Frugal Friday

This week has gone by in a blur. I don't remember much to be honest. It's been a dreary week in Michigan and I am sooooo ready for nice weather. Just some sunshine and a warm breeze, that's all I want. :)

On Monday, I went diving into our fabric stash to make curtains for the kids bunkbeds. We've had this fabric for years and let the kids pick out whatever kind they wanted.

Three kids in one room and a lack of privacy? Problem solved.

On Tuesday, we were contacted by a farmer friend who had some chickens that weren't the right size for sale. My husband and some helpers processed 45 chickens for free!! On Wednesday, I packaged all of the chicken into family sized ziplocks and we split the meat between three families.

On Thursday, we bought a birthday card at Dollar Tree instead of Walmart. ;) (huge accomplishment, right?)

And today I am making up a menu for the next week so that we are prepared whenever we find a moment to go shopping this weekend. :)

Monday Menu 3/24

Our menu runs from Saturday to Saturday this week so there are eight meals per category.


Breakfasts (with fruit and milk)
Baked Oatmeal
Grits
Cupcakes (Yep, cupcakes)
Eggs and toast
Baked Oatmeal
McDonalds :)
Toast with cream cheese and strawberries
Biscuits and gravy

Lunches (with veggies and dip and water)
Pigs in a blanket
PBJ
Grilled Cheese
Quesadillas
Tuna Salad
Lentil and dumpling soup
Church meal
Fried Rice

Dinner
Red beans and rice with sausage
Taco Bell (This was NOT planned, Sunday was a VERY busy day for my kitchen and I forgot to feed my people...)
Italian meatloaf with tomato basil pasta
Hot pockets (homemade, don't worry!)
Mom in Law's for dinner
Cauliflower crust pizza with breadsticks (We're not a low carb family but I'm all about getting in more veggies!)
Chicken Enchiladas
LEFTOVER NIGHT!!

Snacks
graham crackers
fruit and veggies
iced vanilla chai lattes
popcorn

Frugal Friday

Yeah, I'm jumping on the alliteration wagon that is so common among bloggers. ;)

Frugal Fridays are going to have a post about the frugal things that I have done this week. There are a lot of things that I do that I don't realize are frugal until I mention them to someone else. I am a cheapskate by nature so some things just come to me by instinct. Frugal Fridays will help me to pause and reflect on my habits and maybe they will be able to bless someone else. :)

FRUGAL FOOD
This week we spent $65 on groceries and house stuff. That was mostly dairy and produce. We did buy some ice cream and two bags of chips. The kids love that we have an Aldi so mom can buy the fake doritos or sunchips there without blowing the budget. Our normal budget is $125 per week and includes all of the household stuff and medicine plus diapers and animal food.

I learned how to make a Vanilla Chai Frappe this week, I'll post the recipe next week. It's our new favorite fancy drink.

We made peach tea with the leftover peach syrup from our homecanned peaches. The kids love it. We've been focusing on drinking more water and herbal tea instead of dairy and juice for healthier and cheaper living. ;)

All of our leftovers became lunches for my husband.

I planned to use a venison roast as two meals. We had it for dinner with potatoes and carrots on Sunday night and then for dinner as a venison and barley soup with herbed biscuits on Thursday. I am working on perfecting my herb biscuits. They are almost as good as the cheddar biscuits at Ruby Tuesdays and they have no shortening and are half whole wheat.
 
I made homemade burger buns and french fries to go with our burgers this week instead of purchasing them ready made.

Frugal Cleaning

We use homemade laundry soap on a regular basis and I use bounce dryer sheets unscented cut in half for our anti-static needs. We used to use a bounce bar but I've found that they are not lasting nearly as long as they used to so we switched back to sheets.

I don't use paper towel or paper napkins. I have rags that can be rewashed or thrown out if needed and washable cloth napkins that get tossed in with our towels. We did use my stock of paper plates this week because I have been fighting a cold/sinus issue and standing up hurt.

I am a huge fan of Shaklee Basic H2 for All purpose spray, degreaser, and window wash. It lasts forever. I've had that bottle since NOVEMBER and use it all the time!! This week I ran out of dishsoap and just didn't have the time to get to the store so I did some googling (FROOGLE moment!) and discovered that you can use Basic H2 for dishwashing. I used about a half teaspoon per sinkfull of water and it works at least as well as the cheap dishsoap. I do love the New Dawn Platinum Power Clean soap but it's best saved for the really tough messes. That stuff is not cheap. I went through one bottle in about 6 weeks. Next month, I'm trying out the Shaklee dishwash and I'll let you know what I think.

