WIS, WWA | And it's off to work I go!
What I Spent
I'll be at the hospital as you read this. 🙂
(As an employee! Not as a patient!)
I spent:
- $22 at Aldi
- $67 at Sam's Club
- $30 on a Hungry Harvest box.
So, $119 for the week.
What We Ate
Saturday
I do know what I ate the other nights but you guys, I really do not know what was eaten Saturday night. Ha. I often take a picture of my meal so I remember, but I've got nothin' for Saturday!
Sunday
Zoe was at work, so I had the last of the chickpea salad, plus some cottage cheese and fruit.
Monday
Avocado toast. Because I am rich in avocados right now, as I mentioned. 🙂
Tuesday
I boiled some cheese tortellini, topped it with a pink sauce, and added some pan-sauteed chicken thighs. Green salad on the side.
Wednesday
I made some burgers and this time I cooked them on my stovetop grill pan. I'm a pretty diehard griller, but the air is so cold outside, it takes a lotta propane to heat up the grill and maintain a hot temperature.
So it seemed more sensible to stay inside!
Thursday
I got a rotisserie chicken from Sam's Club and we had that with some potatoes and green beans, along with a quick gravy.
Friday
A work day for me, and you know what that means: a sandwich and bedtime for me when I get home. 😉
I did pack chicken, potato, and green bean leftovers for my work lunch, though.
I have a feeling you've answered this before, but do you reheat leftovers at work? Or will you eat your chicken, potato and green beans cold? Or do you put them into your stainless steel containers hot so they're warm when you get around to eating?
I really struggle to eat "warm" foods cold, but my brother-in-law NEVER heats anything he takes for lunch. Leftover spaghetti or burgers? Always bone cold. Eeks.
Oh yes, I do reheat thing! When I have a main dish that needs reheating, I pack it in a glass container. So today my chicken/beans/potatoes are in a Pyrex container and my cottage cheese/fruit is in a stainless steel container. 🙂
I don't mind some leftovers cold, but a cold burger is diabolical! (with no offense to your brother-in-law. Ha.)
@Kristen, I actually like cold hamburgers, but they are a completely different food than a hot hamburger.
@Elisabeth,
I have to admit, I do like cold spaghetti - meaning, leftover spaghetti with marinara sauce on it - but cold burgers? Ummm, no, but to each his own.
@Kristen, I eat cold burger patties all the time. Cold spaghetti sounds pretty yucky though. Left over spaghetti is so good when reheated in a skillet.
I have a friend that will eat room temperature Chef Boyardee out of the can. Yuck (pretty yuck when heated, too, though).
@Elisabeth, I love Chinese, pizza, and many foods cold. My husband makes a face when I do.
@Tammy, a lot of sodium in it too as well as Spaghettios. And food targeted to kids no less.
Yum!
This week spent about $250 - this seems to be our minimum for a family of 4 in Australia (high cost of living).
Meals included- Roast pork loin and veggies (did us for 2 nights)
Fish tacos (using frozen Basa fillets) with homemade pickled cabbage (delicious!) and avocado
Aldi spinach and cheese spanakopita
Beef Bolognaise pasta cooked with leftover tomato juice- was really yum
Roasted chicken thighs with roast veggies
Pretty happy with our meals although I’d prefer to have an extra vegetarian meal or two (healthy and cheaper too).
WIS: 276@Aldi and 754 on a farm share that we won't start eating until May, but seeing as we still have food from this past farm share (onions, garlic, sweet potatoes, and a few pickled things), I can't really complain. We definitely get our money's worth out of our farm share.
WWA:
Fri: we did indeed have salad and focaccia, and the world is finally right side up again. 😉
Sat: salad with feta and olives, a veggie frittata which had feta, broccoli, sweet potato and the last of the daikon radishes, toast with butter and jam and egg nog bread with caramel Greek yogurt for dessert.
