Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen ~ Menu Plan Monday

 

Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen

My Frugal Week

We've been in use it up mode this week and I used up several ripe/spotted bananas in smoothies for breakfast along with the last of the frozen peaches and blueberries. The blueberries were the Great Value brand and were kind of bitter, so I replaced those with the GV wild frozen blueberries and I’ll see if that makes a difference. 

We went to Walmart on Tuesday and bought a few groceries like chicken, ground beef, spices, cranberry beans, white popcorn kernels, tortillas, cauliflower rice, bean sprouts, peanut butter, frozen strawberries and blueberries. 

I took inventory of all the canned goods and dried beans we have in our pantry, which will help me a great deal with meal planning. 

There is a YouTube channel I’ve been watching this week for MeatDad. You can find him on all the popular social media platforms. He is a butcher and teaches people how to save money on meat, how to cut up large portions of meat into smaller portions, and how to cut up chicken to save you the most money. 

He demonstrated in one of his videos how buying a whole chicken was cheaper than buying two boneless skinless chicken breasts. He doesn’t blame people, but rather society for not teaching each other about these money saving skills. 

I checked the price of whole chickens at Walmart and they are $1.14 a pound right now when you buy two of the Perdue oven roasters. That is definitely cheaper than boneless, skinless thighs or chicken breasts. 

Recipe of the Week

Pico de Gallo Grilled Chicken

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 & 1/8 cup cilantro

2 limes

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

4 Roma tomatoes, diced

1/2 cup onion, diced

1 jalapeno pepper, diced

1 clove garlic, minced 

Directions:

Combine one cup cilantro, juice of 1 lime and 1 teaspoon salt. 

Add chicken and marinade for 15 minutes.

Mix tomatoes, onions, garlic, cilantro and jalapeño pepper. 

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add lime juice and toss.

Grill chicken and let it rest for a few minutes. 

Top with  Pico de Gallo mixture.

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ Chicken Taquitos, Corn on the Cob, Fresh Broccoli. 

Tuesday ~ Movie Night Pizza

Wednesday ~ Grilled Chicken Club Croissant Sandwiches, Potato Salad. 

Thursday ~ Roasted Chicken, Baked Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans with Onions. This was the whole chicken we picked up for free during Trade Day in August. I roasted it in the crockpot with multiple spices and some orange flavored soy sauce and chicken broth. It came out moist and delicious and fed both of us for dinner with plenty of leftovers. 

Friday ~ Repeat of Thursday’s Roasted Chicken, Fried Potatoes, Green Beans. 

Saturday ~ Bailey had a movie night with a friend, so I was on my own for dinner. I made a vegetable plate with a baked sweet potato, green beans with onions, sliced tomatoes, and carrot and celery sticks with cucumber ranch for dipping. 

Sunday ~ Asian Ground Chicken with Pineapple & Toasted Sesame Oil, Cauliflower Rice, and Edamame. 

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. 

Chicken Breasts

Chicken Thighs

Canned Chicken

Ground Beef

Dried Beans (Great Northern, Garbanzo, October Beans)

Canned & Frozen Salmon

Tuna

Be sure to come back next week to see what sides we serve with these main dishes. 

 resourceful and raid your cupboards or

Belinda

Mortgage & Debt Free~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27

Homemade yogurt that didn’t set up well – mixed with some homemade jam;

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.

Second Frugal Friday of September 2023

 

Welcome to Frugal Friday! 
My Frugal Week
Last week I paid all of our bills that are due in September and then I set up my budget for October. Having all the bills paid for the month gives me great peace of mind. 
We dropped off items at the consignment sale on Saturday. It was a long and tedious task, but I’m so glad it’s done now. 
I listed four things for sale on eBay this week, which were all books. 
We finally replaced our main air conditioner in the house two weeks ago. It’s a big unit at 25,000 BTU, so we hired a pro from Angi to install it for us, but he didn’t finish the job. We have another pro coming on Friday to hopefully fix the issue. 
I went to the orthopedic doctor on Wednesday to get the second of three shots in both of my knees. Rather than a cortisone shot, these will replace the missing gel in my knee joints. 
I caught up with a childhood friend on Facebook messenger this week. Our children are all grown up now, so it’s easier to catch up with each other more often. 
While shopping for groceries the other day, I also found a couple of stocking stuffers on clearance. Looking for these all year long on clearance will ensure I don’t pay full price come Christmas time.
Finally, I signed up for a free year of GrubHub thanks to my Amazon Prime membership. Details are on their website. 
Freebies

