June 2023 Frugal Chatter

[lilo0003]

It’s another windy day so no paddling for me. I was up early take DS to work. Then I may cut the grass. Monday is a busy day as I have a client meeting in an another city so I will be gone at 7 and not home until 5 so DH is on dinner duty.
Tonight we are going out for dinner. It’s one of DS1 favourites, he is the foodie so this is his language of love. He and his dad are have dinner Friday night in Quebec City.
Off to do some laundry. My life is exciting.

[harbie]

Good morning all.

Since I caught up on most of the laundry yesterday all I have left to do is vacuum and light dusting.

Dh and I have been biking every day since we got them and loving it. 6.5km riding them home from the store (Wednesday), 7km after work Thursday, 7km Friday after work and 15km yesterday. Going for another ride sometime today but after the sun cools down.

Finalizing my grocery list and going shopping Monday first thing in the morning. I am in LOVE with early morning shopping. It’s always been my favourite when you are one of the first customers in the store. It’s cleaner, and quieter. Ahhhhhhhh I love it.

We went to the bank this morning to deposit my cheques including my $14.69 from Rakuten. Woo hoo! We grabbed 2 free coffees at Mc D and came home to make breakfast wraps.

Hoping everyone has a great weekend.

[SassyAshley]

Most of my prep is done, just need to do some produce prep.

We had some blueberries that needed to be used up but I was not feeling Muffins which is my go-to. So Instead I made a Crustless Blueberry Pie.

I needed to use up some Sweet Potatoes so I made Savoury Roasted Sweet Potatoes. I love Sweet Potatoes but I do not like to make them more sweet so I am always looking for savoury options. My plan is to use these as a side dish during the week, I will toss them in the Air Fryer to reheat them but I did try them and they are so good. But I feel like you can never go wrong when you combine Italian Seasoning and Parmesan Cheese.

We had some Gnocchi in the freezer, it was a shelf-stable package we opened but did not use the whole package. I found a recipe for Creamy Pesto Gnocchi, so I made this for my lunches this week. I saved some Chicken from last night's dinner and added it since it is going to be my lunch so want that protein to keep me full. OH MY GOSH, I tried it to check the seasonings and I literally could have just stood there with a fork and ate it out of the pan.

Cookie Dough Overnight Oats have been made for Breakfasts and Peanut Butter Dip has been made to have with some Apples or Celery.

I have not missed meals with how insane things have been at work but I haven't been having snacks which is leading to me eating more at meals because I am starving so I need to focus on my snacks.

Now I just need to prep some veggies and we should be good to go for the week. Also need to clean out the fridge, should not really be anything to throw out and then I will take out the garbage.

[SassyAshley]

Ok, prep is officially done but hoping I will need to cut up more produce as the week goes on.

We decided on Homemade Pizza for dinner and Mom needed to make more pizza sauce, well she was doing that she also made a batch of Copycat Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce as we were out.

I am a little bit disappointed, I have been buying the mini cucumbers for snacking, I will literally walk around the office snacking on cucumbers. But this last package is super bitter. I tried cutting them up and putting them in some apple cider vinegar, salt & sugar but they are still bitter. Think I will let them sit in the fridge overnight and see if that helps.

Feels like we are starting to get back on track with dinners, now I just need to keep going well working. I think I have set up for success this week as long as nothing too weird or wonderful pops up. I know for sure I am going to have one late night and already have a plan for that night.

Time to set myself up for the week to come, write my to-do list for work and make sure everything is ready to hit the ground running tomorrow.

[Frugalbigmama]

Good Morning! A cloudy hazy start to the day but no rain expected so hopefully another nice day will happen.

Finally gave the dog a bath yesterday. Will continue grooming her today. She needs her back end done lol.

Yesterday I roamed around RCSS and found a deal on Heinz Ketchup. 2.84 L cans for $2.84 (Expire July 2024) So grabbed 3.
Told my friend and they went to get some too. The also had Mr Big chocolate bars for .24 cents each. (Sept expiry date) Put a bunch in the fridge and brought some over to my friend for them to enjoy.

Went out for a late lunch with my friend at the town dock and then we went to a few garden centres. Then later in the afternoon after picking up DS at work and dropping him off at home I went to my friends house for a few hours to sip coffee and chit chat. Was a beautiful day!

Since I had a late lunch, dinner was fend for yourself since everyone was in and out on the weekend. I made a garlic bread with cheese and felt full after a piece and put the rest in the fridge and see that someone claimed them. The steak that was taken out of the freezer yesterday will be dinner tonight. I will chop up all the veggies this morning and get them ready in tinfoil for the BBQ later.

Today's plan- Work. Finish up laundry. Clean out the fridge and prep the blueberries/strawberries/cumcumbers/lettuce etc.
Pop in RCSS for feta (I meant to grab yesterday but forgot!) With all the romaine we have Greek salad is on the lunch menu this week!

Have a wonderful day!

