WIS, WWA | $55
What I Spent
I spent:
- $25 at Safeway
- $30 on a Hungry Harvest box
And that's it, so a mere $55 for me this week. 🙂
I'm gonna need to do a decent shopping trip this coming week, though!
What We Ate
Saturday
Ummmm....whole wheat blueberry pancakes. I know, I know. WHAT CAN I SAY FOR MYSELF??
I can't stop.
Sunday
I used the last of my homemade roasted red peppers to make a sauce for some ravioli, but it ended up being a pretty soupy sauce so the end product was more like a bowl of ravioli soup.
But it tasted fine!
Monday
Chicken tacos:
Tuesday
I made some bourbon chicken and broccoli with rice, and I added a red pepper from my Hungry Harvest box.
Wednesday
I picked up a little four-hour shift at the hospital from 3:00-7:00 pm, and when I got home, I ate some leftover bourbon chicken. Zoe had already fended for herself.
Thursday
I worked at the hospital again, eight hours this time, and I ate some avocado toast when I got home.
Friday
I have no fancy plans, both because I am a single pringle but also because I have to get up early tomorrow morning for weekend clinical.
WIS: 385 @Aldi and 190 @Costco. Did these totals include some alcohol, a pair of shoes and 60.00 worth of Asian trail mix? Maybe...but in my defense, our beloved Asian trail mix was discontinued! Boo!!!
WWA:
Fri: salad, focaccia and homemade donuts for dessert.
Sat: salad, grapefruit slices topped with brown sugar and tajin, and turkey noodle soup that used up some chicken stock and some shredded turkey from the freezer.
Sun: salad, leftover turkey soup.
Mon: leftover turkey soup, homemade buns with butter and/or brie.
Tue: younger son's night to cook. He made breakfast for dinner: waffles, turkey bacon, scrambled eggs with melted pepper jack cheese on top and apple slices for the salad.
Wed: spinach and spicy guacamole salad, pasta fazool (pasta with beans) topped with Parmesan cheese, lemon Italian cookies for dessert.
Thu: older son's night to cook. He made tuna melts with Swiss cheese on toasted brioche buns, fruit salad, and repeated his almond cookie dessert with Nutella and sprinkles.
Tonight: salad and focach, of course!
Have a great weekend, everyone!
@Becca, Sounds like your son is becoming a master chef!
@Fru-gal Lisa,
I hope so. They both have a natural talent for combining flavors, and their father is an excellent cook and a patient teacher, so the prospect looks good. Plus I get to enjoy tasty food that someone else made. Score!
@Becca, oh no! Not the aldi Asian one? That is my husband’s favorite one.
@Faith,
Check the discount aisle! There was a dreaded "D" on the tag which means "discontinued," so I bought all that they had!
This week I was in Paris so dinner was mostly baguettes or pizza and it was MARVELLOUS!
@Sophie in Denmark, Whoo hoo!! How fun!
@Sophie in Denmark, one of my happiest memories from the all-too-brief three days DH and I spent in Paris in the year 2000--heck, one of my happiest memories ever--was the picnic we had with friends on the Champ de Mars near the Eiffel Tower. We found a "magasin de ferme" (farm shop) a few blocks away and stocked up on baguettes, cheeses, veggies, a pate, and a bottle of wine. Ooh la la!
@Sophie in Denmark, one of my happiest memories from the all-too-brief three days DH and I spent in Paris in the year 2000–heck, one of my happiest memories ever–was the picnic we had with friends on the Champ de Mars near the Eiffel Tower. We found a “magasin de ferme” (farm shop) a few blocks away and stocked up on baguettes, cheeses, veggies, a pate, and a bottle of wine. Ooh la la!
@A. Marie, that sounds wonderful! Unfortunately it was far too cold for any picnics, and the sky was very grey, but on the plus side there were fewer crowds!
@e, sorry, Kristen, this was a faulty duplicate of the message I posted below. Please delete.
@Sophie in Denmark, That's my girl! But I know you meant c'etait MERVEILLEUX!
@JDinNM, Ca c'est vrai!
@Sophie in Denmark,
Oh, I wish I could've dined with you!!! And toured Paris with you, as well!!
@Sophie in Denmark,
My DH and I visited Paris on one of our visits to Europe (I am from one of the countries so the visits were partly seeing family—such a great way to save money while on vacation.).
We had a bunch of fabulous meals in off the beaten track restaurants because I always ask locals where they eat, so no tourist traps.
Forward 20+ years and DS1 has married a girl from Paris, though she has lived in the US for decades. They visit her family for 3 weeks each year with our granddaughter, very inexpensive, of course.
What goes around comes around.
@Fru-gal Lisa, I wish that too!
@ErikaJS, life is so interesting that way!
Saturday - We picked up a kiddo from winter camp at 5:00 and I remember wanting to do a crock-pot meal, but not getting one ready... And I didn't write it down.... Probably leftovers.
