WIS, WWA | a four-pork-roast week
We didn't actually EAT four pork roasts, mind you. 😉 But I did buy four of them.
What I Spent
This week, I spent:
- $117 at Aldi
- $98 at Weis
- $14 at BJs
And that adds up to $229 for my first spend of the new year. Part of my higher-than-usual total is due to my purchase of four pork butt roasts (there was a sale!), which are now in the freezer for future use.
We don't end up eating tons of cuts of pork, but I do find pork butts to be very useful.
What We Ate
Saturday
We were at my sister-in-law's house for a New Year's dinner with Mr. FG's parents. It was a bit last-minute, and I ended up not having to bring anything! An easy day for me.
Sunday
We had a lot of leftovers to eat up, so we all reheated different things for dinner.
Monday
This is the night I made baked ziti with a variety of pasta shapes. To avoid the cheese problem with Sonia, I just set aside a portion of the dish before I top it with cheese, and that works out fine.
I was very low on produce and couldn't go to the store because of the snow, but I did find some baby carrots and some oranges in the fridge and we ate those with our pasta.
Tuesday
I pulled out some of the spiral ham I'd frozen at Christmas, roasted some small potatoes, and thawed some homemade applesauce.
Wednesday
I had to somewhat unexpectedly go in early to feed the cats (the store where the adoption center is closed early because of staffing issues), and Sonia and Zoe had to be somewhere at 6:30. So, they put in an order at Chick-Fil-A for themselves and Mr. FG. I ate leftover ziti.
And that night I finally got to the grocery store!
(We didn't do a date night this week due to the New Year's gathering, so I just used our date night budget for the Chick-Fil-A.)
Thursday
I made a sesame-soy noodle stir fry with chicken (for Zoe), shrimp (for the rest of us), cabbage, and red peppers. I use this Better Homes and Gardens recipe, but I use hoisin sauce instead of oyster sauce.
Sonia is allergic to sesame seeds but not to the oil, so I don't have to do any subs for the sesame oil. Also, Kikkoman's brand of hoisin is sesame-free, so that's easy to take care of too.
This is a pretty all-in-one dish (protein, veggies, + starch), but we did have some cucumber slices on the side.
Friday
I think I'm going to make panini. Or maybe pulled pork since I have so many pork roasts right now!
I spent $207 last week which seems like an extraordinary amount considering what I bought. However, Kristen and I must have been thinking similarly. I purchased two whole pork tenderloins that were on sale. DH cut them into smaller roasts and chops. I have frozen them, and we now have enough pork to last 6 months.
DH and I cooked and ate all meals at home focusing mainly on what needed to be used up. This is what we ate.
Saturday - I made a traditional New Year’s Day meal which included a pork roast, black-eyed peas (luck) with rice, greens (wealth) and cornbread. We shared this with family. A side note - I decided that I really wanted to eat the cornbread this year. Something I usually forego because I follow a gluten-free diet as prescribe by doctor. GF cornbread mix was $6 a box!!! Holy cow!
Sunday - Leftovers/ fend for ourselves
Monday- Bar-b-que pork made with leftover pork and a side of leftover greens
Tuesday- Roast pork stir fry to use the last of the pork roast and half a cabbage lingering in the veggie crisper
Wednesday - We started feeling poorly. We were exposed to omnicron. I pulled some chicken stock from the freezer and made a quick batch of Asian-style chicken soup with rice noodle which have been in the pantry a while and 1/2 a bag of spinach that needed to be used
Thursday - I took some white chicken chili out of the freezer.
Friday- ? It is my husbands birthday. We were planning to go out, but we cancelled our reservations. (omnicron quarantine) Perhaps take out or something from the freezer.
Have a great weekend everyone!
@Bee,
Hope you're feeling better soon!
@Bee, I make gluten-free cornbread by making cornbread with only cornmeal. The Test Kitchen recipe is good, but a pain (predictably), and it requires pretty coarse cornmeal, which I can't usually find. I usually make Edna Lewis' Corn Muffins in cornbread form because it calls for corn flour, which is what I can find here.
