Frugal Accompilshments

This past week went pretty well, frugally speaking.  There were a few surprises that really helped us to stretch the grocery budget until the end of the month, which is always nice.  We did travel to see family, which costs more (about $40 in gas plus road trip snacks).  But we tried to compensate for this in other ways, like staying with family.

So, without further ado, here's how we saved this past week:

• All meals were cooked at home.  This included leftover salad, Asian chicken, and we did easy pasta and sauce one night.  I was also blessed with some leftover portions from dinner with Mom and from our parenting class.  Breakfasts were smoothies, cereal trail mix, banana bars, and oatmeal.
• Enjoyed shared meals with friends and family three times, including parenting class and Thanksgiving.  
• We continued to use what we have to make snacks for our trip including banana bars, popcorn, and nuts.
• Continued to compost and use cloth diapers to save resources.
• We graciously accepted some things from the food pantry:  fresh fruit, green beans, asparagus, mushrooms, yogurt, milk, ricotta cheese, bread, and (huge surprise!) a whole turkey that was smoked at a local BBQ restaurant.  The pantry ended up with extra turkeys, so the restaurant generously said they'd smoke them to ease the burden on pantry volunteers.  We love smoked turkey, so immediately said yes when Mom said one was available for us.
• Saved smoked turkey carcass for making stock.  It makes a great chili or wild rice soup.  We will use the meat for enchiladas, quesadillas, sandwiches, and to top salads.  
• Went to Costco with family and stocked up on produce, yogurt, frozen broccoli, frozen salmon, frozen blueberries, honey, and other staples.  (Even though I'm not doing sugars, the rest of my family still enjoys honey in tea or on a slice of bread.) I also found some low sugar, grain free granola that I'm super excited about.  It tastes great by itself or with plain yogurt and berries.  We also found fire extinguishers that we'd been looking for for only $15 each.
• Continued to plan to purchase land, looked for house plans online.  We will try to broker the deal for the land ourselves to save on the realtor cost.  We will use a realtor to sell our current home, when we get to that point.
• Accepted some hand-me-downs from my cousin for the boys, mostly baby.  
• Put together at least two bags of stuff for Goodwill.  Will continue to try to put together at least 2-3 bags each week for Goodwill, Craigslist, or eBay sales to try to clean out.  
• Pulled out an old wool coat to use this winter.  My black leather one is very shabby and got paint on it from a kid project, so the wool one will work and is still warm and in relatively good condition.
• My grandmother fixed my open-fingered gloves that were coming unraveled on one thumb.  It took her no time with the right tools, which I didn't have.  I now have a repaired glove, and I know how to fix it the next time, should it happen again.
• My mom had some homemade lemon nut cookie dough (a slice and bake recipe) in the freezer.  We thawed that and the boys decorated those for Thanksgiving dinner for them, in addition to the traditional pies.  It was fun for the boys, and helped clean out her freezer a bit.
• Were thankful for an early Christmas gift from Mom.  She paid to have our windows washed, which is something we don't do since we've essentially got a three story home on the side of a mountain.  The windows look wonderful, and it's so nice to have clean screens too!
• Began decorating for Christmas using existing supplies.  We use an artificial tree,wreath, and garland.  We save ornaments from year to year, and this really helps cut down on the cost.  We have window candles, but won't use those until our toddler is done with pulling things out of windows!  My mom bought a live wreath, which we'll use existing decorations, for us to decorate and hang on our porch railing.

How did you live and save green this week, especially amidst the holiday consumerism push?  I'd love to hear from you!

Frugal Accomplishments

This week we did really well, frugally speaking.

I am thankful that I am feeling better, so that definitely helps things.  It is amazing how much energy, or lack of, affects the budget.  It is so easy to rely on convenience items.  That is motivation to me to put a few more easy freezer meals together, like crock pot ones or frozen homemade soup, that we can pull out when we're sick.

We are also beginning the dreaming and exploring stage of purchasing land and building a new home.  When we built this home, we thought it would be our forever home, but we're realizing there are things about the neighborhood and road that will never change.  So, we're looking to move closer to my mom and into her neighborhood, which has lots of kids and very, well, neighborly neighbors.  This would allow the boys to walk to her house as they get older, and would give them playmates in the neighborhood.

Here's how we stuck to our budget this past week:

• Cooked all meals at home including crock pot Asian chicken with veggies, cauliflower and cheese sauce, banana nut whole wheat muffins, crock pot oatmeal, smoothies, "big boy breakfast" of eggs and bacon, whole wheat pizza, and salad.
• Took advantage of four community meals with our parenting class, our school faculty, our church, and my mom.  This kept our kitchen clean and meant that we only had to take one dish or item to share.  We took a salad to church, salad to school, and potatoes to Mom's to roast.
• Thankful for items from the food pantry this week:  gluten free crackers, cereal, plain instant oatmeal, fresh fruit (melon, pineapple, and grapes), and some pouches of baby food (I use them in smoothies, though sometimes the boys will eat them).  These are items that clients typically don't take, so we're glad to use them.
• Composted all possible items including food scraps, brown paper tubes, paper towels, tea bags, and coffee grounds.  Compost will be added to the gardens to prepare them for winter.
• Kept grocery spending to $10 for pie crust, refrigerator biscuits, eggs, snack pack (free item of the week), celery, and peanuts (small cans for stockings).  We used coupons for the pie crust, biscuits, and peanuts.  Trying really hard to keep our grocery spending to $70-80 this month, not $150.
• Continued with cloth diapers, except at night.  We're using free diapers from the diaper bank at the Children's Council for our night time ones, saving expense there.  Grateful for this newfound resource.
• We made our OCC shoebox this weekend and shopped at home first.  We found:  plastic cups, plastic spoons, foam balls, blanket, new towel, stickers and small toys, new toothbrush and soap.  We went to the Dollar Tree to purchase seven items.  Little man had a great time shopping and picking out items for the box.  We wrote a note to them as a family, and paid the processing fee online.  (This allowed us to use our credit card = points which we'll use for a future vacation.)  Little man is really excited about the possibility of seeing where our box goes, which is enabled by the QR code on the label.  It was nice to be able to do this with things we had around the house.
• Took advantage of our Children's Playhouse membership (thank you Mom!) and went on Saturday.  The boys had a ball.
• Combined all errands when possible.  Sundays we usually do our grocery shopping before church, since the boys are up early anyway.  This is nice because it combines the errands, but the store is also very empty before church, so it's easier with the boys.  
• Had a doctor's appointment out of town on Thursday, but went with Benny and baby.  We were able to make a date of it, use a gift card for lunch, and get some work done for Benny's boss while we were near Best Buy.  This meant that we could count some of the time in the trip as work time for him, which is really nice.
• Began taking pictures to post more items on eBay.  These funds will help pay for my medical expenses, and it helps to clear out the house some.  We're beginning to feel overwhelmed with the amount of "stuff" we have, so this is helping, even if we can only do a few items at a time.
• Started another bag of stuff to take to Goodwill.  Will get a tax receipt for this.
• Had a short craft date with little man last night and really enjoyed painting together.  Going to try to do this more; it really feeds both of our souls.
• Began cleaning up the boys' room and craft room some more.  Hoping to weed out more things by the end of the year.  Might set a tally amount, just to keep us going and motivated to continue weeding.

I'd love to hear what you did to live and save green this past week?  How do you do it with the holidays just ahead?  Please share!

