The Frugal Home » Holidays

A 2012 New Year’s Day Menu and Well-Wishes

The Frugal Home — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:59:05 +0000

Happy New Year from The Frugal Home! We hope that 2012 is a great year for you and everyone you love!

I have decided to start a tradition in our home this year, a tradition that is already in many homes. I will be making black-eyed peas (Hoppin’ John) this year to celebrate the New Year! My mom often makes black-eyed peas but since my husband doesn’t like them I have never made them before. This year he will just have to eat them anyway! Besides, you can’t get a much more frugal side dish!

Pork and cabbage are also supposed to be good luck so I’m debating making some gluten free pork egg rolls for lunch and then freezing the rest.

Here is our New Year’s Day Menu (please no one mention diets until Monday!):

Breakfast

Udi’s Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls (Expensive but I’ve decided this is a new New Year’s Day tradition as well!)

Lunch

Gluten Free Pork Egg Rolls (really spring rolls)

Dinner

Gluten and Dairy Free Chicken Fried Steak

Dairy Free Mashed Potatoes

Hoppin’ John Black Eyed Peas

Gluten Free Corn Bread

Have a Frugal New Year’s Eve

The Frugal Home — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 16:26:19 +0000

We used to spend New Year’s Eve at parties with friends, drinking and snacking to our heart’s content. Then we got older and now we’re lucky to make it until midnight!

We do still try to celebrate New Year’s Eve and we enjoy that we no longer spend hundreds of dollars on just one evening.

A frugal New Year’s Eve isn’t that difficult and can be a great deal of fun whether you just spend time with your family or you have a group of friends and loved ones over!

This year our frugal New Year’s Eve is going to be pretty basic. We are walking a 5K in the afternoon and going to eat gluten free pizza with friends afterwards. My husband and I will probably then share a bottle of cheap wine (Oak Leaf at Walmart, $2.77), celebrate midnight at eleven o’clock with the East Coast and go to bed! After the craziness of the holidays we are really looking forward to it.

In previous years we have had potluck New Year’s Eve appetizers where everyone brought cheap appetizers such as Taco Layer Dip or Pigs in a Blanket or even just some Chips and Salsa.

Another great frugal New Year’s Eve appetizer is one I actually made for Christmas this year. I took it from this recipe on Eating Well and frugaled it up!

1 lb deli roast beef – sliced only thin but not too thin, you want to easily be able to wrap them up.

1 green bell pepper – sliced into thin strips

1 red bell pepper – sliced into thin strips

Bread and Butter pickles sliced into thin strips

Cream cheese (I used dairy free)

garlic

onion powder

Mix garlic and onion powder in the cream cheese, to taste. Spread cream cheese on slice of roast beef. Place one or two strips each of the peppers and pickles on top of the roast beef and roll up! Super easy and they taste great!

For free entertainment in previous years we have sat around, talked and listened to music, played games on the Wii, and played board games. I may just challenge my husband to a game of Battleship this New Year’s Eve!

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What do you do for a frugal New Year’s Eve?

Photo By : Agnie

After Christmas Shopping and Sales

The Frugal Home — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 21:57:02 +0000

You may think you are done with all the shopping but the sales after the holidays can be the best time of year to make purchases!

You can save hundreds of dollars just by shopping after the holidays as opposed to before. This is the time to stock up on items you will need for next Christmas as well as items that can be used throughout the year for other holidays and events.

Here are the items I pick up in after Christmas sales:

Wrapping Paper – Buy solids that can be used for birthdays and other events throughout the year.

Gift Bags

Gift Card Holders

Ornaments

Tape

Clothing

Games

Holiday Decor

Chocolate and Candy

What do you buy after the holidays?

Photo By:Jay Lopez

Turkey Leftovers (A really late Thanksgiving or early Christmas post)

The Frugal Home — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 21:35:25 +0000

I really wanted to share what I did with my Thanksgiving leftovers right after Thanksgiving but considering tomorrow is Christmas I guess I’m a bit late. Just a bit though!

The Frugal Home wishes you a very Happy Holiday and hopes that you enjoy your leftovers as much as you enjoy the main meal! Wishing you a very happy and frugal weekend!

Here are the recipes I made this year with the leftovers from Thanksgiving :

Turkey and Rice Soup – I’ll need to look this recipe up and add it layer, I don’t think I got a picture yet either!

Turkey Leftovers from prior years:

Thanksgiving Turkey Leftovers

Moo Shu Turkey Tostadas

Thanksgiving Personal Layer Pie

Turkey Noodle Soup

Turkey Burgers – Turkey Leftovers

The Frugal Home — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 21:22:04 +0000

These were great and they taste so much better than they look! You’ll have to excuse the image, I have to get a better camera app on my phone! Who would have thought that leftover turkey and leftover Thanksgiving dressing could make something so good?

Frugal Tips for Turkey Burgers with Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey

This may be my new favorite way to use up leftover turkey. I’m sure it would work for chicken as well but I don’t know if it would have as much flavor. These freeze well too.

Turkey Burgers

Gather It Up!

Leftover Turkey

Leftover Dressing or Stuffing

Onions

Cook It Up!

Grind the turkey up in a food grinder if you have one, I just used my blender. Mix the onions and turkey with the leftover dressing and form into patties. Fry in a little bit of oil or bake in the oven.

Serve It Up!

I’m sure these would be great on a bun but I just wrapped mine in a lettuce leaf.

