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?

Making My Coir-Lined Basket Hold Moisture So My Plants Don't Die Again This Year

You know this one -- the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Whelp, that's what I've been doing each summer with this one hanging basket. It's one of those coir lined baskets that I've been using for planting nasturtiums. The coir has a lovely natural look. However, it just doesn't hold water very well. 

For the last couple of years, I'd plant the basket with nasturtiums, herbs, and salad greens, as I also did in my other baskets which are made of plastic. The plants in the coir basket drain too quickly and the soil would dry out so fast. My plants would dry out by early summer. But I kept planting in this basket, thinking "this year my plants won't die." But they always did. I had told myself I'd remedy this soon. Yet, still this year I planted the nasturtiums in the soil without changing anything -- insanity.

Of course, the plants were drying out before June even arrived. Although, not the ideal time to fix this situation, as I'd already planted the basket for the season, this week I decided to bite the bullet and fix things while I could.

I carefully removed the plants, then dug the soil out of the coir liner.

I took a piece of heavy plastic (a mailing bag that I repurposed) and cut it to roughly the size of the interior of the basket, making a couple of small slashes in the bottom for drainage. I lined the coir with the plastic.

I then trimmed the top edge so the plastic wouldn't be visible. I mixed 1/2 teaspoon of water absorbing crystals into the dirt then scooped the dirt back into the basket inside the plastic lining. After replanting the basket, I topped off the soil so that any bit of the plastic liner wouldn't be seen once the basket is hanging.

Hopefully this will fix the situation. But even if it doesn't, I tried something instead of continuing to do the same thing while expecting different results.

Bargain Bedroom and Deck Makeovers

The best way for me to get a fresh look to my home or outdoor spaces is to clean and tidy what I already have. 

I was thinking about this two weeks ago as I was cleaning up the bedroom. Then I thought about this some more yesterday as I was cleaning up the deck. Over the weekend, I'd been browsing real estate online in another city. (My husband had mentioned a job possibility in this other city.) We're not likely to move, but I was curious what was on the market right now. Anyway, I was "touring" one home in particular and asking myself what I'd change to make this house more to my liking. 

The first thing I thought of was I'd want to create a spot outdoors just outside the kitchen for having breakfast or drinking my morning coffee in the summer. Then I realized that I could create that space on our own deck right here at home.  A few years ago, one of the trees that hangs over the deck had grown too bushy to have our patio table just outside the kitchen door. This past year, I've done some needed pruning of that tree. Now, there is some space for our table. I just hadn't thought to move it back to its original spot. 

So I worked at cleaning up that area of the deck, cleaning up my potting messes, organizing the portable greenhouse, sweeping the deck, wiping off the railings, potting some flowers that I started from seeds, and rearranging the deck furniture (including moving the table over near the kitchen door). Earlier this spring, I had been looking at catalogs with patio furniture and was dreaming about what I could buy. How silly, when we have patio furniture already.

Two weeks ago, after returning from our sojourn to Arizona and staying in multiple hotel rooms as well as visiting my stepmom in her house, I felt dissatisfied with our bedroom. It just looked frumpy to me. One day I set out to organize, make slight adjustments to furniture and decor arrangements, and give the room a thorough cleaning. Wow! It made such a difference. I love our room again. The furniture might not be what I'd choose if I were shopping for bedroom furniture, but these pieces have meaning to me. Our bedroom set was my parents set. I won't ever replace them because they have sentimental value to me. The various knick-knacks that I have displayed are also dear to me. Many of the items were gifts to me by some special people in my life. I wouldn't want a magazine perfect-looking room, as that would mean that I would be putting away some of these special belongings.

So I was thinking today, twice in this past month I've been dissatisfied with my surroundings, originally thinking the problem was in the belongings themselves. But all it took was cleaning and tidying those items that I already own. There's a reason I keep all of the belongings that I do. Sometimes items are functional, and I need to have them for their use. Other items are things I selected because I liked the way they looked, and even now I still like them for their aesthetics. And, as mentioned, I also keep some of the things I do because of sentiment. All of the belongings that I keep are either useful, attractive to me, or remind me of special people. I like my belongings. So, when I want a fresh look to my surroundings, the answer isn't to replace what I own, but to clean, organize and sometimes rehab what I own. It's pretty rare that I replace items that still work. Occasionally, something doesn't work like I think it should, and those items I do replace. But for the most part, I use what I have, and consequently, my bank account is never depleted because of a shopping spree at the stuff-mart.

Cleaning and organizing -- the cheapest home makeover out there.

