Five Frugal Things -- Black Eyed Peas & Butternut Squash
1. I took New Year's Eve as a prompt to cook up some black eyed peas. Luckily I have an infinite free supply from my friend Lise, who panic bought a bulk tub at the beginning of the pandemic.
Here's how I prepped them:
I used my Instant Pot to cook the peas, adding nothing more than salt, bay leaves and water. I then pushed the "beans" button, which sets the pressure cooker to 18 minutes. (I love me a dumbed down process!) Then I dumped out a frozen container of chopped sautéed onions, (thank you, previous me!) and leftover cooked bacon into a pan; adding the cooked peas, a hearty sprinkle of my $1.57 bottle of Newman's Own steak seasoning, water and a spoon of bouillon paste.
I didn't have collard greens to complete the traditional good luck meal, but served it over leftover rice, which completed the perfect bowl of comfort food!
2. I picked up a $2.49 butternut squash from Trader Joe's, as their heavy produce is charged per item instead of by-the-pound. The organic ones were heftier than their conventionally grown counterparts, yet only 50¢ more.
This is why frugal me buys her cauliflower, cabbage and butternut squash from nearby Trader Joe's.
3. I stopped by my mother's house and came away with a few items to donate to Goodwill. (I was already donating my own items on the way home.) I made sure to grab a receipt for my taxes, which'll include my mother's donations.
4. I returned a couple of library books and checked out my holds. I currently have ten library books on loan, which works for me as I consider it my personal mini-library, which I then browse for whichever book best matches my mood. For free.
My own bespoke library.
5. I sold a pair of adorable Garnet Hill flannel pillow cases on eBay for $20.
Click HERE to see the listing.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."
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This blog post contains an eBay referral link.
The Insta-pot really does make beans easy!
1. Turns out we don't need a router I purchased, and it can be returned, so I am kicking off the New Year $30 to the good.
2. I purchased the family meal lasagna from Olive Garden to service for New Year's Eve. It serves 12 and came with two salads and 24 bread sticks. It cost $106 after tip, but it was cheaper than eating at a restaurant, and unfortunately my oven quit working on Christmas day, and we are waiting on a part to fix it. There was a lot left over so I sent some home with guests, and we have enough for 3 or 4 meals for ourselves.
3. My eBay auction item is up to $102.50 with 3 days to go. I used my google lens to go through some books I was decluttering and this one showed a similar one had sold for $550 There is one on Etsy for $90 so....who knows.
4. Stayed home New Year's Day and decluttered so miscellaneous. Forced myself to list 4 items. Two on eBay and two on Posh.
5. Going to visit a couple we are friends with this weekend. We were going to pick up lunch, but decided to make butternut squash soup and a fresh loaf of bread to take instead. The wife is getting chemo and the husband is on dialysis and don't get out much, and we wanted to treat them to a healthy meal and a stress free visit.
Wow. Not only do you sell Christmas sweaters, but also you sell Christmas sweater themed pillowcases! They really are adorable.
I never eat collard greens. I serve my black eyed peas with spinach or kale. As long as it’s green, I’m happy.
Squash and melons are examples of things that are NOT cheaper at Winco. Hooray for Trader Joe’s!
1. We walked at the beach for our New Year's Day fun.
2. I finished 5 photo books yesterday, only 12 hours before my great coupon expired. I should have worked on these throughout the year, but I didn't. They are done and ordered and I feel good about that accomplishment in 2025. I have a complicated history with memory items, so this purchase was carefully considered and a necessity for me.
3. My intention for 2026 is to buy what I need, and to use the nice stuff. I am a chronic under-buyer and it makes life hard sometimes.
4. I bleached my white tea towels, cleaned out a kitchen cupboard, wiped out the inside of my medicine cabinet, set the rocking chair out in the garage (got for free and only used when a nursing baby is staying in the house) and brought in an antique chair I inherited from my aunt. I like a fresh start!
5. Dinner tonight was going to be take-out, but I've figured out a decent meal with what we have.
6. I order gifts for relatives in England from the dreaded A. I had asked for a refund of the one month prime membership and was told yes. However, the refund did not appear in my account. So I messaged again today and that is supposedly coming. It saves me $60 in shipping to order the 3 England gifts from A. At least I cancelled the one month of prime promptly so I could get it refunded.
7. Our daughter turned 26 and dropped off our health insurance. She is full time employed with equal benefits so that is a relief. Our premium did not go down to what it should have, so my husband has already emailed payroll about that. It pays to keep a close eye on these things.
1. With sales & a promotion for $30 off grocery pick-up, I managed to get some groceries for $38 rather than $124! This included 1.5 lbs of short ribs, but the store only charged me for 0.81 lbs, so after all discounts, etc, I got them for $3 per pound.
2. While picking up the groceries, I need to run in & see if they had discounted meat, and I grabbed 5 additional receipts for Fetch. Sadly, they were all only 25 points, but still 125 extra points on Fetch.
3. We were invited to a friend's house for a raclette party for NYE. I was on dessert, so I made gingerbread, using free molasses (from a mystery shop a couple of years ago), on sale butter, flour, etc. I think it might have cost me $3? I made an extra for my in-laws, since they had brought some homemade Christmas cookies to serve with the ice cream that I had served for dinner while they were visiting (see #5). I topped them with the marmalade that my MIL had made and brought, too.
4. I brought a hostess gift - a regifted panettone and a jar of honey that we got free from an extra CSA that wasn't picked up. So that cost nothing (reused gift bag & tissue paper, even).
5. My in-laws came to stay with us for 2 nights. I ended up not going to the JFK library (insomnia, so I stayed home and slept but partner used discount pass from tge library), so that saved money (and I've been before) and they bought us lunch. I made a nice roast beef dinner one night, and we went out for a great dinner one night, which wasn't frugal, but I think I still ended up ahead! We also snagged free on-street parking, which was great as we thought we would have to use a lot @$20.