Menu Plan Monday: Menu for Week of 9/21/15

I have decided for the sake of my sanity this week to try and use the crock pot to make my life easier as much as possible on the busier days.  I have a dental appointment for my daughter tomorrow on top of the regular therapy days, so I definitely need some meals to make my life a bit easier.

Menu Plan for Week of 9/21/15

Monday:  Tacos

Tuesday:  Pot Roast (crock pot), potatoes au gratin (mix from pantry), green beans (pantry)

Wednesday:  Roast chicken (crock pot...trying a new method I researched online to make a rotisserie-like chicken), dressing/stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, leftover green beans, biscuits (Bisquick mix from pantry)

Thursday:  Leftover Roast Chicken Dinner Croquettes, pears (pantry), leftover mashed potatoes.

Friday:  Noodle bowl night for kids, fancy dinner night for husband and I (otherwise known as 2.00 discount brie, reduced prosciutto and some olives from the pantry on home made bread).

Saturday:  Breaded fish, rice, peaches

Sunday:  Turkey Burgers with honey mustard dressing (found a bunch of frozen turkey in the freezer), french fries, green beans.

Desserts:  Jello with Dream Whip, apple crumble.

Baking/To Make List:  Bread, mulled apple cider porridge (a recipe I'm messing with this week), biscuits, orange rolls (still need to make these).  Baking Day:  Tuesday.

Monthly Goals Update and This Week's Goals

Well, overall it's been a pretty productive week for me around here.

When it came to last week's goals, I got the majority of them done.  I got some mending done, including mending the loveseat arm, but I still have a ton more to do.  I also didn't get my other table runner made, but I've got time so it's not a big deal.

I got the sideboard all cleaned up and managed to empty the drawer and actually use it for...you know...sideboard stuff!  I would have taken a "before" picture, but I think everyone pretty much knows what their junk drawer looks like and can just superimpose that image over the drawer in their minds.

I managed to get a bag of garbage from the sideboard alone.  The majority of it was old papers (from the drawer) and lots of old gladware type of containers that the lids went MIA a long time ago or lids where the containers went MIA a long time ago...you get the idea.

In the drawer I put cloth napkins, table runners and napkin rings and then there was the space below...

Where I did what I could with it.  I'm hoping that once I can get the hutch cabinet in a lot of this stuff will have another spot to go and I can reorganize (the brown sugar and tapioca I have in here until I can find some more Tupperware containers to put them in the pantry).  I'm hoping eventually this space can house good dishes (for special occasions) and tablecloths.

I dropped off three loads of stuff to the used store this week.  I still have a lot more clothing to go, but I'm making progress!

I got all of the laundry folded and too small clothing is now in a bag ready to go to the used store.

I got the freezer cleaned off, coils cleaned, and the entire contents of the freezer removed and reorganized.  I can now see what I have, have it all organized on the shelves better and found that I had to throw away very little (mostly I unboxed things and threw the boxes away to make things stack better with less wasted space0.

Bright side.  I found some things I forgot I had (like some lamb chops!), so that was a really welcome find.  I find my list of fresh things I want to get next month getting smaller, which makes me even happier as it will save me from having to spend unnecessary money next month.

I finally got the chocolate chip cookies made for my daughter's lunches.  I used an old Betty Crocker recipe that not only made more cookies than the previous recipe I'd been using, but it also used a combination of butter and shortening, so it was cheaper to make in that respect AND it only calls for 6 oz of chocolate chips, so a bag of semi-sweets will make 2 batches of cookies (yay for kitchen scales for accurate weight measurement with that!).

I started to clean up the master bedroom in preparation of reorganizing it and I got some more Halloween and fall decorations (read: kid's artwork) put up.  I also got a little bit of Christmas gift work done this week as well, so woot!

I figured out how to tear apart and deep clean my dishwasher (which BOY did it need it!).  My husband and I had looked up our dishwasher, or at least what the manufacturer said was our dishwasher online and the instructions they gave for cleaning it didn't make any sense compared to what we were dealing with.  I finally figured it out by studying it and figuring out where tabs and stuff were and we got it done.  I think that really does rank up there with one of the most disgusting home maintenance jobs I've had to do thus far.  But, bright side my dishwasher is running much better now!  Not on my list but it needed to be done.

