Friday, September 10, 2010

Not Your Every Day Sloppy Joe's Yummy Yummy .. Whats For Dinner Tonight



Okay I have to admit I love Sloppy Joe's. Big Sloppy Sloppy Joe's . The meat sauce hanging out of the bun Sloppy Joe's.
I have my recipe and my hubby has his recipe. He calls his Rich Burger's they are with a ketchup base and topped with Velveeta cheese and mine are called Patty D's Mama's recipe.
I grew up across the alley from Patty and her family. Her mama was a beautician and her daddy played in a band at a Supper Club at night. Not sure what he did in the day time. They seemed so sophisticated to a 10 year old girl. My mama stayed home and daddy sold siding and was a preacher on Sunday's.
Okay back to Mrs. D. She made the best Sloppy Joe's in the world I thought. So every time I make them I am 10 years old again and in Mrs. D's kitchen.
Here is the easiest sloppies ever.
Brown one pound of hamburger, spoon the grease off.
season to taste with pepper and salt.
To this I add 1 can of Cream of Chicken Soup ( Mrs. D also added a can of Chicken Gumbo soup but the thrifty side of me ignores this and they are still great).
After mixing this up real good I squirt a good amount of mustard and ketchup into the meat mixture. Continue to let simmer till nice and bubbly. Makes 4 Sloppy Joe's ( two for hubby and me tonight and 2 for another meal later in the week)


I buy nice soft hamburger buns at the bread outlet and top them with the sloppy sauce. To this we add beans and Potato chips. The wind may be blowing outside but every thing is warm and cozy in my kitchen and it is time to eat.

No reason to even think of buying Manwich when you can whip up something this good in a short time

Thanks for stopping by... Come back soon for hubby's Sloppy Joe recipe.. They are great.. Grace

Seven Spending Tips From Billionairs

The article, "Seven Spending Tips from Billionaires" presented information most wouldn't expect. There are frugal billionaires out there. Warren Buffet for one..

One big key is live on less than you make.. Thanks to Mom's Plans for the heads up on the article.

Enjoy the article and remember Never Under Estimate The Value Of A Small Amount Of Money.. Grace

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

20 Rules To Live By For Cheapskates

Lately it has been popular to be frugal/cheap. With the economy suffering we are learning to live on less, spend less and do with what we have.

Wallet Pop did a great post on Rules To Live By For Cheapskates. You can read the whole article by following this link..

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/09/06/20-rules-to-live-by-for-cheapskates/?icid=main%7Cmain%7Cdl6%7Csec1_lnk3%7C169118

Of these 20 the one I Skip the Groupon and mass e-mail coupon sales or the introductory magazine offers. I do not want to remember to cancel.

Other things we do is use grocery bags as garbage bags, why would I pay for plastic.
If we do go out for lunch I like to order something I can eat part of and bring the rest home for a light dinner or a lunch.

We have basic cable TV do not have all the premium channels

We have not had a land line for years

We buy our books used at used bookstores, thrift stores or on the Internet.

What things do you do to be thrifty? I would love to hear from any of you.

Thanks for stopping by... Lets keep saving together and remember Never Under Estimate The Value Of A Small Amount Of Money.

Planning My Menu For The Week

I know that planning menus and making grocery lists saves money, time and headaches, but somehow I go week by week without really making a plan . I can find myself making way too many trips to the grocery store, wandering down the aisles trying to decide what's for supper. Worst yet is grabbing a Pizza to take home or going out to eat which is even more costly.

Some people like to plan menus for a month, but I like to plan once a week.since I like to shop once a week . I also no longer have room for more than a week's groceries. There is no large pantry to fill up like we had in Texas.

I have a ring binder that has some of my favorite recipes and also recipes I want to give a try someday. I am great at printing recipes and letting them pile up. I keep my favorite recipes in plastic sheets to protect them from splatters. Some are printed, others are hand written from friends, my mother and even myself. I so enjoy seeing my mom's hand writing. Can be comforting.


First thing I do is look at the new grocery ads to see what is on sale at the stores and then look at some of my recipe choices to come up with menu ideas for the week. I then gather my coupons and plan my shopping trip.

At this time I have about 30 different menu ideas, with that and the recipes I have not tried , plus searching on line for new recipes I can hopefully add a little variety to the dinner hour.

I like to print some of these pretty menu planning forms to write my menus on. There are several choices. I like the One Week Menu Planner with grocery list attached. I keep these in my recipe binder so they are always handy.

I have a small book shelf in my tiny kitchen. On it I have some of my favorite cook books, my recipe binder and my coupon binder. Also there is room for my new pots and pans ( they are a pretty blue and it has been years since I got new cookware and these were a gift from my sweet sister), my crock pot and electric fry pan.

My goal for the this month is to organize my recipe binder better and come up with more menu choices. Things can get very boring with out variety at dinner time.
Another goal is to start making double of my recipes and freezing them for future meals.

How to you plan your menu for the week. I would love to hear your ideas...
Thanks for stopping by .. and Never Under Estimate The Value Of A Small Amount Of Money.. Grace

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

What's For Dinner Tonight


I can say I love to cook but also can say I hate to cook. I have fun cooking but finding the time and energy to be a challenge. We have the smallest kitchen now in this lake side cottage I have ever had in the past. That also makes it a big challenge. There is a tiny counter and only one person should be in the kitchen at a time.

We found prepared Angus Meatballs at the grocery store the other day. This is a nice change to my Spaghetti dinner.

This time I used two jars of prepared Spaghetti Sauce bought on sale, a package of pasta and 1 can of diced tomatoes already spiced. Simmered this and after thawing out the meatballs, we simmered for about 20 minutes more. Not only will we have for dinner tonight but I have divided the remaining into 2 more dinners . These will be frozen for future use and should be enough for at least 2 dinners and maybe even a lunch for another day.



My goal the rest of the year is to make meals that are doubled or tripled and freeze future meals. Come by again to see What's For Dinner Tonight ... Grace