Cheap & Cheerful Suppers from Early December

peanut butter fudge wrapped in waxed paper and paper doilies

The pages of the calendar appear to be flipping forward at ever-increasing speed this month. Doesn't it always feel like there is more to do than is realistically possible as the holidays approach? You're not alone. I'm doing what I can to save time in some areas so I can spend time in others. Here was my week.

This past week, I spent $21.30 on food, bringing my December spending up to $141.37. I still need to buy a ham and maybe a little more fresh fruit. I began the month thinking I would spend around $170, so I feel I am still doing well.

Once again, I was tired and busy, so I didn't always think to grab a camera at dinner (and I have a dumb phone without the capability to take photos). Here's what we ate for dinners, and the few photos I took.

Friday
squash and apple soup
crackers and egg salad
orange wedges
corn

Saturday
turkey soup from freezer
fried kale
cookies

Sunday
scrambled eggs with cheese
hash brown potatoes
canned green beans

Monday
turkey, cornbread stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce (leftovers from Thanksgiving)
mashed baked squash
kale and onions

Tuesday
garbanzo bean and corn soup
corn muffins
homemade thin mint cookies

Wednesday
tuna casserole
salad of lettuce and lentil sprouts (lettuce my daughter bought)

Thursday
squash and apple soup (leftover and frozen)
rosemary focaccia (leftover and frozen)
cabbage and lentil sprout slaw
pumpkin pie (leftover from Thanksgiving and frozen)

I am still working on Christmas baking and treat-making. Yesterday, I made a batch of peanut butter fudge (using some of that bargain-basement peanut butter from last summer -- $2 for 4 pounds). 

Do you remember those tins that I filled last Christmas? here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. Well, I'm refilling the same tins for the same recipients. So far, I have a batch of spiced mixed nuts, this peanut butter fudge, and some assorted holiday teas. I'll be adding a couple of other sweets, and a savory snack or two.

How about you? What was on your menu this past week? Is anyone else still eating Thanksgiving leftovers? It's wonderful to have meals to pull out of the freezer and quickly reheat.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

The Pendant Stars and Mantel

the mantel above the fireplace

Here's how the pendant stars look above the mantel with the rest of this year's Christmas decor pieces -- simply done. I had thought about making some smaller stars, as well, but this time of year is so busy that I thought I should skip them. So, here are the 5 stars.

I had a bit of trouble getting them to stay attached to the ceiling. I ended up sandwiching the knotted end of the suspending threads between a couple of flat glue dots, then attaching to a glue dot that was pressed onto the ceiling. Before, the threads would work their way apart from the glue dots and completely detach. This seems to be holding for now. The removable glue dots are great, though, as far as not marring the paint in any way. They come right off of painted walls and ceilings. There is a non-removable version, however, which does take paint off of walls -- just a warning.

For the rest of the mantel, I've reused the sheet music (Joy to the World) and ribbons that wrap around the pillar candles. (I posted about that a couple of years ago, here.) In addition, I added a stack of Christmas-themed books and some red ornaments piled in a compote. You really can't see this in the photo, but I have a pearl and glass bead garland threaded across the mantel. These are all items that I have in my stash of decorative stuff. Like most of you, I have a lot of decorative Christmas stuff. There's no need to go out and buy anything new. Instead, I simply find new ways to use the old stuff each year.

By the way, the sheet music that is wrapped around the candles is just something I found online for free to print out at home. The sheet music for a favorite Christmas carol makes a nice piece of gift wrap for a small present, as well, in case you run short of gift wrap.

I hope your week is going well!