Look What I Made!

Now that the craft room is organized and functional, I plan to spend some time in it.  This week I did a little paper crafting.

I made two bookmarks, for no particular reason....

Here are some cards that I made to help welcome springtime:

They are all made with the same elements - I punched and riveted flowers onto squares, then used the lace punch to make the yellow trim....and used inks that matched the paper pieces.  

I love that they are cheerful and bright, and that the colors are limited.  As much as I (often) want to use lots of different colors, I'm also enjoying a more limited color range.

These photos are not the best, unfortunately.  The paper is all bright white, even though it has some bluish tint in the photos.  (Sorry!)

I intend to spend a little time 'making' each week, and I'll share things here - maybe you'll find an idea you can use, if you're a person who enjoys making things. 

Menu - Second Week of March

I decided to do a little more planning for the menu this week.  I often just plan supper, make breakfast foods as they are requested, and lunch is leftovers or something simple.  This will still be true to some extent....but I want to make sure I have some breakfast options on hand, since we have some early days this week.  Here is the plan:

Breakfasts
We have a couple of Hormel 'Rev' wraps that we got free to try - they are the breakfast ones, so they can be warmed up and eaten.  I made blueberry muffins too, and we have plenty of fresh fruit on hand that can accompany either of these choices.

I'll make some roasted potatoes to be used at breakfast.  They can be heated in the microwave in the time it takes to scramble an egg or two.  I made sure some bread was sliced, just to save steps if someone wants toast.

I'll make oatmeal if it's requested, and it can be topped with frozen blueberries or fresh fruit and toasted nuts.

There is yogurt that can be sweetened and topped with fruit and granola.

Lunches
Daughter and I will be in town two days at lunch time, so I will be packing sandwiches, fresh fruit, vegetable sticks and some lemonade or fruit punch.

On the other days, we can warm up supper leftovers, make PBJ or fix something simple like mac and cheese and a salad.

loaves of sesame topped multigrain bread, fresh from the oven

Suppers
M - cheese enchiladas, Mexican rice, green salad
T - fried chicken, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetable stir fry
W - Spam/vegetable fried rice, sliced apples
R - grilled chicken pasta w/garlic, Parmesan, broccoli and carrots, salad
F - leftovers/dinner out/try something new
S - hamburgers on buns, potato salad, apples
S - barbecue chicken pizza, carrot & raisin salad

Snacks
popcorn
peanut butter and/or jam on bread
fresh fruit - bananas, apples, strawberries
carrot and celery sticks, cucumber slices
peanuts, almonds and cashews
applesauce cake, if I have time to make it

Frugal Accomplishments and Blessings - First Week of March!

I took down the Valentine's Day decorations and put up a few springtime things.  I get 'decor' at yard sales and Goodwill, and move things around from time to time to keep it a little more interesting.

I started an experiment early last week, but I wanted to see how it would work before I shared about it.  I bought a 32 oz. container of plain yogurt.  I usually buy the vanilla, but buying the plain means I can add healthier sweeteners, like coconut sugar.  It also means I can mix plain yogurt with mayo when I make things like dressings, slaw, carrot-raisin salad, or tuna salad for sandwiches.  It cuts the fat a little, adds some probiotics, and so far, no one has noticed.  There have been no complaints about the home-sweetened  yogurt either, so this is going well!

Bonus!  It is hard for us to use a gallon of milk before it expires, so I made a quart of plain yogurt by using the last of the container mentioned above as the starter.  I paid 1.89 for the 32 oz. of plain yogurt, but I can get a gallon of milk for 1.99, make a quart of yogurt each time (about every 2 weeks) and save a little more, all the while relieving the 'pressure' to hurry up and drink the milk!  I looked online for instructions and followed those.  I added a small amount of powdered milk, since I have it on hand and it makes the yogurt a little thicker/more nutrient dense.  If I didn't have that on hand, I would not worry over it.  I let it sit in front of the wood stove, where it was warm and it set up very nicely.

Taffy ran out of puppy treats, and I didn't really feel like baking up a new batch, so I just popped some popcorn.  We pop our popcorn in a pan with coconut oil, so I filled her treat jar before I seasoned the rest for the family.

I picked up some National Geographic Kids magazines for Daughter from a local freecycle page.  She has really enjoyed them.