Frugal Accomplishments

We did a pretty good job this week with our frugal accomplishments, with one minor frugal fail.  We did some traveling, but we tried to use our gift cards to limit the financial impact.  It was a great long weekend with family and cousins.  We did an early Thanksgiving dinner and early Christmas with the kids, which was super fun.  There are some great family pictures of the kids decorating cookies and all crowded in on the couch in their pajamas watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  So fun!

Here's the details of this past week:

• Cooked all meals at home including black bean chili, whole wheat pizza, salad, butternut squash casserole, smoothies, and muffins
• Frugal fail:  forgot to turn the heat down on the overnight crock pot oatmeal, and now it's a burned on mess.  Will use baking soda and water with it on high for a while to remove burned mess.  Totally bummed... was really looking forward to it!
• Had free dinner with our parenting class on Monday, which was so appreciated.  Saved us some money, time and frustration with clean up.
• Used gift cards earned from our parenting class to pay for gas for our trip.  We ended up taking the least fuel efficient car because the better one was making a weird noise.  We didn't want to get stranded on the highway on a holiday weekend with two little ones.  We'll get the other car looked at this week so it's good for travel over Thanksgiving.
• Used another gift card to pay for gifts for the kiddos.  I try really hard to do gifts that don't contribute to the amount of "stuff" we all accumulate, so I purchased some craft kits and gingerbread house kits for each family.  
• We also made our standard holiday chocolate caramel popcorn.  It is always a hit and really easy and relatively inexpensive.  We substitute pecans for the peanuts, because we like them better and generally have them on hand.  It's really nice to make gifts that are consumable, so that it's not something else for folks to store, when we're all really trying to simplify things in our lives.
• My cousin made sugar cookie dough earlier in the week, so we made those with the kids on Saturday morning.  It was so fun, and even the little ones (18-19 months) got involved.  It's relatively cheap to make, and was such a great time for the cousins.  Having the dough ahead of time really helped out.
• I brought frozen tomatoes and bell peppers (from the food pantry) from our freezer to make chili on Friday with the cousins for dinner.  We also took our crock pot, in case we needed a second for the large crowd.  Having these ingredients really helped save on prep time and cost, which meant we had more time together as a family.
• Graciously accepted steel cut oats, date almond balls, popping corn, and Kind bars from the food pantry this week.  These things will really help round out our pantry and help us keep our grocery bill in check.
• Grateful for snacks that family offered throughout the weekend.  Those helped us through the road trip, and it was nice for the boys to try some new things.
• Stopped at Aldi on the way back home, which was a nice break for us all (especially after getting stuck in traffic for over an hour), and restocked the fridge at a cheaper price than usual.  We were able to get a lot of organic produce for cheaper than we could have at Harris Teeter.
• Thankful that our tenant kept Lavender for us, which made our trip a lot less stressful.  
• Mom picked up take-out for us for dinner last night, because we got home late from the trip.  So grateful for this, and it was a new food experience for the boys.  They loved it, so we'll repeat it sometime.  It also gave us leftovers for lunch for today.
• Received a paper grocery sack full of hand-me-down clothes for the boys, which is so generous.  Glad for these.  (Now we just need to go through the baby things and begin consigning them.)

What did you do to live and save green this past week?  I'd love to hear from you!

November Menu Plan

This month we're experimenting with our new dietary restrictions.  Mine are for medical reasons (primarily trying to clear a chronic Candida infection, but also trying to be kind to my kidneys which aren't functioning at optimal rates), while Benny is trying to lose some weight.  So, we're focusing on lots of seasonal veggies, lowering carbs and sugar, and generally eating fewer grains, but making them whole grains when we do.  We're also trying to incorporate Candida fighting foods, such as coconut, radishes, and rutabagas.  And, as usual, we're trying to make the most of our existing pantry and freezer items.

But, we're also trying to not sacrifice taste and to make some legitimate compromises.  So, we're splurging in places for a dinner pie where the crust uses regular flour and using sweet potatoes that are in season and satisfy the sweet tooth without added sugars.  We're going to do well with this diet, for our own health, but we also know it's not sustainable if we cut out everything we love.  We'll also experiment with some sweets that fit my diet, and we've already found a coconut milk custard that we like.

So, here's the plan:

Breakfasts:

• Smoothies with anti-inflammatory spices (cinnamon, ginger, turmeric) made with coconut milk, berries, and avocados or winter squash
• Coconut flour and almond pumpkin muffins
• Mini egg fritatas with greens, bell peppers, and onions with side of bacon or homemade chicken apple sausage
• Whole grain muffins with apples, raisins, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds
• Yogurt parfaits with berries, toasted coconut, and pumpkin seeds
• Overnight steel cut oatmeal with nuts, cinnamon, ginger, and shredded coconut

Lunches:

• leftovers
• green salad with tuna or hard boiled eggs
• yogurt parfaits

Dinners:

• Lentil and grass-fed ground beef sloppy joes over quinoa or brown rice with salad and rutabaga fries
• Breakfast for dinner with coconut flour pancakes with homemade berry syrup (made with stevia), phosphate and nitrate-free bacon, eggs with greens, and mixed berry fruit salad or grapefruit (if it's here from our fruit order)
• Veggie stir fry over brown rice and Asian cabbage slaw
• Grandma's split pea soup with coconut flour or almond flour corn bread
• Beef and cheddar pie with salad with radishes and red pepper
• Black bean and winter squash tacos on corn tortillas or over quinoa
• Pecan crusted chicken  (tweak and use corn chip crumbs and plain dijon mustard for sugar free, gluten-free option) with roasted rutabaga, broccoli, and onions
• Tomato basil soup with green salad (topped with olives, radishes, almonds, and red pepper)
• Crock pot chicken fajitas with onions and rainbow bell peppers served on corn tortillas or quinoa
• Lentil and sweet potato stew with coconut or almond flour corn bread
• Coconut milk curry
• Coconut milk and corn chowder with rutabagas instead of potatoes, salad on the side
• Black bean chili with grass-fed beef served with corn bread or over quinoa or buckwheat served with plain yogurt
• Steamed Asian ginger salmon with roasted broccoli and rutabags and Asian slaw
• Crock pot Asian ginger chicken  (we always add more carrot and onion than called for) served over quinoa, buckwheat, or brown rice and Asian slaw
• Roasted sweet potatoes served with black beans, plain yogurt, and chopped cilantro (serve with green salad if potatoes are small)
• Crock pot lasagna soup with gluten free pasta
• Homemade pizza with whole wheat crust or gluten-free crust

Snacks:

• Air popped popcorn
• Veggies and hummus
• Gluten free crackers and goat cheese
• Whole fruit

So, how do you live and save green in the kitchen?  Do you manage to do it even with dietary restrictions?  I'd love to hear from you!

Frugal Accomplishments

We're finding a new way to live around here.  I'm dealing with some health issues, which are affecting my diet tremendously.  We're in the midst of diagnosis of these, so I'm really just trying to eat healthfully.  Some of the potential diagnoses we're dealing with have conflicting dietary recommendations, so navigating this road has been a little difficult.  I'm hoping to be able to meet with a specialist or two soon to figure out a firm plan forward.  We will just be thankful for answers and a plan at this point.

