WIS/WWA | A no-Aldi week. (wait, what??)
FIRST: One of my readers ordered a knitted bunny from Sonia, with a red dress, for her mom as a Valentine's Day gift. Somehow, I lost the messages from this person, though, and I don't know where to ship the bunny! If this was you, could you please email me or leave a comment? Thank you!
What I Spent
I got a Hungry Harvest box ($25) .
I spent $69 at Costco and $32.50 at another store.
Amazingly enough, I didn't go to Aldi once this week. WEIRD.
Anyway, my total sits at $126 for this week.
January Spending
(Budget is $150/week)
Week 1: $187
Week 2: $111
Week 3: $121
Week 4: $126
My average per week for January is $136, so that's a mahhhvelous start to 2018.
What We Ate
Monday
I don't think this has ever happened before, but I can't remember what main dish I made! I've forgotten side dishes before, but never a main dish.
And I flew by the seat of my pants a bit this week, so I don't even have it written down on my planner like I usually would.
Tuesday
We had pulled chicken sandwiches, potato chips, and broccoli with cheese.
Wednesday
Sonia cooked! She made Swedish Meatballs, which we ate over noodles. And I made a green salad.
Thursday
I roasted a salted, spatchcocked chicken. And with that, we had mashed potatoes and a green salad.
Friday
Normally we have pizza on Fridays, but I have some cilantro and lettuce that need to be used up, so I'm thinking maybe we'll do tacos.
Because it is never a wrong time to have tacos. 😉
The theme this week was "What's Left?" after a stretch of at least two weeks where I didn't make it to a grocery store. This always happens sometime in the winter., when combinations of weather, illness, and newborn babies stop me from going anywhere. My husband frequently goes to the dairy store and gets milk, cream, and eggs, so at least we won't get rickets. 🙂
Monday: Sick child and I had curried carrot soup, I had some cheddar cheese, my husband was fasting that day (seems to help his digestion) and just had some lamb broth, the other two kids had barbecue lamb sandwiches made with the cup or so of meat I pulled off the bones from the broth and mixed with bottled barbecue sauce. And carrot sticks.
Tuesday: Scrambled eggs, leftover rice, frozen peas.
Wednesday: The day I started feeling better and thus managed an actual meal. Venison in a mustard and sour cream sauce, potato soup, sauteed cabbage with cheese. Hooray for the immortal vegetables (i.e., carrots and cabbage)
Thursday: Italian sausage patties in tomato sauce with melted mozzarella on top, pasta with tomato and cream sauce, the last precious bag of green beans from the garden
Tonight: I FINALLY made it to the store yesterday and thus have such thrilling items as broccoli and bell peppers. I want to EAT a stir-fry, but I don't really want to MAKE it. All that chopping seems daunting at this moment. Then again, it is only 6 a.m., which give me about 10 hours to muster my strength.
I hope you find your stir-fry mojo. 😉
I did! It was delicious.
Your menu sounds delicious. I am so with you on the stirfry front glad u got it going. I love stirfry but am really slow at chopping and I find the whole exercise long & painful. I also can't seem to get all the ingredients cooked right at the same time so I've given up. My sister makes a mean stirfry otherwise I have it as takeout few times a year, it sounds so good maybe I'll drop some hints to my sister....
I have the same issue with chopping. A friend of mine actually took a course in chopping (some adult ed night thing) and his skills are seriously amazing now! I’m thinking that would be super useful and would really cut down on kitchen prep time.
Saturday- went to my mom's my sister made chicken parm, with mac and cheese (don't' ask!)
Sunday- went to a football party at a restaurant, they guy running the party paid. Me an my daughter shared an appy combo. dh had a burger, son had chicken fingers.
Monday- chicken cutlet, angel hair pasta with oil and garlic, and veggies.
tue-French toast, and sausage/pork roll (after daughters soccer practice.)
wed- Fish sticks and mac and cheese, and a veggie
Thursday-pizza out after Daughters basketball game.
Friday- making Shrimp in garlic sauce and maybe a salad, son will have something else since he doesn't like this. (maybe fried leftover mac and cheese) after son's soccer Practice.
I have had a use it up week. We have had a stew, chicken, chicken and bacon meatballs, tacos and other meals like tonight were find it yourself if the fridge.
As usual my food spend is high. Mum has bought more of her favourite treats and these really blow the budget.
