Five Frugal Things -- Socks & Platelets
- I drove across town to donate platelets at the American Red Cross and was rewarded with a pair of their surprisingly thick Pac-Man socks. (Plus three packages of Nutter Butters that a volunteer brought over, after I mentioned that they were "my favorite cookie!") Plus I'll also be receiving $30 in "retail" e-gift cards, which I'll redeem for groceries.
I experienced overwhelming facial numbness and nausea when I donated platelets last summer, but this time increased calcium intake and chewed Tums in the days leading up to my appointment. This seemed to help and I only had slight tingling this time.
I'm now up to three pairs of free socks, having scored two pairs of "free box" Bombas last summer. Now, if we could just get the Red Cross to give out bras.
2. I picked up an abandoned Winco Foods receipt and scanned it into the Fetch app -- hello 5,665 points! For reference, my actual Winco receipt earned me a mere 25 points, as I didn't buy any corporate big name products. Thank you, random littering stranger!
3. One of the other Red Cross donors brought a basket of home grown persimmons to share, so I brought one home. Really delicious!
4. My husband and I are watching the Apple TV show Pluribus through a free seven-day trial on sister's Amazon Prime account. We've watched the first three episodes and will wait a week and sign up for a different free trial in order to watch the next two episodes. It's sooo freaking good, dealing with issues of individuality, toxic positivity and the concept of humanity.
My husband and I used to live in Albuquerque, which gives Vince Gilligan shows an extra layer of enjoyable to watch.
5. I'm halfway through my library copy of Emily Henry's Great Big Beautiful Life, but will save it for the end of the week when I'm taking a family member to a medical appointment.
A friend gave us 2 boxes of food that she received from a supplemental food program in her county that she didn't like. Got them home and expected to find canned or other non-perishable food. Nope. 14 freezer meals (tv dinner type), 5 single serve applesauce, 2 loaves whole grain bread, 6 pints of milk (those had been frozen and we didn't like it, so those got tossed), 8 or so half pints of various fruit punches/juices, and other stuff I can't remember. On a scale of 1 - 10, the tv dinners rate about a 6-6.5. We eat what is palatable and the rest goes in the garbage (oh, the horror!). At least I don't have to cook for a while. We supplement what we like with other foods we have in the fridge.
Hunting season is upon us (starts the Saturday after Thanksgiving). We keep trying to empty our freezer of venison from last year to make room for this year's meat. Can't eat it fast enough, so we may have to share with some friends.
I used to get frozen dinners from a program like that. Most of them I didn't care for, but I would take out the veggies, or the entree, and freeze them separately, and then use in a casserole or soup that I could doctor up. I stopped getting those meals when they posted a prominent sign to donate $12. I felt I could do better with $12 on my own.
We received a free box of food a week for school aged children this Summer. A lot of it was more snack food imo, but we appreciated it. It also came with juice boxes and milk cartons and they were all well received in my house. The few things we didn't like we passed on to neighbors and still called it a blessing.
I know the frozen individual milks can be a little disappointing to drink, but they turn out just fine if you use them as the milk in baked goods.
That's a great idea!
1. I stopped into Meijer and used coupons for a free half & half and a whipping cream. These coupons were for any size, so I bought the largest size. I also picked up some dog food for my daughter's pup. I had a $9.75 off coupon. I also used up a $1 reward.
2. I returned all of my deposit cans, with this and the above coupons, my total was just $26.
3. I scanned my receipt into Fetch and received 1500 points for buying two Meijer Frederik's Gelatos. I received 15 points from Ibotta for any receipt since I also don't buy many name brand items. I also scanned my receipt into My Purina rewards app. Thank you to the person who mentioned the 12,000 Fetch rewards points for adding this app to my phone. I can receive free gifts with points.
4. I made chicken and biscuits using a Costco rotisserie chicken. I took half to my mom's for dinner last night with her and my sister and will take the other half to my MIL's for dinner tonight with her and my daughter.
