I had to share this chuckle before I write anything else...the neighbor was complaining that is seems like her kids' school is always sending home something for them to buy. I chuckled because every time these kids have a fundraiser, this parent sends them over to us to buy something...I believe the irony was lost on her, but I did get a chuckle out of it anyway.

We hit a bunch of different stores this weekend. Two are our regular haunts, but there were things on sale at others that we wanted, so we stopped and bought there as well.

I made out my grocery list for this week and planned the weekly menus:

Sunday brunch: scrambled eggs, sausage, pancakes, fruit
Sunday supper: sloppy chicks, salad, chips
Monday: chicken tenders with barbecue sauce, baked potatoes, green beans
Tuesday: pork tenderloin roast with carrots and onions, fingerling potatoes, green beans
Wednesday: pork stew made with leftover pork, carrots, onions, potatoes and zucchini and celery added.
Thursday: Salmon patties, cous cous, green beans, cottage cheese
Friday: Quiche made with leftover sausage, salad

Lunches will be made up of leftovers. I had scrambled eggs, sausage and pancakes leftover for two lunches.

Walgreens has eggs for 99 cents a dozen and they had canned salmon on sale. For Easter dinner we are going to have a ham; one of our extra stops was to buy a small ham before they are all picked over. Hence, so many stops.

DH planted onion sets yesterday. He had hoped to plant lettuce, radishes, and carrots today, but it rained pretty hard around lunch time today and things are kind of muddy. We don't have a huge garden spot, but DH uses what he has and I think it really helps with the grocery bills. We are starting some herbs from seeds too. Are you planting a garden this year?

Just typing the title makes me chuckle. It goes back many years ago when the rage was getting those electric warmers and buying those wax things to make your house smell nice...long before Scentsy...which was then a step up from buying dried leaves, buds, and flowers and soaking them in water and warming on the stove. A friend of ours wanted to know what that good smelling stuff was and we told him potpourri. He, though, to be the weirdo that he was, would pronounce it POT pooree. OK, I digress.

Another busy week at work, but that is OK. I did have some random thoughts this week.

We have a mix of ages at work. We have some young staff who are in the 20s, then we have a couple in the 30s, and the age goes all the way to 67. We have one gal who is near 50 and loves to brag that she wears her high school daughter's clothing. I've concluded that the fashion industry truly hates women. The whole skinny jean or skinny pant is one example. We have some gals who are not heavy or overweight, but when they wear these skinny jeans, it shows bulges and lumps and makes them look odd shaped. We have some who are wearing tights and are wearing either shirts or very short minidresses and there isn't much left to the imagination. Then there are those of us who are overweight. Recently there was an article in the paper saying that plus size teens are finding it difficult to locate age appropriate prom dresses simply because they aren't being made. I am not in the market for a prom dress, but I can tell you finding clothing if you are short and overweight is very difficult unless you want to wear stuff that is either ill fitting or huge designs. And I could go on about how much more clothing costs for women than men, but that is another post. Sheesh!

We hit a few flea markets and thrift shops yesterday. We didn't buy a whole lot, but it was nice getting out in the sunshine.

DH has been cleaning up the yard. It has been a hard winter for us and the yard and trees and bushes have taken a beating. But he did come in and tell me some good news! The garlic we planted last fall is coming up! Hope springs! He is now encouraged and is planning his vegetable garden.

We try to hit the library every week. Like everything else, our library has had to make budget cuts. As subscriptions to magazines run out, they aren't being renewed so the magazine selection is dwindling, but I'm still happy to read those that I can. Not only does it save us money, I feel like borrowing and returning the magazines also is a way I don't waste resources by having to figure out what to do with magazines. We get the AARP magazine one and I recycle it when we are finished, but I just feel like it is wasteful to have a ton of magazines.

On the new book selection at our library, I found one called "The Working Class Foodies Cookbook" by Rebecca Lando. It must be a popular one because the stamp says the library got it in July 2013, but I saw it Saturday for the first time.

It has a lot of common sense stuff that I already incorporate such as making my own stock, baking bread, etc. It also reminded me to get up and put the dough together for No Knead Bread.But it sure is nice to be validated. Especially in the past few weeks with some of the comments made about me.

One person told another that I was the frugal one like it was a bad thing. Another made a comment that I must be cheap to always bring my lunch. But this week it seems like the tide is turning. I attended a meeting and like usual, brought my lunch. Someone said she needs to start bringing her lunch since her husband has gotten on her about her spending. Another woman said she and her husband realized they have no savings and had hoped to take their family on vacation this year so she was going to scrounge for snacks at her desk. I kept my mouth shut...I could have given them ideas, but they didn't ask so I didn't offer. As the year progresses, perhaps they are thinking of saving since with the end of school coming, paychecks stop.

DH is itching for spring to get here because he wants to start his vegetable garden. It seems like spring is delayed with our below normal temps. Today is sunny which has lifted many spirits around here.

We don't have a coin jar like many of you on this site, but I have a bank and when it gets heavy, I empty it. I usually ask DH for pennies from his change bowl and he gives them up and usually other change too. He's going to take it to the credit union and put it in savings. I don't get a lot of change because I don't buy a lot of stuff on a daily basis, so it takes a long time for me to get very much change. It's a painless way to add to savings, that's for sure.

