What I Spent, What We Ate | I bought a zillion groceries
After not going out at all last week, I did head out to the grocery store this week.
(mask from a box we bought back in September, for Sonia to wear to biology class on mold experiment days!)
Things seem to be leveling out a bit supply-wise at the stores now, mostly thanks to purchase limits (like 2 bread items, or 2 paper goods items)
So, I am grateful.
The limits are not too constricting (2 big packs of toilet paper will last quite a while), and the limits are definitely helping to even out supply.
What I Spent
Oh boy. This feels like a lot of grocery spending at once because I am not used to shopping for multiple weeks at once.
I think in my efforts to buy enough to keep me out of the store for a while, I might be overbuying, because my laundry room pantry shelf is now stuffed to the brim.
But, as long as I am not overbuying perishables, this should all work out ok in the end. We'll eat the food eventually!
I spent $339 at the grocery store (I finally made it to Aldi!)
And then I finally broke down and ordered yeast on Amazon. It was painful, but I paid $33 for a two pound bag.
That's waaaay more than I'd pay at Costco for the same amount, but these are desperate times.
And a two pound bag of yeast will make far more than $33 worth of bread, so that's what I'm reminding myself of.
This is buttery bubble bread.
I guess my total isn't too bad; I spent $372, which is $72 over budget for two weeks of groceries.
And considering that these are unusual times, I'm at peace with the $72.
(You may remember that I ordered a huge bag of flour too. But I haven't been charged for that yet due to the delay in shipping. So, that expense will show up in a future grocery report.)
What We Ate
NOTE: Whenever possible, I try to link to the recipes I use. I don't mind if you comment or email me asking for the recipes, but the fastest way to find the recipe is to just click the link right here in the post. I try to be a fast responder, but sometimes I fall behind! 🙂
Saturday
The girls ate pigs in a blanket with some fruit, and Mr. FG and I did a takeout date night like we used to do when our kids were small.
We were going to get takeout from a local restaurant, but it closed earlier than we expected. So, we ended up ordering from Five Guys, which is a staple in our $20 date night options anyway.
(Here are a bunch of my $20 food ideas for date nights.)
Sunday
It was Easter, and since I hadn't thought about getting a ham when I'd shopped two weeks ago, I was a little at a loss.
But luckily, my household is not very stuck on traditional holiday foods. So, we ordered pizza and wings!
I did make a traditional Easter breakfast from my childhood, though: two loaves of bear bread, which are made from my grandma's sweet roll dough.
Recipe for the bears is right here.
Monday
Breakfast for dinner night!
Sonia's been wanting to get more kitchen experience, so she worked with me and we made sausage and pancakes (buttermilk pancakes for most of us, coconut milk pancakes for Sonia).
And we all topped our pancakes with my failed peach jam.
(Which I mentioned in this week's Five Frugal Things post.)
Tuesday
Sonia and I made pork tinga with rice from the ATK One Pot Wonders cookbook.
We topped that with sour cream (well, Sonia didn't!), and ate applesauce on the side.
Wednesday
Sonia and I made pulled pork, which we ate on buns. We also had sautéed asparagus. And some purple grapes.
Thursday
We had shrimp viennese plus some raw fruits and veggies.
Friday
I was thinking about making pizza, but I realized I forgot to buy mozzarella cheese when I did my huge grocery shopping trip.
AUGH.
So I will figure something else out.
Kristen, if you bought a zillion groceries, then I must have ended up with two zillion because I spent $722.00 yesterday. I decided to reduce my exposure and stock up on the foods and supplies we use regularly. I was able to buy about 95% of the items on my list, and ran into limits on only two things I needed (liquid hand soap and eggs). My 21 year old daughter (a temporarily unemployed barber) offered to join me on the mega-run (thanks, kiddo!), and I figured the three hours we spent tag-teaming on the list would have been closer to five without her help. We would have shaved a little time off had it not been for physical distancing requirements and backtracking due to one-way aisles. I've come to appreciate Wal-Mart for its wider aisles and additional open space near the checkout lanes, both of which allow for better physical distancing. Some of the other grocery stores in our area are quite a bit tighter. And I'm grateful for both our upright freezer (which I just defrosted two days ago in anticipation of this trip) and our extra refrigerator (which we run on an as needed basis). Without them, we wouldn't have the ability to stock up to this extent. Now, I'm just waiting to see what I forgot to buy because I'm sure there must be something. So sorry to hear about your mozzarella!
Well, if you have 2 zillion groceries, then I think you can stay home for a whole month. Heh.
From your lips to God's ears!
Mary, I'm limiting my exposure, too. I'm allowing myself one grocery trip every two weeks. For someone who typically ran errands almost every day, it's been a real challenge. But Monday is the end of this two weeks, and I'm so excited!! Who knew I'd ever daydream about the grocery store? But these are strange times. Although Walmart was my usual go-to, I'm avoiding it because it's so big. I'm sticking with the local Harris Teeter three miles away. And price comparison between shops has gone out the window. Now I just compare prices within the grocery store, grab, and go! (wearing glove and mask all the while)
Agreed, Mary. Right now, availability is more important than price to me. I'll get back to my normal comparison shopping when we get back to "normal" times, whatever that turns out to be.
