What I Spent, What We Ate | I'm still happy that it's cool.
Last week, I was full of excitement because fall weather had finally hit. And I have to tell you: I'm still not remotely mad about it.
It's going to take more than two weeks for me to start missing hot and hazy weather. 😉
What I Spent
I spent $145 on food this week, so I'm right about on budget.
(Unlike the first week this month!)
October Spending
Week 1: $230
Week 2: $115
Week 3: $145
What We Ate
Monday
I was out for a lot of Monday, so I pressed the easy button. We had grilled bratwurst on buns, orange slices, and potato chips.
Tuesday
Sonia's been wanting to learn how to make pie crust, and I am totally not into making pie crusts. Bread, yes. Pie crust? No.
So my mom got together with Sonia and they made a chicken pot pie, which we ate for dinner.
Wednesday
I made chicken shawarma from Cook's Country, which we ate on homemade pitas.
Thursday
We had a crock-pot beef roast with potatoes and carrots, plus winter squash and a fruit salad.
Friday
We've got some leftovers from the last two nights, so maybe we'll just eat those up tonight.
And to answer your burning question:
Yes, yes, I totally do know how to party on a Friday night. With leftovers.
What did you eat for dinner this week?
Sunday - drawing a blank.
Monday - Chinese Beef & Broc (ie, with an oyster sauce-based sauce) but with pork loin, oranges & apples. Recipe based on CI's Fast Family Meals cookbook.
Tuesday - steamed dumplings, tomatoes & broc, and something made from leftovers but I've forgotten what.
Wednesday - chicken brats, romaine, raspberries.
Thursday - frozen pizza supplemented with smorgesborg of brats and an omelet (from leftover potatoes from Supper Club, leftover sauteed onions, and grated cheese), raspberries, carrots and romaine. I really wanted to go out but settled for frozen pizza instead.
Friday - pan-fried chicken cutlets, strawberries, not sure about veg - carrots, cukes, asparagus?
Saturday - I anticipate a sushi meal at a restaurant.
Sunday - my parents have invited me to join them for dinner at - I kid you not - "some place that begins with P." This should be exciting: have they forgotten the name of the restaurant they have in mind, or have they come up with some wacky rubric to try out new places?
Ooh! The intrigue! I hope the place that begins with a P is delicious. You have to update us!
Hey, any night the cook doesn't have to cook IS a party night.
I cooked every night this week (as ever). No party for me. 🙂
Monday: Brisket--which I accidentally charred a bit when I left the house for a couple of hours and forgot to turn the oven down, oops--baked potatoes and green salad
Tuesday: Shepherd's pie and sauteed zucchini. We had a hard freeze Sunday, which means zucchini is now a dwindling resource rather than a never ending one.
Wednesday: Oven-fried chicken--marinated in yogurt and coated with masa (corn flour), which works really well--leftover rice, roasted cauliflower, green salad
Thursday: Fajitas, sauteed zucchini, birthday cake for the baby (one! HOW?)
Friday: Ground beef has been thawed. No actual plan yet, but something will come to me. When all else fails, there's always hamburgers.
WHAT. How is your baby one?? I feel like you just gave birth a few weeks ago.
Yeah, me too. Particularly because she still sleeps like a newborn at night. That is, she doesn't. The only one to be completely resistant to sleep training. Boo.
Your chicken shawarma looks fantastic!
Monday: meatloaf, quinoa, argula salad with blue cheese
Tuesday: flounder, rice, green beans
Wednesday: Lentil stew with crusty bread
Thursday: Ravioli and broccoli tossed with pesto (costco has yummy/affordable pesto sauce)
Friday: on the menu: Tacos with a side of red beans and guacamole
I am always amazed how much better we eat when I make a meal plan for the week.
On the pie crust front, my mom always made the most flaky, easiest pie crust. I have never used anything else.
2 crust Pie crust
3 cups flour
1 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
dash of salt
Mix together with a fork. Roll out between parchment or wax paper. If it breaks, just piece together. Easy and delicious.
