Frugal Friday Week #6
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I always feel like I post many how-to’s and not many “real lifes”. Although I do try and incorporate that into my newer posts, I’ve often thought that it might be even more helpful for my readership to get a better glimpse inside of what our simple/homestead/from scratch/frugal life really looks like.
Frugal Friday Week 6
So I’ve started a new series called Frugal Fridays and need your help. My idea for this series is to share some of the projects/recipes/things we worked on this week and, in general, just what life looks like.
I need your help because, yes, I’ve tried something similar before, and I gave up after a while. I got bored, felt like no one was reading it or cared, and I moved on to other projects. So what I need you to do each week is to share what your week looked like in the comments section. I think it could keep us ALL accountable and may serve as an encouragement to others!
So let’s dive right into this week!
Meals We Ate This Week
I had a decent meal plan this week thanks to all the prepping I did last week. We ended up with a bunch of leftovers though towards the end of the week so that’s what we’ve been eating up for a few days now!
Breakfasts –
- Breakfast Cookies
- Yogurt and Granola
- Eggs, Sausage, and Toast
- Banana Muffins
Lunches –
- Egg Drop Soup
- Stroganoff
- “Big Plate”
- Chicken Nuggets
- Fish Sticks
- Quesadillas
- Pizza
Suppers –
- Meatballs
- Balsamic and Cherry Roast
- Tacos
- BBQ Spice Chicken Wings
- Hamburger Soup
- Leftovers!
Shopping I Did
Oh shopping I did this week! I mentioned last week that I was going to go thrifting, which I did! I found a few bags worth of stuff for the home and kids. I spent $13 on the kids clothes in the picture above. I got a few other things as well and spent about $40 total.
And then I went on another shopping spree…but online. Now I know how many containers I have for planting seed starts and what I’m going to need. I ordered more lighting for the shelving units I have. My husband also got me another shelf for plants from Costco when he went this week (see the picture of the one I have below). Then I ordered a bunch more pots and trays and planting things! Here’s a bullet list because it was a lot:
- The VermiHut – I’ve been wanting a worm farm forever and after doing some research, I ended up buying this tray style one. I will be sure and do a blog post on it once I get it up and going and see if it was worth it! I ordered Red Wiggler Composter worms from Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm because of the guarantee he offers.
- Plant Lighting – I ordered several more of these because I’m going to increase them to 2 per shelf on my plant starting shelves. These are new for me this year instead of the purple light ones and I like them so far. They provide more light than the other ones I had and I like that it’s not purple.
- Square Pots – I ordered more of these in both sizes that they carry. I like them for the plants that need to grow larger and for a longer period of time because they go outside (for me that’s peppers, tomatoes, fruit plants, etc). They fit in a 1020 tray (standard seed starting tray).
- 1020 Trays – I’ve run out of these and needed more. The ones from Bootstrap Farmer are hands down my favorite. I’ve never found other trays that are this sturdy.
- 50 Count Seed Trays – I ordered some of both the 50 count and the 32 count trays (but couldn’t find a link to the 32 count). These are also from Bootstrap and are very heavy duty.
- Silicone Pans – This is not related to planting but I did order them! I’m going to use these as reusable freezer meal pans. I don’t like the idea of cooking in aluminum and all of the waste it causes as well so I’m going to try these.
Outside Projects We Worked On
That in the picture above my friends is more snow. This past week I think it’s snowed every single day. While very pretty, it means that outside work is still waiting on nicer days.
Inside Projects We Worked On
I was busy playing in the dirt this week…inside that is. I planted 100 cabbage seeds (3 different kinds. Two for summer eating and 1 kind for storage in the root cellar) and 50 pepper seeds. My celery is starting to come up and the rest of my plants are looking good as well. I need to plant broccoli seeds soon as well (I plant those outside in the low tunnels in April) but I need more space and lights for plants first.
I made a batch of chicken broth from the chickens that we raised and butchered last year. I used this to make some soup this week and put the rest in the freezer for next week.
