Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for St.Patrick's Day Week

Friday

• black bean chili (I made an extra large batch for the freezer and lunches during the week)
• homemade corn tortilla chips 
• tangerines

Saturday

• leftover sandwiches, potato chips, veggies and dip and fresh fruit, from a luncheon at which I worked during the day

Sunday

husband cooks 

• pot roast, with carrots, potatoes, mushrooms and gravy
• fresh watermelon (gifted after working a luncheon)

Monday (leftover night)

• leftover pot roast and gravy
• leftover fresh fruit
• green salad (with gifted cherry tomatoes and lettuce that I bought)

Tuesday

husband cooks

• lentil and rice curried casserole
• chutney on the side
• watermelon, grapes and cherry tomatoes (all gifted to us)

Wednesday

• ham, egg and bread strata (from freezer)
• leftover curry/rice/lentil casserole, with choice of leftover pot roast gravy or chutney
• green salad
• bananas

Thursday

• lentil and ham soup from the freezer
• bread and butter
• bananas
• cole slaw

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I used the clearance sugar cookie dough from after Christmas (55 cents/package) and some clearance green sugar crystals from after Christmas several years ago, and made some treats for us yesterday. I ate way too many myself! But they were pretty good.

This was a clean out the refrigerator week for us. On Wednesday, I used up some lingering rhubarb sauce, cranberry sauce and orange juice in a smoothie. I discovered that the curried lentil and rice casserole was delicious with pot roast gravy at lunch, one day, so I offered that with a dinner one night. Today, I will use up the various non-sweet liquids in the fridge, along with the last of one bundle of limp celery, in a large pot of soup.

Another busy weekend coming up for me. I hope that you have a great weekend!

Revere Bowls

In the background of my picture of forsythia stems the other day, was a bowl that I've been using in decor for this past year. This is a Revere bowl. Several manufacturers have had these on the market over the years; many brides received one or many as wedding gifts, in the 1960s and 1970s.  Revere bowls come in graduated sizes, and are silver plate, for the most part. Their design is a simple, fluted bowl on a shallow pedestal base.

Brand new, an 8-inch diameter version can cost $100 or more. In vintage stores, I see them for sale, priced between $10 and $25, in this size. I also watch for them in thrift stores, and they do turn up. I have three bowls, now, all of different sizes. My last purchase, an 8-inch diameter Revere bowl from Value Village last summer, was $4.99.

I love the simplicity of design in these bowls. Without a lot of ornamental detail, the beauty is in the the silver.  At Thanksgiving, I used it as a serving bowl; lined with a cloth napkin, it held warm dinner rolls.  It sparkled at holiday time, filled with silver sleigh bells and red glass balls. I'm thinking in summer this bowl will be lovely holding some of my larger seashells, and a large aqua glass ball that always makes me think of glass fishnet floats.

Incidentally, it is silver plate and does tarnish. I know, who has time to polish silver, right? Almost 20 years ago, my mother-in-law gave me the handiest thing for polishing silver. It's called a jeweler's rouge polishing cloth. I've seen them on Amazon and at WalMart. If you have silver but don't use it due to the upkeep, these cloths are amazing. I am still using that original cloth, almost 20 years later. They cost between $6 and $10, but outlast multiple jars of commercial polish. Mine was a hand-me-down 20 years ago, and it is still going strong. I love the look of silver and so I am willing to take a few minutes per month to polish a small piece or two.

I'm a lover of polished silver, sparkling crystal, flickering candlelight, and bouquets of flowers. Fortunately, I can find all of the above at thrift stores, vintage shops, on clearance, or in my garden. Life's luxuries on a whisper thin budget.