For More Recipes:

2 Month Meal Plan
Cheap Healthy Recipes
Great Breakfast Recipes
Frugal Lunch Recipes
Cheap Dinner Recipes
Leftovers Recipes
Frugal Soup Recipes
Frugal Sides, Snacks and Appetizers

Unique Frugal Christmas Gifts Under $25

The Frugal Home — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 21:19:01 +0000

Frugal Christmas gifts are even better when you are giving a unique gift that will surprise those opening your presents! Here are some great gifts under $25!

Betta Fish – This is a unique and fun gift to give! Purchase a large glass globe, rocks, a vine, a jar of food and a betta fish for a great gift that will keep on giving. Just make sure that you are giving it to someone who will take care of it!

Personalized gifts – Skip the monogrammed hand towels and go for the personalized Monopoly game.

Give a tree or potted herbed plants – This is a great gift for the eco-conscious and herbs are often easy to take care of.

Foods for those with food allergies – Allergy free foods are often very expensive and those on a budget may not be able to splurge on foods they can eat. Put together a gift basket full of their favorite allergy free foods. I have been given gluten free pizza crust, noodles, and brownies along with Dairy free sour cream and cream cheese. As these items are expensive, I will often just do without them so getting them as a gift was a pure pleasure!

Unique cook books – Instead of getting a general cook book go for one that is ingredient specific such as a cookbook all about bacon or cooking with Spam! Another option is to pick up old cookbooks at flea markets and give them as a retro gift.

Flea markets and Etsy – Etsy is a great website to find frugal and unique Christmas gifts and you may be surprised at what you can find at a flea market or antique mall. One of my favorite gifts of all time was an antique platter that my Mom got me for Christmas one year.

Save money and give great gifts! What frugal gifts are you giving this year?

Having a Frugal Holiday : Save Money this Season!

The Frugal Home — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:08:09 +0000

Here at The Frugal Home we have already been celebrating the holidays. The last two weekends have been spent with family and we still have this weekend to go! While we love spending time with our families, I have a feeling that we will be more than ready to start the New Year after so much festivity this season.

Check out these great articles to save money at Christmas and throughout the holiday season!

Frugal Christmas Gifts

Cheap Christmas Gifts to Purchase

Frugal Christmas Gifts You Can Make

Christmas Gifts Under $10

Frugal Christmas Trees – Cheap Ornaments

Frugal Christmas Tree

More frugal holiday articles below! While these articles may not help you this year, they can next year!

Create a Gift Budget

Start Saving For Christmas in January

The Frugal Home Ebook Now On Sale! Only $2.99!

The Frugal Home — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 13:53:13 +0000

I am so excited to share the Frugal Home with all of you in a Kindle book! I spent a great deal of time compiling the best tips and advice from my years of frugal living and writing this website. For only $2.99 you can get all of the best frugal home tips and advice all in one book!

The Frugal Home book has frugal tips on beauty and bath, budgeting, cleaning, debt, decorating, entertainment, food, grocery shopping, health care, holidays and events, children, environmental tips, remodeling, home and yard work, and weddings.

Hope that you enjoy your read! Click the link to get the book!

The Frugal Home Ebook

Frugal Thanksgiving Table Settings and Decorations

The Frugal Home — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 20:36:34 +0000

We always have Thanksgiving at our home but we alternate each year; one year is my family and the next is my husband’s. This works great for us as we get to spend quality time with each family and it allows our siblings to spend the Thanksgivings they are not at our house with their spouse’s family.

Setting the table is one of my favorite Thanksgiving activities. I have spent many years gathering my Thanksgiving dishes and decor through flea markets, antique malls, and heirlooms from various family members. Shopping each year has helps me create a beautiful table each year on a budget and because we have a different guest list each year this gives me a great chance to pick and choose which of my Thanksgiving items I will use that year.

Here is our Thanksgiving table setting with decor for this year :

I alternated my yellow wheat leaf plates with my white, silver trimmed plates.

Each of these plates has one of two variations of some beautiful brown and white plates I got a few years ago. The boxes are my Thanksgiving favors for this year and are filled with chocolate (I just wish they were clear or a fall color instead of Christmas themed!)

Each year I try to buy something new for my table. Previously I haven’t picked up something as simple as a small plate for 25 cents (the sugar bowl in this picture was inherited from my grandmother).

This year I got a beautiful glass decanter and glassware set for $9 at a local antique mall.

I used some silver plates from my mother-in-law and my grandmother to display the glassware as well as some Thanksgiving decor that I picked up on sale after the holiday a few years ago.

What do you do to create your frugal Thanksgiving table?

Thanksgiving : Frugal Tips and Advice on Reducing Holiday Stress

The Frugal Home — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 02:13:34 +0000

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays and I often spend a couple months planning for it. This year though I’m a bit behind, Thanksgiving is next week and all I’ve done is freeze some dressing. And I decided that my special recipe for the year is a vanilla honey butter. That leaves, oh, just about everything else to do, including making that butter.

In case you are in the same spot I am in and need to quickly catch up on your Thanksgiving planning, here are some tips and advice to get you ready for the Big Meal come next Thursday.

Thanksgiving : Frugal Tips and Stress Reducers

Frugal Thanksgiving Menu

Tips to Keep the Stress Out of Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving Planning Part I

Thanksgiving Planning Part II : Share the Work

Thanksgiving Planning Part III : Timing

Thanksgiving Planning Part IV : Make it Special

Thanksgiving Gifts for Your Guests

Thanksgiving Recipes and Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes

Thanksgiving Layer Personal Pie

Dairy Free Green Bean Casserole

Chicken Broth

Turkey Noodle Soup

Moo Shu Chicken (Turkey!) Tostadas

And for after the meal . . .

Thanksgiving Leftovers

Seven Things You Can Do After Thanksgiving Dinner