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
A work from home day today which was a good thing. I slept last night but this morning, oh my gosh I was not feeling my best so I slept right until I had to start work. Feeling better now so must have just needed some extra sleep.

I swear some silent message goes out to our staff when I have a work-from-home today because the requests are constant today, plus printing keeps going down so it has been a fun day. But in all seriousness, my to-do list for work is next level today.

Need to empty the dishwasher and do some hand dishes. I did not do the dishes after dinner last night. Just need to wash the Bread Machine pan and cookie sheet we made the pizza on.

Need to figure out dinner for tonight, we have some cooked rice in the fridge we need to use up so thinking we should have something with rice. Thinking maybe Baked Lemon Chicken with Rice and Veggies. I have Mushrooms and Peppers I can add to the rice and then I have both Broccoli and Asparagus I can serve on the side.

Happy Monday Everyone

[Frugalbigmama]

Kitchen duties done and clean! Dinner prepped.
We have lots of fresh veggies and fruit to last the next few days but will pop out Wed night for more asparagus and strawberries/blueberries since they are great prices.

Popped the shower liner in the washer. Have a new fabric curtain I am putting up once that is clean. Cleaning the shower/tub before I put it back up.
Went through all the shampoo bottles and tossed a bunch in recycling and put bottles of stuff from under the sink that need to be used up in there before bringing new stuff out. Mission to use stuff up!

Have a box of empties to return today. Put them in my vehicle so I have them when passing by in my travels this week.

Ok now I am going to clean out the freezer in the house and see what the meal plan is this week using stuff up!

[harbie]

Lots of busy beavers this morning already . Love it.

Mornings have grown to be my favourite part of the day. All those years of getting up early for Harley’s diabetic care have changed my perspective on early mornings and I now love them

Dh work clothes are in the wash ( last load ) , garden is watered but I still need to pick lots of lettuce , radishes and dill for dinner tonight, recycling and food waste have been taken down, dishwasher filled and running now time for oatmeal and tea.

We went to hand wash the car yesterday and it was FILTHY! White cars for you . Then we walked to pickleball before heading out for a few fresh groceries. Saved $62.03 with sale prices . Prices are scary. Oh well, you gotta eat.

Made black bean, Tex mex soy curl burritos with corn and salad when we got home. Approx $12 total which makes 8 burritos so $1.50 each and they were super filling.

Getting ready for a morning ride unless Dh takes too long getting ready. I’m not riding in the direct sun and heat. We do have to swing by Costco for some work supplies but other than that it’s a relaxing day before getting back to work tomorrow.

Have a great Monday everyone and stay cool

[SassyAshley]

@harbie , what is soy curl? I have seen you mention them before, I looked them up and they kind of look like french fries made of soy to me but I could be missing something as a non-vegan.

[coupon girl]

This morning i popped over to sobeys .The new prescription i am on is making me a bit lathargic and a few other symptoms .

I saved 10% as i spent over 75 also got catelli pasta for .88 limit 8 as they ran out of compliments so happy ,some stores never substitute any saved 9.00 coupons.Got reduced burgers popped into freezer reduced body wash 3.00 each .

Kinda want to relax a bit today as we were busy on weekend .I will pull a few weeds in my front garden .

[Frugalbigmama]

Just took DS to CT and Rona. He needed an air filter and spark plug for our lawnmower. Its working great now.
I like him tinkering on stuff like this in the garage and he enjoys it.
Now he can cut the grass

[Frugalbigmama]

Dinner done and the kitchen is clean.
We had Chicken breasts on the bbq, roasted veggies (asparagus, onions, peppers and mushrooms) and perogies.
Work lunches made. (I made a pot of rice while dinner was cooking.

[lilo0003]

DH is off on Mondays now so he hung two loads of laundry on the line. He also made dinner of salad and burgers. Tomorrow I am doing as peameal roast and then ds1 will do fried rice on Wednesday. He is almost packed and ready to go. It will be quiet not having him at home and I am sure my grocery bill will go down.
I get mileage when I drive to client meetings so that will be a nice boost as it was almost 200km round trip. But it made for a long day. So I zonked out on the couch for 30 minutes tonight which is going to make falling asleep harder.

[harbie]

@harbie, what is soy curl? I have seen you mention them before, I looked them up and they kind of look like french fries made of soy to me but I could be missing something as a non-vegan.

They are a minimally processed “ meat like substitute “ using soy beans that are boiled. You just add water and rehydrate for 10 min and then they are ready to eat but I don’t know anyone that just does that. I crisp them up in a pan and add whatever flavour you want. They mimic the texture and taste of chicken or beef. Great source of protein, high in fibre and other vitamins/ minerals.

I rehydrate mine in a no chicken chicken base to add more flavour.

[Frugalbigmama]

Good Morning! A cooler morning to start the day.

Packed my breakfast and lunch for the office-
Breakfast- Cream of wheat with almond milk and fresh blueberries
Lunch- Chicken, veggies and rice.

Off to get this work day out of the way