Thrifty Thursday: Two for One

 

Friday:  I don't know why this popped in my mind last night, but there I was at midnight, suddenly thinking of what was in my freezer and one casserole dish in particular that I recall is there.  Which led me to think of the fact that I also tucked some chow mein noodles into the freezer to go with the casserole and then that led me to think of someone saying that chow mein noodles can turn rancid rather quickly.  Which led me to, "Oh! I have another packet of chow mein noodles in the pantry...I should do something with them."  Yes, this is indeed how my mind works.  

That last thought of using the chow mein noodles had me recalling that in the past few months I'd noted that some people make what I call haystacks but with chocolate chips instead of with the butterscotch chips Mama used.  I knew I had a container of mixed salted nuts that we weren't eating as quickly as I'd thought we might...So I had this inspiration to make chocolate haystacks using the mixed nuts.

And that's what I did today at lunch time.  I think I messed up in one factor, and that is because I added peanut butter to the melted chocolate chips.  The chocolate hasn't really 'set', but I can't determine if that's peanut butter or the humidity of the day that prevented that happening.  I ended storing these in an airtight container in the fridge and the chocolate set up that way.  I think it was adding the peanut butter that kept the chocolate from setting.

In another spate of 'use what you have' today, we each had a different entree at lunch.  Caleb had asked me, as we came indoors, if he could have chicken nuggets and I remembered that I had just one serving left in the bag in the freezer.  So, he had nuggets with coleslaw which he ate and corn pudding, which he did not.  John had Chicken with Rice and Coleslaw.  I ate the last I wanted of the pasta soup.  The very last bit of it went to the dog this afternoon.  I was done after having had it three times this week.  John wouldn't eat it and Caleb didn't care for it at all.  

For supper this evening, I had 1.5 pork chops left from supper one night this week, a partial box of taco shells (why doesn't anyone make a smaller box of shells with say just five or six in it?), and three tortillas which is John's preference since he prefers a soft taco.  I also found a Lime and Chili sauce in the fridge that I'd bought on clearance awhile back but hadn't quite finished the bottle.  I decided to turn the chops into Carnita type meat.  That was a pretty darn good supper and definitely something I'd do in the future even if I had no leftovers.  The guys were pretty happy over it, too.  

I've been contacted a few times now by various companies about being a sponsor for their products, and I've just ignored them all, but one company has been a wee bit more persistent. I decided to check out their products and read their statements about their products and business, then read customer reviews.  I was impressed enough to agree to become an 'ambassador' as they called it.  They gave me three pieces of their jewelry, my choice, as consideration for doing this.  I've also been given a discount code to pass along to any who'd like to make a purchase.   I shall do all of this as soon as I receive my jewelry pieces and I look them over well. 

Sunday:  Off to the grocery today after church.  I tried to think ahead to what Caleb might need for lunches and what we needed for Thanksgiving Day evening.  I'd promised John some extra things, and I was conscious of areas that I needed to restock.  Nine tenths of what I bought today was NOT on sale but was needed.  I am well and truly done with my grocery budget, and perhaps a bit over.  I often am during holidays.  I think next year I'll try to budget the holiday foods ahead of time, so the money is there when we get to them.  

I picked up a small packet of allergy meds.  I've been feeling as though my chest is congested and, in the past, this has been an allergy issue.  I am apparently out of the Amazon tablets which are super inexpensive compared to the store brand.  However, I didn't want to wait a week to receive the other pills.  I needed some relief right now.  So, I paid more for 14 tablets than what I'll pay for 100 from Amazon.  I have got my Amazon tablets ordered though.  They'll be here next week.

What I didn't buy today were things like cranberry relish and fancy holiday treats.  I'll make my own, thank you, and while I know at least one item can be purchased for less than what it costs to make, the rest are far less expensive to make at home.

In fact, I'll be in the kitchen this afternoon baking pies, mixing up Bess's favorite gelatin salad for the holiday and making cranberry relish.    Right after I go finish putting away the groceries.

I've checked out the fridge and we've enough leftovers I needn't thaw anything out for the week ahead except our turkey breast.

Monday:  Yesterday afternoon, I got busy and made the Cranberry Celebration Salad that Bess loves so for Thanksgiving.  That's the item I could have bought on sale cheaper than what it cost me to make it from scratch.  Never mind.  It can only be bought at one store, a store I happened NOT to visit yesterday, and I knew full well that a trip there would mean spending still more money when I'd spent plenty already.

I also made my own Cranberry Relish and for that I needed only an orange.  I got a bag but can tell you smugly that I while I haven't 'saved' $4.99 for their pint, I did save over $2 once the cost of the bag of oranges is subtracted.  I have about a pint and a half of relish for my troubles. I can freeze portions of this and use all throughout the year, too, so there's that bonus.

I also made two pies, one pecan and one pumpkin.  My pecan pie is not quite Granny's recipe because I discovered that I had NO corn syrup, which was a surprise to me because I know I had some, almost a half a bottle left from making pies earlier this year.  I'll likely find it when I start to put my kitchen back together. I experimented with using all brown sugar to replace the white sugar and Karo syrup the recipe called for.  And then realized that I did not want to cut the pie to taste it because I just hate taking a pie with a missing slice anywhere.  I assumed that 'it looks good' will mean that it also tastes good.  

