WIS, WWA | 3 is easy
What I Spent
I was thinking this week...feeding only three people for dinner is a whole lot easier than what I'm used to! And that's a serious mercy since I am spending so much time on schoolwork these days.
This week, I spent:
- $25 on a Hungry Harvest box
- $11 at Safeway
- $50 at Lidl
- $16 at Aldi
- $14 on a bowl of pho
So, $116 for me this week. That's better than last week, which included my BJ's trip!
What We Ate
Saturday
Oh man, I am struggling to remember.
I remember that I spent a lot of my day sanding and painting the dining chair, so I probably made something easy for dinner, but my goodness, I cannot remember what.
Sunday
The girls both had plans, so I got a bowl of shrimp pho. 🙂
Monday
I made ATK's skillet-baked ziti, and on the side, we had sauteed broccoli.
Tuesday
I had a bag of potatoes I needed to work on using, so I made burgers with potato cubes and some fresh produce on the side.
Wednesday
Lisey was out with friends for a birthday dinner, so Zoe ate the last burger and I made some mashed potatoes and topped them with two fried eggs.
Thursday
I made a pot of broccoli-cheese noodle soup plus a batch of cream biscuits.
Friday
I'm waiting to hear what the girls' Friday night plans are so I know how many people I'm feeding!
If it's just me here, I might repeat my mashed potato/egg bowl because that was so good.
That mushroom is so pretty! It looks like it's glowing! But, yes, don't eat it! Unless you need to grow very tall or something, but then a bird will mistake you for a serpent...so I don't advise. 😉
WIS: 21.51 for a Hungry Harvest box.
WWA:
Fri: salad of mixed greens, matzo ball soup, 5 ingredient corn casserole, and broiled salmon and tuna (didn't have enough of either to do just one kind) with mustard sauce. We discovered that the kids really prefer maple syrup-based fish sauces, so that's what my husband will do in future.
Sat: had some leftover tacos from Thaco Thursday so we had another taco night that used up random bits and bobs of leftovers: rice, the corn casserole, some ground beef, sauteed radish greens, a small amount of sour cream, and the last of a couple salsa jars.
Sun: sauteed tatsoi greens, couscous with parsley, Moroccan chicken and chickpeas with apricots.
Mon: sauteed spicy peanut Tokyo bekana greens, marinated pork roast made in the crock pot and then shredded and put on homemade yeast rolls with slices of Irish cheddar cheese on top.
Tue: spicy mix salad, leftover couscous, leftover spicy peanut tokyo bekana greens, leftover marinated pork roast.
Wed: spicy mix salad, the first of two lasagnas my husband made using ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, onions, garlic, green peppers, mushrooms and mix of ground beef and ground turkey, chocolate-mint artisan bread for dessert.
Thu: massaged tatsoi salad with sliced carrots and ginger, a sesame oil dressing and Asian trail mix on top plus the second lasagna-just as yummy on night two!
Tonight: some kind of salad and pepperoni and mozzarella focaccia
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Tell me about tatsoi! This is the first time I've heard of it. I googled and it looks a little like bok choy?
Also...what is spicy mix salad?
@Kristen,
Tatsoi is very similar to bok choy, just sort of smaller and a bit darker green. You can eat it raw, but it also can hold up to stir frying. You can also eat the stems similar to celery, but in truth, I don't always get to them in time when I'm inundated with farm share goodness. I like to stir fry the stems though when I'm on my game.
Spicy mix is just what my farm calls their baby mixed salad greens-it typically has the baby versions of kale, arugula, collards, mustards, and tatsoi. Things like mustard greens are much milder when they are picked small and grown in cooler weather.
@Becca, chocolate-mint artisan bread recipe?
Sounds so unique!
@Anissa,
It's from my husband's sourdough bread book "Artisan Sourdough Made Simple" by Emilie Raffa. Highly recommend if you want to get into sourdough bread!
