It's been a week. But I do have a colorful Snoopy.
This has been a long week for a variety of reasons, and not really my best week of cooking.
The combo of just getting back from a trip (with no menu plan in hand) and then getting sick right away has made things a little wonky on the food front!
I did feel improved by the time our cat rescue shift came around late this week, though. Whew.
And my youngest nieces and nephews brought over a very colorful Snoopy for me, which certainly brightened my week.
What I Spent
I spent $82 at the grocery store, which was fine.
And then....
I spent $153 at Costco.
(!!)
But I did buy two containers of unscented laundry detergent, a big container of sulfate-free organic shampoo, and a bunch of other food items that will last for quite some time.
February Spending
Week 1: $99.50
Week 2:(the week I was gone skiing) $160
Week 3: $235
What We Ate
Saturday
Mr. FG and I went out for a date night and the girls ate mac and cheese.
Sunday
This was a very random night...I wasn't hungry because of being sick, Lisey had eaten elsewhere, Zoe ate a grilled cheese, and Mr. FG and Sonia got some sushi.
Monday
This is the day I made a Costco run, and since I was still fighting my cold, I pressed the easy button and got a rotisserie chicken and some sides from Costco.
Cheaper than takeout, and probably more protein too.
Tuesday
This was Zoe's official birthday.
She turned 14, and she had a friend over for pizza, and then we went out to one of those frozen yogurt places where you add your own toppings.
Wednesday
I made chipotle chicken tacos, and we had some fruit with those.
Thursday
I made chocolate chip waffles and bacon. And we had OJ and mandarin oranges.
Not a super healthy night, but at least I did not get takeout!
Friday
Zoe's having a birthday sleepover tonight (since you can't do that on a Tuesday night during the school year.)
We're having pulled chicken sandwiches, jello, chips, and a homemade ice cream cake for dessert.
Ooo, chocolate chip waffles. One of my favorite things in the world is chocolate chip pancakes. I would eat them for dinner a lot if I could justify it. But, not being five years old, I really can't. 🙂
Saturday: Elk chunks, oven fries, frozen green peas, sauteed mushrooms and onions
Sunday: Roasted chicken, baked potatoes, cooked carrots
Monday: Skillet combination of leftover chicken, leftover rice, leftover chicken sauce, and frozen peas
Tuesday: Pizza elk, pasta with marinara, frozen green peas
Wednesday: Our neighbor gave us a box with flour tortillas (I only buy corn tortillas), so I made some very exciting quesadillas for my children with those, cheese, and leftover chicken. The box also had a single serving of a ham/chicken/potato soup, which I ate. Hooray for generous neighbors.
Thursday: Pan-fried elk steaks, leftover pasta with cream cheese, butter and cream for the kids, fried cabbage/carrots/onions, and raw cabbage for the two children who dislike cooked cabbage.
Tonight: I actually know! I am so on top of things today. Bunless cheeseburgers, garlic bread, carrot and celery sticks with ranch dressing.
The elk returns. 🙂
How many pounds left?
Maybe fifty pounds? I haven't actually pulled all the bags out of the bottom of the freezer to count, but I'm guessing somewhere around there. Maybe forty. I'm not too near the end, in any case . . .
I want that cookbook mentioned up thread, too. Elk chunks -- I want those!
I love your new snoopy ❤️
We, too, fought sickness this week. All three kids took a turn (one had 2 turns of being sick) and then I got it at the end. It's good to finally have everyone healthy!!
Monday - Vegetable beef soup and french bread. My oldest was sick this day and I was hopeful that she would be well enough to eat the bread. She enjoyed the leftovers the next day.
Tuesday - My easy button as I recovered from being sick was take and bake pizza and breadsticks from Aldi.
Wednesday - Pork chops with apples and sides of asparagus, and blueberries.
Thursday - Tried a new recipe - Easy Mexican casserole and I wasn't excited about it. Maybe if I had it over rice or something and changed some of the ratios. All in all, too much effort for how it turned out.
Friday - Hubby and I are going to a dinner at church. My mom is coming to watch the kids and offered to pick up a pizza. Yay, Mom!
