Thrifty Wife Happy Life

Crock Pot Freezer Meals

March 3, 2014 by Katie Haller

I love to cook! I always have enjoyed making a home-cooked meal for my husband and me. My only problem is that Monday through Friday I am so busy, cooking is the last thing on my mind.

On Pinterest, I’m always finding these great crockpot meal ideas that you can prep and keep in your freezer, then when you’re ready, you pop it in your crockpot and a few hours later you have a homemade meal. Back in January, I decided to finally give this idea a try. I prepped about 5 or 6 meals and it ended up working out really well. It was perfect with my busy schedule. My husband would put the meal in while I was at work so when I got home everything was all ready to go. All I had to do was make the side dish and we had a delicious homemade meal on a weeknight.

Last time I made my freezer meals it was more of an experiment to see how they would turn out. This time around, I felt like I had it down. Before I picked out my recipes, I went through my pantry and refrigerator to see what kind of ingredients I had on hand. I wanted to make these meals last a month or so, but I also didn’t want to spend more then I would on a normal weekend grocery shopping trip. I ended up still having to buy a few ingredients, but it wasn’t bad. I pretty much had all of the ingredients I needed at home. I just had to buy a few items like salsa, taco seasoning, pineapples, and an onion.

Meat is always the most expensive part of making dinner. Before I left for the store I looked on my Kroger app to see what kinds of meat they had on sale. Lucky for me, the chicken was on sale for 1.99 per lb. The pork and beef were also on special. I ended up getting all this meat for under $20. That’s not bad at all! The chicken recipes I used called for 2 lbs of chicken breast. I am only feeding two people, so I like to split the chicken up and only use about a pound for each recipe. Instead of 3 chicken recipes, I was able to get 5 chicken recipes out of the 6 lbs of chicken I bought. Anything to stretch my dollar.

So here are my crock pot freezer meals that I made…

Kate’s Shoes for Less

February 27, 2014 by Katie Haller

It’s no secret that I absolutely love Kate Middleton’s style. I’m constantly looking at what she’s wearing for inspiration for my own wardrobe. After looking through many of her outfits, I realized that my closet is missing a couple important accessories. I seem to be lacking in my shoe collection.

I have always noticed these L.K. Bennett nude pumps that Kate is always wearing. I feel like they are her trademark shoes. They run about £195, which would be about $324 in the U.S. I’m on a hunt to find a similar pair before the summer, but my spending limit is $30.

My Closet~ What I Wore this Week

February 22, 2014 by Katie Haller

I tried to put together some new outfits this week. I get sick of wearing the same thing all the time. Shopping has been out of the question right now, so I again, I took a closer look inside my closet to see what I had to work with. Here are a couple outfits that I came up with this week.

Winter Woes

February 17, 2014 by Katie Haller

This winter has been brutal. The dark days, extremely cold temperatures and endless snow cover have definitely gotten to me. It seems to be the same every year about this time, but this year has been harder than others. This weekend I made a decision that I needed to make a change in order to get me out of my winter funk. In the past, my first thought would have been to go have a fun weekend out. Take a trip, head downtown for a nice dinner or perhaps go on a shopping trip. Well, that’s not how I think anymore. I know that spending money won’t make me feel any better about my life. I knew that there were simple actions I could take to get rid of my winter woes.

Baked Taco Pasta

January 28, 2014 by Katie Haller

Sunday night is my favorite night of the week to make dinner at home. I have plenty of time to prep and lots of fresh groceries. On Sundays, I try to make a meal that I can eat leftovers from. I’m a big fan of eating leftovers. I hate wasting food. It’s always nice when I can get a couple meals from dinner.

What’s In Your Closet?

January 26, 2014 by Katie Haller

Last weekend I said the phrase that all women say from time to time, “I have nothing to wear”. At that moment I had a strong urge to go shopping. Instead of a shopping trip, I decided to give my closet a second chance. I thought that I would set a challenge for myself. In order to appreciate the clothes that I already own, I decided that this past week, I would put together a new outfit, with old clothes, every day and wear them to work. That’s just what I did.

Follow

thriftywifehappylife