What I Spent
I dropped $17.82 at the organic market, and $122.68 at Aldi (those are the groceries pictured here).
And that adds up to $140.50. I figured I wasn’t going to have a second week of high spending in a row!
Week 1: $252
Week 2: $140
What We Ate
Monday
Chicken Pomodoro from the ATK Quick Family cookbook , which I served over rice this time (the photo below is from another time we had this main dish.)
We had a blueberry/peach salad with our chicken and also raw cucumber slices.
Tuesday
I made grilled hamburgers and we had raw veggies and fruit with those.
Wednesday
Pancake night! Plus bacon. And we topped the pancakes with whipped cream and fresh peaches.
You can’t do that for very long each year (peach season feels so short!), so I feel that seizing the moment is important.
Thursday
I really, really did not feel like cooking dinner. This makes me feel like a spoiled brat sometimes because basically I’m saying, “Ohhh, woe is me! I don’t want to go into my air-conditioned kitchen with modern appliances and put together ingredients that I didn’t grow, harvest, or preserve. Waahhhhh!!”
It’s a little ridiculous.
Anyway, I put my big girl pants on and made quesadillas plus fresh salsa and guacamole.
Friday
Sleepovers and work are going to be occupying my kiddos, so I think Mr. FG and I will definitely get some takeout, just the two of us.
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How about you? What were you eating this week?
Liz says
Oops – I thought I posted but I had not.
Monday – spaghetti carbonara and an eggplant parmesan that calls for baking the eggplant ahead of time instead of frying. We’re getting lots of eggplant from my parents and our CSA these days. As the only one in the family who loves eggplant, it was a huge hit for me and I loved having a whole pan to myself for lunches.
Tuesday – tacos with homemade salsa from our CSA and watermelon and cantaloupe
Wednesday – pesto, turkey, and cheddar open-faced roasted sandwiches. my favorite. we had veggies, chips and fruit with these.
Thursday – pizza on the grill night. We had watermelon, cucumbers and bell peppers in the side.
Friday- dinner for the while family at in in-laws’ house. Woo hoo for me.
I went to Costco and spent $121 this week. we have about $150 left in our budget for the month, and I feel we can do it! I cleaned out our freezer and have planned the rest of the month’s meals using up what we have.
Savannah says
We stuck to our meal plan this week — yay!!!
Mon – Pierogies and fresh fruit (homemade and generously given to us to freeze by a friend)
Tues – Pork loin, grilled zucchini and mashed potatoes
Wed – Burgers on the grill w/ homemade salsa and chips
Thurs – Breakfast! Pancakes, fried bologna, eggs, and bacon
Fri – Dinner out for a birthday
Sat – I was at a bachelorette party and my family went to my husband’s grandmother’s for dinner
Sun – Pasta, homemade sauce (abundance of tomatoes this year!), and venison meatballs (from my husband’s deer last winter)
Kristen says
Yay! Sticking to the plan is a big accomplishment.
Amy says
Monday- I know we had corn on the cob, but sad that I can not remember what else
Tuesday- Tried a new recipe. zucchini waffles. The recipe has potential, I will tweak it a bit next time. Also fresh veggies from the garden and fruit
Wednesday- Hubby made biscuits. We added ham and egg for a “breakfast” sandwich. Again fresh veggies from the garden and fruit
Thursday- Two soccer practices. Pulled the easy button- cheeseburgers and chips. Again fresh veggies from the garden and fruit.
Friday- Chicken Ranch Wraps. The kids wanted to “cook” so they worked on their knife skills and cut up all the toppings. We also had a side of rice and fruit.
Molly F.C. says
Battra, I’ve bought the fancy French lemonade, pink & regular, @ Aldi. They’re pretty good for a treat, cheaper there then at my other grocery store, and best of all we fill empty bottles w/water & keep in fridge so they stay cold.
Caitlin says
Would you share your salsa recipe? I have an over abundance of tomatoes and no good salsa recipe. Thanks!! You recipes are so great
yummy, simple enough and family friendly! My recipe box is slowly filling up with tried and true frugal girl favorites. Thank you! My daughter most especially thanks you for your German pancake recipe. She calls then baby pancakes.
Kristen says
Here’s one using canned tomatoes: https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2013/02/super-easy-wintertime-blender-salsa/
In the summer when great tomatoes are available, I just combine chopped tomatoes, chopped onion, chopped cilantro, and salt to taste to make a pico de gallo kind of thing. So yummy!
Stacy says
I posted my simple salsa recipe above. Soooo good!!
