My Frugal Week

In the Kitchen:  I noted turkeys on sale this past week.  I'd meant to buy one because they are always a good bargain even at full price, but especially so on sale.  Aldi had a smoked Butterball turkey on sale which I thought would be good for sandwich meat.  I baked the turkey Sunday (it's a shorter time of baking but like any smoked meat must be cooked for a time to heat it thoroughly).  I divided the turkey into two breast halves, two thighs, 1 packet of legs and wings, and 1 bag containing the carcass and wing tips.  The meatier pieces will be our sandwich meats, the carcass will do nicely for soup and bean pot seasoning.

One thigh from the smoked turkey fed John and I supper one night with enough meat left on the bone to make picnic sandwiches for a day trip tomorrow.  I saved the bone and skin to add to the bag with the rest of the carcass.  I've found a recipe for a wild rice soup that calls for smoked turkey meat.

Do you do that?  Look at recipes and earmark those that call for ingredients you have on hand?  I've just made up a batch of applesauce muffins from a recipe that I set aside because I had half a jar of applesauce in the fridge that needs to be used up.  And the recipe for the wild rice soup that calls for the smoked turkey I have on hand. 

Katie made a big pot of chicken and dumplings during her visit this past weekend.  She used two of the boneless skinless breasts purchased last week.  There were enough leftovers for a second meal.



Cooked a sirloin roast for dinner on Monday.  I marinated it overnight.  While marinade may not be eaten after raw meat has been placed in it you can boil on the stove to use as au jus or freeze the marinade to use again for another piece of beef, provided you've kept it very cold and not let it warm at anytime in between removing the meat and putting into the freezer.

The leftover roast should make two more meals at least.  I put the meat away, cut into two portions for just that purpose.

Homemade just tastes best in my opinion. I made a pound cake...my recipe calls for a 10-inch tube pan which is a sizable cake.  I divide my batter between two 9 inch loaf pans.  I have to cut the baking time usually about 1 hour 10 minutes is enough) but we get TWO cakes from a single recipe.  I wrap one and put in the freezer and we have one for our afternoon coffee break snack.

Washed full loads of dishes on the shortest cycle.

Used water saved from rinsing dishes and water bottles to water plants.

Washed baggies to re-use.  

In the House:
Every now and then we're tested about our convictions.  John and I contemplated a big purchase this month.  As usual, we prayed about it and thought it out before we committed ourselves to getting an estimate.  We had a price point and we were pretty clear about it.  The 'guesstimate' was close to our price point.  However, when it came down to the time to purchase we given an estimate a bit higher than we were prepared to pay.  We thanked the company for the estimate and time but explained that we couldn't pay that amount at this time.  I think, truly, that they did their job well and we were all hopeful of the purchase, but in the end, it comes down to this: we're more committed to staying out of debt than we are to any purchase we hope to make.  Disappointed?  A little, but philosophical as well.  God knows our need and we've absolutely no doubt that at some point in the future we can make that purchase.  Now just isn't the time.

Picked up still more pecans.  I see plenty on the tree yet, but we need another  good hard wind to shake them out.  We'll take what I've picked up thus far to sell.

As a perk (pun intended) for voting Tuesday, Starbucks offered up free regular coffee to patrons.  John got his free but I had ordered a Gingerbread latte so didn't get mine free.  Wish he'd told me before I went to the counter.  I heard the clerk ask the girl in front of me if she'd been to vote yet when she ordered a regular coffee with a Gingerbread flavoring but I had no clue or I'd have gotten mine free as well.  BTW, Gingerbread Latte is a seasonal Starbucks offering and to my taste is far better than Pumpkin Spice.

We were 'out and about' as John says when we're doing errands.  He wanted a haircut, we took off trash, carried along pecans to sell, had plans to pick up a birthday gift for the twins and a Christmas present for a family member.  On the way home from our last stop, I noted that we'd have to run into town again this week just before guests arrived unless we made one more stop at the local grocery.  I should've thought to do this at Walmart when we were there but I was very intent on getting out without spending on anything except what we'd set money aside to purchase.  So we stopped locally and picked up the last of the items needed to serve dinner on Saturday.  Then we headed home.  We made the trip count that's for sure.

My last batch of pecans netted me $14 which means I now have exactly enough to book the hotel room for our stay for the twins first birthday.  Nice!
 
We've hung clothes to dry every single day, with limited use of the dryer on a cool and rainy day.

Affordable back ache relief:  I've had the worst time sleeping any length of time of late because my back/hip/knee ached horribly after two or three hours sleep.  That new pillow I bought was $9, formed for a side sleeper (my favored position) and is called firm medium.  Three nights I've slept on it and three nights I've had little to no pain whatsoever!  Who knew that the vast majority of my awful nights was due to a pillow not suited to my sleep position?  I bet I spent that much at least on pain relievers and night time sleep aids trying to get a decent night's sleep and the whole while a new pillow was what I needed.

Just staying home is the greatest relief, money saver and all around good place to be.  I am deeply grateful that the little things I do in my home can net me such satisfying results.  Little things  like selling pecans (we figured it netted me about $8 for an hour's worth of work) pay off, as does using fabric from my stash to make a shade and valances (the fabric was given to me).  And dear John has only mentioned at least once most evenings that he is surely enjoying his Christmas gift from last year (an upgrade that ended up saving us money because of the customer loyalty discount and the new package discount).  He's watched a ton of football. I'm beginning to understand the bare basics of the game myself.