1. Shopping: I didn't do a shopping haul this week. On Sunday we went to Walmart to buy flour, oregano, and some non-food items. We also ended up buying a package of cookie mix. There is a certain type of Hershey's cookie that we sometimes get from the Walmart bakery, and we were wondering if a cookie mix would make the same quantity/quality as the bakery cookies (for $1.00 cheaper!). After an Ibotta rebate ($0.25) the total spent on groceries this week came to $3.50.
Some meals we had this week were turkey wraps, BLT wraps, ham wraps, leftovers, pasta salad, baked potatoes and some AMAZING venison steaks and potatoes that my husband cooked on the grill. We bought a new grill last week, and it has been a lot of fun to try new cooking projects together.
Hubs was out of town on Friday night to early Saturday morning, so on Thursday I just ate scrambled eggs and leftovers. On Wednesday afternoon I made some cinnamon rolls to send with him on his road trip (this is notable because I NEVER make cinnamon rolls!).
2. Garden: I harvested raspberries, lavender, calendula, cucumbers, lettuce, and some more green beans from my MIL's garden. I also planted some potatoes that had started sprouting in the kitchen cupboard.
3. We went "out to eat" at Arby's and Subway (date night!) this week. We used a few coupons I had for Arby's. Restaurant eating isn't really frugal, but... did I mention that we spent $3.50 on groceries this week??
I also used a $0.50 off coupon for toothpaste at Walmart.
4. Line dried three loads of laundry.
5. Processed two male ducks. This has been on my to-do list for MONTHS! So happy to have it done.
6. Made ice cream and mayonnaise from scratch. This was my first time making mayonnaise in the Vitamix, and it worked like a charm. I used 100% canola oil this time around, but I think next time I will try mixing in 25% olive oil and see if it affects the flavor.
Hubs was out of town on Friday night to early Saturday morning, so on Thursday I just ate scrambled eggs and leftovers. On Wednesday afternoon I made some cinnamon rolls to send with him on his road trip (this is notable because I NEVER make cinnamon rolls!).
2. Garden: I harvested raspberries, lavender, calendula, cucumbers, lettuce, and some more green beans from my MIL's garden. I also planted some potatoes that had started sprouting in the kitchen cupboard.
3. We went "out to eat" at Arby's and Subway (date night!) this week. We used a few coupons I had for Arby's. Restaurant eating isn't really frugal, but... did I mention that we spent $3.50 on groceries this week??
I also used a $0.50 off coupon for toothpaste at Walmart.
4. Line dried three loads of laundry.
5. Processed two male ducks. This has been on my to-do list for MONTHS! So happy to have it done.
6. Made ice cream and mayonnaise from scratch. This was my first time making mayonnaise in the Vitamix, and it worked like a charm. I used 100% canola oil this time around, but I think next time I will try mixing in 25% olive oil and see if it affects the flavor.
DIY Mayo: Worth It?
Is homemade mayo cheaper than store-bought? My recipe cost $0.31 per cup. Bent 'n' dent mayo cost $0.20 per cup ($0.75/jar). Regular off-brand store mayo is similar in cost to homemade... perhaps a tiny bit cheaper.
That being said, homemade mayo has fresh ingredients with no preservatives/additives, and I do think the canola oil is an upgrade from vegetable (aka soybean) oil that is found in most brands of commercially prepared mayo.
Because we're using so much of it (wraps, pasta/potato/chicken salad, etc.) and because we have extra eggs, I'll continue to do the homemade mayo. However, during autumn I think I'll switch back to store-bought because it has a longer shelf life and we don't use it all that much for winter meals (soups, casseroles, roasts, etc.).
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7. Learned how to transfer CD audio books onto my phone. This is a big deal, because I do almost 100% of listening on my phone. This spring I tried using Audible, and came to the conclusion that it was not worth the money. For most audio books, I would be paying $1.00 per hour to have someone read to me. I can easily burn through 4-5 hours of audio per day, so that was not a sustainable education program. I had some CD audio books lying around, but I hadn't listened to them because I can't take my laptop out to the garden.
Recently I ordered an audio book from our library's interloan system, which was FREE. With Hubs' help, I ripped the audio files onto my computer, and then moved those files onto my phone via USB cable. You can read how to do this here.
