I have some cooked chicken that was de-boned and put in the fridge two days ago. I also have a little of the chicken pot pie from a couple of days ago left. There's very little breading but some of the creamy chicken filling. Then I have the leftover veggies from last night's beef roast but no beef left! So I'm going to use the creamy stuff from the chicken pot pie with the cooked chicken and last night's vegetables to make chicken and vegetable soup. It will use up three bowls of leftover stuff and be very frugal indeed. I'll probably make buttery bread sticks to go with it and it will be filling and frugal.

I called Lingo and changed our calling plan from the office plan to the chatterbox residential plan. There's a $9.99 charge for changing but a $28 savings each month from the office plan. That works for me!

This is another substitute for cream of whatever soups. It works very well and tastes great.

2 T. butter
2 T. flour
1 c. milk
Salt & Pepper to taste or other spices/vegetables for flavor (mushrooms, celery, chicken bouillon, etc.)

Mix equal parts of butter & flour, stirring into a paste. Freeze in 1 T. balls or in the cubes of an ice tray. To make quick white sauce, simmer 2- T. cubes of the frozen butter & flour mixture w/ milk, then salt & pepper to taste. To make cheese sauce, just add shredded cheese to the white sauce.

I try to keep tabs on my MSG intake so I've collected a few MSG free recipes. Here's one that is excellent!

1/2 cup dried minced onion
1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup chili powder
2 Tbsp cornstarch (I usually use 1 Tbsp)
2 Tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp oregano
2 Tbsp cumin

Combine all ingredients and run through blender if you want for finger consistency. Store it in an airtight container. Use 2 Tbsp and 1/2 cup water to 1 lb. of meat or meat and TVP mixture. Simmer 10 minutes.

One of the recipes I posted yesterday calls for soup mix but I said you can use a homemade equivalent and another blogger wants to know what's in that.

Here's the recipe for the onion soup mix:

3/4 cup dry minced onion
1/3 cup beef bouillon powder
4 teaspoons onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed celery seed
1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar (this can be omitted)

Combine all ingredients, mixing well. Store in an tight fitting container. About 5 tablespoons of mix are equal to a 1-1/4 ounce package.

I washed clothes but they won't go on the line til morning because it was raining a good deal of the day.

Dinner was a beef roast (was that on my menu plan I posted a few days ago? noooo! but it's what we wanted and we had it in the freezer, purchased at .99 a lb of course!) cooked with a head of fresh cauliflower, carrots, and green beans, all seasoned with a spice mix given to DH today by a
Homemade Gourmet distributor. I'd never tried any of their products before but this woman called us about putting an ad in the next issue of the directory and DH met her and she gave him this sample for me to try. It's the Grandmother's Sunday Roast Seasoning. I liked it but it isn't something I'll buy. Rather, I'll figure out how to make a clone version. The instructions called for the entire $4 package to be used for one roast and vegetables but I used about 1/5 of the package and that was sufficient. It was pretty tasty and DH said it was cooked "perfectly". It was certainly tender and we cut it without a knife!

I made a few more bucks working online. Hopefully next week I'll get a check of $50 or more.

DH came home for lunch again today so that was money saved. He sold some ads and our salesman called tonight to say he'd sold quite a few ads. Yippeeee! And we have an idea for the business. I'll post about that tomorrow!

I don't remember where I found this but it's a fantastic recipe when one wants a treat and has no eggs.

1 cup sugar
2 cups flour (cake flour if you have it)
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup salad dressing
1 cup room temperature water
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix everything together, and bake for 30 minutes in an oven that's been preheated for at least 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Top with whipped cream, syrup or ice cream.

There's no need to buy those expensive vegetables with the cheese sauce mixed in. You can make your own for a lot less and it's healthier, too.

