Thursday Things - Rain, A Change in Menu Plans, and More

It's a beautiful rainy day here in southwest Missouri and I am so thankful! We might finally be getting enough rain to make a difference! Whether we are or not I am enjoying it greatly! 

Pink Peony

I've been piddling around the house most of the day. I've made the bed, done dishes, fluffed and folded the towels, washed a load of clothes, gone through program boxes to find items needed for upcoming programs, and brought in the trash bin. I've also started preparing a list of things that will need to be packed before heading for spring training, which is coming up quite soon.

More Irises

I've done a total turn-around on my menu plan this week. I got to looking in the fridge and discovered that I still had so many fresh vegetables that needed used. With just me in the house it's hard to use some things up in a timely manner, but, I don't like wasting food. Even though it may take extra time, energy, and effort, I generally do whatever I have to to keep it from going to waste. 

I thought, "Well, I'll just chop these vegetables up and freeze them." Then I thought, "Why don't you just chop them up and cook them into a stir-fry now?" And that's what I did. 

I chopped up cabbage, cauliflower, onion, green pepper, celery, mushrooms, and carrots, and added fresh corn cut from the cob. I am cooking up some ground turkey to add to the pot and will season the mixture with salt, black pepper, and Bragg's aminos. This evening I will serve the stirfry over brown rice and will make up several containers that will be used over the next couple of days or frozen to eat later. I will reevaluate the current menu plan next week. 

I have some apples that need used up, too. I think I will turn them into an apple cake. After it's cooled I will sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar, cut into slices, wrap, and freeze to be doled out a piece at time here and there along the way. For my favorite Apple Cake recipe click HERE. 

Well, I guess that's it for today. I'm so glad that I had time to sit down and visit with you this afternoon. That just makes my day! 

What's going on in your world today? I pray that all is well with you and yours and that you're having a lovely Thursday afternoon!

Until next time...

~Rebecca

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Thrift and Savings - Post #8 - Good Deals, Cash Back, and Recycling

Other than the winter food challenge updates, it's been a long time since I've done a post on thrift and savings. I wish I could remember all those thrifty little happenings and do regular thrifty posts, but I usually don't. I think it's important to encourage others in the area of finances, and will try to do better in the days ahead. 

Now, my friend, Laura Lane, over at Harvest Lane Cottage? She's amazing! She thinks of things to remember and record that I'd never even think of in the first place! If you get a chance, go over and check out her 'thrifty and frugal' posts on her blog. There is, indeed, a great wealth of good stuff in them!

Anyway...back to my own post... 

- Glade candles were on markdown at Dollar General last week for $2.70 each.

I got one single candle (Pumpkin Spice Things Up...I would have had two of them...two was all they had of that scent...but I dropped one and shattered it all over the store floor...I offered to pay for it, but the manager wouldn't let me) and I got four double packs of 2-in-1 Jubilant Rose + Lavender & Peach Blossom. They all smell soooo good! The rose/lavender/peach blossom ones smell super springy! The pumpkin one I will save for fall. 

That was a total of 9 Glade brand candles for $13.50.

- I had enough Amazon points to get 3 packages of 2 gel pen refills for free over the weekend.

I ordered ink for the blue pens this time. Usually, I order refills for the black and have even ordered refills for the red. This is my first time of refilling the blue. I love my G2 Gel Pens no matter what color they are!

- I started using Upside at the gas station in May of 2022. In less than a year (and I don't do that much driving) I have earned a total of $31.72 cash back (deposited directly into my bank account). To check out Upside for yourself (and to start saving money at the gas station) click HERE.

- A friend at work is always bringing me something to reuse or recycle...empty feed bags (made into totes), Christmas tins (to be refilled with cookies), etc. Last week he brought me an old sheet with bison on it. It had a tear in it, but he wondered if there was anything I could do with it...thought I might be able to figure out a way to recycle it. I did, but I'll share more about that project when I'm finished with it! 😉

Well, that's all for now. I hope your week is off to a great start and that all is well with you and yours. Have a great day!

Until next time...

~Rebecca

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Winter Food Challenge Update - February 21, 2023

Hello! I thought that those of you who are following along, might enjoy an update on how the winter food challenge is going.

I still have plenty of canned and boxed goods on hand (mostly pasta, some sugar-free Jello, instant brown rice, and organic chicken and beef bone broth), but was down to pretty much nothing in the freezer, except grains and nuts. I did still have the two packages of chicken breasts that I purchased on mark-down a couple of weeks ago, but I vowed that I would not to get into them until everything else was cleaned up and I didn't...until last night!!! 😊

It may have taken most of the winter to do it, but I have finally used up all the little bits and pieces of meat that were left in the house...two or three small packages of ham, several bags of oven-roasted turkey (sliced and cubed), chicken (whole), bison steak, salmon fillets, deli meats (turkey and ham), cod fillets, and more. I was down to the last few slices of cooked turkey bacon and a pound of ground turkey, when I went to the store over the weekend to restock. It feels great having plenty of meat in the deep-freeze again!

