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Friday, February 24, 2017

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers the Last Week of February

This week went by in a blur, so I'll try to remember what we had for dinner each night. What I do know is that it was frugal. I wouldn't have had time to rush out for takeaway meals.

Friday
  • turkey, vegetable and barley soup
  • toasted cheese sandwiches
  • orange wedges
Saturday
husband's night to cook
  • wrap sandwiches
  • carrots and celery sticks and bleu cheese dressing
Sunday
This was the night that we had leftovers from the fundraiser that I work.
  • leftover assorted sandwiches
  • leftover chips
  • leftover fruit salad
  • tossed salad made from leftover lettuce, cucumber slices and half of a tomato, topped with bleu cheese dressing
  • a mix of the leftover egg salad, potato salad and cole slaw
  • leftover cookies
Monday
  • egg salad sandwiches
  • soup from the freezer, turkey, vegetable and barley
  • bananas
Tuesday
  • soft tacos, made with 1 chicken breast, cooked onions, lettuce, black beans and salsa (really yummy!)
  • canned corn
  • cookies -- those jam-filled ones that I shower to you earlier this week
Wednesday
  • black bean and lentil soup
  • cheese quesadillas
  • tossed salad (lettuce, cucumber slices, olives, bleu cheese dressing)
  • cookies
Thursday
  • pancakes, with real maple syrup (a treat that we are enjoying tremendously)
  • scrambled eggs
  • pumpkin souffle (I had canned pumpkin in the fridge needing using, and this sounded good with what else was planned)
  • blackberry-rhubarb sauce from the freezer
I made it through the week. My back hurts from hunching over papers, as I edited. I'm exhausted and just want to go for a vacation on a tropical island. But I'm not quite done. I have to put together a portfolio for review. Guess what I'll be doing this weekend?

Besides that, my one daughter comes home tomorrow morning. I'll be picking her up, with my other daughter with me. The three of us will do our galentine's thing, Saturday AM. We missed it on Valentine's, but aren't going to let this opportunity slip away from us. 

This past week, I think one of the tastiest things that I ate were the soft tacos. I'm usually not a big fan of flour tortilla tacos, preferring the texture of corn tortillas, but those chicken tacos were delicious. They were a hybrid between soft tacos and fajitas. We didn't add cheese, or sour cream or any usual taco toppings, but had the lettuce, olives, black beans, along with strips of cooked chicken and grilled onions. If I had had any peppers in the house, those would have made the tacos over the top!

This next week, I will finally have time to cook from scratch, again. As it happens, there is now room in the freezer for some prepared meals and soups. So, I'll get busy on the casserole-making and soup simmering. I've enjoyed not having to cook as much this winter.

The other thing that I am really looking forward to is flowers. Who else is ready for spring? I still have crocus bulbs in the fridge that need planting out. It shouldn't be too late. And I need to get started on some seeds this week. Oh, and then there's taxes. It is looking like a busy couple of weeks, but a nice change from everything that I've been working on.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

13 comments:

  1. Good Morning, Lili,

    What a stressed filled week for all of us. I'm tired too. Our meals were almost non-existent so let me try to figure this out.

    Sunday was the lasagna that we had leftovers from for a few meals this week. I had made my hubby's favorite hamburger/macaroni for a couple of days. There was piggies in the blanket quite a few days. Some of those were store bought and others were my attempt at homemade and the HM ones were very good. I like eating them cold as a snack. We had chicken soup and bran muffins another day. Last night I had chili dogs from the freezer. These are some things I probably won't be in a hurry to buy again -- hotdogs. I like them but they're not good for me. Plus, we're eating strictly from the freezer. I've had a salad every day this week for lunch. One of those salad in a jar things and I have loved every one of them. I made my own ranch dressing this week with some sour cream that needed to be used and my hubby is just loving that. He uses it with his deli meat sandwich and can't get enough of it. Thankfully it is a cheap thing to make and I'll try it without sour cream sometime and use plain yogurt instead.

    Hubby is changing jobs so starting next week he will be home in the evenings for dinner so hopefully we will be back in the groove again.

    Alice

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a layered salad that is put in a mason jar. Start layering dressing in the bottom and then all the other items you like for your salad but put the moist or wet ingredients first. I do dressing, then chicken, then peas, then beans, cucumbers, carrots, chopped egg and finally the lettuce. At lunch I just shake it up and eat. I don't use all those ingredients in one salad but change it up from day to day. I use an old jar with a purple/white checked lid and everyone knows not to recycle that jar since it's "mom's salad jar". It's bigger than a pint but a bit smaller than a quart which is perfect for lunch.

