The piggy bank, alas, had been raided the prior month. There was, however, a treasure trove in the freezer. Meat for a week, and then . . . mystery meat. What might it be?
We found out. Create recipes and meals from what's on hand. This is when a well-stocked pantry is your best friend. There were turkey cutlets, which we gussied up with capers, white wine and lemon juice. There was chicken which was made into a delicious salad. A couple frozen pizzas, small ones. Dr. Oetker's. Have you tried Dr. Oetker's pizza? Kind of pricey, but we buy it with coupons when it's on sale. Very good and just right for two people for lunch or a light dinner.
The garden gave us fresh herbs, tomatoes and cukes. Lots of salads and the wonderful appetizer, Insalata Caprese, with fresh mozzarella, basil, tomatoes, olive oil and salt and pepper. This can be lunch if you have some bread. Oh yes, the mozzarella was dirt cheap, made fresh in one of our local supermarkets and totally delicious.
Yeast and flour? Bake a loaf or two of bread. So tasty.
We found a can of corned beef hash left from the winter stores. We ate it with some found-at-the-back-of-the-fridge English muffins. Even stale bread tastes o.k. toasted.
Walmart had wonderful big fresh heads of iceberg lettuce for $1.14. They (and Trader Joe's) have cheap bananas, too. Just because every meal is a scrounge doesn't mean you can skip fruit and veggies. Of course you read the weekly fliers for bargains. We even had some blueberries.
We discovered the "mystery meat" was half a small round beef roast and two (count 'em, two) short ribs. They made two wonderful meals when cooked up with onions, some oldish celery, two big freshly purchased carrots, and red wine and garlic. (Home grown). I cooked them for hours. Served with some barley that has been in the cupboard for ages. Cucumber salad, natch!
At the end of the week, the freezer was bare, really bare.
I also made lemon-lime ice milk, because we had bags of lemons and limes. Bought a small container of heavy cream and we had delicious desserts. Again, a well-stocked pantry.
Some money finally arrived, and we went shopping, because by now, there was really no food in the house, the canned soup having been consumed for lunch. I could have eeked another meal with pasta, bacon and tomatoes, but that wasn't necessary. Before winter comes, I'll stock up on some Spam and corned beef and canned soup. You never know when a power failure will hit for a few days. We have a gas stove, and can cook on the stove top, and a Weber kettle for grilling (and baking). Our parents and grandparents knew how to "make do." Do you?