I went out today and composted the garden in preparation for winter.  Nope, not on my list for last week either, but it needed to be done anyway!

So, onto this week's goals!

Sewing Goals:

1.  Continue to work on Christmas gifts.  Be sure to finish pillow form and pillow case for daughter this week (the cat keeps trying to nest in the material and I don't want her getting too comfortable).
2.  Continue to work on mending.
3.  Finish table runner.
4.  Make pumpkin table cloth or runner with leftover pumpkin material.
5.  Mend other arm of loveseat.

General Goals:

1.  Continue to work on cleaning out and reorganizing bedroom.
2.  Take inventory of material stores.  Make sure I have everything I need and if not, make list.
3.   Print a couple preliminary Halloween items online (I'm doing a Harry Potter theme for Halloween this year for my daughter) and make sure they come out okay.
4.  Make a batch of home made Bisquick/master mix.
5.  Take apart fold down desk and move bottom half down into bedroom to use as a dresser.

And there you go folks.  Some basic goals for this week.  I am sure there's more I'm not thinking about right now, but I'm tired, soooo I'll figure out the rest later!

Frugal Friday: Money Saving Weekly Recap

Today has been busy on top of a busy week.  So, let's get to money savings things I did this week.

1.  I redid the arm on our loveseat.  As some may recall, I had issues with our loveseat not doing great earlier in the year so I made a sling for the loveseat.  Like this...

What I found though was that I was putting a band aid on a much bigger problem.  See, the leather on the loveseat has been used hard the last four years and it just starting shredding and falling apart.  And unfortunately the left side of the couch in the picture above got it the worst.  The sling, while a good idea in theory quickly started to show its disadvantages.  My son treated it like a ready made blanket to wrap himself up in, the thing was hard to tuck back into where it needed to be (which was often that it managed to come loose) and as the cloth slid over the loveseat arms all the time it actually made the shredding leather problem worse instead of helping it.  I finally pulled the sling off the loveseat and tried to deal with it just being ugly.  Unfortunately then my son started plucking the leather again and it just ended up being more and more of a mess.

I'd been looking at the used stores obsessively the last couple of weeks hoping to find a loveseat cheap to replace the thing as it was really looking ratty, but wasn't having any luck.

And then today I went to Jo-Ann Fabrics as part of my errands looking for yarn.  While I didn't buy any yarn (4.00 + per skein not on sale?  No thank you), I did find a yard of remnant leather for 6.00, originally the material sold for nearly 30.00 per yard, that was the same shade as the loveseat, so I went home and got to work.

Here's the final result...

If you look closely you can see the lack of seams, but overall I thought it turned out rather well.  The left arm is now one big patch and not a shred to be seen.  I've got enough material left to do the right arm as well (which I'm hoping to do tomorrow) as it's in pretty rough shape too, although not falling apart yet.  I took a cushion that was in better shape from my couch downstairs in the den (we don't sit on it as much so it's in much better shape) and exchanged it for now (so the ratty cushion you see in the top picture is now gone from the final picture here).  Now that I know that Jo-Ann sells the material I'm hoping to get a yard at a time and redo the cushions and other parts that need to be done.  We'll see how that goes.

Just a couple of notes to those who might think about doing upholstery work from someone who has repaired a few things in their day.

1.  Get an upholstery needle.  YES, it is worth it! 

2.  Even if you have thick calluses on your fingers, they will hurt by the end of the project.  Guaranteed.  And no, in my experience, a thimble does not help this problem.

3.  If you feel like it really needs to be done?  Give it a shot.  Odds are whatever happens you will improve the issue.

But yeah, for a 6.00 (well 3.00 since I still have the other arm and half of the material to go) repair I think it looks pretty good.  My husband was impressed anyway :).

2.  I went to Carrs today and got cooking oil for 1.67 per container, brown sugar and powdered sugar for 1.67 per 2 lb bag and got corn muffin mix (3.99 for a six pack).  These went straight into the pantry to help pad it out.  I'm happy that I'm being able to check things off of my shopping list for next month and doing it while hitting sales and working it into my normal grocery budget.  This will definitely help me not spend as much money on a bulk shopping trip next month.

