Now, let’s see if I can get on an even keel now that all the guests are gone, the kids are back in school and the holiday chaos is over.  I need to get back onto providing one seafood/fish meal a week and one meatless meal a week.  I think that is such a great goal to provide my family with more nutrition and variation, as well as a way (especially on the meatless meals) to reduce the cost of our menus.

Here we go!

Monday:  Homemade Chicken Fried Rice & Steamed Veggies

I cooked up a huge family sized package of chicken breasts last week because it was cook them or have to throw them out. Poor planning on my part. Anyway-I have used a bunch of them up in various ways, but still have a couple of breasts left.  Using leftover rice from last week I can whip up fried rice.  I’ll just add a package of “Stir Fry Vegetable mix” as a side.

Tuesday:  Meatloaf, Couscous, Carrots & Gravy

Plans frequently get thrown in to chaos when guests are involved.  Last week I was supposed to make this meal, but my Dad really wanted to take us out for a nice dinner.  Who am I to refuse an offer like that.  Instead of cooking meatloaf we went out for an excellent Italian feast.

So I still have all the meatloaf fixings defrosted in the fridge.  The carrots will be on of the 15 pints I finally got around to canning 2 weeks ago When I asked Buddy what he’d like on the menu that we hadn’t eaten in a while his answer was “Couscous with gravy”-so I nixed my original plan for mashed potatoes with this meal and changed it to couscous.

Wednesday:  Mostly Meatless Lasagna, Salad and Garlic Bread

Another meal I never made from last week was the lasagna.  Since it was for guests I had even splurged and purchased real ricotta cheese (usually I substitute the less expensive cottage cheese).  If there is just a bit of leftover meatloaf-ie not enough for another meal-then I’ll dice it up and add it for a bit of extra flavor, otherwise we’ll go fully vegetarian on this one-with all the flavors and cheeses it really doesn’t need any meat!  So there is my meatless meal.

Thursday:  Chicken Chili Blanco with Sweet Northern Corn Bread muffins

I love the totally different taste of Chicken Chili Blanco.  The creamed corn gives it a slight sweetness. Mmmm.  I’ll use up the end of the cooked chicken in this and toss together some corn bread muffins that can be eaten with the chili and then used in lunches or as breakfast muffins later.

Friday:  Homemade Pizza.

Using the Pizza Hut Crust Clone recipe.

Saturday:  Leftover Buffet

By Saturday I’ll have a fridge full of leftovers that need to get used up.  If necessary we’ll round it out with canned soup and sandwiches.

Sunday:  Venison Stew with Homemade Yeast Rolls

On the weekend we tend to get caught up in things-and all of the sudden it’s dinner time and I’m in a rush.  Venison stew can easily be made in the crockpot (I’m not using a recipe, just sort of a toss it together methodology) and I can use up some of the canned venison left from last year.  I’ll get the yeast rolls going in the bread machine mid afternoon and viola-warm, filling & easy.

So what are your plans for this week?

New to menu planning? check out “Why should I plan a weekly menu?”

PS-for more great menu plans make sure you pop on over to Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie

It’s the little frugalities in lfe that we sometimes forget to talk about-like tossing a bunch of breads odds & ends on some racks to dry out so I can make homemade breadcrumbs to store in the freezer.

Using up those odds & ends instead of letting them get moldy then throwing them out…well that’s Frugal Living in Action (FLIA).

There was a terrific storm the other night-rain, hail, wind. . . the kind of storm where you have to run around the house shutting all the windows because water is splashing inside from all directions.

When the fury was done I headed outside to see the damage. Plenty of small branches down, leaves plastered to the side of the house (I see a power washer in our future. Again.) and debris all over my driveway.

When I headed back to the vegetable garden (aka my pride and joy) every single one of my tomato cages were lying on their sides.  So I pulled them upright and drove large wooden stakes down through the rings to help hold the cages up.  Then I noticed that one nice, large bunch of green tomatoes was broken off.  So here is a new  “Frugal Living In Action” (FLIA) for you to help out with:

These are my “Orange Amana” tomatoes-nice and large as you can see, but not even a blush of pink or orange on them yet.  So what can I do with green tomatoes?

