Cabbage Skillet

I posted in my menu plan that we were having Cabbage Skillet for dinner one evening this week. Lena commented asking what that was. I actually had thought I posted this recipe already but I guess not :(  So anyway here it is:

1 lb browned and drained hamburger 

1/2 a cabbage chopped ( I have used green cabbage and purple. Both are good)

1 can, drained Italian diced tomatoes or 1 can regular diced tomatoes drained plus Italian seasoning to taste. ( I have used both depending on what I have)

Salt and Pepper to taste.

Add all ingredients to skillet and cook until the cabbage is the texture you like :) 

Easy Peasey! 

5 Things I Did That Were Frugal This Week

1. Made the hubby and Kid # 5 some popsicles and pudding pops. My hubby says they are the best popsicles he has ever had :)

2. Went to the Habitat Resale store, bought supplies for a couple wedding presents I am making. Spent 86 cents!

3. Returned a book for a particle refund that my husband ended up not needing for school

4. Repurposed or ate all our leftovers

5. My co worker shared with me that I could receive a 18% discount through my cell phone carrier because I worked for the school district. This is better then the one we were already recieving through my husband's employer. I signed up. We are now getting 18% plus 3% for paperless billing. Every little bit helps!

Menu Plan August 25-29

Monday - Cabbage Skillet and Green Beans

Tuesday - Vegettini Zucchini Noodles w/ Garlic Butter Sauce and Salad

Wednesday - Quasidillas with Refried Beans

Thursday- Pizza Pasta Bake and Salad

Friday- Snack Night

I am trying to simplify my life a little bit since we are going on our second week back to school/ work. Menu planning is one of the very easiest ways for me to stay on budget and make meal times easier.

Looks like it should be a good week :)

5 ThingsI Did That Were Frugal This Week

1. Participated in a yard sale at my daughter in laws Mother's house. Made $85 yesterday and got rid of more clutter :)

2. We ate all our leftovers.

3. I combined my errands in order to save on gas

4. We set our air conditioning to 78 during the day and 79 while we sleep to help with our Ameren bill

5. I signed up for paperless billing with our cell phone service so that we will receive a 3% discount. That combined with the employee discount will save us $10 a month. Every little bit helps!

Just A Little Update

This week is our first week of school.  It is also my first week back to work for the school year.

 Boy the summer sure did fly right by. 

We accomplished many small projects, most of which I posted about in "5 Frugal Thing I Did Last Week". 

We also had our finished basement shower rebuilt and threw my parent in laws a 50th Anniversary Party complete with family pictures.  All of which we budgeted and paid cash for.  Go us!!

We have paid off over half of our car loan.  We are still on track to have it paid off by Dec/Jan.  I actually have a large chunk of money ear marked for the car loan in our savings account. It would empty the account though so I am not ready to do that. Now that I am back to work I will be building up the savings to $2000. Then paying the ear marked cash. That will leave us at just a little over $4000 to pay off between now and the end of the year. I think it is doable :)

I would not say this has been our most frugal summer ever but it has been much better compared to years past. 

5 Things I Did That Were Frugal This Week

1. I made these shirts for a cute one year old's birthday :)

  

2.  Was offered and gladly accepted a bunch of free produce from my sister and mom :)

3. I had $100 left in my $200 two week grocery budget!!

4. Found several seasons of a very popular television show at a yard sale for $2 each. These will become a Christmas gift. ( sorry can't tell you which show or for who the gift is for just in case the person reads this)

5. Ate all our leftovers. No food waste this week :)

5 Things I Did That Were Frugal This Week

1. I found Kid # 5 a messenger style zebra print ( which she is currently into at the moment) bag in great shape at a yard sale for $3.  Score on the book bag for school!

2. We ate at home everyday this week.

3. I made 2 loaves of banana bread, 1 Starbucks knock off lemon loaf and a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting ( kid # 4's birthday was this week )all from scratch this week using up items we already had.

4. We had a birthday party to attend for a cute 3 year old.  I made him a cape and a mask for about $8.  I had everything I needed for the mask but did have to buy the material for the cape.  The gift went over very well!

5. We got free movies at our local library.  We have been doing this once a week for a majority of the summer.  We also remembered to return them on time so we don't end up with late