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It’s been an odd week both because it began with me being gone for the weekend and because it’s dance recital week for Sonia and Zoe (which means two rehearsals and a recital).
Also, I’ve been mostly car-less this week since Lisey and Joshua both have jobs and college classes, and we don’t have a car for Joshua yet (his rental period ran out on Monday).
He’s car-less because of this, in case you haven’t been here in the last two weeks:
(Cliff’s Notes: totalled car, he’s fine, and so is the person he hit.)
Good thing I don’t mind staying home!
We’re scheduled to pick a used car up for him Saturday morning, so as long as all goes well with that, I’ll have my van back next week.
What I Spent
I spent $102.47 at Aldi, $10.69 at another store, and $25 on my Hungry Harvest box.
So, I’m starting May out at $132.16.
Sweet.
What We Ate
Saturday
My friend and I got Thai food on Friday night during my birthday weekend, and we ate our Thai leftovers on Saturday night.
Sunday
Sonia and Zoe and I were at dance rehearsal at dinnertime.
I brought some snacks for them, and after rehearsal, I dropped them off at home where they fended for themselves, while I met up with Mr. FG and two friends at a pizza place. I wasn’t hungry, so I just socialized. 
Monday
Since soup season is coming to a close (and how. It’s 90°F as I write this!), I made a pot of clam chowder.
To go with that, we had some sauteed asparagus (Hungry Harvest), fresh watermelon (Hungry Harvest), and whole wheat toast (not from Hungry Harvest. from my kitchen!)
Tuesday
Sonia and Zoe had another dance rehearsal, so I left a shrimp cobb salad at home for Mr. FG and Lisey.
Joshua ate at work, and after dance rehearsal, Sonia and Zoe and I stopped at Chick Fil A, where they used their cow calendar May offer.
Wednesday
I tried a new recipe from my latest Cook’s Country magazine for Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps. They were super easy, very tasty, and I will totally make them again.
Of note: if you are a Korean food connoisseur, you will feel that these are Korean in the same way that Taco Bell is Mexican.
(in other words, not very.)
Regardless, they are going into my rotation!
Thursday
I grilled some mojo-marinated chicken (recipe from Cook’s Country because OF COURSE).
Friday
I have some whole wheat pizza dough in the fridge, so that’s what we’re eating tonight!
What did you eat for dinner this week?
So Joshua’s ridin’ low in the Mom Van this week, huh? Nice. I had a friend who drove her dad’s minivan in high school when she could, and she called it her party van. Because she could fit so many people in it. A parent of teenagers’ worst nightmare, now that I think about it.
Anyway. Food.
Monday: Roasted chicken, rice, roasted sweet potatoes, green salad. I accidentally added a little Worcestershire sauce to the mustard vinaigrette before I realized it wasn’t balsamic vinegar, but it didn’t matter in the end. Just a PSA in case anyone is similarly brain dead like me and does something like that . . .
Tuesday: Scrambled eggs, tortillas and cheese, carrots and curry dip (mayonnaise+sweet curry powder–better than it sounds, and easy)
Wednesday: Tuna salad, potato chips, still-frozen peas, ice cream. It was over 80 degrees, I was almost out of bread, and chips are the best vehicle for getting food into your mouth anyway.
My kids prefer peas frozen. I usually cook them anyway, because it just seems wrong to eat an otherwise cooked meal with frozen vegetables, but since the rest of the meal was cold, I figured why not? And we rounded out this spectacularly healthy dinner with ice cream. Again, why not?
Thursday: Italian sausage, roasted sweet potatoes and onions, garlic bread (the lazy way, with slices off a loaf slathered in butter and garlic powder and broiled), green salad.
Friday: I think London broil, leftover rice, and peas. My husband has been out of town all week, coinciding with the beginning of baseball season for the older boys, and there’s been a lot of hauling hyped-up boys and an overly tired baby around. So I’m going with the easiest thing I can think of tonight before yet another baseball practice. Unless the chance of thunderstorms cancels it. Fingers crossed.
My daughter and her friends (3 couples in all) went to prom in one girl’s mini van circa early-2000’s! They strung lights on the inside and called it the party van.
Saved them $60 each for a limo, so it worked for me!
Interestingly, my daughter is at her prom right now. Although carpooling was encouraged, the info from school explicitly indicated that any form of “party bus” would not be permitted to park in the parking lot and the guests would not be allowed in to the event. I’m guessing that they don’t want any inebriated teens causing havoc.
Yep…he’s rockin’ the mom van this week. He doesn’t love it, but he DOES love being able to drive himself where he needs to go. So, there’s that. Luckily, he’s been the only one in the van.
Hoping for a thunderstorm for you!
Saturday- dinner at moms/dads, oven chicken, oven Potatoes and salad, we brought dessert.
sunday-daughter had late soccer game, so we tried a new pizza place, near where she played, so a mish mash of things. I had grilled shrimp, and polenta appy, and a salad.
Monday, We had French toast, pork roll, and some apple slices.
Tuesday-Grilled sausage, and peppers and onions, potatoes, and salad. (ds had chicken nuggest and fried mac and cheese, dd had pizza rolls, since neither of them eat sausage!)
Wednesday- Chicken cutlet, corn, stuffing, salad.
Thursday- had a cousin in from out of town, he took mom/dad me and my sister out to dinner. I had garlic shrimp over rice, salad. (rest of the gang couldn’t go Soccer practice!) they had to fend for themselves!)
Friday- not sure yet, DS has a soccer game at 7, so it might be pizza.
Hi Kristen,
This week I made double portions of some dinners to purposely freeze extra as I will be away for a couple of weeks from Monday.That will keep things humming along at home for at least 4 dinners, I hope.To save money this week I-
Line dried the washing
Used up all left overs in a timely manner
Packed my lunch for work everyday
Rode to work the three days I was there this week
Stuck to the 2 light and 2 minute shower rule
Menu planned and made a shopping list from there
Cleaned the house with home made cleansers
Froze some Greek yoghurt to use in cooking at later date so it won’t spoil while I am away
Cut, chopped and froze the last of the lantern chillies
Took snacks and water bottles with us while on a trip up the coast
Gave away 3 x home grown SCOBY’s to share the love of making Kombucha
Reused baking paper, simply flipping it over to use it again
Listened to free music on Spotify
Made a wonderful “ 5 minute almost sourdough”garlic and rosemary focaccia to have with dinner one night
Used the slow cooker to make Beef Stroganoff and Dulce de Leche
Shopped at 4 different places to get the best prices on groceries, fruit and veg and meat
And that is all I can think of at the mo
Have a lovely day,
Fi
That’s a very impressive list!
Sounds like a fun and eventful week!
My MIL and hubby are going to a Chinese buffet with some neighbours tomorrow.
But I think I will stay at home with our son. He usually refuses to eat when we go out, and I want to make a Korean mixed rice bowl for myself at home.
Your bit about the beef lettuce wraps makes me think of my assessment of PF Changs: fine food, as long as you don’t expect it to be Chinese.
There was a lot of eating out for various reasons:
Monday: eat out at a small smoke/BBQ place, because it took much longer than expected to get new tires. Had the Monday special: smoked ribs and wings.
Tuesday: Hamburger from a diner, as I was out late, preparing for a party.
Wednesday: Out celebrating with some friends, who were kind enough to pay for the group. There was chocolate cake.
Thurs: Smorgesborg (aka: whatever’s in the fridge), including half a burger, leftover smoked ribs, leftover smoked wings, leftover fruit salad, bits of watermelon, baby carrots. I do this when the leftovers are building up, about once a week.
Fri: Plan to make CI’s pulled chicken, steamed broccoli, and strawberries.
Saturday: the aforementioned party, with pizza and watermelon.
Yep, exactly right about PF Changs. However, I wouldn’t say Taco Bell is good food even if you don’t expect it to be Mexican!
So true. Sidenote: I learned recently that the man who founded CF Chang’s is the son of the woman who opened the first high-end Chinese restaurant in the US. So his, er, riffing on Chinese food must be deliberate.
