WIS, WWA | a lot of Dinner Illustrated
I didn't realize this when I made my menu plan, but everything I cooked this week was from Dinner Illustrated.
It's a really useful cookbook; highly recommend if you struggle figuring out what to cook for dinner!
I wrote a whole review of it here.
What I Spent
I spent $189 on groceries this week, but I bought a lot; we will definitely not finish it all this week.
So, I think next week will be a lower spending week.
Oh, wait, let's add $10 to that total because I bought a box of bruised peaches at the produce stand.
So,$199.
We're eating the peaches as-is, of course, but I'll also be freezing a bunch of the peaches today.
(Here's how I freeze peaches)
August Spending
Week 1: $76
Week 2: $162
Week 3: $151
Week 4: $199
So, my average for the month is $147/week. Sweet!
What We Ate
Saturday
Mr. FG and I were out of town for our anniversary get away, so we ate at a local restaurant, and the girls fended for themselves.
Sunday
Same story as Saturday night; we came back on Sunday night after dinner.
Do I know what the girls ate while we were gone? Nope.
Was it probably a lot of frozen chicken nuggets and pizza? Yep.
Do I care? Nope.
They fed themselves and that's good enough for me. 🙂
Monday
I made quesadillas with a corn/lime filling (recipe from Dinner Illustrated), and I tried making one for Sonia with the Violife cheddar cheese, which worked out pretty well.
So, I am excited about that because it means we can have quesadillas again. I've missed having those as an easy dinner option!
Tuesday
My aunt had made baked ziti when we went to pick up the quilt and Sonia really liked it. So, she asked me to put it on the menu, and I did!
I used the recipe from Dinner Illustrated.
Wednesday
I made a shrimp, bacon, and apple green salad with a homemade mustard vinaigrette; a new recipe from Dinner Illustrated.
And I roasted some small potatoes to eat with our salad.
Thursday
I made chicken katsu with rice and tonkatsu sauce (from Dinner Illustrated) and we had raw veggies and fruit on the side.
Friday
Maybe I should browse through my Dinner Illustrated book and pick something out. Then I can make a full week of it!
We definitely are spending more time eating at home. On Sunday, my husband smoked some ribs and tried his hand at cole slaw. We will try a different recipe for the cole slaw next time.
On Monday we had stir fry with added chicken from Aldi. Did you ever buy their frozen stir fry mixes? Some are better than others.
Tuesday we had leftover ribs and added some baked beans with it and finished off the cole slaw.
Wednesday was grilled Mexican Chicken Salads.
Thursday (last night) we went to our favorite BBQ place for more grilled chicken salads.
Tonight it’s a new recipe: Lemon Garlic Butter Chicken with green beans altho we will use asparagus.
Tomorrow will probably burgers and grilled veggies.
And we discussed our food plan for next week at dinner last night!
WWS: $53 (but partner is off to the abattoir, so really, it will be much, much more....)
In honor of selling our old bikes and the tour de France 2020 starting this weekend, we did a little nod to French cuisine in the 2nd half of the week:
Saturday: Key West shrimp boil with remoulade (Summer Shack cookbook); corn & tomato sauté; cabbage salad
Sunday: carnitas and cauliflower nachos; "gazpacho" salad (Onceuponachef)
Monday: Argentine beef empanadas with salsa verde; sautéed veg; cucumber/tomato/feta salad
Tuesday: Ale-steamed mussels with shallots and mustard; green salad; homemade baguette (my first attempt, it would not have passed as a baguette under any conditions in France, but it was edible...)
Wednesday: Le Hamburger (I wanted to use Julia Child's recipe, but partner vetoed it: onions. So we made the Schlow burger, which if you haven't tried it is exceptional); Caprese salad
Thursday: soupe au pistou; crostini (see above) with goat cheese and marinated tomatoes
Friday: poulet a la moutarde; riz; sautéed courgette
Monday - Hubby worked late, so the kids and I used our last Little Ceasar's frozen pizza kit while we watched a movie. There were also a number of unhealthy snacks to go with the show.
Tuesday - Sheet pan dinner: brats, summer squash, green beans, potatoes, carrots, peppers; sides of corn on the cob and watermelon
Wednesday - Fajitas, smoothies, and chips with salsa I made last week. It's so good to have homemade salsa again!!
Thursday - Chicken and noodles with cooked carrots, leftover corn on the side
Friday - Burrito bowls
You won the 1000 swag bucks. Hopefully, you read this in time to claim it.
Hmm, I did? Where do I find that out?
Check the blog on the SB site. I have not looked myself yet.
Ohhh, it's hourly! So I missed it. Whoops.
Last week was an off week for shopping, but I think I'm about to go back to shopping every week instead of every other week. Coming up with 14 meals at once is exhausting to me.
But... Misfits Market is serving all of Florida now, and has started letting subscribers customize their boxes. So I can leave out the troublesome veggies that bother me. I signed up for every two weeks, for a box that should last about a week. If I like it, I may play around with box size and delivery schedule. I also want to see if I'm at least paying no more than I would at the stores.
