frugal life

Cookie Recipe Round-up!

Abby H.

I usually make a batch of cookies per week. It’s generally cheaper to make cookies than it is to buy a couple boxes, and this way, I can control what goes into them (less sugar, Substitute Kodiak Flapjack mix in for AP flour, etc.).

I thought I’d share some of our favorite cookie recipes today. There are two no bake cookie recipes as well, just in case you need something sweet, but it’s too hot to turn on the oven!

I am all about using the right tool for the right job, as a result, I have a collection of awesome kitchen tools to help me cook. You can see my list of must-haves in my Amazon Storefront here.  

 

Get Road Trip Ready with Midas (Printable Coupon)!

Abby H.

Have you all heard of the term Revenge Vacation? I learned about it on NPR last week and it’s when you go all out on a vacation this year to get revenge on 2020.

Because so many of us are going on vacation this year, but remaining committed with social distancing, staying in our bubbles, and staying on budget, a lot of us will be hitting the road.

One of the best ways to make sure you are ready to hit the road is to get your car ready! Midas has a great deal with their Road Trip Ready Package, valid now through July 4th.

It’s super easy to take advantage of this deal!

I printed my coupon off this morning, I’m getting Princess Sparkle Cupcake (this is what happens when you let the 4-year-old name the new car) ship shape and ready to get outta town!

 

5/21/2021 Friday Freebies and Deals

Abby H.
bright boxes

This week has FLOWN by. Fridge is fixed (if you read posts earlier this week, the freezer stopped working and we lost alllll of the food in the freezer. Yeah again).

If you are looking for birthday freebies, fret not! I put together a list new for 2021- Check it out here.

Most of these freebies and deals are online. I am not encouraging anyone to go into stores or go out into public. Mask up, wash your paws, stay socially distanced, get vaccinated when it’s your turn!

Freebies:
Join Sam’s Club for $45 and get $45 in Savings!
Free Olga Lorencin Red Carpet Facial in a Box Mini Sample
Free Comic Book Day
Free Medium Fries w/ Any $1 Purchase at McDonalds – Every Friday
Free OLIPOP Sparkling Tonic
Free Fast and Furious Movie Tickets
Free Care Packages for Students
Free Tabasco Sauce Sample at Sam’s
500 Free Tickets at Chuck E Cheese
Free Sanitizing Spray
Free Gone Rogue Chips
2 Free Pints of Nightfood Ice Cream
Free Subscription to Conde Nast Traveler Magazine
Free Genexa Flu Fix
Free Aloe Up SPF 30 Sunscreen Samples
Free Genexa Senna Laxative
Free Ice Cream at Baskin Robbins
Diamond Pet Food Class Action Settlement
FREE Amazon Baby Box Samples Back in Stock
Free Higher Education No Brainer Cleanser & Lip Balm
Free Magnetic Eyelashe Kit, Mascara, Tweezer & Mirror
JCPenney Portraits – Free 8×10 for Military Families
Free Sample of Valentino Born in Roma Men or Women’s Fragrances
Free Genexa Kids’ Cold Crush
Free Subscription to Outside Magazine

Deals:
$1 Summer Movies are back!
WowWee Ploosh Kissimal Interactive Plush ONLY $5.62 (Reg. $13)
FREE Lorax Toy with Your First BarkBox
Coach Apple Graphic Camp T-Shirt ONLY $23.75 (Reg. $95)
MUK LUKS Beach Blanket Platform Sandals ONLY $24.99 (Reg. $55) 
Fuel Backpacks ONLY $9.99 (Reg $40)
Levi’s Mid-Length Cuffed Jean Shorts ONLY $25.49 (Reg $45)
Sonoma Goods For Life Men’s Supersoft Tee ONLY $6.99 (Reg $15)
MUK LUKS Groove Artist Platform Sandal ONLY $24.99 (Reg. $60)
LOL Surprise OMG Styling Head ONLY $17.49 (Reg. $31)
Little Tikes Rescue Tales Easter Pup ONLY $7.49 (Reg. $15)
Miracle-Gro Garden Soil On Sale for $2.50 at Home Depot
The Big One Reversible Comforter ONLY $25.49 ($100)
Pampers Splashers Swim Diapers ONLY $5.52 Shipped

Emergency Broadband Benefit: Get $50 off Your Home Internet!

Abby H.7 Comments

 

This came through my Instagram DM’s yesterday. I went through the website and this is 100% legit. And a lot of you will qualify for this based on all of the financial shenanigans that have been going on with job loss and reduced hours over the past year.