The kids and I are getting a little bored from being constantly snowed in. So we decided to add a few extra components to our school day to help. This week we had several days of making lunches from other countries that go along with our history studies. The picture above is Russian Stroganoff (served with very non-traditional, but tasty, canned nectarines and corn).
Books I’m Reading
I told you last week I had gotten 100 Days of Real Food, Fast and Fabulous, and Not Your Mother’s Make Ahead and Freeze Cookbook from the library. Here are my thoughts on both!
I found a few recipes that we liked in the 100 Days of Real Food Fast and Fabulous book but I think I liked Lisa’s first book, 100 Days of Real Food better. There just seemed to be more that we would use.
The Make Ahead and Freeze Cookbook seems to have a lot of good-looking recipes that I’d like to try. However, I did make the Breakfast Cookies (I mentioned them in last week’s post) and they were not a family favorite. I will have to try a few more things I bookmarked.
Blog Posts I Wrote
I will add this section so you can also catch up on the latest blog posts I put up in case I missed sharing them in my newsletters this week!
- Best Plants for the AeroGarden – I get asked about my AeroGarden a lot because I use it every winter. In this post I’m breaking down what seems to grow the best as well as how to refill it without the expensive pods.
- Frugal Cookies – I updated this blog post because it has a super easy recipe for Thin Mint cookies. I thought some of you might want that one right now!
- Buttermilk Muffin Recipe – My mom posted this one this week. It looks super good!
- Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe – This is one of our favorite recipes because it’s so easy, multi-purpose, and so tasty.
- Tuiles – I have a bunch of searches for this recipe so I updated this very old blog post which reminded me how tasty these little treats are.
Looking Ahead to Next Week
I plan on getting up all of the plant lighting and the new plant shelf that I bought (provided that it actually comes on time!). The one shelf hasn’t caused much of an issue but I’ll have to re-arrange the living room to fit the second shelf. I may get some of the flower seeds started for my pollinator section in the garden.
So tell me….what did life look like for you this week? What did you do, make, or plan to do?
Merissa has been blogging about and living the simple life since 2009 and has internationally published 2 books on the topic. You can read about Merissa’s journey from penniless to the 100-acre farm and ministry on the About Page. You can send her a message any time from the Contact Page.
Merissa, I do look forward to your Frugal Friday posts. I don’t always get to try as many things as I’d like to, but it keeps me inspired. So please do keep posting! Thank you for all of the wonderful things you share!!!
Enjoyed some of our grandkids visiting. Decluttering stuff. Decorating for St. Patrick’s Day and Easter. Still bottle feeding lambs, getting close to weaning day. Making yard project plans plus garden plans. Taco soup was the hit this week. More grandkids’ activities this weekend.
Like your seed shelves❤️
I love the idea of egg drop soup for lunch! I will be stealing that one!
Love your Frugal Fridays. I, too, made a double batch of chicken stock this week. Into the freezer as my supply was depleted,
Thank you for all of your suggestions!
My husband made a 70lb pot of chili! We have had it several different ways already this week because it is so good!
I am enjoying your Frugal Friday post! I have one question about today’s post. What is “Big Plate”? You listed it as one of your Lunches.
It’s a very unfancy charcuterie board. We use a large serving platter and I fill it with fruits, veggies, meats, crackers, or anything else I have leftover and the kids very much enjoy it for lunch. 🙂
Smart.
Hey Merissa!
I live in Florida, so my week looks much different than yours. Even though it is only March, we have had some very warm days in the 80’s. I was able to get my container garden started. I haven’t had a garden in a few years and was anxious to get back to it. I bought starter to plants to speed things along since we have been so busy lately. But I did sow some sunflower seeds. One was Mammoth and also a heirloom variety called Chocolate Cherry. I’m excited to see them raise their beautiful heads! There’s just something about a garden that satisfies my soul!
Thanks for always inspiring others with your stories of life on the homestead!