Anyway, what we ate. I actually have my menu handy, so it's written down.
We started the weekend with burgers, cole slaw and GF onion rings. No bun for me.
I fried bacon then fried okra in the bacon drippings We had honey carrots on the side as well.
Kielbasa, homemade sauerkraut, and lima beans. I found out lima beans are not a successful re-introduction to my diet.
Salmon patties made with finely diced celery and onion to up our veggie intake, and carrot-raisin salad.
I've had a busy week, and one night was really busy, so we had hard-boiled eggs, cheese, crackers (for him), veggie sticks with dressing, and grapes.
Tacos
We were given two nice pieces of fish, so that's on the menu coming up. With salmon already on the menu, and the fish already frozen, I decided to wait on the fish.
Saturday - skillet cheeseburger pasta
Sunday - fast food
Monday - steak, mushrooms, broccoli, veggie crudite
Tuesday - garlic and white bean soup, with garlic bread and steamed broccoli
Wednesday - burrito bowls
Thursday - fast food again
Friday - either sweet chili or terriyaki chicken stir fry
Next week I am trying out a vegetarian meal plan from Budget Bytes that I'm really excited about. The meal plan includes a grocery list. It should cost around $55 for lunches and dinners next week.
I LOVE Budget Bytes! They have such great recipes.
It is definitely finally tomato season, and I am very happy about that.
Saturday: Italian sliders (small hamburgers seasoned like meatballs), garlic bread, tomato salad
Sunday: Pork stir-fry, rice, brownies
Monday: Loose meat sandwiches (ground beef+onion+barbecue sauce) for the kids, leftover pork for the adults, plus rice, and a tomato salad
Tuesday: Breakfast sausage patties, potato-cheese casserole, raw green beans for the kids, sauteed calabacita and tomatoes for the adults
Wednesday: The maintenance director at the school gave me some of the extra commodities food that hadn't been picked up, which included a giant bag of frozen chicken patties. I fried four of those for my children and they ate them in sandwiches. They were very happy. Thanks, maintenance director. They also had raw green beans and tomatoes. My husband and I had leftover pork and leftover calabacita and tomatoes.
Thursday: Beef pot roast, rice or leftover cheesy potatoes, sauteed green beans and tomatoes with roasted garlic, mashed squash from the squash our horse accidentally separated from the vine when he was grazing.
Tonight: Man, it's too hot to cook. But I will anyway, and at least this is the last day of high temperatures for awhile. Probably those chicken patties for the kids, eggs for the adults. re-fried beans to use up some cooked pinto beans in the refrigerator, leftover rice with some of the cheese sauce left from making the potatoes earlier in the week, and well, tomatoes or green beans for a vegetable. 🙂 And squash. Random meal, but everyone will be fed. As always.
Monday: Barely got home in time for dinner thanks to working a lot of overtime. We ate sandwiches and leftovers and such.
Tuesday: Got a rotisserie chicken, cooked some brown rice and had broccoli and other vegetables.
Wednesday: Made a stir fry with some of the leftover chicken.
Thursday: Well let's just say that my four year old decided to be an absolute terror and it was a full fledged evening ruining tantrum. It's days like this that make me wonder if I'm a rotten parent or if everyone goes through this.
My wife ate a chicken salad sandwich. I ate something and don't remember what it was. I also don't remember what we finally fed the kid.
Friday: Not sure. I may just give in and order a pizza. We'll see. I really don't want to do anything tonight.
You aren't a rotten parent! Four is SUCH a hard age. I found it so much harder than the "terrible" twos/threes. My daughter's tantrums at four were much longer and more intense. However! My experience (and of others I desperately asked for advice) is that five has been almost 100% better. Just hang in there!
busy week here, ate out much to often! Weekends are usually a group effort at mom/dads, everyone brings, makes something and we all eat....
Saturday- mom/dads, pulled pork (sister made) manwich (bil made), kids had hot dogs, my contribution was Cole slaw, and a pasta salad. mom made a dump cake,( angel food and crushed pineapple. )
Sunday- mom/dads order local Italian place. left over cake
Monday- BBQ chicken on the grill, butter noodles, corn,
Tuesday- dd had a birthday party (they had pizza there) , grilled burgers for the boys, I picked up a chicken from Shoprite, and had that with Brussels sprouts...
Wednesday- dd had practice, so her and I grabbed a slice of pizza, ds also had practice, so him and dh grabbed something.
Thursday-DD had two soccer games, so we grabbed McDonalds afterward (9pm)
Friday- suppose to rain, so an indoor meal. Chicken alfrado, and I think nan pizza for DS as he doesn't care for alfrado!
Saturday-quesadillas
Sunday-meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans
Monday-beef and cabbage casserole, butter beans, carrots, cantaloupe
Tuesday-leftover meatloaf
Wednesday-leftover cabbage casserole
Thursday-Turkey wrap with avocado, chips, mandarin orange
Friday-zucchini/black bean/rice Mexican casserole, green peas, applesauce
Spent $101 this week. Higher than I normally like, but I was also stocking my daughter up for college. She's a vegetarian, and the cafeteria is going to be extremely limited with choices due to COVID. We move her in this Sunday. I will miss her much.