1 oz butter
3 oz grated cheese
3/4 pint milk (powdered milk and canned milk work very well in this)
1 oz flour

Melt the butter over medium heat and cook and stir the flour in it for a few minutes. Whisk in the milk to avoid lumps. Bring to a boil and simmer for a couple of minutes, whisking the entire time.
Add a good pinch of salt and pepper to taste, then stir in the cheese. Taste and season as needed. I love chopped garlic and onion and crumbled fried turkey bacon in this sauce.

These are delicious made with whole wheat flour and put in soup, either with meat or without. And they're easy, too.

1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp milk (powdered milk or water work too)
1 cup flour

Mix egg, salt and milk. Add enough flour to make a stiff dough. Roll thin, let stand 20 minutes. Roll up and slice 1/8" thick. Spread to dry for about 2 hours. Drop in boiling broth and cook 10 min.

Another one from the More-With-Less Cookbook. My kids gobbled these up like crazy and still love it when I make them.

Combine:

1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp salt and dash pepper
1 1/4 cup flour

Cut in with pastry blender:

1/3 cup butter

Sprinkle with:

3 Tbsp milk

Toss with fork. Form into ball. Preheat oven to 375.

Turn dough onto floured surface and roll out 1/8 inch thick. Sprinkle liberally with sesame seeds and run rolling pin over dough. Prick dough all over with a fork. Cut into 1x2 sticks or 2 inch squares and then into triangles. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake 10 minutes or until golden.

These are great with spices, other cheeses, onions, etc added. I love to play with the basic recipe and see what I can create.

This is from the More-With-Less Cookbook, my all time favorite cookbook.

My youngest son really loved this when he was a kid but all the kids really like it. Seldom is there anything leftover. It's very thrifty if you buy the ingredients on sale and it's filling! We like it with homemade bread or rolls and some green beans or a salad.

Preheat oven to 350.

Cut in 1 inch rounds:

3-4 medium zucchini squash or other summer squash, unpeeled

Cook in small amount of water until tender. Drain and mash with a fork.

Saute:

1 T butter
1 small onion, chopped

Combine:

mashed squash
sauteed onion
2 cups corn
1 cup shredded Swiss Cheese
1/2 t. salt
2 beaten eggs

Turn into 1 qt greased casserole.

Combine and sprinkle on top:
1/4 c dry bread crumbs
2 T grated Parmesan cheese
1 T melted butter

Place casserole on baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.

Dutch hats are something I learned about from a woman on a message board I frequent. These are so good! I use low carb syrup and whole wheat or soy flour.

4 Tbsp butter
6 eggs, scrambled
1 c flour
1 c milk
1 -2 tsp vanilla
2-4 Tbsp honey or maple syrup

Melt the butter in the 9x13 pan in a 400* oven. While it is melting, add the remaining ingredients to the eggs in order and mix well. When the butter is completely melted, pour the mixture on top of butter and bake for 20 minutes.

Cut slices and add spoons of plain or vanilla yogurt, fruit or fruit salad and then drizzle with maple syrup.

This is one of the "desperate measures" recipes I use. It's tasty and served with some side vegetables or a salad and some homemade bread, it's quite filling!

1 cup raw rice
1/2 pkg. Lipton onion dry soup mix or homemade equivalent
2-1/2 lb. fryer, cut up
1 can cream of chicken soup or homemade equivalent
1 to 1-1/2 cups cold water
paprika, optional

Put the 1/2 pkg. of onion on the bottom of an 9"x13" baking pan. Then put the rice on top of that. Mix the soup with the water. Put that on top of the rice. Then put the raw on top of the soup and do not salt. You can put the paprika on top of the chicken if using. Bake covered for 1 1⁄4 to an 1 1⁄2 hour and the 15 minutes bake uncovered.

I've been listening to Dave's radio show archives all afternoon and I think I'm finally beginning to understand his system. Do any of you use his baby steps and have they worked or are they currently working for you?

Almost every caller has what I consider a large income and job benefits - so far none of them are like us, living at or below the poverty level, not insured, barely getting by, etc. so I'm not sure how well his suggestions would work for us but I'm very willing to give them a try.

