WIS, WWA | I one-upped myself, fashion-wise
What I Spent
So you know how the other week I told you that I wore a polka-dotted shirt?
(which is surprising because it was a print and I rarely wear prints!)
Well, this week I did one better:
Yes. A flowered shirt, even!
I only needed to do a small fill-in trip this week, so I'm starting of September with a $63 grocery bill.
YUSSSS.
However, we did also spent $36 on takeout, so my actual total is $99.
Which is still just fine.
What We Ate
Saturday
Mr. FG and I got seafood sandwiches at a local shop; the girls fended for themselves.
Sunday
I noticed I had a few ripe mangoes and avocados, so I made tacos with mango salsa, pico de gallo, and guacamole.
Monday
Zoe was with a friend, and the rest of us got Chick Fil A (Sonia's choice).
Tuesday
I made a main dish salad with bacon, chicken, shrimp, greens, and veggies, and we had cream biscuits on the side.
Wednesday
We had pulled pork on buns with raw veggies and fruit on the side.
Thursday
I made sandwiches using brinerated chicken, lettuce, cheese, this basil-red pepper mayo, and toasted buns.
We had watermelon with our sandwiches because I am trying to eat as much watermelon as humanly possible while it is still in season and delicious. 😉
Friday
I plan to make a main dish salad with scallops from Aldi, using a recipe from Dinner Illustrated.
And I will probably make some kind of fresh bread to go with the salad after I poll my housemates for their preferences.
Prediction: garlic pull-apart bread is going to win.
On the other hand, it has been a long while since I made glazed honey pan rolls, so maybe I will just make an executive decision about those tonight.
First full week back to school. My oldest started college classes online so he took his week of vacation off this week to figure it all out...So he was here all week for meals also.
Sunday- I cooked kielbasa in the air fryer and served it with fresh fruit and homemade potato wedges ( needed to use potatoes)
Monday- Mexican! seasoned beef, rice, limey black beans, homemade queso, chips and fruit
Tuesday- the boys picked up Subway and husband and I ate random stuff before we headed out to watch the girls volleyball match!
Wednesday- I made a cheesy chicken and stuffing casserole cause the temps have lowered a little.. served with peas and corn, Italian bread( carb overkill I realize)
Thursday- Easy night! Made a box of spaghetti noodles and heated up hot dogs in 2 cans of Skyline chili ( Its an Ohio thing).. served with finely shredded MILD cheddar cheese and thin oyster crackers.. ( these additions are so important! lol) The husband and boys were thrilled.. The girl ate pizza after ball practice with the team.. I roasted my hot dogs in the air fryer and ate the last of the salad....
Friday- Kids will probably eat pizza- husband and I are going out ALONE! lol
SKYLINE 🙂 🙂 I wish I could do heart eye emojis, haha! I live in Ashland County and the closest Skyline is down in Mansfield and totally worth the drive! Getting it from the restaurant just isn't the same as the canned stuff.
And I mean that the fresh, restaurant Skyline is WAY better than the canned stuff!
You're right it is not the same but husband has found the RIGHT hot sauce to top it and swears it hits the spot since the one close to us in Summit County closed...It makes him happy especially when I am not in the mood for it! lol
I had a grocery pickup on Monday, but a few items we're out of stock, so I popped into a different grocery nearby for the out of stock items. We are trying a 4 week vegetarian meal plan from budget bytes, which has been great so far. The meal weeks start on Monday. Total this week was $113, which included a fair amount of non meal plan things like soda, cleaning supplies, and steak that went into the freezer.
Monday - smoky potato and chickpea stew
Tuesday - fresh tomato and basil pasta with ricotta
Wednesday - fast food after visiting a friend
Thursday - BBQ bean sliders with coleslaw and oven fries.
Friday - either spanish chickpeas and rice or homemade garlic kale ricotta pizza, depending on if I feel like making pizza dough tonight or not
Shopping is Sunday or Monday this week. did pop into a store last weekend that was having a great cereal sale. 99 cents a box, limit 8. we only got two, but then dh went back for more yesterday. Kids like to eat as a snack. choices where some cheerios, cinnamon toast crunch, lucky charms, and a reese peanut butter one.
Saturday- Mom/dads, eye round roast, mashed, carrots, I made dessert, cake, and a cut up cantaloupe.
Sunday- mom/dads, hamburgers/hot dogs/ sausage, salad, mac salad, I brought more dessert (pick up when we went to store for cereal, since I didn't have time to bake)
Monday- BBQ chicken on the grill, stuffing, mixed veggies
Tuesday- Pasta with home made sauce, bread, salad
Wednesday- Shrimp scampi, salad
Thursday- (easy night)DS was to have practice but got cancelled for weather, Fish sticks, mac and cheese, and I also had Brussels sprouts
Friday- Thinking might order a pizza.
