Friday Frugalities

Today has actually been full of frugal savings.

I had a free breakfast as school of pancakes, eggs, juice and muffins. Then there were various treats throughout the day! I even got to bring half a dozen muffins home. Each muffin was placed in an individual freezer bag.

This will give us a few lovely snacks for the upcoming week.

Then I bought a rotisserie chicken for our supper tonight (not really frugal, but since I was shopping a good deal). The leftovers were frozen for future meals which does make this a frugal alternative to ordering pizza or something similar.

I packaged up the leftovers (this is one package of the two I froze) and put them in the freezer. I also packaged up the carcass to use for stock. This should give us a few more meals, and make this a frugal over all purchase.

Harvey bought another thermostat for a baseboard heater downstairs. We have another bedroom down there and this will be installed to have some more control over the heat given off from it. He is actually thinking of getting one for the hall way which could be a great idea if it works. We could then get rid of the oil heater I have in there right now.

The rest of the week was filled with the usual frugal activities around here. We are trying to save money for a Med cruise so every little bit helps.

Both Harvey and I are a bit disappointed. Kris is unable to make it home this weekend (it is even a holiday weekend) as he is feeling unwell. I do believe that Kris is disappointed as well. He loves to fish and they were planning an ice fishing excursion. Hopefully Kris will feel better and get down yet this winter.

Everyone have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thursday Tid Bits

Only one day left of my subbing gig this month, and so far only one day booked next month. I could end up having a lovely rest and getting things done around the house. Perhaps even get a bit more work done decluttering which has sadly fallen to the wayside this month.

I did manage to go through all my cross stitch magazines and surprise, surprise I only found one double issue.

It's the one sitting all by itself. This will be going to another home shortly.

I have also found something I would really like to do for next Valentines Day.

Aren't these tiny hearts cute!! I can see all sorts of ways to use them, just don't have time or the right yarn to make them this year.

Harvey has finished the cupboard. He added a pull out shelf for me which will make reaching the middle shelf so much easier. I have started to put the items away, but I am on the look out for something to organize my many freezer containers. I hope to be able to finish it up this weekend while the men are out fishing.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Recipe Wednesday

Sorry, no recipe to share with you today. I do however have some pictures of three of my recipe books that I use a great deal.

The book on the left is one of a series of cookbooks that I have been collecting for awhile. Company's Coming is a big seller in Canada and all of her recipes use easy to find ingredients. This one is a part of my Planned Leftovers cooking.

The middle one was given to me by the lady I boarded with while attending university. It is another planned leftover cookbook. While the ingredients are a bit harder to find I have tweeked a few of these for our tastes.

The Quick Thrifty Cooking is a book I picked up at a yard sale, mainly because it reminded me of the cookbook we sometimes used in my Home Economics classes in high school. The recipes are hearty and tend to make enough for freezing a portion for another meal or two later on. It is also full of variations on the recipe and frugal, thrifty tips.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday

Perhaps one of the thriftiest things I do is pack a lunch when I work.

This is an image of my exact lunch bag. I love it!! I fill it with all sorts of good food from my own fridge.

Today, for example, I took my leftover supper from Sunday. That was the remainder of my baked potato and my slow cooked pork chop. I added a container of salad, a small container of dressing, 2 kiwi, and a container of yogurt (from a bigger container). I also threw in some crackers and cheese for a snack!!! So my lunch cost me pennies and was a great deal healthier than anything I could have went out and bought.

So what's my packed lunch for tomorrow?

Leftovers from supper tonight, along with more salad, some dressing, yogurt, kiwi, and of course some crackers and cheese for my afternoon snack.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Hey Ho, another week of menus. Just one slight problem, I forgot that I was working all this week when I made the menu up so this means changes. I am usually very tired when I get home from a subbing gig so easy meals and digging into my cache of frozen meals is usually called for.

Monday

Leftover Tuna Casserole, and the remains of the salad.

Tuesday

Leftover Chili on pasta.

Wednesday

Pork Jambalaya from the freezer downstairs.

Thursday

Soup and Sandwiches.

Friday

Trout and fries and probably sliced raw veggies and dip.

Saturday

Spaghetti and meat sauce, garlic bread, and a salad.

Sunday

Roast Chicken (did not make this on Sunday of this week), mashed potatoes, gravy, peas and carrots and the remainder of the salad.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

Once again the weather has been terrible this weekend. Rain, ice pellets, and snow. Not my favorite winter weather at all.

Harvey finished my storage cabinet yesterday.

This picture was taken just before he tightened the hinges to close the gap between the doors. I will be moving some of my larger small appliances into this area as well as a couple of appliances I don't use very often. It will mean a bit of climbing onto a stool to reach things when I need them, but the extra space is welcome.

Mass today was once again about the teachings of the church and how the Easter Vigil is the most important part of the church year. We also learned a bit about what RCIA really is. I just love when Father Brian uses his homily as a means of passing on truths about the church. Sometimes what we believe is not really what the Church teaches and having the priest be willing to take the time to explain things is wonderful.

I work all next week and I know that a full week of work usually leaves me tired and out of sorts. I really don't like coming home and cooking a full meal so I have been making double batches of easy to prepare meals when I got the chance this week.

The Tuna Casserole leftovers will be pulled out and used for our supper tomorrow.

Yesterday I made this huge pot of chili. It gave us our supper yesterday and the leftovers were packaged up and will make us a meal this week and one later in the month, or early next month.

I also have some Pork Jambalya in the downstairs freezer for another meal. That is three nice, hearty evening meals for the two of us.

Cooking big batches is a time saver, and frugal when you use things you already have in your pantry, freezer and fridge.

I started my cooking/electrical usage experiment today and will be continuing it by using alternative methods of cooking for the next while. Hopefully in a few months when we get the actual reading of the electric meter I will be able to say this was a success.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday Wrap Up

No pictures today of how far I have gotten along on my unfinished projects and no pictures of finished projects. I am afraid I have been too busy getting things done before I work all of next week.

However, at least I can say that Harvey finished his project and started another one. The doors are on the stair cupboard and he is now busy programming the new thermostat he put on the baseboard heater in the basement.

I truly believe he is starting to take what I have been saying about our electric bills to heart. Now if I could only get him to turn off lights when he is no longer in a room,  my life would be easier and our bills much lower.

I start an experiment of my own tomorrow. I am going to try and use my oven as little as possible over the next couple of months. This means baking my bread in the bread machine,

using my slow cooker more often,

 using the Actifry a bit more,

using the plug in roaster,

and perhaps even using my scary pressure cooker.

This could mean a change in what I have planned to cook for the month, but if it means a lowering of the electric bill it will be worth it!

As prices rise, living on a fixed income could become even more challenging. Grocery shopping was definitely that this week and over the next little while I will be looking at ways to cut costs here as well.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.