It's another cold, winter Sunday in the Midwest. We received snow on Friday, a dusting last night, and the forecast for tomorrow is freezing rain. I'm saying it: "UNCLE!" I think we have about a foot of snow on the ground from all the snows. Our driveway is treacherous with snow over the ice.

OK, enough feeling sorry for myself. We have power and heat and we can still get out if we need to. We attended church this morning.

Brunch was scrambled eggs, sausage, and pancakes. DH was a happy boy. I have enough leftover eggs and pancakes for a lunch this week. Supper will be sloppy chicks and there will be leftover for a couple of lunches.

We hit Walgreens today because they had Maxwell House coffee on sale. DH said he read that coffee prices will probably go up since there has been a drought in Brazil. I normally wait until coffee is on sale anyway, so I have been waiting. I don't drink a pot a day, but I like having some every morning so I did get some while it was on sale. Our local paper had an article on a local business that roasts coffee beans and how they serve specialized coffees. I, apparently, am not a coffee prude. On Saturday I make a little extra and on Sunday I just microwave a cup before going to church. I'm sure the coffee experts are just cringing. I rarely throw out coffee...if I make too much, I often put it in the fridge and serve it over ice for iced coffee. Maybe I'm just a cheapskate. I just hate to waste stuff.

A few years ago I attended a conference and they served coffee and hot tea. With the tea, they even served little jars of honey. I love honey in my tea! So, I grabbed one and used it, but kept the little jar. It has come in handy when I take my leftover pancakes because it has a nice metal cap that seals. I put a little honey in it so I can put it on my pancake at lunch. See...I really hate to throw things away!

This is going to be a crazy week. We have parent conferences after school two nights. We were supposed to have one night last week and one night this week, but 7.5 inches of snow changed last week's date to this week.

Anyway, I'm trying to figure out some meals for this week.

For brunch today we had eggs, sausage, and pancakes. There was enough leftover for from lunches. Tonight's supper is sloppy chicks (sloppy joes made with ground chicken), a salad, and chips. I made a large fruit salad yesterday that we will have at meals this week.

Monday night will be pork tenderloin roast with mashed potatoes, cottage cheese, and a salad. I will use the leftover pork to make a pork stew for lunches. We had vegetable soup last week and I saved enough so DH can have it for supper Tuesday night while I'm at school.

A friend of mine gave me some ground beef, so I'm going to use some of that and make goulash. That will be supper Wednesday night, then DH can have it again Thursday night when I'm at work and I can heat it up for a meal when I get home.

Friday night is Valentine's Day so we have reservations.

Our pastor is a very kind person. He started his sermon with a reminder to all the men in the congregation...Valentine's Day is coming up this week so don't forget...and card selection is pretty slim on the actual day. He said the reason he knows all this...he forgot one year and didn't get a card and had an unhappy wife, and one year he waited until the day of. It certainly got a chuckle from the congregation.

So, what are your plans for Valentine's Day?

Supper today was using up leftovers...I made a stir fry with leftover pork roast and used leftover broth to cook rice. It was a filling meal and I baked biscuits and used up some vegetables we had in the fridge. Some friends of ours are eating out at least once a day a often complain about how much it costs...I think our total meal including ice tea was way less than $10 and I had enough leftover for a lunch.

I did buy myself a piece of jewelry today. We were perusing a thrift store and I saw a set or blue beads that with tax came to a total of 64 cents. I often wear blue sweaters so I thought this would be a nice change.

Earlier this week one if my coworkers commented she was jealous of my leftover laden lunches and joked she wants to move in with us.

We had every intention to do some spending today. But, the weather had other plans.

Every so often we go to a small town, Arthur, and shop at at Amish run bulk food store. We buy their sausage patties as well as different other bulk foods. Every Sunday after church I cook up the sausage and we eat some of them and I use the leftovers for other meals in the week. We are using the last package. I normally buy quite a few packages and have them in the freezer.

Well, today's weather was just bad. Not horrible, but bad. We had snow but then the temp raised enough to have rain and the temp kind of bordered around freezing. It was kind of slushy, but kind of chunky too, so we just stayed home.

Lunch was a sausage and pasta tomato based soup I made from leftover sausage, tomato sauce I made last summer and stashed in the freezer, and some medium shells from the pantry cooked together with some homemade chicken broth, celery, and mushrooms. The afternoon was house cleaning and laundry and I also whipped up some laundry detergent.

Supper was a turkey breast I out in the Crockpot this morning, mashed potatoes, green beans, peas, and cottage cheese. I made gravy and we have some turkey, potatoes, and gravy leftover.

Temps are starting to drop and we are to receive freezing rain. I only hope we don't have power outages.

School was called off today because of the cold temps. Someone posted on Facebook that the Farmer's Almanac is calling for 40 inches of snow in February. Not sure if that is true, but if the book says it, I hope it is wrong! That's a lot of snow! Yikes!