All of that is to say that we've spent more money than usual on health care the past few months, but area grateful for the emergency fund that is here for just such a reason.  But we've been able to save in other areas, so that's been great.  Here's our list for the past week:

• Cooked most meals at home including lentil curry soup, kidney bean chili and corn bread, pumpkin coconut flour muffins (not a huge fan, but my new diet is low on grains, so experimenting with alternative flours), vagabond muffins with apples, raisins, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds, winter squash and chickpea salad with pecan crusted chicken, homemade whole wheat pizza for the boys and lentil pasta with sauce for me.
• Graciously accepted pasta and sauce from Mom's neighborhood Halloween gathering.  This was a huge help to us and provided the boys with two meals.  I could use the sauce on lentil pasta for myself.
• Continued normal use of composting, recycling, and using rags for cleaning.  This cuts down on waste and makes our lives easier by having to do fewer trips to the local dump, recycling, etc.
• Made a big batch of kidney bean chili and corn bread to share with a family who has a preemie baby.  Prayers for this family, please.  Mama is having a tough time with mastitis since LO isn't nursing well.  Organizing more meals for this family to help ease their stress.
• Was sick last weekend with flu-like symptoms.  Ended up at urgent care Sunday morning and spent almost $100 there to get help with nausea.  That was a chunk of change, but grateful that it wasn't the ER bill that would have been $500.  Thankful that Mom could take me so that Benny could keep things as normal as possible for the boys.
• Gratefully accepted some items from the food pantry that fit my new dietary restrictions.  These have been nice to have because they allow me to experiment with alternative ingredients to see what we like, without the expense.  These ingredients aren't cheap, so it's nice to be able to try them out.
• Brought home about 15 winter squash from our lab at school.  Since I wasn't feeling well, Mom has processed a lot of these for me for the freezer.  This has been a huge help.  They will make a great addition to smoothies, muffins, and soups.  Little man also really liked it roasted, so it will make good snacks and meals for him.
• Mom gave us a much needed date night on Saturday.  She kept both boys for us to go out to dinner (we tried to keep it inexpensive by drinking water and ordering cheaper entrees).  We were able to find a nice local restaurant that offers gluten free and vegan options, which helps a lot for me.  Mom then kept our preschooler overnight, which gave us some evening time after bed to do a little bit of dreaming together, which was super nice.  We haven't had that kind of fun conversation in a while.
• I have been in need of a new raincoat for quite a while (i.e. years). We did the research and purchased one locally with a 25% off coupon yesterday.  It was still a pricey jacket at $200, but it is one that should last for life if we treat it well and retreat seams regularly.
• We're doing a free parenting class through the Children's Council locally.  Part of this class meant that halfway through, we earned a $50 Visa gift card.  We each earned our card for attendance, so this was helpful with the jacket purchase. 
• We found out about a diaper bank through the Children's Council.  This helped us out, is open to all families in our area, and means that we have more money in our grocery budget.
• Took advantage of a free hand spa event at school.  This was lovely and gave me free samples.  I will save the chocolate that came in the bag for stocking stuffers.
• We sorted the Halloween candy out and have saved some for making gingerbread house at Christmas.  We saved the hard candy for OCC shoe boxes that we'll put together with the boys.
• Used coupons for regular grocery shopping and got three packs of nitrate and phosphate free bacon for $2.99 each.  This is a great deal and something we'll really enjoy having.
• I used our membership to the local children's playhouse on Saturday to take the boys for a morning of fun while it rained.  We really enjoyed it, and the boys made spider webs for me to hang up in my classroom.

What did you do to live and save green this week?  I'd love to hear from you!

Frugal Accomplishments

Wow, I cannot believe that we're halfway through May already!  We have only three weeks of school left, and then it'll be summer!

My boys were so wonderful to me this past weekend for Mother's Day.  We totally broke out of our routine on Saturday and had both breakfast and dinner out (dinner was courtesy of gift cards).  It was a fabulous day, complete with a little bit of garden work to keep me and little man happy (he did help, but mostly just enjoyed being outside).  It's a great day with your kiddos when there are little to no meltdowns or power struggles!

This week is all about using up what we have in the freezer and pantry, so we're skipping a trip to the grocery store (though I might need to pick up some yogurt).

Here's how this past week went, frugally speaking:

• Kept up with our usual kitchen routines of making meals at home, including salmon pasta salad with peas and cucumber, grilled cheeses, salads, banana chocolate chunk muffins, egg and cheese sandwiches, and baked ham.  Snacks included fresh fruit, nuts, homemade croutons, and hard boiled eggs.
• I was out of chocolate chips, so I chopped up part of a chocolate bar in the cabinet for the muffins.  Yum!  And a good use of what we had.
• Gleaned spinach, arugula, mushrooms, kale, two gallons of milk, two pounds of strawberries, two containers of blackberries, and several containers of cut up fruit from the food pantry.  They have started gleaning from the farmer's markets at the food pantry, so they have loads of fresh produce.  The clients often don't take the greens, so they tend to go to waste.  We enjoy them a lot, so it's nice that we can use them.
• Continued with composting, even bringing home our fruit and paper scraps from the church coffee bar on Sunday (I take my own coffee cup, so I just put the leftovers in that to bring home.)  Our compost is much more balanced since adding some spent hay with each kitchen scrap addition, which is great.
• Hung much of our laundry, including some sheets and towels, on the line to dry when weather was conducive.  We continued with our regular cold water washing, except for towels, cloth diapers, and sheets.
• Making a renewed effort to put water left in water glasses on plants, rather than down the drain.  This will really help with our container plants outside.
• Used the dry mop for floor dusting rather than the broom vac, saving energy.  
• Kept the windows cracked, and ran ceiling fans when necessary, to keep the house cool instead of running AC.  We will start needing to close front curtains soon during the day to keep the southern facing sun out (this is an advantage to us in the winter with our cold weather).
• Planted asparagus crowns in the garden, hoping they will come up.  We also planted two bean plants that little man started at preschool and brought home.  It looks like at least one of them will make it, so it will be fun to watch with him.  
• Split irises and hostas for other spots in the garden.  Purchased a few discounted bedding plants (marigolds, coleus, petunias) to fill planters, but also filled them with black eyed Susans and creeping Jenny ground cover from the garden.  Hoping they will fill in nicely in a few weeks and be a nice pop of color on our porch.
• Hoping to find some cheap starts of basil for our garden so that we can make our annual supply of pesto for pasta, pizza, and sandwich spreads.
• Benny talked to a local painter who has agreed to professionally spray some chairs with white paint for us for downstairs.  We purchased these from Craigslist for $10 a piece (a steal because they're so sturdy), but we know we'll get a better finish if they are professionally sprayed. The painter will do this in his spare time, so he's not going to charge us his regular fee. It will be nice to have these done and out of our garage space and into our craft room for regular use.
• Did some free entertainment on Saturday with the boys at the library and the Children's Playhouse.  We also combined errands that day, meaning that we only had one car out, even with Benny at work and me being out with the boys.
• Used gift cards for our Mother's Day celebration.  We ate out at Panera, which was a real treat for us.  The boys enjoyed it immensely, and we did a little window shopping at the mall (didn't even buy anything off the clearance rack!).  Benny also purchased my Mother's Day gift of a new cook book (The Food Lab) using gift card money from Barnes and Noble.  It is going to be a great book, written in much the same style as Cook's Illustrated, pairing science with cooking (two of my favorite things).  Little man made a cute card for me, and a fun hand print painting at school for Mother's Day.  
• Finished up a year of professional mentoring, so I will be receiving a stipend for that in a few weeks.  We're planning for most of that to go toward paying off our home equity line, but a little of it will pay for a new pair of sandals for me for the summer.
• Excited that our solar eclipse party was funded through Donor's Choose for school!  I have another project posted to fund new books for our classroom library, so check it out! Good Reads Make Great Readers!