So, basically he made the artisan bread the normal way (with 50g of starter, 375g warm water, 480g bread flour, 20g cocoa powder and 9g sea salt), but then added 90g of chocolate chips and 90g of mint chips. The recipe is for chocolate peanut butter chip (pg 52) but he subbed mint chips for peanut butter chips and I think he added walnuts instead of using flaked almonds.
Hope this helps and definitely look for the book because it has lots of really good detailed instructions for so many delicious sourdough recipes.
If you can't find the book and/or you don't do sourdough, I think you could also make a tasty bread just by using your regular yeast recipe and adding chocolate chips and mint chips before baking. Baking is a type of science, but not rocket science, you know? 😉
@Becca,
Sigh...my much more detail-oriented husband says if you add a cup of heavy chips to your regular bread recipe, you should add extra yeast to help it rise. Also, he says he did NOT use any nuts. So I got that wrong. Nuts to that.
Because COVID stole most of my taste, my dinners have been a microwavable Chow Mein - Teriyaki Beef, to be exact. It's filling, yet unhealthy, but I can taste so it has been dinner 95% of the time since I discovered it back in March.
Kristen, my dad was raised in the Lowcountry of SC, so growing up, we always had a pot of rice on the stove or in the fridge. A hot bowl of rice with two over easy eggs on top was a staple breakfast for us
Ooh yes, rice and eggs is a good combo too!
@Jennifer, I'm sorry you lost your taste! When I couldn't taste anything due to covid, chili crisp was my friend. I put it on basically everything. There's also a cookbook called Taste and Flavour that was written specifically for people who lost their taste due to covid. Everything is extra spicy or punchy in some other way.
@Natalie J,
Thank you so much!! I have added the chili crisp to my WM cart and have downloaded the cookbook. Just the thought of finding something I can enjoy is exciting.
When I met my two siblings in Taos for a weekend, I made dinner and it was SO EASY. It almost didn't feel like "real" cooking. At least, compared to the quantity of food I produce on a daily basis to feed my family.
And speaking of which . . .
Saturday: I had made beef stock the day before, and used some of the beef pulled off the bones to make barbecue beef (just chopped meat with barbecue sauce), and then rice with butter and raw green beans or green salad
Sunday: Roast lamb and potatoes with yogurt sauce, roasted green beans, green salad with ranch dressing, pots de creme. Our first freeze was forecast for Monday night, so I harvested the remaining things in the garden, and this meal used many of them.
Monday: More of the beef from the stock bones fried with roasted tomato sauce made the day before and topped with mozzarella cheese. I had made garlic bread the day before, and saved it for this after-work meal. And the last kohlrabi from the garden. Raw, because that's how I like kohlrabi.
Tuesday: I took out a package of stir-fry beef, which I braised in beef stock with a lot of dill. Sour cream at the end. There was also bread and butter or leftover rice, green salad with ranch dressing, and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that I made because the oven was on for a few hours to bake a GIANT (30 pounds!) calabaza . The calabaza is the hard-skinned--like, you need a hatchet to break the skin--winter squash that results if the calabacitas are left to grow and mature. This duality and the keeping qualities of a squash with that hard of a skin are why they were a staple for the Spanish here for many generations. They are not a modern, easy-to-cook food, though. 🙂
Wednesday: I had made extra meatballs and froze them last time I made them, so I took those out of the freezer after work and baked them with the rest of the roasted tomato sauce. Same sauce on the spaghetti, along with some of the pesto I had made with the last of the basil.
Thursday: Ground beef and been chili, baked rice pudding because the oven was on all day to cook a brisket for a later meal. And to help heat up the house.
Tonight: I have a dill bouquet in the refrigerator, so I think I'll make salmon patties with some of the canned salmon we got from excess commodities, and a dill potato salad with bacon. Green salad, because the freeze wasn't hard enough to kill the lettuce yet, yay!
Yep! With a small quantity of people, everything is easier.
@kristin @ going country,
Holy crap! Thirty pounds!!! That's a lot of squash!!!
