The Frugal Home

Weekly Meal Plan for February 12th to 18th

2012-02-12T01:19:12Z

I’m home again this week but my parents are coming down Tuesday night which means we will all be spending Valentine’s Day together!

We are continuing with the healthier eating. I don’t want to say healthy eating because I don’t know that we are quite there yet but we are making big changes in our diet and I am trying to change up our recipes into healthier versions!

Frugal Breakfast – Meal Replacement Shakes

Cheap Lunches – For Hubby – Meatball Sandwiches and Pot Pies

For Me – Soup or Salad

Cheap Dinners -

Monday – Marinated Chicken Legs, Calico Corn and Roasted Broccoli

Tuesday – Happy Valentine’s Day! Frito Taco Salad with Catalina Dressing, a fave of the hubby’s!

Wednesday – Tuna Salad Sandwich with Homemade Fries

Thursday – Veggie Burger

Friday – Hamburger and Fries

Saturday – Dinner out with friends

Sunday – Salad with Chicken or soup

New Use for an Old Dresser : Part 2 : Upcycle

2012-02-08T01:32:06Z

I’m getting farther along on this dresser than I thought I would in the middle of winter and it’s all thanks to this fabulous weather we have been having. Actually, fabulous weather we were having. As I write this snow is covering the back deck that just a few days ago I was painting furniture on!

Just adding primer to this dresser has already made a difference!

Click here to see it before it was painted. Crystal knobs are on order from Amazon for the top two drawers but I still have to decide what I am going to do for the bottom four drawers. I would have ordered crystal for the pulls as well but I can’t find any in the size I need. I can’t wait to share the finished product!

Gluten Free Egg Rolls – OAMC

2012-02-04T03:23:56Z

Giving up egg rolls when I went gluten free was one of my least favorite aspects of going gluten free, until I found this recipe!

Frugal Tips for Gluten Free Egg Rolls

The rice paper I found for this recipe isn’t cheap so I would suggest looking online or in your town for the best price you can find.

*All of my recipes can be used with dairy or made into dairy free recipe versions. I have a milk allergy while my husband does not so I often try to make recipes in which substitutions can be made either way. This is a gluten free recipe. My recipes are also made to be as frugal as possible.

Gluten Free Egg Rolls

Gather It Up!

1 lb ground pork

1/2 a cabbage, finely shredded

1 carrot

1/4 medium onion

soy sauce

ginger

rice paper

oil for frying

Cook It Up!

Brown pork in a pan. Add cooked pork, cabbage, carrot, and onion to the food processor and chop very finely. Add in soy sauce and ginger to taste. Dip rice paper in water and place on a damp plate. Place a small amount of pork mixture onto rice paper and roll up. Use a lot less than you think you would need! I used a little over a tablespoon. Fry in oil. It takes a bit to get the hang of this as the rice paper tears easily. It worked best when I made one and my husband fried it while I made the next one.

Serve It Up!

We like this with fried rice or any Asian inspired meal. The hubby dips his in sweet and sour sauce. I have also frozen them after cooking and heated in the oven.

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

More Frugal Lunch Recipes

Toasted Basil Chicken and Onion
Taco Soup Recipe

Weekly Meal Plan : February 5th to February 11th

2012-02-05T01:15:10Z

I am so glad to be home this week! I do have to go out of town on Friday but that is to go with my little sister and her husband to the doctor so that we can find out if she is having a boy or a girl and I am very excited about that!

We are also finally getting over being sick and the Super Bowl will be over so this will also be our first full week of sticking to a healthier meal plan!

Breakfast : Meal Replacement Shakes

Lunch Recipes : For Hubby – OAMC BBQ Sandwich, OAMC Pizza Rolls, OAMC Chicken Pot Pies, Quesadilla

For Me – Soup or Oatmeal

Dinner Recipes :

Monday – Tofu Fried Rice With Gluten Free Egg Rolls

Tuesday – Greek Chicken in Crock Pot with Roasted Broccoli

Wednesday – Turkey Lettuce Cups

Thursday – Vegetarian Bolognese Sauce

Friday – Skillet Beef

Saturday – Pot Roast, Green Beans, Colcannon with Kale, and a roll

Sunday – Vegetable Soup

Cheap and Frugal Super Bowl Sunday Menu and Recipes!

2012-02-03T01:07:11Z

We’re not huge football fans in this house but we do enjoy the Super Bowl. I’ll admit, I love the commercials and the food the most!

I’ve changed up the menu a bit from what I had decided on at the beginning of the week because I found wings on sale and you just can’t pass up wings on Super Bowl Sunday! What’s better than a cheap menu of great food?

I am going to make hot wings and some Asian wings. I have never made the Asian wings before so I am hoping they turn out well!

I will also make some Pinto Bean Dip, a dip that I made for a New Year’s Day recipe, and cannot wait to try again! I’m also very glad that I bought chips on sale a few weeks ago!

Other frugal Super Bowl recipes and ideas:

Have a Super Bowl potluck

Mini Pizzas with flour tortillas, English muffins, or mini pizza rice cakes

Pigs in a Blanket (wrap hot dogs or Lil’ Smokies in Crescent Rolls or biscuits)

Chips and Salsa

Nacho Bar

Chili

Crudites and dip

BBQ Chicken or Pork

Serve ice cold water or tea for beverages

Make it a BYOB party (or beverage of your choice!)

What are you having for your frugal Super Bowl Sunday appetizers or meal?

