When is Spending $3 on Lettuce Seedlings Actually a Good Deal?

When it means that we will have garden salads 6 weeks earlier than if I started from seeds right now.

This is supposed to be a six-pack, but I counted 15 seedlings
 in here. If I'm careful, i can tease each out separately,
and have 15 heads of lettuce for $3.

For various reasons, I didn't get lettuce seeds started indoors this winter to plant out this month. If I were to start seeds this week, I wouldn't have lettuce to harvest for another 8-10 weeks. With the seedlings, I should be able to harvest lettuce in about 3-4 weeks. In between those 3-4 weeks and the 8-10 weeks, I would still be needing leafy greens for my family; which means I would be buying lettuce or other greens in that time period. By buying the seedlings, I will save about a month of purchased greens, which could cost about $8, given two heads of lettuce or other greens per week, multiplied by 4 weeks, priced at about 99 cents/head. So, I come out $5 ahead after the cost of the seedlings.

There are times when buying the seedlings makes financial sense. Another example is in buying tomato seedlings. If those don't get started indoors early enough, there simply isn't time for them to produce very much, in short growing seasons.

I will be starting lettuce seeds in the same bed with the seedlings, so there won't be need to buy more lettuce seedlings.

P.S. if you couldn't access the poll yesterday, I've archived the results from yesterday and have opened the poll up for another day. There's a limit to how many people can access the poll, so this one may fill up too. Anyway, today I figured out how to embed it into my blog, to make things easier for you.

A Poll Today About Entering the Workforce Later in Life

You know that I've been taking classes off and on for the last 5 years or so. Sometimes the class is just because I want to learn to do something or learn about something. And other classes are geared toward me finding a new career path (aside from my Queen of the Palace job). I have no idea how hard this is going to be. But I am preparing myself to do this.

I'm at that point in my life when I'm looking around and thinking "you know, I think I still have something to offer this world." I've done a lot of volunteer work over the years, but I want more than even that. I want to be doing something that engages my mind and my spirit. Do you think it's too late for me? Am I too old to enter a new career?

I'm fortunate that I can choose to do whatever I can find myself qualified for. I mean, I am at a point where I can somewhat choose a field in which I want to work. My field has always been art appreciation/history and design. That's what I have always been drawn to. I also enjoy writing. My class in January and February highlighted where my writing still needs improvement. I've also been beefing up my knowledge of art, particularly everything that happened in the art world since the 1940s. (I don't know why, but when I was in school in the 80s, the art history classes ended when we hit the 1940s.)

I don't now how this will all work out, but I am having faith as I take each step, that I am moving toward a goal. I am taking another class toward this goal right now. It's a technology in the work place sort of class. I've put together a couple of presentations, and this week we've been asked to put together a poll, using web resources. As my focus right now is getting back into a career, at my advancing age, I put together a 3-question poll concerning that subject.

This quick poll is for anyone interested. It's through a polling website. All answers are anonymous (even I won't know what you think). You can answer the questions by going to:

PollEv.com/elizabethmou558

The survey will load and you just click on your answers. Not much to it. You can also do the poll through text. But you know me, if the web is free, and texting might cost money (if you have a pay as you go plan, or in another way pay per text), go for the free way. These are the questions. Don't answer here, but click the boxes at the website. If anyone is interested, I'll post the results in percentages on Monday or so. The poll/survey closes at midnight, Thursday.

What age is too old to embark upon a new career?

1) 40 to 50 years old
2) 50 to 60 years old
3) It's never too late to begin a new career


What is more important in choosing a career path?

1) earning potential
2) personal fulfillment
3) service to others


How many different career paths have you taken?

1) one
2) two to three
3) four or more



by web:   PollEv/elizabethmou558

you can text to enter the poll, but not necessary:    ELIZABETHMOU558 to 22333


And really, do you think that I am too old to make this change?

April's Shopping Plans

Today is Senior Shopping Day at Fred Meyer, so I'll be heading over there in a bit. I'm making out my list of needs for the month. At the top of the list is lightbulbs. The strangest thing happened last month; four bulbs in the kitchen all went out within 2 weeks of each other. We have a fixture above the kitchen table that uses 5 bulbs. Well, 3 of them went out. I need to bring our kitchen back up to brightness, so I'll be picking up replacement bulbs, using the 10% discount today. Other items on my list for the month:

• milk, regular and soy/almond
• feminine hygiene supplies
• bathroom tissue
• more eggs (they are on sale, and with discount will cost about 89 cents/dozen)
• bulk almonds (on sale, and I have a coupon to use in that department)
• a Lindt Easter treat (again, I have a coupon) and maybe one other treat
• carrots, celery, potatoes, frozen peas, and a little asparagus
• additional fruit (beyond what I bought last Friday)
• vitamins and supplements
• gardening supplies
• some inexpensive Easter gifts, from Daiso, likely
• raisins
• cocoa powder
• butter

In addition, last Friday, I stopped at Cash & Carry after an appointment. Everything that I bought there was put into April's grocery spending. I bought:

• 5-lb loaf of sharp cheddar
• 5-lb bag of shredded mozzarella
• 15 dozen case of large eggs
• 5-lb bag of Pink Lady apples
• 40-lb case of navel oranges
• 17 bananas

It's not a super big list, but then we still have a lot to use, at home. With eggs in abundance, we will once again be eating a lot of egg dishes for dinner. We had a spinach frittata last night, and it was delicious.

