Five Frugal Things -- Funky Rosé
1. I accepted a $110 offer on my second H. Moser & CIE thrifted Christmas sweater, as the holidays are growing closer and I wanted to get it sold in this bubble of time. Not as fun as the $200 sale of her sibling, but still not too shabby considering I paid $7.99 apiece for them.
2. I stopped by the "Dented Vegetable Store" (Daily Deals Market) on my way to Costco and bought a bag of absolutely random food items. This included a $1.20 cauliflower, a $3 pillowcase of spinach, (see below, it really is the size of a bed pillow!) a bag of sliced mushrooms, 20 Kind bars and three $1 bottles of TÖST non-alcoholic rosé. Total cost was $13.88.
My husband and I beta tested the rosé last night, thinking if it might be worth returning to pick up a couple more bottles, unfortunately it wasn't to our liking.
3. I then drove over to Costco, where I picked up $2.50/pound butter and a $4.99 rotisserie chicken. Of course I had to graze the "Costco dim sum," which served as lunch!
The samples were sampling and I accepted ham, chicken sausage, chips with guacamole, a tiny wiener wrap, cheese, broccoli, waffle, pretzel chips and yes -- chocolate.
4. Dinner last night was rotisserie chicken over sautéed spinach, flavored with the Newman's Own's "Steak Seasoning" from the Fred Meyer clearance shelf. I have a feeling that we'll be eating a lot of spinach over the next week, which is okay with us as it's one of our favorite vegetables!
5. I also sold the vintage waffle iron that I listed on eBay a couple months ago. Creating the proper size Frankenbox just about broke me, but I eventually prevailed. (I'm able to scavenge enough shipping supplies to never have to buy any.) I dropped it at the post office, as it was too bulky for the normal porch pickup that I normally arrange through the USPS website. It's important that the mail carrier not absolutely loathe me!
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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1. I altered a bamboo shirt that I'd picked up for free. It now fits and is cute.
2. Had free fun making 2 cards that I'd seen on Instagram. Supplies all scrounged for free
3. Read 2 new books (from a free pile) to my grandson, which delighted him. He read 4 library books to me with great gusto and expression. He's 4 and reveling in reading literally everything.
4. Gifted neighbors homemade chocolate shotbread. Their kids let to our cat in and out when we are away. We are thankful.
5. Taking rhubarb crumble to a potluck this evening. I still have rhubarb in the garden so this dish costs me almost nothing.
Today was sunny so I ran some errands before going to work this afternoon.
1. Paid another payment + whopping big amount of extra principal on my car payment. (Which really isn't due until Jan. 1.) At the rate I'm going, that sucker will be 100% all mine before March. Then the only debt I'll have will be writing checks for the new roof, and that one will be done by September.
2. Went to a new independent insurance agent's office to compare car insurance rates. I think I got a pretty good rate (see below*), but I am going to research on what customers say about that company's service before I write the check.
3. Today's lunch was two leftover kolaches (Czech-style hotdogs) that my coworker gave me last Sunday. (Who says there's no such thing as a free lunch?)
4. Frugal fail: lost my card entitling me to a $5 discount at the (not-so) cheap haircut place. So I had to pay 19 bucks + tip for what used to be a $6.99 haircut.
5. Got a free calendar from the credit union, and a free candy bar from the insurance place.
*Oh, and this is encouraging: the insurance agent said her 16 y .o. daughter loves to go thrifting bc "she doesn't like to wear what everyone else is wearing." And "she can find some unique items at Goodwill." Agent also mentioned throwing away some advertising items from her husband's employer, because they didn't like caps and shirts and items that display the store logo. I told her don't throw away something perfectly good, donate 'em to Goodwill and ask for the 20% discount coupon. She didn't know about that, but is going to have her daughter donate the unwanted bling next time she goes shopping. (Maybe that's why she looked harder for me a good discount on the insurance, ya think?)
That is an odd definition of kolache. I've only had the sweet ones I've heard that in Texas there are some that are not but...
I think it's a trend all over the place to wrap a hot dog or sausage in dough and call it a kolache. (and I think it might have started in Texas.) It doesn't feel accurate to me, but I'm not of Eastern European descent, so...
I'm always impressed by your eBay sales! And the grocery shopping wasn't too shabby, either.
