Last Week’s Thrifty Moves

Sunday I made a pot roast in our slow cooker complete with onions, carrots, and potatoes.  I used the delicious broth to make some wonderful gravy. 

While Sunday dinner cooked in the slow cooker we went to the movies taking in one of the matinee showings at the cinema.  We usually wait to see a movie until it is at the dollar theater or on Netflix or Redbox so this was a real treat.  Although it was $24 for all three of us, we have wanted to see Fast & Furious 6 for a very long time, plus I put our Netflix membership on hold over six months ago so I know we save at least twice that amount so far.  We decided to forego eating out this month and do the movie.  It was a worthy trade.  We loved the movie. 

Because we don’t buy snacks at the theater we came home and made popcorn for a snack afterward. 

I made a jar of homemade Caesar dressing. 

I made a batch of homemade Granola. 

I made a bottle of maple pancake syrup.  I am almost out of brown sugar so I used 2 cups of regular sugar for my recipe and added a tablespoon of molasses.  Worked like a charm! 

I sold some stuff on eBay.  I listed some more stuff to sell. 

I thawed out another boneless ham I had in the freezer to make several meals.  I diced up a thick slice one morning for a ham and cheese scramble for our breakfast.  I also cut a thick slice into strips to add to a Cobb salad. 

I went through the girl’s very full backpacks and saved some of their school supplies to use again in the fall. 

PROUD MOMMY MOMENT:  A few weeks ago my girls worked really hard to sell 70 raffle tickets for the school carnival.  Their prize for selling that many was to earn free yearbooks which they received this week.  Chip off the old block! 

Our chickens blessed us with only 12 eggs last week.  Slackers!  J

School’s Out For Summer!!

 

I can’t believe yesterday was the last day of school.  Another year seems to have whizzed right by and now we are about to take on summer.  Yeah! 

Last year I shared a post about my last day of school ritual.  This year I’m doing some purging.  The girl’s lunchboxes are shot.  After two years of continual use they are showing some serious wear so I will plan to purchase replacements for the next school year. 

Because we are moving I am trying to purge items, plus compactly pack items we wish to keep and use in our new home.  There are a few items I wish to take to pack the girl’s lunches with so I decided to pack them inside my lunchbox. 

I super cleaned and bleached their drink bottles and washed the ice packs.  Once completely air dried overnight I tucked the bottles in the top of my lunchbox and the ice packs in the bottom.  That’s it.  That is all I am keeping for now.  My lunchbox will now get packed with our kitchen stuff. 

Backpacks are heading into the wash and will then get packed up.  School supplies that are worth keeping were tucked into our school supplies box.  I have one copy paper box full of school supplies I purchase on sale.  We will be taking that box with us as well. 

In the fall, when the back-to-school sales start I’ll get them new lunchboxes.  That is when the selection is at its best. 

Already planning for next fall!

Kids In The Kitchen – Poke Cake

 

I’m always looking for easy recipes my girls can do on their own with minimal supervision or assistance from me.  The Poke Cake is a perfect one to incorporate in their recipe collection. 

Poke Cake 

1 boxed yellow cake mix

3 eggs

1/3 c. oil

1¼ c. water

 

1 3 oz. box gelatin (any flavor)

1 c. hot water

½ c. cold water 

1 tub frozen whipped topping, thawed 

Preheat oven to 350°. 

Prepare your cake by spraying a 9” X 13” oblong pan with non stick spray.  In a large bowl combine cake mix, eggs, oil and 1¼ cups of water and whisk until smooth.  Pour into cake pan and bake 30 to 35 minutes until center springs back to the touch.  Allow cake to cool completely. 

With a fork poke holes half way down all over the cake spaced about every half inch.  Do not poke all the way to the bottom of the cake.  In a small bowl thoroughly dissolve gelatin in 1 cup hot water.  Add ½ cup cold water and stir.  Spoon gelatin over surface of cake.  Place cake in refrigerator four hours to allow gelatin to set. 

“Frost” cake with whipped topping and serve. 

Strawberry cake poked with a fork.

After gelatin has set it is time for whipped topping.

Over Memorial Day Weekend we used a strawberry cake mix and strawberry gelatin.  Oh my goodness!  Another favorite is to use a lemon cake mix and lemon gelatin.  The orange cake with orange gelatin is equally delicious.  Topping it with fresh fruit is also nice.  You can definitely experiment and change it up. 

This is a family favorite and we make it often, especially as the dessert for family get-togethers.

Our Latest Staycation

Last week when I posted our Memorial Day Weekend Plans I was focusing on the chores I wanted to get done.  I also managed to put some fun into the weekend so it didn’t feel like all work and no play.  I also did it on a budget. 

We started Friday evening with no chores other than to feed our pets and do the dishes.  We stopped at the store on the way home for a treat of frozen pizza, ice cream and soda.  At home we baked the pizzas, watched DVDs from our home collection and finished off the evening with a nice bowl of ice cream. 

