Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for Early April

I don't know what happened to my post. Something caused it to revert to an original draft. I'll do my best to recap what I'd originally written Thursday evening.

Another week of my daughters' cooking, with exception to Easter's main meal (which we did as a late lunch to take advantage of warm outdoor air). This has been a fabulous gift all month, with the two of them cooking the main meal each night. I feel truly spoiled.

So, what did they cook? Here it is:

Friday

pepperoni pizza (using a Great Value  pizza crust mix and canned pasta sauce), kale and cabbage slaw, canned green beans

Saturday (my birthday dinner)

frozen eggrolls, frozen orange chicken stir fry, rice, scratch chocolate cake (the cake that had a layer which wouldn't come out of the pan, becoming 2 batches of chocolate pudding cake later)

Sunday

Easter Luncheon (as I posted earlier this week) -- baked ham, scratch dinner rolls, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, kale-almond-cranberry salad, roasted Brussel sprouts, carrot cake cupcakes, chocolate pudding cake

We didn't cook a dinner on Easter. It was fend for yourself. I had a bowl of more chocolate pudding cake and a cup of tea for my dinner. Others had leftovers from the luncheon.

Monday (sorry, no photo)

reheated leftovers from Easter

Tuesday

bean and ham soup (using ham stock and meat from Easter ham plus beans cooked from dried), scratch biscuits (using ham fat in the dough), mixed green slaw

Wednesday

bean and cheese burritos (using canned refried beans and commercial tortillas), canned tomatoes, mixed green salad

Thursday

hummus (using canned garbanzo beans), crackers, celery sticks, slaw with cabbage and thinnings from the garden

Everyday breakfasts included leftover dinner rolls, toast, homemade yogurt, eggs, milk, fruit, juice, peanut butter, and smoothies. As Saturday was my birthday, I made sure to have exactly what I wanted -- croissants and bacon. Trader Joe's sells frozen croissant dough. I picked up a box of 8. We baked 4 and will save the other 4 for Mother's Day. When I buy bacon, I split the package into smaller packages of 8 or 12 uncooked slices (depending on whether my son and daughter-in-law will be with us, hence 12 slices for 6 of us). I thaw one of these smaller packets in the fridge overnight. I have a good friend who frequently reminds me that if I want something to happen, and I have some control over the situation, to make it happen myself. That's what I did for my birthday.

Our lunches included cream of broccoli soup, cheese sandwiches, peanut butter sandwiches, eggs, raisins, bananas, juice, carrots, cabbage, crackers, leftovers, and various baked goodies.

That's what was on our menu this week. What was on yours?

Wishing you all a lovely weekend!

The Thrill of Saving Flower Seeds

one of several petunia plants I grew from seeds collected from last year's purchased plants--
it's even beginning to bloom!

You all know that I save seeds from one season's plants to grow vegetables in the next season. It's not a huge savings, but it's one of those satisfaction things. But do you know what I find really exciting in the gardening realm? Saving seeds from flowers that I bought in the garden center and growing them the next year into actual flowering plants. It's as if I made something. So exciting!

a bundle of marigold seedlings --
I can already see where they will be setting flower buds in a month or so.

This last year I saved nasturtiums (but those fall into the edible category for our house, so not as exciting), "Patriot Mix" (red, white, purple) petunias, and autumn-colored marigolds. I started the seeds for the petunias and marigolds in March under lights. The plants look wonderful. Last summer, I wasn't even sure what to save -- what was a seed for both of these plants. I looked both plants up online to see what to look for as seeds. And I luckily found them on both plants.

Now I have annual plants for my pots and garden for zero cost! I would have bought the petunias for sure, as I plant these every year in a couple of pots in the front yard. The autumn marigolds will give me end of summer color to enjoy, once again.

Free annuals grown from my own collected seeds -- now this is excitement!

Easter Luncheon Photos

Dessert first, because that's the fun part!  Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting, decorated with either chopped pecans or garden violets

Chocolate Pudding and Cake (a failed chocolate cake that I crumbled and topped with scratch cornstarch pudding and some chocolate chips)

Green Bean Casserole (the standard cream of mushroom soup recipe)

Sweet Potato Casserole with Praline Topping

Kale, Cranberry, Almond Salad with a sweet citrusy dressing

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Pan Dinner Rolls

Plus we had a baked ham -- I didn't take a photo

A Ten-Year Anniversary

I don't expect anyone here to know why today is a special day for this blog. But, today is the 10-year anniversary of when I began blogging (April 18, 2012). I haven't mentioned anniversaries in past years. However, I do think 10 years is remarkable for me (maybe not other bloggers), as I didn't really know how long I'd blog, or where I'd take this website. I just started one afternoon. Though I have to say, this anniversary belongs to you, as well. You've contributed content, links, recipes, directions, inspiration, and encouragement, not only for my benefit, but for all of us. Thank you.

Since what I really wanted to celebrate about this anniversary is you, here are some insightful, helpful, and informative comments from you for each of these past 10 years:

May 2012 -- in talking about making tastier rhubarb sauce

"Mmm, love rhubarb, too! We just can't seem to grow enough, but I have experimented and discovered that replacing half the rhubarb amount with blueberries makes a super yummy sauce that I have to fight my kids for! (we live near many blueberry fields so we have a plethora of blueberries in our freezer)."

