Eats at our house of late (a.k.a. a menu!)
Normally I post a photo of a recent grocery shopping trip, but I haven't taken a photo. However, I can tell you that my weekly spending is still averaging $150 per week this year, and that's even counting the more expensive groceries we bought on our Disney trip.
So, I'm pretty pleased with that for a family of six with a couple of teenagers.
I could spend less if I bought less produce and less local food, but we have room in our budget for $150 a week, so I'm happy to keep on doing what I'm doing.
Anyhoo!
Here's what we've eaten of late (and to make up for the lack of a grocery picture, you get more than seven meals this go-round!)
Grilled Kabobs
I usually use a Cook's Illustrated marinade recipe for the chicken and everything else just gets an oil, salt, and pepper treatment.
I know it's a little unorthodox to thread only like items on the skewers, but I find it's easier to evenly cook the kabobs this way.
Once I'm done cooking, I just take everything off the skewers and put it into the pan you see there.
I'm sure we had fruit or a salad with this, but memory fails me at this point.
Asparagus Tortellini Salad
I had some local asparagus in my produce box, so I found a recipe in this America's Test Kitchen cookbook.
Sauteed Tilapia, Buttermilk Biscuits, and Strawberry Salad
The biscuit recipe is from Cook's Illustrated's baking book (I wrote a little about that book in this post), the tilapia is just sauteed in butter with seafood seasoning, and the salad is a riff on my strawberry pear salad recipe.
I used grapes instead of pears, used raw almonds instead of sugared, and combined Romaine with Swiss chard for the greens.
Snacky Stuff
A lot of times on Sunday evenings, we just have a meal of snacky foods. I know we had popcorn too this night (I pop it on the stove in coconut oil), but it didn't make it into the photo, I guess.
Swedish Meatballs, watermelon, and cucumbers
I use a Cook's Illustrated recipe (are you seeing a pattern here??) for the meatballs and sauce (from this cookbook).
And I'm not sure why, but that cucumber was the whitest cucumber I've ever seen.
Sloppy Joes and salad
I made my homemade fluffy hamburger buns (so delicious!) and the salad is again a riff on the strawberry pear salad idea.
Clam Chowder
We don't tend to have a lot of soup in June, but we had to! Because new pot:
It was so nice to make this in an unwarped pot. Nothing burnt on the bottom!
I can't remember what veggie we had with the soup....
Fajita Salad
I saw this in Aldi's summer catalog and knew I wanted to try it, because I like pretty much anything fajita.
The salad itself was really good, but the tortilla cups were a little tricky to make and they didn't hold much. So next time I'd just serve this over some tortilla chips instead.
Grilled Pizza
I haven't made grilled pizza in a long while, and I was happy I made 1.5 times the recipe because we at all six pizzas with no problem.
(They're small pizzas, but still, we used to eat only four!)
So, there you go...that's what's been on the table at our house!
You say you like anything fajita, so I thought I'd share one of my new favorite recipe discoveries. Crock pot pork fajitas. so easy! I don't measure usually, so my estimates are rough.
1 pork loin- whatever size you need to feed your family- we've been doing the smaller tenderloins and still have enough leftovers for a second meal (it freezes well)
Fajita seasoning and cumin. I sprinkle on enough to cover the meat in the crock pot.
1 cup salsa- I eyeball this and just cover the meat with a thin layer. Cook on low for 6-8 hours- until you can easily pull it apart.
Using two forks, break it apart- we used to shred it, but now we just do it in chunks and break it apart more when we dish it up.
After breaking it up, put it back in and cover with (original recipe said frozen) pepper and onion strips. We've tried fresh and grilled, all variations work. You can leave out the peppers, onions or both and it's still good.
Put on tortillas and top with whatever you like on tacos.
I'd love to hear how you do your grilled pizza. Do you use the same dough as when you make pizza in the oven?
Oh, just click on the "grilled pizza" text and it'll take you right to the recipe.
Why coconut oil for popping popcorn? I've been intrigued by coconut oil but haven't taken the plunge in cooking with it mostly due to its' higher price.
I also use coconut oil for popcorn (and pretty much everything else... fried rice, granola, etc.). It has a slightly sweet, nutty flavor that is just soooo delicious. It is also an unrefined oil like olive oil, as opposed to refined oils like canola--some people think that unrefined oils are better for you.
