We have a local food market that has a nice variety of produce and ethnic foods. I stopped by there yesterday to pick up some sweet rice and coconut milk to make a Coconut Rice recipe which I found on Sora’s blog.
While I was at the market, I browsed the meat section and found chicken thighs (free range) for 99¢/lb What an incredible price! I picked up a family pack that was a little over 4 pounds. This was bone in, so I trimmed away the bone and used that to made chicken soup stock for tommorrow’s dinner. I used the boneless meat for Teriyaki Chicken that we had today. I served it with brown rice and fresh green beans. Yum!
Here is a simple recipe I use for the sauce:
Teriyaki Sauce
1/2 cup Soy Sauce
1/2 cup Honey (could use sugar)
1/4 cup Rice Wine Vinegar
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 tsp Fresh Ginger, grated
1/2 tsp Sesame Oil
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer on low heat until thickened. If a thicker sauce is desired, combine 1 Tbsp cornstarch with 1 Tbsp of water and add to other ingredients.
This sauce is good on chicken, steak, or salmon. For my chicken thighs, I just put them in a shallow baking dish and baste with the sauce. Bake at 400º for 50 minutes, (baste with remaining sauce at the halfway mark).
Tommorrow I will make the soup with homemade noodles and serve with fresh baked bread. It’s amazing that we can get two nice meals from $4 of meat! I’m going back to the market tomorrow to stock up!
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A recent review of our checking account statements revealed that we are spending $40.00 every 4-6 weeks for the boys’ haircuts. Frank pays $20 for his, which is reasonable and then the place charges $10 for each child. I use to cut the kids hair myself, but one day last year (when things were particularly hectic); Frank told me that he couldn’t remember what color the boys’ eyes were. He decided to take matters into his own hands. Not by wielding the clippers himself, but by taking them to the local haircut place. Our 9 year old son likes to go with his dad, it’s their version of “Boys Night Out” and while our 3 year old enjoys going out with the boys, he doesn’t enjoy the hair cut experience.
I felt up to the challenge of saving $10 a month by cutting the little guy’s hair on my own again. After all, I still had the clippers and scissors stashed in the linen closet. Quin has a simple style and his hair looks best short. I use #2 clippers on the sides and back and #3 for the top. I decided to cut his hair today. With clippers in hand, we set off for my bathroom to perform the delicate procedure. I try to keep the mood happy and light, because I know that when he hears the “buzz” he will start to complain. Quin’s issue with haircuts is the “tickles”. He dislikes the feeling of the clippers and the hair clippings touching his skin. Mom dislikes having hair clippings all over the floor!
I devised a system that takes care of both our issues. I have him get undressed and wrap a big towel around his neck and shoulders and tuck the ends in. Then I have him stand in our shower stall (the cord on the clippers is plugged into a GFCI outlet and can reach this far). Surprisingly, he does very well for me because he knows that the reward for standing still is getting to take a shower right after we’re done to wash off the tickles.
We’ve decided that I can only use this method while he’s still little, or else I’ll give him a memory to repress. Maybe when he’s older we can move it to the kitchen, or I could find a way to save $10 and Frank can start taking him again.
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Today is our 15th wedding anniversary. Originally, we planned on buying new wedding bands for each other. Due to the recent budget crunch, all large purchases have been put on hold until further notice. We agreed on frugal gifts.
My husband gave me 15 red roses. Very romantic! Not sure how this rates on the frugality scale.
I gave him 15 red baloons with a note inside each one. I jotted down a few memories from each year on the notes. I presented him with a pin to pop the balloons and read the “memories” from each year. He loved it! Remind me not to do this for our 50th! It was hard remembering what happened only 10 years ago!!!
I am working on a frugal weekend trip for us in the near future. My mom, God Bless her, offered to stay with the kids for a weekend.
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