Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for Late May

Friday
homemade pepperoni pizza from the freezer, asparagus soup made from scraps, canned pineapple, scratch fudge (daughter made)

Saturday
peanut butter and garbanzo bean hummus, homemade crackers,  carrot sticks, apple wedges

Sunday Brunch (provided by my daughters)
My daughters made a lovely brunch for all of us, including my son and daughter-in-law. This was our Mother's Day celebration, as we were in the process of driving home from Arizona on actual Mother's Day.
eggs and peppers, sausage, bacon, fresh blueberries, croissants, scratch cinnamon rolls, strawberry pie, pineapple-orange juice
Dinner was every man for himself. 

Monday
Mexi rice bowls -- rice, scratch refried beans (freezer), taco meat (freezer), shredded cheese, home canned salsa (using canned tomatoes), and the last bits from a bag of tortilla chips, plus radish greens (garden) bulked up with frozen broccoli cuts and seasoned with onion and garlic 

Tuesday
chicken breast in pasta sauce (freezer), macaroni, Parmesan, roasted cauliflower, and vanilla rhubarb sauce (using a pinch of baking soda to cut down on the sugar)

Wednesday
split pea and ham soup (ham and stock from Easter, frozen chopped sorrel from last year's garden, instant potatoes, salt and pepper), carrot sticks, apple wedges, scratch biscuits and rosemary-rhubarb preserves

Thursday
rice and spaghetti meat sauce skillet dinner (spaghetti sauce from the freezer), beet salad

Making asparagus soup from scraps

Last week I found asparagus on markdown. I used the main portion of the stems in two dinners during the week, setting aside the tough ends to use later.

On Friday I used those tough ends. 

I roughly peeled the ends (some still had a bit of skin on),

I chopped the peeled ends into small bits, setting them aside while I dealt with scraps from peeling. 

I was left with a pile of skins and tough white portions. I simmered these scraps in water for  about 30 minutes. 

When the peels were simmered, I strained the solids out of the liquid. I used this liquid to simmer the peeled and chopped ends. 

Once those pieces were soft, I pureed the batch in a pitcher blender. I seasoned with onion powder and chicken bouillon, then thickened with a slurry of flour and water. The soup was still a bit on the thin side, so I added some potato flakes and butter. Asparagus soup for the four of us made from the scraps that many folks toss out.

Sunday -- you know my trick for pineapple-orange juice, don't you? I have a reaction to fresh pineapple. So when we want pineapple, it has to be canned. When I open a can of pineapple, I drain the juice and freeze it for later. When making a pitcher of orange juice from frozen concentrate, I add whatever frozen pineapple liquid I have on hand. Dole Pineapple Orange Juice sells for $2.88 for a 58 oz bottle at Walmart. My homemade pineapple-orange juice costs about $1.50 for the can of frozen orange juice concentrate and I consider the pineapple liquid as a freebie. BTW, frozen orange juice concentrate has jumped from $1.33/can to $1.50/can at Walmart in just the last 2 weeks.

Wednesday -- my scratch biscuits are probably a bit untraditional, but they're super easy. First of all, I don't cut in solid shortening, I stir in liquid oil. Second, I don't roll out the dough. I pat it out on the floured surface. And third, I don't cut the dough into circles. After patting the dough into large rounds, I cut it into wedges. The cut edges of each wedge seems to be enough for the biscuits to rise.

The rosemary-rhubarb preserves is a favorite of mine on biscuits. The rosemary has a slight savory flavor that pairs well with a savory meal. As you can imagine, it's also delicious as a glaze on meat. To make rosemary preserves, I wash and pat dry a couple of stems of rosemary and add them to the simmering pot of rhubarb and sugar. Just before jarring the preserves, I remove the stems of rosemary. It's that simple.

My daughters have had a bit of a sweet tooth this past week. Wanting some candy, they made a couple of batches of fudge, using the boiled sugar solution method. They made a cocoa fudge (cocoa powder, sugar, milk, butter) and a peanut butter fudge. 

Our meals are tasty, simple and cheap. What was on your menu this past week? What do you do with the tough ends from asparagus?

Shopping and Gas for the Week -- Late May 2022

I'm sorry I'm having a hard time keeping up[ with answering comments this week. I'm incredibly tired. I had a mild cold a week ago and I'm still trying to get back on track with energy. The cold was very mild, The fatigue was the hard part. It wasn't Covid. I did a home test as my husband had to go in to the office the next day. So, I'm sorry if I'm slow to respond to comments.

Shopping this week

I didn't shop in person this week. However, I did place an order online for some baking supplies before prices increase. I'm thinking ahead to the fall and winter holidays. I added some more all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips to my pantry. Got to have that chocolate. A few weeks ago, I noticed Walmart had increased their price on packages of chocolate chips by 20 cents. I was online at the WM website and saw that a 6-pack of chocolate chips was selling for the old price per package. So I ordered a 6-pack of chocolate chips. I have found some odd deals like this on Walmart.com. The new (higher) price will be only on individual units. But multi-packs will still be at the previous price per unit for a little while longer, I just have to buy more at one time to get that lower price.

On the chocolate chips and cocoa powder, I anticipate more price increases. The US doesn't have the climate to grow cocoa beans. (The world's largest exporter of cocoa is the West African nation Cote d'Ivoire.) I expect with fuel prices surging, the cost to import cocoa products will increase. Throw in drought, fungal disease in the crops, and a pesky moth, and cocoa output may fall below demand. Anyway, priorities, priorities -- additional supply of cocoa powder and chocolate chips added to my pantry. The trick now -- I've just to keep us from using these up before next fall.

I didn't have any need to shop for other groceries this week. I mentioned last week that I bought less milk than usual and will be trying to get through the two weeks on this lesser amount. I've been digging through the freezer to find milk frozen in prior months. I came across several pints of milk that was turning slightly sour, so I froze it. I marked these containers "milk for baking." I've been extending our fresh drinking milk by using the baking milk when I make biscuits, pancakes, or muffins. If we run out of drinking milk altogether, I can mix up a pint or two of powdered milk to tide us over until I shop next Monday. The slightly sour taste is undetectable once baked into something. I thaw a container as needed, then come up with ways to finish it off within a day or two. 

Gas prices this week

I drove to the pharmacy to pick up my daughter's rx, but otherwise didn't drive this week. My daughters and husband drove a little bit. We've been coasting on the gas we bought driving home from Arizona. I expect we'll need a tank of gas this next week. With 4 people sharing one car, we rotate between who pays for the gas. It will be one of my daughters' turn this next time for gas. The lowest octane unleaded in my town is priced between $5.10 and $5.70 per gallon. If I'm willing to drive a little out of my way, I could get gas for $4.95 per gallon. I would only save about $1.82 on 13 gallons (our tank holds about 14.5 gallons) by driving to the next town north. That savings would be eaten up in less than 10 miles of town driving. I mapquest-ed the drive to one of the low price gas stations in the town north, and found the station was about 5 miles from our house. If I'm driving in that direction to run errands, then it would be a savings to get gas in that town. Otherwise, it makes more sense to buy gas at the least expensive station that is on my errand route. 

That's my shopping and gas for the week. Not a whole lot in either category. How about your area? Are you thinking of stocking up for fall and winter holiday baking yet? Or does that sort of shopping feel too soon for you? Are there any foods with imported origins that you've seen price increases on or that you anticipate price increases in the coming months? What's the price on gas in your area?