The Emergency Broadband Benefit is an FCC program to help families and households struggling to afford internet service during the COVID-19 pandemic. This new benefit will connect eligible households to jobs, critical healthcare services, virtual classrooms, and so much more.

About the Emergency Broadband Benefit

The Emergency Broadband Benefit will provide a discount of up to $50 per month towards broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price.

The Emergency Broadband Benefit is limited to one monthly service discount and one device discount per household.

Who Is Eligible for the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program?

A household is eligible if a member of the household meets one of the criteria below:

  • Has an income that is at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines or participates in certain assistance programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid, or Lifeline;
  • Approved to receive benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision in the 2019-2020 or 2020-2021 school year;
  • Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year;
  • Experienced a substantial loss of income due to job loss or furlough since February 29, 2020 and the household had a total income in 2020 at or below $99,000 for single filers and $198,000 for joint filers; or
  • Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating provider’s existing low-income or COVID-19 program.

How to Apply

There are three ways for eligible households to apply:

  1. Contact your preferred participating broadband provider directly to learn about their application process.
  2. Go to GetEmergencyBroadband.org to apply online and to find participating providers near you.
  3. Call 833-511-0311 for a mail-in application, and return it along with copies of documents showing proof of eligibility to:

Emergency Broadband Support Center
P.O. Box 7081
London, KY 40742

After receiving an eligibility determination, households can contact their preferred service provider to select an Emergency Broadband Benefit eligible service plan.

Recipe: Easy Spanish Tortilla

Abby H.

I know y’all want the recipe first and more info and tips afterward, so here ya go:

Spanish Tortilla (serves 4)

Ingredients:

  • 1 large potato, peeled and sliced very thinly
  • 1 sweet onion, diced
  • 1 bell pepper, color of your choice (I used green)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 3 T butter
  • 6 eggs
  • 1/4 c half and half
  • 1/2 c shredded cheese, your choice
  • 1/2 c Cooked bacon crumbles
  • Salt, pepper
  • Chopped green onion for garnish

Directions:

  1. Using half of the butter, sauté onion and pepper until softened and onions are clear, about five minutes on medium.
  2. Add remaining butter, allow to melt, coat pan, and add potatoes so they are separated and evenly dispersed throughout the pan.
  3. Cook on low until potatoes are translucent, about five to 10 minutes on medium.
  4. While potatoes are cooking, in a mixing bowl crack eggs, add half-and-half. Add salt and pepper, beat vigorously until well blended.
  5. Remove pan from heat, pour egg mixture over top of vegetables make sure egg mixture is evenly distributed throughout the pan, covering veggies.
  6. Top with bacon crumbles and shredded cheese.
  7. Bake at 350 for between 12 and 18 minutes, until eggs are set and cooked through.
  8. Allow to cool to room temp, slice, and top with chopped green onion for garnish.
  9. Serve with avocado and corn salsa, recipe be found here. This makes a great dinner or breakfast or whenever. It’s relatively inexpensive, it’s very tasty, and it is a good use of veggies.

Other good veggies to include are zucchini (saute in butter with onions), or tomatoes (place thin slices on the very top after all of the ingredients are in the pan). Regarding the potatoes, I used a knife and thinly sliced the potatoes into circles, but you can use a mandoline if you have one.

You need to use a pan that is oven-safe. If you don’t have one, you can cook your tortilla on the stove. Instead of turning off the stove in step 5, turn down the heat to low, add egg mixture. Once the eggs have set around the edges, using a spatula, loosen the edges, and wiggle your spatula under the tortilla, and gently flip it over. Cook until both sides of the tortilla are set and cooked throughout.

Spanish Tortillas are not bread-based, in fact, there is zero bread involved. Spanish Tortillas are more like frittatas or a crustless quiche- the only constant ingredients are eggs and potatoes. The rest of the ingredients are up to you. It’s a great way to use veggies and cheese hanging around your fridge.

They are great for any meal. Add a side of fruit for breakfast, or a bright salad with a tangy vinaigrette for lunch or dinner.

If you are a vegetarian, omit the bacon.

A lovely patio in Spain. Makes you want tapas, right?

5/17/2021 Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgYOU GUYS! Our Fridge DIED again last night. Less than 10 hours after I went to the grocery store and bought food for the week, including the ice cream, popsicles, ice cream sammiches. UGH.

As a result, we lost most of the food in the fridge, AGAIN. The fridge is ROOM TEMP inside (blergh). So the meal plan for the week is up in the air at this point.

Thankfully the extended warranty comes with a clause where we can file a claim to be reimbursed for the groceries.. So fingers crossed? I filed a claim for the last time this happened. And after the repair person comes today, I’ll file a claim for all the food we lost this time.