We use good ol' hydrogen peroxide to clean the toilet and sinks in our bathroom. I sometimes use bleach but I have an allergy so hydrogen peroxide is my chemical of choice.

Frugal Fun

We spent a lot of time this week playing with scrap lumber and cardboard. My kids can be so creative.

Our "tv" time came from Hulu this week. I watched a couple of episodes of Bath Crashers while I was playing with yarn. We don't have the Hulu plus subscription at this time but I am thinking about it.

We were finally able to get out of the house and walk this week. We went to the library for some fun books on our current studies in reptiles and colonial life.

Frugal Hubby
We're also saving quite a bit this week on car repair, thanks to my husband's ability to fix things. Our bearings need to be replaced and doing it himself will save us at least five hundred dollars. :)


Have a blessed weekend!

Leftover Pork Roast Papusa

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am a lover of Latin American foods. My favorite comfort food of all time is the humble tamal. I have always been intimidated by the thought of making tamales though because most of the recipes that I find are very intensive and make over fifty tamales.

While on pinterest the other day, I discovered something called a Papusa. It's kind of like the fast food version of a tamal. Instead of being steamed in a corn husk, papusas are lightly fried in a pan kind of like a pancake.

 A skillet full of chopped pork roast with one chopped chipotle chile in adobo, chili powder, cumin, garlic, and salt. It was spicy in the pan and that's good when you are going to encase it in masa.

 I used equal parts of water and masa with garlic powder and salt to taste. Let it set for ten minutes or so.

 Roll it into an egg sized ball. (It should feel like playdoh but with a bit more texture to it.)

Shape into a bowl and fill with cooked pork. You can also fill these with beans or cheese or anything that sounds yummy to you.

 Pinch the edges over the filling until you can no longer see any of the stuffing.









 Play Pat-A-Cake.  You want them to be less than half an inch thick. If the filling starts to leak out just pinch off a bit from the edges or form the bowl and cover it up.

 These are ready to be fried and waiting on a piece of parchment paper so I don't have to clean a pan...I'm lazy like that. Wax paper would work and I will use that next time because it is way cheaper.

 We put a drizzle of coconut oil in our pan over medium high heat. Cook each side of the papusas for about 3 minutes.

I actually like them more than tamales!!

I wanted to make a curtida (cabbage and vinegar slaw) to go with them but I was distracted by my other kitchen projects so that will have to wait for another day. We had them with sour cream, cheese, salsa and rotel. We also had peaches on the side because I don't like having a meal that is only protein and carbs.

Isn't it lovely? :D

Carnita Nachos

My husband and I have a decided weakness for Latin American flavors. In fact, our favorite taqueria, El Taco Loco, is less than three blocks away. This is a dangerous place for our budget to live. ;)

We love carnitas, anything choriqueso, tortas...tamales...mmmm....what was I typing about again?

We could easily eat at El Taco Loco EVERY night and never get bored with the food. However, we simply can't afford to take all six of us out to dinner every night, no matter how inexpensive El Taco Loco's menu is!

That means that I needed to learn how to make some yummy craving satisfying food in less time than it would take to pack up the kiddos and walk the three blocks to authentic flavor heaven.

 One of the laziest easiest ways for me to bring the flavors to life is in the form of a pork roast. I buy a good sized pork roast (NOT loin) and toss it in the slow cooker with onion and garlic until it's done. Everything in the crockpot gets dumped into a Tupperware container and stored in the fridge. We could eat part of the roast as a meal with carrots and potatoes and we do sometimes but sometimes I just want the meat made ahead for other meals.

Last week, I made Carnita Nachos. We had an opened bag of tortilla chips that needed to be used before they were stale. I was feeling particularly lazy and didn't want to spend more than a few minutes at the stove.

I took a bowl full of cooked roast and cut it into bite sized pieces. I tossed the meat into a pan with salt, cumin, and chili powder and cooked it until it was heated through and crispy chewy. The reason I don't use loin in this recipe is the lack of fat content. I don't want to have to add fat to fry the meat so I use the naturally more fatty cuts to save time.

My cute spice containers

Repurposed Parmesan lid

I layered tortilla chips onto my baking sheets, added cheese and cooked pork for the big kids,

 
green peppers and pork and leftover choriqueso for my husband, and lots of red onion and green pepper and leftover choriqueso and pork to mine.

 Our toddler doesn't chew tortilla chips very well yet so her nachos are made on whatever random crackers that we have in the house. That way she can eat the same thing that we do but it's not a choking hazzard.

