5 Things I Did That Were Frugal This Week

1.  I did not go shopping :)

2.  I had a meal plan

3. We have not turned on the heat yet!  Woohoo for replacing the windows and a warmer house!

4. I earned enough points from Swag bucks for another gift card to use toward Christmas gifts.

5. Ad matched at walmart and used several coupons that I had for bogo free shampoo and conditioner

Old Buffet Project

Just so you all don't think all I do is cook and worry about food lol, here is a project my husband and I did over the summer.  We bought this old solid wood buffet off of Craigslist for $110.  Here is what it looked like originally.

I had decided I wanted to give the stained look on the top and painted look on the bottom of the buffet a try.  So I sanded the top down to bare wood and then just gave a rough sand to the rest of it.  I hate sanding!  But I soon discovered I hate staining even more then sanding!  My husband was then nice enough to buy me a paint sprayer to use with his air compressor to paint the rest of the buffet.  Actually after the staining the buffet sat in the garage for a long time and while I was gone to visit my sister in Arizona,  my husband very nicely painted the rest for me :)  When I got back he taught me to use the sprayer and I painted the back of the buffet doors and the drawers which are located behind the middle two doors. I also spray painted all of the old hardware oil rubbed bronze.  The top is stained Red Mahogany and the bottom is painted Queen Anne's Lace White from Lowe's,  Anyway, here is what the buffet looks like now!

As you can see it now houses our TV and all the accessories that go with it.  I love it and how it turned out!  It hides all our junk and makes the living room looks so much bigger without the giant entertainment center taking up that whole wall!

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Cheese Soup

A couple of people have asked for the recipe for the Cheese Soup I make.  So here it is :)

1 1/2 quarts water
4- chicken bouillon cubes
2 1/2 cups potatoes, uncooked and diced
1/2 a package (16 oz) frozen California Style Vegetables ( broccoli, cauliflower and carrots)
Butter
1 cup onion chopped
1 cup celery chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup ( I use my own "cream of" soup mix)
1 lb Velveeta Cheese, Chopped ( I use Kroger brand or Aldi brand)

Bring water to a boil.  Add the next 3 ingredients to water and boil for 8-10 minutes.  Saute onion and celery in a small amount of butter until tender ( honestly I am a lazy cook and never do this part) and add to boil vegetables.  Add soup and cheese.  Reduce heat, stirring occasionally until cheese is melted.  I usually then take out some of the potatoes and give them a little mash with the potato masher.  I think this helps to thicken the soup a bit.  But this is my own personal preference :)

That is all there is to it.  It is very easy and very good!

Whats For Dinner.......10/24 - 10/30

Monday - Leftover Cheese Soup ( I made this on Friday and then hardly anyone was home to eat it)

Tuesday- Foil Packets with Polish Sausage, Potatoes, Mushrooms, Green Pepper, Onion

Wednesday- Out to Dinner for me and Kid # 3 and 5 ( We are going to see Wicked!!) Leftovers for everyone else

Thursday - Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

Friday- Leftovers

Saturday - Pizza

Sunday -Crock pot Breakfast Casserole for "Sunday Family Brunch"

5 Things I Did That Were Frugal This Week

1.  My husband changed the oil in both our cars and in Kid # 3's truck.

2.  I took Kid # 3 to the credit union and taught her how to deposit her money.  We also discussed how much she should be putting in her savings and how to go about saving for her bills etc...( may not seem like a frugal thing to put here but I truely believe that we will be how she learns to manage her money)

3. Menu planned and cooked dinner at home

4.  Do to a mistake on my part with Kid # 5 lunch money, she doesn't have enough to last her until the end of the month.  Instead of giving her more money I just have made her a cold lunch to take more often.  This was a short week at school so she just took her lunch all 4 days.

5.  Made Kid # 5 homemade lunchables which she has been asking for to take in her lunch. 

Ravioli Chicken Casserole

Judy from We may be poor, but we are happy ( which is one of my favorite blogs by the way and if you haven't ever read it go there right now and check it out ) asked for this recipe.   So here it is Judy! 

I believe it came from the Taste of Home website but I am not 100% on that. 

1-package 24 oz frozen cheese ravioli, cooked and drained ( I do not cook mine.  I add mine to the pan frozen and cook it in the oven longer.  This saves me on prep time )

3 cups cubed cooked chicken ( I do not always add this.  Tonight I did not because I didn't have any and it is good without it)

6 medium fresh mushrooms, sliced ( I use canned)

1/3 cup chopped onion ( I usually leave this out)

1/2 cup chopped green pepper ( if I have this I add it but sometimes I don't)

1-jar  28 oz meatless spaghetti sauce ( we make our own and I like extra sauce so I used 5 - 8 oz can tomato sauce when my husband made the sauce)

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

In a greased 13 in x 9 in baking dish, layer the ravioli and chicken.  Top with mushrooms, green pepper, onion and spaghetti sauce.   Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  ( I bake mine for 1 hour since I to not precook my ravioli).  Uncover, sprinkle with cheese. ( I am a lazy cook so I put the cheese on before I cover it and bake it all together for 1 hour) Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

6 of us ate it tonight for dinner with a salad and we have at least enough for 2 or 3 lunches left :)

Tuesday Tip

I haven't done a Tuesday Tip in a while but thought I would share this one with you.  I got this tip from Pinterest!  Have you started pinning yet?  I am so addicted to that site lol.

Anyway, I took an old cloth napkin and soaked it in the last little bit of liquid fabric softner I had.  Hung it on the drying rack to dry.  I have been using it as a dryer sheet and throwing it with my clothes in the dryer.  So far so good!  I have used it over 20 times now and it is still going strong.  It says in the instructions I got from Pinterest that it should last at least 40 times.  I have been keeping track of course cause I want to see if it does lol :) 

Here is the pin,  Dryer Sheets, I got the idea from in case you want to pin it for yourself :)




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                                                                  Learning the Frugal Life