WIS, WWA | easy meals x7
What I Spent
Sigh...I feel like I have been catching cold after cold! I had no sooner gotten over my post-skiing cold (and the sinus infection that followed), when I came down with another one.
It's not flu, it's not covid, it's not strep (got tested and all negative). I just seem to be catching alllllll the colds I avoided last year.
On the upside, this cold is pretty mild. And I'm not in school, so it's no big deal if I'm sick.
Prior to this, I had a solid year where I didn't get sick with a single thing, and that was very convenient timing for my schooling.
I guess this is my semester of catching colds. 😉
Anyway...easy meals around here this week!
I spent:
- $10 at Target
- $25 at Safeway
- $77 at Sam's Club
So, $112 for me this week.
What We Ate
Saturday
I picked up a rotisserie chicken from Sam's Club and also a jar of pesto sauce, and we used that to make chicken sandwiches (mayo, lettuce, cheese, chicken, and pesto on buns).
Sunday
Leftovers from Saturday night!
Monday
Easy button night: pizza bagels, with produce on the side.
Tuesday
Another easy button night; I boiled some frozen cheese ravioli, topped them with jarred tomato sauce and grated some Parmesan over top.
And I cut up some fresh produce on the side.
Wednesday
I had some homemade cinnamon bread that was getting slightly dry, so I made French toast with that for dinner.
Thursday
I got a container of this pulled pork out of the freezer and we had it in toasted buns.
I had picked up a bag of Sumo oranges because I'd heard a lot of good things about them, and last night we tried 'em. Our verdict: they're good, but not like WHOA THE BEST ORANGES I'VE EVER EATEN.
So, I'd buy them again, but I wouldn't go out of my way to hunt for them.
Friday
We have some more pulled pork left; I'm thinking maybe we will eat that on top of mashed potatoes or mac n cheese.
What did you have for dinner this week?
P.S. I'm doing my best to take good care of my body (like taking probiotics, going to bed on time, exercising regularly, and eating plenty of fruits and veggies) so I'm not looking for health advice. 🙂 But I am happy to accept sympathy. Heh.
Man, I hate being sick, even when it's just a minor cold. I hope you feel back to normal soon!
WIS: 345.11 @Aldi and 20.42 on a box of wine for a total of 365.53 this week. I bought a lot more snacky treat-type foods than usual both for my girls' weekend and for my people left at home, so I think that's the majority of the higher bill. I also bought 4 bottles of maple syrup (AKA liquid gold, apparently) because we were almost out and Aldi hasn't had it in stock for two weeks in a row so when I saw them, I snapped several up.
WWA:
Fri: salad (mixed greens, cucumber, blackberries, feta, cashews, blueberry mootube), focaccia with all the yummy veggies: tomatoes, roasted bell peppers, onions, canned mushrooms, garlic, pepperoni and mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.
Sat: salad (mixed greens, blueberries, cashews, feta and dressing with buttery shrimp for those who wanted them), leftover gnocchi casserole (heated in oven), sourdough brie bread ring.
Sun: breakfast for dinner: salad (lettuce, blueberries, feta and a strawberry mootube), collards cooked with bacon, scrambled eggs and cheddar cheese, waffles (made from sourdough discard) with maple syrup.
Mon: salad (spicy mix and dressing), rice and beans (made from dry beans cooked in the insta pot) with red peppers and onions and shredded cheddar cheese.
Tue: air fried brussel sprouts, veggie burgers topped with cheese, bacon, sauteed onions and mushrooms, lettuce, mayo, ketchup and mustard on homemade buns.
Wed: salad (mixed greens, feta, blackberries, sunflower seeds and dressing), Aldi take and bake cheese pizza.
Thu: salad (just mixed greens, crispy onions and dressing), chicken and cheese ravioli (freezer bag) and jarred tomato sauce topped with shredded parmesan.
Tonight: We will have focaccia and salad, of course.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
I was having a sort-of good attitude for sicknesses 1, 2, and 3.
But when I started to come down with sickness #4 this week, I may have shed a few tears from discouragement.
Happily, I am now at the just-congested phase of the cold, which I much prefer to the body aches/fatigue phase.
@Kristen,
The worst phase of a cold for me is the burning chapped lips phase from mouth breathing at night. Boo!
@Kristen, as someone with a chronic illness, we don’t talk nearly enough about the mental health aspects of physical illness.
It’s less about willing yourself into a “good attitude” than it is plann8ng for and accepting the mental roller coaster that comes with sustained and/or frequently recurring illness.
Yeah, by the fourth round I was feeling so deflated. Like, ohhhh man, really? Not this again!
And you are probably right, it has something to do with my expectations. I was really, really thinking that after three rounds, I was going to be in the clear for a while.
@Kate, I was chuckling to myself earlier. Hate the body aches/fatigue phase? I've had that since January 1990. As for the burning chapped lips from mouth breathing, yeah, that too.
