Menu Plan Monday ~ July 13 through July 19, 2020

Menu Plan Monday

This was my original meal plan for this week with sides were to be determined later:

1. Egg Roll in a Bowl

2. Cheesy Potatoes

3. Chicken Pot Pie

4. Spaghetti

5. Easy Sausage Quiche

6. Loaded Baked Potatoes

7. Meatloaf
8. Chicken Tenders

And this is what we ended up eating this past week:

Monday: This day I decided to make Egg Roll in a Bowl along with some baked homemade egg rolls . I made enough to have leftovers for lunches this week. I used the egg roll dish to make the egg rolls too. I served steamed broccoli alongside. 

Tuesday: I took chicken out of the freezer on Monday and placed in the fridge to thaw for Tuesday night dinner. I've been wanting chicken tenders for a while now, so I just decided I was going to have to make some, photo above. I also made some homemade cole slaw to go with them.   

Wednesday: There was still chicken left from Tuesday, so I went off menu, cooked it and made Chicken & Chile Chimichangas. 

This is such a simple, but good recipe and one I made back when I was married. I ordered a Chimichanga in the Mexican restaurant we went to on my first real date back in the early 1980s. 

Thursday: Since we've had meat several days in a row, I decided to do a meatless dinner tonight. Loaded Baked Potatoes is what we had for dinner on this night. 

Friday: Dinner tonight was homemade pizza with pepperoni and black olives. I also made a salad to go along with it. 

Saturday: Dinner tonight was grilled chicken, with rice and a side salad. 

Sunday: Dinner today was Spaghetti using sweet Italian sausage, onions, tomatoes, and a new to me sauce from Italy. I also made some garlic bread using us some hamburger buns we had on hand. 

Beverages this week included Sweet Tea, Almond Milk, Sprite, Lemonade, V8-Juice, Pineapple Juice, or YooHoo.

Here is what I'm planning for this week, sides to be determined later:

1. Meatloaf

2. Chicken Pot Pie

3. Cheese Enchiladas

4. Sticky Pineapple Chicken

5. Chow Mein & Egg Rolls

6. Hamburgers with Cheese

7. Loaded Baked Potatoes

Of course this could change based on my energy level that day or any other circumstance. :)

Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me to earn a living here at Frugal Workshop.

My Frugal Week ~

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Like many of you, we've stayed home every day this week due to the "stay at home" order. 

We are using up what food we have on hand, also like many of you, not going to the grocery store, and trying to be resourceful with what we have here. 

I took everything out of the pantry and cleaned and organized it better than it was before. 

On Monday I made up a new recipe for cheese dip. 

On Tuesday I made a double batch of Mexican Rice and included onions, peas, and carrots, so it had a lot of vegetables. I also used homemade chicken broth that I made and froze last week and used up some taco sauce that no one was fond of, but couldn't taste in the recipe. 

We had the rice for lunch that day with some tortilla chips and cheese. It is a very affordable and meatless dish to save money and stretch what we have on hand. I made a double batch, so we will use it as a filler for tacos one night this week too. 

               
I also made a batch of Bean & Cheese Enchiladas for dinner on Tuesday. This was also dinner on Wednesday along with a cheese quesadilla on the side.      

On Wednesday I made a batch of Banana Pancakes using up some bananas that were on the verge. Since I had my griddle out I used it to make the pancakes, grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, and cheese quesadillas to go along with dinner. 

Other frugal things I've done this week include: 

We've been able to access the Tennessee Reads Overdrive website this week and watched Life of a King for free. This movie is based on a true story and was a really good film. 

Sewing...there is plenty of time to work on some projects. I also repaired several cloth pads for my daughter. 

We watched Ratatouille for our family movie night this week.


We also watched Historian Jerry Apps remembering his childhood in Waushara County, Wisconsin in Farm Story on YouTube. His story is told through his personal memories and photos from the community. 

Apps evokes memories of a time when almost as many Americans lived on farms as in cities, and examines day-to-day rural life. Fieldwork was done with horses, cows were milked by hand, lanterns were the source of light, and community was essential for survival.

How has your week been? 

Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me to earn a living here at Frugal Workshop.

