Second Frugal Friday of July 2023

Welcome to Frugal Friday! 
My Frugal Week
Two weeks ago we picked up a computer at a yard sale for $20, but then couldn't use it here. We ended up selling it on Facebook Marketplace for $60. 
We used that money to go to multiple yard sales on Saturday. We went to seventeen yard sales, which took us about four hours. 

I came home with two refrigerator containers, a set of measuring cups, one metal water bottle, and a new to me book, United Tastes of the South, written by Jessica Dupuy.  

From Amazon…

From the Gullah-Geechee rice pirlaus of coastal South Carolina to Delta Hot Tamales from Mississippi's alluvial plains, the food of the South is a multicultural melting pot. In United Tastes of the South, food writer Jessica Dupuy, […] focus on the diverse cuisines of the American South. 

Bailey, who loves to read, came across a great yard sale with several books on her wish list. Her and the lady running the sale made a great deal on her books. Bailey also came home with inventory for her shops. 
One of the things we picked up at Goodwill last week was a Deluxe Waffle Bowl Maker from Yes Chef. I used it on Sunday morning to make Egg and Cheese Hash Brown Waffle Bowls. You can also use it to make waffle bowls for ice cream, but I won't be doing that. You can also use it to make bacon bowls. 

On Wednesday I drove to the little free pantry to drop off a gifted to us two liter bottle of Mountain Dew that we do not drink. I swung by again after my errands and it was already gone. I love it when that happens. 
Freebies
We had several food items gifted to us this week and some that we will not use, so I offered it up on our community Facebook page and it was taken that evening. 
This Week’s To Do List
🧺 Laundry🍳 Kitchen Duties🧺 Kitchen Laundry
Avoiding Spending
We couldn't avoid spending this week as we were running low on laundry detergent. 
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen

I ran into Food City while we were out yard sale-ing and picked up two ofthese taco salad kits for $3.00 each. I also picked up some ripe bananas on markdown.
I mentioned last week that my doctor wants me to follow the Mediterranean diet while another doctor of mine wants me to follow a low carbohydrate diet.  So, in order to do that I've been revamping some of my older recipes while using up items we have on hand at the same time. 
For example, I have a recipe for Poppy Seed Chicken with Ritz crackers and butter as a topping. The carbohydrates from that recipe are higher than I want to eat, so I removed those two items entirely from the recipe. 
I also had one can of organic Pacific Foods cream of mushroom soup, which was gifted to us, which I can use in this recipe. A win-win situation for us lowering both the calories, carbs, and using up what we have on hand. 
I’ve been using the Lose It app to keep track of the amount of carbs I’ve been eating. We definitely stay away from processed food for that reason, but even some fruits and vegetables are high in carbs like bananas. In that case, it’s best to just add part of a banana to a fruit smoothie rather than multiple fruits, which would really increase the carb count. 
I made my own popsicles this week using apple juice as the base. It sure does save money over store bought popsicles. 
Meals This Week
I'm going to try a change and see how it sticks. I'm going to go back to the way I used to do my Meals this Week blog post and post them on Monday. 
Recipe of the Week
Bailey really likes the chipotle sauce from Taco Bell. She even buys it over the counter at the grocery store. 

So. I bought this can of La Costena Chipotle peppers at Walmart for $1.48 and made some at home to save money. Bailey declared it a hit, so here is the recipe if you're interested. 
Cottage Cheese Chipotle Ranch
Ingredients:
1 can chipotle peppers (very strong! we used less than half the can)1 - 24 ounce container of low fat cottage cheese1 package ranch seasoning mix (I used Great Value)Salsa or in our case, taco seasoning
Directions:
I used my high powered blender to puree the cottage cheese into a more sour cream consistency and then added the other ingredients. I stored the dip in the cottage cheese container when I was done. The measurements are arbitrary, so feel free to add or decrease them to suit your families tastes. 

