Happy Monday!

It was a whirlwind weekend, for me. A lot packed into just 2 days. But it all worked out. I had one daughter to pick up late in the evening on Friday, and another daughter to send off for an Astronomy overnighter, the next afternoon. I always feel at loose ends when my children are coming/going/missing from family meal times, on the weekend. But by Sunday, mid-morning, all 3 were back together, to help me celebrate Mother's Day.

Saturday morning was my Mother's Day time with just my daughters. The 3 of us had a breakfast pastry freebie on our Panera cards, each, to use soon. As well, we each had Starbuck's cards to use, it was a beautiful morning, and our local mall has a lovely outdoor area. You can guess where we spent our morning on Saturday. A lovely all-girls outing, for virtually no-cost, but the gas. And even with the gas used, we combined this outing with an errand to get a gift card for my brother's birthday and fill-up the car with gas for the month, not far from the mall. And alas, all of the birthday freebies are now used up for the year.

Sunday was an equally lovely day (although the weather turned inclement), in that my son's girlfriend came home from church with us for a nice lunch, made and provided by my daughters. I was able to just sit in the living room talking with my son and GF, while someone else made lunch. The daughter gone on the overnighter made a stop by the grocery store on her way home the next day, and picked up deli salads, some blueberries, crackers and sausage. I had made a pitcher of lemonade for the fridge, and had 1 box of Girl Scout cookies in the pantry, to add to the mix. It was a leisurely sit-down repast in the dining room for the 6 of us.

Then by evening, the weather cleared up just long enough to roast hotdogs and make s'mores around the fire in the fire ring. My son and I were able to spend some time just chatting, late into the evening, as the fire died down and the sprinkles picked up.

Time with all of my kids is what I wanted most for Mother's Day. And that is what they gave me.

My posting will be back on track tomorrow morning. Have a wonderful Monday!

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for early May

shoestring sweet potato fries, my new obsession

Friday

Bean and chicken burritos, using leftover refried beans, cheddar cheese and chicken enchilada filling from freezer
Leftover brown rice, topped with enchilada sauce from freezer
Carrot and celery sticks
Rhubarb-blackberry sauce


Saturday

Clean-out-the-fridge-and-freezer soup (using liquid from thawed frozen spinach, olive juice, mushrooms past their prime, bottom of celery bunch, 1 cup of Mexican chicken soup found in the freezer, rinsings from the skillet that I fried hamburgers in, (after I drained the fat I rinse the skillet with water and froze that flavored water), last 2 carrots, 1 potato, tomato paste, herbs, some Swiss chard from garden)
Sweet potato shoestring fries (oh my, homemade and fresh out of the hot oil, these are soooo good)
Apple wedges


Sunday

Little smokies in homemade barbeque sauce
Rye bread and butter
Green salad
Pumpkin chiffon pie

Monday

Teriyaki chicken and vegetables (Swiss chard, celery cores, frozen peas and chive blossoms)
Brown rice
Green salad
Leftover pumpkin pie

Tuesday

Homemade chicken soup, using simmered chicken bones from night before, radish leaves, pumpkin, barley, onion powder, garlic granules, garden sage, canned green beans and broken spaghetti noodles
Garlic toast
Garden salad of lettuce, radish and chive blossoms

Wednesday

Leftover soup form night before
Three bean salad (I had canned green beans, pinto beans and garbanzo beans ready)
Cheese toast

Thursday

Swiss chard and cheddar quiche (Swiss chard in the garden will bolt soon, so that's on my list to use, plus I added the leaves of the radishes from the salad)
Garden salad of lettuce and radishes
French bread (need bread for Friday's lunches, so baking French bread, Thursday afternoon killed two birds)
Scratch brownies (we needed a treat around here, and I'd just bought more sugar. Yep, we were completely and totally out of sugar until Thursday)



Nothing fancy this past week (like there's ever anything fancy around here, ha ha). Just a lot of basic, humble meals.

Cinco de Mayo's dinner was anything but Mexican. Oh well. Did anyone here do anything especially festive for Cinco e Mayo?

And speaking of holiday feasts, etc -- what are everyone's Mother's Day plans? We're planning a cook-out for dinner, with hotdogs (bought cheap with Senior Discount this week), buns that I have in the freezer, a fruited gelatin salad, a garden salad, and s'mores for dessert. I told the kids I just wanted a casual afternoon, maybe get out the croquet set, and hang out in the backyard, weather permitting.

I hope you enjoy Mother's Day. Have a great weekend!