Thrifty Thursday

A few weeks ago I mentioned needing to make a new sign to advertise when we have eggs for sale.  W had found a piece of frosted Plexiglas in the trash last year.  (Anyone notice a pattern of him always finding things.)  I used my Cricut and some vinyl to make the sign below.

 

The chicken was made mainly from scraps leftover after a previous project.  I probably have less than $3 in the sign.  It is nice and bright and easy for passersby to know when we have eggs available.

Testing Tuesday - Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes

I am working to get back to posting some of the recipes from Pinterest that I have actually made.  I hope to make this a weekly (or at least bi-monthly) post.

I neglected to take a picture of the Cheesesteak Sloppy Joe's.  You can go here to get the original recipe.  This was a last minute meal but was so good that W asked me to make extra next time.  He wants some in the freezer for quick meals.

I did make a few changes.  I used ground venison/deer, dried mushrooms, dried onions, dried peppers, and pepperjack cheese.  It was all about using what I had on hand.  I rehydrated the veggies before mixing them in with everything else.

I thought it was a nice change from a regular sloppy joe.  It had all the flavor of a cheesesteak and was quick/easy to make.  This recipe is definitely a keeper!

Weekly Savings

I cooked all meals at home this past week.  I stuck to my grocery budget and also did two weeks worth of shopping.  I try to go to one out of the way store once a month.  I can get many basics cheaper and prefer to stock up.

I borrowed an idea from The Prudent Homemaker for having fresh flowers in the house.  Leo and I went to the edge of the woods and picked honeysuckles.  I enjoyed them all week and composted the flowers at the end of the week.

We have a second, outside washing machine.  It is used for washing pet blankets and other things we do not want in the main washing machine.  It is actually pieced together from two machines.  This past week it stopped cutting off when full.  W checked the hoses first per a suggestion of my search on Fixya.  They were fine.  He then checked the switch that causes the water to cut off.  It had a reset switch.  A few minutes of time on his part gave us a working washing machine again.

I pulled weeds by hand from the garden.  I fed the single tomato worm I found to one of my chickens, Piglet.  I do not like to use chemicals in the garden.  Doing the wedding myself gives me some exercise and saves money.  Piglet is always happy to eat any tomato worms, which are the main bugs I find.

I picked three cucumbers from the greenhouse.  I also started some oregano and marjoram seeds rather than buying plants.

I combined a sale and coupons to get two boxes of W's acid reflux medicine at a good deal. It ended up being better than the weekend deal I had missed.  I saved $23 on the two boxes.

Feathered Friday

We had quite a surprise earlier this week.  W called me outside to show me the new baby chicks.  The surprise was that they were not from the hen we know is setting.  She continues to sit on her pile of eggs.

 

This was another hen in a different part of the yard.  She had been sitting in a very safe and well hidden area. 

 

 

I think a mama hen and baby chicks are some of the cutest things when wandering around the yard.  However, it is not always the safest place for them.  This is especially true when mama hen is trying to keep up with 13 babies.  We caught mama and all of her little ones and placed them in a secure nursery pen.

 

 

I will bring them fresh greens from the yard to supplement their feed.  Best of all they get to be baby chicks with room to scratch, dust, and safely play.  She has quite a mixture so it will be interesting to see how they look as they grow.