WIS, WWA | 1 week down, 7 to go
What I Spent
I started my second 8-week class this week, which means I'm on a countdown to the end of the semester. One week down, seven to go.
When I think about it in menu posts, that makes it feels sort of short. I will only do 7 more WIS, WWA posts and then the semester will be done!
I spent:
- $115 at Sam's Club
- $30 on a Hungry Harvest box
- $6 at Safeway
Soooo, $151 for me.
What We Ate
Saturday
I made some chicken fingers, which we cut up and ate on top of a green salad.
Sunday
I used the rest of the uncooked chicken tenderloins to make some shredded BBQ chicken. Then I toasted some French bread slices from the freezer, piled the BBQ chicken on top, sprinkled shredded cheese on top, and then broiled them to make open-face sandwiches.
But I completely forgot to take a picture until we'd already eaten our sandwiches.
(Someone asked, "Why don't you take a picture of your food each night so you don't forget what you eat?" But the problem is that so often I just eat my food without remembering to take a photo. The forgetting is several layers deep here. 😉 )
Monday
This was the night we got our Chipotle with the gift card that I found.
Tuesday
I grilled some burgers, and as usual, I toasted the buns on the grill when the burgers were almost done.
But...I went a little too hard with the toasting, and two of the tops were inedible.
So, I toasted a fresh one for Zoe, and I used the two not-burnt bottoms for my burger. 😉
Wednesday
BLTs; I tried making them on the soft 100% whole wheat sandwich bread that I get from Sam's Club, and I decided I am not a fan.
The bread is great for ham sandwiches and peanut butter sandwiches, but the whole grain flavor was a little weird with the BLT.
Thursday
This time I tried the BLT fillings in a bun leftover from Tuesday's burgers, and that was better.
But I think next time I will just buy some white bread when I want a BLT!
Friday
I have a lot of sweet potatoes and also quite a few baby white potatoes from my Hungry Harvest box so I think I will make a dinner decision based around my potato wealth. 😉
Pulled pork, whipped potatoes, coleslaw.
Beef and shrimp and mushroom tacos.
Pumpkin soup with sweet potato crackers
Tuna on ricecakes.
Pasta with sausage and rosee sauce.
Leftovers. Lots of leftovers!!!
@Elisabeth, what are whipped potatoes?
@Colleen,
another word for mashed
A realistic and wholesome menu!
We have moved from high temperature food to considerably lower temperature food., so no salads this week. Also I did not buy much produce since we had been away for a few days and our housesitter aka eldest hardly glanced at the vegetable drawer. So we had some odds and ends to use up.
I cannot recall the weekend, but over the week we ate
- Carrot and onion stew, with sausage
- Lasagna arrabiata with a bechamel sauce using up expired double cream, since I had no milk. It was rico 😉
- Mashed potato with endive and bacon
- Meatloaf and baked baby potatoes with spinach
- Today will be a choice of two soups, with brie on baguette. Also I am not cooking, what is not to like?
Have a great weekend everyone!
@JNL, I've never had lasagna with bechamel, actually. Italian-Americans don't use it. One a dese days. Also I would like some brie on baguette. We had some brie but Daughter stuffed chicken breasts with it earlier this week.
@Rose, I made the very involved Smitten Kitchen recipe for lasagna once that uses bechamel. I think I'm too American for it, though. I prefer mozzarella.
@kristin@going country, It does sound like more faff than it's worth to make. I guess I'm too American too.
@JNL, your lasagna! The combination of spicy red sauce with a rich white sauce, yummy….
@JNL, My darling daughter made lasagna with bechamel and Italian sausage for supper on Saturday evening. It was amazing! I prefer it with bechamel, but I'm usually not motivated enough to make it.
@Rose, those of us from Europe use a bechamel sauce in our lasagna! What do you use instead?
@Joan from Dublin, Ireland, I know that bechamel sauce is traditional Italian, but I grew up in New York eating Italian-American. (I'm not actually Italian!)
Here's how I make lasagna. Boil pasta. (I am always disappointed with no-boil lasagna.) Cook meat, usually a mix of ground beef and loose pork sausage. Cut up or shred mozzarella and put in a bowl. Add a pound of ricotta, a few handfuls of parmesan, an egg, and parsley.
When pasta is cooked, drain. Take out a large pan and toss some red sauce on the bottom, hopefully homemade but Rao's is good too. Then place a layer of pasta. Then spoon out half your cheese mixture. Another layer of pasta, then put the meat and more red sauce. Then another layer of pasta with the rest of the cheese mixture, then the last layer of pasta and splash plenty of red sauce around so the baked pasta doesn't get dry edges.
