Need some quick and easy dinner ideas that are also easy on your pocketbook? As you well know, I'm all about keeping it simple — especially when it comes to cooking and meals.
Here are three meals I made last week that everyone in our family enjoyed (for more frugal meal inspiration, be sure to follow me on Instagram where I'm sharing what we're eating for dinner most nights):
1. Waffles & Sausage
We love serving breakfast for dinner. It's fast, easy, and affordable!
We serve it over rice with veggies and fruit on the side. We also sometimes serve it over mashed potatoes.
{I'm a "dump cook" and not very skilled at following recipes, so if you want measurements for this recipe, I can't help you there… Because on this recipe, I just eye things and add ingredients until it looks and tastes right!}
3. Fried Ground Beef with Onions
This is a recipe from my childhood. We would make this when we needed a quick meal. It's healthy, super simple, economical, and can be made in less than 15 minutes of prep time.
This past week, we just served it with Ketchup and sides of brown rice, fresh fruit, and veggies. However, to stretch it more, you can add chopped potatoes or sweet potatoes or rice, peas, and/or corn.
What are some of YOUR favorite quick, easy, & frugal recipes?
After sharing some photos of Aggie's birthday party this week, I wanted to highlight the star of the show - the DIY pretend play stands. The idea for them is what convinced me this party theme would be perfect for the three year old set. The only problem was just how was I going to get all of this done? Enter the amazing Jamie of That's My Letter who so kindly offered to help design and build them out of the kindness of her extremely big heart. And the love doesn't stop there - she is kind enough to share her hard work with everyone who wants to DIY their own little patisserie (or supermarket, pet store, jewelry store, whatever) by sharing the build plans here.
She had no idea just how much I needed the help at that particular time so it was an especially wonderful treat. Needless to say she did a much better job than I could have ever done in a million years. Now on to the details. Today's focus is on the Patisserie stand which was the more simple build but ended up being Aggie's favorite.
After Jaime had done the hard work of building them perfectly I got to work finding the perfect shade of minty green as an homage to ultimate french patisserie, Laduree. The awning was painted in black and finished with gold letters.
Finally the finishing touches of the pretend sweets brought it home. Almost everything was from HABA's Biofino line including the Bread Loaf, Crepe Set, Assorted Cookies, Petit Fours, Sweet Pastries, Sweet Muffins, and Apple Pie. To say this whole thing was a hit would be a big understatement. And even sweeter is ever since the party, Aggie has asked what I'd like from the bakery as she takes a few minutes to make me a little treat everyday. I'm so happy with how it turned out, I hope you'll be inspired to make your own.
Stay tuned for more details on how the other two play stands came together later this week.
Because we travelled so much in 2015, we all earned status on American Airlines which means that we get to check up to 6 bags for free each time we fly. Since we were bringing back a lot of Christmas presents, we took full advantage of getting to check those bags for free.
We had kind of been in a rush to get out the door and make it to the airport, so we had resorted to stuffing things in suitcases just to get everything packed and make it on our flight on time. Which meant that we really didn't think about what was packed where and what was in our checked luggage and what was in our few carry-ons. Bad, bad idea.
When we got to the airport, we checked almost all of our luggage. Little did we know that it would be over 4 days before we would see it again! (They couldn't release any of the luggage for all the cancelled flights. Instead, they sent it to Nashville on the first flight that got out headed there — which didn't have any extra seats on it for us!)
Every single piece of my clothing, my contacts, all my haircare stuff and personal hygiene stuff (except my makeup), and all my vitamins/medicines were in the checked luggage. So for 4 days, all I had were the clothes on my back.
{We could have tried to find a window of time to rent a car and go to Walmart to pick up some clothes and supplies, but I really didn't want to spend the extra money. Plus, almost all of our extra time was spent waiting in lines trying to get on a flight. Gratefully, we were able to get a cheap hotel and our hotel gave us deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc.}
So for over 4 days, I wore the same sweater and jeans. I had brought a Blanket Scarf, too, and that was the best thing ever since we ended having to stand outside waiting for a shuttle from the airport to the hotel each night and it got really cold!
The only time I wore something different was the day when I got so tired of wearing those jeans that I raided Kathrynne's suitcase (she hadn't checked hers!) and changed into her PJ pants and t-shirt to wear to bed because I was so done with wearing jeans to bed. As you can tell, I can't really fit into clothes made for a 10-year-old, but I guess I was desperate!
During those 4 days of re-wearing the same thing over and over again, I realized a few things:
1) We Can Get By With a Lot Less Stuff
We all know this in theory, but this theory proved true when I didn't have anything but the clothes on my back and a few things in my carry-on bag for 4 days.
