Our Frugal Journey

I’ve got a lot of unfinished projects I’m hoping to finish up this week, so I’m looking for an easy way out in the kitchen. I know my limits!
Tried-and-true, quick meals that everyone likes. And did I mention, easy clean up?
Monday: Pumpkin pancakes, our breakfast-for-dinner selection of the week.  My freezer is packed with pumpkin [...]

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This is only my second week back in the grocery store following a month-long moratorium on spending so this week’s menu is still made up largely of items remaining in our much-depleted stockpile. Luckily, I happened upon a terrific sale on turkey breasts last week for just 77 cents per pound. Using just one of [...]

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It’s March! Which means our No-Spend Challenge is over. Which means I’ll be headed to the grocery to do a full-fledged shopping trip. I’ll be spending my usual $50 per week budget, scouting for extra-good deals to restock my seriously depleted pantry, freezer and fridge.
But, you may be surprised to hear, I won’t be headed [...]

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Welcome to week No. 3 of our No-Spend Challenge! We’re eating from the pantry, freezer and fridge without heading to the grocery store for any extra ingredients. Thanks to a huge turkey breast, a forgotten steak in the back of the freezer and some previous double-batch cooking, this week looks pretty good.
Monday:  Hot browns, mashed [...]

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This being our Month of No Spending, we’ll be eating exclusively from the pantry and freezer this month. Based on a quick survey of the freezer and pantry, that shouldn’t be too difficult — at least not the first two weeks anyway. We’ve got plenty of frozen chicken on hand, along with a frozen turkey [...]

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I don’t know if you noticed, but I failed to post a menu plan last week. We managed to stay out of our favorite fast-food establishments. Barely. Truth be told, I felt the lure of Chick-fil-A more than once.
Without a plan, I had that wave of 5 p.m. panic. Day after day. It was not fun. [...]

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Monday:  Grilled cheese and tomato soup. After so many rich goodies consumed around the house this past week, this simple menu seemed just right.
Tuesday: Sloppy joes, baked french fries, Jello with fruit. Check out my sloppy joe recipe at the bottom of this post. I’ve been making it since my first year of junior high home [...]

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As much as I’ve tried to stay sane this Christmas season, I’ve found myself playing catch-up with my regular duties. Because, let’s face it, making home-made goodies with sweet Caroline is way more fun than folding laundry or menu planning.
But, as Monday morning turned into Monday late afternoon, I knew there was no putting it [...]

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With cookies to bake and homemade gifts to make and assemble this month, I decided to put meals on this week’s menu that can be easily made in double and triple batches to save me time and save my sanity. A little extra time spent in the kitchen this week will be well worth it in the [...]

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Monday:  Dinner at my mom’s house. Thanks, Mom!
Tuesday:  Southwest Roll-ups, taken from my freezer stash. Served with sour cream and salsa.
Wednesday:  Turkey corn soup, from the treasure trove of turkey leftovers.
Thursday:  Mashed potato bowls, my version of the KFC dish. I’ll be subbing turkey for chicken, using up the last of our turkey leftovers.
Friday:  Grilled [...]

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