I've taken a 4 month hiatus from planning menus and I couldn't be more frantic. Every night we have the same stressful hour where we pour over what we are going to prepare. I haven't cooked a lot of my favorite bean recipes in forever because these take at least 2 hours to make. It's not hard to leave a small pot of something sitting on the stove all afternoon, but it is hard to magically make them cook in 10 minutes when I am starving. This is why I'm glad I'm being "forced" to get my act back together. I can resurrect some of my favorite meals and maybe ad an ounce sanity to our chaotic house. Monday: Black Bean Soup - 1 can black beans, 1 can Keep Reading
Menu Plan Monday
Menu Plan Monday
Here's what's for dinner at our house this week. You may notice that my dishes look a little more involved and possibly not budget friendly as some, but I make it work by cooking most of the items from scratch AND I love to cook! I also get paid to cook for a friend who works full time, so some of the dishes are her choices. You might also notice that I don't eat beef. My husband, on the other hand, does. But I'm the cook, so I get to choose. My parents spoil him plenty when they come to town. Monday - Almond chicken (from the chicken e-book) with Veggie Rice* Tuesday - Pizza (homemade dough) with sausage (save 1/2 sausage for Saturday's Keep Reading
Frugal Living 101
photo credit Sunday night : Pull whole chicken fryer out of the freezer to thaw. Monday night : Roast chicken for dinner. Tuesday night : Use leftover chicken in a different recipe. Sounds super frugal, huh? Yep, as I was cleaning up Tuesday's dinner, I was feeling pretty proud of my thrifty little self. One chicken! Three bucks! Two recipes! Eight servings! Proud, that is, until I got ready to toss out the chicken carcass. I seriously stood in the middle of my kitchen holding that sad little skeleton over the garbage can as I debated its fate. I was torn. In my head, I knew making broth was easy and economical. You are probably thinking Keep Reading
Menu Plan Monday
We're bringing back the menu plan feature to Frugal Living NW. Each Monday, the four of us (and hopefully some of our readers!) will take turns sharing our weekly menu plans with you! I know, you can hardly contain your excitement. I, for one, love reading what other people are eating for dinner. I also like to watch what people are buying in the grocery store and try to figure out what they are going to make with it. I know, I am easily amused. For you normal folks out there, you may be thinking : "Seriously? Posting your dinner plans? That's just... strange." Remember, though, we are also the people who post pictures of our groceries. Couponers Keep Reading
10 stockpile stocking stuffers (for all you procrastinators out there!)
OK, I'm the queen of procrastinators, so this post is for me! If you're looking for a way to fill your kid's stockings with as little out-of-pocket as possible, just hit your stockpile closet (or bin or shelf)! Here's a list of 10 items you can grab from your couponing stockpile that can be used as stocking stuffers on Christmas morning. 1. School Supplies -- Do you have leftovers from your summer buying adventures? School supplies play the part of art supplies for younger children (crayons, glue sticks, watercolors, colored pencils). School aged children would also love for new school supplies to replace the used ones. 2. Band-Aids -- What kid Keep Reading
Christmas Gift Guide: Gifts for toddlers
Let me start off by being very clear: small children do not need Christmas gifts. It may be fun for the adults to buy and give them, but toddlers don't really need toys. If you can believe it, we have very few special toys for our 14-month old. He just plays with the other children. And my pencil cup (unsharpened, don't worry). And his blanket. And my keyboard. We did have tons of toys for our oldest and as time as gone on, and more people have been added to our home, we have largely cleared out the toddler paraphernalia. Please don't be fooled into thinking that a small toddler needs "educational" toys. Talk and read to your kid and they will Keep Reading
Christmas Gift Guide: Magazine subscriptions
Need a gift for the person who really has everything? Want to give a gift that is supposed to be thrown (or recycled) when they are finished with it? Give a magazine subscription! It's really the perfect gift: simple, personal, disposable and keeps giving throughout the year. To give the recipient something to open, buy a current issue at the store and wrap it up! Eversave is offering $26 worth of magazine subscriptions through Blue Dolphin Magazines for just $12 through tomorrow night (12/3). I bet you could cross two people off your Christmas list with the one Eversave voucher. Need some ideas? Here are some of our favorite Keep Reading