Fortunately, I no longer remember what it feels like to be healthy and energetic, so whatever.
@Rose, yikes, me, too (RA) but “only” for 13 years now. Add a URI, torn ligaments, & a local GI bug for the last little bit of time-sheesh! Gotta think as positively as we can some days.
Blech. Chain-colds are a drag. I hope you this is the end of them for you!
Your body realizes that you have time to be sick now, so it’s planning ahead and getting aaaaaaall possible illnesses out of the way before you’re in class again. It’s more thoughtful than inconvenient if you look at it that way. ;P
I found onions on sale for 59 cents/pound this week, so I bought 7 lbs. Half were caramelized in the crockpot and frozen for future use, and half were diced and frozen plain for the same reason. As always, all salt is omitted in a given recipe (baking excepted) for health reasons.
Monday: Crock pot cream of mushroom soup with the addition of caramelized onions, in part to use up the oniony goodness left in the pot from caramelizing onions on Sunday. I used canned mushrooms instead of fresh owing to cost, but I rinsed them first to remove at least some of the salt. https://www.budgetbytes.com/creamy-garlic-mushroom-soup/
Tuesday: Crock pot chicken tikka masala. It had been way too long since we made this—it’s so good! https://www.budgetbytes.com/slow-cooker-chicken-tikka-masala/
Wednesday: Macaroni and cheese with bacon sprinkled on top and strawberries on the side. My husband saw a gas station’s advertisements for bacon mac and cheese and was craving junk food, so I tried to come up with a healthy-ish version that wouldn’t kill him. 😛
Thursday: Cheesy cauliflower potato soup. https://www.budgetbytes.com/cheesy-cauliflower-and-potato-soup/ I also made blueberry coffee cake for desert and breakfast the following days, which handily used up our frozen blueberries and some applesauce that neither of us liked. https://spicysouthernkitchen.com/lightened-up-blueberry-coffee-cake/
Friday: Pepperoni and pickle pizza from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cookbook! We’ll have a salad or fruit on the side to pretend we’re adults. 😛 Since today will be busy, I prepared the sauce and thawed pepperoni yesterday; the yeast free dough recipe I use comes together blissfully fast and just needs to rest for 10-15 minutes before use. https://www.budgetbytes.com/no-yeast-pizza-dough/
Wouldn't it be nice if it worked out that way? I'd like to be healthy next school year since I'll be in nursing school.
It would be very efficient to get it all done now. lol
@N, Those soups sound good, and it's been a long time since I've made tikka masala. (We usually go vindaloo in this house...) We seem to eat a lot of soup.
@Rose, Those soups are good! It’s been a busy, cool week, so we definitely went heavy on the soups / crock pot. Do you sub out the coconut milk in your vindaloo, and if so, with what? Coconut is a flavor I’ve never been able to stand, so I’m always hesitant to try recipes that include it unless I’m 80% sure I could swap in heavy cream without it mattering.
We've had a similar pattern of sickness this year. We got back from Minnesota, and we're thinking that perhaps 2 separate things attacked us at once? And then the boy came home for spring break just in time to catch a cold on the tail-end of our sickness. I think some sort of pollen outside is conspiring with cosmic forces of evil to extend the minor misery. The good news is that none of these were major monster sicknesses, but they were inconvenient.
Spring colds and allergies are the worst - mainly because we'd rather be outside in the glorious weather, engaged in far more fun things! So hopefully, you feel better soon. Your dinners this week sound great, tho! The menus at my house:
Monday - Deboned fried chicken over chopped salad with avocado
Tuesday - Freezer pizza and early bed because I was exhausted from work ):
Wednesday - Enchiladas, sauteed kale
Thursday - Roast Chicken Thighs, twice baked potato, zucchini
Friday - probably leftover enchiladas
Saturday - kitchen closed so who knows - I'm on call
Sunday - maybe the Apple Gouda Chicken Sausage I didn't do last week {Spring forward!}
Son #2 is here and though I know he is an adult and I don't really have to feed him (he buys food, too, and generally fends for himself), I have been saving some dinner for him. I guess its just my chance to "mom" him a bit.
Happy Weekend!
https://cannaryfamily.blogspot.com/
@gina, I wanted to tell you that my Norton anti-virus won’t let me access your blog from your embedded link. It’s a new thing- not sure if it’s on my end or yours?
From one widowed nurse to another- I really enjoy your writing ❤️
@Diane, oh darn...I'm not really savvy when it comes to these things! XR tech here, but thank you just the same!
Yet another cold? Blecch, and get well soon! (I think N is right that "your body realizes you have time to be sick now," so you may be having all the colds you didn't want to have last fall and don't want to have this fall.)
Now, WIS: $42 at Price Chopper and $13 at Aldi.
WIA: Two experiments may be worth mentioning. First, I had some of my homemade Dijon vinaigrette salad dressing left over, so I added a bit more mustard and olive oil, and used this as a marinade for a batch of sheet-pan chicken drumsticks. Pretty good, I thought.
