WIS, WWA | the print button works!
Hello, everyone! And a happy Friday to you.
I'll be at work today, but this photo is from a day off earlier in the week, when the weather was PERFECT. Lucky me!
An FYI: my trusty tech guys at my hosting company fixed the code that was keeping the recipe print button from working. Yay! So, now you can print the butter chicken recipe (or any other one from my site) without an issue.
What I Spent
I spent:
- $45 at Safeway
- $30 on a Hungry Harvest box
So, $75 this week, which is pretty similar to the $80 I spent last week.
What We Ate
Saturday
I worked. I remember that I had one of my roughest shifts yet, but I do not remember what I ate when I got home!
Sunday
Have you noticed it's been a minute since I had blueberry pancakes? Can't let that go on too long. 😉
I made myself a batch on Sunday night, and now all is right with the world.
Monday
Zoe was with a friend, so I made some Marry Me Chickpeas, except with cannellini beans (an upgrade, in my opinion). The weather was so nice, I ate mine on the front steps.
I loosely follow this recipe, but I use dairy cream or half and half.
Tuesday
I cooked some chicken to make some quesadillas, but I also had one last large burrito-sized tortilla, so the first one out of the pan was more of a burrito than a quesadilla. Same idea, though!
Wednesday
I worked, and packed leftover marry me beans (from Monday) with chicken added (from Tuesday).
After work: Cheerios and a banana. 😉
Thursday
I had my half-day nurse residency program, and for dinner I made some chicken lo mein for dinner, but it also will be lunch for my shifts on Friday and Saturday.
Friday
Same as last week: I'm working today and tomorrow, which means tonight is a tight turnaround. So, probably cereal!
But I am eating overnight high-protein oats for breakfast both days, and my work lunches today and tomorrow will be the chicken lo mein.
Thanks for the chickpeas recipe, I'll try it one of the coming weeks.
My mind is a blank for part of the week. We definitely had tortelli with homemade tomatosauce and grated cheese, a homemade potato salad and a tray bake with odds and ends from the vegetable drawer. And I made slowcooker turkey breast with peperonata, because I had more bell peppers in the fridge.
Today will be leftovers so I can shop for vegetables tomorrow.
My husband and I discussed our work schedules for the coming weeks and agreed to focus on simple meals that we can semi-prep. So I will keep doing what I often like to do: roast tomatoes for tomato sauce, slice and cut some vegetables, marinade meat etc. on Sunday morning. There will be little free space in the fridge in the first part of the week and then in the second half most of the contents will be leftovers in containers. As long as we both agree on what to expect, our meals will be harmonious 😉
Ok, I have to ask. How do you eat beans on a regular basis without passing gas all the time? I work with lots of people every day and can't eat beans more than once a week without getting very embarrassed at work. Also, if its several times a week, I get a horrible stomachache.
Digestive enzymes! https://amzn.to/3SlHmX4 They help your system break down things like beans. 🙂
There's also a similar product called Beano. 🙂
Oo thanks! Our local pharmacist has digestive enzymes! I never considered there might be a supplement.
I foresee chili beans for a family dinner in one of the next weeks-
Thanks Kristen! I'll check it out.
In our family, several people do not digest pulse very well. It seems to be a personal "setting". Chick peas and lentils seem easier on the gut however than for instance ordinary brown beans.
I never eat pulse or onions on gym night, just in case.
It doesn't help in the immediate future but over a longer time your body will likely adjust the more you eat. Also, it is important to stay hydrated.
$36 @ Giant, $28 @ Aldi
The $36 hurt a bit, but we were driving home from hiking, wanted to get salad fixings for dinner and Aldi was further past our house but we were driving right by Giant and we were tired and hungry. Giant it was.
And I should say that I'm home alone this week Tues & on so I only had to please me with the following:
Sat: chili from the freezer over Annie's white cheddar shells
Sun: salads (see above)
Mon: salmon, greens, rice
Tues: bean stew & fresh bread
Wed: see Tues 🙂
Thurs: green peas & Annie's shells
Fri: hmmm...I'm thinking hummus & veggies & maybe seed bread with olive oil
£190 at Lidl UK and £30 for my veg box. Our son is going on a camping trip so I had to stock up on snacks. Inflation is rampant, this shop would have cost me £110 2 years ago. We ate lots of salads this week, and picky plates (some veg, some starch, some condiments, assemble).
