In The Refiner's Fire

Green Tomatoes! Happy Monday everyone!   I hope your last week in July is off to a good start. Here's what we're eating this week: Sunday, July 26, 2020     Brunch: Orange-Cranberry Scones, Blueberry-Banana Smoothies     Snack: Popcorn     Dinner: Pizza and Salad (my In-Laws are visiting and bringing dinner!) Monday, July 27, 2020      Breakfast:  Eggs and Toast      Lunch: Salad with Walnuts, Peaches and Cranberries      Snack: Yogurt      Dinner: Shrimp with Veggies and Rice Tuesday, July 28, 2020      Breakfast: Overnight Blueberry Oatmeal      Lunch: Salad with Walnuts, Peaches and Cranberries      Snack: Yogurt      Dinner: Stuffed Zucchini, Fruit Salad Wednesday, July 29, 2020      Breakfast: Oatmeal Muffins, Blueberry-Banana Smoothies      Lunch: Leftover Stuffed Zucchini      Snack: Yogurt      Dinner: Taco Soup, Tortilla Chips Thursday, July 30, 2020      Breakfast: Overnight Blueberry Oatmeal      Lunch: Leftover Taco Soup      Snack: Yogurt      Dinner: Chicken with

Zinnias in my front flower bed this week. This was a relatively quiet week.  My course ended for the summer, the children and John are still working their normal schedules and the garden is starting to produce!  After a gap in blooms, we started having more flowers blooming as well.  The weather was absolutely lovely this week and I was able to get a lot of weeding and other yard work done.  Today, grades have been submitted to the Registrar's office and I get to take a bit of break before starting to get ready for fall semester. Here are some frugal things we have done this week: * We made bagels with cream cheese, blueberry-banana smoothies, banana-mango smoothies, scrambled eggs and toast for breakfasts this week. * We also made baked salmon with potatoes and salad, scalloped potatoes with ham, roasted chicken and vegetables, soft shell beef tacos with sliced apples, and pizza for dinner this past week. * We ate meals at home for lunch as well, including sandwiches, leftovers, a

One of the few zinnias that made it this spring - I'm so grateful! We're starting to get "garden truck", as my Grandmother would say!  We had beans from the garden in the roasted vegetables this last week, blueberries in pancakes, and tomatoes and cucumbers for snacks.  I love the taste of home grown vegetables.   I did go to the store on Friday morning and purchased groceries - mostly dairy, but I also bought bananas, spinach (which has never grown well for me), and sale meat - ground beef (beef mince) and chicken legs. I will be harvesting cucumbers, tomatoes, peas and green beans from the garden this week.  Here's what we are eating this week: Sunday, July 19, 2020:        Brunch: Blueberry Pancakes with Walnuts, Scrambled Eggs        Snack: Cookies        Dinner: Scalloped Potatoes with Ham, Spinach Salad with Strawberries        Dessert: Cream Puffs (leftover from a church event) Monday, July 20, 2020:         Breakfast: Bagels with Cream Cheese         Lunch

Some of my flowers this month - cone flower (echinacea) and lilies. We had what is becoming here a rather routine week - work for all of us part time from home, part time at the office and the rest of the time doing things mostly from home with a trip to the store for groceries and a trip to the fabric store.   Here are some things we did this week that were frugal: * We made all meals at home this week:  Blueberry pancakes with scrambled eggs, Blueberry-Banana Smoothies, Oatmeal with Peaches and Walnuts, Leftovers, Baked Potatoes with Roasted Vegetables, Meatball Soup with Cornbread, Shrimp with Spinach and Mushrooms and Rice, Hard Shell Ground Turkey Tacos, and Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry with Noodles. * The children and I went to the fabric store and used a coupon to purchase on sale fabric for a concert outfit for our daughter and fleece pants for our son.  I also bought notions for my Mother, since she cannot got to the store right now and needed a few things for her projects.

   My first garden harvest this season that had vegetables - cucumber and a few green beans. Yum!  Blueberries in the bowl - the tail end from one set of bushes. We are starting to get some vegetables from the garden! YAY!!  I have harvested four cucumbers so far They are pickling cucumbers, so they are short-ish. Right now they are very round because we have had a lot of rain.  The next few coming in do not look so round.   We had enough green beans to add to stir fry one night for dinner last week and we had picked just enough blueberries last week to make blueberry pancakes.   I will be eating green beans, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes from the garden this week.  I am hoping that we can have enough cucumbers and tomatoes this summer to can pickles and tomato sauce!   Here is what we will be eating this week: Sunday, July 12:        Brunch: Baked Oatmeal with Peaches and Pecans        Snack: Popcorn        Dinner: Shrimp Stir Fry with Spinach, Mushrooms and Onions, Rice Monday, July

Homemade Ice Cream - we still have about a pint in the freezer. I had a couple of days off this week and was so grateful for the break!  Back to work on Monday, but I did get some time to get my vegetables weeded and to get a bit ahead at work so it won't be quite so crazy for the next two weeks. Then I am off until September! Yay!  I am ready for a break. Here are some things that we did this last week: *  We made the following meals at home:  Blueberry pancakes, Beef Roast with Mushroom and Onion Gravy with Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower, Smoothies, Roasted Veggie Couscous with Tortilla Chips, Stir Fry with Rice, and a lot of leftovers.  * John brought home leftovers from a meal packing session at church and we ate those one night. * We harvested cucumbers, green beans and blueberries from the garden this week.  We also picked the first tomato! * I purchased notebooks for school for the children on clearance sale. * We picked up several requested books from the library and drop

Pizza for dinner one night - "Supreme" on the left and pepperoni and ham on the right. When it is hot and humid like it is this week, I am always somewhat stuck for what to make for dinner every night.  I do not like heating up the house with the oven and I do not like just having salad for two meals a day, seven days per week.  It is a struggle in my mind! Using the stove top and the crockpot (slow cooker) help a great deal and we are so blessed to have a variety of options for both food to eat and ways to prepare it.  So many are not so fortunate! Here is what we are eating this week: Sunday, July 5:      Brunch:  Bagels with Cream Cheese, Strawberry-Banana Smoothies      Snack: Popcorn      Dinner: Beef Roast with Onion and Mushroom Gravy, Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower Monday, July 6:      Breakfast: Eggs and Toast      Lunch: Baked Potatoes with Leftover Broccoli and Cauliflower, Butter and Cheese      Snack: Yogurt      Dinner: Mushrooms Stuffed with Tomatoes, Sausage

My "fairy lilies" on my patio right now.  So pretty! It is hot this week - our temperatures are running about 90 F (32 C) this week with about 90% humidity.  I am not big fan of hot and humid (part of the reason I live in Minnesota!) but the vegetables are loving this weather!  The eggplant is growing well and everything else - tomatoes, beans, peas, cucumbers, summer and winter squash - are starting to set fruit.  I am very excited!  We should have cucumbers early this next week already.   I have today off and John and the children had to work today so I had a quiet house all day today.  I am so grateful for that!  The quiet and lack of schedule today is a very welcome change.  I do not have much left for summer session and I am grateful.  I am tired and need a rest or at least a change.  There is so much that we need to do this summer and I need some time to do those things as well. Here are some frugal things we did this past week: *  We made the following meals this week: