WIS, WWA | A back-home sick week
What I Spent
It was a super weird week of spending since I'd just gotten back from my trip and I was sick for the first part of the week.
I spent:
- $40 at Safeway
- $22 at Domino's
- $38 at KFC
- $20 at Sam's Club
So, $120 for me this week.
And since I'm feeling better, next week should include more groceries and less takeout!
What We Ate
Saturday
It was Zoe's birthday, and she decided she wanted BBQ chicken pizza for dinner. I still wasn't feeling particularly well from my cold, so I was delighted to just pick it up from Domino's!
Sunday
Man, I don't remember what we ate. Leftover pizza, maybe?
Monday
I boiled some cheese tortellini and tossed them with alfredo sauce and bacon. Green salad on the side, but with less pepper than my brother enjoys. 😉
My salad:
My brother's typical salad:
Tuesday
I had left a bag of Trader Joe's orange chicken in the freezer for the girls to use while I was gone, but they hadn't used it. So, I got it out for dinner.
I'd always baked the chicken before, but this time I followed the package directions for frying it in a little oil and we all agreed that was way, way better than the baking.
Also: it was a little faster.
We had the chicken over rice, with a green salad on the side.
Wednesday
We had a fend-for-yourself night that mostly involved eating up leftovers.
Thursday
Usually, we do a take-out night on Friday, but Lisey is not going to be here.
And the other night, Lisey mentioned that she'd never had KFC in her life before.
So, I stopped by and got a family pack.
The verdict: We like Royal Farms chicken a little better.
And I thought the KFC mashed potatoes were terrible. They had a very strong imitation-butter flavor and I just didn't even think they were worth eating.
No more KFC for us!
Friday
It's just Zoe and me here tonight, and we will probably eat the leftover chicken (but not the mashed potatoes. Nope, nope, nope.)
This is when you need some chickens to eat those nasty mashed potatoes. No guilt about wasting food AND a return in eggs. Best investment ever. Your landlords would probably not agree, however. 🙂
Saturday: I had one steak in the refrigerator from the three-pack I had thawed, so I cooked that for my husband. I made bunless hamburgers for my children and me. Also mashed potatoes, pureed calabaza, stiff-frozen green beans for the kids, and some rice cooked in chicken stock for the kid whose stomach was iffy.
Sunday: An improvised casserole with ground beef and shredded potatoes that also had mustard and ketchup in it, plus bacon and cheese. I call it cheeseburger casserole. I made this up a few years ago and was reminded of it by your mention of cheeseburger soup.We also had green salad with dressing, and baked peaches and cream for dessert.
Monday: I had made fried rice for lunch the day before with leftover hamburgers and rice, plus eggs, onion, cabbage, carrots, and a can of commodities green beans. It made for a very fast workday dinner. Not particularly beloved by my children, but they ate it.
Tuesday: Fat Tuesday! I made grillades and rice (should've been grits, but I don't keep those on hand) and pralines to celebrate my New Orleans heritage. Also pureed calabaza and carrot sticks, because I actually live in New Mexico. 🙂
Wednesday: The school cook sent me home with leftover fish sticks from lunch, which came in very handy as we didn't get home from Ash Wednesday Mass until 6 p.m. Also leftover rice and raw cabbage. My children were way more enthusiastic about leftover cafeteria fish sticks and raw cabbage than they were about homemade fried rice. I had leftover mashed potatoes and cheese, because I am never enthusiastic about fish sticks.
Thursday: I had a container of meat sauce in the freezer that I thawed quickly after subbing at school all day. The kids had that with spaghetti. My husband had the last of the cheeseburger casserole. I had some cottage cheese with rye crisps and said silent prayers of thanks that the week was over.
Friday: Well. It's a Friday in Lent,which means no meat. And my husband is taking the two younger boys to a judo tournament in Colorado. So I guess the remaining two children will have tuna salad sandwiches, and I will have eggs of some sort. We shall see.
@kristin @ going country, Ha. I did not intend to type "stiff" instead of "still" when describing Saturday's green beans, but it is an appropriate descriptor.
@kristin @ going country, No disrespect, but does anyone skip this in favor of going directly to Kristin s blog to make sure we get the full presentation. I get an inordinate amount of fun out of reading her descriptions on the blog. Although, I just realized they may be the same... :O
@Jennifer, I am subscribed to Kristin's blog and you get pictures as well on the blog. 😉 Plus other entries about other things, equally interesting and amusingly written. I always end up wanting to move to a remote area after reading her stories!