Then I made a Pumpkin Pie with sweetened condensed milk.  It's my favorite recipe.

Today I got busy and made a second Pecan Pie, and a second Pumpkin Pie.  Things were not going well with me today.  I poured the pecan pie filling in the pastry shell and realized I should have added three eggs instead of two.  I dumped all that filling right back in the bowl and beat in the extra egg.   Then I went to mix up the pumpkin pie and discovered that I'd only had one can of sweetened condensed milk...No clue where the second can went.  So, I had to make it by the original recipe which called for sugar and evaporated milk, only I had no evaporated milk because I was shocked to my toes at the cost of a can of evaporated milk that is carrageenan free when I was looking to replace my spoiled cans.  I used half and half.  

I mixed up cheese crisps and then sausage cheese balls.  No incidents with the cheese crisps and I mixed the sausage balls just fine...but when I got them to the freezer to flash freeze, I dropped the pan and had to chase down sausage balls from all sorts of places where they oughtn't to have been.  Sigh.

In the end, I survived, food came out fairly intact and looks edible.  And I am officially done with my Thanksgiving cookery except for that turkey breast.

Tuesday:  I stuck to my very short list at the grocery today.  I bought Apples, cider, and cereal, just as I intended.  To be honest it was John who deviated.  It is his pleasure to buy me Chocolate Covered cherries this time of year and so he picked up a box of those.  The store had a variety of flavors: French Vanilla, Cherry Cola, Coconut, Milk and Dark Chocolate.  I opted for the French Vanilla since they were all the same prices.  Then he found his favorite candy of all, Double Dipped Chocolate Peanuts.  I told him that was absolutely the last item going into the buggy. 

We headed to a favorite restaurant in that town to have lunch.  I noted the $10 menu which gave us the option of soup or salad and a few different entrees.  We both ordered from that and got water to drink.  Our meals were delicious.  The salads a bit smaller than the typical salad but the entrees were generous enough that we brought home leftovers which we ate for supper tonight.

I ordered fruitcakes from Harry & David. I'd tried to use the website, but it rejected my address.  When I made the call, I made sure to mention the 15% off code I'd been planning to use and got that discount even though I was calling in my order.

While I was sorting out things this afternoon, I discovered that I had enough of a balance in credit card rewards to purchase a small gift card ($5).  I opted to get a Lowe's card and I've set it aside to use in Spring when I will want to start buying mulch and potting soil or plants.

I went through my charges from Amazon to sort those out into categories.  I'm glad I did this because one grocery item I'd ordered in bulk for months now had suddenly gone up in price, by nearly 24c per package.  I can now buy this item cheaper at the grocery store unless they offer another special.  I need to go look at the prices of all the subscribe and save items and be sure I'm getting the best prices. 

Wednesday:  I went to the Dollar General in town this morning, which I tend to avoid, not because I don't like the store, but because I have a $40 set point when I walk through that door.  Today was no exception...However, what I went in to get I got and what I got extra were needed.  I avoided a whole lot more stuff than I actually purchased.

They do have some very pretty things for Christmas.  Fewer ornaments than in times past, but lots of pretty pieces for decorating.  I didn't buy any of those though I was tempted by a set of tiny 3-inch-high nutcrackers.  I skipped those.  I also skipped the really cute little Advent calendars that have metal numbers that count down the days to Christmas. That was $6.  Honestly, I'd kind of like to go back and get that...I know if I do decide I want it, I'd better get it this week, or they'll all be gone.

I bought Christmas cards, getting two boxes for $3.50 each, for a package of 32 cards.  I picked up a $1 star to put on top of Caleb's little tree when it's set up.  I got two door mats both with a pumpkin/fall motif and a door hanging (also autumn) for half price.  The two mats were each $5 and the door hanging was $7.50.  I got three $1 coloring books for the children to play with, a set of containers to store leftovers, a ball for part of Caleb's Christmas, and a package of Tootsie Rolls for John.  

I had the idea last night, lying awake thinking is a great source of inspiration, of rinsing the disliked too sweet/too smoky sauce off the leftover meatballs and saucing them up with leftover pizza sauce to make Meatball subs.  I used frozen hot dog buns as the bread.  

I mixed up the last of the fruit cup we bought at the grocery on Sunday and added in a solitary mandarin left from last month's fruit purchases and a Granny Smith apple to extend it to a full serving for each of us.  

I looked ahead at what is shipping from Amazon for Subscribe and Save in December.  I cancelled quite a few items, postponed a few more.  If I need any of them in the nearer future, I can simply change shipping dates.  Now I need to go back and check prices on each item and be sure they are the best price for my budget.  

I pulled a jar of soup from the freezer and will serve it with corn muffins tonight.  Now the rain has cleared off we've a steady westerly breeze and cold air blowing in.  

Friday:  Today, I baked bread for the weekend.  

Used the leftover holiday breakfast rolls for our bread for this morning's breakfast.  

I cooked an acorn squash and a pumpkin in the slow cooker.  I scooped flesh from both and put in the freezer.  I think I got a good two cups of more from each. That is now in the freezer.

We ate leftovers for lunch.  John finished off the bologna and I ate the last of the soup I served earlier in the week.

I went outdoors and cut enough lettuce to make a big salad for our supper.  Noted that the carrots are growing very well, too and about four beets have survived.  One more pea decided to germinate at this late date, just in time for the next bit of freezing weather.