Sun: salad and turkey and dumplings soup which used up some turkey stock and shredded cooked turkey from the freezer.
Mon: salad and leftover turkey and dumpling soup.
Tue: salad and pasta (buccatini) with chipotle pumpkin sauce and shake Parm.
Wed: salad (this salad contained the last of the farm share cabbage) and crispy General Tso's tofu and vegetables over rice. We had chocolate coconut macarons for dessert.
Thu: salad and shepherd's pie made with ground turkey and freezer puff pastry dough.
Tonight: salad and focaccia again, God willin' an the crick don't rise...
Have a great weekend, everyone!
@Becca, Okay, now I have to do a poll . . . I have always said "Lord willin' and the crick don't rise." Who says God, and who says Lord?
@kristin @ going country, Lord and creek for me.
@kristin @ going country,
I was raised with "Good Lord willin' and the crick don't rise."
@JD, Same here.
@Ruby, same here
@Ruby, You're correct. The expression was referring to the Creek Native American tribe. Google Benjamin Hawkins, General Superintendent of Indian Affairs under President Washington with responsibility for all tribes south of the Ohio River. Summoned back to Philadelphia to meet with Washington, Hawkins (supposedly) said he could make the trek "God willing and the Creek don't rise."
@JDinNM, well, that's my new fun fact for the day! I always just thought it referred to a creek overflowing its banks (which the one near our house when I was a kid did now and then). And I was raised saying "God" and "creek," BTW.
@kristin @ going country,
Such an interesting question. My dad said, "God" and my mom said "Lord."
One was raised hillbilly with an unknown religion, one was Catholic. Wonder if that has something to do with it?
@ms.b214@gmail.com, I say "God" and "creek." I'm from Michigan originally and I think that was the norm there.
@kristin @ going country,
I'm in New England...and don't believe I have ever even heard this expression
@JDinNM, That’s believed not true, there is no letter. The guy had children with and later married a muscogee woman( they didn’t call themselves creek) but a few argue she was white.
*grew up around muscogee nation
@kristin @ going country,
God and creek is what I hear most often around these here parts. I had never heard this expression until I met my DH (25+ years ago).
@A. Marie,
Same here! I thought it meant water rising to overflowing in a creek.
@ms.b214@gmail.com,
My DH is from hillbilly stock, and says "God". You raise an interesting point!
@JD,
Me too!
@JDinNM, My linguistics professor considered that explanation a myth: https://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-god1.htm
@Tiana, You must have missed the "supposedly" parenthetical.
@JDinNM, nope. Didn’t miss it.creek don’t rise does not refer to the Muskogee (creek) nation.
@Liz B., my mother's side is hillbilly and it was lord willing. Different pockets of hillbillies I guess.
-We pack sandwich makings for an overnight trip.
-One meal on the trip we went to a Chinese buffet.
- turkey, broccoli pasta bake, sautéed zucchini and bread and butter.
- brisket sandwiches
- Canned chili for a night I was out during supper.
What is pink sauce
Basically a tomato sauce that’s creamy! You can do it a lot of ways, but this time I just added a splash of half and half to some basic tomato sauce.
Split pea soup made from my parents' Easter ham bone. Split peas, carrots, celery, potatoes, some spices, French bread. Dinner for a week. Grateful for every bowl.
Ooh that pasta and chicken looks so good - I am a big fan of chicken thighs! This week:
Monday - kitchen closed {freebie chicken nuggets and kale salad from Chik-Fil-A}
Tuesday - Green Curry Pasta with Shrimp and Spinach - this was merely OK. I'm not a huge fan of green curry.
Wednesday - Italian Chicken and Rice with broccoli - this made a LOT and I had two meals leftover
Thursday - Brisket Salad with spring mix, iceberg, tomato, purple onion, jalapenos, salsa and a little lemon vinaigrette.
Friday - (freezer) Baked sweet potato topped with taco meat, salad on the side
Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed, but I have meals prepped
Happy Work Weekend!
