WIS, WWA | a mere $58
What I Spent
I spent:
- $28 at Safeway
- $30 at a pizza restaurant (see Tuesday)
So, $58. And yes, my fridge is getting a little bit empty. 😉
What We Ate
Saturday
I came home from my third 12-hour shift, and boy, I did not feel like making anything healthy. I almost went to get some takeout, but then I remembered I had some cans of tuna in the pantry.
So, I made myself a tuna melt with veggies added, and also ate a quarter of a watermelon and some chocolate.
My muscles had better be happy about the 37 grams of protein I gave them (27 g from the tuna, 5 g from the Swiss cheese, 5 g for the slice of bread). 😉
Sunday
I got a rotisserie chicken and I ate some of that plus a sweet potato and watermelon.
(I told you I was eating a lot of watermelon!)
Monday
A non-cohesive meal: chicken, a salted avocado, a sliced yellow pepper, a bowl of watermelon, and a glass of agua de pepino.
Not fancy, but I was fed. 😉
Tuesday
This was the day I took my NCLEX, so Zoe and I went out to a pizza restaurant to celebrate it being behind me (and also to help kill time while I was sitting out the 24+ hours for results.) 🙂
No watermelon was consumed that evening.
Wednesday
Sauteed chicken with BBQ sauce on buns, with watermelon (!!) on the side.
Thursday
I got home kinda late from work (and I will spare you the details of why, especially because this is a food-related post. Ha.)
But I remembered I had gotten a free loaf of French bread from Safeway a while back (using points) and had stashed it in my freezer.
So, I decided to make French toast and bacon for dinner. But then we realized I didn't have any milk, so Zoe ran out to get some while I started the bacon. Teamwork. 😉
We had cantaloupe with our French toast, because the watermelon is all gone.
Friday
Well, it won't include watermelon, only because it is gone. 😉
I need to do a fridge organization today, so my dinner plans will depend on what I find. I know I have some lettuce that needs to be used so perhaps a salad is in order.
I've been buying a watermelon a week too and it's just two of us here, with other daughters visiting. It's delicious and goes so far. If I were to get tired of it and not eat the whole thing, I can give half to any neighbor and still better than buying precut quarters.
I haven't bought my first watermelon of the summer yet...not sure why. Maybe I should add one onto my shopping list! Not sure what I spent at HEB this week, but I only ate out once and it was around $10. Dinners have been uninspired:
M - I think I had a Chicken Slammer from Short Stop...
T - Enchilada skillet, zucchini - this did not turn out well and I will not be eating the leftovers. Nope. Sometimes you have to cut your losses and toss them.
W - Big salad with Chicken breast strips, romaine, apples, cucumber, green onions
Th - Pulled Pork Quesadillas with homemade pickle coleslaw that was GOOD
F - Going to make some Mandarin Chicken with rice and green peas
I will also be packing all of my weekend meals, so I might do a quick grocery run.
Happy Weekend!
"Non-cohesive" describes about 80% of the meals I give my family. Then again, the six of us are sort of non-cohesive in food preferences, so it works out. 🙂
Friday: Any celebration of The Glorious Fourth involves fire, of course. At least, it does at our house. We have a kettle grill, which I rarely use because none of us much like grilling. Part of that is that I don't have a chimney starter thing or the lighting fluid, so an actual fire has to be built under the charcoal. My husband did that, and we grilled marinated ram chops and some beef steaks. I had previously made baked beans, American potato salad (the kind with mayonnaise, hard boiled eggs, etc.), and coleslaw. For dessert, I made a Bonnie Butter cake in a rectangular pan that I frosted with white frosting, and then we decorated it with blueberries and strawberry jam to make a flag cake. Ice cream with it. And at dusk we had a bonfire in the pasture where the kids toasted marshmallows. No fireworks. With four children and the constant threat of prairie fires, I don't need that kind of anxiety in my life. 🙂
Saturday: All the sides from the night before were leftover, but not enough meat. So I made sausages--jalapeno/cheddar, plain cheddar, andouille. And leftover cake.
Sunday: I used some of our primal ground meat--elk and beef heart--to make burrito filling. At my daughter's request, I also made some vinegar-y Mexican coleslaw to go with it, and then for dessert I made a derivation on Scotcheroos that replaced the corn syrup and butterscotch chips with maple syrup.
Monday: I totally forgot I had bought pork chops at some point when they were on sale. We hardly ever have pork chops, and my kids thought they were great. I also made cornbread, and then sauteed sauerkraut and frozen shredded carrots. Leftover not-Scotcheroos, too.
Tuesday: I made some rice, which two kids had with leftover baked beans to which I added the last of the sausage. The rest of the rice I used to make a skillet meal with the rest of the burrito meat, frozen corn, green chile, cheese, and sour cream. Cherries after dinner.
