Eat From the Pantry Challenge Update - Week 1

This week's challenge to Eat from the Pantry went pretty good for us, mostly because I stayed out of the stores. I wanted to spend $30 this week and only went over by $8 if you don't count my husband getting us supper at Hungry Howie's last night. I had a bad sinus headache and the meat for the evening wasn't thawed. When he volunteered to "do" supper, I gladly accepted.

We will be having our moms over for supper tonight and I will have to spend another $5 this afternoon. All in all, I am very pleased with how the challenge went for us. It made me more cognizant of what I was spending knowing that I would have to be accountable for it today.

Dying Produce? Nearly Out of Date Leftovers? Use them NOW!

Do you have produce in the frig that is nearly dead? Maybe you have leftovers that have one more day before they need to be tossed. Go through your frig each day and find these things. Use them up NOW! They are already paid for and will only fill up the landfills if they go unused.

We have used this tactic this week. It has modified our menu plan somewhat but no drastically. We actually had dessert one evening because the strawberries that I bought a week or so ago were starting to mold. Not all of them, mind you. Just a few on top and in the middle. I threw the bad ones out (or to our chickens and they just loved them) and served the rest with whipped cream.

We grilled hamburgers today for lunch and the leftover burgers are going in the crockpot on Sunday with some gravy to make hamburger steaks. I'll add a few side dishes and Sunday lunch will be a snap.

Think of all the ways you may be able to use up some of those dying, decaying, nearly rotten things in your frig. We all have them so save a little money this week and use them up. Your budget and the trash guy will thank you.

One Bag and 5 Dinners from Kraft Foods

If you are in a money crunch and/or menu planning crunch, try the 1 Bag 5 Dinners at Kraft Foods. There are 4 choices of types of dinners: Chicken and Beef, Chicken and Pork, Chicken and Seafood, and Healthy Living.

Once you choose which types of dinners you want, then you have several samples within that choice. Five dinners are included with recipes and a shopping list for Monday - Friday. Everything that you need should fill one grocery bag.

We've used this before and most of the meals are good. Best of all, the service is free and you know that when you leave the store you have everything you need to cook for the week. If you're in a money crunch, try to pick dinners that include things you already have on hand.

I am going to use this site for my next week's menu planning. Check out their site and then back here on Sunday to see what we'll be eating this week.

You Might Be A Redneck If...

you use ratchet straps to make a clothesline.

As I mentioned in another post, we had quite a bit of illness in my family over the past few weeks so this past weekend all of the bed linens needed to be washed. All at one time. I couldn't fathom using the dryer (and all that electricity) for some much laundry and that's where my dear hubby came to the rescue. We strung up a couple of ratchet straps and got all the laundry done. Of course, all of the neighbors are jealous! LOL!!

I know this doesn't have anything to do with saving money at the grocery store, but we are being frugal and trying to do what we can to save money.

Until next time!

Share Your Frugal Links

In today's economic climate, lots of families are looking for ideas to save money. If you have a blog post that has frugal ideas that other families might enjoy, please let us know. Post them below. This is my first attempt with the Mister Linky so hopefully it will work correctly. If your entire blog is based on frugal ideas, you are welcome to give the blog address instead of a single post. If your blog just has a post here and there on frugal ideas, just post the blog entry with those ideas. NO ADULT CONTENT, PLEASE!!