What I Spent, What We Ate | Oh man.
What I Spent
A lot of times, I spend part of Sunday afternoon or evening planning out my week.
But I didn't do any of that this Sunday, which mostly is fine because on Easter, I hung out with my family and went for a bikeride with Mr. FG, and all of that trumps planning.
It did make for a haphazard week of grocery shopping, though!
I feel like this is becoming a habit for me...maybe I should treat a week with an organized shopping trip as an anomaly instead of the opposite. Ha.
On Saturday, I got my Hungry Harvest box ($15).
Then I went to a grocery store to buy a ham and a few other things for Easter dinner ($27.15).
Monday, I made a stop at a local grocery to buy things to make clam chowder ($12.13).
Tuesday, I went to Aldi and spent $26 to buy some necessities, including the ingredients for this week's new recipe.
Wednesday, I went to Aldi again (embarrassed face) and spent $40.
All told, that adds up to $120. So at least my multiple shopping trips didn't blow my budget!
April Spending
Week 1: $160
Week 2: $166
Week 3: $120
What We Ate
Monday night I took Lisey out for a birthday date.
For my family at home, I left a pot of clam chowder and some loaves of French bread.
And I left instructions to cut up some oranges, but no one remembered to do that. 😉
Tuesday
I made bacon cheddar quesadillas, which we ate with fruit, plus chips and salsa/queso.
Wednesday
This is the night I tried the new Shrimp Cobb Salad recipe. We had toasted and buttered French bread too (leftover from Monday).
Thursday
We had a very miscellaneous night. Most of us had snacked late in the afternoon and weren't really hungry by dinnertime. So, we picked up a sub for Mr. FG and Sonia (the only two who were hungry!) and the rest of us just had a snack here and there once we got hungry.
(I, um, ate a bowl of Cheerios. Ha.)
Friday
I've got a lot on my plate today, so I'm going to call it early: I'm pressing the easy button and getting takeout pizza tonight. 😉
What have you been eating?
Dish in the comments!
I destroyed any thought of this being a budget week when I spent $120 (AUS) on prawns for Easter.
Our meals have been simple and hopefully I can remember them
Good Friday Prawns, oysters or chicken drumsticks for those with seafood allergy. There was also a selection of banana, clementines, apples and bread.
Easter Saturday Leftovers from the above.
Easter Day was to be roast pork however my vegan daughter decide to have dinner with us. So there was a choice of vegan sausages, chips and salad.
Easter Monday I made Hainanese Chicken and manufactured an huge amount from the recipe. I have made soups for lunches out of the stock and still have stock in the freezer.
Tuesday was Hainanese chicken again or vegan food.
Wednesday was a new recipe for the household. It was so salty and was thrown away. Huge note to myself some commercial foods are riddled with salt and when you combine them it is an overdose. Therefore it became egg and toast.
Thursday night we went out to dinner and the leftover food came home for dinner tonight.
Good use of your leftovers and freezing stock.. bummer about the new recipe.. I hate it when that happens!
Sunday we had husbands family here for supper.. I roasted a full turkey breast( no one likes ham but me), made some gravy, made a pan of cheesy hash brown, a 3x batch of baked corn, steamed some broccoli and made a fruit bowl. Inlaws brought bakery bread... Simple...
Monday was leftovers- I had shredded the last of the turkey into a dish of gravy and pulled a bowl from the freezer of a small amount of shredded beef in gravy.. boiled an opened bag of bowtie noodles, reheated the last of the potatos, corn and veg.. added the fruit bowl... I did make a fresh batch of honey wheat bread after I got off work so no one complained about leftovers! Fresh bread makes everything taste better!
Tuesday- Kids had TKD class and husband felt well enough to go to his class so no cooking a big supper! Sliced the homemade wheat loaf and made grilled bacon and cheese sandwiches, served with pretzels and fruit
Weds- Chicken, broccoli and carrot stirfry, served with white rice, berries on the side...
Thursday- kids and husband went to TKD belt ceremony awards, mama fell asleep after work-oops! I stayed home since M was only getting a stripe on her belt.. Kids ate pizza, veggies and chips there.. I ate a bowl of cereal once I woke up! I managed to get quite a bit done around the house.. peacefully before they arrived home so not a total fail of my evening!
Friday- supposedly... the warm and humid blast of temp are going down a bit today.. so I pulled a whole chicken out yesterday to defrost.. thinking I will split that and roast... if not raining maybe I will grill it? Will definitely serve with the last head of broccoli in the drawer.. the rest is to be determined....
On Sunday, I made pizza because ham is crazy-expensive in this country and had to be preordered and flown to our town, so -- Easter pizza! We had leftovers from the fridge on Monday because one of my kids was sick, and I didn't feel like cooking while cleaning up after his tummy troubles. On Tuesday I baked a whole chicken and sweet potatoes, plus we had salad on the side. Wednesday we fried pieces of leftover chicken and had them with spaghetti and tomato sauce, and then on Thursday I made chicken dumpling soup with the leftover bits. I also bought passionfruit at the market and we each had one of those. We had homemade pizza again tonight, plus papaya on the side.