@kristin @ going country, Tulane grad here although, much to my chagrin, I had forgotten this past Tuesday was Mardi Gras and couldn't understand why it was so hard to get a dinner reservation at our favorite Cajun restaurant. Now in NM (by a circuitous route) I have often thought of getting chickens but my neighbors have talked me out of it. Given the elaborate castles (I mean coops) they built, and the losses to raccoons and coyotes, I calculate they're paying about $45 for a dozen eggs, rather than the $4.50 I pay at Sprouts or the farmers' markets.
@Karen A., I'm the same way - I read my blogs in a certain order, but on Fridays, hers is first!!
Dh lived in Roswell, NM for a few years back in the 70s and tells equally entertaining stories, that as a SC girl can't relate to, but enjoy.
@Jennifer, Nope, not the same! I write my comment separately, it's not copy and paste. There are a LOT more words on my blog post, for better or worse. 🙂
@JDinNM, Every route to NM is circuitous, as far as I can tell.
@Karen A., Thank you for the kind words! Always nice to know people are reading and enjoying.
@kristin @ going country, I guess the Pueblo Indians come closest to non-circuitous "native born", but even they seem to go back only to 300 BC. Their predecessors were nomadic Archaic period peoples, who I believe have been traced back to 8000 BC.
Glad you are feeling better! I can comment earlier than usual, because I'm going to go into school early today. It's been a crazy week for us too!
Sunday: Tried the winter panzanella recipe from Jen Hatmaker's new cookbook (served deconstructed, because of the preschooler), and it was so good!
Monday: Leftover rice and beans from last week. Still tasty.
Tuesday: Preschooler woke up at 2am with a fever, so my husband stayed home with her. We wanted an easy dinner, so we grabbed some chicken salad from Sam's club, it ended up being really good.
Wednesday: I had typed up sub plans to stay home with my daughter, but we ended up getting two feet of snow and having a snow day. Dinner was various leftovers.
Thursday: Preschooler still has a fever, so we went to the Dr. They said it was viral and to just let her eat and drink whatever she wants while we wait it out, so mac and cheese it is!
Friday: The fever had gone down before bedtime yesterday, fingers crossed it's actually gone! Dinner tonight is supposed to be salads with grilled chicken.
Saturday: Working through leftovers to clear out the fridge.
Have a great weekend everyone, stay healthy!
My husband came home with chicken pot pies from KFC this week, and I must have been hungry, because they were really good!
What are the white cubes in your salad? I'm thinking apple?
I love KFC and their Cole slaw. For the mashed potatoes, I have always taken the little crunchy pieces off my extra crispy and mixed them in for texture and flavor. Never had the potatoes without them. Personally, Bojangles is my favorite fried chicken. Better biscuits, imho, and I love their fries. A year after COVID and it doesn't taste the same, but I'm hoping my taste will come back eventually.
Sunday: Homemade vegetable lasagna, green beans, and salad. I looked at the amount of cheese in the recipe and went, "This is too much cheese" and I reduced it...Reader, it was not too much cheese! Next time, more cheese.
Monday: Eggs with spinach, herbs, and cheese.
Tuesday: Beef stew and rice made by Mr. B.
Wednesday: Leftover stew on toast with mustard, a salad. Mr. B made pasta with tomato sauce for little Bee.
Thursday: Mr. B was working late, so toddler and I had leftover pasta and split pea soup.
Friday: Tonight, we'll have roasted chicken, roasted vegetables, and a salad (romaine, odds and ends of vegetables.) And challah.
@Meira @meirathebear,
Words I don't think I've ever spoken or thought: "that's too much cheese". 😉
@Liz B., Never too much cheese, never too much sauce!
@Liz B.,
I only think "that's too much cheese," when someone else is eating it all...
@Meira @meirathebear, I was not aware there is such a thing as too much cheese when it comes to homemade lasagna. 😉 When I use a lasagna recipe I always plan for more cheese than it calls for, because who sprinkles 1/2 a cup of mozzarella on top of a lasagna? Nobody I know.
@Karen A.,
My homemade lasagna recipe includes sooooo much cheese. It's delicious!
Hope you get to feeling better soon!
KFC was what my parents would get sometimes in the summer when it was too hot to cook...so I associate KFC with being uncomfortably warm and sweaty. No thanks. 😉
This week we spent $356 at Kroger. All our shopping is done at Kroger, since we have a rewards card and get points back for free groceries. We used to get neat little checks in the mail, but now my husband gets a text and he redeems them electronically, so I have no idea the last time we got rewards. Anyway!