I made calzones, green salads, slaw, a half-recipe size chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting, calabacitas, curried beef stew, some rice, salsa, taco salads, filling for Asian lettuce wraps, (I ground some turkey for the taco meat and lettuce wrap filling) and we had homemade tomato soup I brought out of the freezer.  I popped popcorn several times this week and we had it for snacks with fresh fruit or peanuts.  For a special Saturday night treat (once every 25 years, hee hee), I made onion rings from scratch.

There was enough curried beef stew to package half of it and freeze it for a future meal.  It will make a convenience food on a busy day.

This peanut butter frosting is not pretty, but it sure tastes good!
The cake underneath (a new recipe, which fell in the middle - oh well) was dark chocolate.

For the suppers where I used ground turkey (taco salad and Asian lettuce wraps) I added a little rice to the ground meat to stretch it a bit.  Both meals had multiple protein sources, so I wasn't so concerned with us getting enough protein.

I had to have some paperwork notarized for a work-at-home job I will be starting next month.  We combined errands that day and visited the library and a couple of stores.

I forgot to mention last week that Husband used the last of his free item coupons at Harbor Freight to get some free batteries.  We have been able to use those coupons to stock up on batteries, flashlights, tarps, tape measures, gloves...all sorts of items, over the course of time.  The newer coupons are for a free item 'with any purchase', and we will use one of those if we are purchasing another item.

When we have a good year in the orchard I make a lot of applesauce, but I also make peach sauce.  It's basically the same as applesauce, just with peaches.  It is very good as a topping for pancakes, stirred into oatmeal, etc.  We have been using it a lot in oatmeal this winter.  It helps cool it down and give it a little sweetness and fruity-ness.  It costs me very little to make, since the peaches are from our trees and I only put a small amount of sugar and some spices (cinnamon or apple pie spice) into it.

oatmeal swirled with peach sauce, spinkled with almonds

The wood stove has really helped this week, when we have had temperatures in the single digits.  I still dried our clothes on the drying racks in the basement, which helped save electricity.

I signed up with Blogging for Books.  I will request, read and review books from them - expect to see that here, coming soon! :)

I watched the extras on the Downton Abbey DVDs for season 5.  I was able to check it out from the library.  We also got Big Hero 6 from the library and watched for a family movie.

There were some books on the library sale shelf that I wanted - for $1 each I brought home copies of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and Country Breads of the World - 88 of the World's Best Recipe for Baking Bread.  That second title has a recipe for Boston Brown Bread (swoon!) and a chapter on the flat breads of India.  Woohoo!!

The supermarket sales this week were not too exciting, so we mostly picked up produce - green grapes and broccoli for .98/lb., onions for .50/lb and apples for .77/lb.  Since I used the last of the milk making yogurt, we picked up a gallon at the store ($1.99)and I got some unbleached flour at King Sooper.  We also picked up some items at Costco - parmesan, muenster, strawberries - much of which will last us for far more than a single week.

And....drumroll....the craft room is done!  Now...by 'done', I mean arranged, and organized, in our unfinished basement.  It may not look like the ones you see all over Pinterest, but it is really functional, and I am overjoyed!  I purchased the glass-front cabinets second-hand on a local facebook page.  After I got the room organized, I sold off the items I was previously using for storage, and ended up a little bit ahead.  It is a nice size space, but not as huge as it looks in these photos:

The work table is big enough that I am using one side, while
Daughter has her school computer and books on the other side.

Stamps and fabric and yarn - oh my!

The treadle sewing machine is under the woven cover.  I also have
an electric machine I can use at the work table.

Soapmaking supplies (except the crock pots, which don't fit), are in the wood cabinet.
I have lots of storage and room to work!

We dropped off recycling on 'town day'.  There were some freebies at King Sooper that we picked up, and we went to Costco, Target and Sprouts. The three of us had lunch at Costco for a total of $3.50 and tax.  Target had a good sale on LED light bulbs.  When we got to the store, they also had coupons for the bulbs.  In the end, they were just over $2.50 each.  They can be dimmed, so we were able to put them in our ceiling fans.

How was your week?  Did the weather keep you home?  How did you make do, spend less and save more?  Leave a comment, if you please!

