Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for late September

Friday

Leftover pumpkin-bean soup
Whole wheat bread and butter
Fresh apples
Brownies (using this recipe, but baking in 350 F oven for about 22 minutes or until done)

Saturday

More leftover pumpkin-bean soup
Kale and cheddar biscuits (standard scratch drop biscuit recipe, with fine-chopped kale, onion powder and grated cheddar added to dough, then after baking, brushing with garlic butter)
Apple wedges
Brownies

Sunday

Brown rice, topped with
Black beans, ground beef, canned tomatoes, beet greens, onions and seasonings
Brownies

Monday

Leftover black beans, beef, vegetables and rice (last night's dinner combined into a casserole)
Fresh tomatoes on the side

Tuesday

Leftover black bean and rice casserole, topped with cheddar
Fruit salad of apples, pears, bananas, dried cranberries, with a peanut butter and jelly salad dressing

Wednesday

Roasted turkey
Gravy
Mashed potatoes
Canned green beans
Fresh tomatoes

Thursday

Leftover turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes
Puree of carrots, onions and pumpkin
Apple wedges
Tofu spring rolls (my husband brought a few home)
Pumpkin snack cake with cream cheese icing


So this is the first week that I've posted a menu reflecting a whole lotta leftovers. It's working for me, and no one is complaining. I haven't heard anything on my blood work, yet. My head is throbbing today. My neck hurts. Cooking sounds like the last thing I want to do.

The turkey should last through the weekend, and give us some frozen leftovers, as well. I think frozen turkey tastes best if it's sliced and frozen the first day or maybe second after roasting, instead of allowing it to linger in the fridge for a few days before freezing. So, last night, I sliced a good share of it and have it stashed for future meals. It'll make picking apart the turkey over the weekend, an easier chore, too.

The pumpkin snack cake is a really great recipe, and very apropos to the season. The recipe is versatile, and has a few variations. You mix the cake in the baking dish. It has no eggs and no milk. I'll type it up over the weekend and post it for you, as I really think it's a good one for quick and easy meals, with or without icing. (And this being Cheap & Cheerful -- a nice cake certainly cheers me up!)

I have a new favorite tea that I've been sipping. It's ordinary black tea, with a few whole cloves, some orange juice and a bit of honey (not to be confused with Bit o' Honey -- but that might be tasty, too!).

Thank you so much for all of your nice and thoughtful comments the other day. I can't tell you how much I appreciate them. I wasn't at all expecting such an outpouring of kindness. Thank you! And to those of you struggling with your own health issues, I really empathize and wish you well. It just stinks to not feel well!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I'll be back on Monday!

A frugal-meister's coffee maker

What do you do if your coffee maker totally bites the dust?

This frugal-meister improvises with what's on hand: one carafe, one funnel, paper coffee filters, and a kettle to boil water.

When undertaking any improvisational technique, there are drawbacks, like time, effort and maybe some clumsiness.

But the pluses of improvising, like this, can be very compelling.

• One, there's no outlay of cash to achieve your goal. (In this case, some good coffee.) 
• Two, the tools and accessories used can be put back to their original uses, requiring no extra storage for the instrument they're replacing. (For my kitchen, the counter top has a clean vibe going on.) 
• And three, I can tweak my process and even improve on the resulting outcome. (I'm making better coffee by getting the water to a hotter temperature, and keeping it better, by not sitting on a hot burner, but instead in an insulated flask.)

And this is just how I've been making my coffee, lately.

First obstacle -- getting the filter to tuck neatly into the funnel.

Cone-style coffee filters are more expensive than basket-style. But cone-style is what fits, best, in the funnel. So, I make my own cone-style out of a basket-style, with just a couple of quick folds.

I flatten the coffee filter into a circle. Then fold the filter in half, and then half again, creating a wedge shape.

The folded filter now fits in the funnel, point down. I put both the funnel and filter into the mouth of an insulated carafe (a mason jar or thermos also works).

The cone-shaped filter has 2 "pockets" which can hold grounds. I fill one of these filter-pockets with coffee grounds.

When my kettle of water comes to a boil, I slowly pour it over the coffee grounds that are in the paper filter, and allow to drip through. Voila, one pot of coffee.

I share this because you never know when you could be without your coffee maker, like there's a power outage and your electric coffee maker doesn't work, or, you're camping or picnicking, or, you don't have a working coffee maker (remember those college days with minimal kitchen equipment?). As long as you can boil water, you can make your morning brew.


Now it's your turn to share. How or what have you improvised, using what you have on hand? Doesn't it make you feel awesome when you can cobble together a substitute for a piece of equipment, a tool, or appliance that you've grown accustomed to using?