Frugal Friday Wrap Up 4/1/22

 

Saturday:

~Jeff brought home a bunch of free pallets from work that we will be using in the construction of our greenhouse.

~Jeff and I were both wiped out so we rested when he got home from work.  

~We watched several episodes of Survivor.

~Dinner was a salad for me with some of the leftover chicken and grapes added to it and Jeff made himself some sandwiches.

Sunday:

~Jeff worked on fixing the gas cap latch on his car and also did a few other things to it.

~I made a huge pot full of hearty chicken noodle soup using the rest of the chicken from the deli along with carrots, onions, celery and some diced potatoes.  I added some broken up fettuccini noodles that I had leftover from making another dish a few weeks back.  It made for a wonderful meal with lots of leftovers.

~I pulled some homemade applesauce out of the freezer to thaw.

~We took the evening to relax.

~We Facetimed with Josh and Tate. Tate actually said hi and bye to us, showed us his tummy, eyes, mouth, nose and ears and even his feet when asked to by us and interacted much more with us this time.  He is a funny little thing who is extremely happy most of the time, but man, when he is not, you hear and see it.  He is just like his father was at that age. LOL!  

~I dehydrated some fresh strawberries that I sliced up.  I love these!

Monday:

~Two loaves of sandwich bread were made.

~I had some of the leftover soup for lunch.

~Dinner was what I called "Thanksgiving Casserole".  It was a total experiment that came out great! I combined a small can of chicken with its broth (much to the disappointment of the cats who wanted the broth), a can of green beans with their liquid, and a can of cream of mushroom soup.  I seasoned this with a touch of salt and some black pepper.  I then added a box of prepared chicken stuffing to the top of the mixture that I poured into a greased baking dish and covered the dish.  It cooked for about 45 minutes at 400F and I then lowered the heat to 375F with the lid off for another 15 minutes.  The stuffing soaked up most of the liquid in the bottom half of the dish and made for a very delicious meal!  My hubby loved it and so did I!

~Jeff picked up some free ice cream at Safeway on his way home so we had some of that for dessert.  I had downloaded the coupon for the free ice cream onto my Safeway card.

Tuesday:

~I had the leftover casserole for lunch.

~Another "nudging" came over me to get more food set aside and I am so glad that I listened.  I headed into town and was able to find saltines for under $1 a box (I bought 4 boxes), cereals on clearance for $1 a box, big containers of Ricotta cheese for $1 each (I got the two that they had), more canned meats, 10 pounds of white rice, pork loin roasts on sale and some other items to stock the pantry and freezer.

~Safeway's bakery had a bunch of food grade buckets that they gave me for free and the super sweet guy working there said to come bake anytime for more since they have a lot throughout the week.  I use these for gardening, bulk food storage, etc. and I also will be sharing some with my girls.

~Dinner was leftover chicken noodle soup since I was totally wiped out after all that shopping.

~I got 2 more pounds of frozen corn going in the dehydrator.

~Jeff got some compost worked into the front raised garden bed so that it is ready for me to plant lettuce.

Wednesday:

~Safeway's digital coupons were not that great, but I still uploaded the few I could use.  Their sales ad however was pretty good, so I will be making a list and have Jeff pick up some of the items on his way home from work either Friday (after he gets paid again) or early next week.

~I got the 2 pounds of dehydrated corn put way and started another 2 pounds going in the dehydrator.

~One of the $1 containers of Ricotta cheese was used, along with some Parmesan cheese and the last of a block of Mozzarella cheese, to make a nice big lasagna for dinner.  We had this with a side dish of homemade applesauce.  There were leftovers for at least another meal for both Jeff and I.  

~I froze the last of the homemade chicken noodle soup for another meal in the future.

Thursday:

~Jeff took some of the lasagna for his lunch at work and a sandwich to have for dinner before his bowling league.

~I had some of the lasagna for lunch.

~Dinner for me was homemade mashed potatoes along with a asparagus and ham stir fry and some strawberries.

~I worked on the pantry some more and found even more split peas and things. They are a great source of protein and luckily Jeff and I both enjoy split pea soup.

~The dehydrated corn was put away.  I had Jeff try some (dried) and he really liked the taste of it.  It will be handy to have on hand to eat dried and rehydrated.  I would really like to do more of it.

Friday:

~Jeff took the last of the lasagna for his lunch.

~Towels and sheets were washed and hung out on the laundry line to dry.

~I took the kitchen scraps, along with the used coffee grounds out to the compost bin.  I uncovered the bin from the plastic cover we had on it, turned the compost and then left the cover off so that it can get some of the incoming rain on it this weekend.

~Shannon (my much loved hanai sister/neighbor) and I had a lovely visit over the fence.  It was so nice to catch up with her and share hugs.

~Leftover mashed potatoes were my lunch.

~We had pineapple and teriyaki meatballs, along with rice, green beans, and some fresh apple slices for dinner.