Saturday - Pizza, salad, fruit
Sunday - Roasted chicken,
Monday - Chicken and rice, glazed carrots, fruit salad
Tuesday - Beef tacos, beans, veggies and mexican dip
Wednesday - Turkey burgers, green beans, ice cream
Thursday - Chili dogs, french fries, fruit
Friday - No idea!!!!!! (Maybe leftovers)
Costco is truly the destroyer of budgets!
Sunday: we had a huge, late lunch after church (homemade smoked pulled pork), so we snacked for dinner.
Monday: skillet fried chicken that we took to a friend’s house for a potluck sort of dinner (she made beef and cabbage stir fry).
Tuesday: utilized our date night budget (a perk from my husband’s work) to go out for Italian.
Wednesday: we had company, so I made stroganoff, garlic bread, salad, and homemade banana cream pie.
Thursday: church planning dinner/meeting at a friends house. She made carbonara and I brought a salad and leftover banana cream pie.
Friday: my siblings-in-law are bringing dinner to us! Breakfast sandwiches are on the menu.
Monday we had homemade turkey noodle soup & homemade bread
Tuesday - takeout Chinese
Wednesday - goulash & garlic bread
Thursday - quesadillas & chips & salsa
no idea about tonight (Friday)
Saturday - scalloped potatoes & ham
Saturday: steaks & twice-baked potatoes from MIL's gift of Omaha Steak box, asparagus from Aldi
Sunday: Made giant pot of lentil soup, served with plain yogurt and whole wheat pita bread
Monday: same soup & fixings, raw veggies
Tuesday: Spinach ravioli with red sauce
Wednesday: hamburgers & salad
Thursday: ate with my Dad at assisted living
Friday: planning teriyaki chicken and pineapple with white rice
Zoe is my birthday twin but I did not turn 14. LOL! 🙂 (not food related)
Haha, Mr. FG is her birthday twin as well. Except he's had a lot more birthdays than her as well. 😉
Costco does that to me, too. And then I spend the usual amounts in all the rest of my grocery shopping - I never see a reduction. I think I must be doing this wrong. I swear I am only buying things I use regularly.
I'm glad you feel better, Kristen, and happy birthday to your February group, from a Leap Year "baby."
When Kristin writes the book "1001 Ways to Prepare Elk," I'm going to buy it, because she has come up with more ways to eat elk than I thought existed.
Since I'm strongly encouraging my husband to eat the free delivered meals he gets, I have more deliberately been cooking things he doesn't necessarily want to eat, so he turns to the delivered meals, a number of which he's actually liked. I recently convinced the service to cut us to 7 meals a week, down from 14. Right now we have approximately 60 meals in the freezer. That's ridiculous. He will just have to eat them more regularly. I've also pointed out to him that he can eat more than one at a meal. The portions can be a bit small.
I'm trying to remember what we had.
Last night is easiest -- it was his birthday yesterday, so I made ribs, vegan cole slaw, and gave him rolls from his delivered meals, while I had cut up, roasted sweet potato instead of bread. Thank heavens for my pressure cooker, because he had two appointments out of town yesterday afternoon, so I got a late start on the ribs.
I had a couple of chicken wings and veggie oven fries one night; he's not a fan of chicken, so he had one of his meals.
We had baked pork chops two nights; the vegetables with them were cauliflower in cheese sauce, green beans, kombucha squash mash and something else.
We had steak and salad one night.
The family is coming to celebrate his birthday tomorrow and we'll have lunch together, so I'll be adding a few things to this shopping list, but overall, I hope to keep it small and the price low. Of course, I always hope that :).
If I actually come up with 1001 ways to cook this animal, I will certainly write a book about it. Mostly I make the same things I would make with beef, just more ghighly seasoned to try to mask the bull elk flavor.
Do you add kombucha to your squash? Like as a sweetener? I have never heard of that.
Oh, good grief, that was supposed to be Kabocha squash. I do make kombucha but haven't put it in my squash. Sorry for the confusion!
I don't think I can leave a Costco or IKEA without spending $100. Part of it is that I have to travel for both so my willpower is lessened.