I'm going to try and remember what we had.
Sunday: honey garlic chicken wings -- great taste together believe it or not.
Monday: can't remember
Tuesday: beef stew in the crock pot
Wednesday: Shepherd's Pie from leftover beef mixture in the freezer. I usually make the meat mixture with 1 lb of ground beef and split it into 3 servings. Then all I have to do is heat up a serving and make fresh mashed potatoes for the topping.
Thursday: Black bean soup.
Tonight: Chicken parm since we have just enough leftover mozzarella from pizza on Saturday night.
Husband ate all the frozen ham and bean soup, so he will have the rest of the black bean soup for lunch next week. I am eating the leftover stew for lunch since he really isn't a fan and I am.
All I was hearing in my head when I read the title was "Heigh hooooo, heigh hooooo . . ."
Saturday: I found out at about noon that we were going to have two unexpected overnight guests, whom I had never met before, and the plan I had for the leftover chicken would not have been enough for dinner for eight people. Luckily, we have a lot of ground elk at the moment, and that defrosts pretty quickly in cold water. So I made elkloaf, mashed potatoes, carrots with butter and maple syrup, and I already had some chocolate chip cookies I had made the day before. Yes, I will absolutely serve elevated cafeteria food for a company dinner. Fancy is just not in my repertoire.
Sunday: Now for the chicken! I mixed it with salsa and spices and then used it to make toasted burritos with canned refried beans and cheese. We also had raw radishes and bell peppers, and vanilla ice cream with maple syrup for Sunday dessert.
Monday: I had made a chicken and vegetable soup on Saturday that two of the children had for dinner, with extra-sharp cheddar cheese on the side. Two other children and my husband had leftover elkloaf and mashed potatoes, plus either pureed calabaza (squash) or raw radishes. And I had a salad with leftover chicken in it.
Tuesday: Lamb curry I made by cutting the bony end off leg-of-lamb steaks to make a stock, then cooking in that carrots, potatoes, the last of some pureed roasted tomatoes, onions, peas, the chopped rest of the lamb from the steaks, and some already-cooked split peas and pureed squash to thicken it. Plus cream, because I always add cream or sour cream to curry. And we still have green tomato chutney to serve with it, which pleases me. Oh, and rice, of course. And I had made peanut butter cookies this day, too.
Wednesday: More leftovers! Some had big ole meatloaf sandwiches. Two had leftover curry. One had just the meatloaf and mashed potatoes. I had a salad with the last of the leftover chicken.
Thursday: I made a very thick stew-y mixture of lamb and chickpeas that I served over mashed potatoes. No vegetables. It just didn't happen. There were still peanut butter cookies, though. 🙂
Tonight: Here's where you get my stream-of-consciousness menu planning . . . I have a very busy day ahead of putting away the church Christmas decorations and then cleaning the church, plus I think we're going to be butchering the second ram lamb this afternoon. It would behoove me to have something easy for dinner. So! I do have a pot of mostly-vegetable soup, with a little ground elk in it, that I made yesterday that at least a few people will eat happily. Plus a loaf of garlic bread I made yesterday. That would not be enough for everyone, and there are those who are not pleased with soup. I have the last of the Christmas ham in the freezer, maybe two cups of it. I think I will take that out to thaw, so that if we don't end up butchering, I can microwave some potatoes and dice those to fry with the ham. And then if we DO end up butchering, I'll cut some medallions from the back strap and fry those for those who don't eat the soup. And then I can use the ham to make split pea soup tomorrow when it's going to be super cold and wintery. There's the plan.
@kristin @ going country, your feats in the kitchen never cease to amaze me (and, I think, everyone else here)!
@kristin @ going country,
You are the queen of leftover reinvention! Plus thinking in flow chart style: "if {we butcher a ram lamb}, then {this meal will happen}." 🙂
@Liz B.,
I also like the word "elkloaf". 🙂
WWS: $472 at Kroger. Stocking up after getting back from our trip (we were nearly out of produce).