The first two ideas that come to mind for using them up are Fried Green Tomatoes or Green tomato bread.

What ideas or recipes do you have for using up green tomatoes?

Photo by Transguyjay

Libraries are such fantastic places to be.  I love the hush that envelopes you when you enter a library, the smell of old paper, and even the way that the bindings of all the books create an almost mosaic effect on their shelves.

Libraries are, simply put, wonderful.

Of course the fact that my reading style could be described as “voracious” could have something to do with my feelings.

I love that as a frugal living expert I have the opportunity to tout the wonder of the library as a frugal tool to all and sundry.  So, what are the 27  reasons that your library is a fantastic frugal place to be?

1.  Libraries have books & magazines, and they let you read them for free.

Ok, this may seem obvious, but if you love to read as much as I do, anyplace that lets you read books for free is on the top of your frugal favorites list!  Honestly, I take out about 5 books a week, minimum. At,oh, let’s say $7 a book for paperbacks (I’m guessing here folks) that’s a savings of over $140 a week.

2. Ditto on borrowing videos & DVDs for free.

Sure, you might have to wait a bit to see the latest releases-but the selection of movies that most libraries have these days is incredible.  Why bother paying for a rental at your local video village, or from the Redbox, when you can grab one for free at the library?

3.  Ditto yet again on borrowing books on tape/audio books for free.

When I take a long car trip I love to have a book on tape to listen to. Hearing a story just keeps me awake and alert while the miles slip by.  Books on tape are great to listen to while doing boring chores or while taking a walk.  Kids also love listening to books on tape-especially when they like hearing stories that are a couple of levels too advanced for them to read by themselves.  A standard novel would cost you over $20 to buy on tape new, so borrowing from the library can save you quite a bit!

4. If your library doesn’t have what you want to read/watch/hear available you can most likely get it through “Iinterlibrary Loan”-again, for FREE.

Even if you have the smallest library on the planet, with the wonders of inter library loan you have an almost limitless selection of books, videos, music and audio books.  Each state sets things up differently, but here in NY I can just jump online (or ask the lovely ladies at the library itself), browse the card catalogs of all the libraries in 4 counties, request an item and then it magically shows up at my local library at no cost to me when it’s available.  They even call to let me know it’s in.  And if I can’t find a book that I really want to see, then I can tell the librarians and they can do a request for an “out of system” loan from anywhere in the state.

5.  Libraries have internet access.

Almost every library these days has at least a few computer terminals dedicated to internet access for patrons.  You may only be able to get online for 20 minutes at a time (depending on how busy the library is and the policies they have in place) but for someone who doesn’t have internet access using the library is a very frugal alternative.  Also if you are on the road it’s nice to know you can pop into a local branch library and use the internet to check your mail.

6.  Libraries have free Wifi

Ok, so not every library has free Wifi these days, but more and more do.  As a blogger, internet junkie and laptop owner knowing that I can always get my fix for free is a big plus.

7.  Libraries have summer reading clubs

Reading programs are a great way to encourage your kids to read in the summer. By reading a certain number of books and tracking the details children can win awards or prizes.  My library this summer is even running an adult reading program.  Heck-I’ll keep track of what I read for the summer if it will win me some free library swag!

8.  Libraries have free kids programs

Most local libraries run some sort of children’s programing-both during the school year and in the summer.  My local branch has story hours, crafts for both kids & teens, free computer classes, summer reading clubs, “PAWS” (a program where children read to dogs-which mine LOVED), and various types of entertainment weekly in the summer (try a ventriloquist, live animals and a puppet theatre!)

9.  Libraries offer free meeting space.

This might not hold true for every library out there-but all the ones in my area offer free meeting space (as the schedule allows) to local groups.  I attend my weekly TOPS (take off pounds sensibly) meeting there, the historical society meets there, and I’ve personally scheduled meeting space for the theatre.

10.  Libraries are~frequently~air conditioned.

Ok-in the heat of the summer I will admit to going & hanging out at the library just to enjoy the blessed cool.