This comment got me thinking about other flavors I could add to rhubarb sauce. I've since made raspberry-rhubarb sauce, blueberry-rhubarb sauce, and my family's favorite blackberry-rhubarb sauce.

August 2013 -- how to make microwave scrambled eggs with easier clean-up

"I like to put a slice of ham or Canadian bacon in the bottom of the bowl I'm cooking in and put the egg on top of it. None of the egg sticks making clean up easier. Cooking takes about a minute this way in my microwave. Sometimes there is a little raw egg that has to be moved to the edges to cook a bit more and sometimes there isn't."

August 2014 -- using meat fat in cooking later, a great salad dressing recipe

"We don't have bacon very often now, but when we do, we save the drippings in a container. My favourite way to use it is for a very yummy salad dressing. The recipe calls for cooked slices of bacon, but it is just as good using a couple of spoonfuls of the bacon drippings in a frying pan, add about three tablespoons of brown sugar and three tablespoons of vinegar. When dissolved in the frying pan, pour over a mixture of leaf lettuce, red pepper strips and sliced fresh mushrooms. serve immediately."

February 2016 -- about gift-giving dilemmas

"This is one of those tricky questions. I love giving gifts much more than I like receiving gifts. I have found a lot of times the gift presentation is worth as much as the gift itself. Several years ago we were facing a very difficult financial time and it was right at the time my friends kids began to marry. I made a few "go-to" gifts that were well received and years later I still get an occasional call about what I put in them. It seems presentation can make the difference between a simple gift and something spectacular.

 

One gift was a cast iron medium skillet. ($7-8 bucks) I put a wooden spoon, cornbread mix, homemade potholder and trivet (tile square with glued on felt bottom) inside the pan. I wrapped a red check dish towel (Dollar Tree) around the pan part, gathered the remainder at the handle and tied a big red bow around it. It was very well received.  

Another go-to I used was an inexpensive metal colander filled with an inexpensive cruet, salad tongs,vegetable brush, a bag of croutons, a shaker (dollar store) of spices , homemade lettuce storage bag (made from an ikea dish towel, 
$.59) I had a ton of muslin on hand so I sort of encased these in the muslin and pulled it up over the colander creating a Pebbles Flinstone "pony tail" I tied it off with kitchen twine and attached a couple of nylon scrubbers as the bow. 

The 3rd go-to was a variation on the colander theme but was filled with spaghetti noodles, and items for a spaghetti meal
All of these idea has very little cost but all the brides really did love them, they looked cute and I didn't exceed my limited budget. Plus they remember the gift rather than just being another dinner plate or goblet."

August 2016 -- getting labels off of containers

"with all those jugs you are re-using we have to revisit removing the sticky labels. We discussed this a while ago but I found the answer. Ready? Spread a layer of peanut butter over the sticky stuff and wait an hour or so. It comes off like magic! Plastic or jars."

May 2017 -- on stretching butter

"If you watched the second episode of Victorian slum house you can use milk to stretch that butter. The grocer said it took him two hours though so maybe just limit the butter. When you do watch it, let us know what you think."

July 2018 -- repurposing glass jars

"I have too many jars and my husband thinks so too. The problem is that they are very pretty and very useful. The big carafe-like glass jars that had a special juice in them are now re-purposed as water jugs and milk jugs when I want to freeze a gallon by first pouring some off. Marinara sauce sometimes has the measurements on the jar which makes it useful for a careful liquid measurement. All other jars hold pasta, rice, beans, flour and make great drinking glasses."

So, this past weekend I was cooking up a storm and needed a clean liquid measuring cup immediately. All were dirty. I fished through the jar cupboard and came across a pasta sauce jar that had the liquid measurements on the side. canning jar -> measuring cup

May 2019 -- two separate comments on preserving onions for cooking to take advantage of seasonal low prices

"Do you freeze onions? I diced them all up and flash freeze on a cookie sheets. When frozen, I package them up in zipper bags for use for many months. We love getting lots of onions and freezing them diced. A handful here and a handful there and I don't have to dice them."

"I’ve mentioned before I chop and sauté over a weekend at the end of summer a 50 pound bag of onions when they get to the rock bottom, buy in bulk price. I use an ancient roll of aluminum foil and put the onions in packets. Future me when cooking way in the winter thanks present me for having done the onions:)"

October 2019 -- on changing my perspective 

"When I taught high school in Eastern Europe, I saw plenty of cheerful teens who rotated, at most, 2 sets of clothing. They didn't own any mobile devices. Their large families often lived in one-bedroom apartments. In spite of that, those kids were well-adjusted, happy and unspoiled. It was a real eye opener for me and really put things in perspective. Most of us here live with much, much more than I ever saw over there."

January 2021 -- a recipe for homemade laundry soap that doesn't leave a funky smell after laundering

"Another success is homemade laundry powder and after researching before making it, I have used a box of gain detergent as part of the mix so that I wouldn't get funky smell some talk about when making homemade detergent. So its a success.

