What I Spent, What We Ate | NC/SC readers, I hope you're safe!
Readers in the path of Florence, I hope that you are all safe and dry. We've loved visiting North and South Carolina beaches over the years, and it makes me sad to see what the storm is doing.
And I can imagine how much more sadness there is when you live in those areas.
I hope Florence hurries herself up and gets out of your way.
What I Spent
We spent $151 on food this week, so right on budget.
What We Ate
Monday
BLTs! Because good tomatoes are going to be scarce very soon.
Tuesday
I roasted some chicken drumsticks along with carrots and thinly sliced potatoes. Super easy!
Wednesday
We had pork ribs, cheesy noodles, and a green salad.
Thursday
Lots of leftovers from Wednesday, so Thursday night was a repeat!
Friday
Tonight, I have a rare evening on my own. YES. So I will make dinner for myself, all by myself and eat it all by myself. 😉
I love my people dearly, but a solo evening every now and then is A Very Fabulous Thing.
I enjoy a meal by myself every now and then when hubby is not at home and our son is at daycare too! Our daughter is at home with me, but she breastfeeds, so yes it's just me and myself! ^.^
We are in central NC, and beginning to see the wind picking up a little. We are so thankful that Florence has lost some power over the past couple of days but still praying for those east of us! My best friend lives in Wilmington, and my aunt has a place at Holden Beach, so I'm anxious to see how their homes fare! My husband's payday is mid month, so our month runs from the 16th to the 15th. I would've been right on budget if I hadn't gone over a little because of hurricane prep. When hurricane Fran came through in 1996, our rural community didn't have power for a week, so I wanted to prepared this time just in case!If we don't use the extras I have on hand, maybe that'll trim a little off next month's grocery expense.
I love a dinner just for me. I can eat whatever I want and the house is quiet. Yay!
This week we had stew -- I made a big pot, so I could have leftovers for work lunches later.
We had bacon, acre peas and cooked carrots.
Steak with parsnip fries (steak is our go-to on Friday night, after working all week then grocery shopping after work. It takes little time to cook steak in my grill pan and the fries are oven-cooked, easy).
Tuna salad with lots of chopped celery and carrot in it, plus cottage cheese and fruit on the side.
Pork chops, leftover acre peas, mashed potatoes, pureed parsnips (for me), and something else that I forget.
My grocery budget did pretty well last week, but of course, since I have a freezer still loaded with pork, I buy very little meat.
As a Floridian, I'm watching Florence with a LOT of sympathy. Prayers for everyone in her path!
Yea for a night off family cooking!!
Monday night we had a VB game so those of us at home FFYS with leftovers before we headed out to watch the girl!
Tuesday- I pulled a container of leftover beef roast and gravy out to defrost.. It was not very good the first time so I grabbed a can of consumme at the store and a loaf of fresh italian bread. I chunked up the meat and reheated the food with the consumme- it helped the flavor... and made instant potatos.. was able to get older boy fed and drive him to work.. The girl was able to eat before VB, the younger son made a sandwich because he hates mashed taters! Husband ate the leftovers when he got home from his grandfathers surgery... I took 2 containers of salsa chicken I had batch cooked and reheated them to take for my contribution to the work potluck meeting..
Weds- random leftovers, FFYS before the girls VB game....
Thursday- Pulled hamburger patties out of the freezer to defrost for supper... Made a lemon cream cheese cake and used a box of coco pebbles to make " rice krisy treat-like" bars... Trying to use up all sorts of random before I get shopping again...
Friday- tossed a small pork loin in the crock with kraut.... I grabbed some loaves of pumpernickel and Rye off the bakery markdown yesterday.. will make sandwiches for supper....
Freezer is looking BARE! Time to start shopping again! lol
Monday- BBQ chicken, English peas, and mashed potatoes, I think. I'm drawing a blank!
Tuesday- Roasted butternut squash cubes, with diced apples and raisins. Then there was a honey drizzle concoction with nuts over top. Found the recipe online. Was delicious and I ate it the next day for breakfast. We also had scalloped potato casserole with ground beef added.
Wednesday- grilled cheese sandwiches
Thursday- fried chicken(rare treat, I hate frying things) broccoli, mac&cheese, and garlic toast. I also made a swirled loaf of peanut butter-chocolate, Apple/ banana bread. I didn't have enough bananas so I grated some apples to make up a full cup of fruit. It has a crumble on top also and is quite delish!