~Dessert was more of that Java Chip ice cream that Jeff got for free from Safeway.

Frugal Friday Wrap Up 1/14/22 and 1/21/21

                                

   Hello all. 😄  It's been a busy few weeks and I have not been feeling the greatest.  Fibro, not covid, as far as I know.  Also dealing with some emotional things and that is not fun, but it is needed.  Silver linings...silver linings. 😜 So here are the frugal doings for two weeks, with pictures of some of our meals and things to follow the list.  We do at a variety of foods and I try to do my best not to waste anything.  Now, more than ever, we all need to be mindful of that.  I was completely taken aback at the price hikes in food, especially meat!  I had a conversation with a lady at Grocery Outlet and she said she told her hubby that they may have to go vegetarian because meat prices have gone through the roof.  Cheese prices are also on the rise big time.  I continue to hunt down good deals and stock up on them when available.  Right now we are doing fine and I try to replace whatever we use ASAP with at least one, or maybe two, of that same item the next time I find it.  It helps keep me sane.  Now onto the savings!

Week 1.....

Weekend:

~Jeff helped Chris with his pole barn/shop build both Saturday and Sunday.  Free labor is a huge blessing for Chris, especially when he had his father, father-in-law and friend helping.  Both Jeff and Bruce (FIL) have lots of construction experience and Bruce was also able to borrow some equipment from work to help lift the trusses up for the roof. Jeff and Bruce both also have a lot of tools to help with the build and Chris has been adding to his tool collection too!

~Saturday I made 4 jars of raspberry jelly with some of the raspberries that I had picked and frozen over the Summer.  Jeff is not a fan of raspberry jelly, so most of these will become gifts.  I still have so many more frozen blackberries and raspberries to use up so there is more jelly making in my future.  I do them in small batches because that is about all I can handle at one time.  Luckily I have a good supply of jars and lids here at home.

~I made a delicious pork loin roast for dinner on Saturday.  I served it with rice, green beans and a salad.  I saved some of the roast to use in another meal.  We also had leftover rice that will also go into another meal.

~I was craving "comfort food", so I made some udon noodle soup and added some Swiss chard that I had picked from our garden before the big freeze along with some green onion (also from the garden and frozen) and some other things to it.  So good and filling on a cold winter day!

~Sunday I video chatted with Josh for a short bit.  He had just dropped off the dogs at their dog sitter since Lauren and Tate are in Ohio for her uncle's funeral and Josh has to head out for a week of training.  Hopefully he will be able to see our hanai son #4 Lee while he is at training in Colorado this week.

~I froze some bananas that will be perfect for banana bread.

~I used the leftover rice to make Taco rice for Sunday's dinner.  It is super easy to make:  

Taco Rice

Just brown some burger meat of your choice and add some minced onion, celery and taco seasoning to it.  When that is all sauteed up nicely add a can of rinsed black beans, a can of diced tomatoes with their juice, a can of corn, again with it's juice, and let simmer for 10 minutes to allow for the flavors to blend. Then add leftover cooked rice to it and mix in well.  Allow this to simmer on low for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Serve with some shredded cheddar cheese on top.  The leftovers are great for lunch or can be repurposed into an amazing burrito filling (which is what I plan on doing with most of it).  I usually make a batch of the burritos and freeze them into portion sizes for Jeff to take to work with him to have for lunch.

~I pulled some cooked squash and onion out of the freezer to thaw.  I will make a squash casserole with this later in the week.

Monday:

~I called Dollar Tree to see if they had their garden seeds in yet and they did!  I quickly showered and got ready and then headed into town.  I stocked up on lots of seeds 4/$1, 6 laundry detergents in the larger bottles (they are downsizing the bottles), a few grocery items including cotto salami lunchmeat for Jeff, some OTC medications, a few cleaning items and 2 shirts at $1 each for Jeff.

~My next stop was Marshall's where I had a $25 gift card from Jeff to spend.  I ended up getting 2 pairs of pajamas on clearance.  The girl just finished marking down one of the pairs when I asked her what the price was since I could not find it earlier.

~Winco was my final stop.  I picked up a few items including cabbage, milk, Powerade, bagels, canned chicken, carrots, coffee, and frozen pie crusts.

~Once I arrived home,  I got the oven heating up and then popped in a frozen pizza for dinner.  I was exhausted after all the shopping and driving.

Tuesday (exhausted Fibro flare day):

~Even though I went to bed at 11p.m. last night and woke up at 8:30, I was still super exhausted.  I gave myself grace, had some coffee and a snack, watched some TV and then laid down to rest.

~After my rest, I made a squash casserole with some of the squash that I had cooked up and bagged, then frozen, in Ziplock bags.  It was wonderful to have it at this time of year.  Thank you again SJ for the wonderful suggestion!

~Jeff picked up the free pizza that I had uploaded onto our Safeway card.

~Jeff had hot dogs for dinner.

