Last Week's Thrifty Moves

Remember that dish I put together with the chicken carcass and veggies.  First thing Sunday morning I dumped it and a gallon of water into my big slow cooker and let it cook all day.  It made some amazing broth to use for soups and recipes.  When it was cooled down I strained it and we put it into containers for the freezer.

After cooking some bacon for Sunday breakfast I saved the rendered fat in an old pesto jar and put it in the refrigerator to add to future recipes.  I like to use it when I make biscuits and gravy, fried rice or refried beans.

Four containers of beautiful chicken broth for the freezer

The young one and I made 4 pints of vanilla yogurt.  I used half a gallon of milk purchased at Fred Meyer for only 79¢ plus a little sugar and vanilla from the pantry making it super inexpensive.  A cup of Greek yogurt goes on sale for $1 for a 6oz cup so 4 pints of yogurt for less than a dollar is a steal!

I made a new batch of salad dressing mix.  When I was finished the young one made 2 1/2 pints of creamy Italian salad dressing.

Edith - one of the wage earners

I sold four dozen eggs!  I also went to the feed store and used some of the hen's egg money to purchase two 50# bags of pellets for them.  They still have money left in their kitty so I plan to go back in October and get them another bag of feed and more bedding for the coop.  That should see them through the winter.

We did not grocery shop again this week and ate quite well from what we already had on hand.

My youngest gave me this fabulous pedicure!
Isn't she talented?!

We are fan people.  We even sleep with them on pretty much year round.  Last week I bought two new box fans to replace one that died and one that is older and most likely will die in the not too distant future.  I did not have time to go shopping for fans so I got them on Amazon for $17.99 each with free two day shipping.

I got a slightly used chef's knife from a seller on eBay for $18.99 to replace the old cheap one I got at Walmart several years ago.  It is by Pampered Chef (I used to sell that stuff many, many years ago and I love it) with the self sharpening case and in excellent condition.  I've wanted this particular knife for eons, but since I already had a fairly decent one I couldn't justify the expense.  Since my old knife needs to be replaced and the price was so good I didn't feel the need to wait any longer.  Now I have a complete set of quality kitchen knives and I am pretty happy about that.

A co-worker brought in a big box of fresh homegrown peaches for us.  I happily helped myself and they are delicious.  Another co-worker brought in tomatoes but they were pretty ripe.  The chickens sure enjoyed them, however.

A couple months ago I happened across a bread machine at a thrift store exactly like the one I have that my old boss had given me.  The price was only $8.95 so I decided to get it with the idea it would go to the retirement house.  When I got home with it I found out that although everything lit up, when I pressed the start button nothing happened.  Duh, why didn't I push the button at the store?  Fortunately I have a very talented friend who is an electrician and he fixed it for me.  He even baked a loaf of bread in it and threatened to keep it, offering to give $10 for it.  I got it back, however, so now I can make bread and mark this item off the list.  As much as I use my current bread machine I think $8.95 was a pretty good investment.

While waiting for an appointment the youngest and I popped into a nearby thrift store to take a quick peek.  I found a Pyrex bowl for 99¢ to replace the one I dropped on the tile floor and shattered a couple weeks ago.  She spotted another one of the glasses I needed to complete the set for 59¢.  As you may recall I purchased three at another store a few weeks ago hoping to find one more.  She found it!

At another thrift store we stopped at we picked up four 1/4 pint canning jars for 69¢ each.  I was actually thinking of stopping at the dollar store to see if they had any small plastic containers to put condiments in for packing lunches.  This will work so much better, I think.

After dropping the oldest off to perform with the band at the high school football game the young one and I headed to the library to return the books we had read and check out some new ones.  Then we left the library and took a really nice long walk along the greenbelt.  The weather couldn't be any more perfect.

Saturday morning I made three loaves of Steakhouse Brown Bread and a batch of Healthier Oatmeal Cookies.  That bread makes a mean tuna sandwich and those cookies hardly taste healthy.

The girls and I packed a picnic lunch and headed off for a hike.  On the way home we stopped at Wendy's and each of us enjoyed a 50¢ Frosty.  Just a $1.59 with tax made for a rather thrifty family outing.

Fred Meyer sent me another coupon book in the mail. 

I had a little wreck.  Well, that is one way to purge your stuff.

How thrifty was your week?