11.  Libraries host book sales.

When the library has too many donations for their shelf space (which happens frequently for the paperbacks) they usually hold book sales.  Our library always has 3 or 4 shelves right in the front full of books they are selling for $1 each.  Then in the fall they do a more extensive book sale. I’ve heard many homeschoolers say this is a great way to pick up reference books on the cheap.

12.  Libraries have office equipment you can use inexpensively.

Sometimes you just need to photocopy something, or send a fax, or print something out.  Although many folks have equipment to do these tasks at home-not everyone does.  And if  you do these tasks very infrequently it is probably much more cost effective to pay your library $.10 a copy or $1 a page to fax something rather then shell out the money for a printer/fax/copier that needs to be stored, maintained and have ink & paper purchased for.

So what other ways can you think of that make your library a frugal place to be?  Leave your ideas in the comments and I’ll add the ideas into this post!

Several months ago I got the opportunity (as one of the Walmart Moms) to go up to Montreal, Canada and watch the new Walmart/P&G Family Time Movie “The Jensen Project” being filmed.

It was such a fun experience! I will be writing about the entire trip in more detail this week-but I wanted to share this quick video that they filmed about *US* the mom’s visiting the set.

Want to know what the movie is about? Well check out the trailer below. Oh, and just so you know, I was there to see them filming the family running out of the building scene, as well as part of the one where the girl kicks the bad guy. . .

The Jensen Project will be aired this coming Friday, July 16th, on NBC at 8/7c. Pop your family some popcorn, settle down on the couch and enjoy a frugal family movie night!

Thanks again to Walmart for sending me on such a fantastic trip!

In this weeks menu plan I continue to try to use up the food from the freezer.

Monday: Hamburger Curry & Rice

I had to brown up a large family size package of ground meat from the semi defrosted freezer last week. Part of it made it into the lasagna, but the rest was frozen in two 2 cup portions. I’ll use one of those, along with some garden greens (most likely radish tops & spinach) and leftover bits and bobs in the freezer to make a nice curry dinner.

Tuesday: Lasagna and Salad

I made a huge lasagna last week-and still have half a pan left. This will be a quick and cool meal for dinner. I’ll just pick the salad fixings out of the garden (and add in a store bought tomato) then call it good.

Wednesday: Hamburgers, Hotdogs, Macaroni salad, Marinated Veggies, and Toasted Marshmallows.

Hurrah for the last day of school! I wanted to make it a bit special by doing a family backyard BBQ for the kiddos. The marinated veggies are made from a big bag of frozen veggies that semi defrosted as well.

Thursday: Ham, Potato Au Gratin and Frozen Veggies

The ham and veggies are from the same freezer debacle (it’s getting pretty empty in there! woohoo!). The potato au gratin is just because it’s yummy & I haven’t made it in forever.

Friday: Pizza

Nach. The Pizza Hut Crust Clone of course.

Saturday: Graduation Parites

Trust me-we are hitting about 3 Graduation Parties from several different highschools Saturday afternoon. After all that snacking we won’t need a dinner.  If anyone is starving when we get home they can have a sandwich.

Sunday: Cola Wings, Sauteed Greens & Rice

I have one last bag of chicken wings in the freezer-left over from overbuying for last fall’s camping trip I might add, that I will make the crockpot Cola Wings from. The greens are going wild in the garden, so I’ll be able to make a nice saute with some varied greens (radish, collard, cabbage) and throw in some spring onion, green garlic and a few snow peas. Tastes like spring to me!

Why do I plan a menu each week?  As a frugal gal, menu planning is one of the big ways I make sure that I stick to my budget and use all my food resources effectively!  Read all about my reasoning at “Why Should I Plan A Weekly Menu“.

Father’s Day totally snuck up on me this year.

Yankee Bill-if you are reading this. . . stop right now! There are spoilers in here and I want you to be surprised!

