Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for the beginning of Winter Break

burritos -- when life is busy, these have been quick to make for supper

Friday
Today is the first day of Winter Break for both daughters. I had an appointment in the morning, and one daughter and I ran errands in the afternoon, so an easy dinner it shall be. Even though I make biscuits from scratch, I've memorized the recipe. Plus, I made these as drop biscuits (no rolling out dough), and used oil instead of butter or shortening (no cutting in the fat, just mixing). As a result of all of this, they are quick to throw together and get in the oven. Making plain biscuits as Cheddar Bay, is simply a matter of adding shredded cheddar to the dough, then after baking, spooning some melted butter, mixed with garlic powder and Old Bay Seasoning, over each baked biscuit. They're quite good, and make a nice accompaniment to many soups and salads, as well as seafood.

• pumpkin soup from the freezer
• Cheddar Bay Biscuits, using this homemade bay seasoning
• cole slaw (cabbage on sale for 49 cents/lb)

Saturday

• a one-pot meal with cooked whole wheat pasta, seasoned tomato sauce, green beans, olives and mushrooms, topped with mozzarella
• leftover Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Sunday

• turkey slices in gravy from the freezer, cranberry sauce
• microwaved baked potatoes, topped with sour cream and butter
• mashed canned yams, seasoned with mace, nutmeg and cinnamon, topped with mini-marshmallows and baked
• cole slaw
• olives

Monday

• burritos filled with refried beans, ground beef, and cheese
• orange wedges
• carrot sticks
• peppermint bark

Tuesday

• meatloaf
• brown rice
• canned green beans
• leftover yams
• peppermint bark

Wednesday

• bean, cheese, salsa and rice burritos
• veggie platter with dip
• peppermint bark

Thursday

• pizza
• veggie platter

Trying to get everything done for the week has been a challenge. Even though this is now winter break for my daughters, there is so much to be done, every single day, and I'm still running them around town, with meetings and appointments. Add in Christmas shopping and 2 visits to the post office (one to get flat-rate mailers, the other to actually ship the stuff), and I am nearing the end of my energy. Next week should be better, as most appointments and meetings are suspended.

How was your week? What were some of your favorite meals this week? I hope you are able to get everything done that needs doing. Have a wonderful weekend!

The Party Vegetable Tray

This is one of those things that was commercialized, about 15-20 years ago, but that party-givers have been putting together for decades, if not longer.

We probably all remember our mothers putting together a vegetable or relish tray. It was unheard of, in my childhood, to buy a pre-made veggie platter, nicely arranged in a sectioned, plastic tray. They just weren't sold in supermarkets. And now, many hostesses rely on these pre-assembled party trays.

If you simply don't cook, I can see buying some items for a party. But, really, assembling raw veggies takes zero cooking skill. So, I just don't "get" buying these.

Our Cash & Carry has 64 oz. vegetable trays on sale, this week, for $8.95 each. And that is a pretty decent price for that size, pre-assembled vegetable tray. 4 pounds of fresh vegetables, for almost $9, or over $2 per pound for carrots, celery, cauliflower, broccoli and grape tomatoes (the actual cost is $2.23/lb). The most expensive item there is the section of grape tomatoes. However, at the same Cash & Carry, grape tomatoes sell for $4.17 for 2.5 pounds, or $1.66/lb. So, you're paying someone a lot of money to lay vegetables onto a plastic tray.

I wanted to see how cheaply I could put together a similar tray. Off to WinCo I headed. I bought 1 bundle of celery for 98 cents (it weighed almost 2 lbs), 1 pound of baby carrots for 98 cents, 1 12-ounce container of grape tomatoes for $1.48 ($1.97/lb), and 3/4 pound of broccoli crowns, for $1.10 (at $1.48/lb). I also bought Ranch dressing mix from the bulk bins for 58 cents (.10 lb at $5.81/lb). I used about 2/3 of the dressing mix, or about 38 cents worth. from my kitchen I used milk, vinegar and mayonnaise to make the dip, at about 25 cents. And I used a nice dish from my own kitchen to serve my veggie platter.

My cost was about $5.17, for 4 & 1/2 lbs of vegetables and 8 ounces of dip -- an 80 oz tray, instead of Cash & Carry's 64 oz tray. For a price comparison, 64 ounces of my homemade platter cost $4.14, less than half the cost of Cash & Carry's vegetable tray.

Time-wise, it took me about 10 minutes to rinse the veggies, cut the celery and broccoli and mix the dip, and zero cooking skills.

I know you probably already put together your own veggie platters. I just wanted to show you how worthwhile this is, to do yourself.