February is a good month for me to . . .

(I have to say, is a great month for me to do, on this first one, as it really, really needs it)

. . . clean up and organize the pantry! The pantry is just a helter-skelter of staples, cans here and there, bags on the floor, odd bits in containers. It just all needs some organization, some pouring into containers, and some moving older items to the front. This is easily a full day's work. But February is one of the best months to do this, as the pantry is now beginning to look like we've finally been eating some of this up, without adding a whole lot to replenish and build stock.

While I'll certainly enjoy looking at a cleaned-up pantry, the real benefit is knowing what we have and making sure that I actually use it, every last bit of whatever that "it" may be. Cuz, ya know, using what you already have is one of the best ways to save money for the things you don't have, but need. Like new windows, or replacement carpeting (keeping fingers crossed that can happen in another year).

. . . host a Valentine's Day brunch. My son will most likely want to spend Valentine's evening, alone with his girlfriend, and not with the entire family in company. So, I thought we'd do a Valentine's Day brunch right after church. On the menu -- we have to do these heart-shaped pancakes with a syrup of red currant jelly, melted and thinned with a little water, plus mini crustless quiches, orange juice, fruit salad (orange segments, dried cranberries and toasted almond slivers), coffee, tea and cocoa.

This should be a fun way to celebrate this Hallmark-y holiday. we've done family Valentine's breakfasts, family Valentine's dinners, and now, we'll start a new tradition of a Valentine's day brunch. And once again, we'll be just using what we have on hand. There will be no special trips to the market for anything extra. But that doesn't mean the menu will be lacking in any way. Using only what we have, here, simply means that I need to think a bit on the menu, and find creative ways of making brunch special.

. . . get more seeds started indoors. I can start onions, kale and cabbage indoors right now, to plant out in March. The lettuce seedlings are doing really well, in the flat under a light. Fresh salads, I'm a waitin' for ya!

. . . start the clean-up in the garden. February is a great month for us to begin garden clean-up. There are fewer weeds, the weeds are smaller, mid-month is a good time to prune rose bushes, here, the fruit trees need a good pruning, and if we work fast enough, we can get a layer of mulch down around the base of plants to prevent future weed pop-ups. With all of the rain we will receive between now and late spring, this is also a good time of year to move plants. I have some strawberry plants, under the cherry tree, which I'll dig up, give some away, and replant elsewhere. The tree gives too much shade now, for the strawberries, but I think part of this area will be good for daffodils. Yes, I'll be massing out some daffodils from those I planted in pots, this month. This spot is in view from the kitchen and the deck, so it should be a pleasant outlook on a dreary March day.

As cold as it is outdoors still, the thought of beautiful flowers in bloom is pretty good motivation to get me outside. In those pots of bulbs, on the deck, I have pink hyacinth, blue grape hyacinth, yellow and white daffodils, multi-hued tulips and purple and white crocus, all coming up. I am really excited for spring this year. I've been making plans for putting together a bulb basket for the kitchen table, with several pink hyacinth, for Easter. And a vase or two of daffodils would be so fresh and spring-like, too!

. . . order a portable greenhouse for the deck, so I can move plants/seedlings outside earlier in the year. Is this a toy or a tool? I think a bit of both. Either way, it will be a help to our garden, and put fresh veggies on our table sooner than usual.

. . . organize the upstairs linen closet. That closet is in shambles and could use some straightening. It's a very small closet, so it really needs to be kept tidy. I'll sort through all of the sheets, and label shelves, so it's clear what is what on each shelf. This would also be a good time to see what I can put aside for kids setting up their own housekeeping. I don't need to keep those items in the linen closet, but could bag them up for the cedar chest.

An overwhelming situation in our house is closets, pantries and cupboards which need a good straightening. The cooler days of winter are a great time for me to tackle these, and I have little desire to be outdoors.

Yet, this is also a good time to get myself outdoors, as weeds are at a minimum. Plus, if I transplant plants now, they'll do well this spring. And plants like rose bushes and fruit trees need to be pruned this time of year. So, I will have to make myself get out there, despite the chill. I think there's a hot cup of cocoa waiting for me, when I come back inside as my reward. that's another thing February is good for -- sipping hot cocoa. I'll take mine with a marshmallow, please!

What's on your plan for this month?

Cleaning out the fridge last Friday resulted in several different dishes for the weekend

I had some time on my hands, Friday morning through midday. And the fridge was full of leftovers. Not the kind of ready-to-eat leftovers, but "basic ingredient" leftovers. Bring those two together, and I was able to prepare several dishes to get through the weekend.

This is what I found in my fridge that needed using up posthaste:

pureed pumpkin
liquid from straining pureed pumpkin
thawed, frozen spinach
canned, whole tomatoes
canned tomato paste
cooked brown rice
an open package of tofu
fresh mushrooms
pizza sauce
thawed, frozen black olives
cooked black beans

plus, lots of potatoes, onions and eggs


And this is what I was able to make:

Fried rice, with eggs, tofu, mushrooms, spinach, onions and frozen peas

Pumpkin, ham and potato soup

Tomato Florentine soup

Refried black beans for serving with corn tortillas, salsa and avocados, making tacos, taquitos or burritos, or, for serving over cooked rice

Veggie pasta dish, using the pizza sauce, pasta, spinach, mushrooms, mashed tofu, and olives, topped with Parmesan

I prepared about 22 servings of these foods, in total. Added to this was about 4 servings of bean soup and a whole pumpkin pie, in the fridge, that had been thawing this week. Only 1 person was home for dinner on Friday night. So this was all enough to get us through the entire weekend, without me having to do much cooking!  And my fridge looks so much better now.   :-)

The value that I found in assembling all of these at one time was that I could ensure I was using up ingredients, entirely, without going overboard on any one dish. For example, I had a big chunk of thawed spinach to use up. I used some in the Florentine soup, then added a bit to the veggie pasta dish, and with that final bit, I stirred it into the completed fried rice. If I had been trying to use it up on just one dish, it might have been spinach overload in one meal.


