What I Spent, What We Ate | Oh geez.
What I Spent
Last Friday, I popped by the produce stand and they had a big box of slightly bruised peaches for $15. Woohoo!
Then on Saturday, I got my $25 Hungry Harvest box.
Then I spent $92 on these groceries (including an unpictured $10 package of chicken).
And I went to Costco, where I spent $126.60.
Plus I spent $12 one day when I picked Lisey up from work.
Which means that oh my soul, I spent a LOT of grocery money this week!
$270, to be exact.
Which is, um, $100 more than my weekly budgeted amount.
I'm at $699 so far, and since August is a 5 week shopping month for me, I'm supposed to spend $750.
So. I have $51 left to get me through the month.
I think that's pretty do-able, largely because I have a lot of proteins in the freezer from my shopping this week.
August Spending
Week 1: $176
Week 2: $110
Week 3: $143
Week 4: $255
What We Ate
Monday
I made these slow-cooker chicken tacos.
We also had chips and queso, plus fresh peaches.
Tuesday
Breakfast for dinner! We had French toast and some local sausages from the freezer.
Wednesday
I tried a turkey meatball recipe, and while I thought the sauce was good, I decided I don't love ground turkey.
Which makes sense because I don't actually love turkey that much in general.
So! Ground beef meatballs it is for me.
(like these Swedish meatballs!)
Thursday
I tried a slow-cooker Chinese BBQ chicken recipe, and it was rather meh, despite the fact that you broil it with sauce at the end.
Oh well. At least I fed the people.
I cooked up the rest of the broccoli from the fridge and also sauteed the last of the green beans.
Oh, and we had some steamed dumplings from the frozen conveniences food section at Costco.
(They got me with the samples when I went shopping. Ha.)
Friday
Joshua's planning to make homemade ramen for us. Whee!
___________________
What have you been eating this week?
P.S. I was on the 2 Frugal Dudes podcast again this week, talking about homeschooling this time. Give it a listen here!
(It's me! Talking! Can you believe it?)
I don't like turkey either. This year will be the first time ever we will not be attending the big family Thanksgiving gathering (one-month-old baby+three other little kids+six-hour drive=no thanks), and I'm planning on making a chicken instead. Rebel with a cause, that's me.
Anyway. Food.
Monday: Pork ribs on the grill, boiled potatoes, corn on the cob, tomato and cucumber salad, sauteed mushrooms
Tuesday: Hamburgers and hot dogs, coleslaw, sauteed carrots and snap peas, baked beans, bread and butter
Wednesday: The tail end (i.e., the weird, gnarly part) of the pork ribs slow-cooked in the oven, pasta with marinara sauce for the kids, pureed cauliflower and cheese with marinara sauce for the adults (surprisingly good), sauteed mushrooms, carrots sticks and raw kohlrabi
Thursday: Lamb roast, various roasted vegetables, leftover coleslaw, leftover pureed cauliflower, leftover potatoes, leftover mushrooms
Tonight: Bacon and eggs, I think. Maybe an omelet with some of the leftover roasted vegetables if I'm feeling ambitious. Bread and butter for the kids. Various leftover vegetables for the adults.
A thanksgiving chicken sounds fabulous!
Swedish meatballs on our menu this week, but we didn't like the half pork. Will change to all beef next time. BTW I love turkey, but don't like ground turkey-so bland!
Pizza, chicken tenders, tacos, and chicken enchiladas were our quick meals this week as we had some event every night.
Not sure what's on for tonight-first football game!
I use 100% beef when I make Swedish meatballs. Maybe beef just makes superior meatballs all around.
The idea behind the pork mixed with the beef is that it makes for a more tender meatball, because pork is so much softer than beef. That said, I like all-beef meatballs better myself. They taste better to me, so I can do without the tenderizing of pork. Ground pork is just . . . mushy.
Yeah, and I think I just like the flavor of beef over pork too.
Although I'm comparing local farm beef with commercial pork/turkey, so that could be playing a role!
I can compare home-raised pork to home-raised beef, and I still like the beef better. Store pork is even more mushy, though. Yuck.
These are my fav meatballs ever, but they have soo much going on other than just being turkey, that they totally work. https://smittenkitchen.com/2011/12/scallion-meatballs-with-soy-ginger-glaze/
PS, if you're a fan of meatballs, Smitten Kitchen has many to explore. And I very seldom have a dud with her recipes.
My in-laws love pork meatballs and make them often. They usually buy the ground pork, mix it with other ingredients (i.e. flour, ginger), and shape them into tiny balls.