Merissa, this may be a dumb question, but I would like to cull a few chicken from our flock. What do you do with the chicken blood that drains from the cone after you kill them? I don’t want to do the culling until I find everything out…
Thank you!
I will ask my husband and get back to you. I know he doesn’t use a cone and has another method.
Hi!
This week I ordered some plants for my garden box. I actually have the ability to use two boxes this year because a friend who lives in my apartment community got a box as well, and she said I could have it. I’ll happily share my veggies with her! I’m still eating up the tomatoes and peppers I grew last year, and I’m looking forward to more this year. I’m still working on eating up my food in my freezer so I can be ready for summer. There’s only two of us, so it takes a while to go through it.
Love your posts. We are finally getting a break from cold snowy weather in Colorado so we aren’t as stir crazy. Two weeks ago we were so over it! I’m about to start my seeds this weekend (I was gone last week when I’d normally start to help my mom while my dad had heart surgery). We mostly container garden because we have so many deer and they don’t get on our deck, but we had the most beautiful (to me!) carrots last year. They grew so well in a giant pot on the deck from seed. I made homemade vegetable soup with leftover veggies this week and it tasted so fresh. We are trying to eat more seasonally and follow more of a Mediterranean style diet for all of our health but still balancing it with a tighter budget. Skinnytaste is my go-to for healthier meals (we don’t use the low fat cheeses and things-just look for good soups I can batch cook) and we are following a Mediterranean diet cookbook I first found at the library and then bought after using it some first. While I was gone, my husband bought bread, so it’s been nice to take a break from baking this week, but I miss that homemade taste and making it with our 7 year old son. Since we homeschool, it’s a fun lesson/activity we do together. My husband is a great baker because his mom taught him when he was young. I’m hoping this will be a gift to my son’s future wife someday, too!
Hi Merissa, Most notably what I made this week….I had asked hubby to go and get some pork chops out of our freezer (which is in the basement) and he did not find any but came upstairs with an unmarked piece of pork that was under a pound but as I said, was not chops. I didn’t know what it was, but decided to try cooking it for supper. I let it thaw, of course, and when the time came, I put a bit of avocado oil on it and layered it with minced garlic, salt and pepper and laid it on some thick sliced onions in a pan. It had a lot of fat running through it and it turned out not too bad. I had quite a bit of waste on my piece….but then I’m a finicky eater when it comes to that kind of thing. Anyway, a small accomplishment of making a meal out of ??? and getting it out of our freezer. That’s my goal for the rest of this month….eat up some of that stuff that’s been in there for a long time, never getting used. The reason it wasn’t marked was we bought a pork box from a local pork producer and he was having a sale – I presume to clean out the bottom of his freezer as well. Anyway, you just paid for the box, not knowing what you’d get. Well, they probably didn’t know what you’d get either as some of the items had no markings. I probably wouldn’t do that again. The other notable thing I made….a pan of chocolate chip cookie bars….low carb/no sugar. Well….they came out of the oven and we let them mostly cool and decided to give them a try. They seemed kind of like a good substitute for corn bread. LOL Didn’t much notice the chocolate chips in them and definitely not like a cookie. It was very disappointing. The recipe said to store them in the refrigerator, so the next time we tried them….voila!…they were much better. When fully cooled they didn’t seem like cornbread anymore. Still not like chocolate chip cookies, but somewhat tasty. I don’t know that I’ll make them again, however. Trying to eat low carb/zero sugar is a real challenge….we’re coming from all our lives eating whatever sounds good to us….very little restrictions. Recently, I was diagnosed with diabetes so a change had to be made. We’re both trying to lose weight as well. So it’s a tough move to make but we slog along. Trying this and that. Some things are keepers in our regular line up….some are not. Spaghetti squash instead of pasta just doesn’t cut it, for example. Well, I better wrap this up….we got more snow last night and are expecting up to 11″ through the weekend! Ack! I’m ready for spring…not more snow!! Oh well, an excuse to keep “sitting by the fire”. (Not a real fire….we have no fireplace/woodstove.) Just a figure of speech. Have a good week!
