A Productive Weekend

This weekend, I took full advantage of my two days off. On Saturday, I spent some time with family.  While driving with my Mom, we came across a big garage sale where they were selling everything you could fill a paper bag with for just $1.  I got some very cute baby girl clothes for my niece, a dress-up scarf for a project my Mom is working on, some vintage books and children's books, a tool, an apron, a girl's backpack, some craft items, and a sweater for my husband- all for a dollar.  On Sunday, I attended church and took a six mile walk to train for a half marathon we are doing in June to help raise funds for our Ghana adoption (check out DoingForOne.org to read more). But I also fit in some frugal food preparation to get us through the month...

I used up some rolls that were given to us from a church event to make croutons.  The rolls were probably going to go stale if they weren't used, but making croutons with olive oil and salt will prolong their life and give us a tasty salad topping.  My husband loves homemade croutons, and I have another bag of rolls in the freezer that might end up as such, too.

My mom gave us a yogurt maker last year, and I decided to try making coconut honey yogurt.  Sadly, the yogurt did not set (which I kind of expected) so I'm going to turn the "yogurt" into popsicles this week.  I will pour it into molds and add fresh chopped fruit for a nice summer treat.

I got two bunches of bananas from Costco that turned brown so quickly that I decided to slice them and dehydrate them.  My mom also got us a dehydrater that makes this process a snap.  I just set it up right before bed and let it run through the night.  The finished product filled two quart mason jars, one of which has been devoured by my husband already.  But I can always make more, and at $1.29 for eight or nine bananas, it's a very cheap and easy snack.

This month, I bought a 25 pound bag of dry black beans and I made a double batch of them in the crockpot on Sunday.  It's so very inexpensive and simple to prepare your own dried beans this way.  I then used the beans to make 30 bean, rice, and veggie freezer burritos which the hubs and I can use for breakfasts, lunches, and/or snacks when we are in a hurry.  Along with the beans, I sautéed 3 onions and 3 red peppers that I had left from last month with some minced garlic, and I also added some roasted tomato salsa that I had leftover.  I made a big pot of brown rice from my 25 pound bulk bag, which I added to the burritos as well.  I can't wait to try them- just a couple minutes in the microwave and they will be ready to eat.  And I had two bags of black beans and two bags of rice leftover to freeze for future use as well.

My husband and I got a free, brand new 19 inch television and a free set of brand new Paula Deen pots and pans delivered this weekend to our house.  We got them through our credit union visa.  We have used our visa for big purchases since we got married and for gas for our cars.  We pay it off every week.  We have yet to pay a dime of interest on the card, but we earn rewards, which we used for these two treats.  Goodbye old Goodwill pots and pans- back to Goodwill you go!  And the television is for our bedroom.  We do not plan on connecting it to our basic cable, but will use it instead for watching DVDs when we are sick or getting ready for bed, and for me to do yoga.  I have great morning and relaxation yoga DVDs that I like to do, and there is plenty of room on our bedroom floor for me to lay out a yoga mat.  Since we sold a blender on craigslist for $25 this week, I used $8 of this money to get myself a new, much needed yoga mat.  I found a beautiful brand new one that came with a strap for a great deal.  I am very excited about all of this.  

Please share feel free to share any exciting deals or recipes that you've come across.  And thanks for reading.