What I Spent, What We Ate |December, week two!
What I Spent
Guys, I had a very here-and-there grocery week. And I don't have much in the way of photos, except that I want to say....
...this special buy organic flour from Aldi is very good. I am SUPER DUPER PICKY about my flour for bread baking (I won't use Aldi's regular flour), and this stuff is up to my exacting standards.
And also, Aldi has a larger selection of spices than normal right now, for the holidays. So if your sage is, you know, 4 years old like mine was (!), it's a good time to get a replacement.
(Not sponsored by Aldi. I just am a big fan!)
Ok, here's the rundown of my grocery shopping.
Last Friday, I made a $44.45 grocery stop.
On Sunday, I picked up some sausage from a local farm ($45).
On Monday, I babysat for a friend, and stopped by Aldi to buy a few things for dinner ($12.12)
On Tuesday, I stopped at a regular grocery store to buy things to make Pad Thai ($27.63). Thirteen of that was for a two-pound bag of shrimp.
And then on Thursday, I made another quick stop at Aldi because I needed a few things for a meal I was bringing to a friend ($10.67).
Oh, it was a produce box week too ($34).
That brings me to a total of $173.67. Which is a little on the high side, but it does include 10 pounds of sausage, which is definitely going to be spread out over multiple weeks.
My yearly weekly average is $155, so these first two weeks of December are above average.
December Weekly Totals
Week 1: $178
Week 2: $173
What We Ate
Monday
I babysat for friends who were going out for their anniversary, and I brought mac n cheese, oranges, and carrots over to eat with my two small companions.
And Mr. FG picked up Little Caesar's for himself and the girls (Joshua was at work).
Tuesday
Pad Thai. Since that's a one-pot meal (veggies! protein! carbs!), I hadn't planned on a side. But my produce box came with some lovely oranges, so I cut those up and we ate them after our Pad Thai.
Wednesday
I made a pan of potato cubes to use up an abundance of potatoes, I cooked up some of the sausage I bought from the farm, and I made French toast with marked-down bread.
Thursday
I was bringing a meal to a friend who just had surgery, so I made double and brought half to her. She can't have gluten and her mom is a vegan so, I brought all the fixings for taco bowls: grilled chicken, cooked rice, black beans, salsa, sour cream, cheese, and roasted veggies.
That way, everyone in the house could build bowls to meet their own dietary needs.
Friday
This doesn't happen super often, but all of our kids have plans tonight, so it'll just be Mr. FG and me for dinner. I'm gonna need to chat with him about what we want to eat all by ourselves!
__________________
Monday: Brisket chili with tater tots. This ended up being saltier than I would have liked, since the tater tots were pre-seasoned, but it was still delicious! I adore this homemade brisket chili and it's a breeze to whip up and freeze for later.
Tuesday: Mr. Picky Pincher cooked himself a pot of fideo while I went to a dance fitness class. I ate some cheese and crackers (can't work out on a full stomach!) and had a rice cake when I came home. I made a bistro box for the next day's lunch, which is basically a smattering of things.
Wednesday: Chicken fajitas with beans and guacamole. Y'all. This was freaking delicious. Mr. Picky Pincher grilled the fajitas and had homemade beans and guac. It was divine. I would swim in a pool of these fajitas if it weren't impractical. Mr. Picky Pincher wasn't a fan, but I thought it was super tasty.
Thursday: I made a Rachel Ray recipe for rosemary corn cakes with sweet hot peppers and chicken sausages. It sounded good, but when we tried it as a composed dish, it tasted super weird. We ended up grabbing fried chicken on our way to see our nephew's Christmas open house at his daycare.
Friday: Tonight is Mr. Picky Pincher's office Christmas party, which means we get a free barbecue dinner--and an open bar! Unfortunately we can't take leftovers home, but I'm all about free food. This will make up for buying dinner on Thursday.
In bread making, do you always prefer all-purpose flour rather than bread flour? I noticed the difference every time I don't use bread flour, my bread is not soft and fluffy.
I generally use unbleached all-purpose flour except when I make pizza dough...then I use King Arthur bread flour.
But if bread flour is working great for you, keep using it!
Sounds like your week was super busy!
Sunday - Hubby fixed some pre-seasoned tilapia our daughter gifted us, over some yellow squash, onion, and bell pepper which would otherwise have wilted to death in the fridge.
Monday - Coney Chili Dogs and tater tots - I was dreading fixing this - just did it to use up the stuff - but it came out so good!
Tuesday - One of those boxed velveeta skillets with lean ground, and some mixed veggies
Wednesday - Homemade Turkey pot pie
Thursday - Salmon and acorn squash for Hubby and me, chicken strips and scalloped potatoes for the boys, and an apple cobbler and ice cream using up some wrinkly apples.
Friday - Tonight is Lime Shredded Pork tacos from my crockpot.
Tomorrow is Pesto Chicken Thighs, garlic toast, chopped salad, and the world's easiest cheesecake pie from Oh! Mrs. Tucker (blog)
There were barely any leftovers this week, but what there was went with someone to work!
Where is the organic flour at Aldi? Is it next to the regular flour?
In my Aldi, it was in an aisle with holiday baking items. It sold out and they didn't restock it.