@kristin @ going country, I prepped a pumpkin to roast the other weekend and it took a rubber mallet to hammer the big chef's knife, which I had sharpened first, through the rind.
@Ruby, I use our cleaver with a hammer if I have to do it myself. But I prefer to set my husband to it with a hatchet. It's much like butchering when he cuts up a calabaza. Lots of slamming and pieces flying everywhere. 🙂
@kristin @ going country, now finally I understand the link between pumpkins and Halloween!
@J NL, back in Scotland, people would carve scary faces into turnips and light them as lanterns to frighten away evil spirits.
@Rose,
Ha! Yes, and before anyone goes "Huh? Like those roots that are slightly bigger than radishes? They carved them?" Older varieties of turnips were like super big. There's even folktales about how giant they would sometimes get.
@Rose,
In my part of NL we would also create lanterns, mostly paper ones but sometimes also from sugar beets or turnips. Not for Halloween however but for St Martin's (11 Nov) when children would go singing from door to door and would be given sweets or small change.
In even earlier times the poor would go door to door asking for small gifts in the spirit of St Martin. And I've read about medieval Christmas parties at the English noble courts where almsgiving was part of the celebrations.
In NL, Halloween was introduced by the supermarkets I think to introduce another sweets buying moment. I do not care for Halloween myself but we will always have some sweets for children who come to our door on 11/11.
Isnt it great that there are so many light festivals around the world? Diwali was recently as well.
WIS: $73 @ Publix
Saturday: This was my son's birthday so we had terrible pizza at the trampoline park & chocolate cake for lunch. His choice for dinner was fire pit roasted hotdogs and s'mores. Not a healthy day at all but dinner was tastier than lunch at least.
Sunday: I made a pot of soup using the last of a turkey breast, leftover gravy, wild rice and some asparagus. I patted my frugal self on the back for this one 😉
Monday: I baked the last half ham in my freezer and we had homemade macaroni & cheese, peas and sliced oranges with it.
Tuesday: Leftovers
Wednesday: Baked tilapia, okra & tomatoes, crowder peas and rice. Hooray for homegrown veggies year round!
Thursday: Creamy chicken soup with mushrooms, peas & wagon wheel pasta
Friday: Clean out the fridge - I will not be cooking a smidge of food this evening 🙂
Happy weekend everyone!
@Angie, I wish I could only spend $73 at Publix!
Sunday: Zuppa Toscana. It's one of our family favorites, we got our recipe from Penzeys.
Monday: French dip sandwiches with grapes on the side.
Tuesday: Leftovers
Wednesday: Daughter's choice, which meant mac and cheese (as usual), with grapes on the side.
Thursday: It was supposed to be BBQ chicken and cornbread, but the chicken didn't make it in the crockpot in time. So we had breakfast for dinner with french toast and bacon (the bacon was leftover from the Zuppa Toscana).
Friday: Neighborhood Halloween party, they're having a soup contest. We're bringing lemon bars for dessert.
Saturday: Probably leftovers or something easy.
Sunday-pizza
Monday-potato soup with broccoli, bacon and cheese as toppings
Tuesday-crockpot beef and roasted vegetables
Wednesday-salad with roasted chicken
Thursday-salad with roasted chicken
Friday-tonight will be subs with leftover beef
We had:
* eggrolls in a bowl + rice (for all)
* Spaghetti and meat/lentils sauce (for all)
* sushi (for me)
* Pizza (for me)
* roast beef and beets (for all)
I have been enjoying eggs more often, even tho the price of them has gone up substantially. And I am eating dinner out for one meal a week, usually a free sub, and that is amazing for me, considering how often I used to eat out. I do love eating out.