I was packing up a gift to mail to a friend and realized I didn't have any brown mailing paper. I was going to sacrifice a grocery bag, and then -- brainstorm! What about that big split gift bag I put in my recycling bin yesterday? It was nice heavy paper, perfect for mailing. Plus it was Christmas-themed. I have to say it made a cute package.
I am giving my local kids and grandkids Christmas tins in place of stockings. I've been looking around for little things to put in them. Things that won't make them roll their eyes. It's not as easy as I thought it would be! So far, I've set aside candy, socks, playing cards, an ornament, a shower cap, pistachios, and lip balm. I've been warned off of gift cards because the kids don't use them.
I'm continuing to decorate the house with frippery I've had for ages. So far, aside from one pack of tissue paper, I've bought no gift wrap or decorations.
Now that it's cold weather I've set up a station in my condo where my boots sit on tray next to a basket of gloves, scarves and hats. I've added a rag to wipe the salt off my boots when I come in. It looks like winter is not only early, but here to stay, so I might as well be ready for it.
I stopped by the little free pantry and had a nice conversation with a man from Jamaica who was helping out hurricane victims back home. I took a loaf of cinnamon bread, some hamburger buns, and a taffy apple, which was a fun surprise!
But enquiring minds want to know ... did you take advantage of the bulk candy deal or are you made of steel?! Or maybe the Kind bars were buried in there?
I picked up the same waffle iron at Goodwill recently. I understand why someone would buy it off eBay, but I’m happy I found one in the wild.
I just spent a long weekend at the Oregon coast, where it rained and rained and rained. And rained. The nice bit is that there were no tourists, and I got a lot of reading done!
Now that the kids are coming home from college, I’ll do some serious baking. I’ve been saving various clearance finds for my holiday baking, like 99 cent molasses, sprinkles and chocolate chips. I’ll also make some pumpkin bread with the 25 cent can of pumpkin purée I bought last week.
My mom and I went to a local brewery to play bingo. You don't have to buy any food or drinks and it's free to play. (My mom did buy us a couple of appetizers and I left the tip.) I won 2 games, and my prizes were a t-shirt, which I wanted and will wear, and a $15 gift certificate to the brewery.
Mom asked me to buy some things from Ulta for Christmas presents from her and I went through Rakuten. She also gave me a receipt I can put in Fetch.
I earned 1,950 Fetch points for buying a couple things online to donate to my local animal shelter.
My husband and I decided not to do our usual 3 gifts to each other, and just do stockings because we don't have anything we need/want. We usually put consumables and books in the stockings and that makes us happy.
Kroger had another $10 off $75 on the app. Glad I always check right before I go in the store.
I lent the 5 neighbor kids my huuuge basket full of cloth bag wrapped Chistmas/Chanukah books - 36 in total. My kids loved taking turns grabbing a book to read as a family. I cannot wait to have grandchildren to carry on this tradition.
Took advantage of sunshine and 60Fweather and washed the big windows in the family room.
Washed the bed linens and they are drying on the clothesline. It is beautifully breezy today.
I was giddy at the butter prices last week, not to mention the 1.50/dozen egg prices.
I was invited to go with my older sister and her husband to his daughter’s house for Christmas Day, and decided to go instead of sitting home alone. My sister said to bring extra shoes, because they have free range chickens. I looked at shoe covers on Amazon, but they looked flimsy. Tuesday I volunteered at my county library, and afterwards did errands, and stopped at my Hospice Thrift store, where I found a pair of rubberized ankle boots in my size! The brand is Chaps. I should be safe from chicken fertilizer.
I also bought a Contigo metal drink bottle with a locking lid and non slip grip. Lastly, I purchased a Joseph Joseph cat scoop, for my downstairs neighbor, because I cat sit for her occasionally, and she has a terrible litter scoop. I bought my own scoop at a thrift store and love that it gets every “ crumb”.
My total was $12, but I had earned a $5 perk, so I used it and so spent $7.
On my way home, I stopped at a different thrift store to drop off donations that were not swanky enough for the Hospice store (I know this because I volunteered as a cashier for 4 years). After donating, I went in to see if they had a scale that I need to sell some sewing patterns on E-Bay. The door sign showed the sale of the day “entire store 50% off”. I found a manual kitchen scale, and kept looking, and in a different section, I found an electronic one, that was tested and marked “works”. I took that one and put the other one back. I also found a DVD “The Truman Show”, a 4 pack of Christmas ribbon, a wire garland to spruce up my old door wreath, and an almost full bottle of Galilee Herbs leave in conditioner for dry hair. The total for everything was $7. Then I went home.
