Thrifty Thursday: May Showers, May Flowers

Friday:  I have blooms everywhere at the moment.  Balsam has started to bloom.  These are just a handful of volunteer blooms but I always let them go to seed and will sprinkle them in various spots throughout my garden beds.  I love these little flowers!

The Ditch Lilies are blooming.  How lovely they are to bring in a few of those bright orange flowers and put in the blue and white vases.  And the hydrangeas are blooming and turning that lovely shade of blue.  It is the season when I can turn to my own yard to cut flowers for indoors.  Right now we have a shallow bowl of gardenias that is scenting the room in a lovely way.

Rain is not conducive to a cold salad day in my opinion.  I picked up a sheet pan recipe from @cookinginthemidwest for a cheesy barbecue chicken.  I had one breast and about 1.5 cups of diced potatoes in the fridge. I roasted that broccoli and cauliflower the other day.  All I had to add to the pan was some smoked sausage that I took from the freezer this morning.  I'll add the cauliflower when I put the barbecue sauce and cheese on the meat.  That should give it long enough to heat through before we eat. This was very simple and very tasty.   It really is as easy as I described.  I'll make this a keeper recipe to print off for my notebook so I'll recall it when the days are cool enough to use the oven once again.

Saturday:  John went off to share in the ministry Outreach today.  He wasn't playing for the event.  It was rainy and  I decided to stay home.  

I've used up odds and ends from the fridge and freezer to make Calzones for our late lunch today.  

We were given a couple of donuts last night as Coffee House was tidying up.  We had those for breakfast this morning.  

I found the Blueberry Cobbler k-cups in my freezer and decided it's time to return to the 'Saturday Morning Special Coffee' ritual that I so enjoy.

I took the last of the yogurt cheese, a bit of cottage cheese, some leftover pizza sauce (84c a can for the Amazon Happy Belly brand), a bit of pepperoni, a chopped meatball, mozzarella, and some thawed frozen pizza sauce.  This made a really delicious Calzone for our late lunch today.   

For supper, we had a Shepherd's Pie from March that I'd found in the freezer.  I served it with green beans, roasted cauliflower, and a fruit salad made of pineapple and mandarin oranges.

Sunday: I made lunch here at home today.  I wanted a proper Sunday kind of dinner, so I opted for the Ham I'd thawed on Saturday when I planned meals, a box of au gratin potatoes. I do NOT care for the Betty Crocker brand and I will not buy them again.  I had peas with mushrooms, sliced tomatoes, and thawed two frozen biscuits.  

For supper tonight we went to Senior Sunday Supper.  We were surprised by scattered showers all along the way.  At times following supper there are more leftovers than they know what to do with.  Such was the case last night.  I brought home some of the roasted chicken, two legs, a thigh, and a breast which we'll use sometime this week.

Monday:  I worked on the flower bed in front of the back porch this morning for about a half hour.  I spread two bags of mulch.  Then I walked to the patio and looked for plants that would add color but likely do well in mostly shady conditions.  Mint, Begonias, and Coleus seem the right things to place there.  It's not nearly enough but it's a start and I'll take a start over doing nothing at all.

I salvaged another bit of the rose bush to try the second propagation method.  I'm having trouble finding a dish that will work with it.  I think I need to use a saucer.

I sorted out what I was rooting on the window sill.  I planted rooted stems of ivy, coleus, and moss rose.  The tomato side shoots that I was trying to root, did not do a thing and were very sickly.  I decided to cut my losses on that.  

I know that all summer long, I'll have something rooting on that windowsill.  Right now, it's roses, a piece of fern, and an orphaned baby orchid.

When I came back indoors, I sorted out the refrigerator.  I quickly realized I'd forgotten meals I'd already planned for this week and that what I had left in the fridge was more than mere lunches.  So my menu plan for this week will be altered as follows:

Instead of using turkey in the Spaghetti a la Diable, I will use canned chicken.  

I found the jar of Tomatillo Sauce I made last week.  I had planned to make an easy Tortilla casserole with that.  I used all of the turkey meat I'd thawed.  I layered the meat with crushed corn chips, a layer of tomatillo sauce, and cheese.  The cheese was the new Kraft Buffalo Ranch cheese.  Again, this cheese is something I will not buy twice. Using the casserole will be the best possible use of it.  

I took leftover au gratin potatoes, some leftover potatoes, sour cream, black pepper, and shredded plain cheddar to make a quick potato casserole.  We'll have that with the roasted chicken I brought home and the last of the fresh broccoli.

So there you are.  My biggest savings today involved using what I have!

Tuesday:  I had a chiro appointment this morning, and though the grandchildren were here (John stayed with them), I let John know I was going by the discount grocery on my way home.

I did very well there again today.  I picked up potato chips for Taylor's birthday party.  Then I went right to the meat and produce clearance areas, and nowhere else.  In produce: tomatoes (slicing and Roma), Serrano peppers (I think could be small jalapenos), a 5-pack of avocados, a 4-pack of baking potatoes, a 4-pack of red bell peppers.  All the produce was 75c to $1.  

In meats, I got 2 4-pc packages of Ground Chicken Patties for $1 each, 1 pound of ground chicken, 1 large Chuck Roast, 1 package of beef steak strips, and 2 shoulder steaks.  I paid less than $2.70/pound for all the meat except the ground chicken patties.

I allowed myself $10 towards plants.  Today I bought 2 six-packs of petunias, one of marigolds, and one six-pack of bell pepper plants. 

I have grocery money left in my budget for the month.  I have to buy hot dogs and buns for Taylor's birthday dinner, but the rest of the money should be for next week if anything is needed.

I've been watching ads and this year I've noted that hot dogs, baked beans, ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise are decently priced, as are chips, ice cream treats, and fruit pops (real fruit).  Meats are not really on sale.  They are all about average sale prices.  What sort of pricing did you see for Memorial Day sales this year?

Wednesday:  I made bread this morning and a half recipe of Jam Bars as a treat this afternoon.  

Beyond that, I did nothing much except spend money.  Katie's birthday and baby shower gifts together were ordered today.  She needs so much and has been out of work for more than two months.  Thankfully she went back to work but I know she's got to keep up her bills and money for the baby won't be quickly come by.

When Sam stopped in he mentioned he'd found a great bargain on a brand-new tub that he wished he could put in his second bath.  I inquired about how much it was and found it affordable, though higher than what I'd typically spend on a birthday but didn't I just do?  And yes, Sam and Katie are within a week of one another in June's birthday-heavy weeks.   I took money from my Christmas fund and now he can pick up his new tub.   

I've had a slight headache since yesterday.  I got hot while working outdoors.  I know too that these adjustments will release toxins in the body.  I can't say whether it was the chiropractic work or the heat.  Either way, I feel slightly less than 100% but not ill.

And while I am less monied than I was 24 hours ago, I am at least only three birthday gifts away from being done with this busy birthday season.

Thursday:  We did a full load of laundry and a full load of dishes today.  

We wanted to celebrate our anniversary and since we'll be busy with Taylor's birthday party the day of our anniversary we slipped away from home today.  We retraced our steps to Warm Springs but chose an alternate route this time.  We made it over just fine and enjoyed the time away from home.  We purposely skimped on eating out so we could afford to do this.  As it happens, it fell within our normal budgeted amount and we have another meal out before our next payday if we choose.

On evenings of days we've eaten out we usually will eat light or have leftovers for our evening meal.

Amazon Associate Affiliate Link: If you place an order using my link, I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.  Thank you!