I personally prefer beef meatballs too because they taste better in a way. I also love beef fish cake, beef jerky, and beef stew. We don't buy beef often though because it's much more expensive than pork and chicken. >_<
Well, it has been a rough couple of months in the not planning for dinner making department. I actually sat down and made a plan this week and purchased what I needed in time. What a difference! Now if I can just continue. Baby steps... 🙂
Monday-Beef tacos
Tuesday-Pizza out to celebrate cousin's birthday, MIL treated
Wednesday-Leftovers, mainly pizza
Thursday-Grilled hamburgers, cucumbers, chips
Friday-Shrimp and cream pasta, broccoli
Saturday-out all day, food provided
When I look this over it seems relatively easy enough to plan, but I've been in a quite a food rut lately both in not feeling like cooking and in coming up with some variety for my family (we have some food allergies which throw in a bit of a challenge). We've been eating the same basic things over and over. I'm hoping with most of the children in school soon I can have a little breathing room to get into a different routine. Certainly appreciate all the encouragement and inspiration both from Kristen and from all her readers!
It always seems easy in hindsight, but oh man, I completely understand how hard it is on the front end!
This week meals have been very simple and sketchy. My daughter is nearing the end of her pregnancy and her hyperemesis gravidarum has returned with a vengeance. The poor thing is pea green most of the time but she needed iv fluids on Wednesday and it was whatever you could find dinner. My father took a major fall and head injury on Monday night and I spent the next 14 hours or so by his bedside keeping him safe. Burgers were bought to feed the troops. Tuesday night I cooked but don't remember. Thursday was Vegemite on toast and tonight sushi. Expensive week all round.
Oh, poor girl! I had hyperemesis with all four of my pregnancies. Please send her my sympathies!
She has five weeks to go now. There is a lot of noise about hyperemesis in Australia at present. It has made for an extremely expensive pregnancy that seems to have lasted forever. They should have put a port in on the first episode. This week they thought she had followed my lead and developed eclampsia. I am relieved that that hasn't happened as of yet. I will tell her that you have sent her a message.
I love Turkey and chicken..but I absolutely cannot stand the smell or taste of these items ground up.. the texture also grosses me out! lol
This was a very lazy week.. Last Saturday we drove from NEOhio to Nashville to be there for the eclipse... Did a Diners Drive ins and Dives recommended BBQ place Sat night.. Sunday we lunched at Johnny Rockets in the Opry Mall and used a 20% off coupon that I had on my Entertainment app!
Dinner that night we met with my sister and her husband at his parents house.. (I almost forgot how close my sister lived(mississippi) to where we would be! Called her and they came up for the Eclipse! They bought BBQ and the sides for supper!
Monday we ate all day on random snacks we brought or picked up at Kroger- Uncrustables, fruit, pretzles, cookies and water... The 8 hour drive home took over 15 hours... ugh
Tuesday- I had decided at 11pm Monday, stuck in gridlock, that Tuesday night sounded like a pizza night! lol SO delivery it was!
Wednesday- I pulled a frozen beef roast out and tossed that into the Crock pot with some broth and carrots... served with a pot of white rice and some canned corn--- (Still travel hungover)
Thursday - TKD belt ceremony night so pizza served at the gym... lol
Friday- dinner plans are home-made chipotle bowls.... unfortunately I found the deep freezer cracked open and stuff defrosting last night.. sooooo I had to toss my stock pile of beef roasts I bought on a huge markdown into my crock pots.. SO 1 post will be a beef roast and gravy supper in the future.. and the larger pot will be shredded down for future sandwich nights...
My chest freezer failing is one of my biggest home nightmare scenarios. It's not even the money. It's the thought of all the time that goes into freezing food and then losing it. I'm glad you caught it before everything went bad.
Oh no! I have a chest freezer, so the door can't crack open, but I have nightmares about it accidentally getting unplugged or something like that.
I am so paranoid about an unplugged freezer that I have the plug duct taped into place! If it came unplugged at the start of the fall, after all my home grown and harvested vegetables and the usual year's supply of salmon from fishing and moose from hunting, we would lose thousands of dollars.
Such a tragedy about your freezer. It's truly a frustration, outrage-producting, anti-frugal experience. It happened to me once and I was so peeved!
It's happened to me TWICE. So frustrating. Had to throw away a lot of food, though caught it early enough each time that I was able to salvage much of the more expensive stuff (beef).