I am with Sonia on team pie! I make a pretty good no-roll pie crust found on the King Arthur website. Basically, you just press it in the pan. I love that there are many savory pies, not just sweet. Also, most of the time I have the ingredients on hand to put together some type of pie. It's a good skill to have since the possibilities are endless.
I, too, am so glad to put on long sleeves! And my husband is not a summer/hot weather fan, so he has an extra spring in his step. 😉
Monday: Zuppa toscana, garlic bread, salad (Olive Garden copycat)
Tuesday: Pizza
Wednesday: It was supposed to be pork carnitas, but my fridge went haywire and started freezing all the food in it! Alas, my pork roast was not even close to thawed. So we went to a Mexican restaurant that had Wednesday taco specials (but not very tasty tacos :|)
Thursday: Frozen orange chicken from Trader Joe’s
Friday: We have to go out around 5:30, so we might just eat a quick grilled cheese before leaving. Easy peasy!
I love having leftovers - its like getting a bonus meal! This week we ate:
Monday - Crockpot Ranch Pork Chops, baked potato, broccoli/cauliflower
Tuesday - Roast Beef and Mozzarella on Sourdough, sliced tomato, chips
Wednesday - Beefy Pasta, green beans
Thursday - Greek Chicken Salads
Friday - Honey Garlic Chicken (oven this time) rice, seasoned peas
Saturday - I'm going to make a beef stew in the crock pot
Sunday - Nashville Hot Chicken on buns, chips, relish tray
I'm still pretty low on energy and focus, so am keeping it simple and setting the bar each day as "everyone got fed and we didn't get takeout".
Saturday: out of town for the weekend, ate at hotel restaurant
Sunday: smorgasbord
Monday: Instant Pot chicken and veggies
Tuesday: Aldi frozen veggie lasagna
Wednesday: chicken and black bean tacos, salad
Thursday: Texas Two Step Chicken (chicken breasts baked in a sauce made of salsa, brown sugar, and mustard), brown rice, peas
Tonight: probably eggs, toast, and fruit
That chicken sounds AMAZING!! Do you have a recipe?
Natalie,
Please share the Texas Two Step Chicken?
Thanks, Alison R.
Monday: It was my kid's birthday and our anniversary but we kept it pretty low key. I made pork chops and rice and vegetables.
Tuesday: Barbecued chicken thighs with baked potatoes
Wednesday: Wife and I both got our birthday burgers at Red Robin and did some clothes shopping for her. We live the high life.
Thursday: I ended up working overtime until 6:30. My wife and daughter had some spaghetti. I ate a sandwich.
Friday: Another leftovers night because I'll probably be working late again. Life is tough, eh Providence?
Happy Anniversary!!!
Happy Birthday for your child!!!
(Did your wife give you a baby for your anniversary last year? And a one year old this year?)
Heh, no just one kid three years ago. She was supposed to be born a few days before our anniversary but took her sweet time. Now she's a threenager.
We don't really do anniversaries or stuff like that. It's just not something we do. We both have birthdays in October so it balances out.
Three?!?!! How is it three years already? No wonder y'all are bushwacked.
I've been experimenting with "deliberate" leftovers. So far it's going well.
Sunday: porkchops with apples and leeks along with rice and yellow beans
Monday: the remaining porkchops--my deliberate leftovers--with squash from the farmers market and the last of the yellow beans
Tuesday: potato scallop, fishcakes and squash because I love squash
Wednesday: a replay of Tuesday with salad instead of squash because someone may have eaten the last of the squash for lunch
Thursday: pizza and beet salad
Friday: orange chicken with fries, zucchini and carrots
I just realized we've eaten a lot of orange things this week!
Because you can see so clearly with all that vitamin A 🙂
Our meals have been a cook and repeat experience this week. Homemade pizza morphed into two more meals. Roast chicken and vegetables became chicken and salad the next day. We went out for Indian and had the leftovers as another meal. We have also had homemade burgers and lamb chops with roasted vegetables and the most wonderful asparagus. Our season has just started and it was such a treat.
While you are grateful for the cooler weather I am grateful that our summer weather has been delayed by a wet month so far.
My meal plan sort of went out the window when the power outages and surges from the hurricane fried my stove. I'm so glad my microwave and my extra 2-burner drop in still work!