WWA, Back home and First Week of School for Everyone Edition:
Weekend was homemade pizzas, as always. Some of us use corn tortillas, some use homemade flatbreads, some use store-bought flour tortillas.
Monday: Tuna burgers (made by DS#1, who wanted to learn how to make them) and roasted carrot soup. Carrot soup was delightful and a welcome addition to the meal rotation.
Tuesday: Hamburger stew. DS#2 learned a valuable lesson about starting crockpot stews EARLY in the day. The potatoes were a tad crunchy. The next day I took the leftovers and boiled them on the stove for lunch and they were perfect. I made boxed mac and cheese for the Selective Eater.
Wednesday: A failed experiment of lentil burgers on my part. They smelled good while I was mixing them, tasted fine before baking, then when I did bake them til they held together they were so dry and all the flavor was gone. Meh. DH is taking one for the team and using them for work lunches, bless his heart. The kids were very polite and ate them (even the Selective Eater--he's really only fussy about soups and stews), but I shan't try those again. At least it was an inexpensive fail (lentils being only 2 bucks a pound).
Thursday: DS#1 made burgers and baked potatoes. A very satisfying meal, especially with salad on the side.
Friday: Taco night courtesy of DS#3.
WIS: $82 at Food Lion.
WWA: Chili. A pan of roasted chicken thighs and carrot chunks, generously seasoned with Penzy's Arizona Dreaming spice mix and served up with Dixie Lily brand yellow rice, which is delicious. White bean-ham-kale soup with chunks of roasted sweet potatoes. A skillet dinner that's basically a pasta-peppers-sausage dish with red kidney beans added. This week I stretched it a bit with minimal extra calories by adding mushrooms and extra tomatoes. For those who wanted a snacky-type meal, there were nuts, oranges, apples, homemade croutons, cheese of various kinds, rye crackers and protein shakes.
WIS: 28 cents at Ollie's. 🙂 (The other $34.07 was covered by what was left on the Bestest Neighbors' gift card.)
WIA: The week's highlight: I made a chili on Wednesday with the last pound from a 3-pound Reduced for Quick Sale package of ground turkey I bought some time ago (I divided it into 1-pound packets and froze those separately); plus cans of tomatoes, black beans, and corn that were either pushing or beyond their best-by dates; plus two-thirds of a jar of Newman’s Own black bean and corn salsa (found on the clearance rack at Price Chopper). In fact, I may start buying jars of discounted salsa just to put them into chili! The Bestest Neighbors have given this chili four thumbs up.
@A. Marie,
Except for those who didn't shop at all, I think you win for "least out of pocket" for groceries.
I buy a rack of baby back ribs at Winco for so much cheaper than ribs in a restaurant costs!! We like them from time to time.I have a simple recipe that makes them so yummy, in the oven, and the whole rack feeds us THREE TIMES.I cook ONCE and then freeze the leftovers and sauce into 2 other packages for 2 more meals down the road.Served up with mashed potatoes and green beans and homemade cole slaw:Heart winter meal!
Farfalle pasta with sliced sauted peppers and mushrooms.Big salad
Salmon with lemon and everything bagel seasoning made in microwave to perfection with side of orzo with feta cheese and olives and some green beans
Quinoa white bean salad with lemony dressing, side of roasted carrots.
Over fried tilapia with some salsa verde on top with rice and roasted carrots.
I love to set a nice table, play music on spotify and enjoy a good meal with my husband. We are retired ,I enjoy cooking,and we don't like spending money in restaurants,prefer the ambiance of our dining room or eating out on the patio by the pool in nice weather.Saves sooo much money and is much more romantic!
WIS: $130 for two adults, but it was a restock week after being gone for a trip, so just a smidge above our allocated $125 a week.
WWA:
Sat- Leftover pizza in line as we attended the last night of a film festival we were attending.
