Roast Chicken

You know how getting a rotisserie chicken at the Supermarket makes for some super easy dinners?  Well you can do it at home too!! 

I was always a little intimidated about roasting a chicken, but I came across some helpful websites that have given me so much more confidence with this.

While I don't always have the money to buy the quality of chicken that I'd prefer, I do wait until the store (Publix) across the street has their store brand of whole chickens on sale.  Typically they are about 1.19/lb. and all natural with no hormones.

Easiest instructions ever for roasting in the oven: My Favorite Simple Roast Chicken

Just remember to thoroughly dry the chicken inside and out before placing inside your oven.  The wetter the bird, the more she will sizzle and pop, creating all kinds of mess in your oven.

Another easy recipe for crockpot cooking is Whole chicken in a crock pot.  This is awesome because it also gives instructions for turning the carcass into Chicken Broth to use in later recipes.  Super frugal!

And finally, some tips to stretch that one chicken across several meals.

Happy Cooking!

Cheap Fun

Favorite moment today: when Pearl ripped a cardboard box into two little rectangles, put them on the floor and started pushing them around like toy cars, saying "Vroom, Vroom!" You don't need much, folks...

Eating from the Pantry/Freezer Challenge

I decided that this week we would try to clear out the pantry and freezer a bit in order to finish some leftovers, give the fridge a good cleaning, and save a little money in preparation of our Easter Party.

After perusing what we have on hand, this is what I came up with.

Monday: Pasta Alfredo with Sauteed Mushrooms and Peas, Carrots, and Applesauce
Tuesday: Two-Bean Chili and Cornbread
Wednesday: Pickle Pork chops, Leftover Mashed Potatoes, and Mixed Veggies
Thursday: Pasta Marinara
Friday: Baked Fish, Grits, Mixed Veggies and Biscuits
Saturday: Baked Chicken, Rice, Peas and Applesauce
Sunday: Soft and Hard Taco's

I was looking for something different to do with pork chops and came across several recipes that suggested marinating the chops in a cup of pickle juice. Then just salt and pepper before they go on the grill. We tried it and were pleasantly surprised by how tender and moist they turned out!

Breakfasts have been either oatmeal or eggs with toast. We finished off the eggs yesterday, so oatmeal is on the menu tomorrow;)

Lunches have been leftovers from the night before, grilled cheese sandwiches with soup, or PB and J's with apples and carrots.

I'll go to the store tomorrow to pick up some staples: milk, bread, eggs, etc. but keeping it simple for another week of Passiontide before we stock up for Easter.

New resources

Found some new frugal websites:

Saving Advice

The Dollar Stretcher

Better Budgeting

Freedom!!

The Emotional Benefits to Becoming Debt-Free is a nice article to read this Wednesday morning.

With DH finishing his Master's program shortly, we will be reviewing our budget and seeing what changes can be made now that we don't have put aside for tuition. We decided at the beginning of his program that we didn't want to take out loans for graduate school and thus budgeted accordingly. Happy to say we did it!!

So now that we don't have that tuition amount to worry about, we can put that money aside to hopefully make purchasing a home come a lot sooner than later.

I love learning from others what frugal tips they have for living well on less and saving for their goals. If you have any good website suggestions, please share. Happy Wednesday!

Take out the Paper...

Last spring I stopped our newspaper due to their increasing rates and not notifying us of the change. It is super frustrating! They also sent the paper Wed. thru Sunday, and I hate wasting that much paper since I only requested Sunday.

I am considering starting a subscription again as I consider whether I want to start CVSing and using Walgreens. Will the cost savings pay for itself? Is it worth it? Will the paper try to mess with me again?

Hmmm...

A Frugal Christmas

Fall has just begun and I'm already thinking about Christmas. Probably because here in Florida we have four seasons: Almost Summer, Summer, Still Summer, and Christmas. It sneaks up on you and then it's here. This year in particular I have some reflections to do concerning our Christmas budget.

In our 2 plus years of marriage, DH and I share all our budget concerns, questions and decisions. We talk about all our purchases and make decisions together. So in the past 2 years, we set a Christmas budget of whom we will purchase gifts for, how much we will spend per person and whom we will make a baked good for (generally non-family members).

This year, the budget looks to be especially tight since I have come home to be with Pearl and DH is in his final year of graduate school.

I'm looking to make a signature baked good to give to friends: probably this one.

As for family members who will receive a gift, I've been brainstorming. I'm thinking about working with an online photo site to creat calendars for our parents of baby Pearl (As grandparents, I don't think this one will fail:) The good thing is you can get a discount when you purchase more than one calendar.

But do you have ideas of frugal Christmas presents? Gifts you've given in the past or hope to do in the future?