Frugal Friday

Sometimes being frugal does not pay. This is the case at my house with flour. I bought a 25# bag of no name flour, to be frugal, but the biscuits were terrible and the gravy was unspeakable! My family thought I had lost my ability to cook. Never again will I do that. My family deserves great biscuits and gravy!!!! Brand name flour-here I come.

Frugal Friday

How many cleaners do you currently have under your kitchen and bathroom sinks? In years past, I would have many different types of cleaners for different jobs. I have discovered that plain, warm water will clean so many things. After all, water is the universal solvent! We have all hardwood flooring and tile in our home and when we built it, the manufacturers recommended no chemicals, just water. So I decided that this could be the case for many other cleaning jobs! I do use a soap scum cleaner in the bathrooms and some bleach in the kitchen sinks but that is pretty much it. This also saves a great amount on the grocery bill.

Frugal Friday

I so enjoy the foam handwashing soaps in all the fragrances and attractive bottles. However at $5-6 per bottle this can get expensive, especially when you cook 3 meals per day and a couple of snacks. I discovered a way to save a great deal of money. I use dishwashing liquid. For an 8 oz bottle, put 1 tablespoon of d/w liquid in the bottle. Fill the rest of the bottle with warm water, gently swirl to mix well and there you have foaming handwashing soap. There are many fragrances to choose from. So the label doesn't necessarily match the contents, no big deal!

Frugal Friday

Our grandmothers and great-grandmothers were frugal out of necessity. I just believe it makes good sense! At our house, we have what I call "feature meat". This means that whatever meats are on sale at the grocery each week is what I stock up on and work with in our menus. This week's feature meat was pork tenderloin. It was by far cheaper than sandwich meat. I love it when I can serve my family of five a good meal for around $10.00. This recipe is one of my favorite's of all time. I cook the pork tenderloin in the slow cooker for several hours. Remove from the cooker and place in a casserole or baking dish. Mix 2 Tablespoons mustard (any flavor you like) and 3 Tablespoons of honey. Put over the top of tenderloin and put in a 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until the top begins to brown. This is delicious!!!! I served it with baked beans, macaroni and cheese and cream corn from our garden last summer. Cost of meal: Tenderloin $6.50, baked beans $1.19, Mac and Cheese dinner $1.00 (on sale this week also), corn from our garden a few pennies. Under $10.00

B.T.W. I have been blessed by knowing and enjoying both my grandmothers and two of my great-grandmothers!