Longtime readers know that I save my found money all year long, keeping it in a vase that my daughter found for me in the free box of a long-ago yard sale. In January, I round up the total and donate it to the food bank. This year’s total greatly eclipsed the 2021 take: $18.04 vs. $5.88.
The found money looked like this:
- One $5 bill
- Three $1 bills
- 27 quarters
- 19 dimes
- 13 nickels
- 74 pennies
The greenbacks were courtesy of DF, who did a couple of quick opinion surveys for a company that, believe it or not, sent him actual cash vs. a check or a gift card. His reasoning was that he is retired and wasn’t looking for employment; therefore, it was found money.
Usually I donate to Feeding America or to the Food Bank of Alaska. This year, as in 2021, I’m going to donate to the church of my childhood. The Fairton United Methodist Church now operates a small food bank to help people in that small town.
Some people are appalled by the notion of picking money up from the ground, the floor or one of those Coinstar machines. If that’s you, then you do you. But as I noted in “Filthy lucre,” it’s not as though I carry these coins home in my mouth. Food banks are being bombarded (thanks, inflation!), so for me it’s worth the stoop and then the hand sanitizer.
About that yard-sale vase: I’ve mentioned it so many times. This year I’m finally going to share a photo:
This week in beans
As noted in “Weekly beans,” we’ve decided to focus on our bean stash. Specifically, to make beans the centerpiece of at least one meal a week. This will accomplish two goals:
Reducing the hoard (seriously, we have at least 100 pounds of the things)
Improving our health, because beans are super-nutritious
This week was easy: All I had to do was a quart bag of seasoned black beans from the freezer. DF was thawing four hamburger patties on Sunday, to go with the onion rolls he bought at the used bread store on Saturday. But I made an executive decision and claimed the patties for bean and country. Here’s how it all shook down:
- I crumbled and cooked the patties, then added a half-cup of water and some of my home-mixed* taco seasoning.
- DF cut up some lettuce that his mom had sent home with him. Maggie likes salad but has a really small appetite, and regularly gives us half a head of iceberg.
- I heated up the black beans, which had been cooked with olive oil, cumin, cayenne, garlic and a little salt.
- Also heated up some rice, which was left over from two nights before.
- DF brought out some flour tortillas, which also came from the used bread store and had been waiting patiently in the freezer.
- Finally, I mixed salsa with my homemade yogurt for a sauce to drizzle atop the finished tacos. Well, DF had tacos. I decided to turn my fixings into a rice bowl. We both enjoyed the meal immensely, and will enjoy it again tomorrow for lunch. #LeftoversFTW
Very easy, very tasty and mostly very healthy. We’re happy about the bean experiment.
Pro tip: Having some beans precooked and frozen makes it possible to do fast meals instead of fast food. Tacos, burritos, rice bowls, black bean soup if you have broth, maybe a fast chili based on Marian Burros’ theory that the dish can be made in as little as 20 minutes.
Save and freeze the broth from those cooked beans. The next time you want to make soup with boiling bag broth, dump in the bean broth, too. It adds nutritional heft and an intriguing mouthfeel.
Some people freeze cooked rice, but I haven’t gotten into that habit. Since I can make a pot of rice in about 15 minutes, I’ll keep doing that and save freezer space for all those free raspberries. Or for ice cream.
Readers: Did anyone here eat beans in the past week? Inquiring minds want to know.
*After supper, I mixed up some more because I like to have two batches in the cupboard at all times. Will post the recipe if anyone wants it; this stuff makes even ground turkey taste savory.
My freezer is crammed full at the moment – so I am focusing on “shopping” from the freezer rather than the store. This week I made soup – using carrots, onions, zucchini and the last of the brussel sprouts that I bought for Thanksgiving (sliced thinly) – and then I pulled a bag of corn, a bag of red beans and a bag of chicken stock out of the freezer – woohoo!
The corn and beans are from previous recipes where I’ve opened a can of each and didn’t use all of it – a whole can of corn is a *lot* of corn in a veggie soup – so half the can goes into the freezer for a future pot!
I bought some tinned tomatoes from amazon – they are great for the “you need $3 more to reach free shipping” times – this one was a big can, and was dented so it was at the top of the pile to use. I used half the can and the rest went…into the freezer, LOL
But I have a big batch of soup for lunches this week!
I love my freezers. Yes, plural: My niece gave us her old one when she bought a larger model.
Yours sounds like it gets quite the workout.
My found money for 2022 came to an even $17. And my NY State deposit bottle and can returns came to $410.15. (These were containers I found on streets and curbs, not ones I myself paid the deposits on.)
And although I didn’t make any actual beans this week, I did make a mulligatawny with lentils last night. Do lentils count?
I love that you get deposit money! We are in PA and do not. That is quite a haul.
Your take from deposits is impressive! We don’t have that here, or I’d be doing it for sure.
