What I Spent, What We Ate | Um. I went to Costco.
I haven't added up my spending as of the beginning of this blog post, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to start out July a little over!
I did a 100% terrible job of photographing my groceries this week, so please enjoy some 4th of July photos interspersed instead.
Let's see where I stand:
I got a $25 Hungry Harvest box.
I spent $48.68 at Aldi.
I spent $97.82 at Costco on frozen fruit, butter, a box of cereal ($3.50 for a double pack of Honey Bunches of Oats, which my kids love), a package of sausages, two loaves of bread, and a box of nut bars.
I spent $39.47 at the store where Lisey works.
So, yep! I'm at $210 to start out July, which is about $60 more than my average.
I am definitely not going to need to go to Costco again before July is over, though.
Which means that things will average out over the rest of the month.
What We Ate
This was not my best week when it came to serving veggies at dinner. Whoops. Good thing I start each day by making a green smoothie.
Monday
I tried the pork kebabs, which were weird.
To go with them, I made a fruit salad and toasted some bread.
I sliced up some cucumbers too.
Tuesday
This was the Fourth of July, so I grilled some chicken sausages from Costco (in the rain, no less.) We also had veggie chips and watermelon.
Wednesday
I was out all day and had no dinner plan. (fail!)
But I had some chicken tenderloins in the fridge, so I salted, peppered, and oiled those and grilled them.
Then I shredded them, mixed them with barbecue sauce and served the pulled chicken mixture on buns.
(Which were a combo of hot dog shaped buns with a few hamburger buns in the mix.)
I rummaged around in the fridge for odds and ends of fruit and mixed them with a can of peaches to make a fruit salad.
Thursday
It was music rehearsal night at church, which usually means it's a night of randomness for us. Mr. FG ate a sandwich, the girls had mac n cheese, and Joshua ate a slice of pizza. I wasn't hungry due to a large, late lunch, so I just toasted half a bagel.
Friday
I have book club tomorrow night, which means I won't be able to do a date night with Mr. FG then. So, I'm thinking maybe we'll bump that to tonight instead.
Mr. FG has an insatiable appetite for pizza, though, so it is entirely possible we'll go get pizza somewhere.
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What did you end up eating this week?
Share in the comments!
Hey, I made the CI pork tenderloin sriracha kebabs that were in their weekly email a couple weeks ago. They weren't super hot, just spicy and absolutely fantastic. I don't feel I'm a very good griller, but I used my ThermoPen (a huge splurge - my Christmas gift last year) and they came out great!
Ooh, that's good to know! Maybe I can do that with the other half of my pork tenderloin.
That's so funny--my hubby would eat pizza every night if I let him 😀
Right? I get tired of it if I have it too much, but he almost NEVER gets tired of it.
I seriously love reading about what other people eat. I suppose I'm just a food voyeur.
Let's see . . . This week we had pork steaks and chops with rice and salad. Pasta with pesto, and ham and peas. (And salad.) Lamb with mashed potatoes. (And salad.) (Definitely drowning in lettuce from the garden right now.) Fourth of July was hot dogs--with buns, a big treat in our half-gluten-averse house--semi-homemade baked beans, French potato salad (it has a mustard-based vinaigrette instead of a mayonnaise-based dressing), and . . . salad. With homemade ranch dressing to make it exciting. Cough.
Last night's experiment of pork meatballs and peanut sauce in lettuce wraps was a relative failure. My husband, uncharacteristically, didn't like any of it. I loved all of it, although I think the meatballs and peanut sauce were too highly seasoned for just lettuce and tasted better with some plain rice to balance the flavors a little. My sons liked the meatballs--probably mostly because I let them help me make them--but not the peanut sauce. Bummer, because I would totally make that whole meal regularly. But not just for myself.