Marianne says
One night we made pizzas from the pre made Mrs Cozy (not sure that name is right) Aldi brand small pizza crusts. They are kind of bread like. I was too lazy to make dough for the crust and we used up a bunch of misc salami, cheese and pepperoni for them and I will say I would buy the crusts again. They were really good and come with small packets of pizza sauce. Super quick meal.
Marianne says
Eggs at our Aldi were .79 cents!
WilliamB says
I saw a report recently that the price of eggs has dropped substantially in the past couple of years. The report was about how cage-free eggs are on their way to becoming the standard, the result of market demand. The price drop means there’s wiggle room in the price point for the (eventually slightly) increased price of cage-free eggs compared to battery-cage eggs.
Marianne says
Our egg prices were between 2.5 and 3.00 per dozen not to long ago.
I am glad consumers are demanding cage free, my locals Kroger, Meijer and Aldi are going cage free. Not sure about Aldi but Kroger and Meijer have till 2025.
An Mlive article explained that farmers have to teach their hens how to forage for food with the cage free system. I usually buy at my farmers market but that was a great price.
Amy says
This week was back to normal after jury duty and a bad fridge compressor:
Monday: Meatless black bean chili (with some red kidney beans too!)
Tuesday: Leftover chili OR salad and baked sweet potatoes (this was a karate night)
Wednesday: Turkey Ruebens
Thursday: Tortellini and chicken sausage kale soup (cooked ahead….another karate night!)
Friday: Making teriyaki chicken and rice casserole
Tracy T says
Your salsa looks amazing. Do you follow a certain recipe? If so, could you please share it?
Kristen says
Last night I just used fresh tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and salt. So good! The salsa in the photo is this one, though: https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2013/02/super-easy-wintertime-blender-salsa/
Stacy says
I love, love, love homemade salsa!! I use any combination I have in the house of tomatoes, onions, peppers, cumin, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, salt, pepper and sprinkle of sugar.
Mrs. Picky Pincher says
Hahaha, I sympathize with the “Wahh wahh I don’t want to cook anything!” attitude. It’s the downfall of frugal people everywhere!
This week we had:
Monday: Italian stew. I added waaaay too much crushed red pepper, so it was pretty spicy. But it was hearty and chock full of flavor, so it was a win in my book! We served it with homemade ciabatta.
Tuesday: We had sweet and sour chicken with rice. This was a new recipe and it’s a favorite! The chicken part was more “on the side,” so the dish was mainly broccoli and rice, which is frugal and healthy.
Wednesday: Sandwich night! Mr. Picky Pincher had a reuben sandwich and I made a weird makeshift caramelized onion flatbread.
Thursday: Asian lettuce wraps. This is my second-favorite dinner to eat, right after pulled pork sweet potatoes and broccoli. These get a little messy, but OH MY are they tasty.
Friday: Adobo chicken with chili lime carrots. This is an ambitious dinner plan, but it’s a new recipe that’ll freshen things up!
Beth says
I’m doing much better:
Sunday: Pancakes and leftovers from last week
Monday: Leftover taco soup from last week
Tuesday: Kielbasa pasta
Wednesday: Leftover noodles with leftover chili
Thursday: We went to Chipotle, with a BOGO entrée coupon. $7.02 for the two of us!!
Friday: ??? Hubby has a softball game, so me and baby will be fending for ourselves. I’ll probably eat the last of the leftover chili?
Kristen says
Yay for an easy Friday night!
JD says
This is one of those weeks where I’m having trouble remembering what we ate.
I know that one day we had pork chops, home canned sweet potatoes, and sautéed okra.
We grilled burgers and had them with salad and leftover baked beans from the freezer.
We had ham (given to us) with fried potatoes and onions and something or other.
Oh! I made soup one night out of leftovers and a few fresh ingredients, in homemade broth. So, soup, with crackers and cheese.
Tonight I’m not sure yet.
I did it, I remembered! I’ve also been writing down what I’ve spent on groceries, inspired here. I realized I have no real idea of what I spend. on groceries, I just estimate. That’s not good when the budget is tight, so I’m first off going to see what I really spend, then see how I can do better, if I need to.
WilliamB says
Seems like Thursdays have been hard around here. (Not mine, though – I met up with an old friend who has moved back into the area, and we went to my new favorite sushi happy hour.)
FG, you crack me up with your “oh, woe is me” followed by all the reasons why thinking that just means you’re spoiled. Especially since you have a long track record of getting it done anyway.