Monday - We went out to eat in honor of my Grandpa who passed away three years ago. It’s an annual tradition with my parents, brother, and hubby.
Tuesday - Homemade minestrone soup
Wednesday - Falafel and tabouli
Thursday - fend for yourself leftover night!
Tonight I’m thinking we’ll eat leftover soup. And this weekend I plan on doing some big batch cooking!
My sister once called me at 9:00 in the morning to ask “Is it too early for tacos?” It is never too early for tacos!
Monday: quesadillas, black beans, cabbage salad, avocado
Tuesday: pasta with goat cheese and mushrooms, beets, peas for the kids
Wednesday: black beans and kale over rice, mango and cucumber salad
Thursday: noodles with peanut sauce, bbq tofu, green beans
I'm going to the grocery store today, so I think my total for the week will be about $100, which makes up a little for last week’s higher total.
That's why there's such a thing as breakfast tacos. Obviously.
This was a fly by the seat of our pants week too for various reasons so I'm stretching to remember what we had as well.
Monday: Sweet and Sour pork with rice. We had got a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's S&S sauce for free after a sale and coupons so we decided to use that. Yeah, I'll eat the rest of the bottle but I won't buy it again. My daughter wouldn't eat it at all so that was a fun night 🙁
Tuesday: Tacos
Wednesday: Meatloaf and mashed potatoes. The little one ate this so that was nice.
Thursday: Leftover meatloaf
Friday: A bit of a clean out the fridge night. I suspect the daughter will probably just eat eggs.
Grocery spending was a bit out of control for me this month. Part of it was replenishing supplies diminished after the holidays and another part is SAD effects leaving me in a state of just not caring enough to plan properly and we have to supplement with rotisserie chickens and the like. Oh well. Better luck next month. :-/
I have a fluctuating energy level as well, and boy does it play havoc with the very best of intentions. Makes life very hard! Have you ever tried the lights for S.A.D?
I didn't do too well this week...with a birthday boy, we ate out more than usual.
Monday: Shrimp fettuccine, salad
Tuesday: Chick-fil-a
Wednesday: Dave & Busters...appetizers, etc...Nicky's birthday party
Thursday: Papa Murphy's pizza (Nicky's actual birthdate)
Friday: Not sure...maybe chili?
Still on my elimination diet, which has planned leftovers, so:
Monday, Citrus Ginger Brined Pork Roast with oven roasted veggies (so good!)
Tuesday, same
Wednesday, Balsamic beef stew. I liked this, but I'm not crazy about it. Still, I foresee making it now and then. The balsamic vinegar, reduced by half before adding to the stew, added an interesting addition I would have never thought of on my own.
Thursday, Lemongrass Scented Chicken Stew, minus the lemongrass. It's not the right time of year for our lemongrass, which dies back in winter, and it was expensive at the store. I just used the lemon juice called for and let that be it. It was okay, but not great. I cooked the chicken too long. My husband doesn't hardly eat any chicken these days, so I made him a shrimp "quesadilla" from a few fresh shrimp I bought, some veggies, cheese, and a leftover tortilla.
Friday is back to the Balsamic Beef Stew.
I continue to go over budget for food this month. I've just decided to accept this and move on, as trying to heal my system is more important than my grocery budget right now. The good news is that I have some leftovers in my freezer from week 1 and 2 meals, so I don't have to buy the ingredients to make them again when they show up in the rotation again next week.
The roasted chicken looks absolutely delicious. I'm definitely going to roast a chicken this weekend. Your post is so inspiring!
Monday - spaghetti with garlic bread and green onions
Tuesday - baked beans with hot dogs and hash browns
Wednesday - I fixed pancakes that my granddaughter requested.
Thursday - Leftover night. I had several containers of leftovers that needed to be used.
Friday - I am going to fix chicken stir fry and corn on the cob tonight.
Every week this month has been a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants week for me as I try to reduce food waste and get my grocery budget at a reasonable number. We've had some interesting combinations, lol.
Sunday: meatloaf, mashed potatoes, broccoli
Monday: leftovers from Sunday
Tuesday: homemade mac and cheese with ground beef...I used pepper jack cheese b/c that's all I had in the house, and I threw in a half-bag of chopped spinach. It wasn't half-bad!
