WIS | WWA | Aaaand, it's February
We're one month closer to spring, friends! And the days are getting longer, minute by minute.
Time for a fresh grocery budget too.
What I Spent
Last Friday, we had tacos instead of pizza, and I needed sour cream, cheddar cheese, and tortillas. I also picked up some bananas, because we always need bananas. I spent $8.38 on that stop.
On Saturday, I got my Hungry Harvest box ($25).
On Monday, I finally went to Aldi, after more than a week with no Aldi in my life. I spent $99 there.
And then lastly, I made a $22 stop.
That puts me at $154 for the week, which is just fine (my average is $150/week).
What We Ate
Monday
My dear friend is moving on Saturday, and we're trying to squeeze in as much time as possible...so, I made some dinner and brought it over to her house with my three girls.
(Mr. FG was in Texas for work and Joshua was at work making coffee.)
I made a grilled chicken salad by making this chipotle chicken and then adding greens, avocado, tomatoes, and cucumber.
And I brought homemade French bread as well.
Tuesday
Mr. FG was still in Texas, and since he's not a fan of eggs, I was all, "Hmm, what eggy thing could we have for dinner??"
So, I opted to make lazy crepes (known as Swedish pancakes in my childhood) and bacon.
Wednesday
I found some red potatoes on the shelf, so I decided to make a pot of clam chowder.
I used leftover French bread from Monday to make some garlic bread, and I steamed some broccoli and cauliflower as well.
Thursday
I was running low on motivation, so I grabbed some ham from the freezer, made a pan of muffin tin popovers, and raided the fridge for odds and ends to make a green salad.
Friday
I'm thinking about using naan to make some quick pizzas. I've never tried that before, but it sounds tasty. And easy. Very easy!
I think it's funny that when you're running low on motivation, you bake rolls. I would never consider that an easy alternative to anything else. 🙂
Monday: Italian sausage links; roasted butternut squash and onions; cannellini beans sauteed in olive oil, garlic, and basil; pasta with pesto; steamed broccoli
Tuesday: Beef soft tacos, spaghetti squash, black beans, Mexican slaw
Wednesday: Barbecue pulled pork, roasted butternut squash and onions, green salad, and fresh bread (only because I happened to need to bake the regular sandwich bread right before dinner, which is also why we had the roasted squash and baked apples for dessert--because the oven was already on at a high temperature)
Thursday: Tacos again with the leftover meat, plus some steamed carrots and random mushrooms that needed to be cooked
Tonight: Not sure yet, but I have some leeks (LOVE leeks) that I want to braise with cream, and that goes well with any kind of steak, so I'll look to see if I have any top round steaks left
Well, popovers are just batter, poured into a hot, greased muffin tin. No rising, kneading, etc. So, they feel pretty easy to me!
Kristin, you make the most extraordinary and elegant meals. Everything sounds delightful!
That's very kind of you to say, though I must admit that I had a house guest for the first part of the week, and thus made an extra effort. You may notice that my menus took a distinct turn for the simplified (cough, leftovers) after my sister left on Wednesday morning. 🙂
Also, with four little kids, "elegant" is not the word that comes to mind when I think about our mealtimes. But I do appreciate the compliment.
Your meals do sound perfectly elegant. But I have to confess, I remember your hilarious story of your boys and the “sweetmeats”!
We spent $350 on groceries in January. Which is crazy high for our DINK family, so time to get that back in check!
Monday - Pasta with sautéed onions, broccoli, and portobello mushrooms
Tuesday - we had a bunch of errands, so we ate leftovers
Wednesday - homemade chili with dates used to sweeten it
Thursday - Nachos!
Tonight I’m planning on eating a salad since I’m trying to lose weight and those nachos and pasta aren’t helping with that!
I didn't go grocery shopping this week until yesterday. I did a really goood job in January keeping my grocery budget under control. Hopefully I can repeat that this month. This week I spent $130.
Monday: pasta with tomato sauce and mushrooms, green beans
Tuesday: bread, sweet potato corn chowder, stuff in the fridge that goes on bread
Wednesday: beans in tomato sauce with peppers over rice, broccoli
Thursday: fettucine with goat cheese and mushrooms, peas
Tonight I'm making quesadillas and black beans and a mango cucumber salad.
Saturday- Sons birthday- family party, he requested Raviolis, and meatballs, with salad and bread, and ice cream cake, brownies.
Sunday- mom called asking if we wanted to come for Pork roast, mashed, carrots, and pickled red cabbage! (left over ice cream cake and brownie)
Monday- chicken cutlet, buttered noodles, corn and salad, and I had avocado with my chicken.
Tuesday- Kids had pizza rolls, we had sausage, peppers, potatoes baked in the oven, salad.
