What I Spent, What We Ate
What I Spent
I spent $144.95 at the grocery store, plus $33 on my produce box, for a total of $177.95 this week.
I came down with a cold this week, so, you get a boring grocery picture. I was doing well just to get groceries, let alone arrange them for a helpful photo. 😉
Thankfully, the exhaustion has left and now I'm just congested.
Which is better than being congested AND exhausted.
March Spending
(last year's average was $200/week)
Week one: $220
Week two: $87
Week three: $177.95
What We Ate
Monday
I made a Japanese pork and noodle soup, plus some buttermilk biscuits.
(I know! Such a traditional accompaniment to Japanese soup. We are nothing if not authentic around here.)
Tuesday
Mr. FG and I had bought a dinner Groupon that was about to expire, and we couldn't have THAT happen.
So, we had a mid-week date night.
(Reason #45843948573 that having teenagers is awesome.)
I rummaged through the freezer to round up a meal for the kids. They had applesauce, stuffed shells,and I made a batch of no-knead batter rolls.
Wednesday
I really really did not feel like cooking this night, but I tried a new recipe from my Cook's Country magazine for quick Cuban sandwiches. They were tasty and it WAS a super easy recipe, so I don't deserve a lot of credit for cooking. 😉
We had chips and fruit with our sandwiches.
Thursday
We had a rehearsal, so we ate an early, easy, breakfast-for-dinner meal of buttermilk pancakes.
I wish I could tell you that we had them with peaches, but alas, it is not the season for peaches yet. This photo is from that magical peach-filled month, August.
Friday
I made the dough last night, so I'm committed to making Thin Crust pizza for dinner tonight.
And that wraps up our week!
That soup looks delicious. I still can't get my kids to eat soup. Every now and then I make it for my husband and I with rotini as the soup noodle. The kids have past and broccoli and I pick meat out of the soup for my younger daughter. (My older daughter is a vegetarian.)
Monday - leftover roasted potatoes with a broccoli frittata
Tuesday - chicken and muchroom fried rice, mango and cuke salad
Wednesday - bean chilli with quesadillas
Thursday - pasta al caccio e pepe (pecorino cheese, oil, and black pepper), cannelini beans in tomato sauce with bacon, broccoli (I was craving comfort food)
Friday - I haven't decided yet. I may mix up bread dough this morning and make soup with a turnip I have in the fridge. I may make a ham steak with rice and cabbage,
My kids don't mind eating soup, as a rule. There is, however, some disagreement about the best types of soup. I have some that prefer creamy soups and some that prefer brothy soups (tomato-based or chicken broth-based).
Creamy soups all the way!!!!
Yeah, I'm typically on Team Creamy Soup too. 😉
My kids are 3 and 5 and still generally suspicious of foods they can't pick up with their fingers and closely examine before eating. 🙂
I've tried deciding if I like creamy or brothy better, but everytime I settle on one, I find my thoughts drifting to the other. Mmmmmm soup.
Monday: barbecued spareribs leftover from Sunday, with a sweet potato and broccoli salad
Tuesday: roast turkey breast in the crock pot, mashed potatoes (make-ahead that I did Monday,) green beans with bacon, homemade rolls
Wednesday: Turkey sandwiches and chips
Thursday: Oven chicken and rice , cheesy squash casserole, homemade rolls
Tonight: to be determined
Tuesdays are the night I cook for my middle daughter and her family. I send it home with her after she's spent the day here with the kids. Just a little routine we have, on one of my days off.
How nice of you!
This week has been low on the grocery shopping again which is okay by me as we have a lot in the freezer to use up.
We bought two corned beef briskets which were immediately put in the freezer. My wife doesn't care for it but I love it so we took advantage of the sale and picked those up. I also bought a couple things at Aldi this week (milk, produce and snacks, mostly) and a trip to BJs for deli meat and baby formula.
My daughter is teething and thus requires constant attention so dinners haven't been super regular. Sometimes we don't get to eat until late but at least we're eating at home most nights.
We made a roast chicken with dressing in a skillet (a Cooks Country recipe) on Sunday and ate the leftovers for that on Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday were a variant of Sloppy Joe's (cooked enough on Tuesday so we could reheat them on Wednesday) along with tossed salads and then yesterday we took advantage of a deal on pizza as my wife has been wanting pizza for a while. Tonight we're going to Bible study so we'll eat there.
