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?

A Trip To The Fair

We went to the Western Idaho Fair on Monday.  Going to the fair is definitely not a thrifty endeavor, but I got paid for house sitting for a friend this summer and it was more money than I was expecting.  I planned to put it all in savings, but decided instead to use it to take the girls to the fair.  Mainly because they had never been and we had not done any type of family vacation or road trip this summer.

I took off work at noon as Monday was family day, so if you wanted to buy a wristband for $29 you got in and could ride all the rides.  It was the best deal but to pay $87 for the three of us just to get in the gate nearly killed me.  I was doubting the wisdom in this but the girls rode enough rides to more than pay for our wristbands and I even went on some too!  Boy did I feel that the next day.  They had a blast.

We started out with rides.  Then a lunch of Pronto Pups, cotton candy and kettle corn (ugh).

Next we hit all the exhibits and I mean all of them.  We started with the animals then moved on to art and photography, baked goods, canned goods, home grown fruits and vegetables, quilts, homemade clothing, crafts, miniatures, you name it.  We saw it.

My oldest holding a hen for one of the 4-H kids
getting ready to show his chickens

We took in the all the vendors, the end of a juggling act, a singing sisters duo, more rides, the Olate Dogs from America's got talent, dinner (I don't even want to think about how much we spent on food), more rides and finished up with the petting zoo.

We left at 11:00 p.m. exhausted but despite how much it cost I was happy.  Because my girls had the best time and seeing their faces on those rides and hearing them say how much fun they were having was worth every penny.  That day I was super mom and if felt really good.

It is unfortunate that they have literally priced going to the fair out of reach for most families.  I had expected a lot more people to be there.  Longer lines for rides and food, but I imagine it is just too expensive for a lot of people.

Not so long ago it wasn't so expensive and you could pack a picnic lunch and bring water bottles or soda, a small cooler even.  Not anymore.  They search your bags and backpacks quite thoroughly to make sure you don't bring anything in.  Not even a bottle of water.  It is kind of a shame.

Spending that much is way outside my comfort zone.  I spent almost as much on food and bottled water as I did getting us into the place.  Just two meals and a couple of snacks.  Pretty darned insane.

Next time we decide to go to the fair we'll most likely be heading off to the smaller county fairs and carnivals.  To be honest, I kind of prefer them.  It's a shame though.  I wish our own hometown fair was more affordable so we could go again, but it is just too expensive.

Have you gone to the fair lately?

Only Four More Months Until Christmas

Are you kidding me?!  How is that even possible?!

Needless to say I am going to have to get my rear in gear.  I haven't really done anything to get ready  in the past month and I have a lot to do.  At least I have a list!  Ha, ha!

I have pajamas to make, a couple other gifts to get started and quite a few things to order.  Eek!

What I do have is a start on our annual letter, the cards I plan to send out, all of our gift wrap, gift bags (we need tissue paper), tape and ribbon.

I do have a handful of gifts in my closet, but not nearly what I was hoping to have by now. Time to kick it up a notch, I'm afraid.  It will be here before we no it.

How about you?  Any progress?

Prepping For School Lunches

Since today is the first day of school I thought I would share how I like to get things lined up for preparing school lunches.  I find a little bit of prepping ahead makes it much easier to get those lunches packed first thing in the morning.

As you probably already know (if you have followed my blog for awhile) we use insulated lunch bags and I have an assortment of plastic containers, spoons and forks, and drink bottles on hand to fill and reuse.  I also keep reusable ice packs in the freezer.

On Sunday morning I like to prep for the week ahead.  I get out the big bowl that holds all of our washed and clean containers and bottles.

I like to fill the bottles with milk, sometimes flavored milk and juice.  My girls also like to have a water bottle to take to school.  I usually buy one case of water bottles a year and they wash and refill them.

I prepare small containers with gelatin, fruit (or a combo of both), applesauce, etc.  I pull from the freezer any lunchmeat I plan to use.  I usually plan one PB & J each week.

For a change of pace from sandwiches I like to make a salad or a pasta salad for them to have.  I'll boil the pasta and put that together with veggies, sliced olives, some chicken or ham and a little homemade Italian salad dressing.  Another salad I make is one of our favorites - Chinese Chicken Salad.

I like to hard boil some eggs to have on hand.  Bananas and fresh fruit as well.

I like to keep individual packages of chips on hand too, but they aren’t a daily thing.  Only a couple times a week as they are more of a treat than a staple.

