What I Spent, What We Ate | It all averaged out!
What I Spent
Here's my Hungry Harvest for the week ($25).
(I get these on Saturdays, so this is almost a week ago. All that's left of this is one pepper, half an onion, and the three zucchini. Yay me!)
I stopped at Target and bought some flour and tea ($22.64).
At the store where Lisey works, I spent $26.
And I spent $105.39 at Aldi.
That puts me at $176 for the week. But once that averages out with last week, I'm nearly right on budget.
November Spending
Week One: $127
Week Two: $181
What We Ate
Monday
We had Tex-Mex rice bowls, made with cilantro lime rice, taco-spiced chicken, this blender salsa, sauteed onions and peppers, and a cilantro cream sauce.
Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the bowls.
Tuesday
I made some beef au jus sandwiches on homemade French bread.
And I sauteed some Brussels sprouts.
Wednesday
Mr. FG and I had dinner with some friends and I made buttermilk pancakes for my kids.
Thursday
I made clam chowder and since I wasn't feeling very inspired about side dishes, I just cut up some fresh fruit.
Friday
Pizza night! My kids have really been digging BBQ chicken pizza, so I might do that again.
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Tuesday - spaghetti with tomato and parsley sauce, roasted cauliflower
Wednesday - quesadillas, black beans and peppers, tomatoes, broccoli
Thursday - baked bbq tofu, spinach and mushrooms, rice
Friday - pasta with goat cheese and mushrooms, kale for those who eat kale, leftover broccoli for those who don't eat kale
We finally had a frost here. I live just north of Boston. I wouldn't be surprised if we set a record for the latest frost. Last Friday I got corn in my farm share and earlier this week I picked the last of my tomatoes, many of which were still ripening outside. I'm going to ferment all the green ones. Good store bought salsa is expensive. Fermented green tomatoes make a tasty substitute.
Yes, incredible that the first hard freeze was so late! We are about 2.5 hours north of Boston and we just froze Wednesday night! Some years it’s mid September.
Those pancakes look divine! I might do pancakes tonight for the kids as a post-school pre-dance snack...
Dinner this week has been all over the place, and to be honest my fridge today is living proof of just that. Bit of a disaster area. Calling myself out today to get myself back on track. No excuses.
Monday: Pork shoulder, rice, braised collard greens, white beans
Tuesday: Leftover lamb chili mixed with leftover pork shoulder to make soft tacos, with the usual taco toppings, plus roasted squash
Wednesday: Lamb in a tomato and cream sauce, roasted potatoes, green salad, leftover roasted squash
Thursday: Lamb goulash, rice, green salad
Friday: We FINALLY got our beef, so I'll be making something beefy tonight. I have to go freezer-diving and see what I want. Will it be steak? Will it be ground beef? Will it be pot roast? So many options! Whee!
Yay for beef! At last!
Your dinners always look so good! This week I had something to do by 8 a.m. for the first three mornings of the week. So groceries that should have been bought on Monday got bought on Wednesday...fortunately, the menus involved a few freezer leftovers!
Monday - Shredded Pork for tacos
Tuesday - BBQ Meatballs, mashed potatoes, veggie
Wednesday - Buttermilk Fried Chicken Salads (last week for salad meal!)
Thursday - Leftover Chili, Fritos, grated cheddar
Friday - Pizza Night
Saturday is TBD
and Sunday is Chicken Enchiladas, salad
I put the chicken in the crock yesterday before going to work, so all I need to do is shred it. All that being said...we are eating up ALL of the food at my house, which is great...but our grocery bill doesn't seem to be getting lower. Oh well.
I made my first ever batch of vegetable stock last Sunday, and I am sold! I made it again yesterday! The stock immediately went into soup! Here's what we ate this week:
Sunday - Homemade Vegetable, Lentil, Noodle Soup
Monday - Baked Spaghetti Squash with homemade tomato sauce
Tuesday - Leftover Soup
Wednesday - Spicy Peanut Carrots and Onions on Saffron Rice
Thursday - I made ANOTHER pot of the vegetable stock! It was so good, so I made another batch of vegetable, lentil, noodle soup! I froze some leftovers too, so I'll have it this winter when I'm sick and don't want to cook.
Friday - Tonight we're hosting a birthday party for a friend, so I plan on making a big batch of chili!
The beef au jus sandwiches looks absolutely delicious! I love French bread, so it makes the sandwich sound even more yummy!
I like putting an omelette on French bread together with same pickle, cucumber, and cilantro. That's how people eat it in Vietnam, and I love it!
The French dip sandwiches look SO good!
Breakfast is always my go to for the kids when we are eating out! 🙂 That or pigs in a blanket...
Life has been crazy, so my meals have been mostly thrown together at the last minute. But I made some awesome chili last night! First pot of the season!
That's good for two meals, for sure! Then off to date night tomorrow night, with kids enjoying aforementioned pigs in blankets. 🙂
So begins the retail holiday season and my side job is kicking in. I work evening aka "hi honey, welcome home, here are the kids, gotta go to work, so glad I got to see you for 10 minutes". So some nights are foods that can be eaten in shifts.