This week I’ve scrounging, eating too much junk food (one night’s dinner was ice cream) and not enough produce, and generally failing at the food thing. Finally I did a couple of useful things: Since I didn’t feel like eating the fresh fruit in the house (which probably means I win the “First World Spoiled Brat” contest) I made smoothies, freezing some for fruit pops; and I smoked a chicken for lazy dinners later.
Jessica S says
I have not done much cooking at all these past weeks.. Yes, we have A/C and I should not be so lazy.. The sun blazes RIGHT into the kitchen during the dinner cooking hour and it has been so hot/humid recently that I have no desire to ad any more heat to the house…
Monday I was going to have husband grill burgers for he and kids while I went to a meeting.. but I had run into a store and accidentally saw they had a Monday Rotisserie deal and grabbed 2 chickens for supper and lunches…
Tuesday I had to work that evening. My mom picked up kids and took them to supper before their martial arts class..
Weds- I recently restocked my freezer due to a great sale.. so I tossed a roast into the crock and set it to cook all day.. Served with instant ashed potatos, canned corn and homemade gravy…
Thursday- clean out fridge before martial arts class..
Friday- Today is our 16th anniversary. So many things going on but planning on grilling those burgers! Planning to serve with fresh broccoli and roasting some small potatos and tossing with homemade pesto!
Patti says
Those rotisserie chickens have saved me from official “take-out” so many times. I sometimes feel guilty buying them when I’m in Costco but remind myself that weeknights can go crazy sometimes and the chicken with some quick veggie sides is a much healthier (& cheaper!) alternative to ordering a pizza.
WilliamB says
Often the rotisserie chicken is about the same price as a raw chicken + spices + marinade + heat to cook.
Ingrid says
I have been known to put newspaper or newsprint without anything on it on my window panes – a little masking tape holds them there. Or a much-used tea towel, which let a little more light through. Keeping the sun/heat out is a major help in keeping the place cool and saves on A/C costs. Never mind how it looks!
Dawn says
“Ohhh, woe is me! I don’t want to go into my air-conditioned kitchen with modern appliances and put together ingredients that I didn’t grow, harvest, or preserve.”
Way to put things in perspective! It truly helps to count your blessings. I forget sometimes how much easier I have it than many others. This is a good reminder.
Battra92 says
I would’ve loved to have had AC when I was baking bread on Wednesday. Heating up your oven to 425 is a necessary evil when you need to make bread for someone, I guess.
Amy says
I made my bread in the crock pot – we don’t have an oven. It keeps the temp way down and the bread is delicious!
Battra92 says
It’s been a busy (and unusual) week for me. It’s also been quite hot so I haven’t been up for a lot of cooking.
Monday: We bought a whole pork loin which we cut into pork chops and roasts. Since we had that dark meat part at the end that wasn’t really big enough to make into full chops we cut it into pieces and made a Sriracha Honey Lime stir-fry. Unfortunately, we learned that while I can taste all the different flavors, my wife could only taste the soy. So next time I’m going to have to either leave it out or drastically cut it back.
Tuesday: Tossed salads (a summer staples in my house) and just cleaning out the fridge. I think I ate a leftover pork chop from when my family was over on Sunday.
Wednesday: The wife was away for a business trip and my MIL was watching our daughter so I opted to get haddock from the local grocery store. I almost never fry fish at home (too smelly) and I figured it was in our budget and it’s summer.
Thursday: It was a perfect storm last night. Our original intent was to pick up a rotisserie chicken since it was too hot to cook but when I went to the store people were literally crowding and snatching them up as they were put out. I tried to get a take and bake type pizza at Aldi but those were all gone as well. Instead of fighting it, we just used a coupon and went out.
Friday: Bible study so we’re not cooking the whole dinner. I am thinking of getting some of those fancy French lemonades they have at Aldi, partly because I want an excuse to try them and partly because I kind of want the swing top bottles they come in.
Tamara R says
Oh my goodness – I had the case of the whaaas last night too! Like you though, I eventually came around.
Mon – Book club night, which book host cooked!
Tue – Pastrami sandwiches and apples (We volunteered at our County Fair and had to eat dinner enroute)
Wed – Veggie burgers, sauteed red potatoes, red onion, bell peppers & garlic (yum!), green salad
Thur – Tostadas w/refried beans, grilled veggies, salsa & avacado, fresh cantaloupe (my waaah! night)
Fri – Acorn squash stuffed w/couscous, sauteed onions, garlic, pine nuts & spinach, green salad.
I had an old, unused Groupon from 2014, and when I checked online, discovered the entity was out of business. I called Groupon and they applied a matching credit to my account, which I promptly ‘spent’ on a restaurant deal. Looking forward to getting out of the kitchen and using it this weekend!