WIS, WWA | $44 (and thank you!)
What I Spent
First up, thank you all so much for your encouragement about my job offer! I appreciate all of you cheering me on.
This week, I spent:
- $32 at Safeway
- $12 at Noodles and Company
So, $44.
What We Ate
Saturday
A burger night!
Sunday
I had a mammoth 7.5 hour study session with two classmates, and we ended up at Noodles and Company for dinner, where I got a pulled pork mac n cheese bowl.
Monday
A very random meal of rotisserie chicken, sauteed green beans, and an avocado with salt and lime.
Tuesday
After giving away my Kodiak pancake mix, I gleefully made a batch of whole wheat pancakes for dinner and THEY WERE SO GOOD.
After suffering through the mix pancakes, the homemade ones tasted twice as nice. 😉
Wednesday
I found some orzo in the pantry so I cooked that up, added some rotisserie chicken, some sauteed green beans, and some pesto and called it good.
Thursday
I worked a full 12-hour shift and Zoe and I had ham sandwiches when I got home.
Friday
Zoe closes at work, and so it'll just be me here. I don't know what I will eat, but I do know it'll be on the early side because weekend clinicals require a really early alarm.
Rotisserie chickens should come with a super hero cape for saving dinner for so many people. 😀
WIS: $79 at Aldi.
WWA: Leftover meat loaf with baked potatoes and salad. Barbecue pork loin with the last of a bag of organic carrots, which seem to stay fresh much longer in the crisper drawer than the ordinary kind. Salad and baked potatoes on the side. A couple of days I had a salad with a piece of Aldi beer-battered fish instead of the red meat entree. For desserts I made a gluten-free apple crisp with half a bag of apples from Aldi.
@Ruby,
100% agree with "super hero" rotisserie chicken!
@Ruby, we also like Aldi beer battered fish in the air fryer.
Mmm, pancakes…
WIS: 68 @Aldi
WWA:
Fri: salad and focaccia
Sat:salad, leftover black eyed pea stew over mashed potatoes
Sun: asparagus and chicken salad sandwiches
Mon: salad, peppers and eggs and toast
Tue: salad and quesadillas using the leftover peppers and eggs
Wed: salad and pinto bean nachos
Thu: salad and tuna patties in homemade buns
Tonight: salad and focaccia
Have a great weekend, everyone!
@Becca, I like your pescatarian menu, Becca!
@Victoria, ignore Sunday with chicken salad
@Victoria,
Heehee. Well, our focaccia also has turkey bacon and sometimes chicken sausage on it, but we do eat meatless meals fairly regularly. We don’t eat fish nearly as much as my husband and sons would prefer only because I just don’t love it. They would happily eat it every day!
Soup! We bought a rotisserie chicken (on sale) Sunday afternoon and then I made a stock with the bones in a slow cooker and then made homemade chicken noodle soup and it was SO good. I swear chicken noodle soup with homemade broth is one of the fastest meals to make and it always tastes amazing.
And then I put a bag of frozen butternut squash (bought on sale of course;)) into a slow cooker with a few peeled potatoes and a bit of water. I added a few T of butter, a cup of coconut milk, and some spices (nutmeg, ginger and ground sage) and then pureed it all with an immersion blender and it was DELISH!
Oooh, that soup sounds so good!
@Elisabeth, You are singing my song! I so enjoyed your guest post and love that you love soup, too. So many varieties, all delish. This butternut squash one sounds yummy. It’s a must try.
Did you buy the butternut squash frozen or cut and freeze it yourself at home? We buy frozen avocado (for our daily smoothie) but haven’t noticed squash in the frozen fruit case.
@Elisabeth,
Oh YUM with both soups! I have some frozen butternut squash in the freezer (a Buy Nothing gift), plus I have all the other ingredients, so I need to make that!
@Elisabeth, I had some frozen ham stock & heads of cauliflower & broccoli that needed used. Combined those 3 things with some ugly, withered potatoes, onions, garlic, & a bunch of frozen basil. Boiled ‘til soft & puréed. It is delicious & my go to mid afternoon snack. Soup lovers unite!!
It's been a crazy week, so I'm only just catching up on posts. Permit me a belated ***GO YOU!!!!!*** on the job offer! That's so awesome!
Thank you!
Hey look! A sandwich appears! I feel like they're much less common now than the egg+whatever or pancakes. Throwback ham sandwich.
Anyway.
Saturday: I cooked a pork butt until it was tender, then shredded it and broiled it withh brown sugar, soy sauce, and ginger, serving it with rice I had cooked in the pork juices. And still-frozen green beans. Because my kids like them that way, and I don't mind having one less thing to cook.
Sunday: I made chili with ground ram and, at one child's request, we used those for Frito pie. For Sunday dessert, I pulled out the single pie crust that had been hanging out in the freezer, rolled it out, cut out circles, then filled the circles with either strawberry or apricot jam, and folded them over to make tarts. One pie crust makes 12 small tarts, which is just right for our family of 6. Well, my kids wished it made a lot more, but moderation is a virtue.
Monday: When I got home from work, I microwaved some potatoes until they were almost done, then chopped them and fried them with leftover pork and spices, plus cheddar cheese. And then the one child who had not eaten because of an upset stomach made himself toast, so everyone else had that too, for dessert I guess.
Tuesday: I had made a double batch of jambalya on Fat Tuesday, freezing half of it before cooking the rice. I used that, with some extra chicken stock, to make dinner by simply cooking the rice in it.
Wednesday: Leftover ram chili, yogurt with apricot jam
Thursday: Yet MORE leftovers. I had both chili and jambalaya, but to soften the blow of having leftovers for the fourth night in a row, I made some cornbread too. Also, then the next child who was recovering from an iffy stomach could at least eat the cornbread. Chili and jambalaya are a little much for delicate digestion. The cornbread ended up being divinely inspired, I'm sure, because when I went out to one of my big chest freezers where I store the cornmeal and masa, I found that it had stopped working and was very close to all the way defrosted. Very, very thankfully, this is the freezer I store the non-meat things. It still had some ice in it, so it wasn't all the way thawed yet. And I currently have enough room in my meat freezer to hold the contents of the other freezer that need to stay frozen--a lot of it is things like flour or nuts that will be okay for awhile until I get another freezer. That freezer was at least fifty years old, so it was time for it to go to its reward, I guess. SO glad it wasn't the meat freezer, though.
Tonight: I think something involving tuna. Or eggs. Or pasta. We shall see. Something will come to me, I'm sure.
@kristin @ going country, Laughing at your freezer “going to meet its reward.” Also, I’m glad to hear that there are other children around who like their veggies un-thawed because mine prefer that, too!
@Kyndra, I should clarify, laughing at that phrase, not at the loss of a freezer! What a mercy that it was salvageable food.
@kristin @ going country,
You are VERY lucky that you found the freezer had died before everything thawed. Ditto, that it didn't contain meat. I once owned a smaller Kenmore chest freezer. It was kept in the laundry room, not the kitchen. So I did not realize it had gone on the fritz; after all, its red light was still on. Not until I went in there to get some ice cream did I find out its motor had died some time ago; when I opened the lid, the bad smell almost knocked me out. All the meat had thawed and the blood from the uncooked red meat had dripped to the bottom of the freezer along with liquid ice cream. It was a disgusting mess! Had to throw out all the food; it stunk to high heaven. Ended up junking the freezer, too, after Sears would not exchange it for a new one (I hadn't owned it all that long.) I didn't trust anyone to repair it, and feared I'd get food poisoning if it ever went on the blink again. Remember, the indicator light was shining brightly the whole time. I replaced the Kenmore with a Frigidaire upright, recommended by my friend Barbara, and after 10-12 years using the Frigidaire, I haven't had any problems since.
So true; in trying to meet my protein goals, I have found myself eating fewer sandwiches!
@Fru-gal Lisa,
My late hubby cooked 120 pieces of chicken for a picnic for the organization he was involved with.
We had a huge,former food plan freezer that he plugged in to store the meat,it got frozen fast so it was working fine.
About a week went by and I had to go downstairs( basement),the stink was unreal! The freezer had hit the defrost cycle and the meat was ruined.
I got the dubious distinction of taking it to the landfill while him & some friends dismantled the beast and took it away.
@kristin @ going country,
I've probably told this story before, but one of my sisters lives in Florida - at the time, she and her husband were living in the West Palm Beach area. Her hubby used to go hunting when he was younger, and while he had stopped hunting, he had friends who still enjoyed doing so, and they would share their bounty with him. Whatever they caught, they would share - so it might be wild boar, deer, whatever. they had a chest freezer that was kept outside, as their house was small and there was nowhere to put it. One time, my sister went outside, and noticed a terrible, terrible smell.....what could that be?. Well, she soon found out the freezer had come unplugged at some point, and all of the wild meat had thawed and then started to decompose. She said the bags the meat pieces were in were all bloated with gas (shudder), and it SMELLED AWFUL. Obviously, they threw away the meat, and got rid of the freezer because she could not get the smell out. :-0
@Liz B., my mother had a chest freezer big enough to hide a human body in, and during the time she was living on her own but dementia was setting in, it quit on her. By the time we discovered it, it was a health hazard to clean it. That fell to my brother because he had a truck and besides, I was the person who cleaned out her fridge every week. I felt I'd done my time with the science experiments in the fridge.
WIS: $29 at Wegmans, $23 at Trader Joe's, $6 at Aldi, and $54 at Price Chopper. (I was doing a little restocking after No-Spend March and before tariffs.)
WIA: This week's highlight was a shrimp and cauliflower curry that was one of my better efforts in this category. Earlier this week at the NCA, I noted that not many people either there or here mention making curries--and some NCA'ers responded that they find the idea a little intimidating. But it doesn't have to be. Frankly, I should probably describe any curry of mine as "curry-adjacent," since I simplify things and cut corners. I often use Patak's brand spice pastes for flavoring, in fact--but this time I did do one from scratch, using a mix of dry spices I keep on hand. Not as good as my Indian friend Lakshmi's cooking, by a long shot--but not bad at all.
@A. Marie, The curry I make is only curry in a very vague way, just sweet yellow curry powder and always some cream or sour cream or yogurt. I use curry like I use chili: As a way to mask strongly flavored meats. It's also similar to a stir-fry or soup in that it's a good way to use up lots of little bits of things.
@kristin @ going country, thanks. And I share your relief that your defunct freezer wasn't the one with the meat.
A job offer sure takes the pressure off! At my hospital, we keep a close eye on students and people in school. If they are good, we want to keep 'em. It works great for the hospital, as they get to see whether someone would be a good fit. Onboarding new hires is very expensive, so it all makes sense. So, Congrats!
This week I spent under $100, but as usual it included non-foods. I ate:
M - Greek Chicken Salad
T - Mini Meatloaf, baked sweet potato, summer squash
W - Mc D's and a concert (:
Th - Chicken over couscous with broccoli
F - I'm putting a couple of small pork chops in my mini crockpot and I have another squash to eat. Might also do skillet potatoes, we shall see. I have eaten lunch at home every day this week, so I might get takeout today.
Happy Weekend!
Still snowing here. WWA:
Saturday- a rare restaurant meal (vermicelli bowls) before the symphony
Sunday - slow cooker chilli
Monday- chilli over a baked potato
Tuesday- leftover chicken curry from the freezer with rice, naan, and papadums
Wednesday- grilled cheese, salad
Thursday - hamburgers (not grilled unfortunately), air fryer french fries
Friday - leftover hamburgers and salad are on deck
Wishing everyone some inner peace
@kj, we always do chili over baked potatoes the day after chili too!
I also worked 12 hours yesterday (1oa-10p after taking kids to the dentist at 8:15... I'm tired this morning!) so I'm late to the party, but congratulations!!! It's such a great feeling to have a job lined up for after graduation. And I'm so happy that you got some wonderful validation in the process. 🙂
Saturday - We had some friends over for a cookout. We had hot dogs and brats over a fire, fruit, chips, and s'mores. So fun!
Sunday - Pork chops, asparagus, and broccoli with cheese
Monday - A new recipe: jerk pork with Caribbean salsa over rice. We also had applesauce with it. Everybody liked it! It was definitely more a Caribbean jerk seasoning than Jamaican jerk, but that's probably better for my children.
Tuesday - Southwest chicken alfredo and roasted broccoli
Wednesday - My husbands 40th birthday! I made what I make every year for his birthday: Beef stroganoff and peas. We had cherry crumble pie and vanilla ice cream for dessert.