Sunday - We had my parents and brother over to celebrate my oldest turning 11 and she requested Cool Ranch Crunchwraps, fruit, and ice cream cake. This is the first time I've made an ice cream cake in February and it's just as good as in the summer!
Monday - Egg rolls, rice with stir fry veggies, and mango. Unfortunately, my kids didn't really like anything but the mango.
Tuesday - Kiddo's actual birthday! Since she had play rehearsal at 6, she opted for easy things. Chicken tenders, mac and cheese, strawberries, mango, and leftover ice cream cake.
Wednesday - Tater tot hot dish and zucchini with summer squash.
Thursday - Kristen's enchiladas
Friday - I have nothing planned yet! But we're off school today for mid-winter break and my 6yo is having a friend over, so I'll be home all day and have plenty of time to come up with something. I know that for lunch I'm going to make heart-shaped quesadillas and have heart-shaped strawberries.
Going backwards through my brain …
Last night, I made non-ground beef beef for the first time ever. A sale at the grocery store inspired me to try something new! I did broiled shoulder steak with a Japanese inspired marinade and it was delicious! On the side was sautéed green beans and baked fries (because I was tired of cooking at this point).
Ground beef (also from the same sale), rice/noodles, sweet and spicy cucumbers.
Mexican - Out to eat.
Chicken “nuggets” (essentially small chunks of chicken tossed in cornmeal and seasonings), salad, roasted potatoes.
We also had some leftovers dinners, including leftover Mexican food.
@JenRR, Sounds like a great plot for a sci-fi movie: "Going backwards through my brain..." Spooky!
@JenRR, “tired of cooking at this point” really resonates with me. Why doesn’t Kristen ever get tired of cooking?! (Kristen, this might be a topic for a post: how do we keep on keeping on when we are tired of cooking or other endless daily functions of life?)
Hmm, that is a good idea!
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, Better yet: "WHY do we keep keeping on?" Why not just GIVE IT A REST!
@JDinNM, I had to laugh at that idea! Maybe, I’ve been watching too many episodes of Severence.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, Yes. I don’t really like cooking and find it a chore most days, but I do love eating. When I do cook, I usually make extra so I can skip cooking the next day. It’s hard to stay motivated in this part of my life.
@JenRR, I think when many people say they are tired of cooking, what they may be suffering from is decision fatigue. Having to think and plan what to make, and trying new things, can wear us out. I know I get a little anxious when I try a new recipe out on the family! (I usually make a small trial batch of it before making it for dinner, though.)
What I've done, and I've mentioned this before, is just found a reliable set of dinners that everyone likes and we have them the same day each week. I know that sounds uber boring, but we change things out with side dishes or things like that, which are more 'fun' to think about, for me, than the main course. I've found this strategy frees my brain up to think about other things, and shopping is of course a lot easier.
@Karen A., Gosh, when I say I'm tired of cooking, I'm suffering from too much cooking. And the grocery shopping. And the driving there and back. And the unloading and putting away. And the cleaning out and inventorying the pantry, fridge and freezer. And the pitching out the leftovers that didn't get eaten in time.
But that's just me!
@JDinNM, When my mother got tired of cooking, she's pull out unlabeled aluminum foil packages from the freezer, set them in the middle of the table, and tell everyone to pick one without first opening it up. When my niece heard about this, she called it "tin foil roulette".
@Karen A.,
I remember you saying that and was intrigued. If you felt ok with it, would you mind telling us what the dishes are? I imagine you could have a set for each season, taking advantage of seasonal foods, but staying with the non-decision making idea.
@JDinNM, I love this! Boy, do I understand how that is! I cooked three meals nearly everyday for 30 years for 3 to 5 people – – sometimes more.
@JDinNM, I get really sick of having to wash pots and pans (and the dishes and cups) just to get them dirty again. Every now and then I give myself a break and get takeout.
@JDinNM, Well, yes, the very physical nature of cooking is tiring, for sure. For me, it's the mental load. I have a friend who adores cooking, doesn't mind the work at all, but dreads the "what to make" anxiety, so i suppose I was thinking of her, as we recently talked about this. I should not have said "many", that was my mistake. Apologies.
@ErikaJS, For a long time we tried out recipes and if most people liked them (any Selective Eaters could have a sandwich, or leftovers from another meal), and then we made a master list that we put in a Google Docs voting template. I'd have everyone vote on what they wanted that week, five meals. Weekends are always homemade pizzas. I noticed over time that the same five meals tended to get voted on. I started also having my sons learn how to make their favorite meals. Our main goal was to have food that was a) fairly healthy, b) tasty, and c) frugal or at least frugal-adjacent. Tacos wouldn't be frugal if you went with fancy-pants salsa, artisanal tortilla chips, and tons of avocadoes! But you can do them simply.
