What I Spent, What We Ate | No Aldi for me
What I Spent
I did not bother going to Aldi this week. Going there would have saved me money, yes.
But the Aldi stores have a pretty small footprint, which makes it hard to stay away from people.
And you have to stand in line to get in, since they are (wisely) restricting the number of people who can be in the store at once.
So, I pressed the easy button and went to a larger, less popular grocery store. I'm sure I spent more money than I would have at Aldi, but the reduction in stress was worth it.
I dropped $277 at the grocery store, and I also got a $25 Hungry Harvest box.
My 50 pound bag of flour arrived too, so that was another $36.
So, I'm at $338, which is $38 over my normal two-week budgeted amount.
How's my spending overall?
I think it's going to be interesting to see what happens as I keep up this every-two-week shopping.
In April, it worked out pretty well; my total spending was $599, which is right on budget.
What We Ate
Saturday
Lisey spent all afternoon helping Mr. FG with some outside work, so instead of doing our usual takeout date night, we asked her where she'd like to get takeout from.
She chose a taco place, which would come as no surprise if you knew Lisey. She could eat tacos every day.
(And honestly, so could I. She comes by this honestly!)
Sunday
Since I finally had some mozzarella, I made two pizzas, using this recipe.
Monday
Monday was my birthday, and in honor of that, we got takeout from a local BBQ place.
Tuesday
I made shrimp and grits, and we had fresh veggies and fruit on the side.
(I use this recipe, but I recommend using way less than 2 tablespoons of salt in the grits. Between the cheese, bacon, and broth, there ends up being too much salt if you use 2 tablespoons.)
Wednesday
I made these Korean beef lettuce wraps. It's been a while since those were on the menu, and I'd forgotten how tasty they were.
We also had potstickers (frozen, from Costco) and some steamed broccoli.
Thursday
I made chicken and biscuits, which we ate with more broccoli (Hungry Harvest sent me two pretty big heads of broccoli this week).
Friday
I think I will probably make pizza again, if no one has any objections to pizza twice in less than 7 days' time. 🙂
I am finding the days run into each other. On my usual shopping day this week I did go to Aldi and bought a laundry basket full of vegetables. Once I cleaned it all up there wasn't a lot in there but it feels good to have fresh stuff to eat. Our meals have been very simple. We had knackwurst, baked beans and egg for mum. I grated up old vegetables and made fritters to have with other veg and bacon. A chicken was roasted on the weekend. The vegetables and chicken served us several meals. I was going to make soup but that hasn't happened. One night was an omelette for mum and a ham and salad sandwich for me.
I’m also finding the days kind of blurring even though I go out to work. I’m not sure why that is, but I seem to be looking at my phone a lot more to figure out date and time.
Happy birthday, Kristen!
My son is now on a diet so he bought his own groceries. We spent $66 at the local grocery which included a large amount of chicken thighs and I’ll be doing a Walmart pickup on my way home from work tonight (about $140) that includes laundry and cat supplies and soy milk for my son. So a little over $200 for the week. Finally got some paper towels, but we are still trying to cut back on using them. Still tight on TP around here. No hand sanitizer or wipes in the stores. Also no brown rice. Good fish is always hard to find at the store here in the Midwest (I’m originally from the PNW where seafood is fresh and abundant) and now there is no fresh fish at the grocery store. Trying to decide if investing in another freezer and getting a hog might be worth it before all the freezers are sold out.
What we ate:
Saturday- we did in car dining at the A&W
Sunday & Monday- meatloaf and baked potatoes
Tuesday - popcorn shrimp, salad and garlic toast
Wednesday- pork ragu from the freezer
Thursday- tuna melts
Tonight will probably be potato soup
I agree, the days are just running together. finishing up my 6th week working from home today! This weekend is my 2-week shopping day. For the most part we have been able to find everything we need. Helped that my freezer was in pretty good shape from the start. As for TP-paper towels, I think we were just I the right place at the right time. Maybe try something other then the grocery store. (we found in target, might not be the brand I usually use, but at least I was able to get some.)
