Last Week'sThrifty Moves

Sunday was Mother's Day and my girls were kind enough to make sure I felt loved and appreciated, which I most certainly did.  They spoiled me with coffee, chocolate as well as raspberry and blueberry bushes to plant in our backyard.  They even helped me plant them.  We had a wonderful dinner of grilled steaks, salmon and corn.  My youngest made a salad and we also steamed some asparagus.  It was very nice.

My new blueberry bushes

I had made broth using up onion, celery and carrots in the crisper drawer along with a couple of turkey wings I had in the freezer leftover from Thanksgiving.  I also had a bag of turkey meat in the freezer so once the broth was done I allowed it to chill overnight and skimmed off the fat.  I combined it with the meat and some frozen veggies I had in the freezer for soup to can and keep on our shelf.  Now we have nine cans of delicious and healthy turkey vegetable soup to add to pasta or rice or just eat plain.

Veggies, herbs and turkey bones to make broth

We collectively decided to clear out our refrigerator and its freezer to use up the items inside to minimize any food waste.  We have squirreled away quite a few items in there.  The girls cooked up some pasta and finished up a bowl of leftover sauce I'd stuck into the freezer one evening.  We thawed a container of turkey chili for a couple meals too.  The girls enjoyed bagels and cream cheese as well as french toast to use up some bread items before they went stale.  I cooked up some frozen meatballs for supper one evening and the girls also enjoyed corn dogs for a couple meals last week too.  It was an odd menagerie to say the least, but also kind of fun.

 

We grilled a wonderful dinner on our free grill

My daughter folded our napkins into hearts

Our weather cooled down and we got quite a bit of rain so I didn't need to water anything.  I also didn't get much accomplished outside.  However, I did manage to get quite a bit done indoors so still a good and productive week.  Mostly I did some canning, dehydrating and vacuum sealing for our prepper pantry.

Turkey vegetable soup

Ham & bean soup

Prepper Pantry = canned pasta sauce, ham & bean soup, turkey soup, dehydrated onions & peppers.  Vacuum sealed oatmeal packets, pasta, flour & sugar.

More vacuum sealed item for our prepper pantry

Instant oatmeal packets
I cut part of the box off as my label with nutrition facts

Some of the 15 Minute Chores I accomplished to keep my home in order:

Laundry Room & Half Bathroom - vacuumed & mopped floors.  Daily swish & swipe.

Dining Room - vacuumed & mopped floor, cleaned the china cabinet shelves, dusted chair rail & baseboards.

Kitchen -  vacuumed & mopped floor, cleaned microwave, bleached the sink.

Bedrooms & Main Bathroom - vacuumed & dusted.  Scrubbed sink, mopped floor.  Daily swish & swipe.

Other - two large loads of laundry, vacuumed & dusted living room, hallway & entry.  Swept front porch & garage.

I made two loaves of banana bread

How was your thrifty week?