1 box borax, 1 box arm and hammer washing soda, 3 bars pink zote soap (shredded)

1 box of gain (or your choice of powdered detergent), 1 container of laundry crystals.

I put all of this in my food processor to make it more powdery. We like it and it doesn't smell funky after several washes like I have heard some say."

July 2021 -- several comments on developing a waste not, want not attitude and eating those leftovers eventually

"Both our parents lived during a time when food was scarce so they wasted nothing and that's how we grew up. I still do the same now as well as when the children were young. I told my kids "you'll eat it one way or another"! Something not eaten was always transformed into a more desirable offering."

 

"We (hubs and I) are notorious leftover eaters. That is how I raised our five kids as well. . . they know that we will eat anything left so we are the recipients of quite a few meals - both purchased and home cooked."

"I worked most of the weekend and we had potlucks to make it more fun. My coworkers kept leaving baked products uncovered and I was making jokes about being the mom and covering them back up. I wonder how much food goes to waste simply because people don't take simple steps to keep the food safe and fresh."

"Add me to the crowd of eating everything on your plate - however not at once if you're not that hungry, so as not to encourage overeating. That's the way my mother did it and the way I did it with my kids, and we continue that today."

Thank you for so freely offering your thoughts, advice, suggestions, instructions, and recipes.

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers: More 20-Something Cooking

Friday

homemade pepperoni and mushroom pizza, steamed broccoli, carrot sticks

To make this dinner easier, they used a pizza crust mix and canned spaghetti sauce for the pizza (with cheese, pepperoni, and canned mushrooms).

Saturday

bean burritos made with commercial flour tortillas, canned beans, cheese, salsa, plus canned tomato chunks and a radish green and watercress salad

I was hungry and forgot to take a photo. All I have to do is show up, right? And I can't even remember to take a picture! Sue me. I was hungry. Ha ha. 

Sunday

"Pasta Tina" from Jimmy Kimmel, a sauce made from canned cannellini beans, roasted garlic, olive oil, chicken soup base over cooked macaroni (Parmesan garnish), plus steamed carrots and roasted canned tomatoes

This was much better tasting that it looks. I thought Pasta Tina was delicious. I was hungry and didn't think to take a photo until I was half finished. My daughter says she will make this again for us.

Monday

Homemade tomato soup (canned tomato paste, basil, garlic, chicken soup base), ham and cheese sandwiches, radish greens and cabbage slaw

I've never done sandwiches much for dinners. But I think I will going forward. I love soup and sandwich meals.

Tuesday

Canned chili boosted with fresh peppers, onions, canned tomatoes, and more cooked pinto beans, scratch Virginia spoon bread

Wednesday

do it yourself nachos -- tortilla chips, canned refried beans topped with melted cheese, salsa, mixed vegetables, canned pineapple chunks

Thursday

chicken and rice casserole (a church favorite recipe), steamed broccoli, orange juice

Over the weekend I baked 3 kinds of muffin, blueberry, raisin bran, and chocolate chip-pecan. I baked the batches one right after the other, using all the same utensils, mixing bowl, and tins. I made 40 muffins in total and froze most of them to take out of the freezer a few at a time throughout the week. We also had homemade yogurt, oatmeal, toast, eggs, bananas, juice, and milk for breakfasts.

Lunches included more homemade soups, pureed carrot and chive-potato-cheese, plus peanut butter sandwiches, cheese sandwiches, apples, crackers, and leftovers.

I love having my daughters do the cooking. Everything is delicious and all I do is eat and help clean up. The two of them use more convenience products than I do. However, I don't think they're choosing terribly costly convenience items. Just items like canned beans, spaghetti sauce, pizza crust mix, sandwich fixings, canned soup for a casserole, etc. I'll be giving them the day off for Easter and doing the cooking myself.

That's what we ate this week. What was on your menu?

Grocery Shopping This Week

I shopped in-person earlier this week and noticed a few things. 

First off, the produce section seemed much less full than I'm used to. The apples I'd planned on buying weren't there, and there wasn't even a section with their tag indicating they'd sold out. The loose apple bins were only partially filled. I'm used to seeing apples mounded up, stacked in layers 2, 3 or 4 deep. There were plenty of bananas, however. Green cabbage is one of those items that have been hard to find at Fred Meyer this past year. Some weeks, there were no heads of green cabbage at all. In previous years, the green cabbage took up a large section, with a minimum of 30 heads from which to choose. This week, there were 8 heads of cabbage for me to choose from. This is the week before Easter. In other years, this week has seen a large shelf/bin just for asparagus. I didn't even notice any asparagus and reflected on that after I got out to the car. Most of the produce shelves appeared to be about half full, in contrast to other years when produce has been overflowing. 

In the center aisles, there were numerous pockets of bare shelving. In some cases, products that I knew from before 2020 weren't even there. This has been an ongoing issue with grocery stores since spring 2020.