1. Made a heated neck pad for husband’s sore neck out of a small cotton cloth bag and dried kidney beans. I’ve also been using it as a heating pad for my lap.
2. Husband concocted a veggie bean soup with random ingredients we had on hand. Squirts of sriracha sauce and squeezes of lemon juice turned it from bland to zesty.
3. Took advantage of a Target Circle offer and purchased a $200 gift card for $180 for ourselves to use for health/wellness items.
4. Requested condiment packets and plastic spice jars (empty or full of expired spices) from my Buy Nothing group for our upcoming winter stay in Arizona. Received 8 spice jars and dozens of condiment packets. Washed the spice jars and removed the labels. Closer to our trip, I’ll take the jars to our natural foods co-op and fill with fresh spices for pennies.
5. Went to an excellent presentation on fraud that included a section on financial advocacy. Check out this related document from AARP:
https://thinkingaheadroadmap.org/money-path/
Did some handsewing to turn a thrifted turtleneck sweater into a mock neck because I am very short and look like Joe Bazooka from the bubble gum wrapper comics in a turtleneck. Used some thread from the never-ending tub of thread a neighbor gave me twenty years ago.
Had a gift card that would not work at the gas pumps at Walmart, so bought a couple of items at the store -- pickles and dog biscuits -- to use it up. DH found a $10 Starbucks gift card in the pharmacy parking lot today and bought an insulated cup with it.
Our old Morris chair is the fave napping spot for the little dog and my enormous cat. They do a number on the fabric upholstery and I have to make new covers for the cushions every couple of years. Got lucky and found some great fabric for only $8.99 a yard.
And now for the glamorous side of frugality, I carefully cut open the end of the plastic wrapper for toilet paper so that it can be used as a sturdy bag for use when I next pooper scoop the back yard.
Joe Bazooka!!! Haven't thought of him in years but you just sent me back to my childhood. Thanks for the laugh this morning!!
FFT, Holiday Prep and Vile Weather Edition:
(1) As in the recent past, I’m doing only two things by way of holiday decorating: hanging my annual evergreen bough made from bottom-branch tree clippings on the front of the house, and hanging a “Merry Christmas” sign (needlepointed by my mother long ago) from a center knob of the rolltop desk in my living room. (I do also display any hard-copy holiday cards I receive on top of the desk.) I’m grateful to the Bestest Neighbors for saving me the bottom branches from their tree this year, because the repeated snows since Black Friday have made it almost impossible to find branches on the curb. (More weather notes below.)
(2) I’m using the stash of wrapping paper and gift bags I already have to wrap physical presents--along with a Chico's box that has been passed between me and the BNs for the last decade at least and has the graffiti to prove it. I use the fronts of old holiday cards for some of my gift tags, and use the stick-on tags I get as freebies from various charities for others.
(3) And, as I think I've noted previously, I’m trying to give more charitable donations as gifts this year.
(4) I took the one Christmas box I was shipping (to JASNA BFF) to the UPS Store on Tuesday, since I just found out that I could get a 5% discount on shipping there with my AARP membership. And I ran other errands on Tuesday like a maniac, since we're now in the middle of another 2-day stretch of vile weather. Here in Central NY, I get out while the gettin's good and stay home when it ain't. (First as a telecommuter and now as a retiree, this is a luxury for which I'm grateful.)
(5) Finally, NDN1 and I are coping with another problem with her furnace. My trusted HVAC guys concluded that it needs a new circuit board--but the new one had to be ordered and won't be here till Thursday or Friday. The furnace is limping along in the meantime (there's no danger of hypothermia or frozen pipes). But NDN1 is bundling up like an Inuit, and I'm getting my exercise by running over two or three times a day to check on her and the furnace. Sigh...
@A. Marie - I know a circuit board is the issue but do make sure the furnace filter is changed on a regular basis. Our former neighbor's husband had the dread "A" disease. Better half would plow/watch their house as they had moved to "town" and their house hadn't sold. The temp dropped (she had some type of unit that indicated such). Long story short, the furnace filter hadn't been replaced in far, far too long. Better half switched it out for her and all was well.
Nope, it's definitely not the furnace filter; that got changed last month. (The filter on my mouth, however, could use a change. I let slip a few words unbecoming a lady and a Janeite when I first saw the dropping temperature in NDN1's sitting room. 😛 )
I, too, wonder if you got the kind bars from the $2 / lb candy bin. I might have had a bit of trouble passing that by!
