WIS, WWA | Also, I wore polka dots
What I Spent
So, the only shopping I did this week was a $151 trip to Costco.
Normally when I go to Costco, it pretty much blows my budget for that week. But apparently it works out all right if Costco is the ONLY place I go.
August Spending
Week 1: $76
Week 2: $162
Week 3: $151
What We Ate
Saturday
We had a takeout night.
Sunday
My siblings and parents met up at my parents' pool to celebrate my dad's 75th birthday.
Monday
I had to go to Costco, so I bought a rotisserie chicken for dinner.
I made a little gravy at home, using the juices in the bottom of the chicken container, and we also had croissants and some fresh produce.
Tuesday
My aunt insisted on feeding us when we went up to pick up the quilt, so that's where we had dinner.
My aunt is one of those people who is so comfortable in the kitchen that she can put a multi-item meal on the table while making it seem completely effortless.
I aspire to this because I mean, I do feed people, but I don't think I really give off effortless vibes.
Maybe I need some lessons from her...
Wednesday
The girls were not home at dinnertime, so I used the leftover rotisserie chicken to make a small dish of chicken and biscuits.
We had watermelon with that, plus I ate some fresh tomatoes.
Thursday
I made turkey, onion, and cheese panini with chipotle mayo.
I blend my chipotles up and store them in the fridge, and that makes it very easy to mix up chipotle mayo whenever I need it.
And I am sorry to say we ate watermelon with our sandwiches. Again.
This was not a particularly vegetable-full week for us at dinner!
Watermelon is in the gourd family, related to cucumber and squash and pumpkins.
So, basically a vegetable. 🙂
No matter how hard I try mum complains that her meals are inedible.
This week we have hard a lamb curry, butter chicken, another chicken dish and since most meals feed us several times that is it folks.
Aww, that must be really hard. Cooking is so much work, and when someone complains instead of being appreciative, that's tough. Hugs to you!
Ugh. That's a bummer. I feel for you on that one.
I'm sorry, too.
My mother has been disappointed by my boring wardrobe pretty much since I started clothing myself. She's much more stylish than I am.
Our food was also kind of boring this week, but we started back to school, which means I'm working two days a week again. The first week back is also very tiring, so simple was the only way to go.
Saturday: Bunless hamburgers, garlic bread, fried mushrooms, roasted sweet potato/bell pepper/onion/delicata squash
Sunday: Pork steaks, boiled potatoes, corn on the cob, chocolate chip cookies made by the eldest son. I am very happy to let him take over the Sunday dessert, as I really don't like baking much.
Monday: Overnight brisket that I sliced and put in the refrigerator in the morning so when I got home from work all I had to do was heat it up with barbecue sauce. Plus rice and frozen peas.
Tuesday: Giant chicken legs that were pre-seasoned with lemon pepper. I would not have bought these myself, but they were in the clearance section and my husband usually goes to the store, so he got them. We also had mashed potatoes, tomato salad (hooray for garden tomatoes and basil!), and roasted calabacita (a squash like zucchini) and onions
Wednesday: I made some taco meat with the leftover chicken for the kids, and then my husband had leftovers and I had a big salad
Thursday: Italian sliders (small hamburgers seasoned like meatballs), pasta with pesto, sauteed calabacita and tomatoes with garlic, frozen peas
Tonight: No idea. We continue to be hotter than is comfortable for a lot of cooking, and yet I continue to need to cook, so I keep trying to find things that are fast to cook on the stovetop. Maybe we'll just have eggs and sausage or something.
A boring food week- leftovers from the freezer, brats that were mediocre, romaine lettuce and cole slaw, some gnocchi which is the only Aldi food I’ve had so far that I disliked, and some onions and peppers. It was an inexpensive week except for birthday and house warming checks.
Kind of a off week, bit busy.... We have a few weeks till school starts, I think the 8th. At least the start of school is going to be not normal. DD will go 5- 1/2 days, and will have to sign in for the afternoon, DS, will do 1/2 days every other day, an online the other days, and in the afternoon. I think its going to be crazy, but I guess we will get her done! Thankful they are not little and will need little from me.
Saturday- went to MIL, she had a pizza party for DH birthday, ice cream cake
Sunday- mom/dad, mom made a ham, I did scalloped potatoes, veggies, sis and bil brought rye bread and some dessert, left over s'more lasagna mom made.
Monday-BBQ chicken on the grill, butter noodles, veggie
Tuesday- Pasta with homemade sauce, bread, I also had a salad.