I'm noticing my lack of fresh veggies this week. Ugh, busy weeks are hard to balance sometimes.
Meals this week included:
- boxed mac & cheese, before an evening meeting, with Eater's Choice of fruit and veg.
- leftover kickass beef/onion/veg stirfry (from a meal out), supplemented with additional sliced beef, carrots, blueberries, strawberries.
- Mild Italian Chix Sausage, from the scores of sausages bought when they went on sale at Whole Paycheck; tomatoes, cukes, melon.
- fried rice, made with the rice leftover from the above-referenced meal out, the remnants of the supplemental beef, the remnants of the celery (much of it went bad when I wasn't looking), carrots, onions.
- burgers, strawberry smoothies, not sure about veg
I love (like really LOVE) going to a restaurant by myself, with a book, and reading while I eat my lunch. I give myself a $20 budget as a treat (this includes any fancy cocktails or dessert). Not necessarily frugal I suppose, but sometimes peace in my soul is more important.
That's totally reasonable for a little splurge every now and then. And it's a lot cheaper than, say, a massage!
Hey, you can't leave us hanging! What do you make when it's just you? I love the answer to this question. I think the last time it was just me (and a pureed-food-eating baby, but I don't count him) was about three years ago, and I ended up eating chips and dip--and, um, a gin and tonic for dinner. At least the ranch dip was homemade. 🙂
Okay, this week at our house . . .
Monday: Pork steaks, baked potatoes, sauteed calabacitas (a type of squash similar to zucchini), green salad, and cake made from some of the ridiculous quantity of over-ripe bananas I had on hand (plus a bunch of chocolate and other things to make it a cake and not just, uh, bananas)
Tuesday: Chicken tacos, pinto beans
Wednesday: A skillet meal composed of tomatoes, rice, leftover chicken taco filling, frozen peas, and cheese. Plus cucumbers, but not in the skillet.
Thursday: Buckwheat flour pancakes with butter and maple syrup. Plus a token whole carrot eaten before dinner. Totally balanced. Ahem.
Tonight: I have a leftover pork steak, some more leftover taco chicken, and more leftover rice. I believe another creative skillet meal is in our future. Add enough cheese, and my kids are totally on board.
Well, I have one more meal from my Dinnerly box, a noodle stir-fry, so I think I'll make that. Super easy for me, and it'll use up the ingredients in the fridge!
I love the carrot before the pancakes. Ha.
well, I just made egg salad, so.... 😀
Thanks for your prayers and thoughts. I am in the middle of SC and we are told to expect 10 to 15 inches of rain, especially if Florence stalls over us like predicted, tornadoes and to lose power for a week. I am thankful that they are able to predict so far in advance which helps us decide what to do and gives us time to do it. I, like everyone else, hope she dies out quickly.
I can't believe the slow moving nature of the forecast! I hope it moves faster than they expect.
I hear you on the all-on-your-own thing. Husband is going camping with our daughter this weekend, so I'm currently overwhelmed with ideas for what I'll be able to do during all that glorious alone time!!!
I made Cajun pasta with white beans and kale, cooked my husband and kids a chicken (I had leftover pasta), made some beans and rice, and made a delicious tofu/potato/pea/tomato filling for tortillas. Foodwise, it was a pretty delicious and inexpensive week around here, especially since that chicken came from a family member, so no cost to us. 🙂
In no particular order....
Homemade chicken & biscuits with peas & fresh green beans from our garden
Spaghetti with sweet italian sausage and served with a salad
BBQ chicken dinner at the fair
Breakfast for dinner - scrambled eggs with cheese, toast, sausage patties
subs from the club for hubby & girls; i had a work dinner meeting which my employer paid for....at that meeting I had a chicken salad & a piece of cherry pie
Dinner tonight will be a work picnic, so whatever they're serving. Our girls will stay home and get takeout with a gift card I won.
This week has been a bit of a mess for me and involved two dinners out(!) and exactly zero cooking by me.
On Sunday we had a barbecue and many people no-showed or canceled last minute so I ended up with a lot of leftovers. Not as bad as I'd feared but we had a bunch of food leftover to eat. So Monday and Tuesday
Wednesday: My wife was feeling a bit down and some other stuff was going on so we got pizza.
Thursday: Went out to get family photos taken and my almost three year old had a huge tantrum after the fact and told me she hated me. I was so upset over the whole affair that my first intention was to go home and not have dinner but my wife had us grab some fast food while we're out as it's not right to skip meals like that.