And while I was in the kitchen on Friday, I made some mini chocolate chip cookies. One daughter, in particular, loves the cups of mini cookies that a campus restaurant, Einstein Bros. sells. I had planned on meeting up with both daughters for dinner in the student union building, before attending a play with them. Instead of buying a cup of mini cookies, I brought homemade. Oh, I can tell you, my daughters were so delighted! I also brought some fresh fruit from home, and we shared 2 sandwiches (half-price, as it was after 5 on a Friday evening), 3 ways, and drank water. Einstein Bros. has a punch card, to earn a free sandwich. It has taken me nearly 3 years to fill this one punch card (6 spots). Now, it's filled, and I'll give it to the 2 of them as a birthday gift, to get a sandwich to share on their birthday, next month, in the student union building.

I hope you had a great weekend!

Happy Chinese New Year!

the back side of the envelope -- the flap tucks in to close it

the front side of the finished envelope

Friends of ours have invited us for a Chinese New Year dinner tomorrow night. I asked my son's girlfriend about how she celebrated Chinese New Year when growing up. One of the things she told me about was making a gift to children (and unmarried young adults) of money, in a red envelope.

So, I set out to make a couple of red envelopes. I bought a square of scrapbook paper, and followed the instructions on this youtube video for an origami envelope. I practiced once first, on a square of newspaper. I thought it was quite easy to do. Also, I thought it might be a good solution for other gift envelope needs, like a gift card, or a homemade coupon-type gift.

not tucked in, the small item or cash slips into the folded up lower edge

The paper was on sale at Jo Ann Fabric's for 50% off, so it only cost me 39 cents each. If I had red paper at home, I would have just used that. But as I was at Jo Ann's anyways, and found the scrapbook paper on sale, this was a pretty good deal.

Just thought I'd share. And happy Chinese New Year!

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for the first week of February

veggie enchiladas

Friday

bean and ham soup (pinto beans, ham stock from freezer, dices of ham from freezer -- Christmas Day ham)
homemade whole wheat bread and butter
leftover pumpkin pie (from freebie pumpkin, scratch pie crust, frozen eggs, marked-down milk -- it was a bargain pie)

Saturday (today is housecleaning day, so dinner needs to be simple, and not messy!)

baked potato bar (I had scrubbed extra potatoes earlier in the week, so that part was already done), toppings included:
   chopped kale, sauteed with diced ham and onions in the bacon fat from making bacon bits
   Cheddar cheese sauce
   bacon bits
oven-roasted, canned tomato halves
leftover pumpkin pie

Sunday

pumpkin pancakes
scrambled eggs
oranges

Monday

turkey and vegetables topped with biscuits and baked (inspired by live and learn's comments about shepherd's pie topped with biscuits instead of potatoes)
grapefruit gelatin (brought by my son's girlfriend)
leftover pumpkin pie

Tuesday

ham (from freezer)
mashed potatoes (from freezer)
frozen green beans

Wednesday

homemade mushroom and black olive pizza (dough from freezer, quick sauce of tomato paste, water and dried seasonings)
vegetable medley of canned tomatoes, onions, frozen green beans and garlic powder
blackberry cobbler

Thursday

veggie enchiladas (filling: diced firm tofu, spinach, onions, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, tomato juice sauteed in oil for a few minutes, rolled up in corn tortillas, topped with enchilada sauce -- easy recipe for enchilada sauce, here, in the comments, from Belinda at the Frugal Workshop -- then Cheddar cheese and olives. Baked at 350 F for about 25 minutes.) I made just a small batch of enchilada sauce, in the skillet that I fried the tortillas, then sauteed the veggies/tofu. I thinned the enchilada sauce with some tomato sauce, as I didn't quite make enough to cover all of the enchiladas. Still quite tasty!
Spanish rice & black beans on the side


I relied on a lot of quick to fix meals this past week. Some of the dinners came from the freezer stash of me-prepared foods, others were just simple things like pancakes. I bought 9 pounds of frozen spinach yesterday, so spinach will feature heavily as the veggie for a few weeks. I am down to just 1 pumpkin and 1 butternut squash, both in the fridge.

My favorite meal this week is a toss-up between Monday's turkey and vegetables topped with biscuits and baked, and last night's veggie enchiladas. Both of those dinners were just what I needed at the moment.

Looking back over the week, we seem to be lacking beef and chicken meals. I'll have to incorporate a few of those next week.

What did you eat this past week? And what was your favorite meal?

When my mind is just too fried to think, I can still be frugal

Medical appointments wipe me out, mentally. I come home and feel utterly useless. I have learned to just not schedule anything else for the day, when I have appointments like yesterday's. But I can still be frugal, even after something that wiped me out.

1) I did not buy prepared food to eat while I was out.

2) I did incorporate a stop at Trader Joe's to buy our month's supply of bananas (and I got a nice sample and small cup of coffee for free).

3) I had packed and refrigerated a lunch for myself, the evening before, to reheat when I walked in the door. Nice! A hot meal, practically waiting for me.

4) I ditched more elaborate dinner plans and opted, instead, to make a homemade pizza (using frozen dough), an easy veggie medley of canned tomatoes, onions, garlic powder and frozen green beans, and a cobbler using up some frozen blackberries.

5) When I came in the door, instead of cranking up the heat, due to the chill I felt dressed in "going out" clothing, I changed into my warm stuff, fleece sweats and a fleece jacket. Then I crawled under the covers while I ate my warmed-up lunch. One of the after-effects from stress, for me, is being chilled to the bone.

6) I rubbed lavender oil (which I already had) on my temples and pulse points. This is very effective at helping me to relax.

7) And when I had my typical, post-stress, chocolate cravings, instead of going out to buy something like a candy bar, I stayed in, made some fudge sauce from cocoa powder, sugar, corn starch and water, and drizzled it over a sliced banana. Just as chocolatey as I could make it, and short-circuited that chocolate craving.

By the end of the day, I really felt like I had pampered myself. And why not? If we don't take care of ourselves, who's going to do it for us? Sometimes, it just isn't on someone else's radar that we need a bit of TLC after a stressful day.


The upside to doing all of this wasn't limited to saving money. But it also saved me extra fatigue from additional driving, making additional decisions/choices, and the general fatigue from being out and about for a longer period. Sometimes, home is the best place to be.

Grocery, household and garden shopping plans for February

I bought an orchid plant as a gift to some friends, this upcoming weekend.
We get to enjoy it's beauty in our house, until Sunday.