Wednesday- Sausage peppers and onions, potatoes, Fried up some leftover mac cheese for the kids, since they do not eat sausage.
Thursday- kids and I had Wendy's, dh ate a late lunch, DS had practice
Friday-- Really not sure, I have an appointment , and DS has a tourney, I think we might cross paths, so I guess ds and dh will fend for themselves. dd and I will do the same.
I like your fashion style! Mine is similar to yours. Every once in a while I used to try to "reinvent" myself with a "fun" piece of clothing with a print or pattern and I always felt uncomfortable in it and ended up donating it. (That whole fantasy self versus reality deal.) I won't even buy prints anymore. I describe my wardrobe of solids as simple and classic!
Happy anniversary, by the way!
I gave my husband a Dutch oven for Father’s Day because he is a great cook and I’m not! However, I found a recipe (from Outdoor magazine!) for the juiciest chicken breasts, tried it, we both loved the chicken and now I’m hooked! This week, I’ve made fried chicken and beef stew in the Dutch oven. I’ve found my calling! And, I’m using food from our upright freezer and the pantry and learning to cook; win win for me!
I am going to try this. Thanks for the rec!
I didn't have many veggies this week either. I have been working at my sister's rental house most days and end up too tired to cook.
Saturday-chicken casserole, green beans, applesauce
Sunday-frozen waffles and sausage
Monday-spaghetti, green beans
Tuesday-leftover casserole
Wednesday-frozen French bread pizza
Thursday-scrambled egg, sausage, raisin bread toast
Friday-I am not working today so maybe I'll get some veggies cooked.
I was very uninspired this week.
We had spaghetti , burgers and fries, pizza and breakfast for dinner. I also made a jelly roll pan of zucchini snack bars. Not a great showing if veggies this week.
Polka dots look good on you!! Because the garden is still going strong and we have a packed freezer, the grocery bill was under $35 again this week. Here's what we ate:
Saturday - Build your own pizza.
Sunday - My daughter worked a long shift and was craving Panera mac & cheese. I couldn't say no to someone who was on their feet for 9 hours.
Monday - Refrigerator night. Cleared out a lot of stuff!!!
Tuesday - Veggie-dressed ham and turkey sandwiches with macaroni salad and chips.
Wednesday - Italian sausage goulash made with some of the tomato sauce I made over the weekend, salad and garlic toast.
Thursday - I made a roast in the crockpot and served it with corn and mashed potatoes.
Friday - We are getting together with another family for a socially-distanced Mexican fiesta under the stars and watching movies on their projector.
Your Friday night plans sound wonderful!
I bought some plaid shirts recently and the amount of comments I've received about changing up my wardrobe has been quite high. I normally wear solid colors (usually blue, grey and green) and have for decades now.
Sunday:
Monday: Tacos.
Tuesday: Made a pulled chicken with BBQ sauce in the Instant Pot. I can say that I enjoyed it better than how I normally do it (in a crock pot.) We also had brown rice and salads.
Wednesday: We opted for takeout as it's been a long time for us and I wanted fish. So we got fish and chips from the local grocery store. They were good although they had gone up in price.
Thursday: I experimented again with the Instant Pot. This time it was mashed potatoes. Now making mashed potatoes isn't difficult at all but I was doing this in prep for something like say Thanksgiving or Christmas in that it will keep the stove clear for something else. They actually came out really good.
We also ate vegetables with it and some ham from the freezer.
Friday: Probably either breakfast for dinner or something easy.
Well, we're gonna need before and after pics of this drastic wardrobe change! 😉
Sonia would be 100% supportive of this change. She loves colors and patterns.
The polka dots are very festive. I don't think I even have any polka dot shirts, although I have a few with stripes :). I remember being in Guatemala, marveling at how much pattern they wear in their clothing, and how well they mix and match an amazing array of patterns and colors. Those women have seriously superior skills with pattern and color.
This week we had:
Fried chicken with mashed cauliflower and gravy, and green beans. I found that adding arrowroot powder with the cassava flour on my chicken makes it nice and crispy, and I also fry mine in the Dutch oven. It reduces splatter and cuts down on my cooking time some.
Tuna salad made with carrot, celery, onion, and sliced grapes. Served with crackers and grain-free chips. We had this again last night, because I forgot to thaw out the hamburger. Oops.