Monday - Italian Herb Tenderloin, sweet potato, green beans
Tuesday - Chili Crockpot (this was full of more veggies than beef and was quite delish), chopped onions, and Fritos
Wednesday - Free sub from Jersey Mike's
Thursday - Coconut Shrimp, brussels sprouts, seasoned skillet potatoes
Friday - Crockpot Indian Butter Chicken, rice, peas (making enough for at least three meals)
Saturday - Flatbread Pepperoni Pizza, salad
Sunday - Dinner with my daughter
Happy Weekend!
https://cannaryfamily.blogspot.com/
WIS: Zero! We did not go grocery shopping, which is a happy thing that happens a few times a year.
WWA: Saturday: Pancakes, eggs, and bacon for supper. Sunday: Whole-grain spaghetti with a meat sauce made of Italian sausage (bought on sale and whisked from the freezer) that was jazzed up with sweet bell peppers (also from the freezer) and mushrooms and black olives (from the pantry).
The spaghetti dinner made plentiful leftovers until last night, when I took the two cups of leftover pasta -- having used up all the sauce -- and added two eggs, some almond milk, herbs, onion, frozen spinach, sweet red bell pepper, and some grated smoked gouda my husband did not like to eat plain, and turned it into a kind of quiche with the pasta as the crust. It is amazing.
@Ruby, ooh, that quiche does sound tasty!
WIS: $15 at Ollie's and $27.40 at Price Chopper. (The big find at Ollie's was raisin bran well within its best-by date, for about half the supermarket price. I got four boxes, since, as Ollie's says about their deals, "When they're gone, they're gone!")
WIA: I made a chicken cacciatore on Monday, side by side with stock using a chicken carcass contributed by the Bestest Neighbors. (They know they'll get containers of the eventual soup in return!) As I cut up veggies for the cacciatore, I tossed the trimmings into the stock pot.
And the eventual soup was tomato, white bean, and rosemary, with the remnants of the cacciatore for the tomato part. (The stock came out with a rosemary tang, because the BNs had stuffed the chicken with rosemary and I'd left it in, so this inspired me to look up soup recipes including rosemary.) Pretty darn good eating all around.
@A. Marie, I need to go hit Ollie's for some more good discount coffee. I bought some Entemann's there for $4.99 a bag and it's quite good. It's supposed to be vanilla cake flavored, but the flavoring is very mild. By the time I add some milk, it's not really noticeable to me.
@A. Marie,
I just visited Ollie’s for the first time! I loved it.
Saturday - takeout ramen, we all had a bad cold so it really hit the spot
Sunday - our classic easy meal: pasta, jarred sauce and freezer meatballs.
Monday - recipe fail night, I have not had this happen in awhile but I (mostly) recovered and put together a dinner. I was supposed to make butter herb chicken, broccoli and arancini using leftover risotto. The broccoli was moldy so had to toss that. I have never made arancini before and I followed a recipe but it did not work, the rice balls would not hold together at all and definitely did not hold together when I tried to dip in the egg and bread crumbs. If I’d had more time (eg no hungry kids waiting) I might have played around with it to get it to work but I just tossed everything and made pearl couscous and steamed carrots to go with the chicken.
Tuesday - beef and mushroom stroganoff
Wednesday - baked bean and hotdog casserole with steamed broccoli
Thursday - sloppy joes, French fries, more steamed broccoli
Friday - we have a fall festival at the kids school at dinner time (but no food is being served at it) so likely end up making a frozen pizza after.
Sunday: chicken fajitas
Monday: Steak and baked potatoes
Tuesday: Swedish meatballs with noodles
Wednesday: BBQ takeout
Thursday: leftover BBQ takeout.
Friday: no idea! Maybe chicken pot pie.
I spent $203 at the grocery store and $100 on takeout.