Here's what we ate for the week:
Saturday- Broiled salmon topped with pineapple banana pepper chutney.
Sunday - Turkey, ham and cheese sandwiches on kaiser rolls.
Monday - Eggs and toast made with fresh eggs from our neighbors' chickens.
Tuesday - Leftovers.
Wednesday - Bean and/or chicken tostadas with homemade guacamole, lettuce, sour cream and pico de gallo.
Thursday - Cheese and garlic mini pizzas on sliced baguette.
Friday - chicken/vegetarian nuggets, fries and applesauce.
We had guests for a few days. I served 3 different rice based African meals (soupe, ris gras and cheb ou ginard), mashed potatoes with beef gravy, and goulash.They also made one meal, which was a Chipotle like rice bowl.
WWA:
Friday we received a farm to table box (F2T) that my daughter and I purchased from a local provider--steak, chicken, burgers, pasta, sauces, cheeses, and fruits and vegetables, sourdough bread and bagels
Saturday: My "quilt" (we do different things, depending on the mood) friends and I got together--first time in 8 months. We had burgers, salad, corn, and whoopie pies. I made sundried tomato dip, which I have used the leftover during the week on my "sale" bagels.
Sunday: Homemade pizza--cheese and caprese. (leftover for lunch Monday)
Monday: My daughter gave us the leftover fresh pasta and sauce (eggplant and vegetables)
Tuesday: After spending the day with my almost 2 yr old grandson, dinner was easy--frozen chicken and fries.
Wednesday: Roast chicken from the F2T box, fresh summer/zucchini squash casserole and mashed potatoes. Brownies
Thursday: Beef stew that my daughter made.
Friday: Herb pappardelle pasta from the F2T and creamy lemon sauce, leftover dessert from my daughter who cleaned her 'fridge before going away.
Tomorrow--I invited my sister-in-law for dinner. We will be having burgers from the F2T with some squash I have in the freezer from a Misfits box and maybe some fresh fries from potatoes. I have rolls in the freezer. I have from a vegetable box. In our CSA this week we received shishito peppers. The farm put up a recipe for a sauce using them with lime and yogurt. I will try it for the burgers. If anyone wants dessert, we have leftover brownies and I'll get some ice cream from the local farm.
I can pretty much eat from the freezer (scallops, crab cakes, chicken) for the next week. I did spend $40 today at 2 stores--purchased the special 3-day items at one and had to go to Aldi for yogurt and bread. And we get another F2T box next Friday, our CSA, and our garden is producing tomatoes and a few acorn squash.
There is a recipe I want to try--maybe next week--ranch quesadilla
Everything seems delicious! That F2T box sounds heavenly.
On Monday I cooked 500 grams of reduced price stewing beef into a beef and barley casserole. That simple pot of food fed me for lunches and dinners until last night. Mum had pea and hams soup as alternative to some meals. Last night I poached eggs for mum as I am allergic I had a bowl of oats with blueberries. For Saturday's lunch mum has her soup and I had chicken and noodles. I am undecided about tonight's dinner but it is only an hour or so off dinner time to I better think of something.
Just wanted to send you some love and admiration because I know that taking care of your mom has to be a tough job, much as you love her.
We made chipotle sweet potato burgers from budgetbytes.com this week, plus homemade pizza, an ok braised chicken thighs dinner from Eating Well, "tempura" shrimp bowls with a homemade teriyaki peanut sauce, and one thing I've completely forgotten!
We were on vacation this week. I had booked a Airbnb with a kichen with the intention to cook majority of our meals. However, upon our arrival, we realized the place was really not great (i.e. it was poorly light, filthy and completely lacking in the promised cookware/utensils).
1. Takeout Mexican
2. Chilli, Cihps and Salad (cooked at our cabin, after a thorough scrub and a trip to the local Dollar Store)
3. Pizza-Takeout
4. Diner Food (Greek Food)
5. Jerk Chicken, Potatoes, Broccoli and Cheese(back in my gloriously light, clean and well-equiped kitchen!)
6. Meatloaf that my amazing mother made for us, Rice, Salad
7. Lasgna and Salad
Love this post each week! Fun to see and share ideas...
*Shepards Pie and Apple Pie (Base recipe but we always use ground turkey and adjust with veggies to add extra or what's on hand...https://www.thewholesomedish.com/the-best-classic-shepherds-pie/)
*Hot Dogs and Chips with Fruit Salad
*Steak with Mashed Potatoes and Bacon Brussel Sprouts (Best veggie side ever...https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sunny-anderson/pan-roasted-brussels-sprouts-with-bacon-recipe-1944571)
*Pizza Night (home made pizza-everyone gets to customize, this is a super easy dough we love to make https://sugarspunrun.com/the-best-pizza-dough-recipe/)
*Broccoli Chicken and Cheese Casserole with Brownies (this is the base recipe that I worked from...https://www.spendwithpennies.com/chicken-broccoli-casserole/)
*Leftovers on the other nights