The milk, butter, and cheese refrigerators were full. The egg refrigerator has shrunk and was about 2/3 full. The eggs on sale (18-ct) for the week were nearly sold out. The price was excellent (sale plus digital coupon brought the price to $1.47/18 ct. carton), so that is understandable. I was able to buy the amount of eggs that I had intended (about a 2-month supply), and still leave some cartons behind. Cheese appears to be becoming a luxury item. The name brand cheese (Tillamook) was $10 for 2 pounds. My family would not be eating cheese at that price. The store brand (Kroger) was on sale and had a digital coupon, bringing the price down to just under $5 for a 2-lb block or bag. That's a reasonable price to me and slightly lower than a few months ago. I bought the limit of 5 packages, again about a 2-month supply. There was plenty of milk, but it has gone up about 80 cents per gallon. I didn't buy yogurt, but I noticed large bare sections of shelving where the store brand usually is displayed. 

I still look for bargains every time I shop. This time it was butter. Kroger had been packaging some of its butter in 2-packs, two 1-lb boxes over-wrapped together, with a slight discount for buying more than one pound. Evidently, this wasn't as popular of a marketing gimmick as they'd hoped, and many of these 2-packs were about to expire (30 or more double packs). The sell-by date was April 13 and I was shopping on April 11. They'd marked the butter 2-packs down to $2.99 ($1.50 per pound) to sell them quickly. I scooped up ten 2-packs, or 20 pounds. I also had a coupon good for Kroger brand products, valued at $6. Applying this $6 to the butter brought my price per pound down to levels I remember from when my kids were small children ($1.20/lb). I left plenty of marked down butter for anyone else bargain shopping that morning.

I didn't buy everything on my list. A couple items weren't even there any more, so I had to rethink my plans. Some categories were just too expensive (meat). I stocked up on ground beef summer and early fall 2021, paying $2.88/lb. This week at Fred Meyer, the same grade beef was $4.79/lb. I still have some in my freezer, so we can go on with the ground beef that we have. I was just looking for something other than ground beef (way, way out of my price range). 

I passed by the Easter candy section and noticed huge price hikes that I think shouldn't have been there. I wanted some jelly beans and the best I could find in the holiday section were $3 for a 12-oz bag. I headed over to the regular candy aisle and found a 10-oz bag of Kroger brand jelly beans for $1.25. I also noticed exorbitant prices on what I consider ordinary chocolate Easter candy (Mars brand) in the special Easter aisle, $4.50 for 9-oz bags -- that's $8 per pound! I can make molded candies (using my rabbit molds) or mounded chocolate and coconut "nest" candies for a third of that per ounce price, by using chocolate baking chips.

Prices are up, that's for sure. There are still some bargains to be had. But you have to look for them. My other thought is that I'm very glad to have a garden planned for this spring and summer. I hope that many people across the globe will be planting gardens this summer to offset some of the shortages to come.

Stocked up on Rice and Beans? Eliminate Pantry Insects Before They Hatch

Many of us have stocked up on some dried foods in the past year or two, like grains and dried beans. Pantry pests that have been dormant or not yet hatched may now be about to become a problem. Open packaging and older products are most at risk. But pantry pests, such as the Indian Meal Moth, can infest products that you've just brought home from the store, too.

Prevention is the best cure

While we can't ensure there are no insect eggs in our purchased food, there are two things that will kill eggs or larvae of most small pantry insects, heat and cold. Both treatments will prevent these pests from becoming a problem in the future. 

If you have freezer space, and your freezer can be set to 0 degrees F, you can kill these pests before they become a problem by freezing packaged grains for 4 days. Simply place the goods, right in their package, into the freezer and wait 4 days. Pest problem solved.

If you lack freezer space or your freezer can't be cooled to 0 degrees F, you also have the option of heating the dried food. Spread dried rice or beans in a shallow tray. Heat in a 130 degree F oven for at least 30 minutes. (both methods are recommended by the University of Minnesota Extension.) Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Since I stocked up on rice, meals, flour, beans, and popping corn this past year, I have been cycling all of the grains and beans through my large deep freeze before storing in airtight containers. After 4 days of freezing, I bring the products into the house to warm gently at room temperature, turning the packages over every 4 hours, to air-dry any condensation that develops upon thawing.

There's a further heat option, and one that may appeal to canners, dry canning. Dry canning kills the insect eggs and seals the jars in one process. Here's a good explanation for how to dry can in this article.

I don't know about you, but with the looming worldwide food shortages, my plan is to keep all of my household's food in usable condition. But I thought this little reminder might help someone else.

If you find you have overstocked pantry supplies, community food pantries will be more than happy to take the excess (and still unexpired) goods off your hands. 

Success of the Amish

This weekend I  watched a bunch of videos about Amish communities. I sometimes find a topic that really intrigues me and I hyper-focus on it for a weekend. Do you do that, too?

My real-life experience with Amish communities has been the sum total of a one-day visit to a Pennsylvania Amish farm when I was in high school. In middle school we read about the Amish and Mennonite people in two paragraphs in our text book. So, not much. Some of you have Amish or Mennonite communities nearby. So your experiences may be much richer than mine. These videos and interviews were fascinating and opened my eyes to ways modern society misses the mark when it comes to personal finance. 