April and All of the Great Opportunities for Frugal Entertainment

April is the month of fruit tree blossoms in my garden. The month begins with the pears and cherries, and finishes with the plum and apple trees. From a frugal living standpoint, what I love about spring and summer is the opportunity for cheap or free entertainment. Some of my favorite frugal fun this time of year:

• weekend picnics at the park
• donut breakfasts at the beach
• visits to the botanical gardens
• croquet on the lawn
• cutting flowers from my garden
• planting the summer vegetable garden
• soaking up the sunshine on the deck
• Saturday night hot dog cook-outs around the fire ring
• a cup of coffee with a friend, sitting on the patio at the coffee shop, which overlooks the beach
• gallery strolling in the nearby, old town artsy area
• going to the "expensive" garden center to look and get ideas, then Home Depot to buy 

What would you add to a springtime frugal entertainment list?

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for the End of March

Friday

• leftovers, using up the soup, fried rice, daughters's free lunch leftovers. There was enough to feed us all.

Saturday

husband cooks

• make your own burritos, with tortillas, cooked black beans, canned tomatoes, olives, cheese and a seasoned nut filling
• celery sticks

Sunday

husband cooks

• brown rice and black beans
• canned green beans

Monday

• lentil-vegetable soup
• glazed pumpkin muffins

Tuesday

• leftover soup
• toast
• orange wedges and bananas
• cucumber in Ranch dressing

Wednesday

• homemade hamburgers, on
• discount buns (59 cents/ package of 8)
• cole slaw
• steamed carrots
• oven fries

Thursday

• Cabbage Patch Soup, using a cooked hamburger patty and some lentils for the protein, and then added barley, canned tomatoes, onions, carrots, garlic, celery, and cabbage. It's quite tasty; and I made enough for two nights.
• toast

Some meals were better than others, this week. I guess that's the way it goes. We are at the end of the month, and my fridge and freezers are still annoyingly full. Who would ever think that having too much would be such a bad thing?! I continue to work at using up all of our surpluses. 

Can you believe that April begins tomorrow? April is my birth month. I have lovely memories of my birthdays as a child. My mother went above and beyond for all of our parties. I still very fondly remember my birthday cake from my 11th birthday. It was frosted in hot pinks, brilliant oranges and yellows, lime green and vibrant purple. I may never remove that image from my mind. That year, I was allowed my first slumber party. I invited all of the girls from my class for the night. For entertainment, we played a scavenger hunt in the neighborhood, going from door to door, asking for small, insignificant items on our lists, from each house. The lists had items like paper clips, an empty can, an envelope, etc. We split up into groups, and the first group to collect all of the things on their list and return home, won. I don't know if kids do these scavenger hunts any longer. Neighbors don't know each as well as they once did. I can't imagine sending my young kids out in the neighborhood to knock on doors for a game. When we returned from our hunt, we ate cake, drank soda pop, listened to music, and unrolled our sleeping bags on the family room floor. My mother slept on the couch, to ensure that we actually did sleep. Such a wonderful memory; if I could choose any time to return to, from my childhood, it would be that day. This year, I have promised myself that I will celebrate in small ways, all month long.

Just a walk down memory lane -- speaking of soda pop, do you remember when cans had pull tabs that peeled off of the tops, instead of poking inside the can? And how about cans of pop that had to be opened with a triangular punch-type can opener? And the cans were tin and not aluminum?

This is what I remember cans looking like from my early girlhood. take a look at the tops of the cans, if you can. The triangular holes have been punch with a can opener. You needed to punch two holes into the top, so liquid would pour out evenly. Just a walk down memory lane.

Have a lovely weekend!

March 2017 Grocery Budget Journal

I am posting this one day early as I will have another post tomorrow morning. Anything that I spend on groceries today or tomorrow will fall into April's budget.

Going into March, I have $343.65 for the month (this includes last month's surplus, plus my allotted $190 budget).