In no order...
Pork chops, mashed sweet potatoes, broccoli
Mushroom/beef carbonara over spaghetti squash noodles (cooked the squash in the pressure cooker)
Chicken salad with fruit, using leftover chicken from a whole bird cooked in the pressure cooker.
Chicken salad again (it's still HOT here -- a cold meal felt good)
Leftover veggie/beef soup from the previous week.
That's all I can remember. My grocery bill was about $100 last time I shopped, and I was happy that the stores had opened back up, even if most of their fresh stuff was gone or skimpy.
I am sorry about the outages but I am so pleased that you were able to cope.
You know, pie crust is one of those things that can be really challenging! I've been making it from scratch for a few years and I still don't feel like I've quite cracked the code. 🙂
This week has been super wonky or us. We've been traveling, so it's been a lot of takeout. Oh boy, I can't wait to just eat a big salad or a bowl of yogurt!
The most interesting thing we cooked this week was king ranch chicken casserole. It was a nice way to use up odds and ends from the fridge, and it was super tasty!
Ooo -- Shwarma looks great 🙂
Still trying to "eat down the pantry." Clearing the frig out revealed some long forgotten science projects -- frugal fail: Terribly dried out shrooms and strawberries, a few of each; the last of some garbanzos of uncertain vintage; and three truly rubbery little carrots. On the plus side, used up salad stuff and cilantro, and buying only what we can eat in a couple days.
1. Sunday -- Tuna sandwiches on free bread with big salad and grapes, broccoli
2. Monday -- Chili, from discounted ground turkey, cans of tomatoes and beans, salad
3. Tuesday -- Ravioli with last of frozen peas, shroom, parm, big salad, grapes.
4. Wednes-- Marked down frozen meals (Amy's and Cedar lane), salad, steamed carrots
5. Thurday -- Last of the turkey chili, salad
6. Tonight -- dinner with daughter
Breakfasts were cereal, toast, eggs, etc. Lunches were "Bistro Boxes" (thanks, Mrs. PP, for this concept!), sandwiches, or leftover salads.
More and more of the back of the 'frig and the pantry are being revealed. Happy Weekend!
Monday and Tuesday- $.99 per lb pork tenderloin roasted with apples and spices. Served with roasted, mashed, local butternut squash and roasted, local Brussels sprouts. Yay for fall vegetables!!
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday- roasted, herb-crusted (herbs from our garden) whole chicken. Served with mashed, local potatoes and homemade stuffing.
Kristen- I've always wanted to make pita bread and your shwarma looks incredible! Is the recipe on this blog? I haven't checked yet...
I work at night and don't usually drive home on my 1/2 hour lunch. I try to make dinner in the afternoon, however.
Mon- pork stew
Tue-cheese pizza
Wed-pasta shells with sauce
Thur- smoked chicken
Fri- beef & chicken enchiladas
I haven't posted the shawarma, no! But pita bread is on here. https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2011/04/wednesday-baking-how-to-make-pita-bread/
M Chicken, cheesy noodles, broccoli, fruit
T Waffle sandwiches, fruit, bacon
W Pork Mojo, salsa, yellow rice, fruit
T Beef fajitas, accompanying sides, fruit
F Pork roast, wild rice with squash, cranberries and almonds, apple compote
S Leftovers
S Seafood Festival locally so eating there (yearly thing in October)
I've recommitted to a healthy New Year's resolution to start cooking my own food instead of eating out like I used to. Hibachi restaurants for getting the best of my money. I made a grilled steak today seasoned and the meat well done. And to top off my New Year's health resolution, I'm also drinking apple cider vinegar with the mother with lemon juice, cinnamon and other ingredients in a gallon of water daily.
Your grilled chicken with sliced tomatoes and lettuce looks really good. I think that's next on my agenda of making homemade meals because I don't eat Taco Bell anymore. I've discovered that it's best to make your own food at home because you save a lot of money from not eating out at restaurants and you get to appreciate making your own food, knowing receiving a ton of money. Keep up the good work with your blogging my new friend! 🙂