Saving Money YouTube Videos
Poor Man Meals when Money is Tight by Southern Frugal Momma
Mediterranean Diet/What I Eat in a Day on a Budget by Mediterranean Living
What I’ve Been Reading This Week
The Mediterranean Dish 

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

Poppy Seed Chicken

Poppy Seed Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1/2 to 3 pounds cooked chicken
  
• 1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed
  
• 3 Tablespoons poppy seeds
  
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
  
• 8 ounces sour cream
  
• 1 stick butter
  

Directions:

1. Cut up chicken into bite sized pieces.
   
2. Mix chicken, sour cream and undiluted soup.
   
3. Place in a greased casserole dish.
   
4. Melt butter in pan and mix with crackers & poppy seeds.
   
5. Spread over chicken.
   
6. Bake for 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

Menu Plan Monday ~ July 9, 2023

Menu Plan Monday

We did our monthly grocery haul this past week, so we have plenty of food on hand for meals. 

This was my original  meal plan, sides to be determined later:

1. Chili Tacos

2. Teriyaki Chicken, Rice, Green Beans with Onions. 

3. Salmon Patties, Mashed Potatoes, Green Peas.

4. Tuna Salad on Salads or Sandwiches, Vegetables & Homemade Ranch. 

5. 15 Bean Cajun Soup Beans with Southern Spoon Bread. 

6. Chicken Fajitas 

7. Soup using the Universal Soup Recipe 

This is what we ended up with this week:

Friday ~ I had everything on hand to make Chicken Fajitas such as colored peppers, onions, limes, etc. I served them on corn tortillas with red onions and lettuce. Chicken Fajitas with Onions and Peppers. 

Saturday ~ I had a bag of chicken in the freezer, so I decided to make Teriyaki Chicken, Rice, and Green Beans with Onions. We also had cantaloupe cut up in the fridge, so I served that with dinner as well. 

Sunday: I had a small can of crab in my pantry, so I made an Impossible Crab Pie for dinner. I served it with mashed potatoes with gravy and corn. Impossible Crab Pie, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, and Corn. 

Monday: We were able to pick up some ground beef on markdown last week. So, I decided to use a package to make tacos for dinner. I added onions to the meat to s-t-r-e-t-c-h it. They were served on corn tortillas, with sides of corn, peppers, tomatoes, and honeydew melon. Tacos, Corn, Honeydew Melon. 

Tuesday: Homemade Pizza. Homemade Pizza 

Wednesday: We had a repeat of Monday night's dinner and then I put the rest of the lentils in the freezer for future meals. Taco Style Lentils & Rice Tacos with all the fixings. 

Thursday: We are going grocery shopping tomorrow, so I had a motley crew of items for dinner tonight. Baked beans with bacon, corn, the last of the pasta salad, and buttered bread. It worked. Baked Beans, Corn, Pasta Salad, Bread & Butter. 

Friday: This was our big monthly grocery haul day and we were wiped out by the end of the day. I ended up making nachos for dinner with lots of chopped up vegetables such as onions, peppers and tomatoes. Nachos will all the fixings. 

Saturday: We were able to get hamburger meat on our grocery order, so we had hamburgers for dinner.  Hamburgers with cheese, onion, lettuce, tomato, and pickles along with potato chips. 

Sunday: There was a small amount of hamburger left to cook with, so I made a small taco salad for dinner.  Taco Salad. 

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

Shipwreck

Poppy Seed Chicken

Baked Vegetable Egg Rolls

Chicken Santa Fe

Bean and Cheese Enchiladas

Loaded Baked Potatoes

(Cheese, Green Onions, Black Olives, Sour Cream, Butter, Bacon Bits, Chives)

BelindaMortgage & Debt Free~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree

~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27

First Frugal Friday ~ July 2023

Welcome to Friday! 
My Frugal Week
Last Friday Bailey and I got ready to yard sale and went to the first one and the second we got back into the car a huge downpour came, which ended the yard sale day. No worries though as the thrift stores were open. 

We headed down to the Goodwill store in East Brainard in Chattanooga. This was the first time I had been in the new store, which was rebuilt after a tornado leveled the building on Easter Sunday in 2020. 
They had several items that were on my things needed list and even a few things that I wanted.
First off was a really nice backpack, which I need to go down our outside steps. I need to be hands free to hold onto the rails as I descend the steps, so this will work well. Turns out it was some bougie bag that retails for $199 and Bailey wished she had found it before me. 😂 
I found a brand new Instant Pot egg bites mold with a rack. I knew it was an Instant Pot item due to the rack. I’ve been wanting to make the Starbucks egg bites at home and now I have the correct mold to make them. 
I’ve had a bulletin board on my wish list and found one. I found some very nice towels, five towels in all and one set of two came with two wash clothes. All of them were such great quality and only $2.99 for the single towels and $4.99 for the set of two towels/two wash clothes. 
I’ve been needing to replace my colored pencils since they were worn down to the nub.  And they had a box of new Crayola erasable colored pencils for 99¢, so I bought them. 
I’ve wanted stationary bicycle pedals for exercise. I used to have one, but I wore it out. I’ve been looking on Facebook Marketplace and found one for $45, so jumped on this when I saw it for $7.99. 
Our cat Polka Dot had to go to the veterinary hospital this week. His ear was swollen and needed to be drained of fluid. He is back home now and on the road to recovery.
Freebies