Yankee Bill and I usually don’t make a big deal out of Father’s Day and Mother’s Day-early in our marriage we agreed that Christmas, Birthdays and 5th year Wedding Anniversaries would be the bigger gift occasions, and that Valentines, the rest of the Anniversaries, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day would be times when we give more token gifts.  Like a card & a bouquet, or a book. Something small.

I mean really-if you celebrate EACH of those with a “big” gift that’s five times a year that you have to think of the most awesome, most romantic gift ever. That starts getting stressful and expensive-and gift giving should be a joy to both the giver and the recipient.

Typically for Father’s Day I get Yankee Bill a nice card and a bag of Oreo Double Stuff Cookies-which we NEVER have in the house-that he can eat all by himself without sharing with anyone.  The kids bring home cards and gifts that they made at church or school, and we all head up to the Lion’s Club Park for the big “Father’s Day Breakfast” fundraiser and then off to church.

But what if you DO want to give a little something more? There are a lot of great “DIY” projects out there on the internet-but if like me you’ve kind of *ahem* left it a bit late it is going to be hard to make a quality project on short notice.  I find that really good crafting should be done in an unrushed manner

Well never fear-Walmart has some really cool deals for Father’s Day this year.  They were gracious enough to send me a gift card so that I could purchase a little something for my hubs from their special Father’s Day deals and tell you all about it.  I got to choose from:

Plano 3-Day Tackle Box – $8
Zebco Predator Spinning or Spincast Combo – $15 each
Coleman Lumbar Chair – $19 each
Coleman Alpine Sleeping Bag – $19 each
Work and Play Watch Set – $15 set of 2
Gillette Fusion ProGlide Gift Set – $9.94
Masculine Fragrance Sets – $12
Armor All 10-Piece Microfiber Detail kit – $15
Armor All 6-piece Complete Car Car Kit – $15
Carrand Power Wash Wand with Bonus – $15
Black & Decker 7.2V Cordless Power Drill with Bonus – $15
Black & Decker 120-Piece Drill Accessory Kit – $15
Comfort Products 5-Motor Massag Cushion with Bonus – $19
Justin Case Travel Pro Emergency Road Kit – $19

Honestly, those were all pretty good deals.  I had a hard time choosing, but in the end wound up with the Fishing pole and the car power wash attachment.

You see Princess and Buddy have been very enamored of the idea of going fishing this summer.  Upstate NY is liberally peppered with lakes, ponds and streams, so it will be easy to take them out for a quick afternoon of fishing-and just as quick to drag them home if they get bored.

Which could happen.

Easily.

Especially if they aren’t catching any fish.

But I digress!  Yankee Bill had purchased them each a fishing rod a few weeks back as a surprise.  We don’t normally just buy them things for no reason-but these are something that will last them for years (even thought they aren’t expensive).

What I realized was that we didn’t have any fishing poles for the adults.  So when I saw the Zebo rod on the Father’s Day specials list I knew I had to pick that up for Bill.  Yes, I know that serious fishermen out there will probably shake their head at me and say “but how good can a $15 pole be?”.  Trust me-my dad was a fly fisherman for years-I know the really good ones cost in excess of $100.  But Bill and I aren’t serious fishermen-we are parents who want to be able to toss a line in the water with our kids and have a nice afternoon.  This rod was perfect for that.

As for the power wash wand-anyone who knows Bill in real life knows why I chose that one! My husband keeps his vehicles immaculately clean-he frequently and happily will spend an evening washing, polishing and drying one of his cars or motorcycles.  He has hinted that he would like a power washer for his birthday in August, but in the meantime if this wand works as advertized it may provide him with some of the power he needs at a fraction of the cost.  I can’t wait to see him try it out.

Now, even if you don’t have $15 to spend on Father’s Day, don’t worry.  I started out by saying that we usually don’t make it a holiday about gifts.  There are plenty of great ways to celebrate Father’s day that don’t cost a cent. What about writing a heartfelt letter telling them how much they mean to you, making a favorite home baked treat, cooking a dinner centered around all their favorite foods-or even just giving them “permission” to goof of and do nothing of consequence all day?

What are some of your best Father’s Day ideas?