I am never a fan of chicken in a slow cooker. I think it's always dry and rubbery no matter what part of the bird or recipe I use.
This week has been staycation so meals have been lackluster.
1. Monday was Pizza with in-laws..their treat
2. Tuesday was a Day trip-packed sandwiches and stopped at a Panera on the road in the evening.
3. Wednesday was Scrambled eggs
4. Thursday was italian chicken sausage and bell pepper in spicy tomato sauce with rice
5. Friday we have a very busy day planned so it will be easy
..pan seared turkey chops that have been marinated with steamed green beans. Will take less than 15 min to get on the table. Maybe I'll try to do them on the grill. just as fast but no pan to scrub!
Have only been to grocery to get lunch meat, cheese, bread and bananas for the trip. Less than $10. Will probably shop over the weekend....ugh.
I thought I was the only one who wasn't a fan of chicken in the slow cooker! I get the same results as you do! Actually the ONLY thing I make that comes out decent in the crockpot is chili! LOL
Yeah...I try and try to like the crockpot, but man, most of the stuff I make in it is just not that tasty, unless it's a soup.
This week felt crazy. My kids go back to school next week and they are very anxious, so I've been trying to keep them busy, which means more getting home late with nothing planned for dinner.
Monday - black beans and rice, broccoli for the kids, big plate of grilled zucchine
Tuesday - beet and corn salad, chicken for the meat-eaters, yogurt for the vegetarians, rice and broccoli for the kiddos as they don't like beets
Wednesday - pasta e ceci (pasta with tomato sauce and chick peas), salad
Thursday - black beans and rice, tomato salad
Black beans are one of my favorite ways to use up this and that. Last night I put onion, peppers, and chard in them.
OH I see dragon fruit in those produce boxes! I am so jealous. We lived in Asia for 6 years and I loved dragon fruit. Chilled is best in my opinion!!
Your recipes look yummy! I appreciate that you are real and share truthfully when some don't taste as great as you'd hoped. It seems to work that way for my family with many new recipes.
I always feel like with recipes, you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find a prince!
Yet another week of simple, quick, unplanned meals, eating whatever fruit and veg are in the fridge and whatever protein I unpack from the deep freezer. There's still a lot of ham, dumplings, and shrimp in there.
Monday: IIRC, shrimp, watermelon, cucumbers.
Tuesday: Ham, blueberries & strawberries, carrots & tomatoes.
Wednesday: Spontaneous dinner out with a friend and his kid, because the weather was gorgeous. The three of us ate for under $30 (3 meals, 2 sides, 1 bottomless drink, 1 bottomless frozen yogurt).
Thursday: Hot dogs, spinach, strawberries.
Friday: Roommate has a class 6-6.45p, I have a class 7-8.30p; I expect smorgasburg (fancy name for 'scrounge in the fridge') which probably means more ham. Even half a pre-sliced ham is a lot of food.
I typically do a half and half combo of turkey and beef, to make it a bit healthier and cheaper. The grease from the beef tends to help make the turkey taste better.
I have also spent a bit extra this week, because I wanted to surprise the hubs w a special bday dinner made up of really good hot dogs, french fries, and a French silk pie for dessert. And of course, I saw mini burger buns and had to get them. So we had those the next night. It was all good, but did increase our spending.
You have inspired me to start trying to do a weekly trip instead of two weeks, to see if that can help cut down on surprise grocery trips and the budget. So that's starting for me in Sept! Kinda excited to see how it goes!
I love Swedish meatballs and I almost always make them with turkey. I use bread crumbs and lots of seasoning so maybe no one notices they aren't turkey? I don't know, they get eaten, so...(: It's been a blah week in the meals department:
Monday - Sloppy Joes in the crockpot
Tuesday - Brown Sugar Plum Chicken in crockpot, mashed potatoes, peas
Wednesday - Some chipotle seasoned chicken cooked and sliced, added to salad of romaine and black beans with queso fresco
Thursday - sick day ): We spent $$ on catfish takeout
Friday - Italian sausage and canellini bean skillet with baby spinach
The hurricane might throw a damper on weekend BBQ so I will pick up staples this morning before the stores get craaazy! I'm thinking soup...
I too do not care for turkey!! We actually had HAM for Thanksgiving last year : ) Where does it say anyway, that you HAVE to have a Turkey on Thanksgiving? Does anyone know how that particular tradition got started?
Busy as usual so I didn't cook much.
