WIS, WWA | almost April
What I Spent
I was looking at the calendar and realizing: there's only one more week in March! No wonder it's looking so spring-like outside these days.
My spending was very simple this week: $55 at Safeway! And that makes sense, given how much I spent last week. 🙂
What We Ate
Saturday
We had two naan left from our tikka masala night, so I used those to make some quick pizzas in the toaster oven.
Sunday
I made myself a burger, potato wedges, and I ate some raw veggies on the side. Zoe was at work until 10 pm, I believe, and she just had a grilled cheese when she got home.
Monday
My usual when I'm on my own: an egg-based plate. 🙂
Tuesday
I had the scholarship event at the winery with PEO, and food was served there. I wore my American Giant hoodie dress, by the way, because it's a good choice for an event that is semi-casual.
Oh, wow, as I was just looking through my files for the hoodie dress pictures, I came across my original American Giant hoodie, back in 2013.
Anyway, Zoe got home from work after I got home from the event, and I made her a quick burger plus potato wedges.
Wednesday
Zoe was out with a friend, and I ate some cheese tortellini with marinara sauce.
Thursday
I went for a late afternoon walk in the sunshine, which was just delightful.
And after I got home, I made bacon and cheese quesadillas, which we ate with salsa and sour cream, with some cut-up fruit on the side.
Friday
I think Zoe and I both have an empty evening! And if that's the case, then we will probably have our weekly takeout + movie night. 🙂
Saturday: Creamy sausage and potato soup, pumpkin-pecan muffins
Sunday: We don't have Irish food for St. Patrick's Day, but we do have green food. Our tradition is pasta with pesto, so I made that, and then some bull meatballs (in a red sauce, though). Also a green salad, and I made sugar cookies with green sugar on top for dessert. The one day a year I use the cookie cutter in the shape of a four-leaf clover we got from 4-H (the symbol for which is a four-leaf clover).
Monday: While I was clearing up Sunday's dinner, I prepped for this day's after-work dinner by chopping up all the leftover spaghetti--some plain, some with pesto--and mixing it with the rest of the red sauce from the meatballs and the grated asadero cheese (like mozzarella) I keep in the freezer. This baked spaghetti casserole was joined in the oven by a small meatloaf made with the rest of the meatball mixture. I also stuck some potatoes--partially cooked in the microwave first--in the oven, thinking I would have them for a meal later in the week. Instead they were mostly eaten this nigh, which is fine. We also had frozen green peas.
Tuesday: Sauteed sheep tenderloin chunks, mashed potatoes, cucumber slices
Wednesday: Another meal made the previous day while I was already in the kitchen. I used some of the sheep tenderloin to make a curry, and also made a pot of rice. So when i got home at 5:30, all I had to do was heat the curry, add some cream to it, and heat the rice.
Thursday: I had helped the school cook at work Wednesday, and she gave me the leftover pigs in a blanket from lunch. She actually makes the dough for these from scratch, so they're really pretty good. That's what the home crew had. I was at a track meet. The trackster had a burger and fries with his team after the meet. I had a random selection of his few leftover fries, a couple pieces of the ham I had bought at the grocery store in between track events, and a pig in the blanket when I got home. I don't even like hot dogs, but I was really hungry by the time we got home at 7 p.m., and it tasted pretty good.
Friday: I have some baked spaghetti left and some pinto beans that need to be used, so I'll add some fried eggs and make various combinations of meatless options for dinner. Probably raw broccoli, too.
@kristin @ going country, I hope it is OK to mention I read your blog regarding going to the fort and 3 churches. I so enjoyed how you described the day.
Someone mentioned years ago that there were missions in NM. I tried to find them but couldn't. So now I know and will definitely will visit them.
Thanks again. I tried to post this to your blog post but it would not go. But then I am not the best with technology.
@karen, Thank you for reading! Yes, there are many, many old mission churches in New Mexico. The missionaries started coming up here from Mexico before any settlers arrived in the east in this country.
