Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Want to up your frugal game? Join one of our challenges.
Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by Dgflorida »

What a frustration it must be to have a snow storm right now! I hope your chipped tooth stays quiet until January. You are in my thoughts.
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

Dgflorida wrote: Tue Dec 17, 2019 8:33 am What a frustration it must be to have a snow storm right now! I hope your chipped tooth stays quiet until January. You are in my thoughts.
Thanks Dg.
Janet Alliesmama
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

I made stuffed pepper soup today. While I was getting things out of the pantry I saw the can of nasty chicken and rice soup and had an idea. The soup is primarily rice and chicken broth and my recipe for stuffed pepper soup called for rice and chicken broth. I had frozen some chicken broth and thought I was thawing out 3 jars of it but after thawing realized one was looking slushy and it should not have been. It was crushed pineapple.lol I really need to try to mark things better when I put them in the freezer. I was going to use chicken bouillon cubes to make up for the loss of chicken broth but used the chicken and rice soup as my base. With the added ingredients it covered the taste of the nasty chicken and rice soup plus got rid of it. I used some of the green peppers that I bought this past summer while they were so cheap. They were already pre-chopped so they were easy to add to the mix. The recipe called for a pound of ground beef but I only used 1/4 lb and it was enough to satisfy me. A meat eater might feel the need but I am not that big of a meat eater. I had some of my cooked pears for dessert. I still have two small containers in my freezer.

I am going to buy some pork sausage on sale tomorrow and then I will feel I have enough things in my pantry, fridge, and fridge freezer to get me through the long stretch in Jan and Feb. I need to save as much as possible to pay my property taxes and dental procedures. After Feb things are looking good for saving more and getting some much needed home repairs started.
Janet Alliesmama
Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by Dgflorida »

Good luck.
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

I am still snowed in due to the snow on my driveway. I have walked to the mail box and it was ok but do not feel up to walking from the road to the house carrying groceries. We have higher temps in the 40's today and things are melting so should be able to get out tomorrow. Since I am getting out of debt I need to see if it is feasible for me to buy a snow blower next year and also put up a snow fence. Not sure how much a snow blower cost? It will not be at the top of the list of needed things next year.

My big challenge is trying to make food at home. I am not a good cook but can follow recipes. I do have a lot of food in the house to work with. However seems all of the food needs to be combined in recipes..lol. I made a small bowl of egg salad for lunch for tomorrow. Finished my tuna fish salad today with the last of the gluten free bread. I had cottage cheese and crushed pineapple for breakfast. I still have stuffed pepper soup for dinner but would like to make some muffins to go with it. Cooking from scratch generates soooo many dishes.Seems I spend most of my time in the kitchen cooking, cleaning up, eating and cleaning up, cooking etc.. I make the base for tuna noodle casserole for tomorrow. I will just need to add shredded cheese tomorrow and bake in the oven for about 15 to 20 min to melt the cheese. That should last me a couple of days eating it for lunch and dinner. Also made sugar free instant vanilla pudding ( .49 cents Big Lots) added a little bit of mint extract and a few sugar free mini chocolate chips and a dollop of generic cool whip. I love mint choc chip ice cream but it is too expensive. The vanilla pudding conversion satisfies my taste buds and is so easy to make and frugal.

I earned another $3.00 on a survey last night. My plan is to save the money and combine it with slush fund money and buy a rotisserie chicken for my birthday next month. The chicken cost $6.46. It will make for a nice celebratory meal for my 75th birthday. Yikes! How did I get this old...lol. Last year my aide and I went to a Chinese Buffet to celebrate my birthday. It was nice but I really do not need to spend that kind of money eating out. Right now my primary goal is to get my property taxes paid off by the first of Feb. The Chinese Buffet money can be better spent on food made at home.
Janet Alliesmama
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

Last night I decided to make keto sausage gravy. I wanted to have something warm for breakfast. I used the last package of cream cheese (.79 cents) the last roll of sausage (1.99) and half of my last onion. I love onion and it is hard to cook without it. I do have dehydrated onion that I use in soups and some cooked casseroles but need fresh for things like tuna fish salad. I also shredded the last little bit of fresh cheddar cheese for my tuna fish casserole. I made it yesterday but need to add cheese to it when I bake it today. I only had about 2 oz of cheese so opened a can of canned cheese from my emergency supply. I am not really fond of the cheese since it does not melt well and the taste is different than fresh cheese. It is made by Kraft for people that live in areas that do not have refrigeration. It does come in handy in a pinch but still prefer cheese that has been made fresh and allowed to age.

I have pinto beans that I cooked a while back thawing out and also ground chuck to make chili. I like to make it a day ahead to allow the chili to simmer all day. It makes for a tastier chili the next day. I will use the last half of onion in the chili and add some dehydrated onion as well.

Never did get around to making muffins but hopefully will today since I am all out of any kind of carbs like bread, muffins, or crackers.. Oh the horror of it all..lol. I am a certified carboholic and will go through withdrawal soon..
Janet Alliesmama
Post Reply