Saturday- Did take out from 5 Guys-burgers-fries
Sunday, Pasta w/sauce-salad
Monday- wasn't sure what to do, so we did McDonalds. (dh was suppose to have something to do, but didn't work out. )
Tuesday- Chicken Cutlet, potatoes/carrots foil pack on the grill
Wed- Naan Pizza and DD and I made homemade Churros (turned out pretty good)
Thursday- Hot dogs on the grill (between rain drops) tater tots, and I also had Brussels sprouts
Friday- not sure yet, but it might be breakfast for dinner.
Saturday: Tuna melts, veggies and fruits
Sunday: French bread pizza and salad
Monday: Meatball pasta bake and salad
Tuesday: Fish tacos :), rice and beans
Wednesday: Dorito chicken, rice and veggies
Thursday: Paella
Friday: Breakfast Skillet (eggs, sweet potatoes, kale, salsa), unless my family request some other type of breakfest skillet combo.
How do you store your flour?
I store mine in 5 gallon food grade plastic buckets with a gamma seal twist lid. You can also store it in the freezer in its original packaging or wrapped in plastic. The plastic buckets are getting expensive and you need to be sure they are food grade plastic. I use the gamma seal twist lids which are also kind of expensive but I prefer that to broken fingernails from prying on a regular lid. I go through a lot of flour so I’m not concerned with it going bad or getting buggy as much as I am about keeping it contained and tidy.
I froze it for four days, and then I put most of it into a five gallon bucket I had here (it used to have wheat berries in it). The little that wouldn't fit in there is in smaller containers, and I'll use that first.
In our area we have the opposite situation with grocery stores. Our Aldi is significantly less crowded than the bigger stores. I have sworn off the big box store I usually shop at until this is over because it was crazy busy. If I need name brand items that I can't get at Aldi I've been going to Target. Its more expensive but our Target is pretty dead all the time (plus its so close to my house I could walk there). I feel like the days are flying by which seems weird to me.
Sunday - Open faced chicken cordon bleu, potato wedges, green beans
Monday - Grilled burgers/hot dogs and frozen fries
Tuesday - Tortellini soup and zucchini bread
Wednesday- Some of us had take out and some had left overs
Thursday - My husband smoked a meatloaf (yum!!) and I made mashed potatoes and we had applesauce I had canned in the fall
Friday - Homemade pizza
Happy Belated Birthday Kristen.
I have only done Sam's Club Concierge Service for groceries the past six weeks. I spend about $100/week for the two of us. Sometimes that includes items for others that I drop off on their porch on my way home. I have been happy with what I have been able to buy but miss going to Aldi and other stores.
Monday: cheddar brats and sautéed greens
Tuesday: tuna sandwiches chips fruit
Wednesday: baked pasta garlic bread sticks from leftover hotdog buns leftover greens
Thursday: burgers on the grill strawberries and potato puffs
Today: big salad with bacon and cheese
Sunday - pork tenderloin and roasted potatoes
Monday - taco bowls/soft tacos
Tuesday - pancakes, sausage, and smoothies
Wed/Thursday - apple & bacon mac and cheese
Friday - homemade pizza
I found both regular and gluten free pancake mix in a cupboard so made those on an evening when I didn't really have a plan. Tonight's pizza dough is the extra from the last two weeks' pizza nights, as my recipe makes enough for 3 pizzas but I only make 2 each time. I pulled the two containers out of the freezer last night and am incredibly happy to have one less thing to do today.
I found flour this week! Yes I did the dance of joy.
Monday we had baked tilapia along with sweet potatoes and roast carrots. I could eat roast carrots for dinner every night.
Tuesday I made pork chops with apples and onions which we ate with spinach and roast potatoes.
I doubled the pork chop recipe so we finished those with fries and a chopped salad on Wednesday.
Thursday was our usual pizza night--chicken, spinach and mozzarella with extra spinach on the side.
Tonight it's stir-fried beef and green beans to use up the last of a bag of frozen green beans that have been in the freezer for a while. We'll have mashed potatoes or noodles.
Saturday: Ground beef tacos with homemade corn tortillas. I also made a hot sauce for my husband and eldest son from some dried red chilis. They were very happy to have some heat in their food for one. (I am a wimp when it comes to spicy food. A great liability in New Mexico.)
Sunday: Carnitas-style pork, personalized garlic breads--my kids love dumping the spice cabinet into their own pieces of dough--frozen squash from last year's garden, frozen green beans, graham cracker cookies (these are supposed to be homemade graham crackers, but I never roll them that thin and I cut them smaller, so I call them cookies)
Monday: Split-pea curry, leftover pork, leftover rice, frozen green beans, arugula salad. The arugula is done for the season. Sad.
