Mostly Cheap & Always Cheerful Suppers for the Week After Christmas

"Are not flowers the stars of the earth?" --Clara Lucas Balfour

This was the quote on my tea bag tag today.

Mostly cheap because I did use some frozen prepared foods this week, the Chinese entrees, the egg rolls, the chopped peppers and onions, plus I splurged on broccoli florets instead of broccoli cuts for New Year's Day. Otherwise, everything else used my ordinary ingredients for this time of year.

I feel like we've been eating non-stop since Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to more humble meals beginning next week. But it's been a great feasting season.

Tuesday's salad -- we're still harvesting kale

Here are our menus for this past week.

Friday
scratch pepperoni pizza
cabbage, turnip green, and carrot slaw
tangerines
leftover cherry pie

Saturday
beef and vegetable soup
leftover dinner rolls from Christmas
tangerines
cookies

Sunday
scrambled eggs with avocado wedges and salsa
frozen broccoli
brown rice
tangerines
cookies

Monday
ground beef stroganoff, using a combo of leftover Greek yogurt, soy milk, cornstarch and lemon juice to stand in for sour cream
leftover brown and white rice
peas and carrots
cabbage slaw
stewed prunes

Tuesday
tuna-avocado melts (a great way to use up aging avocados, as they're hidden beneath the cheese)
canned green beans
kale, dried cranberry and orange salad
gingered pears

Wednesday
frozen Chinese entrees (one beef, one chicken, both with veggies)
leftover egg rolls (from Christmas Eve)
white rice
tangerines

Thursday (Happy New Year!)

beef pot roast with mushroom gravy (using dried mushrooms gift from Christmas 2024)

black-eyed peas with onions and peppers

oven-roasted broccoli florets

oven-roasted sweet potato cubes

spiced apples and cranberries

What was on your menu this past week? Are you back to normal meals, or do you still have more festive foods to use up?

What's on your New Year's Eve and New Year's Day menu?

This is what I have planned.

New Year's Eve

Homemade Chinese food 

By homemade I mean from two frozen bagged entrees -- P.F. Chang's Mongolian Beef and Orange Chicken, supplemented with additional veggies.

Steamed rice

Tangerines

New Year's Day

Everyone is on their own for breakfast and lunch. 

For dinner:

Pot-roasted beef Heel Roast and gravy

Black-eyed peas, peppers, and onions

Oven-roasted sweet potato cubes

Oven-roasted broccoli florets

Spiced apples and cranberries

Either a pumpkin pie or Christmas cookies (Dessert depends on if my son and daughter-in-law come over. Cookies if just us, a pie if they join us.)

Perhaps you're wondering what a heel roast is. Since I've been buying beef directly from a rancher, I've learned a lot about many cuts of beef. A heel roast is also known as Heel of Round. It's a tougher cut, needing slow-cooking, like braising or pot-roasting. It also works well for stew meat. It's lean, flavorful, and an economical cut, when you can find them. Here's another name for a cut you may not be familiar with -- English Roast. An English Roast is cut from the shoulder, like a Chuck Roast, but the English is leaner than the Chuck Roast. Both require low and slow cooking. Anyway, I'll be pot-roasting the Heel Roast tomorrow.

What's on your menu for tonight and tomorrow?

Wishing you a very joyful celebration and happy year ahead! 2026, we''re expecting great things from you.