DH isn't quite on board with all this yet. I've mentioned things to him but as of yet, he hasn't commented. I might have to do most of this on my own but if I have to, I will.

DH made sales calls today and ran to the post office to mail some things. He spent $13.44 at the post office and that's it. I haven't spent a cent in days and days.

Oops, that wasn't it. He told me he also spent about $5 on a drink, peanuts, and a pack of cigarettes.

So the total is $18.44

I went over the list of expenses I posted on December 30th and with my man person's help, I revised it. He brought a couple of things to my attention so here's the revised list of expenses.

Mortgage $270
Food 200
Electricity 200
Water 55
Propane 20
Property tax 55
Gasoline 200
Phone 54
Cell Phone 50
Satellite 55
ISP 92
Netflix 20
Toner 40
Paper 45
Clothes 20
Household 25
Medical 100
Auto Maint. 60

Total $1,561.00

The medical isn't accurate because we're both diabetic and need to test very often. If we test as we need to, the monthly cost of that would be closer to $400. Ouch!

Anyway, that's the breakdown of monthly expenses. Now I just have to figure out how to get that much coming in consistently...

We had a quickie version of this last night. It's always a hit and the horde rarely leaves any uneaten. We make it without a bottom crust (fewer carbs that way) and it's just as good as if it had one.

Boil or bake a chicken and debone it. For a 9 x 13 pan of pie, I use two breasts or a breast and a thigh and leg. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and put it into a large bowl. To that add one can of cream of mushroom soup and one can of cream of chicken soup (or use homemade equivalents as I do) and enough milk to make it all smooth and creamy. Add seasonings to taste; I use garlic pepper seasoning salt, a bit of sage, basil and some chopped garlic. Mix well and add vegetables. You can use any kind you want but in the effort to save on carbs I generally use leftover green beans and broccoli, a little bit of cooked carrot, and some cooked squash. Once it's all mixed well, set aside.

To make the crust, into a large bowl put put 3 cups flour, 1/4 to 1/2 cup milk, about 1/2 tsp salt, and about a teaspoon of baking powder. Mix all that well. You might need to add more flour or more water to get the consistency right. You want it about like biscuit dough. If you want the top crust to be fluffy rather than flat, add more baking powder. Roll the dough out to about 1/8 inch thickness. It doesn't have to be perfect but try to get it roughly the size and shape of your pan.

Put the soup/vegetable/chicken mixture in the pan first then gently lay the rolled out crust on top of it. If it doesn't go to the edges don't worry about it. It will be scarfed down, anyway! If I'm in a hurry, rather than roll the crust, I just put dollops of dough on the top of the soup mixture. That works well, too.

Once it's assembled pop it into a 350 degree oven and bake til the top is light brown. We usually have this with a salad and it's a hearty and frugal meal, specially when leftovers are used.

Someone asked me how I weed out legit surveys from junk. Well, I don't do many surveys but I do a few. I like Pinecone Research and although they pay such a small amount, every bit helps.

Treasure Trooper is one I just started with but like. If you have any interest in online surveys and offers, look it over and join if you feel comfortable with it. In their surveys section is a nice list of legit survey companies.

You won't get rich doing surveys but a little here and a little there adds up and it's going to go to my $20 challenge.

I also do some keying for keyforcash.com. I don't think they're accepting new people and I know of a few people who registered in May but still haven't been put to work but it's definitely worth looking into. You just type snippets of text and they pay you for it. You have to make a minimum of $50 for them to pay but the checks go out once a week. During fairly busy times I make $60 to $100 with keyforcash.com.

I used to do inbound telemarketing for West Work at Home. I made pretty good money but the best pay was at night and it got to the point where the prank calls were so bad and so numerous I just stopped doing it. It's a reliable company, though. I always got paid and got the right amount on time.

Associated Content is a content site and I've written a few articles for them. They pay between $3 and $20 article. I've only submitted a few articles and need to write some more. It's a fun and interesting gig if you like to write.