What did you do to live and save green this past week?  I'd love to hear from you!

Frugal Accomplishments

Spring has officially arrived!  We've had beautiful weather, mixed with showers.  It's been really nice for outside play, yard and garden work, and hanging clothes outside.  We've had cool enough evenings to enjoy the windows being open.

• Cooked all meals at home including egg and cheese sandwiches, homemade granola (added pumpkin seeds and dried coconut), lentil sloppy joes, egg salad sandwiches, homemade pizza, and crock pot lasagna soup with salad.
• Enjoyed a date night, thanks to Mom for keeping little man, with baby.  We used a gift card for a local restaurant, and then did dessert at home of brownies and ice cream.  
• Salvaged several containers of berries, pears, apples, lemons, mushrooms, several loaves of bread, bagels, yogurt, and half and half from the food pantry.
• Gleaned several snacks, milk cartons, and cheese sticks from the school cafeteria.
• Kept up with all regular cold water laundry activities and hanging clothes to dry.
• Kept up with composting activities, adding more hay to the compost.  This seems to be helping the fruit fly situation we had.
• Planted free basil plants in the garden.  The parsley we planted has been eaten by rabbits (anyone know an easy way to keep them away?).
• Spent a little time weeding the garden.  Need to split irises and hostas, so will relocate these to another garden area where they can multiply.  Might also split hellebores, as they're doing really well in the back garden.
• Purchased new sandals for 50% off.  They are really good quality, so should last several years.
• Carpooled to work two days.  Should be able to carpool most of next week, and the following weeks.
• Enjoyed some time outside with little man on walks and playing "egg hunt" in the yard/garden.  He also helped some with weeding.
• Enjoyed the cool air and having the windows open.  Will substantially save on the electric bill this month too.
• Stayed away from the local kids consignment sale this time.  The boys can make do with what we already have for summer, so we didn't need anything.  
• Met with our financial adviser to set up automatic savings for the boys, contribute more to retirement funds, and a little more to mortgage.
• Accepted a curriculum writer position with DPI for the summer.  It will be a substantial amount of work, but the stipend will be worth it.

What did you do to live and save green this week?  I'd love to hear from you!

Frugal Accomplishments Easter Break Edition

This Easter Break was definitely an exercise in the "stay-cation" mentality for us.  It was an opportunity for Benny to pick up some extra hours at work, and a chance for us to have some more family time.  We took advantage of some local attractions, within an hour's drive, and splurged a bit on treats, but generally kept things cheap and easy.

It ended up being a blessing that we'd planned to keep things low-key, since both boys ended up being sick, though not too sick to slow them down majorly.  It also gave us a chance to do a little yard and garden work before the rains came.

• Cooked most meals at home including overnight blueberry french toast casserole, black beans and rice, chili and corn bread, strawberry cream cheese coffee cake, homemade pizza, French toast and fruit for dinner, salmon salad (like tuna but with canned salmon) and hard boiled eggs (to dye for Easter of course)
• Made the best use of our freezer and pantry stash, even using powdered milk for the baking.  Was glad to use up a few things in the pantry that were going out of date.
• Graciously accepted bread, veggies, and some pre-made deli sandwiches from the pantry this week.  Also stocked up on strawberries, which were 99 cents a pound, but we were limited to four pounds.
• Picked up a bale of spent hay for free to add to our compost.  Hoping this will remedy our fruit fly situation there.  Continued to compost all kitchen scraps and paper as appropriate.
• Kept up with regular laundry activities, washing in cold water and line drying when possible.  Diapers and "sick sheets" were washed in hot water or on sanitize.
• Took a day trip to the science center about an hour from here.  The boys loved it, and it was nice to be able to use the gift certificate that we were given for little man's birthday a while back.  We did splurge here and upgrade to an annual membership, which the gift certificate contributed towards, because the boys enjoyed it so much.  We met my aunt and uncle for lunch afterwards.  It was a blast, and we look forward to going again.
• Enjoyed a trip to the library with the boys for story time.  Since little man's in preschool, he doesn't get to go as much as he used to.  It's nice that we got to go, he enjoyed it, and we both got some books out of the deal.
• The trip to Grandfather Mountain was probably the highlight of the week, and one of the least expensive.  It is only about 30 minutes from our house, and we took a picnic out there.  They have a great animal exhibit, wonderful hiking trails, and museums.  Normally, the cost is out of our price range, but for the month of April, they always significantly discount the entrance.  So, we all got in for $9.  We did splurge this day and pick up some breakfast goodies and coffee before the trip.
• Little man and I enjoyed a date afternoon after some yard work on Saturday morning.  He wanted to go to the bakery, so I used a gift card and got each of us a treat and some bread for later in the week.  Then, we picked up eggs from the grocery store for dying later.  While we were there, we discovered a free Earth Day craft of making bird feeders, so we did that together.  They gave me an herb of my choice to plant, so I chose parsley, since I don't usually have that one in the garden.  (I already had the basil they offered.)  He also requested a trip to the carwash, so I splurged and did that (we usually don't go that often).  He loved it!  Such a fun time, and so special to have that time with just him.
• Used coupons and freebies to fill the Easter baskets for the boys.  Little man got pistachios, mini-Nutella packs, flower seeds, and some books.  Baby got a board book and a stuffed animal.
• Enjoyed a couple of family meals with mom and extended family, saving on overall cost.  (Though the road trip probably made up for it with one.)
• Have played LOTS of egg hunt this week with the plastic Easter eggs we have!  It has given little man hours of pleasure, and has really stretched his thinking about hiding spots.  We've tried to begin introducing words like "camouflage" so that he is learning a little more in the process, but it's great for logic.

What did you do to live and save green this week?  I'd love to hear from you!

April Menu Plan

As usual, we're all about making use of what we have.  We'll continue to work down what we have in the pantry and freezer.  We're starting to get a few herbs in the garden, so these will bring some fresh flavor to some of our meals, where we're relying on pantry and freezer staples.  Making use of the ability to glean from the food pantry will also help us.  We've recently received a lot of bread and grapes from the food pantry, so some of our meals will revolve around these.

I am trying out a few new recipes this month, so I hope they work out well.

Breakfasts:

• Overnight crock pot oats with dried fruit and nuts
• French toast casserole with cream cheese and frozen berries
• Bagels and cream cheese
• Egg and cheese sandwiches
• Banana muffins

Lunches:

• Leftovers
• Yogurt with fruit and nuts

Dinners:

• Roasted turkey with potatoes, salad, and asparagus
• Turkey salad (using leftover turkey, nuts/seeds, and grapes) sandwiches with fresh fruit
• Asian salmon soup (we substitute ramen for the rice) with Asian slaw and egg rolls
• Mushroom tartines with salad or fruit
• Black bean chili with corn bread
• Tomato and greens soup with kidney beans and spicy sausage served with toast
• Sloppy joes with oven fries or roasted veggies
• Homemade pizza x 4
• Quiche with bacon, broccoli and mushrooms/onions served with fruit
• Winter squash waffles or pancakes with fruit and sausage
• Black bean, squash, and sweet potato enchiladas with fixin's
• Pesto pasta salad
• Asian chicken with rice
• Hot dogs with carrot and celery sticks and dip

Prep ahead:

I will be out of town for a few days this month, so I am going to try making a few freezer meals for Benny to make life easier for him.