Second, I used a package of frozen pollock, a batch of bulghur, and some kalamata olives to make a sort of fish pilaf. Also pretty good, IMO. (I got the idea of bulghur and olives from a cookbook by the late Lee Bailey, who, for those too young to recall, was a sort of forerunner to Martha Stewart in the cooking-and-lifestyle biz.)
@A. Marie, I have Lee Bailey’s party cookbook. It’s filled with lots of good advice.
Sorry to hear about the non stop yucks! I would make it through an entire semester and then fall apart sick on break when I was in school.. Like the body knew the brain could only handle so much at one time! lol
Saturday-My babies turned 18! the twins could not decide on supper plan so they finally joked and said burgers and Fries. So we went to a local place that makes amazing burgers and homecut fries! Headed home for presents and their birthday desserts- one chose homemade Almond Poundcake and the other went with his traditional "brownies"- so I made a box of chocolate and a recipe of peanut butter brownies. Thank fully some buddies came over and helped annihilate those dishes.
Sunday-desserts and random leftovers in the fridge I am pretty sure...
Monday-jarred tikka Masala from aldi, Frozen Naan from Trader Joes, served with white rice and I diced up 3 large chicken breasts. served it alacarte as I was not sure the girl would like the sauce.
Tuesday-Quick Taco night- seasoned meat and black beans, queso, chips and the toppings
Weds- a quick soup made with homemade stock, chicken, shredded carrots and the last of a bad of super thin noodles. Served with sourdough grilled cheese sandwiches.
Thursday-all 5 of us made a table appearance ! I oven roasted 2 premarinated pork tenderloins. served with a bag of frozen onion rings, green beans sauted with butter and bacon, canned corn, grapes and strawberries.
Friday- I have no idea, maybe order pizza.. But I pulled a 5+lb pork shoulder out to be seasoned and smoked on Saturday!
@jes, Oooooh! Do you smoke your own meat???
@Ruth T,
My husband snagged a great deal on a smoker last spring so he likes to pull it out on weekends and put it to work when he can. Almost 6 lbs of pork shoulder is now in the resting phase right now! I pulled together a bunch of sides and we will eat on this for the weekend. I am off duty on Sunday!
I have a few flats of chicken thighs that are next on the list to be smoked!
I hope you're feeling better, Kristen. Back-to-back illness can be very frustrating!
Out dinners this week included:
1. Salmon with rice & broccoli
2. Split pea soup with chips
3. Sloppy Joe & Salad
4. Honey Old Bay pork with broccoli & rice
5. Leftover soup and sloppy joe
6. Meatless meatballs w/pasta and marinara sauce
7. Tonight is probably pizza & salad
Colds sound so mild, and of course we brush it off if anyone asks how we're feeling when it's "just a cold," but MAN they can make you sooooo miserable. So yes, sympathy.
And now, food. 🙂
Saturday: I used two sirloin steaks I hadn't cooked a couple of nights prior to make stir-fry. With rice, of course.
Sunday: Pork ribs with a spice rub, choice of either leftover mashed potatoes or leftover rice, caramelized cabbage, roasted parsnips, baked peaches with cream. Both the parsnips and the real cream (the kind with no thickeners or stabilizers is not available any closer than two hours from my house) were provided by my mother-in-law, who arrived Thursday for a short visit. (Yes, I can serve leftovers to my MiL and she doesn't care. And yes, I know that I'm lucky in that way.)
Monday: That same MiL loves green chile, and I hadn't made anything with it for her yet. This was her last night with us, so I made green chile cheeseburgers with homemade buns using dough I stole from the bread I was baking. We also had a green salad with vinaigrette, and leftover baked peaches and cream.
Tuesday: This was our shearing day, and we had a late, large lunch of sloppy joes with our friends after we were done. Also, my husband had to leave before our usual dinner time to get the boys to some stuff. Only two kids were hungry before they left, so I made them bean and cheese quesadillas. The others had leftover steak, hamburgers, and rice when they got home.
Wednesday: In a fit of irritation at whining children, I told them if they were so hungry RIGHT NOW (4 p.m.) they could make dinner. My eldest accepted this gauntlet and made spaghetti with tomato sauce and fried potatoes. Did he care that there were two starches? Not at all. We had two roosters given to us by our neighbors that I had used to make stock this day, so I used some of the shredded meat from those, mixed with pesto and butter, to add a little protein. And of course, Mom and her annoying habit of balancing meals had to put a salad in there, too.
Thursday: Same rooster meat, with the stock to make gravy, makes when my MiL called "chicken slop" when my husband was young. So of course, that's what we call it too. Served over mashed potatoes. And another salad.
Friday: If I have the motivation, perhaps I will finally use the can of cream of mushroom soup we got from the excess commodities and make my children tuna noodle casserole. I make it only once a year, and they loved it last year. Although that's no guarantee they'd love it this year. Kids are like that.