Mobile Home Remodeling : Office

2012-01-27T18:00:42Z

When we moved in and began the process of remodeling our mobile home, I wanted to turn one of the extra bedrooms into an office and I chose the one with the wood paneling mostly because I just wanted to cover the paneling as quickly as possible and because it was a bit bigger than the other bedroom.

First, I tried painting the wood panel walls a green. This worked in our last house but it didn’t work in this one:

As you can see, the paint wasn’t covering and in areas where it was covering, it would just peel right back off the wall.

I didn’t like the green anyway.

Instead of paint, I ended up going with a paler green wallpaper and a set of bookshelves that I bought from Walmart. I didn’t get the cheapest bookshelves either because I wanted them to last. I’m glad I spent the extra cash because they have held up very well and look much better than the cheaper versions.

Weekly Meal Plan : Week of January 30th to February 4th

2012-02-03T01:40:18Z

Another crazy week! I will be back in my hometown again helping my parents so the beginning of the week will be a bit hectic.

I have also decided that we need to eat even healthier so the meals that you will begin to see in the next few weeks are not all on the Monthly Meal Plan. I’m going to be trying some new recipes and once I see what works and what doesn’t I will post a healthier version of the Monthly Meal Plan (don’t forget its actually 2 months of meals!). Don’t expect big changes (especially this week!) but we will try to have a meatless meal a week and a night of fish or seafood instead of chicken or beef.

Breakfasts – Meal Replacement Shakes

Lunches – For hubby – Pasta and Corn, Chicken and Rice, BBQ Chicken Sandwich, Quesadilla

For me – hopefully eating healthy while at my parents, then soup for the rest of the week

Dinners -

Monday – Fast food for hubby, I’ll be at my parents

Tuesday – Probably fast food again since I’ll be home late

Wednesday – Shrimp Chili Cornbread Casserole

Thursday – Beans and Chicken

Friday – Tostadas

Saturday – Salisbury Steak with Gravy, Corn, Mashed Potatoes, and a Roll

Sunday – Super Bowl Sunday! Pinto Bean Dip, Tortilla Chips, Hot Wings, and Asian Wings

Our Frugal Vacation

2012-01-27T21:29:43Z

I came across this picture when I was creating our 2011 photo book and it brought back all the memories of our vacation last year.

We try to make it to this small resort in our state at least once a year to relax and just get away, especially if we couldn’t afford any other type of vacation. This year it was needed more than any other year.

We fostered a little boy for most of last year. It was quite an experience and taught us many things but by the end we were exhausted and emotionally drained. Two weeks after our foster child went back home we headed to the resort.

We didn’t have much money so cheap and frugal were at the top of our vacation list. Even within those simple parameters we had a great deal of fun. We rented a camper trailer that was less than $30 a night. It had a kitchen and a fire pit so we were able to cook the majority of our food. My favorite part was having a glass of wine with my husband while we waited for the steaks to cook.

We rode our bikes, took walks, relaxed, swam, and went antiquing. See how much fun we had on a budget vacation?

New Use for an Old Dresser

2012-01-24T21:18:24Z

This old dresser is from a set that used to be in my great grandfather’s home (please ignore the mess on my couch and ottoman!). It come with a great cedar full size bed. And by great I mean completely outdated, yet it is a set that is much loved by my family. I used it for many years in my guest room and my sister used it after me. She is now pregnant and needs to trade the bed in for a crib and neither my mom nor I have room for the set.

We have decided to sell the bed but I am keeping the dresser. It fits perfectly behind my sectional. The only problem is that cedar, it just doesn’t fit with my decor! I’m currently deciding how to paint it and what kind of pulls I want to purchase for the drawers. Stay tuned for the redo of this old piece into something new and modern!

Vegetarian Enchiladas – Gluten Free and Dairy Free

2012-01-24T21:03:03Z

We eat a lot of meat in this house and my husband doesn’t consider it a meal unless there is some sort of meat on his plate but I like to do without sometimes and like to create recipes that taste just as good as those filled with meat. The meat enchiladas I make are great but these are so good I will probably eat them more often!

Frugal Tips for Vegetarian Enchiladas

While this dish is pretty frugal no matter how you look at it, you can make it even more frugal by purchasing and using whatever vegetables are on sale that week.

*All of my recipes can be used with dairy or made into dairy free recipe versions. I have a milk allergy while my husband does not so I often try to make recipes in which substitutions can be made either way. This recipe is also gluten free. My recipes are also made to be as frugal as possible.

Vegetarian Enchiladas – Dairy Free and Gluten Free

Gather It Up!

1 tbsp oil

1 onion chopped

1 red pepper chopped

1 green pepper chopped

1 zucchini chopped

1/2 cup salsa – split

4 corn tortillas – gluten free

dairy free and gluten free cheese

black olives

gluten free enchilada sauce

Cook It Up!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute the onion, peppers and zucchini in a pan. Mix in 1/4 cup salsa and cook down so there is very little liquid. Wrap tortillas in a wet paper towel and microwave for 20 seconds. Spoon a few tablespoons of enchilada sauce onto bottom of glass pan. Spoon veggie mix into tortillas. Roll tortillas and place seam side down into pan. Pour enchilada sauce over the top of the tortillas. Spread the rest of the salsa over the top of the enchiladas. Sprinkle with cheese and sliced black olives. Bake until cheese is melted.

Serve It Up!

We eat this as is or we serve it with Spanish rice and refried beans.

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