Thursday - My family ate leftovers at home while I was catering. We had chicken with a mushroom brie sauce, roast beef, mashed potatoes, a veggie mix of green beans/yellow beans/carrots, salad, and rolls. It was delicious!
Friday - My in-laws are coming for the weekend and I think they will be here in time for dinner. If they are, we will have a pork roast and sweet potatoes. I'll probably add a couple more side dishes as well. Today is their anniversary, so I'll have to think through what I can do to make it a little special.
On a positive note... I think this is the first week in quite a while where all of the things that we actually ate matched my menu plan! Hooray for a plan that works out!
@Ruth T,
I'm curious - do you do catering yourself (meaning, prepare food in your kitchen or in a separate kitchen somewhere, and bring it/set up at your customer's venue), or do catering through a job at a restaurant/event center/etc?.
@Liz B., Catering through a job at something similar to an event center. Yesterday we hosted a lunch group for 20, then hosted a fundraising dinner for 200.
@Ruth T,
Wow! That's quite a range!
Congratulations on the job offer. You have done such a great job these last 2 years. You deserve everything good and positive to come into your life. You have worked hard to make this all happen so getting a job offer now is like icing on the cake.
The meals look delicious too!
96 dollars Kroger pickup
Sunday: salmon rice broccali
Monday: chicken nuggets. Mashed potatoes corn
Tuesday: steamed veggies rice and ground turkey meatballs
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: burgers fries milkshakes
Today: air fryer fish patties orzo and steamed peas
Tomorrow: grilled burgers. Chips. Veggies and dip
WIS: $15 on random pick up items. I shop for real today.
WIA: Herbed-butter roasted chicken pieces with English peas and honey carrots. The carrots were home-grown.
Roasted, seasoned pork chops with beet slaw (I made a lot of beet slaw) and sautéed zucchini and onions. I had that twice. Cherries from the freezer for dessert.
Roasted asparagus, part of the half slab of pork ribs, cherries and more beet slaw.
I ate some ribs at lunch as well, so I combined the last bit of the ribs with a piece of chicken. Beet slaw again, peas, and cut up carrots.
Dinner out with the granddaughter - fried green tomatoes with spicy sauce for appetizer, fried grouper, and freshly made potato chips. My granddaughter chose shrimp served with gouda-grits and I think a salad.
WWA:
Friday --pizza. (had the 5 yr old grandson over for a solo sleepover and he requested pizza so he and I made some from scratch.)
Saturday -- venison burgers on the grill and French fries.
Sunday -- salad and Husband's Delight (a layered casserole kind of like lasagna).
Monday -- I honestly don't remember! The power was out until late afternoon so it was most likely something I cooked on the stove (we have a gas stove but electric ovens).
Tuesday -- copped out and went out to eat (where I had salad and a disappointing chicken Marsala)
Wednesday -- oven-fried chicken leg quarters, sour cream & chive mashed potatoes, and steamed California blend veggies.
Thursday -- lamb steaks and roasted acorn squash rings.
Friday -- I'm planning on pan fried venison steaks with salad and?? some sort of starch/carb.
@Kris S, I absolutely love husband's delight! Yum!
WIS: $36.32 on groceries. So $216.36 on groceries and $42.44 eating out in March. Exceeding my self-imposed $200/month food budget by $58.80. :-{
WIA: Asparagus soup, with asparagus on the side. Salmon with … yes! Sauteed asparagus. Bananas and walnuts (so healthy!) disguised as banana bread (so good!). Chicken fajitas with grilled corn and refried beans.
Bon appetit! Have a lovely weekend.
@JDinNM,
I would think if you still spent *less* on groceries and eating out, that's a win. 😉
@Liz B., You're so sweet! Thank you. I feel (a little bit) better.
- Spaghetti
- Salad
- Tacos with walnut lentil "meat"
- Asian bowls
- Faux fish fillets with rice; fresh veggies with dip
- Yogurt and sunflower seeds
- Popcorn and fruit
A huge curry, cheap ground sirloin, and chicken drumsticks fed us through the week. The orzo looks pretty delicious.
-DH made grilled chicken & Persian rice, and we had that 2x.
-I made chicken shawarma, and we had that 2x as well. We are big into cook once, eat twice, whenever possible.
-I also made (cheater) chicken pad Thai & spring rolls.