Yeah, mine was available with the special purchase baking items.
Maybe since it seems to have been popular, they'll consider carrying it more regularly.
I buy the Kirkland brand of organic flour from Costco......20 pounds for about 10 bucks. Y'all might give it a try if you have a Costco near you. I've been using it for a year now in my bread making and baking and have been quite happy with it.
I've found it in a different place every time I've gone to my Aldi the last few weeks--one time it was up front by the checkout line, one time it was with the baking items, and one time it was with the special buy items.
Monday- pulled pork with chips and fruit
Tuesday- tacos and fixings, my kids' favorite meal
Wednesday-spaghetti carbonara with fruit on the side
Thursday- cooks country deep dish pizza, green beans, and pineapple
Friday- leftover pizza and carbonara.
Monday - Dinner at my Mother-in-law's house for the annual Christmas tree decorating.
Tuesday - Bowling night for me. I ate a late lunch at work and packed a protein/meal replacement bar for dinner. My husband and 3 year old daughter had a Daddy date night and went to dinner together.
Wednesday - Crockpot beef round and lentil stew with a slice of bread. My crockpot cracked during this meal 🙁
Thursday - Spaghetti with homemade canned sauce from our garden this summer.
Friday - Tonight, I'm planning on roasting some potatoes in carrot in the oven with some chicken tenderloins.
Saturday - This will be a busy day of cookie baking for me while my husband puts a new wheel bearing in his truck, changes the oil in both of our vehicles, and works on our lawn tractor that has a plow before the snow hits. We may cash in some of the coupon we have for free pizza. ( Earlier this Fall we donated to a Homeless Veterans organization and received a ton of coupons for a local pizza place!)
Sunday - leftovers and clean the fridge day. It's a modge podge of a meal!
Our grocery spending is a little up this month because we made our first chicken purchase from Zaycon! Here's to hoping it goes well. We also purchased wild caught Alaskan salmon from a friend in Alaska (know your fisherman!). But on the bright side, my father is a cattle farmer, so we will be getting our traditional Christmas gift of a whole cow for our freezer 🙂
I bought one bag of that flour from Aldi, and apparently it was a seasonal item because it is gone. Which, is sad...because like you, I like this flour! I hope they bring it back. I agree, I don't like the flour they regularly sell.
This week has been crazy busy (moving cross-country soon!) so cooking hasn't been on the forefront. Lucky I had some freezer meals ready! I'm going to have to check out Aldi again soon - I hear such great things about it!
Monday--Turkey Burgers
Tuesday- Taco Tuesday--at Home!
Wednesday --After a very long 12 hour day, my husband suggested pizza out at a local fabulous brewery ...I said yes!.. I love him
Thursday--Chicken thighs, broccoli, toasted French bread
Friday-It is freezing here on the Midwest... so.... Chili and Cornbread night!k
I'll never understand by spices are sold in such large quantities! Our food coop sells tiny bags we bag ourselves for less than a dollar each.
Question for you: what makes a flour good? Can you tell before you bake with it??
Oops *why
We had meatloaf, beets and cooked greens, with the leftovers another night.
Since the pack of beef I used for the meatloaf was over 1.5 pounds we also had burgers one night with Waldorf salad and something.
We had home cut and prepared chicken tenders and a big chopped salad.
We planned on stew tonight but didn't have time to eat before we were picked up for a trip to see the lights. We ate a sandwich on the road.
Aldi in Australia only carries their flour and very few spices and herbs. Once a year they come in on special.
As for meals I have no idea what my family is eating. I left them with ample stores of their favourite things while I float around the Pacific ocean for 8 days. I have been spoiled by the amount of food available. My weight has not gone up yet.
Monday: Chicken soft shell tacos and fixings: grilled chicken, black olives, onion, black beans, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, and salsa.
Tuesday: Salmon, potato cubes sprinkled with olive oil and baked in oven, cucumbers/dipped in hummus
Wednesday: Barbecue pork on whole wheat bun from freezer, carrots/cucumbers dipped in hummus, Sun Chips, and peaches.
Thursday: Veggie Sandwich from Subway: (Pepper Jack Cheese, black Olives, lettuce, spinach, Oil and Vinegar)
Friday: London broil, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy
That's wonderful to have an Aldi option for flour--anything to keep me from having to go to Kroger. Now that I am thoroughly Aldi-ized, waiting for the Kroger clerks to slowly scan and bag my groceries seems to take a year off my life.
Monday--meatballs, rice, and salad
Tuesday--leftovers
Wednesday--tomato soup and grilled cheese
Thursday--leftovers
Friday--ham and cheese sandwiches with chips (our usual heading-out-of-town-for-the-weekend meal)
Monday - crock pot chicken and peppers from budgetbytes.com (served over rice)
Tuesday - chilli and baked potatoes
Wednesday - $8 HUGE pork roast (from Costco Thanksgiving sale) with lawry's seasoned potato cubes and green beans
Thursday - leftover huge pork roast, potatoes and beans!
Friday - Aldi take and bake pizza - I just couldn't get it together
Saturday - cheesy chicken quesadillas
Sunday - huge brunch with eggs, sausage, potatoes & onions and pancakes - the kids are on their own to snack for dinner. 🙂