Weds- sons real birthday, he requested Roy rogers. so that it was.
Thursday (busy night) ordered Chinese (I have leftover for lunch today)
Friday-I think its going to be hot dogs, and tarter tots, or mac and cheese, after sons soccer practice.
I had a beautiful meal plan set to go from Sunday through Thursday this week...and then my 1--year-old son got really sick...and then my husband got kind of sick, and neither of them has been very hungry. Sooo, I made the pork roast I'd already thawed out and pulled out some taco meat from the freezer and that's been it for dinners this week - whatever anyone is willing to eat - along with a splurge of some Panera chicken soup for my son. Tonight is the last of the leftovers and tomorrow I'll start again with a new plan and a hope for a healthier week!
Aww, I hope they're back to health soon!
Thank you so much, Kristen. That should have read "15-year-old son", which clearly makes a larger difference in the amount of food being consumed! They've both made it home from school - one learning & one teaching - and are sniffling and coughing away, but still better sounding better than they did yesterday. May the flu stay far from you and yours!
Hmm...I managed not to spend much this week. Just getting a few ingredients to make chili.
Sunday: crock-pot chicken & black bean chili, with homemade cornbread (first time making both and will definitely make them again!)
Monday: I cannot remember. I was baking cookies for a work event, so I think I just had something quick.
Tuesday: Leftover chili and cornbread
Wednesday: Spanish rice with diced tomatoes, spinach, and kielbasa
Thursday: frozen pizza (not my favorite, but was necessary after a long day and not feeling like cooking)
Friday: happy hour with coworkers, so I'll have something small there and then perhaps just some popcorn when I get home
We LOVE Swedish pancakes in our house. And the Aldi garlic naan bread makes fabulous pizza crust! We grill pizzas using that bread, and they are delicious!
The garlic naan from Aldi’s make great personnel size pizzas. Everyone gets to make their own. Easy Peasy! I do put mine in a hot oven to get a nice brown color on bottom before adding toppings otherwise they are too soft. I’ll have to try the grill, that would make the bottoms look great with the grill marks.
I agree that your 'no motivation' night's meals still sound great! This week we enjoyed:
Monday - Alamo Bowls (with rice, cooked chicken, sauteed peppers and onions, black beans, cheese)
Tuesday - Stuffed Baked Potatoes with pork tips (sounds weird, but tasty!)
Wednesday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Hubby! Italian Shrimp, Steakhouse Mac and Cheese, salad, rolls, Granny Smith Apple Pie, ice cream
Thursday - Tamales (leftover from Christmas...), cheesey refrieds, leftover salad
Friday - Beef Stew Pot Pie
Saturday is YOYO (Hubby and I will enjoy a burger)
Sunday - Chicken Bacon Sub Sandwich, chips, tomato soup
This was supposed to be a frugal week in groc since I cooked mostly out of the freezer, except for Wedneday...but my groc bill was not noticeably smaller...oh, well.
We buy bananas all the time as well. They're cheap, delicious, and nutritious! The crepes and kakob look SO good!
I can't believe it's already Feb either. Where did time go? But at the same time, I feel like I'm ready for the summer hehe.
This week was my first week of meal planning after I fell off the wagon. Now I remember how great it is to know what's for dinner after I get home exhausted.
Sunday- cornbread, pinto beans, smashed red potatoes, salad
Monday- cheese tortellini, garlic bread, salad
Tuesday- veg beef tips, mac & cheese, salad
Wednesday- burritos
Thursday- beef burrito casserole (two Mexican things in a row but I love Mexican food!!)
Friday- eggplant parmesan, spaghetti, salad
I read back over your post about why you call them popovers. So funny, they are Yorkshire puddings!
Saw this article today and thought you might like it. And have you ever thought of toad in the hole? I imagine that sounds like a bizarre recipe name to anyone who isn't English
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2018/feb/02/five-ways-to-eat-yorkshire-puddings-morrisons-pizza
Hi Victoria--
Don't know if you have watched The Durrells in Corfu on TV, but it is about a British family in Greece in the 1930s. Your comment reminded me of an episode where the mom is trying to sell British foods to the locals and she meets with raised eyebrows because the names of the food she is trying to sell sound odd to non-British ears. I'm pretty sure Toad In The Hole was one of the names mentioned. Funny!
Kristen, love the idea of easy crepes!
I remember that episode. She gave everyone food poisoning with scotch eggs! I used to read the books when I was a child and visited his zoo in Jersey. Off topic but I loved the design of the credits. I'd happily buy those as art prints, but not sure if you saw the same ones in the States.
Yeah, here in the states, all the cookbooks call them popovers!