Yes, that's what I did when Sonia was on the low FODMAP diet. Cornbread works fairly well with only cornmeal, especially cooked in a cast iron skillet with bacon grease.
@kristin @ going country, Thank you!!! I looked up the Edna Lewis recipes. I think I will now add corn flour to the pantry and give these a try. It will result in a huge savings!!!
@Bee, I purchase the GF corn bread mix at Aldi-it's very tasty. My family (even the ones who do not have to eat GF) loves it too.
@Cindy, thank you!!! So far symptoms are mild. The omicron variant seems to be everywhere.
@Sarah, I will check that out when I’m on that side of town. Unfortunately, the closest Aldi is about 13 miles away, but it is a trip that can take 30-40 minutes because of traffic. It’s a bummer.
@Bee, Even bigger savings if your markets sell masa. It's usually used to make tortillas. I buy it in five-pound bags for that purpose, but because it's finely ground, it's also what I use to make the recipe that calls for corn flour.
@Bee,
Sorry you're not feeling well! I hope it continues to be mild.
@Bee, our/my “real” cornbread never has flour in it and it’s not sweet, either. Raised on this. Always cooked in iron skillet with small amount of hot oil then batter goes in and makes that wonderful crust on it.
I can’t think of much that wouldn’t be great in a cast iron skillet with bacon grease.
@Bee, I use the cornbread recipe from the old Better Homes and Garden cookbook and just sub my gluten free flour mix for the flour in the recipe. It calls for one cup cornmeal, one cup flour but I use 1.25 c cornmeal and 3/4 c gluten free flour.
No snow here, just spring-like temps which meant I got a lot done in the yards! This week I fixed:
Monday - Grilled Chicken, Lemon Rosemary Zucchini, and a smidge of farfalle
Tuesday - Jalapeno Salmon Patty with roasted potato and side salad
Wednesday - Wine Wednesday with The Girl - she fixed crock pot shredded chicken over a sweet kale chopped salad
Thursday - Chicken Slammer from Short Stop because I was not in the mood to cook
Tonight - Crock Pot Country Ribs, baked sweet potato, salad
Saturday - Freezer clean out item - it'll be a surprise
Sunday - Chicken Enchiladas, Garden Lime Crunch Chopped Salad, Mexican Street Corn (The Girl is coming to dinner)
I was so proud of myself for tossing out holidays foods that were hanging around - eggnog, cookies, caramel popcorn, chips - then yesterday I got a gift box full of pralines, orange sugared pecans, and assorted mixed nuts. Oh, well. I can share them with my peeps!
Saturday-ham, potato salad, butter beans, rolls
Sunday-fried rice, fruit salad, toasted baguette
Monday-BLT, pasta salad
Tuesday-pot pie, fruit salad
Wednesday-mac & cheese, peas, baked apples
Thursday-taco salad
Friday-leftover pot pie, applesauce
Ha. This might be the first time you've used my own oft-repeated phrase: "I finally made it to the store!"
Anyway. Food.
Saturday: New Year's Day at my house always means pork (for health), greens (for wealth--this year it was collard greens), black eyed peas (for happiness), and rice (this isn't part of the tradition, but I always make it, so my children decided this should be for harmony). I hadn't prepared a dessert, so I made hot chocolate and let the kids choose either marshmallows to go in it or a candy cane to stir it with. They decided this part should be for joy. 🙂
Sunday: I used two boxes of Annie's mac and cheese we were given that we found far too salty as the base for this meal. All the pasta, but only one of the cheese packets, and then I added butter, pasta sauce, garlic powder, chopped rooster left from making stock, a little water to thin it out, and frozen peas. The kids liked it. My husband and I had leftover pork, greens, and black eyed peas, and then he had some leftover chicken and rice. For dessert I made crispy rice treats (not the name brand kind, because I never use name brand cereal, but you know the ones I mean).