Tuesday: Leftover curry, boiled potato chunks, fried eggs, frozen green beans
Wednesday: Pizzas, cucumber slices with vinegar and salt. The big excitement this week is that my husband went to the grocery store for the first time in seven weeks. Which is why I had onions again, and bell pepper for my pizza, and cucumbers. And my children were deliriously happy to have fresh fruit again. 🙂
Thursday: Elk bites, leftover potatoes, green salad with ranch dressing. Despite its conspicuous absence in my menus in the past few weeks, the elk is not gone, only biding its time in the freezer. I decided enough time had elapsed that my children wouldn't be too displeased to have it again. So I made elk bites, which they are allowed to eat with ketchup, and they all had two servings.
Elk absence makes the palate grow fonder. Or something.
Tonight: There's a lot more elk in the bag in the refrigerator, though I haven't yet had any great ideas as to how to prepare it. It's supposed to be over 90 degrees again, so that will limit my will to cook much. I might just repeat the elk bites.
I love heat in my food, but the rest of my crew does not. So I often rely on a hot sauce of some type to give my serving an extra kick while not simultaneously melting everyone else's tongues.
What are elk bites? Do you make them like chicken nuggets?
They might be like chicken nuggets, if I bothered to bread them and actually fry them. 🙂 What I actually do is just cut thin, small pieces of lean elk meat, then season them heavily--usually with salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder, which is such a constant in my cooking I might as well label it Kristin's Signature Spice Blend--and then sear them on a very hot griddle pan with bacon fat if I have it, lamb tallow if I don't. They are surprisingly good, and very easy. You could do it with lean steak, too. If you cut them thin and just sear them until the blood rises to the surface on each side (yuck, but a useful way to tell the meat is ready to turn), they'll be pretty tender for lean meat.
This week we had-
Turkey pot pie ( the last bag of frozen pie filling)and i finally nailed making flakey pie crust) with broccoli
Asain beef bowls with corn
spilt pea soup ( leftovers from easter that were frozen), beer bread and the boy ate chicken and pepper wraps ( leftover and frozen)
Home made donairs ( i used ground beef, pork, chicken and turkey to make the meat mixture, there is enough to do at least 6 meals with 3 people at each meal), and my homemade sauce, with veggies
Baked fish ( which was gifted to us) and homemade fries and coleslaw.
We are also going to have pineapple stirfry with rice and turkey burgers with grilled pineapple ( on home made buns) and salad.
We've spent over 800.00 Canadian on groceries for teh month of April and I still have a very full pantry. The first week of May I'm aiming to spend 50.00 on bare bone essentials, so we can do a Costco run and stock up after the freezer is emptied out!
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I really want to go to Costco, but I haven't made it there yet. Maybe next time I go shopping in two weeks, I will do a Costco run.
Happy Birthday! Week two of no grocery shopping has gone very well here. I used to really enjoy shopping and now it stresses me out, too. Not because I am worried about catching something - more because it feels complicated and stressful...this week we ate:
Monday - Slow Cooker Lentil Soup, cresent rolls
Tuesday - Casserole in a Jiffy, chard
Wednesday - Jamaican Rice and Beans, cabbage and carrots
Thursday - Slow Cooker Queso Chicken Tacos, some leftover pico from last night
Tonight - Baked Beans and Hamburger, zucchini
Saturday - Take-out night,
Sunday - Freezer meal - I've got a Doritos Cheesy Chicken Casserole in the freezer and we will have a fresh veggie with it
***If I play my dinner cards right, I can stretch this no-shopping thing out another 10 days or so***
YES. I completely agree. The one-way aisles make it so time consuming to loop back to get something you forgot, and trying to stay six feet away from other people means that it takes forever to get through an aisle in the first place.
Plus, wearing a mask is no fun, and the stress of trying really hard to not forget anything is unpleasant.
Overall, it is just not like regular grocery shopping. And I think you can be grateful for the ability to shop while also feeling very sure that it is completely un-fun right now!
I have the hardest time remembering what I make.. No idea why.. it is not like I have THAT much going on...
Sunday we ordered from a local Mexican restaurant.
