WIS, WWA | a few days in Seattle
What I Spent
I'll tell you more about it in a post next week, but I took a quick trip to Seattle after I passed my NCLEX. And ohhh my goodness, the summer air there is so nice!
I feel like my destiny is to spend June, July, and August in Seattle every summer for the rest of my life. 😉
This week, I spent:
- $53 at Fred Meyer in Seattle
- $50 at Aldi here at home
- $30 on a Hungry Harvest box
- $13 on a bagel sandwich at the airport
- $30 on a dinner out in Seattle
That makes for $176 in all, which, yes, is higher than usual. But it's lower than it would have been had I eaten out for all my meals in Seattle. 🙂
What We Ate
Saturday (when I got to Seattle)
I had bought a salad kit, which I combined with some sautéed mango jalapeno chicken sausage for an easy dinner; strawberries on the side.
Sunday
A repeat of Saturday, since a salad kit usually is enough for two meals for me if I add protein to it.
Monday
I went out for clam chowder because it seemed to be a famous Seattle food. But honestly, I like my own clam chowder better than what I tried; mine is creamier and it doesn't have bacon (which I feel overwhelms most seafood flavors and then what even is the point??)
I also ordered some crab deviled eggs:
Tuesday
I just had a veggie bagel at the airport on my way home. Overpriced, of course, but at least there was a little fresh produce in there!
Wednesday
I made mashed potatoes and topped them with a mixture of sautéed tomatoes, onions, and spicy sausage. On the side, sautéed baby broccoli.
(Potatoes, tomatoes, and broccoli were all from my Hungry Harvest box, which had arrived that day. Yay me for promptly using them!)
Thursday
I did have leftovers from Wednesday that I could have eaten...but I decided to use those for Friday's packed lunch for work.
And that is how I came to be eating blueberry pancakes on a Thursday night. 😉
NO ONE WAS SURPRISED.
Friday
I'm working a 12-hour shift today, so I will probably put some fish in the fridge to thaw before work; then I can just season and saute it when I get home and add something easy on the side.
Or who knows, I may just opt for a ham sandwich after work.
We (my Ukrainian fester daughter and the occasional gust) had this week:
Spinach-dumplings on a bed of tomatosauce, red currant parfait
(A good part of the tomatoes and the red currants from the garden)
spaghetti with a creamy Swiss chard sauce, Rote Gruetze (mixed berries from the garden, juice from a glass of sour cherries which I found in the freezer. It wasn't so red anymore because I did add a handful of brumbles (?) from the garden.
Zucchini-Latkes (vegetable gifted to me from a neighbour) also on a bed of tomatosauce (request of my foster daughter), strawberry and banana "ice-cream" - a recipe from Kristen on this blog. The strawberries were the last from this year's crop.
Shakshouka (tomatoes and red peppers from the garden), Tarte au citron.
Ratatouille with tzatziki (cucumbers and all herbs from the garden), the last of the red currant parfait.
Eggplants Imam Biyaldi served with plain yoghurt, Tarte Tatin aux apricots and some rosemary
Tonight foster daughter wants to prepare the meal. She decided on buckwheat wit vegetables. I have no idea. A surprise for me :-).
There are some apricots left which will be turned into another Tarte (the favorite of my foster daughter).
@Lea, your meals sound delicious! tarte au citron AND tarte tain aux apricots!!!
Hope you had a wonderful trip!!
Saturday: I cooked a GIANT pork shoulder, so we had some of that with butter-swim biscuits (my boy-children delight in calling these "butter bloated," as in, "Yay! Butter bloats for dinner!" sigh), and a totally made-up cabbage and carrots slaw. That mostly had vinaigrette in the dressing, with just a bit of yogurt.
Sunday: Birthday boy always wants pasta with pesto. I didn't really have enough pesto, because the grasshoppers have been eating it, so the pasta was pretty light on the pesto this year. Oh well. We also had two packages of Italian sausage, still-frozen peas (because that's how the birthday boy likes them), and ice cream with brownies my daughter made.
Monday: More pork, plus roasted potatoes, frozen corn, fresh bread with strawberry jam, and ice cream later because we had eaten early.