Sat- out for dinner for father- in- law's birthday, pulled pork and bacon mac and cheese... enough to feed an army
Sun- I can't remember at all
Mon- took the left over mac and cheese and stuffed some poblanos with it and fried them ree drummond style, leek sausage
Tues- chicken and rice soup with biscuits
Wed- clam chowder and polenta with corn and lobster
Thurs- pizza take out. We were fermenting Brussels sprouts and the pizza place was donating part of sales to a school down the street so figured it was a good night for take out
Tonight- if I'm home it will be some pasta dish with the honeynut squash that was roasted yesterday before we decided to just do pizza
Kristen, you have the fantastic ability to stay focused on the present and not to be wistful/ wishful about the past/ what could have been/ wishing things were any other way/ I used to do this but not anymore, etc. I don't know how you are doing it but I'm amazed at how you don't complain at all or throw tantrums despite the hard work- granted your blog isn't the best place to do so but I'm impressed nonetheless by your attitude and self-control/ will power/ grit. Xx.
@Farhana, She's an inspiration. And old crabby fussbudget like me doesn't say that lightly.
@Rose, I am crazy re: Kristen, but would sit by you anytime!!
@Diane, and @Rose,
Same here! I would sit with both of you, and try to make you laugh. 🙂
WIS $54 @ scratch & dent store
Sunday - Hamburgers & oven fries
Monday - Chicken Primavera & Green Salad
Tuesday - Chicken Noodle Soup & Green salad
Wednesday - Chicken Noodle Soup
Thursday - Tacos
Friday - Taco Salad
Saturday - Breakfast for Dinner
Aww, thank you Farhana. That is so kind of you to say, and I really appreciate the encouragement!
I do have days when I am so sad (or sometimes so angry) as I process all the hurt. But I think the only way out is through, so I just ride the angry or sad waves and let myself feel the feelings.
Of course, there are plenty of happy moments mixed in with the angry/hurting moments. And I really, really do feel so thankful for my little rental house, and the new life I am building here.
WIS - I spent 85.34 at Kroger & 3.50 at the nearby convenience store (a locally owned, neighborhood store).
WWA-
Fri- creamy mushroom soup & sandwiches
Sat- pizza & cheesecake delivery. The cost was approximately $35. Expensive, I know, but was paid with $ from my DH’s “stash” fund & we always try to include a nice tip.
Sun- I cooked 2 chicken breasts & used 1 for chicken salad sandwiches. Chips on the side. Froze the other chicken for Thursday.
Mon- smothered enchiladas, rice, refried beans
Tue- pulled pork (previously cooked & frozen) BBQ sandwiches, cole slaw, French fries
Wed-beef Teriyaki stir fry with leftover rice from Monday
Thu- chicken & dumplings with peas & carrots
Fri- I’m thinking some type of seafood
Trying my best to keep my fridge “lean & mean” by using up leftovers & perishables.
The bbq is put away and we have snow on the ground. Comfort-food season begins. WWA:
Saturday - leftovers
Sunday - beef stew, no-knead bread, daughter’s browned-butter chocolate chip cookies
Monday - grilled cheese sandwich, apple (just me at home for dinner tonight)
Tuesday - ratatouille & baked Italian sausages
Wednesday - leftovers
Thursday - breakfast sausages & buttermilk waffles with maple syrup, frugal girl orange Julius (oh my goodness, so good!)
Friday - white chicken Chili & jalapeño poppers
Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend
Pizza and Halloween themed snacks at a Halloween party
Burgers on the grill with salad and roasted carrots. It was unseasonably warm by us so we skipped the original dinner plans and picked up some ground chuck so we could grill burgers in the beautiful weather.
Salmon onigiri and avocado onigiri.
Chik fil a. I worked overnight the night before plus my kiddo had his boy scout pack meeting that night. Hubby had a free sandwich on the app too so it worked out perfectly.
Beef, bell pepper, onion, and zucchini fajitas
Salads with iceberg and red leaf lettuce, julienned broccoli stems, chopped radishes, mandarin oranges, queso fresco, walnuts, and chicken with my garlic scallion dressing.
Tonight we are having chicken and gravy with dumplings using the gravy I made with the brown bits from yesterday’s chicken and leftover chicken. Also sautéed mushrooms and roasted acorn squash.