3.  I darned two comforters this week and am working on another that needs an entire side redone (it's got piping that is going to need work to get it all to align right).  I also mended a pair of jeans and darned two pairs of socks.

4. 

I went out today armed with giftcards and an errand list and one of the errands I had was to go to our local Sportsman's store and use up the rest of my husband's giftcards he had to get the above.  They are emergency rations for our 72 hour kits.  I researched online and found that these have enough calories to keep an adult alive for two days and everyone said they taste like coconut cookies.  Both win types of scenarios in my book ;).

With how much my husband had left on his giftcards I was able to get two packs and paid .20 out of pocket after giftcards.  I bought these primarily because they are relatively cheap and won't take up much space in a bag.

5.  I ran to Home Depot while I was out (I combined all of my errands that I had in town down to one big trip) and found they had solar salt and they even had one that had gotten torn and was 50% off.  I compared it weight-wise with a full bag and it seemed pretty full to me, so I grabbed the bag and used what was left on our Home Depot giftcard to get it.  I was able to get a nearly full bag of solar salt for .27 after giftcard was applied.  Worked for me!

6.  I picked up butter and cheese at our local Fred Meyer this week as butter was on sale for 1.99 a pound with in-ad coupon and the cheese was cheaper with the in-ad coupon then the price I pay for a log at the bulk store (and we do use cheese a lot around here). 

7.  I started on a potholder for my daughter's teacher for Christmas using yarn I'd found in the bags and boxes that had been in storage.  I'm thinking I should be able to make pot holders for all teachers and aids this year and not spend any money out of pocket for gifts for them.

8.  I made all of our meals at home which saved us money and used coupons and sales (obviously) to get the most from my dollars this week.

And a quick garden update (as they go I guess).

I pulled the last turnip this week as it has been so wet that something, probably root maggots, were starting to eat on the little turnip and I wasn't going to lose it to bugs.  After that I pulled the rest of the plants for the year, worked the soil a little bit (still have some of that to go) and am starting to work in compost to help it to rest well over the winter.  I'm going to try an experiment and really bury the rosemary in my garden in the hopes I can MAYBE get it to overwinter and come up next year.  I'd love it if it would as I'm notoriously bad at growing rosemary from seed and would love to save the money from buying a rosemary plant next year.  Fingers crossed there.

I did invest in some seeds last week.  Brandy at The Prudent Homemaker made some suggestions for a fall and winter garden last week and while I knew in zone 4 that a fall and winter garden was kind of out, I did find some links to some cool seeds.  Alpine strawberries/wild strawberries are strawberries I grew up with when I was a kid in Maine and I loved them as they are super sweet. They sound like they'll be good summer plants here and since they don't send out runners they are great for planters and such, so I'm going to try my hand at planting them next year.

And so now that the garden is done for the year, the planning for next year's garden begins *laugh*.

Hope you all had a fruitful and frugal week as well!

Thrifty Thursday: Thrift Store Finds

This was a good week on the Thrift Store front.  Well, kinda *laugh*.

Some of what is seen above is actually from a local antique shop that is going out of business.  They were proclaiming 50% off everything and intrigued, since we'd never been there before, my husband took us on an adventure to find the place.  We found it and went inside and were amazed by all the stuff.

I was able to get a box of canning lids (with the lids still inside), an old frozen food box and a vintage baking powder tin (I collect old spice tins) for like 3.50.  It was fun and I was able to pay with cash I had in my pocket, which kept me careful on how much I spent.

We also went to a local used store and I found a soap dish, which I'd been needing for the kid's bathroom.  And then I made the mistake of turning said soap dish over and saw "ironware" and other markings, went and looked up the soap dish online and found that it is an ironware dish made in the 1800's, specifically transferware.  The 1.00 I paid for it was definitely worth it as it is in perfect condition (honestly I got it because it was solid, clean and I thought it was pretty).  I knew ironware was pretty tough, so I was all for just using said soap dish, but my husband put his foot down and after arguing with me the abuse that soap dishes take on a day to day basis, the soap dish finally ended up in my china cabinet.  So, I still need a soap dish for my kid's bathroom *laugh*.

I was also able to find cloth napkins for .25 a piece, so I got some patriotic themed napkins (blue with white stars) and some grey blue ones, four of each.  So now I have a couple of new cloth napkins in the rotation.  Always welcome.