I need to go shopping again this afternoon after work or tomorrow because I'm pretty much out of vegetables in my house.
I was just telling Mr. FG that I don't think I've actually ever eaten corned beef! I have no idea if I like it or not.
Well, you could start with a Ruben sandwich (though there's sauerkraut on that and I wouldn't wish that on anyone.)
Hey!
Sauerkraut is a health food if eaten raw and it's pretty good cooked, too. Have you tried it with ketchup? I know, I know! It's not as bad as it sounds. 🙂
Laughing at your username tonight!
Try corned beef! I doubt you will regret it.
Sunday for us... was homemade rye bread, corned beef, mashed potatoes, vegetables... we made sandwiches with the rye bread, corned beef, cheese (usually a white cheese for most of us), kraut for hubby but not the rest of us, condiment (thousand island dressing or one of our mustards that we keep around) Delicious. Used some left over corned beef on crackers today. Yummy.
Your photos make me so hungry!
We had shrimp stir-fry, spaghetti with mushroom sauce and salad, dinner out with kids and grandkids for birthday of the usual cook (guess who), chicken broccoli casserole, leftover smorgasbord, omelets with salad and fruit, and fish tacos with guacamole and beans. Only the two of us now--barely $100 a week.
Happy Birthday!
On Sunday I roasted a turkey buffe I had bought for Christmas. After a huge meal I shared half with another family.
Monday was a curry made from ingredients in the freezer.
Tuesday was eat leftover stuff night and curry for lunch.
Wednesday was one steak between four night. So steak and salad sandwiches.
Thursday was very busy so we had ham sandwiches. Beginning to sound boring.
Tonight I used leftover rice from the curry night to make fried rice and used the very last of the turkey to make satay. Turkey satay was not very pleasant but hey waste not etc.
Tomorrow will be steak and vegetables and then I shall look in the freezer and choose a roast that is hiding in there to start the week with a roast meal.
This week, we had
* honey garlic beef on rice, with broccoli
* chicken quesedillas
* chicken and veggies nachos
* pasta with sausages+veggies tomatoe sauce
* Quinoa/rice/fish/chicken/veggies casserole (sounds wird, but it was good)
I only have $200 a month for 3 adults. What type of meals would you suggest?
Wow! $200.00 monthly for 3 adults is a challenge! I am single (widowed) & I spend a bit more than that for just myself! Well, I live in Anchorage, Ak so things are a bit higher here but still! I admire you! You'd have to cook a lot from scratch. I never ever eat out, not even fast food and I shop only based on the "loss leaders" from my main grocery store. Whatever is on a really good sale. I don't even have anything to tell you but I bet Kristen has ideas up her sleeve. You have my empathy!
For black belt food budgeting, check out The Prudent Homemaker website. She feeds a family of nine on less than $300 a month.
Make a price book, recording lowest prices found on food items you buy. Buy as much non-perishable food as you can when it goes on sale at the best price.
Soups and beans are your best choice for meals. Never waste anything. It won't be easy, but it can be done.
Good luck!
Husband's week to cook. Roasted chicken; leftovers from last week (we had a lot); lamb burgers with red onion topping and roasted Brussels sprouts; and chicken satay with noodles and broccoli. Tonight is flank steak with a red pepper/corn/onion topping. He's done well!
Not such an exciting week at my house.
Saturday - leftover pizza from lunch that day.
Sunday I needed something easy because I was tired when I got home from my trip - Campbells tomato soup with crackers.
Monday/Tuesday - Tamale pie casserole and zucchini.
Wednesday/Thursday - Hot dogs
Friday - Planning on tacos.
I don't know if I've ever posted on What I Spent, What We Ate post, so here goes:
Monday-Bought pizza from our favorite place as it was Pi Day. Homemade strawberry/rhubarb pie for dessert
Tuesday-Leftover skirt steak fajitas from Sunday night, homemade flour tortillas, rice & beans, & pineapple
Wednesday-Chicken wings with celery
Thursday-Corned beef boxty , (potato pancakes), with sauteed cabbage & parsley sauce (bechamel with addition of fresh parsley), & Irish soda bread
Friday-Corned beef boxty leftovers. Making another loaf of soda bread as last night's loaf was devoured!
Spent €87.00 on food this week, am happy with this as have 3 visitors coming 3 days next week so we ll see how long it lasts!
M: spaghetti bolognese
T: spaghetti bolognese leftovers!