• Make crock pot Asian chicken (put all ingredients in a freezer bag for Benny to thaw and cook)
• Sloppy joe filling for freezer
• Prepare and pre-bake pizza crust

Frugal Accomplishments

We did all of our usual frugal things last week.  The highlight was probably our frugal date, which was the first in over a month, and so much fun.  (More on the date later.)  It is wonderful that my mom is close and will keep little man overnight once a month for us.

We also saved a lot by accepting gleaned items from the food pantry.  I was also able to share some of this with friends, which was really nice.  So, without further ado, here are last week's accomplishments:

• Participated in free professional development two days.  Lunch was not provided, so I took my own instead of going out.  I also took my own drink the second day, since drinks were not provided either.  The sessions were great, though, so it made up for the lack of food! :)  The workshop was local, and actually closer than driving to school, so I saved on gas too.
• Cooked all meals at home including banana nut muffins, overnight oatmeal, pasta bake with ricotta cheese and veggies, homemade pizza with pesto, veggies, and pepperoni.
• Accepted another box of bananas from the food pantry (we freeze them for baking and smoothies), as well as a gallon of milk, yogurt, partial carton of strawberries, avocado, three packages of portobello mushrooms, and bagels.  
• Gleaned three apples, three cheese sticks, and two cartons of yogurt from the school cafeteria.
• Made homemade salad dressing with the leftover marinade from a jar of artichoke hearts and repurposed a glass bottle for storage.
• Continued with all regular composting, cold water laundry, and cloth diaper use.
• Made homemade shower spray cleaner with dish soap and vinegar.  Used a repurposed spray bottle for the mix.
• Used existing supplies to make a birthday banner for baby boy!  Can't believe he's turning one this week!
• Enjoyed a date with Benny on Saturday.  Mom kept little man so that we could go out early.  We stopped by thrift stores before meeting friends for dinner.  We used a coupon for dinner, then went home for dessert and a Netflix show.  
• We found an $8 bread machine to replace our old one (the mechanical housing had rusted and wasn't working reliably anymore).  It seems to be a good brand, and for $8, it is cheaper than ordering one pizza out would cost, so it will have paid for itself by the time Friday night pizza night rolls around.  Benny and I each also found a clothing item, which was a nice little treat.
• Not so frugally, we had a water line burst in the apartment downstairs.  Thankfully, it was over the bathroom, so there's no major damage to fixtures, etc.  The insulation and drywall has to be replaced,   Thankfully, Benny knows some contractors, and got things rolling quickly for replacement.  Our tenant has been super gracious about things.  We are grateful to have enough in savings to cover the repairs.
• Enjoyed a shared meal with Mom last night.  It was pretty enough for a short walk with the boys too, which was some nice exercise.  
• Continued to exercise with You Tube videos, saving money on gym or subscription fees.
• Enjoyed some time in the garden seeing hellebores and daffodils coming up.  The forsythia that we split last year are starting to bloom now, which is fun.  I wish things weren't coming so early, but that is the way it goes.  I will just be grateful for a longer growing season this year.

What did you do to live and save green this past week?  What are you grateful for?

March Menu Plan

This month will again be about using what we have.  We're still working on using up things we have in the pantry and freezer to make space for our CSA goodies when the shares start coming in late May.  Here's the plan:

Breakfasts: 

• egg and cheese sandwiches
• breakfast burritos with onions, peppers, and mushrooms (frozen)
• banana-pecan-chocolate chip muffins
• overnight steel cut oatmeal with raisins, flax, and pecans (crock pot meal)
• overnight french toast casserole with freezer blueberries, pomegranate seeds, cream cheese, and pecans
• smoothies and cinnamon toast
• bagels and cream cheese
• baked oatmeal

Lunches:

• leftovers
• egg salad sandwiches
• turkey salad wraps
• yogurt parfaits with freezer fruit

Dinners:  

• broccoli and cheddar quiche (with freezer pie crust and broccoli)
• crock pot Thai beef
• crock pot black bean chili with corn bread
• roasted turkey with herb butter (both in freezer), crock pot roasted veggies (sweet potato, onion, carrot, and beet)
• homemade pizza x 4 (pesto, cheese, freezer veggies, artichoke hearts, olives, turkey, pepperoni toppings, depending on night)
• winter squash waffles with smoothies and sausage or eggs
• crock pot loaded mac and cheese with broccoli and keilbasa
• crock pot tomato, bean, and green soup with sausage (using freezer greens, sausage, canned tomatoes, and dried beans)
• beans and rice with fixins (Greek yogurt, salsa, and frozen guacamole) and corn bread
• tacos with leftover turkey, black beans, and fixins on tortillas or hard shells (both in pantry/freezer)
• turkey salad sandwiches with fruit
• lentil sloppy joes with roasted broccoli or oven fries

Batch Cooking:

• homemade veggie stock using frozen veggie scraps
• homemade turkey stock using turkey carcass from roasting
• banana nut muffins or banana oatmeal bars

Snacks:

• smoothies with frozen fruit
• popcorn with garlic salt or cinnamon sugar
• fresh fruit
• homemade trail mix with raisins, nuts, and dry cereal 
• cheese and crackers
• yogurt

How are you living and saving green in the kitchen this month?  I'd love to hear from you!

February Menu Plan

This month is all about using up some of what we have.  I did take advantage of Harris Teeter's Super Doubles event, but aside from that, we're really going to try to stay away from the grocery store except for absolute necessities.  I plan to use some of what we have in our freezer and pantry, including some things like powdered milk, frozen veggies from our CSA, frozen bread, and scraps that have been saved for making stock.  We're also going to continue to take advantage of gleaning from the food pantry to stretch our budget too.

We're also going to try to save some money on our electric bill with cooking too.  We'll work to use our crock pot to do the heavy lifting and use the microwave or toaster oven for reheating.  We'll only use our upper oven, which is smaller, for baking when necessary.

Here's the plan:

Breakfasts:  egg and cheese sandwiches, overnight oatmeal in the crock pot, smoothies using frozen fruit, french toast casserole with frozen blueberries, bagels and cream cheese, toast with jam, and whole wheat waffles with fruit and hard boiled eggs, winter squash muffins, strawberry cream cheese coffee cake, blueberry muffins, cappuccino chocolate chip muffins

Lunches:  leftovers filled in with fresh fruit or yogurt, egg salad sandwiches, PBJ

Dinners:  tomato basil soup (we make it without cream so it has other uses too), meatball subs with tomato basil soup as marinara, fajitas with rice, leftover turkey, and frozen peppers and onions, corn chowder with garlic toast, potato soup with homemade turkey stock and garlic toast, waffles with fruit and sausage, black beans and rice with fixin's and corn bread, black bean chili, homemade pizza (x4), french toast with smoothies and sausage, jambalya, crock pot Asian chicken over rice, veggie stir fry over rice with egg rolls

Batch cooking for freezer:  homemade turkey stock, homemade veggie stock, black beans, muffins

Special Meal:  We will celebrate Valentine's Day later in the month, so that my mom can keep little man overnight.  We'll do a dinner out and make some peppermint brownies with icecream as our dessert at home.  We'll do an early dinner and take advantage of a coupon we have, so that we can have time for an at home movie with dessert.  The cost of this meal will come out of our regular grocery budget, if possible.