Sun- Dinner at our quarterly book club meeting, which is now on it's 20th year. We are a stalwart group!
The host made lasagna, salad, and homemade sourdough bread.
Mon- Chicken & Sausage slow cooker stew over pasta, salad, rosemary focaccia that I made myself. 🙂
Tue- Shared short rib grilled cheese sandwich at a nearby cafe, as this restaurant, along with many others, was donating 20% of their proceeds on Tuesday to the LA Wildfire Recovery Fund, and we wanted to support their efforts.
Wed- Mon night leftovers
Thur- Trader Joe Masala veggie burgers, hot air fryer French fries, salad
Fri- Meeting friends for Happy Hour.
Kristen, your meals always sound so wonderfully “gourmet “ to me !
Our meals this week were chili over rice for Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday dinner was baked potatoes with toppings of broccolini, cheese and onion. Last night we had tomato/basil soup and grilled cheese. Tonight we’ll have breakfast for dinner: sausage, eggs and focaccia. Not sure what the weekend meals will be.
We spent just shy of $50 this week. I shop monthly shopping, so this was a top up of things like half and half, almond milk, and butter (butter was on sale, so I stocked up). And stupid expensive chicken noodle soup because hubby was sick and just wanted broth.
What we ate:
▪︎Homemade chili with beef and spam. We did a cross-country move last year and apparently ended up with food my parents packed. I am not a fan of spam personally, but it was good mixed in. I froze 1/2 for an easy meal down the road.
▪︎ Creamy turkey soup. Basically add creamed spinach, poultry, black eyed peas. I used leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, but it's great with chicken. Broth was homemade- but depleted my on-hand stash.
▪︎ Bear meat burgers. A neighbor was cleaning out his freezer to add more meat and brought us a haul. I forget what side we had. This reminds me-
◇Does anyone have a foolproof bun recipe? I cannot make them for the life of me.
▪︎ Shredded deer tacos. I've gotten into using cabbage because it lasts longer than lettuce. I did half onion and cilantro then half cabbage and cheese.
▪︎ 15 bean soup with a ham hock from freezer and homemade bread, which got pushed out to make room for the meat.
▪︎ Fried rice with odds and ends- last of a carrot, celery stick, some ham, handful of shredded cabbage, etc.
I'm so looking forward to when my garden is sprouting and I can have more fresh produce!
@Shelly, this is the recipe I've been using for a couple of years now. They always turn out awesome. https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/beautiful-burger-buns-recipe
@Shelly, bear meat?? I'm intrigued!
@Lori,
I second the King Arthur bun recipe.
@Shelly, Spam is excellent when grilled. Or fried in a pan or baked. Yes, I like Spam. Not any of the flavored ones and we do buy the less sodium version. Sandwiches or as a breakfast meal meat.
WIS - let's see, about $138, which included a farm order. This is for two weeks, but I am still not having to buy much in the way of meat.
WIA:
Chicken Tikka Masala over cauliflower rice. I think I had Cara oranges on the side one time and beets another.
The last of a leg of lamb with broccoli and cauliflower rice (I cooked a bunch of cauli rice)
Farm bacon with komatsuna greens from the garden and honey carrots (some from the garden, some using up the last of store-bought carrots)
German rouladen (sp?) with cabbage and roasted beets, plus again with more komatsuna greens and roasted beets. I cooked a lot of beets, too.
Tonight, not sure. I may make a fancy sandwich. TBD.
We had a slow and uneventful week. WWA:
Saturday- hamburgers cooked on the stove top, oven fries
Sunday - chicken stir fry with odds and ends veg from the crisper
Monday - leftovers
Tuesday- leftovers
Wednesday - leftover lasagna from the freezer
Thursday- sausages and pirogies
Friday - planning to make sheet pan chicken and veggie fajitas
Wishing everyone a wonderful week ahead
This week we discovered the green Zhoug sauce from TJ, flavorful with cilantro and cardamom, a little spicy. Highly recommend to elevate any food!