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for Mid-May

Friday
pepperoni pizza, carrot soup made from canned carrots, frozen broccoli cuts mixed with florets, brownies

Saturday
spaghetti and TVP marinara, canned green beans, brownies

Sunday
peanut sauce over rice, canned carrots

Monday
roast chicken, brown rice, gravy, asparagus, brownies

Tuesday
leftover chicken in gravy over mashed potatoes, asparagus, rhubarb sauce

Wednesday

chicken pot pie (scratch crust, chicken meat, gravy, frozen mixed vegetables), apple wedges, brownies from the freezer

Thursday

spaghetti and meat sauce, frozen peas, pumpkin-spice cookies

Was I spoiled by my daughters' cooking for April? Have I found ways to treat myself to more time off from cooking? What I've been doing for the last 2 weeks (first week of May I was on the road) is doubling or tripling the main dishes and freezing the leftovers. Some examples: I made taco meat and refried beans X 2, chicken breast in marinara sauce X 2, pepperoni pizza from scratch X 2, meat spaghetti sauce X 2, roasted whole chicken, yielding 4+ meals, freezing 1 large portion of roasted chicken and some chicken meat in stock for two future meals. I also made a large batch of hummus and froze part for another meal or snack and a double batch of scratch brownies (some for last week and some for the freezer). For now, I'm focusing on the mains. Most side dishes are fairly simple in my house. If I do make something more complex, I'll try to remember to double or triple the batch to freeze for a future meal. One thing that has become clear, though, is that I need better organization for my freezer, so that I can actually find these future meals. 

A couple of things that I'll mention about Friday's dinner -- the carrot soup was made with 1 can of carrots plus water, pureed in the smoothie maker, flavored with onion powder and chicken bouillon, then heated in cups in the microwave. It was very tasty, quick and easy, and a different way to serve canned carrots. The frozen broccoli was a mix of broccoli cuts (which are inexpensive, often have a lot of stem pieces) and broccoli florets (more expensive and only the florets). I mix some from each bag, about half cuts/half florets. It's my way of stretching the more expensive florets for my family.

Before I steamed the asparagus, I snapped off the tough, white ends. I saved these in a container in the fridge to deal with for tonight's dinner. I'll peel the tough ends, chop, then steam them to add to other vegetables in a stir fry. In the past, I've also peeled then added these asparagus bits to soups and casseroles.

The chicken dinners on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday came from the marked down whole chicken I bought at Fred Meyer on Monday. After pulling most of the meat off the chicken (and freezing a large portion), I simmered the carcass in the crockpot overnight. My daughter picked the remaining meat off the bones for me. I then simmered those bones, skin, and fat for a second time. The second run broth is not as rich as first run stock, but it does have flavor and I'm assuming nutrients. I froze this stock in quart and pint containers to use in making soups, stews, casseroles, or for cooking rice in coming weeks.

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

Shopping and Gas This Week -- Mid-May

Now that I'm shopping in-person again, I can get more deals. At Fred Meyer I found both asparagus (1.99/lb) and a whole chicken (1.12/lb) on markdown, selling on the sell-by date stamped on the products. The asparagus was slightly wilted and the chicken needed using or freezing immediately. I wound up serving both for dinner that night. While I did find these deals, there were very few markdowns at Fred Meyer. In fact, they've completely eliminated the general clearance rack, having just a day-old bakery rack where marked down canned goods and pantry staples had once been. No markdowns in the dairy department and very few in meats.

Milk is now $3.09 per gallon at Fred Meyer, up 90 cents/gallon in the last year. I bought 3 gallons this time instead of 4. My milk decision is part of a growing trend in the US. Families are buying half-gallons instead of gallons, quarts instead of half-gallons, and for those families that use more milk (like mine) fewer gallons per shopping trip. The 3 gallons will be a 2-week supply for us. We normally use 4 gallons in the same time span. When we run out, we'll just have to be out for a couple of days. The upside to this trend is there could be some gallons that get marked down in coming weeks. I expect they'll be scooped up quickly, however. But someone will get a needed deal. I also bought a 5-pack of garlic (we ran out of our garden supply from last summer over the weekend), a 3-lb bag of onions, and 2 bunches of bananas. I spent $24.48. I also used my gift card to Fred Meyer (my Christmas gift from my husband -- I asked for it) to buy myself a pound of fresh strawberries. But I didn't count that into my grocery spending, as I see these as my Christmas gift. In November, I told my husband that the thing I really wanted was some spending money to buy special foods just for me. He was more than happy to give me this gift card, and I've been enjoying a treat now and then since the holidays.

I also shopped at Cash & Carry ChefStore (restaurant supply) for the first time in months. In the last month, raisins have increased in price by 65 cents per pound at Walmart. I checked several other stores around me and found raisins at a lower price per pound at Cash & Carry, sold in a case of nine 4-lb bags ($2.24/lb). Yes, that's 36 pounds of raisins. The best-by date is December 2022, 7 months out. A case is about a 9 to 11-month supply for us. I'll freeze several bags, which will keep them beyond that best-by date. (Dried fruit freezes well.) I also bought 15 pounds of fuji apples ($1.03/lb), 20 pounds of carrots (59 cents/lb), 25 pounds of lentils ($18.95), and a 13-oz container of chili powder ($4.09). I spent $131.26.

