Last Week's Thrifty Moves

Sunday I baked one of the hams I bought last month on sale for 88¢ a pound.  Monday I sliced about half of it for sandwiches and cut the rest of it up and put it into packages for the freezer.  I left quite a bit on the bone for a pot of soup later.  I used my Grandmas's old meat grinder to grind up some ham and used it to make her delicious ham salad for sandwiches in our lunches.

My youngest has Honor Orchestra on Mondays after school.  I usually take my laptop and write or read a book while I wait.  There is a Fred Meyer near the school where she rehearses so this time I decided to do my grocery shopping.  I only purchased a handful of things last week and they were on sale plus I had coupons too:

Spinach $1.99 (less 45¢OFF coupon), two 16 oz. tubs of sour cream 99¢ each, two half gallon jugs of chocolate milk marked down to 69¢ each, 5 pounds of flour $1.59 (less 50¢ OFF coupon), bag of tortilla chips $1.00 (less 40¢ OFF coupon), and a loaf of whole wheat bread 99¢.

While at Fred Meyer I found a bag of Ghiradelli chocolates on markdown for $1.75.  My girls love these so I grabbed them up to give them for Valentine's Day.  I even tried a couple to make sure they are good. Yes, I made the sacrifice. J

I had these heart shaped boxes in my gift wrap bin they were given last year so I decided it would be fun to refill them.  They will love it.

On the way home we stopped at a Walmart Neighborhood Market (I'd never been to one before).  We've passed it a few times and thought we'd stop in and check it out.  I picked up some oranges and bananas and used another coupon I had on some smoked sausages we like.  I doubt this will be a store I frequent but I'm glad I checked it out.

Tuesday my oldest had her workshop at the university.  My youngest and I waited for her at the library.  Before we went to the library we went to Cash & Carry since it is close by.  I bought 5# of cheese for pizza and lasagna.  It was on sale for $10.48.  They also had 10# of lean ground beef on sale for $19.50.  It has been a very long time since I bought ground beef that inexpensively.  That pretty much hits the bulk of what I had on our shopping list this month.  I'll probably shop at the end of next week for fresh milk and produce again.  Other than that we are pretty well set.

While at the library we returned one book and checked out four more.

We enjoyed our free trial of Netflix and watched several episodes of Grey's Anatomy and NCIS.

We ate all of our meals at home this week.  Our food waste was kept to a minimum and we gave our kitchen scraps to the chickens, which always makes them happy.  I composted eggs shells, coffee grounds, tea bags and banana peels.

The chickens have started laying again.  I think they really like their new coop heater.  It doesn't have a light and I think they are able to sleep better at night now.  Plus the coop is warm and dry.  I'm so glad it finally came off backorder.  They blessed us with 8 eggs

The youngest and I had a date on Saturday.  We went out to breakfast at one of our favorite little diners.  At breakfast we discussed making a big pot of beanless chili.  On the way home we stopped in at Cash & Carry for a big can of tomato sauce.  I did the math and it was over a dollar in savings over buying the equivalent in 15 oz. cans.

When we got home she and I got to work and made the chili.  She actually did most of it browning 4# of lean ground beef while I divided the rest of the 10# package into individual packages for the freezer.  Then she added half the big can of sauce and I put the rest in freezer containers to use later.  After seasoning it with two packets of chili spices we let it cook all day.  It was fabulous.  My baby did a very good job.  She and I tested it out and then we put it in containers for the freezer too.  We got some serious investment cooking done and it felt good.

I saved the little bit of rendered fat after browning the ground beef in a small container and put it in the freezer.  I plan to use it later to make my hens another suet cake.

Lots of goodies tucked away.

How was your thrifty week?