I’m tagging along with a friend on a work trip this week, so I got away with spending only $4! I did leave my hubby at home with leftover groceries and a few prepared meals. So that’s maybe $35. Yay to saving money and lots of time with a friend!
Since restaurant food is so gravy we stopped by the grocery store to get sandwiches and salad stuff! We did get a pizza and fajitas at a restaurant too!
Yay for $4!
I didn’t do a lot of cooking this week, but I did make this last night http://thepioneerwoman.com/food-and-friends/chicken-fajita-salad-bowls/
I bought some guac to top it with as laziness had set in. Nothing revolutionary, but it was enjoyed by all and would make a good Whole 30/family meal as you could add or subtract toppings at will.
I did pretty well on my shopping last weekend, but this weekend, it remains to be seen. I actually was technically over budget at about $165, but since I’d spent zero the week before, it averaged out quite nicely.
Last night, I made a roast loin of pork with roasted veggies and fresh green beans in the crock pot. The green beans were so-so — they were starting to get a little too old and I took a chance on cooking them instead of throwing them out. I hadn’t had them but a very few days, so I was miffed.
We had hamburgers (minus the bun for me) and onion rings dipped in a batter of cassava flour, coconut flour, eggs and buttermilk on Wednesday. Good, but messy to cook.
Actually, I just remembered we had burgers twice this week — we had them with parsnip fries, and corn on the cob (for my husband) Monday.
One night, Tuesday I guess, I gave my husband a frozen pizza, which he asked for, and I had stew meat and gravy from the freezer, with roasted veggies.
I’m still recovering from my bad cold, so cooking has been hit or miss this week. Tonight is a mystery — we might finish up that pork loin.
Is that a Japanese steak house styled- ginger dressing in your photo?!! I have been scouring for recipes but am afraid to try any of them in fear of being disappointed.
The sauce on the lettuce wraps is actually just sriracha and mayo…so easy! Some of my family is opposed to spicy stuff, though, so I made yum yum sauce for them: http://www.japanese-steakhouse-white-sauce.com/white-sauce-recipe.htm
Could you put the recipe for the Korean beef-lettuce wraps?
We always end up having soup when the weather turns warm! But the sweating feels good after the long winter. This week we had a “no recipe” soup of ground pork, onions, tomatoes, chickpeas, carrots, canned tomatoes, chickpeas, homemade chicken broth, bay leaf, and salt. Delicious!
I like to make up interesting names for my “no recipe” dishes. That sounds like “Barnyard Soup” to me! Lol.
Monday: Chicken soup with alphabet letter pasta in it. The kid got a kick out of that. It’s definitely the end of soup season but I still like eating it.
Tuesday: Pork chops, rice, vegetables etc. My wife took care of this one as she was home from work while I was off with my father and brother getting mulch. I don’t want to own a truck but I’m glad that I have people I can borrow one from.
Wednesday: Tacos
Thursday: Clean out the fridge night.
Friday: I originally was going to do a stir fry but now I’m not so sure. I’m going to play it by ear at this point.
For spending, I spent just under $100 but that was because we got a lot of meat as our stock was getting kind of low on that. Now we have a packed freezer so I’m happy again.
I should add that I was frugal and not wasteful and walked to the local “health food” store with my own container in tow to buy brown rice from the bulk bin. It was cheaper and I had no plastic bag to toss out.
My inner child would still get a kick out of alphabet pasta in soup, I grew up loving soup all year round
I enjoyed the girl’s dance pics, so fun!
I’m going to skip posting my meals this week because I am ashamed to say I have not bought groceries which caused us to eat out too much. I’m turning over a new leaf starting next week. I plan to serve a little meat but mostly fruit and vegetables to make up for our crappy diet this week. Oh and a customer just brought in donuts for us with bacon pieces on top! How am I supposed to turn those down?!?
Oh, that salty-sweet combo is hard to resist!