Saturday and Sunday, as always, homemade personal pizzas. I made keto blueberry cheesecake cups for Sunday dessert. We hadn't had these in a while, so they were a hit.
Monday we had fried and baked chicken from the Kroger deli. This is my husband's favorite meal to offer when he's got a busy week but still wants to be on the dinner rota. Chicken, chips, and (per mom) carrot sticks and cucumber slices.
Tuesday the oldest made hamburger stew, his specialty. The youngest had grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, as he is not a stew or soup person.
Wednesday was burgers and tater tots (and the requisite carrots and cucumbers supplied by me).
Thursday was taco night. Always a crowd pleaser, some people make rice and bean bowls, some have burritos, and some crazy people like me have a taco salad and a plate of nachos. It was 70 degrees outside and felt like summer.
Friday--tonight is my turn to cook. I'm making bean soup in the crockpot and probably some cornbread, and of course a grilled cheese for my non-soup eater. It's going to be 40 degrees today and feels like winter again.
WIS: #30.50 at the Regional Market and $24.75 at Trader Joe's.
WIA: This week's "pantry/fridge cleanout" culinary masterpiece at Chez A. Marie was the tomato/mushroom creamy pasta dish I think I mentioned earlier this week (the recipe came from a site called lastingredient.com). This got a round of thumbs-up from the Bestest Neighbors and my widowed neighbor next door.
Other highlights included the salmon to which I treated myself from the Regional Market on Saturday; Ms. BN's superb fried chicken (mentioned yesterday in my thankfuls); and the two unusually small chuck roasts from our 1/4 steer that I cooked side by side yesterday. I'm eating some of the beef as pot roast and will use the rest in an upcoming beef barley soup.
I spent $56 at Metro on fruit and a few pantry items that were on special. Fruit trays were on sale and cheaper than buying fruit this time of year so I bought one. My daughter ate most of it, something to be said for having fruit cut up and ready to eat, for lazy teens anyway!
And $53 on restaurant meal.
Saturday - my sister came for a visit and brought us a roast chicken meal from a Greek restaurant. It included a very large roast chicken, greek potatoes, salad and rice. It was way too much for 2 people so we ate it a lot this week.
Sunday - more leftover chicken meal
Monday - daughter and I went out driving (she's 16 and trying to get her hours in for her license) and out for dinner because it was a holiday here (family day). I cannot get over the cost of restaurant food and I really resent paying it when I feel I can make most things myself. Daughter had a fancy burger and salad, I had a half plate of nachos. Two iced teas, came to over $50 with tip. However, time spent with daughter and no phone at the table, priceless. Lol.
Tuesday - shepherd's pie and green beans
Wednesday - more of leftover chicken meal
Thursday - spinach stuffed chicken breasts, mashed potatoes, asparagus.
Friday - we're going to make pizza
I've been really slack on the meal planning so going to try to get back into the swing of that this week.
My week to cook. I had to go into the office at the end of the week, so I tried to cook extra early in the week to then coast on leftovers.
Sunday-baked chicken, mac & cheese, broccoli, apples
Monday-chicken/rice/broccoli/cheese casserole
Tuesday-homemade ramen bowls, oranges
Wednesday-leftovers
Thursday-leftovers, garden salad
Friday-Frito pie, salad
The first time I had Popeyes chicken(as an adult) I was actually upset that my parents always got KFC when I was growing up because the Popeye’s was so much better haha
Saturday - my sister and I put on a retirement party for my mom so plenty of food there for dinner
Sunday - takeout Chinese food
Monday - we met friends for a late lunch and the sandwiches ended up being huge so we ate the other halves later for dinner, kids had reheated Kraft for dinner
Tuesday - taco salad with pinto beans made in the instapot for me, chicken for husband, and cheese, tomato, avocado, sour cream and crushed tortilla chips as toppings
Wednesday - broccolini, chicken sausage and orzo skillet
Thursday - leftover sloppy joes from the freezer for kids, impossible burgers for the adults, veggie variety (steamed carrots, frozen peas, sliced cucumber, chopped salad kit)
Friday - Parmesan chicken, pearl couscous, more of the same veggie variety
We are back to living in a deep freeze, just muddling through. WWA:
Saturday - picked up 5 guys burgers & fries on the way home from my uncle’s funeral
Sunday - chicken curry, rice, naan, papadams, brownies from a mix
Monday - leftovers
Tuesday- tuna salad on buns, fresh veggies on the side
Wednesday - baked chicken drumsticks, oven fries, raw carrots
Thursday - pasta puttanesca, baguette
Friday - sauerkraut soup, baguette
Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend
Sick days are no fun - I called out today, myself. And I feel guilt and annoyance at myself for no good reason. I DO need the day, both to feel better physically and to get a mental break. Some weeks are like that! This week featured:
Monday - (freezer) Rotisserie Chicken, chopped salad (carrots, fresh poblano, romaine, rest of the queso fresco, rest of the Green Goddess dressing)
Tuesday - Carne Guisada Pork in the crock pot, corn, green chile rice (this made enough for two dinners)
Wednesday - (Freezer) Pizza, no salad because I was just too lazy to chop things
Thursday - Chicken thighs, sauteed cabbage with carrots in my little cast iron skillet (SO GOOD)
Tonight - Shrimp Po Boy, coleslaw
Saturday - Out - the fried chicken idea sounds good, minus the potatoes
Sunday - Italian Sausage Polenta Skillet, broccoli
Happy Weekend!