Monday: Don't remember...first day of school
Tuesday: Salad from Chickfila
Wednesday: Chili and hotdogs with fries
Thursday: Tacos
Friday: Steaks, salad and corn on the cob
Saturday: Going to be at Great Wolf Lodge
Now that the kids are back in school, hopefully I can get myself back in gear and cooking dinner every night!
I went way over budget last week but that is because I made an extra trip to trader joes, and went to the farmers market, and went to the regular grocery store. Good news is that a lot of the stuff that I bought last week has not been used. So maybe this week will be lower cost. (She says hopefully.)
Saturday - Chicken in Wine Sauce with steamed broccoli.
Sunday - pork chop with zucchini and stove top stuffing.
Monday - I met a friend for lunch at a sandwich shop and the portions were huge. So dinner was half of my lunch sandwich and some chips.
Tuesday - leftover chicken in wine sauce and an artichoke
Wednesday - pork chop, summer squash, and my new recipe of the week - Instant Pot creamy poblano and corn rice. Unfortunately the rice recipe was a miss - so much so that I wound up tossing it. Boo.
Thursday - Umm, some pork and beans and some chips. This is what happens when you refuse to put any thought into a meal.
Friday - Not sure yet but it will be easy. Maybe a bean and cheese burrito or a salad.
My late mother-in-law didn't like turkey and always roasted a chicken for Thanksgiving. My mom loved turkey and always cooked a turkey on Thanksgiving. My husband and I had a Clash of the Traditions there for a while as we started doing our own family holidays, but once I discovered how to brine a turkey, he came over to my side. I don't like ground turkey, though.
We had chicken and rice/veggies on Monday night, with a side of something or other. I think pear sauce.
Tuesday night I had just come back from an appointment out of town, but I brought a nice steak with me, and served it with potatoes and sautéed celery, mushrooms and onions.
Wednesday we had leftover chicken and rice/veggies, with a side of okra
Thursday we had sausage, mashed potatoes, homemade sauerkraut and lima beans.
Tonight is still unknown.
I'm trying to keep my grocery bill down, because this month saw some large expenses that put us over budget. So far, I'm a little lower than budgeted on groceries, but not enough. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
Oh, the chicken and rice/veggies (I don't know what else to call it -- some veggies were cooked in with the rice and chicken) came from the ATK pressure cooker cookbook. So, a new recipe!
I would love to see the recipe Joshua uses for homemade ramen. My husband and son LOVE ramen but I don't love how unhealthy it is. Thanks!
It's nice to see critters among the groceries again.
Sonia's handiwork?
Heh, yep! There are some of Sonia's handmade guys in there.
I'm so glad to see the animals are back — please say thank you to Sonia and Zoe! 🙂
Haha, you knew it was them! 🙂
Hi , nice to see to had pitaya/ dragon fruit. We have a lot of them in our yard.
Did you enjoy them?
Lisey likes them. I think they're all right...just a little on the boring side. But I bet if I grew them in my yard like you, they'd be super tasty!
My daughter loves the dragon fruit. They cost $4 a piece here in Arkansas. I want a produce box. You were so lucky this week!
And i have plenty of mango and papaya coming up again. We love dragon fruit, it very fresh and delicate.
Ohh, I love, love, love mango. So good!
What a win with those peaches! I love getting bargains on ugly fruit. 🙂 This week was really weird on the food front, since I was out of town, and now we're dealing with a hurricane.
Monday: I had a lot of phyllo dough in my fridge, so I made chicken and goat cheese phyllo casserole with brussels sprouts.
Tuesday: I was at my office's HQ (my boss's house). They served chicken fajitas with guacamole and salsa.
Wednesday: I picked up McDonald's while on the road (on the company dime of course). Mr. Picky Pincher made stuffed mushrooms with rice.
Thursday: Baked potatoes topped with chili and cheese.
Friday: Today we're grilling chicken and serving it with grits and green beans. Hopefully the weather and electricity will cooperate with us!
Monday - BBQ chicken, baked potatoes and roasted broccoli, fruit
Tuesday - Noodles and marina, salad, fruit
Wednesday - Roasted turkey breast, stuffing, gravy, fruit
Thursday - Lasagna, salad, fruit
Friday - No idea at all.......................................
What did you do with the dragon fruit?
We ate them raw!
Monday: chicken with mushrooms and wine sauce, roasted potatoes and carrots
Tuesday- Pork chops, sweet potato fries, and corn
Wed.- cheese quesadilla with tomatoes and salsa and lettuce salad
Thursday- chicken, white rice and applesauce
Friday- Shrimp and lettuce salad
Monday- eclipse day- camping in Missouri with family. Ate take-out BBQ for lunch and leftovers for dinner!
