Frugal Friday

 It is easy to be frugal when it is blistering hot outside. However, the air conditioning runs steady so the electrical bill will more than likely be exceedingly high this month (or next as we already paid August's bill).

1.  Once again all clothing and towels were put on the line to dry.

2.  Froze more beans for use over the winter. Also lots of dehydrating of herbs done as well.

3.  Used up all the leftovers in the fridge this week and even some of the bags of frozen meat from the fridge freezer.

4.  Got a bag full of free plums from the neighbour. Harvey loves these plums and has made great headway in eating them.

5.  My grocery bill was the lowest it has been in ages (mind you no meat was purchased) and I even managed to save $16.73 with all the sale items I bought.

6.  Got a few canned goods for the pantry stock up.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Thrifty Tuesday (and Menu Monday)

 

I haven't been on for awhile mainly because it has been pretty boring around the old homestead. Seems as if things are continuing much the same as usual, nothing really new has been happening. 

Well, other than the heat wave we are now under. This means most gardening events take place in the early morning. I now have enough beans frozen to last us through the winter. 

I am continuing to dehydrate herbs, but with the heat this is slow going.

Continuing to pick beans as well, and giving them away. I am not going to waste what we are lucky enough to have.

Menus are constantly changing due to the heat. I don't want to raise the house temperature and cause the air conditioner to work overtime.

I have spent a bit of time online collecting a few coupons to use when shopping. Every little bit helps out, especially as prices are continuing to rise. No one knows where or when this will stop.

I have been making a few extra filters for my masks. Harvey managed to acquire some of those blue shop towels and considering what we know about this virus will probably come in handy. I want to make sure our sons have some as well. If I place them just right I can get 6 out of one shop towel.

I did a couple of small mending jobs on some pants mainly buttons and fixing a hem.

Now on to what I should have posted yesterday.

Monday

Cold plate using a package of frozen ham from the fridge freezer. I added coleslaw, a cucumber salad and some sliced garden tomatoes. There are a few slices of ham left and I have an idea of how to use them in this heat.

Tuesday 

Sloppy Joes and cucumber salad.

Wednesday

Those leftover slices of ham will be made into ham salad, served on buns from the freezer and coleslaw.

Thursday

Leftover roast beef, creamed potatoes, green beans (garden) and a salad of some type. 

Friday

Scrambled eggs on toast. In other words breakfast for supper.

Saturday

It is supposed to cool down a bit so perhaps a sausage casserole using up potatoes, carrots and a small package of pork sausages.

Sunday

This is supposed to be roast night, but temperatures are going back up. I have lots of chicken thighs so these might be made instead, or I could make a main dish salad out of a package of leftover roast ham (one ham gives us lots of bags of leftovers). I guess I will just have to wait and see.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Kris left at around 11 this morning and because of traffic and construction slow downs took a bit longer than usual to make it back to Regina. It was nice to have him and his cat Eiko home for more than a day.

A new month and the last month of the summer. Not surprising my menu changed a bit today.

Monday

Lots of leftovers so we had a clean out the fridge night.

Tuesday

Leftover chicken warmed up. Serving this with the inevitable cucumber slices, rice, and some fresh garden beans.

Wednesday

Leftover ham and scalloped potatoes. I will make a salad to go along with this.

Thursday

Perhaps another clean out the fridge night, if there isn't enough leftover we will have hot dogs, the remains of the salad, and cucumber slices.

Friday

Fish Fillets, rice and mixed veggies as well as, you guessed cucumber slices.

Saturday

Leftover beef from a package in the freezer. I think I just might make a Margarite roll, served with mushrooms and a salad or raw veggies.

Sunday

Roast pork, roasted potatoes (though creamed potatoes sound really good) and roasted carrots.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

Hopefully I can find 5 frugal happenings on the old homestead this week.

1.  Combined errands when I went shopping this week. Not that I had that many errands to run.

2.  We got a free loaf of garlic bread.

3.  I am using up fabric and yarn from my stashes to make things such as masks and dishcloths.

4.  Daily walks are keeping me sane, and seeing the daily changes in the world around me is helping me realize that each new day brings something exciting to see.

5.  Stretching meals to get as much as possible out of each item bought. For the first time ever I saw limits on various meats when shopping.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

I am a bit late posting this, but after staying up with our cat until the early hours of the morning, I managed to sleep in a bit.

Thanks so much for the well wishes for our cat. This morning she is eating a bit more, and seems to be moving around easier. She is sleeping way more, but perhaps that is what she needs at this point in time.