Monday- stroganoff meatballs over noodles and some kind of veggie
Tuesday- Meatloaf, rice and peas - rice vs mashed potatoes since we had last minutes guests and not enough potatoes in the house
Wednesday- Cinnamon Chicken over rice with cut up green pepper
Thursday- breakfast - sausage gravy and biscuts and something veggie
Friday- pizza
This week I have been better at sticking to the plan of using things up.
We have had loaded potatoes since I am tired of tacos, butter chicken and rice, mushrooms on toast, salmon sandwiches or pan fried salmon with vegetables. and I forgotten the other meal.
I've been terrible this week. Just not feeling inspired at all. It is also my first week in several weeks not to get my Dinnerly box. Maybe it really is helping me cook more. I'll be getting it again next week so we'll see if that helps me cook more.
Monday: Leftover steak fajitas from Sunday
Tuesday: Chickfila
Wednesday: Pei Wei- had a gift card expiring that day
Thursday: Taco Bueno (59cent tacos)
Friday: Not sure...I need to cook something. Maybe chili?
Monday: We found some chicken thighs down in the bottom of the chest freezer that were in definite need to be used. So I made barbecued chicken thighs and roasted potatoes. I fully expected a tantrum from my daughter but no, she ate it and enjoyed it.
Tuesday: The same as Monday but with rice (leftover nights are grand.)
Wednesday: Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and veggies
Thursday: I had to go to my grandmother's house to repair her stove (needed a new heating element which was all of $17 on Amazon - Yay frugal fixes!) so by the time I got home we just ate leftover meatloaf.
Friday: Depending on how tired I am, I may either make a roast chicken or we'll just do breakfast for dinner. I also need to make bread but we'll see. We're in a bit of a cold snap here in New England so my motivation is pretty low.
I made a big batch of red quinoa with veggies and avocado. Was supposed to last the whole week but I liked it so much I killed it by Wed night!
Sounds delicious!!
Monday - Taco Salad
Tuesday - Waffles, sausage & bacon
Wednesday - Mongolian beef, broccoli & rice
Thursday - Oven roasted chicken, mashed potatoes & green beans
Today - Cooks Country recipe - Detroit style pizza (I think this is from the July issue this year. You should try it because it is sooooo good. And it's a lot easier to throw together than regular pizza!!!)
Oy...this week has been crazy
Breakfast: alot of toasted bread products with various toppings, milk, cocoa (it's been freaking cold!)
Lunches: leftovers, sandwitches, fruit, brownies
Dinners
Monday : vegatarian chili (crockpot), cheese, cornbread
Tuesday: Backbean enchiladas (do ahead item), carrotts and Cucumbers with dip
Wendsday: kung pow veggie saute with cashews over rice
Thursday: lasanga (do ahead item), salad, garlic bread
Friday: bbq pork sandwitches (crockpot) ranch macaroni salad to use up rest of veggies, and im gonna be bad and pick up some chips to goal with
Everybody have a good weekend
Stay warm!
It was a tough week which resulted in having more convience foods than I would have liked. Some weeks are just like that I guess.
Saturday - I tried McDonald's new buttermilk chicken tenders. They were terrible.
Sunday - steak, asparagus and baked potato.
Monday - steak salad and fruit.
Tuesday- fish and chips
Wednesday - pork chop, zucchini, homemade applesauce
Thursday - hot dog & tater tots
Friday - I got a Blue Apron box. I think I will start with the spicy chicken khao soi.
Also HATED the McDonald's new buttermilk chicken strips. Probably should have listened to my conscience but had a coupon.
I liked the buttermilk chicken tenders I had at our McDonald's. Way, way better than the almost inedible, dry nuggets at another fast food place.
I am sooo bummed Lorraine that McDonalds Chicken Tenders are not good! I was hoping they would be a great drive thru pick up for a crazy night..chopped for tacos etcs...however I have a fab chicken tender recipe that is quick to make and quick to clean up...guess i will stick with that.
Mon- baked chicken breast ,Spanish Rice for him..i had some leftover veggies for a side.
Tues- homemade burgers..enough for lunch leftovers . Not very fancy.but very tasty.
Wed-A frozen chicken bowl ...a dinner idea contribution from my husband, i so appreciate his thoughtful effort to make a easy cook and clean night for me..but this product is pretty unsavory....i tossed most of my portion with a "thanks for planning dinner"and a big smile..its ok, need to shave a few pounds off before the holidays..silver lining!
Thurs-chicken thighs and brocolli
Fri-i had a professional event to attend..lovely meal..and enough for a low carb person to enjoy..he had a nice salad with chicken from our neighborhood bar and grill.
Happy Weekend all!
Mon.- Chicken noodle soup and saltine crackers
Tues.- Turkey breast with bread stuffing, cranberries, dinner roll, and mixed veggies
Wed.- Salmon, dinner roll and corn
Thurs.- Chicken tacos; lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese
Friday- Cheese and sausage pizza, lettuce salad, chocolate chip cookies
Cold here and lovely bounty from the late Garden and CSA we ordered. This week we ate pulled pork with coleslaw, spaghetti and meatballs, sausage and egg bake with veggies, soup from the freezer with rolls, pork tenderloin with potatoes, beets and broccoli, homemade pizza and Caesar salad, and tonight was roasted chicken with green beans and leftover potatoes and beets and rolls. My kids have been eating so much lately! Right now the house is well stocked - I feel a little squirrel-like actually.