5. I took my dog to the pet store for her yearly free birthday gift. I dropped off an Ebay package at the post office right next door.
Which pet store does birthday gifts
Pet Supplies Plus. Just sign up for their rewards program. Free birthday gift and money off rewards with points.
1. Yesterday my friend dropped off persimmons and stuff she was getting rid of. I've already sold $45 worth of it.
2. I got a lovely print from Buy Nothing that will be part of my daughter's birthday present.
That's it. Short and sweet!
1. I walked in my neighborhood, as usual, for thirty minutes.
2. I bought sourdough bread, which was needed, because the grocery store did not have an eggplant, which is what I also wanted. So no impulse foods.
3. I brought my lunch to work. It is a cheese sandwich today.
4. My air and heat are off since it has been 82 degrees here for a couple of days. It still cools off at night so the house does not get hot, plus house is still shaded, despite my having major limbs that were on my roof, cut in April.
5. Other than gas to get to and from work, I cannot think of anything I have purchased.
That show sounds great, thanks for the tip!
I placed a request for that Emily Henry book through the library app but it has not arrived yet, can't wait, love her books, pure escapism!
1. I read somewhere that leaves make the best compost so I filled two empty compost bags with leaves and will just let the bags sit there until next year in the hope that the end result is indeed free compost. It’s an experiment!
2. I sold a pair of earrings on Vinted. I had originally gotten them on Vinted, too - they were just too flashy for me so I decided to sell them on.
3. Taking one for the team:
- Slowly finishing up a bottle of strawberry shampoo that my daughter thought she would like but then did not. It smells disgustingly sweet but I can bear it for a few seconds until it washed away.
- This one is on me: bought a jar of olive tapenade and I do not love it (at all). However, I am an adult and can choke it down with some nice bread and salad leaves every other day or so in order to use it up.
4. I bought a packet of colour in mandala postcards a few years ago. I gave some to a relative when she was in hospital (to combat boredom!) but still have about 10 left which I am now slowly colouring in one by one. I will use them as birthday and other greeting cards. I want them gone at this stage!
5. Recent favourite library (re-)read: The time traveler’s wife, Audrey Niffenegger
I LOVE The Time Traveler's Wife! The author lives in my city.
I have just picked up a second hand copy to reread!
Oh wow! Maybe you'll get him to sign a copy one day 😉
Might I suggest stirring a spoonful into salad dressing? Should add a depth of salty flavor, but you can brighten it up with vinegar.
Thank you! I will try that!
I adopted three bottles of curb picked shampoo and conditioner from a neighbor, and a bottle of shampoo that someone's old roommate left. I'm willing to do it to extend my budget and avoid perfectly good things going to the landfill.
Well done! Me too, I'm always happy to keep things out of landfill and if it extends the budget as you say, all the better.
GK, the leaves needs more than themselves to compost. It will be a slimy mess. Just put somewhere in the yard, and add soil.
Marie, I was just about to say the same thing about the leaves. If they don't get air circulation, they'll be not only slimy, but smelly. And if they can be mixed with fresh grass clippings (from a lawn that hasn't been treated with chemicals), they'll break down faster.
Oh dear! I'll see what can be done. Thank you!
Thank you, I guess it sounded to good to be true!
Thank you, I guess it sounded too good to be true!
1. I visited the little free pantry yesterday. I didn't visit during the shutdown out of respect for SNAP recipients, but I feel that is resolved now, at least in my state. I picked up a loaf of Pepperidge Farm bread and a package of four yellow peppers.
2. I found .07 in my alley.
3. I hung a load of laundry to air dry in my bathroom.
4. Still working on using my food in my freezer and pantry -- yesterday I combined Mac and cheese with tuna and cream of chicken soup to make a tuna casserole -- only it was stovetop, not an oven dish. The day before I thawed a Mexican concoction of chicken, rice, black beans, and peppers and dressed it up with a chili sauce since it was quite dry.