For me, that will be when it's safer to go to the supermarket. Till then, it's one trip a week (not including the pre-boxed farmer's market produce and thank ghu for that). Which store I pick depends on what I want to focus on.
This week I have spent far less than I usually do. I am pleased as I told mum we had to eat what was in the house.
Meals have revolved around leftovers after each meal I cooked. So we have had roast lamb and leftovers, tacos with leftovers, soup made from the lamb bones and pizza twice. I am trying to not waste anything.
Good for Sonia learning how to cook. That's imperative when you have multiple food allergies and restaurants aren't as much of an option.
Friday: Scrambled eggs, pasta with tomato sauce and mozzarella, leftover green beans
Saturday: Roast everything! Italian sausage, potatoes, roasted tomatoes, roasted frozen green beans (green beans are going to be on our menu a LOT in the coming weeks, because I bought 24 pounds of them from our school's Sysco ordering program)
Sunday: Happy Easter! Have some gyros. The meat was a boned-out leg from the wether we slaughtered a couple of weeks ago, marinated, browned, and roasted. I made sourdough pita bread to go with it (which was pretty easy but OH THE SMOKE. I don't know if I can make them again because it's too much for my nerves to have the smoke alarms going off for thirty minutes straight, even with every window in the house open). Ad then some oven fries, a green salad from MY LETTUCE HOORAY, and the ugliest bunny cake ever to grace an Easter table. Delicious, though!
Monday: Leftover lamb and Italian sausage covered with tomato sauce and mozzarella, fried potato slices, green salad
Tuesday: Sheep lap (the breast cut) cooked rib-style with a dry rub, garlic bread, curried split peas, baked potatoes, carrot sticks. Obviously, this was not a meal in which all the flavors went together very well, but that's because I pretty much made two separate meals. The curry and potatoes were mostly for me because I can't handle the lap. Too fatty.
Wednesday: Bunless cheeseburgers, rice, frozen green beans
Thursday: Grilled cheese sandwiches (some plain old cheddar, some pizza-style with tomato sauce and mozzarella), frozen green beans (what'd I say about the green beans 🙂
Tonight: Sheep chili, corn muffins, maybe salad if I have enough lettuce outside.
What on earth was smoking??
I make pita all the time, and it doesn't set off our very sensitive smoke alarms! (which do get set off if I roast a chicken at 450F).
Did you have the oven turned way up or something? I usually put mine at 425, and that's more than sufficient to get them to puff and cook through.
If it's flour falling on the element in the bottom of the oven, you can also try increasing the amount of olive oil in the dough so it's less sticky and doesn't need much flour for rolling (when I make mine, I use a tiny pinch of flour for rolling them out, so there's no loose flour to fall into the oven).
I have very sensitive smoke alarms too, which is SO annoying when I roast a chicken or make a pizza.
I did them on my cast-iron griddle, the same way I make tortillas. I think that probably resulted in more of the delicious browned spots that make them so tasty, but that was what caused the smoking.
Of course, traditionally they were made outside or in outdoor ovens, so smoke wasn't a problem. 🙂
If I ever make them again (I also have an aversion to rolling things with rolling pins, so that didn't help), I might try them in the oven. Although my oven sets off my smoke detectors every time it's at high heat, too. They're just sensitive, I guess. And my range hood is old and terrible.
You can try wrapping the smoke detectors in saran wrap.
I learned that from the building super in my old building, who had been a restaurant chef in a previous life. He was very sympathetic to my complaint that a smoke detector shouldn't go off when I was just sauteeing onions, and you have to saute onions, right? In any event, it worked for me.
Oh my goodness I used to make that bear bread all the time for my children when they were growing up!
I'm going to send my daughter that link right now, thank you!
Sunday: My husband wanted to make rolls and bread, and I certainly wasn't going to stop him haha. We used the bread to make french toast for dinner.
Monday: Skillet lasagna
Tuesday: Leftovers
Wednesday: Mexicali casserole
Thursday: Calzones from a local Italian place
Friday: A new recipe for Chinese chicken noodle soup
Saturday: Probably leftovers
If you lived closer I would've gladly shared some of my yeast or my sourdough starter. I offered some up locally but no takers.
Outside of some basics like milk, eggs and my kid's allergy meds I haven't had to go inside of a store for much this week. It's depressing watching people treat others like lepers and wearing masks over their faces and such. I'm still going without a mask or gloves and will as long as I can. Breathing is hard enough with my nose already clogged up due to allergies. I don't need something else blocking my air.
Saturday: Pizza from our favorite pizza place. I've eaten there more in the last month than i had in the last year. I'm glad they are still busy at least.
Sunday: Easter was pretty awful this year. My daughter is not handling things well. I couldn't see my family. Our internet went out so we couldn't participate in church and some other stuff happened that just discouraged me.
We did eat ham, mashed potatoes, corn, vegetables etc.
Monday: A repeat of Sunday.
Tuesday: Salads (with ham) baked sweet potatoes etc.
Wednesday: Leftover waffles from the freezer, eggs, ham (surprise! - though the rest is in the freezer) fruit etc.
Thursday: Wife and daughter made meatballs and then ate some with spaghetti. Well, my wife ate them. I had random leftovers from the fridge.
Friday: I have no clue at this point and quite frankly I'm not caring much any more. It's not a good state to be in but it's life.