Groceries

I am low on brown rice, vegetable oil and vinegar. Plus I will need dairy milk and almond milk for the month. I'm still hoping to find a good deal on avocados. I will pick up more bananas from Trader Joe's. Cash & Carry has 3-lb blocks of frozen spinach on sale this week, and I'd like to pick up  a couple. Otherwise, I think there is nothing else that we really need. But I will stock-up on deals as I find them. And I will buy $2 of treat items from Dollar Tree, like chips and crackers. I am making some almond cookies as a gift, this week. So I will need whole almonds. I will pick those up on Senior Discount day at Fred Meyer.

Household

We are still needing low wattage lightbulbs. It's embarrassing, but the 5-light kitchen fixture has 2 burnt out bulbs. I'll be making a trip to Home Depot in the next week or so, and will pick up light bulbs, then.

Flats for starting seeds indoors. I am down to one flat for indoor seed-starting. The rest of the flats developed cracks over the past few years, thus leak badly (fine for outdoors, not fine for indoors). I will also pick those up at Home Depot, very soon. The seed-starting flats are more likely to motivate me to get to Home Depot than the lightbulb issue.

I make a run to Dollar Tree just once per month, now. I found I was needlessly spending too much by stopping in, on a whenever-basis. So, at Dollar Tree this month, I'll pick up q-tips and cotton make-up removal squares, for one daughter's theater class -- Stage Make-up (yes, she is in class putting on and taking off make-up!). I can also use those q-tips in cleaning the ridges of the refrigerator/freezer gasket. Toothpicks (for cleaning the tiny gap between the stove and counter top), liquid dish detergent (for hand-washing dishes), shampoo for daughters, toothbrushes (Dollar Tree sometimes has containers of 6 toothbrushes, they're soft and wear out in a month, but that's how often we like to replace them), and I'm still looking for a cheap squeegee for window washing. I'll check Dollar Tree and Home Depot.

Yard and Garden

I need some more soil for an area where I will put some of my potted daffodil bulbs. This bed has sunk over the years and we want to bring the level up. We'll also pick up the work on the walkway from the driveway to the back yard (on the side of the house). We've been slowly adding a walkway with pavers. I think this year, we could complete the work. And February is a good month to begin. I can fit about 18 pavers in the trunk, each time I go to Home Depot. This Saturday will be the first HD trip for this new year, if I can rouse one of my kids to come with me.

Also, last week I killed 4 mosquitos in the house! Those of you with snow still on the ground may find that hard to believe. This could prove to be a bad year for us with mosquitos. We have a seasonal creek (AKA a drainage ditch), a small pond and a large pond (AKA "the swamp") on the property. We try to stay on top of the mosquitos with treatment (BT -- it's a safe alternative, for humans that is, to traditional insect killers). I'll pick up some more dunks for the pond and pellets for the stream this month, and get a jump start on the mosquitos for the year.


I am very relieved to not "need" very much, right now. We have some large expenses coming up with work that needs doing on our house. We've been slowly replacing the 40-year old windows throughout our house, with more energy efficient ones. This time, it's the living room windows. We've been putting off replacing this room's windows as they could be among the most expensive window replacement in our home. While we have the money saved, I still hate to see the balances in our accounts drop so much after having some work done. On the up side, new windows will not only be more energy efficient, but they will look beautiful, too. The current ones are double-paned, but the seal has been broken for years, and moisture has leaked between the sheets of glass.


If you will -- keep me in thoughts and prayers, today. I have my follow-up to the follow-up this morning.

Another small thing, this time glue sticks

This one is from my daughter.

I was putting away a glue stick and complained aloud about how they always get dried up before they're used up. My daughter simply said, "why don't you put them in a plastic bag?" Yes, why don't I, brilliant daughter?! A simple solution staring me in the face, but I never thought of it.

So, my 2 new glue sticks for this year. I put them in a freezer bag, forced all of the air out, sealed shut and rolled up tightly.

Hoping this will keep these glue sticks usable for their entire contents. Maybe next year, I won't have to buy new glue sticks!

For those already dried out glue sticks

I don't know if this will work with really, rock-hard, dried out glue sticks. But with glue sticks that still feel flexible, but just won't lay down a strip of glue on paper, this worked for me.

I had two, older, semi-dried out glue sticks that I revived. I took the caps off, and put them in a plastic baggie with a damp paper towel, then sealed the bag up. I left them on the counter for 24 hours. And voila, they were good as new. These glues sticks wouldn't leave a streak of glue on paper before, but now are working just fine.

My plan is to just keep all of my glue sticks in a sealed bag. They won't get misplaced, and will hopefully get completely used up before they can dry out. I likely won't need to buy new glue sticks for a couple more years, now.

January 2016 Grocery Shopping Journal

Jan. 4 Monthly stop at Dollar Tree. It's the last day of Christmas break for my daughters, so we wanted to do something cheap, but special. We could go out for a fast food lunch or Starbuck's. But we decide to pick up a bag of frozen sweet potato fries from DT to have with our lunch of leftovers at home. So, we bought 1 bag of sweet potato fries, plus 1 box of crackers, 1 bag of tortilla chips and 1 half-price box of mini candy canes (we discovered that we really like these as dessert/treats after lunches and dinners). The box of crackers are for our Christmas tree un-decorating party (crackers and cheese spread, plus some other snacky items). And the tortilla chips are for a Tex-Mex splurge some night. Friends gave us a box of salsas for a Christmas gift. No other treats/packaged foods are on the horizon for the month of January. Also, I bought 1 qt of almond milk. Spent $4.50

Jan. 5 Senior shopping discount day at Fred Meyer. I didn't stock up enough on milk last week, so I'm running low and this is an opportunity to at least save 10% on their not-fantastic sale price (I typically get milk for $1.98/gallon when bought in half-gal jugs. This sale is for 1 gallon of whole milk at $2.69, plus my 10% off), so I buy 1 gallon, paying $2.42/gallon. Also, heavy whipping cream is on sale 1-qt for $3.32 (the price beats Cash & Carry's advertised price, per pint, for this week), and 1 box of instant powdered milk, for $6.11. The box makes 8 qts, so not a good price for drinking milk, but it's great for "fortifying" foods for daughter, without adding extra liquid or bulk. I ran out of solid shortening for making pie crust. I picked up 1 3-lb container for $4.04. In the produce section, I found 1 16-oz package of whole mushrooms, marked down to $1.61. And in the bulk bins, I bought some onion powder and a 1/3-lb of whole almonds (at $6.29/lb). Total spent on groceries, $19.68