Snacks:  popcorn, chocolate mint cookies (we have some cookie dough we purchased from a fundraiser that we need to use up), fresh fruit, nuts, toast and jam

Drinks:  water, hot tea, hot cocoa, maybe iced tea made with loose tea

What are you cooking up this month?  I'd love to hear from you!

Frugal Accomplishments

We continue to try to find new ways to save money, and increase our income, as we work toward our budget and savings goals.  We did pretty well over the past two weeks (yes, got behind last week with posting).  Here are our successes, since we had very little in the way of unexpected expenses.

• Cooked all meals at home, including corn chowder, veggie stir fry, crock pot Asian chicken, fajitas with leftover turkey, French toast and smoothies, crock pot overnight oatmeal, and cream cheese strawberry coffee cake.
• Tried to cook mostly from the pantry and freezer.  Only one grocery trip for some staples totaling $10.
• Took advantage of lots of things from the food pantry including:  two gallons of milk, four loaves of bread/bags of rolls/bagels, five containers of cut up peppers and onions, four whole bell peppers, one avocado, five tomatoes, two apples, two kiwi, one onion,  several zucchini, package of green beans, three packages of strawberries, package of brown rice, two packages of mince meat filling, nine cartons of yogurt, and a soft herb and garlic cheese.  
• Froze many peppers and onions for later use.  Used some to make fajitas.
• Processed strawberries (many were too soft or moldy) to yield three cups for coffee cake.
• Froze two loaves of bread for later use.
• Used three tomatoes for fajitas, and one for homemade guacamole using the avocado.  
• Gleaned from school cafeteria again:  three apples, two cheese sticks, two cartons of yogurt, three packages of Goldfish, and two packages of Chex mix.
• Composted all kitchen scraps, including paper towels, tea bags, coffee grounds, and brown cardboard tubes.
• Recycled anything possible, keeping household trash to about one kitchen bag every two weeks.
• Had a day of professional development with lunch provided.  Brought home enough leftovers to provide another lunch.
• Enjoyed a few shared meals with family, saving on dishes and some food cost and prep.
• Used a gift card to take little man on a morning date to the bakery.  Took my own coffee mug and used the discount card to save on the purchase.  Also got to take him to school, which was a fun treat for both of us.
• Continued with unseasonably mild weather, allowing us to hang some clothes outside to dry.  Washed all clothing in cold water.
• Used cloth diapers, washed at home, and hung to dry.
• Showered every other day, saving on hot water, shampoo, and soap.  Also saves my skin, since the air is dryer this time of year.
• Enjoyed a fun social event of a birthday party.  Food was provided, so dinner wasn't really needed that night.  We took a handmade tie dye t-shirt as a gift, with a card and bag decorated by little man.
• Met with our financial planner and set up 529 accounts for both boys.  We will have the $50/month deducted automatically from my paycheck.  With our savings from the changes in health insurance, we'll never miss the money.
• Plan to contribute an additional $100/month to Benny's retirement account to try to make up for some of what we haven't contributed over the past few years since he's been home with the boys.
• Exercised at home using You Tube and my yoga mat (we have not had cable since building the house almost nine years ago).  Walked with the family after work on pretty days.
• Benny earned some extra money doing some online advertising for a painter.  This helped to pay for new shoes he ordered, which he really needed for work and for home since his others were worn in the soles and had holes in the canvas tops.
• Considering purchasing a new to us car, which we're having looked at by our mechanic today.  I dropped off the car and walked to school, which is convenient and provides me some good exercise.
• Working on a professional development fellowship application.  I am hopeful that this will provide me with some good networking and publishing opportunities, as well as a stipend that would really help us to pay down the rest of our home equity line debt.
• Continue to advertise the upstairs bedroom space for rental.  We are hopeful that our current downstairs tenant will stay on with us, but should know in the next day or two if we need to advertise.
• Continue to post items on eBay for sale, decluttering our closets and helping us to pay for our CSA share this year.

What did you do to live and save green this past week?  I'd love to hear from you!

Frugal Accomplishments

We've been working really hard to stick to our budget this month.  January is a long month for teachers, since we get paid before the Christmas holidays in December and don't get paid again until the end of the month in January.  This is also a birthday month for us, so there could easily be some extra expenses there.

But we've worked really hard, and we're skipping the grocery store this week, so I think we'll be in good shape.

• Cooked all meals at home.  This included a new crockpot BBQ chicken recipe, lentil sloppy joes, pizza, roasted veggies, muffins, and overnight steel cut oatmeal (recipe coming soon!).
• Enjoyed two shared meals with my mom, one using some of our BBQ chicken as the base of some yummy black bean tacos.
• Ate leftovers for lunch each day.
• Composted all appropriate kitchen scraps.
• Gleaned from the food pantry and school.  Pantry included:  two gallons of milk, fancy cheese, eight cartons of yogurt, two loaves of bread, avocado, two pears, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, broccoli stir fry mix, and holiday brownie mix.  School cafeteria included:  three apples, two cartons of yogurt, cheese stick, five packs of Goldfish crackers, and three bags of Chex mix.
• Took advantage of sales and coupons, saving over $60 on groceries.  Kept grocery budget to $150, including two packs of diapers and stocking up on canned tomatoes and shredded cheese.
• Carpooled to work most days, saving on gas.
• Used rags and homemade citrus cleaner for cleaning.
• Started bathing baby in the shower, saving on some water.  He loves it!
• Continued washing clothes in cold water.  
• Hung all laundry to dry inside or out on the line (its been ridiculously warm)
• Continued with cloth diapers and wipes, only using disposable at night.  Washed diapers in hot water or on sanitize cycle.
• Used handkerchiefs, washed on hot water with towels, instead of tissues.
• Used cloth napkins for each night at dinner.
• Enjoyed new books from Imagination Library for the boys; they come in the mail each month for free.
• Took little man on a date to the Playhouse and to the grocery store to pick out his icing for birthday cupcakes for school (I know I could make it cheaper and with less junk, but it was one thing that could make my week a little less crazy.)  He asked for pistachios while we were at the grocery store, and since he helped find the ones with the lowest price, and we had wiggle room in our grocery budget, I caved and spent the money.  (At least he's asking for nuts and not something sugary sweet, right?!)  Going to try to make Mommy and little man dates a regular thing, maybe twice a month, because we both had a lot of fun and it was special time.
• Made birthday cupcakes with little man for his preschool class this week.  Made them on Sunday, he decorated, and we put them in the freezer til tonight so they'd be fresh for tomorrow.
• Using presents purchased with gift card for little man's birthday presents.  He'll get a new puzzle and a book from us, and a few other things from family.
• Will use the birthday banner made a few years ago to decorate for birthday party on Saturday (more to come on birthday party next week).
• Did a bulk toilet paper order through Staples (about $7.50 for 24 rolls, ordered 7 packs).  This should be enough to last us at least a year and maybe longer.  Using family cloth and cloth wipes helps to save on toilet paper.
• Began rereading a book I had on our shelf at home instead of making a special trip to the library.  Might make library my next date with little man.