Saturday:
Spaghetti Puttanesca (without the anchovies) with broccoli
Sunday:
Beef gravy (& bean gravy for vegetarian option) with mashed potatoes, grilled whole young carrots from TJ.
Monday:
Shepherd's pie from leftover mashed potato and beef gravy, vegetarian option with beans. Leftover grilled carrots.
Tuesday:
Chicken breasts with rice and a brothy swiss chard with Zhoug sauce from TJ, tofu for vegetarian
Wednesday:
Mushroom filled raviolis from TJ, grilled broccoli, cauliflower and red onions.
Thursday:
Sausages with small butter potatoes, green salad. Omelet for vegetarian option.
Friday:
Easy button with TJ frozen orange chicken and buffalo cauliflower (with added tofu) as vegetarian option. Perhaps with rice or noodles. Frozen peas on the side.
We eat all dinner leftovers as lunches the next day, but can luckily warm them up at home. When I used to go into the office I also packed a glass Pyrex or transferred the food to a large ceramic bowl I kept at the office.
@Kristina M., as a vegetarian, your meals all sound fabulous!
WIS: $41.93
So far this year, $51.89 on groceries* and $14.84 on a lunch out with friends.
WIA: Pesto corn salad with shrimp; shrimp and asparagus stir fry; Old Bay seasoned shrimp salad on salad greens, and again on a mini croissant (if you’re sensing a theme, it’s because I got a good buy on some shrimp and croissants this month); egg, ham and Havarti cheese on a mini croissant (breakfast for dinner); roasted Delicata squash stuffed with – no! not shrimp! – wild rice with mushrooms and sausage.
*If you’re interested, National Public Radio (www.npr.org) published an exhaustive look into food prices this week (“NPR shopped at Walmart to track how inflation is changing prices”). In the aggregate, food prices were up only 0.7% last year, which was far less than overall annual inflation of 2.7%, and a number of items actually got cheaper, including garlic, bananas and, of all things, salmon. BUT food prices are still up 23% since 2019. Sugar is up 74%, eggs 83%, Tide laundry detergent has shrunk from 100 ounces down to 84 but costs $1 more (“shrinkflation”). Domino sugar’s maker ASR Group says its freight trucking costs are up 19%, sea shipping up 45%, rail shipping 17%, wages 15%, all of which is reflected in the vastly increased price of sugar.
So the Covid pandemic music may have died but the resulting inflationary melody lingers on.
Wishing everyone a lovely -- and sugar-free -- frugal weekend!
@JDinNM, yeah, I noticed the Tide shrinkflation when the grocery store bottles went down to 84 ounces, and 92-ounce bottles (representing the previous shrinkflation from 100 ounces) started appearing at Ollie's with discounts. Realizing what was going on, I stocked up on Tide Coldwater Clean (my detergent of choice for my front-loader), and this should last me a while.
@JDinNM, Interesting! I’ll look for the NPR story. I suppose the price of sugar gives me extra incentive to cut back on the sweets!
@A. Marie, I've just cut back on how much detergent I'm using per load. Ignore those markings on the cap!
@JDinNM, I use the markings in my washer's detergent compartment, which call for a lot less than the Tide cap does.
@A. Marie, Gosh. I wonder why Tide thinks we should use so much more detergent than anybody else recommends.... 'tis a puzzlement!
@JDinNM, it's as puzzling as the shampoo companies that tell us to lather, rinse, repeat!
Two nights: Crockpot pork roast with gravy, steamed green beans, homemade apple sauce (from my apple tree), homemade bread with butter and homemade jam (from my plum tree)
One night: Bratwurst grilled in the oven, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli
Two nights: Tuna casserole, steamed zucchini, cantaloupe
I base my meals on what is on sale at the grocery store, or what needs to stop taking up room in my freezer.
Oh, let's see. As always, it's a struggle to remember!