Wednesday:

~I used some of the Taco rice to make burritos by also adding some cheese to the filling.  I froze those burritos and the rest of the leftover taco rice for another meal.  I freeze the burritos in pairs in a sandwich type Ziplock bag and then put all of those bags in another Ziplock bag.

~Looking through our big chest freezer, I found some pulled pork and put that in our inside refrigerator to thaw.

~The leftover pork loin roast was cut up, along with some cabbage, carrots,celery and onions.  I then used that to make Peanut sauced Lo Mein for dinner.   It is nice to be able to vary the flavor profiles of our meals during the week.  Since Asian foods are comfort foods to me, and I am trying not to eat out this month, this gives me the "fix" I need. 😉

~More digital coupons were uploaded onto my Safeway card including a $5 off a $5 purchase.  I will have Jeff stop by there on Thursday night before he goes to bowling to pick up a few things and hopefully it will be just a bit over the $5 which will apply the coupon.  I need some rolls for the pulled pork sandwiches that we are going to have Friday night for dinner.

Thursday:

~Shannon came over for a visit and I gave her a jar of my homemade raspberry jelly.  It was so good to have some time to just sit and get caught up with each other after the busy holiday season.

~We had the momma moose and her two babies make a visit in our neighborhood again.  This time they were up eating apples that had fallen to the ground at our neighbor's property.  I love seeing them come and visit.  They provide the cats and I lots of entertainment.

~I had leftovers for lunch and Jeff took two of the burritos I made yesterday for his lunch.

~Jeff picked up cheese at Safeway and using the digital coupons, he got it for one cent!  The cashier asked him how he did it and he explained combining the digital coupons to get that deal so she could so it herself.

~He went to Winco to get the hamburger buns since they are cheaper there.  He also picked up more creamer for me.  He told me that the only creamer they had in the flavor I asked for was in the huge containers.  That is fine with me since I drink a lot of coffee.  Apparently, the creamer section was pretty sparse according to him.

~I had some canned tamales for dinner since Jeff had his bowling league and I think he took something for dinner with him or he could have used his gift card for Arby's to pick something up.

Friday:

~I got a call from my health insurance company telling me they never got my December payment.  I checked to make sure that we did mail it out and we did.  The other checks for payments to other companies also went out at the same time and many of them have been cashed.  The check for the health insurance had not been cashed yet so I called them and had them put a tracer on it from their end.  Between the holidays, mail delays and being short staffed on their end, the check may just be laying there waiting to be posted to my account and then cashed.  I should know in a few days if they find it and post it.

~The covid cases are soaring again in our state, along with Idaho.  Both are going to crisis care mode again for the hospitals and some clinics.  The Nation Guard has been called in to help in many of the hospitals, including in Spokane. That means nonessential surgeries are once again being cancelled.  Some school districts are going back to online learning due to staffing shortages, which really hurts the kids who have already gone through so much.  I am so thankful for a very stocked pantry so that I do not need to be out grocery shopping or be around crowds.  Shannon told me NOT to go out without an N95 mask right now and she is picking some up for me in Spokane since they are all out in our area.  I listen to her since she works at one of the largest hospitals in Spokane and knows what is really going on.  She is also a very level headed person who is not an alarmist.  Jeff will still pick up the odds and ends we might need since he still has to go to work and I am not asking him to stop his bowling league, which is very small.  He needs that outlet. There is a good chance that it will be shut down if things continue to get worse anyway.

Week 2.....

~We went over to help Chris and Heather on the pole building Saturday.  Heather was making lunch and I added 2 bags of chips and a reduced price veggie tray to it.  It was so good!

~I hit the jackpot at one of our local IGA stores on Sunday.  The reduced refrigerator section had 2 packages of fresh tortellini and 8 packages of teriyaki and pineapple chicken meatballs for $1 each!  I bought them all!  Seven of the meatball packages were frozen for future meals.

~Sunday's dinner was both packages of tortellini with  a homemade cheese sauce.  There were plenty of leftovers and I had some for my lunch the next day.

~Both the federal and our state were offering free covid rapid tests, so I ordered from both sites.  I know that the federal offer was for 4 tests regardless of family size and we know families with more than 4 members, so we can share the tests with them if needed.

~I took one of the packages of teriyaki meatballs and made a teriyaki sauce to simmer it in.  I added sweet red pepper slices from the freezer to it also and served this over rice.

~Tuesday evening we went to Winco to stock up on bulk items like baking supplies and popcorn, and also got some cabbage, toilet paper, dishwasher detergent, Powerade, apples, sweet potatoes and bananas.  Apples were half the price there as other places and many other stores were completely out of certain produce items.

~We also went to the Dollar Tree on Tuesday evening and picked up more seeds, some gardening gloves for me, shampoo that Jeff prefers and conditioner for my hair.  

~One of the other meals I made this week was a thin cut pork chop and stuffing bake.  It was delicious!  I served homemade applesauce from our freezer with it.

~Jeff had his bowling league Thursday night so I made a shrimp and cabbage Asian style for my dinner.

~Jeff picked up my prescription while in town for his bowling league.

~I uploaded a free pizza to my Safeway card and Jeff picked it up Friday on his way home from work.

~I had messaged Jeff about bringing home Panda Express for dinner on Friday night and then messaged him back saying never mind and that we would have pizza instead and save the money. 😉

~There were a bunch of loose spices that I had in small bags.  I got them all in small glass jars and shakers then labeled them with a chalk pen marker that I had gotten on a previous trip to Dollar Tree.

~Some of the leftover rice was warmed up along with a half a can of chili for my lunch during the week.

~Plain water just does not do it for me so I have been adding some peach iced tea mix to it.  I already had this in my pantry so that is a winning situation for me.

Following are some pictures from the last two weeks:

   I would like to encourage anyone reading this to continue building your pantries.  We are seeing shortages in our area and it is just going to get worse for awhile with the new mandatory "Fauci Ouchie" in place now for truck drivers in both Canada and the USA.  Cases are drastically rising in our area and I feel like it is just a matter of time before Jeff and I do end up with it.  Both of us have been super tired the past few days.  I am praying we are not coming down with anything since there are also colds and the flu making the rounds, along with strep throat.  I am as prepared as I can be and made some of the lemon/honey/ginger syrup today to have on hand.  I like it in tea, water or even just a spoonful at a time.  Jeff, not so much.  He is not a fan of lemonade, and it kind of tastes like that with a ginger "kick" to it.  Be blessed all and stay healthy!

My Favorite Biscuit Recipe

 

As per request by Bless, here it the biscuit recipe that I have used for years and have never had a bad with it.  It is from an old Farmer's Almanac Cook Book from 1959 (if I am reading the roman numerals correctly).  Here it is:

Sift together 2 cups sifted flour, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 3 teaspoons baking powder.  Add 4 tablespoons liquid shortening mixed together with 3/4 cup milk.  Mix to a soft dough.  Pat down on a lightly floured board and roll to 1/4 inch thick (I just pat it down to that thickness). Cut with a small biscuit cutter (or just make a large rectangle shape with the dough and then cut it with a pizza cutter to make life faster and easier) and place on an ungreased baking sheet.  Bake 10-12 minutes at 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

My notes are in parenthesis and I also double this recipe when I make it to get the amount you see in the picture above.  These have always been a huge hit with our entire family.

Zucchini Casserole Recipe

 

  Here is my favorite squash casserole recipe.  You can use a combination of yellow squash along with the zucchini or just use either as they are interchangeable in this recipe.

3 medium zucchini

1 sleeve of crackers (can use saltines or Ritz type crackers)

1/4 stick of butter

1 egg

1/2 cup milk 

1/2 a medium diced onion

1 cup cheese

1 Tablespoon sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

Wash and cut the squash.  Parboil the onions and the squash until the zucchini is tender.  Drain and mash, adding the butter at this point.  Add the sleeve of crackers that you have crushed well.  Beat egg into milk and add the sugar, salt and pepper. Add the shredded cheese and mix in. Pour into a greased baking dish.  Bake 1 hour at 325 F.

Frugal Friday Wrap Up 9/4/2020

This is what I woke up to this morning :

123 New Cases Of Coronavirus Confirmed In Whitman County So Far This Weekend-No Deaths-No Current Hospitalizations

September 6, 2020 Evan Ellis News

123 new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed so far this holiday weekend in Whitman County.

Whitman County Public Health reports that all of the patients are stable and self-isolating.  All of them are in the age brackets under 39 years old.

Sunday’s 67 cases are a record for most reported in one day by Whitman County Public Health.

There have been 688 new cases of coronavirus confirmed in Whitman County over the past 2 weeks.  Nearly all of those patients are in the age brackets under 39 years old.

There has been a total of 830 cases of coronavirus confirmed in Whitman County since the pandemic began.  No one has died from coronavirus in Whitman County.  There are currently no hospitalizations involving a coronavirus patient in Whitman County.

 https://pullmanradio.com/123-new-cases-of-coronavirus-confirmed-in-whitman-county-so-far-this-weekend-no-deaths-no-current-hospitalizations/

   Yep, things are getting scarier and scarier around here.  Jeff and I have been doing all we can to be as prepared as possible since the numbers just keep going up.  I meant to get this post up yesterday but, with the numbers rising, we decided to go shopping early in the morning on Saturday as soon as Jeff got home from work.  I stayed up waiting for him so we were able to be in the store by 5 a.m. when they were throwing freight and there were only 2 other shoppers in there, one of which we knew.  We figured that after this holiday weekend the numbers would get even worse (according to my friend who is a contact tracer it should explode) and we wanted to get what we needed before that happened with as little risk to us as possible.  Having done that, yesterday was a complete bust on getting anything else done since we slept after we got home and it threw both of us off so we decided to just take the day off from everything else.  So here is my late (as usual) Frugal Friday post...