Friday: Just more leftovers. I'm still not in any mood to cook.
Aw, sorry for the mess -- hope it has passed for you. Hang in there -- little children can be geniuses of button-pushing, and their timing is exquisite. Ask me how I know 😉
Made too much leek potato soup on Sunday, so we ate it on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Makes for an easy meal with few dishes, though! My husband is such a saint that he will eat the same thing for a week if need be, with never a complaint. On Wednesday we had tuna melts, a favorite for both of us. On Thursday I found four strips of bacon in the freezer, plus a huge chicken breast, so I pounded the breast thin and sautéed it with leeks, put half on each bagel and topped with two strips of bacon each. Tonight we are having leek pie (can you tell what I am harvesting from the garden this week?)
Monday - fried egg sandwich
Tuesday - thick black bean soup topped with sauteed kale
Wednesday - Homemade Leftover Bowl: mashed potatoes, black bean soup/paste, sauteed kale, guacamole, feta cheese, croissant on the side
Thursday - Thai take-out (It was back to school night and I had to rush home after work, feed the family and attend the event)
Friday - Nothing planned (and we have an appointment with a home contractor right after work so it might be another take-out night, ugh)
Having a meal all to yourself sounds divine! Sometimes I give my kids their lunch and then send them to play while I eat mine: alone.
hmm... what's been for supper this week:
Monday - Chicken breast, brown rice, and raw fresh veggies
Tuesday - Chicken and pasta
Wednesday - Steak, brown rice and green beans
Thursday - Spaghetti
Friday - Chicken soup tonight!
Our vacation came to a screeching halt due to Hurricane Florence, but our disruption was so minor compared to those living in the Carolina's. All our thoughts to those being impacted by this crazy display of power from Mother Nature.
A few things that make me happy at no or minimal cost would be 1) working in my low-maintenance yard trimming and pulling weeds, 2) baking something I know my family will enjoy, 3) a glass of wine on my pretty patio, 4) putting on an outfit that makes me feel pretty. ☺
Oh shoot - posted this to the wrong place! Meant to respond to yesterday's post, oops!
That salad looks right up my alley; is there a recipe?
Here you go! https://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/chopped-brussels-sprouts-with-dried-cranberries-pecans-blue-cheese/
Thanks for the reminder about this recipe. I looked at it the last time you mentioned it and thought, yep, dried cranberries and blue cheese make everything taste better, but I was lazy and never made the salad...but I think the Brussels sprouts in my fridge are a "sign."
I love that you actually make dinner for yourself. When I have a night alone, I tend to eat a bite of something out of random containers in the fridge, dropping a few items for the dog as I graze. I think it's probably depression-related, but food is never terribly interesting, so cooking for myself seems really over the top.
Blessings to everyone in NC and SC.
I hope that everyone stays safe and that there is minimal damage. It sounds so scary. We get tropical storms in my state too.
As usual I cannot remember what we have had to eat this week. I know we had something and leek on one day. I made a chicken, mushroom and leek dish last night and have another meal to freeze. Mum had pork on Thursday night and I had chicken. There was vegetable soup early in the week.
We are in Apex NC and all is well here. We had some wind gusts and rain but it was never bad. Our everyday thunderstorms are scarier than this so I can't complain. I worry about people to the south of me. They are getting a lot of rain and live near rising rivers.
Yes, wishing everyone out there safety and good health!!
All by myself (husband out of town) so, in no order :
Salad with various things in it, including some black beans and frozen corn. From marked down salad kits, etc..
Scrambled (free!) eggs with green onions and parm with more leftover salad -- very satifying
Frozen marked-down all organic veggie chili to which I added extra black beans and my free sour cream
Salad? can't remember.
Lunches were bistro boxes made by me from stuff in the 'frige (humous, veggies, cracker (marked down) cheese stick, grapes, olives, etc.) and breakfasts were free cereal mixed with other cereals or toast using up the last of the loaf with jelly and last of almond butter.
The weekend was more of a bacchanal 🙁 but last night i grabbed a marked down rotisserie chicken, baked a spud and steamed the last of the broccoli. Lunch with daughter at Mexican restaurant today but tonight will be chicken and salad.
I expect this week to be chicken-ful as I work my way down to the carcass. Enjoy your lovely time -- solitude can be so lovely sometimes!