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Four Frugal Things (and one not-so-frugal)

1. I planted some green onion ends

I saved the root ends of two green onions that were in my veggie drawer, let them sit in water for a day or two, and then stuck them in the dirt in one of my outside pots, where they will grow new green onion tops.

green onion ends.

I’m not close to considering myself a gardener, but this is easy and reliable enough for even me!

green onion in a pot.

 

2. I stuck some wilty kale in a mug of water

I used part of my poor neglected kale in a pot of soup.

glass bowls of tortellini soup.

but I stuck the rest of it in a cup of water, where I have faith that it will perk up.

wilty kale

3. I made a batch of granola

A reader was going through my old posts recently and found this one (which I posted maybe a week into my blogging career. lol). In it, I shared that I was planning to add three frugal cooking skills to my list:

  • croutons
  • granola
  • crackers

And she pointed out that 2/3 of those are in my regular rotation now (the croutons and the granola.)

The homemade crackers,though? Ugh. I disposed of that idea after giving it multiple tries.

I like my crackers to come from the store, please and thank you

Anyone who has made crackers can tell you that they are a lot of work for not much reward. Tedious is an appropriate descriptor!

There’s so much rolling and poking with a fork and cutting and it is so hard to not burn the edges of them, especially if you haven’t rolled the dough perfectly evenly.

I decided homemade crackers are not at all worth the effort.

5. The fail: I got sucked in with a Sam’s Club sample

I almost never buy the foods they serve as samples, but this time I cracked!

pretzel bag.

The sample was a small cup of seasoned pretzels, and I thought the pretzels would be savory.

But I was pleasantly surprised to find myself snacking on some cinnamon-sugar pretzel sticks, and they were so good, I spontaneously put a bag in my cart.

This is not the largest frugal fail ever; I think the huge bag of pretzels was something like $8.90.

Your turn! What frugal things have you been up to?

(and you can share a fail if you want too, of course.)                         

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Donna

Saturday 30th of March 2024

Hi Kristen! I love the Dot's Pretzels, too. They are pricey, but yummy. I looked on Pinterest and found a copycat recipe that is very similar to the taste of Dot's. There were a bunch of copycat recipes for the Honey Mustard and Cinnamon Sugar pretzels. I enjoy reading your blog. I am a fairly new subscriber. I found out about your blog from the Nonconsumer Advocate. Thanks for writing!

Kristen

Saturday 30th of March 2024

Aww, I'm glad you found me! Katy and I are kindred spirits, so I'm not surprised you enjoy both of our blogs.

Welcome, welcome!

Nikki

Thursday 28th of March 2024

1. We made all our meals at home and used up foods that needed to be eaten. 2. We didn't buy any new clothes for Easter. Everyone has nice stuff that fits. 3. We used materials we had to make paper bag puppets and (mini) hand sewn dolls. 4. I finally got the movie "Wonka" from our local library! I waited patiently so I can watch it for free. 5. I baked a birthday cake from scratch and we celebrated at home.

Terry

Thursday 28th of March 2024

To revive wilted kale and other greens. I immerse in my salad spinner full of cold water, trim the stems like you do with flower stems, and leave the stems and in water until plant revives. I have even bought kale and lettuce on a hot day at market and revived them. I was a market gardener for over 25 years so I learned lots of useful tricks

Carla

Saturday 30th of March 2024

@Terry, I'm very interested in those useful tips!

Isa

Wednesday 27th of March 2024

* Really cutting down on groceries for the next month or so. I am determined to use what we already have at home before buying more (except for fruits and veggies, milk and eggs). I'm a food hoarder...

* Working extra days here and there to compensate for my unpaid vacation coming up.

* Having extended family coming for diner for my DD bday. She choose the meal, chili with corn chips and garlic bread, which is frugal in itself, and my mother-in-law is bringing the dessert. I got great decorations from my Buy Nothing group.

Gina

Wednesday 27th of March 2024

Dots are hard to resist. Don’t feel bad!

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