Currently, we have pizzas on Saturday and Sunday. No, nobody gets tired of this. I make homemade flatbreads, and we also use flour and corn tortillas for crusts. Toppings vary but always include turkey bacon, cheese, sauce, ham, and a variety of veggies. The nice thing about this is everybody gets to personalize their meal (which is a theme with us) and the leftover ingredients can be tucked away for the next meal or for lunches during the week.
The weekly schedule was decided upon based on my schedule and in general, who is free to make dinner that day.
Monday: Tuna burgers, because DH has time on Sunday to make a big batch of these; he also likes to take them into work for his lunches. He asked me a while back to start making a soup for the side, and we've been rotating between tomato soup, potato soup, carrot soup, and split pea soup.
Tuesday: I have no errands or classes, so I make dinner, and that's chicken drumsticks, rice, and a salad bar. I call this my Aggressively Healthy Dinner. I can try different raw veggies out, or roast some veggies, too--some of my crew prefer cooked to raw veggies--and that is pretty seasonal. In the summer I stick with raw veggies, in the fall and winter I'm likely to roast them. Spring is always asparagus season, which everyone likes.
Wednesday: I have errands this morning, so DS#2 makes crockpot hamburger stew. Usually he can find leftover ground beef from Friday to use, if not, he cooks more beef. Selective Eater always asks for boxed mac and cheese, which is no problem.
Thursday: Chem lab day for me and Ds#2, and DH often has the morning off, so he sometimes makes more tuna burgers and DS#1 will make beef burgers and baked potato bar.
Friday: Errand day, and also clean-the-house-before-the-weekend day. DS#1 makes what we call taco night, but nobody likes hard tacos, so he cooks up a batch of ground beef, makes rice and puts out taco fixings, and people make burrito bowls or quesadillas or soft tacos. We only get tomatoes in season, and avocadoes when they're super on sale.
And that's it. Of course we often have leftovers, and people can grab those during dinner if they want. I very rarely have to toss food (and if I do, it's usually my fault for buying an exotic vegetable and not getting around to using it!) As I said in a response to JDinNM, I like cooking very much, but it's the getting people to agree on what to have that wears me down. Happily I have a family that loves routine and the familiar, and those of us who like a little more variety can work within the structure to get it.
@JDinNM, My mom used to call that "Get What You Can Get Night!"
@Karen A., No need to apologize for anything! I was just venting. It's been One Of Those Weeks.
@JDinNM, It has indeed--here as well! Here's hoping next week gets better. Have a great weekend!
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, better half doesn't get so much tired of cooking (full disclosure we do eat out once a week for sure, sometimes twice) as deciding what to make. He a) likes to rotate meals - he'd never have the same thing two weeks in a row and b) and feels much, much better when he knows what he's cooking for dinner for the week/rest of the week.
@Sophie in Denmark, better half cooks, I do 97% of the clean-up. Better half grew up in a grocery store so buys edibles. I ensure the supply of non-edibles (soap, detergent, TP, etc). We've always had the "non-trad" marriage. We go with our strengths and what works for us.
@JDinNM, me too. I am over all of it. Most especially the shopping. Unloading. Unpacking. Organizing. Etc.
Need a bit of a break then will hop back on the cook at home train because I know it saves money.
This is week one of me following a loose interpretation of a "menu". I spent zero dollars on groceries! My fridge looks fairly bare, but I know there is food in the pantry and freezer.
Monday - Made a quesadilla at home with a frozen chicken strip, colby jack, whole wheat tortilla
Tuesday - Shredded Pork on a baked sweet potato (both from the freezer)
Wednesday - Tilapia, yellow squash, mac and cheese
Thursday - Pesto chicken breast in my mini crockpot, green beans, twice baked potato
Tonight - I think I am doing a shrimp, broccoli, alfredo noodles thing
Any leftovers got eaten the next day as lunch. On Sat and Sun I will pack my meals from home and I think they involve peanut butter!
Happy Galentines Day!
@Gina from The Cannary Family, Can't go wrong with peanut butter! 😉
@Bobi, no you can't. It is on the base of my food pyramid. So versatile, crackers, cookies, sandwiches with banana, jam, mayo, bacon to name a few.
In that last photo, Chiquita looks photoshopped in. You should actually start doing that in all your photos. It would be funny. 🙂
Saturday: I had a made a soup the day before using chicken bones, the little meat I was able to pull off them after simmering, and whatever vegetable I could find, including a jar of sauerruben (fermented shredded turnips--like sauerkraut). And sour cream. We had enough of that left for dinner this night for the four of us who were eating, and then I made biscuits and we had cheese to fill things out a bit.
Sunday: Lamb chops, rice cooked in ham stock, green salad with vinaigrette, chocolate chip/oat/almond/peanut butter bar cookies.
Monday: I used the last of the last ham I had cooked and frozen to make a skillet of ham, rice, cheese, and green peas. There wouldn't have been quite enough of that for everyone, but I also had a couple of lamb chops left, so my husband had those, too.
