A Leap Month of Little Joys and Satisfactions: Making a New Jar of Jam from Several Old Ones

I know why I do this -- open a new jar of jam when we've not finished the last one. I get bored with the flavor of a particular jam, and I want to move onto the next. 

In cleaning out the condiment shelves of the fridge, I came upon 5 almost empty jars of different flavored jam and jelly. I had cranberry jam, blackberry jam, raspberry jam, cherry preserves, and red currant jelly. All of these had about a tablespoon or two left in the jar.

So, yesterday I scraped all of the different jams into one jar and melted the contents in the microwave briefly. I stirred it together with a fork (to break up the more solid jelly), capped that jar, and popped it back into the fridge. 

What I have now is a "new" flavor of jam that should satisfy my desire for something different. I'll push my family to use this jar over the next week. And then . . . we can start the process of me opening a different jar every couple of week all over again.

A Leap Month of Little Joys and Satisfactions: Eating Well on a Budget

My budget for February's groceries is $125.94. This past week, I made my stop at Fred Meyer for Senior Discount Day, spending $31.34. I picked up 4 gallons of milk, instant coffee, boneless/skinless chicken breasts (Valentine's Day), 8 oz. mushrooms (Valentine's Day), 4 green peppers, 1 can of mixed nuts, 2 pounds of dipping chocolate, and 4 jars of peanut butter. Most of these items were on clearance. 

I have $94.60 remaining for February. I already used 1 gallon of milk for a batch of yogurt and 3 of the peppers in dinners this week. The mushrooms were marked down, so I'll cook them up this afternoon and freeze to save to go with the chicken breasts on Valentine's Day. I plan on using some of the melting chocolate to make mixed nut clusters for my turn at coffee hour treats at our church (and of course, a few for ourselves, too).

What we ate this past week . . .

Friday
tomato-basil soup (frozen chopped basil)
pesto focaccia (pesto made last summer and frozen)
deviled eggs (garnished with kale microgreens)
gingerbread cake

Saturday
bean and ham tacos in homemade fried flour tortillas
canned green beans
carrots sticks
leftover cake

Sunday
scrambled eggs
potato, carrot, and onion hashbrowns
orange wedges

Monday
curried pumpkin and peanut soup
cinnamon-raisin swirl bread
blackberry jello

Tuesday (daughter's day to cook)
vegetable, egg,hot dog, and tofu fried rice

Wednesday (other daughter's day to cook)
pizza mac and cheese
lentil sprout salad
orange wedges
cookies

Thursday
beef and bean chili
tortilla chips
carrot sticks
assorted leftover cookies


That was our week of suppers. What was on your menu this past week?