Having a quiet night with my daughter tonight, as my son and DH go to the cinema and have Ramen beforehand. Likely we will do a stir fry and rice.
Saturday: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green peas to welcome home the boys who had been eating out all week at the FFA state convention. They were very tired of pizza. I also made some mango-coconut popsicles to use some of the box of mangos we got from commodities and the last half cup of coconut milk I froze when I made my daughter's First Communion coconut cake.
Sunday: Everyone got to choose leftover Italian sausage, meatloaf, or brisket (sent home with me by my mom), and then I divvied out leftover macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes. Frozen green peas. Sunday dessert was chocolate pudding with cream.
Monday: A completely extemporaneous casserole of chopped cooked potatoes, leftover chopped meatloaf, grated American cheese (another commodities thing), and then mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, milk, and cream. Because I pretty much used cheeseburger toppings, I called it cheeseburger casserole. It sounds kind of gross, but it was actually delicious and my family loved it. Leftover peas.
Tuesday: I cooked a big pork shoulder and then shredded and fried some of the meat with rendered alard and spices. More cooked potatoes (we got a whole bag from our neighbor that were wrinkly and I had just boiled whole as soon as I got them), fried in more of the lard. We had a green salad, too, and I had baked a rice pudding while the pork was in the oven.
Wednesday: I used a big ham bone in the freezer, plus three pounds of dried pinto beans that had been given to me, to make a giant pot of ham and beans. We had some of that over rice. The rest went in the freezer. I had also made garlic bread while I was making bread. Carrot sticks.
Thursday: I used some of the leftover pork and rice to make fried rice. There were also chocolate chip cookies still in the cookie jar I had made before my trip to Arizona that had gotten a bit stale. Thirty seconds on a plate in the microwave under a damp paper towel and they weren't stale anymore.
Tonight: I was thinking of just having leftovers, because I have enough between the fried rice and the beans and rice, but then I considered that this is one of the last days we're going to have that isn't in the nineties, so I should probably take advantage of that to actually cook. I think I'll make a tuna-noodle casserole for dinner and let my sons eat the leftovers for lunch. This will make them happy. They miss having the all-you-can-eat hot lunch at school. And I miss them having it. They eat so much, and so constantly. They make themselves sandwiches or whatever for lunch, but it's not the same as our actually-good cafeteria lunches.
Happy Friday, everyone! We spent $82 ($42 at Aldi, $18 at Trader Joe's and $22 at Target). I ate small salads every night again this week. My physical therapist suggested that I eat more during my recovery so next week and beyond my dinners will be more substantial.
P.S. Seeing the box of Cheerios reminds me to mention that Trader Joe's has a knock-off (Joe's O's) for $1.99/box. Tastes great and a serving size is 1.5 cups; eight servings to a box.
Thanks for the Joe O's recommendation. Brand name Cheerios are non-negotiable for me, and I even had to do a blind taste test when younger to prove to my frugal dad that there is a clear difference and the store brands are gross! Thankfully, our local grocery outlet gets boxes of the real thing for a good price pretty often. But when I get to a TJ's, will definitely give these a try.
No recollection of what we spent.
Sunday buffalo chicken bowls with rice, Napa cabbage, tomatoes, avocado, cucumber, shredded carrots and arugula with ranch dressing and blue cheese crumbles. It was delicious and I used the leftovers for lunch most of the week. https://playswellwithbutter.com/hearty-buffalo-chicken-bowls/
Monday: cheeseburger soup
Tuesday: veggie heavy beef stir fry
Wednesday: went out for Thai
Thursday: tacos
Friday: tbd!
I'm proud of myself, I'm eating more vegs than ever and ordering on Deliveroo less than ever. My husband is on a diet, so we make different food and I'm getting more creative. Today I was sooo tempted to order poké for lunch (I was tired) but I found the strength (lol) to making a bowl at home: zucchini, olives, "ciliegini" tomatoes and hummus. It was delicious and I saved 15 euros at least!