5. Meeting a friend today for lunch and her birthday celebration. I have gifts from Goodwill (she's fine with that) -- two scarves, some Hallmark ornaments, four vintage-design handkerchiefs, and a couple of mantel-size artificial Christmas trees. Hoping to have a frugal lunch -- I'm taking my doggy bag kit!
5.
We’re still eating lettuce, arrugula, and chard from the greenhouse. Still waiting on our first hard freeze.
I cut the end off my facial moisturizer to access the product inside – at least a week’s worth is left. I also used a small spatula to clean out a body lotion bottle and saved several days’ worth of product.
We picked up a quarter beef from the processor – our beef for a year.
I’m knitting Christmas gifts from my yarn stash and listening to library books while I knit.
1. I gathered several kids books of my grandson's to donate to our local Little Free Library and scored a copy of Emily Henry's Happy Place. Once I'm done reading I will donate to my daughter - if she hasn't read it - or give back to the Little Free Library.
2. Invited my niece and her husband here for dinner over Thanksgiving weekend. She is having Thanksgiving at a friend's so I've decided to pivot and serve ham, scalloped potatoes, veggies, a loaf of french bread from the freezer and use up items I've on hand. (We have been invited to other family members for the Thursday meal)
3. My grandson is off school next week so we will try for a few hikes at state parks, crafts at home and a library visit. Maybe even a playground or two if the weather is decent.
4. Started stockpiling some food for Christmas - my daughters are coming home from New York and Australia so I will be cooking a bunch. (Or maybe I should call it assembling meals instead of cooking :)) We'll have a pretty decent sized group so I'll need more food than usual.
5. My local Kroger/King Soopers gives 4x fuel points if you purchase gift cards on certain days or times. So if I'm purchasing gift cards for Christmas then I will be doing it then.
This isn't especially frugal, but it is joyful, so I will share: I own a brass wall sconce (candleholder) that I inherited from my grandparents' estate. They married the year after World War ONE; therefore, I believe this thing to be at least 100 years old. (It may be even older if they had inherited it from THEIR parents' estates.) Anyway, it had two swing-out arms, which had gotten warped, so that the parts that were supposed to hold the candles were going sideways. So much so, the thing couldn't be used.
Anyway, I called a Amish-like village way out in the country. It is open to tourists and it has several businesses on site, such as grist mills, quilt stores, yarn stores and a metalworking forge. I asked if the latter could maybe help repair my brass candleholder, and they said they'd take a look at it. Yesterday was my day off, so I traveled out there and the metalsmith took it apart, heated it up a bit and gently hammered it out. He got it fixed and it is now on my wall holding 2 battery-operated taper "candles". (Maybe that's not super authentic, but it keeps my house from burning down!) The metal worker's services cost $25 + tax, but I feel that is a reasonable cost for his expert repair. It was really cool to see him work: they don't use power tools at all at this place (although they have electric lights and fans and stuff).
I also took a look around the other shops, and saw a lady spinning yarn using a spinning wheel that she powered by foot pedals. She wore a long cotton dress, a simple style that would've been fashionable in the 1800s and her long hair was put up in a top knot -- so beautiful! It was like going back in time.
Last night when I got home, I put up the wall sconce, put the battery-operated candles in it and turned off the lights. The candles' plastic "flames" move back and forth and from across the room, look almost like the real thing. The fake flames look nice, softly glowing in an otherwise dark corner of the room. A cozy ambiance indeed! It will be so cool to see this accent lighting when we have guests in the dining room for holidays.