https://cannaryfamily.blogspot.com/
I hope your sick day helps you to feel better, Gina!
Travel week
Fries and Diet Coke with a kind bar
Three bean chili and cornbread
Carne asada tacos skillet potatoes
Charcuterie board and crackers
Caesar salad with shrimp, fancy to us ramen
Egg sandwiches with ground chicken sausage and gruyere PANINI STYLE
We ate some out and cooked some in!
I also made a double batch of granola and we had yogurt dif fruits or dried fruit and granola every day for breakfast except one!
Saturday: I helped cater a Daddy/Daughter Dance that my husband and 2 daughters were attending, so 4/5 of us ate there
Sunday: Hamloaf (from Amish-country Pennsylvania!), peas, and mac and cheese
Monday: Parmesan-crusted chicken, strawberries, mashed potatoes, and corn
Tuesday: Burrito bowls
Wednesday: My husband was working late and it was the night of the ice storm, so we had a pizza and movie night
Thursday: Leftover parmesan-crusted chicken, broccoli, and shells and cheese
Friday: Not sure yet. I was supposed to go to a dinner, which got cancelled. My husband was supposed to take my daughter to winter camp, but camp will likely be cancelled. So now my husband is working late and it will probably be the 3 kids and I at home. After being home so much in the last week, I'm losing motivation to cook.
This is my first crack at this weekly assignment, so hope I get this right:
WIS: $0 at grocery store, but $44 (including tip) at a long-postponed and often rescheduled restaurant dinner with friends (worth every penny).
WIA: Saturday was spent trying to recreate the "Catalina" salad from my favorite local restaurant. It consists of avocado, hard-boiled eggs, onion and celery and lots of other stuff formed into a chilled square of yumminess. I got the ingredients and flavorings right, but mine was too soft and runny, which I blame on the overly ripe avocado I used. My experience with avocados ranges from "Not yet! No, not yet! No, still not yet!" to "Aw, too late!" So that was dinner, tasty yet somewhat unsatisfactory on the presentation front.
Sunday breakfast was leftover avocado salad on toast and dinner was a roasted sweet potato stuffed with spinach and feta cheese.
Monday was a chicken fajita from frozen peppers and onions in fajita sauce stored in the freezer after a fajita-making binge back in November, and fresh shredded chicken.
Tuesday was a beef fajita from ... aw, you guessed.
Wednesday was roasted acorn squash with wild rice and mushroom stuffing. The stuffing was tastier than the squash; next time I'll use delicata squash.
Thursday was pan-grilled rainbow trout and seared jumbo shrimp in lemon butter with fresh green beans with toasted almonds. Made by restaurant, not me.
Friday will be ... Surprise! Leftover trout, shrimp and green beans!
Hope everyone has a wonderful and uneventful from a weather perspective weekend.
The catalina salad sounds interesting; how is it molded into a square?
@Kristen, That's my question! I'll have to ask the crew the next time I go back but my best guess is: they use firm(er) avocados (and don't mash them the way I did) and probably leave out the little bit of Greek yogurt I used (no real need for that) and they must make it early in the day for the lunch/dinner crowds and chill it thoroughly (probably in a metal pan that helps form and keep the square-shaped presentation). As soon as I learn their secrets, I'll blab them all over here! With a full recipe. It really is good, and very different from most salad offerings.