Wednesday: Oven barbecued chicken, baked potatoes, leftover Mexican slaw or sauerkraut, more cherries. I love cherry-sale season.
Thursday: I had some chicken leftover, but not enough for everyone, so I thawed a bag of cooked brisket from when I had cooked a whole brisket. The chicken and brisket were re-heated in a big skillet with the juices left from roasting the chicken the night before, because that had lots of spices and flavor in it and the brisket needed a sauce. I also used the leftover baked potatoes to make smashed potatoes--just scooped the flesh from the skin and microwaved with lots of butter and some milk before smashing with a fork. Cucumbers with salt and vinegar, and the fake "ice cream" made with frozen banana slices.
Tonight: Um. Well. I don't know. Some freezer exploration is in order to find a meat, and then I'll go from there.
@kristin @ going country, Whenever someone brings Scotcheroos into work we always discuss if they are called Scotcheroos or SpecialK bars (you can guess what I call them). Both are correct and there is no geographical rhyme or reason!
@Geneva, Oh wait. Maybe I didn't even make Scotcheroos, then. They're supposed to be made with Special K cereal? I used crispy rice cereal, so what did I make?
@kristin @ going country,
"Kinda Sorta Not Scotcheroos"? Ha. No matter what they might be called, subbing maple syrup for the corn syrup and butterscotch chips sounds deelish!
And apologies if this has been asked and answered before - but what is Bonnie Butter cake? I Googled it the last time you mentioned it, and what came up were various versions of double butter cakes and gooey butter cake.
Both of which I've had before, and loved. A local bakery makes a double butter cake that is *chef's kiss* wonderful.
@kristin @ going country,
I made them once with Cheerios and they were a huge hit with my coworkers.
@Liz B., It's an old Betty Crocker recipe that I first encountered in a very old cookbook of my mother-in-law's. She started making that cake when she was about six years old, and it really is a great basic yellow cake. recipe.https://www.food.com/recipe/bonnie-butter-cake-325050
@kristin @ going country,
They sound like what we call "cracker Jack cookies. ( Crispy Rice cereal, coconut and oats)... I add chocolate chips and dried cranberries when I have them...
@kristin @ going country,
Thank you! Its always good to have a cake recipe like this in your back pocket. 🙂
Monday: grilled chicken salads and garlic breadsticks
Tuesday: spaghetti and homemade meatballs, garlic toast (to use up some buns from the weekend)
Wednesday: Jamaican Jerk grilled chicken skewers (from Aldi, not impressed), chicken fried rice, peas
Thursday: homemade pizza with pepperoni and banana peppers
Tonight: grilled burgers, macaroni salad, watermelon
@Gina,
Those Aldi chicken skewers always catch my eye, but I've never tried them. Good to know.
@Liz B.,
The chili lime ones are really good and the honey bbq bacon ones are even better!
@Gina,
Also good to know! Both of those flavors sound yummy!
I must be the only person here who doesn't care for watermelon. (A shocking admission, especially since it calls my expatriate Southerner credentials into question.)
Now, WIS: $30 at Wegmans and $30 (of which $15 was for a big box of pickling cucumbers) at the Regional Market.
WIA: I made chicken burgers (using a version of Mark Bittman's turkey burger recipe) one day and a sort of fish chowder without cream the next day, and these kept me fed for most of the week. And I made 3 quarts and 5 pints of refrigerator dills yesterday. Now my fridge is full of pickles, so I'd better start giving these away pronto!
@A. Marie, I have a weird theory that people who don’t like watermelon also don’t like cucumbers. Is this the case for you?
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, speaking for myself, yes. I don't care for either. I don't "hate" them, but I'm never going to choose either one.
@Lisa S, I can take or leave watermelon but I love cucumber!
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, It is for me. I don't like either one.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, I've learned to like fresh cucumbers (moderately) as an adult, in salads. In fact, one of my summer delights is a salad of nothing but tomatoes, cucumbers, and basil. But I do have to peel and seed the cucumbers first (the skins and seeds disagree with me), and I don't think I'd ever just sit around eating unadulterated cukes.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana,
Interesting theory. I really want (and have tried) to like watermelon, but just can't. I love cantaloupe, though. And while I will eat cucumbers with salt, I do not love them and don't usually choose to eat them.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana,
Oddly enough, I *thought* I didn't like watermelon, but then I ate some at a July 4th cookout, and.....it was really good! Maybe I just had a bad/not juicy one in the past. I love cucumbers, too, though same as A. Marie - they have to be peeled, and if they're seeded too, that's a bonus. Hoping for a good crop this year from my 6 cuke plants.
@A. Marie, My oldest DS has never cared for watermelon, even as a small toddler--I tried giving him pieces when he was still in a high chair and he'd just squeeze all the juice out and toss it away. He says the texture is off-putting. He likes watermelon flavor, not the texture.