This morning was spent cleaning. I cleaned the bathrooms and wiped down the walls. I disinfected toothbrushes and door handles and washed rugs and towels.

This afternoon was tidying papers and cleaning up different spots. I did the coffee maker cleaning thing with vinegar and water and then more water. I need to scrub the pot and I'll be ready to put a filter, coffee, and water in it for tomorrow.

DH delivers books to a shut in once a month and he did that while I was cleaning. This afternoon he took some clothes to donate to the food pantry (they have a free clothing room) as well as egg cartons. They get large containers of eggs and need the cartons to use to give them away so we always save them. It's nice we can help out with something like that. It was on his way to the mall for his 4 mile walk. It is too cold to walk outside!

Judging from the comments on Facebook, my teacher friends are ready to return to work.

Lunch today was the leftover sloppy chicks. There isn't enough for DH's lunch another day so I'm going to add some tomato sauce and red beans for chili for my lunches this week. I fixed ham and beans yesterday for tonight's dinner so he will have leftovers of that for his lunch. I also need to brew tea for iced tea. We usually have 3 pitchers going. A few years back we used to meet some friends at a local sandwich/soup shop and when we would get ready to leave, the woman would always empty her glass of ice and take a glass of their tea home. I thought maybe it was because she liked the tea so well or the blend or something like that. Nope, she said it was too much trouble to brew tea at home so she would have it for a glass later. I tease DH that he is working me to death because I seem to make a lot of tea. We chuckle over it. We drink that with our meals...far more economical than soda and a lot healthier too!

School was called today due to the extreme temps. Although not a true "snow day", we are out.

My day has been spent getting caught up on all those little projects I have put off. We have to make up these days so it really isn't a "free" day.

I read a murder mystery that had some recipes. One was called a "hot dish" and I take it they call casseroles that in Minnesota. Is that true? Anyway, I am going to copy it down and see if we like it. If so, I will share it.

Since I'm staying in, I thought I could use the ham pieces we have in the freezer from Christmas and make ham and beans. It is bubbling away and will make a hearty meal tomorrow night, not to mention a cheap one. I made chicken broth Saturday night using bits and pieces from some chicken we had and some vegetables and herbs.

I didn't care for ham and beans growing up. In hindsight, I think it was because my mom didn't add anything but beans, water, and ham. I decided to revisit ham and beans this year with the huge amount of ham we had left and worked up my own recipe. I do the whole bean soaking thing ahead of time. Then, I saute some onion in a pot with canola oil, and then add the beans, chicken broth, and ham and let it simmer until the beans are soft and the broth has cooked down to what sort of looks like a gravy. I add cumin and tumeric to the cooking as well. Served with cornbread, it makes a hearty and easy meal. I can say, the flavorings do make the difference.

Yesterday was a busy day. We went to church and afterwards came home and I fixed brunch. We buy sausage patties from an Amish bulk goods store and we don't eat them all at one meal. So, I thought instead of cooking them all, I would reserve a couple to add to my ground beef for meatloaf. After eating and cleaning up, we went to Walgreens to get a few things that were on sale. I have their card and I wonder if they notice we only buy stuff on sale.

Anyway, the rest of the day was spent working. I did housework and laundry. And I got a few of our meals ready for the week. Last night was sloppy chicks (sloppy joes made with ground chicken). The leftovers will be a couple of lunches for DH. I put beef and barley vegetable soup on the slow cooker for Monday's meal. This will give us leftovers for lunches. I also mixed up the meatloaf to bake off Tuesday night. I will add potatoes and a friend gave me some homegrown and canned green beans so we will have that. Saturday night we had a pork tenderloin roast so I used that to make pork stew. I was cutting up vegetables for the soup so I just chopped a few more. I checked the freezer and we still have frozen tilipia so that will also be a meal.

We had hit some thrift stores Saturday and found a few items for our booth. My only complaint is one store doesn't seem to wash their items so they were sticky and grimy. I spent some time washing everything. I usually wash everything anyway, but I hate it when it is filthy. I marked the items after this.

At Christmas time my church has a bazaar and we usually go to the luncheon to support the women's mission work. While there I perused the second chance room of donated items for sale. I found one of those mini Crockpots that you can take with you for lunch. It was brand new in the box for $7. I have used it 5 times already and it is handy. It keeps soup hot, but not scalding and sure beats waiting for a microwave. Hence, the reason I am making lots if soups so I have lunches.

I went to bed pretty beat last night. I am glad I have today off for a holiday to rest up. I have already fired up the slow cooker and am ready for another day.

Another weekend has come and it means I had to plan meals and then plan the grocery lists. Thursdays around here before we hit the grocery on Friday are usually clean out the fridge type meals. Last Thursday I used some leftover sausage patties, eggs, and thought I would change things up and make pancakes. I tweaked a recipe I found. This supposedly makes 8 servings so I cut it in half, but it was a hit with DH.

Old fashioned pancakes
1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 1/4 cups of buttermilk (made my own with milk ans vinegar)
1 egg
Cooking oil

Mix ingredients except cooking oil. Put oil in heated skilled and drop pancake mixture by desired size. I use a measuring cup and pour it in ...less than 1/4 of a cup for each, but go with what you want. Brown on both sides. I served with syrup and fruit as well as scrambled eggs and leftover sausage.