Monday: One of my sons wistfully remarked that he might buy a WHOLE LOAF of bread FOR HIMSELF at the store if he ever goes, because he always wants bread and I never let them have enough. So, to mitigate the pain of Zoom school this week, I baked five loaves of bread and assigned a loaf to each of the four children to do as they pleased with. Dinner was actually bunless cheeseburgers, peppers and onions, mashed squash, and frozen peas. To that, they each added a piece of bread with butter from their personal loaves of bread. AND THEN, the boys got to have another piece of bread. With honey. Oh, the joys of bread ownership. 🙂
Tuesday: Skillet meal with the rest of the ground beef uncooked the day before, diced potatoes, tomato sauce, cumin, chile powder, garlic powder, and cheese. Plus frozen peas. Again.
Wednesday: I baked a bone-in ham my husband had brought home from the store, which I doused in the juice from a can of pineapple my kids had earlier in the day, maple syrup, and mustard. And my family went nuts for this. Never have I received so many accolades for ham. And never have there been so many return trips to get more ham. The children also had multiple servings of the egg noodles with butter, cream cheese, and garlic powder, so I guess this was a crowd pleaser all around. This was the first night we had the produce from the Misfits Market delivery, so I was pleased (understatement) to have a salad with beet greens AND beets AND cucumbers AND radishes (plus ham and cheese). My salads often consist of only lettuce and carrots with the proteins added, so having all these other vegetables to add felt like luxury indeed.
Thursday: Fajita meat . . . but not fajitas because I was almost out of tortillas and too lazy to make any. So we had rice with the meat, plus raw radishes (my kids love these--thanks again Misfits Market!) and the last of the mashed squash.
Tonight: Uh. Something beefy, no doubt. And something with exciting vegetables. Cauliflower? Fennel? The world is my vegetal oyster! Whee!
@kristin @ going country, the bread thing is so cute.
@kristin @ going country, loved the bread story! I wonder if all of Annie's stuff is overly salted? I bought some of her crackers and they, too, were far too salty!
@kristin @ going country, hot chocolate with marshmallows definitely bring joy!
That is such a cute story about the bread! Was it hard to make all that bread and then not eat it yourself?
@kristin @ going country,
Your bread ownership story makes me smile! And I love that Misfits Market delivers to you!!
@Kristen, Well, we did have the one communal loaf, but since I've been trying to use up some white wheat flour we got from secondary commodities, the bread is actually not as much of a temptation to me as an all-white-flour loaf. Tells you something about the addictive qualities of white flour . . .
My husband introduced me to buying pork loin and pork butts when we got married. He enjoys cooking them in a variety of ways. Glad you got some good prices!
As usual, I'm struggling to remember what we've eaten. Tonight will probably be some sort of soup. Last night I made a sausage, onion, and potato galette (pie for dinner, always a hit!). Wednesday was chicken in a soy/honey sauce over rice. Tuesday I made a simplified version of chicken tortilla soup--using salsa as a base--with tortilla chips on the side. Monday ... oh yeah, I made pizza. We've had enough leftovers to be able to use for lunches, which has been especially nice since my daughter had a couple of snow days and was home for lunch. She doesn't love sandwiches and I don't bother making anything elaborate for lunch most days, so that was a bonus for her. We obviously are a family who enjoys leftovers. 🙂
Pork butt - I need recipes for these, since they come on sale for cheap around here! Unfortunately, I once cooked a pork roast thinking it was a ham (obviously read that label a bit too fast), and do you have any idea how gross it is to lift the pot lid and discover it does NOT contain a ham but rather something that makes the whole house smell like boiled meat? Ugh. I’m pretty frugal, but I’m afraid most of that hunk of meat went into the trash.
We use this as a base recipe for pork butt. Shred it and freeze in 1-lb portions. We then save the broth (we don't make the salsa) and cook with chicken stock (with some miso and ginger) to make ramen.
https://www.seriouseats.com/no-waste-tacos-de-carnitas-with-salsa-verde-recipe
Ohhhh, no! That must have been awful!!
My top three: I use an ATK recipe for pork tinga with rice, an ATK recipe for pulled pork, and an ATK recipe for a slow-cooked pork taco filling. All of these cook slowly, so they're great for starting early in the da.