@kristin @ going country, Your Wednesday made me laugh out loud. Real life, baby!
@Ruth T, It's the only life I know. 🙂
53 dollars spent at Aldi
Monday: salmon with pesto from freezer and spinach ravioli from fridge. Cabbage salad
Tuesday: leftover tuna noodle casserole steamed peas cucumber salad
Wednesday: grilled cheese with tomato soup from a carton
Thursday: mcchickens with fries
Friday: meatless breakfast for dinner
It was an expensive week. Roughly $200 at Costco, $77 at Publix, $55 at Trader Joe’s and another $52 at the co-op.
Saturday - This was a crazy busy day. I pushed the easy button and had a rotisserie chicken, rice and steamed broccoli.
Sunday - We had a party for my son and cooked out for 40. This is the primary reason for the large food bill.
Monday - I made chicken broth from Saturdays chicken and made homemade ramen.
Tuesday - Pulled chicken sandwich and 4 bean salad (leftover).
Wednesday - I made a frittata to use up some veggies, cheese, and eggs. I had some unopened cream that need to be used, so I used it in the place of milk. I have to admit it was a little too rich.
Thursday - I spent a lot of time on the road yesterday, so we didn’t really have dinner as such. We ate out of the refrigerator. My Dear Hubby ate the frittata. I had bean salad and half a sandwich.
Friday - I haven’t had red meat in a while. We are going to have steaks and I’ll roast all the veggies in the crisper.
Wishing everyone peace and good health.
Whoa, 40 is a lot of people. Good job you!
@Kristen,
I can’t take all the credit. One of my son’s best friends, who is visiting for the week, thankfully volunteered to man the grill. He is an exceptional cook and made things easy. I was filled with gratitude.
Oh, what a blessing to have such a good assistant!
Sunday: gumbo with chicken and andouille
Monday: More gumbo
Tuesday: cutlets, veal for the boy and chicken for the girls, cacio e pepe risotto
Wednesday: onion soup with extra bread and gruyere
Thursday: takeout pizza
Friday: I have a massage from 4:30-6 so I instructed the kids to get takeout again. I need a massage.
This weekend: could be anything! Anything at all! Maybe I'll make Mrs. Scorcese's red sauce since we have extra veal.
Me to Son: "I'm caramelizing the onions in the oven* rather than the soup pot."
Son: "isn't that cheating?"
Me: "You sit there and stir for 40 minutes, then."
*This worked great by the way.
@Rose,
Thought of you when I saw this —https://www.veranda.com/decorating-ideas/house-tours/a42045998/grey-gardens-home-tour/
@Bee, Ooof. I liked it better when the Bradlees lived there. Yes, I've been in the house. I even went to the tag sale. (You can actually make me out in the AP photo of the line outside...)
I hope your massage is magically wonderful!
@Rose, Our Fridays are similar. I have acupuncture at 5, and that usually includes massage and a honey face treatment. Definitely relaxing. The kids are going to be in charge of making supper.
@Rose, I have tried internet recipes for caramelizing onions in the oven and have not been happy. Could you tell me how you do your oven onions? Thank you.
I have been really sick the last year. Like, any time I'm exposed I get sick for 1-3 weeks at a time. I haven't been sick since January so at least there's that. Hope you get to feeling better.
WIS $79.68;at Kroger
WWA-
Sat. Chicken lo mein, salad
Sun. Fried pork chops, mashed potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts, biscuits
Mon. Fried grouper sandwiches, homemade tartar sauce, fried potatoes
Tue. Leftover vegetable beef soup from the freezer, fried cornbread
Wed. Cubed steak with gravy & mushrooms, rice
Thu. Lasagna, salad, hot dog bun garlic bread
Fri. I’m thinking shrimp & grits with broccoli & cheese sauce
Hope you feel better soon Kristen!
Like you, my daughter came down with 2nd case of covid in November. Several weeks later, she got what she thought was a cold but ended up being worse than her covid bout. She was sick for about 3 weeks and tested negative for covid, strep and flu. One of the many doctors she saw said her immune system hadn't had time to recover from her latest run of covid. She told me she is just tired of being sick! And she is a nurse and has always been extra careful with masking and hand washing.
Haha, yep, that's me too! I keep testing negative for covid, strep, and flu. So basically I just keep finding out what I DON'T have.
All easy meals for us too this week, just busy though not sick!