Saturday we started with a pancake breakfast and then the girls had to clean their room while I did laundry and cleaned bathrooms.  Next we went outside for a set time of weed pulling.  After the chores for the day were completed the girls got to bake a poke cake and then we made a nice pork chop dinner.  We watched a couple programs on TV and called it a day.

 

Sunday we did something we rarely do.  We took in a matinee at the theater.  I had put a pot roast in the slow cooker before we left so our home smelled so good when we got back.  The girls hurried to mow our little yard ahead of a storm that was heading in while I made a big bowl of popcorn for a snack and then put veggies in the slow cooker.  We had an early supper and then settled in for watching NASCAR and playing dominoes.  We also ate cake – twice! 

Monday the girls slept in and I got to enjoy a quiet relaxing morning.  While I worked on some items on my “To-Do” list I enjoyed watching a few cooking programs on TV.  After a big breakfast and a few more chores around the house we watched DVDs from our own collection and enjoyed the last of our long weekend.  

I spent less than $34 on our staycation.  $9.87 on our pizza, soda and ice cream, $24 for movie tickets.  Definitely a bargain compared to what it would have cost if we had left town.  I can’t even fill my gas tank for $34. 

Do you do staycations?  What are some of the things you do?

 

Menu Planning Changes

 

For the longest time I have done my menu planning for an entire month as a time.  I also structured my shopping accordingly.  But now with us getting ready to go on our big adventure I need to scale back here just like with everything else.

 

We will have far less space for stocking up groceries and therefore I expect we will need to shop weekly.  I decided the best way to menu plan would be weekly as well.  I’m going to have to make other changes too.  I will be purchasing more canned and dry items for stability and better food storage and relying on fresh and frozen less than I ever have in the past. 

It will be a challenge for me at first to figure it all out but I am certainly up to it.  I’m sure it will definitely test my creativity quite a bit.  It will be fun too.  Change things up a bit. 

For now we will continue to work our way through our stock in the freezers and pantry.  I will shop to supplement with items we run out of and keep it all to a minimum. 

I think I will be posting our Weekly Meal Plan on Wednesdays with the idea that we will be doing them beginning Sunday and doing our shopping prior to that.  We’ll see how it goes?  Wish me luck! 

Next Week’s Menu Plan 

Sunday – Thai Noodle Soup

Monday – Chicken Fried Rice

Tuesday – Leftover soup

Wednesday – Tacos

Thursday – Eggs Benedict

Friday – Taco Salad

Saturday – Zucchini & Carrot Quiche 

What delicious things are you fixing for supper this week?

Do You Car Dance?

After a rather long and, unfortunately, stressful week Friday couldn’t have come soon enough for us last week.  The fact that it was a three day weekend with the Memorial Day holiday, well let’s just say it couldn’t have come at a better time. 

We crawled into the car and as I was digging out my sunglasses and preparing for the drive home I realized it was tremendously quiet.  The girls were just as tapped out as I was. 

What else is a Mom to do?  Initiate some serious car dancing, that’s what! 

I put our Billy Idol’s Greatest Hits CD in and punched up the volume.  We rolled down the windows and sang and moved around with our arms in the air or our hands clapping (I kept my hands on the wheel except when stopped at a light) all the way to the post office, then the grocery store and then all the way home. 

We got some funny looks from the surrounding motorists but we really didn’t care because it was obvious we were having way more fun than they were.  By the time we pulled into the driveway we had a whole new attitude and some pep in our step. 

So, do you car dance?

 

Last Week’s Thrifty Moves

Sunday I made a pot of chicken noodle soup literally out of leftover items hanging out in my freezer.  I used up the last of a bag of frozen chicken breasts and added frozen peas and carrots, corn, mixed veggies and several containers of frozen broth I had been saving to make soup.  All the veggies were little bits left after making other meals.  I also used up a partial box of ditalini pasta I had in the pantry.  It was so delicious! 

I turned five pair of holey jeans into five pair of shorts for my youngest daughter to wear this summer. 

Before

After

 

I made a point of using up items still hanging out in our freezer and pantry to make our meals this week.  I didn’t go to the grocery store until Friday.  We also made sure we used up leftovers in the fridge so nothing went to waste. 

On Friday we had a family pizza party and movie night.  We stopped at Fred Meyer on the way home from work and purchased two Red Baron frozen pizzas (2/$7), ice cream ($2) and a 2 liter bottle of lemon lime soda (87¢) all for less than $10.  We watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVDs from our home collection.  The girls thought it was great! 

On Saturday my daughters made a wonderful dessert for the holiday weekend using a cake mix I had bought on sale for 49¢, a box of gelatin on sale for 20¢, a tub of frozen whipped topping for 74¢ and three of our farm fresh eggs. 

I baked a big loaf of whole wheat bread. 

Our chickens blessed us with 20 eggs last week!  Good girls!!!