Total for the month, to date -- $24.18

Jan. 6 Trader Joe's for bananas. I buy 24 at 19 cents each. Spent $4.56

Jan 6. Cash & Carry. I buy a 40-lb case of oranges ($14.48), a 5-lb bag of shredded pizza cheese ($9.98) a 2-gallon box of skim milk ($3.44), 1-lb bag of granulated garlic ($4.07). I spent $31.97

month to date spending -- $60.71

Jan. 12. Walgreen's for 4 packages cream cheese, 8-oz, 99 cents with my rain check from December. spent $3.96

Jan. 13. Jo Ann Fabric's for supplies to fix a couple of things -- used 50% off coupons, of course ;-) While there, I checked out Christmas clearance, looking for taper candles (found some, yay!) And also picked up 3 bags of Wilton's peppermint bark candy melts. These are like white chocolate with bits of candy cane pieces throughout the melting wafers. I use them for making holiday candies and cookies. They store in my kitchen cabinet quite well. I have just one bag left, from 3 Christmases ago. They regularly retail for $3.49/bag. On clearance, I paid $1.39/bag. Spent $4.17

Jan. 15. Stop by Fred Meyer for milk (on sale with in-ad coupon). The sale is half-gallon of milk or orange juice, for 99 cents, limit 6. I buy 5 whole milk and 1 orange juice. Also, they have just repackaged a bunch of eggs -- maybe 12 dozen there at the egg cooler, all repackaged and repriced at $1.19/dozen. I buy 6 dozen, as I still have many eggs in the freezer, and 2 dozen fresh eggs in the fridge. At under 10 cents per egg, eggs will feature heavily in meals for the next few weeks. Total spent, $13.08

Also, stop at Cash & Carry, for 50-lb sack of whole wheat flour ($11.99), a 13-oz container of chili powder for $3.25, and a 12-oz container of onion powder for $3.25. I've been buying onion powder in small amounts from the bulk spices at Fred Meyer this past year. I add it to soups, sauces, stews, dressings/dips and potato dishes. I had been spending about $7 per pound in the bulk spices. By buying at Cash & Carry, I spent $4.33/lb. Another item, bought in a different way to save money. Total spent at Cash & Carry $18.49


For the month to date spending -- $100.41

Jan. 19. Albertson's has 10-lb bags of chicken leg quarters on sale for $4.90 (49 cents per pound). My freezer is still a little tight, so I buy 2 bags. This should last us through April, I'm guessing. Spent $9.80

I was pretty satisfied with the chicken leg quarters that I bought last summer. They were easy to deal with, and quick to roast, then shred. I had a constant supply of chicken stock, as well. 49 cents per pound is much more affordable than 88 cents/lb whole chickens that we saw last spring at many supermarkets.

month to date spending -- $110.21

Jan. 25 Needing milk. It's on sale at QFC for 99 cents a half-gallon, if you buy 6. QFC is normally an over-priced store in my area, IMO, but it is close-by. So, I buy 6 half-gallons of whole milk and 2 half-gallons of marked down sweet acidophilus milk for 79 cents each. Spent $7.52.

Total spent for January -- $117.73 My budget was $200.00 plus the surplus from underspending last month of $15.62, for a total budget of $215.62 for January. I came in at $97.89 under budget! That amount will carry forward to next month's budget.

What I bought this month:

Produce

1 bag sweet potato fries
16 oz mushrooms
24 bananas
40 lbs oranges
1/2 gallon orange juice

Dairy

1 qt. almond milk
1 gallon whole milk
2 gallons skim milk
11 half-gallons whole milk
2 half-gallons sweet acidophilus milk
1 qt. heavy whipping cream
5 lbs shredded mozzarella cheese
4 8-oz packages cream cheese
6 dozen eggs

Meat

20 lbs of chicken leg quarters

Pantry

1 box crackers
1 bag tortilla chips
1 box mini candy canes
3 bags Wilton peppermint bark melting wafers
1 box instant powdered milk (to make 8 qts)
3 lbs solid shortening (Crisco)
50 lbs whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons onion powder
12 oz container onion powder
1 lb granulated garlic
13 oz container chili powder
1/3 lb whole almonds



Now I have to tell you about my dream from about a week ago. In my dream, I was at the grocery store, and found out that ground beef was on sale for 86 cents per pound, limit 3 packages, and whole turkeys were on sale for 49 cents per pound, for the first turkey, and this was a buy 1 get 3 free deal! In my dream, my math skills were not so great. I calculated the turkey deal to be equal to 17 cents per pound, for the 4 turkeys. Actually, I wasn't too far off, it was 12 cents per pound. I just think it's funny that in my dreams I calculate prices in my head, too!

While I stood there in the grocery store, I knew I wanted to take advantage of the turkey deal, but also knew I couldn't fit 4 whole turkeys into my freezers. So, I was asking all of the other women standing around that section of the store, if they'd want to go in on the deal with me. And that's about when I woke up. Anyways, does anyone else, here, dream grocery shopping dreams?

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for late January

Friday
meatloaf (from the freezer), topped with
gravy (from the freezer)
oven-roasted pumpkin chunks
pasta, tossed with canned tomatoes, garlic, onion powder and herbs
baked apples (the last apples from our orchard)

Saturday
black beans and rice, cooked with canned tomatoes and Mexi spices
oven-roasted pumpkin chunks (this has become my favorite way to eat pumpkin this year)

Sunday
pumpkin pancakes
breakfast sausage
oranges

Monday
black bean burgers, topped with
onions sauteed in bacon fat
seasoned oven-roasted potato wedges
frozen peas
watermelon pickles

Tuesday
kale, onion and olive frittata, topped with a quick sauce of canned tomato paste, garlic, onion powder and basil
French bread
carrot sticks
creamy pear jello (using the last pears from the orchard)

Wednesday
shepherd's pie from the freezer (yes, that shepherd's pie!) *or* for the one person not wanting shepherd's pie ;-), a leftover black bean burger, topped with grilled onions
pumpkin muffins
salad of orange segments and dried cranberries

Thursday
French bread pizza (using up the other loaf of French bread, a quick pizza sauce of tomato paste, garlic powder, onion powder, dried herbs, liquid from draining olives, and some of the salty crumbs from the bottom of a bag of pretzels, also topped with caramelized onions from Monday, and sliced olives)
frozen green beans
pumpkin pie


On Wednesday, I had hopes that I would be able to eat the shepherd's pie, as I was just heating it from the freezer that night. I went to taste a tiny bit and told my family that it tasted like dog food. One daughter said, "yes, it does taste like dog food, but I still like it". Okay, then, I can stop shopping in the people food aisle for groceries and stock up on Alpo! JK

That's what we ate this week. My favorite meal was on Monday, the black bean burgers, topped with caramelized onions -- yum, those were good!