I am a participant in the Walmart Moms program. Walmart provided me with a gift card in exchange for this post. Participation in this program is voluntary. As always, all opinions are my own.

***This is a sponsored post***

Well someone left the door of the downstairs fridge/freezer cracked at some point this weekend.  Everything inside appears to still be frozen, but there is a HUGE buildup of ice and frost on everything. . .so this week’s menu plan (and most likely next week’s) is dedicated to getting all that stuff eaten up so I can do a thorough defrost & clean.

The garden is in early prodcution mode-I’ve got plenty of snow peas to use in the next few days, the early greens from radishes, lettuces, cabbages and spring onions as well.

Besides those I’ve also got a few things to use up in the fridge upstairs-a packet of venison I defrosted then never grilled on Saturday, a half a gallon of skim milk that is just past it’s “sell by” date, some broccoli & cauliflower that are not looking their best anymore.

I’ve got to work around my meeting tonight, Yankee Bill’s on Wednesday, a half day of school on Friday and probable house guests over the weekend.

Whee! So let’s see what I can come up with shall we?

Monday:  Turkey Burgers & Sauteed Snow Peas, Spring Onions & Radish Greens

The turkey burgers were in the iced up freezer-so they made a quick and easy dinner with some of the produce from the garden.

Tuesday: Cream of Broccoli/Cauliflower soup with Biscuits

This should use up the milk, broccoli & cauliflower.  I’ll probably throw a dish of shredded cheddar cheese on the table so the kids & hubs can melt it into their soup.  That will increase the protein content for the kiddos and make it taste richer.  After all, skim milk isn’t really the best choice for a cream soup.  Then again maybe I’ll add a can of fat free evaporated (NOT condensed) milk in as well to create a richer flavor without the added fat.

Biscuits will of course be homemade.  The kids have been really loving eating toast with my homemade rhubarb jam as a snack & breakfast lately-I’ll make extra biscuits and let them use those.

Wednesday:  Venison Packets, with salad and & buttered noodles

I’ll put the venison in foil packets with onion, bbq sauce and whatever else takes my fancy, wrap them tightly and cook them on the grill. There are lettuce, radish, spinach & cabbage greens in the garden to be used in a salad, and the noodles are left over from a big batch I cooked up on Sunday when I made Spicy Thai Noodles to take to a church potluck.  That box of thin spaghetti was much bigger than I thought!

Thursday:  Lasagna, Garlic Knots and sauteed mustard greens.

I had a package of ground beef that was in the freezer as well.  I haven’t made lasagna in a really long time, so I will use the beef to make a big double, or maybe even triple batch.  One will be cooked and the others will go into the freezer for future meals.  I’ll use the standard breadmachine white bread recipe to make “garlic knots” (which is basically a breadstick you tie in a knot with a lot of garlic butter). 

Friday:  Pizza

Using the Pizza Hut Crust Clone recipe of course

Saturday: Fried Rice

This is a great one pot, clean out the fridge meal.  I’ll get to use up a bunch of bits and pieces out of the fridge crisper drawer, as well as some of the frozen veggies from the fridge.

Sunday: To be determined. . .

Once hubs decides what he wants for Father’s Day dinner. He’s having a hard time deciding.

Photo by Ben Alman

As one of the Walmart Moms I frequently get a heads up on some of the great deals that they offer.  I don’t share every single one of those with you guys-this really isn’t a “coupon and deals” kind of blog-but when one truly is a fabulous deal I am inclined to let you all know.  When they throw in a freebie for me-well, that just seals it.

Summer time is traditionally when we all think about taking the family on vacation.  For many folks, especially if you have a little adrenaline junkie in your midst like my Princess, that means trying to fit a theme park into your budget.  This is where the “deal” part of this post comes in. . .

Normally to buy tickets to any of the Six Flags parks at the door costs about $50. So a four pack of tickets would run a family $200 for a single day at the park.  Even if you had two adults at $50 and a couple of kids at $30. . . you are still talking $160 for the admission cost.