Saturday - takeout fried chicken with sides from a local place
Sunday - Trader Joe’s orange chicken and vegetable fried rice
Monday - leftover turkey veggie loaves from the freezer, tomato and Burrata ravioli from Trader Joe’s (I loved these) steamed baby corn and carrots
Tuesday - pasta, jarred sauce, meatballs from the freezer
Wednesday and Thursday - at a work conference near my parents house so staying with them and brought the kids. They are a bit overwhelmed with caring for them all day so they got Taco Bell both nights (no complaints from me, I love Taco Bell and don’t get it much at home since there’s not a convenient location)
Friday - going out to dinner with friends who live near my parents, at an Ethiopian restaurant
This week was a little unusual – my husband has been out of town, my son was with his dad for three nights, and my office provided lunch twice (I usually bring leftovers to avoid food waste). I made a few of my favorites and realized that if I’m on my own I don’t eat much meat. The last two weeks I’ve only spent about $75 on groceries. I reorganized the freezer yesterday and I’m hoping I’ll be able to keep my low spending streak going!
Friday – Sushi date with my husband before he went out of town for the week
Saturday – chickpea and potato curry with naan
Sunday – Cajun chicken pasta
Monday – leftovers
Tuesday – bean soup for me, leftover pasta for my son
Wednesday – black bean burgers with roasted cauliflower (planned leftovers for me)
Thursday – Trader Joe’s Japanese fried rice and roasted shrimp (the fried rice was a new item for us and it was delicious)
Yep, being sick stinks! We're in the daycare plague phase--I had a couple of months of sickness in a row, too. Whew, not fun. We didn't get out to the kosher store last weekend, so no meat this week.
Sunday: Friends over for cheese ravioli with tomato sauce, salad, broccoli, and roasted carrots. And hamentaschen!
Monday: Salmon, leftover veggies, hamentaschen for Purim!
Tuesday: My brother came over, and we had lasagna that I'd previously made and frozen, plus salad.
Wednesday: I tried and failed to maeke falafel, so we had scrambled eggs and leftover lasagna.
Thursday: Mr. B made chili and rice.
Friday: Tilapia, roasted parsley root and potatoes, cucumber salad, and challah.
You're too young to remember the old television commercial (for aspirin?) with a soap opera actor looking into the camera saying "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV". I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but could these colds just be the leftover COVID virus leaving your respiratory system? It just seems to take some people a little longer than others to clear it, even when they've tested negative. But you're the nurse-in-waiting so you know this stuff better than me! Me who once, in an early morning fog, put ear drops in her eyes instead of eye drops. DON'T EVER DO THAT, PEOPLE!
WIS: $0. Nada. Nothing. Yay! for Last Week Me who bought stuff that would either keep well or could be prepped/cooked/frozen and pulled out as needed. WIA: chicken fajitas 2X (with last week's purchase of Bell peppers that were immediately cooked in fajita sauce, and shredded chicken that was already in the freezer); delicata squash (last week's purchase), roasted with leftover stuffing (wild rice/mushrooms/sage sausage/walnuts/cranberries) from the freezer, 2X; a spinach omelet to use up the last of the fresh spinach; and my gifted Salmon roast stuffed with spinach and goat cheese, with sides of my asperges biologiques and fresh green beans using Kristen's recipe for Sauteed Green Beans with Garlic Herb Butter (thumbs up for that one!).
I'm not sure I'll be grocery shopping this coming week; I had made a list and thought I would go to the store(s) today, but when I looked over my list this morning I just said "Nah, don't need that. Or that. Or..." So maybe I'll just take that time and play frisbee with the dog instead. :-}
I hope everyone has (pick one) a quiet and restful, or an explosively adventurous, weekend.
I really don't know exactly WHAT is going on with me, but as I said to another commenter, my doctor said they have been seeing a pattern of people getting repeatedly sick following a Covid case.
They will probably figure out why in the near future!
I kinda wonder if it has something do with the current variants, because last year after I had Covid, I didn't get sick at all for another whole year.
@JDinNM,
I read somewhere (I think it was "Your Local Epidemiologist" blog by Dr. Katelyn Jetelina) that scientists think COVID destroys some / a lot of our bodies' T cells and B cells for various infections. Those are the cells that remember previous infections and are programmed to fight them off.
Anecdotal evidence from my experience seems to support that. I've been sick with kids of colds and other illnesses after getting COVID in August 2021.
I'm really curious to see what the research finds over the years.
@Kayla, "All kinds of colds " not "with kids"
@Kayla, I really hope they keep researching all of this, and don't just move on to the next (bad) thing. I have a friend who got COVID before we knew about COVID -- in February 2020 she was in physical therapy multiple times a week, for multiple weeks, in a crowded facility. This was pre-vaccines -- pre-everything we know about exposures, modes of transmissions, etc. She was sick for most of that year with pretty severe respiratory problems and the accompanying fatigue. And even after all the available vaccines and boosters, she was reinfected and again it took months to resolve. Only good thing was it scared the $*&! out of the rest of us so we've been extremely careful.
@Kristen, You can count my mother-in-law as one who is getting sick repeatedly. She's really trying to bolster her immune system now, but if it's not another respiratory sickness, it's shingles!