I’m not sure if any of you have noticed, but the price of food has gone up lately. It’s due to several factors:

Gas shortages and the price of gas has increased. That means the price of food has gone up to cover the increase. WHY? Food is shipped on trucks across the country.

Some countries have seen an uptick in Covid-19 cases, and as a result food from those countries is in short supply. The law of supply and demand is real!

The one thing that makes my day today is that the CSA box comes this afternoon. I’m looking forward to strawberries and CORN! The CSA emails us in advance to give us a heads up as to what may be in our boxes each week, and that really gives me an upper hand when it comes to meal planning for the week.

Veggies and fruit are delivered each Monday by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $25, it’s a great deal. I don’t have to pick anything, go to the store, or carry it upstairs. I can’t go to the store and get the same amount we get weekly for $25. Seriously. It’s a deal. I spend about an hour on Monday afternoon cleaning and prepping veggies for the rest of the week.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2  for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids.  The kids are nuts about pancakes. The Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.

Lunch: Kids take lunch to school. I eat leftovers. Everyone rejoices.

Dinner: Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.

Because I have no freaking clue WTF is going on with the fridge and the food sitch, the menu for this week is mostly up in the air. Thankfully we have a pantry full of canned goods and shelf stable food that I can use to feed the fam while we wait.

  • Sunday:  Southwestern Chicken Stew (recipe coming this week)
  • Monday:   
  • Tuesday:   
  • Wednesday:
  • Thursday:
  • Friday:  Pizza/Takeout Night
  • Saturday:  

Please stay safe you guys!

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?

Summer Fun on a Budget with Dollar Tree!

Abby H.

**Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission if you click on links or make purchases

Summer is coming! Here in CA, starting in Mid-June more places will re-open. I’m planning on taking the kids swimming, go to the beach, going on hikes, picnics, and lots of outdoor fun. As more activities open, I will be posting about frugal adventures in San Diego.

One of my favorite places for summer goodies is Dollar Tree. Water guns, bubbles, bubble accessories, sand toys, pool/water toys– all of these are great deals at Dollar Tree. Even though they are just a dollar, we’ve had the same water guns/squirters and pool toys from Dollar Tree for over 3 years!

One of the hot toys in our house is sidewalk chalk. Regardless of the time of year, it’s fun to draw outside!

If you are looking for some fun craft ideas, Dollar Tree has tons of fun craft supplies in-store and online. And they have some great craft project ideas as well:

 

 

 

 

Recipe: Roasted Onion and Caramelized Onion Bisque

Abby H.

I saw a video online someplace (I want to say Facebook, but it could have been on Reddit too), and it showed how to make tomato bisque using freshly roasted tomatoes.

I was excited to try it since we’ve been getting tons of big tomatoes in our CSA box over the past two weeks and I had them sitting on the counter.

This recipe is simple, but it does involve a few steps and does take some time.

It’s worth it in my opinion.

Roasted Onion and Caramelized Onion Bisque

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

  • 8-10 Tomatoes, tops cut off. If the tomatoes are not a uniform size, cut them in half /into large uniform hunks
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, diced
  • 2 tablespoons avocado oil
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 can (approx 16 oz) chicken or veggie stock
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 1 Teaspoon each: Basil, Rosemary
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 cup half and half
  • dash red pepper flakes (optional)
caramelized onions…. mmmmm

Directions:

  1. Preheat Oven to 425 degrees. Place tomatoes/tomato hunks on an oiled-up baking sheet. Brush tomatoes with oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
  2. Roast tomatoes for 35-45 minutes.
  3. While tomatoes are roasting, melt butter in a stockpot, and over medium/low heat saute onions. in the last 10 minutes of cooking the onions, add the garlic and stir frequently to keep from burning. You will need to stir frequently.
  4. Place tomatoes in with onions, and add stock, and all herbs/seasonings, EXCEPT the bay leaf and red pepper.
  5. Using an emersion blender, blend soup until it’s smooth.
  6. Now that soup is smooth, add bay leaf and simmer for 30-45 minutes on low.
  7. Add half and half, stir well, add red pepper if desired.
  8. Serve topped with croutons.
This is what roasted tomatoes look like in a lonely stockpot.

Note: If you don’t have an emersion blender, pour tomatoes and onions into a blender and pulse until smooth.

This recipe does not make a ton of soup, as most of my soup recipes do. This recipe takes time, but it’s so good. It’s worth the time and effort for sure.

I recommend my 4-way grilled cheese to go with this soup too!

