Cheap Eats Share Time: The Supper Edition

Food prices just keep going up and up. I thought we could share our recent cheap meals, however we make them cheap. Some of us (or our spouses) hunt or fish, some of us are phenomenal bargain hunters, some of us garden, some of us forage, some of us raise animals for food (meat eggs, dairy), some of us can or freeze, some of us bake or cook from scratch, some of us may barter or exchange with others, and some of us are the queen of use-it-all-up. Whatever your skill set that helps you create a cheap meal, share in the comments one of your most recent cheap suppers. Give details please, so the rest of us can think through how we might adapt your meals to our skills.

I'll begin with our dinner last night. My skills are I garden, I bake from scratch, and I make broth with meat bones (use-it-all-up). For dinner I made a cream of green soup and garlic-Parmesan toast. I used a basket full of greens from the garden -- turnip leaves, kale, garlic greens, radish leaves, chives, plus some garden-grown garlic cloves -- steamed in the microwave, then pureed with some water in the smoothie blender. For the liquid of the soup, I used a quart of homemade chicken stock. I thickened the soup with a combination of instant  mashed potatoes and a flour/water slurry. I seasoned the soup with salt and onion powder. Just before serving I swirled in a handful of mozzarella cheese for protein and flavor. 

To make the garlic-Parmesan toast cheaply I used homemade bread, garden-grown garlic, and a half-and-half blend of vegetable oil and butter (instead of all oil), along with 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese (protein and flavor). I estimated that this simple supper for 4 people cost under $1.50. We all had as much soup and toast as we wanted. However I realize that this might not suit a true meat and potato lover.

I don't hunt or fish and I'm less of a bargain hunter than I used to be.  I use the skills and opportunities that I currently have. But I'm willing to try something new or at least barter with someone who can do what I can't. I'm very interested in hearing how you all are putting together cheap meals these days. Please share so we can all benefit from your endeavors.

Catching Up

I'm catching up on life in general as well as catching up with you.

I'm not ready to deal in reality, so I may not talk much about my family members right now. But a quick update. One, though, looks like she will be okay. This was the possible stroke. Not a heart attack or major stroke, but perhaps a TIA or something else. But she's doing better. Another, I haven't heard yet. The third, cancer was caught relatively early. But the fourth is the saddest one for me. It's my stepmom. Her cancer has spread already. Thank you for prayers.

Let's see, I lost a couple of days of productivity. But you know, that's okay. Today I planted the potatoes. I'm growing both purple fingerling potatoes and a type of white potato that I no longer remember the name. These might be Kennebec, but I'm not sure. I also planted two very wrinkly and sprouting store-bought russet potatoes. At the end of each season I set aside some of my harvest for planting the next year. I keep them in a produce drawer in the spare fridge until just before planting. The purple and white potatoes that I planted today are descendants from seed potatoes that I bought over 15 years ago. I've never had an issue with blight or other diseases that affect home-grown potatoes. If that does happen at some point, I'll buy new seed potatoes and start over. This season, I'm hoping to harvest 30-40 pounds of potatoes.

I also finally got around to baking more bread for the family. I'd been rummaging through our freezers looking for remnants of various quick and yeast breads to tide us over until I baked again. Whatever works, right? My family has been enjoying French bread this winter. It's light and airy qualities have made it a favorite for us. However,  my French loaves tend to spread on the baking sheets. So for the past couple of bakings I've put my French bread into loaf pans. The result is a light and airy loaf that can be used for sandwiches and doesn't get lost in the toaster (slices falling over in the toaster slot then hard to get back out). I took a short-cut in greasing the pans today. The one thing I really dislike about baking bread is greasing the pans, especially loaf pans with their inside tight corners. So I use non-stick spray. Since this stuff is not cheap, I reserve it for recipes that specifically call for baking spray or for muffins without paper liners. But, I had much to do today and I decided to make this chore easier.

After we had devoured almost all of the bread scraps salvaged from the freezer, we still had a lone square of cornbread and all of the crusts from making finger sandwiches (from a week ago). With these bits I made a bread pudding to have for dessert Monday. In our house, leftover rice, bread scraps, and leftover cooked pasta is incorporated into a custard-based dessert. All of these different starch-based desserts come together in the same way, I beat an egg with sugar, milk, pinch salt, and vanilla, then pour over the cooked starch that I've spread out in a buttered casserole dish. I bake until a knife inserted comes out clean. These custard and starch desserts have a long history with frugal home-cooks. They can be dressed up with a variety of sauces, like sweetened cream, stewed fruit, English hard sauce, jam, lemon curd, pancake or ice cream syrup, coulis, or simply sliced fresh fruit. Monday afternoon, I made a fruit sauce using blackberries (foraged) and rhubarb (garden) from the freezer, some sugar, water, and almond extract, all simmered on the stove until thick. Delicious and economical. I'm working on keeping food waste to a minimum for the time being. With grocery prices going up and up, I want to make sure we use every last morsel.

That's about it for today. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. And again, thank you for praying for my family. I am so grateful for your prayers. Be back tomorrow!