@Kristen,
I'm neither a doctor nor a scientist, but I have a theory that a COVID infection wakes up other dormant viruses in your system. I noticed little waves of viruses reported in the news since the pandemic started-shingles, rsv, measles, monkey pox, etc. Now maybe these other viruses always ebb and flow and we just don't hear about them because they aren't usually news worthy. As to why you didn't get the colds after the first infection...maybe you hadn't had recent exposure to colds prior to your first infection because you were consistently masking, but then after having COVID the first timr, then you were out and about at school maskless and getting exposed to colds that your immune system just fought off without you noticing. And now, your recent COVID infection is waking up all the dormant colds from this past year. Like I said, not a doctor, just an arm chair theorist. Anyway, I think you will start to feel better when the sunlight increases and you are able to get more natural vitamin D.
Being sick over and over again must be incredibly tiresome. I hope this is it.
I didn't do well at keeping to my menu, but I still did well at avoiding takeout, so that's good. No shopping last weekend.
WIA:
Beef cubed steak, which made 2 meals and a lunch. Served with, at differing times, carrots, cukes, bread and butter, and maybe something else, I don't remember.
Cassava flour tacos, with cucumbers on the side.
Sliced ham with random vegetables pulled out of the refrigerator, to the best of my memory.
I processed the rest of the ham and made my version of deviled ham, which I served on a bed of homegrown lettuce, twice, and had grapefruit or apple on the side. I snuck in extra onion and some celery in my deviled ham, to get more vegetables in.
And my daughter took me out for my birthday, where I had fish, garlic mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables. The service was uncharacteristically terrible, however, so our food was cold and some was even incorrect, among other issues. I felt terrible for my daughter, since she was hosting - it wasn't her fault, but none of us got a good meal.
Tonight is up in the air. I go shopping after work, and I often pick up something quick to cook on Fridays when I shop, but hm, I do have some shrimp in the freezer at home....
Good to know about the oranges. I do Weight Watchers and people lose their minds over these oranges. I've not bought any bc of the price. Right now the cara cara oranges are great. If by chance you ever see honeybell oranges, buy them, they are probably the best!
Luckily, I caught them on a really good sale, so they were only $1.50/pound. For that price I was willing to try them!
We got a cold, one right after the other. My 17 y.o. got it over ski week, then my husband, and I've had it this week. I'm finally at the tail end, and happy it's almost done. I hate not having any energy! Here's hoping you feel better quickly.
We had:
-Grilled chicken & rice x2
-Chipotle x2 (leftovers the second night)
-Beef, broccoli & noodle dish
-Orange chicken & rice
-Out for my son's soccer banquet
Kristen, I have noticed a pattern since covid invaded our lives. It is that people catch colds immediately after having the 'rona, and people catch colds more often than we used to. I certainly hope there is some solid research on this to uncover the truth of this mystery.
My doctor was saying that they are seeing a lot of that; I'm sure the science will eventually explain exactly why this is happening!
Okay, I know you aren't looking for health advice, but have you thought of trying . . . 😉
We ate breakfast tacos all week. It's nice to have a simple meal so that I can dig in the yard until the sun sets. Tonight my husband will make burgers and his special spicy burger sauce.
Hahahahaha!
I am in the same boat as you for cold. I had bunch of cold after the other. Strep, covid, flu, they even tested me for rsv and infectious mononucleosis! All were negative but I lost my voice due to the cold.
I have actually never eaten cinnamon raisin bread. I always want to try but then i think if i buy this loaf I am the one who has to eat it and if I don't like it ? Does it taste like cinnamon buns ? I made the pillsbury cinnabon once but did not like it much, may be I should find a recipe and make half loaf someday.
I never put raisins in my cinnamon bread! And I think you can buy cinnamon bread that has no raisins. Maybe try that?
Kristen, I am sorry you are sick again. We are getting our behinds kicked by pollen right now. There's a white cloud hanging over our neighborhood from it.
WIS: $91.68 between two trips to Food Lion and Food City.
WWA:
Sunday was homemade pizzas that used up some pepperoni and cheese from the freezer.
Monday I did a lot of yardwork and was too tired to cook, so everyone foraged.
Tuesday was chicken drumsticks jazzed up with a freesample of Penzey's Mitchell Street Steak Seasoning --awesome, green peas, applesauce, mac and cheese, baked potatoes for the lactose intolerant ones, and chocolate pudding.
Wednesday was leftovers. Thursday I had an upset stomach and ate toast and canned peaches, while my guys had Sonic burgers.
Tonight probably will be home barbecued pork from the freezer on buns with Wicked Pickle chips and carrots. And applesauce and yogurt, which are mainstays around here.
Kristen, You are doing all the right things. With all that you’ve had to shoulder this past year plus classes and setting up a whole new house, your body is allowing itself some down time now. Go with it and pamper yourself.
In pollen season (which is getting longer all the time) I get sinus colds that sometimes lead to sinus infections. Man they are debilitating, even just the cold part.