I'll write more later about other online work opportunities I know of or have experience with.

The chicken is cooked, cooled, and de-boned. I made a quickie version of my chicken pot pie and it's okay. Not great but not bad, either. The horde will eat it. What chicken didn't get used in that is now in the fridge awaiting use later this week.

I got the clothes washed and hung on the line and they're dry, folded, and put away now. A few of them were just slightly damp so I draped them here and there to finish drying. Doing that costs less than running to the laundromat to finish the drying. I saved about .75 plus the little bit of gas to drive 3 miles. Not a big savings but I'll add a dollar to my $20 challenge jar.

I did a little bit of online work today. There wasn't a lot to do but I made a few bucks. I won't get paid for it until late next week but that's okay. It will be a little bit toward the big payment to the bank later this month.

All in all, it was a pretty cheap day!

My other half went out to make sales calls and spent about $5 while he was out. He didn't keep the receipt but that's all that was spent today. Not bad but I'd hoped for less. At least he came home for lunch!

I got a financial calendar in the mail today and it looks like a good one! It has tax deadlines, budget helps, retirement info, credit tips, interest rate information, and a lot more.

If you're a Texas resident and would like this calendar free, just go to:

http://www.valueyourmoney.org/

There's also a version you can download.
It's a nice calendar and the tips and hints are informative.

Am I Poor? is an article about a woman who lost her well paying job and now lives on $6.50 an hour. It's a nice article and there are some excellent suggestions for us all.

I have 5 lbs of chicken cooking on the stove right now. After it's cooked and cooled, I'll de-bone it and put the chicken in containers in the fridge and we'll use it over the next few days.

Tonight's dinner will be... chicken! Surprise! I'm not sure what I'll do with it but it will either be homemade chicken pot pie, a real favorite around here, or perhaps chicken salad rollups and sandwiches.

I need to wash a little laundry again and hang it on the line. I make a confession to you all right now. The "boys", ages 22, 21 and 16 don't like to use towels more than once. They're funny about that for some reason and while I don't have a problem with it in theory, in practice it creates more work and expense for me. Although the guys wash and dry their own laundry, they don't normally wash and dry towels; I do it. So yesterday I got a bright idea. I hung their wet towels on the clothes line and when they were dried, I just folded them neatly and put them on their dressers. They'll use them again today. Now, why didn't I think of this sooner? I haven't a clue! At any rate, if I can make a towel last two or three days instead of just one, it's less laundry which means less money spent and less work for me. Yeehaw, I like it.

I'm working online today, earning what money I can. And I shouldn't spend a thing. The only money spent today should be whatever DH spends while he's out making calls.

Yesterday's spending was $1.54. My man person was out making sales calls and bought a canned drink and a bag of peanuts. That's all that was spent yesterday. Not too shabby!

I didn't quit smoking on the 1st as I'd planned but I did quit on the 2nd of January. This is what my quit gadget just gave me:

17 hours, 55 minutes and 29 seconds smoke free.

60 cigarettes not smoked.

$7.00 and 11 hours of your life saved.

Wow, $7 saved already! Impressive

I've washed a load of clothes and have them hanging up. The towels are in the washer now and when they're finished, I'll hang them on the line.

I've kept my eyes open today for change lying around the house to add to my $20 challenge fund. So far I've found 23 cents and a jar of pennies I forgot about! I don't know how many pennies there are but I'll count them later today or tonight.

DH and I are in our yearly winter thermostat war. Rather than get dressed and even wear thermals if necessary, he usually sits around the house in shorts and short sleeved shirts and of course, he's cold so he turns up the heat. I'm fully dressed wearing some warmer clothes and I'm comfortable. In an effort to help with our ridiculously high electric bills, I want to turn the heat down to 68 or so but he wants it up around 72 or higher. Last night before going to bed I checked the thermostat and it was on 76! I turned it down to 68 since he was already in bed and I was headed there. We have a wonderfully warm down comforter and stay toasty warm with the heat down. But he gets up earlier than I do and he's cold when he gets up so this morning when I got up it was on 72. He just left and I turned it down to 67. In his defense, I'll say that he's been wearing thermals the last few days and is still cold. That's odd and very unlike him but he's at least trying to help by wearing the thermals. And I'm thankful for that.