Tuesday: Lamb chili--made with ground lamb--and oven-baked rice pudding because I had had the oven on a long time to cook a GIANT squash. This was also my eldest son's birthday, but he was sick and didn't want to eat. I made him some lemon jello and stuck a candle in it so we could sing happy birthday at least. This was worryingly wobbly, as you might expect a live flame in jello to be, but we just sang really fast. 🙂
Wednesday: We were home all day for our snow day, which meant I was pretty much in the kitchen all day providing entertainment in the form of food. So when dinner came around, I did not feel up to a big meal. We had sort of breakfast quesadillas with scrambled eggs and bacon in them, plus cucumbers and some of the extra crispy rice treats I had made to go along with the valentine's my kids gave their classmates the next day.
Thursday: My younger kids ate snacks in the late afternoon at the elementary Valentine's Day party and then my daughter ate a peanut butter sandwich in the twenty minutes we were home before leaving for her cheer game. Our power had been out all afternoon and still wasn't on when we left at 4:30 p.m., so I decided dinner was going to be concession stand food at the game. And so it was. Except for me. I had a few of the leftover cream cheese and bacon roll-ups I had brought to the school party, and then some of the beef jerky I brought to the game. Not the most satisfying of meals, but that's the way it goes sometimes.
Tonight: Hmm. Well. One kid is still sick. One kid is going to be at an away basketball game, which we were not planning on attending today. They'll feed him on the way home. I had considered making heart-shaped sugar cookies, but I really dislike rolling out and cutting cookies, so I might take the path of least resistance and make some more crispy rice treats and cut those out with my heart-shaped cookie cutter and then sprinkle them with pink sugar. As for actual food . . . I am sort of leaning towards grilled cheese sandwiches and canned clam chowder, since I will probably have a salad and that would mean just three people to feed. Maybe I'll cut the sandwiches into a heart shape, too. 🙂
@kristin @ going country, I thought Chiquita looked utterly unimpressed with that avocado toast. "That's it? That's ... dinner?"
Ha, well, I did also eat a banana with peanut butter, and quite a bit of the square cheddar cheese from Trader Joe's (uncommonly good cheddar, or something like that). It was sort of a disorganized grazing session, and I only sat down for the avocado toast part!
@kristin @ going country, Hahaha! A birthday celebration jello with a candle in it! I can imagine you all sang very quickly…I imagine that will be a fond/fun memory forever!
@kristin @ going country, I can see that little face peeking out over Kristen's shoulder in a hiking scene!
@Angel,
...or looking over a snow-covered log in the woods! The possibilities are endless. 🙂
First, thanks to each and every one of you who chimed in with sympathetic comments on my sad Thankful Thursday yesterday. As Kristen and I have both said in the past, you all are the best.
Now, WIS: $23 at Ollie's, $72 at Wegmans, and $15 at Price Chopper.
WIA: Best effort this week was a soup made with an elderly freezer packet of trashpicked, roasted pumpkin (one of those fancy green Australian pumpkins, either Jarrahdale or Queensland Blue), plus a can of coconut milk and a box of chicken broth that were approaching their best-by dates. I should have done a slightly better job of removing bits of pumpkin rind, but the soup was otherwise delicious. Those Aussie pumpkins taste so much better than ordinary jack'o'lanterns, there's no contest.
And I also roasted a sheet pan of Reduced for Quick Sale Wegmans chicken thighs and have been noshing on those.
@A. Marie, I’ve never heard of Aussie pumpkins. For the umpteenth time, I thought about how fun and enlightening it would be to be neighbors with you—so much to learn from you, especially your gardening knowledge, along with your magical finding of items on walks, and all those great thrift shops.
@A. Marie, When we first moved here six years ago, we bought a bunch of "decorative" squashes at Walmart around Thanksgiving, did a taste-test, and saved the seeds from the best tasting ones for planting. The resulting cross-breeding over the years in our garden has revealed that the genetics from the Jarrahdales survive very well here. The ones that do best every year have that bluish skin, and the flesh is very orange and sweet.
@kristin @ going country and @Central Calif. Artist Jana, I've learned the little I know about Australian pumpkins from comparing the ones I've trashpicked off the curbs over the years to the photos in the Seed Savers Exchange catalog. The Aussies are usually sold as ornamentals here.
But one nasty development this last fall is that some sellers of ornamental squashes/pumpkins have started injecting them with chemicals to make them last longer--which means I don't dare eat them. Bleah!
@A. Marie,
Yikes! Do they have a sticker on them, or something, so you'd know if they had been injected with chemicals?
@Liz B., yes, they have stickers. But I fear I'll have to be a lot more careful from now on, in case some people have removed the stickers.
@A. Marie, late to the post but offering my condolences.