WIS: If we're counting from last Saturday to this Friday, a total of $450. DH was out of town last Saturday so I did the grocery shopping that day; usually he does it. He is much better at finding bargains and shopping frugally; I tend to be all, "Ooh! I forgot we needed that!" or I go into squirrel-mode and want to stock up when it's not the best decision, financially. Oops.
Oh well, we ate good food and didn't eat out, so I can count that as a win.
Saturday: homemade personal pizzas; some homemade crusts, some on small flour tortillas, which make excellent thin crusts. I still have one kid who is a staunch holdout and wants the homemade crusts, but at least I'm not making a batch of 18 anymore and worrying they'll last all weekend; a batch of 8 sees us through nicely.
Sunday: leftovers from Saturday.
Monday: lasagna--two pans of cheese, one of beef and cheese to use up ground beef from the weekend. Everyone said this was the best lasagna I've ever made, and I think the only thing I did differently was when I emptied a jar of sauce (2 jars for each pan) I added a little warm water and swished it around and added that to the pan. My grandmother always taught me to do this with spaghetti sauce, and I'd forgotten to do it until recently. The extra moisture must have been important!
Tuesday: Burgers, tater tots, and leftover lasagna for those who wanted it.
Wednesday: hamburger stew, using some leftover burgers and potatoes that miraculously hadn't sprouted in my pantry.
Thursday: taco night
Friday: I'm making ham and bean soup in the crockpot, just in time for some winter-like weather, and corn dog muffins, partly because I love cornbread with soup, and partly to appease the one child who dislikes soup or stew in any iteration.
It’s been a brutal winter for many families this year. Hopefully as spring comes we can all round the corner and get well.
What we are:
Sunday: leftovers/snacks
Monday: I cannot for the life of me remember. Maybe more leftovers?
Tuesday: white chicken chili with chips and Guac
Wednesday: soups and sandwiches at church before lent service
Thursday: Thai curry chicken rice and microwaved veggies
Friday: flatbread pizzas with sun dried tomato and chicken and salad on the side
I'm so sorry you're under the weather again. I feel like for me when I've been through super stressful and busy times, then it slows down, I will get sick. My body is like ok now we have time to be sick! Hope things start looking up soon.
My son had covid for the first time in Sept - of course week 2 of his freshman year at college unfortunately. Since then he seems to catch every cold going around, same with my sister in law and her son. They had covid twice and now have been sick most of the winter with cold after cold. I feel fortunate to not have had covid yet or really any kind of bad cold in 3 years but my fear now is when I do finally catch something it will knock me on my butt! Hope you feel better soon! As far as food over here we are still trying to figure out cooking for two now that both kids are off in college. Trial and error with the leftover situation!
I bought an Amish roasting chicken, plump and juicy looking, for $10. I was thinking it would feed me for several meals and then magically turn into soup. Roasted in a slow oven in a covered kettle with tarragon, garlic, S&P, and a little splash of Worchestershire. Verdict: TERRIBLE. Didn't get tender, didn't taste like much of anything. I could have purchased almost two already-roasted birds for that money!
What I spent: TOO MUCH
What I'm eating: Chicken chicken chicken
Ugh I’m so sorry you’ve been getting so many illnesses. I was recently reading research on how Covid evidently nukes the immune system for a not-insignificant amount of time after infection (the study only covered 8 months, but it may be longer). I just had covid this past week for the first time so am not looking forward to that. I hope you feel better soon and YES it is so good you’re not in school right now!
And YES SUMOS ARE WONDERFUL!
It is so strange that this did not happen after my first round of Covid. I was good for an entire year after that episode.
Did the study say if it's an effect of the newer variants?
@Amber,
Yes! Sumos are AMAZING. I look forward to their season all year!
Thanks for sharing the link to the pulled pork recipe! I signed up to make pulled pork for a potluck on Sunday, but was wanting a way to do it with less sugar than barbecue sauce from a bottle. Now I have an option!
Saturday: We were at a fundraising dinner for my kids' school. The food was amazing and I love that I didn't have to make it.
Sunday: Pizza and breadsticks
Monday: Ham, broccoli, Hawaiian rolls, and skillet corn
Tuesday: Sheet pan dinner (brats, carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli, onions) with grapes and strawberries
Wednesday: Ham and potato soup. I have to say - One of my three children has become a grumpy eater this year and we have to constantly remind her to not complain about what I make. But ALL THREE of my kids excitedly said, "I love this soup!" Oh my goodness. That felt like such a win.
Thursday: Chicken pot pie - this was another win. I found a recipe that turned out fantastic that doesn't use cream soup. Thanks, AllRecipes!
Friday: Cheesy scalloped potatoes with ham and while it has peas in it, I'll probably add another veggie on the side. Or maybe I'll cut up the pineapple that's ripe. Or do both.