Bung it all in the oven. Put some foil down halfway through the baking period so the top doesn't dry out. Yum!
@Joan from Dublin, Ireland, And if you're Italian-American, you use slightly different words than tradition. Rigott for ricotta, moozadell for mozzarella, antipast for antipasto, and famously, gabagool for capicola. The reasons for this are fascinating.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/how-capicola-became-gabagool-the-italian-new-jersey-accent-explained
(Note: the whole New York area, not just NJ.)
@Rose, Sounds delicious!
@Joan from Dublin, Not to be immodest but it really is delicious. Mmmm. I haven't made a lasagna in a while--maybe this weekend.
@Joan from Dublin, Ireland,
My mom used cottage cheese, no cap. Many people use ricotta, though.
@Rose,
This is how I make lasagna, too. Yummy. I grew up eating Italian-American as well.
@Rose,
Sounds like an episode from Sopranos
@Joan from Dublin, Ireland, my MIL was 100% Northern Italian and always made the-best dishes. Her lasagna had homemade pasta noodles, rolled thin so at least double the layers of boil-at-home noodles. And she just had a standard 9 X 13 pan, not a deeper lasagna pan sold these days. She made beautiful pasta. Tortellini time (which I why I tend to call out mfg who call their product tortellini when it is NOT) - two batches of pasta, each batch 12 eggs and 12 cups of flour. She used to roll it out by hand but by the time I helped, had an electric roller. Almost paper thin pasta for tortellini - cut into inch squares. It was labor intensive pasta and twisting, only served on Xmas Day. It was a proud day when her granddaughters and one of her sister's granddaughters got together and made them. They were close but they needed to run the dough a couple more times as it was a little thick.
Tortellini is not bad health wise. Tortellacci (stick of butter in the pan, tomato or even richer mushroom sauce) or pasta prosciutto (brick cheese/prosciutto wrapped in pasta then covered with unsweetened whip cream) eh not so much. But very good and not consumed all that often. I wish my kiddos had a chance to cook with her but alas she died far before she should have.
You have posted pictures of your burned bread before, and I always think, "Eh, I'd just scrape it and eat it." Thought that this time, too. I guess I'm just lazy. 🙂
Saturday: I had a lot of pork left from a pork roast I made Thursday, so I used that to make taco meat. My sister was visiting, so I made homemade corn tortillas. Hadn't done that in a long time. We also had some pinto beans in the refrigerator to be used up, and I made baked rice pudding while the oven was on for awhile to cook the pork more so I could easily remove the meat from the bone.
Sunday: I had made roasted tomato sauce the day before while the oven was on. I used that on meatballs. Then I made pesto--still no freeze to kill the basil, yay!--for pasta. We also had a green salad with vinaigrette. Sunday dessert was banana chunks covered in the chocolate shell (chocolate chips+coconut oil) my sister had used to make cake pops with the mess left from getting my daughter's birthday cake out of the pan. 🙂 And then I let my kids finish the chocolate shell with marshmallows.
Monday: A bunch of leftovers, portioned out according to preference.
Tuesday: Leg of lamb (no special reason--we just have a lot of lamb because we have a lot of sheep); roasted potatoes, onions, and carrots; cucumbers with salt and vinegar; lemon jello I had made for a sick child; oatmeal chocolate chip cookies I had made for everyone
Wednesday: I had some pork taco meat I stuck in the freezer that I took out to thaw before I went to work. The tortillas were not homemade this time, because it was a work day and that's what store tortillas are for. The child with the sore throat had scrambled eggs and leftover pasta with pesto--a surprisingly excellent combination--and we still had corn on the cob my sister had brought, plus a tomato/cucumber salad. More cookies, too.
Thursday: I used the rest of the leg of lamb to make curry, which we had over rice. The switchel jello I made for the most recent sick child was actually good, and he had that. More cookies for everyone else. I always double cookie recipes, except for the oatmeal cookie recipe, which is already big. Except I forgot, so we've had a lot of cookies around this week. This has not been a problem, however.
Tonight: Ugh. I don't know. I have a cold and don't want to think about cooking. I might just make some tuna salad sometime today when I'm feeling relatively chipper and then have my husband make tuna melts for dinner. We have a Persian melon my sister brought us I need to cut up, too. Sounds like a balanced meal to me.
@kristin@going country, Your menu reports never disappoint. I would totally watch videos of your kitchen adventures in case you ever want to start a YouTube channel in your spare time!
@Bobi, My husband has actually said we should do that and it would be hilarious because I'm cooking the most involved, occasionally very fancy foods in the jankiest 1970s trailer kitchen you can imagine with usually nothing more than a wooden spoon and cast iron. It is pretty funny.