Bailey reminded me that we had four coupons that were about to expire to use for free Jiff peanut butter.  So, we headed to Walmart to use them last Friday. 
Joy of the Week
My joy of the week was going through a bin of clothes for Bailey’s shops and shopping for myself. I mentioned last week that I got two shirts. Well this week I added four pairs of pants to that and another new to me shirt. 
Avoiding Spending
We needed cat food for this month, so I couldn’t avoid spending this week. But, I used Chewy.com and saved $20 by using the coupon code on their entrance page. (GIFT20OFF)
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
I hope you’ve had a good week adding to both your skills and pantries. Always thankful, we were able to restock our pantry this week. 
Sometimes the simplest way to prepare food works best. I watched a TikTok video where this person put chicken breasts in the crockpot, seasoned them and cooked for four hours and it made its own juice. Then he took a hand mixer and shredded it. 
I cooked one chicken breast like this on Monday and it also made its own juice. It was the perfect amount for our dinner and tasted very good. 
A friend of mine gave me some basil from her garden this week. I have it laying on my counter to dry. It smells so good! 
Meals This Week
Grilled Chicken Nachos with SaladHamburgers, Baked Beans, Squash & Zucchini, Deviled Egg Dip. Grilled Chicken, Cajun Soup Beans, Kale Greens, Pico de Gallo. Chicken Breast with Honey Mustard, Baked Beans, Carrots. Tuna Salad Sandwiches, Carrots, Cajun Beans. Homemade Pizza with Salads. Chicken Fajitas, Tomatoes, Roasted Potatoes, Corn on the Cob & Watermelon. 
Saving on Entertainment
We went to the local fireworks show at the mall on the Fourth of July. The show lasted about twenty minutes and was really beautiful. 
What I've been Reading This Week
One of the books I picked up at Goodwill last Friday is The Sonoma Diet, written by Dr. Connie Guttersen. My doctor suggested the Mediterranean diet to me last month, so I thought I would do some reading on the subject. 

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

Fifth & Final Friday of June 2023

Welcome to Friday! 
My Frugal Week
We finally had some rain this past week and we definitely needed it. Then on Sunday afternoon we had a thunderstorm and lost power for about six hours. I was grateful when it finally came back on that night.
We have a new to us Internet service provider, so I'm hoping my Internet connection will be better and I can comment easier on blogs and Facebook.  

Bailey bought an embroidery machine this week. The lady who sold it to her included all the looms and software that she bought when she first purchased the machine. Bailey is wanting to add to her income sources, so will be on a learning curve for this new endeavor. 

We went to a church yard sale last Friday. We've been wanting a couple of those blender bottles and we found two of them at this sale. we also found a Tervis handle for the Tervis cups we already have here. 

On Saturday there was a swap meet at one of our local parks. It was like the Trade Day event we go to monthly where people bring items and pick up items they need or want for free. We brought several things with us and ended up with several clothing items in return. 
Afterwards we went to a thrift store sale where clothes were selling for $5 per bag (Walmart size bag). Bailey was able to pick up 28 pieces in four different bags, so $20 for the lot or 71¢ per item. It’s great to be stocking up on inventory during summer yard sale season. 
One of the clothing lots Bailey bought a week ago included several pieces in my size. As we went through the clothes I tried on the ones that I liked and found two new to me shirts that are exactly the style I like, the material I like (cotton/poly blend, no rayon/viscose for me as it’s too clingy), and are in my size. I love it when that happens.
Sometimes we find after we buy items that some things need repairs or mending. For example, this week there was a button missing from a pair of pants, with a hook and eye clasp also, needed to fasten them. It only took a few minutes to sew another button to make them sellable. 

