Five Frugal Things -- Free Produce & Viral Recipes
1. My next door neighbor texted asking if we wanted some extra produce that she wasn't going to use. She knows I'm #cheapaf and possess zero qualms when it comes to accepting free food. This is how I came into possession of a small purple cabbage, two onions, (one red, one yellow) and a head of garlic.
2. I was already planning on making the viral Costco chicken and scallion rice dish for dinner, so my neighbor's contribution was perfect timing. The "recipe" simply takes a Costco rotisserie chicken and mixes it with rice, scallions, soy sauce, sesame oil, chili oil and a few other things for essentially a not-fried fried rice. We'd already eaten half the chicken, but there was still enough for the recipe.
The virality is because you mix everything in the rotisserie chicken bag, which incorporates the broth from the bottom of the bag.
I added extra frozen mixed veggies, as well as garlic powder, sautéed onion and lightly cooked cabbage for crunch. I went off script and mixed it in the rice cooker as doing so in the bag seemed gimmicky. However, I did pour the soy sauce into the bag and swirled it around to scavenge all the bag drippings. This recipe is infinitely adjustable based on whatever inhabits your fridge and will definitely be added to the rotation.
This meal was delicious, easy and frugal, which is the perfect trifecta!
3. My youngest texted me in a panic as two of the legs on their new Facebook Marketplace couch were suddenly bent inwards. Luckily the kid has handy parents, so my husband and I drove over the next day to inspect the situation.
The solution was to properly install the two-by-four where the legs attach. Sure we had to remove maybe three dozen staples to get to the wooden piece, but it was just a matter of taking the time to do the task. No money was spent as my husband already owned the tools and the four screws necessary to complete the job.
As long as we were there, my husband also installed longer screws for the deadbolt and cut a removable wooden piece to block a sliding window. Gotta keep everyone safe!
4. My husband and I stopped by the Franz Bakery Outlet store, as they're running a deal this month for $1 bread on Saturdays. We came home with the above items for the freezer and five dollars poorer. I love anything "maple" and will not be answering any questions about how many donuts were left in the box by the time we got home.
5. I gave away a pair of three-ring notebooks and a package of sleeve protectors through my Buy Nothing group. These had been stored in our piano bench, which had the ability to hold a shocking amount of clutter.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."
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I love maple flavored anything. You probably had as many left when you got home as I would have.
1. I ordered a child's size pizza at lunch yesterday which was about 2/3" the cost of the next smallest size. It was the perfect amount. I also had water with my meal.
2. I'm leaving on vacation soon, so I'm eating all the things I already have. Hopefully no food wasted and no money spent on groceries.
3. I've been enjoying Facebook videos of therichgoodwill. She trash picks in ritzy neighborhoods and it's interesting to see all the things she finds.
4. I'm reading a library book on my Kindle.
5. I re-used a candle that my sister gave me which was leftover from my niece's birthdays. It said OLD AF. I put it on my daughter's cake for her 30th birthday.
I hope there were NO donuts left in the box by the time you got home!
1. Made delicious croutons out of truly terrible bread. Olive oil, salt and pepper to the rescue!
2. Received some lovely treats from our Airbnb host when they came to make a repair.
3. Requested free annual credit report. I do this at intervals throughout the year with the three credit bureaus - Equifax in January, Experian in May and TransUnion in September.
4. Using packets of sipping broth that I had received via Buy Nothing to make vegetable stock for rice and soup. There are three flavors - Spicy Tortilla, Pho, and Thai Lemongrass - and they're all good.
5. Noticed that Sprouts Farmers Market has a bulk spice section. Yay!
Interesting. I am in possession of half a Costco chicken. I just deboned it, put the bones in my crockpot, and swirled some water in the bag to get the drippings out. This will become chicken stock. I’m planning to make a chicken and mushroom casserole, using the meat and some clearance mushrooms. I’ll use the stock to make a velouté sauce to pull the casserole together. I don’t have a recipe. As usual, I’m making it up as I go along — a great frugal skill!
Good job fixing the couch. I see so many rickety couches left on the curb, and I think to myself that a few screws would have fixed them up. Sadly, I usually spot the couches after they’ve gotten wet from rain, or after someone made off with the cushions! I’m happy you saved a couch from the landfill.
1. Skipped takeout again and ate chicken fingers and fries straight out of the freezer (we cooked them first lol). Saved us $50+ in takeout charges.
2. I finally bit the bullet and bought some groceries. Lots of amazing deals to be had so I stocked up and still spent less than $300. (They had my son’s favorite cookies for $1.88 a box!!). We won’t need any more food for the end of the month and managed to spend only $700 for the whole month! (That is very cheap for Ontario for a family with a teen boy!)
3. I’ve been on a use it up tear, working through all the toiletries, office supplies, etc. It so fun to “finish” a pen, right???
4. My son desperately needed a coat and I found a very high quality one for $100 off the regular price. It will
Hopefully last him a few years since it is top quality!
5. We have been experimenting with a two week laundry cycle, rather than every week. I was surprised that we only had five loads total for all three of us. Saved water, detergent, energy and time and I just kept spinning the cycles while we watched our Netflix movie.
Hope everyone is staying safe and sane out there. It is so hard to see what is going on in the US now that we live in Canada. Xoxo