March 3. Stopped at WinCo after an appointment in that town. I remembered cash, this time, but forgot my bags. I could have saved 18 cents with my own bags! Oh well, next time. I bought a lot of fruit this time. I am hoping that this will be enough fresh fruit for 3 weeks. It may be. I bought an 8-lb bag of oranges for $5.78 (72 cents/lb), a 5-b bag of fuji apples, and a 5-lb bag of gala apples, each at $3.48 (69 cents/lb), 13 bananas at 48 cents/lb, a 5.25 lb bag of tangerines for $5.98 ($1.13/lb), and 1.72 lbs of red grapes, at $1.47/lb. The tangerines and grapes were not on my list, but I really wanted some variety in our fruit. The benefit with the tangerines is that they are so small that 1 bag has a lot of servings, in comparison to navel oranges. I also bought 1 bundle of celery for 78 cents. In the bulk section, I bought .41 lb of baking cocoa, at $3.08/lb, .86 lb of raw sunflower seeds, at $1.70/lb, 1.49 lbs of raisins, at $1.79/lb. WinCo's white vinegar is cheaper than Cash & Carry, so I bought 1 gallon of vinegar, at $2.38, plus a 72 ct package of corn tortillas (also cheaper than Cash & Carry), and a 5-dozen pack of medium eggs, at $4.48. I could have done better on the eggs, by about 20 cents, and for a larger size, at Cash & Carry, but I didn't have time to stop at C&C and I was low on eggs. Even at 89 cents/dozen for mediums, eggs are a cheap protein source, and easy for other family members to prepare for themselves. When I go to Cash & Carry, later this month, I'll pick up the other 5 dozen eggs that I need to get through a month. For all of the above, I spent $39.10. It sounds like a lot of money, to me, compared to many of my other shopping trips, but I did get a lot for that money. I filled 3 paper sacks, and didn't bother bagging the vinegar, oranges or eggs. If I had also bagged those items, I would have had about 5 bags of groceries.

March 7. Senior Discount Day at Fred Meyer, 10% off all house brand groceries, plus health and beauty and housewares. Milk was on sale, and we were very low, so I bought 7 half-gallons of 2% milk at 89 cents each, and 2 gallons of 2% for $1.80 each. I also bought 4 half-gallons of orange juice for 89 cents each. Right next to the dairy coolers are the markdown bins. Today, there was a lot of bread on markdown. I bought 2 packages of hotdog buns, 1 package of hamburger buns, and 6 loaves of a variety of bread, all at 59 cents per package. In addition, they had raisin English muffins for 49 cents per package. I bought 2 packs. I don't normally buy bread, but these were close to my price for baking from scratch. I froze almost all of it to use during a busy week coming up. Also in my cart today, 3 10-ct packages of flour tortillas (89 cents/package), 2 7-oz bags of pistachios (marked down to $2.49/bag, saving these for Easter baskets), a jar of powdered pectin (marked down from $4.99 to $2.99, good for another 2 years), 2 8-oz containers of sliced mushrooms (marked down to $1.29), a 3-pack of green bell peppers (marked down to $1), Chips Ahoy cookies (freebie), Lindt Easter egg (freebie), almost 18 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, at $1.47/lb, 2 half-gallons of soy milk (on sale, plus used 2 coupons, plus got my discount, so $1.79 each).  Total spent on edible groceries -- $63.63.

So far, for the month of March, I've spent $102.73

March 8. I was looking at my packages of chicken breasts that I bought yesterday, and I discovered that they overcharged me. I dug out my flyer and double-checked. I did the math, and it was nearly $7.00. I knew that I would be driving right past Fred Meyer later in the day, so I tore the labels off of the packages (3), and brought those, plus my receipt and the flyer to the customer service desk. The lady was happy to refund me, not the exact amount, but a rounded up amount, of $7.00 in cash. So, that brings my spending for the month down to $95.73. I love the customer service at Fred Meyer.

March 10. We really need a few items from Cash & Carry (laundry detergent, paper baking cups, plastic cling wrap, plus some food items). I bought 50-lbs of brown rice ($19.67), 28 bananas (42 cents/lb), 10 lbs of carrots ($4.08), 10 lbs of potatoes ($1.47), 1 head of Romaine lettuce ($1.47), 3 large heads of cabbage, around 3 lbs each ($1.28/head), two 3-lb boxes of frozen spinach ($3.08 each). I spent $41.26 on food items.

So far, this month I have spent $136.99 My refrigerator and freezer is very full. I might be able to get through the end of the month with only buying eggs and maybe cheese!

March 22. No shopping, but as I was thinking about what is still on my want-to-buy list for the month, I realized that we were gifted cheese last weekend, so I can do without buying that item. I will be buying eggs on Friday, though, and maybe more fresh produce.

March 24. Stopped by WinCo (and I remembered cash, and I had put two bags into the car after the last trip there). I bought 24 bananas, at 48 cents/lb, 6.57 lbs of gala apples, at 88 cents/lb, 1 large bundle of celery, 98 cents, a little over a pound of raisins, at $1.79/lb. I received a bag refund of 12 cents. Total spent, $12.67. Eggs were $4.98 for 5 dozen medium, which was more than I wanted to spend on eggs, so I skipped them, and will get eggs at Cash and Carry, another time. I've been reading some of your egg prices, and $1 a dozen for medium seems high to me. We still have eggs, here, so I'll just wait for a lower price. At the worst, eggs should be on sale for 99 cents/ dozen, large size beginning on April 9. I may even find more frozen eggs, as I rummage through the freezers.