I am making your broccoli cheese noodle soup tomorrow and I cannot wait. It has been on my regular fall rotation for a few years now. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
This week. Only 56 spent at Kroger pick up.
Sunday Monday: fajita left over fajita with Mexican rice
Tues and Wed : blue tortilla chips with chili from the freezer and sour cream cheese green onions
Thurs: home grown pesto from freezer with linguini. Green beans and garlic toasts from almost stale bread.
Tonight:
Pizza and bag salad
Tomorrow: broccoli cheese and noodle soup with homemade drop biscuits
I made cream biscuits last night! I have to add an egg to the batter to hold together the gluten free flour. And I spread it on a baking sheet and made Focaccia bread out of it. I had it as a side with soup. And since the pollinators have all been frosted to death and washed away with lots of rain, dairy is back on the menu!
I even had 2 taco bell crunchy supream tacos this week! For this weekend I'm thinking Udis gluten free lasagna with meat sauce and a salad. I've been working on plumbing all week and a tasty easy meal is so nice after squeezing into cramped spaces and being a contortionist.
Last night I conquered Brunswick Stew!
Wednesday night I made the Pioneer Woman's Dr. Pepper Pork and part of that got used in last night's brunswick stew.
Tuesday night we had...leftover pasta
Monday was leftover stirfry.
Sunday was pasta, I think?
Saturday was probably the original stir fry night!
I've recently updated the freezer inventory list too, which is always helpful!
Saturday: potluck gathering for the Sunday School class and their families
Sunday: Leftovers. Both kids and I woke up not feeling well. I declared a rest day And pulled out leftovers when they said they were hungry.
Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday: my four-year-old woke up in the middle of the night crying of your pain. He was diagnosed with a double ear infection and had a high fever most of the day. While out getting the prescription I picked up a single serving pot pie from the deli for my daughter. I ate a bowl of cereal.
Wednesday: my son was still sick, my daughter started getting sick, and the 18 year old dog got sick. So, I threw some frozen chicken fillets in the air fryer, made some macaroni cheese and mixed in some rice cauliflower a vegetable mixture and called it good.
Also made the dog some boiled chicken and rice for his dinner.
Thursday: chicken with brown sugar and bourbon seasoning over rice, roasted cabbage
Friday: I’m starting to feel like I’m getting sick so we shall see….
Oh man, it's been a rough week for you guys!
You inspired me. I just finished making a meal using random things I had on hand. I made grilled potatoes for the first time. Maybe I can cook. Thank you.
Yay you!! I'm cheering you on from here. 🙂
@Ginger Bruce,
You definitely can cook! You got this!!!
@Ginger Bruce, my mom was a librarian and always said " If you can read you can cook. You might not be a chef, but you won't starve.". She was so right
My mom always has used the, "If you can read, you can cook!" phrase as well!
I feel like all I did was spend money at every grocery store this week! WWS: $44 Market Basket; $35 (expensive grocery store for a mystery shop for which I will be reimbursed) $14 Aldi; $55 very high end specialty cheese/gourmet food shop; $190 Costco (includes a list from mother-in-law, but all food)
Sat: dinner at friends. We were in charge of appetizers: gougére, French onion dip with homemade potato chips (requested from hostess; the homemade potato chips were the bomb! I used the Serious Eats recipe); French cheeses & cured meats; salad
Sun: dinner out at a hight end taco restaurant/mystery shop. Will be reimbursed for the cost
Mon: leftovers
Tue: red Thai curry with tofu, broccoli, red peppers, carrots and kale (kale is from our garden). Served over rice
Wed: congee with pork belly, roasted broccoli and red peppers, chili crisp
Thus: partner had gotten his Covid booster & flu shot day before, so scrapped the plan and instead made grilled cheese and tomato soup. I added the last of the congee to the soup to make it a tomato & rice soup.