What was on your menu this week? And what did you particularly enjoy?

Just a homebody

I'm just a homebody this week. No big plans to go anywhere until tonight.

I found soft spots on one of my pumpkins, so I cut those spots out, and baked up a bunch of pumpkins.

I froze several bags of pumpkin puree, and made a large batch of pumpkin muffins, using this little trick to get almost 2 whole trays of muffins in my 30-inch oven.

Needing snacks for packed lunches, I made a batch of peanut butter balls. I used a cup of toastie-O cereal, crushed to roll them in.

I also made a batch of No-added Sugar Fruit and Nut Bars. These make great breakfast bars, as well as snacks. For nuts, I used a combo of sunflower seeds, ground flax and sesame seeds and chopped almonds. For the fruit, I used dates and dried cranberries.

While watering the indoor plants, I noticed that one of my African violet leaf cuttings had shot up some baby leaves, indicating I have a viable plant from this leaf.

My daffodil bulbs in pots (from December) are now starting to show some growth. I'll need to transplant these to the garden, next month.

We've had some mild weather. The kale looks healthy, as does this plot of radish greens. I used a bunch of radish greens, kale and mustard greens in last night's frittata for dinner.

The lettuce seeds that I started indoors last week are now up. they're growing under lights, and hopefully will provide tasty salads in another 2  1/2 months.

What have you been up to this week? Are you a homebody at heart, or do you thrive on getting out and about?

A small thing, with big rewards

With items that go on sale, on a fairly regular basis, I can make a guess at whether or not my supply will last until the next time. But with items which go on sale less frequently, I find I have to be more exacting in my estimations of how long my supply will last. The following has been an effective method for me.

I was rummaging through the freezer a week ago and discovered that I was down to 12 pounds of butter. The next big sale period for butter will be Easter week, most likely. It could go on sale before then, but it could also not.

Butter is an expensive ingredient. Buying a lot of it at the regular price can pinch that budget more than I like. But, if I can estimate how long my supply will last, given our current rate of consumption, I can make changes to our use, now, while those changes could have the biggest impact.  This would extend my supply for extra several weeks, and so I could wait for the next big butter sale.

While standing out in the garage, I made a guess in my head that we were currently going through 1 pound per week, the 5 of us. With one pound per week, our 12 pounds would last for 3 months. I use butter in baking, added to skillets, to enrich soups, and for table use. One pound per week sounds about right. But what if we use more than 1 pound per week? I could be off significantly, and not know any better. So it was best to find out exactly how much we are currently using in a week.

When I brought out the most recent pound of butter, I marked the label with that day's date. It was January 19th. Today is the 27th and we have 1/8 pound left (half a stick). As it turns out, we are currently going through 1 pound every 8 or 9 days. My current supply, if used at this current rate, should last 3.4 months, a little better prognosis than I'd guessed.

Knowing this, I also have an opportunity to make this butter last even longer, by choosing recipes which call for less butter, by using saved fat from cooking meat, by using vegetable oil in place of butter more often, by making soft butter spread by adding vegetable oil and by choosing fat alternatives when baking, such as applesauce, mashed bananas, and pureed pumpkin.

(Bonus -- knowing how long each pound lasts, I also now know how much to buy, the next time I find a great sale.)


I mark packages with the date, as I open them, for other items in the house. When I've wanted to know which brand of shampoo was a better deal (as some can be more watery than others), I've marked the lids of the bottles with the date of open. I've done this with laundry detergent and bathroom tissue, too, to determine best value for our use.

It's just a small thing and requires very little time and effort. But marking the package with the opening date gives me more accurate information for my planning and purchasing.


FYI, the package of butter up at the top is what butter looks like when bought at Cash & Carry. One pound is wrapped in a single large sheet of waxed paper. I make "sticks" of butter for the butter dish by cutting each pound into quarters, lengthwise. My "sticks" are longer and more narrow than prepackaged sticks of butter, but I like that. I think we use less butter when the sticks are long and narrow.

Do you know what I love about January grocery shopping?

There isn't a whole lot of it! I save time and money these first couple of months of the year.

(My kitchen fridge only looks this bare a couple of times per year, from late January through most of February. It does make for easy cleaning of the inside of the fridge! Don't worry, there's still plenty of food in the garage fridge, freezers and pantry.)

When January rolls around, my grocery shopping makes a major shift away from the stock-up pattern of fall and holiday season shopping. I just don't find a lot of great deal in January. So, I coast on what's in the pantry, fridge and freezer.

Several of the grocery purchases that I make in early January, are made not in grocery stores, but while clearance shopping or miscellaneous other shopping, like at the drug store, or fabric and crafts store. Those stops don't "feel" like regular grocery shopping. And the grocery stops that I do make have far fewer purchases than in the stock-up months.

When I do make those grocery stops, I try to plan ahead, so I don't need to go back to that particular store, any time soon. As when I buy bananas at Trader Joe's. Over half of our bananas are eaten by way of smoothie. And both fresh and frozen bananas work well in smoothies. So, in winter, when I'm most apt to buy bananas, (as no fresh fruit is coming from our garden), I buy twice as many bananas as I believe we can eat fresh, with the intention of freezing half. Once perfectly ripe, I peel and halve the bananas, and place all of the halves into shallow freezer containers. They break apart easily, so I can use just one half at a time, when making breakfast or lunch smoothies. Doing all of this stretches the time span between my trips to Trader Joe's, to match up better with my Cash & Carry twice-monthly shopping (about how often I actually make it to Cash & Carry in January and February).