There are a still a few weeks left until the official arrival of spring, so I will continue to focus on cleaning up canned goods, boxed items, and grains on-hand, but, in future, will only purchase select items, mainly canned beans (black, chili, and green), green chilies, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and albacore tuna, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, and fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables. My goal is to choose from as many whole foods as possible and make right (or at least better) food choices at every opportunity.  

I plan to make most of my own sweets and treats from scratch using high quality and healthful ingredients. Things that immediately come to mind are protein snack balls and my mother's oatmeal drop cookies (right now I've got a batch of oat bran muffins in the oven), and I plan to substitute stevia for sugar as much as possible

Anyway, the challenge is coming along quite nicely and I have saved a bundle by cleaning up the food on-hand and not buying meat all winter. Plus, I actually have room in my freezer now for other things that I enjoy...like frozen berries, frozen grapes, and frozen yogurt! Yum! 😋

Well, that's a look at where I'm at with the winter food challenge and, in all probability, this will be last update that I give concerning it, as there's really not too much left to say about it. If anything interesting arises I will just include it in my regular posts. 

How about you? How have those of you who have been following along fared with your own clean-up-the-food challenges?

Until next time...

~Rebecca

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Off and Running With the Winter Food Challenge and Sharing A Recipe For Turkey Bean Soup

I had posted in a previous post that black-eyed peas were on the menu for New Year's Day. 

Basic Dry Bean Mix

Well...that was before I remembered that I had used the last of the black-eyed peas in the Basic Dry Bean Mix that I put together last winter, which, fortunately, I still have some of left in the pantry.

In thinking about it, black-eyed peas are black-eyed peas. It doesn't matter if you eat a few or a lot (or any for that matter!), but, in keeping with the long-held New Year's tradition, I would like to say that I ate, at least, a few. 

I have to work New Year's Eve and part of New Year's Day, so I won't have a lot of extra time to cook. I decided to cook today for the weekend ahead.

Instead of rushing out and spending money unnecissarily to purchase, and serve, just plain ol' black-eyed peas, I decided to kick into gear on the Winter Food Challenge and use up some of what I have on hand and make a terrific bean soup. 

Wintery Day Bean Soup

I thought about making the Wintery Day Bean Soup that I discovered last winter, but, since I've got lots of chopped turkey leftover from Thanksgiving and plenty of bone broth in the cabinet, I decided to make a turkey bean soup instead. Here's what I came up with...

TURKEY BEAN SOUP

2 cups dry bean mix

1 large onion, diced

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

2 quarts of chicken bone broth

4 cups chopped turkey

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

black pepper to taste

Note: You can use regular chicken broth or boullion cubes in place of the bone broth if you prefer and I rinsed, soaked, and precooked the dry bean mix in a dutch oven before making the soup. 

After cooking and draining the beans, saute the onion in butter and add it, along with the rest of the ingredients, to the dutch oven and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for at least an hour. 

I plan to have some of this soup tonight with leftover cornbread from the freezer and plan to have some for lunch on New Year's Day. The rest will be separated out into freezer bags, frozen, and eaten for lunches on cold, wintery days.

Until next time...
~Rebecca

(Photo Credit)

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Over the summer and fall of 2022 I built a winter food supply by adding a few extra items to the cart every time I shopped. I stocked up on grains, spices, and other bulk items at the Amish and Mennonite stores. 

Now that winter has arrived, and the holidays are over, it's time to start saving money by digging into that supply and plan meals around the food I have on-hand.

When I've done these challenges in the past, I've begun by doing a complete food inventory, but, now that I live alone, I pretty much know what I have on-hand, so will skip that step altogether.  

I will shop for fresh items and other items needed to round out what's on hand as I go, and will post my progress along the way, sharing meal plans and recipes when appropriate.

I looking forward to be taking on this self-imposed challenge and would like to invite anyone else who'd like to join me to, please, do so. 

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Recipe: Almond Butter Cookies

Almond Butter Cookies

In cleaning out the fridge today I came across an open jar of almond butter. I didn't want it to go to waste, so I did a Google search on ways to use up almond butter. I got lots of ideas, but settled on cookies. I found a recipe that called for ingredients that I had on-hand, tweaked it a bit, and came up with two-and-a-half dozen of these soft and chewy almond butter cookies. I thought I'd share the recipe with you!

ALMOND BUTTER COOKIES

1 stick of butter

1/2 cup almond butter (I use Maranatha brand)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)

1 egg

1-1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl cream together the butter, almond butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in the egg and add the dry ingredients. Combine thoroughly. Roll into 1-inch balls and place on baking sheets. Press a whole almond into the center of each cookie. Bake for 10 minutes or until cookies begin to brown. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!