2) Fewer Choices = Simplified Mornings
When I only had one choice of outfit to wear (the one I had slept in!), it made my morning super simple. No choices. No decisions. Just take a shower and put the same clothes back on!
Without even thinking about it, we became a lot more careful about taking care of what we had. We made sure not to spill things on our clothes, not to rip them, and to be careful that nothing happened to them because they were all we had.
4) We Have So Much to Be Grateful For
A few times during the 4 days, I found myself wanting to complain that I was having to re-wear dirty clothes over and over. But then I thought about all the people in the world who don't even have one warm outfit or have only had one outfit for a long time and was reminded about how much I have to be grateful for!
Inspired by this experience, I'm doing a 500 Things De-Cluttering Challenge on my blog beginning January 11-28, 2016. I'll be going through this course and blogging about my decluttering. I'm aiming to get rid of 500 things — that sounds like a LOT of stuff, but we'll see! I'd love for you to join me!
December 31, 2015...
Today we are finally free of credit card debt! I purchased Dave's book, Total Money Makeover several years ago in a Christian book store (it was half price!). Actually I think I purchased it with a credit card! Anyway, fantastic book, I read it several times over and decided to apply Dave's plan to our financial situation.
That was almost 8 years ago! I never thought we would actually see this day come to pass - but thank God, it is finally here! Many thousands of dollars in debt, which took longer to pay off than I would have liked - many setbacks along the way, Murphy showed up a few times. Bottom line, don't give up and stick to Dave's plan - YOU WILL GET THERE!
Our next goal is to pay off our home - I am going to try to do it in 5-6 years. It will be great not to have a mortgage anymore!
Laura in Spokane, WA
Yes, you read that title correctly. We rented a herd of goats for ivy removal in our back yard. Yes, hiring goats to eat ivy is a thing. (No, I didn’t know it was either.) But oh my goodness I am so glad we did it! (Oh, and they escaped, so stay tuned for that funny story at the end.)
Let’s start from the beginning…
When we moved into our home almost 2 years ago, the previous owners had not maintained the yard. There was a ton of ivy in the back yard, and it had taken over and become unruly. It was one of those projects that kept getting bumped down further on our “to do” list, but something we definitely needed to address.
A couple months ago, I posted in our neighborhood Facebook group asking if anyone could recommend a good ivy removal company. Someone responded and said that she had a friend who had used a company that rents out goats to eat ivy. I was immediately intrigued and wanted to find out more, so I started searching our area for this type of company, and found Get Your Goat Rentals. Sure enough, you can rent a herd of goats.
Why we rented a herd of goats for ivy removal
There were a few reasons we opted to rent goats. First of all, we didn’t want to spray a ton of harmful chemicals and risk killing all of the trees, not to mention the health hazards. We had a ton of ivy in our yard, and the goats are very eco-friendly.
Second, removing ivy is serious work! Chris didn’t want to spend money on the goats at first, so he said he would pull the ivy up himself. After about 15 minutes out in the yard, he came inside and said, “Let’s just rent the goats.” It was just too big a job for us.
Lastly, the whole concept is completely entertaining and hilarious. I have to admit, the novelty of having a herd of goats hanging out in the yard was kind of amazing and funny, so we were excited to give it a try.
How the rental process works
Basically, the company shows up with a trailer full of goats. They set up temporary electric fencing surrounding the ivy to contain the goats and keep them from eating the entire yard. Then, the goats trot happily out of the truck and into their fenced in ivy-filled enclosure. Our goats came with their own guard dog, a Great Pyrenees named George.
They all stay 24 hours a day until the job is done. Our yard took about 3 days.
Here’s a video of the goats trotting into our yard when they arrived.
Pedro (the goat in the front of the line) quickly became a fan favorite when I posted the video on Facebook. I was told that he is a little bit difficult to herd because he does his own thing most of the time. Each of the goats has their own personality, and many of them have names. There was “Mrs. Claus” (who was very pregnant, as were a few others), Elvis, Larry, Pat, Buck Rogers, Primo, and Joey, to name a few.
Here’s Pedro, licking another goat’s back. He marches to the beat of his own drum, that’s for sure.
I went to check on them early in the morning and many of them were snuggled up together resting. It was really cute.
Frequently Asked Questions
When I initially posted the video on Facebook and Periscope, and photos on Instagram, I got tons of questions! So I am going to attempt to answer the ones that were most frequently asked.