February's Grocery Budget, Stock-Ups and the plan for March

I spent less out-of-pocket for groceries and stocking up in February, partly because I was using gift cards we got free from King Soopers for transferring prescriptions, and partly because the items I purchased were less costly items (oats are less expensive than beef!)  I took advantage of some specials on chocolate too, since there is a lot of talk about chocolate prices rising in the near future.

Stock-Up Purchases in February

            8 cans of tuna (.50/ea. at King Sooper - paid with free gift card)
            8 lb. ham (.99/lb at King Sooper - paid with free gift card)
            3lb. (6 packages) cream cheese ($1/ea. at King Sooper - paid with free gift card)
            8 jars Ragu spaghetti sauce (.69 each at King Sooper - paid with free gift card)
            4 boxes (12 oz) Ronzoni thin spaghetti (.19 each at King Sooper - paid with free gift card)
$12.99 for shredded cheddar, 5lb. (Costco)

$  7.89 for dried seaweed sheets (Costco)
$  6.73 for rolled oats (.69/lb. Sprouts)  My oat storage bucket is re-filled!
$  8.55 for raisins (1.99/lb at Sprouts)
$  6.29 for chocolate (M&M's, $1.50/12oz. bag, on sale and w/coupon at Walgreens)
$  2.46 for Nutella (thee jars, .82 each after sale (Target) and coupon, price matched at Walmart)
$  9.00 for Spam ($1.50/can after sale and coupon at Safeway)
$  4.00 for Libby's canned vegetables - corn, green beans and peas (.25/can at Albertsons)
$    .98 for 12oz. bags of oyster crackers (.49/ea. at Albertsons)
$  1.18 for 2 bottles of barbecue sauce (.59/ea. at Albertsons)
$ 60.07  Total Spent on Stock-Up Items

When I do the math, it shows that I spent about $16.50 each week on things we used week-to-week - milk, fresh fruits and vegetables, or items we needed for the weekly menu (this past week I bought pepperoni and cottage cheese for calzones, for example.)  Some of that was cash, some was the credit at King Sooper.  Overall, I think it was a pretty good month.

I have lots of wheat berries (and a mill), so I've been baking our bread.

Planned Stock-ups for March

March is the only month I ever buy corned beef, because it's the only time I ever find it on sale (for St. Patrick's Day).  I am hoping the price will be good this year but if not, we will go without.  It is also generally a great month for sales on cabbage and potatoes.  Cabbage is good in so many things, and it keeps well in the crisper drawer, so I will buy as much as I feel I can reasonably store.  With Easter at the beginning of April, March will also probably be a good month for stocking baking supplies as needed, as well as ham.  The price of butter seems to be going down a little, so I am hoping that a sale and coupon will net something close to $1 per pound.

I ended February with $61.68 still in the grocery budget.  This is due to having the store credit from King Sooper for transferring prescriptions.  Our grocery budget is $180 per month, but if I get something like that King Sooper credit, it is in addition to the $180, and helps me stock up or get us a special something now and then.  All this means that I'm starting March with $241.68 in the grocery budget, plus I still have approximately $23 credit at King Sooper to spend.  I'm hoping for some good prices on beef, though that is not typical of March - we shall see!

homemade blueberry-almond muffins with coconut sugar 

Do you keep a pantry?  Do you buy ahead for items that keep?  I find that it helps me keep our food expenses low, and it also keeps us stocked in case of an emergency, like a blizzard or bad storm.  What deals did you find in February, and what are your plans for March?

Frugal Accomplishments and Blessings - End of February, Plus Menu for First Week of March

We had a lot of snow this week, especially at the very beginning.  We have used our wood stove to help keep the house warm and reduce our propane use.  A wood fire makes the house really warm and cozy.

On Sunday I put the turkey frame into the crock pot with some garlic and the last of the celery.  I added a quart of water and let it simmer all day.  I ended up with a vegetable serving bowl level-full of meat and 2 quarts of strained turkey stock.  I fed the liver and heart to the dog, chopped up in her food.  I used some of the cooked turkey meat for the white chicken (turkey) chili that I made, and froze the remainder for future use.

Middle of winter, and our hens are laying quite well.  They get lots of vegetable scraps -
see how dark the yolks are?  Pretty good for February!

