Budget Fare--Thursday Menu

Breakfast: This morning's fare was the wheat cereal with banana. It's certainly quick and easy. It tastes good. I don't add the listed sugar because the cereal already has sugar (6 grams). BUT, I find that I'm hungry by mid-morning. I caved and had two pieces of toast with butter and two chocolate eggs. See what happens when I'm hungry? I had protein and fat with the whole milk, but I think the eggs provide more satisfaction when we have them for breakfast.

I also opted out of the hamburger roll at dinner to makeup for the calories I consumed in my mid-morning hunger situation.

Luncheon: Very simple and very good. I had to buy peaches this week as the store I used had no canned apricots. After being hungry in the morning I was a little concerned about the afternoon. The "Pickup" was just right at the right time.

Dinner: We have church services on Thursday nights. I was busy cleaning, homeschooling, etc. when I realized I hadn't made dinner yet. Because I made up the burger patties last week and froze them, dinner came together VERY fast. I forgot to make the Baked Custard this morning (my son was very sad), so I swapped the custard dessert day with the angel food cake dessert day.

I adjusted the recipe for the Savory Slaw by omitting the vinegar. There's enough vinegar in the Cooked Salad Dressing to provide the tangy taste.

The Stewed Tomatoes were a big surprise. As I was preparing them (very easy to do), I was thinking, "What's the point of taking a tasty tomato and doing this to it?" I also realized I was hacking the poor tomato more than peeling it, so I adjusted my pressure on the second tomato and it came out beautifully. The surprise? THEY WERE REALLY GOOD! What a nice, rich, flavor. I will definitely be adding this to my permanent recipe file.

Stewed Tomatoes (3 servings)

2 medium/large tomatoes
1/2 tsp. salt
Dash of pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon butter
(1/2 tablespoon finely minced onion--OPTIONAL)
(1/2 tablespoon finely minced green bell pepper--OPTIONAL)

(I did not use the onion and green pepper. Since we were on our way to church we wanted to be kind to the people we would be speaking to!)

Peel tomatoes and cut into chunks, placing them in a medium saucepan; cover tightly. Cook tomatoes over low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the salt, pepper, sugar, and butter, along with minced onion and green pepper, if using. Simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently, until juices are slightly reduced.