Saturday:
~I harvested apples, blackberries, tomatoes and some fresh thyme and sage.
~The fresh thyme and sage were dried to use later.
~Jeff took down the fencing from around the blackberry bushes to make harvesting easier now since Caesar is no longer here and able to steal them all right off the bush.
~I made lemon chicken pasta and added fresh thyme, squash, cut up cherry tomatoes, red bell peppers and garlic to it.  Very yummy and it only used one large chicken breast cut up into bite sized pieces.  We even had leftovers for another meal.
~Roses were cut from our rosebushes to make a pretty bouquet for in the house.

Sunday:
~Leftovers for lunch.
~Ordered a new hose for Jeff's CPAP machine online.  It was cheaper even with shipping than buying it locally.
~Jeff added to the compost pile with the grass clipping from mowing and the apples that fell off the apple tree.
~Jeff took a 5 gallon bucket and drilled a few holes in the bottom of it.  He then put it at the base of each of the new fruits tree and filled it with water.  I learned that trees really like this because the water goes deeper down than if you just spray some water on it.
~I had one thawed chicken breast in the refrigerator and turned it into some delicious orange chicken to be served over rice.  I also threw some red pepper strips in there for added color and nutrition.
~Jeff made a batch of brownies.

Monday:
~Jeff had leftover pancakes for breakfast.
~We had the engine light come on in my car so we got that checked out for free.
~Jeff and I had leftovers for dinner.
~I had a bagel with cream cheese and some pears slices for a late night snack.
~I watched a video about how to make homemade herb salts and another on how to preserve cherry tomatoes in olive oil...I want to try to do both.
~Watered in the evening again.

Tuesday:
~I made some homemade hummus...I like it way better than store bought.  Another experiment that turned out great!
~I made 22 homemade burritos and froze most of them for future meals.
~Using up some yellow squash to make a squash casserole.  One of my favorites.
~Two more loaves of bread were made.
~Tomatoes and blackberries were harvested.
~I took a short walk, a very short walk.

Wednesday:
~I made some homemade herb salt with herbs from our garden.  It should be delicious on all kinds of meats and even in pasta dishes this Fall and Winter.  I got the idea from The Elliott Homestead blog. https://theelliotthomestead.com/2020/08/homemade-flavored-salts/
~I used the lemon that I got the lemon rind from for the salts to make lemonade with.  I also cut the juiced rind and put that down the garbage disposal to clean and deodorize it.
~Jeff ordered the part for our hot tub to fix it and is having it sent up for free with the company he works for.
~Our order came in from Walmart in a huge box.  We are keeping the box for Steven to make a fort with.

Thursday:
~Jeff's birthday!!!  All he wanted from me was his favorite meal.  I made teriyaki meatloaf, roasted garlic potatoes and diced up some fresh pears to go with it.
~I found the perfect birthday card for Jeff in my greeting card stash.
~Jeff's work gave him a very nice birthday card and goodie bag.  They really are sweet!
~Jeff made out very well gift wise.  He already was given Chris's old truck for his birthday and Jaysn and Rachel gave us that money that I mentioned in another post.  Josh then gifted his father with a really nice gun and ammo. Yes, those kids love and adore their Dad...we are so blessed!

Friday:
~I whittled down my grocery stock up on what ingredients I could substitute in recipes based on what I had on hand.
~I figured out a way to make our favorite broccoli cheese Rice a Roni with plain rice and some bulk broccoli cheese soup mix that I bought on clearance awhile back.
~More cherry tomatoes were harvested.
~Jeff worked on fixing the leak in the hot tub.
~Uncle Bob came over and gave us some tomatoes and cucumbers from his garden.
~I took one of the very ripe tomatoes that Uncle Bob gave us and made tomato cream gravy to go over toast for my dinner.

I hope that everyone has a safe and covid free weekend!

Lemon/Honey/Ginger Syrup

The syrup right after I made it and before the honey and lemon juice started mixing together.

   Barb in PA asked me to share my Lemon/Honey/Ginger syrup.  I do everything by eye so here is my "method" for making it.  I take a finger sized chunk of ginger and peel it with a spoon.  I find this the easiest way to peel ginger.  I cut in up in thin slices and then mince it up fine and throw it in a quart sized mason jar.  I then wash and slice lemons thinly.  and then cut those slices in half.  I put those in the jar layering them.  This usually uses about 5-6 lemons, depending on their size.  After this is done, I pour honey into the jar and use a chopstick or butter knife along the side of the jar to help it get down and all around the lemon slices.  I fill the honey almost to the top of the jar, leaving some headspace.  I don't have exact measurements on this.  I put a canning jar lid and ring on the jar and then tip it upside  down and shake it a bit before putting in in the refrigerator.  Within a day, you will start to see some syrup forming.  Shake your jar before using this.