DH was a happy boy. Plus I used many of the items we had.

Someone on Friday asked me what we had for supper, I told them and they said it sounded good. The next comment was how did I know what we would have. I told them simply...planning.

I know from reading many blogs that thre is a lot of planning going on in other homes so I know I am not alone.

Supper tonight was a turkey casserole made with leftover turkey, gravy, dressing, and creamed corn. Pretty tasty on a cold, winter night plus enough leftover for DH's lunch. Tomorrow night is the turkey soup I blogged about earlier.

Lunch today was potato soup I made with turkey broth and leftover mashed potatoes. I was repeatedly asked if it was homemade.

We celebrated my birthday last night with friends last night...a week and a day delayed due to the bad weather. Finances came up and it was mentioned how people don't get it on how to save money. I see it every day. And yet, the spending is always rationalized...I worked late, it is only a dollar, I deserve it...our friends said they are seeing the same thing. We discussed how few folks actually cook and how many eat out every day. We don't because it costs extra, but also, eating out no longer is special when you eat out all the time.

Before Christmas a gal I work with did a staff invite to one of the hottest home parties in our area: you pay a set fee and attend the party and then when you get there you put together meals to stuff in your freezer so you have meals available. Supposedly you get ten meals at 5 servings each. The price is about $120.

I guess I'm an old prude, but it just doesn't appeal to me. I'm sure if you broke it down, the price isn't outrageous, but one is at the mercy of the host/hostess on what the chosen meals are. We don't like hot/spicy stuff and if that was on the agenda, that would be money wasted.

I'm all for free enterprise, but personally, I'm not paying someone to chop some vegetables and cut up meat and this sort of thing. And, I kind of wonder about the 5 servings, but alas, I'm a skeptic.

I have noticed quite a few sites popping up about cooking for a month or making stuff to put in jars. Someone posted this link on Facebook today and I did look at it and it looks like it has some possibilities:

http://www.savebiglivebetter.com/2013/04/472-easy-meals-in-a-jar-recipes.html

First of all, I like the fact jars are used. I do use plastic bags, but I really prefer using glass. But, I'm also kind of liking so much isn't in the freezer. Right now my freezer is kind of full of chicken stock, tomato sauce, and turkey breasts.

Anyway, eating at home saves money and I'm sure my friends probably saved money by heating up some of the stuff they did at the party, that is, if they remember to fix it. But, do you cook for a month or make many freezer meals in advance?

We actually saw a little sunshine today here in Central Illinois...after all the snow, frigid temps, high winds, and dreary days...it was a welcome sight. We had some rain yesterday and although folks were complaining about it, it did make a bunch of the snow go away!

I was upset last night because I thought I lost my scarf. In the winter I keep one with me because cold air bothers my breathing and I often have it over my mouth and nose. I did find it...not only did the expense of replacing it bother me, I'm not sure I would find another. This one is kind of old and it does not contain any acrylic. My skin breaks out when I get around acrylic.

We went to the grocery store last night. DH had hit Aldi and got most of the items we needed there, but there were a few things we needed that Aldi didn't provide. I left in a bad mood. I know the Feds claim there is no inflation, but it seems like we get less and less each time we go to the grocery.

I wanted a new Crockpot to replace one I have. Read: want, not need. DH walks at the mall in bad weather and he found one he thought I wanted, but we weren't sure it was the right size. Maybe on new ones they list the size, but on mine which is kind of old, I could not find the size. He chose well. We went to Sears, bought it, and I used a rewards card and got another dollar and some change off of it as well. I guess what shocked me was this chain store is like a third smaller than it used to be. I knew they hadn't been handling clothes like they used to, but it was scary. I wonder if Sears will be another store filing for bankruptcy soon.

We hit some thrift stores today. It doesn't seem like they are putting much new things out. One in particular we know has a huge storeroom full of things because they take things in year round and keep things for when the specific season is upon us. Are any of you finding the same thing?

We did treat ourselves to brunch out. It was nice to get out and visit before we did our running around. I put a turkey breast in the Crockpot this morning and that will be supper with potatoes and a vegetable and some fruit for dessert. We will have something else with the leftover turkey...I like to think we get our money's worth. I usually make a casserole with stuffing and the leftover gravy. Someone mentioned to me the other day they made turkey soup so I might have to look into that as well.

Years and years ago when in college, I remember asking my mom for a hot pot. She found one on sale. I think I got it for Christmas or my birthday. Since they are so close together, it is hard telling.

I was covetous of this white metal electric pot before I received it. It barely held two teacups of hot water, but this magic little pot in the dorm room meant hot tea or hot chocolate or hot water for instant soup. And believe me, when I got one, it was well used by both my roommate and me.

Back when I was in school, we had pop machines (soda vending to those of you not from Central Illinois) and that was about it on our college campus. My snack cache' consisted of a jar of peanut butter and saltines and an air popcorn popper and popcorn. I didn't have a fridge so I couldn't have butter and didn't know about the salt with the artificial butter. Money was tight for me back then. My parents didn't have a lot either. So, having the pleasure of hot tea or instant hot chocolate was such a treat.