As for spending less in January than other months, here's what I've spent the past few years for January groceries. In 2013, I spent $137.35. In 2014, I spent $119.29. And in 2015, I spent $93.87 for January groceries. This year, for the month of January, I'm on track to spend about $145 to $150 (while higher than previous years for January, it's about $20 to $30 lower than my monthly average of $171 for 2015).

So, besides saving money and time, what does this mean for me and my budget? Well, it means that I can bank some cash for future months of grocery spending, so those big stock-up months won't hurt so much when I see those totals. It also gives me more freedom to really stock-up when I find rock bottom prices on favorite items.

And the bonus for buying less in January and February -- my pantry and freezer become much more manageable in their organization.

Do you also find that you shop far less in January, than the rest of the year? Or do you typically shop for about the same amount every week?

Managing Sunday's meals

Even for me, as a person who actually enjoys cooking, preparing meals day in and day out, I find I need a bit of a break every week.

This has been a problem for me for many years. How to prepare decent meals on Sundays, while on a small-ish budget, without adding to my workload. There should be one day per week, when the cook has a lighter load. Right?

So, on a budget, using what we have, and not making extra work, this is what I've come up with for now.

Sunday breakfast is made on Saturday evening, while putting together Saturday's dinner, in the form of crockpot oatmeal. It's cheap. It's easy. It provides leftovers for Monday's breakfast. And breakfast is hot and ready when the earliest bird gets up, yet still hot and ready for the sleepyheads in the family. And on Sunday morning, I don't have to do a thing. Did I mention that it's cheap?! Crockpot oatmeal is creamier and a bit more gummy than oatmeal quickly done in the microwave or on the stove. But we're okay with that (in fact, the creaminess is actually preferred by one family member).

On Saturday afternoon, while preparing dinner, I dump the oats, salt, sugar, butter, water, nuts, spices, chopped fruit or pureed vegetables into the crockpot. I don't turn it on until just before I go to bed, at 10 or 11. I set it for 6 hours, at which point it switches over to WARM. On Sunday mornings, I set a stack of bowls on the counter, along with a big spoon, and let everyone help themselves. Yesterday's oatmeal was pumpkin-pecan-spice.

Lunches are more problematic than breakfasts, for us. Our family gets home from church around 1 or 1:30, leaving a small window of time for my two daughters to eat quickly before heading out for choir practice. This leaves me with about 5 minutes from walking in the door, to lunch on plates on the table. I really don't like to "use up" my freezer stash of pre-made meals. Added to that, my go-to, quick, cheap, and easy-to-fix weekday lunch ideas are rather tired by the weekend. (How many PBJ sandwiches can a person eat in a week? Besides, I'm usually trying to spare the bread.)

I am often stuck for an idea. My best solution, lately, has been to just make lots of dinner, on Saturday, for leftovers to eat for Sunday lunch. Those of you who are empty-nesters or pre-nesters, may not have any difficulty making enough of any one dinner for leftovers. In our house, the leftovers are often scarce. So, I usually need to supplement whatever leftovers there are, with other odds and ends needing to be eaten. So far, it's working out, although not at all original in composition.

Sunday dinner. This is supposed to be that big family feast. A beef or pork roast, a roasted chicken, something impressive and conducive to the making of family memories. Not going to happen here. On Sundays, my day of rest, that all sounds too exhausting to me.

Managing. I've been sticking with very simple meals for Sunday dinners. A few weeks ago, it was chips, refried beans, rice, carrot sticks and oranges. Last week it was pre-cooked burgers on buns, with frozen veggies. Last night, I made breakfast for dinner, of pancakes, sausage and oranges.

The bonus to these simpler Sunday meals is very little kitchen clean-up, afterwards. After dinner, last night, clean-up consisted of me rinsing the griddle and setting it back on the burners, and washing out the skillet from the sausages.

That's how I've been managing my Sunday meals. How do you manage Sunday meals in your house? Do you do anything differently on Sundays than you do the rest of the week?

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers using what I have on hand

Friday
scrambled eggs
leftover mashed potatoes, reheated in bacon fat
pumpkin souffle
green beans with almond slices
leftover apple cobbler

Saturday
(My two daughters served at the reception for a memorial service in the afternoon. They brought home a veggie tray and some sandwiches, which I added to dinner.)
veggie tray
sandwiches
cheese quesadilla on homemade flour tortillas (from freezer)
oranges
deviled eggs

Sunday
hamburgers (patties, cooked and frozen a week ago, thawed in the fridge for the day, sprinkled with some water and heated in the microwave -- thanks Kris for this idea to freeze cooked burgers!)
home-made buns from the freezer
seasoned, oven-roasted potato wedges (seasoned with garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, chili powder and salt)
frozen peas
oranges

Monday
quiche from the freezer
mashed potatoes
celery and carrot sticks plus dip
pumpkin cake with cream cheese icing

Tuesday
black bean soup
cornbread
orange segments
leftover cake

Wednesday
pumpkin-ham soup (from freezer -- the "label" said rosemary-turkey, oh well!)
leftover cornbread
orange segments
carrot sticks
watermelon pickles
leftover cake

Thursday
turkey and vegetables in gravy (from freezer), over
mashed potatoes
oven-roasted pumpkin chunks
stewed plums (from the freezer)


Last Friday's dinner, all homemade, all from humble foods. Cooking from the basics saves a ton of money at the grocery store. The eggs, were just eggs, obviously. Mashed potatoes were made from whole potatoes, butter, milk and cream cheese. The pumpkin souffle was made from a baked pumpkin, pureed, with an egg, sugar, cream, butter, nutmeg and salt whipped in, then baked. The green beans were from frozen beans, with butter and toasted almond slices that I added. And the apple cobbler was made from apple slices that I froze in the fall, and topped with a scratch, sweet biscuit dough. Only four of us for dinner on Friday. The cost to feed us was under $2, total.

Burgeoning spring?

I'm sorry. You're going to have to humor me these days. I'm afraid I'm a bit excited for spring, when it's still too cold to spend much time outdoors.