Okay, I'm off to vacuum and dust and hopefully find more change.

Okay, this is what's on the Trans Union credit report. I have never been so open with anyone, much less strangers, about my credit and debt, so this is new to me. However, I've read enough here to know yall are knowledgeable and compassionate so here goes some brutal honesty. I have no idea what to do with these debts. Do I pay them? I'm afraid to contact them for fear it will start the process all over but I need to deal with them.

#1
Balance $153
Pay Status: Collection Account
Open Account
Date placed for collection: 9/2003
Estimated date for removal 9/2008

#2
Balance $1251
Pay Status: Charged off
Revolving Account, Credit card
Opened: 01/2001
Closed: 05/2002
Estimated date for removal 02/2008

#3 *Collection Agency Attorney*
Balance $182
Pay Status: Collection Account
Date placed for collection: 12/2004
Estimated date for removal 9/2009

#4
Balance $687
Pay Status: Charged off
Revolving account, credit card
Opened: 09/2001
Closed: 03/2002
Estimated date for removal 9/2008

#5
Balance $0
Pay Status: Charged off
Revolving account, credit card
Opened: 9/2001
Closed: 3/2002
Purchased by another lender
Estimated date of removal 10/2008

#6
Balance $1,158
Pay Status: Collection account
Open account, placed for collection
Loan Type: Factoring Company Account (not sure what this is)
Date placed for collection: 05/2005
Estimated date of removal 08/2008

#7
Balance $509
Pay Status: Collection account
Open account, placed for collection
Loan Type: Factoring Company Account
Date placed for collection: 10/2003
Estimated date of removal: 10/2008

#8
Balance $0
Revolving account, credit card
Pay Status: Charged off
Date opened: 12/1999
Date closed: 4/2002
Date Paid: 9/2001 (does this mean I paid it off or something else? I'm lost!)
Purchased by another lender
Estimated date of removal: 8/2008

Then there's our mortgage - balance is $16,054

Literally, time for change. I found some and threw it in my savings jar which is now up to $21.60. It just doesn't get much better than this. **puffin out chest and proudly struttin'** Okay, that might be overkill but $21.60 is better than nothing!

Okay, I've been reading about credit stuff and still am confused. I got a copy of the standard DV letter but am not sure just when to use it. I don't know if I should just ignore the ones that will be rolling off before long or pay the bloomin' things!

In August, I will have money to pay off some debts so I wonder if I should just pay them them.

I understand that from a moral standpoint, the debts should be paid and I am good with that but I don't want to cause myself damage in the long run by paying off something that might be best left alone.

Ahhh, the thrills and joys of bad credit!

Speaking of bad credit, as I said I didn't pay the $8 to get my score but I did use the credit score compass at:

http://www.credit.com/landing_pages/compass/

to get an estimate. It's bad, very bad. The estimate is ... 495-535. Gulp!

Please, don't hate me because I'm a credit risk!

I didn't get the score as I just don't have $8 for that right now but I did get the report. It's not a pretty sight but I thought it would help me figure out some of the old debt issues.

Now what do I do? Write the people and request verification that I owe them or what? I'm not sure what to do.

A friend of mine got divorced and had horrendous credit. She spent two years and very little money working to clean it up and it's much better now. I believe she said the first thing she did was get verification from every single debtor on the reports that she owed the money and they had the right to collect it. Apparently, this somehow enabled her to not pay some of them. Also, she didn't pay the ones that were soon to be off the report. There are a few that show on this report due to be taken off between July and December of 2008. Should I pay them or just let them go? And I don't know about things marked as "charge off". I don't know if I should try to pay those or just ignore them.

Okay, off to google to find some good credit sites!