Five on Friday... Supper?

A photo from last weeks meal!

My five on friday this week is all about trying to break some bad habits and save some money. 

January 1st I made a list of goals for 2017.  The first on the list was to be able to do a weekly plan for our evening meals.  We are good eaters here at our house, for example, thehubs made smoked pork shops with cabbage and fried potatoes tonight.  

Tonight we did not

count calories.

We did however, use fresh vegetables, no cans, no packaging, just good, fresh veggies with a lean meat.

Our grocery bills usually runs about $200 per week.  I know that is pretty high for just two people. When you cook with fresh ingredients, then add snacks, baking products, paper products, and cleaning products, the bill goes up.  We also cook for guests two or three times a week instead of going out.  We would rather eat at home than pay $30 to $40 to have a meal out. That right there is a good subject for another post as I know lots of restaurants that offer coupons!

Laura at Harvest Lane Cottage Blog lists what she has done for her week to save money. She has a great blog, please pop over and you can see for yourself.  Laura is great at opening up my eyes to making my life a bit more simple.  She shares her ideas and her heart as she takes care of her family on a budget. Now, how does this relate to my meal planning goal?

It is very hard for me to

save money if I can not plan ahead. 

Here for here is a list of five things I did this week to save money on our weekly budget.

#1 I purchased an expensive loaf of Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Bread.  I shared this loaf with my Mom. I didn't save any money, but I felt good about saving my mom some money. I plan to do more of this. I usually take her "meals on wheels" a couple of times a week to help her eat a more healthy and variety of foods.

#2 I saved $3.40 on my total bill by using my Walmart Savings Catcher app. I did not have to compare prices with area competitors, Walmart did it for me. Here is the link to sign up.

#3 A friend shared a bottle of Kahlua (coffee flavored rum) with me. They came over for a visit and we made hot coffee with a splash of Baileys Irish Cream, Kahlua Rum, and a Starbucks Coffee flavored Liqueur. 

It was delicious. 

I am going to make this hot drink again, only I will use my Hiland Whipping Cream to top it off.  This is so good in the evening when it is cold outside. 

#4 I took the pre-wrapped Valentine Candy out of my cart and put it back on the shelf. Yes, I caved and went down that seasonal aisle, looking at all of the pretty Valentine goodies.  I had to have at least one, only one, it would also be part of my pretty Valentine Display. NOT!  After walking on to the next aisle, guilt took over, those calorie counting brain cells kicked in. I went back and put it back on the shelf.  I pretended to pat myself on the back.

#5 I made my own pie crust from scratch. I had to dig deep to find my can of crisco. Since my knee surgery I have not done much cooking from scratch.

Marie Callender makes delicious frozen pies, they became my go to after-dinner desert. YOu can usually find one in my freezer. 

 I made a batch of 

pie crust cinnamon rolls. 

They are small, can be eaten as breakfast snacks with coffee or with afternoon tea. They can also be made with jams or canned fruit, no need to make a special trip to the grocery store for these!

So thanks to Laura over at Harvest Lane Cottage blog for inspiring me to do better.

What do you call your evening meal? 

Dinner?  Supper?

My Uncle use to say "As long as you call me I don't care what you call it".

Linking with Amy over at

5 on Friday

www.lovemademyhome.blogspot.com