I also made a strawberry/rhubarb yogurt cake that was really good and that I think I could adapt easily with almond flour so everyone in the house could eat it. It's easy to make, if you don't start out by spending way too long searching for teeeeeny wild strawberries and harvesting rhubarb from the garden. http://www.sproutedkitchen.com/home/2017/4/5/strawberry-rhubarb-yogurt-cake
It was a crazy week here with the holiday - we grilled hot dogs and spent the day in the country on Monday - so hot I feel like I fried my brain!! On Tuesday Hubby grilled chicken thighs and we had leftover beans from Monday, along with a cut up pineapple. Wednesday was salad night - beef fajita over romaine with grape tomatoes, cheese shreds, and purple onion. Last night was a sausage rice dinner with a side of broccoli that I fixed for my peeps before going to work. Tonight I am putting together a chicken and tater tor crock pot dinner that people here love. They feel the same about tater tots that your hubby does about pizza!
Kristen,
I love it when you talk about dinner plans changing because of "life." My son's cross country practices aren't ending until 7:30PM right now which means that he doesn't get home until 8PM and then must immediately shower & start studying for the ACT exam. Dinner has been hit and run for a while. I eat dinner while my son is running. My husband has been waiting until my son gets home but now my son takes his dinner up to his room so he can start studying right away.
No time for a family dinner this summer.
It was so flipping hot this week. I wasn't much into cooking, but I tried.
Monday's meal was a nice steak that we split (my husband has gotten to where he just can't handle much meat at once), with a baked potato and salad using my longevity spinach for greens, since lettuce is long gone here.
Tuesday, we went traditional with grilled pork ribs, potato salad, plus baked beans that I pulled from the freezer. I had made them from scratch using a crock pot recipe and they had turned out just bland. I added a little brown sugar, some Worcestershire sauce, mustard and maybe some other stuff I don't remember, heated them for a while, and they were good this time. I made a Key Lime pie for dessert, yum.
Wednesday I had a meeting, so it was "grilled cheese sandwich and a side" night, plus, yum, watermelon.
Last night I tried the sandwich recipe using leftover cooked beef from the freezer, caramelized onions and cheese. I left off the bacon when it turned out we didn't have enough, oops. We had salad again, and more Key Lime pie. My husband actually liked the sandwich, which is rare for him.
Tonight is anyone's guess. It won't be pizza, because my husband doesn't like pizza much and will only tolerate it rarely. And he doesn't like pasta. Or breakfast for supper. Or chef salad. Sigh.
I had some catching up shopping to do after being away from home, but I surprised myself by barely going over budget. Next, we are going to try an experiment -- I used to shop basically once a month, with occasional trips for milk or fresh produce. We think we are going to try that again, since we now shop almost exclusively in another town. We have a terrible selection in our own tiny town, while fifty miles away, there are literally scores of choices for stores, a thriving farmers' market, and organic/sustainable/humane choices everywhere. I have to remember how to plan for a month, though, which I haven't done in a loooong time. We'll see how it goes.
I love when you mention date night. It gives me hope as a pregnant SAHM of a 3 and 1 year old. Someday there will be freedom! (Last word with Braveheart emphasis...)
Monday - pork chops and salad stuff my parents' house
Tuesday- cheeseburgers, chips, dip, veggies, watermelon
Wednesday- tacos and taco salad, which was my go to since I didn't have a plan. Yay for avoiding takeout!
Thursday- finished off the burgers from the 4th of July. Still delicious!
Friday- Frugal Girl hibachi chicken, yum yum sauce, ramen, brown rice, veggies.
Oops. I didn't mean to include my meals here, but I wanted to say that I feel you, Em. I'm a SAHM to a 6 year old, 4 year old and 9 month old. We have rare date nights out but slightly more frequently we get takeout just for us. We're in a marriage group and meet monthly and while this is vital to our relationship, it took me a year to realize we need date nights too. We also get awesome desserts just for us sometimes. Good luck as you add your littlest one to your family.
I LOVE the photos of the fireworks. My son had a fever on the 4th and the day before, so it wasn't fun at all our FAF household. He's getting better now, so I'm super grateful for that. Have fun at the book club!
Sweet! The fireworks pics are pretty sweet!