From my local no spend group: a bottle of Dawn dishwashing detergent, which is my preferred brand. This will last me a few months, so I won't have to purchase any for a while. 
Joy of the Week
I mentioned a week or so ago that my Dad is back in town now. He lives across the road from us, but his workshop is still here at our house. (My parents split the property in 2014 when they divorced.)
Anyway, he’s been puttering around and fixing things and weed eating and has the place looking so good, just like when he lived here before. It’s been a real source of joy for me as I see his workshop and the area around it come back to life. 
Photo of the Week
Missionary Ridge, site of the famous Battle of Missionary Ridge, located in Chattanooga runs north to south for several miles with very steep, vertical sides. It was named for early missionaries who made their way along the paths to Brainard Village, an early Cherokee settlement.

Because of this geography, there are five tunnels that were created in order for motorists to travel back and forth in the city through the ridge. I travel through them regularly and on my way to and from the doctors office. This one is called the Wilcox Boulevard tunnel and has this mural called, See Me Shine!, created by Greta McLain in 2017.
Question of the Week
Did you know that Walmart did away with layaway while Covid was happening? Bailey says that I knew about this, but I don’t remember. It seems to me that layaway was a tool to help people afford things without buying on credit, but it seems like that will be part of a bygone era now. 
Saving Money YouTube Videos
2 Sister Bees Hive ~ Budgeting and Saving
Rachael Resets ~ Resetting your grocery budget one meal at a time. 
Saving on Entertainment
I had a red shirt on the other day when I was on the back porch talking to my Dad. A hummingbird came up to me and hovered for just a minute. It was so neat to see. 
We’ve been watching The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Amazon Prime. Bailey has been wanting me to watch this for a long time now, although I don’t care for the husband in this series. 
What I've been Reading This Week
Common Financial Weaknesses & How To Overcome Them
The Recipe Critic: Pantry Staples Recipes
Kale The Complete Guide to the World's Most Powerful Superfood (Amazon Link)
The Essential Keto Cookbook by Louise & Jeremy Hendon (Amazon Link)
Buy Salvage Food
Easy  Cheap Dinner Ideas from the Mediterranean 

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.

BelindaMortgage & Debt Free~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27

Saving Money with Eggs

Eggs make an excellent basis for main dishes as they contain high quality protein. When eggs are plentiful and the price permits, they serve as an excellent alternative to expensive meat. Eggs have come down in price considerably over the last two months, which makes them an inexpensive meal idea again.

It takes two eggs to provide enough protein for one person, but if you can only use one egg person you can increase the protein by adding cheese, milk, or cottage cheese.

Eggs are cheaper than meat for your protein needs when one dozen eggs are less than one pound of beef, pork, fish, or chicken.

Here are a couple of ideas to use eggs in your main dishes for dinner:

Fluffy Baked Omelet

Easy Sausage Quiche

And here is a recipe for deviled eggs, which we really enjoy. 

Deviled Eggs

Ingredients:

6 boiled eggs
2 Tablespoons Mayonnaise
1 & 1/2 Tablespoons Sweet Pickle Relish
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
Salt & Pepper
Paprika for Garnish

Instructions:

Cut the eggs in half lengthwise.
Carefully remove yolks.
Mash yolks with mayonnaise.
Add mustard, relish, salt, and pepper.
Stir well.
Spoon egg yolk mixture into egg whites.
Garnish with paprika, if desired.