On the other hand, he and his brothers adore cantaloupe, which I consider the devil's fruit. It smells awful, just like honeydew and muskmelon do. (Watermelon is the only melon I like!) I actually always get a cantaloupe or some other fruit when I do get watermelon, so DS#1 has something to enjoy.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, I do not like watermelon at all, but will eat cucumbers & not enjoy them. That is a fascinating theory!
Congratulations, Kristen!
WIS: $67 this week, divided between Food Lion and Dollar Tree.
WWA: Roasted chicken thighs with herbed carrots. Fresh veggies with crackers, sweet cherries and pepperjack cheese. A rice cooker meal of Dixie Lily yellow rice, black beans, corn and Rotel tomatoes topped with shredded cheese and chopped sausage. Watermelon or chocolate pudding for desserts.
Kristen,
I am consistently amazed/inspired by how healthy you eat and how well you treat your body:) I am currently on a fruit dip kick......you take Greek yogurt (toasted marshmallow for me), peanut butter (I also sprinkle in some PB2 powder) and a dash of sweetener of choice (maple syrup for me) and mix it all together. I have been dipping apples, bananas and pineapple in it like it's my last meal!!!! Stay cool. 89 and 90 here this weekend.
RANDOMS:
1. Do you skip going to the gym when you work 12 hour shifts?
2. I LOVE watermelon but it is high on the glycemic index. Boohoo!
3. If I ate as much watermelon as I wanted, I would never bother to cut it into those picturesque cubes.
4. When do you get to be paid as an RN instead of the job title you currently have?
5. Last weekend we didn’t have dinner 3 nights in a row because we gather with our cabin neighbors for “happy hour”, and the hors d’oeuvres were extensive and excellent. (I always take a plate of cut up vegetables so I can be sure to eat stuff in the right order, which is fiber first, then protein and fats, carbs last. Does this actually work to control glucose? Maybe.)
6. Yesterday my husband had a yucky medical procedure so I bought ice cream for the first time in about 2 years. Breyers natural strawberry. Not my favorite so that I wouldn’t be as tempted. It was $9.99!!! Is this normal??? What do you all pay for it wherever you live?
I for sure skip the gym on 12 hour work days. On those days I do nothing but eat, work, shower, and sleep. THAT IS IT.
I do know that eating carbs alone will spike your blood sugar more than eating carbs in combination with fats and proteins, although I am unsure of the science (or lack thereof) supporting the idea of it needing to be so specifically separated. For instance, I eat a banana with peanut butter and figure it's all hitting my stomach at about the same time so it wouldn't matter if I ate the peanut butter first and then the banana.
$9.99 seems like a LOT for a container of ice cream, but I don't know, is that normal for California? Definitely not normal for here!
@Kristen, I wouldn't pay that much for an ice cream here (in Northern California), but we don't buy it often. On sale, I can get a good brand for $5. I used to be able to get it for $2.50 a couple of times a year on a big sale, but haven't seen that probably since COVID/2020.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, Whoa! Here in my part of the Midwest, that ice cream would be about $5 full price.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana,
Here in Canada a small container of ice cream (less than a half gallon was almost $9.00 Canadian at regular prices this week. I passed. However, I then spent $5.00 for a real-fruit soft ice cream cone at the farmer's market. I am not consistently frugal!
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, last week I got a 1.5-qt. container of Breyers "Carb Smart" vanilla (as a topping for seasonal berries, which is the only reason I buy ice cream these days) for $3.99 on sale at Price Chopper. Living in Central NY does have its advantages.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana,
Just outside of Richmond, VA Breyers half gallons are regularly $6.00 but often on sale for $5.50 or less if you buy multiples.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana,
DH was told never to eat a PB&J when his sugar was dangerously low, because the protein and fat in the peanut butter and bread would slow the absorption of carbs. His suggested options were hard candy, which he felt took too long to dissolve, or the glucose tablets, which he found chalky and unpleasant. He wasn't a fan of the glucose gels, either, although in a pinch he would use whatever he had. His favorite was plain old sugar or orange juice. At least they are fast and common.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana,
Keep in mind that the glycemic index isn't perfect, and it's not the final word on how a food can affect a person's blood sugar level. Food cut into different sizes (such as diced vs sliced vs whole) can affect a food's GI, and also if you eat a "mixed meal" (lets say, baked chicken, green beans, corn on the cob, and watermelon), the effect of the watermelon on a person's blood sugar level will be different than if they eat *just* watermelon. I know, weird. So, people with diabetes and pre-diabetes CAN eat watermelon, but maybe not half a watermelon at a time. 🙂
@Central Calif. Artist Jana,
Have you ever worn a blood sugar sensor such as a Freestyle Libre? I wore one for 15 days and learned how my body reacted to the foods that I eat. It was an interesting exercise, and I learned to even out my blood sugar to avoid peaks and valleys.