What country are you living in?
We're in the highlands of Papua New Guinea.
We are on April vacation week here, which means we haven't done much regular grocery shopping and several evenings we've gotten home and snuggled on the couch with books and a TV show and before I knew it it was 5:30 and nothing was done for dinner. So.......
Thursday - stewed black beans with carrots and onions and parsley, rice, broccoli, lettuce
Wednesday - rice with lamb curry (lamb leftover from Easter), broccoli, lettuce salad
Tuesday - pasta with tomato sauce and leftover chick peas and mushrooms from Easter, assorted leftover veg
Monday - stir fry with tofu and rice
My older daughter is a vegetarian, but my younger daughter is allergic to milk and won't eat tofu. So she's more meat-dependent. We'll be out of the house all afternoon again today, so I am going to take meat out now to defrost for tonight.
That is the worst feeling, isn't it? When dinnertime is nigh but you've made no dinner. I hate that! And I did it so much this week.
Yes. Luckily my family is fine with fairly simple meals. Nobody complains if every now and then we eat pasta and peas for dinner.
I really like this series. I love the pics and how delicious the food look! 🙂
Thank you!
I started keeping a sort of journal with meals I make (rather than meals I plan - there is sometimes a big difference between the plan and what happens!) and the amount I am spending on groceries, household items, etc. I have always gotten cash out for my weekly spending, but I've been curious to know exactly what I am spending on groceries.
Last week it was higher, because we had company on Friday and extended family over for Easter. And this week it was higher, because I spent a good chunk on meat which was on sale (I now have enough meat in my freezer for 17 meals).
Phew, what a busy week! It's so hard to put together supper when life's crazy. Bleh. We had a pretty high grocery bill this week, but I'm hoping it'll balance out in the budget.
This week we ate:
Monday: Homemade pizza. Mine was mozz and turkey pepperoni and Mr. Picky Pincher did a BBQ chicken Hawaiian pizza.
Tuesday: Chunky lentil soup. I used up a cup of lentils that had been sitting in our pantry for a year and made this soup. It was "meh" but it was a meal. 😉
Wednesday: Gyros
Thursday: Fajitas
Friday: Chicken kebabs
Saturday: Grilled chicken and asparagus with roasted carrots
Sunday: Ate out with in-laws for Easter lunch and then grilled chicken and jalepeno cheddar-wursts at a friends house for dinner
Monday: I cannot for the life of me remember this meal...but I know we ate at home.
Tuesday: Grilled chipotle chicken w/ veggie kabobs
Wednesday: Eggs in Purgatory (poached eggs and ground sausage in a spicy, kale- and tomato-based sauce)with broccoli
Thursday: Tortilla soup
Friday: I'm on my own tonight, so I'll most-likely eat eggs with turkey and some sort of vegetable. And I'll cut up the pineapple that's starting to smell so good on top of my fridge.
My daughter came down with strep throat early in the week, and I managed to catch it from her, so this week has not gone according to plan menu-wise. Luckily my mother-in-law is still visiting from England and has been a blessing while I've been sick.
Sunday we had lamb with roast potatoes and Brussels sprouts (for me) and broccoli (for everyone else). Because it was my first time trying lamb and I wasn't sure if the kids and I would like it, we also cooked a ham. Good news: lamb is delicious! Even better news: leftover ham is easy to use up or freeze.
Monday I made split pea and ham soup in the slow cooker, which used the ham hock from Easter dinner.
Tuesday was a pizza fundraiser night for my daughter's school. It was also the first day I started feeling sick, so this worked perfectly.
Wednesday I had planned to make quiche with some of the leftover ham, but I really wasn't feeling up to it. Neither my daughter or myself were able to eat, anyway, so my mother-in-law just made scrambled eggs with cheese and ham for my boys, my husband, and herself.
I was finally starting to feel better by Thursday, but I still wasn't quite up to cooking. Luckily I have a genius for a mother-in-law. She mixed the leftover lamb with gravy (also leftover) and some peas, carrots, and corn from the freezer to make a cottage pie. Instead of mashed potatoes we topped it with the leftover roasted potatoes from Easter. It was so delicious!
Today I'm hoping to make awesome chicken with stuffing and veggies.
I spent around $250 at the store this week, but that included a lot of non-grocery items (we have quite a few birthdays coming up). I think our groceries were around $180, which is on the high side, but it included ham and lamb. Plus, next week will probably be on the low side since we have so much left from this week.
So wonderful that your mother-in-law was able to be there and help out. What a gem!
I'm glad you're feeling better now.
Jealous you have a MIL you seem to enjoy and who can/will cook! I hope you feel better- strep in adults is just ugly!
Let's remember to be awesome mother-in-laws like that when our turn comes!
I went over budget this past week but I am not sure by how much because I still haven't reconciled it. Sigh.
