Last Week's Frugal Accomplishments and Blessings (Plus Menu!)

I really like the idea of talking about Frugal Accomplishments and Blessings.  I got the idea from The Prudent Homemaker, whose blog and website are beautiful, inspirational and educational.  I count it, and her, among my many blessings!

I took Daughter to a free library program about raptors (birds of prey).  It was a really great program, but it just kept getting better!  Daughter really, really likes birds, and has learned a lot about them.  After the program we were talking to the presenters about her love of birds, where we live, etc.  In the end, we brought them all home with us, and they let one of the hawks and one of the falcons do a little hunting on our little farm.  It was an amazing experience to talk with the falconers and learn even more about these amazing raptors.  Neither bird caught anything, but they were mostly getting a sense of the lay of the land, and teaching us how to help flush out rabbits.  (We are overrun with rabbits.)  They plan to return and hunt again, and were nice enough to let Daughter participate.  It was amazing, and we are really looking forward to next time they can come!

Nike is a Prairie Falcon.

Nike, in flight to one of the handlers.

Nike wanted to 'play' rather than hunt.  She was having a good time!

Also, we borrowed books and media from the library.

We used our wood stove to heat our home and save on propane use.

I used homemade laundry soap and dried our clothes on wooden drying racks in our basement.

A friend of mine was kind enough to watch Daughter on the day I had to go speak at the Planning Commission hearing.  Having a friend that you trust with your children is such a blessing.  While I could have taken Daughter with me, she would have been just as miserable as all the rest of us that were there.  It was a very, very long hearing.  I was there from 9am to about 4pm....I left at that time because I had given my talk and there was literally  nothing more that I could do.  The hearing continued until 8:45 that night.  For those of you that are curious, the Planning Commission's recommendation was for denial of the changes to the project.  This is encouraging...sort of.  The final say comes from the Board of County Commissioners.  They may, or may not, take the Planning Commission's recommendation under consideration.  Those of us that are involved in this process have a lot of work to do in the next few weeks.  Your prayers are appreciated.

We did some stocking up this past week.  I bought 25 pounds of long grain white rice.  It will last us a very long time, and the price was considerably better than buying it in a smaller amount.  Also, it came in a woven sack that I can make into a tote bag.  We also got organic apples for .99 a pound, 2 lb. bags of carrots for .99, leaf lettuce (romaine) for .88 a head, onions for .34 a pound and broccoli for .98 a pound.  Milk is 1.99 a gallon this week.  We found organic coconut palm sugar on the markdown shelf for 1.99 a pound.  I bought 6 pounds, which ought to last us a long while.  It does not raise blood sugar the way that cane sugar does, and it has more of the minerals still intact.  It is most definitely more costly than cane sugar, but we are trying to use healthier ingredients when and where we are able.

I used sales/double coupons to get 20-24 oz. bottles of Dawn dish soap for 1.40 each, which is a good price (here) for that size container.  I got a 4 pack of TP for .35 after sale and double coupon, and I got a tube of Colgate toothpaste free after sale and double coupon.

I ground up two turkey thighs (no skin) and used them the way we would use ground beef.  I made some taco meat that we used for taco salads, and seasoned the rest and cooked it for Shepherd's pie.  The Shepherd's pie is on the menu for this week, so I froze that meat to keep it fresh.  Right now, ground beef is about 3.99 a pound here for 80% lean (that is on sale).  I paid .49-.79 a pound for the turkeys.  I wrapped and froze the bones and skin to put in the stock pot the next time I make stock.

Daughter did a great job shaping this loaf.  Homemade bread,
homemade strawberry jam...life is good!

I baked bread this week too.  I have a recipe we like, that I sort-of followed.  It calls for oats, but I used a multi-grain rolled cereal mix that I had in the pantry.  Where it called for butter, I used coconut oil, because I am able to get coconut oil for less than butter.  I used honey in place of the molasses, because I have a lot more honey on hand than molasses.  I actually reduced both the coconut oil and the honey and added two eggs, because I have a lot of eggs and need to use them.  I used a combination of unbleached all purpose flour and freshly-milled hard white and hard red wheat.  The recipe is supposed to make two loaves of bread, but we shape it into four smaller loaves.  We ate some of one loaf, I sliced the rest of it and another, then I froze two for upcoming weeks.  Daughter shaped one of the loaves for me and did a beautiful job!

Here is the recipe for that bread.  This cookbook is from the Good Shepherd United Methodist Church in Murray, KY.

I bought some things at Michaels and used a 50% off coupon and a 40% off coupon.  I really need to ban myself from craft stores....sigh.  Husband and I each get 'allowance' each month - some money we can spend any way we like (or save, or give away - it is up to use how we use it), and that is the money I spend, but I am feeling the need to challenge myself to use what's on hand and be more resourceful.

I took on about 10 hours of subbing at the library for the month of January.  It is not a lot, but it does help us financially.

We recently got new brakes for our truck.  We didn't really have a good feeling about the place we used, when all was said and done.  This week, the parking brake stopped working.  We took it back to the same place, because we expected them to fix what they quite possibly set too tight, but they said it was broken and would be nearly $200 to repair.  No, thank you.  For now, we are going to chock the wheels when we park (I found two pieces of firewood in our wood pile that will work perfectly.).  We have been watching some repair videos on YouTube and we will very likely do the repair ourselves when the weather warms up.  We do not drive the truck that often and we feel like this will work just fine for us.

Husband fixed the outdoor water hydrant that was 'stuck'.  He is AWESOME.

Here is the dinner menu for this week.  Having a menu planned helps me use what I have on hand, and there is less waste.  It's also a big stress-reliever for me, because I know early in the day what is supposed to happen that evening:

M:  lasagna casserole made w/Italian sausage, saute'ed zucchini, fresh pineapple
T:   shoyu turkey, rice, kimchee, mixed vegetable stir fry, sliced oranges
W:  tuna salad on salad greens w/shredded cheddar, toasted homemade bread, sliced apples
R:   grilled cheese on homemade bread, homemade tomato soup, fresh pineapple
F:   smothered steak fajita burritos, shredded lettuce w/tomato, guacamole, salsa and tortilla chips
S:   leftovers, or maybe pizza and salad
S:   shepherd's pie made with ground turkey and vegetables, sliced oranges

I will be making some egg salad we can eat for lunches, and I'll make some popcorn for snacks. We have lots of fresh fruits and vegetables for snacks too, and plenty of granola, yogurt, cereal, oatmeal, etc. for breakfasts.

How was  your week?  What did you do to spend less, save more and make do?  Comments are welcome!