Good morning! I do so enjoy your Frugal Friday recap of the week. I cannot recap a whole week as I have two special needs kiddos that require (and demand) 2-5 minute intervention each morning. Keeps me on my toes except when, oh wait there is no exception! We returned to homeschooling in December after multiple disappointing and frustrating mornings with public school and charter school, however, homeschooling doesn’t often go as planned! Most weeks I feel we never do “enough”. Please keep posting FF as it inspires me to do just a little more each week, snow or not. We started watermelon seeds, 2 kinds, and lettuce 16 days ago, tomato seeds are next for the soil. Of course, then I fell putting stuff in the attic and dislocated my shoulder. Don’t do that it hurts. My point in sharing is that I thought most of my “schooling” had fallen on deaf ears. I was wrong. The oldest offered to help cook dinner the night after and she did GREAT! I would share a photo if I knew how to attach it. It was then I realized homeschooling was indeed helping! They are sweet kiddos if not busy ones! But I wouldn’t have it any other way! This next week we are going to start hand crafts of embroidery it has been pushed to the back burner for 2 weeks and I think it is time to have something for these cold mornings! Hoping that it shows how all subjects work in everyday life. . Okay it’s a stretch…. Have a great weekend!
P.S. I’m anxious to find out how your worm farm goes….I was toying with the idea of doing that as well. We’re so limited in space here at my house but I thought we may have room for that. I’d be hoping to sell some worms and castings. One thing I am not sure about….being in Northern MN….I don’t know if they can make it through the winters. Perhaps we’d have to take a few months off. I need to do more research.
I will keep you all posted. I’ve been wanting to put one together for years, but like you, it’s too cold here in South Dakota to keep them outside. I finally cleaned up my mudroom and moved the kitties into their own little house so I have room now. I’ve been told that if you are keeping it properly it doesn’t smell…so we will see!
Although I can’t live like you do.. because of where I live (townhouse) I grew up on a farm & we had a small dairy. My father would air out the chicken manure.. due to heat, and then would mix it with the cow manure plus some horse manure and would mix this before putting onto the land. He would then plow it deep into the dirt and always planted a cover crop to be tilled. I believe it was clover. He believed in replenishing the land. Years later I put my veg. peels into a plastic bag and froze it until I got enough & then would mix this with water and put into my Vitamix and would make a liquid fertilizer for my plants.. Earthworms can be grown in a box filled with dirt and box after box can be made to stack on top of each other a young worms will drop down from the screen on the bottom of the box and into the box below. look up how to grow earthworms. they love cornmeal. You are right about snow. I see where Chamberlain asked people to move off the street due to plowing that night.. aaahhhh winter
I live in the Santa Cruz area in California so we have been slammed with rain and snow. Unusual for us. So I made meals this week, lots of cold sandwiches in case the power went out and we couldn’t cook, plus muffins that you can eat without eating up. Love your blogs.
I am enjoying your Frugal Fridays. This week I made a honey bun cake & brownies from your book, Little House Living. We loved it! I plan to prepare some make ahead mixes from the book & seasoning mixes too. I was given 5 boxes of mason jars of all sizes by a family member. What a blessing that was. I have been teaching my kids to cook some new dishes. Plans are under way for our small garden.
Going to make the Sweet and Sour sauce to try. The store bought has weird wang to it. And prefer freshly made!! Thank you😊
Hi Merissa:
Good luck with the worms. I’ll be curious to know how you make out. I’ve tried to have them twice over the years. The first time they somehow ended up with too much liquid in their soil/castings and died. Last year a friend gave me some of her worms as a starter but we both ended up with huge amounts of little white bugs in the bins known as springtails. Springtails are not dangerous but I didn’t want them escaping and getting into the rest of my plants or throughout the house so I ditched the worms for a second time. If you or anyone else that blogs on this site has solutions I would love to hear from you and/or them because I would eventually like to give worms another go.
