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Friday, September 15, 2017

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for an early September week


Again, trying to remember what we had from last weekend.

All I remember from Saturday was cole slaw, because I remember the bowl on the table.

Sunday -- lentil and cheese quesadillas, with carrot sticks
Monday -- pasta, meatball, marinara, spinach, mozzarella layered casserole, with steamed cauliflower core juliennes, and a tossed green salad (with lettuce cores, too)
Tuesday -- leftover pasta casserole (I made a lot), nectarine slices, frozen green beans
Wednesday -- pumpkin soup, French bread pizza sandwiches (using hoagie rolls)
Thursday -- family dinner: roasted chicken, stuffing, cranberry sauce, frozen peas, pumpkin snack cake (this cake, with the pumpkin variation) with butterscotch chip icing


The cake from last night was so tasty. I was in a hurry to get it finished and chose to use a butterscotch chip topping, by dumping a cup of butterscotch chips on top of the hot cake out of the oven. Only, butterscotch chips don't melt like chocolate chips do (see the sad photo of unmelted chips on the cake).

So I scooped them off the cake, and into a custard cup, and along with some Crisco shortening, melted them in the microwave in short 15 second bursts, for a total of about 30 seconds. Then stirred like mad until it was a nice melty mess.


I quickly spread the melty mess on the cake, and it set up very quickly. It was a little extra work, but it smelled and tasted autumnal.

What was on your menu this past week? The weather is definitely cooler, here. How fast it all changed! I'll be volunteering all day tomorrow. I hope you have nice plans for the weekend!

22 comments:

  1. Good to know that butterscotch chips don't melt like chocolate ones. I don't use them very often, but I'll keep that in mind. Have a good weekend, Lili.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi live and learn,
      I was a bit disappointed that they didn't melt right on the cake. Oh well, I did get them to melt with the Crisco in the microwave, so it all worked out.
      Have a good weekend, yourself, live and learn!

      Delete
    2. I thought it was just my Aldi butterscotch chips that wouldn't melt--good to know!

      I'm getting in the mood for pumpkin ... although we have summerlike weather this weekend.

      Delete
    3. Hi Kris,
      I think it's the relatively lower fat/higher sugar content of the butterscotch chips, regardless of brand. I just googled butterscotch and chocolate chips nutrition info, and there is that fat and sugar difference between the two. Butterscotch chips scorch faster, too, due to the high sugar.
      On the nutrition front --sadly, butterscotch chips have no nutritional value, unless you're deficient in calories, sugar, sodium or fat. At least chocolate chips have potassium, calcium, iron, protein and fiber. Just thought you'd like to know that! Ha ha! But butterscotch chips are tasty!
      Enjoy your weekend, Kris!

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    4. I'm sure I'm deficient in fat and sugar. ;) I looooove butterscotch chips. I made a cookie bar recipe for our church potluck a week ago--it's a peanut butter oatmeal cookie bar with butterscotch chips on top with a peanut butter frosting over that. SO good. I have noticed that instead of sprinkling the chips on top of the batter (as the recipe calls for), I need to push them in the batter a bit so they soften up. Also, when I make Scotcharoos, the butterscotch chips are more work to melt than the chocolate chips--but the flavor is a-mazing! I think I'll work through my butterscotch chip hardships. Ha.

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  2. That cake still looks delicious.

    Meals we had (in no specific order because I can't remember!) are:
    Mexican sauce beef roast in the instant pot. Grilled pork steak with turmeric rice and green beans, sausage tortellini in a homemade pasta sauce, taco soup and a casserole with all the leftover bits of meat, elbow macaroni, shredded cheese and can of cream of mushroom soup. That was a good casserole.

    The weekend is a getaway--our first one alone without kids in all our 31 years of marriage. It is a gift to ourselves to celebrate our anniv. from last week.

    Also, clean up after having a landscaping renovation done and all the dust it produced. We'll do that when we find time in the next week or so.

    Alice

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Alice,
      it really was a delicious cake. Your meals sound very tasty, especially the casserole!
      Oh wow! What a wonderful trip you have planned for the weekend! Have a lovely time.

