the art of savvy

Last week I figured out enough meal ideas for the rest of the month using (mostly) items from my pantry/freezer.  This week’s grocery bill was only $50 – not too bad!  I purchased several meat items on sale over the last few weeks, so I have been able to come up with many healthy, tasty, and money-saving ideas for June.  Remember:  shop the sales, use your pantry, and plan ahead!

Monday:  Grilled chicken, corn on the cob, and green beans.

Tuesday:  Sole, couscous, and zucchini.

Wednesday:  Ground beef enchiladas with tomato-spinach salad.

Thursday:  Community Group @ The Billings

Friday:  Roasted ham with potato salad and Cole slaw.

Saturday:  Shrimp Alfredo.

Sunday:  Dinner salad with chickpeas.

This week, I took advantage of several sale items at Whole Foods – stocked up my pantry, and added a few new things to the menu this week, including ham, pineapple, hot dogs, and corn on the cob. We’re right on track with our Food budget this month (after months of spending way too much), so things are looking good at the bank, and tasting good at the dinner table!

• Monday: Ginger-Garlic Steaks with Roasted Vegetables
• Tuesday: Baked Potatoes with “The Works”
• Wednesday: Hot Dogs, Corn on the Cob, and Beet Salad
• Thursday: Dinner @ The Billings
• Friday: Late-O De Mayo Party
• Saturday: Ham & Pineapple Skewers with Rice
• Sunday: Falafel & Couscous

With a conference starting Friday and ending Sunday, plus a Mary Kay Party/Ladies Night with friends from church, and of course our weekly community group, this week is pretty busy for my husband and I!  The good news:  this week’s menu is super simple – I have only two must buy items on my grocery list this week (deli meat and dishwasher soap, for those of you keeping track!)

• Monday:  Shepard’s Pie (making use of leftover mashed potatoes from last night’s Mother’s Day feast.)
• Tuesday:  Sole with Almond & Wine Sauce with Couscous and Asparagus (bought at Whole Foods for $3/pound – cheap, low in mercury, and sustainably farmed, sole has it all!)
• Wednesday:  Leftovers for Mr. Hayes, out with the ladies for Mrs. Hayes!
• Thursday:  Dinner/Bible Study with the Billings
• Friday:  Take out – Taco Del Mar (we’re super booked on Friday – no time to even reheat something at home!)
• Saturday:  Ginger- Garlic Steaks with Asparagus (re-hashing my impromptu Mother’s Day recipe, but marinating the steaks over night – recipe will be posted as soon as I figure out what I did!)
• Sunday:  Chicken Stir-Fry (an easy go-to, plus a total money saver since we always have the ingredients in our pantry!)

In less than 20 minutes, you can make all the cleaners you need for keeping your digs looking top notch!  Keep an eye on your dollar – and the environment – with these three lovely lavender “recipes”:

All-Purpose Spray Cleaner (I use this on all surfaces, including glass, floors, and even in the bathroom.)

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup vinegar
• 10 – 20 drops of lavender essential oil
• NOTE:  Always shake first before using!
• Combine ingredients in a spray bottle (extra points for re-using a bottle left over from another cleaner!)

All-Purpose Spray Cleaner

Carpet/Scrub Powder (This multi-use powder can be sprinkled on your carpet before vacuuming to make your carpets look cleaner and smell fresh – or use on tubs, counters, and any other area that you would use a product like Comet.  You can even take 1/2 cup of this mixture, pour directly into toilet, and scrub the bowl clean after 10 minutes – or 24 hours if your toilet is really grimey!)  BONUS:  lavender has pest-repellent properties that make this recipe a great choice for pet owners trying to keep fleas at bay, or just trying to keep ants and other creepy crawlies out of your house!

• 1 cup baking soda
• 1 cup borax
• 1 teaspoon lavender essential oil
• Combine ingredients in container and shake together.  You can use a spoon or scoop to distribute as needed, or buy a dredge, available at restaurant suppliers.  (Also, the plastic Parmesan shaker containers work, too.)