We are living in a temporary one room tiny home without a real kitchen while we build our house ourselves. So things are tight in space and funds. Have to get creative with meals so we have learned that we really like making basically rice casseroles in the instant pot. 1-2 cups of rice plus a cooked meat of your choice. We also add whatever veggies we have on hand. Add a couple scoops of my cream of stuff powder (subs for standard cream of something soup) and broth to equal the rice amount and a little extra if it doesn’t fully cover. Add the lid and press the rice button. Ta-da.
It’s been too muddy and rainy here to do any outside stuff that’s on our list.
What’s your recipe for “cream of stuff” powder? Sounds like something I’d like to try!
It’s likely this recipe: Homemade Cream of Soup Mix – 9 Ways to Make a Condensed Soup Replacement
Your seed-starting set up is inspiring! I am going to have to try to imitate that next year! Thanks for all your posts and ideas.
Wow, another week has flown by and Friday is here. Last week was a blur so let me recap.
Last Monday my husband and my dad went to get feed…we needed chicken feed for our layers and feed for our broilers due to arrive next week. We also needed pig feed. Which brings me to Monday afternoon…I picked up my oldest grandson so he could ride with the men folk to pick up 2 Yorkshire Cross piglets about 8 weeks old. Our grandson named them Hammy and Porky.
While they were gone I picked up my other 3 grandchildren so they could be here when the pigs got home then we all had BBQ and chicken salad for dinner. Last week we also made chicken broth to freeze and my daughter did most of the cooking while I attended a ladies conference with friends.
This week my daughter made baked oatmeal so we could have it for breakfast. She made it using honey instead of sugar. We enjoyed reheating it this week and adding chocolate chips, brown sugar and pecans on top…it was like having warmed granola.
Our meals this week included stir fry beef and rice, pasta night, and baked ham along with a sausage chowder for dinner tonight. This morning we went for horse feed. My husband also plans to spray the hay fields today…hopefully before it rains.
We just had a load of crushed concrete delivered to fill in holes in our driveway.
This weekend we plan to plant some onions and get potatoes in the ground.
Well that’s all for now. Hope everyone has a good day.
Blessings.
Sounds like you had a busy, but fun week. I love to thrift shop. Great job on the clothes for the kids. Looks like you found some nice things at a really good price.
We have had mostly rain here in Washington, but it’s sunny and dry this morning. Actually getting my hair cut (my annual cut). Usually, just trim it myself, so I am looking forward to a professional today. My big splurge.
For frugal living this week we:
Shopped at our dent/scratch grocery store on Senior Wednesday (saved 10%) and found olives for .69 a can. Going to make homemade pizza tonight. Excited to stop in there this afternoon, because they told me they are getting a whole freight liner of new goods in. Going after my hair appt.
Husband made a trip to Walmart for things we needed, and saved a lot of money instead of shopping at our small town local store. I do an online order and use the Walmart card (saves an additional 5%), plus I don’t add extras in the cart, because we don’t go into the store.
We do try to support our local stores, but often have to shop out of town, because of the cost of their goods. I did shop at the local store this week and used some coupons they had. Saved about $10.00. Purchased mushrooms (which was a treat) and made a vegan creamy mushroom wild rice soup. Used up coconut milk, vegetable broth, carrots, celery and an onion that I needed to use up.
Streamed a movie last night with my husband for entertainment, and went for several walks this week. I like our walks, because we take trash bags and pick up trash on the side of the road.
We live in the country, and it amazes me how much trash people throw out. In Montana, we hardly ever saw litter. Tons of litter in Washington. Makes me feel like I did something positive
for the environment.
Got some free dog food from the vet for our diabetic dog (which was a huge gift). Diabetic
dog food is VERY expensive.
Helping my brother try to find his lost cat, and elderly parents, and a daughter with ADHD.
Wrapped our April work and will start May this weekend. Other than that, it was a pretty uneventful week. Looking forward to turning the clocks forward this weekend.