@karen, And the Ancestral Pueblos beat the missionaries from Mexico by hundreds of centuries. Think 100 A.D. So tours of the many Pueblos is very much worth everyone's time. Chaco Canyon is fascinating.
@JDinNM, yes we have been to Chaco Canyon and really liked it. Drove about 20 miles on a dirt road so really gets you out into the country. No fast food or gas station nearby to spoil the ambiance. Another place we really like is Capulin Volcano National Monument. Been there several times.
@kristin @ going country, here in Ireland and the UK pigs in a blanket are sausages wrapped in bacon so I wondered why the cook was using dough!
@Joan from Dublin, Ireland, Oh, interesting. Yes, here they are hot dogs wrapped in dough and then baked. So sort of like the bun surrounds the hot dog.
@kristin @ going country, They're both cocktail sausages, though, not big things. in the UK & Eire they're an essential part of Christmas dinner. Here, pigs in a blanket are more hors d'oeuvres.
@Joan from Dublin, Ireland, those sound like a meat eaters meal - sign me up!
@karen, I also follow Kristin’s blog & enjoy all the posts about life in NM.
WIS: 291.13 @Aldi (this included Easter, gifts for coworkers and a neighbor who had a baby and snacks for my classroom, so it's not as bad as it seems), 100.03 on wine (because spring break is nigh) and 28.61 @Target for the expensive cat litter.
WWA:
Fri: cucumbers, carrots, apple slices and grapes, focaccia with Swiss cheese, mustard, turkey bacon and ricotta cheese.
Sat: crudites and leftovers: rice and beans and chicken pot pie.
Sun: watermelon, salmon filets, cabbage cooked in butter with red onions, mini potatoes air fried, mint ice cream cookies for dessert.
Mon: watermelon, tofu and veggies over jasmine rice.
Tue: sliced tomatoes, crudites and assorted leftovers: rice and beans, cabbage, potatoes, and tofu and rice. Leftover Christmas cookies from the freezer for dessert.
Wed: salad and hotdogs on brioche buns topped with leftover cabbage, strawberry ice cream cones for dessert.
Thu: crunchy tacos using black beans and a half pound of ground turkey plus lots of veggies. Chocolate from Aldi for dessert.
Tonight: salad and focaccia
Have a great weekend, everyone!
WIS: $5 at the bakery outlet, $17.50 at the grocery outlet, $68 at Price Chopper ($43 of which was for supplements), $37 at Wegmans, and $22 at Ollie's.
WIA: I noted some of my cooking this week in Tuesday's FFT: a mulligatawny soup with brown lentils; a loaf of bread machine bread with potato flakes; and a sheet pan of chicken drumsticks with sweet potatoes. Then I bought the smallest $1.49/lb. ham I could find at Wegmans, so most meals since then have been ham-based. I'll probably end up freezing the ham bone and some of the meat for future use, but I don't regard that as any calamity.
Sunday: Hobo bundles in the oven
Monday: slow cooker salsa chicken with beans and corn over rice
Tuesday: leftover salsa chicken over rice
Wednesday: not feeling well so we had chicken nuggets and fruit
Thursday: leftover salsa chicken quesadilla
Friday: no idea but definitely not salsa chicken!
128 in Kroger pickup. 17 at Aldi.
Sunday: spaghetti and meat sauce with asparagus
Monday: girl dinner! Hummus. Guac. Crackers. Fruit. Nuts.
Tuesday: out to Culver’s only 18 dollars for two people!
Wednesday: one skillet sausage and spinach and cream pasta.
Thursday: five layer Greek dip. Crackers. Greek yogurt parfaits.
Friday: lent. Mac n cheese. Sourdough toast. Carrots and dip.
Monday: I had worked a long day on Sunday and so Monday was my "weekend." I bought takeout sushi for dinner. It was GLORIOUS.
Tuesday: My mom came over and Mr. B worked late. We had rajma masala and quinoa, with sliced cucumbers on the side.