My other frugal thing is that I "boarded up" a west-facing window from the inside. I'd saved a very, very large, flat corrugated cardboard box that had contained the big protest sign for No Kings Day when they shipped it to me. Today, I cut it to size and set it up against my bedroom window as insulation and a makeshift light/sound barrier. It sat nicely on the window sill and reached the top of the blinds. A couple of months ago, I had "painted" this window with buttermilk (yes! buttermilk, it was demonstrated on TikTok as a non-toxic way to "frost" a window) so that it was opaque. Therefore, you can't see the ugly brown cardboard from the outside; it just looks like a frosted window. Installing the cardboard solves the problem of the neighbors' outside lighting shining in my window, keeping me awake. It will also keep the hot sun out of this west-facing window during the summer months. (My room heats up like an oven when the sun comes through the circa 1960s Plexiglas window, so I have to rig up some kind of shade). Plus, I have 100% privacy with this. You can't see the cardboard from the inside of my room -- the blinds and curtains cover it up. I didn't even have to tape or fasten the cardboard to the window because it is heavy enough to stand up on its own, and the mini-blinds hold it in place.
This isn't the only time I've "insulated" with cardboard. Previously, I used several pieces of corrugated cardboard in this window all taped together, but having one large piece is vastly superior.
If necessary, I'll use some "draft stoppers" (to keep out any cold winter wind), but you won't be able to see them either. Until I can afford replacement windows, this will solve the problem of my "problem window" quite well!
Great idea to get your sconce fixed that way!
Lisa, you are one resourceful gal!
1. A friend drove out for a visit on Monday. We chatted and caught up a bit while the kiddos ran around the house. No money spent and we had a great time.
2. My husband rescued a container of spinach from our fridge drawer and transfered it to a freezer bag. He had to pick a few less than desirable pieces out, which is fair because the best-buy date was about a week ago, but otherwise he saved it from being tossed.
3. Open enrollment is starting so my husband's company rolled out their updated policies for the new year. There's a very visible increase but they're doing their best to keep prices reasonable for their employees. I made calls to our dentists, pediatrician, and optometrist to see what things would look like with vs without coverage. A few phone calls and about 30 minutes later and we've got a game plan for the next year.
4. Checked out the Fred Meyer (Kroger) online coupons on Monday and made a pick up order. It included two bags of vegan cheese shreds that were on sale, I would have probably snagged two more but they had low stock, a turkey for $0.59 per pound, chicken nuggets and some vegan cream cheese that both had deep discounts. I did misread the count on a package of tortillas and paid MUCH more than I normally would, and took a chance on some spring roll wrappers that were cheaper than WinCo, but they are pretty small so the "savings" isn't really great. Oh well haha I did have $35.06 savings between the waived pick up fee and coupons and sales, so overall I felt good getting a dent in the grocery list and only spending $45. I know WinCo has a promotion for free turkeys if you spend over a certain dollar amount, but I don't think we have enough left on the list to get us over the threshold so the $0.59 per lb at Fred Meyer ended up being a better deal.
5. My husband was very excited about the cost of groceries while he was picking up the order and decided to take advantage of already being at Fred Meyer to get gas. He filled the tank for just under $17. He told me we're a power couple ha! The store is 35-40 minutes from our house and everything stayed nice and cold in our reusable insulated bags that I sent him with that morning. Saved on the bag fee for Fred Meyer's insanely flimsy paper bags and kept our food cold.
@Shyla - when my kids were young, seemed like every other year their pediatrician was in/out of network. Didn't matter to me as I felt continuity provided them the best care. My state mandated ob-gyn/PCP be covered so that worked well for me.
1. I went out for a walk and came home with a new (to me) pint glass from a free pile. This replaces the one that broke last week.
2. The city has swept the homeless from my neighborhood, so there’s less competition for cans. I’ve been coming home with around 20 cans every time I go for a walk. This won’t last.
3. I watched “Parasite” on the Kanopy app. I hadn’t seen it before.
4. I’ve been picking up marked down charcuterie items for Thanksgiving, and I have enough in my BottleDrop account to pay for the whole meal. I’m hosting this year. The cost isn’t stressful, but the MAGA who will be in attendance make me feel a sense of foreboding.