Walmart.com sometimes has great deals on Folger's instant coffee when bought in cases of six 8-oz jars. There's a limit of 1 case. Wanting free shipping, I added some supplements that my family takes. My cost for the coffee was $20.22. 

For the week, my grocery spending came to $175.96. Last week I didn't grocery shop, so I think I'm doing fine. I expect to be paying more overall on groceries, but I have yet to set a new budget amount. 

Gas topped $5 per gallon in my area for the lowest octane unleaded, $5.09/gal at Fred Meyer, $5.15/gal at 7-11, and $5.49/gal at Shell. We don't have a Costco membership, but Costco gas is the cheapest around at $4.89/gal. I use gasbuddy.com to find the lowest prices in my area each time I need to fill up. If errands take me to neighboring areas, I check gas prices online for those areas, too. 

Speaking of Costco gas -- my son and daughter-in-law (who do have a Costco membership) drove their own car down to Arizona the other week. We had 3 possible routes from which to choose, 1) straight south through WA, OR, CA, then over to AZ, or, 2) east through WA, OR, ID, then south through NV, and finally over to AZ, or, 3) east through WA, OR, ID, then south through UT, then into AZ. Each route had its merits and drawbacks. Due south through CA meant fewer mountain passes and frequent towns but much more expensive gas in CA. Through NV was definitely the shortest in time and miles, good prices on gas, but lots of mountain passes and a long desolate stretch where there are no gas stations. The route through UT was what my son and daughter-in-law chose, as there were enough Costco gas stations so they could get the least expensive gas the entire drive, even if it meant they drove some extra miles. The two of them are pretty careful about evaluating their costs, so I assume they costed out the benefit to driving extra but getting cheaper gas. My husband and I chose the route through NV. My brother advised that this route can be very desolate and said we should map out our gas stops before setting out. We topped off the gas tank at every gas stop we came across. Our small sedan got pretty good gas mileage, so even with a smaller gas tank, we did just fine. 

What's the shopping like in your area? Are you finding very many markdowns or clearance items? How are you changing your grocery shopping during this period of inflation? What's the lowest price on gas in your region?

A Great Resource for Using Every Last Bit -- IKEA Scraps Book (free to download or just browse)

I wanted to share a resource that has a lot of great ideas for getting the most out of your groceries. It's the IKEA Canada's The Scraps Book:A Waste-Less Cookbook. It's free to download or just browse. It may take several seconds to load. But patience is a virtue. There are roughly 200 pages of ideas and recipes for using every last bit, from the obvious of using bruised fruit to the not so obvious of using banana peels to make "bacon" (p.27) or chutney (p. 57) or in a chocolate-banana peel cake (p.155). 

There's a recipe for watermelon rind pickle (yes, I make these that, too --- post in this link). There's also a recipe for watermelon rind jam (p.29). Now that's something I haven't tried, but surely will. You may be surprised (as I was) that corn silks are edible. There's a recipe for frying those yellow silks on p. 41. And I found another recipe for using radish leaves -- a garlicky, cheesy green risotto (p. 71). 

Remember last summer when we talked a bit about using carrot tops? Well, this booklet has a recipe for chimichurri that uses copious amounts of carrot leaves instead of the usual parsley (p.99) Did you know that the peels from winter squash are edible? Turn to page 107 for a skillet dish that uses squash and potato peels.

How about getting more use from spent tea bags (p. 173) or used coffee grounds (p. 13)? IKEA's got you covered.

If you have an ingredient that you'd like to find a use for, no need to read the whole booklet. There's a handy index at the back that's organized by ingredient name (p. 211-213)

Some ideas are old hat for many of us, such as using the leaves and tops of celery. But many other ideas are fresh and new.

This free booklet is filled to the brim with useful ways to use foods that we might otherwise throw out. I know, I sound like an advertisement for IKEA. I'm just enthusiastic to share what could be a good tool for many of us as we try to keep our grocery spending down and/or get the most out of gardens this summer. 

Happy reading!

A good friend passed this on to me, knowing that I am trying to get all I can out of what we grow and buy. I'd like to be a good friend, too, and pass this on to you.

