Friday, May 9, 2014

On the Menu These Past Few Weeks

   Some friends and I have a website where we share what we have made for dinner, how we have saved money, recipes, pray for one another and share our lives among other things.  I am inspired and encouraged by them and I constantly learn something new.  They really do bless me!  Here is just a sampling of some of the meals we have had here over the past few weeks.


Venison Roast, Cheesy Rice and Orange Wedges

Meatloaf, Baked Potatoes, Garlic Roasted Carrots

Coleslaw made with Cabbage, Apples and Craisins

Chicken and Veggie Potstickers

Venison, Yellow Pepper and Onion Stir Fry (this was served with Baked Potatoes)

Spinach, Carrot, Tomato and Cottage Cheese Salad

Bangers (wonderful sausage that brings back all kinds of great childhood memories for me) with Fried Potatoes and Onions

Udon and Miso Soup with Spinach and Green Onions


       Some of the other meals we enjoyed were Pork Roast with Mashed Potatoes, Homemade Chicken and Rice Soup with Homemade Garlic Croutons as a garnish, Smoked Sausages served with Grilled Potatoes, Chips and Carrot Sticks and a big Asian Salad with Shrimp.  I'm thinking that this coming week I will cook up some Salmon and make an Italian Pasta dish of some sort. 

Living Well on a Budget Lately

   The work year for me is starting to wind down and with me also catching yet another virus that is making the rounds, I have not got many days of subbing in lately.  We also still have some major medical bills we are paying on but that has not stopped us from living well while on a tight budget.  Here are just a few things we are doing or have found lately that show that you can live well while on a tight budget. ;)

Yard sale season is upon us and I scored this beauty for $12 last weekend.  It is a large opal and gold scroll work ring.  I looked at the makers mark and found it was made in the early 1900's by a very well known jeweler and is worth quite a bit.  Opals are my favorite gemstone so I was thrilled with this find.

Another yard sale find from last weekend.  Jeff and I loved the show Quantum Leap when it was on TV and were looking for more fun series to watch over the Summer when most of the stuff on TV are reruns.  I got all 3 seasons for $4 each.

I had recently cashed in at Swagbucks for Amazon.com gift cards and was able to get all of the DVDs above for free after my gift card credits.  Handy Manny is for the grandsons and since it is a Disney movie, I added the included code to my Disney Movie Rewards account and am close to being able to get another free movie from them.

While shopping that the Dollar Tree the other day, I ran across these cracker packs that we marked down and are still in date.  They had 7 multipacks (each package has 6 packs) and I got them all at .25 each.  These are so handy to grab and go.

I pulled some previously homemade chicken and rice soup out of the freezer this morning and it is thawing in a pot on the stove.  I'm sick with a cold right now, so this is a perfect, quick and frugal meal for Jeff and I and it sure tastes better than something canned.

The library is our friend. ;)  We borrow dvds from them on a regular basis.  Here are the ones for this week.

I potted up the bottoms of some celery and green onions from the grocery store after I had used up most of it, just leaving the very bottoms.  I now have celery and green onions growing in my pot there.  I am wondering if this would also work with Romaine lettuce and will be trying that.

While cleaning out the raspberry patch, we found these stragglers that went out of the patch boundary so I potted them up and will be giving them away.  While pricing plants the other day at the store, I found these would be selling for $5 and up per start.  I just saved someone $20!