Ice Cream is my favorite dessert. I am GF and avoid lectins, so I am limited. I find prices vary greatly by brand. Breyers is $7.99 - $8.99 for a standard size carton here in Florida. Haagen- - Dazs runs $6.99 a pint, but is often on sale for BOGO.
@Kristen,
There actually *is* science related to the effects of foods, mixed meals, the order that foods are eaten, etc. Trust me, as a dietitian, you get to hear and read about that stuff, which is pretty dry, sleep-inducing reading. Ha. Getting "the bottom line" from all the statistics is the good part.
Oh, and a half gallon of a standard brand of ice cream in my neck of the woods is usually around $5-6 these days. I haven't bought any in a very long time, since we like to go out to a local frozen custard shop (Whit's) occasionally.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana,
We like Kroger's store brand ice cream, which I believe is actually made by another major dairy. It is often on sale or I have a coupon which brings it down to just $1.99 half gallon. You can't beat that!
Hi All, so very interesting to read your replies! I think it is the fact of living in a resort town with a small independent grocery store that shoots our ice cream price through the stratosphere.
@Beth (in VA), I have worn a CGM but didn’t find it all that helpful because I didn’t have the kind that would show me anything more than about a week at a time and was too hard to correlate with exactly what I ate. I should have kept a handwritten spreadsheet comparing what time I ate specific foods to exactly what the blood glucose was doing. The CGM I used was an extra from a friend so I could try to get one that is easier to use. Insurance doesn’t pay until you actually are diabetic; one would think that they’d be interested in helping you learn to avoid becoming diabetic. Nope.
@Liz B., “diced vs sliced vs whole” is too weird for me to process. My teeth can dice smaller pieces from a whole piece of fruit! I could easily eat a half a watermelon but have learned to restrain myself, mostly by never buying it.
@Beth (in VA), At my local Walmart in Ohio, Breyers Ice Cream is $3.87.
I spent around $200 this week which is a lot for me but $50 of that was at a specialty spice and tea shop and I don't walk into there thinking I will be frugal. (And I wasn't!), and $50 was on bougie snacks to share with friends on a weekend trip.
Saturday- I was making a pasta salad for a party the next day so I nibbled on the ingredients while I was prepping them and then had a small bowl of the salad for dinner.
Sunday - I was at a BBQ and had burgers, pasta salad, beans, and cake and ice cream.
Monday - I had half a French dip left over from a restaurant meal a friend treated me to for lunch and some sautéed zucchini.
Tuesday - I got a vegetable stuffed baguette from a local bakery and spread labneh and olive tapenade on it. Ate it with some fruit and leftover pasta salad. The baguette/labneh/olive combo was so good I had it again for breakfast the next morning with an egg on top.
Wednesday- trying to clean out the fridge - I had 2 soup dumplings, the last of the pasta salad, and cherries.
Thursday - local steakhouse meal. I had steak, garlic mashed potatoes and a wedge salad.
Friday - leaving for my weekend trip to a friend's vacation house. The plan is to have pizza and salad from a restaurant there.
Happy Friday, everyone! This week, we spent $55 ($10 @ farm stand; $28 @ Trader Joe's; $17 @ Target) and we ate:
- Celery-apple-pecan salad; corn and bean salad
- Pistachios, apple slices, avocado slices, pretzels, olives
- Mediterranean pasta salad
- Plant-based chicken strips, red pepper, rice, salsa, cheese, and avocado concoction (inspired by the Hawaii Planner)
- Noodles with olive oil, garden herbs, broccoli and Parmesan cheese
- Saucy beans and greens on sourdough toast
- Green salad with olive oil, maple vinegar (gift from friend), radishes, beans, seeds, wild rice and shredded cheese
@MB in MN, Happy to inspire! Maybe I will make a broccoli, noodle, beef dish, inspired from your menu. I need to figure something out for tonight. 😉
I can only think of three main meals this week. I was fed and I know it was more healthy content than usual. One meal was Cascade Organic raisin bran and homemade honey whole wheat toast (from the Farmer's Market). A prefab meal of roasted vegetables with smoked sausage from Aldi. I fixed it in the air fryer. The veggies were good. The sausage tasted old. I picked up some bbq brisket sliders on Hawaiian rolls from Casey's (they come in a three pack for $6.49). I ate one with two ears of sweet corn, Part of a cucumber from my garden. And later in the evening, I had peach cobbler w ice cream. I have been eating up a watermelon, too. And turned around and bought a cantaloupe and six more ears of corn from my favorite produce stand on Wednesday afternoon. I have cottage cheese on hand and like to eat it with the cantaloupe. Also working on a small cherry clafouti, usually for breakfast.
