Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for Early October

Our weather has been mild, so we're still having cookouts and eating some meals outside.

We're still eating almost all of our produce from the garden. This week, we added purple fingerling potatoes to our menus. On Thursday, I pulled up most of the beets, washed and chopped the leaves then froze them for winter meals. I'll use the beet root Friday and Monday. I need the beet space in the garden for next year's garlic. After pulling beets I mixed some compost, homemade bone meal, and a bit of fertilizer into the soil. Then I planted 99 cloves of garlic from August's harvest. I have about 50 heads (they're small heads) of garlic remaining to use this next year.  I'm slowly building up our garden garlic. If it grows well this next year, we should be about right for our year's garlic needs plus garlic for planting.

I'm a bit tired after working in the garden earlier today. So I'll get right to our suppers.

Friday

Friday Pizza and Movie Night (we watched Shallow Hal)
homemade pepperoni pizza
apple wedges
Italian-style vegetable medley (zucchini, green beans, tomatoes, garlic, onions, oregano)
scratch brownies

Saturday

Saturday Cook out
hot dogs (buns optional, homemade)
apple wedges
tossed garden salad
blackberry cobbler and peanut butter cookies

Sunday
leftover night -- assortment of chicken salad, lentil soup, rice, biscuits, boiled eggs, various garden greens, lentil sprouts, radishes, apples, brownies, blackberry cobbler

Monday

Monday

meatloaf with gravy

roasted garden purple fingerling potatoes

tossed garden salad

pan-seared garlic green beans (these are soooo good -- green beans sautéed in oil, garlic added after beans are browned, then a bit of sesame oil and soy sauce to finish)

blackberry-rhubarb jello

Tuesday

Tuesday

chicken thighs in meatloaf gravy (just a little chicken, the rest went into a chicken salad for lunches this week)

rosemary polenta

baked beans

roasted beets

sautéed beet greens

radish leaf and sprout salad

leftover blackberry-rhubarb jello

Wednesday

Wednesday

hot dogs and baked beans

tomato-cucumber salad

roasted garden purple potatoes

pan-seared garlic green beans

peanut butter cookies

Thursday

Thursday

chicken-vegetable soup

scratch cornbread (using 3 tablespoons canned garbanzo bean liquid as substitute for the egg)

blackberry cobbler

Breakfasts: pancakes, toasty o's cereal, oatmeal, cobbler, yogurt, juice, milk, toast, eggs

Lunches: chicken/apple/cabbage/carrot leaf/raisin salad, tomato-basil soup, tomato sandwiches, eggs, apples, peanut butter, leftovers, cookies

This was the first time we tried using garbanzo bean liquid as an egg substitute (Thursday's cornbread). My daughter had bought a can of garbanzo beans to make hummus while cat-sitting earlier this week. She saved the liquid to use in place of eggs in baking. The cornbread on Thursday turned out pretty good. It was a bit dense, but good. Have you tried using canned garbanzo bean liquid as an egg substitute before?

That's what we ate this past week. What was on your menu?

Have a wonderful October weekend, friends! Do any of you have special plans for this autumn weekend?

Does It Harm the Economy to Be Frugal?

I found this little fella tucked in amongst the beets when getting
 veggies for Tuesday's dinner. I dug him up and gave him his own pot.
 I have no idea how he got into the veggie bed. My plant "saucer"
is the bottom of a 1-gallon milk jug.

Is it wrong to just not spend money, or not very much money? Am I harming the economy by not eating out, not going to the movies, not buying knick-knacks or things for the home from retail stores? Where does my responsibility for helping to sustain the local economy begin when I'm trying to be responsible for my personal economy? Right now, my husband and I are saving for a new roof, a new car, and a major deck repair. We need to squirrel away every last cent to meet these needs of our own.

On our last credit card statement there were a total of 14 entries, 3 of which were charitable donations, 5 were utility/service payments, 3 were for the hardware store, 1 was for a prescription. That means that we only had 2 entries that I'd consider variable expenses (things we could reduce or forgo, if necessary), one a grocery store and the other a vitamin store. I did use cash to buy a gift for a friend at the farmer's market and I used gift cards to buy myself a burger, a charging cord for my laptop, and a new-to-me shirt at the thrift store. (For Christmas and my birthday, I suggest gift cards to my family members who want ideas on what to get me. These gift cards are my spending money.)

Our family's entertainment is usually free to us, movies and books from the library, homemade pizza nights, sitting around the fire ring on the patio, playing games, listening to free music, etc. We cook at home every day of the week. Travel is rare for us. Shopping at the mall is not one of my "hobbies". (Although, when I have a coupon for a freebie at the mall, I'll get the freebie.) Most of our spending is on necessities, like utilities, insurance, taxes, food, gas for the car (when it's our turn), car repairs, and home repairs.

Am I harming my local economy by not spending in discretionary categories locally? I ask because for the last couple of years I've heard other people say they're doing their part to keep local businesses open. I do agree that we need to keep brick and mortar small businesses open. Many experts say that small businesses are the lifeblood of the economy and the heart of the middle class. I wouldn't want to live in a community where the only stores left are big box stores. And I certainly wouldn't want to see any of my neighbors lose their livelihoods. Where does my responsibility lie? Have you thought about this in regards to your own financial situation? What have been your conclusions?