Until next time...

~Rebecca

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An Abundance of Onions

My husband and I like onions a lot and it's a good thing, too, because we've been blessed with an abundance of them this week! 

Our daughter and her family were blessed with several bags of yellow onions, so she passed a couple of bags our way, and wild onions grow abundantly in our yard, so I've been harvesting and drying wild onions all week. 

Wild Onions

At this time of year they look and taste very much like chives. They are good on baked potatoes and used fresh or dried in all kinds of recipes.

Wild Onions That I Have Harvested To Dry

I've also been adding freshly picked wild onions, along with fresh dandelion greens and homegrown alfalfa sprouts, to our salads each evening. 

Wild Onion, Dandelion Greens, and Homegrown Alfalfa Sprouts
Add Power-Packed Nutrition to a Tossed Salad

All of these plants are power-packed with nutrition and have certain medicinal properties, as well. They are very good for you!

So...what about the bagged onions? 🧅 What can we do with them?

Bagged Onions

We can use them in all the usual ways, of course...chopped up and used as ingredients in recipes...casseroles, fajitas and other Mexican dishes, etc...and I can always make French Onion Soup, which is one of my favorites!

French Onion Soup

But I want to try something different. I have found a couple of recipes (three, actually) online that I think I might try. One is for Cheesy Baked Onions, the second is for Lentils and Rice with Fried Onions, and the other is for an Easy Baked Blooming Onion (or something similar to it anyway...probably my own take on it...I'd rather try a baked one first, so as not to waste the oil.) Has anyone here ever made a Blooming Onion before? If so, what was your experience?

What about you? If you've ever had an abundance of onions, how did you use them? 

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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As part of putting into practice some of the measures that President Trump has asked Americans to practice during these interesting times in which we live, I am doing my part today by staying home, going through the house to see what's on hand, and making a list of what we need should we happen to find it next time we're out...which may not be for awhile. 

I know I need to focus on fresh foods first, so that's what I'm starting with. I just happened to have two small pumpkins left over from last October. 

One is orange; the other is white. Both have been sitting on a shelf in the kitchen all winter long and both are still good. I decided to do something with them first.

I had never seen the inside of a white pumpkin before. The 
flesh is beautiful and looks similar to fresh coconut. 

I decided to roast the pumpkins, so they are in the oven now. When they are done, and after they have cooled, I will puree the flesh and freeze it to be used at a later date in muffins, breads, etc.

I also had a 3-pound bag of organic sweet potatoes that I had picked up last time we were out. I decided to throw them in the oven and roast them with the pumpkins. I will use them throughout the week as side dishes (baked or mashed), or I may turn them into a sweet potato pie. Either way, they will not go to waste.

I know it's a little odd and definitely out of season, but, if I still have pumpkins sitting around from last fall, some of you might, too, and you might be looking for a way to use them up, just like I am. 

Here are the instructions on how to roast and puree a pumpkin:

After cutting the pumpkin in half and removing the seeds, place on a large baking pan (skin side up; cut side down). Roast in a 375-degree oven for about an hour and fifteen minutes or until fork tender throughout. Scoop out the flesh from the skin and place in a food processor to puree. Once pureed, use fresh or allow to cool before placing in freezer bags.

What measures are you and your family taking during these difficult times? What do you have in your house? And how are you using it?

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Thrift and Savings - Post #6 - Flooding and the Anticipation of Rising Grocery Prices

The Midwest has been hit hard with tornadoes, heavy rains, and flooding this year and, with the release of water from dams further upstream, waters from the Missouri River are expected to remain high throughout the summer and fall into November. 

Photo Credit

Because of historic flooding, many barges, trucks, and trains have been stalled in port and cannot move goods from one part of our country to another. 

Photo Credit

It is not business as usual out there and common sense tells me that, with as much flooding as there has been, along with the damage that has been caused to roadways and railways, coupled with the fact that crops may not make this year, food may be in short supply come winter. 

At the very least, prices will skyrocket as the reality of what's happening in the Midwest hits the rest of the country. All of this has me thinking that it's time to be smart in our spending and pay attention to what we're doing.

There's no need to fear, but I do believe that the Bible is very clear about using wisdom in our finances and, as of late, we've not been as diligent in that area as we might have been in the past. It's time to get a handle on it!

Now...it's been a long time since I've posted a "My Thrifty Week" post and, since I'm not good about posting those on a weekly basis, I've decided to rename that particular column "Thrift and Savings." I will continue to post in a numerical sequence from where I last left off to make them easier to find, but feel that it's really time to refocus my efforts in becoming financially aware. 

