bean Based Dish

Fish on Friday ~ Salmon Patties

Saturday ~ Tacos

Souper Sunday ~ Soup

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

Fourth Frugal Friday of January 2025

Welcome to Frugal Friday! 
Quote of the Week

A time may come that every arrow in our frugal quiver will be needed so learning now will help you then. ~ Becky @ Frugal Measures

My Frugal Week
Frugal Things We’ve Done This Week Include:
- Leave the oven door open after using to let the heat into the house. - No eating out- Made sure all our windows and doors are closed up tight. Rolled up towels placed at the bottom of the windows will stop cold air from coming in. Draft dodgers along the bottom of doors and a coat hung on the doorknob also help. Plastic window kits are also good as well as thermal or wool insulated curtains. 
Last Friday I met with a relator in order to sell my Dad's land across the road. When it does sell, Bailey & I will add this to our house fund for when we buy our own home. Unfortunately my brother has stopped a prospective sale, so now we are consulting an attorney in regards to partition. 
While the relator was here last Friday, he helped Bailey to get her car unstuck. They went downstairs into Dad's workshop and found a towing chain and pulled it right out. We were so thankful!

This week I replaced an infrared heater in my bedroom with a ceramic heater. This is the Lasko Oscillating Ceramic Space Heater. Years ago when I was subbing at the middle school the gym teacher had this heater in her office and it worked very well to heat her office. 
The reason I replaced the heater is because one of the bulbs had burned out in the infrared heater and it was blowing cold air. I did some reading and replacing a bulb isn't recommended, so I bought the ceramic heater instead. It has really made a difference in the temperature in my bedroom too. 

About two weeks I also purchased this Contour Leg & Knee Pillow for my knees. Ever since my knee surgery they hurt when I lay on my side at night and this has helped to alleviate the pain. I’ve used it every night since it came in the mail and it has really helped me sleep better.
Physical Therapy came on Monday, Wednesday & Friday of this week while Occupational Therapy came on Thursday. 
Eye Doctor News
On Tuesday I went to the retina specialist. He wanted me to try to go six weeks between my last injection and this one, That turned out to be a mistake. My eyesight started to fail last week and I couldn’t even read the book I was currently reading. So, I’m back to injections every four weeks and he is trying a new medication.
It’s frightening how fast my eyesight went downhill. So, if you see any typos on my comments on your posts just ignore them. I was having to zoom out to read much this past week, but by Thursday morning, my eyesight was so much better. Reading was much clearer too. 
Freebies
If you're interested, you can get a free copy of the Amish Schoolteacher's Escape book. When I signed up for it, the author also sent me a download to another one of her books for free, 

Martha, an Amish schoolteacher in Unity, Maine, loves her job and her community. When Jake Sullivan proposes to her and she turns him down, her parents think she is foolish for turning down such a good catch.

Joy of the Week
The nurse called from my surgeon’s office and told me I can try driving again if I felt ready to dive. Woo Hoo! 
Photo of the Week

It was definitely chilly here at six degrees this week, but no snow like further down south, so I'm counting our blessings. 
Question of the Week
I would like for Frugal Workshop to be a place where you can come to find solutions for dealing with the financial times in which we live.  If you're not alr3ady frugal, It's definitely time to get frugal in the real sense of the word. 

So, my question of the week is this, are you having to adjust your budget each month to make up for the latest price increases or no? How are you adjusting?

Avoiding Spending
We did very well not spending any money this week. Except for what gas we used on Tuesday for the eye doctor, we came home afterwards and didn’t spend any money. 
Saving Money YouTube Videos
25 Cheap Amish ways to Stay Warm Without Gas or Electricity
Saving Money on Entertainment
We are still enjoying our subscription to Hulu. I've always been a big fan of M*A*S*H and so I've spent the last week rewatching those episodes. 
What I've been Reading This Week
National Geographic The Secrets of Long Life ~ 12 page PDF on the secrets of the Blue Zones and living a long life. 
How was your week?