The trays of nachos were popped into the oven at 400 until the cheese was bubbly. I served them with our usual taco night choices. Homemade salsa and rotel, guacamole, lime juice, and sour cream.

  My taste buds were quite content by the end of the meal. That only used about a quarter of the roast. Stay tuned for more recipes!

Egg Roll GUTS?

One of our favorite meals is Eggroll Guts. {$6.69 for 6 servings} It is NOT a pretty dish but it is yummy and filling.

Once upon a time when I only had one kiddo running around, I would make eggrolls for the fun of it. I always found myself eating the filling of the eggroll as I was making them and a family favorite was born. We eat it over rice ($1) and have chow mein noodles (50 cents) on top for crunch. This recipe serves 5 plus a toddler with one lunch portion for the next day.

Start your rice BEFORE you start cooking the meat and it all should be done at the same time. (2.5 cups of rice/one pound, 5 cups of water, cook on high until boiling, turn to low for 15-20 minutes or until as done as you like it.) I always make extra rice for leftover night.

1 pound of ground meat (We use pork from the hog we buy each fall.) {$3}
1 head of cabbage, finely chopped/shredded {$1.19 at Aldi}
1 carrot shredded {maybe 5 cents}
half an onion {25cents}
1/2 tsp ginger {5cents}
1 tbsp minced garlic or 3 garlic cloves or 2 tsp garlic powder {10 cents, we buy minced garlic at Sams for a steal}
1/4-1/2 tsp white or black pepper (negligible)
dash of sesame oil {40 cents}
soy sauce to taste {15 cents}

Brown the meat with all ingredients (EXCEPT the cabbage and sesame oil) in a 4-6 quart pot. Add cabbage, mix it all up. Put the lid on and cook over low heat until the cabbage is mostly cooked but still a tiny bit crisp. Add a dash sesame oil and soy sauce to taste. IF your favorite chinese place puts peanut butter on their eggroll wrappers (many do!) add just a spoon or two of pb and mix in before adding the cabbage.

Blackberry Jubilee

Meijer had blackberries on sale last week and that man of mine has a definite weakness for the sweet treats. I decided to make him a little something special for dessert this week. My mom is nearly famous for her Cherries Jubilee recipe.  Kev loves it but I am not a canned cherry fan so Mom always leaves my piece naked. ;) This was my inspiration for a little lovin' from the kitchen for my hard working man. I just guessed my way through the recipe. I really do need to write down Mom's recipe though!!

I pulverized two sleeves of graham crackers in my food processor. I added a quarter cup of brown sugar and about 3/4 cup of coconut oil. You could use melted butter but coconut oil is more economical for us. I pressed this mixture into a 9 by 13 glass pan and popped it into a 350 degree oven for around 25 minutes.

I then mixed three packages of neufchatel cheese with a tablespoon of lemon juice, a cup of powdered sugar, and about a quarter cup of half and half in my kitchen aid with the whisk attachment.

I took three 6 ounce containers of blackberries and rinsed them off. Then I put them in a bowl and sprinkled sugar and a bit of zest and lemon juice on top.

Once the crust was cooled, I spread the cream layer evenly and topped it with the blackberries. I made this shortly after lunch and put it in the fridge for after dinner.

Korean Beef Strips

with mushrooms and sugar snap peas from Aldi

Have I mentioned lately how much I adore Aldi? 

On our trip last week, we found sugar snap peas at less than $2 a pound and mushrooms for around 50 cents for an 8 ounce package. I was so excited and we immediately changed our menu to accommodate our bounty. We managed to find marked down chuck roast at Kroger to add to our vision of stir fry goodness.

We sliced up the chuck roast and marinated it in a blend of soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, vinegar, and sesame oil. We based our recipe off of the flavors found here. However, I don't measure things often so that was just my springboard into fun flavor. I added some orange zest, some fish sauce, and a little bit of peanut butter that really seems to round out of the flavors of the Korean Beef that is in our regular monthly rotation. 

Whenever we have citrus, I keep the scrap peels in a bowl for zesting. Waste not, want not.

 I sauteed the beef in a big pot because my wok is almost dead. When it was about halfway cooked, I added the veggies (carrots mostly for color) and the leftover marinade and brought it all up to a simmer and promptly got distracted. The very bottom burnt a bit when I was out of the kitchen but I was able to transfer the good stuff over to the dying wok without losing too much of dinner! We served this over Basmati rice. The kids kinda liked it but hubby and I were very happy with the way it turned out. Sweet and spicy and we fed the whole crew for less than $12.