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    2. Happy anniversary, Alice!

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    3. I think the trip is OFF. Landscapers were to have finished a project today and now are coming tomorrow. We need to be here when they arrive to show them where things need to go. They are making a special day of work tomorrow because our project should have been done already and they want it done. Boo hoo.
      Alice

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    4. Oh no, Alice! You two deserve to have this time away and alone. Can you reschedule your getaway for next weekend? Or have one of your kids direct the landscapers tomorrow? Or can the landscapers come next weekend/week? I hope that you can find a way to get your trip in. :-(

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    5. I'd be so disappointed! I'm sorry your plans don't seem to be working out. Hope you can reschedule.

      Delete
  3. WE are just closing in on two weeks of tomato sandwiches, using tomatoes from the garden. But that will change very quickly as yesterday was the last day for the garden. Besides processing a lot of tomatoes now, I'm looking forward to fall-like dinners, such as soups, stews and chili.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jayne,
      You had a wonderful tomato crop, it sounds. When it's a good garden year, it's always sad to see it end for the season. But then again, no more harvesting and processing work until next year. More time for other activities!
      Have a great weekend, Jayne!

      Delete
  4. Sounded like another yummy week, Lili. My meals weren't very inspiring this week, but today and over the weekend, I'll be processing the apple harvest from our orchard, and testing out trying to freeze an overage of sale fresh mushrooms I bought for meals/other eaters in the family which didn't happen. (I love mushrooms, but can't eat them all.) I'm also going to take advantage of fresh groceries and cooler temps to bake a bunch of crackers to re-stock my freezer stash of those. Have a good weekend. Sara

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Sara,
      Good luck with the apple harvest/processing, and freezing the mushrooms! When I get a deal on mushrooms, I saute them in a little butter and freeze in small packets. They work just fine in future sauces, stews and egg dishes. Homemade crackers -- I'll be right over! :-)
      Have a great weekend, Sara!

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    2. Lili-- I figured you'd done this before. I was vacillating between steaming and sauteeing in butter, since those both seemed to give better results than blanching. DS has the dehydrator now, so I don't have that option right now. Think I'll go your way and do the saute. Seems like you can't go wrong, even frozen, with sauteed mushrooms. :)

      Wish you COULD come over for crackers and a cup of tea! What fun that would be! :) Sara

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    3. Oh yes, the saute really works for mushrooms. Dehydrated mushrooms are very tasty, too. I did that years ago and we found they made such delicious snack material after drying. I think, though, if you plan on using the mushrooms in sauces, eggs, soups, that the saute/freeze will be good, too. Have a good weekend!

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    4. Sauteed mushrooms (with a little onion) are in the freezer, and a spoonful or two tasted really good on my leftover meatloaf and lima beans for lunch, too. :) Thanks for the advice! Sara

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  5. Hi Lili,

    Your meals sound really good. We had a lot of salads,Cheese and crackers(Found 2 pound blocks of cheese for 2 dollars a block at Grocery Outlet.Using the last of the seasonal tomatoes. Many cheese sammys. Last night I made Chili and we had caramel ice cream for dessert.Seamed a bit like fall. Stocked up on butter. I have like 30 pounds frozen.It was under 1 dollar a pound at GTM an outlet store for Costco and Whole foods.
    Have a great weekend.
    Patti

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Patti,
      Your Grocery Outlet has some awesome deals! I check out our local one from time to time and haven't found much that is very impressive. But I'll keep checking.
      I just checked the website for GTM, and they have an interesting story about how they began. A good read for anyone wanting to start-up a small business from next to nothing investment.
      Chili sounds wonderful. I woke in the night cold, a few times this week. I think the change of seasons is approaching!
      Have a wonderful weekend, Patti!

      Delete
  6. That cakes looks so good, Lili. I would love the butterscotch frosting. The weather here has turned cooler here as well. I am loving it and looking forward to even more. I hope you have a great week. :)

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  7. I love butterscotch, but my children won't touch it. I moan to my husband that I don't know where I went wrong with them. ��

    Everything sounds delicious!

    ReplyDelete

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