Weekly Menu Retrospective #106

Welcome to my weekly roundup of the past week's eats. I prefer to report what we ate in the last week, rather than what we're planning to eat in the coming week. Why? The reason is pretty simple: although I usually have a general idea of what we're going to eat in the next week or so, life often unfolds a little differently than planned, and I adjust my menu plan on a near-daily basis to accommodate leftovers and other not-possible-to-plan-ahead circumstances. I find this is the easiest way to ensure that I minimize our family's food waste. I'm also willing to admit that I'm a rather spontaneous cook, given to preparing foods that strike me as the most appealing thing to eat right here and now!

If you'd like a whole book full of inexpensive, quick and kid-approved recipes, check out my book, Cheap Appétit : The Complete Guide to Feeding Your Family for Less Than $400 a Month (While Eating Better Than You Ever Thought Possible) on Amazon (Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Amazon UK) and Barnes and Noble.  It's gotten multiple 5 star reviews!! I've included page references to recipes that are in the book in my menu plans so you can locate them quickly. For more details about the book, go here.    

Breakfasts:
Granola (p. 92), Banana Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins (p. 96), French toast, Blueberry Clafouti (p. 223)

Lunches: 
leftovers, sandwiches (including a scrumptious Hummus, Cheese, Avocado and Bacon one!), pizza, omelettes, turkey and pasta salad

Dinners:

Monday: Smothered Meatballs (p. 143), mashed potatoes, peas & carrots

Tuesday: Thai-Style Peanutty Pasta (p. 147)

Wednesday: Potato, Cheddar and Bacon Soup (p. 165), tossed salad

Thursday: Pork chops, Coconut Rice (p.199), roasted sweet potatoes

Friday: Leftover Buffet

Saturday: Spinach, Mozzarella and Bacon Egg Puff (variation of the recipe on p. 181)

Sunday: Roast chicken, Easy Oven Fries (p. 194), Creamy Cucumber Salad (p. 205)

In keeping with my local and organic challenge, I'd also like to note the local and/or organic items on this week's menu:

Organic: coconut (in granola), coconut oil (in granola), coconut milk, raisins, sunflower and pumpkin seeds (in granola), flax seeds, quinoa, oranges, lemons, green onions, coffee (locally roasted and delivered by bike!), cornstarch, cane sugar,  mustard, tamari, cinnamon, oregano, ginger, cumin, black pepper, parsley, paprika, Fairytale tea, peppermint tea, lemon balm, oatstraw

Local: potatoes, carrots, onions, red peppers, cucumbers, salsa (home-canned), ground beef, pork chops and bacon (from VG Meats), honey (unpasteurized), milk, Parmesan cheese 

Local AND organic: peanut butter, sesame seeds (used to top bread loaves), oats, milk (used to make yogurt), eggs (not "certified organic", but real free range and fed organic feed), apple cider vinegar,  popcorn,  whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour

Want to know more about the specific food products I use and where I buy them? Check out my new "What's In My Pantry" board on Pinterest.  I will keep this board updated with current information on what products we use, where we're buying them, and how much we're paying. It's a work-in-progress, and you can find it HERE.

For more great meal ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com. 

DID YOU KNOW? I now have an events page! Come find out where you can catch up with me at a signing, seminar, workshop or food demo HERE.

Love what you read here? Find out how you can help support this blog. 

Want to stay connected in between blog posts?

Click HERE to follow me on Pinterest 

Click HERE to follow me on Twitter

Click HERE to like Abundance on a Dime on Facebook and get updates and tips on living frugally

Click HERE to like Cheap Appétit on Facebook and get updates and tips on frugal eating and cooking

RECIPE: Easy Blueberry Oatmeal Squares

My family loves blueberries. My family loves oats. It seemed like a good idea to combine the two. One Sunday when both my energy levels and my pantry were fairly depleted and I needed to come up with a simple dessert using what we had on hand, I created these delicious squares. It's hard to go wrong when you combine oats, fruit, and lots of butter :)

Fruit and oats are such a happy match, and you could use just about any type of fruit that strikes your fancy instead of the blueberries. Raspberries, peaches, or a strawberry-rhubarb combo would all be delightful I think (and trying out all of these possibilities will give me plenty of excuses to make these squares again!)

Ingredients:

Filling:
2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen (I prefer the wild ones)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch

Oat mixture:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened

Instructions:
To make the filling, combine blueberries, sugar, orange juice and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, sugar, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter until crumbly. Press 1/2 of the mixture into a greased 9" x 9" pan.

Spread filling evenly over oat mixture; sprinkle remaining oat mixture over top and press down lightly.

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Let cool to room temperature before cutting into squares.

Makes 16 squares.

For more simple, tasty and family-friendly recipes like this one, check out my book: Cheap Appétit: The Complete Guide to Feeding Your Family for Less Than $400 a Month (While Eating Better Than You Ever Thought Possible)

DID YOU KNOW? I now have an events page! Come find out where you can catch up with me at a signing, seminar, workshop or food demo HERE.