@Annette, Pork butt is definitely my favorite cut of pork, because all I need to do is put it in my enameled cast iron Dutch oven with salt and a bit of water and bake it covered at 325 degrees until it's tender and the bottom part of it is frying in its own fat. I don't add too much water to start--maybe a cup--because I actually want it to eventually just have fat on the bottom. (I do check it a time ofr two while its baking to make sure it's not burning, though.) Then I shred the meat and fry the pieces in the rendered fat, and add the juices back to it with whatever spices I want (usually paprika and garlic powder, but sometimes chile powder, cumin, and garlic powder). Or no spices, because honestly, it's the fat that makes pork butt taste so good.
The one I'm currently cooking had an enormously thick fat pad on it; if yours are like that, do you still trim them at all? Or do you just leave all the fat there?
@kristin @ going country, I had to myself to reply to you, Kristen. I guess the thread got too long. 🙂 I always leave the thick fat on it, because if I cook it slowly with just salt, it renders the lard off, and then I save that in the refrigerator and use it for other things (potatoes, frying other meat, etc.). You can trim it and then render the trimmings, but I'm lazy. 🙂
I attempted to get back on schedule last week, after the indulgences of the holidays. Here's what we ate:
NYE - We had steak, potatoes & champagne
Saturday - chicken curry & rice
Sunday - meatloaf stuffed peppers, and this was a recipe where I made many substitutions using things on hand. Leftover crackers from NYE cheese tray? Subbed as bread crumbs. No cheese to grate? Used pre-shredded parmesan. No worcestire? Used hoisin with a bit of added soy sauce. It turned out great, which was a lovely surprise, givne all of the changes.
Monday - my last day off, so I made chicken shawarma, which was delicious. Next time I'll triple the chicken/marinade, and put 2/3 of it in the freezer for a future meal.
Tuesday-Thursday - leftovers
Friday - my husband is taking the kids skiing (he missed out on our holiday ski trip, thanks to COVID, & was feeling pretty sad, so they are having a "boys trip"). They are eating on the road. I'm blissfully alone! I adore my family, but a quiet evening at home is always an unexpected treat. I will eat leftovers from the fridge + a salad
New Year's Day: Son was out with friends so daughter and I indulged in salad. If salad is served for dinner, Son will ask where the rest of the meal is.
Sunday & Monday: pasta
Tuesday: Explody pot pie, then pizza
Wednesday: takeout Indian
Thursday: Pot Pie 2 Electric Boogaloo, in a metal pan
Today: snowing hard. Think I'll make pancakes, bacon, sliced strawberries tonight. I even have the super good fermented buttermilk in the fridge.
Saturday - We were gifted a ham by my husbands aunt and uncle (I love food gifts!) so we cooked that and had it with mashed potatoes, carrots and green beans and corn muffins. Banoffee pie for dessert which I’d never had before and really enjoyed.
Sunday - we had a free pizza coupon so we had takeout pizza
Monday - big salads with the last of the leftover turkey on top, pearl couscous with veggies and turkey for the kids
Tuesday - ham fried rice using leftover ham
Wednesday - cottage pie
Thursday - creamy tomato and spinach pasta
Friday - chicken, tater tots, carrots and green beans, corn muffins
Saturday:
Sunday: Pork tenderloin was on sale so we had that. I haven't had tenderloin in ages so it was nice.
Monday: Finishing up some leftovers from the night before as well as just cleaning out the whole fridge.
Tuesday: Baked potatoes with cheese and bits of ham and large salads. I joked that we don't do "meat free" nights (or low meat nights in this case) on purpose, they just kind of happen.
Wednesday: Aldi had 10lbs of Chicken leg quarters on sale for $4.90 so I bought a bag of that and processed and froze them. We saved a couple out and cooked them for dinner using a barbecue sauce my daughter found a bit too spicy for her tastes. So we'll have to try something else next time.
Thursday: Wife and daughter went to McDonald's after getting their haircuts and stylings and all that stuff. I had a can of soup and a turkey sandwich.
Friday: Probably just eating the leftover chicken from Wednesday and a few other odds and ends. We were going to make pizza but I never got out the pizza dough from the freezer and quite frankly I've not been in a dough making mood lately (I even bought bread at Aldi instead of making it!)