@JDinNM, I’m wondering, too! Never heard of this!, No gelatin? When I saw Catalina salad, I thought of the bright orange-red salad dressing.
@Jenny, Nope, no gelatin. Everything fresh and recognizable. I don't know why they call it Catalina; I'll ask.
Kristen, have you noticed a shortage in orange chicken at Trader Joe's? Some weeks it has been sold out recently. I also like the frozen buffalo cauliflower as the vegetarian choice, and the one week when TJs had orange chicken, the buffalo cauliflower was sold out. Strange 🙂
Sunday: Choice of creamy salmon and cod chowder and a fennel tomato chickpea soup
Monday: Herbal linguini with air dried ham and steamed asparagus
Tuesday: Beans over rice, cashews and grilled Brussel sprouts
Wednesday: Grilled cheese with nan bread and a salad
Thursday: Lasagna and salad
Friday: Not decided yet!
Well, I hadn't bought the orange chicken in probably a year and a half, so I don't know whether it's been in stock or not!
@Kristen, my kids love it so I had to stock up, we definitely go through a couple bags a month.
@Kristen, their orange chicken has been so popular at Trader Joe's that you can no longer vote for it in their annual 'best food' contest. It's off the list!
I have never had it -- only Sam's Club's version -- so bought some this past visit to try. I was very disappointed, however, to find out they no longer stock that incredibly good jarred green curry sauce. They do, however, have a really good chili/ginger sauce that's amazing with chicken nuggets and eggrolls.
Their potted hyacinths and daffodils have kept me from getting too blue about snow and gray skies, as well.
Now I'm curious about the 'Catalina salad,' too!
I love having freezer meals on hand for the days I am just not well enough to cook. I’m so thankful for past me looking out for future me!
Many years ago on a trip to visit family I got food poisoning from KFC mashed potatoes. I recognize that it was just that one location that did something wrong, but I can’t eat at KFC to this day.
Friday – My husband and I went out for a belated Valentine’s dinner at one of our favorite Italian restaurants.
Saturday – Zuppa Toscana. I always make this with kale instead of spinach and this batch used the last of the kale from our summer CSA boxes.
Sunday – My husband and I went to a fundraiser that ended just before dinnertime. I made Asian pork and mushrooms in the slow cooker to make sure we would have dinner when we got home.
Monday – Halal Cart Style Chicken with turmeric rice and homemade naan. I had the day off from work so I also made oatmeal banana muffins for my son to snack on and King Cake to share at work on Tuesday.
Tuesday – Jambalaya for Mardi Gras!
Wednesday – Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green salad
Thursday – Chicken Enchilada bowls with black beans and cauliflower rice
Several weeks in my household without a true grocery stock up means I spent $408 @ Costco because we were out of all.the.things. Goodness I can't wait to get my garden in the ground. Produce, which was the bulk of our purchase is expensive.
Saturday...we were out running a few errands that afternoon and came home and made homemade pizza and flatbread. Yum.
Sunday...drawing a blank here but we were all fed
Monday...homemade corndogs muffins with some organic sausages I had in the fridge, fresh fruit on the side.
Tuesday... again drawing a blank but I know we ate
Wednesday...family celebration was in order so we went out for Hibachi and it was delicious!
Thursday...another takeout night...blackened chicken tenders, coleslaw, & some had mashed potatoes
Friday....I think I might hit the easy button and make homemade burgers on whole wheat buns.
Hopefully this weekend I can get back on the batch cooking train cause we have had too much takeout over the last week! Cheers to all the homemade healthiness this weekend.
Have a great weekend all!
Well. . .I have COVID again, so this will be briefer than usual. Luckily I went to the grocery store before testing positive, so we have food, at least!
WIS: 173.05 @Aldi and 27.04 @Hungry Harvest so 200.09 this week.
WWA:
Fri: salad and pepperoni focaccia.
Sat: breakfast for dinner: salad, collard greens with bacon, waffles and scrambled eggs with cheese.
Sun: cucumber slices, million dollar spaghetti: kind of like lasagna but with spaghetti noodles.
Mon: salad, crunchy fish tacos with kale and swiss cheese.
Tue: party plates (just small amounts of different leftovers) and homemade buns.
Wed: salad, coconut rice, stir fried pork and snowpeas, an Aldi cheese pizza and leftover fish taco filling on leftover buns with shredded Swiss cheese.
Thu: salad, Cuban rice and beans (with bacon and black beans), cheddar cheese and chipotle Cholula sauce.