Scratch Cupcake Donut Holes Courtesy of My Daughters

This past Saturday was the community garage sale in my area. There will be more garage sales throughout the summer, but this was the big one. I went out for a little bit, but I was feeling tired so only looked at a few sales. I did buy some brightly colored paper napkins to use for picnics and bbq's this summer, still in the sealed package, 50 cents/package. My daughters went to many, many sales. The came home with wrapping paper (25 cents/roll), clothing, a knick-knack or two, and a deep fryer, still in the factory-sealed box. They saw the fryer early in the day and told me about it. We used to have a fryer and I stopped using it because it was more fried food than we should eat, it wasted oil, and it was a mess every time I used it. I told my daughters they'd have to supply the oil if they bought this. (My experience has been that a lot of oil is wasted when deep frying.) They agreed and bought the fryer for $5.

Their first frying project was donuts. They knew they wanted cake donuts, but they didn't want the fried batter mess that can come with pouring batter into hot oil (a lot of burnt crumbly bits after frying). So they had this idea to fry some baked mini muffins. 

They then baked yellow cupcakes (scratch recipe, no papers, non-stick muffin pan sprayed with cooking spray) in the oven. After baking and cooling, they popped the cupcakes into the hot oil in the fryer for a couple of minutes each. Afterward, they glazed them with a homemade chocolate glaze and added sprinkles, chopped nuts, and coconut. They look like donut holes, don't they?

I wasn't expecting them to be that much like donuts, but they really, really were. I was impressed. They were crispy and cake-like. I tried my hardest not to eat too many of them. But like I said, these were good, and well you know how good intentions can sometimes end up.

I did ask one daughter, after the fact, if she would change anything. She said that now she wishes they'd tried frying a little of the unbaked batter (not baked cake) just to see how it would have turned out. She doesn't know if she'd prefer one over the other, but would like to see for herself the difference. Maybe we'll have another batch of donuts soon? I mean, for the sake of experimentation, of course.

Anyways, just some of the kitchen fun going on in our house this past weekend.

Shopping and Meals for the Past Week

I haven't done any grocery shopping since April 23, unless you count the road trip candy we bought last week along the way to Arizona. In case you're interested, I bought some black licorice, 2 Snickers bars (King-size), and Reeses Peanut Butter Cups (4-pack) to share. As I mentioned earlier this week, my total for the sharing candy was under $15. I made these purchases as little surprises when I'd go in to pay for gas. We did all cash for gas to get the better prices, so I always went inside to pay. With the first candy purchase, my family was somewhat astonished. Mom doesn't usually make impulse purchases. I like to keep my family guessing about me.

A couple of meals on the road:

The first night away: hotdogs and buns that I grabbed from the freezer, with sliced cabbage drizzled with slaw dressing (packed separately so the cabbage wouldn't wilt), canned green beans, applesauce. Yes, we brought paper plates, small paper cups (for the applesauce), and plastic forks (we washed the forks each night to reuse). I also packed small packets of the condiments we had in the fridge -- ketchup, mustard, hot sauce.

Another night: bean and cheese burritos (frozen homemade refried beans, thawed in 2 days), carrot sticks, canned green beans, raisins, applesauce. I didn't shop for anything new for the trip, instead grabbing foods from our pantry, fridge, and freezer.

At one point we found ourselves driving along historic Route 66 for about a mile. Kinda fun. We decided that if we make this trip again, we'll stay in one of the fun motor inns along 66.

I came home to a full pantry and freezer. I had milk in the freezer and milk is a driving ingredient in my need for grocery shopping.

When we walked in the door last Sunday, the first thing I did after unloading the car was grab a partial gallon of milk, loaf of homemade bread, and a quart of cooked pinto beans from the freezer. After starting the laundry I made an easy soup, using the cooked pinto beans, a large can of Italian-seasoned diced tomatoes, some beef bouillon, and olive oil. I let it simmer until the beans began to fall apart and thicken the soup. I served bread and butter with this simple meal. 

Here are the rest of this past week's suppers:

Monday
taco meat on cooked rice with refried beans and cheese, topped with salsa and bottom-of-the-bag tortilla chips, plus garden kale bulked up with frozen broccoli

Tuesday
chicken breast cooked in leftover pasta sauce (from my daughters' cooking in April) topped with the last slices of provolone cheese from my daughters' birthday picnic in the park in March, stuffed grape leaves, toast, and rhubarb sauce

Wednesday
bean burger patties, canned carrots, radish green-peanut noodles

Thursday
eggs, breakfast sausage, canned pineapple chunks, colcannon (using radish greens instead of kale in the potatoes), canned green beans

It rained a lot while we were gone. And we're still stuck in a wet pattern. I'm hoping this next week things turn around. But one of the blessings to a cool week is the Lilies of the Valley didn't all bloom at once during our week away. I picked a handful on Wednesday to enjoy indoors. Mmmm, so fragrant.

How was your week? What was on your menu? Any surprises at your grocery store this week?

