Frugal Friday!

Gourmet pizza on a budget!

One of the things that Matt got me for Mother's Day, was a gift card for Half-Priced Books.  We love this bookstore and it's fun to peruse through the gently-used books, dvds, and magazines for a fraction of the price as new.  I went there 2 weeks ago to spend my gift card and was able to get 2 movies, 3 books, 3 Real Simple magazines, and still had money left over.  While looking though one of the Real Simple magazines, I came across a way to make gourmet pizza on a budget.  (October 2011)

This peaked my interest because every friday night, we have "family pizza and movie night" where we get a pizza, rent a redbox or borrow a library dvd and pop popcorn.  Warrick loves this tradition and usually starting wednesday of each week he'll start asking "is tonight family pizza movie night?"  We usually get a take-and-bake pizza from Papa Murphy's but every once in a while I'll make a pizza instead.  So when I saw this article I was excited to try something new.

The article had a couple different recipes.  This is the one I used.

Begin with a frozen cheese pizza (I got a Jack's pizza at Kroger for $2.99)
In a bowl, toss 1 1/2 cups of broccoli florets (I had frozen broccoli in the freezer) together with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tsp each salt and pepper.  Scatter over the frozen pizza.  Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of crumbled goat cheese and bake according to the package directions.  I went to the store to buy goat cheese, which I had never purchased before.  I realized it might be a little more expensive than normal cheese, but it was a lot more than I thought.  I bought a very small amount and it was $4.76 because it was $13.99 lb!  But even with the expensive cheese, I spent a little less than $9 making this which is still less than any gourmet pizza or delivery!

Operation Organization!

Today at the Robinson house is Operation Organization!  I have enlisted my 2 favorite helpers to assist, although I'm not sure the word "assist" can do it justice.

As I was oranizing closets throughout the house, I found my magazine page "inspirations" that I saw in Real Simple and Martha Stewart Living magazines.  I've kept these inspiration photos for years with the mindset that I would achieve these organziational skills sometime in my life.  They made me laugh because now that I see it, it seems so unrealistic... for me at least.

here are the magazine pages:

 pantry

 laundry room

Here's the best I've got:

                                                                pantry organized

 

Matt added a second row of shelving so I could better organize Tynnley's closet

 

And finally... our closet.  This was a complete disaster since we moved, so I've worked on getting this organized today.  

I know these closets won't stay this way for long, but I have better things to do with my time... like spending it with these two :)

And I realized... Martha doesn't have kids or a husband so she has time for her pantry to look amazing and have no one touch it.  And I'm not envious of that life.  I'll take my disheveled and disoraganized life over Martha's any day.

Frugal Friday!

About once a month I make a whole chicken in the crockpot.  This is a great money saver because I can usually find a whole chicken for around $4 at walmart.  We can get 2 meals out of a whole chicken.  This time, I'm planning to make chicken noodles and chicken tacos.

6 months ago, I came across a blog where a lady made chicken broth so I tried it and LOVED the results!  I want to share it with you because it's fun and a money saver!  I took this recipe from http://thehappyhousewife.com/cooking/whole-chicken-in-a-crock-pot/

First, Rinse the chicken and place it in a crock pot that has been sprayed with non-stick.  There is no need to put any liquid in the pot, just the chicken.  I usually sprinkle the chicken with pepper and paprika.

 isn't she pretty?  :)

Second, place the lid on the crock pot, set on low for 8 hours.  After the chicken has sat and cooled for a bit, I remove all the meat from the bones and shred it.

Do not throw away the liquid in the crock pot.

Third, put the bones back in the crock pot and add about five cups of water.  Set the crock pot on the low setting and cover. Let it cook overnight or 10 hours.  Strain out the bones and you have homemade chicken broth for free!  Not only is it free, it is free from all the preservatives, salt, and other junk you find in some of the store bought chicken broth.

Then put the broth in a container in the fridge to cool.  When the broth has totally cooled a layer of fat will be on the top.  Scrape the fat off with a spoon and the broth is ready to be used or can be stored for up to six months in the freezer.  I got about 50 ounces of broth from one chicken.