While shopping at WinCo, I kept in mind that my produce stand would be opening in a week, so there was no need to buy too much produce. WinCo had asparagus for $1.88/lb. I'll wait to see what the produce stand has for asparagus before buying at WinCo. Broccoli was $1.99/lb at WinCo. I'm pretty certain that I can buy it for less at the produce stand. We still have carrots, celery, cabbage, onions, garlic and potatoes, in the fresh veg dept at home. Plus canned tomatoes, frozen spinach, canned yams and pumpkin. Lots to work with still.

Month to date spending is now $149.66

I've been thinking about this budget, for when my son and his fiancee get married. I will be lowering this budget to $160, I think.  I know he doesn't eat from home as much as the rest of us, as he is often with Angie; she cooks for the two of them and they eat out occasionally. Even so, I'm pretty certain that we can manage with $160 per month, for four of us.

This is where the spending ends for the month. Woo hoo! $149.66. That's under $5 per day, or 97 cents per person, per day. I'm $40.34 under budget. I'll roll that forward in the surplus; this gives us a surplus of $193.99. I'll add that amount to next month's budget.

What I Bought

Produce
8 lbs of oranges
16.57 lbs of apples
5.25 lbs of tangerines
65 bananas
1.72 lbs red grapes
2 bundles of celery
3 green peppers
2.60 lbs of raisins
4 half-gallons of orange juice
1 lb of mushrooms
10 lbs carrots
10 lbs potatoes
1 head of Romaine lettuce
3 heads of cabbage
6 lbs of frozen spinach

Meat
18 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Dairy
5 dozen eggs
7 half-gallons milk
2 gallons milk
2 half-gallons of soy milk

Pantry
.41 lb of baking cocoa
.86 lb of raw sunflower seeds
1 gallon white vinegar
72 corn tortillas
30 flour tortillas
6 loaves of bread
2 packages of hot dog buns
1 package hamburger buns
2 packages of English muffins
14 oz of pistachios
1 canister of pectin
1 package of Chips Ahoy cookies (Friday freebie)
1 Lindt Easter egg (Friday freebie)
50 lbs of brown rice

Are You Planning for Easter, Yet?

I am. In part because I will have a lot going on near Easter; so I need to plan ahead. Also, it's been such a dreary winter and now spring, that I really want a lovely Easter.  Even if I don't find any deals or sales, I know that I can pull something together. This is what I currently have that is being saved, or that will be growing well enough by mid-April for harvesting:

• ham from freezer 
• canned sweet potatoes 
• canned green beans and cream of mushroom soup for a casserole
• rhubarb from the garden for a pie
• Easter candy 

That covers most of the basics for easter dinner. I will be hoping for a good price on asparagus and potatoes. 

Some of this menu plan an be made ahead and frozen; and some can be made a day or two before, and heated at the last minute. The sweet potato casserole actually freezes quite well, as do the baked pies. Green bean casserole can be assembled a day or two ahead. That leaves the ham and anything extra for Easter Sunday.

For Easter breakfast, I think I will keep it simple, some canned pineapple juice from the freezer, and an overnight crockpot casserole, using potatoes, eggs and turkey bacon (freezer, again). 

E.O.T.M.

or, end of the month.

Can you relate? End of the month's grocery budget.  I've been trying to dream up yummy things, using what we have on hand. Last night, my plan was to make pumpkin muffins to go with lentil vegetable soup. But I didn't want just any pumpkin muffins. So I made a maple glaze for the muffins. Oh wow, yummy!

I am also running low on favorite flavored teas for my own consumption. I added a drop of maple extract to a cup of plain tea, and topped off with vanilla soy milk. That was a delicious maple tea latte which used only items from my pantry.

I got creative with the frozen sugar cookie dough the other evening. I cut it into squares (I'm too lazy to do shapes, ha ha), baked, then topped with milk chocolate chips. Once the chocolate chips were melty, I spread them with a knife, to make chocolate-topped sugar cookies.

No salsa in the house; so for some burritos at lunch yesterday, I mushed up canned tomatoes with some chili powder. It was a decent-enough salsa substitute.

Last of the eggs, too (when we run out of items, we run out of everything!). I made a large batch of the pumpkin muffins with just one medium egg, instead of two large eggs. They turned out just fine.

What are you running out of, and how are you improvising?

The Weekend's Freebies or Near Freebies

So, maybe I've mentioned my philosophy concerning using coupons to department stores, like Kohl's, or specialty stores like Bath & Body Works. If I haven't, this is how I feel: While I want to find something that I would really enjoy, that aspect doesn't matter too much, if I can pay nothing or next to nothing, and someone in my broad circle might enjoy it. I can always give it away, to friends, family, or the thrift store, if I decide it's not what I want to keep. With that in mind, I feel pretty confident that I can quickly find something for which to use a high-value coupon.

This weekend, I had a $10 off coupon for Kohl's, a free item coupon for Bath & Body Works, and two free bagel coupons for Panera (one coupon was actually my daughters, but she and I were together). It wasn't that I was needing anything from Kohl's; but I took my coupon there, anyways, while running errands, and I bee-lined for the home decor clearance section. I picked up the three hand towels, which were regularly priced at $19.99 each, but now on clearance. After coupon and taxes, I spent $4.34 for all three. that's $60 worth of towels, for under $5. One towel will likely be a gift, the other two are saved for a future bathroom redo, coming up soon.