@A. Marie, years ago I discovered that Hubbard squash tastes much richer than pumpkin. It takes an axe or power tool to cut them up, but once done, they are so delicious after roasted that the work is totally worth it. I had no idea that they are Aussie!
@Book Club Elaine, My husband's grandmother used to throw them down the (stone) cellar stairs to crack them. She was a tiny woman and never would have been able to manage cutting open one of those beasts.
@kristin @ going country,
Oh my goodness! I laughed out loud!
WIS: $90 on our weekly meal items, plus $32 on protein sale stockups for future meals. This week that meant two pounds of salmon, three pounds of boneless chicken breasts, and two pounds of ground turkey.
WWA:
Sat- We were at a local talent show event which included heavy apps, so that was dinner.
Sun- We did not 'do' Superbowl this year, but did take my DD and her guy out for Happy Hour Asian fusion food at one of our favorite coastal spots. It was a delayed celebration for a recent and major life event. 🙂
Mon- Maple and mustard rubbed chicken with sage, brown rice, and roasted butternut squash, carrots, onion, and Brussels sprouts. So good!
Tue- Leftovers from Mon. In our two retirees household, at this point in our lives I generally follow a cook once, eat twice practice. I did hold back half of the veggies from Monday in order to roast them 'fresh' for Tuesday. My leftovers always include a 'fresh' element to ensure they don't really feel like leftovers.
Wed- Spaghetti, meatballs and sauted onions, peppers, and cherry tomatoes, plus salad and garlic bread.
Thur- Leftovers from Wed, plus fresh salad and garlic bread.
Fri- Valentines Day! I have a gift card for The Cheesecake Factory, so I'm planning to pick up one order of their spicy pecan chicken to share, plus one each of our favorite cheesecakes, then enjoy dinner and a romantic movie at home. <3.
I remember when I taught first grade and how kids would come to school hungry.it had never occurred to me that people would fail to feed a child. These children were totally dependent on breakfast and lunch programs at school. I would keep food in my desk at school because you can’t teach a hungry child. When I see the news lately it makes me worry about hungry children. I also worry about hungry seniors who don’t have the ability or circumstances to buy and prepare food. I remember once I was sharing encouraging Bible messages in a senior community. One man was looking for his government provided home helper that hadn’t shown up in days. He was hungry. I was able to make him some food and do a little cleaning and check back for a few days until his schedule got corrected.
When I watch the news lately I think about those who depend upon government programs for their food and i feel a lot of anxiety. It’s all happening so fast that no one really knows who might be in need.
I use food as a means of comfort. Lately I’ve been eating a lot of applesauce cups and tiny pickles. I don’t know why these things make me feel better but they do. I would gladly share them if I knew someone who needed some. How people who have so much can take from those who have next to nothing and feel so good about themselves makes me sick. And little pickles and applesauce cups don’t help enough.
@Tiana, Amen.
@Tiana, "How people who have so much can take from those who have next to nothing and feel so good about themselves makes me sick." -----> this statement captured exactly how I feel right now.
@Tiana, amen also, and argghhhh. I'm sure that SNAP and other food programs will be on the chopping block soon, if they're not already.
@Tiana, Thank you. We are living in troubling times and it makes me sad.
@Tiana, 100%. I won't get into all my political feelings here but I am right there with you.
@Tiana, I’m not even political. It just makes me sad. Thinking about food makes my face wet.
@Tiana, thank you for highlighting this tragedy. May we all keep it close to our hearts and minds while we eat.
@Tiana,
I worked for Head- Start,same story,those littles were ravenous on Monday mornings.
How do you not feed your kids?
@Tiana, Here in our community we have "Little Free Pantries" that the city set up for people to donate food or take whatever they need. (there are even "Critter Cupboards" for pet food and supplies!) I've found at least three on my route back from the grocery store, including one by the library. It is interesting to see what people will put in there. Lately most everything we put in there gets taken.
I guess what I'm getting at is these are very uncertain times--I know my DH is watching the news like a hawk to see what is going to happen to his organization, as he works for the government--and what I do in these times is try to focus on what is in my control. I can do very little about what the government is doing. But what I can do is help out where I am, and that helps my feelings of uncertainty and anxiety.
@Tiana, There shouldn't be anything political about feeding the hungry, but ... here we are.
@A. Marie, no doubt because tax cuts for the rich/super rich are a priority. So here is what we do - we who have the means to help other do so LOCAL. Any organization (looking at you Goodwill, Salvation Army, those who paid million/million+ for Super Bowl ads) who spend non-productive dollars instead of spending that money on those they claim to help do NOT deserve my money. Are there those who opt to game the system - sure there are. But they are by far the minority and I prefer to not throw the baby out with the bath water.
Cutting SNAP and other food programs makes those who proclaim to be "pro-life" anything but.
WIS: $22.81 this week, so $93.74 on groceries for the first two weeks/first half of February.