Saturday-scrambled egg burrito, tater tots, cantaloupe
Sunday-zucchini casserole, peas, mandarin orange
Monday-hamburger gravy over rice, black-eyed peas, slaw
Tuesday-veggie fried rice, fruit
Wednesday-hamburger, tater tots, baked apples
Thursday-leftovers
Friday-quiche, fruit
Maybe I need to get on the homemade bread train - it always sounds so delicious! I really miss having my bread machine sitting on the counter. But my mixer has a dough hook, so there's really no excuse! This week we ate:
Monday - Chicken Taco Salads with homemade pico de gallo and avocado
Tuesday - Turkey Stuffed Bell Peppers, squash (these were so good!)
Wednesday - Beefy Eggplant Parm, green beans (another winner!!)
Thursday - Sticky Chicky, rice, broccoli
Friday - Chicken Breast Stir Fry with carrot, snap peas, and rice noodles
Saturday - OUT
Sunday - Burger Patty, mashed potatoes, pork and beans (Hubby's all-time-favorite-requests-it-every-chance-he-gets-because-it-reminds-him-of-college meal!
Cereal.. I ate lots of cereal. Oh wait, and sardines with mustard. Green tea all day. Popcorn for desert No actual cooking happened in my house. Let’s see if anyone can top this weirdness!!!
Saturday: we tried a new dish: vegetarian pad thai which was a bit too sour
Sunday: my sister and nephew came for a visit and we had pork belly roast with creamy cabbage and potatoes
Monday & Tuesday: leftover
Wednesday: Malaysian noodle dish with bok choy, cabbage and spicy tofu
Thursday: fresh bread with cheese and cut raw vegetables
Friday: vegetarian burgers with roasted cheese-filled mushrooms
Love the shirt.
I knew you would! <3
The thing I'm most proud of is making New Orleans-style stuffed peppers. I visited last autumn and just had a craving, and knew my husband would appreciate them, too. I have leftover stuffing in the freezer and 4 more pepper halves that I'll freeze for another meal.
Other than that, though, I am being a very good citizen and supporting all the local restaurants. (HA!)
I'm probably making your Shrimp "Veinesse" recipe tonight. After all that rain I'm sure I can find some green beans in my garden to go on the side, or a salad.
What are New Orleans stuffed peppers? Sounds like something I'd like (by name at least).
The stuffing is made with the usual celery/onion/bell pepper base, Creole seasoning, then ground beef, ham, AND shrimp (!). Add a box of bread stuffing mix, then fill the pepper halves and bake. It didn't stick together quite like I had but the flavor was exactly as I remember.
Monday we went to a neighborhood potluck. Tuesday I roasted a chicken, potatoes, broccoli, and onions. Wednesday we had sausage stuffed zucchini with yet another monster size zuke that was gifted to me. Thursday was chicken thighs in honey/soy sauce with rice and roasted green beans and tomatoes. Tonight I might make chicken pot pie with Kristen's cream biscuits ... or maybe not. The jury is out on my supper plans. Then it's the weekend and hubby cooks.
We ate sandwiches again for supper, with chips, carrots, mini sweet peppers and fruit, and ice cream for dessert. I seem to have taken a vow to not cook. Well, there was one night I stuck a frozen pizza in the oven, but that hardly counts. We did not eat out at all. My lunch taken to work is always a frozen meal, either ready made or created from leftovers. Lately there have been no leftovers, but I had coupons for some Lean Cuisine meals that have been pretty tasty.
My husband discovered a very good sandwich ham many months ago, and I think we have eaten ham sandwiches almost every day since the pandemic began. Occasionally we mix it up with roast chicken or pot roast sandwiches, but mostly it's ham. Someday we'll get tired of it! 😀
I’ve joked with my DH that lockdown lunch is ham with English mustard on white bread sandwiches I think I’ve had that 80% of the time. I’m back in the office now and miss freshly made sandwiches eaten on the patio with the sun shining!
Well. I ordered my first box from Misfits Market and was so pleased that the boxes can now be customized. I was ready to get it yesterday and go shopping today, after seeing exactly how much of the differing items I got.
Except Fed Ex got it to Jacksonville, FL ( about 2 hours from me) and left it there, from 1:45 a.m. yesterday (9/3) until sometime this morning (9/4). It arrived at 11:40 a.m. today, 9/4, quite warm, the bottom wet and busted out, some of the produce having fallen out and been squished and shoved back in, the box spilling as my husband tried to get it inside, so we that's how we know what happened to the squished stuff, and mushy spots or brown spots on some of the produce... And OF COURSE, I called Fed Ex several times yesterday asking why the box of perishables was left all day, which they could not tell me, and OF COURSE they told me I'd have to get Misfits to file the claim for the damaged box and produce today. I had to submit a claim online - there is no phone listed for Misfits online. I attached pictures and in 24-48 hours they will let me know how much of my produce will get a refund. It sat in 95 degree heat all day. I'm thinking, all of it should get a refund. So, let's call that one a huge fail, shall we?