Using the Green Leaves from a Bundle of Radishes, Grocery Store or Home-Grown

Do you grow radishes? Do you buy radishes with the greens still on? Those greens, even if they're semi-wilted, can be used in meals. No sense throwing them out.

You've read about me using the tender and young radish greens to add texture and zing to salads. But those mature ones (like on bundles of radishes from the store) are edible, too -- cooked and added to sides and main dishes. The trick is to blanch and puree them, then moderate the bitterness with other ingredients. My favorite extra ingredients to tame these greens include onions, garlic, bacon/sausage/ham (or their rendered fats), peanut butter, pinch sugar, and/or salt. In addition, tossing with cooked starchy foods, such as mashed potatoes, cooked pasta, or cooked rice, will also subdue that bitter bite. 

These are aging radish plants from this past winter that I grew indoors. I moved them outdoors when I needed my lights for starting seeds. The ones in these buckets never produced nice roots. But the mature greens still have food value.

I picked a bowl full to use in Wednesday's dinner. After washing, I microwaved the greens for a minute to quick steam them. I minced a clove of garlic, then pureed both greens and garlic together with some water, using my immersion blender.

I added a large spoonful of peanut butter to the greens-garlic puree in the skillet. I also added some chopped peanuts, onion powder, soy sauce, red pepper flakes and water enough to make a sauce, heating through over Med-Low. 

Meanwhile, I cooked pasta according to package directions. 

Once the pasta was cooked and drained, I tossed it with the radish green sauce. I adjusted for taste with another splash of soy sauce and this side dish was complete. 

I have enough radish greens growing in those buckets to make this dish one or two more times. As greens go, these might be too bitter on their own. But pureed, then combined with garlic and peanut butter (plus a couple other ingredients), not only are the greens palatable, but they made a dish that my family really enjoyed.

Just sharing in case you're like me, and you don't want to waste a single food right now.

Cheap Eats: Rice-Stuffed (Edible) Leaves

We all know that rice is a cheap food. The trick is to vary how it's served to both satisfy the palate and bring in additional nutrients. 

I like to use edible leaves as wrappers for a rice and herb mixture. The edible leaves are free to us, as are the herbs and seasonings. My only cost is the rice, salt, pepper, a bit of olive oil, and fuel for the stove. I use homemade chicken bone stock for the cooking liquid. But you could use water or chicken bouillon. In any case, this is a super economical and flavorful way to serve rice. If you have a small amount of cooked meat to use up, stuffed leaves are also a great way to stretch that small amount for more servings.

No grape leaves? Do you throw away the outer, not as crisp leaves from a head of cabbage? They are perfect candidates for stuffing.

Here I'm using some grape leaves that I froze at the end of last summer. I blanched them before freezing, so that step is taken care of for this meal. Other possibilities for leaves include fig leaves, large nasturtium leaves, sorrel, Swiss chard, and cabbage (especially the outer, sometimes wilted cabbage leaves). Squash blossoms from summer or winter squash plants or pumpkins are also candidates for stuffing. The leaves all require blanching before stuffing, so they roll up more easily. But the squash/pumpkin blossoms are flexible enough when fresh-picked. To blanch leaves, I wash, then microwave them briefly (10 seconds for the most tender leaves up to a minute for individual cabbage leaves) to soften.

If you can roll up a burrito, you can roll filled leaves. I first lay out all of the leaves on the kitchen counter. This ensures I have enough filling for each leaf. I then put a spoonful of the seasoned rice onto each leaf.

Beginning at the lower edge of a leaf, I fold up the bottom, fold in the sides, then roll up.

When all leaves are rolled, I place 2 or 3 large leaves on the bottom of a Dutch oven. 

These bottom leaves prevent sticking of the filled leaves.

Next, I place all the rolls onto the liner leaves.

I lay 2 or 3 large leaves on top of the rolls to help hold the rolls together. Some cooks place a small plate on top of these leaves, but I haven't found that to be necessary.

I pour the liquid gently over all, bring to a gentle simmer, cover and simmer on LOW for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes (time will depend on your stove and the pot used). 

After 1 hour, if it looks like the rice isn't fully cooked, I add a couple of tablespoons of water and steam for 10-15 more minutes. This usually does the trick. To see if the rice is thoroughly cooked, I check an opening or tear on one of the leaves and pick out a single grain of rice with the tip of a knife and sample.

Leaving the lid on, I allow the cooked rolls to stand for one hour off the heat. This standing time helps the rolls solidify.

Stuffed leaves can be made ahead and reheated in the microwave. Leftovers are always gobbled up in my house.

Here's the seasoned rice recipe I use for stuffed grape leaves. The seasonings can be changed up according to taste and availability. For example, dried oregano can be subbed for the allspice and dill weed if stuffing cabbage or Swiss chard leaves.  A little cooked ground beef or Italian sausage can be added to this filling, then the cooked rice rolls can be topped with some marinara sauce. Sage (1 teaspoon rubbed or minced fresh) along with some broken up cooked breakfast sausage has nice flavor for squash blossoms.