Monday was beautiful weather in the forecast so I marinated chicken in Italian dressing and we grilled that and I served it with twice baked potatoes and steamed fresh broccoli
Tuesday- used chicken patties from the freezer to make open faced parm sammies on thick sliced garlic bread.. Served with leftover broccoli and green salad
Wednesday- kids request! Made a pan of cheesesteak sliders- served with fresh cauliflower and a bag of tater tots
Thursday- i pulled a package of ground beef out and that was as much effort as I wanted to put into it.. I had a box of *Hamburger Helper* Aldi-style and made that with a side of frozen corn and peas.. SUPER BLAND.. rustled through the spic shelf and amped up the spices and then dumped the last of a bag of three blend cheddar into it.. Then shredded some more mild cheddar into it to thicken.. husband and kids devoured it..
Friday- I pulled more chicken out and am going to slice that down and cook it all just seasoned.. Half will be simmered in a jar of Tika Masala sauce and the rest left plain for the kids to season as they want. Will make a big pot of rice and serve with a veg and mini Naan breads. Super simple.
It's amazingly hard to remember! Working backwards often helps me.
That is usually what I try to do.. Lately I have been making foods my oldest doesn't enjoy on the days he works through our dinner hour.. So he happily remembers what we ate all week! lol
A belated Many Happy Returns of the Day!
I did a little grocery shopping myself but not a ton. Mostly just milk, eggs, cottage cheese: ya know, the staples.
Saturday: Cooked hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill.
Sunday: My wife and I both had a hankering for fried chicken but not the actual process of making it. So bought some already prepared at a local grocery store. It wasn't great, I'm afraid.
Monday: Ate leftover fried chicken so it didn't go to waste.
Tuesday: Made pancakes, sausage etc.
Wednesday: Salads with baked sweet potatoes.
Thursday: Due to an incident where our utility pole had to be replaced and we knew we were going to lose power soon we quickly cooked a frozen pizza from Aldi. This is why we have them in the freezer.
Friday: I have no idea. We were talking about getting take out but we'll see what this afternoon brings us.
I tend to do big batches of favorites that will make leftovers interspersed with a fun single meal. So we had a big pot of chili with cheddar-herb corn muffins for a few days, followed by homemade biscuits with sausage and cheese made by our friend who is staying with us. Then I rescued a slightly freezer-burned package of two lamb shoulder chops from last fall (discovered while inventorying the freezer) by cutting the meat off the bone, dicing it up small and making a pot of lamb-lentil-barley stew that turned two very skimpy lamb chops into five hearty bowls of stew.
Around the edges, we always have choices of fresh fruits, carrots, pickles, olives, and other tasty but cheap things the family enjoys.
Happy Birthday! Hope you had a nice day, even if it was different!
Sunday is always leftovers and fend-for-yourself day; most of us had leftover Indian food and/or popcorn
Monday was also my birthday and my husband made baked bbq chicken, waffle fries, green beans, and we had cake for dessert, of course (Cake is my love language)
Tuesday we used leftover saffron rice from our Indian take away as the base for veggie Indian pouch meals, side of naan and parantha bread, and some Indian spiced carrots
Wednesday we had falafel, hummus, and tzatziki pita pockets with lettuce and tomato, and mediterranean cous cous on the side
Thursday we had spaghetti with meat sauce, garlic bread, and salad (I also almost dropped, or did drop everything I cooked that night)
Friday we will have Italian chicken sandwiches, pasta salad, and chips
Saturday my husband will make a big breakfast and it's our daughter's turn to choose our take out meal for the week, so probably pizza
I also visited a few stores this week - finally went to Trader Joe's, picked up a curbside delivery order from another grocery store, and visited a store on another day. It was an expensive week but we should be set except for milk and maybe eggs for a few weeks at the least.
Happy Belated Birthday!
I have cut back on going to the grocery store but, my local store is limiting our meat purchases (chicken & beef) to only two and that makes it a little difficult to only go once a week. I'm actually on the hunt for some heavy whipping cream to make your chicken & biscuits. Chicken casserole use to be a favorite at my house but, my daughter has decided she doesn't like the taste of the cream of chicken soup any longer & I'm hoping this will be a good alternative.
Can you just thicken regular milk with a little flour instead? I have a chicken pot pie recipe that calls for this instead of cream/cream of chicken soup. It works great for me.