Fri: Lebanese arayes (spiced ground lamb cooked in pita), Greek fries (made with fries from 2 days of mystery shop lunches at burger joints), salad
I felt not too great for a day after my flu/covid shots, so I sympathize with your partner!
Last week we ate a lot of pulled pork. I found a "Yucatan-style" pulled pork recipe that is marinaded in a sauce that is mostly orange and lime juice with garlic, salt, chipotle chiles, annatto, and other spices. It smoked on the grill for an hour and finished in the oven.
It was fantastic. Last night when the "what should we eat next week?" question came up, we decided on more Yucatan-style pulled pork because we really enjoyed it.
I am so glad that both of us love leftovers. It really makes life easy to do most of our cooking on the weekend and just reheat through out the week.
@Rebekah in SoCal, that pork does sound fantastic! What dishes did you use it in?
I spent $93 at my Kroger affiliate, but there was cat food, toilet paper, and a couple other non-food items included. So about $60 for groceries.
I had made a huge amount of roasted vegetables for my grandson's rehearsal dinner and brought home some, so I cut them smaller, added a can of diced tomatoes and a can of black beans and the resulting soup fed me many days this week!
The wedding was perfect and the meal was lovingly catered by wonderful church friends, so leftover pulled pork and butter chicken fed me the rest of the week!
My chickens are still laying well so far, so I often put a fried egg on top of things! I also made "frog in the hole" for breakfast twice this week.
@Terri W, frog in a hole is one of my favorite breakfasts! Although we just called it "fried egg and fried bread" growing up, we weren't very creative haha
@Natalie J,
We call it Hobo Eggs - don’t know why?! 😀
This was my Eat More Chikin (and pork) week.
I only spent about $70 for two weeks at the grocery store, but then I stocked up on pork and spent another $130, ouch.
I had a burger cooked in my cast iron grill pan, and jicama sticks with ranch dressing.
Pork chop with beets and English peas, which I had twice. I had another pork chop with chopped salad. The last of that pack of four chops was for a lunch.
I roasted a chicken and had it three times, with sides that included cut up cucumbers, jicama sticks, roasted delicata squash, beets, salad, and persimmons from the farm.
Tonight will be - surprise! - chicken soup. The carcass has been cooking in the slow cooker since last night. I'll cut up and add the vegetables and last of the chicken meat I stripped from the carcass when I get home.
Monday: Husband was working late, so baby and I had cheese, bread, and fruit
Tuesday: scrambled eggs
Wednesday: chicken stir-fry, made a batch of bolognese as well
Thursday: pasta with bolognese
Friday: I'll pick up some fish on my way home, and we'll have pierogies on the side. Maybe I'll saute some cabbage and carrot if I have time.
Hm let's what I can recall
Deer, homemade fries, applesauce and cabbage salad
Millet with leek, carrot, banana and almonds
Slowcooker beef and braised red cabbage
Sushi takeout! As our sushi hater was eating out
Remaining slowcooker beef and cauliflower
Captain's dinner! As the bean hater was eating out
This week made two people happy because they were served a meal they will not have when everyone is eating at home. I was happy to see them happy and also to have some foods that are not on the ordinary rotation.
Still plenty of veg in the crisp drawer so we'll see what we will have next week.
I always think like that when one person is missing...I'm like, "Hmmm, what can I make that this not-here person really hates?" Ha.
@Kristen, my daughter knows that when dad's out with his friends we get to eat fish and shrimp haha
Those potato cubes look so crispy and yummy, Kristen!
We had a kitchen fire a couple of weeks ago and I have been scared to cook since. So, we eat 1 or 2 meals a day and it's mostly fruit/veg, take out, frozen meals from Trader Joes. So this will be kind of a sad food week recap haha
Monday - Frozen TJ butter chicken and salad
Tuesday - Thai food (pad kee mao) with a new friend
Wednesday - dips and carrots
Thursday - Turkish meal with a new-ish friend
Friday - salad and frozen chicken pot pie
I need to get over this fear because cooking is my most favourite thing! I also just moved that this is the biggest kitchen I have ever had in NYC. But just the thought of turning the stove on scares me.