5. I’m snuggled up in an schwanky Eileen Fisher sweater I found at the bins.
@Li - shut them down. They are guests in your house and can go dine elsewhere if they can't stifle as Archie Bunker used to say.
I’m actually afraid I’ll make passive-aggressive comments myself! Seriously. How can they be so stupid and selfish?
1. My pantry shelves collapsed a few weeks ago. The plastic brackets holding up the shelves are so old they became brittle and broke. We have been wanting to redo the pantry for years and have been tying up shelves that broke in the last. But the cost was ridiculous. So when my shelves totally died my frugal friend suggested bookcases. As luck would have it we are moving a few upstairs rooms around and have a few extra bookcases due to this move. So now three white IKEA bookcases are in my pantry closet (it’s huge), I’ve gone through everything and tossed and donated what was old or I’m not going to use. I now have a beautiful “new” organized pantry at NO COST!
2. Grateful for my daughter’s Medicaid that covered all but $1 of her medications I picked up today.
3. Was gifted some vegetables for my guinea pigs.
4. Dog sitting overnight (at my house) so extra $!
5. Eating leftovers for lunch and dinner today.
Julia, your custom pantry sounds fabulous!
I sold a wall tapestry that my daughter had been given. She gave it to me, but I won't end up using it. I will give her the money to help with her Christmas.
I bought a very cool toy online for more than 50% off for the grandbaby. We have enough to give her, so I offered it to my daughter to gift to her. They will pay us back the cost of it (or not - doesn't matter to me).
We had our children and another friend over for dinner, and everything came from the house. No need to buy anything, and every single bite was eaten. (Fried chicken - I don't know that I've ever had leftovers of it...)
Still working over time to try and catch up on things and hopefully get ahead. In the new year, I may try my hand at Etsy or Ebay sales more. I know I don't have it in me to add one more thing to my life right now.
1. Cut the husband's hair and he cut mine. Lately it seems like both of us are having faster than normal hair growth!
2. Instead of buying artisan bread to shop up for stuffing cubes, at $10.50 a loaf, I made two loaves of no-knead artisan bread.
3. Convinced a friend that we should stop exchanging Christmas and birthday gifts. At our ages, we do not need more clutter or to spend money needlessly. I realized that the practice had gone from fun at finding something that would thrill her to a chore that I just wanted to mark off my list.
4. My friend whose husband and kids refuse to eat leftovers (time for eat it or starve, if you ask me, but she did not ask for my opinion) brought over a chicken and gnocchi soup. We ate it for three days!
5. Husband did three mystery shops that together filled our gas tank.
1. Mysteriously, we ended up with [what I think is] honeynut squash plants in our tiny urban garden. Today, we harvested 14 lbs of squash.
2. Partner brought home a leftover mushroom share from the CSA pickup that he oversees. In it was a giant lion's mane mushroom, so I shredded it & dried it. I will powder it and add it to soups and sauces. It adds an amazing umami kick.
3. I was supposed to meet a friend for lunch, but I had a really late breakfast, so I just had a coffee. As part of that, somehow we ended up with a ton of leftovers in the fridge, so we are having back-to-back leftover dinners to clean out the fridge.
4. We went to a Vietnamese grocery store yesterday, to get a couple of very specific ingredients. While there, I picked up a pack of dumpling wrappers for far cheaper than my local grocery store sells them ($3.50 vs $4.99), and I'll make another batch of pork & cabbage dumplings. Because I get the pork free (mystery shop) and the cabbage, ginger and mushrooms free (free CSA box from work), I can make 75 dumplings for under $6.00.
5. All of the Christmas shopping is done (we only buy for a niece & nephew, plus some consumables for both sets of parents). We will wrap and bring the kids' presents when we see them for Thanksgiving so that we don't have to pay for shipping them. Correction: we do send a food-gift basket to an aunt & uncle, and the goal is to pay for that with gift cards that we earn via Swagbucks and Fetch.