Saturday: Onion soup, using up more of those croutons that have been taking up space in the freezer. Used up the last of the onions from last summer's garden.
Sunday: Cheeseburger soup that was a good hiding place for a sad carrot and three mushrooms on life support.
Monday: The husband decided that we should mix the leftover onion and cheeseburger soups for dinner. Surprisingly, it was okay.
Tuesday: Grilled cheese sandwiches on homemade rye bread. Oranges.
Wednesday: Tuna sandwiches with sliced tomatoes. Oranges
Thursday: Tacos.
Tonight: Filet of fish!
Mushrooms on life support -- hah!
I just love your Friday filet o fish tradition.
Even being sick you still did well.
<3 Thank you!
Saturday night: Middle Eastern Mezze dinner party: fried eggplant with honey and rosemary; hummus; spicy feta dip; olives, crudité, almonds; dolmades. Main was Moroccan lamb/beef tagine; bulghur and chickpea salad with fresh herbs; sauteéd shrimp with garlic and cilantro; artichokes with preserved lemons and capers, radish and orange salad.
Sunday night: salmon roasted with za'atar; leftover sides
Monday night: grilled skirt steak with chimichurri; grilled broccoli; grilled "baked" potato
Tuesday night: no comment
Wednesday night: leftover pizza and salad
Thursday night: tunafish sandwich on the road
Friday night: tomato soup and grilled cheese
Saturday - don’t remember
Sunday - beef stroganoff
Monday- beef stroganoff
Tuesday- beef stroganoff (good thing it was finished because we were getting tired of it)
Wednesday- stewed tomatoes and toast. Hubs had cereal
Thursday - are at my daughter’s house
Friday - baked potato
I try to split my leftovers and freeze those things that freeze well so we have more variety but some things like beef stroganoff don’t freeze well so we just suck it up and keep eating until it’s gone.
I’m really trying to rein back on my cooking ambitions and stick to basics most of the time so that I don’t buy ingredients and then not use them. Since I’m also trying to eat down the freezer and pantry, I’m trying new recipes that make use of what I have on hand.
I keep meaning to make that ice cream cake of yours...Here's what we ate:
Monday - Grilled Soyaki Chicken, kale with kimchi and shallots
Tuesday - Italian Stuffed Peppers, mashed garlic potatoes
Wednesday - Mexican Tilapia, summer squash
Thursday - Deli Turkey in sweet potato wraps (lettuce, tomato, avocado), Cabo Chips
Friday - (freezer) Black Bean Chili from last week
Saturday - OUT
Sunday - Salmon "Burgers", Brussels sprouts, veggie crisper clean-out
Also, I was telling Hubby that I will scout all of our receipts for BOGO eats out, and already I found one for a Chinese place I like! Coupons = more eat out on the weekend, which is something I look forward to!
I am new-ish to this blog and am finding it so entertaining to read what people eat! The past week has been a blur but I do remember what I had last night (wild rice soup) and what I plan to have tonight (veggie lasagna).
Well, this week was super easy cooking-wise 🙂 Most meals in and party leftovers . . .
Saturday last -- Frozen pizza, dolled up, with salad on side ( i think)
Sunday -- Attended surprised party for friend and her husband OUTDID himself -- salmon, shrimp, chicken, and several Persian stews. Plus appetizers. I made a big salad and left it there -- they sent us home with So. Much. Food - enough for next 3 nights for both of us (and more!)
Monday -- Leftover chicken and salmon, rice and dolmas from party. And fabulous stew
Tuesday -- Leftover chicken, rice, dolmas, stew, steamed broccoli ( I think)
Wednesday -- Yup, Leftover chicken, cranberry sauce, rice, dolma, salad.
Thursday-- Had to toss the last of the chicken for safety reasons so we made frozen pizza, bag o'salad. Had to work late so this was a quickie
Friday -- Date night -- brought in favorite Mexican for $23.00. Drank marked down Blue Moon.
Now I have to cook this week! Hope you are feeling better!
Oh, and I was putting some of the chicken in my salad for lunch at work every day -- it was the never-ending Persian poultry party thanks to our wonderful friends