I'm sorry you are feeling discouraged, Battra. I think that's understandable, under the circumstances, and I hope this coming week brings more bright spots for you.
Where I live, face masks are now required by law when we go to stores. I don't love wearing one, of course, but at least it's just for a short stint while I'm shopping.
I, too, am very sorry that you're not doing well. You seem like a really good guy and a devoted husband and father. You seem like the type of responsible person who wants to see that everyone (else) is going OK. I wish I could help you take care, of yourself as well as others. If not that, I wish I could share my cell phone hotspot, because losing internet night now is a bigtime bummer. (I'd phrase that differently but FG would eject me from this family-friendly blog.)
A big hug to you from the UK. I don't comment on blogs normally, but I know you often engage with Kristen's comment feed, and I love to hear what you have to say. I really hope you feel more cheerful now. I think most people feel topsy turvy and discombobulated at the moment, and we will all have up and down days. Just wanted to let you know that a 'virtual friend' wishes you well.
Monday: frozen pizza fruit
Tuesday: pork loin chops Mac n cheese leftover Easter potatoes
Wednesday:grilled cheese tater tots carrot sticks and ranch
Thursday: meat loaf. Rice. Corn.
Today: leftover meatloaf potato soup and hot rolls
This loaf only uses 1/2 teaspoon of yeast. The cranberries and orange are optional. I just opened my last pound of yeast, and it's on my list at Sam's club, and I'm checking it constantly so I can snag it when it is back in stock.
https://www.gardenandtable.net/rustic-cranberry-orange-bread-one-loaf-w-recipe-below/
As an added bonus, you can browse the expensive foods on the site and realize how much money you are saving by cooking at home. Assuming this loaf costs $1 to make, I've already "saved" $26 by making this loaf twice. Like I'd ever pay $14 for a loaf of bread, lol.
Haha, yes, I wouldn't pay $14 for a loaf either.
But thinking of it that wasy DOES make a person feel good. 😉
I haven't been to the store in almost 3 weeks! (a few DH stopped for a few things that we needed)
going to fix that this weekend.
Saturday- order curb side pick up from Chili's. so we all had something different.
Sunday- Easter. surly an usual dinner easter dinner, but non the less- Ravioli, meatballs (my sister gave me, since they had the same, and had extra meatballs) garlic bread, salad, and I made a cake for dessert.
Monday- Chicken cutlet-butter noodles, corn.
Tuesday- appy's , pigs in the blanket, pizza bites, mac and cheese. (not the best but no one starved!)
Wednesday- French toast- bacon- cut up apple.
Thursday- DH and Ds had taco's, DD and I had tortellini with butter and parm cheese. salsa and chips on the side.
Friday- think we are going to have the stuffed chickens I have in the freezer, mashed and veggies, DS will have chicken parm since he doesn't like the chicken
Hope all are safe!
I find that I am spending more money on food, too, but that's because the choices are limited and I end up buying the pricier versions of things. I'm keeping my Imperfect Foods boxes closer to the $25 range because they seem a bit overwhelmed right now and my box is usually missing something that I have to remind them to credit me for. Anyhoo, we ate:
Monday - Gnocchi and Sausage with homemade marinara, brussel sprouts
Tuesday - Doritos Cheesy Chicken Casserole, steamed broccoli
Wednesday - Tuna Pita Sammies with avocado and some Fritos
Thursday - Weinie Beanie (I used Spam and it was GOOD!) with bell peppers and onions, leftover toasted beer bread
Friday - Sunday leftovers: Roast Pork, loaded mashed potatoes, carrots
Saturday - Beef Goulash with fresh tomatoes and onions, kale
Sunday - We'll have grilled chicken, baked potato, and either corn or black-eyed peas
What I really want to get my hands on is a turkey to roast. I bought a ham a couple weeks ago and have portioned it out for several meals.
I have never heard of weinie beanie. So, I am going to google it now!
I was loving imperfect- but I have to have a $30 minimum, and it is delivered by FedEx- which routes things incorrectly and jostles things. I was missing over a third of my order this time, and one some of the stuff was so battered, it was no good. I think I'm going to have to stop using it for the time being. Hopefully my greens will be ready to harvest soon!
Sunday - eggs, pancakes, turkey bacon
Monday - spicy beans over rice
Tuesday - salmon, baked potatoes, salad
Wednesday - chicken pot pie with biscuit crust, salad
Thursday - leftover chicken pot pie
Friday - homemade pizza if I can find enough mozzarella in the packed fridge LOL
I wish I had known you needed yeast. $3.99 for the 2# at Gordon Food Marketplace here when I bought it a week ago . Could have sent you one.
Well, that is a MUCH better deal than what I got!
Easter Sunday: A lovely ham (from freezer stock), mashed potatoes, ham gravy, green beans with bacon & onion, leftover apple cake later on, for dessert.
Monday: Leftovers, added more green beans.
Tuesday: Sloppy Joes, oven fries, carrot sticks
Wednesday: scalloped cheesy potatoes with ham, asparagus.
Thursday: Sam's Club pepperoni pizza, with added steamed broccoli & extra cheese (pizza was free because they messed up our order). The broccoli on the pizza was a big hit. I cut it up in small pieces, steamed, spread out on a layer of cheese over the pepperoni.
