Five Frugal Things | chicken fingers
1. I used up my panko
I discovered a container of panko in my pantry that really needed to be used (those do go stale after a while; I think the oil in the crumbs goes rancid). Mine was fine, but I knew it didn't have a lotta time left.
So, I breaded a few chicken tenderloins to put on top of some green salads for Zoe and me.
I don't use panko all that often, so next time I'm going to throw the opened container in the chest freezer to extend the usable life.
2. I fried the chicken in reused oil
I had a container of oil in the freezer from the last time I fried tortilla strips, so I thawed that and used it for my chicken tenderloins.
And afterward, I strained it and froze it again.
Oil is fine to use several times (read more about that here), and I know a lot of people store it at room temp between uses. But it's so easy to freeze, and I have the space, so I figure, why not?
(I would probably not reuse, say, fish fry oil to make chicken tenders. But tortilla strips leave almost no flavor behind, so this combo was fine.)
3. I made a batch of yogurt
It's sort of funny that I still do this, because it seems like something that might fall by the wayside during a busy season.
But it requires very little hands-on time, and since I have made it so many times, it also requires almost no thinking.
So I just make a batch every few weeks when I am already going to be home for most of the day (like a day off from nursing, when I spend the day writing blog posts and doing homework.)
Once it's done, then I have plenty on hand for making overnight oats, eating with fruit after a shift, or making smoothies.
Here's how I make yogurt with no special equipment.
4. I got a $69.95 refund
Ok, so you know how I got that promotional offer for the pink scrubs? I forgot to cancel the membership deal that got me the discount in the first place, so then I got a $69.95 charge for a "VIP credit" that is good for a $100 or less item.
But I didn't love the way the Fabletics scrubs fit me, and also, there's really nothing on the site that is $100, which means the $69.95 isn't even a good deal.
I cancelled the membership, but thought I was stuck with that $69.95 credit. However, I googled and found out that you can request a refund!
I used the chat feature and got my refund secured. Whew. I will never order from that site again, largely because it's very annoying to use. It loads so slowly, it's almost like being on dial-up again.
5. I...
- went to the city-run gym, where I have an annual membership
- prepped overnight oats for my breakfasts
- made chickpea salad for my lunches, topped with some sautéed shrimp
I had no clue about reusing frying oil! Although the only thing I frequently fry are donuts (Greek yogurt + self-rising flour, shake in sugar).
My 5 frugal:
1. Happened to be at the grocery store when they were marking down their cut melons (they sell halves), so I got a few half price
2. Spent time at the two major grocery stores and one pharmacy creating accounts, so now I can utilize coupons and discounts.
3. Replaced a broken glass water bottle, so we are back to using those instead of buying water bottles when we're out and about.
4. If our grocery delivery had frozen items, they often include little ice packs in an insulated bag. I save these and utilize them when we're running long errands or playing pickleball.
5. Still using the Himalayan salt I had to grind with my little blender, mixing it with lime in my water for homemade electrolytes.
Wow, I’m going to be one of the 1st to post! I’m usually never this early.
Those are a lot of great food saving ideas!
My Frugal 5s:
• Free Summer Lunches: Continuing to get free lunch for my girls through the summer lunch program and eating up anything they don’t want. There’s no income restriction for this, and it’s open to all kids 18 and younger.
• Library Museum Pass: Took the girls to the local science museum, which was free admission for us all thanks to a library pass I checked out. It was a rainy day, so this was the perfect indoor activity.
• Summer Reading Rewards: My girls and I got to pick out a free item for reaching their midway reading goals through the library’s summer reading program. We got a clay hair clips craft, diamond art kit, and doddle and activity books. The girls had so much fun with these!
• Amazon Returns: While in town, I stopped by UPS to drop off a few Amazon returns (some gifts for a friend that weren’t quite right and boots in the wrong size). Got $140 back on my Amazon gift card balance!
• Walmart Returns: I'm also returning a few Walmart items today to get $20 credited back to my card. These are things we just don't need and I changed my mind on, like a clock, a scrub brush, and some toys.
1. A near frugal fail: I wanted a certain study Bible in giant print so I wouldn't have eye strain. A TV ministry offers it for $100, but I think that's way too high. I looked for a used one and found one via Amazon for $20-something. (To be fair, it was from a third-party seller on Amazon.) When I ordered it, the third-party seller was going to charge me more than $70 for shipping. No way! I took it out of my cart and cancelled. Then it said if I got a trial membership in Prime, the shipping would be free. OK, so I signed up and then put the Bible back in my shopping cart. Um, they still had the shipping charge on there, so I cancelled it again, or thought I did. Just to be safe, I called the credit card issuer. The Bible purchase had not been charged -- but Amazon was charging me something, even after I said I didn't want the Prime membership after all. Long story short, the credit card folks stopped the purchase, cancelled my card and are going to send me a new credit card with a new number. Then, I tried Thrift Books and was trying to get a discount coupon and no luck there. Oh well, maybe I'll see that Bible at a local store someday.
2. While on the phone with the credit card issuer, I found out that the 12-month zero percent interest deal I thought I had is actually a 24-month deal, and that I have quite a bit of money on my credit limit. This is good news, sort of, because I am going to need a way to pay for some more dental work.
3. Bought eggs for 89 cents a dozen at our store. Checked to see what would be the better size: large brown eggs, jumbo white eggs or extra large white eggs. (My homemaking teacher, Mrs. Krebs, would be so proud of me!) Guess what? All 3 appear to be the same size!
4. I received a letter from the IRS saying I owe more taxes than the Jackson Hewitt lady told me I owed. So I called JH up. Did not get any satisfaction over the phone, so I filed a complaint online on their customer service website.
5. Mr. Snuggles Dog hasn't been eating his dry food lately, so I poured some kibbles into a little cardboard container of a frozen microwaved dinner I had just eaten. I thought he might like the remaining cheese and mashed potatoes and chicken broth from the shepherd's pie; some cheese was melted onto the cardboard. Surely he would lick it out, I thought, as he's done before on other things. Uh, maybe not. Doggone it! This may have backfired: I can't find the cardboard dish. I think he ate it! (So far, he doesn't appear to be sick, but I'm closely watching him.)