@kristin@going country,
I would definitely subscribe to that channel. I also really appreciate how you cook with everything, including school cafeteria leftovers and extra commodities.
@kristin@going country, That's a really good hook for a series though. "Good Food in a Janky Kitchen."
@Bobi and Kristin,
Same here; I look forward to these posts from Kristin each week and would watch the video versions, too.
@kristin@going country, YES to a wooden spoon and cast iron skillet! It is almost all I ever use in the kitchen, unless baking, when the skillet is replaced by a big steel bowl. "The more stuff you own, the more stuff breaks" and "no one-function stuff" are my kitchen and life guiding principles.
@kristin@going country, Would 100% subscribe and watch.
@Karen A. et al., me too. Especially now that @kristin @ going country has described her kitchen and her "batterie de cuisine"!
@kristin@going country, I would totally subscribe!
@kristin@going country,
You could call it "Kristin's Janky Western Kitchen". 🙂
I'd watch no matter what you call it! lol!
Kristin, when you get some free time, there's definitely a market for this. 😉
"Kitchen" seems to be having a moment as a title. A few years ago my friend could not, just could not come up with a title for her first cookbook. I suggested "Tha Hamptons Kitchen" and lo, it's on its second printing now! I also tested a lot of the recipes.
Kristen, not even joking, I think she should. Especially if the local school has any A/V equipment she could borrow for a weekend. She cooks, her husband videos it, and slices of real life, like a kid with a scraped knee, just fine. The anti Ballerina Farm.
@ErikaJS, agreed! I always look forward to the menus and accompanying stories!
In Scotland, those are known as well fired rolls, not burnt! (Not kidding, it's true.)
I can't remember a single thing we had to eat this week, except yesterday I noticed we had some rice left over, so I threw it together with black beans, corn and a hot pepper, threw the rest of the sour cream and ate it for lupper.
Oh right, I did make chicken fajitas earlier this week. I marinade the chicken for a few hours with garlic, chopped fresh jalapeno and lime juice, and then serve with sour cream and of course, peppers and onions. I love it. The chicken is so flavorful no salsa is needed.
If you take the two burned buns and rub them together, most of the burned bits fall away and the bun is edible again! Internet hack that actually works!
@Emily,
I usually just take a dull butter knife, and scrape off the too-burned bits. But that hack sounds easy enough!
@Liz B., and one less utensil to (in theory) wash-dry-and-put-away, lol
spent about $80 (which included 8 lbs of butter).
We ate:
Sunday: We were in Pigeon Forge and ate at Margaritaville. I had the nachos and DH had a seafood platter.
Monday: We returned from traveling and ate a sandwich and called it a day
Tuesday: yellow split pea dal with rice and naan
Wednesday: DH wasn't home at dinner so I had ramen noodles without the spice packet...made a sauce from soy/brown sugar/garlic
Thursday: almost like a thick beef stew over roasted potato cubes
Friday: kids are coming for chili and baked potatoes. Have brownies in the oven now also.
I like BLT's on Multi Grain bread- agree that Whole Wheat is a bit to earthy!
WIS- $114 for two people. I shop primarily at Aldi and Trader Joes, with supermarkets reserved for sales flyer items only- why are supermarkets so ridiculous with their 'normal' pricing???
WWA-
- Sat- Free wine and one $20 flatbread pizza (Pancetta, whipped goat cheese, and sriracha honey- so good!) Our wine membership gets us four free glasses of wine a month plus the winery tasting room sits harbor side, so a scenic and inexpensive night out we always enjoy.
- Sun- Chicken cutlets smothered in sundried tomatoes and cream, pasta, spinach salad.
- Mon- Spaghetti and meatballs, romaine salad.
- Tue- Sun leftovers.
- Wed- Mon leftovers.
- Thur- Grilled hamburgers, sauted corn, spinach salad.
- Fri (tonight)- Walk to a nearby brewery where we'll split their delicious short rib grilled cheese sandwich, along with an order of their roasted Brussels sprouts. A hard blackberry seltzer for me, and an IPA for hubby. Walk back home after!
I much prefer whole wheat for BLTs. No mayo. Lots of pepper. Gosh, now I want to go to my favorite deli to get one.
NO MAYO??? That is a crime. lol
@Kristen,
*bursts out crying, runs away, slams door*
@Kristen, I didn't taste mayonnaise until I was in high school, I think--my mom insisted on Miracle Whip instead, so that was all I ever had on BLTs and such! I remember at first thinking mayo was too rich-tasting and I didn't like it.
My mom's favorite sandwich was crunchy peanut butter, Miracle whip, and iceberg lettuce on wheat bread.