On to the menus for this the first full week of February.

Monday

Hotdogs, pasta and raw veggies and dip.

Tuesday

Leftover ham. I am not too sure what will be made, but hopefully something tasty.

Wednesday

Another container of soup from the freezer along with either grilled cheese or toasted scrambled egg sandwiches.

Thursday

I have an early (well fairly early meeting) tonight so a clean out the fridge night is in order. If the fridge is clean, I will pull out a container of stew from the big freezer.

Friday

German egg noodles (Glace) along with diced potatoes and fried onions.

Saturday

Smoked sausage, homemade fries and coleslaw.

Sunday

Roast beef, roasted potatoes, roasted carrots and the remains of the coleslaw.

Everybody have a wonderful day. 

God bless.

Menu Monday

January is almost done. The months and days are speeding by. Well at least they were speeding by before we started work on the bedroom, then it felt like the days were crawling by due to bad sleeping and wanting my own bed. Now things are back to normal once again. 

Yes to all of you who said it must be nice to be in a refreshed room and back in our own bed. I do sleep so much better.

Monday

Leftover meatloaf, leftover mashed potatoes, and a tossed salad.

Tuesday

Leftover pork roast made into a casserole along with the leftover tossed salad.

Wednesday

Soup and sandwiches. The soup will be one of the ready meals from the big freezer downstairs. I sort of have a date for my surgery so will use up some of those meals and make a few more closer to the day.

Thursday

Clean out the fridge night. Pretty sure there will be leftovers from the previous two nights meals.

Friday

Salmon fillets, rice, and green beans.

Saturday

There is a small package of leftover turkey that needs using.

Sunday

I will make the roast ham we were supposed to have the Sunday before this.

Lunches as usual will be sandwiches, or scrounged from leftovers in the fridge.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Wow, the third full week of this month has arrived. Only one more and January will be done and dusted. 

Monday

I did not feel like poultry two nights in a row so I moved todays meal to yesterday and we will have the roast chicken today. Served with roasted carrots, and roasted potatoes and perhaps some coleslaw rather than a tossed salad.

Tuesday

Pulling out the leftover frozen beef roast and using it to make a casserole. I have a meeting at the church this evening so it will be something fast and easy to clean up.

Wednesday

This time it will be the leftover ham. I think I will use up some puff pastry and make some ham pasties.

Thursday

A clean out the fridge night.

Friday

Soup (probably one of the containers of lentil soup from the freezer) and some egg salad sandwiches.

Saturday

It is supposed to be nice and since we have not had our date night this month as of yet (due to the very cold, frost bite can occur in minutes weather) perhaps this would be the perfect evening to do so. If not well meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans are on the menu.

Sunday

If we go out on Saturday this will be meatloaf day, if not today will be baked ham, scalloped potatoes, and mixed veggies. I will make a tossed salad as well.

So there it is the menu for the week, using items that are already here in the house. 

Everybody have a wonderful day. 

God bless.

Menu Monday

I have just redone my menu plan for the week in order to use up all the leftovers in the fridge. I am sure they multiply in the dark, cool depths of the fridge.

Monday

The remains of the tuna meal from Friday, served the remains of the tossed salad.

Tuesday

The remains of the sweet and sour ribs, served with rice and mixed veggies.

Wednesday

Spaghetti and meat sauce (this will use up a container of tomato sauce from the basement chest freezer).

Thursday

Baked Spaghetti and meat sauce (using up the leftover spaghetti and sauce from last night). I will hopefully have gone shopping today and will serve a tossed salad along side.

Friday

Date night as it is our Anniversary and we will head out for supper.

Saturday

Leftover Baked Spaghetti and the remains of the tossed salad.

Sunday

Roast pork, roasted potatoes, roasted carrots, and if there is any salad left we will finish it off tonight.

Lunches will most likely be sandwiches or in my case toast and peanut butter.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Weather is becoming consistently cooler. We are also getting snow (though yesterday we had some rain as well). Time for slow cooker meals and lots of hearty soups. I will need to pull out the recipe books next month and try something new.

Still working on cleaning out the fridge freezer and amazingly I am seeing a difference. Love it.

Monday

Leftover pork roast made into a stove top casserole. Served with tossed salad.

Tuesday

Leftover ham (should be the last package in the fridge freezer) warmed up and served with corn, mashed potatoes, and the remains of the tossed salad.

Wednesday

Clean out the fridge night.

Thursday

I am out to supper (the Bible Study leaders are getting together for a meal) so I will make Harvey some smoked sausages, pasta, and some raw veggies and dip. 