...and basmati rice.
Raffaella, that bowl sounds delicious! Will add to our repertoire.
Sunday: hubby smoked racks of ribs & we had them with macaroni salad, steamed green beans and watermelon
Monday: rigatoni with meat sauce, salad & garlic breadsticks
Tuesday: out to Texas Roadhouse with our niece and her boyfriend using gift cards. I had herbed chicken with mashed potatoes & gravy & a Caesar salad
Wednesday: takeout pizza and breadsticks with our nephew
Thursday: tacos
Friday: tonight we are having honey bbq bacon wrapped chicken skewers, steamed green beans, grilled shrimp, macaroni and cheese
WIS: $40 at Aldi, $16 McDonald's, $31 Fireside Inn, $49 Grove Park Inn
WIA:
I was traveling, so it's all a mishmash. I had too much McDonald's (I'm blaming my travel companion). At the Fireside I had a grilled cheese sandwich and potato salad, and at Grove Park Inn I had a pulled pork sandwich and a salad. The inflated prices reflect that I treated my sister at these restaurants.
I also ate from a cooler packed with cheese and crackers, energy bars, fruit, and peanut butter sandwiches.
When I came home, I had barbecued hot dog slices over brown rice.
Today I'm going to make a chickpea salad with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and goat cheese.
I agree that cannellini beans can be an upgrade in some recipes replacing chick peas. Chickpeas send to be a little dry. And don't get me started on lima beans – I think the only bean I don't like. They are way too dry for me.
Seems like I've been everywhere shopping this week! I spent $33 at Edwards Food Giant, mostly on sirloin steak that was on sale, $13 at Kroger, $11 at Aldi. I also spent $81 at Sam's, and $52 at Walmart, so $178 total. But, I got good deals everywhere.
Fri-- pan fried pork chops, with sauteed canned white beans mixed with Rotel. This is just a yummy, easy meal.
Sat – chicken shawarma sandwiches from a Sam's kit with oven-roasted rosemary potatoes and more cucumber kimchi.
S – grilled strip steaks, oven-roasted garlic broccoli, pesto linguine, and still more cucumber kimchi.
M – bacon/jalapeno sausages on buns with pan-fried potatoes and cucumber/onion/dill salad.
T– breaded, baked fried shrimp with ratatouille – zucchini and squash sauteed with mushrooms, tomatoes and onions, packaged yellow rice.
W – baked pork chops, and leftovers – we cleaned out the fridge -- leftover yellow rice, leftover pesto linguine, leftover ratatouille.
Th – I doctored up a frozen pizza by adding jalapenos and feta cheese and we had cucumber/onion salad on the side along with fresh, sliced tomatoes from our garden.
F – out to eat or bring food in since I'm out all day visiting a friend. We'll probably run out and get hamburgers.
AGREED on the lima beans. I really do not enjoy those.
I tried Marry Me Chickpeas for the first time a few weeks ago and it was pretty good!
This week's eats:
Saturday: Baked sweet potato and a mushroom omelette
Sunday: Spinach and ricotta pasta parcels
Monday: Burritos with mixed veg black beans, brown rice and sauce
Tuesday: Pumpkin mac and cheese
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Burritos again
Friday: I'm in Switzerland so don't know yet!
Have a great time in Switzerland! Our DS1 and his family made a side trip to the Swiss Alps last year while visiting his in-laws in France last year. They loved it.
Thank you! I went swimming in Lake Zurich earlier:D
Enjoy your trip Sophie!
WIS: $110 at Food Lion
WWA: For DH, ham sandwiches with pepper jack cheese, sweet mini peppers and fresh cherries, followed by chili with cheddar-herb corn muffins. For me, green salads with beets, chickpeas, fresh pear, chopped walnuts and either tuna or chicken, except for yesterday when I had French toast with strawberries after a day-long house cleaning session.
Let's see, what did we have?
Friday - some kind of leftovers I don't recall
Saturday - we were out to dinner at an Italian place in Carmel
Sunday - DH grilled hot dogs for an unexpected teen pool party
Monday - tacos
Tuesday - leftovers from the pool party
Wednesday - we all had something different. I had a hot dog and salad, DS19 had a chicken patty sandwich, & DH had some grilled chicken.