-I made a delicious zuppa toscano soup, and had that for dinner & some lunches
-Similarly, I made crockpot chicken & dumplings, and had that for dinner, as well as lunches
-I also made a one dish chicken & rice dinner, which was fine but nothing super exciting. We had that 2x
-I had Korean beef from the freezer, over rice DH made
-I fasted one night, as I'd had a late lunch & DS17 had an evening soccer game
As for tonight, I'm really unsure of the plan. DS17 has an earlier game, but we're heading home, loading the car & driving to Lake Tahoe for some skiing. After the two soccer playing teens shower, of course. That is a requirement to get into the car. We will also have another friend as well. If all of the teens are fed, we probably won't stop for dinner. I might pick up Subway for myself & DS17 to inhale before we get in the car. Who knows. Otherwise, maybe fasting again + late lunch, as I will be eating out the next few nights.
WIS: $133 @ Kroger
WWA:
Saturday: Leftover Turkey Chili & Baked Potatoes
Sunday: Burrito Bowls with Mexican Chicken, Rice, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Cheese, Salsa
Monday: White Chicken Enchiladas
Tuesday: Leftovers for some & a protein smoothie for me
Wednesday: Chicken tacos with all the trimmings for some & a protein smoothie for me
Thursday: Chicken with a quick pan gravy, rice, zucchini & yellow squash, and homemade biscuits for some & a protein smoothie for me
Friday: Leftovers for all &, you guessed it, a protein smoothie for me 🙂
Happy Weekend everyone!!!
$47.77 on salad/veggie items, a baguette, pack of water, and some milk.
We had:
greek chicken salad with veggies, hummus, and pita
chili and corn bread (ate the chili again the next day for lunch on baked potatoes)
bbq/cacciatore type of baked chicken breasts with mashed potatoes and asparagus
lasagna with salad and some baguette
a mix of leftovers
chicken breasts tacos with rice and beans
tonight we are going out with a gift card my parents gave us
This week, we enjoyed:
- Homemade tomato soup and salad
- Veggie spring rolls and edamame
- Black beans, rice, corn, and green pepper mixed with salsa and shredded cheese
- Pasta and broccoli with walnuts and parmesan cheese
- Popcorn and ants on a log
- Spinach quiche and salad
- Gelato - yup, my husband and I shared huge scoops of sea salt caramel and butter pecan. No regrets.
@MB in MN, I had to look up "ants on a log" to make sure you and your husband weren't becoming insectivores!
@MB in MN,
I remember ants on a log from when I was a kid. I always thought they were fun to make.
@JD, @A. Marie, fun to eat and a great way to use up celery, too.
@A. Marie, If you like peanut butter, you should really try them. They are way better than they have any right to be. Salt (from the celery and peanut butter), sugar (peanut butter and raisins) and fat (peanut butter again). The most delicious food trifecta.
Sunday: we had snacky food with our kids as we watched football together, played games & hung out. We made chicken wings, veggies and dip, homemade pizza logs, popcorn, chocolate chip cookies
Monday: Used a gift card for dinner at Olive Garden (we forgot we had the gift card, then found it)
Tuesday: grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup
Wednesday: chili lime chicken skewers, fried potatoes, garlicky green beans
Thursday: fish, shrimp (regular and coconut shrimp), macaroni and cheese and pickles (using up some items from the freezer)
Friday: bacon cheddar cheeseburgers and fries
WIS: Farmers Market-$83; HMart- $15; Butcher- $60; Neighborhood- $14; S&S- $8; the Star- $11; Flashfood- $38; TGTG- $5; Milk delivery- $20.50 Total- $254.50
WWA: Sat- Big Mac Sausage on a roll, french fries, pickle
Sun- Chinese sparerib sausage, scallion and chili crisp sausage, ramen and bok choy
Mon- can't remember ???