For about 20 small grape leaves (serves 4):

filling (mix together ion a bowl)

1/2 cup uncooked white rice
1/2 teaspoon salt

dash black pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1 tablespoon minced dill weed

1 tablespoon minced parsley

1/4 cup minced onions, chives, shallots, or about 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1 tablespoon olive oil

cooking liquid

1  1/4 cups chicken stock, water, or bouillon

Extra minced vegetables can be added to the rice filling, up to about 1/4 cup, minced. Up to 1/2 cup of finely chopped cooked meat can also be added.

Do you make stuffed leaves or blossoms? What do you like to use for a filling?

Road Trip

I was on the road all last week. I tried to keep up with my blog, but after a couple of days I just didn't have time. My family of 6 drove to Arizona to see my stepmom (my kids' grandma). Four of us took 3 days to drive there then 3 days back, while my son and daughter-in-law made the drive down in 2 days then 2 days back. Neither my husband nor I can see well enough for night driving on highways without streetlights, hence the 3 days each way. It was a good trip.

We did what we could to keep our costs down. For example, we chose to drive instead of fly. I booked places to stay that had free breakfasts plus a microwave and fridge in the room. In addition, we packed food for the rest of our meals on all traveling days. I brought bread, tortillas, crackers, pretzels, peanut butter, cheese, nuts, raisins, prunes, dried apples, dried cherries, canned vegetables, homemade refried beans, frozen hotdogs and buns, carrot sticks, sliced cabbage and slaw dressing, cookies, muffins, applesauce, juice, and instant coffee. There was a lot of repetition in our meals -- peanut butter sandwiches on either bread or crackers just about every day for lunch. Our dinners were only slightly more varied. one night we microwaved hotdogs to have with applesauce, Cole slaw, and canned green beans. Another night I made bean and cheese burritos in the microwave, served with carrot sticks, canned green beans, and dried fruit. And on yet another night, we used the last of the tortillas and some cheese to make quesadillas to serve with canned carrots, applesauce, and nuts. The final night we set out all of the remaining foods for us all to help ourselves to a snacky dinner. Whatever works, right? This trip was planned at the last minute, so I didn't have time to put together a more complex road trip menu. 

Every morning, before hitting the road, I made a large thermos of coffee and a smaller thermos of decaf. In addition, I handed out a 64-oz repurposed plastic juice bottle (the kind apple juice is packaged in) to each of the 4 of us filled with water. These became our personal water supply bottles for the drives. We each filled our own in the mornings before driving. 

As a result of packing so much food and drinks, we didn't need to buy any meals on the drive down or the drive back. We did buy a few candy items to share here and there when stopping for gas, spending about $15 total on candy. These small purchases perked us up when we needed it. By not spending much on food for the drives, we were able to splurge on a couple of meals with my stepmom. I guess that's how our frugality tends to work. We are careful in some areas so we can splurge in others.

We got home Sunday afternoon. I immediately started in on the laundry then grabbed a couple of items from the freezer to throw together a simple dinner -- a bean and canned tomato soup topped with cheese and homemade bread with butter. We were all so tried that this easy meal was all we really wanted before hitting the sack.

Being away from the vegetable garden for a week took its toll on some of my plants. I lost a couple, but am hopeful that the rest will recover. This morning I had to make up for lost gardening time. I leveled and raked the new pumpkin, corn, bean, and pepper patch. It's now ready and waiting for our weather to warm.  I pulled out the tail end of last fall's kale, plucking off the edible leaves to use in Monday's dinner, readying a spot for new seeds -- more kale, lettuce, and beets. My garden did have a happy surprise for me -- the carrot seeds sprouted while I was away.

Like I said, it was a good trip. But I'm happy to be home, sleeping in my own bed, and getting back to the work I have here on the old homestead.

Helping Myself Take Smaller Servings -- Better for My Health & Finances

This is an old dieter's trick, but it's also something I'm doing to save money on groceries. Serving myself portions in smaller containers.

I started this with coffee a while ago. I switched from the 12-oz mug on the left to the 8-oz cup on the right. I originally began this for health reasons. As it turns out, I'm also saving money. I drink far less coffee now that I'm using the smaller cup. Yes, I do get more refills in a day, but not enough to equal what I'd been drinking using a 12-oz mug. 

Another change for health reasons -- my morning yogurt. I'm lactose intolerant. Too much yogurt can be too much for me. I switched from a 6-oz custard cup (on the right) to a 4-oz canning container (on the left). I also now do this with pudding and ice cream. Smaller portions made simple. I'm eating slightly less, but not so much less that I feel deprived. 