Thank you for all you do Merissa.
Busy week here too. We got a freeze dryer a while ago, although the initial output was far from frugal I figure in the long run it will be. Canning, freezing and prepping food for over 50 years and then throwing out due to freezer burn, old age etc. prompted us to rethink how we go about this food thing. Thus the freeze dryer, now food can be safely stored up to 25 yrs with no waste. I found that left overs, can easily be freeze dried. A big thing for me is eggs, I have been and am using the freeze dryer to dry them and store for when the chickens are not producing, rehydrated they are just like fresh raw scrambled and a blessing when it comes to baking etc. Busy, busy with this and certainly looking forward to the summer produce!
Last weekend the chickadees and juncos left, a sure sign that spring is not too far off. Doing the happy dance wahoo!! The snow has been coming down in great abundance the past few weeks, so will be nice to see the end of that. Has given me the time to get a start on spring cleaning/dejunking this week. Feels good to get it done.
Wow, you had a productive week!
I started tomato seeds and some more herbs. My rhubarb that I had started from seeds needed repotting, as did some other things. I am trying to do some meal prep things for the freezer so I made some rice with beans, and some refried beans to freeze for busy days. I also made chicken bone broth. We had a lot of soup this week since it has been so cold. I also reread your book, Living Slower, which I highly recommend to anyone who hasn’t yet read it.
I love reading your Frugal Friday posts! It’s very encouraging to read your articles & the comments by fellow readers. I’m older (a grandmother) but I still learn new things, frugal & otherwise, all the time! This past week has involved mostly the usual frugal endeavors – cooking from scratch, buying food & household supplies on sale, etc.
I used a free car wash that my husband received on a buy 1, get 1 offer. I combined errands with doctor appointments. We had a big expenditure because we have to replace our 18 yr old wall oven. It is too old to repair & likes to quit working on a whim, making meal planning more difficult by having to switch meals around to coordinate with whenever the oven IS working. Hopefully the new one will be installed next week. This expense is not a problem as we have the money set aside in savings. Frugal ways = money saved = peace of mind. Have a great week!
Love your ideas. I’m a single mom raising teenagers and I work full time. Started our garden this week in between other week events. Meal prepping is allowing my daughter to make dinner when she get home some nights so when her brother and I get home we can sit down at the dinner table and talk.
Hi Merissa and other subscribers! I made simple coconut quick bread, pumpkin donut holes, pumpkin baked oatmeal, simple sweet quick bread, and cinnamon muffins for breakfast this week. For dinner I made pasta with lentils and vegetarian chili with rice for dinner. I haven’t started any outdoor projects yet. I did get some good deals at BJ’s wholesale club on some things we needed. I hope to start my garden soon.
Please don’t give up Merissa !!
We love ya to pieces for all u do for us. Your searching & posting on your fabulous blog. I use your recipes, hints & all u do.
I LOVE that u bought these two Homesteads that your working on. I read completely all u do there. I am in awe at ALL u do with that. U will have much successes in your life. Your little family is AWESOME to hear about. I hang on every word u post.
The Lord will richly bless u for all our endeavours.
God Bless u ALL.
Darlene Driedger 🇨🇦 Near Vancouver BC. U are my hero’s.
This week we took a trip to. Our nearest apple orchard. They had 1/2 bushels of apples marked down to $5. My husband is working on finishing the 3rd wall of our living room. We have 2 out of 4 walls finished and painted. Two are still just drywall partially mudded. We have a big fixer upper, but no house payment. 😀 I started a bunch of seeds outside in milk jugs(winter sowing). So far I did broccoli, lettuce, and cabbage. Plus a few different varieties of poppies. Inside I started celery, tomatoes, peppers, onions, and some flowers. I still have more to do. We went to the library and got a bunch of books. I got 2 books on plant propagation and some Christian fiction. Last night I made a big batch of chicken noodle and a loaf of bread.