1. I mixed up the days for the holiday jingle mingle at my local hospice (although I wouldn't have been able to attend much as I have a client at hospice at that exact time). I arrived just before my client meeting, and snagged a couple of cookies. When my client left I was told to take some bags of cookies home. Why yes, yes I will, thank you! Yum
2. Hospice is very good to their volunteers and they gave us some Christmas gifts. I received a new zip up hoodie (with the hospice logo on the back and volunteer up the sleeve). I am not usually a hoodie wearer, however I am going to give this a try as I AM in need of a soft warmish sweater since I am keeping the heat low.
They also gifted us a large coffee cup (of the thermos style) that might work well (I am picky about these things); if nothing else could be a white elephant gift.
I also received my 5 year pin, which was a surprise but I guess that makes sense, if I count back.... Wow, time flies!
3. On the way home I stopped at the dented vegetable store. It was after 3 and they had a sign up saying that all regularly priced veggies were 20% off between 3 and closing. Celery was very expensive, but I needed some – it was less expensive when discounted! I also picked up a few things on sale (as always), and came home with some ideas for dinners for this week.
I love to triple-pack veggies into everything I cook, however #1 son and his partner are doing FODMAP or whatever it is called to figure out some food issues, so I am struggling to be creative when I take them a dinner to help out. Mostly vegetarian, No onions! No brassicas, no beans/legumes, no gluten.... Essentially, ¾ of my go-to foods seem to be off limits right now. Oh, well, I like a challenge....(GAH)
4. My lovely housecleaner came and I asked her to pull back on her usual thorough job because I wanted her help in my scary basement. She agreed, then got totally sidetracked doing a deep clean of my kitchen floor (a project that will take a few visits as she is cleaning really dirty grout). However, I did get her dow into the SCARY BASEMENT – where she started at the totally opposite corner to where I needed her (of course).
The result is that we filled my little ratty* car with many bags of plastic bags, and styrofoam, which I schlepped to the local recycle place. We then filled the car with many bags of returnables, which I need to get to a lady from my church who redeems them to raise funds for some of the local charities my church supports. Meanwhile, the cleaner has broken down half of my cardboard boxes to make room, vacuumed in a lot of corners, and finally managed to clear a pathway from the basement door to the area she had opened up so I can bring in the new-to-me freezer that has been out the back (covered with a tarp). By the time she got to that point nobody had any spoons left, I am hoping my #2 son will help me with this in the next day or so. The Basement has taken a turn away from SCARY – again, a work in progress...
5. Speaking of the ratty* car, I finally bit the bullet and have started a conversation with the Car Insurance people. Had a good conversation with the first person and am awaiting a callback. My car guy figures he will need to take the dashboard off to get at the heater box (whatever that means) to clean out the stink, and he told me that afterwards I had to take the car for a full detailing including pulling out the seats to shampoo all the upholstery and carpets and get underneath where the insulation has been attacked. It all makes me squeamishly ugh but it has to be done. Hopefully the insurance will cover it all, or most of it. Meanwhile, I usually take my truck which costs more in gas. I just used the ratty car for the big recycle/reuse collections from the basement, as there is more accessible carrying room inside (and it is POURING here)
Ecoteri: Why does the interior of your car smell bad?
I also wondered about the $2 a lb candy. Yum Yum.
1. I went on a 5 mile hike today. I got hungry while out & lo and behold I found a wrapped Nutrigrain bar. I ate it on the way back home.
2. I found some stalks of an unknown plant w/ yellow flowers on my hike. It looked as if someone had thinned out the plantings in their yard as the stalks were clean cut along the bottom. I took them home, stripped off the bottom leaves, and put in water to root. Don't know if it will work but cost nothing to try. Maybe I can plant them my yard eventually.
3. I shredded some carrots to make carrot bread. I'll put the peels in the field for the deer. Zero food waste!
4. I have some cans of leftover cranberry sauce. I thought I would make a yellow cake using a mix on hand & swirl a can of cranberry sauce in the batter before baking the cake in a tube pan.
5. I glued a tab back together on a small purse.
6. Maybe not frugal: I took 2 pr of leather boots I have had for 10 yrs to get reheeled & also to have plastic taps put on the heels so they will last longer. It was $93 to get this done. The boots are comfortable & maybe they will last another 10 years. Some of the shoes/boots made today are cheaply made & your can't repair them. I'm glad these could be fixed. We Texans like our boots.