Wednesday: leftovers from Tuesday
Thursday: We ate out for a pre-planned dinner with family
Friday: Salsa chicken w/ rice and veggies
Sat - BBQ chicken wings, potato salad, baked beans, carrots sticks/cucumber, biscuits
Sun - Chicken noodle soup, harvest bread
Mon - (Early) chicken nuggets & broccoli, (Late) homemade mac n cheese
Tues - Green tea poached salmon with soba
Wed - Chicken pot pie, spinach salad
Thurs - (Early) pancakes, (Late) steak, potato pancakes, spinach salad
Fri - (Early) mac n cheese, broccoli, (Late) homemade pizza
We could/should have eaten lots more potatoes, but they're still holding up ok.
Sigh, we went over our weekly food budget twice this month. The expensive grass-fed beef and dairy has a strong pull on us!
1. pizza: basic store bought cheese pizza, added toppings
2. chopped steak with sweet potatoes and steamed veggies
3. chopped steak again
4. cheesy omelettes with veggies
5. turkey cabbage stew
6. turkey cabbage stew again
7. salmon croquettes with a small cheesy baked potato and steamed veggies
Monday- Salmon, sweet potato fries, and steamed veggies
Tuesday- Baked chicken, sweet potato, lettuce salad
Wednesday- Chili, ham sandwiches
Thursday- Spinach Lasagna with a white sauce, bread sticks
Friday- Broccoli cheese soup, veggie sandwiches; cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, feta cheese
This week was one of those annoying weeks where no matter what I had planned, no one (especially ME!) wanted to eat it.
Monday was supposed to be tuna and eggs - we actually ate spinach stew and I had some fries and broccoli with cheese sauce b/c I was feeling pretty under the weather.
Tuesday was supposed to be split pea soup - we actually ate cream of broccoli soup.
Wednesday was supposed to be meatballs and greek salad - we actually ate grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and a quick arugula salad because my partner and I ended up at happy hour a day early and we splurged on half price tacos.
Thursday was supposed to be pork and mushroom stew that my partner makes, but we actually had Mexican pulled chicken stew with masa dumplings that I made b/c he was unexpectedly traveling.
I still have groceries for meatballs in the fridge, so maybe that's what's on tap for tonight. But I had wanted to do some small plates, so here we are again.
Sometimes this happens so I just try to roll with it. It's not like there's a lot that will go bad. The split pea soup was using ham from the freezer so that can sit another week. The pork is also frozen and I didn't unthaw so no big deal. Try again next week!
Agreed! Never a wrong time for tacos. 🙂
This week we ate:
Monday: Mediterranean chicken paninis.
Tuesday: Chicken bacon apple farro salad.
Wednesday: Italian sausage polenta ragu.
Thursday: Raising Cane's chicken. Oops!
Friday: Pulled pork mac ‘n’ cheese casserole.
Monday: Homemade pizza (used your recipe)
Tuesday: Boxed pasta dish from the grocery store because my pregnant stomach was absolutely craving it and wouldn't allow me to consider anything else.
Wednesday: Jambalaya, frozen corn, and roasted broccoli
Thursday: Husband took the kids to a buffet after their extracurricular activities and I hit up my favorite taco joint all by myself. It was heavenly.
Tonight: Breakfast for dinner! French toast (think I'll do an apple cinnamon topping), bacon, and a potato/mushroom/spinach/egg hash.
We had a lot of salads this week. That sounds healthy, except that we were resorting to salads for dinner because we had more than usual share of indulgent meals for lunches. It’s all about balancing things out... or so I tell myself, lol.
I’m pretty happy that our food bill (including grocery and restaurants) have been below average the last two months, though. It’s nowhere near yours (and we aren’t even trying to emulate it), but it’s close to where I think it’s reasobable for us—so I’m happy.
Saturday was a Blue Apron meal of roasted pork and broccoli with apples and cheese sauce. I decided that although I like many vegetables roasted, broccoli isn't one of them. In the future I will stick to steaming or stir frying it.
Sunday - peanut butter sandwich because sometimes I'm just fancy like that.
Monday/Tuesday - Tacos
Wednesday - chili
Thursday - half a turkey sandwich and a bowl of chicken soup. A meal most fowl. haha.
Friday - chicken club sandwich.
Wow. There were a lot of sandwiches this week!
What a terrible pun - I'm going to use that!
It is a wonderfully bad pun! I love terrible puns so much.
