Grocery Spending/Menu Plan | I shopped a little more this week.
It's Friday! Also known as share-the-grocery-shopping-and-eats-from-Kristen's-house day.
(One can see why we usually just call it Friday.)
The Grocery Shopping
I bought a lot more this week than I did last week.
I spent $5 on a another box of bruised apples at the produce stand. Because I just cannot resist discounted, bruised apples.
I turned 'em into more applesauce.
Then I spent $11.94 on chicken at the organic store, but I have no photo of that.
And here's what I bought during my regular shopping trip. I spent $166.09, and $125.32 of that was at Aldi.
Some extras I bought this week:
- candy to give out to trick-or-treaters next week
- a marked-down container of croissants, which I froze for future use when I make dinner sandwiches.
- two packages of Aidell's sausage. They're a bit expensive, but are good for dinner in a pinch, and of course, they're way cheaper than takeout!
And then yesterday, I had to stop in at Aldi on the way home from an errand because I needed milk. I got milk, a box of cereal and a bunch of bananas and spent $5.
Soo, I'm in at $188.03 for the week.
The Menu
Here's what was on the dinner table this week.
Monday
I made hibachi chicken and shrimp (with zucchini and onions), plus we had rice and apple slices.
(Related: this DIY yum-yum sauce knocks my socks off. I like hibachi without the sauce, but with the sauce, I LOVE it.)
Tuesday
I had some random bits of ground beef in my freezer (I seem to have made several recipes that called for odd amounts of beef, so I had leftovers), so I thawed all those and made spaghetti and meatballs.
We had a salad with that.
Wednesday
I made bacon chicken ranch wraps (with spinach and avocado in them) and cut up a bowl of fresh pineapple.
Thursday
I tried a Peruvian chicken recipe from Cook's Illustrated, made a rice pilaf (from my big Cook's Illustrated cookbook), and then realized I hadn't planned a veggie at all.
Whoops.
So, I peeled some clementines. Which are not a veggie, but hey, that seemed better than no produce at all. 😉
(After looking at the above photo, could we please have a moment of silence to mourn the fact that the sun is down at dinnertime now? I hate that about fall/winter. I want my natural light back!)
Friday
It's pizza night! I haven't decided what type I'm going to make yet.
_____________________
And that wraps it up for this week.
By the way, I'm still doing pretty well on the food waste front, even without the accountability. I bent over backwards to use up some odds and ends this week, and I'm keeping my fridge pretty organized. So, yay me!
I also went to Aldi yesterday. I bought a head of cauliflower for $1.19. I think that's so cheap, and would guess they are probably $2.99 at other grocery stores. I'm making cheesy cauliflower soup for dinner tonight. I also bought a gallon of apple cider there for $2.99, so we can have mugs of warm cider this weekend.
That soup sounds good! Where might I find that recipe? 😉
We had a 'clean out the fridge' week in preparation for leaving town on a trip-
Mon- Leftover pumpkin mushroom lasagna, salad, garlic bread. I made the lasagna some weeks ago and froze the leftovers in one-meal amounts. Reheating in the oven (vs microwave) results in a wonderfully hot and crunchy-on-the-outside lasagna. Better than when freshly made I think.
Tue- Hubby ate pizza provided at a meeting he attended, cheese & crackers for me. (Totally my go-to meal when I'm on my own for dinner.)
Wed- Veggie fajitas, pinto beans, cilantro salad
Thur- Quinoa veggie burgers, mashed sweet potato w/cumin, steamed broccoli & cauliflower (leftovers from a veggie tray someone brought to a gathering we had recently 🙂
Fri- Butternut squash ravioli w/olive oil, parm cheese and roasted pepitas, salad, steamed yellow squash.
Yummy! I like this menu plan/grocery budget feature much more than the food waste posts!! I think I'll be trying some of your recipes!
I haven't bought all that much produce or groceries at all for that matter. Luckily for us we have family who have supplied us with food so we've been living off of leftovers.
I do need to get some more produce, though.
Congrats on your new little one!
When we had meals brought to us after we had babies, we always seemed to end up with a surplus of salad. I think it's because salad is an easy, portable side dish, so everyone brought salad with whatever main dish they brought!
Did the child arrive!?! Congrats!!! I hope all goes well and smoothly for you, and that you - eventually - get some sleep.
I am making pizza tonight as well, using your dough recipe! I am making mac n cheese pizza. 😉
Quick question - in what type of container do you store and freeze your applesauce??
Whatever I can find, basically! My applesauce is in quart jars, gallon bags, plastic containers, and some Pyrex containers.