-DS19 & I were gone over the weekend. On Saturday, I had 1/2 a sandwich & a glass of wine at the hotel lobby, and then he had the other half of my sandwich + fries.
-We had beef tacos for another dinner.
As for tonight, it will either be: pizza (freezer), or more of an appetizer spread, like chicken wings & pot stickers.
I spent about $100 this week at multiple places.
I didn't keep a log of it this week, but I know we had bbq chicken with mashed potatoes and corn, grilled pizza, greek chicken pitas with a cucumber salad, Dublin coddle (with potatoes and carrots), we had leftovers one night, and tonight we are having spaghetti.
I made the bbq chicken (it's baked in a gravy like a cacciatore) and Dublin coddle because it will be the last time til fall. They are both too heavy and bake too long for the heat of summers here.
Friday: Out – we celebrated the two April birthday’s in my husband’s family. We went to a tried-and-true restaurant and I tried a Salmon BLT, so good!
Saturday: My husband had a leftover pizza at his office that he brought home.
Sunday: Chicken Taco Chili
Monday: Sausage, Kale, and Potato Frittata
Tuesday: Pork chops and roasted veggies
Wednesday: Out for husband’s birthday! The three of us enjoyed delicious pasta!
Thursday: Cauliflower, Kale, and Sausage Soup (similar ingredients to Monday’s meal but deliciously different)
Congrats on the job! You’ll be able to walk to work, right? That’s great!
I spent $18 at Kroger and $15 at Trader Joe’s. We got by cheaply because a friend, who is moving, gave us a few freezer items.
We are on the same wavelength concerning pasta. We had a meal where the pasta was half spaghetti and half fettuccine because I wanted to use that stuff up!
A new frugal innovation: the milk reached its sell-by date, so I scrubbed the date off the carton with a Mr Clean eraser. Ha! Otherwise, my kids won’t drink perfectly good milk!
Haha, no, I can walk to school, but not to work.
However, this hospital is a mere ten minutes from my driveway, so it's a very nice commute. Plus, in the winter, a 7am-7:30 pm shift would require walking in the dark so driving is probably a better idea. Walking to school works out much better because that happens in daylight hours!
I have also done the mixing pastas thing; as long as they're fairly similar, it works out just fine. 🙂
I missed this yesterday. So happy for you. Watching and cheering on my son as he heals from his abusive marriage, I can understand your tears of joy as you thought about the affirmations offered in your job interview. Will you work as a nursing assistant after graduation?
Yes, I plan to keep working part-time as a patient care tech in June and July, and then in August, the new RN grad cohort starts up!
This week I was alone with the kids, so I chose some easy options.
Saturday: Salmon chowder/creamy bean chowder for vegetarian option.
Sunday: Taco Bell after a movie
Monday: Capellini (angel hair) pasta with parsley and chicken/soft boiled egg halves as vegetarian option, lemon arugula salad
Tuesday: Tamales with salad, corn chips and guacamole
Wednesday: Pappardelle pasta with tomato beef/tomato lentil as vegetarian sauce, roasted Brussel sprouts
Thursday: Fish sticks, tomato lentil leftover sauce as vegetarian option, tater tots, roasted cauliflower and green peas
Friday: Leftovers for the kids, and maybe dinner out with my husband who's returning from his work trip.
The green beans, orzo, chicken pesto looks fantastic!
We had:
1. Huevos Rancheros made my my mother-in-law
2. Chicken tortilla soup - Also made by her
3. Chick pea and rice bowls
4. Homemade pizza, pepperoni and chicken bbq
5. Potato broccoli soup
6. Tonight I think will be a pasta salad
Maybe K: I think I need another photo for this blog.
*thinks about cat; places cat on table*
Maybe K: Chiquita. Pose for a photo, please.
Maybe Chiquita: *purrrrr*
She understood the assignment! <3
@Reese, Chiquita's had a lot of experience posing for blog photos! She's clearly not the least bit camera shy.
I wasn't able to comment yesterday, but congratulations on your job offer! It's wonderful that they appreciate you there.
What I spent: $60 on Instacart after a $10 store credit and some credit card cashback, so really about $74. I spent more than usual to get convenience items because I've been sick this week.
