Bean and Cheese Burritos

Yesterday I put two pounds of pinto beans on to soak overnight and today I cooked them along with an onion in my pressure cooker for fifty-five minutes, so they would be good and soft enough to make refried beans. 

Afterwards I scooped some out and mashed them with my potato masher to make them into refried beans. 

Then I warmed a tortilla in the microwave and place some beans on each tortilla. 

Afterwards I added the toppings each person wanted. On mine I placed cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, and taco sauce. Other good toppings would be onions, black olives, and jalapenos. Even some Mexican rice would be good in one of these. 

Then I rolled them up...

They look as good as anything from Taco Bell, right?! My daughter says once I duplicate the cheese sauce on the Taco Bell burritos I can say that. LOL

I didn't use all of the bean broth, so I made sure to save it as I can use it for other things later like a soup base. 

My daughter even made brownies for us to enjoy afterwards. 

That's what's for dinner at our house tonight. What's for dinner at your house?

Belinda
CFO ~ Chief Frugal Officer
© Belinda & Frugal Workshop, 2011-2014.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”
"Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle ~ It will help you save money"

My Frugal Week

I went to IGA on Monday morning to take advantage of a meat sale. I bought 10 pounds of ground beef, which was on sale for $1.99 a pound. This was not the ground chuck that I used to purchase. This was ground beef at 73/27 mixture. I made sure I drained this meat well after cooking. 

I don't know if we will ever be able to purchase ground chuck at a decent price again unless I find it on markdown, which does happen from time to time. 

I also bought a package of 3 sirloin pork roasts, which were also on sale for $1.99 a pound. There were three nice sized roasts in the package and I cut each one of them in half, which is plenty for the three of us for one meal. I put 4 of them in the freezer, saved one to cook for dinner, and gave one to my Dad. 

On Tuesday we woke up to snow in the forecast, but school was still open, which turned out to be a mistake. I dropped my daughter off at school only to turn around 2 hours later and pick her up and had a rough drive there and back. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday turned out to be snow days and unfortunately, I missed two days of working as a result. 


All breakfasts, lunches, and dinners were eaten at or came from home this week. 

Dinners this week included:

Monday: Tacos with all the fixings
Tuesday: Spaghetti & Garlic Bread
Wednesday: Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans & Onions
Thursday: Chili
Friday: Chili Tacos
Saturday: LaChoy Beef Chow Mein, Rice, Corn
Sunday: Pork Roast, Oven Roasted Potatoes & Carrots

Other things done to save money include:

1. Read a book for free on my tablet Kindle.
2. Paid bills online to save on postage costs.
3. Entered codes at Kellogg's Family Rewards
4. Entered codes at My Perks for Purina Cat Chow
5. Entered codes at My Coke Rewards
6. Watched Port Charles for free on You Tube during free Internet time. 
7. Stayed home four days this week and spent no money. 

Things we do every week to save money:

1. Haul our own garbage for free to the county dumpsters. 
2. Paid bills online to save on postage. 
3. Used cloth napkins at meal time instead of paper napkins. 
4. Combined all my errands into one trip this week to save on gas. 
5. Log onto MyPerksCatChow.com daily to earn free cat food. 
6. Clip coupons from the Sunday Paper.
7. Check grocery store sale ads for good deals on food. 
8. Combine store coupons & manufacture coupons with sales to get the best price on food. 
9. Use paper in the printer twice by reusing to print on 2nd side. 
10. Make use of residual heat on my electric stove. 

January always brings with it extra expenses for the renewal of my car registration, auto insurance, and auto membership, which is a yearly fee. All expenses have been paid for and I even have a little surplus left at the end of the month, which is a good thing. 

How did your week shape up this time?

Belinda
CFO ~ Chief Frugal Officer
© Belinda & Frugal Workshop, 2011-2014.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

Frugal Food: Tortillas

Tortillas were a mainstay in our home when I was growing up because we ate tacos on a regular basis. I can remember turning on the gas pilot stove on very low and putting a corn tortilla on top of the stove grate and warming it on both sides and then spreading it with warm butter. It was an inexpensive and delicious snack. 

We used to go by this tiny, Mexican grocery store in Joliet, Illinois to buy the very best fresh tortillas. My late aunt Minnie made the best Mexican food was the one who taught my Mom how to make tacos and we still make them that same way today. 

Nowadays, tortillas are a mainstay in my frugal kitchen, and there are a number of reasons for that. 

Tortillas are inexpensive. 

I can buy a package of 100 tortillas for $3 at Wal-Mart, or if I am at Sam’s Club, I can buy two packages of 72 tortillas for $4.23. If I am at Sam’s Club I make a point of buying them, but if not the ones at Wal-Mart will do. 

Do the math: 

100 divided by 3.00 = 3¢

144 divided by 4.72 = 3¢ 

So, when you look at the cost of a tortilla, 3¢ each, you can see for yourself how inexpensive they are, and that is a good reason to use them in our frugal kitchens. 

 Tortillas are Cheaper than other Bread Products

Cost Comparison

Bread 89¢ for 20 slices = 5¢ each

Hamburger Buns 89¢ for 16 slices = 6¢ or 12¢ for a whole bun

Tortillas are extremely versatile and can be used in a variety of recipes.

Tacos – Beef, Chicken, Fish, or Pork

Chili Tacos

Bean and Cheese Enchiladas

Beef or Chicken Enchiladas

Mexican Pinwheels

Tortilla Chips

Pinwheels

Nachos

Tostadas

Pizza/Pizza Crust

Breakfast Burritos

Burritos

Breakfast Tacos

Taquitos

Mexican Rice Tacos

Veggie Burger Tacos

You can also make your own tortilla chips rather than buy them already made at the store. All you need to do is cut your tortillas in half and then in half again. 

Fry them in a little oil and you have your own tortilla chips.I salt them a little bit and they taste just like the tortilla chips you would find at a Mexican restaurant. These are terrific served with homemade salsa.

Tortillas can be used for Leftovers

Whenever I have leftovers, like Mexican rice, I can use the leftovers in place of meat in a taco. I simply heat everything up and then add the rice, cheese, lettuce and tomato to a tortilla. My family really likes my Mexican Rice Tacos. You can also use other leftovers  and make them into a meal by using tortillas.You are only limited by your imagination and creativity.

As you can see, tortillas can be a mainstay in your frugal kitchen. They are very affordable and versatile and I hope your family will love them like my family loves them.

Belinda

© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2012.

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”