I buy mine at Costco. It's still more expensive there, but less so. I got a 78-ounce jar for about $22.
I have frequently found coconut oil at Marshalls/TJ Maxx/Homegoods for a few dollars a jar. Might not work if you use it in everything but it's perfect for the little bit that I use it. Might be worth a try!
Also! Aldi has it for a special buy right now for only $5. Mine has been sold out, which is making me feel hopeful that it's popular enough to become a regular item. I'd love that!
I don't get the coconut fad (much like the quinoa and kale fads which precede it) as coconut is probably one of the nastiest flavors to my palate.
Personally I like a good refined neutral oil like Canola. Then you add butter.
Oh, you can get coconut oil that doesn't taste coconut-y. I use that for dishes that need a more neutral flavor.
LOVE THIS!!! I miss your menu posts more than anything else. Believe it or not, it helps me to remember to do one plus it gives me ideas. Sometimes you get in a rut and this helps so much!
Quick question -- Do you use a gas grill or charcoal?
We have the same old charcoal grill that we've had since our oldest was born (26 yrs ago). It works, so we're reluctant to buy something new. But getting a charcoal grill going takes so much time, even with a coal "chimney" device.
I have gas! So easy to use. Mr. FG and I saved up for a Weber many years ago, and it's served us really well. We have a three-burner grill, without any fancy bells and whistles, but it does the job.
Your fajita picture is just the kebabs again....
Actually no, if you look closely you'll see different cut peppers. 🙂
Also, I grilled the kabobs on skewers, but for the salad, I didn't bother with skewers.
It is similar, but slightly different! 😉 The fajita salad photo has no kielbasa, and the grilled parts were made into a salad rather than eaten on their own.
You can tell I really like grilled veggies and meat, though, right?
The issue is that the fajita pix is the the first pix, repeated. It's not immediately obvious that the pix of the meal comes below the title, not above.
Your comment about how you 'could' spend less stuck with me. I'm in the phase right now where I'm trying to allocate more towards my groceries for those same reasons. For a while it's been 'I can't afford it', but really, I just chose not to prioritize it. I think that's true for a lot of people that, when we say 'oh I can't afford that', it's really 'I choose not to prioritize that in my life right now' (not all, some people are just trying to survive, I get it). I know it's true for charitable causes too - I get asked for money all the time. And the fact is, I cannot prioritize every charitable cause and carve out space in my budget, I've had to prioritize. Technically I could afford to give them $20, but I'm choosing not to right now. Anywho, my ponderings for the day :).
So true. At other times, I haven't really had a choice about my grocery budget...it was the size we could manage and that's it. But since we have a little more wiggle room these days than when Mr. FG worked at a warehouse, the food budget has grown because of mindful spending.
Michael Pollan says that if we can afford to spend more money for quality, local food, we probably should. So, I try to keep that in mind as I fork over the cash for locally produced groceries. Not everyone has that choice, and but I do right now, and I feel some moral conviction about doing my part to support local food.
I sometimes have that problem as well. Since every item purchased is a separate decision and it's hard to change decisional habits[1], I have to consciously decide to spend more. I'll stand in produce section, reminding myself that really, it's worth buying cut-up mango (because I find it such a pain to cut) or half a watermelon (because a whole one is too big).
[1] This is true for whatever the habit, good or bad, frugal or spendthrift. Frex, I had such a strong habit of taking the subway from the airport to home that I did so when I had pneumonia. Stupid choice but habit is strong.
I can't imagine cooking for a family of six! Some days it's hard enough to think of what to cook for just my husband and I, so it's nice to see what other people do on a budget. I've found that eating healthfully (we're vegetarian), simply, and homemade not only is yummy and good for you, but it's also GREAT for our food budget.
Well, the good thing is that it's not like six people pop up overnight, so you get gradually used to cooking for a tableful! At first it's just two parents and a baby, and then you add in some toddlers and grade schoolers and eventually you've got teenagers to feed.
Looks delish! will have to try Swedish meatballs one of these days and still want to try my hand at bread and pizza dough!
