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Friday, October 5, 2018

Cheap and Cheerful Suppers for the First Week of October

pan-roasted Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes.
It was a delicious week of autumnal foods. The weather turned chilly on Tuesday. I was eating dinner with one daughter and we were talking about the tomatoes in the garden, thinking they should be picked right away. So, we took a break from eating and went out to the garden to pick the rest of the large tomatoes. I'm so glad that we did, because the weather did not grow warmer, only wetter. The Brussels sprouts were on markdown -- such a treat to have! Oh and so were the mushrooms. I bought 3  1/2 pounds of marked down mushrooms. Now I'm getting hungry!

Here's what we ate this past week. Anything autumnal on your menu?

Saturday
  • Kielbasa
  • *Hashbrowns
  • Corn tortillas topped with cheese and *tomato slices
  • *Plums
  • *Kale
Sunday
  • Bean soup with *veggies
  • *Apple wedges and *plum halves
  • Crackers
Monday
  • *Vegetable, egg and tofu fried rice
  • leftover cake
Tuesday
  • Beef, sausage, mushroom stew, with assorted *vegetables
  • Bread
  • *Apple wedges
Wednesday
  • Chicken thighs in mushroom gravy (made double of the chicken and veggies, and froze a dinner for 4) -- I used a mushroom gravy mix, fresh mushrooms, celery, and green onions for the sauce. The gravy mix was 69 cents, a bargain considering it made for a simple meal.
  • Roasted Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes
  • *Tossed salad
  • Homemade Rice-a-roni
Thursday
  • Beef and bean chili, using garden *tomatoes (made double, freezing leftovers for another dinner for 4)
  • Crackers
  • Applesauce
Friday (easy supper night, fast food without the drive-thru or expense)
  • Corn dogs (WinCo -- 25 cents each)
  • Sweet potato fries (Dollar Tree -- small bag, but enough for a family of four, $1)
  • Tossed salad of *cucumber and *tomato from the garden and lettuce from WinCo, dressing made with mix from WinCo's bulk bins (about 50 cents for the salad and dressing)
  • update on price of supper -- I decided to add 4 strips of turkey bacon to the salad, extra protein and flavor. That extra adds about 39 cents to the cost of dinner, and 2 grams of protein for each person. For dessert, we also added 4 chocolates from some Dollar Tree boxed chocolates (yes, you can sometimes buy boxed chocolates at Dollar Tree!), adding about 29 cents, total. The cost per person for dinner, then, is about 79 cents, plus beverages (2 members of the family may have a glass of milk each, the others stick to water; add 10 cents per glass of milk). Under $1 per person for a quick, easy, and fast food-ish meal.
*indicates item is from our garden or fruit trees

chicken thighs in mushroom gravy



10 comments:

  1. Our weather has been up and down--cold one day, hot the next. I have started pulling out my soup recipes and a week ago it was cold enough to make pizza--it bakes at such a high temperature that I only make it when the weather is chilly. Your chicken recipe looks and sounds great!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kris,
      Pizza or soup sound very delicious. I understand waiting to do homemade pizza until the weather cools. I am the same way about using the self-clean feature on the oven. I only do that in cool weather as it overheats the kitchen to do it in warm weather.

      Have a good weekend, Kris!

      Delete
  2. Yum, I always wish I could come to your house for dinner...then meals sound so delish!

    Saryn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Saryn,
      It would be so fun if we could have a potluck dinner with all of our blog friends. I bet you prepare some pretty amazing meals, too. It just always sounds better when you're no the one cooking whatever it is.

      Have a lovely weekend, Saryn!

      Delete
  3. Replies
    1. Hi live and learn,
      One of my weaknesses is mushrooms. I think they make any meal mouth-watering.

      Delete
  4. Oh those roasted veggies look so good-as does the chicken dinner. Well done!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Lynn,
      Thank you! The veggies were fantastic. I will do those again this fall.

      Delete
  5. Wow! Your meal plans and pictures look amazing!

    We have been doing a lot of pressure cooker meals. Pork chops and spinach ravioli cooked all together. Pumpkin spice waffles, eggrolls using the cabbage and carrots from my dad! Froze a bunch of them. Breakfast burritos to make mornings easier. Today is beef barley soup in the pressure cooker using reduced meat we found at the store (more like soup bones). Beef tri tip roast that was discounted has been cooked and is now resting waiting to be sliced. Cabbage and sausage rings was a meal this week. So many things to make using freezer stuff and discounted foods we get at grocery stores. That's the only way to go if we want beef. Normal prices just don't work for us as it is too expensive.

    Alice

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Alice,
      Your meals sound delicious, and warming, too! I hear you on beef prices. Last fall I wanted a roast, at the last minute, for a family pot roast dinner and I think I paid about $5 per pound, and felt I was getting a good-enough price, considering it was a last-minute dinner. The beef I bought this week was ground, and I paid $2.24/lb. It was a manager's special/markdown. I bought 6 lbs, and I'm hoping to make it last for two months. I stocked up on chicken thighs at 87 cents/lb. Meat is just an expensive ingredient, so I have to plan for it in the budget more than other items.

      Delete

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