I also wasn't needing anything at Bath & Body Works; however, as my daughters wanted to go to the mall on Saturday, to pick up a cheap umbrella at Daiso, I offered to drive. While the daughters were mall-ing, I dodged into B & BW, and chose my one free item. I chose something that will be a gift item for someone on my list. It had a $5 value, and was completely free, with coupon.

After we met up again, the day felt too lovely to go back home to dig into work again, so we decided to use our two coupons for free bagels at Panera. No, I wasn't in the mood for a bagel, not a whole one at least; but free is a mighty fine price. The daughter without a coupon said she's enjoy splitting one with me, so that's what we did. Two bagels, three ladies. I chose a chocolate chip bagel, got free butter and honey, and glasses of free water. We sat outside at the tables in the sun and had a smashing afternoon with no expense, except the purchase of a $3 umbrella (for which my daughter used a gift card from an auntie at Christmas).

One very swell day, with freebies for gifting, for redecorating, and for snacking. Now that's my kind of day at the mall!

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for the Birthday Week

Friday
a birthday celebration

• takeout from a Chinese restaurant
• a salad that I made with cabbage, tangerines, and a dressing of soy sauce, oil, ginger and vinegar
• homemade birthday cake, and ice cream (which was hidden in the back of the freezer for a couple of months)

Saturday

husband cooks

• lentils and rice
• carrot sticks and ranch dressing
• leftover cake

Sunday
husband cooks

• lentils in a peanut butter sauce, over
• rice
• canned peas
• olives
• leftover cake

Monday

• ham slices from the freezer
• baked potatoes with butter and cream cheese
• vegetable medley of frozen spinach, onions, garlic and canned tomatoes
• cucumber, lettuce and parsley salad (cucumber gifted to us)

Tuesday

• baked chicken breasts (baked with the potatoes on Monday, then sliced and heated today), made into Inside-out Chicken Cordon Bleu
• leftover baked potatoes
• sauteed cabbage, onions and garlic (made Monday in same pan as veg medley, then saved to reheat)

Wednesday

• vegetarian chili from the freezer
• carrot sticks
• blackberry bread pudding

Thursday

• ham and egg fried rice, from the freezer
• canned pineapple

With the kids' birthdays we alternate going out to dinner with having a dinner served at home, from year to year. This was a year to have a restaurant meal for my daughters. We chose Chinese takeout, as it was a Friday night; with everyone coming home at a later hour than weekends, bringing takeout in saved us all from a very late night, and it allowed my daughters to work on school-related projects at an earlier hour. The expense for the restaurant meal comes out of a different budget than groceries. We have a budget specifically for holidays and celebrations.

When we have a birthday meal out, we try to keep the spending to about $45, which is incredibly hard to do for a family of six, if eating at a table service restaurant. My son's and his fiancee's birthday celebration was in November (also a joint celebration as they have birthdays 3 days apart). For that celebration, we chose a lunch meal, going to a local Greek restaurant which is part table service, part order at the counter, bringing the total bill down somewhat. I think we spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $65 for that meal.

Restaurant dining for our family is very expensive in the Seattle area, even when we're trying to keep the bill low. So, for my daughters, I knew we had to come in under budget, to help offset the overage from our fall celebration. I spent just under $35 for the Chinese takeout, which means we are only $10 over from the overall celebration budget. I made up that money with a cheap, at home Valentine's dinner this year. And most importantly, my daughters had a wonderful birthday, and were super duper excited that I got Chinese takeout for dinner that night! I love it when relatively small things make a big splash with my family.

The rest of the week was filled with simple, humble meals. I tried to cook extra whenever I had a chance. As well, I continue to use up items from the freezer. There is always something there to use up.

I've been feeling very blah about the foods that I've been cooking, lately. I'm eating simply because it's there. Oh well. Maybe soon I'll get back to cooking more interesting dishes.

How has the week been at your place? Anything particularly interesting on the menu? Anything seasonal yet? Have a great weekend!

Surplus of Bread, Surplus of Milk, Surplus of Frozen Blackberries

We were gifted 3 loaves of bread over the weekend. That combined with my family suddenly drinking far less milk than anticipated, and I needed to do something quick with ingredients. I froze part of the milk and bread, which will come in handy in another week. But the rest I needed to begin using.

Last night, I made a blackberry bread pudding to go with a dinner of semi-vegetarian chili (there's chicken cooking liquid in the chili, just no meat). It was very delicious, and made good use of these items that I have in abundance.

One of the aspects of making bread pudding that I appreciate is how un-hands-on this dessert is. Cube up some bread, and combine with egg, milk, sugar and salt. Maybe add some fruit. And bake. It takes about five minutes to get the whole thing into the oven. That's a time-bargain for me.

When You Have Just a Little Bit of Ham Leftover . . .