Tuesday: Pork again. This time with barbecue sauce as sandwiches in the buns I had made the day before. Plus actual coleslaw, some cheddar and sour cream potato chips I let my daughter pick out at the store, and more ice cream.
Wednesday: I used a small bag of already-cooked ram meat from the freezer, plus leftover corn, pureed calabaza, and refried beans, plus corn tortillas, cheese, and homemade enchilada sauce to make a casserole. Raw radishes and more calabaza for vegetables.
Thursday: My husband was traveling with the three younger children. I had packed for them barbecue meatballs and boiled potatoes, which they heated up in their hotel room's microwave. The son at home with me had leftover enchilada casserole. I had leftover barbecue pork and the last of the pureed calabaza.
Tonight: There's enough barbecue pork left for me to have it in a salad. My salads these days are mostly collard greens (these can be treated like kale to eat raw), since the grasshoppers ate my lettuce. I have found I like collard greens much better raw than cooked. I found a container of meat sauce in the freezer that would not be enough for our whole family, but should be just about enough for the spaghetti-loving son home with me. The family on the road will be camping. I had put a couple of packages of frozen smoked sausage in their cooler, so maybe they'll have that with either leftover potatoes or the bread I packed for them.
I hope you had a great trip! I can't remember many dinners this week but I went out for breakfast twice with a friend before yoga (not very frugal but a lot of fun) and ate poached eggs on sourdough toast with spinach, feta and mushrooms.
I hope your trip was wonderful. I'm glad you were able to enjoy some time away and some nice summer air.
The air was SO GOOD. 10/10, would recommend.
Chiquita in last photo: "Did Human Mom just say FISH FOR DINNER???"
Now, WIS: $21 at Aldi, $23 at Wegmans, $23 at Ollie's, and $22.50 at Price Chopper. (A fairly even distribution of spending.)
WIA: Nothing fancier than the shrimp stir-fry I think I described in a comment earlier this week. Too darn hot for fancy cooking here. (And I'm glad that Seattle was cooler than most places, including Portland as described by NCA Katy!)
Chiquita mostly loses her mind when I have a tuna melt for dinner. She appears IMMEDIATELY after I open the can!
@Kristen, I'm surprised you don't buy tuna in a packet. IMHO, taste so much better, no can taste at all. I will admit the flavored packets are bit intense straight up. I mix of packet of flavored and plain (in water or sunflower oil) together for sandwiches.
I’ve actually never tried a packet! Maybe I should try one. I guess I’d opted for the cans because they’re cheaper. And the packaging is recyclable (my guess is the packets are not, but I could be wrong!)
This week my dinners have been uninspired:
Sunday-I don’t think I ate dinner on Sunday. Oh wait. It was pancakes.
Monday-baked potato and yogurt
Tuesday-baked potato with leftover beef from a previous meal
Wednesday-salad with chickpeas
Thursday-baked potato
Friday-I think I need to eat more protein. So probably some chicken tikka masala with rice.
WIS: $138 at Food Lion, which covered two weeks of food.
WWA: Meatloaf with baked potatoes, corn on the cob, sliced homegrown tomatoes, and chocolate chip muffins for dessert. Spicy yellow rice with black beans, sausage and Rotel-style tomatoes. Ham sandwiches with tomatoes ('tis the season), onion and pickles. Cold plates of fresh veggies and fruit with cheese and crackers. Coffee ice cream and popsicles as sweets.
Oh, that was a long flight, wasn't it?
WIS: Right at $132
WIA:
I made some kind of meal with slow cooked goat meat with lots of onion and garlic, served over mashed potatoes, and with which I one time ate green beans, one time beets.
Slow cooked green beans, roasted (in a toaster oven) beets, and devilled eggs. This came before the goat meals, actually.
Hot dogs with maduros and berries on the side.
I ate with the youth at the monthly party for vulnerable youth - pulled pork, slaw and beans.
Picadillo over rice with melon and slaw on the side, then...
Baked sweet potato stuffed with leftover picadillo, avocado pieces and maduros, with melon on the side.