And I think that since lentils and beans are both legumes, then you’re good to go. Might do some lentils myself, since we still have a fair amount of ham in the freezer. Found one for 49 cents a pound (!) and DF immediately cooked it and cut it up for freezing.
Hi Donna – my “found” money came to $10.51 this year! I will pick up ALL the dirty money people leave on the ground, and wash my hands or sanitize after 🙂
I challenged myself to eat out of my freezer/pantry for the entire month. Your “bean” challenge has made that easy!
I prepped Chili this week – which came from my freezer, and was stashed there after an office luncheon in December where the person that made it, who is a VERY good cook and always makes too much, told me “take it home , it won’t get eaten at my house!” — (I still have 2 more servings in my freezer!). I added a bag of Aldi Cauliflower rice from freezer, some spaghetti (Mueller’s “hidden veggies” – from clearance rack) and shredded cheddar (from the fridge that needs to get eaten up) to each container and have 4 filling meals that cost me less than $2 each!
I have a pie shell in the fridge — am looking to see what i can do with that and beans!! LOL
Well, Tamar Adler says her mother knew a tartmaker who made a good tart out of lentils. Her own opinion was that anything worth eating was worth being “framed in crust.” I love her book.
https://amzn.to/3CrncgJ
I love that you donated your found money to the food bank. There is such a need for those right now with the price of groceries going up so much. Your dinner of tacos sounds so good. I love tacos and could eat them several times per week. 😊
How lovely to see a picture of the famous vase.
That two-handled vase looks like something that used to be known as a “loving cup,” which seems perfect in view of your use of the coins stored within it.
Your vase looks old, Does it have a maker mark on it. Is is really beautiful, and your daughter had a good eye. Two days ago, I made up some great northern beans. Took out half to freeze as husband likes the occasional bean soup with ham. I took the other half and as we had leftover hot dogs from Labor day last year, I took 2 and made baked beans. Was hungry for some. Know Hot dogs and ham aren’t really good for you with the salt and sodium nitrite, but it is hard giving them up since you had that stuff as a child. I try to make them an occasional treat. Oh, and Lastly, So far we picked up .57 on our walks from the roadways this year.
All it says on the bottom is “Made in Italy.” Maybe I should try and get a ticket for “Antiques Roadshow” when it comes to Anchorage next month… ‘-)
It’s nice… but save your ticket for something else. It’s only going to appraise for $10 or so. Maybe a bit higher. (sorry – official opinion)
I only found $2.32 in 2022 — including $1.10 in the change bin of a Coinstar at Walmart!
And do peas count? I made Hoppin’ John with black-eyed peas, and a pot of pea soup is waiting for finishing up in the fridge.
I did try something that worked surprisingly well — leftover Sloppy Joe mix was spread over bread dough, then rolled up jelly-roll style and baked. (Wait to slice it until it’s baked.) It was actually quite good!
I carry hand sanitizer just for this reason. Who can afford to leave money behind these days? I wound up with $140 in found and spare change for 2022.
Wow! That’s a lot of picking-upping!
Nice to hear from you, Nancy.
I have a Giving Jar and if the money isn’t needed during the year (meals for new parents, sick neighbors, etc) I used the funds to make a donation. This year I’ve chosen my vet’s office where I used to purchase a very specialize ,(and insanely expensive) food for my dog who was terminally ill. Perhaps in today’s economy that will help a pet owner “test drive” a new food for their dog without the initial expense or worry of breaking the budget.
I always laugh about something my Mom said to me when I was about 4 years old. She said “Don’t ever put money (change) in your mouth. You never know where it’s been.” First of all, my little brain thought “WHY would I put money in my mouth?” And secondly I though “Where could the money have been???” And, yes, I will still pick it up when I see it! How nice to donate to a food pantry!
I’m guestimating that my found change was less than $2. But thanks for the reminder to give to my local food closet. I actually have two bags of groceries under my kitchen table that needs to be brought there.
Good for you! I was just writing a note to the church when I thought to check comments. The money’s going out tomorrow.
Cuban black beans and yellow rice. I always make extra rice when I make it. I figure it doesn’t really take any longer to make a bigger batch so I save a little time for future me. I portion it out and put it in the freezer. A quick zap away from the next meal. And I have leftover rice for fried rice – one of our camping staples.
We are having Vegetarian Chili tomorrow made with navy beans I froze from dry. I also mixed up the rustic bread today and I will fix it to go with the chili.
We celebrated Christmas at our house last Sunday the 15th. We were late because first some of my daughter’s family got Covid. Then my husband had it and as soon as he was finished isolating I got it. So wow… we had to delay twice. The good news is that we had lots of leftovers and I am using the carrots, peppers and celery from the veggie tray my daughter brought to make the chili along with the beans. We had a lot of other leftovers too so we ate some and froze some of what our girls did not take home with them.