WIA: A lot of leftover “Baja Style Shrimp” from last week that got better and better (unlike most leftovers!); marinated sirloin steak with (leftover) roasted Brussel sprouts, potatoes and asparagus; a spinach, mushroom and feta cheese omelet; hamburgers with sauteed mushrooms and Havarti cheese; oatmeal/walnut/craisin bars for dessert.
@JDinNM, Hah! I beat The Frugal Girl by $32.19.
Last night I made brownies for the grandkids and set out a plate of them for the kids who live here in the city where I work, which I left on the counter as I came to work today. Sigh.
WIS: Right at $135 for two weeks. That included a farm order.
WIA: I had some menu deviations this week for sure.
We had lunch at a barbecue place on Friday in honor of the birthday of one boss (company pays for these birthday meals) and I got so much pulled pork on my plate that I took it home and had it again on Saturday. I don't remember what I had with it, because I forgot to write it down.
On Sunday, I assisted with a pre-Superbowl party at an at-risk youth shelter and since there was an abundance of food, I ate with them this time, so sloppy joe (bunless), potato salad and coleslaw, the slaw I made.
I made pork butt steak, with zucchini and cauliflower cooked in the skillet after the pork, and I had this twice.
Then.... I started getting that dreaded feeling that I had better lay off food for a while, so my meals were broth, and some yogurt for about 40 hours. Last night I allowed myself a little ground meat and a small amount of white potato. Tonight, whatever I eat, it will be low in amount and fiber. I will still have chocolate, but no nuts or other crunchy stuff.
Ha, I found clearance fancy salad mix and so that will become Valentine’s Day supper for at least six of the seven of us. (Our boy in high school has a sweetheart so I have a strong suspicion he will not be home.)
Friday: Wendy’s take out – my son and I went to the grocery store the Friday before a snowstorm and Superbowl (terrible timing) so we hit the easy button after the chaos
Saturday: Chicken Noodle Soup and garlic bread
Sunday: Super Bowl snacking – dinner was French Bread Pizza and Honey Garlic Wings
at halftime.
Monday: Leftovers! My son finished the chicken noodle soup, my husband and I had BBQ little smokies over baked potatoes and fresh veggies.
Tuesday: Zuppa Toscana
Wednesday: Beef Enchilada Quinoa Bake
Thursday: Pulled Pork Ragu over pasta
Saturday: We were at my parents for salmon, salad, roasted vegetables, and rice.
Sunday: Chana masala, rice, cucumber/avocado salad.
Monday: Chicken katsu (I previously prepped and froze) roasted broccoli and zucchini, cucumber/avocado salad.
Tuesday: Pasta bolognese (Mr. B had made and frozen the sauce last week.)
Wednesday: Nachos! We haven't had that for ages. I was supposed to bring chips to a friend's house but she got sick and cancelled. So we had nachos and hard boiled egg on the side for the toddler.
Thursday: Takeout pizza from the grocery store, Mr. B made a salad. It hit the spot.
Friday: We aren't doing much for V-day; I didn't grow up celebrating it anyway. Mr. B is making salmon and vegetables. If I get home early enough I'll make French fries.
I've picked up a trick from cooking influencers, which is freezing leftover cooked rice in single-serving "pucks." I shape then with a wet measuring cup. It's a much better was to preserve leftover rice compared to the fridge. Fridge rice always gets so dry and stale-tasting! And the little "pucks" are perfect for a packed lunch.
@Meira@meirathebear, rice pucks are a great idea! Thank you for the tip!
@Meira@meirathebear, I too appreciate the "rice pucks" idea.
I may try the bourbon chicken this week. I think DH may like that.
Spent $106.55. I bought more meat than usual this week, but found good sales. Bought a large roast, 3 small pork tenderloins, and some beef short ribs.
We ate:
Saturday: We spent allll day tiling the kitchen floor so I picked up McDonalds. First time we’ve had McDonalds in years.
Sunday: Younger son’s birthday so the whole family went for an early dinner of Chinese. Came home for the SuperBowl and had cake/ice cream around half time.
Monday: Steaks/baked potatoes/asparagus and salad
Tuesday: homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese
Wednesday: DH was out of town, and I ate leftover soup.
Thursday: grilled pork tenderloin (grilled all 3, but put 2 in the freezer), mac&cheese, spinach
Friday: Making short ribs for Valentines with potatoes and carrots. Made a chocolate pie for dessert.
@Marlena, there are times when you have to spend money to save money. Better half and I have operated that way since we were married. Sometimes its short term painful however.
WIS: $6 at Dollar Tree.
WWA: Leftovers. Pot roast. Ham. Chopped kale salad with apple and walnuts added. Peanut butter sandwich and a grilled cheese sandwich, there was the last of some cheese and a long-opened jar of peanut butter to use up. It was not a week of haute cuisine, for sure.
@Ruby, Sounds awfully good to me! Now I'm hankering for a grilled cheese sandwich....