I finished the book in three days. Since then, I've found two other garage sale/thrift store CD audio books to put on my phone. I think physical CDs (from the library or garage sales) are going to be a much better deal long-term than using Audible. $15.00 per month will buy a LOT of garage sale CDs and free library audio books.
8. Lastly, I made my very first stuffed animal! I've had a vintage 1930s/40s stuffed animal pattern lying around for over a year. My original plan was to sell it, but it's only worth a couple dollars. Instead of selling it, I saved it to use. Unlike books and wooden/plastic toys, stuffed animals just don't last 80 years and retain their usable quality. The vintage pattern allowed me to make an authentic "antique" toy that will last many years.
Is homemade mayo cheaper than store-bought? My recipe cost $0.31 per cup. Bent 'n' dent mayo cost $0.20 per cup ($0.75/jar). Regular off-brand store mayo is similar in cost to homemade... perhaps a tiny bit cheaper.
That being said, homemade mayo has fresh ingredients with no preservatives/additives, and I do think the canola oil is an upgrade from vegetable (aka soybean) oil that is found in most brands of commercially prepared mayo.
Because we're using so much of it (wraps, pasta/potato/chicken salad, etc.) and because we have extra eggs, I'll continue to do the homemade mayo. However, during autumn I think I'll switch back to store-bought because it has a longer shelf life and we don't use it all that much for winter meals (soups, casseroles, roasts, etc.).
******************
7. Learned how to transfer CD audio books onto my phone. This is a big deal, because I do almost 100% of listening on my phone. This spring I tried using Audible, and came to the conclusion that it was not worth the money. For most audio books, I would be paying $1.00 per hour to have someone read to me. I can easily burn through 4-5 hours of audio per day, so that was not a sustainable education program. I had some CD audio books lying around, but I hadn't listened to them because I can't take my laptop out to the garden.
Recently I ordered an audio book from our library's interloan system, which was FREE. With Hubs' help, I ripped the audio files onto my computer, and then moved those files onto my phone via USB cable. You can read how to do this here.
I finished the book in three days. Since then, I've found two other garage sale/thrift store CD audio books to put on my phone. I think physical CDs (from the library or garage sales) are going to be a much better deal long-term than using Audible. $15.00 per month will buy a LOT of garage sale CDs and free library audio books.
8. Lastly, I made my very first stuffed animal! I've had a vintage 1930s/40s stuffed animal pattern lying around for over a year. My original plan was to sell it, but it's only worth a couple dollars. Instead of selling it, I saved it to use. Unlike books and wooden/plastic toys, stuffed animals just don't last 80 years and retain their usable quality. The vintage pattern allowed me to make an authentic "antique" toy that will last many years.
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Total cost for the stuffed elephant was $0.25. The only cost to me was the stuffing, which I pulled and reused from a $0.25 garage sale pillow. For the fabric, I used an old pair of Hubs' jeans and some scraps from my stash. The eyes were two black buttons, also from my stash.
This being my first stuffed animal ever, it took a long time. Probably five or six hours, if I'm being honest. Normally I try to stay away from crafty stuff that isn't very productive (stuffed animals are a dime a dozen), but finishing the project was very satisfying. It was my first time doing a stuffed animal, so not everything went peachy. I will be uploading a Youtube video this week with details, some of my mistakes and things I would have done differently, and a pattern review!
Youtube Videos
I only uploaded two videos this week:
July Garden Update
Sustainable Chickens: Broody Hens vs. Incubators
Hope you all have a wonderful last week of July!
-Bethany
This being my first stuffed animal ever, it took a long time. Probably five or six hours, if I'm being honest. Normally I try to stay away from crafty stuff that isn't very productive (stuffed animals are a dime a dozen), but finishing the project was very satisfying. It was my first time doing a stuffed animal, so not everything went peachy. I will be uploading a Youtube video this week with details, some of my mistakes and things I would have done differently, and a pattern review!
Youtube Videos
I only uploaded two videos this week:
July Garden Update
Sustainable Chickens: Broody Hens vs. Incubators
Hope you all have a wonderful last week of July!
-Bethany
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