The hyacinth and grape hyacinth are up! I moved those potted bulbs from the garage floor, to the deck, yesterday. If we get a severe cold spell, I'll bring them in overnights. I need to get a plan together, quick, for when, where and how to transplant these beauties into the garden. Getting out my mental pen and paper as I write!

The tulips, daffodils and crocus are still burrowed deep in their pots of soil. Have no fear. I'll be sure to let you know when they pop through, too!

Any signs of spring where you are right now? (And in some places, signs of fall?)

It's only the beginning

On a gloomy and cold January day, I started our spring garden. Indoors, of course. I took over the kitchen for this work. It's a messy job. But if you have to make a mess indoors, the kitchen is a good room to do it in. I prefer to undertake the task of starting seeds in a quiet house. I don't want to feel that I am in someone's way, or rushed to get the job done. I want to take my time, imagine the salads I will harvest and savor this quiet, thoughtful moment.

I had only part of a bag of seed starting soil, and about the same amount of regular potting soil. Not wanting to make a run out to the store to buy more seed starting mix, I combined the two and will hope for the best.

I filled the small holes with this soil mix, and planted lettuce seeds. It's green, leafy salads that I'm most dreaming of, right now. And lettuce seeds can take a while to sprout. I'll have time later this month to add some kale and cabbage seeds to the flat. Those seeds are quick to poke through the soil, and then grow like weeds in the sunshine. Starting the two kinds of seeds, together would result in overgrown kale and cabbage, and lettuce that is rushed into the outdoors, long before it's ready to handle our chilly blustery late-winter days. So, I start only half the flat right now.

After gently tucking those tiny seeds into their beds of soil, I popped the whole flat under the light fixture. The lights will give off enough warmth to encourage those seeds to sprout. And now I wait.

Working on one of my financial goals for 2016

I never did share what my goals for this new year are. Something about saying it out loud, or putting it in writing, makes me think that my goals will be jinxed!

Anyway, one of my goals is to take as many areas of our spending as possible, and investigate ways to save and still enjoy the same quality of our life. That doesn't mean that I will actually cut spending for every line item, but that I will look into cutting the cost and see if there are ways to do so, but keep our life enjoyable. Some areas of our budget may actually see an increase in spending, as I balance spending with enjoyment.

This past week, I found another item to spend "better". If you've been reading my grocery journals closely, you know that I've been buying onion powder, from the bulk spice section of Fred Meyer, since last winter. Onion powder (at the least the stuff that I buy) is only made of onions, no additives. I like the flavor boost that it gives to dressings, dips, sauces, soups and gravies. Add to other spices and seasonings, it's part of a delicious seasoning sprinkle for oven-roasted potatoes or otherwise plain meat, similar to Lawry's Seasoning salt, just considerably less salt.

I went back through my grocery journals and found that since March 2015, I had bought about 8 oz of bulk onion powder, and spent about $3.75, in small amounts each time, at a price of $7.19 per pound. I told myself that I would check Cash & Carry's price on canisters of onion powder, as it was clear that I could go through a full canister in a little over a year. And last week, onion powder did go on sale at Cash & Carry, for $3.25 for a 12-oz canister, that's $4.33 per pound. That's a savings of about 40% per pound, by buying onion powder in a canister at Cash & Carry, over buying in the bulk spices section of Fred Meyer. And I've proven to myself that I will go through this larger amount in a reasonable time.

Just another item in my budget where I've found a way to cut our spending, but keep the same quality of enjoyment. Maintaining our satisfaction with life is an important aspect to us, within our frugal living choices.

This isn't anything newsworthy, buying something in a large package, to save on unit cost. But revisiting all of our spending, has paid off for us, time and time again.

Other items that I've found a less expensive venue for purchase this month include: full spectrum light tubes for our grow light operation (bought through Amazon instead of the place where I had bought the entire set-up, saving $9 per tube, when bought in a 5-pack, as opposed to buying 2 tubes at a time -- I have 3 spares, now, and 2 will last me about 3-4 years), buying a specific book as a gift for a friend, again through Amazon, instead of the shop where I originally saw the book (saving $8 on the book), buying a large bottle of lavender essential oil, instead of the 10 mL that I usually buy at a time, (saving  so much per ounce that I kept thinking I must be doing the math incorrectly, it's literally a fraction of the cost per ounce to buy in a larger size). In addition, I'm doing things differently, not just shopping differently, to save a bit of money. I recently went into the city to visit with a friend. I chose to take the commuter bus, instead of drive and park downtown. Parking downtown is very pricey in Seattle. My bus ticket, round trip was $7. If I had driven, I would have spent a minimum of about $4 in gas, and $8 in curb parking for 2 hours, or $12 total.

In one instance, I got exactly what I wanted, just with a bit of a time delay. In two other instances, I got a surplus, to keep on hand for future use. And in the fourth instance, I got a more favorable experience -- I didn't have to drive in traffic, actually find street parking, or watch the time to make sure I didn't go over my paid limit of time. So, I'd say, it's been a win!

Learn to live on less and you'll never have to accept a job that is beneath your dignity

I tend to agree that any honest day's work is good work. But I also can see that not all work is afforded respect by others. In fact, the disrespect can make an okay job feel like one that is beneath your dignity.

In my teen and early adult years, I had my share of jobs where I was treated as less-than, primarily in restaurant work and department stores. Undignified working conditions exist in every field and at every level. Even when I held positions of authority, I was subjected to the moods and insults from diners, customers, fellow employees and supervisors/owners. Presently, at my age, I feel that I have had enough disrespect to last my lifetime.

I recently had someone suggest (and quite lovingly, at that) I should take on some part time work at a fast food restaurant, coffee house or even the graveyard shift at the nearby gas station/convenience store, to increase our family's household budget.

My response was that I had learned to live on less, so that I would never "have" to take on work that I didn't want.

Don't get me wrong. I actually do want to work at a paying job (and currently do work for pay, very part time), and I am looking for the right position. But by adopting frugal living techniques, I can take my time to find the most suitable job to use the gifts that God has given me. In other words, I'm not looking for any old job, for the extra money. I'm looking for paying work that I find fulfilling, and where I am treated with basic respect.

We all are given choices in this life. We can choose to work for pay, more, so that we can afford luxury items of desire. Or we can choose to work for pay, less, and not indulge in full-price luxuries.