Belinda

Mortgage & Debt Free~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27

Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen & Menu Plan Monday

 

Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen

My Frugal Week

This week I made a version of Shoepeg Salsa/Cowboy Caviar to have a refreshing salsa  type dish to go with our meals. I used three tablespoons olive oil, two tablespoons red wine vinegar, two tablespoons lime juice, and then one teaspoon oregano, basil, paprika, onion and garlic powder. I also put one tablespoon of monk fruit instead of sugar. 

For the salsa part I used one can of corn, pinto beans, tomatoes, black beans, and also added part of a chopped onion and yellow bell peppers. The recipe is very versatile and chick peas or black eyed peas would also make good additions. We’ve enjoyed it multiple times this week and it goes well on top of a salad too. 

Freebies

We went to the free trading post on Sunday and this is what we picked up for free: 

a two pound bag of soup beans, one can of pizza sauce, and three potatoes. 

Recipe of the Week

This is a very hearty soup chock full of vegetables. If I had my choice, I would still prefer real cabbage rolls, but this has a nice flavor too. 

Stuffed Cabbage Soup

Ingredients:

1 & ½  pounds lean ground beef

4 cups chopped green cabbage

2 cups chopped yellow onion

1 ¼ cups chopped carrots

1 cup chopped celery

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground pepper

1 (15 ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce

4 cups low sodium chicken broth

Directions:

Brown ground beef until the meat is cooked thoroughly. 

Add cabbage, onion, carrots and celery.

Cook until the onion is translucent.

Add brown sugar, paprika, salt, and pepper to the beef mixture.  Cook until the spices are toasted, about 1 minute. 

Stir in tomato sauce and broth.

Bring the soup to a boil and reduce heat to low. 

Cover and cook for 30 minutes. 

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ Baked Chicken, and Salad. 

Tuesday ~ Baked Salmon, Sweet Potato, Steamed Broccoli. 

Wednesday ~  Grilled Chicken and Steamed Broccoli. 

Thursday ~  Baked Salmon, Rice Pilaf, Sauteed Cabbage, Shoepeg Salsa. 

Friday ~ Stuffed Cabbage Soup and Southern Spoonbread. 

Saturday ~ Grilled Chicken, Corn Salsa, Garden Salads. 

Sunday ~ Repeat of Friday night dinner. 

What’s on the Menu for This Coming Week

I didn’t make the quiche or soup beans last week as some of our meals made enough to eat the next day too. I can always put those dinners on the menu for this week. Be sure to come back next week to see what we serve for dinner in our home this week. 

 resourceful and raid your cupboards or

Belinda

Mortgage & Debt Free~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27

First Frugal Friday of September 2023

 

Welcome to Frugal Friday! 
My Frugal Week
Here we are at the start of a brand new month. I hope you are doing well and your cup runneth over. 

Nielsen sent me the $5.00 they promised me if I filled out their survey, which I thought was pretty neat. It’s not everyday you get $5 in the mail. 
It’s sixteen more Fridays before Christmas and I did a little bit of shopping this week. I can’t divulge anything here just in case someone we know is reading, but it’s exciting to get something I know they are going to love. 
We ordered cat food for the new month this week from Target and went through Rakuten first in order to earn cash back. If you are interested in joining and use my referral link and spend $30 in the first 90 days then we both get $30. How cool is that?
I love the cashback programs and received $17.28 in cashback money this summer using my PayPal debit card. I can earn cash back from Rakuten and PayPal on the same purchase.
I listed some cookbooks for sale on eBay this week as McKay Used Books won't accept old vintage cookbooks like these. 
Thursday evening we loaded both cars up with items to take to the consignment sale drop off on Saturday. While we were outside I took the time to clean the door jams on my car and they look so much better. It’s unreal how dirty they can get. 
Freebies

We received a free issue of Southern Living magazine in the mail this week. 
Photo of the Week
Bailey's latest embroidery creation, and she also sold her first embroidered piece this week. Woo-hoo!

Savings of the Week
Kroger has butter on sale this week for $1.99 with a digital coupon, and you can use it up to five times. That is definitely a stock up price if you ask me.
That’s my week in a nutshell. How was your week? Any frugal wins to tell us about?

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.

BelindaMortgage & Debt Free~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27