If you like thin crust, we sometimes use flour tortillas to make pizzas. Just brush some olive oil on them first and bake for a few minutes to crisp them up and then put the toppings on and bake it. They're actually pretty good.
Oh man, I keep wanting to make popovers but always forget!! I'll have to put these on the list for sure. 🙂
This week we ate:
Monday: Leftover chopped brisket tostadas
Tuesday: Subway. I was down for cooking dinner but got pulled into a work issue that went on for hours. We used a coupon and paid cash that we earned from selling bikes on Craigslist.
Wednesday: Roasted sausage and veggies.
Thursday: Asian butternut squash noodle soup
Friday: Grilled strip steak with brussels sprouts and orzo
My list is nothing to be proud of but here goes:
Monday- kielbasa (husband got a giftcard for Omaha Steaks, so we suddenly have a lot of free meat!), sauteed carrots, macaroni & cheese, and leftover baked butternut squash.
Tuesday- leftover kielbasa, brussels sprouts, and something else I can't remember. Probably some cut up fruit for my veggie-averse firstborn. I also made surprise strawberry Jell-o for my kiddos.
Wednesday- second-born was sick all day and my 8-months-pregnant self was worn out and low on motivation, so my hubby stopped to pick up a rotisserie chicken. We also had fruit, and something else I can't remember.
Thursday- we eked out a meal of leftover chicken, strawberries, mango, and I rounded it out with some hard-boiled eggs in case there wasn't enough to fill us up, but they ended up being unnecessary.
Friday- I have plans for oven-fried chicken tenders, with homemade Greek pasta salad.
Girl, anytime I put dinner on the table, I consider that to be something to be proud of!
Monday - Made Swedish meatballs with rice and a side of broccoli for my husband (finally finished the last of a frozen bag of meatballs that had been in my freezer for awhile!). I just ate a small amount of leftover shepherd's pie from the day before since I had had a late lunch.
Tuesday - I worked until 5 and then go straight to class until 9, so I swung through the McDonald's drive through. They have been running a weekly special that allows you to get ANY sandwich for $1 if you order through their mobile app. My husband just had cereal (which he would have every day if it was up to him!).
Wednesday - Instant Pot lasagna. I have had more fails than successes using my new instant pot, but this one was definitely a success. Very easy to make, too, and I still have all the ingredients to make another one next week!
Thursday - Chicken Parmesan to get rid of an open jar of sauce that I was left with after the lasagna. I bought the chicken for $1.79/lb at Kroger and had a $1 off coupon for a pack of Tyson chicken. This made our 2 chicken breasts a total of $1.83. The jar of sauce was $1 (and we only used half) and I usually get pasta on super-sale as well. Definitely a frugal dinner!
Friday - Tonight I will make Mongolian Beef & Broccoli. I've never made this before but when I saw a pack of thinly sliced beef on Manager's Special for $2.82 I figured now was a good time to try it!
Pizza on naan is so so easy and so so good. just made it last night!
Have you ever done a pantry post? For example, I see that you made clam chowder because you needed to use up potatoes. Do you always keep clams on hand? I'd love to see your pantry 🙂
I don't keep clams on hand, so I just buy those when I need 'em.
Produce-wise, I have stuff from Hungry Harvest that I don't choose, so I try to just menu plan around that stuff. And even with the produce that I do choose to buy, sometimes I end up with more than I need for a particular recipe, so then I need to figure out other ways to use what's left. For instance, those potatoes were left from a larger bag that I bought for a recipe, and I had some left to use up!
I could write about my pantry, but it's sort of a random assortment of stuff and I don't exactly have a set variety of stuff I keep around. But I could show you the randomness, I suppose! Ha.
It might be interesting for some of us who plan and rely on our pantries to share ideas!
A related topic might be what you buy in bulk. I know you've bought frozen fruit from Costco. But, I see you often buy meat at Aldi. I don't have an Aldi to compare to, but it is something I've noticed.
Have you shared your clam chowder and popover recipes here before? Can you link to them please? Thank you!
Ps everything looked delicious !
Yep! Links to both are in the post. 🙂
I use pita bread to make pizza, and it works great, so I imagine naan would be similar. I even freeze pre-cooked pizzas so that I have something to pull out of the freezer on lazy (i.e. most) evenings.
I use pita bread for pizza too & it's my favourite pizza.
We were also felled by illness midweek.
M: Sear-Roasted Cod with Brussels Sprouts, Bacon, and Carrot Puree largely because I got free carrot puree and didn't know what else to do with it. Turns out Brussels Sprouts with Bacon was very popular. I'll make them again with other entrees. I made whole wheat bread in case the new recipe didn't go over well. Everyone was ok with the fish, but we ate all the bread too.
