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

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

My Frugal Week

I messed up one day for lunch this week. I thought I was taking out a bowl of Chicken Enchilada Soup for lunch. I kept thinking as I was defrosting it that it was awfully thin for soup and then realized it was enchilada sauce. LOL So, I stuck it in  the fridge and had to use it up before the weekend was over. 

On Sunday I used the enchilada sauce in my Souper Sunday soup. I used my large crockpot and added all my soup and vegetable containers from the fridge from the week and made the soup, which is a great way to ensure no food waste. I also cut up apples and put them in my smaller crock pot to have cooked apples with the soup. #nofoodwaste

I also peeled and cut up carrots for the week, and made a compost bag of vegetable peelings, made chipotle sauce, and cleaned up the kitchen again. The Ziplock bag I used for the compost was a recycled one, which will be recycled again after this task. 

What’s for Dinner

Meatless Monday ~ Chili - I actually started this in Sunday as I put dried pinto beans on to soak overnight. On Monday morning I had those cooking in the Instant pot while I put all the other ingredients in my six quart crockpot. Beef (free), onions, tomatoes (free), chili powder, cumin, corn (free), kidney beans (free), 

Movie Night Tuesday ~ I didn’t have to cook on this day as it was movie night and there was chili from Monday for anyone who wanted that for dinner. I made myself a chili taco for dinner. 

Wednesday ~ Chili again for dinner tonight with a choice of a bowl of Chili or a Chili Taco. After dinner I put the remaining chili in the freezer for another meal down the road. 

Thursday ~ Grilled Fajita Chicken with Taco Salad Kits.

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

Saturday ~ BBQ Pork Loin Chops bought on markdown, Baked Beans, and  Scalloped Potatoes. I had the chops in the crockpot early in the morning, so they were already tender early on, so I turned the crockpot on low until dinner time. 

Souper Sunday ~ This was truly a use it up kind of soup I made. I took two individual containers of soup out of the freezer to thaw since I had several in there I didn't feel like I needed to make a new pot of soup. Then I used that bowl of enchilada sauce I accidently thawed, some leftovers from the week, and made the soup. #useitup

Bailey also had the small portion of Pork Loin chops leftover from Saturday with her soup. 

What’s on the Menu for This Coming Week

Monday ~ Beanie Weenies

Movie Night Tuesday - Leftovers

Wednesday ~ Pasta Night

Thursday ~ Bean Based Dish

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

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

Second Frugal Friday of January 2025

Welcome to Frugal Friday! 

Quote of the Week

Grass is typically greenest where it is watered. 

My Frugal Week
Physical Therapy came on Wednesday and had me walking and exercising to strengthen my new knee. I was sore after she left, but it was a good kind of sore. And then Occupational Therapy came on Thursday to see if I needed anything. She is going to come once a week to help me out. 
I switched a doctors appointment on Friday to Thursday as the weather people are calling for snow on Friday and officials are asking people to stay off the roads unless it is an emergency. 
Right before my knee surgery, I had the oil changed in my car and filled the gas tank. We always check the website for coupons before we go and I mentioned this to the employee. He then clicked on my phone to show them to me. 
Later after I went to pay, the total was $63 and I asked if that included the coupon. This was a different employee and he told me he I didn't know I had a coupon. So, he pressed a couple of buttons and my total came down to $36.21. 
The coupon on the website was only for $20 off, but whatever button he pressed took $27 off my bill. Wow!
Don't be afraid to ask and make sure your coupon is included in your totals. If he had told me the $63 charge was with the coupon I would have believed him because of the ever increasing cost of oil changes. The dealership where I bought my car is now charging $125 for an oil change. 
On Sunday we took down our Christmas tree and all the decorations and put them away for next Christmas. There is just a little part of me that is sad when it’s officially over. 
Other things I did that were frugal this week include:

- Used the toilet paper package as a garbage can liner.- Scanned my grocery receipts into Fetch and NCP.- Brought cheese sticks & granola bars in case we got hungry on our way to or coming back from Chattanooga. 
Grocery Orders
Last Friday morning I had a Walmart order delivered as we needed some fruit. Oranges, bananas, pears, fruit cocktail, cheese sticks, dried plums, cheddar cheese, cashews, cheese crackers, and cottage cheese. $51.14 out the door. 
Bailey went grocery shopping for us on Monday and picked up chicken, cottage cheese, onions, sweet potatoes, yogurt, salad kits, tortillas, vinegar, milk, eggs, riced cauliflower, frozen vegetables, red bell peppers, tomatoes, and more $1.00 pineapples. 
Bailey has really enjoyed having the fresh pineapple on hand, so when she saw them marked down to $1.00 again, she bought five of them! 

