Cheap & Cheerful Suppers in early September

Thursday
chicken-noodle soup w/ garden veggies
*rhubarb jello
*pesto-French bread roll
*tomato wedges w/ 1000 Island dressing

Friday
BBQ pork on buns
*sliced tomatoes
*kale and garlic, sauteed
*plum cobbler

Saturday
pork and beans
cornbread
*fruit salad with pear, apple, plums, blackberries
*tossed salad with lettuce, tomato, cucumber
*leftover plum cobbler

Sunday
*homemade pizza with tomatoes, basil, olives, marinara and leftover pesto
frozen peas
*mixed fruit sauce

Monday (got home around 7:30 PM and had to make a quick dinner This is what we came up with)
breakfast sausage
frozen peas
frozen corn
bread and butter
assorted fresh fruit

Tuesday
Salisbury steak
brown rice cooked with herbs, garlic and canned tomato paste
*tossed salad of lettuce, tomato and cucumber
*fresh plums

Wednesday
falafel
leftover rice
*sauteed summer squash
*plum pie

Thursday
*hummus
on fry bread
*tossed salad of lettuce, tomato, marinated waxed beans, canned olives, sunflower seeds
*fresh pear chunks
*leftover plum pie

*indicates some of this item came from the garden and orchard

The summer garden is winding down. I have a few more weeks of daily vegetables for dinners, and then in October I'll be relying on purchased produce, more and more. I dug half of the potato patch yesterday afternoon. While the potatoes did not do spectacularly, I dug enough to save for planting in the spring, plus a couple of family meals. There's still the other half of the patch to dig, but that will come later, as the pumpkins sprawled over that half. I am thinking about changing up how I plant and grow potatoes, beginning next year.

I pick a basket full of plums each day. One basket is enough for one pie, with a handful leftover. Yesterday's basket was halved and frozen for a pie in winter. This weekend will be when I try to harvest the rest of that tree, then deal with all of the plums, likely about 20 quarts of halved plums, looking at the tree. After the plums, there are the late pears, the crabapples and the cranberries. Cranberries did not do well this year, but I have about a pint left from last year, in the freezer. And the berries this year will be enough for Thanksgiving and one more meal. The figs are still not ripe, but I estimate I have another 2 to 3 weeks with that tree, due to it's location (up against the house, on a south-facing wall). If they don't ripen, then I'll make more spiced fig jam. We've been eating some of this jam alongside baked chicken. It adds a nice flavor to the meat, in the same way having cranberry sauce with turkey is a nice complimentary pair. Grapes, yes I do have some grapes. I have about 3 small clusters of grapes ripening, in total. The birds often beat me to any grapes, but maybe this year, we'll be able to enjoy a few in a fruit salad.

In this past week's menus, Monday evening was one of those very rushed meal prep nights. We had been visiting my FIL and his wife for the day and didn't return home until 7:30 PM. In the car, as we were approaching our town, we brainstormed what we could put together that would hit the major food groups, decently. It wasn't a grand menu, but it hit the target, and only took about 10 minutes to get from freezer to table. It was a great reminder to me, that we really don't "need" to stop for fast food, on a busy day. Of course, it saddened my husband that we would not be stopping at Mc Donald's for a meal of burgers and fries. But it was healthier and saved us about $15.

If you had to tonight, what could you throw together quickly, with what you have in stock in your freezer, fridge and pantry?

The last 10 days have been super exhausting

I'm just going through one of those life phases where everyone is needing my energy. It set me up for a nasty stomach issue this week. I know that you know the kind of phase I mean. Anyway, I just felt completely useless yesterday. I kept trying to make myself do something productive, so I could feel good about my day. But came up short.

I have a friend who tells me when I have these sort of days, to make a 2-do list. Not a to-do, but 2-do. Put two things on the list, and anything else that gets done is just gravy. So my 2-do list yesterday was to make dinner for 2 nights (so tonight's dinner prep would be easier, and give me time/energy to get other things done today), and catch up on laundry.

The "gravy" part yesterday included hot-gluing these acorn pieces together. Oak trees are not plentiful in our area, so when we come across acorns, we pick up both whole and pieces. I am working on my "collection" of acorns. Jo Ann Fabrics sells decorative acorns for about $15, for a small box. That probably sounds ridiculous to some of you. But for me, that really is tempting. I imagine a large bowl of acorns on the coffee table in the family room. Or a tall, clear vase filled with acorns on the table in the entry way. Or, apothecary jars filled with acorns on a shelf in the living room. For now, I have barely a 1-pint jar of acorns. So, I'll work on my "collection" first, then do something decorative with them.

I'm hoping today is a lot more productive. My stomach issues are abating. I slept long, last night. Yes, today should feel much more productive.

Have a great day!