Friday, August 18, 2023
Third Frugal Friday of August 2023
Monday, August 14, 2023
Menu Plan Monday ~ Saving Money in our Frugal Kitchen
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| Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen |
We ran to town on Thursday to pick up a new water filter for our kitchen faucet and stopped in at Aldi for a few groceries. Red grapes are on sale for 99¢ a pound this week, so we picked up a couple of bags of those, along with five cartons of eggs for 98¢ each. Lettuce, tomatoes, cantaloupe and watermelon were also added to our cart.
On Friday evening I washed all the melons and cut them up to be stored in the refrigerator. I like to cut melons on Fridays, so the rinds can go off with the garbage on Saturday. Then on Saturday I rearranged items in the refrigerator to avoid food waste. We eat onions every day, and I usually have a small bowl of them in there and and I don’t want any of them them to go to waste.
Recipe of the Week
Back in 1996 some friends and I were members of the Slim & Trim diet club and we would meet once a week, share recipes and support one another on a low carb diet.
This recipe for "Almost Spaghetti" uses bean sprouts rather than spaghetti noodles to avoid the carbs in the pasta. I used to make it quite often back then and remember it being tasty.
Almost Spaghetti
Ingredients:
10 ounces ground beef
14 ounce can bean sprouts
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
8 ounce can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
Salt & Pepper to taste
Directions:
Brown ground beef in heavy skillet and drain.
Add pepper, onion, tomato sauce, and spices.
Simmer for 30 minutes.
Add bean sprouts and heat through.
What’s for Dinner
Monday ~ I took the second part of the rotisserie chicken from last week out of the freezer and added enchilada sauce, corn, pinto beans, and cheese and rolled them into enchiladas. I topped with more enchilada sauce and cheese and then served them with green peas and black olives.
Tuesday ~ It was movie night at the actual theater, so we picked up a pizza at the local Italian restaurant and enjoyed that once we arrived home.
Wednesday ~ I had some rice in the refrigerator that I needed to use up, so I split it into two and made both Fiesta Rice and Rice & Cheese (Like Mac & Cheese, but with rice instead) for dinner. I served both with a garden salad on the side. I was out of American cheese, so I used cheddar instead and it was a big hit.
Thursday ~ Chicken Fajitas with Onions, Tortillas, Lettuce, Onions, Tomatoes, and Corn. We have plenty of leftovers for lunch on Friday.
Friday ~ Bailey had a movie night with one of her friends and had pizza for dinner. So, I had the night off from cooking and had a delicious peach over cottage cheese.
Saturday & Sunday ~ I decided to make Chicken & Chili Chimichangas, which is one of my favorite dishes. I used mild green chilies, so there is no spicy heat involved, which I prefer. I served this with corn on the cob, lettuce, tomatoes and diced onions. Watermelon for afterwards. 🍉
What’s on the Menu for This Coming Week
I'm wanting to try a new recipe this week for Green Chicken Chili and if it works out I will share it with you next week. We are also having Almost Spaghetti and we have chicken, pork, and bacon on hand. And we have plenty of beans for meatless dishes also. So, be sure to come back next week to see what sides we serve with these main dishes.
Belinda
Leftover Jell-O that didn’t set up well or Jell-O that you make for this purpose from a store brand.
Juice or syrup left over from canned fruit.
Juice that has been in the fridge and needs to be used up.
Kool-Aid or lemonade mixes bought on sale.
Friday, August 11, 2023
Second Frugal Friday August 2023
Monday, August 7, 2023
Menu Plan Monday ~ Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen August 7, 2023
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| Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen |
I perused the grocery store sale ads online as usual looking for any good loss leaders to stock up on this week. We went to Kroger on Wednesday and picked up several loss leaders.
First off was this eight ounce block of mozzarella cheese for 63 cents. That almost trumps the time we bought cheese for 50 cents a block at the close out store, but that was twenty years ago. We also used a digital coupon and picked up the 32 ounce blocks of cheese for $4.99, normally priced at $7.99, which is also a great price.
Next was a 33 ounce container of Noosa strawberry yogurt for $1.76, which normally sells for $5.49, so another good deal. This has the best flavor and was so good!
Next was this container of Everything Bagel dip for 66 cents.
Recipe of the Week
This is my recipe I use for Dirty Rice. I’ve used smoked sausage, Polish sausage, pecan smoked sausage, pork sausage, and Andouille sausage. This week we used Holmes Smokehouse Pecan Smoked Kielbasa, which we bought from Publix and was delicious.
Dirty Rice
Ingredients:
Your choice of meat (12 to 16 ounces)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups cooked rice
1 onion, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 to 3 teaspoons Cajun Spice Mix (recipe below)
Directions:
I cook my rice ahead of time using 1 part rice to 2 parts broth or water.
Then I have leftover rice for another meal later in the week.
You can also cook your rice in with the meat after it’s browned, if you prefer.
Pan fry your meat selection in a skillet with a couple tablespoons of olive oil.
Add the holy trinity of onions, celery, and bell peppers.
Cook for five minutes or until softened.
Add rice and stir well.
Add two to three teaspoons of Cajun seasoning mix.
Mix well and heat throughout.
Serve and enjoy.
Cajun Seasoning Mix
If you want to make this more Creole style you can add some chili powder to the mix. I like making my own Cajun seasoning mix because I can control the hot spices that go into the mix. Feel free to add cayenne pepper to your spice mix if you prefer.
Ingredients:
5 teaspoons paprika
3 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons garlic powder
4 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried thyme
Directions:
Add all spices together in a small mason jar.
Stir together well, label, and store with other spices.
What’s for Dinner
Monday ~ Dirty Rice with Pecan Smoked Sausage, Cole Slaw, Green Peas.
Tuesday ~ I made extra rice on Monday, so today I made some Chicken Fried Rice. Of course, this is movie night for Bailey, so she had her usual movie night pizza with chicken and red onions.
Wednesday ~ Chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and gravy.
Thursday ~ Taco Thursday ~ We bought some ground chuck at Food City on markdown, so I fixed that for supper using my homemade taco seasoning mix. I served it with lettuce, tomatoes. And onions.
Friday ~ Taco Meat with Cottage Cheese and Tomatoes.
Saturday & Sunday ~ White Chicken Enchiladas, Corn, Salad. I used the rotisserie chicken we bought on mark down for this dish, and I used blended cottage cheese instead of sour cream. I also made some more popsicles today using black cherry koolaid and jello along with some monk fruit as sweetener.
What’s on the Menu for This Coming Week
These are the items we have on hand that I can use to make meals this week. We have a lot of chicken on hand, bacon, and pork, so I can make Chicken Fried Rice, BLTs, and Quiche. Be sure to come back next week to see what sides we serve with these main dishes.
resourceful and raid your cupboards or
Belinda
Leftover Jell-O that didn’t set up well or Jell-O that you make for this purpose from a store brand.
Juice or syrup left over from canned fruit.
Juice that has been in the fridge and needs to be used up.
Kool-Aid or lemonade mixes bought on sale.
Friday, August 4, 2023
First Frugal Friday of August 2023
We received a Neilson survey in the mail this week along with $1.00 for filling it out. And to my surprise, the survey said once I returned it, they would send me $5.00 for filling it out.
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