I pulled some leftover cooked chicken from the freezer and made cassava tortillas for my version of "quesadillas," with chopped leaves off our "spinach" plant, cheese, sliced mushrooms and onions. My husband added salsa to his.
Meatloaf with roasted beets and fried okra from our okra plants. We had leftover meatloaf another night, with beets again and broccoli instead of okra because we didn't have enough okra to cook again, yet.
Catfish, fried. So good. We had frozen onion rings -- gluten free ones for me, regular for him, and vegan cole slaw. I also add a few raisins to my slaw, because we ate it that way in a restaurant once and we all liked it.
1. Cuke salad ...slices cukes in onions...garlic..plain yogurt and sour cream...salt..pepper 2. Chicken baked with sour cream...cream of chick soup..over minute rice ...3. Tomato sandwiches. 4. Green salad with pecans and blue berries 5. Sliced cantelope
It's the last full week of "no kitchen", and we got our dishwasher & sink back yesterday. I can tell you that you appreciate it so much after you've gone without it for six weeks or so! It's such a lovely gift to do dishes in the sink (vs the tub) & then load/wash in the dishwasher. It's a miracle.
We had:
Burgers (x2)
Orange chicken with cauliflower rice
Street tacos (Costco version) w/salsa verde, as we ended up with tomatillos in our produce box
Ground beef tacos w/salsa verde
In & Out (sadly, separate from the homemade burgers above)
We had salad with each meal, so there were veggies involved!
Oh, that is for sure. A kitchen remodel can be pretty miserable to live through. So glad yours is almost done!
Your post was fun as always! Tank top is adorable also...I love that you post the menu, I write ours out on the calendar since start of covid since we have been eating at home and don't want to make the same things to often, but have never had anyone to share it with lol, so thanks for letting us all share and swap ideas!
Sunday: Bacon/Ranch Chicken Casserole (google crack chicken) with salad and red velvet cupcakes
Monday: Grilled Italian Chicken on the grill with garlic pasta and salad
Tuesday: Regular and Fish Tacos with cabbage slaw and chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting (left over from the cupcakes)
Wednesday: Cheese Burgers and Veggie Burgers on the grill with air fryer tater tots and fruit salad
Thursday: Leftover night (everyone picks a favorite from the fridge)
Friday: Shepard Pie with Mushrooms and Bacon Brussel Sprouts (side salads always also it seems like since we have so many tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden right now)
Mr FG doesn't like tomatoes!
This reminds me of an Italian friend of mine. She married a man from Kansas, moved to the US & has lived here ever since. She once told me that after they were married, one day they sat down to eat & he commented that he didn't really like tomatoes.
She was so upset! She cried....she called her mother in Italy (getting her out of bed because it was the middle of the night there) thinking her marriage was over. 'How could a man marry an Italian woman & NOT eat tomatoes!'....she wailed to her mother. She said that Italians have tomatoes running through their veins.
It was such a hilarious story. Then she said that when they go visit her family in Italy, they don't serve any dishes with tomatoes....which frustrates her because she loves them & looks forward to her mother's wonderful cooking.
At least it's not a deal breaker in most marriages!
I think I am going back to weekly grocery shopping. I had been doing once every 2-3 weeks since the pandemic struck but its much easier to manage food waste and my budget by going weekly. I spent no money on groceries last week and ate from what I had.
Saturday - hot dog with home made french fries and salad
Sunday/Monday - panang curry with chicken and veggies in served over jasmine rice.
Tuesday - spaghetti
Wednesday - Tacos
Thursday - Sandwich from my favorite deli
Friday - not sure yet. We'll see what I get at the store this afternoon
Friday - Not sure.
I rarely wear patterns, too, and it disappoints me that readers would comment negatively on what you wear (except, of course, for your super-fun Stitch-Fix posts).
WWS: $32 WWA:
Saturday: Lebanese lamb arayes, homemade pita (shockingly easy!), yogurt-mint & cilantro sauce; roasted potato peels (leftover from earlier in the week); No-lettuce Greek salad with feta & pickled onions
Sunday: Peruvian grilled chicken with green aji amarillo sauce; quinoa; avocado & sautéed green beans and red peppers
Monday: Banh tom (sweet potato/shrimp fritters) over salad greens and cucumbers and carrots with nuoc cham; blistered green means with miso dressing
Tuesday: Roasted salmon with blistered tomatoes and herbs; golden zucchini and goat cheese tart. This was the bomb!: https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/zucchini-goat-cheese-tart
Wednesday: homemade pasta with homemade basil pesto; Caprese salad; sautéed veg from the garden
Thursday: Thai red curry with tofu and veg; jasmine rice
Friday: homemade pork gyoza; broccoli; Asian cabbage & red pepper slaw
Ummm... I seriously need to up my
menu game.