If one is simply looking at the outward appearance of the Amish, one might assume that many of these families were struggling financially. When in fact, many are quite prosperous. There are many financial lessons to be learned from their lifestyle and attitudes.

rejection of most of modern technology and other material goods 

While adoption of technology varies from one community to the next, for the most part, most Amish don't fill their houses and pockets with televisions, computers, game consoles and handhelds, all of the "I" gadgets (iPods, iPads, iPhones). As we know all too well, all of these electronic gadgets become outdated very quickly, leaving its owner wanting the latest and greatest upgrade on the market. How often do you replace your smartphone or laptop? I am on my second personal laptop. My first one lasted 6 years. In a lifetime (if I hadn't been born so long ago), I might own a dozen or so laptops. Some don't use phones at all. Many don't use electricity, central heating, or municipal water/sewer.

simplified clothing, hairstyles and home-furnishings

Their personal appearance is tidy, but not at all tied to current fashion. Their homes are furnished with high-quality, long-lasting but not overly ornate pieces. Quality and durability appear to be key qualities when choosing home and personal goods. There's a clothing concept that I think would almost align with the simple Amish clothing style, that's the capsule wardrobe. Capsule wardrobes feature a handful of pieces that can all be mixed and matched. I've worked out (on paper) my own capsule wardrobe for this current age of mine. I really do think it's more about the tidiness of appearance (whether home or person) that makes an impact as opposed to having designer labels or ornate embellishments.

use of free or almost free entertainment

Without televisions/DVD players/streaming services, computers, or game consoles, most of these families seem to rely of free or low-cost entertainment options, such as board games, reading, singing, group ball sports, conversation, or participating in hobbies. How much money would we save if we cut all of the cords -- the television, streaming services, computers, electronic games, etc. Better yet, how much money would we have saved if we had never brought any of these devices to begin with? Entertainment centers on the family or their church.

mend and recycle

With everything they own, they repair, mend, remake and reuse as much as possible. Commercial food jars become storage containers or plant cloches. Worn adult clothing may be remade into a child's size. Once even that is too worn for wear, strips of the cloth will be made into quilts or rugs. Machinery is repaired rather than replaced. As many of us here do, I continue to find ways to mend and reuse our belongings. I'm sure I could take this to a higher level.

close-knit community that supports each member

When one member of the community suffers some sort of set-back, health, accident, etc, the rest of the community steps up to do the work needed. It isn't just barns that are quickly raised with the hands of many members in the community. When a school needs to replace their classroom building, it's the members of the district who come together as the construction team. When a farmer suffers an illness or accident right at planting or harvest time, neighbors generously give their time to do the ailing farmer's work. When an illness racks up an astronomical medical bill, the community chips in as much as needed to make that gigantic payment. There seems to be more of a servant attitude amongst their people than we see in our general society. Imagine how reassuring that would be to know that you are never going to face a financial catastrophe on your own. My daughter and I were talking about community and how to build one within our own church. What I've always believed is that the best way to build this sort of community is to offer yourself to others. We can't sit back and wait for others to "take care" of us. Instead, a loving and giving community begins with someone first giving.

strong work ethic 

Work has value. They take pride in doing a good job and having a good relationship with their chosen work. In addition, many of their hobbies are profitable hobbies, such as quilting, baking, gardening, wood-working. Compare this to a modern western interpretation of hobbies, where a lot of folks spend a lot of money maintaining a hobby that doesn't provide any material benefit to daily life. This work ethic begins in childhood. All members of the family contribute to the family's well-being. Children have chores that help the family succeed as well as the adults. A lack of modern convenience and entertainments likely helps this work ethic. Imagine how much more any one of us could get done in a day if the internet and television didn't exist. 

They begin working at a young age.

Official schooling often ends with the 8th grade. As early as age 16, Amish young men and women may be working or apprenticing in their careers. The average age of the teachers in one school district was 18 years old. That was the average, indicating that some young men and women were teaching at even younger ages. Many careers are along the lines of skilled trades, such as furniture-making, construction, hat-making, metal work. Embarking on a trade at an earlier age often results in bringing in a living wage much younger than an outsider who graduates from high school at age 18 and university at age 22 (or later). Building a small business has built-in marketing advantage for the Amish. With their strong work ethic and integrity rooted in their faith, most Amish goods are associated with high quality. Even in an economic downturn, Amish goods are still sought after for their lasting value. Obviously, at my age, I can't  really get an early start on a career. But there's no time like the present. I can always begin something new, at any age.

The skills the Amish develop are practical ones. 

They not only earn a living with these skills, but these are the very skills that are useful in one's home and family. Sewing, baking/cooking, construction, repair, furniture-making, hat-making, farming and gardening -- they've developed the abilities they need so they don't have to outsource a lot of work. I know my husband and I could work at a couple of additional practical hobbies. We do outsource some of our needed repairs. And aside from assembling kit furniture and making simple shelving units, we've never built anything significant. What we have done, though, is refinish garage sale and free pile furniture.

avoidance of debt

When faced with a financial need, most Amish families look for a solution other than debt, such as taking on additional work. The interest rates on any kind of bank-financed debt add substantially to the cost of an item. I've often thought about what my family could do to bring in extra money should the need arise. Renting out a room to a church friend is always a possibility and is less risky than renting to a random stranger.