I made Smitten Kitchen’s version of an Ina Garten recipe, Stewed Lentils and Tomatoes. I like adding mushrooms too. It makes a lot and is so easy. Hope it’s okay to post the link: https://smittenkitchen.com/2006/10/queens-and-contessas/
I wanted to make black bean soup so soaked 4 cups or so of beans and cooked them just in water in the instant pot. oops, they were in there for some time after they were cooked, however seemed to be fine. Realized that I had too much else happening to make soup so I put a cup of brown basmati into my rice cooker and was just sitting down to rice +. beans + the remaining sad 1/4 of a tomato and some salsa and mayo/yogurt/limejuice sauce, when #2 son came in. he chose to just have beans and rice and sauce and a handful of cherry tomatoes. Total yum.
Then I made a huge pot of Moroccan cauliflower and lentil stew (budget bytes) which expanded and expanded as I cleared crispers. added a jar of my home canned chickpeas (garbanzos). I am needing to shift some of my body off of my body, if you get my drift – this stew is hearty and healthy and low in calories, filling and tasty. made far too much so shared some with my girlfriend who is also on the body shifting program. I don’t have freezer room so am hoping #2 son is willing to make one more meal of it. As will I. And we still have rice and beans. maybe I still will get around to black bean soup?
So, beans are happening and lentils too, A. Marie! all the legumes.
OK. I guess this qualifies as found money.
My name was on the state list of unclaimed money (printed in the newspaper in very small letters). I called, applied for, and received $37.41 from a bill I overpaid 3 years ago. I had a name and address change so that was why I never received it.
I put together one can of butter beans, one can of chicken broth, carrots, and a small slice of ham. It was very good soup.
I would love to see your home mixed taco seasoning recipe! I rarely find money laying about. I probably collected a few pennies last year.
We finally get a pic of the famous vase. It’s really pretty.
I’m still picking up money, I don’t care how dirty it is! I found $41 last September while just taking a walk through my neighborhood. I still can’t hardly believe it.
Now that was a find! And in these inflationary times, every dollar (or every penny) matters.
I found $4 and change (can’t remember the exact amount) on the ground and on floors of public places in 2022. However, like DF, if the amount of found money included money that I didn’t earn (handed-to-me-money) it would bring it up to $22 and change. This is tip money I received at my job which is not technically a “tippable” job.
I haven’t made a bean dish yet but I’m defrosting the Christmas Eve hambone as I write this for split pea soup.
I want to give a nod to A. Marie for her collecting all those cans and bottles. Not only very lucrative for her but a service to the landscape and waterways in her area in keeping trash out of natural resources. I love how frugality and kindness to our planet often go hand in hand.
Frugality, kindness and sustainability — although those last two are often synonymous, as you note.
Thanks to Christine for the shout-out.
And I like to think I’m also cleaning up Dodge in the neighborhood. The convenience store/gas station on a corner near us is a major source of containers and other trash. I go down there regularly (usually early Sunday mornings when they’re not open yet), make out like a bandit on containers, and try to move some of the other trash where it belongs.
Finally, this also qualifies most of the year (except when winter weather makes it impossible) as my senior citizen workout. Both upper- and lower-body exercise!
“And bend and stretch and lift and toss and bend and stretch….”
Well the vegetarian chili I made turned out great! I calculated it cost about $5 for the pot. My husband and I ate it for 2 days with the rustic bread. The 3rd day we made hot dogs and put chili on them. We each had 2 servings for all 3 days. There was still about 2 servings leftover which I froze. Very economical and very good. This week I am fixing yellow rice and black beans bowls. All of the beans are from dry which I froze.
Oh and also… Sometimes Found money is better when returned! Yesterday my husband and I went to Target. I stepped out of the car directly onto a deposit slip dated yesterday and a check for about $1,100.00. It was unendorsed but I thought someone is losing their mind right now! There was an address on the check and deposit slip but no phone number.. We considered driving to the address but were dubious about showing up at a strange house. So we settled on taking it to the bank listed on deposit slip and talking to branch manager. We waited while he called and talked to a frantic woman who said she was “ripping her house apart” looking for it. I doubt anyone would have been able to cash it but just having to stop payment and wait for for a reissue would have been so stressful. Was so glad we found it and happy to get it returned
Honesty is the best policy.
I just made a crockpot full of black beans! Aldi was out of the canned so I used a budget bytes recipe with an onion and a bay leaf. Dinner tonight was some leftover basmati rice mixed with beans and the dregs of a jar of salsa. I rolled it in two flour tortillas from a big package I got a good deal on at Sam’s.
There are so many beans that my dinner didn’t even make a dent! Now to portion them out and freeze some so I have future beans.
“Future beans” are as good as “weekly beans.”
Found money for 2022 totaled $1.31. It was mostly pennies, and some look like they have been run over by one of the trains. I will add to the total and pick up a few bottles of shampoo for the food bank.
The food bank will appreciate it. If folks can’t afford food, they sure can’t afford toiletries.