$93, but frugal because you are lengthening their life, keeping them out of the landfill and preventing yourself from buying new pairs which stops the manufacturer from producing 2 more.
Texasilver - the car is ratty because a rat (or two) were nesting in the glove box (over the air cabin filter) and in a cubby at the back. YUCK. my cleaning lady did a really deep clean of all the hard surfaces but we need much more before the gaggy bad smell is gone from the heating system and the upholstery/carpets. Such a pity as I love this car - it might not be beautiful but it is a Toyota Matrix with only about 160,000 km on it so should go for at least another 200,000 (judging by the other matrix in the family fleet).
1. I picked up a mystery shop for lunch yesterday. I brought my partner, so it wasn't all paid for, but it was mostly covered and $18 for 2 for lunch out (for good, non-fast food food) is as good as it gets here, and is much cheaper than a date-night out. We did a loop and hit Trader Joe's (for their seasonal all-butter puff pastry), Aldi ($0.99 broth and $0.49 avocados), and BJ's ($1.99 dz eggs).
2. I did another mystery shop today, as the scheduler gave me a bonus, so a $40.00 payout. I found free parking right in front of the store, and our cheap grocery store is along the way, so I picked up the remaining things on my list, which are cheaper there than at the other stores, including Aldi's. I stuck to my list and bought nothing extra.
3. Coming home from work last week, I stopped by Stop & Shop as they have the cheaper 2-litre bottles of seltzer, and found 2 large bags of "dented" limes, for about $1.50 a bag. Juiced them, and they are in the ice cube trays to freeze.
4. My partner has now been looking for receipts to scan to his Fetch, and we found some at all of our stops (but not so good as the reader who got 15,000 points!!!).
5. I also chopped up the kale stems and cooked them with a pot of farro, which will be the base of our grain bowl for lunch tomorrow, rather than composting them. We will top the farro with a trio of salads: roasted beets and feta; white bean, artichoke hearts & olive; kale with Pecorino. The farro and all veg were from the CSA box my partner gets free from work. I'm working part-time at the same gift shop for the holiday season and so we make/bring our coffee and lunches, and carpool. And, we buy nothing from the shop as it is expensive and has nothing that we need.
ooo, those salads with the farro sound delish. huh, I almost have all the necessary bits, too!
Great idea about the kale stems. I am so blessed with volunteer kale that I just feed the stems to the chickens (who distain to eat them, but they are at least on offer in the chicken slop!)
Our friend who hunts called Thursday. He asked if we thought he forgot about us. Told him no, we had faith...besides, the first "tracking snow" just hit the ground 2 days before.
Tuesday night, our friend delivered 2 HUGE boxes of venison. We always ask him to have it processed as burger and tenderloin. Most versatile for us and no need to mess with bones.
7.4 lb tenderloin
76.32 lb burger
We only have to pay for the processing, which was $65. Our friend buys the licenses, ammo, does all the leg work, field dressing, dragging, etc.
Calculated out at our cost for processing, our meat came to 77 cents/pound for processing. It's all vacuum sealed and in the freezer. Freezer is filled...again. DH and I did about half of it last night. Fortunately, our temperatures have been below 32°F, and mostly in the single digits. We got tired and both had to get up early this morning. DH put the other half of the meat in our car for the night and we finished it up between my school van runs.
When it rains, it pours. We just had tie rods, boots, sway arms, valve cover and spark plugs done to our car to the tune of about $1,200. Had oil change on Tuesday ($91). Getting tires and alignment on Saturday ($850 est.), and, just learned (when DH took it for the oil change) that we need rear brakes and rotors. We have an appt on 12/17 for the brake work. Hoping Friday's paycheck will cover it ($390 est.)
On a good note, I got Christmas gifts today from one of my Amish families: a loaf of homemade bread, 1 lb sweet lebanon bologna, 1 bag of freeze-dried treats (strawberries, mini marshmallows, and yogurt drops that the mother makes), and a frozen ball of something. Waiting for it to thaw so I can find out what it is. Bigger than a golf ball, smaller than a tennis ball. I suspect it may be homemade butter, but not certain.