@Battra92, many of our meals seem to be low-meat by default. Baked Potato Bar is a family favorite here--I'm sure you know this already, but you can bake the potatoes in your crockpot, which is great if you aren't at home until suppertime. Fast, tasty, minimal clean-up afterwards .... everyone can adjust their toppings according to their preference .... what's not to love??
I like my baked potatoes to have a hard, crispy skin, so I need to bake them in the oven. Buuuuuut lots of people hate them that way. The skin is the best part, I think.
@Rose, I rub them with oil, sprinkle with salt, and bake in the air fryer.
I have had so much trouble this week with my menu. It didn't behave at all. I kept finding myself changing it. Or maybe it was me, not the menu, misbehaving?
I ended up eating more meals twice than I thought I could, even with using leftovers for lunches.
I made pressure cooker beef stew and had that twice.
I "invented" a recipe of lemon chicken using boneless thighs, cooked with a ton of sliced zucchini, which turned out pretty tasty. I pulled the lemon I used for juice and zest off of my tree, which is always nice. I had this dish twice.
I did a major batch cook and roasted pork chops while roasting sweet potatoes, golden beets, parsnips, cauliflower and broccoli. My oven was full. I had the chops once with broccoli and cauliflower, once with parsnips and beets. The sweet potatoes were for breakfast.
I had a hamburger with carrot-raisin salad on the side and cassava tortillas for the "bun."
I didn't do too badly on the grocery bill, but it was a little higher due to two farm purchases of meat and dairy.
Aaaaand my specialist confirmed yesterday that I should remain gluten-free. Darn.
I left out New Year's Day, huh.
Normally it would be fried sliced hog jowl, turnip greens, black-eyed peas and cornbread. The farmers and the stores had no jowl this year. I have discovered I can eat, at best, one serving of black-eyed peas (about 1/3 cup) and no more for several days or I regret it, so it's not worth buying and cooking the peas, and I still have to limit corn dishes, so I could only eat one serving of corn bread if I made it. So I had fresh ground pork "sausage", greens, and fruit. Boo.
It is currently snowing (the first of the season) and it is beautiful!
WWS: $67 (Market Basket); $28 Aldi. Since there are only two of us: yikes! ($17 for coffee beans). We also went to our local French bakery but I won't say how much we got and how much we spent, out of pure shame!
1/1: leftovers
1/2: turkey tacos with all the fixing
1/3: meatball and tortellini soup. I added zucchini and cabbage to bulk up the veggies and used homemade meatballs from the freezer (https://www.theseasonedmom.com/weeknight-meatball-tortellini-soup/
1/4: I had my long drive (3.5 hours) commute home, so fast food for me. Partner made himself chicken and rice.
1/5: veal piccata meatballs over mashed cauliflower (https://tasteandsee.com/veal-piccata-baked-meatballs/)
1/6: batter-fried cod with tangy tartar (both serious eats recipes); home fries, no-mayo cabbage slaw; apple crisp
I think the cold temps have frozen my brain as I remember just a few meals:
- Chickpea tagine (twice)
- Baked potatoes and broccoli
- Plate of roasted veggies: parsnips, Brussels sprouts, carrots
- Popcorn and fruit
Well like everyone else we had cornbread, collards and black eyed peas on New Year's along with some frozen fish fillets. I cooked the black eyed peas in the crockpot all day with some leftover ham from the fridge. So good.
We had friends over on Sunday and had some pulled pork from Sam's with roasted veggies, a salad and slaw. There were buns available. I also used up some dried apricots and apples to make a gluten free vegan galette. It turned out great!
Monday was leftovers of New Year's and some other days.
Tuesday was a deep dish pizza creation from 2 recipes...I had a little bit of quinoa left over and just threw that into the pizza crust to use it up. The whole thing was great! We also had roasted broccoli.
Wednesday we had leftover pulled pork, salad and more roasted veggies.
Thursday we had smothered chicken in onion gravy (from Eating Well) along with salad and roasted broccoli.
Tonight I think we'll have spaghetti and meatballs.