Tonight is up in the air. It may be an omelet.
I agree. Seattle is the most wonderful place to be in the summer.
WIS: 0 this week.
WWA:
Fri: focaccia and salad
Sat: zucchini fajitas(but without the tortillas) served over jasmine rice with a fried egg on top. We also had avocado and sliced tomatoes on the side.
Sun: my people had leftovers from Saturday and I had ice water and then leftover pasta much later because I had a horrific migraine at dinner time. Summertime heat, humidity and impending storms are major triggers.
Mon: I think we just had leftover focaccia. I had another migraine.
Tue: salad and curried chicken over jasmine rice. The curry also used up two eggplants.
Wed: spaghetti with homemade pasta sauce because I had a lot of tomatoes and two more eggplants that needed to be used. We also added some sliced Italian sausage to the sauce.
Thu: all the random leftovers from the week plus sautéed fennel and apples and a sourdough Brie ring.
Fri: focaccia and some sort of vegetable depending on what needs to be eaten and how my head feels.
Happy summer, everyone!
@Becca,
I also get migraines - so sorry you’ve a rough week. Kudos for hanging in there and hopes for a better week ahead!
Seattle! How fun!
This week I did not go the grocery store, so zero dollars were spent. Yippee!
Saturday was dinner out for my birthday. Chicken Saltimbocca, garlic mashed potatoes, zucchini, and dulcet de leche cheesecake.
Sunday- back from my trip and tired. I just had half a pretzels roll sandwich with salami and cheese.
Monday- I don't remember. I think I just grazed on this and that.
Tuesday - garlic chicken, roasted potatoes and green beans.
Wednesday- snacky plate with salami, cheese, crackers and apple. Later I also had a little scoop of cottage cheese.
Thursday- leftovers from Tuesday. Plus yellow cherries.
Friday - not sure. I have som tomato and burrata ravioli i should use up so maybe that plus whatever veg is still lingering.
WIS: $7.20 for bananas, red peppers, and bags of sweet and red onions, and $2.18 for a packaged salad “reduced to clear” and marked down from $4.97. So $9.38.
WIA: Bananas, onions and salad (with some shredded rotisserie chicken from the freezer). And pounds and pounds of summer squash, “free” from the garden (if you don’t count the hours and hours of labor and gallons upon gallons of water required). And because I already had a pound of seasoned ground beef in the freezer, and because members of the Commentariat keep mentioning making “Egg Roll in a Bowl”, and because I love egg rolls, and because I had everything else the recipe said I needed, I made “Egg Roll in a Bowl.”
It was OK. I still prefer Egg Roll in an Egg Roll. That someone else makes.
Bon appetit!
@JDinNM, I prefer ANYTHING that someone else makes. But since this isn't a frugal option most of the time, and since I live alone, I go on making meals that wouldn't impress Martha Stewart.
@A. Marie,
I think very few things would impress ol' Martha. One of my friends in Florida had a plaque on her front door that said "Martha Stewart doesn't live here." LOL!
@Fru-gal Lisa, years ago my sister gave me a plaque that said:
Martha Stewart Doesn’t Live Here
And That’s a Good Thing
Heehee!
@Janie H and @Fru-gal Lisa, it probably won't surprise either of you to learn that I too have a "Martha Stewart Doesn't Live Here" plaque. This was a gift from Ms. Bestest Neighbor's late mother, who was attuned to my feelings on the subject.
And, of course, I'm starting to sift through ideas for the Bestest Neighbors' annual MS parody calendar--a proud tradition entering its 30th year. Now if Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, would just put out a 2026 "As Ever" wall calendar (one of the few merch ideas she doesn't seem to have thought of yet), I'd have a field day with cutout pictures of Martha looking over her shoulder and offering advice. 😀
"I feel like my destiny is to spend June, July, and August in Seattle every summer for the rest of my life."
As someone who is very humid-averse (but lives in a place that is very humid nearly all the time), I FEEL THIS. Also, I bet you could make it happen if you became a travel nurse. 😉
My week was full of mac and cheese, then some pasta, corn and cottage cheese on Thursday, and tonight is probably going to be chicken fajitas!