I was inspired by Kristen's applesauce-making, but I don't have a separate freezer. In fact our freezer is rather small, and full of other seasonal fruits (blueberries, peaches, etc.). The best way for me to store it is to freeze gallon bags flat. I've managed to sneak 9 gallons into our freezer that way - almost enough to get me through the winter! 🙂
Yum -- must look up the sauce. Very sad there is no Aldi's here but -- it is owned by Trader Joes -- does everyone know this?!? It all makes sense . . . We do have TJs so maybe Aldi's will follow. Enjoying this feature a lot and I do think clementines count sat vegefruitables of the produce variety 😉
Yep! The two branches were owned by brothers in the same family.
I hope you get an Aldi soon. But Trader Joe's is pretty darn fabulous too!
Looks delish! 🙂 For the hibachi chicken and shrimp, do you usually use fresh shrimp? I was wondering if the frozen shrimp at Aldi would work for that. Thanks!
I use frozen, uncooked shrimp. The pre-cooked stuff never tastes very good to me!
Thanks for the wrap idea! I have a lot of spinach in the refrigerator and was just wondering how to use it all up before it goes bad. I used to make wraps all the time but got out of the habit.
Hi Kristen, I notice you often serve fruit as your dessert. I've heard some conflicting reports out eating fruit after your meal. I've been told that the fruit will sit on top of your main course in your stomach and because it's not being digested right way it goes...well...bad causing gas bloating and other problems. Just curious if you have also heard this and what your thoughts are on it.
I have no idea! I frequently eat fruit with or after my meals and haven't experienced any issues. Doesn't everything get all mixed together in your stomach anyway?
If you'll forgive me for being a bit blunt (and for answering a question offered to someone else, albeit in a public forum) - there's no science to back up this contention. You might ask whomever suggested it to you, for the studies that are supposed to prove the proposition.
These posts are okay, but I really miss the old posts. I super miss your photography posts (meal plan posts seem to be a bit overdone in the blog world). I feel like we don't see the real you and your family (what I enjoyed about your blog). I know you can't please everyone. Just sad. 🙁
I really appreciate your feedback! Are you saying you miss the Tuesday/Thursday posts? Or the how-to photography posts?
Both! Haha. I really enjoy seeing the pictures you've taken. It gives a glimpse of your life.
Ok, gotcha! I'm still doing a "photo and just a few words" posts on Tuesdays, so there's that. And hopefully the Miscellany and Five Frugal Things posts on Thursdays will give a little peek into my life too!
Do you follow me on Instagram? My whole feed there is kind of like the old Tuesday/Thursday posts!
Thank you for taking the time to answer. I will have to start following you on IG.
Yay! I'm thefrugalgirl over there. I should be pretty easy to find.
Why don't you add your food waste to your Friday post. I know I liked the food waste post and I am all about accountability.
I love the food waste posts too!
Does anyone else miss the stuffed animals peeking from behind the groceries?
Yes. I was just thinking about them. A'course, the Frugal Kids are older now and may not be into that anymore.
I'm pretty sure I could talk Sonia and Zoe into it. 😉
I think you need 10 or 11 days a week to meet all our preferences!. Yes, I, too, love to see the glimpses of family life and enjoy your photography, the how-to posts (man, I have studied the curtain rod series -- really made me think!). But also enjoying the revamped blog. So, thank you for being so responsive to all of us. Hope you are having fun and that the blog reflects all your enthusiasms and needs.
Mondays dinner looks soooo good! I think this week I'll be clearing out my deep freezer out this week to make room for the holidays (need room for turkeys).
Five or so frugal ideas:
1) I am NOT a consumer. I am a customer who expects sales persons to custom their help to my needs. I do not have the disease of consumption.
2 Bought liquid Comet and Sunlight detergent in large sizes at a really excellent price here in Vancouver, BC. I transferred liquid from both to smaller size containers as large sizes become unwieldy to handle (spills, wastage).
3) Had some left over charcoal colored tube like pieces of Styrofoam from unpacking a new, needed, computer monitor. I used the tubing and glued to shore up window fram to keep out drafts. (Worked really well!)
4) Just made a pot of potato/parsley soup. Later, I will add cheese and another vegi or perhaps chick peas to remaining pot. (I am a single 60+ years' of age individual who knows how to make last a pot of soup.
5} I am using left over plastic sleeves that held new sheets and am using to place a book, say, or papers needed for the college class I take here in Vancouver wit h financial grants if needed.
richard_zorniak@shaw.ca