I am very interested in hearing about your worm farm. I’ve been considering buying a big one to put in our basement but everyone kind of thought I was crazy, because who raises worms🤷🏻♀️ A smaller scale like you’re describing might be better.
Merissa,
I am loving the format of “Frugal Friday”! I admittedly hadn’t checked in on your content for quite a while, but Frugal Friday inspired me to re-explore all the resources your blog has to offer. When I got my first “Frugal Friday” email, I clicked on the easy to find link and enjoyed all the weekly (and current!) highlights, complete with recipes and shopping links! I then found myself clicking on other recipes, home project updates, videos, and just overall getting reacquainted with your content. I enjoyed your most recent shopping video and home tour! I’m originally from the Black Hills myself.
Some highlights from my week would be…
Food:
-Lasagne. Actually 2 lasagnes-one gluten free, one regular.
-Chicken salad. Complete with added pecans, apples, and crasins!
-3 ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies! 1 C pb, 1 C brn sug, 1 egg. 350 for 10 min! Amazing and easy!
Home:
-Decluttering! Inspired by a 40 bags in 40 days poster I saw. Not quite a bag a day but going through all nooks and crannies and passing on what we don’t use.
Family:
-Fresh Air! 2 warmer days this week allowed us to go for walks and play at the park with our 12 and 1 yr old.
I’m loving these posts! I love the how-to posts, but I do love the real life posts, too. It takes me back to the old days of blogging.
I miss those days 🙂
my frugal things this week has been using up what have at home (lots of potatoes, eggs, pizza, pbj, cereal) and finished the second round of girl scout cookies (don’t judge, it’s my way of contributing to good cause once year). If course after I just bought 4 dozen eggs locally @ $5/dozen found someone else $4/dozen. Teen eats eggs everyday so go through them–cheaper protien than meat. Picked up porterhouse steaks $6/pound & trimmed & froze individually–usually split steak since so big and have enough for quite a few meals until next rare sale on them.
My potatoes and onions sprouting so keeping to side for planting if weather ever gets warmer and able to make raised garden beds.
pulled out my salad bowl that raise my salad greens in and looking for seeds. It usually grows enough salad greens for 6-8 weeks.
Frugal fail was wanted burger & stopped at local small restaurant/bar which cost $30 for mushroom cheeseburger with onion rings, mozzarella sticks and one lemonade. Tasted good, but not happening again.
Loving Frugal Friday!
This week a little shopping with filling in empty areas in the pantry stockpile . Experiencing another day of winter wonderland in central Pennsylvania, today split pea soup with bacon in the slow cooker. As far as cooking, we are attempting to cook double batches and freeze the extra for the time I won’t feel like cooking after another big C surgery. Wishing all a great weekend.
My week was full of appointments. Got some cleaning and organizing as well.
Going to try and get a start on HOMEMADE BBQ sauce and start making some spices that
we enjoy for summer and meal plan for the week
Good evening
This was a week of running errands. I was so busy, but didn’t seem to get much accomplished.
Meals this week were pretty simple. I did try a new recipe called Frito Pie. It looked interesting. The family liked it. I made several jars of beef broth to put in the freezer.
We have a home goods store that is closing. The are having a clearance sale. I found a large stock pot that will allow me to make bigger batches of canning products.
We have had rain this week so not much going on outside. Some baby ducks visited our pond. They are so cute.
Still working on my quilt. I was stalled for a few days, because I needed batting. I picked that up on one of my errand runs.
Next week is supposed to be colder than normal here. I’m hoping to stay home and bake.
Hope everyone has a good week.
Frugal this week. Hmmm. Combining trips in car. Getting rid of a small piece of furniture that served me well in favor of a $35 old crate and barrel store rack from thrift store. This is perfect for my seed starting 36 plants this year. I bought one more grow light. Now, I have two. A second thrifted rack will go into shed to hold organic fertilizer/small stuff. I found I could start a Winter Garden in clear containers on back porch. I hope to do that next week. * I had a smaller garden last year, expanding. * I have to be patient with myself as backyard outside garden is still yard and is not even tilled yet. I may just put up posts, build soil/with help and plant Daikon Radishes. They will drive themselves into the ground and break up clay soil this year. I have a nice aero-garden that I need to take time to understand. Charity work was intense for a whole year. This is abating and changing end of March. Got to do other things, this week like renewing driver’s license picture, car stuff. So . . . . I will be gentle to myself and start slowly.