Wednesday: I prepared leftover quinoa in the style of fried rice. We didn't have carrots, though, so I cooked some leftover cubes of butternut squash in the microwave and added it. I also didn't have green onion, but my store-bought onions keep sprouting, so I just used the sprout.
Thursday: I made us chicken katsu (not too hard, but I even find shallow-frying stressful) with sauteed kale, and dried fruit and apples.
Friday: Mr. B will make us salmon and yet-unknown side dishes. Maybe I'll quickly roast the rest of the butternut squash and make a quick salad with the end of the kale. We were supposed to have hamentaschen--I make them every year--but this year time ran away from me. It's just so much work! If I have time, I might try and make some with my daughter after daycare, but no promises.
@Meira@meirathebear,
My Bible class of 9 women used to hold a "seder" every year that we were taking this class (4 years) and I somehow got elected to make all the hamentaschen for these meals. You aren't kidding about the work.
They really are a lot of work but so so good.
@Meira@meirathebear, although I've been a participant in Dr. Bestest Neighbor's Seders for decades, I don't recall ever having had hamentaschen. However, he and Ms. BN (and in recent years, an assistant--the good doctor is 87 years old, after all) make up for it in all other respects. At my weekly dinner with the BNs last night, they were doing a "dry run" in advance of this year's Seder on cooking a brisket in their new Instant Pot, and it was scrumptious.
@A. Marie,
certainly no hamentashen at a Seder! They are made with regular flour and hence chametz which is forbidden at a Seder.
Hamentashen belong to Purim.
@Lea,
Agreed, but my Bible class was all gentiles, so we had hamentaschen. At least, that's what our leader insisted upon, I think because she just liked them.
@Lea, thank you for the clarification.
This conversation is so funny to me, because I am making hamentaschen this weekend for the first time ever (after hearing about them only a few weeks ago in this delightful cookbook called The Silk Road Vegetarian by Dahlia Abraham-Klein). I've been asked to supply a gluten-free cookie for a party so figured I'd try these out! This recipe uses buckwheat flour and rice flour.
I'm a reader of The Frugal Girl of a few years but have never commented until now, but had to say how much I love when blog reading and real life coincide! I am a little nervous about all the work but hopefully it will go well.
@Rose,
Yes, so, soooo good. I have a friend who is a baker (she used to sell her delicious baked goods at our local farmers market, which is how I met her), and her hamentaschen is to die for.
@Liz B.,
Is? are? what is the plural of hamentaschen?
@JD, Hm, hamentaschen are for Purim and are certainly not kosher for Passover.
@Liz B., hamentaschen is plural. A single one is a hamentasch. But you don't need to know that, because why would only have one? 😉
@Kate, wonderful! Hamentaschen are delicious. Just be careful to pinch the corners well so that they don't unfold and scorch while baking. That is the most disappointing outcome.
@JD, I'm sure you're not aware, but gentiles holding Passover seders is not appropriate; it is disrespectful and appropriative. In brief, seders are a Jewish tradition that post-dates Christianity. Jesus and the earliest Christians did probably celebrate Passover, but they did not have seders. You can read more here: https://www.heyalma.com/why-are-christian-passover-seders-a-thing/
@Meira@meirathebear,
Exactly! One is just a tease. Thank you for clarifying plural vs singular form. 🙂
@Meira@meirathebear, and it is not the end of the world if gentiles have a seder. Hamentaschen is associated but not limited to any one. I think it is wonderful when people enjoy aspects of the lives/beliefs of others. And not all of the Jewish faith celebrate the same number of seders.
@Meira@meirathebear,
I’m truly sorry. We were studying the Old Testament. We certainly weren’t trying to cause offense, we were just learning how it was celebrated, which is why I put Seder in quotes. In fact the rabbi from the nearest synagogue used to come lead “Seders” for our church. My children’s Jewish pediatrician came to them. We gained his approval for what we did and requested and received recipes for the meal from the synagogue. I’m glad you told me though, because now I will be aware of that and refrain.