1. Washed my car for $6 using a special discount card that we received when we purchased this used vehicle three years ago. (A day after getting the car washed, I parked in a lot next to a yard that had a fall cleanup crew show up after I had gone inside. Came out to a car coated with dirt/dust. When I got home, I cleaned the car off with our extended wool duster.)
2. Attended the Friends of the Library book sale preview event and used the $5 coupon that I received for being a member.
3. Received our property tax info for next year. Going up by $200 for the year so I'm content with that. My neighbor down the lane, who lives on a lake, saw hers rise by $1,300. She said, "I guess I had better really enjoy my view in 2026."
4. Cut the elastic off an old fitted sheet and used it as a drop cloth.
5. Gave away a bottle of grout colorant on Buy Nothing. I bought the wrong color and didn't save the receipt.
Thanks for the show suggestion. I've been thinking about doing the free trial swap soon.
1. November has been a pantry challenge month which originally meant no groceries, but I ended up stocking up on a few things and, I know this is old news by now, but even with a list and no impulse buys, I still have constant sticker shock these days. So, December will be another pantry challenge and probably most of 2026 as well.
2. Made a delicious split pea soup this weekend for our meal and weekday lunches. I do not eat out at all while working. I keep a stock of ramen, soups and other heat and serve stuff for the days I forget to pack something.
3. I am making simmer pot blends for gifts. I already love foraging, and this project just adds a new dimension. I have already spotted juniper (with berries!), balsam fir, and cedar. I bought a spice mix from the Indian grocery that includes cinnamon bark, cardamon pods, and allspice. I am drying two sliced oranges and citrus peels in the dehydrator, and I already have bay leaves, star anise and whole cloves. I plan to dry a handful of cranberries (bought on sale) to add some color. I made tags with directions and ingredients. I'll pair it with some homemade gingerbread granola and that is holiday gifting this year.
4. Still working on purging the house of clutter. I donated a large garbage bag full of clothes and have been giving things away on Buy Nothing group. I also have a box of stuff to list on eBay. I still don't know if I will be made to move next year to keep my job (I report to DC even though I live in NY -I was hired to be remote, but I am back in the office because...). The thought of going through the motion of selling my house and trying to find housing in a new state makes me feel pretty stressed, so I am focusing on just lessoning my stuff footprint for now.
5. Thanks for the mention of the Fetch points if you sign up with Purina. It's down to 5000 but that put me at my goal of 100K points. I also found a receipt at Walmart that was a 1,500 one. I love when a found receipt pays out (and wow, the one you found was amazing!)
Hubby is having some health issues and has been out of work the last 2+ weeks. His job let him use sick and vacation time for the first 2 weeks. He has applied for short term disability.
1. I have gotten 4 turkeys for 25¢ a pound from Lidl. I did 2 and my daughter did 2. We cooked one already. I cooked the bones in the crockpot overnight. Got 6 quarts of beautiful stock. I have to get to BJ's to pick up the free turkey there still.
2. Cooked 2 pumpkins that I got for Halloween from Aldi for $3.99 each. I have frozen most of it. I have one more to do. A friend asked if I wanted her 2 smaller pumpkins. So I will do them this weekend. I put pumpkin in the dogs homemade dog food. I also make her peanut butter and pumpkin treats. Pumpkin muffins are a big hit in our house too.
3. I cleaned out my freezers( 1 chest and 1 with my fridge) making room for the turkeys and pumpkins. I really need to do something with all of the figs in there.
4. Hubby and I went to Chilis for lunch over the weekend. They have a special for $10.99. You get a drink, a salad or chips and dip and an entree. I had gift cards from Fetch, Ibotta and Receipt Hog. We put the tip on the gift card so it cost us $0. I brought home half of my fries. We ate them with dinner tonight. All other meals have been cooked at home.