This June if you make a purchase at Walmart of Wednesday or Thursday you can buy a four pack of tickets, good at any Six Flags, for just $99. That’s around $25, or less than the cost of a child’s ticket EACH. For more information check out the Six Flags/Walmart website!

Of course there are other ways you can keep the costs of your trip down.  Take a look at the Six Flags Website and see what other deals they are offering, or check out any other associations you belong to (AAA, the union at work etc) as well.  Compare the meal plans offered (you can not bring your own food into the park with the exception of baby formula & special dietary needs) and see how you can save.  Consider bringing an empty  water bottle into the park and filling it at a water fountain (perhaps with a couple of those drink sticks in your bag) to cut down on soda/water costs.

What other ways do you have of saving money at a theme park?

I am a participant in the Walmart Moms program. Walmart has provided me with a 4 pack of Six Flags tickets in exchange for this post. Participation in this program is voluntary. All opinions expressed are my own.

Photo shared by Creative Commons Copyright, Ben Alman

Keeping herbs in planters right off of my back stoop is pretty and convenient-I can just pop outside and grab what I need right in the middle of cooking.  But it has it’s problems, the largest problem being keeping those dang planters watered.

Any kind of pot kept outside requires much more frequent watering than plants that are in the ground-there is just limited soil to retain the water.  My planters compound that issue by being situated under the house eaves-so even though rainfall is pretty frequent in Upstate NY, those plants need to be watered almost daily.

And I am forgetful.

I just have a lot going on in life most the time, and I have a hard time remembering to water those planters every day all summer long.  In the spring when gardening is new and fun-yes, I remember.  By July? Well, not so much.

I’ve been fascinated by the idea of those water globes you see on TV infomercials.  They seem kind of goofy-and a bit expensive.  I wondered if they even worked-and I wasn’t willing to spend the money to find out.

Well, several of my gardening friends have assured me that if you start out with damp soil and you put a long necked bottle full of water into the soil, it will indeed slowly release the water as the soil dries out.

A ketchup bottle was suggested as a perfect frugal implement for this-but I don’t use much ketchup, and the bottles I buy tend to be those large family size ones that don’t have the long neck.

So just a few minutes ago I was down in the basement putting something away when my gaze landed on the cluster of wine bottles we’ve been saving. . .

Ah-ha!

I filled one up* and stuck it in the planter.  The water didn’t all pour out as I was afraid of. . .

So now all of my herbs are “lushes”. . .

Everyone getting a good "drink"

Lemon Verbena-what a lush. . .

I just love ideas that save you money, are useful, and repurpose/recycle something you already have on hand.  Way to be frugal and green eh? This project didn’t cost me a single cent!

And you don’t have to spend any money to do this either. If you don’t drink wine (and therefore lack bottles) I’m sure there are other bottles that would work-or you could ask around for wine bottles from friends, neighbors, or even your local restaurants!  Shoot, someone on Freecycle or Craigslist is probably looking to get rid of some glass wine bottles right this minute

Although my wine bottles aren’t as pretty as those “art glass” style watering globes, I don’t think they look bad-although I don’t think Yankee Bill is going to be quite as pleased as I am with the look.  If the looks are an issue for you just remember, as the herbs or plants get taller they will block out the bottles more. And if I wanted to get all crafty on you I could decorate the bottles with mosaic tile, spray them with that frosted/colored glass spraypaint, or use something like modge podge (did you know they make a special outdoor kind now?) to decoupage it somehow.  Then again, if you hate the look that much you could just remember to water your planters every day and then forget the whole idea.

Now as a disclaimer-I literally came up with this idea five minutes ago-ran to the basement, filled all the bottles and stuck them in. . . so I don’t have any proof of how this will work in the long run. But I was so dang proud of myself that I had to share it with you all immediately!

If this works well in the long run, it could also be a great way to keep plants watered while on vacation.

I’d love to hear if anyone else has already tried this, or if you have any other great ideas of how to keep pesky potted plants from drying out.

*Note: All of these bottles had already been carefully rinsed.  You probably don’t want to have the dregs of the wine mixed with water going to the roots of your plants. . . I am no botanist, but I’m pretty sure that would kill them.