I believe I wore that hot pot out and by then I was out of school. I thought I wouldn't need one because I had a stove and tea kettle.

And there's some pleasure to having the tea kettle boil and whistle...but it isn't as efficient or economical as a hot pot.

So a few years ago when a store was going out of business I decided to buy a hot pot to use at home. I got quite a bit off of it and I bought a Rival because I have had such good luck with Rival Crockpots. This puppy has to be almost ten years old and I use it frequently.

I brew tea for iced tea quite a few times a week. I love a cup of hot tea so I often use it for that. When I need hot water for something, out comes the hot pot and it is pressed into service.

A friend gave us some hot chocolate mix and DH loves anything with chocolate. He shoveled around the mailbox and said he was really cold. I suggested a cup of hot chocolate and he was all for it. I return to work tomorrow and I told him how he could use the hot pot for hot chocolate himself. He was astounded it was that easy.

I love DH dearly, but he's not a mechanical type of guy. He can make toast and reheat in the microwave, but other than that, I'm not sure he feels comfortable with appliances. He was pleased the hot pot was as easy as putting in some water, plugging it in, waiting for the water to get hot, and unplug and use.

I do think it saves us money. I can't imagine buying already made iced tea. And although you can put tea bags in water and it makes tea, I do think brewed tea has a little different flavor. Plus, since it doesn't take a lot of power and time to heat water, I think it is more economical than using the stove. I know someone could say use the microwave, but I'm always unsure of heating water in the microwave. I either get it too hot or it isn't hot enough. But that's just me.

So, something as simple as a hot pot is such a pleasure. And I think I hear another cup of tea calling my name!

I live in Central Illinois. We had a snowstorm yesterday and like much of the country, we have extremely cold temperatures. Wind chills are in double digit negative numbers. Brrrr!

Friday night and Saturday were interesting in our city; people posted photos of the run at grocery stores. I guess many of them ran out of things on the shelves.

Yesterday was my birthday and we originally had planned on going out for pizza with some friends. We changed our plans with the blowing snow, cold temps, and terrible conditions. Since I had anticipated going out, I didn't purchase buns at Aldi for our normal Sunday night sloppy chicks. We had them, but I had no buns, so I baked bread yesterday. I baked small round loaves that after cooling, we sliced for buns. Not too bad and certainly pretty reasonable money wise. I did not plan on hitting the stores Friday night or Saturday just for a package of buns! We had been watching the weather and did our grocery shopping Thursday since I'm off from school.

I imagine most of you have stuff in reserve in your pantry and freezer. I know we do. We eventually would need to replenish some things, but DH was talking last night about how we didn't have to brave the craziness at the grocery stores. I like to find things on sale and stock up.

We are going to pay someone to plow out our driveway. I'm sorry, with over 8 inches of snow received, and then drifting, I am not going to shovel in weather with wind chills of -35. The hospital bill will be more than what we pay the guy to plow our driveway. Maybe that's a weird way of looking at it, but I know it will make me sick if I get out there with my asthma. DH has a little heart condition that we don't want to make worse so I don't want him out in it either plus he froze his lungs a couple of years ago and can't handle extreme cold like he used to.

Hope everyone is warm and safe.

Like much of the country, it is cold out there! Brrr!

We received 5 inches of snow over night and did shovel the driveway and sidewalk up to the front door. We did it in two stages. We went out and did half and then came in and warmed up and then went back out and finished. We didn't want to overdo it because neither of us are in the best of health.

Lunch today was leftover soup from Tuesday which was great the second time around, and sandwiches made from the turkey breast we had last night for supper. Tonight's supper was a casserole made with the remainder of the turkey. DH said it was a hearty meal on a cold night. I think he liked it. It was a recipe I came up with simply to use what I had on hand.

Turkey and macaroni

2 cups of elbow macaroni -- cooked according to package directions or however you like it, drained
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 Parmesan -- shredded
Leftover turkey -- I believe I had about a cup or so
Buttery crackers -- one sleeve
1 cup turkey gravy
1 tablespoon of cornstarch

After cooking the macaroni, drain and put to the side.

Heat up milk and melt cheeses. If it is still soupy, add the cornstarch to thicken. When it gets to the consistency you like, add turkey and macaroni and stir until coated. Add this mixture to a greased casserole dish.

Crush the crackers and add to the top.

Depending on the depth of your casserole dish, base your baking time to this -- if it is a less deep dish, bake at 350 for 30 minutes, covered. If it is deeper, add some time, but be sure it covered.

It was pretty tasty and I think adding different cheeses could change the flavor. We have enough leftover for another meal. If you don't have the gravy, I imagine you could subsititute cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup.


For lunch tomorrow we are having pork stew -- just love using those bits and pieces from the fridge and pantry to make a hearty, reasonably priced meal. It is simmering on the stove. I had turkey broth from last night's turkey, so I am using it. DH made a comment that I certainly got plenty of meals from one small turkey breast.