Regarding Sumos: the ones you get in the bag are smaller and less juicy than the behemoths you get as singletons. And maybe it is because citrus gets to Alaska in better condition than most other fruits, but I think they are the most delicious oranges on the planet, even if they are running over $4.00 each. I have actually been making all our bread so that I don't feel guilty spending money on the sumos...I did two take-out restaurant shops this week and the portions were so enormous that husband and I ate them each for two nights, adding only sumos to them for dessert. I was pretty happy not to have any cooking for four nights. And tonight it is Filet-o-Fish for Lenten Friday for me and cheese omelet for him.
I’m sorry you have been sick again! Having a sinus infection following Covid happened to my in-laws and sister-in-law also. I hope you are well on the mend, and the rest of the year is kind to you!
Sometimes these colds just happen, despite our best efforts!
Feel better soon ☺️
I know how frustrated you must feel. I was healthy all my life and the last few years I developed environmental allergies, asthma, and chronic sinusitis. I have a flare up every few months and I get really depressed about it. As you do, I'm eating relatively healthy, exercise, get lots of sleep, I get allergy shot every week, etc. and I can't make any improvement in my health. So yes, I know it is discouraging to get every cold out there.
Take care of yourself, lots of hugs!
Don’t give up on the Sumos! Many are amazing! I think the smaller ones are just okay.
You may have developed food intolerances that are weakening your immune system. Covid is known to disrupt the body, some people developed diabetes, others food intolerances and I don’t know what all.
Long before covid, after a nasty virus I started getting colds, sinus, strep, all the time. Doctors finally found milk allergy and celiac disease. Traumas such as sickness or stress can activate genes or something lurking in your dna or something like that(lol) You might keep a food diary and see if you notice anything after something you ate. Also, it is spring and Covid has caused some to have worse pollen allergies.
@Tiana,
Sorry, I wrote this before I read “no health advice”.
WIS: Neighborhood-$24; Tuscan Market-$51; Milk Delivery-$19; Fish delivery-$19; TGTG-$5; BJ's-$250ish Total-$368 (not bad considering bjs is mostly stocking up on certain things)
WWA:Saturday- At my parents for my mom's birthday. We got a few apps from a local restaurant and heated some pasta and bolognese from the freezer that we had been waiting for a special occasion since the fall to eat (pasta kit from ESO pasta that were on the Great Food Truck Race---not cheap by any means but really good)
Sunday- Shrimp pasta dish most likely but can't exactly remember
Monday- Leftover pasta bolognese from Saturday w/ green beans
Tuesday- Steak & cheese w/ mushrooms and green beans on the side
Wednesday- Baked flounder and zucchini w/ mashed potatoes
Thursday- Steak and cheese sub and Snap Pea snack things
Friday- Couples cooking class, Mediterranean food themed. A gift I got my husband for valentine's day
My sympathies to you for having one cold after another. I had covid and, while I'm now testing negative two weeks later, the congestion and sore throat just hang on and on. So I'm your company in misery.
Food? Mostly cold drinks and ice cream to soothe my throat. Also lots of eggs and toast.
So sorry you have another cold. Perhaps your body knows this is a good time to let down all it's defenses. I just talked to my sister in South Carolina and she has a wicked cold and it's allergy season. No covid, flu or stress. She's leaving on a trip tomorrow.
Sumos CAN be the best orange you ever ate, but they have a short season, so you are kind of at the end of it. Plus, I find that choosing individual ones instead of a bag is better. They’re so expensive that we get them as a special treat. If you choose them individually, go for a heavy one for its size - then it’s really juicy. They can be a bit dried out by March. (Who knew I had such strong feelings about sumos!)
I love reading about sumos, how you all are discovering them and what you think. ! My friend is the main farm advisor for all sumo growers in Central California, so I have been learning about them since they were first introduced here. Sometimes he brings us A WHOLE BOX!! The season is over now but I think there is still quite a bit in cold storage. let me know if you want to know anything about them and I will ask The Farmer.
@Central Calif. Artist,
Are they oranges?
@Tiana, yes they are. Easy to peel, juicy, and your hands don't get messy while peeling. They have a little different flavor than a navel, a little more intense is the best description I can come up with.
WIS: $185 at Wegmans, $96 at the farm stand (note that this was the annual fundraising day when I splurge because 20% goes to the school), and $137 at Stop & Shop makes $418.
WWA: Tacos; Salmon with brown rice and broccoli; pasta with meat sauce and cut veggies; homemade pizza; shredded beef with slaw
Covid lowers your immunity. I'm so very sorry you are sick. Hope you feel better soon!
Not sure if anyone has already recommended these, but my favorite oranges (which you can get right now!) are the heirloom oranges at Trader Joe's, so SO GOOD and juicy.
There’s been some research showing that having covid erases some of the immune system’s memory, kind of like having measles. It’s thought that is why some of us are getting so many bugs this year! We might have been immune prior to the vid but have to get the thing again to get a new immune memory of that particular invader. Grr. I hope this string of things is soon over for you, Kristen!