W: chicken satay & rice
T: cod & oven chips
F: beetroot, spinach & goats cheese salad with quinoa
Kirsten your bread rolls look delicious:-)
Sunday: Grilled steak, kale salad and garlic bread
Monday: Steak fajitas (made with leftovers) and fixings
Tuesday: Kung pao chicken and rice
Wednesday: Make your own panini's and strawberries
Thursday: Cajun chicken pasta and asparagus
Friday: Pork steak, mashed potatoes and green beans
Love reading your meals for the week.... here are mine.
Monday: Ham and Tortellini Casserole
Tuesday: Grilled Hot Dogs with Pasta Salad
Wednesday: Crockpot Chili-Lime Pork Roast. Shredded the meat and then served on tortillas with shredded cheese and sour cream.
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Homemade Pizza: Canadian Bacon and Sausage on one, and Cheese only on the other.
Yum... Is the crockpot lime pork recipe online?
What is your Japanese soup? It looks good!
It's an ATK slow cooker recipe....coming to the blog next week, hopefully!
This menu is for my husband, our 5 year old, our 3 year old and me.
Monday - sausage, sun-dried tomatoes and cheesy rice bake with fruit
Tuesday - tacos on flour tortillas, sour cream, avocados, fruit
Wednesday- homemade pizza with Edamame. One deep dish pepperoni (cooks country recipe) and one regular - pepperoni, salami, mushroom and onion (FG recipe of course!), served with edamame
Thursday - leftover pizza and another bag of edamame
Friday- we decided to buy a new sink for our kitchen today since my husband needed to take apart the sink to replace our faucet. My husband was still installing during dinner time. So dinner plans changed a bit. Store bought pasta salads for my husband and kids, tuna sandwich for me.
Mmm, yes, it's hard to cook with no running water!
So I spent a lot and, well, we are a lot!! My nearly five year old confirmed she thinks she's growing;) I think my weeks groceries were about $230 which is a bit high for us but I also bought some extras to serve at my schools open house night Wednesday.
We ate turkey burgers with veggie pasta salad and melon,
Turkey corn chili with corn muffins,
BBQ chicken from ATK with baked beans from the freezer and salad,
maple Dijon pork with cauliflower gratin, Apple pear sauce and barley risotto from the freezer,
Spaghetti with sausage and red sauce and veggies with ranch dip, and fruit salad
Last night was pizza and veggies with ranch and some canned tropical fruit
Not too bad when I see it written out:) I'll need to shop (again!) today and I'll head to the farm to pick up a winter produce share and some dairy.
Kristen, I tried your marmalade coconut oat bars and while delicious they totally crumbled into a soft granola rather than a bar...any thoughts?
Hmm. Did you use old-fashioned oats by any chance? That could cause crumbling. Another possible culprit is under-baking.
Last week is a blur! This week we have at least two days where we're working from morning to midnight (and, amen, then some time off).
Since we're so sporadic/unplannable this week:
Tonight is grilled fish with jerk seasoning, mango avocado salsa, and corn on the cob.
Tomorrow I'm making the Cooking Light fire & ice ham, green beans, and sweet potato for dinner. We'll have extra ham for leftovers.
I'm making an asparagus/mushroom crustless quiche for breakfasts or lunches; also shredded salsa chicken, with the remaining poblano from tonight's dinner. The cheese leftover from the quiche can also be used for ham sandwiches and shredded chicken tacos. That won't get us entirely through but it's a start.
So glad some time off is around the corner for you!
I'm curious. Could I make the thin crust pizza dough in a mixer? I don't have a food processor and my husband loves thin crust pizza.
Yes, I think you could. I'd just let it mix for several minutes, vs. the minute or so required in the food processor.
This is for the person who has to feed three adults on a $200 a month:
At one time my employer refused (illegally) to pay me for 18 months. I had a mortgage and two adult children at University.
So, I went to the wholesale grocers and bought large amounts of basic food, such as 100 lbs of whole wheat flour, 50 lbs of peanut butter, 50 lbs of oatmeal, dry milk, brown rice and so forth.
We planted a vegetable garden. We ate vegetarian. We home-made everything. Friday night was home made pizza and homemade beer. We loved our end of week treat!
My spending at the grocery store dropped to an average of $50 a month for three adults. This was for stuff like oil.
Sometimes, but not others, it was fun, but we ate healthily and never got sick during that time.
Good luck!