What did you do to live and save green this past week?  I'd love to hear from you!

Frugal Accomplishments First Week January

This past week we did pretty well with the budget category, until my car started flashing the check engine and AT oil temp light.  We took it in to get checked out, and a sensor needs to be replaced, which is generally not cheap in Subarus.  We're trying to make this one limp along until we can get enough saved up for a new to us AWD vehicle, but we'll see how the repair bills keep coming.

Here are the rest of last week's accomplishments:

• Cooked all meals at home.  Had a few shared meals with family and friends, which was fun.
• Composted all kitchen scraps.
• Used veggie stock, frozen tomatoes, frozen beef, and gleaned veggies to make a pot of soup in the crock pot, saving on electricity.
• Accepted gleaned items from the food pantry:  yogurt, bread, green beans, mixed veggies, snack packs of almonds and cheese, and fresh fruit.
• Gleaned from school cafeteria:  three string cheese, two apples, one milk, five bags of Goldfish crackers, two cartons of yogurt
• Picked up a few items on Harris Teeter's Super Doubles event, totaling about $15
• Tried a new overnight porridge recipe.  Needs some tweaking on the cook time, but the flavors were pretty good.
• Did some organizing and cleaning out.  Filled a paper grocery sack with items to donate to Goodwill.
• Washed all clothes in cold water and line dried things.  Found dryer balls stashed away, so will try to use these for drying towels to cut down on drying time.
• Continued to use cloth diapers, cutting down on cost.
• Little man had several dry nights, so that saved on laundry.
• Hand delivered thank you notes for Christmas gifts as much as possible, saving on postage.
• Sent out evite for little man's 4th birthday party, saving on paper invitations
• Found cake mix in cabinet to use for said birthday party
• Found another tie dyed t-shirt little man made that we can use as a birthday gift for another party to attend this weekend.
• Showered every other day to save on hot water, and keep skin from drying out.  This also saves on shampoo, soap, and hair products.
• Used both sides of a cotton ball for makeup removal, saving on cotton.  (Tip:  if you use natural products, you can then compost your cotton balls)
• Used cloth wipes and family cloth when possible.  We wash these on the sanitize cycle or with diapers, so they are always very clean.
• Took advantage of being snowed in for a few house projects such as spackling and sanding dings in walls, cleaning out behind the fridge, and catching up on laundry.  Being snowed in saved on fuel.
• Made homemade powdered citrus cleaner from dried orange peels to use for cleaning bathrooms and kitchen sink.  Repurposed a large spice container to make using the cleaner easier.

I'd love to hear from you!  What did you do to live and save green last week?

January Meal Plan

This month we're going to continue to work down what we have in our freezer.  We were also gifted several things over the holidays that will help round out meals, and we made a trip to Costco for a few things.  It is my hope to do very minimal grocery shopping for staples only (we already picked up corn meal, baking soda, and milk).  Hopefully next month will be our annual bulk spice/herb order, so next month's grocery budget will be less too.

We also plan to make use of the leftover items available to us through the food pantry.  This week I put up a quart of collard greens in the freezer, used two bags of fresh organic green beans, saved two gallons of milk, and we took several apples and cut up fruit that would have gone bad before the pantry reopened for clients.  This gleaning really does save our grocery budget and help cut down on their food waste.

My grandmother gave us a new crock pot for Christmas, which we're super excited about.  We're planning to use it a lot, as we have come to rely on it with the boys keeping us so busy.

Breakfasts

• Cranberry bread (gifted over holidays)
• Egg and cheese sandwiches (using croissants or rosemary bread from Costco)
• Leftover holiday egg and cheese casserole
• Overnight oatmeal in the crock pot
• Muffins:  lemon poppyseed, cranberry orange, molasses muffins, marmalade muffins, and winter squash muffins with nuts or pumpkin seeds
• Smoothies
• Yogurt parfaits with frozen berries and pumpkin seeds, nuts, or dry cereal crumbs

Lunches

• Leftovers rounded out with fruit (citrus, bananas, or gleaned from the pantry)
• Smoothies with frozen fruit and smoothie powder from Costco

Dinners

• Crock pot Asian chicken with carrots, pineapple, onion, and candied ginger over rice
• Baked sausage, apples, and sweet potatoes over rice with greens
• Tomato basil soup in the crock pot with grilled cheeses
• Pasta with tomato basil soup as marinara
• Black beans (crock pot) and rice with fixins
• Black bean tacos with winter squash or enchiladas
• Homemade pizza x 2-3 with homemade pesto
• Homemade mac and cheese with steamed/roasted veggies
• Veggie stir fry over rice with egg rolls
• Breakfast for dinner:  French toast or French toast casserole with fruit and yogurt parfaits
• Tuna casserole with roasted veggie sides

Snacks

• Chex mis (gifted)
• Hot cocoa (gifted)
• Gingerbread house pieces
• Holiday cookies
• Fresh fruit
• Dried fruit (apricots, prunes)
• Dried fruit and nut trail mix
• Cashews (gifted)
• Almonds (gifted)
• Pistachios (gifted)
• Popcorn (gifted)

Frugal Accomplishments

This past week we had some great frugal scores, as well as keeping up with our regular activities.  Here's our list of accomplishments:

• Cooked all meals at home.  This included lentil sweet potato soup using homemade turkey stock, sweet potato waffles, baked chicken with sweet potatoes and salad, and cranberry currant muffins.
• Took leftovers for lunch every day to work.
• We took advantage of lots of overflow from the food pantry and said yes to:  half gallon of milk, sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, chopped root veggies, yogurt, oranges, pomegranates, and bread.  This will keep us from having to go to the grocery store this week and maybe next week.
• Took advantage of three shared meals this week with family, friends, and church.  We took corn on the cob to the meal with friends and tortilla chips to the chili cook off at church.  These meals were fun entertainment and saved us on meal prep and groceries.
• Saved two cartons of milk from the school cafeteria that kids were going to throw away unopened.  Used these for coffee drinks.
• The citrus we ordered from the local high school band arrived, so we have two boxes of mandarins and grapefruit.  The whole family loves these, and they will store well for weeks in our unheated basement space.  It's nice that it was a fundraiser for the band program too.
• Hung all clothing to dry after laundry.  Used lowest heat setting on dryer for drying sheets and towels.  Washed all clothing on cold water.
• Continued with cloth diapers for baby and night time potty training for little man, saving on diaper costs.
• Both boys have colds, so we're treating those with home remedies such as homemade broth, humidifiers, Vicks vapor rub, hot showers, and hot tea.  I'm still nursing baby, so his cold isn't as bad, and I'm trying to convince little man to take some of the extra breastmilk to help ease his cold too.
• Showered every other day to save on water and keep my skin not as dry.  
• Saved citrus peels for making homemade citrus cleaner.  I'll make some liquid with white vinegar and some powdered with baking soda and borax.  It is great for cleaning the bathrooms, and I use the powder for gifts for some friends.
• Zested some citrus for drying. I'll store this in a jar and use it in baking.
• Enjoyed our first delay day due to weather to make waffles with the family.  It was a nice treat to have extra family time on Friday.
• Carpooled to work most days, saving on fuel.
• Used our shop vac to clean the car out, rather than paying to vacuum it out at the car wash.
• Continued to compost all appropriate kitchen scraps, including paper towels, brown cardboard, and brown paper.
• Stayed home on Saturday, saving on fuel costs.  I entertained the boys with things we had at home, and helped little man make tie dyed shirts for the family for Christmas using dye we already had and existing white shirts.  Baby will look so cute in the onsie, it gave new life to dingy shirts, and little man is so proud of his gifts!
• Accepted some hand-me-down clothes for the boys.  Some are a bit big still, but they are good quality and we can store them.
• Browsed magazines and cookbooks we already had for entertainment and to help get new ideas for menus.
• Posted items to sell on eBay.
• Reposted our room ad for upstairs.  Hoping to rent that space soon so it doesn't sit vacant too long.  It really helps our budget, and we enjoy sharing the space with someone who's a good fit for our family.
• Saved cool whip containers from a lab at school for use with Christmas goodie gifting.  The containers will hold holiday goodies well, and will look festive when wrapped in tissue paper tied with ribbon.