Carpet/Scrub Powder

Air Freshener/Linen Water (Use this for adding a lovely scent to your bed linens after changing sheets, in place of plain water when ironing, or as a general air freshener.)

• 2 cups water

• 1/4 cup vodka (rubbing alcohol works, too)
• 1 teaspoon lavender essential oil (you may add or change essential oils to get the scent you want)
• Combine ingredients in a spray bottle (extra points for re-using a bottle left over from another cleaner!)
• NOTE:  Always shake first before using!

Air Freshener/Linen Water

Tags: cleaning, DIY, green COMMENTS

The Art of Savvy is back after a wedding hiatus!  Take a look at this week’s menu:

• Monday:  BBQ Chicken with Cauliflower & Leek Saute
• Tuesday:  Baked Pasta with Chicken Sausage
• Wednesday:  Shrimp Fra Diavolo
• Thursday:  Dinner with The Billings
• Friday:  Chicken Stir-Fry
• Saturday:  Dinner with friends
• Sunday:  Gorgonzola Steaks with Mashed Potatoes and Grilled Asparagus

Just six days away from the wedding, this week is filled with lots of last-minute preparation and celebration.  That makes keeping organized all the more important!  Take a look at what’s cooking this week:

Monday:  Pork Stir-Fry

Tuesday:  Roasted Chicken Thighs Provencal

Wednesday:  Roasted Sausages with Butternut Squash, Red Cabbage, & Carrots

Thursday:  Community Group Dinner at The Billing’s

Friday:  Chicken Fajitas (and my bachelorette party!)

Saturday:  Rehearsal Dinner

Sunday:  The Wedding!

Few chores are as difficult or entertaining as bathing a dog.  If you have two dogs, it’s a particularly challenging adventure!  No matter what, my dogs hate me after bath time – even if my fiance is the one who bathed them!  Even still, I’ve learned a few tricks to getting them clean and keeping them (relatively) happy.

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Thanks to a major breakdown of our Jeep, money is super tight right now!  We’re making use of our pantry and money-saving recipes from Cooking Light to get us through these penny-pinching times.

• Monday:  Farfalle Pasta with Hot Chicken Italian Sausage
• Tuesday:  Chicken & Dumplings
• Wednesday:  Leftovers!
• Thursday:  Dinner with the Billings
• Friday:  Potluck Dinner Party
• Saturday: Meatloaf
• Sunday:  Leftovers!

With two bed hogs and two dogs, the finance and I set a goal a few months ago of upgrading from a full to king size bed.  Along the way, we bought a new desk for me (still waiting to buy the coordinating hutch), plus nightstands and lamps.  However, over the last nine months, one or both of us has been unemployed, making improvements to our home a low priority and necessitating savvy use of resources.

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Back in August, the fiance and I started throwing monthly dinner parties for our friends.  It started as a way to mix our group of friends and have something new (and regular) to do together.  We started the dinner parties as a “couples only” event, but after the second month, we decided that our single friends were too much fun to keep out!

This month, we did a Mardi Gras theme:  all the food was green/purple/gold (with one exception), as was the paper dining ware (with 20 people at the party, our regular dishes just didn’t cut it!), and we decorated the house with festive Mardi Gras beads.  As per usual, we asked our guests to bring wine/beer to share – which helps enormously with the cost of throwing the parties!

Our guests loved our menu – and after getting so many requests for the recipes, I decided to make our dinner party menu a part of the Art of Savvy repertoire.  This month, our guests enjoyed…

• Shrimp & Chicken Andouille Sausage Skewers
• Yellow & Purple (Blue) Corn Tortilla Chips with Tomatillo Salsa
• Beet, Corn, & Cilantro Salad
• Fish Tacos
• King’s Cake

Dinner parties are a great way to get friends together and try new recipes – just remember to have fun and not take things too seriously.  Enjoy!