Did you know that for many years in the USA a portion of ice cream was only a 1/2-cup or 4 ounces? It's been recently updated to reflect how much Americans actually consider a serving -- 2/3 cup. Meanwhile, commercial yogurt portions have been shrinking. Do you remember the days when individual portions of yogurt were sold in 8-oz containers? Then they went to 6 ounces, and most recently I've seen several 5-ounce containers of yogurt at the store. Using a 4-oz squat canning jar helps me portion my food better, whether it's ice cream, yogurt, pudding or anything else of which I should probably eat a smaller amount.

At lunch I've been choosing to use a salad plate instead of a dinner plate many days. This forces me to put less on my plate. So, if I'm having something like chips with soup or a sandwich, I automatically put fewer chips on my plate. I don't always use a salad plate, however. Sometimes I want to use the larger dinner plate so that I will eat more of something, like salad or fresh garden fruit or vegetables. But for the days that we are having some chips with lunch, we can get by with a smaller bag of chips by using smaller plates.

I'm doing something good for my health and saving money.

Recent Shopping

Nothing to do with shopping -- just my neighbor's spectacular front yard.
They chose to install a gorgeous garden instead of a traditional lawn.

This is not news to any of us at this point, but prices are almost everywhere. I've been shocked at times over some of these prices. Perhaps I've been out of the spending loop for a while, so I didn't realize some price increases had occurred before now. Or perhaps these increases are part of the recent inflation explosion. Here's my recent shopping experience.

On my husband's birthday I went to McDonald's to bring back a lunch just for him. My husband has always loved 1/4-pounders. So I got him a 1/4-pounder with cheese and a small order for French fries, no drink. My cost for this lunch was just under $9. This price for 1 sandwich and a small order of fries was shocking to me. I could have found a deal, but I was looking for his favorites. I will say, this made my husband very happy.

At Fred Meyer (Kroger affiliate) the price on a gallon of milk went up 10 cents per gallon in just one week. The price on milk there is now 80 cents more per gallon than it was 1 year ago. For my husband's and my joint birthday celebration, I wanted to pick up deli salads from Fred Meyer, so I didn't have as much cooking work to do for that gathering. Again I was shocked by the prices on various salads from the deli. The potato salad was the only reasonably-priced salad at $3.50/lb. (And I think that's too much for basically potatoes and mayo.) The rest of the deli salads were between $5 and $8 per pound, with the majority in the $7 and $8 range. I bought some of the potato salad then turned and shopped the produce section for easy to prepare produce items to use as sides. I bought grape tomatoes for $2.99 ($4.78/lb), strawberries for $2.97 ($1.49/lb), and 23-oz stir-fry kit that made 8 servings, marked down to $2.49 ($1.73/lb pre-cooked).

The exception to all these price increases was a sale on 80/20 ground beef, at $2.77/lb in 3-lb chubs. I bought the limit of 15 pounds. While this was a sale price and for the time being a one-off price event, I wanted to mention something that I've seen happen in the past (most recent not quite a decade ago) when livestock feed prices have gone way up. In this situation, ranchers have a tough choice to make: do they pay more for feed for their large animals and then hope to get a high price per head down the road, or do they decide it's better to shrink the herd now (sell of cattle to be butchered) and avoid the down the road possibilities? What I've seen happen is the second of the two scenarios, where ranchers sell off a lot of their cattle and the market sees a glut in beef, temporarily reducing the price per pound. Unfortunately, this is very temporary, as when ranchers sell off part of their herd to save on feed costs, it means that in several months there will be far less beef on the market, and prices will go way high, staying that way until feed prices come down again.. So, when you see a low price on beef (if your household has beef eaters), buy what you find and freeze it. Don't assume that beef prices will be immune to any of this inflation. Just a heads' up. Okay, back to the post.

My last price observation is the cost of gas. In my area, the price of a gallon of the cheapest unleaded is bumping the $5/gallon mark. Gas was $4.99 9/10 a gallon near me the other day. This is the highest we've ever seen gas in my area. Even in 2008 and 2009, the highest only hit $4.18/gallon.

What price increases have you noticed in the last week or so?

Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake Vs. Homemade Ice Cream Cake

homemade ice cream cake before fudge topping

In my weekly meal post on Friday, I mentioned the ice cream cake that we had for our joint birthday celebration (husband and self). I know that Dairy Queen cakes are a popular item for many families. And they are quite good I think. However, as we were trying to keep our food costs down for our little party, and as I did have homemade ice cream waiting in the freezer, making our own ice cream cake seemed like a good use of our supplies and budget.

