WIS, WWA | Election Week Eats
I don't ever quite remember having an election WEEK before, but here we are.
I mean, there was that whole mess with Gore/Bush in 2000, but somehow, that felt slightly more settled than this does.
Maybe by the next time I post a menu plan, things will be clearer.
What I Spent
I got a $25 Hungry Harvest delivery and I made a super quick $16 stop for coconut milk, bacon, bananas, and a few other things.
I also spent $19.50 on two takeout occasions.
So, I'm at $60.50 total for the week, for a nice low start to November!
What We Ate
Saturday
This was Halloween, and we had a very here-and-there kind of night.
Zoe had a grilled cheese sandwich, Sonia had rice and scrambled eggs, and after we finished handing out candy, Mr. FG picked up a Little Caesar's pizza and crazy bread ($9.50).
Sunday
Mr. FG and Lisey were not here for dinner, and Sonia and Zoe had a random craving for McDonald's.
So, I picked that up for them ($10), and I made a skillet meal for myself (sausage, peppers, eggs, and an avocado).
This is not a matter of self-flagellation. I just would really rather eat a skillet meal than McDonald's most of the time!
I'm not a big french fry person, and I definitely am not into their chicken nuggets. So, a skillet meal wins.
Here's the basic method for making skillet meals.
Monday
Roasted red pepper soup (to use up the zillion red peppers Hungry Harvest gave me!), and toasted croissants.
Buttered and toasted in a skillet = the best way to eat croissants.
Tuesday
Breakfast for dinner; Swedish pancakes (aka lazy crepes) this time around.
And I used the spoon-in-the-drain hole trick as usual.
Wednesday
I made bacon and smoked gouda panini with chipotle mayo (a trifecta of smoky flavors!)
Thursday
I made a quick pot of spaghetti before our rescue cat shift.
Friday
I'm probably going to make a taco salad with fried corn tortilla strips.
The orange tabby pic isn't loading. Drat, this--of all weeks--needs more kitty pics!
WWS: $48 (plus take out); WWA:
Sat. Herby pasta with olives and homemade pappardelle (epicurious); sautéed broccoli and red pepper; leftover chicken
Sun. Fried green tomatoes (saved from garden before SNOW!); pan-fried haddock; salad
Mon. Chicken and potato gratin with brown butter cream (epicurious), zucchini & arugula salad
Tues. Take out Greek food -- the birthplace of democracy!
Wedn. Homemade pizza (as a reminder that all empires fall)
Thurs. Buffalo tofu salad (based on a vegan recipe from rabbitandwolves, but we used non-vegan butter, mayo & yogurt).
Frid/tonight: homemade pierogi, kielbasa & cabbage salad
Well, nuts! I can see it on my end.
What browser are you using?
It is working now! Such a CUTE one.
The week started out so cold!!
Monday was roast beef with small potatoes and carrots in the crock pot! I served that with homemade beer bread and some canned fried apples from Aldi- of course they were a special buy item- they were so good! I will never see them again! lol
Tuesday- Taco Tuesday! Taco seasoned beef served with seasoned black beans, tortilla chips and all the toppings
Wednesday- pulled homemade red-meat sauce from the freezer for a quick spaghetti dinner with garlic bread and salads for those that wanted it!
Thursday- gorgeous weather so we grilled chicken and served with steamed broccoli and a boxed rice side dish.
Friday- tonight we will have steaks on the grill- cause we got so many in our beef order.. and its grilling weather! I have a bunch of small potatoes so I will boil those then smash them! I will drizzle with garlic butter and seasoning and bake until crispy in the oven!
Saturday: My sister, who is much more fun than I am, gave us a box of "black" pasta (soy--why is soy pasta black?) to make a Halloween dinner with. So I made that with tomato sauce and green peas and called it graveyard pasta with blood and alien eyes. Sure. My kids appreciated the effort, and they ate it, but were not into seconds. It was kind of odd. I also made chicken with peppers and onions.
Sunday: Pork bites (just chunks of pork fried in bacon fat with spices), boiled potatoes, steamed carrots and broccoli
Monday: Pork stir-fry with meat I had cut up the day before and put in a marinade in the refrigerator. The vegetables were mostly a frozen mix, plus some of the leftover broccoli and carrots, which is what made it fast enough for a workday dinner.
Tuesday: Steaks from the bull (verdict: tasty! but I have to be careful not to overcook, and they have to be thinly sliced due to the toughness issue), mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli and carrots
Wednesday: I made baked ziti with roasted tomato sauce (I also sneakily blended in some cooked calabaza squash when I was making the tomato sauce in the food processor), leftovers
Thursday: Ground beef soft tacos, pinto beans
Tonight: I took out some more bull beef, as well as some beef stock I had in the freezer (and froze in a glass jar, which of course broke, because it happens EVERY TIME in my freezer, dangit), so I think I'm going to make a beef stew with roasted green chilis (also from the freezer), a bit of leftover tomatoes from a can, potatoes, and carrots.
Oooh, I am delighted to hear that the bull is actually tasty. Whew!