I made breaded turkey nuggets, Cesar salad dressing, fruit salad, hash browns, omelets, egg salad, oven fries, white chicken chili, pico-de-gallo, glazed carrots, macaroni salad, corn bread (from a mix, but I made the mix!), and three loaves of bread (two went to the freezer).   I cut up fruits and veggies for snacking as needed too, and re-combined leftovers to make lunches as needed.  I tried a copycat recipe for Belvita breakfast cookies - it needed a fair amount of tweaking, but they came out alright in the end.

We stayed home a lot.  It was lovely!

I was able to spend some time with a dear friend.  Between conflicting schedules and weather, it had been a while since we'd gotten together, and it was so nice to just visit!

I signed up for Schoola, resulting in a $15 credit.  With free shipping I was able to get Daughter 2 shirts and a pair of pants.  I'll share when my order arrives and let you know how it turned out.  You can get your own $15 credit (if you are new to the program) and learn more about it here.

We returned materials and then borrowed some more items from the library.  I took in some magazines to donate.  We signed up for some free magazines a couple months ago and they are starting to arrive now, so I take them to the library when we are done with them.

Frittata a-la leftovers.  Can you spot the heart-shaped green onion?

We did our other errands while we were out and about.  We picked up chicken feed, since we are expecting more snow soon, and I didn't want to run too low.

I picked up a little produce, including Jonagold apples for .50/lb, fresh broccoli for .98/lb, roma tomatoes for .59/lb., a pound of strawberries for 1.50 and some bananas for .54/lb.  There were not a lot of great deals this week that caught my eye, so I just gathered some things that were good prices and would round out our meals. There is also a sale this week offering 10lb. of potatoes for .99 - I just got one bag of them because we still have potatoes from the last time they offered them for that price.

This is not everything I purchased this week - just some highlights.  This week I spent $18.51 total, for the items above as well as some things that were not on sale (pepperoni, cottage cheese, tortilla chips, graham crackers, etc.)  I buy as much as I can when it's on sale, and look for the best price for the rest of it. :)

I have some things in the freezer that I've made ahead, and I'm including a few of them in the menu for the first week of March.  It should be a fairly easy week to put together, thanks to those homemade convenience foods.  Here's the plan for suppers:

M - stromboli w/marinara sauce, garden salad, apples
T - tamales, cabbage slaw, calabacitas
W - beef stew curry over rice, apples
R - taco salads, chips and salsa
F - homemade egg rolls, steamed broccoli and carrots, Asian lettuce wraps, home-canned plums
S - tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, carrots and celery, apples
S - seasoned turkey 'steaks', baked potatoes, vegetable stir-fry

How was your week?  Did you get snow where you live?  What did you do to spend less, save more and make do?  I'd love to read all about your adventures and accomplishments in the comments!

Schoola - Get some free or very low-cost clothing for kids (adults too, actually)

I just learned about a new site called Schoola - they sell new and gently used kids clothing, but some is for high school kids, so there are adult sizes there.  Right now they are offering a $15 credit when you register.  You might (or might not - it seems to be working for some, but not others) get an additional 25% off with the code HURRY.  Shipping is free, and there are items for as little as $3.  I was able to get Daughter three items for 59 cents out of pocket.  If you want to give it a try (there is no obligation to spend - you can place an order for less than $15 in merchandise and get your items free), go HERE.  Look for the 'join' button, along the top and a little right of center.

Happy Shopping!

Frugal Accomplishments & Blessings, Third Week of February - Menu for Next Week

I baked bread, likely enough to last two weeks.  I decided to play around with it a little, so at the beginning of second rise (right after shaping the loaves) I brushed the loaves with egg, sprinkled them with 'stuff' (dried minced garlic, oats, poppy seeds, sesame seeds), then slashed the loaves and let them rise.  What do you think?

We decided to replace our printer.  We have had an inkjet printer, and it works alright, but the ink is expensive.  We switched to a laser printer - black and white only - that costs a lot less to operate.  We paid for nearly all of it with a free credit we'd gotten from Amazon back around the holidays, and it ended up costing us less out of pocket (far less!) than the ink cartridges for the old printer were going to cost.  We are not sure if we will sell the old printer or not - we have to learn whether or not it 'saves' all the info that has ever been scanned/printed/copied.