At another used store I was able to find a new Oxo grips can opener for 3.00.  I love the one I have but the handles keep popping off, so I was happy to find another one.  We also found an old style can opener/key for 1.00 (those come in handy!).  The vintage biscuit/cookie cutter was .50 (I love the old style cookie cutters and biscuit cutters, they just work so well!)  and the potato masher (bakelite handle and everything!) was 2.00.  I have been looking for an old style potato masher as my "new fangled" Oxo potato masher just doesn't work great in my opinion and I KNOW the old style ones work because that's what I grew up with.  And the rubber spatula was another kitchen item I've been needing as mine are just getting really worn and it was .50.

Really, it was a week to run into things I needed and some I didn't, but it was still a lot of fun exploring and finding cool things.

Find any cool things on your travels lately?

Menu Plan Monday: Menu for Week of 9/14/15

This has been a busy couple of days and I found myself kind of sitting at the kitchen table staring off into space as I tried to figure out what to put down for a menu this week.  So, it ended up being a day late as I waited for divine guidance on what we should eat this week.  Well, I didn't get any shining light from the heavens, but I think I figured out some things to eat this week, anyway *laugh*.

Menu Plan for Week of 9/14/15

Monday:  Baked chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans

Tuesday:  Baked fish, rice a roni, fruit cocktail

Ingredient Notes:  Home made rice a roni mix from pantry, fruit cocktail from pantry.

Wednesday:  Pork roast, roast potatoes, tomato slices

Ingredient Notes:  Potatoes, garden produce from pantry.  Tomatoes from garden produce from pantry.

Thursday:  Shrimp scampi, mixed vegetables, garlic toast

Ingredient Notes:  Canned shrimp from pantry, mixed vegetables from pantry, garlic from garden produce in pantry.  Olive oil for toast from pantry.

Friday:  Pizza

Saturday:   Chicken Alfredo

Ingredient Notes:  Canned chicken from pantry, alfredo sauce from pantry, pasta from pantry.  Add some peas from freezer.

Sunday:  Pancakes, bacon, eggs.

Desserts:  Apple pie, orange jello, chocolate pudding.

Baking List:  Pizza crust, orange rolls, bread.  Baking day, Friday.

Monthly Goals Update and This Week's Goals

Well, I didn't get to doing this post yesterday, as you could probably tell *laugh*.  It was one of those weeks which was a just one curve ball after another.  Not in a bad way, mind you, but it did keep us busy around here.

For one, I found a hutch like cabinet at the used store last week that I REALLY wanted for my kitchen.  It is missing a drawer, but I knew looking at it that it was made of very solid wood.  When I dragged...err...went with my husband to the used store, he agreed with me that it was definitely worth the 20.00 they were asking for it as just the material it was made of ALONE would be worth 20.00.  So, we bought it and got it home and I've spent a good couple of days last week cleaning that cabinet up.  About 15 layers of grime were on it and underneath I found oak!  Yup, definitely worth 20.00.  I'll try to show pictures of it once we can get it out of a cramped corner of our garage, but I'm just so excited to get that cabinet put in!  It's got a microwave space built into it a large upper cabinet which I'm dying for as it will make a nice mini-pantry in the kitchen.  I'm just thrilled, let's put it that way.  My husband will have to cut the cabinet down a few inches to get it to fit into the actual kitchen (I have a galley style small kitchen), but in the meantime I will wish for it to be done *laugh*.

I reorganized furniture to get to my main heating vent to clean it and also to allocate some space for the kitchen hutch cabinet if my husband didn't want to mess with cutting it apart.  I'm glad I did as I found out that we have an open into the floor heating vent because of an unfinished heating duct, so I know that we've been losing at least SOME heat into the floor because of that.  So, my husband has to build a duct to complete the heating vent.  Poor man.  I just keep adding to his "to do" list.

I was settling in late last week to get some sewing done and found out my daughter was invited to a birthday party for a friend of hers who has been her friend for about 1/2 of her life now.  They don't get to see each other often, so I knew she would want to give her something and it was VERY short notice so I dug through what I had to make her something.  My daughter ended up helping me to make a cat out of a panel project I'd found at the used store a while back.  She poked herself with about four pins helping me to pin it together and she helped me to stuff it.  I was proud of her for helping me with it and am glad she's finally showing an interest in making things.  I'm now down one thing I could make for a potential Christmas present, but it was worth it as it didn't cost me anything to make because I had all the materials and her friend loved the gift, so it all worked out.