I think whole milk and butter can be substituted for cream. We also used evaporated milk and fresh herbs to make alfredo before.
What does STHE stand for? Or did I read it wrong?
What did I eat this week? Well I’m on my own so a little food goes a long way. I made a stew last week. It was enough for 6 servings. I used up a bunch of stuff from my fridge and freezer. I had two on two successive days and froze the other 4 servings. Two other days I had chicken pieces with veg - carrots (they keep so well) Brussels sprouts and squash. I also have potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions and broccoli all fresh - well they keep well anyway. I have a salad most days too, which consists of spinach and tomato. Another day I had something out of a can, plus the salad. And a neighbor brought me a meal from Listas - on Mountain Road - one day. And so it goes.
Today I am going to be SO busy. I have three calendars in the house and I have to change them ALL from April to May. I got up early to get a head start. I hope I am going to be finished by bedtime!!
Thanks for the laugh!
Happy Birthday!
I'm skipping Aldi and Trader Joe's because it's just too close for comfort in those stores. I'm shopping at a pricier chain, Harris Teeter, but it's quiet, somewhat well stocked, and huge inside. I'm spending pretty much nothing on gas this month, not paying to get my hair done, cutting my husband's hair, and have no desire to eat out. So overall we are saving money. We ate leftovers this past week and cleaned out the fridge. I made blueberry muffins and egg omelet muffins to keep in the freezer for breakfasts. I'm using your pizza recipe this weekend - my favorite! I bought yeast off of Etsy. I'm also making kale and chickpea shakshuka (Budget bytes recipe). I'm picking up paint using curbside pickup to continue to do home fix up projects.
Happy Birthday!
This week marks the most that we have ever paid for groceries, but I'm hoping that it will last so long that the average will be palatable.
Grocery store: $240 (for only 2 of us!)
Produce box: $30
Fresh fish delivery $38
Meat for the freezer from local abattoir: $170
Tonight: al pastor tacos (rejiggered from pork carnitas that are in the freezer), black beans, cabbage salad
Thursday: herb-butter basted hake, sautéed summer squash, roasted carrots with preserved lemon dressing (fish and carrot recipe from The Food Network)
Wednesday: Schwarma tofu on a big salad with zhoug
Tuesday: roasted marinaded salmon with red pepper, blood orange & ginger relish (epicurious.com), leftover farro, sautéed broccoli
Monday: we went pan-Asian! Laotian larb (thewoksoflife.com), Korean scallion pancakes, Ippudo cucumber salad (pantryno7.com) -- this meal was unbelievably tasty AND easy.
Sunday: homemade butternut squash and ricotta ravioli (meh) with brown butter and sage, kale salad with grapes and pinenuts
Saturday: grilled tri-tip with Santa Maria rub and feta tarragon sauce (filson.com), roasted potato peels (leftover from another potato recipe), salad, grilled sourdough bread (gifted that day from a friend)
Happy Cooking, all!
Saturday-Grilled chicken, broccoli, salad
Sunday-Cuban sandwiches, pretzels, pickles
Monday-leftovers
Tuesday-leftovers
Wednesday- Corned beef with baked potatoes and carrots.
Thursday- Smoked sausage cauliflower soup with homemade bread (soup was a keto recipe which I ruined by serving with bread, but it was yummy!)
Friday- Carry out with a gift card.
This week I spent about $300 at food stores (supermarket, farmer's market), which includes $25 in sushi. My supermarket has limited meat purchases to 1 per type, which makes me glad that I stocked up on meat last week - got in just in time! It's so weird not to buying by sale and with coupons.
Sunday: taco night.
Monday: take-out Japanese, both sushi and cooked. There was enough leftover for lunch on Tuesday.
Tuesday: smorgesborg.
Wednesday: pork bulgolgi, green beans, and apple pie. And there was much rejoicing because I don't make pie often. (I'm good at it but it takes so long.)
Thursday: pork chops, rice, broccoli, sauteed mushrooms, sauteed onions, raspberries.
This weekend I'm going away to a remote cabin so I meal planed:
Friday: hot dogs, s'mores.
Saturday: pasta, tomato sauce.
snacks: cukes, tomatoes, sweet peppers, apples, strawberries, grapes, blueberries, banana muffins, cereal. Might bring some eggs & bacon just cuz.