I've made this before, and it is always a hit. Last night was no different. I had two slices of ham leftover from the previous night, some baked chicken breasts, and some really awesome Irish cheese (which was gifted to us over the weekend).

I call this inside-out Chicken Cordon Bleu. It is so good, and so easy. Real stuffed chicken is a pain to make. You have to pound out the chicken breasts, place cheese and ham on the pounded-thin chicken, roll it all up, then secure with toothpicks or string, and bake. A real pain. This way is easy.

Take some baked chicken breasts, then slice, cube or chunk it onto a plate. Top with some shreds, cubes or slices of ham (I use thin shreds of the sliced ham, to make it stretch to feed a family). Lastly, top each pile of chicken and ham with a white cheese, Swiss being ideal, but a white cheddar is also very tasty. Heat until the cheese is melty. That's it.

I had baked the chicken breasts the night before, while baking potatoes, as a way to have something quick and easy to make the next night, as well as a way to use the oven's baking capacity (potatoes don't take very much room in the oven).  Just before serving, I sliced the chicken directly onto the plates, then topped with shreds of ham, and slices of cheese. I microwaved each plate, to heat through, and served. This is truly one of those dishes that my family thinks is fabulous. It's better than just ham, or just chicken. The combination of the two meats together, along with the cheese is amazing. Really good, really easy. Inside-out Chicken Cordon Bleu.

How to Make an Ordinary Birthday Cake Look Great, in Little Time

With very little time to devote to making a cake look pretty on a budget, I planned ahead with this latest one. I baked the cake layers a week ahead, and kept frozen. I had cans of frosting bought on clearance for 37 cents a can. I had some pretty doilies bought at 80% off after Christmas at Michael's Crafts  two years ago. I used a beautiful cake stand that was a wedding gift 30 years ago. I added artificial flowers which I already had, for the top decor.

On the morning of the birthday

An hour before frosting the cake, I took the layers out of the freezer and set on the counter to come to room temperature. At the time of frosting, I cleaned up the silver base of the cake pedestal with my jeweler's rouge polishing cloth and washed and dried the glass top.

I had gold and white doilies to choose from. I chose the gold as I thought it would make the cake look even more special. The doily cost about 5 cents.

On top of the gold doily, I set strips of waxed paper over the outside edge, to protect the doily from messy frosting. You'll see in a minute what this step does.

I set the bottom layer on the waxed paper and doily lined pedestal and began the frosting.  I used not quite two cans of frosting. The reason this frosting was on markdown, I believe is that it was an unusual flavor. It is cinnamon bun flavored frosting, to be used in conjunction with a cinnamon bun cookie mix, also promoted last fall. I bought several of each when I found them on clearance.

When using canned frosting to ice a cake, it's helpful to stir the can up, well, just before spreading. The frosting spreads more readily after stirring. I frosted the entire cake and smoothed the side and top with an offset spatula (easier to use for frosting than a table knife).

It was time to take the waxed paper out. I make sure the cake is centered on the pedestal, adjusting as needed. Holding onto the waxed paper strips on the far side of the cake, I gently slide the near waxed paper strip halfway out. If the frosting is coming away from the cake with the waxed paper, I simply "cut" it off with a table knife by scoring where I want the frosting to break. I go all around the cake and gently slide all pieces of waxed paper in this way, hanging onto the far sheets of waxed paper as I go (this keeps the cake from moving off center). Lastly, I finished pulling all of the waxed paper strips out.

These are the waxed paper strips which caught the excess frosting that would have otherwise looked messy on the cake pedestal and doily.

Last, the top of the cake needed decor. I took some inexpensive artificial flowers and pulled several blooms and leaves off of the stems.

These were dusty, so I washed them in the salad spinner, then patted dry. The reason I mention they were inexpensive is this variety can pull apart and then be put back together again, as opposed to being completely fused, stems to blossoms. I made a pile of blooms and leaves on top of the cake. And there it is, one homemade, reasonably easy and quick, lovely birthday cake that I think would rival any bakery cake.

Frugality doesn't always mean doing things the hard way. Sometimes, it just means doing things the smart and thoughtful way.

An Amazing Salad Using Some of That Bargain Cabbage From St. Patrick's Day

We had this salad on my daughters' birthday. Not an exact recipe, but more of a guideline; the dressing is definitely "to taste".

Ingredients:

shredded cabbage
2 tangerines, peeled, sectioned and halved (not only to make bite-size pieces, but also to release juice)
vegetable oil
ground ginger
soy sauce
vinegar

I combined the oil, ginger, soy sauce and vinegar in the bottom of a bowl. The I tossed with the cabbage and tangerine pieces. This made good use of some rather aging tangerines. They still tasted delicious, but the peels were less than attractive.

I served this salad with a Chinese dinner for their birthday. It was delicious, and inexpensive!