Let’s see…
Monday: Husband out of town almost always equals me doing something super easy. I think I have less motivation because my kid doesn’t really appreciate a long and laborious meal like another adult. So it was grilled cheese (made with homemade sourdough at least) and pacific tomato soup.
Tuesday: Hubby got back into town super late and I had him pick up Indian food from a new (and only) Indian place in our small town that we really want to support as often as possible (so we can KEEP our one and only Indian restaurant in town). We were celebrating a pretty decent raise he got that day! Way to inflate our lifestyle right away huh? I kid. We won’t make a habit of it. Kiddo had cheesy broccoli, as she wasn’t very hungry.
Wednesday: cheesy scrambled eggs, garlicky green beans and potatoes, mango and berry salad and sourdough
Thursday: garlic bread cheese pizza made from a frozen garlic bread gifted to me, cheap Kroger mozzarella and a free bag of marinara from Safeway with Brussels sprouts and orange slices on the side.
Friday: first Friday in 5 weeks that it has not and will not snow! The high is 64 in the Rockies today and I might just grill, though it’s chickpea and eggplant curry on the meal plan so we’ll see…
At first I thought you wrote that you were “careless” this week. I thought to myself…. I hardly think Kristen’s the careless type, and then I realized it was CARless. *facepalm*
Those dancing pictures of your girls are stunning.
And now my eating for the week:
Monday- tortellini, chicken and broccoli
Tuesday- roast beef, broccoli, cauliflower,
Wednesday- leftover roast beef with carrots, spinach salad and brown rice
Thursday- homemade tomato soup and green beans
Friday- I’m going to have to get some meat… chicken maybe and a big spinach salad and rice!
Ooo.. I forgot! I’m part of a community kitchen this morn so will have food from that for dinner!!!!
Your questioning of Korean authenticity reminds me of when we had 2 girls from our China office come here on business. We took them to P.F. Chang’s one night for dinner and at the end the waiter put fortune cookies in front of each of us. They just looked at us like “what the heck are these”? LOL
Sunday – We resisted the temptation to head to a dog-friendly event at a local brewery and decided to BBQ. We had grilled chicken, cheesy rice, and veggies.
Monday – I had planned on having turkey meatballs over rice for lunch but since we had a leftover grilled chicken salad I ended up eating the meatballs for dinner and making a chicken pasta salad for myself for lunch. My husband had baked chicken with mashed potatoes and carrots.
Tuesday – Chicken Parmesan. It was so good.
Wednesday – Since my husband worked from home that day, I asked him to throw an Omaha Steaks crock pot meal in the crock pot. It was pork, beans, and peppers. I don’t think I’ll be buying the OS crock pot meals again, even though I got them for a good price.
Thursday – Chicken enchiladas with homemade enchilada sauce!
Friday – Tonight I am doing to do a chicken pasta dish with broccoli and vodka sauce. Just trying to use up things I already have.
Fortune cookies were invented in San Francisco, although there are competing histories about whether by a Japanese man for his Japanese restaurant or a Chinese person for a Chinese restaurant. There’s still a fortune cookie factory in SF – it’s a surprisingly low-tech process. It’d be a frugal visit: factory visit is free and you can buy a large bug of rejects (broken, torn, flat) for about $4.
That said, I’m surprised your Chinese colleagues did not know what they were, as the idea has spread quite widely in much of China. Where in China are they from?
Kunshan City, Jiangsu
A very popular dish in Australia a few years ago was ‘asian cabbage salad’. I made this for friends one day and my Chinese born friend looked me sternly in the eye and declared ‘Deidre, this is NOT asian’ and we laughed, I then explained it was ‘Asian cabbage’ salad, rather than ‘Asian’ cabbage salad
– it did have asian cabbage in it…..ohh and sesame oil…
Funny! I do like that salad- it’s a good summer main-dish salad with some chicken or pork strips added.
Yum that chowder looks amazing! I ate very little this week, spaghetti and meatballs, steak, mangoes, curry, day old bread, Asian stir fry.. yours is definitely more exciting.
I spent quite a bit this week, but nothing last week(on vacation) so hopefully it evens out.
So far:
Tofu scramble with spinach and tomatoes.