Today, Friday: Something with chicken. Thinking stir fried rice with asparagus and mushrooms.
Oh - lunches were leftovers every day.
How are you?
Can you please share your homemade pizza recipe?
My store bought crusts always come out terrible!
Thank you,
Marcia
Sure! Here's my method and recipe: https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/how-to-make-great-homemade-pizza/
I had to laugh a little at the picture of the pancakes on the griddle - we had pancakes for dinner on Wednesday, and it appears we own the same griddle - LOL!
We did have ham on Easter, but it was a ham from the freezer that I'd bought for Christmas - again, LOL!
We had a sheet pan dinner last night (my first ever!) - maple glazed salmon, roasted potatoes, and green beans. The salmon came out PERFECTLY. I'll make that again.
I'm still working my way through the freezer - slowly. I'm still unearthing forgotten items - ugh.
But, progress!
Saturday: Chicken with orange sauce, noodles and frozen green beans.
Sunday: Ham, roast potatoes, turnip and carrot puree.
Monday: The rest of the ham with brussels sprouts and roast carrots. (Carrots turned up a lot this week.)
Tuesday: Spaghetti and apple/carrot salad.
Wednesday: More spaghetti because I had a double batch of sauce, this time with some ground beef and chopped carrots added to the sauce.
Thursday: Pizza with a salad. I don't usually buy bagged lettuce but the box program where I usually get lettuce and spinach had a greenhouse failure. 🙁
Tonight: Pineapple pork with noodle and more salad with--you guessed it--more carrots!
I have a few things that have saved us money recently:
I used up some apples about to go bad and made homemade chunky applesauce. Had some older bananas that no one would eat so I fed them to our chickens for a treat.
I had made some chicken tortilla soup and we ate for dinner and a few lunches. when everyone tired of it, i packaged into 3 containers for lunches and froze it.
I went thru a pile of garage sale books I had and picked out 7 i knew I definitely wouldn't read and out them in the little free library in our neighborhood in exchange for 3 that i WOULD read.
My boss gifted me some cajun deer sausage he had made and some deer bologna he made (stuck that in freezer for another time) but made chili from the cajun sausage and it was good. Gifted a jar of chili to our widowed neighbor for lunch.
I had made some pasta salad and we had too much so I gifted some to a neighbor couple. They were happy.
With some of the $ we are saving by staying at home during this pandemic, i've been paying down a few bills. Paid a few off. Glad to have the "extra" money used this way.
Switched our cable carrier and combined with our internet carrier saving $23/month, plus we now get cable on 2 other household tvs for free that we didn't get with our prior carrier.
Using coupons whenever I can at the store.
Our school is providing free breakfasts and lunches for the kids. You just take your child (have to have them in the car to get) with you and drive by the school gym and the lunch ladies had the bags to you. Everyone is encouraged to do it so the government will still provide the program. Daughter has gotten some good healthy snacks, fruit and foods this way stretching our food budget just a tad bit more.
sorry i put this in the wrong post. It was supposed to be for 5 frugal things.
The failed jam would be wonderful drizzled over homemade biscuits. I actually make a thin pear honey from an Amish cookbook. It is served with fried chicken. The pear honey mixed with a little wet mustard and spices is a good topping for pork loin. Drizzle half, bake half of your desired time, the drizzle with the rest and finish baking. I feel sure your peach would be tasty!
Just an FYI
There are many recipes for pizza without cheese, to be found on the internet. My daughter has made a couple and they were delicious. Unfortunately, I do not have the recipes or I would pass them on.
I was going to suggest using cheddar instead of mozzarella on my favorite pizza: grilled chicken, caramelized onions & bacon drizzled with bbq sauce (topped with the cheddar.)
This week so far we ate: leftovers ( fish pie, salad, ham and a side kick for the teenager)
Tuesday- pulled pork sanwiches, coleslaw and my moms fabulous homemade hamburger buns
Wednesday- leftover pulled pork, burgers that I BBQ'ed in Dec and froze, salad
Thursday- creamy shrimp pasta with roasted veggies
Friday - chicken souvlaki with coleslaw
Saturday - chicken wings and nachos...
Sunday -roasted chicken with potatoes and veggies
I've spent 220 on groceries this week, but that's including a 50lb bag of flour ( 23.00 here in Canada) and a 50lb bag of potatoes for 15.00, plus I scored some cheap ground turkey ( 2 lbs for 3.75)...
🙂
Easter Sunday- Ham, Green Beans, Mac and Cheese, Rolls, Dirt Pudding
Monday-Ground turkey slaw with zucchini and peppers.
Tuesday- 31st anniversary celebrated with carry out.
Wednesday- Baked potatoes and steamed broccoli
Thursday- Bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches with a cup of canned soup.
Friday- Grilled cheese and tomato soup.
We've been cooking up a storm!
Tonight: homemade pizza; salad
Thursday: cedar-planked salmon with Asian marinade; grilled zucchini and Japanese eggplant; jasmine rice; left-over miso-glazed spaghetti squash
Wednesday: homemade fish 'n chips! beer-battered pollock with Balkan cabbage salad
Tuesday: piri-piri grilled chicken thighs, grilled broccoli, rice, lettuce-less salad
Monday: baked herby macaroni and cheese, sautéed broccolini, leftover miso-glazed spaghetti squash
Sunday: roasted rack of lamb with herbs and garlic, Hasselback potatoes with duck fat, sautéed Savoy cabbage; a very weird salad with crispy beets, fresh mozz., cucumber and radish (the salad was the one fail of the week.....)