This is not to say that all Amish enjoy financial prosperity or all Amish people are alike in all of their values. But on average, Amish have a higher personal savings rate than the rest of the American public, and a higher savings rate is regarded as an indicator of financial security.

This is not an extensive list. I'm sure I missed many lessons from the success of the Amish. But I did find myself rethinking some of my own attitudes, which could result not only in greater financial prosperity but also in a shift in how I see my place in my own community. 

What can you add to my thoughts above?

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers Provided by My Daughters

I've been baking more this week. I made a blackberry pie,
3 loaves of bread, and a batch of brownies.

More of my daughters' dinners . . .

If you missed it, my daughters are cooking dinners for the entire month of April (except Easter) as my birthday gift (later this month). Earlier this week I reviewed my daughters' first four dinners for the month of April. I'll briefly mention those then move on to the rest of the week.

Friday
Homemade pizza, using a scratch crust and canned spaghetti sauce, greens from the garden with shredded cabbage for a salad with scratch dressing, carrot sticks.

Saturday
Hummus, made with canned garbanzo beans, crackers, carrot and cucumber sticks.

Sunday
Meatball sandwiches, using commercial frozen meatballs, rest of canned spaghetti sauce and shredded cheese from the pizza, hotdog buns (instead of pricier sub sandwich buns), plus steamed carrots and canned green beans in a sauce of cream of mushroom soup.

Monday
Homemade bean and vegetable soup, graham cracker and peanut butter "sandwiches", sautéed turnip greens from the garden with onions.

the rest of the week. . .

Tuesday

tacos, frozen corn, garden greens salad (radish greens, watercress and sorrel), blackberry pie

My daughter used some of the frozen meatballs (Sunday's meatball subs) to quickly make the meat filling in the tacos. She used the vegetable masher to break the meatballs up in a pot and seasoned with spices from our spice cupboard. I baked the pie earlier today, using frozen blackberries from last summer's foraging and scratch pie pastry I keep in the freezer.

Wednesday

vegetarian burrito bowls with brown rice, pinto beans, corn, canned tomatoes, cheese, and salsa, plus sautéed kale and onions, and blackberry pie. A simple meal. but tasty and filling.

Thursday

tuna salad, celery sticks, garden greens salad (radish greens, watercress, sorrel), crackers, my favorite scratch brownies. The brownie recipe is a microwave recipe, but I baked them in the regular oven today. I substituted vegetable oil for the butter -- worked great. To bake this recipe in a regular oven, bake for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees F. I like the texture that a standard oven helps these develop, a bit more chewy on the edges than when microwaving.

Although my daughters purchased a few convenience items (meatballs, crackers, canned garbanzo beans), I think their meals still qualify as cheap & cheerful.

Interesting breakfasts this week -- I had made a large batch of steel cut oats in the crockpot that didn't seem to interest anyone. With leftovers growing older, I decided to remake the leftover oatmeal in a pot on the stove. I added maple extract, butter, and brown sugar to the oatmeal and heated thoroughly. This did the trick and the steel cut oats got eaten finally. We also had toast, yogurt, fruit, juice, milk, eggs, and cheese.

Lunches included more soup, this time chive and potato soup, twice. We enjoy it, and we're using up the frozen chives. Also there were toasted cheese sandwiches, peanut butter and peanut sandwiches (extra crunchy this way), fresh and dried fruit, carrot sticks, cabbage salads, juice, eggs, corn tortillas, lentils & rice, and leftovers.

What was on your menu this past week?

Easter, Easter, Easter! I'm Starting to Plan Our Easter Dinner

This year's Easter dinner may be the most normal we've had since 2019. That's hard to believe. In 2020, we didn't get together with our son and daughter-in-law (Covid). In 2021, the two of them came over and we had a cookout around our patio fire ring. This year, I'm planning a traditional Easter dinner. Thanks to my two daughters giving me the gift of dinner-cooking for the whole month, I actually want to make a big Easter dinner. The wonderful thing about this year's special holiday meal is that I think I have absolutely everything I need on hand.

Here's the plan, so far.

• I have a half-ham in the freezer that I bought last spring. I plan on baking it a couple of days in advance so I can slice it in advance and reheat on that Sunday. I'll lay ham slices topped by canned pineapple slices in a baking dish, covering with foil and heating, then serving with a mustard sauce along the lines of this recipe but baked instead of pan-cooked.
• I have 2 large cans of yams, some pecans, brown sugar and butter, all the right ingredients to make this praline sweet potato casserole. I can assemble the casserole a day or two in advance and keep refrigerated then bake on Easter.
• I have canned green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and fried onions for the traditional green bean casserole that is on a Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup label. Green bean casserole is quick to assemble, so I will make that on Easter.
• There are 2 small (10 oz) bags of Brussel sprouts in the freezer. I'll oven-roast those just before Easter dinner. I like Brussel sprouts tossed with olive oil and kosher salt then roasted until lightly caramelized.
• I have bulk sausage, peppers, and mushrooms in the freezer. I'm thinking a rice pilaf with those ingredients. I made a similar pilaf for Thanksgiving that was well received by all. We don't have any fresh potatoes right now, so I think a rice pilaf will make a nice alternative starchy dish.