Thursday - all four of us were unexpectedly home at the same time, so we opted for an impromptu dinner out, which was quite fun. DH & I shared a salad & some tacos.
Friday - no clue what tonight holds. Spaghetti & meatballs, if anyone is going to be home?
Friday: Stuffed peppers from Costco – husband did a Costco run on his way home and picked up dinner so I didn’t have to cook.
Saturday: Pizza – we enjoyed our free monthly pizza at a local pizza place
Sunday: Smoked turkey breast, mashed potatoes with cajun gravy, green beans (husband has been having fun with smoker!)
Monday: Smoked turkey chopped salad – I used Redstone’s chopped salad as inspiration
Tuesday: Pork pillards with sour cream paprika sauce, brown butter orzo, green beans
Wednesday: I picked up Culver’s for myself, my son, and one of his teammates on our way home from a game, husband foraged in the fridge
Thursday: Red beans and rice (from the freezer).
Many thanks to this Commentariat for making my day a little lighter yesterday. Kristen, you have created something very special with this space, as we all often get what we need when we come here. Thank you.
And in regard to my own hard day yesterday, I second what ErikaJS has said. Time and again, I've found the levels of support and affection here to be unrivaled on the Internet (or in most other places, for that matter). Love to all of you, especially our fearless leader and space creator, Kristen.
I am so delighted that this space has been that for you. 🙂 And you also are a part of why this is true because you offer support to others.
Yay (and thank you) for being able to print the butter chicken recipe - it looks relatively easy and good. WWA:
Saturday - beef and veggie stir fry with noodles
Sunday - a seafood boil with baguette and a “Mount Doom” themed birthday cake for DH’s postponed birthday dinner (Mount Doom is a Bundt cake made with black cocoa powder and iced with a white chocolate ganache dyed bright red, like lava - tasted like a brownie but was not actually very pretty.) The seafood boil was really good and the whole dinner was thoroughly enjoyed by all.
Monday - leftover stir fry and noodles
Tuesday - mailed it in with chicken nuggets, oven fries, frozen peas
Wednesday - lemon piccata chicken meatballs with rice
Thursday - pork schnitzel, baked potatoes, roasted broccoli
Friday - hoping it will be a fish and chips takeaway to end what felt like a long week
Happy weekend everyone
FYI the caption under the Cheerio box is about Raisin Bran.
Ugh, I fixed it, then the post didn't save, and then I missed it in my re-edit! Thank you. 🙂
I’ve been meaning to look for a vegan version of the marry me chickpeas after you posted them, turns out that’s what you’ve been using just with dairy subbed in, thanks for sharing, I will be making that this weekend!
Saturday - We got home late after visiting my parents for the day, I just had some bread and leftover vegan spinach artichoke dip (huge hit at book club and no one knew it was vegan) and I made shrimp dumplings and a bean burrito for the kids.
Sunday - This is my day to try a new plant based recipe on the family. This week was lentil sloppy joes which were a huge miss with the kids. They did not like them at all (I honestly think it was more visual, they could see it was lentils, rather than taste since they both barely tasted it) So this one will not go into the rotation, I froze the leftovers though so I can enjoy them for lunches (I thought they were delicious)
Monday - My meal planning hadn’t been done for June yet so I did spaghetti and meatballs for one kid and husband, grilled cheese for another kid and I had carrot ginger soup from the freezer along with a piece of sourdough bread spread with the last of the spinach artichoke dip.
Tuesday - My usual work late day, my mom fed the kids, I had green goddess soup from the freezer and sourdough toast with bean spread, tomato and balsamic glaze.
Wednesday - bean burritos, Spanish rice and corn for the kids. I made a black bean and avocado “quesadilla” (no cheese so not sure I can call it that) and had it with mango salsa.
Thursday - Last day of school for the kids so we went out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant that has good plant based option. The kids got bean burritos, I had artichoke enchiladas with cashew crema, husband had shrimp tacos.
Friday - Swedish meatballs using impossible meatballs (but real cream, don’t want to change too much at once for the kids) I’ll be having some tofu and cauliflower tikka masala from the freezer and whole wheat pita bread.