We moved Daughter's old dresser out of her bedroom and replaced it with a 'new' old chest of drawers.  She has a lot more storage space, it's easier to keep organized, but it doesn't take up any more space in her room.  It's not the prettiest - I told her we will search ideas on Pinterest and find a fun way to embellish it and pretty it up.  (I'm thinking decoupage or fabric covered drawers and a solid color base, maybe?)

We sold Daughter's old dresser, since it was little and cute and would likely sell quickly (and we didn't need it anywhere).  It sold, literally, in less than two minutes.  Yay!

I made salad dressing for Asian chicken salad, Indian rice, tomato soup, sesame-parmesan turkey steaks, popcorn and lots of little odds and ends through the week.  Husband made a really tasty bean dip.  I had opened a can of pears and a can of mandarin oranges, and used the juice from those to help sweeten fruit punch.  It means I can use half the sugar and it's still plenty sweet.

I had a second prescription I could transfer, so I earned another $25 in store credit at King Soopers.  I had checked in advance, and it is OK to transfer more than one.

We got snow Sunday and Monday, and used the wood stove to keep the house warm throughout the week. Mid-week we had some warmer weather (50's and sunny) and made sure to spend part of the day outdoors in the sunshine and pretty weather.  This weekend, we are getting more snow.

We ate leftovers as they became available and fed vegetable peels, apple cores, etc. to the hens.

I washed our clothing with homemade laundry soap.  The fabric softener was all gotten free, because we got it at Kmart with a gift card we got for transferring a prescription (back in...November?) and I hung the clothes to dry.

We checked out books and media from the library.

My friend gave me a pair of jeans that was too short for her - they fit me perfectly!

I have been looking for some cabinets for craft-room storage for quite a while, and this week, I found what I wanted, second-hand for a really good price.  I am very happy with them.  These cabinets will free up several hodge-podge items I had been using - those will be repurposed elsewhere or sold.  I'm in the midst of sorting and organizing, and hope to have the craft room re-set within a week.

I continued in my efforts to de-clutter the house.  I think of this as frugal because when we rid our home of things we no longer want or need, the house feels more spacious.  Since I sell off things when I can, it does help us a little bit financially, but it also brings peace of mind, just keeping our home more inviting and pleasing to the eye. :)  I also learn what we do not need.  For example, Easter grass (for baskets) and the plastic eggs?  We do not need those...but embarassingly, last year, I could only find a very few of the eggs, and no grass.  I used the eggs I found (and paper from the shredder) and it was fine, but still...being better organized means I don't waste resources on stuff I already have, and getting rid of excess means I can put things away nicely, instead of cramming stuff pell-mell.  (Does anyone say pell-mell anymore?)

There were some good shopping opportunities this week.  I picked up more pasta and spaghetti sauce for .69 and .19 (respectively) after sale and coupons....Libby's canned vegetables (mostly corn, a few green beans and one can of peas) for .25 each, some oyster crackers for .49 a package (the standard 12 oz. size), milk for 1.99/gal. and tuna for .50 a can.  Some of that was at King Sooper, so the balance was paid with the free gift card funds.  Cucumbers were .50 each this week, Jonagold apples were .50/lb, celery was .77 per bunch, summer squashes and red grapes were .99/lb, and romaine lettuce was .99/head.

I thawed and parted out a turkey this week, and then wrapped and froze it in smaller, more manageable pieces.  Today I have the frame and wing tips in the crock pot - I will pull off the pieces of meat and use the stock as well.  I have a few turkey-based meals in this week's dinner menu:

M - breaded turkey nuggets w/sauces, homemade french fries, carrots and celery sticks, fruit salad
T - kalua pork, rice, kimchee, nori and furikake, carrot-raisin salad
W - white chicken (turkey) chili, corn bread, grapes
R - hamburger helper lasagna, summer squash saute', cantaloupe
F - ham/cheese/vegetable omelets, hash browns, green beans, toast, orange juice
S - chicken (turkey) Cesar salad, garlic toast, apples
S - leftovers/out/think of something?

How was your week?  How did you spend less, save more and make do?  Leave a comment so we can learn from you! :)