Happy Birthday, FG! I'm glad your family made it special for you.
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday- beef pot roast with carrots, potatoes, and mushrooms over egg noodles
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday- spaghetti and meatballs
We spent about $100 in groceries this past week, which is high for us.
Happy belated birthday!!
I would love some of your home made pizza.I cook a lot but have never tried a homemade pizza..since I now have a LOT OF TIME ON MY HANDS I think I will try one! And HAPPY BIRTHDAY--I hope you had a special day!
Happy Belated Birthday!
This past week ate:
Saturday - grilled teriyaki chicken, air fryer potatoes, and peas
Sunday - lentil sausage soup (from Budget Bytes)
Monday - Change Your Life Chicken (from The Lazy Genius)
Tuesday - my daughter made her signature meal ground beef + Annie’s Mac and Cheese with green beans (she’s 7). I can’t eat gluten or dairy so I mixed ground beef with quinoas and veggies to make a skillet meal
Wednesday- scrambled eggs with the leftover veggies and potatoes from CLC
Thursday - stir fry with chicken bacon pineapple sausages and veggies over rice
Friday - pizza
One unexpected perk of shopping so infrequently - my fridge is really empty right now and that made it really easy to take the shelves out to clean! Tomorrow morning will be my big shopping trip. Where I'm at Walmart opens at 7, Meijer at 8, and Aldi at 9, so I'll hit each store as it opens. Then I can get what I need with the limits that are in place. Our Meijer is the most crowded, so I'll get less from there than I did last time.
Monday - Pork BBQ with your homemade hamburger buns, chips, and blueberries. This was the first time that I've made your hamburger buns and they were so delicious!!!! Definitely amazing buttered and toasted as you recommended.
Tuesday - Grilled chicken thighs, cantaloupe, potato cubes
Wednesday - I made my final turkey from Thanksgiving! I made stuffing from scratch (it didn't turn out the best), peas, and gravy.
Thursday - Turkey broccoli alfredo
Friday - Torn between turkey fajitas and turkey stir fry. I have some green beans I need to use up, so I may go the stir fry route. It's really nice here today and I'd like to eat dinner outside, so I suppose it'd be easier to take out stir fry than everything for fajitas. OK... I'm talked into stir fry. 🙂
A positive thing that has come out of this for my family is that we're changing our habits. It's been so fulfilling to use what we have and not throw out as much food just because we don't feel like eating it or we didn't get around to eating it. Honestly, we're spending a lot more on groceries because we're using instacart but we're not eating out, which is good for our health and good for our wallets. Even the priciest meal we'll have this week (Salmon, fruit and brussel sprouts) feeds our whole family for the price of one salmon meal at our favorite restaurant. I know this is second nature for a lot of your readers but I've been working toward this for years and finally feel like this break has provided a chance to make real progress. Feeling proud!
We usually have some sort of bread and veggies on the side:
Monday: Black Beans and rice
Tuesday: Lazy Lasagne
Wednesday: Omelettes, Brown bread/butter and Fruit
Thursday: Chana Masala, Dal, Indian flat bread and rice
Friday: Salmon and Brussel Sprouts
This is so true...you can eat almost anything at home and still save money over eating out. I mean, you can practically buy lobster tails for the price of fast food for a family.
So, more spending at the grocery store can still equal savings overall, as long as the groceries are replacing eating out, like they are in your situation.
High five to you!
HA! This week one of our local stores had a sale on lobster tails and one tail cost less than a Big Mac!
I’m glad you got mozzarella so you could make pizza again! I found a crazy good deal on rosemary garlic marinated pork tenderloins- 20 oz each and $2.99 each! I bought the four in the case and cooked one and froze the other three for future meals. I had some Greek yogurt that I needed to use so I made Greek yogurt yeast rolls, Ina Garten’s lemon yogurt loaf cake and a yogurt marinade for chicken which we grilled. I bought a large package of top sirloin steak- we marinated and grilled part of it for dinner one night plus lunches and I used the rest for a beef broccoli stirfry another night. We also got Chic-fil-a one evening- we ordered off the app and picked up in the drive thru- they handed our food and drinks out of the window in a tub. Tonight I’m making boboli pizzas for dinner with garlic chicken as a topping.