Stay warm!

Today was a bit of a spendy Sunday. Not horrible, but...

This afternoon we went to a Christmas tea at one of the major historical homes in our city. It is always nice and basically free unless you buy something or donate money. It is always pretty lovely and a good way to visit this historical home.

After that we stopped at Walgreens. A few weeks ago they had flour on sale, but had run out. DH had gotten a rain check, and we have checked off on and on, but it hadn't come in. They had it today. They also had peanut butter and tomato sauce on sale, and also some allergy medicine and there was even a $5 coupon on the allergy medicine so we did some money. I've been trying to restock my pantry has things go on sale. A few weeks ago one store had Del Monte vegetables on sale for 69 cents a can. We bought some. Then another store sold them for 50 cents a can, but there was a limit. But we stocked up and have quite a few.

After we came home I paid some bills and renewed our AARP membership.

None of this was super expensive, but it all adds up.

We had a dusting of snow this morning. It was a bit slick in spots, but fortunately nothing like other parts of the country have been having.

Last week about every meal had some sort of leftover in it. One day we had a pork stew made with leftover broth and pork. Another day we had spaghetti made with the leftover sloppy chicks. One night we had leftover mashed potatoes that I mixed with cheese and baked like a twice baked potato. And when we didn't finish that, I made potato patties and rolled them in Panko and sauted them to go with the fritatta I made with leftover vegetables and sausage. And, we finished up the turkey and gravy by mixing it with dressing for another meal. DH said he thought I got more mileage out of most of these leftovers than ever.

Hope it's a good week for everyone.

Hopefully everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with plenty to eat and people to love.

Our Thanksgiving was wonderful; my brother and his wife joined us and we had a good meal and good fellowship. We are truly the dysfunctional family poster children. My brother is 19 years older than I am. We have the same mother, but different fathers. He was basically an adult when I came along so we didn't grow up together. When I was a little kid he and my mom got into some fight and they didn't talk to each other after that. Forty some years later my mom dies, I call him to tell him, and since then we have tried to work on building a relationship. I know that sound weird as adults, but my mom was the type of person if I had tried to be friendly to him while she was alive, she would have made my life absolutely miserable.

I did some baking yesterday. I tried a recipe I tore out of the paper a few months ago. It is a honey sweet bread and it was pretty good. Below is the recipe if you want to make it for yourself or for treats to give away for Christmas:

Honey loaf

3/4 cup coffee
3/4 cup honey
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup canola oil
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teapoon ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Whisk together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another bowl. Slowly add the wet ingredients and whisk smooth.

Scrape batter into a greased 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Bake about 45 minutes. If the top is starting to brown too much, at this point, cover with foil and bake another 15 minutes. Cool 30 minutes in the pan, then tip out and cool completely on a wire rack.

I served it with some butter spread on it...yum!

Or so they say. By they, I mean the weather forecasters. It is inevitable, since today is halfway through October in the Midwest.

I had been drying herbs here and there to keep some available for the winter. DH decided we needed more so he brought in a bunch today and I spent a big share of the afternoon drying them and putting them in jars. I have more sage than I can probably use, but I was thinking of making gift baskets with biscuit mix in them for Christmas, so maybe I can add some sage in a small bag to use if they wish.

He picked all the bell peppers we still had, pulled all the carrots and onions, and picked all the ripe tomatoes. My kitchen looks similar to a root cellar. Which is OK.

Tomorrow while I'm at work, he's going to pick the green tomates and wrap them in newspaper so hopefully we will continue to have some ripening after the freeze.

The past couple of weeks have been very busy with work. Plus, I broke a tooth and had to spring for a crown. I have a temporary crown until the permanent one is made. That was an unexpected $821! However, the dentist did point out, it might have been a blessing of sorts...my tooth was also cracked right where there was a root and it hadn't broken off, but he said seeing where it was, if it had, I probably would have had to have a root canal, so maybe this saved me money in the long run. At least I wasn't in any pain other than the financial one.

I have a relative who asks to eat out with them at the spur of the moment. We usually turn this person down. Like many of you, I plan my meals for the week. Often I have taken meat out of the freezer to thaw in the fridge and I don't want to put it back in the freezer or waste it. He complains how they are having money problems, yet they eat out every day. Hmmm...wonder if there is connection there? Anyway, I have repeatedly told him we eat most of our meals at home. I don't mean to be rude or thoughtless, but I hate the thought of wasting food.

I did score a lovely suit at a thrift shop a couple of weeks ago. I had to hem the slacks and then had it dry cleaned since there was a stain on the slack and it was dry clean only. I normally do not buy dry clean stuff, but it was well made, and lined and I will wear a blouse under the jacket. It is for cold weather. So, with the cost of dry cleaning and the original purchase, I have a nice suit for $23.50.

DH brought in some cherry tomatoes...guess I better get busy making tomato sauce!

It's true, I have a love affair with Mason.

Mason jars that is!

I find these jars the handiest things. Yesterday I had the opportunity to make 2 quarts of tomato sauce. What handy creatures those jars are for storage.