Our CSA season is in full swing! I’m having lots of fun finding ways to use all the veggies and prepping/freezing what we can’t get to.
Friday: Lemon Chicken Alfredo – quick pantry meal because we had last minute plans.
Saturday: Chicken Vindaloo – another recipe test for our upcoming dinner party.
Fantastic and easy!
Sunday: Burgers with zucchini fries and fresh veggies.
Monday: Eggroll in a Bowl – our CSA box had a lovely green cabbage so this was an easy choice.
Tuesday: Chicken Zucchini Poppers and roasted potatoes – I used yellow squash and the poppers were just as delicious.
Wednesday: Family dinner out! It is Restaurant Week and we indulged in steak dinners.
Thursday: Aldi pizza! My aunt and uncle are in town for a couple of days so they came over with my parents and my dad picked up pizza for everyone. I also set out a tray of fresh veggies.
Happy Friday, everyone! This week, we spent $182 ($31 @ Trader Joe's; $40 @ Target; $38 @ Co-op; $73 @ Fresh Thyme) which is much higher due to having company three different times (brunch, lunch and mid-afternoon treats) and stocking up on bulk items. When we weren't entertaining, we ate:
- Mediterranean pasta salad
- Roasted vegetables and rice
- Veggie pizza, cashews
- Farro salad
- Wild rice porridge
- Pancakes with blueberries and pecans
- Garden salad
I want to share one meal I had, a sushi place in NYC. OSAKA SUSHI on the Upper East Siide, on 2nd Ave at E 62nd St. tiny joint - 4 counter seats - wonderfully nice people and the fish was superb. Kosher, so my friends could eat with me. Highly recommended.
I'm 100% with you about bacon in chowder. Bacon is both cured and smoked and too strongly flavored. I want corn chowder, not bacon chowder. The traditional fat is salt pork or, if you can't get that, fat back. My last-ditch choice is plain pork belly.
Exactly. Bacon overrides most other flavors, especially delicate seafood flavors.
I would love a few days in a cooler climate right now. I hate cold, but I can't even go outside in this humidity and heat. It's miserable.
I spent about $140, but $40 of that was a stock up on toilet paper and cat litter.
We ate:
Saturday: Copycat Portillo's chopped salad
Sunday: Rodeo Macaroni (a baked elbow macaroni with a tomato sauce/barbeque sauce base, cheese, corn all mixed in).
Monday: made something new I saw on Dominthekitchen on Instagram. An upside down croque madame. I had puff pastry and some ham in the freezer, so this was a good way to use it up. It was delicious! I think it would be a great thing for Easter brunch...cut into quarters. We had a small salad with it.
Tuesday: cheeseburgers on the grill, corn on the cob on the grill, and some tots in the air fryer.
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: pork fried rice
Friday: Switching up the usual pizza on Fridays...used a pizza dough ball to make some buns. Going to make chicken cutlet caesar sandwiches with the buns. Having onion rings with it. We are eating salads for lunch to cover our veggies for the day haha.
WIS: $0
WWA:
S - family dinner - fresh grilled salmon, crab & baby greens salad bar & cherry cheesecake w/the last of the cherries.
M - grilled homemade elk dinner sausages, sauerkraut, watermelon
T - salad, grilled elk steak, peaches
W - taco salad, peaches
Th - grilled burgers, potato salad, watermelon
Fri - dinner pasta salad with grilled sausage, fresh veggies from the garden, peach glace pie
Sat - working a shift for a friend
I hope you enjoyed your trip!
WIS: $37 at Aldi
WIA: Polenta with pasta sauce and meatballs, and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast on top. I was out of gluten-free pasta, so I made polenta instead since I had the sauce and meatballs to use up. I wanted to buy more pasta at Aldi, but they don't seem to carry the rice and quinoa pasta anymore, at least at my local store. I hope this isn't permanent. They still have chickpea pasta, but it's more expensive, and I don't like it as much.
I also made burrito bowls with chicken, seasoned beans, and diced green peppers on top of cilantro lime rice. Last night I had hot dogs and mashed potatoes. Tonight I plan to have beans and cornbread.