I did get a fall themed table runner done (seen up top there) and have another one in the works.  The pumpkin table runner was going to be my Halloween table runner, honestly, as I looked at the cost of Halloween material at Jo-Ann's and then saw that fall themes were 70% off that week, so I got generic pumpkins instead of some cool Halloween thing.  My daughter picked out the pumpkins and we were happy with that choice (I have another material I picked out for just a fall theme that I need to make).

Then I was at the used store when we bought the hutch cabinet and I found someone had dropped off a bunch of Halloween themed panels of fabric.  I'm not sure what they were going to do with them originally as there were a bunch of different series of panels with 3 Halloween fabrics per panel, but I looked at the panels and realized if I could pick a couple where I could make a joining "panel" in the middle with fabric I already had I could make a pretty cool table runner out of them.

So, I picked some orange and black themes (I tried to take a couple of close ups above here), took some black fabric I had at home to make the bottom of the table runner and the "joining panel" in the middle and voila!  A really cool Halloween table runner that took no time at all to make!  For 2.00 total cost.  Can't beat that :).

I didn't get to cleaning the top of my freezer off, so that's going to get transferred onto this week's goals.  I did manage to download and fax the form I needed to the allergist (cost me 3.00 to fax, but I got it done).

Waking up a half an hour early wasn't necessary as my son has been getting up at 4:00 am.  I tried to explain to him I wanted to wake up a half an hour early, not three hours early, but he didn't seem to care *laugh*.

Besides being exhausted I was able to get the shake and bake mix dialed in the way I wanted so that's done for future dinners.

I still need to get more Christmas gifts worked on, at least the preliminary things (cutting, making patterns, etc) and I still need to get the massive pile of mending a bit more caught up, so those will, once again, get transferred onto this week's goals as well.

So here's this week's goals!

Sewing Goals:

1.  Get final fall themed table runner done.
2.  Use leftover pumpkin material to make table runner for coffee table or sideboard (depending how long it ends up being and how it looks on both).
3.  Work on mending.
4.  Work on Christmas gifts.

General Goals:

1.  Clean out sideboard drawer.  Toss what isn't needed.
2.  Move unnecessary things in pantry to 40' van or donate to used store to prepare for getting groceries next month.
3.  Continue to bag up old clothing from storage and take a couple more loads to the used store (I finally got all the clothes out of the den and now it's onto the bedroom!).
4.  Make more pizza pockets for freezer.
5.  Make cookies for daughter's lunch.
6.  Start to reorganize master bedroom.
7.  Clean off top of freezer, clean freezer coils.  Organize top of freezer.
8.  Take inventory of what is in freezer so I know what to add to the "fresh" grocery goals list.
9.  Fold all laundry and weed out clothes that don't fit kids well (they're both growing again).
10. Organize own wardrobe better for the coming winter months.  Start boxing up summer items.
11.  Put up more Halloween decorations (I am putting them out slowly until October so we don't get too tired of seeing them :).

And there you are folks. My goals for this week.  You have anything you are doing this week?

Lessons I've Learned Being Broke: Don't Be Afraid To Glamorize

When I was younger I realize now that I was kind of arrogant.

See, I, like many other kids I know who grew up in the 80's remember our families being broke.  Then when my parents got divorced and my mom became a single mom raising four kids, I thought I knew what it was to be broke.  And then I got married and my husband got really sick our first year of marriage, which blew through our savings and I thought I knew what it was to be REALLY broke there for a long while.

And then this last couple of years happened and I started to realize something.  Back then I knew what it was to be broke, but I didn't know what it was to be broke well.  I was arrogant and assumed I knew how to be broke and do it well.  I know that is about as clear as mud, but allow me to elaborate.

See, back throughout my life I've had to live without much to live on, sure, but I just kind of hit survival mode and went with it, waiting for the monetary light at the end of the tunnel.  A new job to see us through a rough patch of not having money (which until I had kids I always managed to find), shopping with coupons to their fullest extent (heck I even ran a coupon BLOG for a few years!) and getting groceries for free or near free, getting a tax refund...something was always on the horizon that I just lived to get to, to get us through our monetary troubles.