Tonight: salad and focaccia
BOOOOO to Covid. I hope you are on the mend soon!
@Kristen,
I know...it's like the world's worst plus one. No one invited you, COVID. Just move along!
I didn't shop last Friday and will shop at stores today, but I have already received a farm order and an Azure Standard order this week and will get another farm order on Saturday, totaling about $150, ouch, but that's because I'm stocking up again. I had some cheap weeks there for a while.
I got off my menu plan this week. They start on Fridays, and I didn't even think about my company this weekend when I made the menu at first.
We had boom-boom shrimp from the freezer with salad leftover from ....
A big salad for each of us from the pizzeria where my grandchild works.
I cooked pulled pork in the pressure cooker and made sweet potato/celery salad to go with it, plus some fruit. I had this three times - it was a big piece of pork.
On Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras), pancakes! I love pancakes. I found a cassava recipe that makes nice fluffy ones.
Pork loin chops from my daughter's Butcher Box, with steamed cauliflower and sliced, sautéed zucchini from my Azure Standard order. I had received 4 pounds, so I cooked all of it and froze most of it before it turned on me. Zucchini is sneaky like that.
I haven't had KFC in a long, long time. It's much easier to buy fried chicken, but I much prefer home-cooked fried chicken, enough that I'm willing to make and clean up the mess that frying requires. But not if I was sick, I wouldn't be.
We were on a ski trip for most of the week, and ate at the condo, minus one meal out. We try to prep food ahead of time, to make things easier.
We had:
Tacos
Spaghetti & meatballs
Steak & mashed potatoes
Dinner out (I had an amazing potato leek soup, with sourdough bread)
Pot roast
Last night we narrowly avoided takeout, after the drive home. I made baked chicken (from a bag), edamame, & salad.
I'm forgetting a meal, but we were all fed.
How was your skiing? Was this at Tahoe?
WIS: $82 and some change at Food Lion, $5 and some change at Food City for a bag of Bob's Red Mill rye flour, and $1.48 at Walgreens for two cans of olives and a box of drink mix after deploying Walgreens points. It was an effort, but I came in just under the $90 a week grocery budget.
WWA: Leftover meatloaf, salad and homemade bread. Pancakes, eggs, and bacon, with applesauce. Crockpot pulled pork with salad, homemade bread, and more applesauce. DH and I ate lunch out for his birthday Thursday and I brought home half a salad and half an onion roll for my supper. Tonight will be leftover pulled pork with salad and a baked potato.
To use up the mashed potatoes my Mom always made potato pancakes. She added flour and an egg and maybe a bit of water or milk. She added corn and green onion which you could do, and maybe some cheese to combat the butter flavor. She didn't add much salt, but used pepper. I like Kinder's Butter Steakhouse Seasoning in mine. I topped mine with a fried egg and it was good!
I thought about it, but then I wondered if the fake butter flavor would still come through! Maybe if I add something super strong...hmm. Chipotle chilies??
Sunday: hubby and I worked a fundraiser and got a takeout pizza at 8:30 at night. That was our dinner. Kids were on their own.
Monday: I had the day off of work, so I spent a bit of time in the kitchen making meatballs for the freezer and dehydrated sweet potatoes and bananas for homemade odg treats. Dinner was chicken and biscuits, green beans.
Tuesday: choice of chicken or beef, choice of a bowl or soft tacos.
Wednesday: homemade chicken alfredo and broccoli, garlic toast
Thursday: grilled cheese and tomato soup
Friday: on our way to camp after work for a "winter camp weekend" with our daughter and her boyfriend. Dinner will be takeout.
I grew up on KFC. The meal bucket made a cheap family meal in the 90's and we probably did it every month or two. I loved the potatoes...its definitely been a while though since I've had them.
WIS: Farmer's Market: $32.50, Fish delivery: $24, Milk delivery: $19, Butcher shop: $9, Neighborhood: $12, Whole Foods: $73, TGTG: $16 Total: $185.50
WWA: Saturday: Branzino...I can't remember the sides
Sunday: husband cut his finger peeling potatoes for fries...so takeout pizza and salad it was
Monday: chicken piccata w/ spaghetti and an arugula salad
Tuesday: Fat Tuesday- Hush puppies w/ peach jam, gumbo, King Cake
Wednesday: Shrimp and squid ink pasta w/ cream sauce, glazed carrots
Thursday: leftover gumbo
Friday: Swordfish...most likely w/ corn and potato soup and leftover hush puppies
The potatoes might have been different when you were a kid too!