I was offline last Friday, so I'll put in two weeks, if I can recall all of it. I didn't remember to write it all down. My sister was here for a little over half of this.
WIS: Well, last week, nothing except I ate out once. I ate out the week before and grocery shopped and spent some dollars there but I don't remember the amount.
WIA: I ate a chef salad at the pizzeria where the granddaughter works; she tailors it to my preferences.
Another time I had their cauliflower crust spinach pizza. It's good.
We ate at my older daughter's sister-in-law's home for the fourth and had grilled chicken, southern style green beans, homemade mac n' cheese, assorted appetizers and four (!) desserts: banana pudding, chocolate chip cookies and brownies, all homemade by attendees, plus our local bakery's famous thumbprint cookies. The cookies are welcome at every event, including weddings. The icing in the "thumbprint" was red, white or blue.
My daughter invited my sister and me over for scallops which she had harvested herself the day before and served on the half shell, plus gumbo made with shrimp and venison sausage, served over rice. I brought banana and strawberry "ice dream" which we dolled up with chocolate sauce and whipped cream.
Hot dogs, chips and fruit, including home grown blackberries.
Pork sirloin chops, mashed potatoes and broccoli.
Cassava pasta with meat sauce, zucchini from the garden on the side.
Tuna salad and egg salad, home grown cucumber with ranch dressing, melon.
Smothered hamburger "steaks" made with ground goat, mushrooms, garlic and onions, with garden yellow squash and cauliflower rice. I had that twice.
That's all I can come up with. Tonight will probably be the rest of the hotdogs with maduros and possibly something else. Maduros and hot dogs don't go together, really, but whatever. I will grocery shop tonight after work.
I guess yesterday I should have included my thanks that my daughter went scalloping and returned not only with scallops, but with all her limbs as well!
@JD, I remember that story (even if I don't have all the details right) about the young girl in your area who lost a leg to a shark while scalloping, so I completely understand your thanks in the last paragraph. And I'm beyond envious about both the local scallops and the gumbo you describe.
@A. Marie,
Yes, that's right. She was scalloping with her brother when a 9-foot shark attacked her. Thanks to her brother's bravery in fighting off the shark, the shark only got her leg, not the rest of her, but not for lack of trying. I always think of that when my daughter goes scalloping; I can't help it.
The young lady is doing well with her prosthetic leg and has had a baby since then.
The meal my daughter served was fabulous!
@JD,
My eldest son was bitten in the foot by a 6-foot shark when he was surfing many years ago. He nearly lost two of his toes. When he called is from the ER, I thought he was teasing me. It was a bit surreal. He still surfs, scallops, kayaks, paddle boards and so forth. However, we are all careful when the bait fish are close yo dhore.
@JD, and @Bee,
My family and I vacationers on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina about 3 weeks ago. While we were there, a 9 year old girl who was in the water about a mile away from where we were staying had her hand bitten by a shark. I dont know a lot of details, but she was airlifted to Savannah, and I understand they were able to surgically reattach her fingers (or maybe it was her whole hand, I'm not sure). On the same day, we were at the beach that our condo resort has "exclusive" access to, and the lifeguard saw signs of a possible shark or sharks in the water. Everyone got out of the water, and stayed out for about 45 minutes. No one got hurt. Its not Thankful Thursday, but I'm thankful for beach (and pool) lifeguards who keep us safe.
The picture of Chiquita reminds me of that poem 'Cats Sleep Anywhere' by Eleanor Farjeon!
I don't remember the order of these meals but I know I ate burritos with rice, beans and various vegetables, a stir-fry, chilli mac and cheese and the cottage cheese crepes William B mentioned (or at least a version of them) with a sweet potato on the side.
I'm home for a few weeks so my parents are doing the meal planning! Last night we had vegetable stew.
I also have that weird watermelon cover thing and people are intrigued by it every time they see it. 🙂
This week we had:
Saturday - We mostly grazed on a taco bar at a friend's pool party during the afternoon. Those who were still hungry at dinnertime just grabbed leftovers from the fridge.
Sunday - Pizza and breadsticks
Monday - Lasagna, bread, and cooked carrots
Tuesday - Tortellini carbonara and peas
Wednesday - Burrito bowls and fruit
Thursday - Cool ranch crunchwraps
Friday - Brats, chips, and whatever else I can find to use up
I have an unreasonable amount of love for that watermelon cover. So freaking good.
WIS: $0. Yesterday afternoon my weather app said the temperature was 103, but that it "felt like" … wait for it … 103. So this was a week of eating down the refrigerator and freezer and pantry and doing as little actual “cooking” as possible given the heat. I may do this more often!