Now any time I am in need of chicken broth I have it handy for free!

Recipes I used and cost:

Chicken $7.26   I saw a whole chicken at walmart for $3.82 but decided to go organic for a couple dollars more since I would get 2 meals and chicken broth out of it.

Chicken and Noodles

48 oz of chicken broth  FREE (had it in the freezer from the last time I made a whole chicken)
served over mashed potatoes (2 large potatoes)  $1.76
can of green beans $0.67
1/2 of shredded chicken  (or you could use10 oz can chicken, drained)
1/2 stick butter
1/2 yellow onion, diced  (had this on hand, but I usually buy a bag of frozen diced onion for $1.50)
garlic powder to taste
12 oz package of extra wide egg noodles, uncooked $1.78

In large pot, combine broth, chicken, butter, onion and seasonings, simmer over medium heat for 10 min or until onion is tender.  Increase heat to boiling, add noodles and cook for 15 to 20 min or until noodles are tender.

  success!  

Chicken tacos:

1/2 of shredded chicken
packet of taco seasoning ($.034 at walmart)
taco shells ($1.12 at walmart)
served with lettuce, sour cream, tomato  ($3ish)

2 meals for under $20... and even closer to $15 if you don't go organic!!!

Frugal Friday!

The past several Friday mornings, I've been garage saling with my friend Tamera.  I've gotten so many great deals!

But the thing I'm most excited about recently is decorating the kids bathroom in our new home all for $19!  I got an entire bathroom set... shower curtain with coordinating hooks, soap dish, toothbrush holder, hand towel, and 3 pictures.  My mom helped me paint, and I love the way it turned out!

Skin Cancer Shenanigans

I was washing my face before bed one night and I again noticed this pesky scaly spot on my forehead.  It's been an annoyance for a long time, but I figured I'm a healthy 30 year old so I didn't think much about it.  As I was washing my face, I decided to scrub it off and it began to bleed.  This didn't seem like a good sign.  So I went to webmd to see if I could find out how to rid my face annoyance.

When I typed up the description, a slide-show of skin cancers came up.  I browsed through the slide-show and saw an exact image of what  was on my face.  I didn't read much after the word "cancer".  It really freaked me out.  I quickly logged on to facebook and began looking at pictures of me throughout the years.  I noticed the spot on my face in a picture that was taken over 3 years ago.  And it could have been there much longer than that.  Which means I could have developed a form of skin cancer as early as 27!!!!  This seems absurd to me since I was always the one liberally applying sunblock and hiding from the sun while my friends in high school would lay out at the pool.  I was even called "casper" a few times in high school for being so white.  

But when I thought about it, I never really put much sunscreen on my face... when I was little my mom always put it on me.  But in high school, college, adulthood I never wanted to "ruin" my makeup by putting on sunscreen.  And I didn't pay much attention if my foundation had spf in it.

I made an appointment with a dermatologist for the following Monday and since Matt was going to be out of town at a conference, I asked a friend to join me.  The dematologist told me that it looked like "basal cell carcinoma" and he said "this is the best cancer to have because it's non life-threating and doesn't metastasize".  WebMD says that this kind of cancer is the most common and accounts for more than 90% of all skin cancer in the U.S. and usually appears after age 50.

The dermatologist numbed my forehead and removed the spot of skin.  He said that he'd send it to the lab and we should get results in a couple of days.  A few days later he called me to confirm that it was in fact "basal cell" but the biopsy showed that he didn't remove it all.  To be safe, there has to be 1 layer of "clean" skin all the way around the removed skin.  So he said that he would be forwarding my information to a doctor who would perform surgery in order to get the rest of the basal cell removed.  He said the good thing about the procedure is that they remove some skin, and can test it immediately and get results.  If the biopsy comes back "unclean" then they repeat the procedure until the skin is cancer-free.