   I like to use about 6 tablespoons in a mug of hot water as a nice drink to sooth my throat and also to boost my vitamin C levels.  It tastes delicious and is a great drink before bedtime or first thing in the morning.

Homemade Pancake Mix Recipe (as requested)

When You Are Craving Arby's But Can't Go

   Jeff and I love Arby's roast beef sandwiches but, for us, they can be quite spendy when you consider that we have to drive about 28 miles to even get to the restaurant.  When you factor that in, along with the time it takes to drive there, eat, and drive back home and that we rarely get out of there for under $20, we had to come up with a different way to do things.  I decided that I could make them at home for a fraction of the price and it would be healthier too.

   I had bought hamburger buns on sale and a package of roast beef that was marked down at the Walmart deli.  I had both cheddar and swiss cheese at home, along with all the condiments needed.  In addition to this, there were sweet potatoes in the pantry that needed to be used along with an abundance of apples since we had recently stocked up on them when they were on sale.

   A large sweet potato was washed and sliced into thin rounds and then I used some salt and chipotle seasoning on them after praying them with some oil.  These were baked at 425F for 25 minutes.  About 10 minutes before they were finished baking, I got to work on the sandwiches.  I made Jeff's sandwiches with Miracle Whip, honey mustard, 2 slices of the roast beef for each sandwich and a slice of sharp cheddar cheese per sandwich.  Mine were made with honey mustard, 2 slices of roast beef per sandwich and some shredded swiss cheese.  I cooked them in the microwave, covered, for 1 minute so that they would be warmed up and the cheese would be melted.  I also cut up an apple into slices and Jeff and I shared that.

   When I broke down how much our meal cost. I came up with the figure of about $4.50 for everything.  We got better quality meat and cheese, the potato rounds were not deep fried and we had some healthy fruit to go with it all.  Our meal also tasted much better than anything we could have gotten at Arby's.  I know that some may question why I had 2 sandwiches also but that was the first meal I had eaten all day and I later had some cottage cheese around 10:30 at night.  I usually only eat 2 meals a day.

   Meals like this are easy for me to make and satisfy those cravings for "fast foods" that we love.  Considering that I never know how my health will be from day to day and that I don't have to get myself ready and dressed, in and out of the car, etc., and then come home exhausted, it is also an energy saver for me.  I was able to be in my jammies and rest between getting the sweet potatoes ready and in the oven for about 10 minutes before I needed to get started on the sandwiches and cut up the apple.  It may not seem like much, but for me, that can be the difference between me being able to get dinner made or having to have Jeff do it.  I do enjoy cooking and seeing how happy my hubby is to have some of his favorite meals, so this is a win-win all the way around. 🍔

Frugal Friday Wrap Up 11/1-11/7 2019

Portuguese Sausage and Potato Hash

Friday:

~Jeff and I did the grocery shopping and stocked up on baking supplies that were on sale that we needed.  We also stocked up on basics and used coupons and sales to further save money.  Our shopping was done at Winco, Rosauers and Dollar Tree.  We spent about $100 total including HBA items.  That should get us through for at least 3 weeks with only picking up fresh fruit, milk and a few items that I forgot even though they were on the list. Fibro fog was bad that day!
~At the Dollar Tree we also picked up toothbrushes (2 pack), antiperspirant, and some half off Halloween candy (candy corn).  I want to try a recipe for making Butterfinger candy with the candy corn.  I had everything else needed for the recipe at home.
~I watched a movie on YouTube.

Saturday:
~Jeff and I stayed home for the day so that we could get caught up on things around the house.
~Jeff worked in the yard finishing getting it ready for winter and sued some of the leaves that he raked up to put around our pear trees that have metal fencing around them.  This works as a great mulch to help protect the roots and also breaks down into compost as the Spring arrives.
~I baked two loaves of homemade bread, cooked a marked down pork roast in the crockpot and also piggy back backed some squash after the bread came out of the oven.
~In trying to get ready for the colder months where I do not venture out much, I took inventory of our HBA supplies so that I know where the gaps are that need to be filled in and started a list for them.
~Laundry was caught up and I finished unpacking some of the things that we had taken over for the kids to use in their wedding.
~Beautiful music soothes my soul and I have found myself listening to some of it via YouTube on a daily basis again.
~We used out hot tube to soak our sore muscles.
~Jeff and I were watching movies on YouTube and they had the Gilligan's Island "The Castaways" on.  I immediately recognized the flyover of the resort that the Howell's supposedly built and laughed at some of the things they modeled the resort after.  I can tell that the writers spent a lot of time down at Kona Village Resort and loosely modeled  the resort in the movie on that and used shots, hidden phones in the lobby, etc.  from KVR as part of the movie.  I had never seen the movie before but it brought back great memories for me because Kona Village Resort was my second home growing up since my father was the assistant manager and later manager there for 38 years.  All the buildings have now been torn down after damage from the tsunami and neglect, but it is being rebuilt by some of the same guests, who are now the new owners of it, who enjoyed it for so many years.
~We enjoyed munching on popcorn popped the old fashioned way while watching the movies.