The last couple of years though things changed.  I can't get a job right now with two kids in two schools, my son in therapy multiple times per week and with health issues such as allergies that I have to worry about.  Coupons kind of dried up years ago, sadly, when manufacturers saw the show "Extreme Couponing" and went ballistic (that and the economy taking a nose dive).  Tax refunds...well you only get a good tax refund if you make a decent amount of money in a year and well...two out of three years we didn't.

So, I had to start tapping reserves I didn't know I had.  I started coming into my own as a serious prudent homemaker and started realizing that when you are seriously broke/poor the more you are expected to do to save money the more you find you CAN do.  And I started to realize that while we might not be able to afford some of the luxuries others could, trying to keep up with what the neighbors were doing wasn't going to make us any happier with our lives.  So, I started to live well within the means we have and I find myself much happier for it.  Sure I still sweat about bills and have a panic attack at the price of beef, but I can still make chicken for the fourth time in a week and not dread eating it!

So, I thought I'd share with you a few of the lessons I've learned from being broke to hopefully, maybe, give you some inspiration to make your lives a bit brighter no matter your monetary lot in life.

And today's lesson is this:  Don't Be Afraid to Glamorize

I, like many others get into a culinary rut from time to time.  Ironically, my husband has found that I was in the worst ruts with cooking when we were making decent money.  I mean, heck, it really doesn't take a lot of creativity to dress up a steak and baked potato for dinner, so I never tried.

Now when you are looking into your pantry and seeing cans of chicken and other canned goods and trying to figure out how to stretch that into various meals because your monthly food budget went down like the Hindenburg due to some curve ball, you start to come into some creativity on the culinary front.

So, the next time you are staring at a plate of meatloaf for the third time in a week that isn't so much meat loaf as cracker/bread loaf with a bit of meat added for color and flavor, here's some suggestions to try and put a happy spark into your life by "glamorizing" the meal.

I got turned onto this by reading vintage cookbooks and blogs about mid-century lifestyles.  Glamorizing was a huge deal in the 1950's.  Looking back at vintage cookbooks you'll see loads of recipes from the 40's and 50's with maraschino cherries on top of desserts, parsley garnishes on things that sometimes don't even make sense, radish blossoms on top of salads and other little touches to the meal.  Some of this was to just dress up meals that were still pretty monotonous and basic as after WWII there was a global shortage of different food items, so families tried to dress up what they could afford to put on the table.  But there was also a feeling of celebration to the meals as things like rationing came to an end, WWII was over and the future was looking bright again.

Just so you know, these tips are going to be more of a "modern" touch on this as while I love maraschino cherries from time to time what the food dye does to tablecloths?  With my kids?  Yeah, that doesn't happen at all often *laugh*.

These tips won't only spiff up your dinner table, but also will save you money, really in the long run.

1.  Go for cloth tablecloths as much as possible.

I ditched cheap vinyl tablecloths a long time ago just because I got tired of my kitchen table looking like a picnic table (I do, though, keep a layer of clear vinyl on my wooden table at ALL TIMES underneath my cloth tablecloths to protect my table.  I like my table and my kids trash it on a regular basis, so I found this to be the best way to protect the poor thing).  I've found, though that cloth tablecloths also have a lot of advantages.

For one, you can get them CHEAP at the used stores if you are willing to keep an eye out and look.  I don't pay more than 3.00 for a tablecloth.  Period.  If you can't find them cheap at a local used store, buy a sheet cheap at a yard sale or at the used store and make a tablecloth out of that.  If you aren't talented at sewing, you can get some heat bond tape to seal the edge instead of sewing it or something (just look up "no sew tablecloths" on your favorite search engine.  I'm sure they are out there).  I love being able to trade out tablecloths when I want a new look on the table and if I really want to switch it up now a days I just make a table runner and voila!  Fancy!

On average I change my tablecloth about three times a week.  And I've had my current store of tablecloths (with the exception of the white ones I made recently) an average of three years (some longer).  For 2.00 per tablecloth I'd say that's pretty cost effective!