Bah, Costco has a way of busting the budget, doesn't it? But the upside is that the cost evens out at the end of the month.
This week we ate:
Monday: Spicy burger salad. This was gross, but the hubs loved it.
Tuesday: Chicken korma with veggies. This would have been great with better seasoning; I'll follow my gut over the recipe next time.
Wednesday: Chorizo orzo and salad. Um, delicious.
Thursday: Mexican cornbread taco bake. Deeelish.
Friday: I didn't have a meal plan for today. So I took out some ground beef and I'm thinking of making meatloaf with mashed potatoes and cauliflower.
Friday:
would you mind sharing your Mexican cornbread taco bake? Sounds interesting.
Is butter cheaper at Costco than $2.49 a pound at Aldi? Or better or something? Just curious.
My Aldi butter has been more expensive than my Costco butter of late...Aldi butter seems to fluctuate a LOT in price here.
Trying to remember what we ate this week is SO hard! lol
Monday- I pulled out chicken breasts and marinated them in bottled italian dressing while we went to the flea market.. those were served with a pot of white rice and some steam frozen peas..
Tuesday - went to a friends.. took a container of veggies and dip, a pan of rice krispies, home made salsa and some chips and some jello shots... It was a Monday night invite after weather started to clear.. so it made a great clean out event for me...
Random Veggies from the fridge, salsa used onion/pepper from freezer and canned tomatos, desserts staples from pantry...
Wednesday-inlaws had kids for the afternoon so we had a REAL DATE.. used a coupon and went to Outback...
Thursday- kids had a class and then friends over so pizza was delivered- used coupons...
Friday- lots of storms (supposedly) today so roast in crock pot with carrots.. to be served with noodles...
(husband is on vacation this past week and next so I feel all discombobulated and off schedule!)
My husband could eat pizza for every. single. meal. Luckily he likes cooking it, so its a win for both of us.
I'm finding that with my husband and me both at work all day and then coming home to three little picky eaters (well, two picky little eaters and one toddler who will eat anything you put in front of her and then she'll start on your plate, thank you very much), I haven't been making a specific meal each night. Instead I've been cooking up a bunch of things when convenient and then we assemble the meal for the needs of the diner.
This week I made cheeseburger twist, which I hadn't made in years. It is a Pampered Chef meal that was the first meal my husband and I made as a married couple when we came home from our honeymoon. It involves ground beef and cheese wrapped in french bread dough and baked.
I also roasted chicken breasts and, separately, a big pile of veggies. We ate these things in salads, on sandwiches, or last night with grits and fried eggs.
Monday - Chef salad, whole grain bread from Kroger bakery
Tuesday was holiday cookout. Hubby grilled ribs with amazing dry spice rub he makes, grilled corn, vinegar slaw, my Mom made potato salad (hers is to die for), blueberry pie and ice cream. Plus random chips etc.
Wednesday -- I ate out with friends at Panera; family ate leftover cookout
Thursday - lentil salad, fruit salad, garlic bread made from various odds and ends in my bread box
Friday - we are having tacos
Monday - Leftovers
Tuesday - Hamburgers, hot dogs, ribs, potato salad, pasta salad, veggie plate, fruit (we had dinner guests for the 4th)
Wednesday - Tacos, beans, fruit
Thursday - Leftovers
Friday - Dinner out (?)
Happy Friday!
Monday-grilled a lot of meat and veg...pork and steaks, peppers and zucchini. Had some good bread.
Tuesday-taco with reduced for quick sale ground turkey
Wednesday- chicken soup made with leftover rotisserie and broth from carcass
Thursday-chicken curry to use up "seconds" tomatoes with rice
Friday- stir fry to use up stuff in fridge and rice, again...
Spent $25 at farm stand and $80 at grocery (but that includes the expensive steaks for grilling).
We finally got our grill fixed, so have been grilling a ton this summer!