Here are a few things that we've done (or has happened) recently to cut expenses and save extra money that, otherwise, could be being spent frivolously or without need...

- Have stopped buying the laundry detergent that we've been using for the past few years and have switched to Arm & Hammer. It smells great and cost about half as much as what we've been using. 

- Have stopped buying pre-dampened lens cleaner cloths to clean our glasses and are using the little cleaning cloths that came with new glasses. 

- Have always done a fair amount of our grocery shopping at Aldi's, but am doing more and more of it there all the time. We are deliberating seeking out more like-items at Aldi's that we would normally buy at Walmart. Favorite products at Aldi's include ground turkey, boneless, skinless salmon fillets, organic eggs, Kerrygold butter, canned chili beans, black beans, and tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste (no dyes and BPA-free), cheeses (mozzarella, cheddar, Parmesan, and Romano), and Willow Brand 1000 sheet toilet paper (love it!). 

- Have stopped buying the more expensive teas (Twining's) and have returned to Benner's (Aldi's). It tastes great, saves big bucks, and isn't on the list of teas that contain toxic amounts of pesticides, which is a big plus!

- When passing through Nevada, Missouri (28 miles northeast of us), I make a point of stopping in at Wood's grocery store and shop the weekly sale ad. I have come across some great bargains...especially in the line of meats, cheeses, fresh fruits, and vegetables. When I hit the jackpot, I stock up! 

- I am working on a self-imposed, online spending-freeze. I love Amazon and, being 20 miles from the nearest town, shopping online saves me a LOT of time, trouble, and money...BUT...even at that, I am still trying to really think purchases out before spending hard-earned dollars on things that aren't necessary. 

- And, last, but not least, (and I hope that posting this isn't in bad taste) our 19-year-old cat passed away recently. While we miss him terribly and wish that he was still with us in the health and vitality of his younger years, with his passing came a several hundred dollars a year savings. Just in food, litter, and flea and tick control alone, we figure that's an immediate $350.00 a year in savings. That's more than a two week paycheck for me from my part-time job. That's HUGE! (Or it could be in an emergency.) 

These are a few of the things that we have focused on or have happen lately to save us money. What are some ways that you are saving money in your home?

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Dollar-S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g, Cabinet-Clearing, Clean-Up-The-Food Project For January 2018 - Week #2 Update

Good Afternoon, Sweet Ladies!

We're two weeks into our Dollar S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g, Cabinet-Clearing, Clean-Up-The-Food Project for January 2018 and, while things aren't going quite as we expected them to, we're managing to stay pretty well on track with our original plan. 

One thing that we didn't expect was to be blessed with additional food items from several different sources (which isn't a bad thing at all!!!), but, even at that, I'm managing to work the items received into our current plan. For instance, one friend blessed us with a couple packages of Italian sausage and another gave me a bag of odds and ends out of a box of organic vegetables she had received. I just happened to have homemade pizza on the menu plan for the following evening. So, I threw one package of the Italian sausage in the freezer and cooked the other one up to go on the pizza. In addition, I added the fresh mushrooms, half onion, and half pepper out of the bag of organic vegetables. The plain cheese pizza that I had planned on making turned into a fully decked supreme without any additional cost. It was awesome! And, being as the pizza was fully-loaded and quite hardy (and in an attempt to stretch it out) I put the leftover slices in single-serve bags in the freezer and that one pizza is slated to do us for four meals instead of just one or two. Any non-perishable or frozen items that have come in will be passed along to others or be used by us after we get past the month of January and our current plan.

John and I went to the store again yesterday (this time to purchase a few fresh items and prepare for upcoming family gatherings and celebrations) and, I think, finished up everything we will need through the rest of the month. On this trip we spent $40.88 at Aldi's and $83.33 at Walmart, which, again, is more than I wanted to spend on food, but, with everything we've got coming up between now and the end of the month, that's not bad at all. And, other than the fresh items that we were low on, or out of, none of the other items will figure into regular meal planning for the month of January...so...it's all good on that front! 😉

Another thing that we had planned on doing all along, but not necessarily right now at this moment, was to go in on some bison with a friend from work. Since we were low on meat anyway, we figured now was as good a time as any since we had already put back the cash for it, so we did. We picked up our meat this afternoon! And, once again, we were blessed as we ended up with more meat than expected for the same amount of $$$. Praise the Lord! And blessings on our friend!

I've pretty much managed to stay on-plan with my menu planning again this week (my weekly menus may be viewed in my weekly Happy Homemaking Monday posts). In fact, I don't think I've gotten off track at all, thus far. I am going to try to not go to the store again this month until the very end of the month when I take my friend and cousin to do their shopping. At that point I will go ahead and buy ahead for February, while staying on track through the 31st to finish out January's menu plans.

Well, Ladies, that's it for Week #2!

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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