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.

BelindaHomemaker at HeartMortgage & Debt Free~ 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 #3 January 2025

Recipe of the Week

This is a new to me recipe, but I made some changes to make it align more with our way of eating these days. Rather than add sour cream, I used blended cottage cheese for more protein and less fat. This recipe called for biscuits, but I left them out entirely. The recipe calls for a rotisserie chicken, which I did not have, but did have regular chicken, so I used that instead.

Creamy Chicken Enchilada Bake

Ingredients:

1 Rotisserie Chicken

10 ounces mild red enchilada sauce

1/2 cup cottage cheese, blended until smooth

1 packet fajita or taco seasoning mix

8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Remove skin from chicken and chicken from bone. 

Cut into desired size pieces and set aside. 

Combine red enchilada sauce, cottage cheese, and fajita seasoning together. 

Whisk until smooth.

Add chicken into the mixture and make sure everything is well coated.

Smooth out in a greased 9 x 13 baking dish.

Sprinkle shredded cheese on top.

Bake for 45 min uncovered.

 

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ Beenie Weenies ~ I used a package of good hotdogs from UGO that we bought for $1.99. The can of Bush's zero baked beans was given to us by a friend, so no cost there. I added some date sugar, mustard, pepper, and BBQ sauce to the crockpot to enhance the flavors. This was served with baked apples and steamed broccoli.

Movie Night Tuesday ~ In order to use it up and avoid food waste, we enjoyed leftovers on this night. Bailey had Beanie Weenies, Broccoli, and Apples while I enjoyed the last of the salmon Pattie’s and opened up some green peas to go with them. 

Wednesday ~ Creamy Chicken Enchilada Bake, Carrots, and Peas. This was a big hit, so I’ll be be adding it to our regular rotation. 

Thursday & Friday ~ Turkey & Dressing with Gravy, and Green Beans with Onions. I had some cooked turkey, and some dressing in the freezer, so I used those in the crockpot for this dish. I made a seasoned white sauce/gravy to top it with and then added seasoned green beans to the top. This used up several containers from my freezer and pantry. We are using up what we have to make meals here and not spending any extra money on groceries. 

Saturday & Sunday ~ Chicken Stir Fry ~ I gathered up a lot of vegetables such as an onion, red bell pepper, Chinese vegetables, Some Kale salad kits I had stuck in the freezer, cauliflower rice, sesame oil, Sun Bird fried rice seasoning packet (my favorite), and soy sauce. I added this to my skillet after I browned the chicken. It was enough for two days worth of meals and lunch another day.

What’s on the Menu for This Coming Week

We regularly serve one or two meatless bean based meals each week in order to money on meat.

Monday ~ Bean Based Dish

Movie Night Tuesday - Leftovers

Wednesday ~ Pasta Night

Thursday ~ Bean Based Dish

Fish on Friday ~ Salmon Patties

Saturday ~ Tacos

Souper Sunday ~ Soup

Be sure to come back next week to see what sides we serve with these main dishes.

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

Third Frugal Friday of January 2025

Welcome to Frugal Friday! 
Quote of the Week

The imperfect days do not define the journey, so keep moving forward despite the challenges, as they are simply part of the process and do not define your ultimate destination.