Friday

Cod fillets, rice, and some kind of veggie. Probably a salad as well. I would like to try something new and different with the cod so I will spend some time looking online for an interesting take.

Saturday

Leftover Turkey (should be the last bag of this as well). I have a couple of ideas for this, that I am tossing around.  One will leave enough leftovers for another meal, the other perhaps enough for a light lunch the next day. Sides will depend on which recipe I use.

Sunday

Roast Beef (must check and see if I have a beef roast in the freezer), roasted potatoes, roasted carrots. Perhaps a tray of raw veggies and some dip.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Menu Monday

I have had a pretty busy day so far. Harvey and I delivered 15 hot meals to shut ins for their lunches. Then we have spent the better part of the afternoon moving furniture out of the living room and lifting the last remnants of the carpets out.  Just a few last minute removals early tomorrow morning, before the carpet installers arrive.

On with my up coming menus this last week in October and the first few days of November.

Monday

Date night so dinner out. Would be pretty difficult to cook right now.

Tuesday

Leftover bag of frozen baked ham from the fridge freezer. Paired with the leftover mashed potatoes, some leftover peas and the puff pastry. I see some pasty meals coming up. 

Wednesday

Leftover bag of chicken from the fridge freezer. I will be making Chicken a la king. Might just serve it on some buns from the freezer downstairs.

Thursday

Leftover ham pasty meal. We should have enough left from Tuesday to fill us up tonight.

Friday

Breakfast for dinner. Tonight we will have pancakes.

Saturday

Leftover Chicken a la King. If not enough I do have a container of chili in the fridge freezer we can have instead.

Sunday

I will break down and make a roast pork loin today, along with roasted potatoes, and roasted carrots.

As you can all see I am still trying to clean up the fridge freezer, and each time I do so I always say that I will keep things in order and fail miserably. But at least we are saving money over the last couple of weeks (including this one) using up what we already have.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Cleaning Out the Fridge Freezer

I am making a concerted effort to clear out the bits and bobs in the fridge freezer as I have previously posted.

So far I have used up a bag of frozen baked ham, and a small bag of what I think was frozen chicken but was probably frozen turkey (yours truly forgot to label them, I do that quite often). One of these days I will pull something out that is a big surprise.

Tonight I made something called Dump and Bake Alfredo Casserole. I cut the recipe in half as the first time I made it we were eating it for three days. It doesn't freeze very well either (I discovered this with the third serving).

The picture was found online and looks a great deal like what I made. I didn't have rotini pasta, so I used penne and it turned out very well. I will give you all the recipe that I cut it down to. Just double the amounts for a regular recipe.

8 oz rotini pasta

11 oz jar of Alfredo sauce

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 cup diced chicken

1/2 tsp. minced garlic

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Parmesan cheese for garnish

Heat oven to 425*F. In medium casserole stir together all ingredients except for the cheeses. Cover and bake 30 min. or until the pasta is al dente. Sprinkle Mozzarella cheese on top and bake uncovered 10 min. Garnish with Parmesan.

Enjoy.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

A new week and new menus.

Monday

BBQ smokies, tinfoil potatoes/onions, and some sliced raw veggies. I don't know when our oldest will be driving up so will hold off on making this as long as I can.

Tuesday

Hot beef sandwiches, homemade fries, and more sliced raw veggies or a kale salad.

Wednesday

We will be going out for supper for Harvey's birthday. I am classing this as our monthly dinner out as well.

Thursday

Clean out the fridge if there is anything left (oldest son can eat). If not I plan on making a chef's salad and using up some of the roast chicken and ham from the fridge freezer.

Friday

Tuna pasta salad and homemade biscuits or perhaps buns (depends on the temperature of the day).

Saturday

Chicken burgers, cabbage slaw, and perhaps some baked beans.

Sunday

Leftover pasta salad or some ham taken out of the fridge freezer and warmed up. If it is the ham I will serve it with the remaining slaw and scalloped potatoes (made in the microwave).

I hope to get a few things baked today so we have some desserts while Kurt is home. Since Kris is hopefully coming home this weekend desserts will be a good thing.

Everybody have a wonderful day. 

God bless.

Menu Monday

It is hard to believe that last week went by in a blur. I haven't been posting as much as I would like so I am going to try and improve that this week.

Menus for the week coming right up.

Monday

Soup and sandwiches. Something quick as I have a great many household chores to catch up on today. Just may pull some soup from the freezer downstairs.