@Karen A., I've never had Miracle Whip. Mayo was always Hellmann's to me. Now my daughter makes for us, which is actually tastier than Hellmann's. Still, not a huge fan except in chicken salad etc.
@Karen A., my two JASNA friends and I had a lively debate on the drive to Cleveland about real mayo vs. Miracle Whip. I too grew up on Miracle Whip (remember what I've said in previous comments about my mother's food prep) and didn't taste mayo till I was an adult. We all agreed that Miracle Whip is an abomination.
However, the generous friend who was doing the driving had made us all sandwiches with cheese and red pepper hummus--which absolutely knocked my socks off. After coming home, I bought some red pepper hummus at Wegmans and look forward to experimenting with it as a sandwich spread. (Probably not in a BLT or any of my variations on a BLT, though!)
@A. Marie,
Agreed about Miracle Whip. I remember one time as a kid, we were somewhere - a friend's house, or a family member's house, maybe? - and they made tuna salad sandwiches using Miracle Whip instead of mayo. I took one bite and couldn't eat any more of it. My mom was, of course, mortified at my bad manners. Haven't touched it since, and I'm now almost 63 years old.
@A. Marie, I agree with your buddies and you on the red pepper hummus as a spread and have been buying it for years. Lately, however, I’ve switched to plain hummus because I figured I can add the cayenne to the plain in the amounts that I want each time.
I’ve seen it at Wegman's but buy it from a local farm store where it’s freshly made each day. But Weg's is my backup if they’re ever out. . .it sells out quickly.
@A. Marie, Hummus is absolutely delicious as a sandwich spread. Try it with cucumbers and red onions and cheese.
@A. Marie, Daughter makes homemade hummus too, various kinds. I'd resent her for being a much better cook than I am except one, I think it's pathetic to resent your children for their skills, and two, I love eating her food! Mmmm.
@Rose, Homemade hummus is so easy to make, even non cooks can make it delish. I’ve done it but, for the cleanup mess, I decided long ago I'd rather pick it up with my weekly farm share from the market where they make it freshly each day. They have many different toppings, too, besides cayenne: artichoke, pesto, sundries tomatoes, etc.
@Liz B., funny thing about Miracle Whip - as the daughter of a person from the south, mayo it is. Better half was checking the menu of a blue collar restaurant we dined at tonight. I *had* planned on a grilled chicken sandwich until he started talking "Miracle Whip". Uh, hard no for me.
A woman for whom I used to babysit loved Kraft sandwich spread. Don't get me wrong, I love tartar sauce but for my palate, sandwich spread is not interchangeable with mayo.
And I love peanut butter and mayo sandwiches.
@Selena, my ex used to devour peanut butter and Kraft sandwich spread sandwiches. He at least chose crunchy peanut butter!
Let's see... I think Monday and Tuesday were pasta with peppers and cheese nights.
Wednesday, I made fajitas (a modified version of the "Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas" recipe from Food Network), so I've been feasting on those, along with some black beans, since Wednesday.
Tonight, I may go out to celebrate surviving the work week (it's been kind of a mess). Or I could just eat some more fajitas... 🙂
Kristen, that picture of Chiquita's paw is so cute. I loved the pictures in your last post as well. Seriously, if I lived near you, I'd hire you to photograph my pets!
@Natalie K., I love her little pink nose which shows up in the first photo!
Haha, thank you. Chiquita is very easy to photograph because she's so light-colored. Shelley is a WHOLE challenge because she's almost all black. Cameras have a hard time with that!
@Kristen, I hate to say it, but Instagram etc is one more reason people don't want to adopt black dogs and cats. A friend of mine's brother runs a dog rescue that is entirely about large black dogs, who are usually the last chosen. Sigh.
And yet it's been proven numerous times that black cats and dogs have the best dispositions. Coat color = temperament is a fascinating field.
@Bee, I know, right! SO ADORABLE.
@Kristen, I can imagine! I always look weird on the camera for my work video calls if I wear a black shirt... I can imagine how a camera lens reacts to a black kitty!
I know I ate a lot of pasta this week. I also pushed the boat out and made salad for my work lunch instead of just a sandwich.
I'm with you on the whole wheat bread. Sometimes I would just rather have a slice of white. Or a ciabatta bun. I think the nutritional benefit to whole wheat bread isn't that much of a deal not to have the taste you like. I didn't really follow my menus this week, but here's what I ate:
Monday - I threw a couple of chicken drums in my mini crockpot and shredded them over a pre-baked sweet potato when done. Topped with lots of chopped red onion!
Tuesday - I boiled the last of the penne, tossed it with some spicy Italian sauce and added in broccoli and meatballs. 'Twas good.