Kristin,
Your reports never disappoint! Black pasta and bull. Even without elk, eating at your house always sounds like an adventure. By comparison, my meals are terribly boring but I live vicariously by reading about yours. 😉
Your sister is the fun one? I wanna hang out with your family. You are so darn funny. I read your comments because they make me smile . Sounds to me like a great sense of humor is hereditary in your family.
Thank you, Kris. My sister is way more fun about holidays than I am, but yes, she is also funny. Of course, all my family shares a sense of humor, so I think we're all funny. Others might not agree. 🙂
It's an adventure, but I think more because of my slightly feral dinner companions (four children under 10) than the food.
Your perception of the 2000 election and mine are very different. I found that just as unsettling.
Me too. It was my first election working at a newspaper. That was really wretched and I'm glad I'm not in the newsroom now.
Maybe the problem was that I was a) pretty young and b) distracted because I had a 1 year old and was 4.5 months pregnant with my second baby.
Also, we had no cable at the time, and internet news was not quite what it is now. So I probably was less informed about what was going on then. It wasn't really possible to check the results every five minutes!
I wouldn't call that a problem per se but it is a good explanation for the difference.
The soup especially looks delicious!
Our son cooked meals all week, as after I totally ran out of ideas recently. But, then, never before have I cooked meals daily for solid eight months in a row. I was due for a break. We had fried rice and chicken, potatoes in several ways with lots of veg and different kinds of meats, with sauce. I felt very spoilt and grateful! I hope he will cook for us when we are too old to.
What is the wooden spoon method for Kristen?
On a different note: hope the US elections will soon be settled. Enervating, even for us abroad.
not the greatest week, but we were all fed!
Saturday-Halloween- ordered pizza
Sunday- hot dogs, tater tots after DD game in the rain
Monday- home made beef stew, that I cooked all day Sunday and I heated it up , ds had fried mac and cheese, as did DD she also had potatoes out of the stew...
Tuesday-chicken cutlets, butter noodles, corn,
Wednesday-late lunch, everyone kind of ate something later, I had a 1/2 pork roll on a bagel, dd and DH had cereal, ds had naan pizza
Thursday- had someplace to be and hit up burger king (not my favorite place) on the way.
Friday- Smothered pork chops, mashed maybe, veggie. now to figure out what the kids will have since they do not eat this..
Monday: I tried a new recipe to use up leftover ham. https://www.thechunkychef.com/slow-cooker-cheesy-ham-chowder/ This was SO GOOD! I plan to make it every time I make a huge ham now. All of my kids (ages 6, 4, and 2) even liked it. I made FG french bread to go with it, which is always a big hit.
Tuesday: Sloppy joes with roasted broccoli and cauliflower. I didn't care for the sloppy joe recipe I used, but since I made FG homemade hamburger buns, the sloppy joes were saved. It made all the difference in the meal for us! And I've got some different sloppy joe recipes to try for next time.
Wednesday: Haluski with smoked sausages and corn.
Thursday: Venison roast with potatoes, onions, and carrots plus sides of asparagus and macaroni and cheese. The roast was big enough that we'll get to have leftovers tomorrow night! Yay for a night off from cooking!
Friday: Cheeseburgers (using up the last of the amazingly delicious buns), cajun potatoes, and maybe some peas from the freezer. I've lost motivation for side dishes tonight, so we'll see what happens.
We were cool at the beginning of the week so I had more cool-weather dishes, or so it felt like.
I made a sheet pan meal of chicken, carrots, parsnips, onions, mushrooms and celery, and I spatchcocked the chicken and tried it without pre-browning in the skillet but cooking it entirely on the convection setting of my oven. The skin browned nicely without the pre-cooking in the skillet! That was just for you, Kristen :).
I made a pot of vegetable beef soup and my husband had bread with his.
We had seasoned baked pork chops, sautéed and Italian-seasoned zucchini and summer squash, plus beets, chopped small and roasted at the same time as the chops.
I made chicken salad with chopped up celery, carrot and onion and red raisins. We had sliced apples on the side.
We had leftover chops with a roasted acorn squash and the last of the beets.
And one night I made a stir-fry for me and a hamburger and chips for him, because he is not a huge fan of stir-fry. I used some leftover ground beef from the weekend that needed to be eaten. I think we had that Monday night, not sure.
I'll get a Misfits box delivery later this week, but I will use that next week, so I'll be buying veggies at the store today when I go.
I'm currently trying to ignore the election. I have to watch my stress levels carefully, and watching the news does not help! Get me stressed enough, and I will run a fever, which means testing for Covid, and oh, I don't even want to start with that.
Ate in all week after last Friday's Pizza at the beach on the roof top dining area, all to ourselves with view of ocean and moon -- so socially distanced. Pizza is the only cheap thing by the ocean 😉
Saturday -- Baked potatoes with the last of the chili, which had been repurposed from the last of the spaghetti sauce. B's suggestion and yummy
Sunday -- chicken breast over big salad.
Monday -- Chicken Breast over big salad (Taylor Farms Dill pickle is the best salad mix after adding extra veggies)
Tuesday -- $5 Rotisserie Chicken, sauteed spinach and broccoli, winter squash
Wednesday -- Turkey chili (yup, more turkey chili -- this batch was better!), big salad
Thursday -- leftover chili
Tonight is Friday!! Some kind of treat
Plans to use up stuff: turn rotisserie carcass into soup with some extra thighs tossed in.