The company we used charged us $250 for setup and $200 per day. However, certain factors like location and time of year might affect the price, and I’m sure various companies charge different prices. They can come out and give you a quote once they take a look at your yard and see what they’re dealing with. You can do a search for terms like “rental goats” or “goats for ivy removal” in your area and see if there is a company that services your location.
How many goats came to your house?
We had a herd of 32, plus George the dog (to protect the goats).
Did your neighbors get mad?
I did warn the neighbors first, but they loved it! They came and took pictures and we had a steady stream of spectators trickling through the yard to check them out. The goats are quiet and you hardly notice they’re back there.
(Here are Chris and Jonah checking them out.)
Does the dog stay all night too?
Yes! He stays with them at all times to protect them. He’s very calm and the only time I heard him bark loudly was when something behind our fence spooked the goats.
Do you have to feed the dog or do anything to care for the goats?
Nope. The owner comes each day to check on them and feed the dog, and he puts out minerals for the goats and leaves buckets of water out for all of them.
Do they eat everything in sight?
Pretty much. The owner said their favorite things to eat are Privet, Kudzu and Poison Ivy, with English Ivy closely following those as a favorite. They’ll pretty much eat anything green though, which is why we have to fence them in so they don’t eat the grass. Also, they go for the higher stuff first (in our case, the fence and trees), because they don’t like eating with their heads down. The smallest goats did the ground cover first but the rest saved the ground cover for last. I was amazed by how high up the tree the larger goats were able to stretch and eat too!
Do they leave a lot of “waste” in the yard?
Yes, folks, they poop. But it’s free fertilizer, so it’s a win/win. (Well not free, since we paid for the goats, but you know what I mean.) They have four stomachs so they can pretty much eat constantly, which means that the inevitable will follow. I will say that since we had a ton of rain while they were here, I didn’t really notice much goat poo afterwards.
Do they eat the roots too?
No, they’ll eat the ivy down to the roots and then we will pull those up. It will be much easier though without the weight of all of that ivy.
The Great Goat Escape of 2015
So, the goats escaped. Twice. We actually traveled out of town while the goats were still at our house, and the owner said the goats could stay and finish up the job while we were gone. After we were gone for a couple days, I got a call from one of our neighbors saying that the goats had escaped from our yard and were wandering around the neighborhood. (Turns out they really didn’t venture far.) Of course I freaked out and called the owner, who was already enroute to our house after receiving a call from another neighbor. Some neighbors helped herd the goats back to the yard while they waited for the owner to arrive. Apparently what had happened was there was a small gap in the back corner of our fence, which the goat rental company had blocked off. Well, the constant rain made the ground so muddy that the goats dug themselves out and slipped through a crack into the neighbor’s yard. The neighbor’s gate was open so they wandered out front. There were 14 that escaped, but luckily the neighbors were kind enough to intervene and they acted fast to contain them so they couldn’t wander far. The owner put them back in their enclosure and reinforced the fence with bungees.
They escaped again on New Year’s Eve, probably because they got spooked by fireworks. I found out when I received an email notification from Nextdoor.com from a neighbor wondering if the rumors were true that there were goats in the neighborhood, because they heard that some got loose. (You guys, I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried.) Despite the multiple escapes, I still loved renting the goats and I think this was a somewhat rare occurrence with the torrential downpours we’ve had recently and the seriously muddy conditions. I wouldn’t let this deter you from renting them — the weather really was crazy, and even though they got out, they didn’t damage anything and they were rounded up without incident.
In the end, it’s definitely something I highly recommend (despite the “great escape”) if you have an ivy problem and you can get ahold of some goats for a few days. The experience alone was worth it! We miss having the goats around. We had lots of friends and neighbors who came over to see them. Did I mention we live in the middle of a suburban neighborhood? It was really kind of hilarious.
Here is what our yard looked like “before.”
Here’s what our yard looks like now. (We haven’t done anything else to it yet.)
Look at how high up the trees they were able to eat! (They even unearthed a long lost doghouse.)
Keep in mind we still need to pull up all of the roots, but we are slowly making progress and we can gradually make our yard presentable in the spring. We were amazed by how much ivy they ate while we were out of town. They probably would have eaten even more if the rain hadn’t caused the ivy to become caked in mud. There’s still a little bit left but it will be a breeze to get rid of compared to the amount we had before. We can actually see the trees and the fence out back! And yes, I know we have our work cut out for us with the landscaping and making the rest of the yard look nice. We’ll get there.
What do you think, would you hire a herd of goats for ivy removal? Check out more goat video footage on my Facebook page or at Katch.me/diyonthecheap.
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