All your meals sound absolutely delicious & are making me hungry (it's dinner time here)
Sun - Braised vegies & beef mince with pasta
Mon - Shakshuka ( panfried onion/capsicum/can crushed tomatoes simmered then crack some eggs on the top and cover til cooked) with jalapeno sourdough toast
Tues - Same as Sun
Wed - Spaghetti bolognese with wholemeal pasta
Thurs - chicken veg risotto
Fri - Wraps made with lettuce/carrot/celery/tomato/coriander & lamb backstrap rubbed in greek yoghurt/garlic/korma paste, & dressing of olive oil & lemon juice, blackberries/raspberries/chocolates for dessert
Tonight - cold ham & salad wraps as we are in the middle of a heatwave
Shakshuka is SUCH a delicious dish. I think it sounds extra yummy with jalapeño sourdough toast! Yum.
Isn't it?! So quick & easy too. A friend put us on to jalapeno sourdough from our supermarket it's so yum we sometimes just eat it on it's own or as part of an antipasto plate
This week was rough because it was my first real week of classes for the semester, I recently joined Weight Watchers, and I volunteered to take a meal to a family from our church on Friday.
We normally eat pretty late (8-9pm), so I figured that teaching two night classes (6-9pm) wouldn't affect my dinner plans. Ha! I realized that I'll need to pick something that can be microwaved or that my husband can throw in the oven. We ended up eating TV dinners I bought on sale, thank goodness! I'm buying a few more of those when I shop today because $5 worth of TV dinners is cheaper and (marginally) healthier than fast food.
On Friday, I *completely* miscalculated how long it would take bone-in chicken to thaw. I ended up running to Costco and buying rotisserie chickens, Caesar salad, and muffins (which I did *not* eat because OMG do you even know how many calories/fat those puppies have!!??). We had rotisserie chicken, potatoes, and veggies.
The rest of the week is a blur. I know we had chicken pizzaiola, pork loin, and...other things. I need to keep better track, for sure!
Monday - Mixture of angel hair and zucchini noodles with meat sauce. My kids were not fooled... My 1yo just picked out the white noodles. I'm sure we had something else to go with it but I didn't write it down.
Tuesday - Fish, salad, and mac and cheese
Wednesday - Meatloaf!! With pineapple and salad.
Thursday - Chicken noodle soup, homemade french bread, grapes
Friday - Brats, mac and cheeses, and pineapple.
Saturday - I'm going to try a smoked sausage/potato/cheese casserole for lunch. Spaghetti squash/zoodles for dinner.
Sunday - Either fajitas or stir fry for lunch. Sunday night is our pizza night. 🙂
And a week with no Aldi?!? That would feel really weird.
Sunday: Made a double batch of spinach lasagne, used ground turkey for 1/2 of the spinach. Ate some of one pan, froze another. Used cottage cheese instead of ricotta.
Monday: Leftover spinach/turkey lasagne, even better the second day.
Tuesday: Crockpot chili with some dried beans I'd cooked and frozen earlier.
Wednesday: Leftover chili over baked potatoes. It was cold and I wanted to use the oven, so I made a lot of baked potatoes.
Thursday: Baked chicken breast, baked potatoes (batch baked yesterday), steamed broccoli.
Friday: Doctored up a frozen pizza with frozen (from the garden) basil, red peppers, spinach, fresh garlic and a little more cheese.
Saturday: Batch cooking: cooking all of the ground turkey with onions and spices to freeze for recipes, using some for chili. Hubs loves chili.
Totally can relate to forgetting!
In no particular order, we had:
White chicken chili (x2)
Ham & buttered noodles
Cheese pizza & oranges
Chicken & Rice Soup
Most of the week my family was sick--hence all the soup. Hope everyone's staying well this season!
It was an easy cooking week
Saturday was a funeral so there was dinner after the service. Day was sad. Food was good.
Sunday everyone brought a dish to my dads house. Ham, mashed taters and an assortment of veggies. He was telling stories and said he was 97, no dad you are 95. His mind is sharp though.
Monday -birthday party at a local restaurant. Only spent $15 on the biggest plate of nachos. Glad we only got 1 plate and split it.
Tuesday, yep leftover nachos, ham and taters
Wed Mac n cheese fruit and salad
Thursday sick dog that had to stay at the vet. I took mac n cheese to work for lunch and dropped it on the floor. Don't remember dinner. It was one of those days...
Friday fruit, salad, macaroni and beef
Sat beef stew with carrots, barley and taters
It was so nice out Saturday I did my first real grocery shopping since before Christmas. I spent $200. I did snag some marked down organic free range chickens for $5 each @Sams club.