T: Chicken nuggets and broccoli for most; homemade pizza for the late shift.
W: I still have potatoes to use so we had mini meatloaves, mashed potatoes, and spinach salad.
R: This was the beginning of the sickness. I had other plans, but thankfully they were still frozen. Chicken nuggets (by request again) and strawberries for most; tuna noodle casserole for the late shift.
F: Pancakes, some with blueberries, for the kids. Homemade pizza for date night.
Well the flu settled into our household last week and I have continued to struggle with it this week as well. This made for some odd meals!
Chicken soup, Gatorade, Sprite, Ginger Ale, Crackers, Toast for all who were ill.
I really have no idea what my dh made for the boys last week or even this week as the 3 year old and I ate the various sick day foods and beverages.
Hoping for health next week!
This flu is NOT for amateurs!!!
Tonight: Chorizo tacos with black beans
Monday- Crock-pot chicken stew with carrots and dumplings
Tuesday- Salmon, mixed veggies, baked potato
Wednesday- Left over chicken and dumplings
Thursday- Grilled cheese sandwiches, sun chips and fruit
Friday- fried eggs, hash browns, sausage, and wheat toast
I have always wanted to know what popovers were, the word just sounds delicious. I also wanted to give Yorkshire puddings a go & your recipe & photos are super helpful, thank you. Growing up we often made pancakes & I still make them now & they sound pretty similar to these. We never added sugar or salt & they turn out yum, we would have them with golden syrup +/ - icecream as kids or lemon juice with sugar, now I have them with maple syrup +/- berries.
I am usually making them just for me & in case this helps anyone I find 1/3cup plain flour + 1/3 cup milk+1 egg makes 2 good size pancakes for one person.
I am doing much better with meal planning - I used to be pretty good M-W then Thurs/Fri would end up in tired takeout, I started using a diary & also logging my expenditure in it & it's working great. It also means if one wk isn't so good I turn a page & there is a shiny new blank week full of possibilities ( Like your Mondays 🙂 )
Sun - Stand n stuff Tacos with homemade spicy Bolognese sauce/cheese/lettuce/carrot/cucumber/capsicum
Mon - Chicken & veg risotto
Tues - Homemade pita bread pizza with spicy pasta sauce/baby spinach/spring onions/zucchini/capsicum/ham/cheese
Wed - Barley salad with lots of salad n chicken meatballs
Thurs - Leftover pita pizza
Fri - red chicken curry n rice n cooked extra rice for 2moro
Tonight - will be homemade fried rice using up bacon n vegies from freezer n fridge
Let's see if I can remember this past week!
Sunday - Pulled Pork (from the freezer), oven fries & salad.
Monday - Kung Pao Chicken over egg noodles & steamed broccoli.
Tuesday - Corn Chowder & salad
Wednesday - smorgasbord...sandwiches & leftovers
Thursday - Whole roasted chicken, pan fried potatoes (because they needed to be used) & green beans.
Friday - kids pizza & date night for us!!!
I consider this is a huge win because I was super sick the week before & our meals looked nothing like this. And I did all this without grocery shopping until Thursday!
It is, your meals sound yum
I just made your chicken kabobs and didn't read the recipe correctly. I mixed all the ingredients together including the sauce ingredients and added the chicken, stirred it around, skewered it and grilled them. It was delicious! A good mistake!
Well, that's good to know! Kind of like a yogurt marinade, probably.
We love pizza made with naan.
This is great inspiration! I've never thought of making popovers, but I know my kids would love them. We're getting a 40 lb box of chicken breasts from Zaycon next month, so I'm looking for lots of chicken recipes. I pinned your Chipotle Chicken Kebab recipe to use when I get that box of chicken.
I can hardly remember what we had this week, but I'll try:
Monday-Beef Bolognese with Pasta
Tuesday- Pancakes
Wednesday- Pizza (I used your french bread dough recipe to make the crust, except I let it rise much longer to develop more flavor!)
Thursday- Tortellini Soup
Friday-Dumplings (from the freezer, cooked in a pan)
Saturday- Chick-Fil-A (not so frugal, but the kids have a blast in their play structure and we adults like the food, so it's a win-win for us in that regard)
Sunday- Not sure yet, but I was thinking bacon and something else. Maybe popovers! And fruit.
https://thefrugallist.wordpress.com/
Hi Terri,
We shop Zaycon all the time for bacon, breakfast links, boneless thighs and beef roasts. I ordered the chicken breasts once, and they had a weird texture once cooked (no matter the method I used). They replaced them, but the new batch was the same. I have been scared to try them again.
Have you experienced this problem? The price and convenience can not be beat!