@Kristen,
Very true! Things like that sometimes do change over the years.
Glad you are feeling better.
We keep a bag of Trader Joe's orange chicken in the freezer for those nights when I'm not up to cooking. We use the air fryer to cook it and I think it turns out well.
WWA:
Saturday: sandwiches and fruit
Sunday: take-out chicken tenders and mac and cheese
Monday: pinto beans, sliced cucumbers, and cornbread
Tuesday: leftover pinto beans, sliced cucumbers, and fresh cornbread
Wednesday: slow cooker salsa chicken with corn and black beans over rice
Thursday: leftover salsa chicken over rice
Friday: fend for yourself night since I'll be at weekly happy hour with BFF
Oh yeah, I bet the air fryer works really well for the orange chicken.
We love our KFC in our town here in Iowa, but I prefer getting their baked beans with the chicken. We really like them. I am not crazy about the mashed potatoes, but don't recall them having a strong imitation butter flavor. We have had them in the past. You would think they would be the same in any state.
You'd definitely think they were the same in each region!
Love your honesty and all your pictures! Have a wonderful weekend!
Those KFC mashed potatoes, or any fast-food potatoes, ARE sort of weird and terrible, but also good in an occasional taste-of-childhood way! My Mom (who loved sewing, hated cooking) only served instant mashed potatoes, and packaged gravy, so once or twice a year when I eat KFC, I’m transported back to the 60s. I hope you liked the chicken, (extra-crispy) and the biscuits and coleslaw are delicious!
Glad you feel better.
Growing up, we had fast food exactly once a year and it was a big treat. It was never KFC. My mom can make pretty fantastic fried chicken, however, and I'm pretty good at it myself.
This week: Sunday: lasagna
Monday: roast chicken
Tuesday: blueberry pancakes with sausage and bacon. The cultured schmancy buttermilk I use elevates the pancakes to spectacular.
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: cream of chicken soup. I got bored with regular chicken and we didn't have tomatoes for chicken tortilla soup, but we did have heavy cream.
Today: pot roast. I better go peel some potatoes for the mash. I suggested noodles to the kids, as less effort, but nothing doing.
Probably tomorrow pot roast sandwiches.
2-17-23 Approx. totals of WIS
Market Basket $41 What I bought, wow on the total. I needed to get something for my grandson to have for lunch. He decided on the mac&cheese. I had bought pizza too just in case.
I bought the Gorton’s sandwich fish squares to make the McDonald’s or Burger King, whoever it is fish sandwiches. Just need rolls. Friday: Pizza and fruit
$30 Aldi I needed fruit for garden club and I picked up a few other things that I have needed--chex, yogurt, granola. Oh, and I saw they had the frozen garlic, ginger, and basil cubes. I bought the garlic cubes at Trader Joe's and I use them regularly. When garlic and basil show up at the farmers' markets, I get it and make them myself.
$19 Trucchi’s Picked up tonight's non-meat option for Lent.
$70 We also got the monthly meat box I share with my daughter.
Saturday: Family birthday dinner Chicken parm, salad, garlic bread—My oldest daughter, my husband and I are all February—beginning, mid, and end. My youngest daughter hosted. All of a sudden I did not feel well. I had a few bites of chicken and some pasta. I had that 6 hour stomach bug. For dessert I made the family Damn Good Chocolate Cake. I used the fancy, more expensive, Dutch chocolate processed cocoa. The family did not feel there was a lot of difference.
Sunday: I had been trying to finish off some spaghetti sauce. America’s Test Kitchen had a recipe for Manicotti for Two. It worked well. It made 6 lasagna rolls. We ate 3. 3 remaining. I took one for lunch tomorrow at work. It will be a good one to make for my sister-in-law if I put 3 in miniature loaf pans to freeze. Perfect for her.
Monday: Ham slice with pan roasted potatoes and mixed vegetables.
Tuesday: Very late getting home from work—leftover lasagna roll and ham and greens.
Wednesday: Fish sandwich and greens.
Thursday: The office staff wanted to get together with one of our co-workers, who has been out for 3 months due to an injury. It was a fun night, just staff. I brought half of my dinner home.
Friday: It’s windy and cold. Clam chowder. I also bought another can of clams to add in and some oyster crackers. I have a recipe for seasoned oyster crackers—just an easy snack (like popcorn). I wanted to go to the fish market for a piece of salmon to make salmon cakes (I saw an interesting recipe), but I forgot to go that way when I left the office. Instead of turning to go down by the harbor, I stayed on the main road and headed directly home. I’ll do that the next Friday I work.