Wednesday - Cooked a pork chop in my iron skillet and topped with carmelized onions. Side salad with romaine and Greek vinaigrette.
Thursday - Fished a burger out of the freezer and enjoyed with some onions and peppers.
Tonight - (freezer) Coconut Shrimp, 1/2 a bag of chopped salad with lime dressing
Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed
Happy weekend!
@Gina from The Cannary Family, I agree re whole wheat vs. white bread. I like the taste of whole wheat better. Unless it's my homemade challah, but I rarely make it nowadays.
Oh and my BLT must be toasted.
This past weekend I spent almost as much on dog food as I did on my food. I spent about $115 on my groceries and $95 for the dogs. But their food lasts longer than two weeks.
Not counted in that figure is the $390 I spent on my portion of a big local farm pig that my daughters and I split. It's actually not less expensive than the meat in some stores, but it's a good bit less expensive than the farmer's pre-cut meat. This is not conventionally raised meat, and the end product is excellent, so I find it worth it. I also like that I can go see the animals and their living conditions anytime. Since hurricane season is winding down, I feel a little safer getting the freezer stocked up.
WIA - It was chicken week, mostly.
I cooked some meaty bacon ends (not from the recent pig purchase - it's still being processed) and removed them then tossed into the bacon pan a mix of chopped kale, which I don't like, but eat every now and then because everyone tells me to, a big bowlful of longevity spinach leaves, and the first big-enough-to-pick leaves of my autumn garden's komatsuna which is a very mild mustard green. On the side, I had applesauce.
I also had a slice off of a chuckeye roast that I cooked like a steak, which I had with broccoli and nothing else because I had snacked on cassava chips while cooking. I froze the rest of the roast for later.
I roasted a big farm hen on a sheet pan with cut up mushrooms, onions, carrots, parsnips and the very last of my okra pods. I ate this twice.
I pulled some meat off of the chicken and made a chicken casserole with cauliflower, green beans, onion, carrots, and more stuff I don't remember. I topped it with cassava biscuits. Not cream biscuits like Kristen - when made with cassava flour, cream biscuits just sort of melt.
I've had this twice, too. And of course, lunches are always leftovers from these meals.
Next up, the last of the chicken meat gets picked off and I use the carcass to make chicken soup. That should be it for this chicken!
WIS: $132 @ Kroger and $545 @ Costco ( there were several non-food items here like clothing, birthday gifts, Nordic ware cooking pans, flashlights, batteries, and some vitamins; I would guess that $200 was actual food)
Saturday:
Sunday: I made beef stew in the crockpot, roasted sweet potato cubes with chili powder and cinnamon & jasmine rice. There were lots of veggies in the stew itself so I did not make a veggie side.
Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday: This was my son's 9th birthday and I made his birthday dinner. Thin cut ribeye steaks on the grill, sauteed bella mushrooms, sweet peppers and onions, bok choy with carrots, onion & ginger, mashed potatoes, creamy horseradish sauce. Homemade chocolate cake for dessert.
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Leftovers - we are prioritizing non food waste in this house!
Friday: Today is my 10th wedding anniversary and the hubby and I are going out to dinner; those staying home will have sandwiches & fruit.
@Angie,
Happy anniversary! Enjoy your dinner out!
@Angie, Happy Anniversary!
WIS: $97.53
WWA: Leftover meatloaf, spaghetti with marinara gussied up with Italian sausage, olives and mushrooms. Tossed salad topped with tomatoes and cooked salmon. Pasta and red beans cooked with home-grown cherry tomatoes, spinach and hamburger.
Saturday - the last night of my trip with friends, we made shrimp spring rolls with marinated tofu and rice at the house were renting, it was delicious!
Sunday - I got home from my trip this day, I made a salad for myself (the produce does not get eaten much when I’m not here!) and some chicken nuggets with steamed veggies for the kids.
Monday - Trader Joe’s paella, no one really seemed to like it much, guess we will stick with the orange chicken!
Tuesday - baked ziti
Wednesday - taco night, black beans and avocado on tostadas for me, carnitas or chicken fajita (both leftovers from freezer) for everyone else, Spanish rice from the freezer
Thursday - salad night, salad with chicken for husband, black bean burger cut up on mine, kids had nuggets with veggies
Friday - book club night so I’ll eat snacks there, probably Mac n cheese for the kids, although my 6 year old was up vomiting last night, poor guy, so we’ll see what he feels like later today.
The first half of the week is a total blur. I can't remember what we ate! At some point I roasted some sweet dumpling squash, which was a new food to me. I found it too sweet.
Wednesday: I was working overnight and my boss got us Thai food, plus I snacked on apples and edamame that I brought, and also mini chocolate bars that someone else brought. The crew at home had frozen pizza.