Tuesday

Leftover ham, made into a casserole (cooked outside in my electric roaster), salad, and a side of mixed veggies.

Wednesday

Pork chops, hopefully done on the BBQ along with tinfoil  packets of potatoes, and grilled mushrooms.

Thursday

Clean out the fridge of the leftover ham casserole. Not quite sure what I will make to go along but veggies of some kind.

Friday

Tuna Pasta Salad. My favourite main dish salad of the summer.

Saturday

Hamburgers done on the BBQ, tinfoil packets of potatoes, and tinfoil packets of carrots.

Sunday

Roast pork, and roasted veggies.

So there they are, the meals for this week. Lunches will be as usual sandwiches, hummus and melba toast, yogurt, fruit, whatever uses leftovers and orphan items in the fridge.

Every one have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Something I Love

During the past few months I have been trying to make more meatless meals and finally pulled out a recipe that we really enjoy but haven't had for awhile.

This is a picture of our leftover Moroccan Red Lentil Soup after our evening meal. I got to use up a few bags of items from the chest freezer, as well as some leftovers in the fridge making it.

Moroccan Red Lentil Soup

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 chopped onions

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. turmeric

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ginger

6 cups water

1 cup red lentils

1 tbsp. tomato paste

2 peeled, cubed potatoes

19 oz. can tomatoes

1 cup frozen peas

1/4 cup sour cream

Heat oil in Dutch oven and cook onions, garlic and celery until softened about 5 minutes. Add salt, pepper, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon and ginger. Cook, stirring often for another 2 minutes. Add water, lentils, tomato paste, potatoes, and tomatoes. Break up tomatoes with a spoon. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 35 minutes. Add peas and simmer until veggies and potatoes are tender which is about 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls. Put a dollop of sour cream on each and serve. 

This made enough for the two of us to have three meals each, plus there will probably be leftovers for lunch.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Menu Monday

I am already making a switch around in order to use up some items in the fridge today.

Monday

First switch around. Today we will finish off the ham/scalloped potato casserole I made on Saturday. Served with a salad and it should fill us right up nicely.

Tuesday

Mushroom meatballs served over noodles with peas and perhaps a kale salad.

Wednesday

Soup and sandwiches. I may just make the lentil soup I have been craving for awhile.

Thursday

Leftover meatballs and noodles along with salad.

Friday

Tuna casserole and a tossed salad.

Saturday

Leftover ham warmed up. I think I may just make a potato salad to go along with it (not the season really for potato salad but I would really like some).

Sunday

Beef roast, mashed potatoes, and corn. May as well finish off any of the salads that are left as well.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Ahhh, the first full week of the new month and perhaps a change in the weather situation arriving very soon (or not). I think that perhaps what is getting to most of us here on the prairies of Canada is the warm up slightly and then overnight almost back to well below the temperatures we are used to. Our usual winter weather consists of a week or so of these seriously cold days, and then a gradual warm up. Oh well, we will survive.

Monday

Time to do some clearing out of the freezer. I plan on bringing up a container of stew for our supper. Served over slices of homemade bread. Would make dumplings, but not sure if I really want to.

Tuesday

The leftover beef roast will be made into hot beef sandwiches and served with homemade fries and a salad.

Wednesday

Pulling a package of leftover chicken out of the fridge freezer and having it for supper. I might make Chicken a la King and serve it over toast points.

Thursday 

Lazy perogies (or if I want to be fancy deconstructed perogies). Served with sour cream and leftover salad.

Friday

Soup and sandwiches.... I might just make some Moroccan Lentil soup here. It makes a big batch so some will need to be frozen.

Saturday

Clean out the fridge night. Sure to be lots of leftovers to choose from.

Sunday

Baked Ham, rice, mixed veggies and salad.

I am hoping to use up a few items in that freezer during the week. I have some rhubarb and think a sponge pie would be just lovely. I also see some muffins that I might pull out for snacks during the week.

Everyone have a wonderful day.

God bless. 

Menu Monday

Wow the end of the month already. Sure has gone by quickly, considering our temperatures have constantly been below -30 C with wind chills in the -40 C's (means exposed skin can freeze in minutes) and getting outside at all has been a chore in and of itself.

I do hope March starts off a bit nicer.

Monday

Clean out the fridge night. This means using up the baked spaghetti from a couple of nights ago. We will also try and finish up the coleslaw.

Tuesday

Leftover chicken made into some kind of casserole. I would love to make some mini chicken pot pies, but Harvey hates pot pies of any kind. Need to use up some potatoes as well.