      Alice

      Delete
    2. Hi Alice,
      Your salad in a jar sounds good. I've seen those on pinterest, and they do look tasty. Supposedly the jar will keep them fresh for several days, meaning you can make them ahead for the week. Did you do that this past week? That's a really good idea for me, as well, for getting some lunch items together in advance.

      That will be nice for you and your husband to work similar hours, and have evening together. I hope the job turns out to be a good fit for him.

      Have a lovely weekend, Alice!

      Delete
  2. Glad your soft tacos were such a hit. We love tacos here and I use tortillas for a variety of fillings. And there is just something about black beans, corn, and salsa that just go together. : )

    I hope you have a wonderful weekend, Lili. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Belinda,
      We really did enjoy our tacos this week. I'm now out of commercial flour tortillas, so I'll wait until the next Senior Discount day to buy more, (which isn't until early March). I turned the last of the black beans, cooked chicken and some corn from that night into a really tasty soup, that improved in flavor as leftovers. Mexican-inspired meals are a favorite of mine.

      Have a wonderful weekend, yourself, Belinda!

      Delete
  3. Lili, I'd like to hear more about your writing class. Photos and a portfolio make it sound like more than a creative writing class. Are you going back to your journalism roots?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi live and learn,
      I don't know what I'm going to do, yet. But I'm planning on doing something, part time. Right now I'm getting my skills up to speed, and exploring a couple of other interests.

      In this writing class, my first major project was a piece that would be suitable for a travel magazine, like what you find published by airlines, that are in the seat pocket on the flight, or perhaps for a brochure.

      My photography is really horrible. If I have time, soon, I'd like to take a photography class. One of my daughters tells me that there is a place in Seattle where amateur photographers can use equipment to develop and print their own negatives. That sounds really intriguing to me. I would also enjoy working in one of Seattle's wonderful art museums. I don't have anything narrowed down, yet. But something. I'll keep you posted!

      Are you enjoying your new place, without having to think about taking care of stuff at the old house? I love the prospect of having a blank slate to work with in a house, to set things up in new and unimagined ways. Have fun with it.
      I hope you have a peaceful weekend, live and learn!

      Delete
  4. Enjoy your morning with your daughters!

    The freezer has become a source of amusement to me. I'm happy to see it work down and then I'm happy to see it refilled. It seems as if I would go one way or the other. Perhaps I'm just a happy person overall...lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Busy Bee! I talked with the one in Colorado this morning. She's enjoying her time there, but I think also looking forward to getting home.

      I know what you mean concerning your freezer. I love filling it up in fall and feeling prepared for anything. Then, in spring I have a desire to empty it all out, a spring-cleaning of our grocery supplies. Of course, I love the saving money aspect of using everything up in the spring.

      Have a great weekend, Busy Bee!

      Delete
  5. Carrying off providing home-cooked meals on top of your other responsibilities is a great accomplishment!

    We have had unusually mild weather this past week--my back yard crocuses bloomed. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your week was really busy. I vaguely remember what we ate this week.
    Fri- Lentils and rice or leftover Salmon.
    Thur-Salmon,quinoa and salad (The salmon was a gift)
    Wed-Chicken tacos and Spanish rice
    Tue-Roasted Chicken
    Mon-Turkey burgers
    Sun-Split pea soup
    Sat-Breakfast for dinner
    I hope you finish up your project. Enjoy your outing with your daughters.
    Have a great weekend
    Patti

    ReplyDelete
  7. Salad in a jar sounds wonderful as a tasty lunch on the go meal!! Thanks, Alice, for the idea.

    We had a big pot of chicken soup with homemade noodles that lasted the entire week. Plus our usual side dishes. Also frozen premade burritos and pizzas. Husband was sick with two bouts of colds, first respiratory, then after a few days he became so lethargic that he slept all day, luckily he recovered quickly. I was glad we had that big pot of chicken soup already made.

    Lili, your interest sounds very similar to what my son does at a publishing company and as a freelance designer. His clients include retail stores, a real estate company, a tourist association, and organizational events like festivals (so far from what he has told us). He earns a good income on his freelance jobs which he can do at home after his full time job. He doesn't write but works with professional writers and photographers.

    Hope you had a nice weekend!!

    YHF

    ReplyDelete

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