@Ruby, re: "not a week of haute cuisine": I may have to post a photo of the "Martha Stewart doesn't live here" sign that hangs in my kitchen.
@JDinNM, grilled cheese and tomato soup is my idea of Winter comfort food. I discovered Food Lion had some not expensive very sharp New York cheddar that is awesome grilled. Yum!
@A. Marie, my kitchen goddess is probably Peg Bracken. There are days when I just want a martini and to stare sullenly into the kitchen sink. 😀
@Ruby, So funny!!!!
@Ruby, There are times when I make a vodka tonic and call it my Blue Plate Special. Maybe add a handful of almonds if I'm feeling ambitious.
@JDinNM, that sounds excellent!
@Ruby, as long as it is a vodka martini!
What a cute seat mate!
I spent $34 this week. $6 of that was the whole smoked turkey I found in the freezer clearance section. I feel like there’s so much competition for clearance items these days, and I’m happy that most people haven’t noticed the clearance shelf in my grocery store’s freezer section. I’ve found exciting things there, like half price ice cream.
Sunday: chili and Dutch oven bread
Monday: leftover chili and bread
Tuesday: Pasta with chicken and roasted peppers
Wednesday: turkey with steamed broccoli and mashed potatoes
Thursday: more turkey with zucchini and mashed potatoes
Tonight: even more turkey!
Coming soon: turkey soup!
@Ann on the farm, $6 for a whole smoked turkey?? Thanks for the tip about freezer clearance!
@A. Marie, I couldn’t believe my eyes!
Despite not having a fully functioning kitchen, we were able to have all dinners at home.
- Pizza x2
- Roasted veggies over rice
- Salad
- Veggies and dip; cheese and crackers
- Popcorn and fruit
- Baked potato and corn
All your meals look delicious, Kristen--especially and including the pancakes! 😉
WWS: $393.67 at Kroger. (*when I calculate WWS, I only include food and beverages. Not household items like cleaners, etc.) Pretty good week! Even with my impulse purchases of Sumo mandarins. (They calls to us, preciousssss....)
WWA: The same rota of meals, which would be boring to everyone else, but our Monday soup option was roasted carrot soup. I could (and do) just drink a mug of this for a snack. So good. And I'm experimenting today with using aquafaba instead of my usual flax seed egg in brownies; I liked the texture of the batter much better. They're baking now. Thanks to the Commentariat for reminding me about this egg alternative!
I finally used up the oat bran in the pantry by eating it for breakfast every morning. This was an impulse bulk buy, and I decided to just eat it up since i'm not likely to make oat bran muffins like I intended. I do really like the texture of oat bran, and I believe it's very good for one, but regular oatmeal is just cheaper and just as healthy, so I'll be going back to plain old rolled oats for breakfast now.
Happy Valentine's Day, Frugal Girl! I sure LOVE your blog! Cheers to you.
I spent $20plus at Aldi this week. $46plus for Misfits. My breakfasts are generally the same: Iced chai latte (with whole milk) and either buttered Aldi sour dough toast or these great English muffins (Stone and Skillet) super grains from Misfits. I nosh on random things in the fridge: club crackers and Aldi spinach dip this week. Sometimes I get turkey almond salad from HyVee. Mozzarella cheese sticks. I try to fix one meal a day. We carry in lunch for after church meeting that I am able to be at every other Sunday and it is always a filling meal. I took a big (Misfits) Salad and brought a lot of it home. I also made some Krispy treats from the gluten free cocoa cereal (from Misfits) and have been eating on them. I'm really not trying to advertise for MF, but it does seem to be my main grocer. Last night I ordered Dominoes and spent a whopping $30 including tip, (generous because I haven't scooped the walks). I got the loaded chicken, five-cheese macaroni and cheese (with bacon that cost a dollar extra/not doing that again) and the lava cakes. Now lest you think I'm just carb loading, I ate half of the chicken and half of the mac and cheese (Well, Molly ate part of the half, too). (I also had a banana in the afternoon.) And did not eat a single lava cake. I will have one warmed with ice cream for dessert tonight. Intend to fix cheesy cauliflower soup or a skillet meal of potatoes, ham steak and veggies (onions, mushrooms, peppers equal in amount as the spud)s. The two nights I worked, I picked up Jimmy Johns and split the meal half for each night.
I have never been one to be so disciplined as to plan a menu. I have usually just flown by the seat of my britches and fixed what I have or what I'm hungry for. I would like to think it would be different if I had a DH and kiddos.
@Chrissy, Regarding you last statement: I have four kids, cook more than anyone I know, and have never planned a menu in my life. ()Other than the continuous running thoughts on food that are in my head all the time, that is. So maybe you wouldn't have, but that's okay. We all work differently, and that's great as long as it works for you.
@kristin @ going country, back to my mantra that one does what works for them.