Saturday: homemade pork gyoza; miso-glazed spaghetti squash, blistered shishito peppers
Friday: homemade Argentine beef empanadas with salsa verde; sautéed black beans and zucchini; salad
Starting with Sunday 4/12/20: For Easter we cooked a turkey (I got free around Thanksgiving & it was taking up too much space in my freezer), mashed potatoes & gravy, rolls, carrots, and I made a vanilla dream whip pie & a pistachio dream whip pie and cool whip to go on top. We shared our dinner with our firefighter staff who were working (4 of them). Had them stop by curb side at our house & we had everything in containers for them. They loved it!
Monday: i made shepherds pie with turkey, the rest of the gravy, the rest of the carrots & i added the rest of a bag of mixed veggies in it and my daughter had the rest of the rolls. I cut up a pineapple for something sweet to go with it.
Tuesday: tacos
Wednesday: we ordered Five Guys burgers and fries
Thursday: sausage, egg and cheese breakfast bagel sandwiches (these were so yummy!)
Friday: I have a roast in the crockpot with onions & carrots, will serve with mashed potatoes & gravy & steamed broccoli
Saturday: either lasagna or scalloped potatoes & ham. Haven't decided which yet...
How was ALDI now that they have limits on the number of shoppers? I haven’t been since they’ve implemented it, but have heard the lines can get long.
I bought for two weeks last time I shopped, and have the second week to go, so I'm not going to the grocery store this week. That's good, because I have blown through my grocery budget this month, and I will have to go shopping again next weekend. And I hear that grocery prices are just going to keep going up for a while.
I roasted a big pork loin roast and we've eaten off of it twice and aren't done yet. We had honey carrots and asparagus with it, acre peas and something I can't remember with it, and we'll have squash cooked with onions and something else (not decided) with it next time we eat it, which is possibly tonight.
We had hotdogs one night. I bought a tiny container of fancypants potato salad for my husband as a treat for him, since I don't hardly use white potatoes, and it turned out to be very bland. I had cut up vegetables with my hotdog.
I made beef stew in my pressure cooker and we had that twice. I have finally developed an AIP-friendly recipe that both my husband and I really like, amazingly.
I made fried corn (cook bacon, drain off most of the grease, fry fresh or frozen cut corn quickly in the remaining grease, turn off the heat and add crumbled bacon, cut up fresh tomatoes, bell peppers, green onions, whatever sounds good) and we had that one night with sliced cucumbers. I have reintroduced corn in my diet, some. I don't like cucumbers, but I am trying to train myself to eat them. Right now, I have to dip them in dressing, but I'm getting there.
I hate going over budget on my grocery shopping like I know I will this month, but at least I am using way, way less money on gas, so it kind of evens out.
Just and FYI your pictures are not showing in your post. I am Mac person in Chrome. In safari it shows as ? I know not important with current USA conditions.
I bought a ham so after using it every way possible, soup, casserole with eggs & as sandwiches. I froze the rest for later. I'm still working full time from home so meals have to be quick and easy. Hamburgs and rice
Kung pow chicken (pao)
Roasted peppers onions topping for steak sandwiches
So many basic goods are missing from stores, I finally found evaporated milk, rice, bleach, toilet cleaner so yay there.
Debating on buying a dehydrator for fruit and veggies.
My kids are all in other states and we all downloaded the HouseParty app, you can all play games together like a Zoom meeting and we laughed for an hour playing in that app.
I know what we ate but not what night it was eaten! Here's the lineup in random order:
1. Wild rice burgers and red cabbage salad
2. Potato casserole and roasted asparagus
3. Sweet potato and chickpea tikki masala
4. Vegetarian reuben sandwiches and greens with poppyseed dressing
5. Popcorn and orange segments
6. Vegetable tetrazzini and pineapple/blueberry compote
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday Wednesday- roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, and macaroni salad (to use up hard-boiled eggs)
Thursday and Friday- deconstructed turkey pot pie
I was also able to make quite a bit of turkey stock from the turkey we roasted Sunday. I froze it for late use. That turkey fed us well and only cost $11 around holiday time. Total spent was $61 for the week.
I feel like I am cooking and cleaning the kitchen constantly. I am trying to use all my food resources, so we have had some interesting meals.
Saturday- Baked potatoes and salad
Sunday - I cooked Easter brunch - ham, biscuits, salad, quiche, fruit salad, pie, etc. So we had leftovers for dinner
Monday - Roasted root vegetables, zucchini, leftover ham (put the bone and the remaining ham in the freezer after dinner)
Tuesday - Roast chicken, rice and a vegetable ( I can’t remember what)
Wednesday - Hamburgers, oven fries, and salad
Thursday - I took two chickens carcasses out of the freezer and made broth. I then cut up the leftover chicken from Tuesday, added spinach, mushrooms, ginger, garlic, tamari, and rice noodles. It was delicious, but has no name.