Wednesday

Pork chops, rice and mixed veggies. Maybe another salad, kale this time.

Thursday

Soup and sandwiches. I may just open a can or two of vegetable soup (we have some that are more than likely getting near the best before date) and serve it with tuna salad sandwiches.

Friday (and the beginning of a new month)

Salmon casserole or patties. If patties I will use up the leftover rice and have some salad to go along.

Saturday

Smoked sausages, baked beans, and green beans from the freezer.

Sunday

Beef roast, roasted potatoes and carrots. I think a salad would be nice as well.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Making The Most Of Our Leftovers

I was asked to share some of the recipes I use to make meals from the leftover meats we have from our roast meals. So here are a few of our favourites.

Ham and scalloped Potatoes

Most of the time my microwave is used for this recipe, though it can be done in the oven as well.


3 large potatoes partially cooked
1 onion sliced
2 1/2 cups diced ham
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup flour
generous sprinkle of pepper
2 cups milk (you can use reconstituted dry milk for this but I use regular milk unless I run out)

Cook the potatoes for 7 minutes in the microwave or if you use the oven until slightly tender. Slice thinly. Place a layer of 1/2 the potatoes in your casserole dish, layer 1/2 the sliced onions on top. Layer the ham on top of this. Put the remaining onions on top and then layer the remaining potatoes.

Melt the butter or margarine in a 4 cup microwave compatible measuring cup. Mix in the flour to form a paste. Gradually add the milk and stir well. Heat the contents for 4 minutes stirring after every minute (or until mixture thickens slightly). Pour over ingredients in the casserole. This could be done in a pot on the stove as well.

Place in microwave and cook on high for 10 mins. Let sit for about 5 mins and serve.

If you do this in the oven, cook until the potatoes are tender.


Pork Supreme

2 tbsp. oil
2 cups cubed cooked roast pork
3 small onions sliced
8 oz sliced mushrooms (I use a can of mushrooms)
4 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. salt
hot sauce to taste

Heat oil. Add pork and onions, cook until evenly browned. Add mushrooms and saute 5 mins. Remove pork and veggies and set aside. Return pan to heat, add butter and stir until melted. Add flour and stir constantly until a paste forms. Slowly add milk and stir until gravy thickens. Stir in tomato sauce and remaining ingredients. Return pork and veggies to pan. Stir and simmer until meat is heated through. Serve over rice or noodles.

Both these recipes make enough for two meals for each of us and the Pork Supreme recipe actually made enough for a tin foil meal for our youngest son as well.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Good morning to the first full week in the month. 

I have been inspired by Sue's Challenge pages into using up what is in my freezer this week. Hopefully I will have as much success as she does. I need to take a before picture of it right now.

Not the best of pictures, but it does give you an idea of the mess those drawers are in.

I hope to have a bit more control over them by the end of the week.

Here are the weeks menus.

Monday

Leftover ham made into ham and scalloped potato casserole. Served with a tossed salad.

Tuesday

Leftover pork roast once again made into a casserole and served with the leftover salad.

Wednesday

Clean out the fridge night.

Thursday

Soup and sandwich night. I need to pull out some of the frozen cheese and make some grilled cheese sandwiches here.

Friday

Pancakes. The old breakfast for dinner thing.

Saturday

We will have our roast meal tonight instead of Sunday. Think it will be roast beef. Served with potatoes, and carrots as well as a pie of some type.

Sunday

Leftover chicken warmed up and served with the leftover potatoes and carrots from last night.

This will clear out a bit of those overloaded drawers. At least I hope it will.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Menu Monday

Oh wow, the end of this year is quickly approaching. Where on earth has all the time gone?

Monday

A package of frozen leftover roast beef made into something similar to stew. Serving it over thick slices of homemade bread. Get lots of veggies in this way as well.

Tuesday

A package of leftover ham. There is a casserole I want to try, but I must remember to put it together the night before.

Wednesday

Clean out the fridge night of all leftovers. What isn't eaten will be frozen.

Thursday

Chicken breasts done in the Instant Pot. Not sure how as of yet, but will be looking at recipes today.

Friday

Lazy perogies.....That way there will be some leftover for Kurt and Kris for their lunches.

Saturday

Soup and sandwiches. I am going to make a big pot of Spicy Lentil Soup. Served with grilled cheese sandwiches. This should fill us all up and give me plenty of leftovers for later.

Sunday

Chili and toast. Using up chili I froze a couple of weeks ago for just this purpose.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.