Cookbooks I picked up at Goodwill

Sunday:
~Jeff worked some more on the garden beds getting them ready for Winter.
~Jeff and I went to Goodwill and found a shirt and leggings for me, pants for Steven, a cd for Jeff, brand new curtains for our guest room, a purse that I have wanted for years after having sold them when I was a teenager, and 2 cookbooks.
~We picked up more discounted candy at Winco since we had to go back there to get Canadian Bacon since I forgot it last time.  I had promised Isaiah and Bradley that we would make homemade pizzas this coming weekend and that was requested as one of the toppings.
~We hot tubbed again and it felt so good!
~I used up the last half of the bottle of red wine from my girl's night last week and made mulled red wine with it.  I cut a tangerine and put it in while it simmered.  So good!
~Jeff and I watched a Christmas movie on YouTube.  I am excited about Christmas this year.
~Chris called to tell us Heather got her doe.  They are giving us all the meat from it since Chris already got a buck and is going to try to get another doe.  Venison is my favorite red meat.  We are going to help them butcher and wrap but we are sending some of it to be made into ground venison and will pay for that and for it to be wrapped by the butcher.  Luckily we have a good family connection with the butcher so we get the family discount.
~Jeff and I both had coupons for a free item (up to $13.50) with any purchase at Bath and Body Works.  Their Fall fragrances were on sale so we got two of the small apple fragrances that I love and then got two of their full sized aromatherapy lotions for free.

Monday:
~I borrowed a book and a movie from the library.
~Yaki Soba was on the menu for dinner.  I used some of the leftover pork roast in it.
~We got all the bedding washed on our bed.
~I had the last cup of the leftover hot mulled wine in the afternoon to help take the edge off my pain.
~Caesar and I went for a short walk.  Normally this would be a great thing to do on a beautiful Fall day but half way through my back went out and then my neck followed.  OUCH!
~I put in requests for some new movies that are currently in cataloging through the library.
~Bradley's Lego magazine came in so we will be taking that out to him on Tuesday when we go out to butcher the deer.
~My onions had all gone bad so I rehydrated some of my dehydrated ones to use in a potato and sausage fry for breakfast.
~I signed up for some free dog food samples.

Pork Roast, Wild Rice Mix and Acorn Squash

Tuesday:
~We went over to Chris and Heather's to butcher the dear Heather got.  Heather set me up in a chair to watch since I was in a bad flare. We brought home venison steaks and stew meat.
~Jeff and I picked up a reduced priced pizza, some chips and some cupcakes that were all on clearance when we dropped off some of the venison to be made into burger meat.  It made dinner so much easier and faster.
~Jeff picked up some freezer paper on his way to work so I can double wrap all the meat.  We already put them in ziplock bags that I got from the Dollar Tree but I like that extra layer of protection from frost and it keeps them from getting freezer burn.

Wednesday:
~I found a sleep eye mask in my HBA stash and used it to help block out the light in the morning so I could sleep longer.  I am hyper sensitive to light so this helped.
~I worked my points programs.
~More shows were watched online.
~I cooked up some wild rice mix and had that with leftover pork roast, leftover acorn squash and some pears for dinner.

Cookbook and movie borrowed from the library.

Thursday:
~I again put some beautiful music on via YouTube.  I love calm piano music...it really is soothing and reminds of the days in the past where I would sit at the piano and play for hours just making things up and letting the stress leave my body and soul.
~Jeff picked up an item that the consignment store decided not to sell and also picked up a check for things that had sold.  He did this on his way to his bowling league since he was going right by there anyway.
~I watched some videos on homemade Christmas gifts and make ahead meals.  It gave me great ideas!  There is a recipe on how to make vanilla extract in you Instantpot is life changing. How to make Vanilla Extract in your Instantpot.  The recipe comes near the end of the video.
~It's that time of year where I keep a cozy sweater on the back of my recliner that I can slip on when I feel a chill coming on.  I also have throws on all the chairs and couch so everyone can have one of those too.
~Jeff had bowling league so dinner for me was Easy Mac and some Spring Rolls from the Dollar Tree.  It may not have been the healthiest meal ever, but it was quick, easy and comfort food.
~I've been reading two cookbooks I picked up at Goodwill.  Both are amazing!


   I hope anyone reading this has a wonderful weekend!  Be blessed!