Threw turkey breast that our hunter friend gave us previously in the crockpot Monday. Made gravy with chunks of turkey in it. Hot turkey sandwiches Tuesday, turkey gravy over Stove Top tonight, making turkey salad for sandwiches tomorrow.
1. My family appears to be on a bread kick, I opened the freezer today and there were only 6 slices left! I swear we had an entire loaf yesterday. I made three loaves and used the heat from the oven to proof pizza dough for dinner tonight.
2. I finished the library book we picked up the other day. I enjoyed it quite a bit!
3. I discovered a hole in the seam of a holiday themed shirt. I must not have noticed it before it went into the closet last year. Luckily it's an easy fix, even with my ugly sewing abilities.
4. My husband had a craving for rice krispie treats and found a mostly full bag of mini marshmallows from our daughter's birthday party. They were a fruity flavor but actually turned out really well! Not as sticky or sweet as regular rice krispie treats which was a plus for us.
5. There's a Christmas event for kids who attend our local pediatrician's office tomorrow with treats and a visit from Santa. It's free for participating families, but mostly an uphill 1-mile walk from our house. We'll see if I'm feeling up to pushing the stroller to and from the event with two kiddos. Might be something we miss this year.
Congratulations on selling the second sweater.
1. I dropped off several Ebay packages at the post office on my way to another errand.
2. I took my car in for it's oil change, tire rotation. I get free service on my Toyota for the first 25,000 miles. I sat in their comfy waiting room and helped myself to a free diet coke and a bag of chips while I waited.
3. I picked up additionally discounted gift cards at Costco for a local coffee shop and Olga's. The discount was too good to pass up and will be used. My kids like Olga's and my mom and I like to walk up to the coffee shop near her when the weather is nice. I told my mom about the coffee shop discount. She picked up several that she will give as gifts to her mailman, garbage man etc.
4. I stopped in to see my mom. I brought us each a McChicken sandwich that I purchased using the app. I receive points for free food. The sandwich's are BOGO$1. The weather was crummy so we watched TV, read our books and she fed me dinner.
5. My daughter, mom, sister and I had our weekly girls night at my mom's instead of eating out. My mom made sloppy joe's, I brought a Costco apple pie and we did a puzzle together. We are a lively bunch.
My 5 frugal things
1. I’ve been driving into the office a couple days a week so I am packing my own breakfast and lunch plus coffee everyday.
2. I’m also batching errands so they are on my way home which limits how much I’m driving around.
3. Tonight I will be taking my monthly weightloss progress photo. It makes it easier to compare photos and see the bit of progress I have made so far.
4. I’ve been playing a bingo game in the evening through fetch. It’s fun and it’s earning me points.
5. I’m listening to Breathe with me by Becka Mack using a gift I received through Audible.
Audible isn’t exactly frugal, I pay $19 a month for the premium. But the waiting list through my library is so long for the books I want to listen to and I listen to a lot. I am currently listening to my 73rd book of the year. But hey, I don’t have any other vices so it could be worse lol.
Checking out the markdown rack at the back of the grocery store early this morning, I found .50 a bag!! halloween candy - dated next year and even then, it would still be fine.
Bought 5 bags and stuffed my little Christmas candy jar full when I got home. I do like the seasonally wrapped stuff but you know what Katy? I like .50 a bag soooooo much more.
Candy is so expensive. What a great find!
TOST can be turned in wine jelly. Tastes warm and happy on toast on a very cold January morning..........
Getting some extra hours this week.
I packaged using upcycled packaging, boxes, etc the few NWT holiday gifts I get through out the year at garage or thrift stores or regifts. I’ll bite the bullet on postage.
My friend designed and gave me holiday cards so no expense there
1. My son’s dog is having stomach issues and the vet said to feed her boiled chicken and rice. I also read that pumpkin is good so I added a little of that. I had all the ingredients on hand.
2. Since I had the former decorative pumpkin already cooked, and I am doing bean chili with ground turkey for me, I added a bit of pumpkin to it as well as tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, etc. Of course I cooked the dried pinto beans from scratch. All the ingredients were on hand.
3. I went ahead and baked some small potatoes and I will make potato salad this weekend.
4. It has been very stressful and busy at work so I have been going to bed by 7 pm. I get up between 2 and 4 this time of year, usually, to go to work early so this works for me.I can get a lot of prep done at work before people arrive and it becomes chaos.
5. I do not know, maybe just going to work and to the house is frugal. I turn the heat off when I am at work.