@Meira@meirathebear,
I just learned about these cookies the other week. A blogger I follow has an "aperol spritz" version. As that is one of my favorite drinks, I want to make them. The only thing is I don't have freezer space right now and she recommends freezing to set before baking. Another time then or next year if I remember.
Sunday: We made chicken soup with masa dumplings from Sohla El Waylly's new book, it was really good! My preschooler really liked rolling out the masa dumplings, the texture was similar to playdough before they were cooked.
Monday: Nachos
Tuesday: Quick spaghetti before Lego night at the library.
Wednesday: I got Greek food with a friend, family had leftovers at home.
Thursday: Grilled cheese and tomato soup, preschooler request.
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Muffin tin meatloaves. We double this and freeze half to save for later. They're easy to defrost, since they're individual portions.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Even in the midst of a Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Week, we had to eat. And shop. We did not succumb to any takeout or restaurants though, and i resisted the siren call of Starbucks.
WWS: $338 at Kroger.
Saturday/Sunday: homemade pizzas, and I still don't know what happened to two cans of sliced olives. We only had one, and that didn't stretch beyond Saturday. Boo. Pizza without olives is still pizza, but sadder.
Monday: Baked chicken drumsticks, roasted veggies (asparagus/broccoli) and jasmine rice. I had a coupon for jasmine rice and on a whim tried it. Everyone loved it. It's our new go to white rice now. Normally I go for brown rice on a Mom Dinner, but I felt like we needed some serious comfort food, and white rice is comfort food.
Tuesday: Burgers, salad bar, popcorn.
Wednesday: Hamburger stew, boxed mac and cheese for the Selective Eater.
Thursday: DH had a horrifically busy day but still made time to make his fish burgers. I made some tartar sauce, which we don't often have, and it made a nice change from just mayo. Tartar sauce> mayo.
Tonight is taco night, I think. We skipped it last week because we had quite a few leftovers and nobody felt like cooking (see Horrible No Good Bad Week).
@Karen A., Jasmine rice has such a nice texture. I always cook it when I'm making any Chinese/Asian recipes. If you sneak a slice of lemon into the pot while cooking it, you get a lovely lemon rice.
@Karen A., I hope next week is not a Terrible, No Good, Verry Bad Week! Sending you love!
@Caitlie, Aw, thank you! Things are looking better than last week, for sure!
@JDinNM, Ooh I might try that next time. I have one son who drowns his rice in soy sauce, but maybe that wouldn't be a horrible combo...
I'm so happy for spring and more sun and light! It just makes life better.
I spent $94 this week
We ate:
Saturday: grilled cheese burgers/baked fries/salad
Sunday: meatloaf/mashed potatoes/salad
Monday: butter chicken/broccoli/naan
Tuesday: tomato soup/grilled cheese/apples
Wednesday: Pizza
Thursday: sweet potato biscuits with ham/brussels sprouts/macaroni & cheese
Friday: I haven't figured out the plan for tonight yet
I really like the style of that dress. I even went to look at the site again--but no, I'm so tall it's gonna look obscene on me as a dress.
Last night: takeout pizza
Wednesday: Raclette with boiled potatoes, cornichons and pickled onions
Tuesday: Indian takeout
Monday: Mexican takeout
Sunday: Shepherds pie
I guess you can graph my mental health via takeout orders. I think maybe chicken fajitas tonight. I need to put the chicken in to marinate soon, then.
Today: I own two hairbrushes. One for detangling and one natural bristle for general brushing. (There is no natural bristle brush made that can detangle my hair.) Both have disappeared. Son to Rescue Pup: "Do you know anything about this?"
Oh and I thought of you guys as I ate my paneer vindaloo. Mmmmmm!
@Rose,
...to which Rescue Pup gave son big, adoring puppy eyes, and said "no, I don't know a thing about it". 🙂
@Liz B., ....then winked.
Yeesh. I have what my mom would call Witchy-Poo hair, after the bad character on HR Pufnstuf. Still haven't found a single brush, but getting my hair did tomorrow because of my interview on Tuesday, so no biggie, ish, I guess.