Love what you read here? Find out how you can help support this blog. 

Want to stay connected in between blog posts?

Click HERE to follow me on Pinterest 

Click HERE to follow me on Twitter

Click HERE to like Abundance on a Dime on Facebook and get updates and tips on living frugally

Click HERE to like Cheap Appétit on Facebook and get updates and tips on frugal eating and cooking

Weekly Menu Retrospective #105

Welcome to my weekly roundup of the past week's eats. I prefer to report what we ate in the last week, rather than what we're planning to eat in the coming week. Why? The reason is pretty simple: although I usually have a general idea of what we're going to eat in the next week or so, life often unfolds a little differently than planned, and I adjust my menu plan on a near-daily basis to accommodate leftovers and other not-possible-to-plan-ahead circumstances. I find this is the easiest way to ensure that I minimize our family's food waste. I'm also willing to admit that I'm a rather spontaneous cook, given to preparing foods that strike me as the most appealing thing to eat right here and now!

If you'd like a whole book full of inexpensive, quick and kid-approved recipes, check out my book, Cheap Appétit : The Complete Guide to Feeding Your Family for Less Than $400 a Month (While Eating Better Than You Ever Thought Possible) on Amazon (Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Amazon UK) and Barnes and Noble.  It's gotten multiple 5 star reviews!! I've included page references to recipes that are in the book in my menu plans so you can locate them quickly. For more details about the book, go here.    

Breakfasts:
Granola (p. 92) , Zucchini Raisin Bran Muffins (subbed zucchini for carrots in the recipe on p. 102), Banana Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins (p. 96)

Lunches: 
leftovers, sandwiches, pizza, quinoa salad 

Dinners:

Monday: Fish au Gratin with Roasted Root Vegetables (p. 190 & 202)

Tuesday: Chicken Paprika (p. 185), mashed potatoes, Honey-Dijon Carrots

Wednesday: Spinach and Sausage Frittata

Thursday: Hummus and Veggie Wraps (p. 122)

Friday: Southwestern Bean & Pasta Soup (p. 166) with biscuits (I used this recipe on p. 213 and omitted the garlic and cheese)

Saturday: Sausage & Lentil Stew (p. 158) with leftover biscuits

Sunday: West African Baked Beans, ribs, tossed salad, Amish Oatmeal Pie (p. 221)

In keeping with my local and organic challenge, I'd also like to note the local and/or organic items on this week's menu:

Organic: coconut (in granola), coconut oil (in granola), raisins, sunflower and pumpkin seeds (in granola), flax seeds, quinoa, oranges, lemons, green onions, coffee (locally roasted and delivered by bike!), cornstarch, cane sugar,  mustard, tamari, cinnamon, oregano, ginger, cumin, black pepper, parsley, paprika, Fairytale tea, peppermint tea

Local: potatoes, carrots, onions, zucchini (from the freezer), red peppers, cucumbers, salsa (home-canned), ground beef, sausage, bacon, chicken and ribs (from VG Meats), honey (unpasteurized), milk, Parmesan cheese 

Local AND organic: peanut butter, sesame seeds (used to top bread loaves), oats, milk (used to make yogurt), eggs (not "certified organic", but real free range and fed organic feed), apple cider vinegar,  popcorn, cornmeal, whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour

Want to know more about the specific food products I use and where I buy them? Check out my new "What's In My Pantry" board on Pinterest.  I will keep this board updated with current information on what products we use, where we're buying them, and how much we're paying. It's a work-in-progress, and you can find it HERE.

For more great meal ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com. 

DID YOU KNOW? I now have an events page! Come find out where you can catch up with me at a signing, seminar, workshop or food demo HERE.

Love what you read here? Find out how you can help support this blog. 

Want to stay connected in between blog posts?

Click HERE to follow me on Pinterest 

Click HERE to follow me on Twitter

Click HERE to like Abundance on a Dime on Facebook and get updates and tips on living frugally

Click HERE to like Cheap Appétit on Facebook and get updates and tips on frugal eating and cooking

Small, Yet Satisfying

Sometimes I get so caught up in figuring out how I'm going to find the money/time/resources to make big projects happen (like our current room reshuffling plan, with which we have made very little progress thus far) that I forget there are a lot of little things I can do to spruce up our home without investing much time or money.

I have a box in the basement that's been gradually filling up with empty glass jars that I want to repurpose - if I could just get the danged labels/glue off of them! I've tried various schemes for getting them cleaned up over the years; some things worked well on a few jars but not on others (probably due to the different types of adhesives used). I think I've finally found the solution that will work on them all: rubbing alcohol. The key is to really saturate the labels with it, and then let them stand for a bit. This seems to work to dissolve the glue and with just a little bit of elbow grease (for particularly stubborn spots a sprinkle of baking soda seems to help) I can get the jars looking sparkly clean without a hint of their former sticky coating.

I was so happy to discover this that I got a few done at once:

Not shown in the photo (because I'd already repurposed it!) is the bottle from my Filsinger's Apple Cider Vinegar - can you guess what I used it for?