Sunday: The weather was very mild for January so we grilled a steak and veggies, then thinly sliced the steak and served it all with tortillas and toppings to make fajitas. This is a great way to make one steak into a meal for 4!
Monday: Turkey meatloaf with roasted potatoes. We also had green beans and I made some frozen peas as well since we didn't have a lot of green beans. This is a favorite meal of both my kids, so it was a nice treat for returning to school after vacation.
Tuesday: Pulled pork and black bean nachos. The pulled pork was saved in the freezer from a meal of pulled pork sliders several weeks ago.
Wednesday: Chicken tikka masala and rice and I had some naan in the freezer which I heated up.
Thursday: Turkey Rice Soup with homemade oatmeal rolls. I used some of the stock I had made from the turkey we ate on New Year's Eve. A super favorite meal for me!
Tonight: We will probably order a pizza.
Monday: leftover stew from Sunday over rice
Tuesday: cereal with fruit. I love cereal for supper. I do not eat it for breakfast.
Wed and Thurs: homemade mostly cheese lasagna. I did throw in about 12 diced up random pepperoni and a big salad with cucs carrots and banana pepper rings. ALDI has a new take on a knock off OLIVE GARDEN salad dressing. It is good!
Tonight: tacos with all the fixings and chips and salsa
Tomorrow: sheet Pan dinner with smoked sausage asparagus carrots and onions. Side of Parm couscous
Saturday - Ham and potato soup with honey-glazed rolls
Sunday - Family gathering at my parents' house - I brought a veggie tray, fruit, and punch
Monday - Rice and bean burritos, guacamole, pineapple, blueberries
Tuesday - Brats and hot dogs, oven fries, broccoli with cheese
Wednesday - Chicken nuggets, sweet potatoes, pineapple
Thursday - Mac and cheese, sliced brats and cheddar brats, green beans, applesauce
Friday - Quinoa with sausage and peppers ... and maybe butternut squash? I had planned on having pineapple, but now that I'm typing this out I see that we've already had pineapple twice this week. Since I'm not sure how excited the kids will be about the main dish, I've got to figure out a side that I know they'll be happy to eat.
Friday Dec 31- Dungeness crab, salad, bread (steak for our daughter)
Sat Jan 1- Black eyed peas, kale, and andouille sausage soup with cornbread
Sun Jan 2- crab cakes, cucumber & tomato salad, bread (steak for our daughter)
Mon Jan 3- broccoli cheese soup, bread, fruit plate
Tuesday Jan 4- Chicken Caesar salad, bread, fruit plate
Wednesday Jan 5- Salmon, green beans with bacon, bread, fruit plate
Thursday- Split pea soup with bread and fruit
Tonight will be pizza night (probably takeout) and tomorrow will be appetizer night. I’ve meal planned for the rest of the month and I’m doing a homemade soup night every Monday, an appetizer night almost every week, and every Friday night is pizza which is usually takeout. I work from home so having soup on hand makes for easy lunches for me. I’m also in a bread making phase so I’ve been making lots of bread so we have homemade bread with almost every meal. My husband and I would eat more casserole type dinners which would simplify dinners but our daughter hates all casseroles. As it is, some nights she makes herself pasta because my planned dinners don’t appeal to her.
That is good to know ! I don't buy Hoisin sauce cus of the sesame because dh is allergic..can eat it in some ways and forms. Normally just buy chinese food cus so many restaurants around here but if I can get that brand more options!
Saturday: Posole
Sunday: We had family over so I made a big pot of chicken noodle soup.
Monday: French dip sandwiches and fruit
Tuesday: Salmon croquettes, rice, salad
Wednesday: Salsa chicken tacos, fruit
Thursday: Turkey stuffed peppers, salad
Friday: FYO
I love this post because it gives me ideas. I have a tendency to get stuck in a rut and make the same handful of recipes over and over.
The shopping total I last wrote about was our last trip to the grocery store (nine days ago). I think we can make it to an afternoon weekend pretty easily. With Omicron absolutely raging in our county, we are staying out of stores and not eating out. So far for 2022, our food expenditures are zero!