For me, I choose to focus my energies on activities that I find enjoyable, yet still fulfill our frugal objectives, so that I can take time to nail down that dream job of mine.

Along these lines, at a meeting the other day, I was talking with a gentleman about the nature of my blog. He asked if I had interest in extreme couponing. I told him, no, that I take a different approach to some frugal activities. I told him that I learned to bake bread, so that I wouldn't have to rely on finding coupons or sales for bread. Personally, I'd rather pursue the activity of baking than coupon collecting. That's my preference.

Sometimes, our choices and actions really go against the grain in today's culture. And sometimes, it's hard to be forthcoming about our frugal endeavors, with some family and friends who just don't get it. For instance, that our lovely new sweater was bought at Goodwill, or that we dine in restaurants just a handful of times per year, or that we cut our own hair, or have our husbands do it for us. Many of our friends and family have chosen "the extra paying work to afford luxuries" route. This can make defending our choice to live on less, well, awkward, some of the time.

But I think I would rather have that awkward conversation or two, than sacrifice my dignity by working for a nasty-tempered boss, or have to placate unhappy customers, or work hours that would rob me of needed sleep.

If a job is a means to an end, the end being enough money to pay my way in this world, isn't being frugal just a different means to the same end, if I can trim the fat through frugal endeavors, so that all of our bills are paid?

Knowledge is power. Teaching oneself how to do for ourselves what we have been paying others to do for us, generates power over how we can choose to live out our lives. I wasn't born knowing how to bake bread. My mother never baked bread. I learned this on my own. Likewise, my mother never made her own window cleaning solution, nor did she replace broken underwires in her bras. With each new frugal frontier that I conquer in my own life, be it large or small, I gain confidence that I will be able to conquer the next frontier. And I can see that all of my efforts when combined, make a significant difference in our finances, enough of a differnce to off-set working without pay.

And you know, I don't feel that I "have" to bake bread or hang laundry. I am choosing these activities, sometimes as the lesser of two evils. I would rather bake and cook from scratch, and hang dry my laundry, than feel a part of me is "owned" by an employer. I have chosen to live on less, so that I will never have to accept a job that is beneath my dignity.

And what about that argument that I am "training" my daughters to only see themselves as potential homemakers? What I feel I am teaching my daughters is that they have choices in this life. Yes, they could decide that they want to work in the home. But they could just as easily use what they've seen in me to pursue careers which are not financially lucrative, yet are personally fulfilling, by using the many frugal living techniques that I've modeled, to make ends meet on a shoestring income. I hope that I am modeling "choice" to my daughters and son.

Choices. I've widened my view of just what my choices are in this life. As a result, I have so many opportunities before me.

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for mid-January

Monday's supper -- I used snippets of the rosemary,
 from the plants I brought indoors for winter

Friday
hamburgers on homemade buns
w/mushrooms and mozzarella cheese
seasoned, oven-fried potato wedges
green beans

Saturday
homemade mushroom, olive and onion pizza
frozen peas
baked apples

Sunday
tortilla chips, salsa (chips from Dollar Tree, salsa a Christmas gift)
refried beans (made extras) and cheese
brown rice
carrots sticks
oranges

Monday
rosemary potatoes
kale and onion frittata, with mozzarella and topped with leftover pizza sauce
baked tiny squashes

Tuesday
crockpot ham, potato casserole
frozen green beans
pumpkin pie (from freezer)

Wednesday
Shepherd's pie (beef/turkey blend, onions, garlic, celery, corn, tomato-based sauce, covered in mashed potatoes), made 2, froze 1  (My family thought it was good, but I just didn't care for it. Maybe it was the smell of the meat cooking, but I was feeling quite ill by the time it was ready.)
frozen peas
leftover pumpkin pie

Thursday
refried beans from freezer, rice and cheese burritos in homemade tortillas
corn medley, with green peppers, onion, garlic and chunky tomato salsa
carrots sticks
apple cobbler, made with frozen apple chunks


I was so looking forward to Wednesday's dinner. Comfort food -- who wouldn't want some?! But then the cooking. Browning of the meat was making me quite queasy. Sometimes the smell of meat just puts me off from eating it. This happened once when I was a young adult, living on my own. It was so bad that I became a vegetarian for a couple of years after that. When I was pregnant, all meat smelled rancid to me. I remember not being able to cook dinner one night, so I sent my husband out to get McDonald's for himself, just an orange soda and fries for me. When he walked in the door, he offered me a bite of his Big Mac. I nearly declined, as the thought of meat would send me gagging all the way to the bathroom. But I did take him up on his offer, a bite, I thought. I could handle one bite, for the sake of the baby (iron and all, from the beef). I ate his entire Big Mac and had to send him back to McDonald's for his own dinner. But that's how powerful a bad meat smell can be for me. So, Wednesday, really looking forward to this supper, and wowsers, was it ever awful in my mind. The second one in the freezer will be set aside for a night when I have alternate plans for my own supper.

But it does reinforce a point that I am common to make -- learn to enjoy your own cooking and you'll have enough money for the things that really matter in your opinion. I think my sister would be shocked that our family eats at home, almost every single night of the year. We grew up in a family where dining out was a regular event. And she, now, stills eats out, a lot, IMO. I'll be chatting with her while she's in the drive-thru at a favorite So Cal burger joint. Sometimes she'll ask what I'm having for lunch. It's usually something humble, like a banana and oatmeal, or peanut butter on toast. I do occasionally salivate over the burger and fries lunches she gets. (I did get my burger and fries meal for Friday supper.) But there are things that my not spending money on take-out has afforded me.

In looking back at my many Cheap & Cheerful Supper posts, I really didn't see many restaurant dinners. And I'm okay with that. The foods we eat on a daily basis are just humble foods. I try to make sure it's tasty. I don't keep up with many food trends. And, as far as spending time on gourmet recipes, I'd rather spend my time in other endeavors.

Do you know what I love about tea?

You can make yourself a nice cup of tea, pour more boiling water over the bag or leaves, and make yourself another cup, for nothing more than the cost of the boiling water.

Or, if you've made tea for two, but a third drops in, you can stretch that tea with extra water, and let it steep just a bit longer. You can't do that with milk or soda.