I use them to make tea and store in the fridge. When I make apple juice and apple sauce, they serve me well.

I have one where I throw extra buttons to keep them so when I need a button, I can find them.

I do have Mason jar envy, though. We visited a friend Saturday and she has been canning up a storm. She has over 40 quarts of green beans and over 40 quarts of tomatoes. There's a jewel like quality of seeing all those vegetables in those shiny glass jars!

On Pinterest there are always great ideas for decorating with Mason jars.

When I was growing up, the mayonnaise jars were glass and my mom used them for canning. She thought she had hit big time when she went to a rummage sale and bought a case of "real Mason jars." I wonder if that is where my esteem for them started.

So, DH isn't jealous of my crush on Mason jars. He says he reaps the benefits of my using them. Plus, it saves us money by using and reusing.

So, the love affair continues!

There's an article about paying with cash costing Americans money.

Not the surface kind of answer, but the fact people are paying fees to pay with cash. I can't figure out if the gist of the article is to go cashless or just reporting. I don't trust media anymore because gone are the days when they just reported the facts...so many stories are so biased.

Here is the URL:

http://www.today.com/money/paying-cash-costs-americans-200-billion-year-8C11363366

This has been a nice weekend, but I have spent money. We walked around our downtown area yesterday. We have lots of small locally owned shops. I like the idea of supporting local small businesses. One place had 20% off things and I did buy quite a few things, but they were things I would have purchased anyway. Two things were presents so saving the 20% was nice. We also went to a local wine store. We aren't wine drinkers, but we were looking around for a nice bottle to give as a present and found one, I think, this person will like. We made our way to the grocery store and came home so I could begin supper.

Today we hit a flea market and an antique mall. We didn't spend much, but we had a nice time looking. We came home to get to work.

DH picked cherry tomatoes. I dried parsley and put it in a jar for this winter. After DH brought in the tomatoes, I washed them and went out and picked some of the onions we have left, some basil, and DH picked a bell pepper. I made two quarts of tomato sauce...that is a lot of cherry tomatoes for that much sauce!

We had sloppy chicks for supper (sloppy joes made with ground chicken) and I used half of a quart of sauce. The leftovers will be lunches for this week. But, I will now have 11 quarts of tomato sauce in the freezer. Not bad for those little tomatoes!

Today was "Take Out Thursday" at our house.

I'm not talking about buying take out by any means, but taking stuff out of the fridge and using it.

Supper tonight was a pork stew. The pork was leftover from last night. I had roasted some yellow squash with onions a few days ago, and I took some leftover fresh vegetables (carrot, onion, mushrooms, celery, and zucchini) out of the fridge, saute'd them, and used the chicken broth I had made earlier in the week from leftover chicken parts. As it simmered last night, I also added a pint of my homemade tomato sauce I had made earlier in the week as well. DH said it was very good and bet I could sell it if need be. I don't know about that. To go with the stew we had crackers taken out of the pantry and sliced tomatoes taken out of garden and we finished up the fruit salad taken out of the fridge. There was even enough to DH to have a hearty lunch tomorrow. Not bad with bits of this and some leftovers.

I did try a new recipe this week for chicken casserole. It was pretty easy and DH liked it.

Chicken casserole

1 cup of cooked chicken, cut up
2 eggs
2 cups of dressing (or stuffing)
1 tablespoon of fresh sage
1/2 cup of milk or half and half
3/4 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons of butter

Whip eggs, milk, and sour cream together. Put dressing in a greased baking dish. Add chicken and mix with the egg mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes (covered). Take out of oven and put butter on top. Serve. It was pretty tasty and I think there could have been different things added to it to give it different flavors. It was easy and quick. I actually used raw chicken and baked for an hour and it was great.

There's something about fall smells and kitchen aromas!

Yesterday I made applesauce in the Crockpot. Today, I am baking pumpkin bread. Although we are still a little warm temperature wise, I'm ready for fall and I noticed I had a can of pumpkin and thought, "Why not?"

So I found this recipe for pumpkin bread:


Pumpkin bread

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 8.5 x 4 x 2.5 inch loaf pans.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, combine pumpkin, eggs, oil, water, vanilla and sugar until well blended.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice until well combined.
4. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour batter into the prepared pans.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

This recipe came from "My baking addiction" .com and I can tell you, it smells wonderful!

It has been a tough and tiring week. School seems to have so many pressures and deadlines. I have made it through these four days and pleased I did not cave in and decide not to fix supper and eat out. I will admit, the thought crossed my mind a couple of times.

Monday we had vegetable soup -- I made a lot and froze 2 quarts so in case we have another surprise meeting like the previous week, I won't be caught without a meal. Tuesday we had chicken stir fry. Wednesday was pork tenderloin roast, and tonight was clean out the fridge fritatta. I seem to make that most weeks, but it is different every week depending on what leftover vegetables and meat I have. DH likes eggs so he's happy as a clam (however happy clams are) when we have it.

Now onto a rant...is it just me or has society just lost all class? I'm tired of seeing people dress in what I consider inappropriate attire. I remember growing up thinking it would be horrible if someone saw my bra strap sticking out of a blouse or dress. I know it isn't the end of the world, but I am seeing more and more women dressing in tops that show their straps. Maybe I should just be happy they are wearing the undergarment.