Money spent on good quality food is never wasted--it's an investment in your family's present and future health and the health of our planet. Yes, you can buy less expensive food that is mass produced but it's nutrient poor and may be toxic to us and our environment. Kristin, you are doing a great job feeding your family real, whole food. It's wonderful to have that choice, and you are making the very best of it.
As for coconut oil, take a look at the newest issue of Time Magazine. They are finally recognizing that natural saturated fats, including coconut oil, are the healthiest fats after all. Canola oil may be inexpensive, but it's highly processed and highly inflammatory. It may be "frugal" for your pocketbook, but not so much for your body. Healthy fats are natural fats, and coconut oil is a natural fat. If you don't like coconut oil, try real butter (preferably from grass fed cows), olive oil and animal fats (yes, really--lard, tallow, schmaltz). They taste GREAT and, it turns out, are healthy fats.
Interesting about canola oil - I knew it wasn't the BEST for you, but I thought it was the lesser of the evils at least?
Hi Kristen - just wondering, does the $150/week factor in the local beef you purchase? I was thinking of the ground beef (I'm assuming!) you used for the Swedish Meatballs and Sloppy Joe's. I'm guessing since you know the price per pound that you paid for the beef and the number of pounds used for a meal, the total cost of the beef for a week would be easy to calculate. However, since I've not done this in a bazillion years, I'm speaking from a very hazy recollection. Thanks!
No, I bought it last summer (or maybe even before that? I'm not sure!), so it's not in this year's grocery totals.
I know how much I paid for the hung weight but not how much I paid per pound of butchered meat, so the math would be a little tricky. So, I would imagine that my grocery budget is a little artificially low due to a beef meal or two per week, but I'm not sure exactly HOW low!
Take-home weight is about 1/3 less than hung weight. So you'll get approx 400 lbs of meat from 600 lbs hung weight. (Which, if you're interested, implies 1000 lbs live.)
The happy meat I get is fattier than store-bought (store-bought is usually trimmed to an inch of its life), so for pricing purposes I assume take-home weight is 1/2 of hung weight.
Keep in mind, though, that take-home weight doesn't include many bones while hung-weight does. So if you get the weirder stuff (bones, heart, skin,...) you'll get a better bargain. Works better for pork than beef, because smoked pork bits, such as trotters and ears, make wonderful additions to beans. Smoked beef bits aren't as tasty.
In response to Janknitz, I agree with you about preference for natural fats. We process our own lard using product from a hog farm we support. Will pick up coconut oil the next time I'm @ Aldis; I've seen it there. Thanks Kristen for this post!
Really?? Coconut oil at Aldi? I haven't seen that in my area yet - where do you live?
Hello. Could you please share the recipe you used for the chicken and shrimp with the veggies? Thank you! 🙂
This menu plan is so inspiring! I am in such a planning phase: homeschool, blogging, and now menu planning. Thanks for taking the time to share. Have a great weekend!
I love when you do this--show us pictures of meals you have made for your family. It is inspiring, pretty and I love the recipe links. It is better than a picture of groceries--not that I don't like that. I just see uncooked groceries and ask myself, "now, what is for dinner?" and draw a blank. 😊
It all looks delicious. I especially like the kabobs and strawberry salad. Thanks for sharing. Best wishes. AFFJ
Hi! I couldn't help but notice your napkin holder/salt&pepper set in the snacky Sunday photo. I've been looking for a set like that. It looks like the napkin part is tall enough to actually hold the napkins up without them drooping and that it holds a fair amount of them. Do you happen to know where you got it?
Thanks!
Oh, goodness...that's a super old one that I think I got from Bed, Bath, and Beyond? It was a light oak color and I painted it black a few years ago.
I do my kebabs the same way, fajitas sound good tonight.
Hi Kristen,
Do you make the portions of the meals you photograph smaller than you serve to your family? I have teenage boys, and sometimes I think they would eat your entire meal themselves!
I love your blog, thanks so much.
It depends on the person we're talking about! Joshua, who is almost 15, eats a lot more than Sonia or Zoe do.
I usually serve up our food family style, so I don't make plates for everyone...people can eat the amount they want to eat and have seconds if they want.
That said, we are not a family of big eaters. None of us would ever be considered for a football team, that much is for sure.