May 2021: New Healthy Freebies From Social Nature!

Abby H.

 If you are into Organic/Natural/Healthy products, then Social Nature is up your alley. Sign up and apply to sample products that you are interested in. I get probably 1-2 products to sample each month. And most of the time it’s full-size products, not just a tiny sample.

Social Nature has rounded up products that are available to try at a Whole Foods Market near you. Apply to Try the products that interest you to see if you’re a match here. All of these products are available at Whole Foods.

And one of the things I love about Social Nature is that they don’t leave our friends with food allergies out.

There are sampling offers for Gluten-free, nut-free, meat-free foods frequently.

Canadian Friends- You are in luck, there are sampling opportunities for you too! So if you love trying new products, check out Social Nature!

5/7/2021 Friday Freebies and Deals

Abby H.
bright boxes

This week has been busy- The compressor in our fridge died hard on Wednesday. The meal plan for the week changed drastically. The kids were stoked that they got to eat an entire box of popsicles in one sitting though.  I’m hunting for some good deals today to restock the fridge and freezer. I’m going to need all new condiments. TIP: If your fridge dies, don’t try to save the mayo. Warm mayo is not a good thing!

Luckily, We’ve got some good freebies and deals this week.

If you are looking for birthday freebies, fret not! I put together a list new for 2021- Check it out here.

Most of these freebies and deals are online. I am not encouraging anyone to go into stores or go out into public. Mask up, wash your paws, stay socially distanced, get vaccinated when it’s your turn!

Freebies:

Free Southern Flavor Charbroil Seasoning Sample
New Sampler Samples – Eye Liner, Orgain Powder & Frozen Sides
Free Domino’s Gift Card Giveaway
Free Quest Squad Swag, Products & More
Free Screening of In the Heights
5 Free Disney Movie Insiders Points
Free Sweet Earth Awesome Burger at Select Stores
Free Sweet Earth Awesome Grounds at Select Stores
Free Cookie at Insomnia Cookie for Teachers & Nurses
Free Subscription to Cosmopolitan Magazine
Free 8×10 Photo Print at Walgreens
Free Cliradex Face Wipes or Foam Sample
Free Botzees Toddler Young Coders Party
Free Sweet Earth Marinated Chik’n at Select Stores
Free Sample of Tom Ford Black Orchid
Free BareFoot Wine for Your Birthday
Walmart Mother’s Day Event – Free Crafts, Goody Bag & More
Free Terrain D.O.G. Stickers
Free Abundant Natural Health Ocean Soothe Gel & Lotion Samples
2 Free Meridian Dog Food Samples
Free Hartz Home Protection Odor Eliminating Dog Pads
Free Sample of Nateen Baby Diapers
Free Sample of StriVectin Eye Cream
Free Subscription to Shape Magazine
Free Sample of Combat Ready Friction Shield Tape
Free Subscription to Wine Spectator Magazine
Free Matrix Socolor Permanent Dye Or Toner
Free Sweet Earth Mindful Chik’n at Select Stores
Free No-Cost Heart Health Screenings
Free Wonder Woman Mother’s Day Craft Event at JCPenney
Free Juice or Freeze at Pressed Juicery
Free Ink Cartridge
Free Sample of Cheez-It Grooves
Possible Free 12 Piece Makeup Pencil Set

Deals:

Up to 85% Off XTRATUF Shoes ONLY $9.99
Gel Pens 30-Pack ONLY $7.64 (Reg. $16)
Giant Backyard Waterslide ONLY $99.98 (Reg. $180)
Buy 2 Get 1 Free Cosmetic Bags + Free Shipping
Paint by Sticker Zoo Animals ONLY $5.01 (Reg. $10)
MUK LUKS Women’s No Show Sport Socks 6-Pack $16.99 (Reg. $28)
Jumbo Down-Alt Comforters ONLY $16.99 (Reg. $85)
Morgan Home Fleece Throws ONLY $10.20 (Reg $20)
Kate Spade Cameron and Staci Bundle ONLY $109 (Reg $378)
OPI Nail Polish Scotland Collection ONLY $5.25 (Reg $11)
Deep Tissue Massage Gun ONLY $37.99 Shipped (Reg $75)
Lighted Vanity Mirror with Shelf ONLY $69.90 Shipped (Reg $120)
Martha Stewart 11-Inch Grill Pan ONLY $43.99 Shipped (Reg $110)
A Cloud-Soft Mattress Pad up to 75% Off
Art & Cook Steak Knives w/ Tie-Dye Handles ONLY $7.93 (Reg $22)