Rose, Good luck on Tuesday, if it’s a good fit. Either way, can’t wait to hear all about it!
WIS: $47.32 for groceries (vegetables, salad fixings, onions, mushrooms, broccoli slaw, bananas, yogurt, ground chuck), $9.85 for several packets of vegetable seeds (a/k/a “future food”), and $25.68 (including tax and tip) for dinner out with friends. So $73 for “current food” and $9.85 for “future food”.
WIA: Avgolemono (egg lemon soup with chicken and rice) and shrimp scampi (jumbo prawns – and I mean JUMBO, with tomato, garlic, capers, butter, lemon, grilled ciabatta, feta and micro greens) for monthly dinner out with friends; salads of one sort or another with every single meal (breakfast/lunch/dinner) as a bet I made with myself to channel my Inner Kristen (it’s getting crowded in there!); a lot of fish (Wild Alaskan salmon and Alaskan pollock) with slow cooked zucchini, yellow squash and onions (with za’atar seasoning); shrimp and salmon Pad Thai.
So fish, salad, fruit and vegetables. I’m gonna live forever!
@JDinNM, your last line really made me laugh! And, well done, you!
@Hawaii Planner, The ground chuck was for the dog. Cross my heart.
@JDinNM, Thanks for the "Fame" earworm.
@Rose, And you can thank JD below for the Sir Mix-A-Lot Baby got Back earworm.
$104 at Sendicks
Sunday: Rueben Panini, coleslaw, chips
Monday: Beef stew - made with the last of the garden carrots 🙁
Tuesday: Eggs with veggies and apple slices
Wednesday: Salmon, asparagus, jasmine rice
Thursday: Leftover beef stew and some sugar snap peas
Friday: lent. Veggie lasagna from the freezer
Yep, Easter is the 31st. I'm enjoying spring weather, but my enjoyment is always tempered by the knowledge that brutal summer follows spring.
WIS - no shopping last week
WIA - I had tummy issues so I didn't eat a lot this week.
Finishing off the chicken - I had it with garden greens, with applesauce, and finally, in a homemade pot pie, which I had for two evenings and one or two lunches. I made stock with the bones and made egg drop soup which I had another night.
One night I ate nothing at all.
When my daughter and I split a half hog, we didn't want to choose who got the ham, so we got it sliced into big butt steaks (a phrase which makes me snicker like I'm in junior high ) instead, and I had one of those seasoned and baked with garden carrots that were just big enough to pull, onion, and delicata squash.
Tonight is TBD. I go shopping after work, and there might be something out there calling my name.
@JD, I feel the same way about summer. Not that we have it as bad as those in the South, but I think I was scarred the summer our youngest was born, had to be in the NICU for four days, and we brought him home during a heat wave/thunderstorm that knocked out power for nearly three days. I just did not cope very well with the thought of +90 degree weather and humidity with a newborn, three young kids and no A/C or running water.
@JD, Sorry about the tummy issues. But (hah!), all I could hear while reading your post was Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back" ("I like big butts and I cannot lie"). ;-}
@Karen A.,
That would scar me for life, too!
@JDinNM,
Laughing out loud here!
@JDinNM, You other brothers can't deny!
I love singing along to it while my kids cringe.
@Rose, Pretty sure that when I get to the "My anaconda don't want none unless you got buns, hon" that my children wish they were never born.
@Rose, LOL
@JDinNM, @Rose, @JD
Here's one more for a listen--Baby Got Back à la Simon and Garfunkel. 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdsVRegEJTA
@Lauren, That's sacreligious.
@JDinNM, I know it. I think the channel is aptly named, haha. 😀
Let's see, let's see, what did we eat? DS17 is deep into the school tennis season, and playing club soccer, so he's rarely around at dinner time, and I'm often making something light for him before or after sporting events, in addition to the below.