Saturday: I don't like ham but I fix it on Easter because my husband loves it. I boiled the bejeebers out of the bone and froze the stock. Took it out and made the world's worst ham/potato/cabbage soup...or so I thought. My husband loved it and ate it Sat/Sun/Mon and Tues. I ate scrambled eggs and toast for dinner those four nights. We had fruit salad with our respective meals. Monotonous but cheap and little clean up.
Wednesday: Chicken Caesar salad with fruit salad for dessert.
Thursday: Sourdough pancakes and fruit; we have been married 37 years and I am still using the starter that I began the year we married--it even moved to Scotland with us when we lived there. If it ever dies, I will mourn it like I would a friend because when we were quite poor that starter fed us several times a week. (We did have large green salads for lunch, so didn't feel pressed to have more vegetables for dinner.)
Friday: I have not been out of the house all week so we are going to get Filet of Fish from McDonalds tonight and will eat them while sitting in the truck in front of the bird sanctuary where the Canadian geese by the thousands have shown up (as they do every year).
What an amazing story concerning your starter! How special!
Goodness gracious! 2 tablespoons?? That’s gotta be a typo for 2 teaspoons. Blech.
I finally bought heavy cream to try your biscuit recipe and it's a winner! I made them last week to go with soup and I used it this week in your hot pocket recipe (which I modified using leftover ham from Easter and sliced cheddar). That was also a hit with my family.
I miss shopping at Aldi, I went weekly for fruit n veggies. Oh well hope things will get better but I won't go in there, the isles to narrow and people do not follow the directional arrows.
I was happy that Meijer had hand soap, t paper, paper towels and some cleaning products, Campbells soups, Kleenex too. They were pretty much wiped out of meat though. I was hoping to find some bread flour. I have a hankering for some homemade pizza!
We have been trying to eat out once a week to support local restaurants we normally only eat out once a month or less.
Marianne, I don't know where you live but it sounds like somewhere in the midwest based on the stores you go to. I'm in Michigan and we have Gordon Food Service which sells institutional food supplies to the public. They had bread flour a couple of weeks ago (granted, in the huge bags .... ) so maybe you could try them? And make lots of pizza??? I found bread flour at my Meijer last week so maybe you'll get lucky and stumble on it soon.
Thank you Kris I never thought about Gordons. Yes I am Mid-Michigan. And maybe Meijer will get more bread flour in.
Been an unusual week lots of tidying outside and putting things away as winter is just around the corner for us here in Western Australia. We are still having some sunshine but the wind is bitter cold so night times our fire is blazing now.
I have made 3 pots of various soups this week and frozen in meal batches for those days when you need a bowl of soup and a toastie for lunch.
I’ve also been emptying my freezer and can say that it is now successfully empty bar the soup containers I have put in their recently. We are awaiting a call from our butcher on a price for a side of beef and a few other bits. I buy this way every 6 months as I find it to be very economical generally AU dollars $9.00 per kilo which is cheaper then meat on special at the supermarkets. It comes delivered and packed as I want it and just needs to be put in the freezer. It is grass fed so a better health option no hormones.
We eat fish and chicken And no meat meals also so I only need to buy bulk every six months or so.
My weekly shopping bill comes to around AU $130 for the four of us 2 dogs and 6 chickens. I find leftovers are never an option here when you have pets.
In that$130 is included a doorstep grocer box with fruit veg rice/pasta eggs free range and a loaf of sour dough fired bread. It costs $60 but is enough for the four of us for a week. We also have a veg garden here with seasonal green veg and herbs keeps us going and some for the children too.
With a freezer of meat fish chicken etc And a fully stocked pantry of staples so I’m generally able to cook whatever we decide on.
I do a weekly menu but some days are a swap time depending and usually Saturday is my bake day cake cookies scones etc for the week. Also my Sunday meals are made on Saturday as Sunday in this house is a rest day.
Well we are in lockdown here as both 94 year old parents live with us and it is imperative we keep them safe.
I watch the news and pray for all of you to stay safe and healthy. Thank you for your blog I thoroughly enjoy it. God bless.
I am embarrassed to note I have never done a currency converter from Australian to US dollars before, so I made your post my homework. At the moment, your AU $9 is US $5.77. One kilo equals 2.2 pounds, meaning your beef is US $2.62 a pound, an excellent price!