WIA: After a marathon cooking session last Friday, this week I had broiled marinated sirloin steak with roasted sweet potatoes and asparagus, all cooked last week and parceled out in individual servings for the refrigerator and freezer, requiring only a little heating up in the microwave, toaster oven or saute pan. Cheese and spinach tortellini that required only boiling a pot of water and adding some fresh baby spinach from the garden to supplement the vegetable component, and salad on the side. Salads with (defrosted) chicken that was previously cooked, shredded and frozen in individual serving size bags last week. Omelets with (previously) sauteed mushrooms and feta cheese, which took barely a minute or two on the stove.
There’s still more steak and chicken in the refrigerator/freezer, and lots of eggs in the refrigerator, and pounds (and pounds!) of summer squash in the garden, so for this coming week…. I think I may only need to buy some onions.
Bon appetit!
I am like you are with watermelon, but with pineapple. I cannot resist it. Put it with cherries and blueberries or anything really, and I'm very happy.
Precut is extortionate, but whole fruit? Cheap as anything.
We've also been eating a lot of watermelon, as well as a lot of "kharbozeh", which is a yellow melon. Kharbozeh is the Persian word for it, and my husband does the shopping, so I'm not sure what it's actually called in English. It's neither a honeydew or a cantaloupe, but is easily my favorite melon. It's the bright yellow one they sell at Costco. Anyway, if you see them and like a sweet melon, they are super delicious & flavorful.
What did we eat? Oh my. Always so hard to remember.
-Chicken fajitas (from the freezer), last night, along with diced avocado, cheese & garden tomatoes.
-I ended up with more diners than expected one night (DS18 & his GF dropped in), so I made a large pan of the Costco chicken tenders (green bag), along with a pound of pasta, and cut up a bag of mini Persian cucumbers, as well as a ton of fruit to serve. It fed everyone, which was great. Unexpectedly, DS18's tiny, 75 lb girlfriend is a huge eater. 😉 I've made that mistake before, but now know enough to prep for her.
-We had grilled burgers & watermelon on the 4th
-We had chicken skillet (easy recipe with rotisserie chicken, rice, salsa, black beans & spices. Again served with avocado, diced cheese & garden tomatoes. -x2
-I think another night we had leftover burgers on salad, with a caprese salad, using up the tomatoes & basil from the garden.
As for tonight, I'm looking for inspiration. I also need to see if DS19 is home. DS18 is on senior trip #2, so he definitely won't be around. I think DS19 has martial arts, so TBD. DH & I will likely have something super easy if it's just the two of us (coconut shrimp from the freezer, fruit & caprese salad). If DS19 joins, maybe we will make gyozas (from the freezer).
@Hawaii Planner, thanks for reminding me of chicken fajitas! thats a meal we like and haven’t made in awhile 🙂
I keep a bag of dry milk in my pantry for nights when I realize I ran out of milk. I don't have any teenagers/young adults home to run to the store for me anymore 🙂
I spent $85.61
We had a large prime rib cut into ribeyes for the 4th so we had lots of leftovers to deal with this week. We ate:
Saturday: philly sandwiches (made from chopped leftover ribeye) and salad
Sunday: Chicken spiedini, broccoli, bread
Monday: beef stew, which was way too heavy for how hot it has been
Tuesday: french dip sandwiches with salad and some fries in the air fryer
Wednesday: spaghetti and salad
Thursday: Went to older son's house to watch a movie and he ordered pizza
Friday: I have leftover spaghetti to eat and some chicken I made earlier in the week so we will just eat whatever.
This has been one of those weeks wherein sale-priced Doritos and re-re-re-rinsed baby carrots figured heavily.
Some weeks go like that. And we are all alive.
Yes. Not every week has to have award-winning meals.
@Karen., Now I've got a Gloria Gaynor ear worm ("I will survive!").
74 spent at grocery pickup. 13 spent at farm stand.
Things we had this week in no particular order.
Hamburger zucchini skillet
Breakfast for dinner. Cheesy eggs toast and fruit
Grilled chicken sausage. Mashed potatoes. Corn on the cob.
Tacos
Taco salad
Taco meat was ground turkey ground beef and black beans.
Snacky dinner of triscuits. Hard salami. Swiss cheese. Carrots. Cucumbers. Olives. Sliced apples.
Uninspired dinners seem to be the theme of this summer. I am way less concerned about cohesive meals and more focused on all of us eating something.
Saturday: I found a recipe for a balsamic marinade and threw that on some chicken thighs & a couple of steaks, caprese salad and my pregnancy craving of corn dip rounded out the meal.
Sunday: Leftovers
Monday: I made a big pot of spaghetti and some homemade garlic bread, Caesar salad on the side
Tuesday: Leftovers
Wednesday: Breakfast for dinner: pancakes, cinnamon apples, bacon & sausage
Thursday: Costco dinner for some, rice for me because pregnancy nausea is no joke, and leftovers for others
Friday: I have absolutely no idea but if the nausea continues for me it may be every man for himself.