Friday - Spaghetti with meat sauce and salad. I will eat mine on leftover zucchini because I’m gluten-free
In February I went to an Estate Sale. The hardest part of social distancing is not being able to go thrifting. The estate was obviously that of a prepper. It was a “fill a box for $5” sale. There was a shipping container in the back yard FULL of food. Most of it looked questionable to me but I did pick up a 2# bag of yeast. I was able to share that yeast with 7 of my neighbors through my FB Buy-Nothing-Group.
What I ate:
Chicken Ala King
Grilled Ham & Cheese Sandwich
Hawaiian Pizza
Italian Meatball Sandwich.
Leftover Pizza
Chicken Alphabet Soup (part of a batch I made for a friend who had Covid 19, she has since recovered)
I remember a few weeks ago you asked if this all was making us spend more on groceries or if we were spending less and at the time I wasn't sure how it would all pan out. But I've found that I am absolutely spending more. Buying stuff from more than just Aldi is killing any sense of budget I used to have. But I'm grateful that I am healthy enough to shop and we have the resources that we need. (Tomorrow will be my big shopping day... I'm so excited. FRESH PRODUCE!!!)
Monday - Navy bean squash soup and FG french bread
Tuesday - Ham and broccoli pasta toss and pineapple. It was a new main dish to us and it went well, so I'm happy to have another option for using up leftover ham.
Wednesday - Fajitas
Thursday - Stir fry and pineapple
Friday - Ham, deviled eggs, baked beans, and asparagus. I'm making baked beans from scratch for the first time, so I'm anxious to see how they turn out!
Easter Sunday--- Chicken Parmesan with noodles, frozen mixed vegetables This was a good supper, but I missed having Easter Sunrise breakfast with my church family!!
Monday--- leftovers from Sunday plus tossed salad
Tuesday--- beans and rice with salsa, the last of the grapes in the house
Wednesday--- snacky supper: apples with peanut butter, cheese and crackers, carrots and celery with dip, homemade oatmeal cookies for dessert
Thursday--- grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, more oatmeal cookies for dessert because....oatmeal cookies are awesome!
Friday--- spaghetti with meat sauce , salad
I have a question for all of you brilliant people! While cleaning out my pantry at the beginning of this quarantine, I found jars with mesh type lids that I used to use for sprouting seeds and beans. But of course, no seeds or beans. I DO however have dried great northern and pinto beans and packaged pearl barley. Would any of these work to sprout? Thanks in advance for your knowledge!!
Remember the old line from Love Story? "Love means never having to say you're sorry." Being frugal means you never have to say you're sorry for spending $33 on two pounds of yeast.
BTW, I always hated that line. Love means you are *always* say you are sorry if you do something hurtful to your partner, how ever unintentionally, because that's just how life goes.
Think how much you'll appreciate the next bag of Costco yeast you can get your hands on. Then you can dollar cost average for the win!
My new friend brought me some beautiful home baked bread yesterday and I shared more of the bag of Costco yeast that's still in my freezer. It feels like a magic bag, because she is sharing it with other friends who are running low, which makes my heart happy.
I've always hated that line also, for exactly that reason. What an egotistical jerk you must be, to think you're never rude or offensive to the one you love, or that you never had to apologize when you do.
I AGREE about the Love Story line. The only thing I could figure out is that you never have to apologize for having cancer.
I just wanted to mention that Rice Milk makes a great substitute for milk in cooking and baking, and it doesn't leave any particular flavor to what you're cooking like a soy milk or a coconut milk would. You can even make a Rice Milk "buttermilk" by adding a bit of vinegar to it, just like with regular milk. Great for pancakes and such!
I spent a boatload at the store, too: $325 (which includes buying a snack for the teller and a $13 tip for the bagger). Part of it is not using many coupons (I stopped my physical newspaper subscription because the company hasn't gotten the bill right in 5 years). Part of it is fewer trips per week. Part of it is going to one store only.
But I think part of it is just buying a lot. I find myself reluctant to eat from my freezer, so each week I buy meat at regular prices. Makes me wonder what, exactly, the back of my head is thinking.
It took longer than usual to get into the store. This had two silver linings: one, I spent 30 min outside in the sun and two, I jogged in place to keep warm - extra exercise!
Quarantine meals
Sunday: tortilla soup (soup with cabbage, onions, broccoli, garlic, corn tortillas, parsley, cilantro, home-made enchilada sauce, green peppers, jalapeno peppers) topped with cheddar cheese and aocado.
Monday: chicken Parmesan (with mozzarella and marina) with a side of broccoli
Tuesday: chowder with potatoes, kale, celery, onions served with pan-fried chicken (cooked in shallots)
Wed: we had roasted cauliflower with marinara and kale, accompanied by white asparagus
Thursday: shrimp spaghetti with bok choy, kale and garlic
We did a large run more than 10 days ago, and I feel like we have enough food to last us at least another week. I haven't been to a store since March 14th, as my husband is our designated shopper for this season, and I can't say that I miss it all that much.
Saturday: I can't remember! It feels like Easter was eons ago.