Saturday was my new recipe - chicken stroganoff and asparagus.
Sunday - My brother and I put together an Easter feast for the family. There were 2 grilled tri tips (one was made with a mesquite rub, one was a chipotle rub), deviled eggs, green salad, roasted veggies, crispy smashed potatoes and key lime pie for dessert. All the left overs were sent home with family.
Monday - Tacos
Tuesday - um, tacos.
Wednesday - yep, tacos.
Thursday - grilled cheese (for when there are no tacos to be had.)
Friday - not sure yet. Maybe take out or maybe a veggie and cheese omelet at home.
How about tacos?
haha. 🙂
Confession: I'm 31 and I still love Cheerios 🙂 I love seeing your Hungry Harvest boxes! They are always so colorful and that's a lot of food for the cost!
Sunday - ???
Monday - smorgesborg, including steamed chix, scrambled eggs, yogurt, tomatoes, cukes, carrots, don't remember the fruit
Tuesday - out at event, which included buffet dinner.
Wed - out with friends who wanted advice, so they paid for dinner.
Thurs - Shrimp, spinach, oranges. Ironically, the reason I punted on dinner is that I lost track of time while smoking 2 chix and half a pork leg.
Fri - Either taco night (to use the avocado I bought) or something smoked. Rest TBD.
"And I left instructions to cut up some oranges, but no one remembered to do that."
Have you heard the story of the three people named Everyone, Someone, and No-one? There was a task to be done and Everyone thought that Someone would do it, but No-one did. 😛
I think that must be what happened!
Mostly a non-cooking week for me, but it didn't cost much!
Monday- Leftover ham from Easter
Tuesday- Banquet at school for my daughter who is graduating....they had so much leftover Mexican food from a local restaurant that I took home a whole tray each of fajita steak, chicken, rice, beans and salad.
Wednesday- Leftover fajitas
Thursday- Takeout burgers (tired of the fajitas, lol)
Friday- We're going to Friday's for dinner. I promised the kids last Friday that we were going to go, but I ended up cooking a pork roast before it went bad.
I was able to divide the leftovers from the banquet into three separate containers and freeze them for future meals. So excited! 🙂
Oh, man, I spent way more than anticipated. On the plus side, freezer is stocked up...
Usual shopping trips M and Th. Daughter got braces and was in so.much.pain (ALL the drama) we had to stop to before school to get more yogurt, etc. for lunches. Then Easter stuff. Then we were invited for Easter brunch, so the ham went in the freezer and I went shopping *again* to get ingredients for brunch items. So, meals last week and this included kalua pork, gnocchi, shakshuka, tortellini, burritos, and turkey burgers.
Due to the fact that my back had gone out Sunday morning and I was in bed most of the day Monday, I don't know what my family ate that day. They had to fend for themselves.
On Tuesday I managed to put a crockpot meal together by mostly sitting on a stool. I tried a new recipe called Swiss steak which included cut up round steak, potatoes, carrots, and onions cooked in a brown gravy with diced tomatoes added. I served this over noodles. It is a meal that I'll fix again.
Wednesday I made homemade mac & cheese, green beans, applesauce, & garlic bread.
On Thursday it was a drive through evening. Two of the girls had baton and finished in just enough time to get Dylan to play practice. I did not get home until 8:00.
Friday - My daughter had fixed a frozen pizza that was done when I came in from work.
It was a big week for chicken
Monday--chicken thighs leftover from Sunday
Tuesday -chicken fingers, broccoli, bread(except not for me--I miss bread)
Wednesday -family night at Moms Senior Living Center
Thursday -lovely but lazy, lazy,lazy.... left over chicken fingers warmed and sliced, thin slices of Irish Cheddar, water crackers and a nice glass of South American Cabernet. My husband thought it (I) was genius.... must have been the wine
Friday... more lazy..pulled pork.... prepared by my friends at hyvee...they are awesome
Happy Weekend! Enjoy ever moment!
I love hyvee! We had it growing up and our local one has been here for 1.5 years now. At and choice of date night, I wanted to go to Hy-Vee market grille! On Fridays this month, it's buy one burger get one half off PLUS a free piece of cheesecake. Yum!
Monday- Salmon, baked potato, salad
Tuesday- broccoli cheese soup, veggie sandwich consisting of cucumbers, tomatoes, feta cheese on Whole Wheat buns.
Wednesday- Lasagna, bread stick, mixed veggies and Boston Cream Pie
Thursday-Chicken stir fry which included green peppers, onions, and broccoli
Friday- Appetizers- red wine, pretzels, avocado dip, and popcorn
Monday - Easter leftovers. Yum! Ham, cheesy potatoes, brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes.
Tuesday -ham fried rice with potstickers
Wednesday-spaghetti and meatballs with Italian bread
Thursday- Chinese takeout is on sale at our favorite grocery store. We got 7 meals out of the $14!
Friday- tacos for kiddos and my parents, date night for my hubby and me. Woo hoo! These are few​ and far between since we became a family of five last October.