Ohhhh, you have my sympathy on the nausea!!
Very colorful meals!
This weekend we're hosting guests who prefer not to eat meat, so the menu plan is as follows:
- Lentil shepherds pie
- Baked potatoes with beans, broccoli, probably cheese sauce, etc...
- Black bean taco salad
- chick pea and veggie pasta salad
@Katy @ Practical Walk, oh and bean and corn tortilla tacos...or if we donteend up making the tortillas, I can just do it as bean and rice bowls
I love watermelon season! I’m not great at picking a good watermelon but there is little better in life than a good watermelon,
Friday: Fish and Chips. We are hosting a themed dinner later this month and we needed to try out a few new recipes to make food prep easier. This was a new air fryer recipe and it was a hit!
Saturday: Jollof Rice with Chicken. Another new recipe and our entire family is a fan. We’ll be including this dish in our themed dinner but also in upcoming dinner rotations!
Sunday: Neapolitan style pizza later followed by raiding the fridge. This was the first time we used our outdoor pizza oven and there is a learning curve. The first pizza was inedible but the fourth pizza was pretty good. There will be lots of pizza in our future this summer/fall.
Monday: Sheet pan dinner: chicken sausage, onion, pepper, broccoli, potatoes, sweet potato.
Tuesday: Baked Pasta. Ina Garten’s Tomato Eggplant soup makes an amazing pasta sauce so I make big batches of the soup to use the eggplant that comes in our CSA box and freeze them for a quick dinner.
Wednesday: Impromptu date night! My son was with his dad and I forgot to get the slow cooker going before heading off to work. The weather was lovely so my husband and I tried out a new restaurant with a patio. We split a chicken sandwich and a salmon BLT.
Thursday: Crockpot Chicken Curry over rice. This is a Trader Joe’s 5 ingredient recipe that I will hold on to but I will add more veggies in the future. It was great as is, but more veggies is always better!
@Geneva,
Here’s how you pick them: “thunk” them with your knuckle or hand and listen for a hollow sound. After you thunk a few in the box, you’ll hear the difference. Also, a yellow spot is supposed to indicate ripeness. Thunking is my tried and true method, though.
We are going on vacation next week so it will be very interesting to see what we have before we go. Mainly rooting around in the freezer.
My boys and I bought a watermelon on Wednesday. We had mentally added it to our grocery list and then were bummed that the box at Aldi was empty. But! As we were putting groceries in the trunk, we saw some wheel a cart past with two watermelons in it! I was like “Do you think they restocked?” We bolted back in and found a crowd swarming the newly filled watermelon box, so we did snag one. Hurray!
WIS about 250 @Aldi, but they were out of turkey bacon, so we went again yesterday and spent another 77 and still no turkey bacon. So…we went into the Lidl and spent about 44 on turkey bacon, shampoo and charcoal. Now we’re stocked for a bit.
WWA:
Friday: focaccia and salad.
Better publish and add on…
@Becca,
Friday”s focaccia was American flag themed, and we had sliced tomatoes from the garden with the salad, plus vanilla and strawberry ice cream topped with frozen strawbs and bluebs for dessert.
Saturday: I made a eggroll in a bowl to use up some Chinese cabbage and green onions, but then decided it needed peanut butter so it was more Thai-inspired. My husband sautéed some chen in Japanese barbecue sauce, and sautéed some cut up garlic scapes with Monterey steak seasoning. We had this over jasmine rice, and topped with parsley, green onions and sesame seeds.
@Becca,
Sunday: rice and beans, sliced tomatoes, cheddar cheese, sour cream and chipotle cholula sauce.
Monday and Tuesday: we had leftovers from Saturday and Sunday. On Monday, we also had a sourdough Camembert ring bread to stretch it and on Tuesday, I mixed all the remaining leftovers together (the ultimate fusion food) and served it over toast and topped with a fried egg.
@Becca,
Wednesday was shopping day and farm share pick up day, so the fridge is now nice and full again. We had crockpot ziti with frozen spinach mixed in and ate strawberry creamsicles for dessert.
Thursday: my twelve year old made dinner using his Minecraft cookbook. We had buried treasure pie which was salmon, cream cheese, onions and spinach in a puff pastry casing. We also had honey block which was a weird dessert of boiled honey and sugar that you add baking soda to and it puffs up and hardens. It was fun to make, but it tasted kind of like a burnt s’more-well, just the burnt sugar part of it. I was glad I had halved the recipe. We also had a salad-my addition, not strictly Minecraft.
Tonight: focaccia and salad!
Have a great weekend, everyone!