I also like to bake up a batch of cookies or brownies.  Cupcakes or sliced banana bread is nice too.  I enjoy baking and usually can come up with a variety of yummy and fairly healthy desserts.  Once they are cooled I package them up as well.  I also like to freeze extras for later to use later.

Each day when the kids get home ice packs go back in the freezer and containers are washed, dried and put back into the big bowl.  About midweek, usually Wednesday evening, I'll refill some drink bottles, as I don't have enough for all of us for the full week, and we carry on.

I sent my high schooler to band camp with a PB & J cut up like she was
in kindergarten.  She loved it and said it made her laugh.

Do you have any great tricks for getting lunches prepared?  What are some of your favorite items to pack?  I'd love some more ideas!

My Favorite Egg Salad

This recipe is delicious, super simple and thrifty too!

Start with a few ingredients:

Hard boiled eggs, peeled and rinsed

Mayonnaise

Mustard

Salt & pepper

I like to use an egg slicer to dice up my hard boiled eggs but a knife works just fine.  Then I add enough mayonnaise to moisten and a good dollop of prepared yellow mustard.

I personally skip the salt but I love a nice grind of cracked black pepper.  Stir to combine.

Other things that go nicely in this include:

Chopped black olives

Chopped dill or sweet pickle

Sweet relish

Thinly sliced green onion

I find I enjoy this as a sandwich for lunch, but what I really like is to toast half of a whole wheat or sour dough English muffin and top it with the egg salad and some more cracked pepper.  Breakfast is served!

Yum!

Last Week's Thrifty Moves

Sunday morning we enjoyed breakfast at our neighborhood Dennys.  We love to go there and they have a great value menu perfect for families on a budget.  I had a $5 OFF coupon so our bill only came to $15.00 plus tax and a tip.

I spent the afternoon doing a little sewing.  I had a scrap of sweet blue calico that a friend gave me.  I've had it forever.  It was leftover from a quilt she had made.  I used it to make a hot pad.  I made a pretty lace trimmed table cloth too that I shared with you last week.

I took one of the vintage patterns I had bought from a seller on eBay and cut out a nightgown.  As I was cutting the fabric out I couldn't help but think, Wow, this pattern is 65 years old!  I'm pretty excited to see how it turns out.

After all the grocery shopping we did the week prior we ate strictly from what we had on hand.  I did not do any grocery shopping last week, which also made it a super low spend week.  I needed that!

Unexpectedly my daughter needed to bring drinks to a band party.  That is why I try to keep a couple extra 2 liter bottles of soda (bought on sale of course) in the pantry.  You just never know.

My daughter broke the thumb rest on her clarinet right in the middle of marching band practice and boy was she upset.  We called the music store and they told us they had one so the next day we headed clear across town and battled construction traffic to get it.  Turns out they happened to have one in their used parts pile but the man who does the repairs was out sick.  I told them that was fine and that I could put it on so they let us have it for free.  Score!

Early Saturday morning the wind shifted and gave us a welcome reprieve from the thick smoke we've been dealing with from a nearby forest fire.  I took advantage of it and opened all the windows and set the box fan at the back door to blow in lots of cool fresh air.

While the house was cool I took advantage of that and made a triple batch of almond granola.  It filled up two half gallon Mason jars.

I used up leftover chicken and vegetables in the refrigerator (from Sunday dinner) to make a soup.  I also put the chicken bones and some veggies together to make broth in the slow cooker. 

I worked four hours of overtime.  Fortunately I was able to do it all from home. 

I made homemade salad dressing.  Twice.

I ordered a free sample pack of feminine hygiene items from Kotex.

One of the salads I made to take to work

We shared our kitchen scraps and some extra spinach leaves with the hens.  We also gave them some stale bagels.  They were in heaven!

Another salad I made to take to work for lunch

I did an online survey for Fred Meyer and earned 50 bonus points towards a discount on fuel.

I rinsed out a laundry detergent bottle and had enough soap for a load of laundry and a little bit to add to another one.

I mended the seam on my daughter's blouse where it had come apart.

I pulled out our good old can of metallic silver spray paint once again and sprayed one of my daughter's favorite necklaces.  It was a cheap one and once the finish wore off the metal turned copper colored.  Once it dried I gave it a coat of urethane to help make it last.  She was thrilled.  I also did the same thing to touch up the back of a pendant she has that was doing the same thing.

Hanging out with Miss Edith

Enjoying a snack

How was your thrifty week?