Beth, who needs fancy clothes when they can cook like you can? 🙂
I swear most of it was super simple! And, several things--like pie crust, pasta, pesto, gyoza--are what I had made previously and had in the freezer! Also, my partner enjoys cooking too, which makes a BIG difference. He does 90% of cleaning the house and doing the dishes as well...
Ah ha! I read the original comment and was thinking, "This sounds like Betta's sort of food . . " and then I see it WAS you commenting with a different name. Tricky. 🙂
Betta's food betrays her!
I thought exactly the same thing, Kristin. hahah. I look forward to seeing your menu each week, Betta!
Yum!!! Can I come over for dinner?
Love the polka dots! This has been a bad week in terms of fast food / carryout. My sister stayed at my house this weekend (she lives in Chicago) which always manages to wreck my mealplans
Saturday - carryout
Sunday - fast food
Monday - clean out the fridge night + baked sweet potato fries
Tuesday - grilled chicken, zucchini and sweet potatoes
Wednesday - pasta bake to use up a bunch of half-full containers
Thursday - fast food
Tonight - either BBQ pineapple chicken or a cheeseburger pasta skillet
Love navy blue polka dots. Overall I think you need to dress in a way that makes you comfortable. Sometimes gently switching things up is a fun way to try on a "new you" look but if it's not your thing, it's not your thing (and that's from a person who loves clothes!).
With the tomatoes .... there are a bazillion different varieties and some are much less acidic--maybe if Mr. FG tried a lower-acid tomato he'd prefer it? I have reflux issues and I love tomatoes so the lower acid variety allow me to indulge my tastebuds occasionally without causing too many issues.
Speaking of tomatoes and all things garden .... it's been a let's-use-up-produce week. I'm sure many of you can relate.
Monday--tried a new recipe for zucchini boats stuffed with a sausage stuffing and tomatoes--super yum!
Tuesday--sheet pan supper with smoked sausage and, yes, lots of garden veggies. Including cherry tomatoes. My son will eat roasted broccoli, hooray!
Wednesday--Cheeseburger pie topped with ... wait for it ... tomatoes.
Thursday--Tacos, because ... tomatoes.
Friday--probably some sort of crockpot Chinese chicken recipe--we are helping my son with his Eagle Scout project and need something we can eat on a flexible schedule. And probably sliced tomatoes. Kristen, you'd be SO happy with our tomato abundance!
For a late lunch yesterday we had 'demi sourdough buns' with canned salmon/celery/vegan mayo. Add in a banana and an orange for dessert. Every breakfast we have Overnight Oatmeal with nuts & seeds, 2 ounces of Almond Milk (hubby makes up a batch of almond milk twice a week) with 4 oz. frozen Blueberries. I made two large batch meals last week: Pureed Broccoli & Cauliflower Soup and a 7 Layer Casserole, and froze 2/3rds of each batch, both made in the slow cooker. We also have fresh lemons juiced with added hot water every morning. Also bought 2 lbs of BC Cherries for just under $18.00. Since we eat mostly Vegan, red meat, dairy and very few 'snack' foods, we stay on our food budget of $200.00 a month for the two of us.
I am one of your readers who teases you about your neutrals. And you looked adorable in the polka dots. I'm glad they came back in a few years back. I can remember them from the 1950s. Yes, yes, old gal here. 😀
Also: I have a very bright blue-ish purple tank top on today. You would be so proud!
I know this week we've had...Sesame Chicken w/ a side salad, One-Pot Creamy Chicken Pesto pasta, Shrimp Fajitas, Homemade Pizza, and probably a fish/roasted veggies/salad night too. Fairly typical week around here!
Yay polka dots! You look so summery! It’s awesome that you 1) know your style, 2) aren’t afraid to switch it up now and again, and 3) listen to suggestions so graciously. It’s so easy to just stick with what works and never take a chance on a color or cut that might work even better!
