Sunday, September 4, 2016

Frugal happenings 9/4

HAPPY SEPTEMBER everyone!
Here we are on the last big hoorah weekend of the summer!  Now the countdown begins for all the holidays!!  OH MY.

This past week seems to have been an absolute blur to me.  Busy, busy, busy sums it up.  There were visiting trips to rehabs, meetings at rehabs, an all day event  at the hospital, one complete day of yard work, then time for some shopping, laundry and company.
My second brother went in the hospital Wednesday for a heart cath, they found an 80% blockage in a major artery, so they did a stint.  He is fine now and good to go.  That is always scary though when someone is going through that procedure.

I sure am hoping for a quiet coming week!  I plan on doing almost nothing (but enjoying the weather) today.  I want to get outside a bit, eat some yummy food, and relax!

We have had three days and nights without AC.  It turned to such nice temps.  I am sure I will have to turn it back on later today as the temps increase.  Hot and humid again this coming week, but I am not complaining, as these warm temperatures will soon be gone.

I believe my hummingbirds are about gone.  Last Sunday and Monday was absolutely incredible and awesome.  I had more birds than I have ever seen in such a flurry to get nectar.  I sure enjoyed that.  I guess we had many that were going south coming through the neighborhood.  I usually have 4 birds!  I think I am down to two - so they are too soon to be gone till spring!  That makes me sad.

My frugal week:
  • I went to the library and got some free reading material
  • Made a faux apple crisp from zucchini.  YUM  I just used zucchini instead of apples and increased the spices and sugar a bit.  Tasted like apple crisp!
  • Shaved my brother (at rehab) 2X this week, saving one of us $40 ($20 per)
  • Still picking some veggies from the garden
  • I was given 2 lbs. of nice jalapenos from my brother.  I will making 'poppers' from them.
  • Lined dried laundry
  • Windows open for the 4th day
  • Did a ton of yard work - free exercise
  • Stopped by Kroger to check out clearance.  I got 3 large boxes of Kellogg's Corn Flakes for 1.29 each.  2- quart jars of Italian balsamic vinegar for 1.99 a bottle.  (We use a lot making dressing and this stuff is wonderful).  I got 8 - Almond Joy candy bars for .39 ea.  (TREATS)  I also got 2 packs  of 2 lb. each of bologna (non-sliced) marked down to 1.39 each.  I will be making sandwich spread with that.
  • I had a $5 off coupon I used at Kroger as well!
  • Ran to Aldi - I had another $10/$40 coupon.  So I purchased more goods for my stockpile.  I couldn't resist.  If I threw that coupon away - it would be like throwing away a $10 bill to me!!!!  THAT WON'T EVER HAPPEN!
I noticed this week that my pepper plants are going through a second season.  They have lots of small bell peppers coming on again!  I will take whatever I get.  I also have green onions and lettuce growing again!
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Meals this week:
Biscuits/gravy and homemade hash browns
Mexican casserole and broccoli slaw (2X)
Arby's (with coupons) - too tired to cook on hospital day
Chicken strips, broccoli/cheese rice and tomatoes
Leftover Arby sandwiches, leftover rice and some sautéed squash and onions
Chicken and dumplings and salad

Had cantaloupe and grapes as fruit this week.  Also had nuts and popcorn for snacks.
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I love that we all got learn and get some new ideas from each other for our Christmas gift giving this week.  Thanks to all that checked in.

I hope you all get to enjoy this last summer holiday with your family and friends. 
Give us a shout out to what you have been up too!  I love hearing from each of you.

Have a wonderful and blessed week.
PEACE

4 comments:

  1. (((((HUGS)))) Cheryl, I would be exhausted too! I'm so glad they caught that blockage in your brother and were able to take care of it before it caused damage.

    You did really well on your savings and the deals you found.I was wondering do you ever freeze your poppers or do you just use them right away?

    Be blessed my friend.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for your kind words Debbie. I am super grateful it was found as well. It was an artery that pumps approx. 30%-40% of the blood!

      I plan on stuffing and breading the peppers and freezing them on a cookie sheet. Then I can fry or bake them at my pleasure. I will fix a few to eat tomorrow though!!!
      I LOVE poppers!

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    2. Will you share the popper recipe for the freezer please? !
      My weekend was full of social events, and got to read two spy novels, and got a fair bit done on the Ginny sweater Take 2 (first one was too small), so Christmas for me is being measured stitch by stitch!

      Tomatoes are finally coming in, very prolific and very sweet, made some sun dried with salt and sugar, then covered in olive oil.

      Free food from camping leftovers so will have lunches prepped for us all week, just will need to pack and go.

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    3. Hi Ellen
      I still find it funny that folks on both coasts are just now getting tomatoes, and ours, here mid country are about done. Glad you are getting to enjoy some.

      Sounds like a nice weekend. Good luck on sweater 2!

      All I do is mix together cream cheese, a little sour cream and some seasoning (I used garlic). Kind of like the mix for zucchini boats. I did mine whole (they were big). Cut off the ends and took out seeds, stuffed with fillings.

      I then rolled in egg and then flour/Panko mix. I baked at 400* for about 25 minutes.
      I also made up several and froze on a cookie sheet - then bagged for later.
      Hope that helps

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