-Chicken yakisoba x2 (and I had it for a few lunches, because it made an obscene amount). Going to need a break from this for a while after this week 😉
-Lasagna x2 (and then, 1/2 of that to the freezer)
-We did takeout pizza for DS's 17th birthday, per his request
-Shrimp pad thai
For tonight, something light as I'm meeting a friend for lunch. I'm guessing a salad for me + wings for DH. Highly doubt either of the teens will grace us with their presence.
Thursday: Tater Tot Hot Dish! It was moving day to our new house and I decided to celebrate with the most Minnesotan dish possible. I had this tucked away in the freezer from when my husband and I made meals for a family friend going through a medical “situation.” It was perfect for our first meal in our new home.
Friday: Thai Take Out. I spent all day unpacking and I was too exhausted to cook. Some of the kitchen was still in boxes.
Saturday: Chicken and Mushrooms with a side of roasted potatoes. Still unpacking but my best friend came over to help so I wanted to thank her with dinner. The kitchen has officially been unpacked but I’m working on how I want it to be organized.
Sunday: Beef and barley stew
Monday: Sriracha Salmon Bowls
Tuesday: Lentil Stew – I discovered while cooking that this recipe was vegan and my meat loving boys thought it was one of the best lentil stews I’ve ever made!
Wednesday: Baked Sole and Cacio e Pepe Sprouts
Thursday: Chicken and Rice with Green Beans
@Geneva, Congratulations on the move to the new house! Sounds like you have everything under control -- kitchen comes first, for sure.
The highlight of the week was probably Ravioli Casserole with shrimp and sausage on the side. One portion was leftover and highly coveted by my youngest who doesn’t really get excited about food.
This week, we enjoyed:
* Vegetarian Reubens
* Homemade hot pockets with broccoli, mushrooms, onion and cheese inside
* Veggie/tofu stir fry
* Corn and black bean salad along with a small open-faced sandwich using up cream cheese and an English cucumber that was just starting to soften
* Salad of spinach, red cabbage, radishes and poppyseed dressing
* Cobb salad (restaurant meal) - since I'm vegetarian, I asked the server to put the bacon on the side (I took it home for mini treats for my pup)
@MB in MN, I looooooove Cobb salad. Unfortunately I'm too lazy to make it for lunch and if I serve just salad for dinner my son stares at me in stunned disbelief. Maybe I'll make it and sling a hamburger patty on the side.
@MB in MN, I so admire vegetarians, although I cannot join their ranks. I don't eat any meat during Lent and I am already counting the days until Easter Sunday, when I make giant hamburgers for our main meal. I give up chocolate, too, but it is meat that I miss. I am so privileged to have a freezer full of all kinds of Alaskan fish but I am sick of halibut and salmon and cod...I just want meat.
WIS: $30 at Food Lion for the humans. Also spent a bit over $20 on food and treats for the dogs.
WWA: Leftover spaghetti. Whole grain crackers of various kinds, fresh fruit, cheese, homemade seeded bread, cheese, peanut butter and jelly on the crackers. Also made a vegetarian dish of Trader Joe's Mexican cauliflower rice mixed with some Gardien beefless crumbles and roasted butternut squash. Very good and quite spicy.
So as not to let a gorgeous big lemon from Trader Joe's go to waste, I made a copycat version of Starbuck's lemon loaf. Dangerously good! 😀
Writing this from Hawaii! I should have done a thankful Thursday yesterday, it’s so lovely here!
Saturday - Popeyes fried chicken
Sunday - St Patrick’s day dinner at my grandmas with corned beef, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, shamrock shaped ravioli with pesto, Caesar salad and soda bread
Monday - spaghetti and meatballs
Tuesday - impossible burger and veggie burger for the adults, chicken nuggets for the kids, fries, steamed broccoli
Wednesday - hot dogs, avocado, cucumber, raw bell pepper
Thursday - we arrived in Hawaii, for the longest trip we’ve ever taken without our kids. I was so nervous before we left but now that I’m here (and my mom has sent abundant updates) I’m really enjoying it. We went out to a very nice dinner and ate great seafood.