Happy Birthday!
Thank you!
It’s been a very odd two weeks as I am recently bereaved, and have been living on takeout and meals left on my porch by family. I haven’t cooked, ordered a grocery delivery or been to the store. However, next week I need to start looking after myself again, and intend to go to the larger, most organized store in my neighborhood. It’s going to be very strange going out in the world again after being at home since Christmas but I need food, and grocery delivery is just too unreliable.
Linda, I am so sorry to hear that.
Linda, this is an exceptionally difficult time to be dealing with a loss. Please accept my sincere condolences.
Linda: I'm so sorry. I wish you gentle passage through this difficult time.
Oh, Linda. Sending you so much love. <3
Linda,
I'm sending you my sincere condolences. I can't even imagine what you're going through. The sense of loss for all of us at this time has been pretty significant and adding bereavement to the mix has to be incredibly difficult. Take care of yourself and know that many of us will be sending positive thoughts your way.
Thanks to all of your for your kind words. This certainly is a most difficult time for all of us, but connecting with the outside world through lovely blogs like Kristen's is certainly making it easier.
The bar has been set! I have always been amazed by the small appetites in your family, but you made broccoli TWICE from only two heads. No matter how large the heads of broccoli, I make 3 for one meal! Lol. That's amazing, Kristen!
Also, the Korean beef wraps sound delightful. I am definitely making some this month!
Haha, yep, it would be amazing if we ate three heads of broccoli in one meal. Your people are definitely hungrier than mine!
I've been away from my computer all day, and now I can't sleep, so here goes.
But first, happy birthday!
I made a meatloaf, which is altered to fit my diet more, and with it we had roasted beets, green peas, and cauliflower mash. We ate this twice.
We had steaks one day with roasted root veg hash, plus I sliced some cucumbers.
Chicken tenders and some vegetables I can't recall.
London broil with mushrooms and onions, and baked potato for my husband, sweet potato for me.
Fajitas from the leftover London broil, sliced thin, with fruit and cucumbers. I used cassava flour tortillas for me.
Pumpkin/sausage soup one night.
I shopped for two weeks last week, so I didn't shop at all this week. However, one of "my" farmers is killing chickens this weekend, and I'm buying one fresh, rather than frozen as they usually come. They only sell fresh two or three times a year, so I buy at least one when they do.
Happy birthday!
I ate:
Mon - Grilled sausages with baked potato & steamed mixed vegies
Tues - Cooked a packet of Alfredo pasta & sauce & mixed in vegies & a chopped leftover sausage
Wed - Pancakes with maple syrup
Thurs - Bought hot roast chicken with baked potato & mixed steamed veg
Fri - takeaway pizza
Tonight - no idea yet but it's 4.30 pm here so getting hungry...:)
Take care all
We had lots of unplanned leftovers this week because of unpredictable appetites so I'm glad I don't preprepare food.
Last Friday I bought Chinese takeaway from a local place that just opened on the 17th of April, and we had leftovers on Saturday night.
Sunday I made devilled sausages with mashed potatoes and rice and I think we had leftovers on
Monday.
Tuesday I cooked steak for my daughter and I, and fish for her dad.
Wednesday I split about 700 grams of beef mince to cook savoury mince and curried mince which I was going to serve with the leftover rice, but nobody was hungry so 2 of us plus our 2 visitors ate it on Thursday and my daughter had noodles with eggs.
Friday I cooked chicken in mushroom sauce and cooked more rice but only I ate it so it became leftovers for tonight.
Anne.
Where did you find the flour online? I can't imagine that shipping would be economical.
I ordered it from a site called Webstaurant Store. Surprisingly, even with shipping it turned out to be about $3 for each 5 pounds.
I can never find King Arthur flour in stores for that price for a five pound bag, so I did not hesitate to place my order.
Sunday - Chicken Parmesan
Monday - Hamburgers
Tuesday - Chicken Tenders
Wednesday - Club sandwiches
Thursday - Tacos
Friday - Pizza
Saturday - Baked Potato Soup
Monday - meatball subs and side salad
Tuesday - chicken fajitas
Wednesday - Crispy onion pork chops and asparagus
Thursday - chicken Marsala and broccoli
Friday - pizza
Saturday - tomato basil orzo soup with grilled cheese
Sunday - smoked pork tenderloin