Five Meals from One Turkey

My guys aren't a big fan of turkey. They prefer ham every time, so I don't buy turkey. However, my guys DO like tacos, dumplings, pot pies, pasta, and wraps. 

And so, today, my thrifty heart rejoiced, because as I was completing my Thanksgiving food shopping, I saw a sign that read, "Riverside Turkeys: 27 cents a pound with any $20 purchase". SCORE! Sadly, I don't have a deep freezer and my freezer is small, so a nearly-11-pound turkey was the biggest I felt comfortable purchasing. 

Thrifty Cold Monday Recipe: Ham and Bean Soup

I had posted in Meal Plan 1 a quick run-through of my bean soup recipe, but was asked by a couple of people for a more thorough recipe, so here it is. This is perfect for the cold weather, and you could easily make it vegetarian by using vegetable stock and omitting the ham, and the bacon grease.

Fun Sweater Update Using Old Sweatpants

Like the last tutorial, this post was inspired by a product I would love to buy, but can't justify spending the money on.  This sweater is fun and exactly my style. Sadly, it's also $69. I don't spend $69 on clothes.

I had seen a picture of a sweater on Pinterest of a sweatshirt with a giant heart on it.  There was no tutorial to it, just the image, but I sent my BFF a text, showing her the image and asking if she thought I could do that myself.  Since she's an optimistic sort, she immediately said, "yes", and that was all the encouragement I needed!

Easy Upcycled "Silk" Fabric Flower Headband

I love the look of this headband. 

It's classy and really elegant but I just couldn't justify spending that amount right now. So, the hunt for a tutorial on how to make these beautiful flowers began! I found lots, but most had many steps that I felt I could exclude, so once I had the procedure down--which I got from this blog--I set out to make my own (less elegant than my inspirational photo above) silk flower headband.

3 Day Meal Plan 2: Rotisserie Chicken

I have another delicious, low-cost 3-day meal plan, using one cooked rotisserie chicken. In this plan, I relied on helpers (mixes and prepared sauce) but you can very easily modify this to be made from scratch, and I usually do. It was just one of those weeks, and since we all have them, it's actually nice to show how an affordable home-cooked meal can still be put on the table, in very little time.

Upcycled Newborn Headband into an Embellishment

I had mentioned in my first blog entry that we did not find out our baby girl's gender during our pregnancy. As a result, and because I am not overly find of pink, I had a ton of neutral clothes. This didn't bother me at all, but I decided it might be fun to "dress up" a few shirts.

Swiffer Money-Saving Tip

You guys all may know this cleaning tip, but I thought I'd post it just in case.

I love my Swiffer mop. It's simple, lightweight, and quick. However, I hated spending money on the cleaning cloths. One day, I thought I'd see what happened if I wrapped a washcloth around it. Let the money-saving begin!

Upcycled Baby Food Jar

I saved many of the baby food jars from when my son was smaller, initially just because they made great bowls for mashed foods, and now are great for snacks like raisins and cheerios. Still, I have a lot, and am always trying to think of new ways to use them.

Quick Tip: Using Up Bananas

My 2 year-old has a condition best described by this internet meme:

3-Day Meal Plan 1: Rotisserie Chicken

One night, I bought a cooked rotisserie chicken at my grocery store. I served it with a nice salad and a couple of sides. But then I had leftovers...which would change my cooking life. I realized how many things you can do with a cooked rotisserie chicken! 

Another Version of the Turkey Hair Clip

Last week I posted my completely upcycled turkey hair clip. I am practicing, so tried my hand at another version. This version uses an old scrap of fabric and thread and I think it was even easier!

An Old Curtain Becomes a Shabby Chic Fall Wreath

Last week, I decided it was time to change out my Halloween rag wreath for a Fall wreath. As I was looking through old shirts, I came across an old curtain panel that I haven't used in years.

Then, I remembered seeing this tutorial on threading burlap through a wire hanger. Burlap has a great weave for doing this, but my thin sheet of cotton definitely does not, so I had to get creative.

Upcycled Turkey Hair Clip

I am practicing hair designs, since I adore many of the Etsy hair clips and bows, but just can't spend the money right now, during holiday season. This design has many flaws, but thankfully, my sister is there to accept my less-than-perfect practice attempts (if I feel it's too big for my baby girl, which this one is).

Two Thrifty Thursday Recipes: BBQ Chicken and Chicken and Biscuits

I love when I can cook 2 meals in one night. With 2 babies, it is a real time-saver. When those meals are also less than $2 a serving, it just warms my thrifty heart. 

Upcycled Halloween Wreath

Weeks ago, I saw a really cute Christmas rag wreath on a Facebook page and thought it looked pretty simple to make. I really like the idea of using wire coat hangers as a base, instead of spending money on wreath forms that just get covered up. 

Baby Boy Edition: No-Cost Upcycled Thanksgiving Shirt

I definitely couldn't leave our 2 year-old out of the cute holiday crafting. He needed a shirt, too.

I had a blank burgundy shirt and knew it would be perfect. I had seen this adorable shirt on Amazon and it was my inspiration for this project.

No-Cost Thanksgiving Upcycled Appliquéd Onesie

Whenever I see an adorable holiday-themed shirt, I first think of how cute it is, then think of how limited the wear will be. Yes, I'm just too practical (or cheap) to spend a lot on something my little ones will wear briefly.

With that in mind, I decided to upcycle and make my own Thanksgiving clothes for the babies. 

Turning Leftovers into a Sunday (or any-day) Breakfast Side Dish

Friday night, we had some delicious bacon cheeseburgers and seasoned fries from a great home town diner.

Exhibit A. Yes, it was as good as it looks.

Paper Craft: Birthday & Anniversary Fridge Magnet

I saw this very stylish birthday calendar idea on Pinterest, but it involved wood work and purchasing hardware. I just wasn't that serious about it. Plus, I really didn't want to buy materials.

Desperation Craft: Trick or Treat Bags

So, everyone knows that my husband and I are a bit like nomads--we move a lot. Between schools, work, growing family, and just a bit of restlessness, we have lived in quite a few homes in the past 7 years.

Every time we move, I donate an embarrassing amount of bags to charity. I am not talking about 13 gallon trash bags, people. I'm talking about giant lawn and leaf paper bags. I become ruthless--culling out anything I haven't seen in a while or that I feel we can not use.