Merissa, You had a busy week! I canned some Pinto Beans, Black Beans, and Ground Beef with my new digital canner. Had my granddaughter over for some fun as well. I love your shelves and starts, they look great! Loving your Friday posts, such an inspiration.
Keep up the good work. I’m trying to make new recipes each month and see how my family likes them. I do enjoy reading when I get the time to see how other “farm wives” do their things on the farm. Thank you all!!
Merissa- Today as I write this were in another snow storm ,a good stay at home day.Need to feed cows later today. Was a busy week here and kind of a sad one,my daughter her husband and my first grandson moved to Grand Forks N.D for his job.She will probably be working also but at home. Im thankful for that she wants to stay home with their kids and when the time comes hopefully homeschool them. Made some bread today a question for you when you make bread what kind of bags do you use for that ? You and your family have a great and blessed week this next week!!!
Merrisa
Love your Frugal Friday. We are seniors in our 80s and on a limited budget. I’ve already made the muffin mix and the pancake/ waffle mix, both gluten free as I have Celiac Disease.
Preparing some make ahead meals this weekend.
I still work part time caring for ladies with dementia and Alzheimer’s.
God bless and keep those gems coming !!!
Your post is so inspiring. I’m glad to find another older lady who follows this blog. Best wishes in your new home and new venture.
We moved into our new home on Friday, so we are still surrounded by boxes and have decided we have far too much stuff! We have downsized, but obviously need to sort out more unneeded items and find a home for them. We have TradeMe in NZ so will be back on that. We are having good weather where we are, with Autumn officially here. I enjoy reading your post, Melissa, and often pass them onto my daughters, in the hopes they will join, too! Keep up your wonderful work.
You are one of the busiest women I’ve come across. I am amazed at all you do. Thank you for sharing. It gives me hope that I might be able to grow a few vegetables every year. You are amazing
I find it quite interesting!
Sounds like a good week to me. 🙂 Thank you for sharing this look into real life.
A lot more snow at our place too. Yuk. Another week of homemade meals including chicken tortillas, beef stew, pork chops with roasted potatoes, carrots and mushroom gravy, a beef steak and fried cabbage patties, and a simple soup and sandwich night. I had made a rosemary/apple cider vinegar tincture and another with an alcohol base in December. They infused wonderfully and this week I stained them both. Rosemary is so good for brain fog and memory issues and a lot of other things. The alcohol based one is still airing to dissipate the alcohol and thicken the infusion. It will be ready to bottle in a couple more days. The coming week I am making some body butters and lotions. Always an exciting time! Have a wonderful week all.
I love to read about your week. I unfortunately am stuck in a rut that I can’t seem to crawl out of. I have been doing quite a bit of blog reading to see if I can get inspiration. Your plant shelf in your livingroom looks great! I always get excited when I see new plants. Enjoy the babies and inside while you can. It will soon be warm enough to be outside alot! Until next time….NickiB
For some time years ago I followed your Frugal Friday and another blog about Fridays. I was working from home and both really helped when I got in a rut.
My week consisted of putting my phone down more, spending more time reading the Bible, I only work 8 hrs a week, but meal planning is still important. We had meatball subs one day and later in the week we made spaghetti and meatballs with the leftovers. Even though I’m home I still use the crockpot. I’m starting my home business back up, this time finding a better routine for getting things accomplished 😉. I put a sewing machine in the laundry room, it’s large, so I can work and do the laundry at the same time. It worked beautifully last week 🙂.
Thank you for sharing this idea. I might not post every week, but I will see what others are doing. It’s a great idea.