What I ate: mostly a mix of snacky things like crackers and cereal with the occasional microwaveable meal. Lots of tea and soda to drink. I did make a nice meal of rice with tomatoes and spinach yesterday, which I had with some reheated smoked sausage from the freezer. Today I'm having eggs and toast for my main meal and will finish up the lefover rice and veggies later.
@Elizabeth M, Hope you're feeling better!
@JDinNM, Thanks! I'm starting to feel a bit more like myself.
First … congratulations on the job!!! Great news.
WIS: Fred Meyer - 81.16
I went on Senior Discount Day so got 10% off on the store brands including those marked down. Got marked down ground pork (63¢/lb), lamb chops, mushrooms, spring lettuce mix, 90% ground beef (3 lb chub), individual hummus cups, zucchini, & bananas. The bananas were still a bit green, but singles. The hummus, ½ the beef, lamb chops, & ground pork went in the freezer.
WWA:
It was a bit of a rough week … so, we did eat out once.
M - Lunch out for me as a thank you from a friend. Brought home leftovers. I also got coffee and a treat after a complicated doctor’s appt. We went out for Mexican that night and both brought home leftovers.
T - Made a big batch of meatballs with ½ the marked down hamburger. Had pasta, salad, jar sauce, and meatballs.
W - Tuna steaks, homemade tartar sauce, coleslaw, & roasted potatoes.
Th - Leftover pasta, sauce, & meatballs plus a fresh salad.
F - Tonight is a riff on a restaurant meal I’ve enjoyed … chicken with quinoa, arugula, chopped cucumber, cherry tomatoes, avocado, & some sautéed onions & zucchini with a light lemony dressing.
S - I have a busy day … I’m leading a women’s retreat, so we’ll have salad and naan pizza.
S - We’re going camping after church. We’ll have the leftover quinoa dish. I’m making extra today.
Saturday started election week (husband works more than just election day), little over 2 hour round trip to plus 3 hours at the ER Vet. Cat will need surgery, we know it will not be inexpensive but living frugal = robust emergency fund.
Sat - dine out buy one, get one free deluxe double cheeseburger, shared a fry
Sun - takeout Mexican
Mon - dine out wrap/roast beef sandwich, shared a fry
Tue - grilled cheeseburgers, potato salad
Wednesday - leftover pizza, leftover Mexican
Thursday - gifted for pet sitting pancake mix and bacon
Friday - gifted cash from pet sitting (full disclosure I do NOT like to accept money for being a good neighbor but periodically I graciously do) for takeout sushi
$16 at Aldi Working backwards so I have some shot at maybe remembering what I ate.
Fri: planning on a bowl of bran flakes with raisins & banana (I'm a fiber fan and it helps with my lack of a gallbladder)
Thurs: chicken noodles veg with white sauce skillet, plain yogurt with blueberries for dessert
Wed: white bean soup
Tues: homemade baked beans over rice
Mon: ditto Tues
Sun: spinach salad with lots of veggies, whole grain bread and olive oil with spices
Sat: eggs, spinach, rice, baked potato
@Beth, forgot to add--Congrats on the job offer! Way to rock graduation!
(But I do think that they're eager rather than anxious to hire you 🙂
Where might I find your post on bras you buy from Target?
I hated the Kodiak pancake mix as well. Someone gave it to me so I didn’t feel too bad when I threw it out.
What I spent; what we ate
I spent $77 at Kroger.
Sunday – grilled strip steaks, baked sweet potatoes, dill cucumber and onion salad, steamed cheesy broccoli, cornbread muffins.
Monday – homemade hamburger beef soup , BLT sandwiches with potato chips.
Tuesday – more soup, baked pork chops, frozen Brussels sprouts, boxed au gratin potatoes.
Wednesday – oven fried chicken legs and thighs, homemade collard greens out of our garden, boxed cornbread stuffing.
Thursday – leftover day – we didn't have a lot of anything, but we had leftover chicken, pork chops, au gratin potatoes, collard greens and dill cucumber/ onion salad. I made a Bisquick Impossible Pie with eggs, ham, broccoli, onion and cheese just in case the leftovers weren't enough.
Friday – we went to the Arkansas Museum of Fine Art to see an exhibit and had lunch there. I'll see how hungry we are tonight. If we need something, we can eat the leftover Impossible Pie with toast and some sausage or I'll make hubby a pot pie and some rice.