Slugs on the Ceiling, Oil on Doorknobs and a Sink Full of Chicken

   Oh what a morning it has already been and it is just a little after 8 a.m.!  I got up, turned on the coffee maker and went to let Caesar out into the backyard.  It had rained last night and we had a small thunderstorm so everything smelled nice and fresh, just the way I like it. :)  However, that thunderstorm seemed to have caused something I have never experienced before...slugs on the metal roof and inside ceiling of our screened in porch.  This was not a sight I really wanted to see first thing in the morning before I even had coffee in me.  I got the offenders down before the cats flipped out and went after them.  Somehow the thought of them eating slugs makes me want to gag. 😝

   Next on the agenda was to get my computer out of the front bedroom so that I could check on the weather forecast for the day.  My sinuses and head were telling me it might be a doozy of a day and I wanted to check and see.  I went to grab to doorknob and found it covered with motor oil.  All I can figure is that my husband decided to change the oil in one of the cars when he got home early this morning and while I was still asleep.  Either that or we have a bad oil leak in one of the the cars and he was checking on that...I sure hope not.  That is the last thing we need right now.  Either way, it was gross and I was not happy at all about it.

   Now, for the sink full of frozen chicken.  I need to get enough chicken cooked for our family reunion next week.  I am making shoyu chicken, which I will precook and then freeze so I can safely take it over with me.  We will then thaw it out and throw it on the grill to caramelize.  It is amazing stuff!  I found the chicken thighs on sale awhile back and bought 8 packages of them.  Each package has 6 large thighs in it.  I am cooking up 7 of those packages later today.  That should give me 42 pieces of chicken to feed 18 people (well 19 if you count Steven, but he is not eating that kind of food yet).  I figured on 2 pieces of chicken each with a few extras.  One of the 18 does not eat meat so he will just have the side dishes and one of my nephews will just eat one piece, while the other, who is a teenager will most likely have 2 or 3 pieces.  I never know with my older two grandsons how much they will eat but I do know they love chicken fixed this way so I am thinking 2 for each of them.  I'll cook the chicken in batches reusing the same sauce for all the batches.  It takes a lot of soy sauce to make this dish since you have to boil the chicken in equal parts sugar, soy sauce and water with some garlic and ginger added in also.  Luckily, I stocked up on soy sauce when it was on sale awhile back also.  I'll serve brown rice, salad and corn as the side dishes and will figure out a dessert also.  This is typical Hawaiian style comfort food.  My youngest brother's wife, Christie, was also raised in Hawaii and their kids eat lots of local style foods so I figured this was a safe bet since their youngest son is a very picky eater.  I also know it is a winner with everyone else in the family.

   So that is the start to my day.  I'm now sitting out on the porch with my coffee, listening to the dog next door bark because he is not happy about being told he has to go potty before being let in the house.  Poor Ollie, he is a cutie and I love him. ;)  Meanwhile, my Caesar is just laying out there in the yard enjoying the cooler weather with that super thick coat of fur of his.  What a life!

   

Honey, Ginger and Lemon Syrup

    I thought I would share with you how I made some Honey, Ginger and Lemon Syrup.  I got the recipe idea from Big Family Homestead.  They have a wonderful YouTube channel that I enjoy watching.  They make a large jar full each time but I opted to make a smaller jar of it to see if I like it first.  I now wish I had made a larger jar!  They say they take about 2 tablespoons when they have a cold or cough and that it is also great to stir into tea.  Well it is good and it actually makes for a really nice hot drink at night if you stir in about 4 tablespoons (or more) into a mug of hot water.  I have been having some most nights and I find I sleep better when I do this too.  So here is the "recipe"...

Scrape the skin off about a 5 inch piece of ginger with a spoon.  This is the easiest way I know of to peel ginger.

Finely mince your ginger.

Thinly slice and quarter an organic lemon.

Start layering the ginger and lemon slices.

Pour some honey over the layers and use a plastic knife or even a chopstick to make sure it gets down and around all the layers.  If you can find local honey, use that for it's help in fighting local allergens. If not, any other honey will do.

Here is what my final product looked like.  I used a half pint jar and had about half of my minced ginger leftover so I froze it for future use.  This can last up to a month in your refrigerator.  Next time I am making it in a much larger jar so I can make a larger batch since I like to enjoy some each evening.

My Scrapple Recipe

 

   I have had people ask me how I make my Scrapple so I thought I would share the recipe.  Keep in mind this is not the authentic Scrapple, but something that tastes very similar to it and is much easier to make. 😉  For me, Scrapple is comfort food and something that my mother and I used to enjoy as a special treat.  I searched for years to find a recipe that was easy and had the same flavor profile and finally hit on this one.

Brown 1 1/2 pounds of sausage in a large saucepan.  You can use plain ground sausage or Sage sausage (which will save you a step).  Do not drain the fat!

While that is browning get your other ingredients ready.  2 2/3 cup water, 1 cup cornmeal, 1 t. salt, 1 to 2 t. sage depending on how much sage you like (omit if using sage sausage), and 1/4 t. of pepper or a bit more to taste.

Add your water and seasonings and the bring to a boil.

Slowly mix in your cornmeal and then simmer it for about 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes.

Put the mixture into a parchment or wax paper lined loaf pan and then refrigerate until cold and firm.

Slice it up into about 1/2 inch slices and fry up until browned in a skillet.  You will not need to put oil in the pan since there is already oil from the sausage.  Enjoy!