Our New Year's Eve supper was pan-fried seasoned boneless chicken thighs, green peas, cheddar-herb corn muffins, and applesauce. We meant to have corn on the cob, but discovered at the last minute that the store checker apparently forgot to put the bag containing them into the cart a few days earlier. We always have something green (folding money), something gold (the muffins), and something sweet (the applesauce) for our New Year's Eve supper.
You've inspired me to bake more bread, Kristin! I don't mind springing for something really delicious at the farmer's market, but paying a premium at the grocery store "bakery" for a preservative-free loaf of bread that isn't even tasty doesn't feel great. I've been using my food processor. Winners so far have included the 100% whole wheat bread from KAF, and Stella Parks' yeasted pumpkin bread.
Saturday: Udon soup, made with dashi packets. If you love Japanese food, these are a must-have! I recently started using them and they're sooooo good. I order an msg- and shellfish-free one online.
Monday: Tofu and bok choy stir-fry with brown rice.
Tuesday: Beef stew
Wednesday: Leftover beef stew.
Thursday: Tomato soup (that I'd previously made and frozen), grilled cheese on homemade bread, and salad.
Today: Baked white fish with stir-fried bok choy, roasted sweet potatoes, and homemade challah.
I decided to revamp our grocery budget as it was a free for all last year. We spent 144.66 this week.
We were back to our hometown for Christmas this past weekend so that was covered.
Monday: tacos
Tuesday: pbjs or stir-fry
Wednesday: leftover tacos
Thursday: pancakes
Friday: veggie and beef soup
I was able to move a few meals to next week, so I'm excited to see what we'll spend on groceries for the week.
I spent about $25 on a supply of my fave coffee this week. I am trying to keep food purchases to $100 this month since my pantry & freezer are pretty full. Meals we ate are:
Skyline chili 3-ways (spaghetti, chili & cheese)
Teriyaki chicken with various veggies over rice, bread
Braised pork chops, roasted potatoes, corn
Tuna casserole, salad
Sausage, sauerkraut, fried potatoes, cornbread
Date night meal from local bbq restaurant
Kristen
You should do a blog post compiling your favorite Pork Butt recipes. It is a cut of meat that 1) works great in the slow cooker 2) can go into many flavorful recipes 3) is stinking cheap on the regular and often goes on sale for extremely cheap.
I have a family of 2 and always buy Pork Butt if it hits $.99/pound or $1.99/pound. Thus in the last 4 weeks I have purchased and cooked through 12 pounds of pork butt.
I love to turn it into carnitas, Orange Ancho Pork tacos, Slowcooker Chinese "Barbeque," mojo pork or Green chili stew.
Welp, our fridge freezer died last Sunday night, and we don’t have a chest freezer anymore, so Monday was cooking as many things as I could save. It’s been smorgasbord all week! I had to throw away a number of things that weren’t salvageable, though, which was a real bummer. 🙁
I really like buying and cooking big boneless Pork LOIN roasts, often 2/1 on sale here. I cut them into pork loin chops, too. They are lean and "Americas's other white meat". And can make rawer leftover into pulled pork in oven or crock pot. Pork tenderloin is a whole different cut of meat and it sounds like some people think they (loin and tenderloin) are the same. How about a post about this? To me, pork butt seems like all fat, little meat, etc. so I never buy it, but I might be all wrong.
Very interesting and inspiring to hear what everyone is cooking. I really don't hear much about sides of vegetables and salads here. My sister says it is because "everyone knows that you just serve a bag of frozen broccoli, green beans, peas, or mixed veg and a tossed salad every night." Is that right?
I have only spent money on very little this week. Mainly milk, bread, vegetables and some fruit to top up. I have looked in the pantry and the fridges and have made a meal plan for next week and I should need to buy very little again. This is great because most stores are very poorly stocked at present and I want to be home more than I am out.
We had:
Creamy pumpkin pasta and salad
Frozen pizza and microwave popcorn on the couch with a movie (after a busy day running around)
Sloppy joe crescent cups, roasted cauliflower, and cole slaw
Teriyaki fish and vegetables
Sweet potato lentil soup and chicken veggie wraps
Sloppy joes and roasted potatoes and broccoli