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for St.Patrick's Day Week

Friday

• black bean chili (I made an extra large batch for the freezer and lunches during the week)
• homemade corn tortilla chips 
• tangerines

Saturday

• leftover sandwiches, potato chips, veggies and dip and fresh fruit, from a luncheon at which I worked during the day

Sunday

husband cooks 

• pot roast, with carrots, potatoes, mushrooms and gravy
• fresh watermelon (gifted after working a luncheon)

Monday (leftover night)

• leftover pot roast and gravy
• leftover fresh fruit
• green salad (with gifted cherry tomatoes and lettuce that I bought)

Tuesday

husband cooks

• lentil and rice curried casserole
• chutney on the side
• watermelon, grapes and cherry tomatoes (all gifted to us)

Wednesday

• ham, egg and bread strata (from freezer)
• leftover curry/rice/lentil casserole, with choice of leftover pot roast gravy or chutney
• green salad
• bananas

Thursday

• lentil and ham soup from the freezer
• bread and butter
• bananas
• cole slaw

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I used the clearance sugar cookie dough from after Christmas (55 cents/package) and some clearance green sugar crystals from after Christmas several years ago, and made some treats for us yesterday. I ate way too many myself! But they were pretty good.

This was a clean out the refrigerator week for us. On Wednesday, I used up some lingering rhubarb sauce, cranberry sauce and orange juice in a smoothie. I discovered that the curried lentil and rice casserole was delicious with pot roast gravy at lunch, one day, so I offered that with a dinner one night. Today, I will use up the various non-sweet liquids in the fridge, along with the last of one bundle of limp celery, in a large pot of soup.

Another busy weekend coming up for me. I hope that you have a great weekend!

Revere Bowls

In the background of my picture of forsythia stems the other day, was a bowl that I've been using in decor for this past year. This is a Revere bowl. Several manufacturers have had these on the market over the years; many brides received one or many as wedding gifts, in the 1960s and 1970s.  Revere bowls come in graduated sizes, and are silver plate, for the most part. Their design is a simple, fluted bowl on a shallow pedestal base.

Brand new, an 8-inch diameter version can cost $100 or more. In vintage stores, I see them for sale, priced between $10 and $25, in this size. I also watch for them in thrift stores, and they do turn up. I have three bowls, now, all of different sizes. My last purchase, an 8-inch diameter Revere bowl from Value Village last summer, was $4.99.

I love the simplicity of design in these bowls. Without a lot of ornamental detail, the beauty is in the the silver.  At Thanksgiving, I used it as a serving bowl; lined with a cloth napkin, it held warm dinner rolls.  It sparkled at holiday time, filled with silver sleigh bells and red glass balls. I'm thinking in summer this bowl will be lovely holding some of my larger seashells, and a large aqua glass ball that always makes me think of glass fishnet floats.

Incidentally, it is silver plate and does tarnish. I know, who has time to polish silver, right? Almost 20 years ago, my mother-in-law gave me the handiest thing for polishing silver. It's called a jeweler's rouge polishing cloth. I've seen them on Amazon and at WalMart. If you have silver but don't use it due to the upkeep, these cloths are amazing. I am still using that original cloth, almost 20 years later. They cost between $6 and $10, but outlast multiple jars of commercial polish. Mine was a hand-me-down 20 years ago, and it is still going strong. I love the look of silver and so I am willing to take a few minutes per month to polish a small piece or two.

I'm a lover of polished silver, sparkling crystal, flickering candlelight, and bouquets of flowers. Fortunately, I can find all of the above at thrift stores, vintage shops, on clearance, or in my garden. Life's luxuries on a whisper thin budget.

Returning Food at the Grocery Store

Have you ever returned a food product to the grocery store? I think this sounds strange to a lot of people, perhaps because we undervalue our food supply.  I have been in that mental place, where I have wondered if it would be worth the effort to return a food item.

A week ago, boneless, skinless chicken breasts were on sale at Fred Meyer, for $1.47/lb. I bought 3 large packages, almost 18 pounds of chicken. By the time I was done shopping, my head was pretty tired. Most of the time, I will check my receipt thoroughly, as I'm walking out of the store. You know how it is, there's someone behind you wanting you to move out of the store faster, or give them your cart, or you just feel like you need to get your weary body home. It's not like the grocery store provides a nice little seating area, so that you can take a few-minute break, and look over your receipt.

The day after I bought the chicken, I was dividing up the packages into smaller bundles for the freezer. That's when I noticed the price tags didn't read $1.47/lb, but $1.99/lb. Ugh! This was a substantial difference in price, totaling almost $7 of overcharge.  I needed to go out that afternoon, and would be driving near the store. So, I tore the labels off of the packages, cleaned them up a bit, and wrapped in a paper towel. I grabbed my add and my receipt, and off I went to Fred Meyer. Fortunately, the store was practically empty and I had no wait at the customer service desk. The lady helping me was as nice as can be, and not only refunded the correct amount, but rounded it up to a full $7.

What I have heard from others is that if the food item that you want to return is of a perishable nature, you may not need the food itself, but part of the packaging along with your receipt. Timeliness goes a long way when presenting your case to the customer service desk. That is to say, if you bring evidence of your problem food product, like packaging and receipt, within a couple of days of purchase, you'll likely be offered a refund or replacement product.