2.  If you want to glamorize an average table, get cloth napkins.

Nothing speaks glamour for kids like putting a cloth napkin by their plate like in a fancy restaurant.  My daughter still gets a huge kick out of it.  If you want to go really fancy, put the napkin in a napkin ring (and remember, you can make napkin rings out of plastic screening or other materials...check out Pinterest for ideas).

The nice part about cloth napkins, too, is that you can reuse them over and over again.  Since starting to use cloth napkins my paper towel consumption has gone WAY down compared to what we used to use.  I either make my own cloth napkins out of fabric scraps I get from the used store, or I buy them at the used stores when I can find them cheap (like I just got some for .25 a piece yesterday at one local used store).  Check local Facebook yard sale pages or Craigslist for fabric as well as sometimes you can get fabric for even free when someone is just trying to clear some old store out.

3.  Don't be afraid to invest in some "fancy" dishes.

I am ashamed to admit that it took me until just recently to realize the power of a "fancy" dish could make when getting my daughter to eat her dinner.

I stared at the dessert dishes/sundae cups seen in the picture above at the used store for WEEKS (I kid you not) until I finally decided to take the plunge and bought the four of them they had for .50 a piece.  I've been serving the same desserts I always do of different flavors of jello or pudding or some other simple fare in those cups instead of just a regular opaque dish and suddenly with her own special portion in front of her in a special dish, my daughter will do things like eat all of her dinner, including vegetables, so she can have her "treat" at the end of a meal.

Honestly, I smile every time I use them too.  It's kind of fun to make dessert just a bit more special with those little dishes.  I'm very glad I bought them.

4.  Put your food on serving dishes instead of just putting the pot down on the table.

This I started to avoid ending up in a burn ward with my son, who doesn't get the whole "hot" concept consistently yet, or my daughter who can get into trouble when she doesn't pay attention to what she's doing.  So, I starting placing food in other dishes to serve at the table and it really does up the meal from, "Here's your food" to something a bit more personal somehow.

Now, don't think you have to get super fancy with your serving dishes.  The vegetables I serve at the table are most times served in a standard cereal bowl.  I do have two platters I have bought at the used store throughout the years I try to serve meat on, but if I don't feel like putting a big plate on the table (we have kind of a small table without the leaves in it) I'll just use a dinner plate and put the meat on that.  It works just as well and allows everyone to see what they are going to eat.

Some things like enchiladas or casserole, of course I serve directly out of the baking pan at the table, but when it comes to other more "piece mail" types of dinners, I do try to serve out of dishes instead.

5.  If you have garnish, use it!

If you have a parsley plant that grows in your kitchen or some herbs in your fridge that aren't being used how about making your meal a bit more fancy by using some garnish?  There's a reason restaurants do it.  It just kind of makes the meal feel special.

Even if you don't have herbs, you could dress up the meal with some little food types of touches.  For instance, if I add a dollop of Dream Whip to the top of jello?  I think my daughter might try liver and onions to get to that treat (my husband and I both hate liver and onions, so luckily she dodged that bullet).  She loves "cream" on top of pretty much any dessert, as do most kids, so it's something to think about.  Even just taking some stale bread to make croutons one night might just elevate your dinner to the next level.

If there is one lesson I've learned in the kitchen, though is this...

6.  HAVE FUN!

I really have found that I can seriously have fun trying to think of different ways I can dress up a can of chicken, some leftover pork or some droopy carrots.  Try to make it into the "no waste" game instead of staring at the measly choices you have and getting depressed.  It'll at least improve your mood and when you cook happy, I honestly believe your family will eat happier for it.

When you get depressed at all aspects of cooking and it becomes just another chore to dread, it really takes a good hunk of potential joy you could find in homemaking.  So, I do encourage you to try and have fun.  Go and get a few new plates to dress up the table at a used store.  Make a new pretty hotplate to put under your beat up old loaf pan with your meatloaf at dinner.  Crush up the remains of the cereal in the bottom of the bag and happily toss them onto the top of a casserole for a new layer of texture to the tuna casserole you've been staring at too much.  Make some cloth napkins out of an old sheet and pinking shear the edge if you don't have time to sew them.  Just do SOMETHING new to break out of the "we're broke" mindset.  If nothing else it might just help you find some joy in being broke instead of wishing for things you can't have.

Enjoy life all!  No one else can do it for you!