After a 2-week wait, I had the procedure.  I went in at 12:30 and the procedure took less than 15 minutes!  Then I had to wait in the waiting room until the biopsy came back, which took about 40 minutes.  I had been praying that I would only have to have the procedure once-that they would get it all the first time around.  But after 40 minutes the nurse called me back again and said that they would have to do the procedure again.  This time the whole procedure took 5 minutes since my forehead was still numb.  I then went back to the waiting room to wait some more.  I didn't mind the waiting because my wonderful husband came with me and even got me a couple of magazines.  Thanks babe!!!   After an hour, the nurse called me back into the room and said that the biopsy showed that they got it all! The doctor came in to stitch me up and then I was able to leave.

What I have learned over the past several weeks:
1.  I need to take better care of myself.  I definately don't exercise like I should and I read that exercsing lessens cancer because your skin is nourished by your blood supply and exercise helps purify your blood.  Exercising oxygenates and helps your blood build new, stronger and healthier cells.

2. Looks aren't important... although this is coming from a chick with a scar on her forehead and 1/2 of a missing eyebrow, so take it for what it's worth :)

3.  God is continually teaching me patience... patience with my children, patience waiting on a house, patience with the healing process.  I hate every minute of learning patience, but I know one day it will pay off if I am willing to let it.  I'm so glad to serve a God who is patient with me and I want to be just like Him!

Now I'm on to the good part... healing!  I'm going to post some post-surgery pictures.  So, if you have a weak stomach PLEASE do not scroll down and look at the pictures I'm posting.  I think it's cool how God designed our bodies to heal.

 day 1

 day 3

 day 6

 day 15

What a difference 15 days makes!!!  

Thanks for reading and don't forget to wear your sunblock! :)

Frugal Friday!

Frugal Friday!


I haven't paid for toothpaste or deodorant in almost 2 years.  Not because I don't use these items, but because I usually can find great deals.  :) 

I frequently find $0.50 off colgate or crest toothpaste coupons in the weekend paper.  The Kroger here doubles coupons up to $1 and frequently has colgate or crest on sale for 10 for 10 making it free!!! 

Whenever I find this deal, I buy as many as I have a coupon for so that I'll have enough to last until another good sale comes around.  The sale is for the smaller toothpaste (4oz) so we go through it faster, but who cares because it's free! 

The same applies to deodorant... occasionally, Kroger will have the smaller deodorants on sale10 for 10 (usually speed stick or dove).  The last time this sale was going on, I had a $0.50 off coupon which Kroger doubled to $1 making it free!  

CVS also has good deals every once in a while where toothpaste or deodorant will be $2.99 with a $2.99 extracare bucks to use at the store, also making it free!  Shop smart, look for deals, and never pay for toothpaste or deodorant again!

Frugal Friday

Has anyone ever seen the show "The Chew"?  It's a cooking show that I catch every once in a while on ABC.  I had it on in the background the other day while I cleaned and the kids napped.  I jolted when I heard one of the hosts say that a family of 4 on food stamps receives $124 a week for food.  I'm not repeating this because I'm against government assistance, I'm repeating this because $124 is double what I spend on groceries in any given week... and that almost always includes a pack of diapers!  So, I decided to start "Frugal Friday" for low-cost ideas, meals, etc.

Today's frugal friday features a meal that I found on pinterest for a great pork chop crock-pot meal.
Here are the ingredients and what I paid for them:

6 small pork chops $0.97  (sounds crazy, right?  They were nearing the "sell-by" date and Kroger needed to get rid of them and I was happy to take them!)
1 packet of ranch dry seasoning mix (I bought the generic) $0.79
1 can cream of chicken  (I bought the generic) $0.99
1 can of water

add all of these ingredients to the crockpot and cook on low for 6 hours.

I also made 3 servings of brown rice ($0.60) and cooked a bag of frozen broccoli ($1).
This whole meal cost $4.35, fed our family, was super easy, and we had leftovers.  What more could you ask for?!
I know what you're thinking "I could never find a great deal like that on meat".  I believe you can because I find great meat deals often and when I do I try to stock up.  $0.97 was definately the cheapest I've ever gotten pork.  But I can find it alot for $3... which still makes this meal a little over $7 and still a great bargain!

Thanks for reading, I hope you've enjoyed frugal friday!