Anyway, with my meat purchase, I only needed the label, not all of the packaging. If produce was purchased in a bag (like a bag of oranges), you may want to bring the rest of that bag back to the store. As it was still early in that sale cycle, the grocery store had the opportunity to make sure all the rest of the labels were correct, and my actions may have saved someone else the expense of mistakenly overpaying for chicken.

Cuttings From Our Very Delayed Late-Winter Garden

It has been an unusually cold winter, here. The crocus are just now in bloom; however, it is so chilly that I have no desire to go outside and look at them. I view those lovely harbingers of spring through my front window.

A week ago, I did get out and cut some branches of forsythia, to force into bloom indoors. Most of my living room is in shades of spa blue and cream. I thought a hit of yellow would be just the right splash for this room.  I put the cuttings into the mason jars that I painted in spa blue and sea foam green acrylics last fall.

My grandmother always took cuttings from her crabapple and cherry trees, and forsythia shrubs, to bring indoors in late winter. I knew it was almost spring when I visited and would find a beautiful vase of blossoming branches on the coffee table near her fireplace. Do you ever take cuttings of blossoming branches to bring indoors for their floral effects?

Almost as Convenient as a Bakery Cake

My two daughters will have a birthday later this week.  I have always baked my children's birthday cakes, even when time was short. There are a few ways to make a homemade cake more convenient for the cook. One can make an cake that is intended to be kept in the freezer, such as an ice cream cake. One can use a mix and canned frosting. Or, as I do, one can bake the layers, wrap in plastic film and keep in the freezer, well in advance, then thaw and ice on the big day.

The last couple of months have seen me struggling under a tightly-packed schedule. This hasn't changed. I am trying to fit everything in, yet also trying to make a big day, a special one. This is how I manage the cake.

About a week or two before their birthday,  I bake the cake layers, wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze until the day that I'm ready to frost. I cannot express just how convenient it really is to have the cake baked and ready to go. I bake the layers on a day when I do have spare time, and then it sits in the freezer, like convenience food, to be pulled out at the last minute. Frozen cake layers thaw in about 1 hour. All that is needed is some icing and candles.

One afternoon last week, I baked a couple of cakes. I was making a quick pumpkin snack cake for dessert that night, so I reused the mixing bowl to make the batter for the birthday cake. I had all of the cake-baking ingredients out and ready to use, anyway. It felt like no chore at all to be baking the extra cakes.

After the layers cooled, I wrapped them in plastic wrap and they now sit in the freezer, waiting for Friday. I'll use a can of clearance frosting (37 cents) to ice the cake, sticking to a tight budget on a tight schedule. Not only will my cake save us money, but it really won't take much time to get it frosted on their birthday.

The same freezer stash cooking that I use with casseroles and soups for busy upcoming days is applied to baking birthday cakes.



On another, related note, I bought plastic cling wrap in the large, commercial size for the first time. I've only bought plastic wrap in the small grocery store boxes, so buying in this very large size is a change for me. The standard grocery store box has 200 feet of film, and will last about 1 year in our household. This box has 2000 feet of film, so it should last for 10 years. That feels like such a long time. I sometimes have uneasy feelings about a purchase so far in advance. I'll get over it, and at some point, I will be grateful to have bought this. Price-wise, the last grocery store box of film cost $1.19 for 200 feet, on markdown for a damaged box. This box cost $7.95 for 2000 feet.  A 200-foot amount of this box cost about 79 cents, so I saved about 1/3 of the cost of buying my plastic wrap at the grocery store.

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for Early March

Friday

• ham sandwiches on homemade French bread
• canned corn
• canned green beans
• cookies

Saturday

husband cooks

• vegetarian enchiladas
• oranges
• brown rice

Sunday

• ham, French bread and egg strata
• grapes
• celery and carrots sticks
• cookies

Monday

• ham, egg and vegetable fried rice
• tangerines

Tuesday

• lentil and ham soup, with canned pumpkin, celery, onions and garlic
• French bread and butter
• apples

Wednesday

• hot dogs in buns (budget hot dogs, budget buns -- 18 cents per hot dog/bun combo)
• canned green beans sauteed with mushrooms
• rhubarb-blackberry sauce from the freezer

Thursday

• baked chicken breasts
• onion, peppers, garlic, sauteed and added to strips of chicken, wrapped in a
• flour tortilla
• canned pineapple
• pumpkin spice snack cake

How was your week? Do you have spring weather where you live? Anything interesting on your menu this past week?

You may have noticed a few extra produce items for my family. After a couple of months of living off of canned vegetables and frozen fruit, I splurged last Friday and bought some fresh fruit: grapes, oranges, tangerines, apples and bananas. I also found peppers on markdown (3/$1) and mushrooms marked down ($1.29/8-oz). The fresh fruit is our splurge for the month. It's been so refreshing to have these juicy fruits.

Wishing you a lovely weekend!