Sunday: stew with homemade boule
Monday: leftovers
Tuesday: Thai style red curry with rice
Wednesday: Pasta with red sauce and broccoli
Thursday: Rice bowls with grilled pepper, black beans, mango, tomato, lime and chicken
Friday: hotdogs and baked potatoes with broccoli (kid request)
It hurts to pay that much for yeast! I don't need costco size packages, but I am used to buying a little bit at a time for pennies from the bulk bins at my grocery store. The grocery store is open but the bulk bins are closed. Man, I miss those bulk bins!
Saturday I had tacos.
Sunday - Simplified Easter dinner - Ham, au gratin potatoes and salad. Pineapple upside down cake for dessert.
Monday & Tuesday - leftover Easter Dinner
Wednesday - I didn't sleep well and was too exhausted to even make a sandwich. A bowl of Cheerios was the best I could do.
Thursday - From the freezer - Tader Joe's tempura sweet and sour chicken, rice and mixed veggies.
Friday - I was going to make tacos again but I am really tempted to get take-out instead.
Oh, I miss bulk bins too! We've had to increase our grocery budget the last few months because having no bulk bins really makes a difference.
We had a fun yet unconventional Easter supper of sloppy joes, oven fries and homemade apple pie. The leftover joe sauce was used for another supper to make awesome loaded baked potatoes with a broccoli side. And I guess we were craving beef because we had meatloaf, green peas, leftover broccoli, corn muffins and applesauce. To continue the leftover chain, the last of the meatloaf was meatloaf sandwiches today.
Pre-Covid, I would often hit three or even four stores doing a careful and extremely frugal weekly shopping trip and come in around $85 for three adults. Now I pick one store most likely to have what we need, put on my mask and shop as fast as humanely possible. The food total is running anywhere from 20 to 50 percent higher, but I figure limiting my exposure is frugal too.
We are definitely spending more, due to an increase in meals (vs free from work). We are also not checking prices, buying what's available, stocking up, and treating ourselves a bit. Our budget can handle it, but... it's been a lot of money for sure! We passed our April grocery budget on 4/10. 😉
I also can't remember days, and we double meals & serve them for two dinners. Here's what we ate this week:
-Steak & coleslaw (definitely had this one time for Easter)
-Chicken tikka masala (a slow cooker recipe, and one that will definitely get added to the rotation) with rice
-Pasta & meatballs
-Salmon & rice
We are definitely spending more on groceries. I’m trying to do a Walmart pickup about every week to ten days and I am buying whatever the max is for that item. Only thing they don’t seem to be limiting me on is wine! But for things like tuna, soup, and other canned goods the limit of any brand is two. Still no hand sanitizer, wipes, toilet paper or paper towels. I'm sure those are being snatched up by people actually going to the store. They are funneling everyone through one door and limiting how many go in at one time. I haven’t actually been in the store since January. Our other local store is Fareway and my husband and son just did a big run through there a few days ago ($427 ouch!) My husband is being rather anxious about the future supplies with the virus starting to run through food processing plants. It has already hit a couple of meat packing plants and the Quaker Oats factory here in Iowa. My son has also moved back home for the duration which obviously impacts the grocery budget.
Is KAF out of yeast? They sell it in 1 lb bags. Or Urban Homemaker?
What we ate:
Easter Sunday: Pork roast, mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts (would have had the traditional ham, but the ham that came with the half a pig I bought last fall is mammoth, so I’ll save that for when I feel like canning up the excess)
Monday: pork sandwiches
Tuesday: pork roast with mashed potatoes and salad
Wednesday: beef stroganoff and salad
Thursday: baked potatoes with fixin’s
Friday: split pea soup with ham and homemade bread with butter.
Saturday: maybe I’ll make meatloaf
Everybody stay safe!
When we have a pig processed they slice ham steaks off the hams. Makes a more manageable sized ham and more meals from one cut.
Unfortunately I wasn’t asked about what cuts I wanted. If I do it again, I will ask for smaller portions. I do really like the Iowa chops though. They are about an inch and a half think unlike a lot of wimpy pork chops you get at the grocery store.
$33 for yeast is highway robbery! I just spent $7.79 for two pounds at Gordon’s Food Service - but these are desperate times and we do what we need to do. Stay well.
Wow, all you guys seem much more motivated than I am to make interesting foods every day!
Saturday: take out from a family restaurant, to help keep them alive.
Sunday: Ham, scalloped potatoes with mushrooms added in, and fruit salad.
Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday: same as Sunday.
Thursday: omelets with, you guessed it, ham. Also mushrooms. The rest of the ham in now in the freezer until I can stand the sight of it again.
Friday: I am feeling under the weather so am having my comfort food---hot elbow macaroni with cold milk, eaten like cereal. Husband is having a can of beans with hot dogs, plus cukes. Pineapple for dessert.
We did have Ham with cheese hashbrowns and fresh veggies for Easter- Simple but yummy this year. We bought a bigger ham than what we needed and froze 3/4th of it meal portion sizes.
Monday: spaghetti and meatballs
Tuesday: take out- trying to do this once a week- supporting where we can
Wednesday: balsamic/dijon marinated pork chops with potatoes
Thursday: chicken surprise over rice- ended up with an Asian flavor- not sure what we were doing- experimenting with what we had in the spices and sauces
Friday- Easter ham and potato soup- perfect on a cold day since it decided to snow!
I have a question. With all the precautions everyone is taking because of the corona virus, how are you guys handling your groceries when you get them home? Are y'all wiping them down with disinfectant cloths, or not doing anything to them? It is such a job to get them all cleaned up, was just wondering what everyone was doing.
