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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