Friday - not sure where but going out again, we have a condo with a full kitchen but I don’t intend to cook on this trip!
WIS: Neighborhood-$29; Farmers Market-$16; Milk delivery-$15; S&S-$4; Wegmans-$45; Flashfood-$188 Total-$297 Not great but not the worst
WWA: Sat: Play at the high school, quick dinner of pasta e fagioli before we went and poutine later that night
Sun: Corned beef dinner- soda bread, corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, oatmeal cookies, baileys
Mon: Sausage, spinach, and shells in a cream sauce w/ scali bread and butter
Tues: Eggrolls (corned beef/sauerkraut and chicken/carrot/cabbage)
Wed: American chop suey
Thurs: Leftover sausage, spinach, shells w/ mushroom soup
Fri: only 2 more Fridays...tonight sea bass w/ lemon burre blanc and most likely mashed potatoes and a veg
I already confessed this on Katy's blog but here it is again: I spent $89 and some change on 17 Sumo oranges. The grocery guy said this would probably be their last shipment and I love them more than any other fruit (although persimmons run a close second) so I just paid the $5.99 a pound. At least I get some points toward cheaper gas--HA!
We had a guest who wanted BBQ'd chicken breasts. I always made those using bone and skin on breasts. Imagine my surprise at discovering that not one grocery store in town carries them anymore because people prefer skinless, boneless breasts. So I poached the breasts, shredded them and the next day cooked them in BBQ sauce. Better than I had expected. Too bad I made so much that we ate them for three days; they were not THAT good. I learned to cook by being the only cook at a gold mining camp in the Alaska Range, feeding 40 men three meals plus snacks a day. They worked hard and ate harder, plus the strictly enforced no booze/no drugs policy meant food assumed a huge importance. The job helped pay my way through grad school, but it forever ruined my ability to cook for two.
Two of the other days we had cheeseburger soup, a husband favorite that I load up with vegetables. Pizza the sixth night and tonight it is Filet 'o Fish. I am embarrassed to say I look forward to Fridays for the McD run for the fish sandwiches. I have tried other fast food fish, tried cooking my own with the abundance of fish we have, but nothing compares. On really hard weeks, I get a double. Thank you Tina Fey for alerting me to that possibility in your book.
@Lindsey, you really really need to write a book. Just on this blog you have mentioned so many different places you have lived and different things you have done.
@karen, Lindsey needs to write several books: the kids' books about Houndini and Clobber Paws, the murder mysteries, and at least one memoir!
@karen, I have the attention span of a gnat, which is why I liked changing jobs a lot, sometimes through promotions and others just switching careers. I also moved to Alaska 50 years ago, when it was still the Wild West and the Trans-Alaska pipeline put that on steroids. If you were sober and showed up, you could get hired into jobs that you were not remotely qualified for. At that time the pay scales were wildly high, which was what enabled me to travel and to live in Scotland for a year. My life has been a testament to luck, not good planning on my part. And to a husband who saw his job as encouraging me to pursue opportunities while making sure I didn't do stupid stuff like blow all my money or burn too many bridges.
@Lindsey, you'd spend more than $5.99 a pound on fancy ice cream, so who cares if you spent it on healthful fruit? Well, that always works for me when I get a yen for cherries or something. I actually don't remember the last time I had ice cream....
@Lindsey,
Hooray for buying up those Sumos! I'm right there with you....I just love them. They're currently selling for $1.88 apiece at my local Kroger, and I'll probably buy at least 10 when I stop in this weekend. They're such a treat, and the season is so short.
Oohh I just love a big fat cat in the lap.. she’s adorable!! Have a nice Friday! Your meals look simple and delicious!