WIS: Spent cash at the farmers market and it hasn't been updated in the budget software so don't know the total, we also bought some items in bulk to preserve, and made a purchase to support a local co-op...it was likely a hefty week, especially considering dinner out.
WWA: Sat & Sun- One day we had chicken meatballs w/ gravy and egg noodles, carrots on the side. I can't remember the other day
Mon- chicken cordon bleu from the freezer, can't remember the sides
Tues- Husband's birthday dinner out. One of the best meals we have had in a while. Highlights were avocado muhamara, falafel hushpuppies, fried zucchini w/ spinach artichoke dip, crab orzotto, and salted lime frozen yogurt
Wed- mac and cheese and broccoli...then went to the movies and was starving when I came home so a grilled cheese sandwich was in order
Thurs- Chimichurri steak salad
Fri- Not sure yet. Probably the leftover steak/chimichurri salad w/ maybe some bread or pasta (cacio e pepe?) on the side as it desperately needs a carb on the side.
WIS - $91 at Trader Joe's and $13 on sushi
WWA-
Saturday - We attended an engagement party with an Italian theme. Since I am Gluten- free and Italian foods rarely are, I drank a protein shake before going out. I had the salad from the buffet. DH enjoyed a little bit of everything and enjoyed it.
Sunday - We celebrated my Grandson's birthday. We had picnic fare. My contribution was a salad. Peaches, nuts, feta, butter lettuce with a homemade balsamic vinaigrette.
Monday - We had steak and salad. DH also had a baked potato.
Tuesday - DH and I were going in different directions today. I had a Spicy Tuna Roll. I also bought a GF Rice Krispies Treat. I watched family and friends eat gluten-filled, sweet treats all Fourth-of-July weekend, and I was feeling deprived. Poor Me 🙁
Wednesday - DH made a skillet meal with beef and rice. We also had raw veggies and fruit.
Thursday - I made gluten-free fettuccine, sauce, and chicken/basil meatballs with a spinach salad.
Friday - It is DH's turn to cook, so we are going to have his speciality - roast chicken, rice and lima beans.
Have a great weekend and bon appétit!
It never fails that a clean-up or an emergency happens at shift change! Congratulations again!!
What I spent this week
About 60 on groceries, and 20.00 on lunch with a co-worker. ( Homemade burger with fries, I ate the fries at lunchtime, the burger mid-afternoon And didn't eat supper.
I ate a small can of Thai tuna on sourdough and hot honey goat cheese for a mid afternoon snack, and ate cherries for supper.
I made a pulled chicken dish with some freezer burnt chicken. You just cut the burnt pieces off, and poach the chicken. Shred and cover with your favorite sauce. We had naan bread and black bean salad.
I had tomato soup and grilled cheese another night.
I ate leftovers for work lunches, I had rhubarb suprise cake for supper one night, and breakfast today... My neighbor made it and brought me a few pieces. I have a rather large rhubarb patch, and my neighbors know they are welcome to it. I have new growth in it, so I'll harvest some next week.
My stove top is still not connected to the propane yet, but the oven is electric, so I have been using it, along side my rice cooker and electric grill to cook with. My tomato soup and grilled cheese were ready in 5 minutes and it was a super crispy grilled cheese... So good!
Oh, and I spent 0.00 dollars on take out coffee.
Happy Friday all!
I spent $76 at Kroger.
– Sunday – grilled strip steaks, baked sweet potatoes, lettuce salad, fresh green beans from the garden.
– Monday – potatoes onion frittata with a green salad. Tuesday – Pork loin made in the crockpot, rice with Asian sauce from crockpot, cucumber/onion salad with chickpeas.
– Tuesday – fried shrimp, corn on the cob,homemade coleslaw, leftover rice and sauce from Tuesday.
– Wednesday – fried shrimp, corn on the cob, leftover rice and sauce from Tuesday.
– Thursday – out to eat with a friend who was a guest at our house.
– Friday – we are in Branson for the weekend. We ate a late lunch – I had a pork BBQ sandwich, hubby had catfish. No dinner plans.
We also eat SO.MUCH.WATERMELON. I just ordered that silicone lid.Should have gotten one last year.. no more messes!!!
Made up a big pot of ground turkey chili usingi pantry items and some marked down turkey I had in freezer that i did not know what to do with..Irarely use ground turkey.It came out delicious, with 1 # $4.00 turkey, 2 cans diced fire roasted tomatoes ($2) a can of kidney beans 80 cents. And a can of blackbean chilli beans with some sauce in it ( $1.). We have enough to feed two of us a few times, maybe 4 meals, for 2, for just $8. It soooo beats take out and who wants to even GO OUT in this 116 degree heat (Arizona.) Chili and a good movie on tv then a dip in the pool under a full moon=Heaven!