Saturday--grilled pork chops, Parmesan ranch roasted potatoes, potato salad, corn
Sunday--chicken and green pepper tikka masala, rice. (Hurray for Aldi's tikka masala simmer sauce! Fast and tasty!)
Monday--grazing between coming home from the pool and heading out for a movie
Tuesday--grilled burgers and hotdogs, chips, deviled eggs, watermelon
Wednesday--grilled "orphans" found when reorganizing the freezer (lone pork chop, that last chicken breast, a couple of burgers hidden in the back corner, etc), leftover sides from our cookout on the 4th
Thursday--chicken florentine pasta
Tonight--Taco Bell knockoff chicken quesadillas--a family favorite!
Let's see:
Monday: Chick-fil-a
Tuesday: Grilled ribs and pork chops, baked beans, peas, chips, fruit, etc...big buffet meal for the 4th.
Wednesday: Chili Mac, fries, salad
Thursday: Boneless chicken wings, chips, raw veggies
Friday: Pei Wei (had a garage sale all day...didn't feel like cooking!)
My freezer is full so I need to make out a menu to use up some of the stuff in there. I didn't plan on being gone all day today, and I didn't put anything out. I really need to plan better!
Monday- barbecues on hamburger buns, sun chips, and fruit
Tuesday- Salmon, baked potato, and mixed veggies
Wednesday- Pulled pork sandwiches, macaroni salad, and carrots
Thursday- Turkey, white rice mixed with fried green peppers and onions, banana bread
Friday- Pizza
Really like the fireworks pictures! Just curious, do your kids drink green smoothies, too?
That depends on if they're around/awake! Mr. FG and I always drink them, and I share with whoever else is up and wants one.
I went a bit overbudget but I don't remember how much. Let's see:
Sat/Sun: Chicken in wine sauce, rice, steamed broccoli.
Mon: BLT
Tues: I had family come over and we ate tri-tip, potato salad, corn saute, green salad, garlic bread and cherries for dessert!
Wed/Thurs: Pulled pork tacos
Fri: We finally got a Chik Fil A in our neck of the woods so I stopped there after work for dinner. As fast food chicken goes, I thought it was pretty good but I had really high expectations and was a bit underwhelmed overall. One should never overestimate fast food I guess. 🙂
Part of the Chick-fil-a mystique is how well they treat their customers and staff, rather than the taste of their food. The owners' religious views as expressed via Chick-fil-a policies is also a Big Deal, and tends to generate strong opinions, pro and con.
I had heard good things about their customer service. Unfortunately, I did not have super service. Actually, I would catogorize the first contact I had as bad service. But maybe once things are up and running a bit bettter it will improve.
At any rate, I am not in any hurry to go back.
I'd love to hear what you are reading for book club? I've been in the same book club for 5 years now and couldn't live without it!
Ditto Sara...what book are you reading/discussing.
We have had a wild two weeks...first my sister and her family for five days then my brother in law and his kids for a week. Lots of parties, a lot of rich food and amazing company:)
We ate lobstah and steamers (plus chicken) that my other sister in law brought from Maine. Tuesday was grilled meat galore...plus many salads. Wednesday we were actually home and had spaghetti with sausage and veggie sticks. Thursday was an all day adventure to a river swimming spot in northern NH so the kids and hubs had LO spaghetti and I don't remember what I had. Last night I made pizza and veggie sticks. Tonight we grilled burgers and dogs and had coleslaw and the first fresh picked broccoli from our garden.
My budget has risen a bit over the past six months. We average about $200/week for the four of us.
It was so great meeting you in person at book club, Kristen. I'm sure I'm not the only person who reads all your blog entries but never bothers to leave a comment. It's silly how excited I got over the fact that we shop at the same Aldi. Keep up the great work - your blog is super!
Woohoo!!! You delurked. So good to hear from you. And it was lovely to meet you too. 🙂
I love, love, love Costco. I am guilty of majorly overshopping at Costco. It is my heaven~
This week we ate:
Kimchi jjigae, burgers, budae jjigae, fettuccine carbonara, roast vegs and sausages. All super yummy!