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Kitchen Scrap Stock

I have been encouraging my kids to eat better these days. Every Monday, I prepare two pounds of carrots and a bunch of celery into easy to eat veggie sticks. When the hunger monsters start circling the kitchen then they get directed to the veggie stash or the fruit basket.

This Monday I had an epiphany.

Those leftover scraps were mounded up in a random container on my counter and I was wishing for a compost bin. I hate the thought of wasting food at all. However, a compost bin is not likely to happen thanks to all of the neighborhood strays who would love to play in it and spread the mess around my yard.

I looked at the veggie scraps in the pot that I had grabbed out of sheer laziness.

"That could be stock!" I thought and I ran to google just to verify. Sure enough! 

 It could be done!!

Yet another FROOGLE moment, frugal tips that I found through Google!

Back to the kitchen I went.




I added an onion, a tablespoon of minced garlic,

 

 some dried thyme, a lot of dried parsley, a bit of celery seed,

 and a light drizzle of olive oil and two bay leaves.

I cooked the veggies on low heat until soft and yummy smelling fragrant. Then I added 6 quarts of water and let it simmer for a few hours.

 I do caution you though. If you make this, the vultures will start to circle and ask what's for dinner. "It smells like good food out here, Mama!" They will sniff and look into the pot hoping for something marvelous and they will make rather entertaining faces when they realize that it's just kitchen scrap soup. I poured my stock into jars and put them in the fridge to use the next time I make rice or soup.

I love the convenience of this stock. With meat based stocks there is a lot of skimming and reskimming. I just poured my stock into jars through a sieve that I stuck on top of my canning funnel. No mess, no fuss, and best of all NO WASTE! :) I now have a baggie in the fridge to gather any scraps that we have for the next stock day.

Tuna Casserole (without condensed soup)

One of my favorite comfort foods of all time is Tuna Casserole. I'm not talking about the fancy baked dish with the special topping that dear Martha makes. I mean the stick to your ribs throw a few cans of stuff together with pasta, glob it into a bowl, and go watch tv with the family kind of Tuna Casserole. However, I am married to a rather picky guy who simply won't settle for cans of anything tossed haphazardly into a pot and eating in front of the tv is a RARE occasion.

In my opinion, this recipe meets both of our qualifications.

Start a pot of salted water to boil.

Open two cans of chunk light tuna in water. Toss into a pan, liquid and all. Push tuna to the side of the pan and add a tablespoon or two of oil to the liquid. Swirl together and plop 1/3 cup of flour on top. Mix into a paste. Cook for a few minutes and then add about a cup of milk. Stir tuna back into mixture, add one pound of frozen peas. Stir well. Add salt and pepper and more salt and pepper to taste. If you're used to cans of this and that in your tuna casserole then you will be shocked at how much salt that you think is needed to get it to taste just right. I add a little bit of onion powder and a teeny pinch of nutmeg too. Add another cup of milk if needed. I don't typically measure I just add it until it's a little runnier than I want it.

When water boils add 12-16 oz of pasta. I like the bowties. Cook according to package.
Drain.
Mix together pasta and tuna mixture as soon as peas are warmed through. Serve with a generous sprinkle of fresh cracked black pepper.

Cost
12 oz Aldi Pasta 89cents
2 cans Starkist tuna bought on a discount rack at Walmart 90 cents total
1 pound frozen Meijer brand peas 88 cents
2 cups of milk- 32 cents (Aldi milk was 2.45 a gallon last week.)
Flour 4 cents (Flour was 1.89 for five pounds, there are 20 cups in five pounds of flour.)
Spices 10 cents
Oil 8 cents
Total cost for SIX servings $3.21 or 54 CENTS per serving!

11-1 Day until Christmas!!!

11- Double check your stock of wrapping supplies and wrap everything that you can.


10- Order Christmas Cards from Walgreens at the very last minute.

9- Bake Ninjabread cookies.


8- Let your kids make a mess in the kitchen for the fun of it!
7-Keep meals as simple as possible before the big day.






6-Knit, knit and knit some more! lol, yep. Here are some of my finished pieces.

5-Clean up dvd storage in preparation for new gifted movies.
4- Do one final deep clean.
3- Remember to do laundry or you'll be naked for Christmas pictures!! (Thank God for my husband!! He reminded me that we needed to have clean clothes, I was in the knitting zone.)
2-Buy all of your last minute groceries NOW, do not wait for the craziness that will hit the stores tomorrow!!

1-Finish wrapping, bake some rolls for tomorrow, rest and remember all that you've accomplished. :)


Focus on family and the gift of Forgiveness through the birth of Child.