Thursday: Mr. B made pasta with tomato sauce, and peas.
Friday: I'm making challah, salmon, roasted squash, and cucumber salad
Random thoughts in response:
"Emotional support cat" - but what about Shelley?? She might need an Emotional Support Human!
With my very old toaster, I have developed excellent burnt toast scraping skills.
"Potato wealth"! 😎
I do not consider your burger buns "burnt" - I find them toasted perfectly! But, I am the weirdo that likes very DARK toast....
Sun. Salmon. Air fryer potatoes. Green beans.
Monday. Roasted chicken. Salad. Rice with butter.
Tuesday. Tuna melts. White cheddar popcorn. Grape tomatoes and red peppers.
Wed. Thurs. Chili and Fritos. Sliced apples.
Friday. Omelets. Hash browns. Toast.
Sat. Going to make something with leftover chili. Either chili Mac or chili topped baked potatoes.
I spent 137 at Kroger pick up but saved 54 dollars!
First, Kristen, re: your overdone hamburger buns, here's what my mother used to say when this happened: "Charcoal is good for the stomach."
Now, my WIS/WIA for the last *two* weeks (including the JASNA AGM trip):
WIS in Cleveland: $47 for my one big meal out. All other food in Cleveland was either leftovers from this meal, food brought in by JASNA BFF and me, or meals included as part of the AGM.
WIS at home: $99 at Wegmans, $30 at Trader Joe's, $37.50 at Price Chopper, and $58 at Ollie's. (I was stocking up the pantry after a pretty long pre-AGM period of eating it down, and I was also using a 15% off coupon at Ollie's on things like trash bags and Tide. Yes, my Ollie's still has some Tide left!)
WIA: Nothing particularly impressive at home, but I enjoyed the heck out of the meal out in Cleveland (at a restaurant called the Cleveland Chop): walleye in a mustard sauce, with sides of pierogies and a little kielbasa. A quintessentially Cleveland meal, and I think DH (who was born in Cleveland and grew up in its suburbs) would have enjoyed the heck out of it too!
@A. Marie, our Ollie's is still loaded up with Tide. We can't use it because DH is allergic, so I have not even checked the price. I made two trips to Ollie's this week, one to buy mostly cat litter with my coupon, and a second pass through yesterday because I thought I saw on the previous trip some small cans of ham, which would be excellent for making potato soup. Alas, it was ham spread, like Underwood deviled ham only Canadian, and the sodium content is out of this world. But I did find a couple of gluten-free items for DH at an amazingly good price.
It is not the least bit easy feeding an already picky eater who can't have gluten, lactose, and is supposed to watch his sodium.
@Ruby, when my family is home during the holidays, I become overwhelmed. My daughter is a lactose-intolerant vegetarian. My husband thinks all meals are meat forward. One of my son’s thinks all food needs hot sauce, and I’m allergic to wheat/gluten. We basically have a 20-ingredient taco bar for a week.
@Bee,
Just wondering, has your daughter tried those Lactaid (lactase) tablets? I use Walgreens store brand - they're actually more like a small capsule-shaped pill you swallow before you eat or drink anything that contains lactose. It really seems to help me avoid the uncomfortable symptoms of lactose intolerance. Some people who are lactose intolerant can eat some types of cheese, or yogurt, without having any symptoms - it's a very individual thing.
@Bee, I nearly had a crying fit in the kitchen last werk about how hard it is to cook for my family. There were seriously only about 12 things DH would eat before he got the gluten diagnosis and most of them involved wheat.
@A. Marie, I've heard rumblings Ollie's is filing for bankruptcy. Perhaps better half and I should suck it up and go to crazy town - east side of the large city near me to make what might be our only visit to Ollie's. We could pair it with a Portillo's purchase of heat-up at home Italian beef and "gravy" (I call it broth). It is a bargain once one considers the time and cost to purchase the beef/cooking the beef, and time of "capturing the gravy", and time and cost of slicing the beef (we do have a meat slicer).
One way to clear up charred bread is to rub two burned pieces together. Just as easy as going at it with a knife.
We are still trying to make easy protein-forward meals. WWA:
Saturday - beef, cabbage, and carrot skillet over rice
Sunday - baked ham, scalloped potatoes, corn, butter tarts
Monday - leftovers
Tuesday - chicken and veggie sheet pan fajitas
Wednesday - chili from the freezer
Thursday - this is day “trying” didn’t work and ended up eating apple, yogurt, etc
Friday - the super simple 4 ingredient chicken and rice casserole that we had planned to make yesterday
Wishing everyone a peaceful weekend
$379 on food at Kroger. Somehow I spent a little less on groceries this week, but my anxiety brain tells me that just means I probably forgot something essential. 😛
Saturday/Sunday: homemade pizzas
Monday: chicken shawarma--i'm honestly getting burned out on this, and want to switch it out to something else. Plus the boneless chicken is so pricey. Probably will do chicken wings and drumsticks next week instead.