Okay, so the above is my list of dishes I will definitely make. I'm also considering the following:

• hot cross buns or dinner rolls. If I don't do the hot cross buns, I have a really good pan roll recipe that always turns out great and is easier than crescent rolls.
• dessert -- rhubarb custard pie? lemon bars? carrot cake cupcakes? Any easy Easter dessert ideas out there?
• a salad, using whatever I have growing indoors or out. If I have enough kale, a salad along these lines with dried cranberries and almonds in a vinaigrette.

These are my Easter dinner plans. What have you got planned?

Beating the Inflation 2022 Woes

 

Life is getting expensive. Inflation 2022 isn't just in our imagination. It sometimes feels like there's nothing we can do about it. We may not be able to drive down gas, or grocery, or heating fuel prices on our own. But there are thousands of little ways we can save by being thoughtful about our spending. Listing the little ways I'm working to save money is empowering. It really does help me feel like there is something I can do (and am doing) to fight the effects of inflation.

I washed plastic bags and hung them to dry on the clothes rack. I do this about 3 or 4 times per month. I toss bags with holes, that had meat in them, or that feel greasy. I also wash sheets of plastic wrap and hang those on the clothes drying rack. When the sheets of plastic wrap are dry, I hang them over the edge of the stand mixer's bowl. I baked a two-crust pie yesterday and used up the last of my remade and frozen pie pastry. So, I'll be using the cleaned plastic wrap to make more pie dough for the freezer later this week.

I hauled more of the compost that we had delivered by dump truck. I was curious about the price we paid in comparison to what I usually spend when I buy it by the bag. So I did a little math the other day. I normally try to spend about $4 to $5 for a 1-cubic foot bag of compost from Fred Meter. Because we ordered a large quantity of compost to be delivered, we got a good price per cubic yard, about $45. there are 27 cubic feet in 1 cubic yard. Our price per cubic foot, then, was about $1,66, less than half what I'd pay at Fred Meyer if buying by the bag. I should add, this wouldn't be economical at all if we didn't have need for so much compost. It just so happens that I had plans for a large quantity of compost for this year's gardening season. We top-dressed and reseeded our front lawn. We covered many planting areas with a layer of compost, I enriched all of the vegetable and berry beds with compost, we mulched the base of all of the fruit trees and the long hedges that surround both front and back lawns, and we developed a large, new spot for heat-loving veggies, working several inches of compost into the parched and depleted soil in this area. This will be my new pumpkin, corn, pole bean, and pepper patch.

I harvested the slightly tough turnip leaves from turnips that overwintered but never developed sizable roots to use. In early spring, late-summer planted turnips, kale, Swiss chard, and sometimes beets come back. The roots of turnips and beets are often not great, but the leaves of all of these provide nutritious greens for our meals. I pick the leaves even as the plants are beginning to bolt. Here's a turnip that will flower to set seeds soon. The leaves are still edible, although a bit tough. I slice them narrowly across the grain to cut through the fibers, then either sauté them in some oil with onion and garlic or add them to soups and stews. It's basically a free vegetable as a reward for my gardening laziness -- not cleaning out the beds until late spring.

We've begun using a pitcher for drinking water again. We drink tap water, here. Oftentimes, someone has just finished washing their hands or dishes in the kitchen sink, leaving the next water to come out of the faucet warm to hot. Instead of running the water for a minute to get some nice cold drinking water for each glass someone wants, we fill a large pitcher with cold water all at once and pour our glasses from that pitcher. We may only save about a gallon of water per week, but every savings counts toward a larger goal.

We've been using a yearly calendar that one of us received for free in the mail as a car trip planner. When one of us knows in advance of an errand needing to be run, they write it on the calendar. At the next family meal, we discuss our upcoming errands, which direction they'll take us, and how we can bundle errands so we aren't making the same or near-same trip two or more times in a week. Several of us take regular prescriptions. A few months back, we noticed that two different family members drove to the same pharmacy, two hours apart. They could have driven together and saved that extra car trip. Since then, we've tried to bundled our errands as much as possible. Oftentimes, more than one of us needs to go to the bank or library or grocery store. I do believe we're saving a lot on gas these days. I noticed we're not filling the tank near as often as we had previously.

and a bonus

I noticed that when I pour something that is measured, I have a tendency to put just a little bit back. I do this with laundry soap. I pour a capful, then pour back just a little bit into the jug. I also did this with chocolate chips the other day, I poured the amount called for into a measuring cup then I poured back just a little bit into the bag. Am I stingy? I don't know. But this is a habit I've had for a long, long time. I think doing this over and over does add up to savings. Do you do this, too?

20-Something Cooking

When I was in my 20s I had gathered some cooking experience. by the time I was 9 years old, I was baking cookies as often as my mom would allow. Just a little older,  I loved Home Ec in school. By middle school, I was tasked with preparing one dinner per week for the family. And when my mother's cancer began to limit her stamina and mobility, I moved back in and did the cooking for her. But my cooking wasn't great, just passable. It wasn't until I married that I really got an education in how to cook from scratch.