Happy Weekend to all!
This week....what a doozie. Charlie Brown for President. Snoopy for VP.
We ate....
Saturday...family pizza party while watching Finding Dory.
Sunday...baked potatoes with last of leftover taco soup.
Monday....baked pork chops, mashed potatoes & gravy, dressing, steamed squash & mustard greens fresh from our garden.
Tuesday....leftovers.
Wednesday......homemade pork fried rice with peas and carrots and red peppers. Homemade hot cocoa.
Thursday....Mom got the night off and had a yummy artichoke pizza outdoors with a good friend. Dad's took the kiddos to the park and got Little Caesar's.
Friday...no plan which generally means leftovers, scrambled eggs, clean out the fridge kind of night.
Saturday.....spaghetti maybe...I will let my son dictate since he has to have a tooth pulled Monday and is eating soft foods until and just after. Poor little guy 🙁
Enjoy the weekend ahead!
LOVE LOVE your nominees!! 🙂
I second the nomination!
Agreed strange week, glad commercials are done.
Sunday- peanut butter sandwich, didn’t feel like cooking
Monday- coleslaw , sweet Italian sausage, and green beans
Tuesday- hamburger,squash, and peas
Wednesday- ham and cheese after a long day of doctors and shopping for winter .Plus Christmas.
Thursday- moose stew
Friday- celebrating an early birthday, so leftover from lunch, Chinese food.
All meals from freezer and pantry. .
I spent $0 this week but we had a revolting development food-wise. I discovered our basement fridge had quit working and the freezer full of meat and garden veggies were all.thawed.completely. ARGH!!! I had so carefully shopped sales for the best meat prices so I could be well stocked in preparation for winter weather (and COVID-19). Unfortunately, I didn’t think I should even chance trying to cook it all as our best guess was that the food was at least 2 days thawed, maybe more. Anyhoo, at least our kitchen fridge is fully stocked also and so this week we ate:
Chicken lo mein
Hamburgers and fries
Salmon patties, mac & cheese, broccoli
Steak hoagies, onion rings from locally owned Italian eatery
Leftover halves of steak hoagies, fried potatoes & onions
Ohhh, that is so frustrating! Ugh.
Monday: beef enchiladas, Spanish rice
Tuesday: spaghetti and meatballs
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: pork roast, sweet potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts
Friday: had three of the grandkids ( 9,6,4) over for grilled burgers. Push up pops for dessert!
I haven't felt like inspired about cooking all week.
Friday: bbq chicken kebabs, salad and rice.
Thursday: scrambled eggs, rice, toasted ham and cheese sandwiches, pork dumpling and vegetable soup.
Wednesday: leftover asparagus and potato frittata and sausages, toad on the road, toasted sandwiches.
Tuesday: asparagus and potato frittata and sausages. Toasted sandwiches.
Monday: leftover meatball pasta bake, toasted sandwiches, salmon and rice.
Sunday: meatball pasta bake, sandwiches.
Saturday: black beans soup and creamy corn salad
Sunday: stew with potatoes, green beans, bacon and pears
Monday: falafel wraps
Tuesday: fresh bread from our local bakery, cheeses and cut vegetables and hummus
Wednesday and Thursday: spaghetti carbonara
Friday: Delivery of Asian noodles
At the beginning of the week I made a pot of something that served us a few meals. ON Thursday a pot os spaghetti sauce was made and we have had two dinners from that. A. big batch of soy sauce chicken wings was made and served with turmeric rice. This afternoon leg ham was carved off the bone for some meals with salad over this weekend.
This is always a good memory exercise for me...
Working backwards:
Friday night - homemade pizza and a salad
Thursday night - Jambalaya with french bread (your recipe) and salad
Wednesday night - Freezer fish, roasted potatoes, roasted broccoli
Tuesday night - Meatball subs and...
Monday night - I think we had Asian leftovers from the freezer and eggrolls.
Sunday night - Leftovers? Maybe?
Somehow, it is always easier to do backwards!
This crazy meal was a big success, we both loved it.
My husband grilled marinated fillet beef steaks (soaked them in a mixture of sherry wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce) gouging holes in them first.
Then I heated the day before' s cabbage pie and added it as a side dish + seedless red grapes.
My cabbage pie recipe is much liked always:
Shredded Savoy cabbage blanched in chicken broth
Chopped hard boiled eggs
Grated sharp Cheddar cheese
A little heavy cream
Salt and pepper
Covered with puff pastry
We finished with de-caff coffee and Swedish ginger biscuits.
I love that you and your husband have official coffee and dessert, even when it's just the two of you.
Sat - my hubby ordered us all pizza
Sun - breakfast for dinner
Mon - Italian beef sandwiches, and baby carrots
Tues - shrimp fajitas
Wed - cheeseburgers and veggies
Thur- we ate but I can’t remember what
Fri - grilled chicken sandwiches
Sat - smoked pork and salad
Sun - beef stroganoff