Menu Monday

 

A new week has begun with new ideas for using items up, or at least using things up in the meat freezer and other leftovers. 

Monday

Baked pork chops, leftover mashed potatoes fried up with some onions, and leftover fresh veggies sliced with dip.

Tuesday

Using up some Cream of Celery soup from the chest freezer and serving it with grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, or perhaps tuna melts on buns.

Wednesday

Chicken Parma along with some spaghetti in tomato sauce. I will probably do some frozen peas up as well.

Thursday

Roast pork, roasted potatoes, roasted carrots and gravy. The leftovers will be saved to be used in another meal. 

Friday

Scrambled eggs on toast.

Saturday

Leftover pork roast made into a stir fry and served over rice.

Sunday

A bag of leftover ham from the fridge freezer. I will warm it up, make boiled potatoes, and carrots to go along with that. 

This will see a bit of using up of things in the fridge freezer, in the meat freezer, and the chest freezer as well.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

It is the end of a weekend here. A nice quiet, get a few things done weekend. Always the best thing in my books. 

I have done embroidery, read pattern notes over, cleaned out most of the plastic containers in the hall cupboard making room for my silicone freezer molds. There are still more in use, but those will be gotten rid of as the contents are used up. It will be room saving to be able to use the molds, pop out the frozen item, perhaps wrap and store in a bag. That should take up less room in the freezer than lots of containers one would think. 

I think I have narrowed down cruises to two that interest me. Both are river cruises so only have to unpack once rather than live out of a suitcase. I believe we will make a trip to the travel agents early next week and finish making our plans. 

As my friend will be gone starting tomorrow for two weeks I will be home and doing small things up until my dentist visit on Friday. It should be just a cleaning, or at least that is what I hope. I plan on getting my prescriptions that day and getting our allowances as well. 

My days at home will be spent doing all those little tasks I have been putting off, planning ways to use up food, and make new things from scratch. As I have said over the past few years I have gotten pretty darn lazy purchasing things like cake mixes, pie crust, spice/herb mixes and now it is the time to go back to the older way I had of cooking. I will probably slip back every once in awhile, especially if I see a really good sale. 

I am up to having decluttered 94 items so far this year. Things are looking pretty good to be able to reach the 500 item mark at this point. Pretty pumped at being able to perhaps reach that when I didn't even get close last year. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

Today has been quiet, but I did get a big surprise. Harvey and I celebrate our 50th Wedding Anniversary today. The years have passed by very quickly with ups and downs, deaths and births. Money struggles haunted us in the beginning as well. Much the same as all of you have gone through as well. 

I am always up earlier than Harvey and was busy reading emails when he awoke. He wished me a Happy Anniversary and then said I was to find a trip or a cruise to celebrate this milestone in our married life. I asked him where he would like to go and he said it was entirely up to me, that he would be happy where ever I chose to go. 

So lots of time today has been spent online looking at various cruises with various cruise lines. Oh my, the head is spinning, but I think I might have locked down on one. We will need to go and visit our travel agent sometime this week and set it up. I will let you all know where I have chosen once things are locked in. 

Once again this week was one of using items up and clearing things out of the fridge and fridge freezer. No projects really finished other than cooking projects like the hot dog buns, yogurt, grating some older carrots, making a freezer inventory and decluttering. 

I really do lead a rather boring life, especially in the winter. I don't go out much and would rather stay inside where it is warm and not icy. I do have an appointment this week with my dental hygienist on Friday and hopefully a visit to the travel agent's before that. I also have some clothing repairs to do and since I am pretty sure the block I am working on will be finished (embroidery takes some time) I should be able to get the two patterns I cut out sewn as well. 

Spent some time one evening separating the blocks that need to be embroidered. There will be enough for 5 quilts, and some blocks leftover to perhaps make some cushions. I think this is going to keep me busy for a very long time. Like I said before I want to get as much cleared out of the various stashes as possible over the next few years. I do know the loom will help with that. 

My next make from scratch cooking experience will be making tortillas. I would love to have some in the freezer for wraps and quesadillas (another item I have never made). 

Off to get the table set and then get supper started. Hopefully visiting you all in between.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

A Simpler Life

 

As the world around us seems to sink into chaos, it is up to us to try and simplify what we can. We can simplify our lives, even though at times it could seem very complicated, or at least time consuming. 

Yet, since I have retired, I notice that I have a great deal of time. Time to make lots of items from scratch, time to learn new hobbies, time to enjoy the small things like a beautiful sunrise or sunset, and time to actually work towards a simpler life. 

Right now our movement towards that is more one of using things up, and decluttering. Still living in a decluttered home really does declutter the mind as well. That leaves room for the learning of new things and enjoying what we already own. 

I am enjoying making food from scratch, or at least I am so far. Today I made hotdog buns, and while they are not perfect they are not too bad. I know with practice I will get so much better at making them. I will be adding things as I need them to this learning curve. 