Tuesday- driving home- stopped at a blah place and had blah food. So-called chicken-fried steak and fake mashed potatoes and frozen mush carrots. $12 each or so. I wish he would stop driving earlier so we could find a motel near something halfway good.
Wednesday-BLT for me, burger for him at diner. Frozen pizza for him later.
Thursday- frozen cheap dinner for him. Crackers and cheese when I got home later.
Friday- cooked great Italian sausage on grill with peppers and zucchini and watermelon.
I almost always plan menus and shopping ahead, but this week we were traveling and I didn't, so it cost more and most wasn't that great. Oh, and when we got home, I drank a big gulp of unexpired milk that turned out to be SOUR- gross. Then later did the exact same thing with chocolate milk. Rough week- Lol.
Lets see, this week is a bit crazy with lacrosse starting.
Monday - salad bar night at home I'll grill chicken, chop up some veggies, and let everyone build their own.
Tuesday- beef soft tacos
Wednesday- grilled cheese and tomato basil soup with orzo
Thursday- baked ravioli and broccoli
Friday - pizza night
Saturday - grilled burgers, and fruit
Sunday - swedish meatballs with egg noodles and peas
Hi Kristen,
Just curious, do you have an instant pot?
I don't! I've mildly considered it, but I hesitate to add another appliance to my kitchen, especially since I'm already having to store appliances in my laundry room, coat closet, and linen closet.
I looked into the Instant Pot when I needed a new rice cooker. CI's eval is that none are great and only one is rated even "recommended with reservations" and none are any good at rice. In my case, I'm not getting one because it wouldn't replace anything I already own.
I love my Instant Pot. You can make inexpensive cuts of meat in to amazingly voluptuous wonderful stews and braises without a lot of effort or time. I make beautifully clear and jelled broth/stock in a little more than an hour. Soups in one pot, fast and easy. Steam big hard veggies with ease (especially winter squashes!), make yogurt in ONE pot (and depending on the milk it doesn't even have to be heated and cooled first). I like the rice I make in my Instant Pot (we self catered a big celebration with a taco bar, and made all the rice for 150 people in the Instant Pot. It's great for custards (savory or sweet) and cheesecake. I throw in a big bag of chicken wings and 10 -15 minutes later they are under the broiler for crisping. Hard boiled eggs are fast and peel like a dream. One of the best parts is that using it does not heat up the house on hot summer days. We replaced our slow cooker (I rarely slow cook in the Instant Pot, though, I pressure cook the same dishes instead) and rice cooker. If I forget to defrost meat, I just throw it in and the pot thaws it as it starts the cooking process. To me, it's very frugal because we cook from scratch easily and economically with the Instant Pot.
As for turkey, I'm in the Thanksgiving Chicken group, too (but one year we did duck!). Never was a fan of turkey. When we have guests for Thanksgiving we buy a smoked turkey breast. I like that better than just turkey, but still rarely have more than my token piece. I think this is because my mom was frugal and liked to buy big turkeys on sale after Thanksgiving and Christmas for pennies a pound. She'd cook them and for WEEKS (felt like years) we'd have turkey this or that at nearly every meal. I'm an only child, so a big turkey lasted a LONG time in our house. I don't care if I never eat turkey again!!! ;o)
Oh gosh, so refreshing to find someone that cooks like me (or seems to)! I have some standard fare, but get easily bored and try new recipes. More often than not, the results are not well liked by everyone.
What we ate this last week?
Sun - Trader Joe's Orange Chicken, because it was one of those days
Mon/Tue - pork carnitas
Wed - hamburgers
Thur - lentil sloppy joes
Fri - shakshuka
Sat - tortellini bake w/ broccoli
I won't eat ground turkey or chicken. DH makes turkey burgers and loves them.
Here was our menu:
Monday- steakumm sandwiches with onions, hamburger helper
Tuesday- garlic chive pasta shells with marinara
Wednesday-family had steak and I had cereal
Thursday-frittata with croutons, smoked peppers, mozzarella, ham and onions
Friday- frozen fish and oven fries
Saturday-chicken fingers and fries
Sunday-chicken shepherd's pie
Monday - ham, potatoes, beans
Tuesday (today)- scalloped potatoes and leftover ham
I love that stuffed animals made a come back to the grocery pictures! It reminds me of when I started reading your blog 7 years ago.