This week I ordered twelve packages of Lawry's dry spaghetti sauce seasoning packets. At the time I ordered them there was a 20% off coupon, which made them $8.80. This is great to add to tomato sauce for a quick pizza or spaghetti sauce. 
National Consumer Panel, or NCP, recently began accepting new members. It's a program where you can share your shopping opinions, earn points and get rewarded with gift cards. I've already earned enough in one week to get a $5.00 Amazon gift card, which I added to my account for a later purchase. 
What I've been Reading This Week
Recently I was approached by Ashley at the Rent.com website as they were working on an article to highlight creative, thoughtful, and budget-friendly DIY gift ideas. So, I sent her information on my large casserole pads that I made for Christmas. Click on the “easy gifts to make at home” link below if you want to read the article. 
You can get a jump start on your Christmas gift making for next Christmas.  

Tis’ the season for giving gifts, whether you’re renting a house in sunny Honolulu, HI, looking for a winter home in Buffalo, NY, or crafting in your cozy apartment in New York City—check out our ideas on Rent.com for easy gifts to make at home and an enjoyable gifting experience into the holidays and beyond.

That’s our week in a nutshell. 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

 

My Frugal Week

I've been reading a lot about people wanting to save money on groceries and spend less in 2025. It's very encouraging to read other people's stories on how they save money on groceries. I think a lot more people are going to be tightening their belts this year when it comes to food for a variety of reasons. 

Home production of food is one way to save money on groceries and a good way to stretch your income and increase your skills and talents. It is a way to teach your family to be self-sufficient by learning the fundamentals of work, industry, and thrift.

The apple butter I made for Christmas was a big hit with all the recipients. I used apples that were given to us and turned them into a gift for others and ourselves. 

Photo of the Week

Restocked on oranges, cheese sticks, and my vanilla caramel tea bags this week. 

 

What’s for Dinner

Friday ~ Honey Baked Ham & October Beans, Deviled Eggs, Cornbread Casserole, and a Pear/Cottage Cheese Salad. 

Ham cost $9.50 and I made three meals out of it, so $3.17 for ham, the portions I used for the following ingredients cost 56¢ for beans, 35c for butter, pears 29c, and cottage cheese 25c. Jiffy cornbread mix, eggs, and corn were given to us, so no cost for those items. 

I served this on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Each meal was $4.08, but $5.16 on Friday when I served the pear salad. This served two people each day and was definitely cheaper than eating out. 

Saturday & Sunday ~ Skillet Lasagna ~ I was thinking about what to make with the pound of bison I had in the freezer that I got on markdown for $5.00 and decided to make a skillet lasagna. I did not have lasagna noodles on hand, but did have chickpea rotini, which is why I decided to make it in a skillet. 

Bison was $5.00, dry spaghetti sauce mix was 91c, mozzarella was $1.04, Parmesan cheese was minimal, and cottage cheese was 96 cents for the amounts I used. Garlic, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and noodles were free.

Total cost was around $8.00 and made thirteen cups of lasagna, so around 62 cents per serving.

Some of our grocery items we use to make meals are obtained by us for free. Sometimes we go to community clothing giveaways and they also give away free food, sometimes we drop off food at the little free pantries and see something we will use and pick items up that way too. That is how those programs are intended to work, “take what you need, leave what you can”.

Sometimes the local churches will have free food giveaways also. There are just some ways to get free food in our community and it honestly helps us to stretch our budget since we are a lower income family. We try to do the best we can with the resources we have and this is one of the ways we do that. 

One of the ingredients I use in my kitchen is Lawry’s seasonings. My mother and grandmother used Lawry’s seasonings in their kitchens and I’ve continued that tradition. I also use other brands of spices, but Lawrys holds a special place in my heart. 

Back in the early 1980s my Dad took several of us to Lawry's Prime Rib Restaurant located on Ontario Street in Chicago.

I can still remember the carts of prime rib they rolled out on a silver trolley cart and allowed us to choose the cut we wanted. And, their famous original spinning salad bowl was really something to watch as the waiter had it spinning about two feet up in the air.

Eventually the Chicago restaurant closed its doors, and although they have other locations in the United States, I will always remember the Chicago restaurant fondly.

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