I am not, I feel like I am the minority since I see people *bragging* about how long they are taking to do this... But I just don't. And yesterday I saw an article that said it is not worth it.. So I have no idea.. I wash all my produce before we use it, I rinse off the tops of cans before I open them. I do wash my hands after I handle my pantry goods..
Not doing anything different. I'm a believer in herd immunity and only the elderly and immune suppressed should be taking precautions in my humble opinion. I wash my hands when I get home like I always have.
I’m 60 and on the edge of the supposed high risk group but I haven’t changed how I handle my stuff. I just put pantry stuff away as most will be in the pantry longer than 3 days and wash my produce as I use it. I tend to wash my hands multiple times during food prep anyway so not doing anything special. I do use hand sanitizer as soon as I come out of the store and have started using a plastic bag over my hand when I pump gas (no gloves available).
I read that the virus lives for about 24 hours on cardboard(https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/04/how-long-does-coronavirus-live-on-different-surfaces), and since most of the cardboard packaged food I buy sits on the pantry shelf for at least 24 hours before being used, I figure all of that stuff is probably fine.
It does live on plastic longer, but what I read seems to indicate that we are much, much more likely to get infected from a person than from a surface.
If I lived with someone super high risk, I might be more diligent about this than I am, though.
Also: disinfectant wipes are not in stock here, and neither are supplies for making your own disinfectant wipes.
I do wash all of my cloth bags as soon as I get home. And any plastic bags that I save for reuse as trash bag get set into a spot for about a week before I use them for anything else. I figure anything on them will have died by then.
I agree with all this but for items in plastic, especially bread, the germs can last too long before you need it and it's difficult to disinfect it. My son goes to the store for me and I just suggested we should maybe buy bread that has an inner wrap, so I could disinfect the outer wrap with no worries about it creeping inside. Wowsa, is that expensive buying white and wheat! I think next week I will get the usual and very carefully repackage it two slices per sandwich size bag.
What do you think about the general safety of food, since for instance a meat packing plant kept working while many employees had the virus?
Yeah, it seems impossible to completely avoid the germs...who knows who packaged your food, shipped it, stocked it at the store, etc.
But the CDC says this:
"In general, because of poor survivability of these coronaviruses on surfaces, there is likely very low risk of spread from food products or packaging that are shipped over a period of days or weeks at ambient, refrigerated, or frozen temperatures,"
(source: https://www.health.com/condition/infectious-diseases/coronavirus/will-cooking-food-kill-coronavirus)
I just love that bear bread! Super cute
Thank you!
SO my husband is an only so EVERY single holiday or event MUST be spent with his parents and grandpa.. and they don't always get along so its a lot of drama all the time... and I am the only kid locally for my mom so she is often here.. although she avoids some due to my inlaws...
So I was SO HAPPY to have a alone Easter!! I feel bad for everyone missing their people but my day was so peaceful!
Sunday we grilled steaks, baked potatoes, I made homemade Italian bread and my teen made baked corn.
Monday I believe I made chicken veg in cream sauce and cooked buttermilk biscuits on top
We did Tacos on Tuesday- beef and a little chicken...
Weds- took the last loaf of italian bread I made and filled it with meatballs and cheese and baked it!
Thur- Hot dogs wrapped in cresent rolls, chili sauce, fries and baked beans...
Friday- I felt yucky so everyone finished leftovers or figured it out!
Sat- beef roast( cooked yesterday but I was not hungry)... maybe shredded in noodles? Not sure
Sunday- I think we will get carryout from somewhere...
The last few weeks have been exhausting, so we were having a lot of YOYO nights because I was just too wiped out to cook. This week things have leveled out a bit, so I’m back in the kitchen.
Saturday: pizza, apple crisp for dessert
Sunday: tortellini in chicken broth
Monday: French toast, sausage, fruit
Tuesday: oven baked fajitas from Budget Bytes
Wednesday: a Frankenrecipe! Asian-ish seasoned pork, shredded cabbage, pad Thai noodles, and a quadruple batch of Budget Bytes’ Dragon Noodles sauce.
Thursday: salmon and broccoli sheetpan dinner, Greek salad
Friday: grilled brats and chicken breasts, carrots and ranch dip, chips
I think tonight will be beef kofta meatballs and roasted vegetables from Budget Bytes. (Can you tell I’m a fan? Love her recipes!)
Monday - Chicken Tenders
Tuesday - Tacos
Wednesday - Philly Cheesesteaks
Thursday - Breaded Chicken Cutlets
Friday - Pizza
Saturday - Leftovers
Sunday - Fried Chicken
Wow, $33!! I am lucky that I bought yeast at Costco 2-3 years ago, then put it in the fridge and stopped baking. It still works. Also, a few of our local restaurants are selling yeast and flour, so that 2 lb bag would be $6-10 from one of them.
I won't judge though, because I spent $364 (more than 2x the normal amount) on our groceries this week.
We've had gluten free cornbread, potato and chard soup, gluten free ramen and vegetables, sweet potato and black bean chili, nachos and broccoli, pasta with lemon, parmesan, and more green vegetables. Homemade bread to fill the teenager with a hollow leg.