Hooray for Spring! This week, we had two gloomy days but today is all sunshine (:
My menus ended up evolving over the weeks' time:
Monday - kitchen closed, but I fixed freezer pizza, which was very meh
Tuesday - Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, zucchini
Wednesday - Buffalo Chicken Salads with romaine, black beans, corn, avocado
Thursday - Gyros with tzatziki and curly fries
Tonight - Chicken Teriyaki Lo Mein/Stir Fry
Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed, but I think Son #3 is going to cook us up some chicken thighs (:
I might have to come up with something for the boys on Easter Sunday - I will be at work
Happy Weekend!
Big spend this week: $117 @ Costco, includes pets; $23 @ Grocery Outlet (.97 gal local milk); $68 Restaurant Supply; $7.87 @ Trader Joe's
WWA: Sun: butter chicken, GF homemade naan, homegrown micro greens, green beans
M: Dinner salad, GF french bread and apple salad
T: Halibut Tacos + trimmings and cornmeal shortbread cookies with mango lime curd filling
W: Grocery Shopping and Grain gettin' day, ate out at local brew pub, 2 sliders and veggie fries for $12 for both of us.
Th: Grilled moose steaks, green salad
F: Dinner salad w/leftover steaks, relish plate w/dilly beans, pickled beets, hot and spicy baby pickles and pickled cherries.
S: Family Dinner: All the Salsas - fruit, guac, black bean and my pico de gallo, Enchiladas, refried beans, Mexican Street Corn, Dulce de Leche Cheesecake
Sun: Church Family Dinner - I am bringing a bbq turkey, layered green salad, potato salad and garlic bread. This dear family in our community has lost 6 members to sudden death, cancer, stroke, motorcycle accident. We are giving the survivors love, support, great music and fellowship.
Week was pretty much of a blur since better half helps out with the election 4 straight days, I do one day.
Saturday - Corned beef and cabbage - easy crock pot meal
Sunday - takeout Mexican
Monday - leftovers from Saturday and Sunday
Tuesday - already cooked burgers from the freezer and baked potato salad
Wednesday - takeout sushi - last day of election work
Thursday - brats and "gourmet" fried cheesy potatoes - both from freezer. Potatoes fried up with mushrooms and onions.
Friday - baked cod and wild rice enhanced with mushrooms and red peppers.
WIS: $44; WIA:
Saturday: grilled steak tips with kale and roasted broccoli Caesar salad. (If anyone wants a great Caesar salad dressing, Serious Eats has one).
Sunday: chickpea dosa, za’atar spiced roasted pear and cabbage, tahini sauce. A new recipe. Not good.
Monday: homemade pizza. I always top mine with garlic scape pesto, mozz, pepperoni & broccoli
Tuesday: chili mac with kale stems
Wednesday: yogurt, popcorn & diet root beer. Don't judge - it was my birthday.
Thursday: Korean meatloaf, mac n' cheese, broccoli (from the freezer)
Friday: birthday dinner out: frankfurter & bratkartoffeln
@bettafromdaVille,
Happy Birthday!
What is Korean meatloaf? Meatloaf w/ kimchi mixed in?
Market Basket Just over $100 (surprised, but not surprised)
I really have not wanted to think about cooking, so it has been very sparse eating. I guess it is because dinnertime is just a chore lately.
Friday: Aldi fish&chips and crab cakes
Saturday Burgers
Sunday & Monday Corn beef sandwiches, pickles, fries
Tuesday & Wed Hot dogs, beans, brown bread
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Lasagna rolls, meatballs
Friday: Waffles and fruit
When I was at the grocery store Sunday, the people in front of me had 2 carts full (with a lot of plastic bags) of food. The charge came to over $600. It really was the first time I have paid attention to what other people are paying. I don’t know if they have a large family, were having a party, cook for others; but whatever it was a lot of money. Then Monday when I was at our local grocery store for the last minute cake for our friends, the young mother in front of me with a toddler spent over $200. A portion was paid by welfare food benefits. The “only” store in our town is expensive—I generally just stop in for small items. I wished she could shop at one of the area stores for better prices. Example: 2 small cans of baked beans in town $5; at the other store (next town over) on Sunday I bought 2 larger cans for $5. Thankfully I can hop in the car to go to other stores.
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