First, I want to extend a belated but enthusiastic congratulations on earning your R.N.!!! Your dedication and tenacity is admirable and a privilege to observe along the way.
Am on my own for a few days, while DH took his motorcycle (I am not a fan of them) to visit family out west, so WIA:
Saturday - found some beef stew in the freezer for an easy post vacation/jet lagged dinner
Sunday - had brinerated chicken (it is a keeper method) over a green salad
Monday - picked at various bits from the fridge after having a late lunch
Tuesday - a Greek veggie and falafel bowl made with homemade precooked frozen falafels
Wednesday - another late (and super filling) lunch, so just ate the last of the brinerated chicken because it needed to be eaten
Thursday - leftovers from Wednesday’s lunch reheated in the air fryer
Friday - the plan is for sautéed shrimp over pasta with an easy oil/garlic/lemon/spicy red pepper sauce. If ambitious, I will make some blistered shishito peppers that I bought at a 60% discount.
Wishing everyone a pleasant week ahead
Glad you had a good trip here! Monday was "hot" for most seattleites!
M - I tried a new recipe for meatless meatballs (linked below.) They were probably the best meatless meatballs one can make without using any ultra-processed food but it's a bit of a fuss.
T - chickpea and cauliflower curry on rice, sliced cucumbers
W - tilapia, French fries, and broccoli
Th - I was working at had Subway with my meal voucher; the home crew had pancakes and eggs
F - Mr. B will make salmon, vegetables, plus we'll have challah
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/232908/chef-johns-meatless-meatballs/
I used a knife, cutting board, food processor, pan, mixing bowl, sheet pan, and then a saute pan...and that was besides the pot for boiling the pasta. They are good and I like that it's simple ingredients (vegetables, egg, oats, cheese, herbs, breadcrumbs.) Since my toddler refused to try them, I don't think I'll make them again.
WIS: $355 @ Walmart; this was a back to school stock up trip so lots of lunch box items that will last several months, rice, bottled water, cereal, plus some basic clothing items that were needed for back to school
WWA:
Saturday: WE had a serve day for our church and spent the day doing yard work in 90+ degree heat; I was grateful when I came home and my mother had cooked a pot roast with veggies and mashed potatoes. I was even happier that my persnickety pregnancy palate allowed me to eat it.
Sunday: Total exhaustion from the previous day's labor but we had some errands to run and had a late lunch in a local Mexican spot - snacks before bed and we were fine
Monday: I tried a recipe from Damn Delicious for Sesame Chicken and Jasmine rice. It was a hit. Watermelon for dessert.
Tuesday: Pizza people. Easy button and I am not mad about it.
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Another Damn Delicious trial of Korean Beef Bowls, also a hit. Served with some frozen chicken cilantro potstickers and my son made sugar free chocolate pudding for dessert.
Friday: Clean out the fridge for the win and thank God it is the weekend!!
Sunday: homemade mini pizzas
Monday: Chicken salads
Tuesday: soft tacos
Wednesday: sausage patties, macaroni and cheese, cottage cheese, pineapple
Thursday: takeout pizza
Friday: honey BBQ bacon chicken skewers, chicken flavored rice, salad, cherries
If you decide to spend summers in Seattle, I'll be you're friend 🙂 I'm sure there are plenty of travel nurse positions for you here!
That definitely occurred to me! Once I'm eligible to be a travel nurse, I will definitely keep an eye out for summers in Seattle. 🙂
Yay for a fun trip (and nicer weather).
We've been visiting my parents this week and so my mom has done most of the cooking and it has been lovely! So nice to take a break from being in the kitchen, and fun to have some old, familiar favourites that I don't make for myself anymore.
We were stationed outside of Seattle when we first got married. My husband always loved the lack of bugs. We currently live in fl, so the bugs are abundant lol so glad you had a great trip!
Just dying to know more about your trip to Seattle! I’m patting myself on the back for suggesting you go to the PNW while you have this gap of time before your job starts (although I doubt my suggestion caused you to go. . . you were probably already there at the time). I LOVE it there in the summer. Any time of year, actually.