Vegan chili with Brown rice.
Terryaki Tempeh with veggies and quinoa.
Pasta with veggies.
Chopped salads.
Nothing fancy, but tasty.
You all inspire me, and I sure appreciate it!
Sunday cookout hot dogs, baked beans, salad, pineapple
Monday out w friend to Boston Market (turkey, green beans, cornbread)
Tuesday meatloaf, mashed potatoes & gravy, first of this year’s corn on cob, salad
Wednesday home super-late and brought McDonald’s, which we rarely have, so thought it’d be kind of a treat. But it wasn’t as good as I thought I remembered it being! Also cantaloupe!
Thursday chicken breasts on rice with pesto-type sauce, spinach, zucchini, Italian bread
Friday leftover meatloaf, green beans, corn, Kristen’s recipe for fried potatoes
Monday- Lettuce salad with cut up apples and pecans with ranch dressing, grilled cheese sandwiches
Tuesday- Chicken fajitas and lettuce salad
Wednesday- Scrambled eggs, buttermilk biscuit, sausage and fruit
Thursday- Roast beef sandwiches, lettuce salad and banana cream pie
Friday- Salmon, brown rice and mixed veggies
This was not a great week for groceries. It started out expensive and I thought I wasn’t going to need much else to get through the week, but then I learned how wrong I was! Oh, well. Next week is looking much better.
Monday – mashed potatoes and sauteed green beans with almonds
Tuesday- chick peas and kale and rice
Wednesday – pasta al pomodoro, beans and kale
Thursday – pasta with goat cheese and mushrooms, salad
Thursday – black beans, quesadillas, salad
I also had a major food waste fail. I usually trade in my potatoes from my csa share, because we just don’t eat them. But my husband picked up the share twice and he likes potatoes so it didn’t even occur to him to trade them in. So Monday I thought I was being clever by cooking them all so that they wouldn’t go bad, but then we ended up just eating some of them one night, and the rest have gone bad in the fridge. This week I picked up our share and I traded the potatoes in for fresh shitake mushrooms. Those have been eaten already.
WIS WIA err not sure I haven’t tallied it all yet but I think it went something like this –
We had such a good night & finished very late as we were busy eating & talking & eating…
– sis cooked lasagne one night which I supplemented with steamed dim sims – a MUCH loved Australian delicacy of beef cabbage dumplings found only in Australia & New Zealand ( I have a very well travelled friend who attests to this) – they are often deep fried also & sold at fish and chip and chicken takeaway shops & sold frozen for your convenience at the supermarket.
– A friend cooked me chicken kiev with chips, tomato, & onion one night
– I did roast lamb with roast potatoes, garlic, red onion, & mixed steamed vegies
– I think I had a frozen meal one night
– Fri a friend made us thai green curry with snowpeas, asparagus, & rice & then I went to my homegroup & took homemade chocolate cake to share & had ‘supper’ of Nandos chicken wings, cake, cake & custard, & cake – I cannot believe how hungry I was
– sis shouted my fave thai last night & I will have leftovers tonight – sooo good
I also second the request for the Korean beef lettuce wrap recipe – that looks delicious & I love the sound of mixing sriracha with mayo – sounds absolutely delicious
I saw this safety institute video over the weekend: a 1959 Chevy Bel Air vs a 2009 Chevy Malibu. No prizes for guessing which car comes out better.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPF4fBGNK0U
Wow, that is amazing to watch!
Kristin,
I have been reading your blog for years, but I don’t believe I have never commented before. I think you are awesome at what you do, and I really enjoy your blog immensely! Just wanted to let you know that after reading about your homemade pizza and promising myself I’d make it some day, I finally prepared it for supper last Wednesday! BEST PIZZA EVER! Your technique and advice were spot on. I will definitely use this as my go-to whenever making homemade pizza again!
Oh, I am so glad! Yay!!!!
I seem to struggle with side dish ideas. I’ve noticed you tend to post your main dishes and not many sides. Is it because you struggle too? I would love to see more of what you eat for sides if you could do that as well.