Meal Plan Monday

This will be a week of making do with what’s here as I don’t have plans to grocery shop until the weekend. So, here is what I am thinking will take place as of now. 
Beefy Baked Beans, Mashed Potatoes, Mixed VegetablesChicken Fajitas, Mexican Rice, cornPineapple Sticky Chicken, Rice, BroccoliChicken Pot PieTuna Salad SandwichesTacosSoup Beans, Turnip Greens, and Cornbread
I’ve already made a fresh gallon of tea this morning. I had some Blackberry Lemonade on Saturday and it was so good. I need to figure out how to make it at home. 
What’s for dinner in your home this week?
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Yard Sale Saturday

Pictured above is what we picked up for the kitchen at yard sales yesterday. In the photo are  four Lock and Lock bowls, which I really like as the lids do not come off unless you want them to come off.

Also pictured are two Rubbermaid bowls, a large one and a small one. And finally are six Pyrex glass containers, although one is missing the lid. 

I’m guessing, but the retail value of these would be over $30 if not more. We paid only 50 cents each for them. And I am loving all the glass dishes we are finding this summer. I put dinner leftovers in them and can easily reheat them in the microwave without having to put them in another container. 

Other than these, it was slim pickings yesterday as it kept raining off and on and by noon most of the yard sales were packed up if they were open at all. 

How about you? Any yard sale scores you would like to share? We would love to hear about them in the comment section. 

Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Frugal Friday

Welcome to Friday! 
Quote of the Week

$3.81 for lunch may sound like a great deal, but the truth is, despite those ever-rising grocery bills, people who choose to brown-bag a sandwich, piece of fruit, and carrot sticks or a serving of chips, are always going to spend less than the folks who buy their lunch at a restaurant, school cafeteria or fast-food joint. ~ Len Penzo

My Frugal Week
The secretary of the high school texted me this week to ask if I was subbing this year as she was creating the sub list for this school year. Unfortunately, I had to tell her I would not start out this year subbing as I cannot drive with my eyesight. I told her I was having surgery soon and would let her know when that changed.

How long does it take a honeydew melon to ripen? I finally wrote the date on this one to see how long it would take to ripen. When I bought this one I bought two of them and I finally cut the other one open to see how it tasted. It had no flavor, so I am placing this other one in a paper bag to see if it will ripen anymore. I am thinking it was picked too soon and won't ripen anymore like strawberries do when picked too soon. 
I love that Aldi is giving us paper bags now when we get a grocery pickup. There are so many uses for them. 
Speaking of grocery pick ups, Ramit Sethi had a poll last week on Twitter. He wanted to know what is one thing you used to resist spending money on, but now you love spending on it. He said one of the most common answers was grocery delivery. I won’t say that I love paying for it, but I do love the convenience  of it. 
I went through my reading list here on Blogger and using the manage button, caught up on reading some blogs, kept some old blogs that are no longer posting, but are still a great resource. 
On Saturday afternoon we picked up a grocery order at Walmart. It wasn’t a full grocery order, but will help get us through until we do have one sometime in August. 
On Tuesday I listed a couple of things on eBay to sell. 

Earning Money

This week I received a survey from Consumer Opinion Institute and earned $5.00 for filling out and returning their survey. 
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen

On Friday morning I made myself a green smoothie. I keep some smoothie ingredients on my freezer door, such as Amla, flax and chia seeds, and black sesame seeds, so as I was adding them to my smoothie I found a package of cheese hot dogs I had forgotten about. Score! I used them for dinner on Friday night. 

My butter wrappers, saved from a stick of butter, stored in a baggie in my fridge for when I need to grease a pan. 
Meals This Week
Friday: Nathan’s Cheese Dogs, Rice Pilaf, Sunflower Salad
Saturday: Tuna Salad Sandwiches because I was exhausted from Yard Sale Saturday. 
Sunday: Hawaiian Chicken, Rice Pilaf, Vegetable. 
Monday: Sliced Pork, Scalloped Potatoes, Mixed Vegetables. The scalloped potatoes were a big hit probably because it's been so long since I made them. I was only using 1.5 pounds of potatoes, so I used my small Pioneer Woman casserole dish and they fit perfectly. The recipe is listed below if you're interested. 
Tuesday: Grilled Chicken, Steamed Broccoli, Baked Potato
Wednesday: Nathan's Hotdogs, Carrots, Mashed Potatoes 
Thursday: Tuna Salad, Pasta Salad, Asian Salad, Orange Iced Tea

Recipe of The Week:
Cheese Scalloped Potatoes Ingredients: 1.5 pounds potatoes, thinly sliced1/4 cup butter 1 teaspoon garlic, minced1/4 cup all-purpose flour2 cups milk1 teaspoon salt1/2 teaspoon pepper1 cup cheese, shredded Directions:
Spray an 8x8 pan with non-stick spray. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread sliced potatoes evenly in the pan. Melt the butter over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for one minute. Whisk in flour until a paste forms. Add milk, salt and pepper and cook until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in cheese. Pour sauce over sliced potatoes.Sprinkle with extra cheese if desired. Bake at 350 °F for 45 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Saving on Entertainment
Every now and then I go onto TikTok and entertain myself for free. There are some great cooking videos on there and I usually find a song or two to add to my song list on YouTube. 
Here is an oldie, but a goodie, Manic Monday by the Bangles. 

What I've been Reading This Week

Len Penzo has posted his 13th Annual Cost Survey of 10 Popular Brown Bag Sandwiches. It's an annual post that many of his readers look forward to each year including me. I hope you enjoy it. 
That is all the frugal news from here this week, How was your week?
Belinda~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree

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Hawaiian Chicken

I saw this recipe on my friend Lindy's Facebook page last week and decided to make it this week. The recipe called for it to be cooked in a crockpot for 6 to 8 hours, but I used my Instant Pot instead. I also added the cornstarch slurry because Bailey likes her food to have a thick sauce. 
I cut up the chicken breast into small bite sized pieces because that's the way we like it. It was served with rice and broccoli and it's a really good and simple recipe. We both really enjoyed it and I will be making it again. 

Hawaiian Chicken

Ingredients:

2 pounds Chicken (I used two breasts, cut how you like it)

1/2  cup Brown Sugar

1/3  cup Soy Sauce

1 cup Pineapple Juice

Cornstarch Slurry

1 tablespoon of cornstarch 

2 tablespoons of water

Directions;

Combine all ingredients together and cook in an Instant Pot for 10 minutes. 

Once done and opened, turn on sauté feature, add cornstarch slurry, and stir until thickened.

Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

Butter Biscuits

This is a recipe I saw on TikTok and turns out this recipe is all over the Internet. I made a batch of them this morning and will make some changes when I make them again. The recipe calls for sugar, which these do not need, so I left that out. 
Butter Biscuits
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter (IMO, this is too much, next time I will try 1/2 stick)2 & 1/2 cups flour1 tablespoon baking powder1 teaspoon salt1 & 3/4 cup buttermilk
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Melt butter in microwave or oven. Use an 11 x 7 inch baking dish and pour butter inside.Mix flour, baking powder, and salt.Pour into buttermilk and  stir until batter forms. Pour biscuit dough into baking dish over the butter. At this point you can cut the biscuits into squares.I waited until mine were halfway through baking to cut them.Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~