What I Spent, What We Ate
What I Spent
I spent $193.43 at the grocery store, and then I spent $54.65 at Costco for coffee and frozen fruit.
So, I'm starting April off with a more expensive week than usual: $248.
I expected this week to be on the spendy side, though, given that I was a pretty bad grocery shopping slacker last week.
This coming week should be a little more average, though.
In fact, I'm thinking about doing a clean-out-the-freezer challenge (not my chest freezer; my small freezer under my fridge). If I do that, my grocery spending might be unusually low.
(Of course, my clean-out-the-freezer challenge will be flexible and very low on rules, because that is how I roll. I'm a frugal moderator.)
Spending Year To Date
January: $680.55
February: $650
March: $822.95 (it was a 5-week month)
What We Ate
Monday
I had a bit of a busy day (parenting. homeschooling. These things are time-consuming.), so I pushed the easy button and made buttermilk waffles for dinner.
I also fried up some local sausage, and the kids topped their waffles with strawberry syrup left from the last time I made it.
By the way, I saw containers of fruit syrup at Aldi this week, and they were each $3.49, so the homemade strawberry syrup is indeed a good bargain. If it beats Aldi's price, you know it's cheap!
Plus, I do believe my strawberry syrup recipe makes more syrup than what comes in the bottles at Aldi, so that makes it an even better bargain.
Tuesday
I made chipotle chicken kebabs with cilantro lime dipping sauce. We had toasted English muffins with our kebabs, and sauteed green beans.
These chicken kebabs (from the ATK quick cookbook I recommended earlier this week) are super fast and easy...you should totally add them to your dinner menu rotation!
Oh, and I see that this cookbook is still just $10 on ATK's site. Not affiliated, but I'm sharing bcause that's a really great price, compared to $35 or so on Amazon.
Wednesday
I made Hibachi Chicken and Shrimp and served it with rice.
And yum yum sauce.
I dearly love yum yum sauce.
(This is the yum yum sauce recipe I use.)
Thursday
We had ravioli and shrimp in pink sauce, with a green salad on the side.
I don't normally serve shrimp two nights in a row, but somehow when I was making a menu plan, I inadvertently planned shrimp back to back.
It was a luxurious week at our house. 😉
Friday
I ended up getting pizza out last week (remember that I was waffling?) and so this week I think I'll make regular crust pizza.
And that wraps up the eats at my house.
Your pink sauce looks delicious. I had a plan this week and then didn't really follow it. I was supposed to make tortillas one night and was too tired. Another night, I was still on the couch at 5:30 with one of my kids who came home from school with a cold.
Monday - pasta with peppers and chick peas, sauteed zucchini
Tuesday - black beans and rice (with a little bacon), mango and cuke salad
Wednesday - pasta with goat cheese, broccoli
Thursday - pork stir fry with peppers and cabbage, rice
Friday - pizza night!
We don't like breakfast for dinner, and I keep thinking while reading your blog about what our quick, last-minut dinner is. Pasta with butter and parmigian for my older daughter and pasta with oil and goat cheese for the rest of us, along with a microwaveable vegetable like broccoli, peas, or green beans.
When my son cut his hand at work on Monday our weekly plans hit the back burner for the second week.
Monday was chicken and salad
Tuesday was lamb and salad
Wednesday was get your own
Thursday was sausages and I can't remember
Friday (tonight) was breakfast for dinner (yogurt, muesli and raspberries)
Sunday - roasted cauliflower with cheese sauce, and hammy mixed greens; buttered bread
Monday - cheddar cheese soup (cheese sauce, cauliflower, sweet potato, chicken broth...)
Tuesday - tortellini with ham and peas
Wednesday - leftovers casserole (rice, cheese soup, frozen corn, 1/2 jar salsa, canned tomatoes, cheese, oregano + breadcrumbs)
Thursday - leftover leftovers 🙂
Friday - my husband informed me yesterday that he will be making pasta carbonara. This is quickly becoming our "pizza night" meal of choice. I'm excited that he's trying his hand at cooking it again - especially after the homemade brownies he made last night!
I'll also be starting up a pot of bean soup with the bones of chicken, ham, and lamb. Well, tomorrow! I realize I forgot to pre-soak the beans, and I didn't take the bones out of the freezer. It's been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week. 😛
Well, your menu for the week sounds great, though!
Monday: I'm still in the honeymoon period with my new multi-cooker, lol, so this night was pork chops with carmelized onions and mushrooms, made using the "stovetop" feature first, to brown everything, then switched to "slow cook". On the side was au gratin potatoes (Pioneer Woman's recipe) and fresh green beans.