Leftover Wizardry

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Leftovers, we all have them sometimes. The question is what to do with them and how to use them to our advantage to save money? 
There is always Freezer Soup, which is a container stored in the freezer, which is used to hold leftovers until the container is full and then made into soup later at a later date. 
My Grandmother, who grew up in the Great Depression, did this and my Dad wasn't a fan. She used to say that he had "champagne tastes on a beer budget". LOL
However, there are multiple ways to use up leftovers and make them taste good, but  sometimes it takes a little bit of creativity.
First off, leftovers can be saved for another meal. I can't tell you how many times I have come home, tired from work, and was grateful to have leftovers in the refrigerator.  Only having to heat up dinner in the microwave on a hard day is very welcome here. 
One of the tricks I used to do with leftover meatloaf is to chop it up and use it in spaghetti the next day. And you can make all sorts of casseroles with leftover taco meat. 
If you have leftover chili, you can made chili tacos or chili pie. Chili pie consists of chili, placed in a casserole dish, with cornbread batter baked on top of it. My Mother served this a lot back when she was raising our family. 
Potato Pancakes are another good way to use up leftover mashed potatoes. All is takes is two cups of potatoes, an egg, 1/4 cup flour, some grated onion or onion powder, salt & pepper.  Then cook like you would pancakes in a skillet. 
Hash is another good and frugal way to use up leftovers. Onions, peppers, potatoes, and or any leftover meat can be used to make a really good meal.  You'll be saving money by using up your leftovers and avoiding food waste. 
Any food thrown out is money already spent and then wasted. Do your best to use up everything you buy and that will save you the most money. 
By stretching the food you already have and making a meal out of leftovers you will be adding one more meal to your monthly menu that you didn't have to spend any money towards and that's a good thing. 

Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

Using Creativity in Frugal Living

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Some people choose to live frugal by choice while some people choose a frugal lifestyle out of necessity. 
My daughter and I have lived on a smaller income since 1998, so we live this lifestyle out of necessity. Over the years we've learned to get the things we needed using some creativity along the way.
Oftentimes in our consumerist society it's easy to buy what you need if you have enough money. Our problem was that we didn't always have the money to buy the things we needed. 
So we rolled up our sleeves and did what we had to do to get those things we needed. We got creative and you can do the same thing. If you get creative with your needs, instead of buying what you need, you will be able to save money and sometimes a lot of money.

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What if you don't have money to buy groceries? Creating a meal using the food you have at home is being creative. We do this on a regular basis. 

When my daughter switched over to cloth pads full time and found the brand she liked they were expensive, so we could only buy them once or twice a year.  
Finally we came up with a better solution. I took her favorite cloth pad and figured out how to make them for her at home. We upcycled clothes to make them and today those are some of her favorite pads.  

When my daughter needed a scientific calculator for school and we didn't have an extra $100 to buy one, we got creative. We traded for one at McKay Used Books. 
Amy Dacyczyn said it best when she said, "when there is a lack of resourcefulness, inventiveness, and innovation, thrift means doing without." That wasn't the case in our home. 
Now I've seen a lot of creativity in my lifetime and I'm sure you have too. I've seen the maintenance man at school fix a door with the end of a matchstick. Now that's being creative. 
We all have creativeness inside of us and it depends on us as to how we used it to the best of our advantage. 
As Theodore Roosevelt said, "Let us do what we can, with what we have, where we are." 
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

Potato Pancakes

Potato Pancakes are a good example of a frugal food since they are made by using leftover mashed potatoes. 
What I do is take one egg and scramble it in a bowl and then add the mashed potatoes, onion powder, flour, and salt and pepper. 
The consistency I look for is a thick batter that holds together well. 
I don't measure the ingredients, but if you are looking for a basic recipe, you can follow this one: 
2 cups mashed potatos 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup flour Onion powder Salt & Pepper 1 egg
Heat up some butter or oil in a skillet and add the batter in spoonfuls. I then flatten them out to the size I want. 
Once they are brown, I flip them over and brown the other side. Then when they're done I remove them to a plate and finish making the rest of the pancakes. 
My family really enjoys these. 
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

Leftover Wizardry

Tonight was a very successful leftover concoction. While at work today I was thinking about what to make for dinner. I knew I had some leftover filling from the stuffed peppers Monday night, and thought that would make a good basis for a casserole. I decided to take some tortillas, cheese, sour cream, the filling, and some lettuce and tomatoes. 

I started with a layer of tortillas, which I cut into triangles. Then I added  a layer of the filling followed by a layer of sour cream and then cheese. I had enough filling to repeat for one more layer. I bake this in the oven for 30 minutes and chopped up some lettuce and tomatoes. When the casserole was done, I put a serving on each plate and topped it with lettuce and tomatoes. 

I was tired from work, so did not get a photo of this, but my family loved it and there was none left afterwards, so I would say it was a success. Something I will definitely try again. 

Any successful leftover wizardry at your home recently? 

Belinda
Live simply by not spending money you don't have.
© Belinda & Frugal Workshop, 2011 - 2015.