Cheap & Cheerful Suppers-- another birthday in the week

rhubarb-blackberry gelatin (chilling in the shallow baker shortens it's set-time)

Wednesday, I woke up with the beginnings of a migraine. It only increased as the day wore on. Ugh. As a result, I got very little done that day and the next. No blogging for me. My apologies. But check back over the weekend, if you're online. I may have an extra post for you (that just wasn't ready to hit publish on Thursday morning). I hope you had a great week!

Here's our Cheap & Cheerful menu for this past week:

Friday (my husband's birthday with a family celebration at home)

Cod cakes (remember when I asked for ideas to use some frozen cod?)
Homemade sweet potato shoestring fries
Celery sticks
Lemon Meringue pie

Saturday

Homemade olive and mushroom pizza
Apple wedges
Carrot and celery sticks
Leftover pie

Sunday

Minestrone soup
Yorkshire pudding

Monday

Scratch macaroni and cheese
Leftover minestrone soup
Rhubarb-blackberry jello

Tuesday

Corn souffle (using this recipe) (with the last of the ham cracklings as the add-in)
Leftover rhubarb-blackberry jello
Frozen spinach-garlic-canned tomato-celery top gratin

Wednesday

Corn bread waffles
Turkey bacon
Spinach frittata topped with cheddar
Pumpkin souffle

Thursday

Tortilla chips (made from corn tortillas)
Guacamole (using those 59-cent avocados from the ethnic market)
Homemade salsa
Refried beans, brown rice and cheese
Apple wedges
Tossed green salad (yep! from the garden!)

My husband's birthday was one week ago. He does like fish. And I hardly ever cook fish, as I really don't relish eating it. But for his birthday and Father's Day, I do make fish as a special favor to him. (aren't I swell?!)

For the fishcakes, I found a recipe online that used potatoes with the flaked fish. I had a hunch I would enjoy those more than cakes that use bread crumbs. So, that's the recipe that I worked from. My fishcakes also had eggs, onion powder, minced chives, mustard, salt and pepper mixed in with poached cod fillets and mashed potatoes.

I didn't feel like it was a very imaginative week for meals. A lot of celery sticks and apple wedges for fruit/veggies. But it all worked out. Everyone had plenty to eat, and somewhat balanced meals. Bonus -- eating simply kept my grocery spending under budget, once again. I'll post my spending recap for April, on Monday. (The month's not over yet. I could go hog-wild and spend, spend, spend tomorrow!)

Did you make anything that wasn't something you regularly like to eat, this week? Is it ever difficult balancing some family members's favorite foods with your own dislike for them?

Have a great weekend!