A couple living on the line

I have no delusions that in retirement, my husband and I are, as the author John Steinbeck said: "Temporarily embarrassed millionaires."  No, we are not.  There is an entire young generation that likes to think 'all retired people have money.'  They are delusional then, not us, but we pay rent, eat and figure out how to juggle funds on a limited income.

Our food budget for the month is around $250 to $300 per month.  We stock up on basics and we make pretty good meals out of what we can afford.  We have a chest freezer which was worth every dime we spent on it, which was only $152.  We stock it for the month and pick from that, the food we use for meals.

I have been sharing recipes on a budget on Blogger for some time now.  Those aren't just 'look, these are tasty meals' they are the meals on a budget we use each week, each month.  If we can do it, so can you.  We make all meals and snacks at home and we go out to eat for something special, hardly ever, so when we do, it's a treat and fun.

Today we are baking chocolate chip cookies which we will snack on for several days.  I will share the pictures and recipe here.  We think these are the best chocolate chip cookies we have ever made.  
 Recipe for chocolate chip cookies:

1/2 cup softened margerine
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/4 cup of all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream butter, shortening, sugars, eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy.  Combine flour, and baking soda, add to creamed mixture until well blended.  Stir in chocolate chips and chopped walnuts if you like. Drop by rounded teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheet.   Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown. 

 Cookie dough

Finished cookies

 

 
 
 

What's for dinner?

Steaks with tomatoes, onions and peppers

Picked up a wonderful old, cookbook at a yard sale not long ago.  I adore old cookbooks because they bring back memories for me, great smells in my Mom's kitchen, making me hungry when I'd come home from a long day of playing or school.

So many dishes that 'just don't taste like Mom's' but now I have grow kids saying the same to me.  That makes me feel good when they call and ask me 'how did you cook that?'

Well this one is one of my Mom's recipes but I plan to do at least one recipe from the yard sale book, per week, maybe more if I can.  I now have more time and I discovered I love cooking from scratch.  Bon Appetit!

Steaks with peppers, onions and tomatoes:

Three to four steaks, either cube steaks or any cut you enjoy

Two medium size cans of tomatoes with garlic and onion, or just plain tomatoes, whichever you like

Course ground pepper to taste

One medium green pepper, chopped

One medium to large onion, chopped

In a skillet cook steaks, peppers and onions until steaks are brown and done

Add the two cans of tomatoes and cover skillet, simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes, adding course ground black pepper to taste

Place on a plate and serve with a baked potato and a fresh green salad.  Delicious.

Cook time about 20 to 30 minutes