Tuesday: I cook a lot on Tuesdays, my son and his kids are here and I send home food with my daughter for her family, too. I made a 5-lb whole chicken with wild rice cranberry dressing, asparagus with lemon and Parmesan, and homemade rolls.
Wednesday: Ate a Mexican lunch out and was just not hungry for dinner, so I had a half a cheese sandwich! Hubby had a small plate of the leftover pork chops from Monday night.
Thursday: Spaghetti, with salad, and leftover homemade rolls, split and toasted with garlic butter.
Tonight: it's my birthday, so I think I won't cook!
Happy, happy birthday, Sandy!!
Thank you, Kristen!
Mon- Grilled swordfish, brown rice medley (added spinach, raisins, pine nuts and lots of herbs), salad
Tue- Lemon & mushroom risotto, salad, garlic bread
Wed- Leftovers from Tuesday
Thur- Bean & cheese enchiladas, brown rice, salad
Fri- Daughter's house for dinner, so it will be a surprise
Thursdays are now 'cook with hubs' night at his request. For now, I'm keeping Thursday night meals veeery simple as he has much to learn about, well, everything! It's cute how proud he is of each completed dish, even if it does double my normal prep time. 🙂
I really need to get back to making my own pizza dough. there's just no excuse...There was just three of us for most of the week. I picked up a tub of smoked chopped beef at Rudy's, plus some creamed corn for Sunday (it came with bread). On Monday we had tostadas topped with chicken I cooked in the crock pot, some leftover pico de gallo, cheese, and refried black beans. Plus, guacamole, because...avocados! Wednesday we ate at a Chinese restaurant - which wasn't great so we won't go there again...Thursday I made a healthy version of Tater Tot Casserole with a bagged chopped Italian salad and some cresent rolls. Tonight is a French Bread sandwich with all kinds of leftover luchments and grilled chicken, plus cheeses and roasted red peppers. Starting this weekend, Hubby is 100% responsible for Saturday night dinner and I will pick up an easy meal on my way home from work. He'll probably grill and I will buy fried chicken...
I really enjoy these posts! They give me motivation and inspiration to make a meal plan and cook at home. I also like seeing what sides you serve with the meal. I made the Make-Ahead Chicken Enchiladas with Red Sauce and it was a big hit with my husband. Thanks!
Yum! I love the chipotle chicken kabobs too! That cookbook is my go to for weeknight meals.
I find that even buying the smallest can of chipotle, I'm still left with almost the whole thing after this meal. What do you do with the leftovers? Does it stay in the fridge until the next time you make the kabobs?
I blend mine up and keep them in a jar in the fridge, like so: https://www.instagram.com/p/BD1clMqKo-R/?taken-by=thefrugalgirl
They keep a good long time, due to the salt and vinegar, and since I use chipotles fairly often, I go through a jar of them in two months or so.
I freeze mine in one chile (@ one tablespoon) drops on a plate, then bundle then in a bag in the freezer for one-by-one usage as needed. 🙂
I do the exact same thing.
You've given me a wonderful idea...the freezer challenge. We will be moving over the summer, so I think now is a fabulous time to start working on clearing out the freezer and pantry.
I find these posts so inspirational. I'm excited to try that strawberry syrup.
Monday - baked tilapia with your roasted carrot recipe
Tuesday - I had to work late, so it was a random meal: yogurt, hard-boiled egg, fresh veggies
Wednesday - dinner out in celebration of my brother's birthday (Dad even treated, which was nice)
Thursday - balsamic poached chicken, baked french fries, and green peppers with homemade hummus
Friday - tonight it will be pasta and a pesto sauce made out of fresh spinach. I tried this last time I had to use up some spinach that was about to turn bad, and it was delicious, so I purposely added it to my menu this week.
Monday-Chicken salad over wild rice with roasted cabbage steaks
Tues- Loaded baked potatos
Wed-Spaghetti , garlic rolls, and a salad
Thurs- Pizza at the park
Friday- Not sure yet, maybe baked salmon
I have tried your strawberry syrup and it is delicious!
My week this week.
Sunday - Aussie chicken with salad. Yummy, so thanks for the recipe!
Monday - hot dogs with pasta salad and broccoli
Tuesday - leftovers
Wednesday - chorizo breakfast burrito with fruit
Thursday - chorizo and potato dish with garden salad
Friday - planning for ham & grilled cheese with stir fry vegetables & brown rice
Saturday - planning for chicken and butternut squash salad, probably with some sort of rice
Monday - Arby's roast beef sandwiches - we used a coupon and paid $12 instead of our normal $20 on fast food meals.