My daughters can cook -- I made sure of that. It's not a hobby or something they really enjoy doing, but they can cook enough so that some day when they're on their own, they'll eat more than chips and soda. Both daughters are somewhat busy right now. Despite that, they have been making good on their promise to prepare dinner for every night of April so far. 

I thought I'd share some of their meals with you friends. I must say, they've done a great job so far. The two of them made out a menu plan for the entire month, divided up the nights, and shopped for a few convenience foods to make up for a lack of time and/or particular expertise. As I promised, I'm keeping up with the baking of bread and desserts, so they can rely on those foods as needed. And I'm harvesting what I can from the garden for them to use each day (mostly salad greens and cooking greens).

So here's what you make for the family when you're 20-something and have limited time and finances.

Homemade pizza, using a scratch crust and canned spaghetti sauce, greens from the garden with shredded cabbage for a salad with scratch dressing, carrot sticks.

Hummus, made with canned garbanzo beans, crackers, carrot and cucumber sticks.

Meatball sandwiches, using commercial frozen meatballs, rest of canned spaghetti sauce and shredded cheese from the pizza, hotdog buns (instead of pricier sub sandwich buns), plus steamed carrots and canned green beans in a sauce of cream of mushroom soup.

Homemade bean and vegetable soup, graham cracker and peanut butter "sandwiches", sautéed turnip greens from the garden with onions.

I think my daughters are making sensible choices with what to buy for convenience and what to make themselves. They both know how to make bread dough (pizza crust, which is less finicky than loaf bread), but don't have the time for making sub sandwich buns. The canned spaghetti sauce worked both as a pizza sauce and a meatball sauce, and they planned for using the leftovers. They know I keep cooked pinto beans in the freezer at all times, so they knew they could use some in making a bean soup. But they bought canned garbanzo beans, as they wouldn't require cooking but could be turned into hummus as is from the can. The graham cracker-peanut butter sandwiches doubled as a grain and dessert and were very, very easy to do.

It's only been 4 dinners, but I'm very happy with the meals at this establishment. So much so, I think I'll stay the rest of the month. I'm grateful to my daughters for doing this, and I'm proud of their ability to plan and execute an entire month's worth of dinners. 

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for the Last of March

Friday

scratch pepperoni pizza (using homemade frozen pizza dough), steamed broccoli, steamed carrots

Saturday
everyone for themselves after the picnic at the park and cake -- frankly, I was stuffed and couldn't even think about eating dinner. I did snack on raisins and cheese later.

Sunday
homemade hummus (using peanut butter in place of tahini -- tasted good), cheesy bread, carrot sticks, leftover birthday cake and ice cream

Monday
leftover sandwich fixings and deli salads, carrot sticks, sliced strawberries and bananas, homemade cream of sorrel soup, leftover cake and ice cream for those who wanted some

Tuesday
meatloaf and gravy (I used frozen chives and garlic greens fresh from the garden liberally in place of root onions and garlic cloves in the loaf), roasted root vegetables (turnips and beets from garden, onions and carrots from the store), sautéed turnip and beet greens, potato chips

Wednesday
Mexican bean soup, toasted tortilla strips

Thursday
tomato soup made from tomato paste, water, onions, garlic, herbs, salt, topped with Parmesan cheese, toasted cheese sandwiches, carrot sticks, last of the potato chips

Breakfasts included toast, cereal, homemade yogurt, frozen foraged blackberries, orange juice, eggs, and homemade blueberry muffins. Despite the chilly mornings, I didn't make any hot cereals this week. This afternoon I finally set the crockpot with steel cut oats. One daughter in particular will be very happy tomorrow morning. Also, I had put off making yogurt for several days. Yogurt is my favorite breakfast. But making it does take time and some effort. I finally got around to making another batch on Wednesday. On Thursday morning I was grateful to have my homemade yogurt again. (I can't eat commercial yogurt -- additives.)

Lunches included spinach soup, cream of watercress soup, a really yummy chive and potato soup (like leek and potato soup), rhubarb-strawberry sauce, bread, peanut butter, cheese, carrots, salads made with cabbage, watercress and radish greens, raisins, eggs, and leftovers. I'm trying to use up the frozen remnants from last year's garden. Earlier this week, I found a gallon-size Ziploc bag of chopped chives in the freezer. I decided to make a pot of chive and potato soup for lunch one day. This was a hit with my family. With the smoothie blender and potato flakes, it was a snap to make. I can make this soup several more times with the frozen chives. Then I'll move on to the garden chives, which are also about ready to begin cutting.

I have a birthday coming up in April. My daughters came to me today and said they'd like to do all of the dinner cooking for the month of April as their gift to me. So, for the next few weeks, I don't have to cook everyday suppers. I will cook Easter dinner and keep up with baking, though. But this will be such a treat to not cook dinner for several weeks. This will be the longest stretch of not cooking daily evening meals in literally decades. They may spoil me, and I may never want to cook dinner again!

Those were my meals for the week. What was on your menu?

Have a wonderful weekend!