Lisa,
Maybe try the sloppy joes with the meat and the lentils. We do 1/2 & 1/2 and its the only way I'll eat lentil sloppy joes. Still has the familiar texture from the meat w/ the bonuses of being cheaper and healthier with the added lentils. Might be a little more of a hassle w/ making essentially 2 dishes in order to keep yours meat free but it may get the kids used to eating lentils more and they might not notice the difference as much.
Lisa, as a vegetarian, I love reading your weekly menus. Lentil sloppy joes can be a hard sell; I've found success with texturized vegetable protein in place of the meat.
Yes, I was overconfident because the previous weeks vegan mushroom stroganoff went off without a hitch. In hindsight I should have done half and half as Jaime suggested above or even using something like impossible ground beef may have worked better. Thanks for the suggestion, I will keep trying!
It's been a bit since I've been around here and probably not the best memory this week but this is what I can remember.
WIS: Farmers Market-$72, Neighborhood-$34, TJ's-$16, Milk delivery-$21 Total: $143
WWA: Sat: can't remember
Sun: Stir-fry (I forget the protein) over rice
Mon: Turkey, spinach, feta meatballs w/ linguine and zucchini
Tues: can't remember
Wed: Arctic char, soy corn ramen noodles
Thurs: TJ mandarin chicken, veggie stir-fry, and noodles
Fri: Chicken tenders, pasta w/ asparagus, peas, lemon
Costco $32, Restaurant Supply $22
Sunday - mish mash of various sausages, potato salad, devil eggs, kale salad and brownie ice cream sundaes.
Mon - burgers, rest of kale salad
Tues - rotisserie chicken, green salad
Wed - eggs in purgatory, wide egg noodles, sour dough baguettes, pea pods, radishes and kohl rahi with ranch.
Thurs - Asian cabbage salad, cream cheese snicker doodles
Friday - more Asian cab salad
Saturday - funeral and potluck I will make pizza rolls (think less doughy cinnamon rolls with pizza sauce, pepperoni and cheese). They were his favorite and a requested "bring".
WIS - 192.84 Fred Meyer, 12.03 Local produce stand and nursery (now I better remember to use the rhubarb and green beans!)
Saturday - dinner out with friends - Pizza, salad. Used gift cards we buy at a 25% discount around the holidays at Costco.
Sunday - Grilled salmon and chicken breasts (for other dinners), roasted potatoes and asparagus
Monday - (work night) Copycat Panera strawberry salad with grilled chicken, he had french toast and pasta leftovers
Tuesday - repeat for me, he had grilled chicken on buns and sides
Wednesday - I cut up the last grilled chicken breast and sauteed that with asparagus, added chicken mozzerella tortellini and pesto sauce
Thursday - French toast and fruit, and he had the leftover tortellini as well.
Tonight - dinner out somewhere since it's my weekend to work so we'll miss our Saturdate.
I have pretty much goofed off all week. Spent $130 at HEB which will feed me for two weeks, then picked up an additional $6 worth of rotisserie chicken and French bread today with no regrets. I ate:
*dinner at work - leftover mandarin chicken and fried rice
* Elote Sausage Skillet with peppers, onions, mini potatoes
*Chicken breast in my mini crock with a dab of green onion cream cheese, some mushroom soup, and butter. Served over mashed potatoes for one, and some 3 bean salad. (:
*Burger Bowl - smashburger patty, cheese, waffle fries, tomato, red onion
*might have a "girl dinner" of French bread with butter and some rotisserie chicken.
And I need to get into the kitchen and assemble some food for weekend shifts!
Oooh, tell me about the elote sausage skillet!
Thanks so much for getting that Print button fixed on your site - I really appreciate it! Love being able to print out one of your recipes when I need it.
I am thankful that you are showing up on my computer again! I have watched you and your children grow up through your interesting posts. I am so happy for your new nursing career and all of those in your care are blessed!
Funny about the print button - it worked for me first time around! I printed out the Butter Chicken recipe and made it this week - YUM!
Oh, that is so interesting. I wonder why it worked for some and not others.