@Samosa, Fires are scary; I totally get how the stove feels intimidating right after one. Hope you're able to get past that bump quickly so you can enjoy your big new kitchen!
@Samosa,
At first I was like "Yay! Samosa is back to posting!" And then I was like "What? A fire? In the new kitchen? No!!!" And by the time I got to the end, I was emotionally wrung out! I'm sending good vibes for you to conquer this totally legitimate fear so you can get back to what you love! Maybe keep like a big old pot lid, a bowl of baking soda and a fire extinguisher right next to your stove and call them your fire besties just in casies? I think you should draw faces on them with a sharpie and conversation bubbles that say reassuring or amusing confirmations, like "Don't worry! I got this covered!" on the lid. I've put my husband on thinking up funnier ones for the baking soda and extinguisher...he says the baking soda could say "Fire just adds flavor!" and the extinguisher could say "It's still good!"
@Becca,
No! He says one should say "Technically, it's charred."
Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry to hear that you had a fire. I hope that you can feel comfortable in your kitchen again soon.
@Becca, thank you so, so much for all the support! i did make post it notes above my stove so I can see it and feel safe. Still haven't cooked today! Soon. fingers x.
@Samosa,
I'm sending you some more love, Samosa! I hope you post today! Even reading your takeout menu is exciting because there is just so much variety in NYC.
@Kristen,
How do you prepare your potato cubes? Do you par boil then fry? Or just fry them raw?
I should come in slightly under budget this month! Yay! I've been slowly trying to lessen what's in the freezer and I'll need to kick that into gear next month so I have room for turkeys.
WWA:
Saturday: We were at my aunt and uncle's 50th anniversary party, so I didn't have to cook!
Sunday: I made my last Easter ham and we had skillet corn and applesauce with it
Monday: One-pot ham and veggie pasta (my 4yo ate 3 helpings of this!! Win!) with veggies and hummus on the side
Tuesday: Air fryer pizza puffs
Wednesday: Cheesy scalloped potatoes with ham
Thursday: Summer vegetarian chili over brown rice
Friday: I pulled a pan of stuffed shells out of the freezer. I just stopped by the produce store and came home with a purple cauliflower, so I may roast that to go with it!
We were on vacation all week, and ate some amazing meals out. My parents were at our house with the teens, and made lots of yummy meals, and left a few things in our freezer, for future dinners. We are so lucky! On Friday, I was not feeling it, so I made Trader Joes orange chicken & fried rice. It was delicious & easy. Just what was needed.
On vacation, we had lots of delicious things, but the Hawaiian snapper was a favorite (over a bed of amazing risotto), as well as fish & chips at my favorite spot (made with local fish as well). Yum. I don't drink cocktails much, but I also had a game changer pina colada one day. Woo, it was so delicious.
Kristen,
So.. on an earlier (but recent) post, you referenced your method for making chicken broth.. Thank goodness for you!!!
I have a long living and well loved upright commercial freezer in my house. A very useful item when there are 6 or more people at any given time. The issue is that the door is juuuuuuust out of alignment, so if you do not press it all the way closed, it might not close. With 3 littles (pre-teen/teen) in the house, they are in too big of a hurry to make sure the door is shut every time.. so... it snows in my freezer semi-regularly. This weekend I had to defrost the freezer because I no longer had any idea what was in it. In the snow piles, I found 5 chicken leg quarters that were starting to get a little freezer burn on the edges. I put those out to thaw, and completed my freezer cleaning and reorganizing, and then browned up the skins and backbones off the quarters in the bottom of my pot and followed your directions from there.
Can I say.. the BEST chicken broth I have had in ages!!! And it made delicious "Campbell's" style chicken noodle soup for dinner a few nights later!
Years ago, I would have just thrown out the chicken and moved on. This was a MUCH better use of food.
Thank you Kristen!