One gal I work with was wearing such a sheer garment, there really wasn't any surprise as to what her foundation garments looked like or her skin. We were in a meeting in air conditioning that day, so heat wasn't an excuse.

I was really hoping when the media said Princess Kate was bringing back hose under dresses that it would be true. I'm not talking sundresses or casual wear, but nice dresses in regular weather, not the hot as Hades stuff. I still wear hose and slip when I wear a dress. Guess I'm an old prude. I like the finished look of the hose on legs. And it seems so many women are wearing such short dresses when they sit down, one sees far more than one cares to. I'm not talking about little girls or teenagers. I am seeing this in a professional setting. I know varicose veins are a health issue, but I don't really need to see these in one's upper thighs.

Maybe I'm just in a foul mood from being tired.

It has been a busy week. Last Sunday I felt I had things planned and under control and then on Monday morning I learned I was to attend a meeting after school.

It really angered me. The meeting had been planned the week before and the folks in charge did not bother to tell me.

Which means I not only had to attend a stressful meeting I wasn't counting on, I also did not have something ready for supper. I plan my meals and this was a week I didn't need to put stuff in the Crockpot.

So, we wound up eating out and I resented every bite. We could afford it, but it was an unexpected expense. But, I've moved on.

My goal this year is to try and save half of my take home pay from September to May. Unexpected things like this drive me crazy. Oh, well.

I had a chance to make chicken broth this week with some leftover chicken pieces so I made over a quarter and a half.

DH picked a bunch of cherry tomatoes and I made 3 quarts of tomato sauce with them. That is a lot of cherry tomatoes! I freeze it so that makes 7 quarts so far. Not a huge amount, but we only have a couple of cherry tomato plants; DH's garden space is small.

I have a meeting tomorrow after school so the Crockpot will be coming out...glad the temperatures have cooled off...we eat soup even when it is hot, but it seems more seasonable when the weather is a little cooler.

Sometimes my title writing is a bit lame. Sorry about that.

This afternoon was gathering herbs and drying them. I found an article a couple of years ago on drying herbs in the microwave. We enjoy the herbs during the summer and I try to dry some for the winter. I like the fact I know what is going into my containers and it certainly saves me money.

No wicked stepmother here, of course, but after work I have been cleaning and washing, and doing laundry. Made me think of Cinderella!

The last few days have been crazy at work and by the time I get home I have been very tired. The schools buildings were extremely hot the first four days of this week and I write gleefully they cooled off today so it was bearable. Staff and students alike were grumpy most of the week because of their misery

DH went to Aldi today and we went to the other store for the few items he couldn't get. Between coupons and such, we spend less than $100 at both places, probably even less than $85 if I truly figured it. I have some ideas for menus for the weekend and next week. Nothing extraordinary, but we are fed and it is usually healthy. I think my menus are getting a little predictable so I need to change things up a bit.

Back to being Cindy...Instead of a ball, we are going to a chocolate tea tomorrow afternoon at a tea room. So, I don't think I need glass slippers and a fancy gown.

And fortunately, the carriage won't be turning into a pumpkin!

Rumor has it we are to get a cold front and the oppressive heat here in the Midwest may have a break. This week was horrendous with the heat and humidity. I think yesterday was the worse and it seemed to even hurt to breathe.

DH harvested some of his carrots and we had them as part of our supper. I cleaned them, boiled them in water until soft, then drained and coated with butter and honey. Yum! It was less than two hours from soil to table.

We had meatloaf last night as well. I baked it in a toaster oven which kept the kitchen from heating up. I made a bigger loaf so we have some for sandwiches this week.

We don't have big plans for Labor Day other than appreciating the day off and the fact DH had a good job before he retired and I have a good job. What are your Labor Day plans?

Today was a strange day. I had a meeting and not to bore you, let's just say I felt like I was ganged up on by some of the folks who are my peers because I do things differently than they. Basically, it was I needed to do things in the same manner. And in my humble opinion, I'm not sure they are doing accomplishing a whole lot. My boss did validate me and told me to keep doing what I was doing. As I sat in the meeting drinking my coffee from home, I noticed all those who brought stuff from fast food places. After our meeting, some were going to stop and buy lunch. Hmmm. These are the same folks who complain they don't have money before the next payday.

Supper was basically cleaning out the fridge frittata. I had leftover sausage patties, some leftover goat cheese, a lone small zucchini, part of a bell pepper, and a small onion. I sauted all (but the cheese) this together, then beat 4 eggs with a cup of Half and Half, cooked the egg and milk mixture with the vegetables, and then added the goat cheese and put it under the broiler for a couple of minutes. DH made toast, we had sliced tomatoes and called it a meal. DH loves eggs and I love using up stuff, so we were both happy.

A friend of mine at work said she was going home to water her plants and fix dinner. She commented she was very happy to be doing that and queried whether this was strange because she had no desire to do anything like shop or go out. I told her I thought it showed a person who found satisfaction in her life. What do you think?