Tuesday - Frozen pizza with salad
Wednesday - Meeting meal (lebanese food) for me and crockpot chicken and potatoes for husband
Thursday - Leftovers
Friday - Steak and potatoes from the crockpot meal
It wasn't a healthy week, but aside from maybe Monday, it's been a frugal one.
Monday: Smoked sausage and tortellini in a tomato cream sauce (aka "Sophie's Pasta," as this is my daughter's favorite meal)--served with French bread made using your recipe!
Tuesday: Vegan black bean and brown rice burritos with mango-chili dipping sauce (so tasty and healthful)
Wednesday: French toast with sausage (my husband works late on Wednesdays so breakfast for dinner has become a bit of a tradition)
Thursday: Coconut chickpea curry with basmati rice, naan, and broccoli
Friday: Homemade chicken noodle soup (another one of your recipes; thanks!)
Let's see if I can even remember... I should comment every Friday just as a memory exercise!
Monday- husband was at a late church meeting so the kids and I had a snacky late dinner.
Tuesday- Mexican restaurant for my mom's birthday
Wednesday- smoked kielbasa with buttered noodles and sautéed asparagus & grape tomatoes
Thursday- spaghetti and meatballs with steamed mixed veggies
Friday- we'll have leftovers from the previous two suppers. I'll need to make another veg to have... Probably asparagus again or green beans. I'll just sauté them with butter, salt and pepper, and some garlic powder.
Oh Kristen, you are like catnip to me! I can always count on you for fantastic recipes and helpful hints. I just ordered the cookbook, received my water bottle, bees wrap and recently dish clothes from MighyNest. The next step, the glass straws!
By the way, on the purchase of the Honda, in August 2006 we purchased a used 1998 Civic for our college bound daughter. We paid cash and that car has never given us a bit of trouble. She now uses it on her commute for work.
Thanks for every thing Kristen!
Hello Kristen,
Do you mind sharing how much you spend per month in the other areas like school supplies, clothes, gifts, miscellaneous? Ballpark?
Thank you.
I put $50 a month into our online clothing savings account, and that generally covers us without a problem.
School supplies I'm not sure about! I don't spend a whole lot on typical school supplies like backpacks and pencil boxes and such, since we do school at home. But I do have to pay for curriculum. I'd need to look up how much my school spending is on Quicken, which I don't have handy at the moment.
We usually spend about $100 on gifts when our own kids have birthdays. Were you asking about that? Or about buying gifts for people outside the family?
I can't even begin to say how impressed I am that you feed your six-person family three nutritious meals every day. Kudos to you, Kristen!
Thank you! I don't put tons of effort into breakfast and lunch, though, so don't give me TOO much credit. Breakfast is usually a smoothie or oatmeal, and lunch is leftovers or sandwiches.
I don't think I have the energy to cook a full meal three times a day!
Yeah, I kinda rocked the frugal food thing this week. Finally.
Saturday I did a Cuban marinade for pork tenderloin and made rice & black beans. I used canned black beans and cooked them down a little with some random Trader Joe's canned tomatoes & chile pepper (why this can was in the house I couldn't tell you).
The pork was un-fabulous. On Sunday I cooked it on low, in the rest of the canned tomato/pepper, until it was shreddable. I had shredded pork, rice, and black beans for some of my work lunches this week.
Sunday night - salad with grilled chicken and goat cheese
Monday night - DH had a meeting, so I made a veggie omlette with goat cheese
Tuesday - frozen curried butternut squash soup (homemade), salad
Wednesday, Thursday - I was out of town for meetings, so my meal expenses were covered
Friday - we're going out for Indian food. I just got home an hour ago, the hubs has been swamped all day, and although I'm a good cook I just don't make great Indian food.
I hate it when I try a new recipe and it's...un-fabulous. So frustrating. Good for you for repurposing it!
Monday - spaghetti pie with fruit and Caesar salad
Tuesday - spaghetti pie with cheesy bread and fruit
Wednesday - chicken fried rice with Costco potstickers and broccoli
Thursday- spiral cut ham with pineapple and made from scratch cheezy potatoes
Friday - pasta salad with olives, Pepita's and sundried tomatoes; turkey/Jarlsberg/grape/almond salad; cantaloupe
What does your weekend dinner menu consist of?
Well, one night is usually a date night for Mr. FG and me (we budget about $20/week for that, so we usually just get sandwiches or pizza or something inexpensive like that). And then the other night is usually a snacky kind of affair (fruit, nuts, cold cuts, raw veggies, crackers, cheese, etc.)
And of course, sometimes there are family gatherings or other such things on weekends, which changes things up.
I printed out the recipe for the Hibachi Chicken and Shrimp. Thanks so much, can't wait to try it.