I used up a box of Yogi herbal tea the other day and noticed the inside was so beautiful that I decided to cut it up for book marks. They could even be colored if somone wanted to do that. 
When I went to the doctor last week we discussed several of my medications and I let her know that I wanted to take less medicine. Home health has noticed that my blood pressure has been running low, so she cut down on those and was able to eliminate another one as well. That will definitely save some money.
I refilled my cleaning spray bottles with a splash of concentrated Lysol and filled the rest of the way with water. I also added water to my Dawn dishwashing detergent bottle when I filled it up this week. 
This Weeks to do List
Daily Kitchen TasksWash EggsLaundryKitchen LaundrySteaming & Processing
Noteworthy News
Amazon’s Prime Day will be July 11th and 12th this year. Normally I don’t pay attention to this sort of sale, but I’ve had a power bank on my wishlist for a while now, and they are advertising one for this sale. So, I’m going to take a look at it and make a decision at that time. 
Freebies
We were gifted several big cans (12 ounces) of Starkist tuna this week, so in order to use up this gift and save money, I decided to incorporate the tuna into our menus. Normally I use  tuna for tuna salad or Tuna Pate, but we are out of cream cheese, so the tuna pate will have to wait. I do have a tried and true recipe for tuna macaroni salad though, which I’ve included as the recipe of the week. 
I received a free copy of the latest Good Housekeeping magazine in the mail. 

Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
The cost of living is hitting people really hard these days. Grocery prices continue to rise all around the globe. We gave up buying steak and roasts several years ago due to the cost and might only buy those things now for a special occasion. We do still buy hamburger, but we have cut way back on that as well and only have it a few times per month. 
One way we save money in the kitchen is watching portion sizes too. For example, I had a package of chicken breasts that weighed 20 ounces, so I split it into two packages, which gave both of us a generous five ounce portion for dinner. 
One night I used a one pound package of extra lean ground beef bought on mark down for $5.40. I divided that up into four, four ounce portions, which was enough for two dinners for both of us, and made each serving only $1.35. 
Bailey went to our local grocery store to pick up some cream cheese since we had so much tuna on hand, but walked out of the store without it when it cost $5.00. We will simply do without some of these extras with their exorbitant prices. 
Meals This Week
Friday ~ Chicken Fajitas with Onions & Peppers, Corn, and Cantaloupe. Saturday ~ Chicken Stir Fry, Asian Rice, Green Beans & Onions.Sunday ~ Sunday Chicken, Baked Apples, Macaroni and Cheese. Monday ~ Tacos, Corn, Honeydew Melon. Tuesday ~ Tuna Salad with Peppers, Carrots, Honeydew Melon. Wednesday ~ Chicken Stir Fry with Rice, Broccoli, Dragonfruit. Thursday ~ Hamburger Steaks, 15 Bean Cajun Soup Beans, Steamed Kale. 
Recipe of the Week
I’ve been making this tuna macaroni salad since we lived in Pikeville in the early nineties. It’s a great way to use up the tuna we have stored in our pantry and it’s a great, refreshing summertime salad. 

Tuna Macaroni Salad

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 small can of tuna, drained and flaked  

1 cup sliced celery  

2 cups elbow macaroni, cooked and drained  

1/4 cup chopped red pepper  

1/4 cup sliced green onions  

2 tablespoons pimientos, chopped

Salt & Pepper

Lettuce, if desired

Directions:

Mix mayonnaise and tuna together.

Add macaroni, celery, red pepper, onions, and pimiento.  

Season to taste with pepper and salt .  

Refrigerate and allow to chill. 

Serve on lettuce leaves. 

Saving on Entertainment
We picked up a game at a yard sale last weekend called, A Game of Cat and Mouth. This was a really fun game and works for kids, teens and adults. The game involves 24 balls and two magnetic kitty paws that catapult your balls to your opponents side. The game is made by the makers of the Exploding Kitten games, which are so much fun. This would make a great Christmas present for someone on our Christmas list. 
On Saturday I guessed the Wordle with only two tries! I also did the Spelling Bee on this day, which was also fun. 

What I've been Reading This Week
The Ten Plant Based Burger Recipes You Need to Try

Thank you for dropping by my frugal blog, you are always welcome here. 

I hope and pray for each one reading here that we are good stewards of our time, talents and resources and that we have a very productive week. Fulfilling our roles as keepers of our homes is so very important to our wellbeing. 

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