A gifted seamstress friend recently recreated my favorite vintage dress from the 60s (a fluke second-hand find/treasure that I wore into the ground over seven years. Before me, at least five other women had loved and repaired it, going by the stitching. My friend had to carefully reinforce each piece of the dress before she could even make a pattern from it!). I took a chance and chose cobalt blue cloth for the new dress vs. the original olive green. 70% of my wardrobe is shades of green because my best color became my default color. Gorgeous as that dress was in green, it is AMAZING in cobalt, in part because it’s so different from most of what I wear.
In short, good on you for trying something new! You look great in everything, anyway—except that one StitchFix turtle sweater. 😉
No one could look good in that sweater. lol
And thank you!
Monday - Sloppy joes, corn on the cob, green beans
Tuesday - Mac and cheese with smoked sausage in it, cantaloupe, corn on the cob
Wednesday - Dino chicken nuggets, green beans
Thursday - Tacos
Friday - My plan was to grill chicken leg quarters, but the meat is not thawed and my grill is out of propane. I'm going to check out everyone else's menus to look for inspiration!
Some of you guys are so creative with your meals! This time of year, at our house it is all about the vegetables flooding us from the garden.
Made zucchini latkes on Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday. Cucumber and tomato salads each night, too. Watermelon for dessert.
Tuesday we had moose chili that was made from greenhouse tomatoes that also had some zucchini and carrots shredded into it. Girl Scout cookies that had been hiding in the freezer for dessert.
Thursday it was halibut, zucchini and leeks au gratin. Apple and rhubarb sauce on ice cream for dessert, made from garden rhubarb and two very sad apples lounging in the back of the fridge.
Tonight it is McDonalds filet of fish and for dessert really delicious and not too sweet zucchini muffins made from the recipe on the blog Alexandra's kitchen. Each recipe uses a pound of zucchini so I have been making it every few days and freezing most of the results for winter but we do like them as a replacement for cake for dessert.
It is in the 40s at night now and the zucchini plants seem to be calling it quits so soon the zucchini menu will ease up at our house. Lots shredded and in the freezer for winter but now we start switching to cabbage and leeks.
Bought only two things at the grocery store this week: milk and cream.
We had sandwiches every night. My family would like for me to cook something, but I come shambling in from work like a zombie and slap something between two pieces of bread, add some carrots and fruit, and call it good. We have ice cream for dessert.
Ice cream cures a lot. We are also on a Root Beer Float kick, which is also fun and super easy.
Love the polka dots!! I have finally decided to embrace my style and not force myself too far out of it. I regret those purchases, not frugal! Plain/plain with textures/stripes/lace/polka dots and maaaaaybe the occasional floral....
Backwards from last night. Friday - Chinese from the local takeaway that only opened earlier this year.
Thursday - salmon cakes with a hollandaise sauce centre, pan-fried basa, frozen mixed veggies and mashed potatoes. All from Aldi.
Wednesday - daughter had mac and cheese and we had leftovers or sandwiches.
Tuesday - marinated chicken breast steaks, rice, and stir-fried veggies for 4 with 2 guests. Daughter and I had toad on a road and bacon.
Monday - I seriously can't remember this one.
Sunday - blank again.
Saturday - leftover pizza from Friday.
OMG, the kitty on the puzzle picture melts my heart! My kitty went to heaven last year, and she loved, loved, loved puzzles! It was hilarious to watch her pick her way over a puzzle in progress. The pieces would get caught on her claws and she would shake them off with the funniest flicking motion. She was also a calico, so all my puzzles had white cat hair on them, because of course they are an excellent sleeping surface. And I would always find puzzle pieces on the chairs and the floor in the morning. She would look up at me with that innocent, "Who, me?" face, which cracked me up every time.
I recently cleaned out the far reaches of my big closet. As I went through the pants section, the lower third of the darkest trouser legs were absolutely coated in white cat hair. I never knew this was one of her secret hideaways. RIP, sweet Alice.
Lol, when I saw the polka dots mentioned, I thought this was going to be another Stitch Fix update. Hint, hint.
You are always well dressed and if patterns just do not work for you- then don't buy them! I've had to acknowledge that even if I buy clothes with patterns, I will very rarely wear them. I will simply forget their existence- even in the most recent heatwave I forgot I had a lightweight but decent floral dress! When you consider the materials, water, transport and labor that go into garments - let them be worn by someone who feels comfortable in them!
What we ate: homecooked meals throughout the week, in spite of said heatwave. One of the tastiest meals was steak and watermelon salad with mint. But we also had green salads and potato salads and paella with seafruit. The paella was also a bigt hit, it was cooked with homemade broth. Perfect hot weather meals!