Ms. Frugal

So I had friends in town this weekend.  I took them to see the sites, making sure they got the limited day Metro passes, and we had a really good time.  I really wanted to take them down below the Lincoln Memorial to see the political cartoons from the 1930’s, but I couldn’t find a friendly enough Park Ranger.  Anyway, we’d just had a great day and decided we should go out for a nice dinner.  One of my friends said he would treat as payment for all my tour guide services.  I’m Ms. Frugal, so of course I said yes.  We find this nice little grille (note the ‘e’) and go inside.  The hostess is shocked to see us.  She shakes her head and says we are under-dressed.  We were all wearing sweaters and hats.  She said we needed ties and skirts.  It is a grille for goodness sakes!  Oh well, don’t waste your time at restaurants who don’t want your business.  The food wouldn’t have been worth the cost anyway.

Fluffy Pink Fruit Salad

1 jar (10 0z) maraschino cherries

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped (I used Light Cool-whip since I was trying to save some calories)

1 can (20 oz) pineapple tidbits, drained

1 can (15 1/4 oz) fruit cocktail, drained

1 can (15 oz) sliced peached, drained and diced

6 medium firm bananas, sliced

3 cups pastel miniature marshmallows

Drain cherries, reserving 1/3 cup juice (save the remaining juice for another use). cut cherries in half; set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and reserved cherry juice until smooth. Fold in whipped cream. Fold in cherries, pineapples, fruit cocktail, peaches, bananas and marshmallows. Transfer to a serving bowl. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Yield: 18-22 servings. Woohoo!

I took a half hour break tonight from studying to go through the paper and cut out coupons.  Now, first I should mention that the newspaper is my landlords - I’m not foolish enough to actually purchase a paper when I can read everything online.  Anyway, I went through and found a lot of good deals on food items.  When I go to buy fish this weekend, I’ll save $1.25 a pound.  For cereal, since I’m taking to eating that more and more, I’ll save $2 on the generic family sized box.  That’s a great deal.  Something I can get 50+ meals out of only costs me around $3.30.  Talk about good shopping!  Those were really the highlights of my experience, but I’ll keep at it.  Every bit helps.

I grew up without cable television in my house.  My family was some unknowing group of Luddites I guess.  Either way, when I went to college, I got hooked on cable tv.  I would watch it all the time.  To this day, I am still crazy about A&E and Lifetime.  I also like the History Channel, although I can’t really put my finger on what attracts me to that.  Maybe all the shows about criminals and brining them to justice.  A constant reminder of why I want to go into law, even if it isn’t going to be criminal law.  Anyway, in an effort to save money, I’ve decided to cancel my cable.  It will save me $59 a month and I can watch almost anything I want online nowadays.  Plus, it will help me focus more, not that I ever stray too much from my work to cable.  I guess I just don’t need it anymore and the novelty has worn off.  Looks like there are a variety of reasons.

This is by far the best use of Blueberries ever come up with!

2/3 cut butter, softened

1-1/4 cups sugar blend for baking

2 eggs

4 egg whites

1-1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

3 cups all-purpose flour

3-3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup fat-free milk

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (I used 3 cups and it was well worth it)

1 cup canned unsweetened crushed pineapple, drained

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (totally optional)

1/2 cup flaked coconut (I left this out since I’m not a big fan)

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar blend.  Add the eggs, egg whites and lemon juice; mix well.  combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk.  Fold in the blueberries, pineapple, pecans and coconut.

Transfer to two 8 x 4 x 2 loaf pans coated with spooking spray.  Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes (around 53 seemed to be perfect for mine, but I like mine soft) or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.  Yields: 2 loaves.

With the extra cup of blueberries, each piece is so rich that you can really extend the time that these loafs will stick around.  They’re pretty healthy too.  I highly recommend them.

I was getting off the metro stop today and riding the escalator back to the surface. Wow, those are some steep escalators. Anyway, as I was walking out of the exit, I ran into some tourists who clearly were confused. I offered to help them find out where they were going. They were actually looking for the airport. I showed them on the map where they needed to go and the quickest way to get there. They had plenty of time before their flight, but they still seemed anxious to get to the airport just in case. Despite having done this out of the goodness of my heart, and understanding how confusing it can be at times in D.C., they gave me a very nice reward. They gave me one of their commuter passes. They had put too much money on it and they weren’t going to use it again. So I got an extra $23 worth of free travel. It was a good day.

How do you do cheap laundry?  That is a very good question and I wish that I knew the answer.  I try to extend the period of time I can go between doing loads by changing out of clothes right after I wear them.  If I have only had my slacks on for a few hours, I hang them back up and put them in the closet again.  Now, I never do this with any sort of clothing that is stained or has the appearance that it has been worn before.  However, by hanging up clothes again and occasionally spraying Fabreeze into the closet, I can go at least three weeks without having to do laundry.  I cut down on the number of loads too, which means that when all is said and done, I save around $12-15 a laundry cycle.

I found this recipe for a really warm and hearty casserole dish.  I tried making it the other day and the cost was great compared to how filling it is.

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-ich cubes

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided

1 can (16 oz) refried beans

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with mild green chilies, drained

8 flour tortillas (I only needed 6)

1 can (11 oz) Mexicorn, drained

2 cups (8 oz) shredded cheddar cheese

In large skillet, saute the chicken, cumin and salt in 1 tablespoon oil until chicken is no longer pink.

Combine the beans and tomatoes; spread 1 cup into a greased 11 x 7 x 2 in baking dish.  Top with tortilla strips; layer with half of the corn, bean mixture, chicken and cheese.  Repeate layers

Using remaining tortilla strips, make a lattice crust over filling; brush with remaining oil.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.

I found that around 23 minutes was optimal.  I think if I had left it in there any longer, the top would have gotten burnt.  It makes around 6 servings, or so the recipe says, but it looks like I’ll be able to go about 10 servings.  Part of frugal living is going further on smaller portions.  Enjoy!

The seasons have begun to change.  At least inside the stores they have.  While it remains frigid on the streets of Washington D.C., consumers are finding warmth inside shopping malls.  As I’ve said in earlier postings, I’m not a very big shopper.  I don’t really enjoy the process and I don’t usually have the money to waste on extra items, especially clothes.  I am very much a sale shopper and right now all of the winter stuff is on sale because the stores want to clear room for the summer collections.  I stopped by JCPenney yesterday and picked up three fall/winter skirts for $65.  According to all the original tags, I saved $75 over the prices before the sale took effect.  What a deal!

You might not expect this to be an entry about frugality, but I assure you that it is.  When I first arrived on campus, I was overwhelmed with all of material they presented me with.  I am only now, six months later, getting through all of it.  One of the most useful pieces of information I found was that there is a Law school-wide listserv that people post items on that they are giving away for free.  It is amazing.  People put their books on there, electronic items, CDs, computer programs, and a variety of other goods.  The books are the best part since everyone follows a similar sequence of courses and law books are really expensive.  The best part about the listserv is that it is called ‘Law School Socialism - Help a J.D. out.’  I already have three hits on some books I listed and I am getting a new set of snack trays.