Tuesday: Ham and bean soup, leftovers, and mac and cheese for the Selective Eater.
Wednesday: Mexican night
Thursday: burgers, fruit and corn on the cob--I finally learned that it's not necessary to wrap the cobs in foil before plopping them in the crockpot, and actually they turned out better after 2 hours on High this way. YUM. Save on foil and time.
Tonight: Hamburger stew, mac and cheese or tuna burgers for Selective Eater. Since it's a D&D night I'll pull out the Kettle chips I got on sale and the seltzers, too.
Remember, guys, aluminum is a heat sink. That means whatever you wrap it in will have a cooler exterior than interior. This works great if you don't want the top of your casserole to cook faster than the rest of it, etc. But much of the time people wrap things in foil (like baking potatoes) that don't need it.
@Rose, DH advised me long ago to always use foil shiny side down--otherwise the shiny side reflects the heat away from what you want to cook. Like when I cover my lasagna to cook the noodles in the oven (yes, I use the no-boil noodles--the shame of it!) Seemed to help! But I'm just as happy to not use it whenever possible
It's been a heckuva week. A couple more days and it should start to get better. BUT! We didn't eat out too much, including lunch, so I'm happy about that.
Thursday: Rice, Dal, paratha and samosas
Wednesday: Take out burritos/tacos
Tuesday: Garlic Chili Noodles
Monday: Taquitos
Sunday: Poststickers and Mapo Tofu? Or was that last week? I just don't know.
Saturday: Kids & husband went to a birthday party; I had a buffalo chicken salad that was surprisingly good.
Tonight I think we'll keep it simple and easy and do tortellini with pesto and some sides - maybe broccoli and/or garlic bread and/or fruit and/or a stiff drink for me.
WWS - $25 @ the local co-op, $41 @ Whole Foods, and $8 @ Publix
WWA -
Saturday - ?
Sunday - sautéed wild-caught shrimp over rice and an avocado/butter lettuce salad.
Monday - I made French Onion Soup to use up 4 large onions that had been hanging around awhile. We had some raw veggies to go with that.
Tuesday - Rotisserie Chicken and broccoli salad. I babysat all afternoon, so I stopped at Whole Foods on the way home. Prepared foods are discounted on Tuesday with a Prime membership.
Wednesday - DH wasn’t feeling well. I made myself a chicken sandwich with the leftover chicken,
Thursday - Made a beef roast, smashed potatoes, and roasted rainbow carrots. I made gravy from Monday’s leftover onion soup.
Friday - French dip sandwiches with leftover roast beef and gravy. We will have a salad to go along with that.
Bon appétit all!
@Bee, thanks for the tip on Whole Foods! I (almost) wish it was Tuesday already.
After spending a couple of weeks scrapping around to eat, Sunday night I meal prepped for the week.
I had two pounds of plums from Misfits that never softened and two pounds of pears from same that were spotty and overripe so I put them in the crockpot to make fruit butter.
I made a zucchini corn onion(and cheese) casserole with jiffy cornbread mix (Pinterest). It was a different recipe and did not call for sour cream which my other recipe used. Will add it next time. Healthy/unhealthy I really like the cornbread mix so mixing it with veggies makes me feel like it's better for me.
I had thawed a pound+ package of gr. beef and a pound+ of stew meat pieces. Used half of the gr. beef and added it to a package of oriental slaw/salad mix w bok choy and other appropriate additions with a gingery sauce for egg roll in a bowl. I sorted though the stew meat, cutting out the gristle but leaving the tallow and making more bite size pieces. I cooked the gristley pieces for Molly. Mine went into the pot to brown and added a plethora of end of the garden vegetables to make a rich beef soup/stew. Filled the three quart Aldi le Creuset knockoff. I will use the other half of gr. beef for stroganoff over mashed potatoes tonight. I have some Chinese cabbage to cook, too or cauliflower. Won't be colorful but it'll be good.
I'm also eating up sliced apples leftover from taking them to church dinner on Sunday.
As for breakfasts, I've been eating the last of the summer tomatoes sliced and on sourdough (Aldi) toast.
I did eat lunch out yesterday at a great diner/restaurant after having a Dexascan. It was a HUGE piece of meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, broccoli-cauliflower salad and a (very) small homemade roll. I also got a piece of coconut meringue (REAL) pie to take home. The meatloaf and salad fed me twice.