My Frugal Week

We had two inches of snow last Friday! It was enough to close schools and just about everything else on Friday & Saturday. Schools stayed closed all this week due to dangerous icy mountain roads. 
On Monday afternoon it got up to 50 degrees, which meant the snow outside, in direct sunlight, was melting quickly, which is good. It was warm enough to turn off all the heat in the house, which made me happy. 
Bailey went out on Monday and got her car stuck in the snow and ice in the driveway on her way back home. This is an area that stays shaded so the snow and ice doesn’t melt quickly when temperatures are this low, so continue to wait on the snow and ice to melt before she can get it unstuck. 
On Tuesday I started my car since it hadn't been started since my surgery and it had been so cold here. 
Frugal things we’ve done this week include:
- keeping an eye on daily electric use and also paid the electric bill this week- turning heat down at night- no food waste- used my crockpot several days instead of the oven to save on electric - left oven door open after I did use it though to get that heat in the house- rinsed a bottle of BBQ sauce with water to get the dregs out- used up all leftovers this week, so no food waste- asked for a refund of $7.55 from an order that didn't come in time for Christmas- returned for a refund two eyeglass necklaces that broke within days of using them- Received $5 after writing a review of a book on Amazon as a refund for the book- Wore two shirts including a sweater, hat, scarf, gloves, and triple socks to keep warm in the house. We don’t keep the heat at 70 degrees or higher as that would mean our electric bill would be higher. So, we heat enough to keep the chill off the house and wearing extra clothes/layers helps us stay warm. 
Bailey put the Christmas decorations away this year and happened to rearrange some towels that needed to be reorganized. I had a shelf in my room that was not being used and it fit perfectly in this spot, so I stuck it in there and ended up with another shelf for towels. 

Its hard to see in this photo, but the shelf is black. I love repurposing thing like this.
Each day I am feeling better and better with my new knee. In fact on Monday I stripped my bed and washed all the bed clothes. It felt right since it had warmed up enough to turn the heat off, this was the perfect time to take care of that task. 
We’ve been decluttering again and placing items we no longer need into a storage bin for the next consignment sale in March. I didn’t declutter much last time, so will have plenty to add to our bin this time around. 

One of the things we got for Christmas was this wireless, solar driveway alarm, which we both love. When I'm home alone, I like knowing when someone is coming up our driveway. If I'm expecting UPS, FedEx or the mailman, that's fine, but when I hear it and don't know who it is, I check to make sure someone isn't up to no good. It has a range of half a mile and since our driveway is 1/8th of a mile long and can't all be seen from the house, it's perfect for our needs. 
Bailey has been invited to one of her book club friends home on Saturday and needed to bring something food wise to share. I checked my pantry and looked up a recipe online and decided to make this applesauce cake. I have a yellow cake mix, applesauce, and powdered sugar for the topping, so no money spent on this item. 
Avoiding Spending
I didn’t avoid spending this week as I realized we were out of corn, so I bought a case of twelve cans at Walmart for $7.98. I don’t have to pay for shipping or order $35 for free shipping since we have a Walmart Plus membership. 
I like to keep corn on hand as a side dish to Mexican recipes. I’ve also laid out some money to replace my underwear, bras, and socks as mine were too big after my weight loss last year, so I considered that a necessary expense. 

While making dinner one night this week I ran out of this Weber Roasted Garlic & Herb seasoning that we enjoy on green beans, so I ordered another bottle from Amazon. It elevates green beans to the next level. It was actually $1.30 cheaper at Amazon than it was at Walmart. And, I didn't actually have to spend any money as I had a $5 credit on Amazon from NCP. 
Saving Money YouTube Videos
Thrifty Habits 2025 ~ If you’ve not made your 2025 budget yet, Bonita, who lives in rural Kansas as an early retiree, has some great tips to include that are worth watching. 
Saving Money on Entertainment

Bailey and I played games last Friday night. The first game we played was Tapple, which reminds me of the game, Scattegories. It's a fast paced game that combines quick thinking, vocabulary skills, and a dash of competitive spirit. She had just acquired the game recently and we had a lot of fun playing this one. 
What I've been Reading This Week
Savings Secrets of a 1940s Housewife- Unveiling the Art of Frugality
Twenty Old Fashioned Skills from my Great Grandmother
51 Extreme Frugality Tips for the Super Frugal
10 Tips to Live on Next to Nothing
The Best Cheapest Foods For Tight Budgets
37 Easy Ways to Save Money on your Grocery Budget This Year!

That’s all the news to report from here this week. How was your week?

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.

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