What did you do to live and save green this past week?  I'd love to hear from you!

December Menu

This month, as usual, is all about making use of what we have.  We're grateful to have the opportunity for several community meals this month through church, community, and family to stretch things further.  Our largest expense this month will be on baking items for Christmas goodies and gifting, but we're trying to simplify there too, so we'll try to keep things totally in check at our $100/month budget for groceries.

Breakfasts:  breakfast casserole with eggs and veggies, baked oatmeal with raisins and shredded carrots, winter squash muffins, lemon poppyseed muffins, cranberry oatmeal muffins, steel cut overnight oats with raisins, bagels and smoothies made with frozen fruit, hard boiled eggs and toast with jam or cinnamon sugar, banana oatmeal bars

Lunches:  leftovers, fresh fruit, peanut butter and banana/jelly sandwiches, smoothies

Dinners:  turkey enchiladas with shredded summer squash, salmon hash with leftover Thanksgiving dressing and fried eggs, lentil and sweet potato soup, gifted corn and salmon chowder, veggie stir fry with egg rolls, black bean chili with tomatoes, peppers, and onions from the freezer, crockpot lasagna soup, homemade pizza with sausage, pepperoni, and/or veggies and homemade sauce x 3, pesto pasta with tomato salad, mac and cheese with roasted veggies, tuna casserole with salad or roasted veggies

Holiday baking/gifting:  homemade winter spiced cocoa mix, candied chocolate popcorn with pecans, gingerbread house building, rosemary olive oil french bread

What are you up to in the kitchen this month?  I'd love to hear from you!

November Menu Plan

We're kind of shedding tears around here now that our CSA season is over for the year, but it also simplifies things a bit in the weekly schedule and meal planning area since we know for sure what produce we'll have each week (mostly freezer).  Once again, we're going to make the most of our freezer and pantry stash, and graciously accept overflow from the food pantry where my mom volunteers (they're only open for clients two days a week, so some produce that's donated needs to be used before then).

We'll take advantage of the sales this month on baking staples to stock up on butter, brown sugar, white sugar, Pam, nuts, sweet potatoes, and cranberries.  We love to freeze cranberries for use in smoothies, muffins, and fruit crisps.  The sweet potatoes will keep for a while and are wonderful in soups, enchiladas, and casseroles, as well as just baked and topped with black beans and sour cream or yogurt.

Without further ado, here's the menu plan for the month, with some adjustments to be made depending on what we glean from the food pantry.

Breakfasts:  strawberry coffee cake (with gleaned strawberries and marscapone cheese), winter squash baked oatmeal with raisins, figs, and pecans, egg and cheese sandwiches, egg breakfast casserole with peppers and onions, fruit smoothies, yogurt and fruit, winter squash muffins, lemon poppy seed muffins, cranberry oatmeal muffins

Lunches:  leftovers rounded out with gleaned fruit, salad, or yogurt

Dinners:  tacos with winter squash, turkey, and greens, open faced lentil sloppy joes with salad or roasted veggies, pasta with homemade pesto and salad, winter squash black bean chili, enchiladas with turkey, beans, peppers, onions, sweet potato and frozen shredded summer squash, dinner salads with hard boiled eggs and cranberry vinaigrette, loaded mac and cheese with cauliflower and sausage, homemade pizza with pesto/tomato sauce and veggies x 3, turkey pot pie, winter squash and chick pea salad with tahini dressing and sage from the garden, crock pot pasta with ricotta, corn chowder, veggie stir fry with egg rolls, black bean chili with corn bread

Putting up:  This month we'll focus on processing and freezing winter squash and dehydrating any appropriate fruits from the food pantry.  We'd love to dry some apples and pineapple for snacking, and have already dried some cantaloupe (great with oatmeal) and frozen some winter squash.

Groceries to purchase:  tortillas, eggs, brown sugar, pie crust, tahini, dried chick peas, dried lentils, canned corn, sweet potatoes, cranberries

I'd love to hear your meal plans for this month!

Frugal Accomplishments

This week we're still trying to keep the grocery budget low, but I did pick up a few staples we were out of (canola oil, sugar, salt, and dried parsley).  We're doing a great job of keeping our weekly expenses low in general, so hopefully that'll help out with the home equity line and saving for a new car.  (My 10 year old one is starting to rust out thanks to our winters, so we're starting to save for purchasing a new-to-us late model, used car sometime next year.)  Here's how we kept our expenses low this week:

• Continued to make all meals at home.  Enjoyed three shared meals with family and friends that were pot luck.
• Used the crock pot for several meals, saving energy.
• Accepted bread, mushrooms, kale, 2 lbs of strawberries, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes from the food pantry that were going to go to waste.  
• Used pantry and freezer items to plan meals for the week including lentil and sweet potato soup, kale salad with sun dried tomato dressing, hot German potato salad with sausages, veggie stir fry over rice, winter squash baked oatmeal, and winter squash waffles with fruit smoothies.
• Processed peppers from CSA for the freezer.  Chopped tomatoes and froze them for later use in chili.
• Purchased canola oil and sugar in bulk to save overall.
• Took leftovers for lunch each day, saving on prep time and money.
• Made most of our meals meatless, saving on the cost of meat and choosing more nutrient dense foods like beans, lentils, potatoes, and greens.
• Composted as usual including tea bags, coffee grounds, and kitchen scraps.
• Washed laundry in cold water (except diapers and towels) and hung clothing to dry inside or on the line outside when weather permitted.
• Swapped desserts with our housemate, giving us more variety and a fun shared experience.
• Gleaned apples from an apple tree on commercial property this week, with the owner's permission.  Plan to process apples tonight for making applesauce.
• Continue to make do with hand-me-down clothing for the baby, even with the changes in seasons, we're able to make things work with short sleeves and a few jackets.  (Most of our things from little man are the wrong season for the size that the baby's at right now.)
• Carpooled to work four days, saving on fuel.
• Combined errands and planned our route as much as possible to save on fuel and time.
• Continued to advertise the upstairs rental space to be filled in December.  A few promising leads, but nothing firm yet.
• Weeded out a few things in the closet to donate to Goodwill for a tax receipt.  Will try to do more before the end of the year.
• Ordered two Christmas gifts for the boys using gift card money, so no funds out of pocket.
• Began planning little man's Halloween costume using things we already have.  He wants to be a fireman this year, so his fireman raincoat and gifted fire hat will be taking on starring roles.

What did you do to live and save green this week?  I'd love to hear from you!