Both Harvey and I are working very hard on decluttering. He more than I in this new year. This is something I have been trying to get him interested in for a number of years. So many nails, screws, tools that no longer function and bits of lumber. Though those bits of lumber keep him occupied many a day. Kind of like my bits and bobs of leftover yarn keep me occupied finding ways to use them up. 

Step by step, inch by inch we are moving towards a life where we can always stop and smell the roses.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty and Frugal Thursday

 Thrifty and Frugal

Another quiet week here on the Phillips homestead. I have been working on a few ways to become more thrifty and frugal. Success in most of the areas so far. Now I just need to make them a habit.

1.  Started a facial cleansing routine using some items I have collected as gifts in the past year. No money spent on this until I can see if it can be sustained. Or will I go back to using soap and water. I will say that my face feels a great deal softer.

2.  Have managed to make a couple of items that we usually purchase (fries and hashbrowns). Next up will be hotdog and hamburger buns.

3.  Continuing to save the water when it is heating up to do the dishes to water plants or put into my Brita, or into the kettle.

4.  Upped the amount of time I am walking in the house for a bit of free exercise. 

5.  Using up the leftovers in the house for other meals or brand new ones.

6.  Copying/printing meatless recipes to try.

7.  Downloaded some free reading material onto my ereader. 

8.  Made an inventory of the meat in the upright freezer and will be planning meals (already managed to do so) to use up the older meat first.

9.  Trying to have as many no spend days as possible.

Of course the usual lights off in rooms not in use, using my bathroom cloths (saves on toilet paper), using up hand lotions that I got as gifts, decluttering, repairing, and just plain staying as healthy as we possibly can. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Midweek Arrives/Question/Getting My Frugal On

 

Once again it is the middle of the week and actually getting very close to the middle of the month. That is only 8 days away!!!! Must work a bit harder on my projects. Some are at least started, and should not take long to complete. 

Got notification today about our electric and gas bills. Both rose one by just a few dollars the other by quite a bit more. I will be working on trying to lower both of those. Probably in a few ways that Harvey just may not like. I have a feeling the water bill will be higher as well since Kurt and Kris were home washing their clothes and having showers. 

I was asked if I will eat my entire freezer down and then begin to rebuild my stock. Right now with meat being so expensive I will probably not clear everything out. Instead I will use what I have a great deal of, or what is dated from months ago and look for bargains to refill those areas as they go down. 

We have lots of chicken breasts, pork chops and surprisingly pork roasts. Low on whole chickens for roasting, ground meat, beef roasts and no hams at all. I will be watching for sales on those as well as chicken wings, chicken thighs and hot dogs. All the while trying to lower the number of what we have a great deal of. 

Part of my frugal plans for this year is making more from scratch and not purchasing already prepared items like frozen fries, hash browns, hot dog buns, hamburger buns, pie crust, crackers and other such items. My yogurt maker can be used to make a soft cheese so I hope to be able to try that out as well. 

Costs keep rising and with the way things are in the world this just makes sense to me.

Today I made two bags of hash browns for our freezer. I only used 5 potatoes of the ones we have stored downstairs, but if it turns out we like them I will make more.

They are kind of in chunks but I was told in the directions I found they will come apart once you start cooking them. Thank heavens for food processors, as I don't think I would try this manually. 

This summer my ice cream maker will come out and I will be making my own ice cream once again, something I have been lax about doing. 

What ways are you going to get your frugal on this year?

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits and Stuff

 

We had snow for most of the morning and into the afternoon. It was wonderful not to need to be anywhere out and about. My back still twinges once in awhile so I have been doing the work 15 minutes and then rest. If it was work sitting, I stand, if it was work standing I take a bit of a walk and then sit for awhile. I still got everything done that needed to be done and even enjoyed some craft time. 

I decluttered some more old towels and washcloths. So now we are up to 22 items hopefully leaving the house very soon. Bit by bit downsizing is happening. Well other than the towels and washcloths of course as those have been replaced. 

Harvey took down his Christmas decor today and did a bit of a clean up of his wine making tools. He is working on one of the jigsaw puzzles he got for Christmas. This is a panorama of Maple Leaf Gardens. 

Keeping away from the news as much as possible and trying to ignore some people on Social Media. I just can't take their posting of things before doing some research on the subject. When called on it, they get all huffy and at times quite nasty. Staying off unless it is to wish someone a happy birthday, or happy anniversary. 

The menu for the month has been pretty much redone in order to use up some of the meat from the freezer. Mixing that with leftovers from the fridge upstairs (and its accompanying freezer) can almost be considered a math puzzle as I really am trying for another no waste year as well as using up all that I possibly can. One item from one area and another from yet a second, then add in the leftovers from the leftovers. It really is enough to make your head spin. Add in the fact that things are getting really expensive in the protein department and I struggle with using up that meat. 

A simpler life may just involve decluttering, making more from scratch, and getting the most out of what we already have.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.