Tues- turkey kielbasa, golabki, ratatouille pierogi
Wed- Leftover of Tues dinner
Thurs- Salad with butternut squash, dried pomegranate seeds, roasted squash seeds, parm and vinaigrette with kale sauce pasta and Caesar marinated chicken
Fri- Steak tips, asparagus and likely some kind of potato
Soup...Monday was chicken, corn, potato, and poblano soup
How do you like to prepare your green beans? They look so vibrant and fresh! Yum. Maybe you should do a series sometime on side dishes you can make like different cooked veggies, side salads, potato sides, and things like that? Sometimes it is so hard to be creative and come up with those when cooking on a weeknight!
Cleaning out the freezer and pantry weeks! In no particular order
Freezer Veggie sausage and baked in the pan pancakes with bananas
Freezer veggie meatballs with pasta
Pesto with chicken sausage
Baked potatoes with cheese sauce and roasted broccoli
Out to eat
Charcuterie board - paint n non alcoholic sip night- bought clearance Christmas paint by number kits at Michael's for fun. Can't beat 80% off with Aldi bubbly grape juice.
Refried bean enchiladas- I have no idea why we have four packs of tortillas.
We both had big stomach problems most of the week. There was lots of sleeping, ice water, Pedialyte, and diet 7up. Yogurt, a banana, and apple rounded out the menu. Today was exciting, a slice of peanut butter toast, the DH wanted milk, I had coffee. Not hungry.
Oh, how I love reading everyone's meals for the week! I may have to try a few things. I spent 62.00 at the grocery store, 22.10 loading my card for coffee for the next 2 weeks, 4.09 at McD's for a coffee and fries, which I ate about a dozen and thought, nope, not want I want, and 13.00 on a black bean rice bowl. I had leftovers for lunch, and meals were pork tenderloin with veggies ( I had supper with my mother, as I can't see her daily now that I am working FT), popcorn another night, salad and chicken wings on Thursday. Breakfast has been protein smoothies ( vanilla protein powder, plain Keifer, OJ, frozen berries and chia seeds. I don't use ice). My plan is to make soup for lunch and plan out my suppers a little more.
Bday dine out - pizza and appetizers
Dine out Mexican
Leftover Mexican and leftover pizza
Pot roast with mashed potatoes
Grilled cheeseburgers with leftover hash browns, mashed potatoes, and asparagus
Ravioli stuffed with spinach and ricotta in a sauce with onions, red peppers, mushrooms, leftover cooked carrots and shrimp
Carnitas with fixings, leftover rice with onion/red pepper/mushrooms and ground beef.
Saturday: Korean beef lettuce wraps (from The Frugal Girl!) I always add a side of rice, plus shredded carrot as an extra topping
Sunday: Meatloaf, scalloped potatoes, broccoli
- my daughter requested the scalloped potatoes. I will NOT be making that huge recipe again! We couldn’t make it through the 13x9” pan of potatoes by the end of the week (I can’t eat potatoes as a main dish due to diabetes, and I’m the primary “eater of leftovers”). A loaf pan would have been plenty.
Monday: fried rice & sausage rolls
- using up some leftover frozen rice, plus hot sausage & frozen puff pastry
Tuesday: pulled pork enchiladas, to use up some frozen pulled pork
Wednesday: chili (DH request)
Thursday: Leftover night! I reheated the little bit of remaining fried rice & added some extra scrambled eggs for sufficient protein
Friday: pizza night! Except I had leftover enchiladas (better protein:fiber:carb ratio) because that worked better for my body. 🙂
Tonight is an OVERNIGHT date night! Which means kids are at grandma’s overnight, and spouse & I cook dinner together, then have a relaxing evening together (and possibly go karaoke singing, or sing on our system in the basement!), plus a low-key morning before church.
Because even (especially!) with teens, getting the kids out of the house overnight means better & deeper conversations & connection.
@EngineerRN, I usually make a chowder of some sort out of leftover scalloped potatoes. Corn, clam or seafood.