A note, our ice cream cake wasn't a replica of a DQ one. Dairy Queen cakes have a cake layer, some sort of mid-layer like cookie crumbs, an ice cream layer and frosting or whipped topping (I'm not sure). Our homemade cake had a cake layer bottom, ice cream layer top, and a hot fudge sauce topping served on each slice. I opted for a hot fudge topping instead of icing or whipped topping as it was easier and we had everything we needed on hand. Our homemade version was definitely a simplified ice cream cake. But simple meant it was more do-able.

To make this cake even less daunting to prepare, my steps were both spread out and helped along by other family members. I had made a chocolate fudge brownie ice cream in late February, using whipping cream, cocoa powder, sugar, vanilla, and a 1/4 batch of homemade brownies cut into dices. I kept this ice cream in the deep freeze for these weeks, waiting for our birthdays. My daughters baked the cake layer in a springform pan the day before our celebration. After taking the cake out of the pan to cool, I washed and dried the pan, readying it for assembling the ice cream cake. Later that day (when the single cake layer was cooled), I put the cake back into the springform pan and spread the ice cream (softened up in the microwave briefly) onto the cake. I wrapped the base of the spring form pan in plastic as the ice cream was leaking a bit. I popped the cake back into the deep freeze overnight. The next morning I made a hot fudge topping (sugar, water, cocoa powder, salt — bring to boil, stir in slurry of corn starch/water, bring back to boil, cook 2-3 minutes, stirring. Remove from heat, stir in half-cup of chocolate chips — improves the texture IMO). I scooped the topping into a pitcher, reheating it in the microwave just before pouring onto individual servings of ice cream cake. The whole cake was very do-able, perhaps not as "fancy" as a DQ cake, but do-able and economical. It was a help that my daughters baked the cake layer. However, if I had to do all of the cake on my own, I could have baked the cake layer a week or so in advance and kept it in the freezer until I was ready to assemble the cake.

A cost comparison

As far as being frugal, I estimated our homemade ice cream cake, including the hot fudge topping, cost between $3.50 and $4.00 and had 7-8 servings at about 50 cents per serving. A Dairy Queen cake runs about $35 and serves 8-10 at about $3.50 per serving. When I did the math on serving cost of the DQ cake I was shocked. I know these cakes are very popular. I just couldn't imagine paying that much per serving for a birthday cake.

The ice cream cake wow-ed my family. And truly, this was easier than baking a traditional frosted cake and having ice cream on the side.

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers: One Last Week of Meals Prepared by My Daughters

Friday (my husband's birthday)
Nacho bar with tortilla chips, ground beef, refried beans, cheese, peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, sour cream, nacho cheese sauce, guacamole, plus scratch spongecake with lemon glaze

Saturday cookout (joint birthday celebration with our son and daughter-in-law)
hot dogs, kielbasa, buns, potato salad, grape tomatoes, fresh strawberries, stir-fried vegetables and rice, blackberry lemonade, scratch ice cream cake

Sunday
ham and cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, leftover desserts

Monday
Pasta Tina (cannellini beans, garlic, olive oil, chicken soup base, pureed and served on cooked pasta), garden salad, first-of-the-season rhubarb sauce

Tuesday
chili (canned chili enhanced with canned tomatoes, additional cooked beans, bell pepper, and cheese), blueberry muffins (packaged mix)

Wednesday
meatball subs (frozen meatballs, canned pasta sauce, hot dog buns, topped with cheese then broiled), honey-mustard carrots, canned green beans

Thursday

homemade chive and garbanzo hummus, crackers, raw vegetables, Cole slaw

Since my husband and my birthdays are 6 days apart, we have our bigger celebration (with our son and daughter-in-law and exchange gifts) on a single day somewhere near both birthdays (sometimes between the two or sometimes much later). We chose the Saturday after my husband's birthday this year. I told my daughters I would handle most of the food for this day, as they've been doing so much this month. But I also promised myself I would choose the easy way out for everything. I bought a deli potato salad, fresh produce to serve plain, and a stir-fry "kit" that was marked down as the sides. I bought hot dog buns instead of making them. For the dessert, my daughters baked the cake portion of the ice cream cake and I used the ice cream I'd made in late February for the ice cream layer. This was more expensive than a usual dinner for us, but far cheaper than a restaurant meal. My thinking is almost always "use what you have." With a fire ring and plenty of wood, a cookout makes sense for us. I have a simple ice cream maker, so back in February when I had a glut of whipping cream, I made a batch of ice cream to be used for this birthday celebration.And I have the right kind of cake pan (a springform) for making an ice cream cake. I do try to use the tools we already have.

This past month has been such a treat to not have to cook dinners. I think I've learned a few tricks from my daughters. Will I return to my all-from-scratch cooking, or will I adopt some of their shortcuts? Time will tell. On Sunday, we return to our regular meal cooking schedule. All good things must end.

How were your meals this past week? Any stand-outs?