FRUGAL COLUMBUS MOM: 8-26-12

9:10am

Tony and a coworker just left to head down

to U-Wrench It or maybe it's Pick N Pull out in Groveport in

search of a Dodge full sized truck.

Right now we're just searching to see

if a junk yard has one. If he finds one then

this coming weekend Tony and my high school

friend will go and try to remove it.

A new steering box would run $400+.

A junk yard one costs $51

so that's why we are going that route.

Our junk yard has warranties that say

if they part does not work return it within

30 days. I've done the dirty work of trying

to see what years of these trucks are

compatible with one another which will

increase our chances of finding a truck

in the junk yard. Our truck is a 98.

We should be able to use a steering box

from Dodge Ram 1500 trucks that are from 94 to 98.

Slowly but surely we're trying to

fix up this Dodge pickup. Don't have the money

to do it all at once. Last weekend we fixed

and replaced a gas tank strap that broke off.

With a little macgyvering we found strip metal

at Menards for less than $5 to fix it.

New ones (2 per kit) costs $52 to $56!

So we saved $21 to $23 on the one alone.

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Yesterday we took the boys to the beach.

Me and Tony didn't swim.

I took along umbrellas to keep the sun off us

as it was HOT out there along the

water sitting on the sand. I think it got to 93 degrees.

Christopher metal detecting at the beach.

He managed to find and dig up a quarter.

I bought them a handheld colander from

Dollar Tree for a buck so they could

sift sand in it and find treasures.

Had cooler with sandwiches, pop,

and chips. Brought along our freebie wagon

Tony found at work to haul everything.

Last night a high school friend of mine

and his girlfriend brought their van over

and we helped them changed their oil.

They were not allowed to change the oil

in the parking lot of the apartments they lived in

so that's the reason for coming over

and using our drive way.

In return they gave us a 12 pack bottles

of Budweiser beer. They work at Busch

as security guards and get free beer.

Plus now we may have an extra set of hands

for when we find a steering box at the junk yard

this coming weekend to help remove it and bring it home.

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The kids are wanting me to make more breakfast
sandwiches like the ones I made last week.
I found bakery style dinner rolls marked down at kroger
for $1.49 last week. There was 12 in each bag.
So for $3.98 I had only 24 rolls.
I was thinking about making my own rolls for much
less than that and ones that probably taste better.
I have always loved the cake mix rolls
I make for Christmas and Thanksgiving.
Jiffy Cake Mix Rolls

The recipe above calls for a Jiffy cake mix.

You can use a regular boxed cake mix

(Kroger, Duncan Hines, etc)

and make double the amount.

A Jiffy cake mix is 1/2 the amount of

a regular cake mix.

A jiffy cake mix will make 15-18 rolls.

If using a regular boxed cake mix you

can make 30-36 dinner rolls.

I haven't doubled the recipe or know if you can

so when making with a regular cake mix

only use half the cake mix at a time

and make two separate batches.

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1:30pm

Went to Kroger and did some grocery shopping.
Spent $45 for the week.
Some mark down deals we found-
angel food cake .99 cents
1/2 gallon milk .49 cents
gallons of milk $1.89

Once home I started on laundry.
It shouldn't be as much as last week thank goodness.
I usually don't pretreat clothing for stains
but I had two shirts that needed it this week.
I splurged and bought a small bottle
of originall Dawn dish soap.
In a bucket I added the dish soap,
peroxide and some powdered dishwasher soap
with some water. I added the shirts
and now have them soaking in it.
One shirt was Tony's new white work shirt
with oil stains on it from changing oil last night.
Another shirt was a nice school shirt of
Christophers. He got a nose bleed and
some blood down the front of it.
I hope my stain concoction works.

Went out and watered the garden.
I gathered a few more tomatoes,
green bell peppers and hot peppers.
I'm hoping this week to make
some salsa and get some grape jelly made.

At Kroger I got some chicken legs.
I was hoping to get some chicken quarters
for cheaper but I didn't find any even
after asking our friend the butcher, hmmm.
But anyway I tore off the plastic wrap over top
them and left them on the styrofoam tray
and poured some teriyaki over them and
put them in the fridge to marinade.
In a couple hours I'm gonna mix up a seasoning
mix with some breading and coat them with it
and put into the oven.

2:30pm

Got a couple loads going in the washer and dryer.
One child and hubby are out back tidying
up the back yard and have unloaded the truck
from going to the beach yesterday and
have reloaded it with stuff that needs dumped.
Me, well I am getting ready to make
a cake for someone at hubby's work for
tomorrow and make a couple batches of
rolls and make some more breakfast sandwiches
with them for the upcoming weeks.
This time around the kids wanted deli shaved
turkey slices instead of ham.

3:15pm

Got the cake baking in the oven.
While that is baking I mixed together the dough
for the rolls. I set a wire rack over top
the one burner on the stove which vents
heat from the oven and placed the two
bowls of roll dough on top.
The warmth of the oven will help the dough rise.
I'll let it sit and rise 1 hour.
Then divide dough up into balls,
butter the tops and let rise another
hour before baking.