5. I spent $42.73 on groceries this week. I spent $11.32 last week. I am way under for groceries for the month. I budget $400 most months. I allot another $100 for Thanksgiving since we host. I did return some cans and bottles so the totals are after that.
I forgot something...Driving to work the other morning I saw 2 Little Tikes cars at the curb with a bunch of other garbage. The garbage truck was coming down the street so I got out and grabbed them. I figured I would bring them to my church. Well one of the workmen that is redoing my clients kitchen has an 8 month old so I offered him one. He was very happy to take it. The other one I put in front of my house with a free sign. It was gone 20 minutes later. They were both in great shape. I was happy I saved them from the landfill.
Just got $91.09 in class action settlements. Timing is perfect as we’re on vacation so I no hours worked this week. Since I only work
part time I won’t get paid for Thanksgiving either.
I hit a string of selling items via FB marketplace, resale shops, etc.
Used United Healthcare rewards to get some much needed HABA items
Hey I just picked up MY library copy of Emily Henry's Great Big Beautiful Life!
1. I got my passport photo taken and got the electronic version so I could apply online. It is a bit tricky to coordinate, as there are limits to the number of applicants per 12 hours, so after not getting in my first try I set an alarm and got started.
They rejected my photo, though. ARGH. However, I had purchased the photo at London Drugs which had a prominent sign stating they guarantee their passport photos, so if they are rejected they will retake, refund the money, and also (in recognition of the inconvenience of having to come back) provide a $50 gift card.
So, I took a screen capture of the message the passport site gave me, found my receipt, and headed back in. Took some persistence on my part, as they were very fast to retake the photo, but not at all up front about offering the refund nor the card. However, I politely pointed out their sign and received both. So essentially I got paid $50 to get my passport photo taken.
The odd part is that the second photo was also rejected! However there was the option to carry on so I did, and now await news on whether the human who will complete the process finds the photo acceptable.
2. Baby-proofing the house continues, I had my housekeeper over to assist with my many seeds. 4 hours of solid work and we are much further along, and the compost and recycling boxes are both happier.
3. I picked up some 60% off chopped salad kits (the ones with dressing and a few other add-ons to sprinkle on top). They provide far too much dressing for the quantity of chopped greens, so I usually make up some kind of additional greens, to double or more (the kit is simply something that gets me moving.).
I pulled down my Bosch machine - which does a grand job of grating carrots and slicing cabbage, celery, mushrooms and bell peppers, and got to work with an eye to noting 'how long does it really take'. It DID take an hour, more than I had anticipated, however I created a huge salad for three of us for one night, and put much more in the fridge, to be mixed as we desire over the next couple of days.
I find that if I get onto the veggie prep, future me is so happy to open the fridge and find a ready-made salad. Lettuce is shockingly expensive, so I am moving our diet to the ever frugal cabbage and carrot, with celery when it is decently priced, and peppers from the dented veggie discount shelves.
4. Yet another physio appointment, still free. It reminded me that there is still a mixup about payment of the insurance, and when I came home and researched I discovered that my message had disappeared from the pension site. So I found the filled out form on my computer and sent it again, hopefully they will get on it stat before I end up in an insurance hollow (there is still time, but earlier is better than last minute)
5. With some more chicken carcasses I made up more instant pot broth. Then I made some Broccoli cheese soup (a version that uses a potato rather than rich cream and a roux). The recipe (from Cookie and Kate) is a real winner – a bit complex due to the various times broccoli is added, with the result that all the stalks are used, and after blending more florets are cooked to provide a lovely texture contrast.
#2 son is really sick so he has been very appreciative of hot soup from his mom, delivered to his door.
Gluten free Daughter Outlaw WAS vegetarian last I looked, so I carefully made a small pot with water, for her, only to be told that she is eating chicken now! Whatever! I laughed, and they can mix the two jars I am taking them when I pick up grandbaby. I kept the add-ins separate in old yogurt containers, and used an elastic to hold the recipe to a jar so they know the final steps that lead to the perfect soup.