Although I'm sure you could repurpose it in a wide variety of ways, I knew exactly what I was going to do with mine: Make it into a hand soap dispenser. The screw top pump from my plastic hand soap container fit this bottle perfectly, so once the bottle was all cleaned up it took about two minutes to effect this little transformation.

The corner of my kitchen sink went from this:

To this:

Like I said, it *is* a small thing, yet also very satisfying. It makes the area by my sink feel just that little bit cleaner, brighter and more stylish. The glass bottle nicely complements the little glass dish holding a bar of my hard lotion. And it didn't cost me a cent! (For the curious, I think the little glass apple dish was meant to be a butter pat holder like these ones that were very popular in Victorian times. I bought two of them ages ago at some yard sale or other and I thought this was the perfect use for them!)

I have resolved to get much better at doing these little projects - after all, knocking off several of them not only leads to a sense of accomplishment, but the net effect contributes to a much more "pulled together" feeling home, without having to dedicate hours of time to any given project.

Have you done any "small yet satisfying" projects around your home lately?

DID YOU KNOW? I now have an events page! Come find out where you can catch up with me at a signing, seminar, workshop or food demo HERE.

Love what you read here? Find out how you can help support this blog. 

Want to stay connected in between blog posts?

Click HERE to follow me on Pinterest 

Click HERE to follow me on Twitter

Click HERE to like Abundance on a Dime on Facebook and get updates and tips on living frugally

Click HERE to like Cheap Appétit on Facebook and get updates and tips on frugal eating and cooking

Weekly Menu Retrospective #104

Welcome to my weekly roundup of the past week's eats. I prefer to report what we ate in the last week, rather than what we're planning to eat in the coming week. Why? The reason is pretty simple: although I usually have a general idea of what we're going to eat in the next week or so, life often unfolds a little differently than planned, and I adjust my menu plan on a near-daily basis to accommodate leftovers and other not-possible-to-plan-ahead circumstances. I find this is the easiest way to ensure that I minimize our family's food waste. I'm also willing to admit that I'm a rather spontaneous cook, given to preparing foods that strike me as the most appealing thing to eat right here and now!

If you'd like a whole book full of inexpensive, quick and kid-approved recipes, check out my book, Cheap Appétit : The Complete Guide to Feeding Your Family for Less Than $400 a Month (While Eating Better Than You Ever Thought Possible) on Amazon (Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Amazon UK) and Barnes and Noble.  It's gotten multiple 5 star reviews!! I've included page references to recipes that are in the book in my menu plans so you can locate them quickly. For more details about the book, go here.    

Breakfasts:
Granola (p. 92) with yogurt, Chocolate Zucchini Muffins (p. 114), Upside-Down Apple Oven Pancake (p. 95), scrambled eggs and toast

Lunches: 
leftovers, sandwiches, pizza, scrambled eggs with toast and avocado

Dinners:

Monday: "Turkey Overs" (leftovers from Easter dinner)

Tuesday: Pad Thai

Wednesday: Western Omelette Wraps (p. 124), Easy Oven Fries (p. 194)

Thursday: Leftover Cabbage and Beef Soup (p. 167) from last week with Cornbread (p. 212)

Friday: Alfredo Pasta with Ham and Peas

Saturday: Sweet and Sour Pork (p. 142) served over brown rice

Sunday: Tex-Mex Shepherd's Pie (p. 173), Raspberry Cheesecake

In keeping with my local and organic challenge, I'd also like to note the local and/or organic items on this week's menu:

Organic: coconut (in granola), coconut oil (in granola), coconut milk, raisins, sunflower and pumpkin seeds (in granola), flax seeds, brown rice, corn, bananas, oranges, lemons, green onions, coffee (locally roasted and delivered by bike!), cornstarch, cane sugar,  mustard, tamari, cinnamon, ginger, cumin, black pepper, parsley, paprika, Fairytale tea, peppermint tea

Local: potatoes, carrots, onions, apples, zucchini (from the freezer), red peppers, cucumbers, salsa (home-canned), ground beef (from VG Meats), honey (unpasteurized), milk, Parmesan cheese 

Local AND organic: peanut butter, sesame seeds (used to top bread loaves), oats, milk (used to make yogurt), eggs (not "certified organic", but real free range and fed organic feed), apple cider vinegar,  popcorn, cornmeal, whole wheat flour

Want to know more about the specific food products I use and where I buy them? Check out my new "What's In My Pantry" board on Pinterest.  I will keep this board updated with current information on what products we use, where we're buying them, and how much we're paying. It's a work-in-progress, and you can find it HERE.

For more great meal ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com. 

DID YOU KNOW? I now have an events page! Come find out where you can catch up with me at a signing, seminar, workshop or food demo HERE.

Love what you read here? Find out how you can help support this blog. 

Want to stay connected in between blog posts?

Click HERE to follow me on Pinterest 

Click HERE to follow me on Twitter

Click HERE to like Abundance on a Dime on Facebook and get updates and tips on living frugally

Click HERE to like Cheap Appétit on Facebook and get updates and tips on frugal eating and cooking