Kristen, I saw the granola bar recipe you use--can nuts and other stuff be added , maybe in exchange or addition to the chocolate chips?
I know I do have to make my own granola again. I have not done that in a while.
Have a nice weekend everyone.
@JEG,
I'm wondering how you make the garlic, ginger, and basil cubes?
I enjoy KFC's chicken, if it's crisp enough, but I could KILL for the coleslaw. It was the major thing I craved when pregnant. Ironically, our two daughters don't like it at all. Go figure.
Crab claws covered in butter with Parmesan and garlic and lemon.
that’s all I can remember
@Tiana, If I had that, I'm pretty sure it's all I'd remember, too 😉
This week included chicken and potatoes and two meals of pork roast and potatoes because I got free potatoes and the pork roast was on markdown for $1/lb, so into the crockpot it went. We did potato wedges at one meal, potatoes in the crockpot with the meat at another meal, and the leftover potatoes turned into mashed potatoes at the third meal.
The golden something potatoes were amazing compared to our usual inexpensive russets. I might have just ruined my future budget. *laugh cry*
I found hamburger buns marked down today, so I thawed out some marked down hamburger patties and paired it with clearance cheese and marked down organic honeycrisp apples.
Now I'm using sugar cookie dough from the freezer to work on cookies for L3's class birthday party. He arrived in this world in the middle of the spring break missions events that we organize, so his birthday happens every year during my busiest season.
I'm bargain shopping for Code-a-thon food and snacks as well these days. Thankfully, not out of my budget money. Friends from all around town and across the country drop off and mail in snacks and I pick up the caffeine and soft drinks with ministry funds. But 12 packs of Mountain Dew are $8 instead of the $2.50 I paid last year. Thankful God always provides...
Since I quit my job, I really focus in meal planning and being moreninyional our grocery spending. I also loathe throwing out edible food.
So, I cook 90 pct of our meals and can work wonders with leftovers. I am also doing what I can to get a diversity of plants for healthy gut.
We usually have sourdough toast and fruit for bkfst most days often with avocado or jam.
For lunch and supper:
MON
- pan seared cod with brocoli and mashed peas for lunch, plain yogurt
- salad and fruit for dinner with cheese for desert.
TUES
- Frankfurter with sourkraut and carrots. Salad. Yoghurt.
- homemade spinach and salmon quiche for dinner with salad, fruit.
WED
- John Dory fish filet with veggies (invited to lunch :))
- 1/2 Duck filet for my husband with brocolini and truffle mash potaotes; I had a bulgour/veggie patty instead of the duck.
THU
- Steak for my husband with carrots, leaks, salad with beets and shredded cabbage; I had only vegetables and salad.
- Butternut squash soup with cheese and left over salad. Fruit for desert.
FRI
- cod and potaote brandade with turniops and shredded carrot salad
- 1\2 duck filet for my husband with turnips, green beans, and some pesto WW pasta; I had only oasta and vegetables and yoghurt.
I have never heard of John Dory fish. I will go google it!
Monday- husband made fancy sous vide steak….finished on the grill. I added oven roasted veggies.
Tuesday- leftover steak and leftover meatballs from the weekend
Wednesday- girls night out…Mexican food.
Thursday- smoked Turkey, green beans w rotel tomatoes
Friday- cabbage soup w ground Turkey
Saturday- made a gumbo w smoked Turkey for the freezer. Leftover cabbage soup.
Sunday- not sure yet.
This was a bigger week, though still not huge for us. Plus, there were more proteins than the previous weeks as we've eaten down the freezer some. $230 at Wegman's, $165 at Stop & Shop, $57 at the farm stand and $2 at HMart totals $454.
Monday - Indian
Tuesday - Salmon, brown rice, green beans
Wednesday - Pork roast, fingerling potatoes, peas, carrots
Thursday - Chicken nuggets for the younger two, homemade pizza for the rest of us
Friday - Mussels, braised potatoes, corn, homemade bread
Hate KFC mashed potatoes, so I'm right there with you. I usually get the coleslaw as a sub for the potatoes. Love their biscuits too.
I've decided to cut way back on the fast food as it's ruining my health and my budget. Almost a month with no fast food of any kind, and I've been setting aside $5.00 every day that I don't have fast food (it started as no fast food breakfasts but now it's just no fast food at all). I feel better and will use the money I've saved on a nice non-food reward for my changed lifestyle!!