I don't feel one bit bad that you swapped out the burnt buns, Kristen, sometimes there's just "no time for that." And I understand about seedy, wheaty bread for sandwiches. That kinda bread seems a meal unto itself.
Friday: Mashup of a Chicken Larb and a stir-fry. I followed the recipe to make larb, but added roasted cauliflower in place of half the chicken and added in some thinly sliced red peppers. Served over brown rice.
Saturday: Chicken burritos, salad with salsa vinaigrette (I froze most of the burritos for future meals).
Sunday: Shrimp fried rice (with quinoa in place of the rice)
Monday: Butternut Squash Soup with pretzel croutons, Caesar salad.
Tuesday: Pepper Steak over baked barley
Wednesday: Zucchini Chicken Poppers, roasted potatoes, fresh veggies
Thursday: In Las Vegas for work – We went out for a team dinner at Joi Choi’s Best Friend which was wildly appropriate because MY best friend joined me on the trip (she’s spending her days lounging by the pool) and my boss invited her to our team dinner!
I love that you're counting down!
BLT's on Seattle style sourdough...oh my yum - yes mayo! I make my own.
I would watch Kristin's youtube channel! We are a cattle/sheep ranch, too!
10/20 Greek Family Dinner
10/21 Meatloaf, scalloped potatoes, green beans & sauteed chanterelles
10/22 patty melts, sweet potato oven fries, green salad
10/23 asian cabbage salad w/pork
10/24 Veggie stir fry w/fried rice
10/25 bbq tuna steaks, steamed baby bok choy, green salad w/apples, blue cheese & roasted walnuts
10/26 work - dinner salad w/leftover tuna, apples & granola for snacks
For Sunday's Family Dinner we have invited long time friends from Kerala, India to help us host a Diwali celebration. The kiddos ranging in age from 4 to 20 are loving this gastronomical trip every family dinner.
FWIW, I love a BLT wrapped in a flour tortilla.
Oooh, that's a good idea!
WIS: 236 @Aldi
WWA:
Fri: salad and focaccia.
Sat: salad, pasta, roasted eggplant and tomato sauce with fresh basil leaves, shredded Parm and turkey bacon bits.
Sun: salad, leftover focaccia.
Mon: salad, pasta with leftover eggplant/tomato sauce.
Tue: red cabbage salad, leftover pasta, leftover eggplant/tomato sauce, smoked Gouda on homemade sourdough discard crackers.
Wed: red cabbage salad, tuna salad sandwiches on homemade rolls with sliced Gouda cheese. Chocolate Halloween house pieces for dessert.
Thu: homemade "brothless" ramen with peppers, carrots and celery plus soy sauce soaked eggs, grapes on the side. More chocolate Halloween house pieces.
Tonight: salad and focaccia.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
@Becca,
Wait, no! We had the leftover focaccia for lunch on Sunday and then leftover pasta that night. Monday night we had some leftover rice and beans turned into nachos. Our salad was avocados.
Saturday - a BBQ that was food truck only has a storefront restaurant not far from us. We each got a 2 meat/2 side meal. Meat was excellent, sides were uber rich, even for me. Next time we'll get sandwiches or bulk meat.
Sunday - dine out Mexican which fed us two more days
Monday - leftover Mexican
Tuesday - rest of leftover Mexican turned into a casserole supplemented with bean, soft tortilla strips, and cheese.
Wednesday - stuff pork chops cooked with cream of mushroom soup, potatoes and carrots - one pot over meal. Leftover "soup", small amount of meat, and carrots added to next days lunch soup.
Thursday - grilled burgers (toasted buns) with cheesy chorizo from Sunday dinner
Friday - dine out pizza with my dad
What better half spends on edibles usually doesn't just cover the current week. The trip to the butcher shop yields current and future meals. Probably a good thing I don't go with to the butcher shop - protein addicts can drive up the bill real fast lol.
I usually have no idea what my dinners have been, but this week I do because I was on a roll and never get tired of nachos and I make them out of almost everything. Even when I don't have sufficient nacho ingredients...I kind of do. Don't have cheddar cheese? Or sour cream? Just use cottage cheese lol.
Monday - Nachos with single-serve pack of shredded organic beef from local grocery outlet (added seasoning), refried beans, cabbage, cottage cheese, guacamole, and hot sauce.
Tuesday - Nachos
Wednesday - Nachos with chicken, and all the same stuff plus sautéed onions and peppers.
Thursday - Nachos which were more of a bummer because out of guacamole ha.
Friday - Mexican torta sandwich (de lengua, beef tongue, try it! So tasty and tender!) from a local taco truck.
Now I want some nachos.