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| Monday's supper -- I used snippets of the rosemary, from the plants I brought indoors for winter |
Friday
hamburgers on homemade buns
w/mushrooms and mozzarella cheese
seasoned, oven-fried potato wedges
green beans
Saturday
homemade mushroom, olive and onion pizza
frozen peas
baked apples
Sunday
tortilla chips, salsa (chips from Dollar Tree, salsa a Christmas gift)
refried beans (made extras) and cheese
brown rice
carrots sticks
oranges
Monday
rosemary potatoes
kale and onion frittata, with mozzarella and topped with leftover pizza sauce
baked tiny squashes
Tuesday
crockpot ham, potato casserole
frozen green beans
pumpkin pie (from freezer)
Wednesday
Shepherd's pie (beef/turkey blend, onions, garlic, celery, corn, tomato-based sauce, covered in mashed potatoes), made 2, froze 1 (My family thought it was good, but I just didn't care for it. Maybe it was the smell of the meat cooking, but I was feeling quite ill by the time it was ready.)
frozen peas
leftover pumpkin pie
refried beans from freezer, rice and cheese burritos in homemade tortillas
corn medley, with green peppers, onion, garlic and chunky tomato salsa
carrots sticks
apple cobbler, made with frozen apple chunks
I was so looking forward to Wednesday's dinner. Comfort food -- who wouldn't want some?! But then the cooking. Browning of the meat was making me quite queasy. Sometimes the smell of meat just puts me off from eating it. This happened once when I was a young adult, living on my own. It was so bad that I became a vegetarian for a couple of years after that. When I was pregnant, all meat smelled rancid to me. I remember not being able to cook dinner one night, so I sent my husband out to get McDonald's for himself, just an orange soda and fries for me. When he walked in the door, he offered me a bite of his Big Mac. I nearly declined, as the thought of meat would send me gagging all the way to the bathroom. But I did take him up on his offer, a bite, I thought. I could handle one bite, for the sake of the baby (iron and all, from the beef). I ate his entire Big Mac and had to send him back to McDonald's for his own dinner. But that's how powerful a bad meat smell can be for me. So, Wednesday, really looking forward to this supper, and wowsers, was it ever awful in my mind. The second one in the freezer will be set aside for a night when I have alternate plans for my own supper.
But it does reinforce a point that I am common to make -- learn to enjoy your own cooking and you'll have enough money for the things that really matter in your opinion. I think my sister would be shocked that our family eats at home, almost every single night of the year. We grew up in a family where dining out was a regular event. And she, now, stills eats out, a lot, IMO. I'll be chatting with her while she's in the drive-thru at a favorite So Cal burger joint. Sometimes she'll ask what I'm having for lunch. It's usually something humble, like a banana and oatmeal, or peanut butter on toast. I do occasionally salivate over the burger and fries lunches she gets. (I did get my burger and fries meal for Friday supper.) But there are things that my not spending money on take-out has afforded me.
In looking back at my many Cheap & Cheerful Supper posts, I really didn't see many restaurant dinners. And I'm okay with that. The foods we eat on a daily basis are just humble foods. I try to make sure it's tasty. I don't keep up with many food trends. And, as far as spending time on gourmet recipes, I'd rather spend my time in other endeavors.