@Chrissy - on the days when I am bachelorette, I eat what I want when I want. And that is okay. Is it always considered healthy - some times not BUT it is cooked at home. I don't eat fast food but I may only eat once a day.
Loved seeing your blogging assistant at your computer. The aforementioned assistant seems to want to taste your avocado toast!
I don't usually post what I've eaten but my go-to lunches lately have been the Calzones from Aldi. They are two dollars and change and can heat up in the microwave for one minute. I don't like frozen entrees that take a long time to cook bc if I go to a teacher's lounge, others are waiting to use the microwave and it's rude to make them wait 4 or 5 min or longer. But for under three bucks, it's a hot cheesy folded-over pizza/sandwich, and very filling. Sometimes I can't eat it all, since it's big enough to satisfy a hungry man. When I ate it at home, I would share it with my sweet doggie, who has now gone over the Rainbow Bridge, and it is very sad not having her eat with me.
Salmon pinwheels, jasmine rice, kale and broccoli salad.
Potato /egg frittata with fresh salsa. and spinach salad
Spaghetti and meatballs. greek salad
Saurkraut in crock pot with small amt of a leftover pork roast to flavor it/protein.
Stuffed peppers (3 colors!!) in crock pot, on top of leftover spaghetti and some homemade applesauce for valentines dinner at home with hubby.
$40 at Aldi
A lot of freezer/leftovers food! Although on Wednesday, I made salads, and on Thursday, shrimp, mixed veg, rice, & some spices in the rice cooker. So easy it feels like cheating but it's tasty. And possibly ingredients are already in your house!
2 scoops white rice, add water to proper line
1/4 C diced onion
1/8 t garlic powder
1 T olive oil
2 C mixed veg
~1/2 lb peeled uncooked shrimp (remove heads)
Put all in rice cooker, stir, cook on white rice setting.
in separate small bowl: mix 1/4 C soy sauce & 2 T brown sugar.
When finished cooking, scoop into large serving bowl, and stir in soy sauce mixture.
I must admit when I read your post yesterday, I wanted to belt out … “You’ve gotta have heart, miles and miles and miles of heart!”
WIS: $47.18 at Grocery Outlet (it did included some non-food items) plus duck eggs from a friend.
WWA: Continuing freezer/pantry challenge version
*Leftover chicken stir fry w/rice, oranges
*Duck egg, crustless quiche, rolls
*Stuffed winter squash (filling from the freezer)
*Brats, fried potatoes, red cabbage
*Tonight - steak, baked potatoes, broccoli (at home Valentine’s dinner) … maybe, mug cakes
*Saturday - brats, potatoes, red cabbage repeat
*Ham, sweet potatoes, green beans, apple crisp
I also made gluten-free muffins using leftover short-grain brown rice & raisins and some gluten-free scones using a banana and sunbutter.
@PNW Casey, Damn Yankees lol.
My pantry challenge was thrown out the window this week. I had been trying to spend only $5-$10 a week on produce or ingredients to round out a recipe. But . . .
I had family over for dinner on Saturday. I did use up some things from the freezer but also spent $20 on fresh produce and some other things because I wasn't going to serve freezer-burned green beans for a side to my guests. On Sunday I was invited to a super bowl party and spend $15 on snacks to bring. On Monday, I spent about $90 on food at costco because I only go 3 or 4 times a year and I wanted to get some of the non-food things they had on sale. Naturally, I stocked up on a few Costco staples while I was there. Finally, at the end of the week, I got sick and splurged on a door dash run to pick up cold medicine and a few more things from the grocery store. With tip, that was $50. So, not a very frugal week at all.
Saturday - Spinach Artichoke dip with crackers, homemade chicken pot pie, roasted asparagus.
Sunday - Football food.
Monday - I got a hot dog on the way out of Costco
Tuesday - I had to return an item to Costco. Ugh. So since I was there I picked up a rotisserie chicken and had it with asparagus and strawberries.
Wednesday - Snowed and rained all day so grilled cheese with tomato soup seemed like a good idea.
Thursday - leftover rotisserie chicken and green beans. Strawberries for dessert.
Friday - I have been grazing - more chicken, olives, cheese. Randomness.
Next week its back to the pantry clean out!
Sat - Dine out Mexican
Sun - shrimp cocktail (part of bag purchased at butcher shop), chicken wings, quesadilla made from Mexican dine out leftovers. 1.5 pound of cooked shelled shrimp for $20.
Mon - brats, HM egg roll, beans with leftover rice
Tue - hickory smoked pork chop, gifted wild rice enhanced with mushroom, onions, peppers, asparagus
Wed - spinach cheese tortelloni w/sauce, mushrooms, red peppers, onions, and shrimp, covered with cheese.
Thu - grilled cheeseburgers, baked potato, and chicken chili (new recipe, pretty tasty)
Fri - tilapia, orange rough, rest of leftover baked potato and pasta