I'm at this point still out the money I paid for the box (plus extra shipping costs for shipping with special packaging to go to "hot Florida"), and I have to go buy more produce. I'm not too happy today.
What we ate:
GF boom boom shrimp with a big salad
A burger casserole that was just a pot pie with no pie part.
Beef and mushrooms over rice with roasted beets and sauteed okra on the side
Steak, roasted cubed potatoes for him, roasted radishes for me, with mushrooms and onions
Ribs, sweet potato potato salad, celery and carrots.
Boiled shrimp, corn, potatoes and salad -- this was a birthday dinner for one of our kids
and, frozen pot pie for him, and leftovers for me. I had too much going on to cook.
We'll see how I do this week. I did some stocking up last week, so my bill was high. I'm hoping it isn't this week. But that produce box.... grrr.
I live in NE Florida and have local produce delivered year around from a source near me. Have you looked into this? My produce comes to my door Thursdays and is awesome. I also get a dozen fresh eggs and loaf of homemade bread for $29 a week. Local fare
I just saw this comment. That sounds wonderful but at this time I haven’t seen anything like that here. There is a local farmers market online but pickup is required in most cases and only local delivery, and I live too far away. I’ll do a search though. I buy much of my meat and dairy locally but they have very limited produce Thanks!
Oh man...that sucks. I'm sorry you had to deal with that. How frustrating!
Monday - husband had fish and I had a vegetarian stir fry of veggies. It makes 4 servings, so I had linch for 3 days.
Tuesday - wasn't feeling great, so I took out some frozen pieces of lasagna - Mexican for my husband and Quinoa Veggie for me. There were 2 pieces, so another lunch for me.
Wednesday - grilled chicken salads
Thursday - stuffed peppers using rice & corn mixed in with leftover taco meat from the freezer. It was like eating tacos without the shells.
Friday - not sure about tonight. It’s husband’s day to cook since he had off today. I think he wants steaks.
Saturday: Green chili hamburger soup, garlic bread
Sunday: Pasta with chicken for the kids, chicken with vegetables for the adults, and instant chocolate pudding someone gave us and that my eldest son made
Monday: Chicken patty sandwiches and raw tomatoes for the kids, leftover hamburger soup for the adults, and one of our watermelons, which was as good as a seedless one from the store, but not as good as a real seeded one. Darn it.
Tuesday: Bunless cheeseburgers, roasted potatoes, green salad with ranch dressing (lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, and dill from the garden all at once, hooray!)
Wednesday: Italian sliders with fried tomatoes, leftover pasta with chicken for the kids, mashed squash
Thursday: Pork chops, garlic bread, roasted tomatoes and garlic, raw carrot thinnings and green beans
Tonight: I took out some chicken legs, separated them into thighs and drumsticks and salted them (I got the salting from you, by the way, and it makes a huuuge difference in the texture of storebought chicken, so thank you). Then my eldest son asked if he could make dinner. I told him I already had chicken out, so he looked through cookbooks and decided on fried chicken with cream gravy. One of my least-favorite methods of cooking, and it's really too hot today for frying. But then he lost interest, thankfully, so back to my original plan, which was curried chicken and potatoes. I made a big pot of curried squash soup a couple of days ago with the rest of the squash I cooked this week. The soup was tasty, but too thin, so I'm going to just brown the chicken, then cook it the rest of the way in some of the soup and add in some chunks of potatoes and carrots, then finish it all with sour cream.
That flower top is delightful!!! I foresee fuchsia or neon in your future. 😉
Food-wise, this was definitely a week of ~CROCK-POT POWER!!!~ Three cheers to the 1970s avocado green number I found at Goodwill for $3.99 several years back. I love that thing, especially for those times when cooking apathy has set in. Having dinner already underway saves us from take-out temptation!
Monday: Cream of artichoke soup, good either hot or cold.
Tuesday: Venison steak (stove top griddle) and herbed roasted mushrooms (Crock-Pot). I used the drippings from the mushrooms to make an amazing sauce for my lunchtime noodles the next day.
Wednesday: Tomato soup with garden tomatoes from our neighbor and grilled cheese.
Thursday: Naked pork pot pie. Our house is strictly low sodium for my husband's health, so I skipped the crust and kept the gravy, using a low-sodium broth cut with water. In the Land of No Salt, herbs are a flavor savior. (That said, yes, I sometimes eat salty things in secret while he's at work. 😉
Friday: The set breaker! Tonight will be egg salad sandwiches and cucumber slices. I boiled the eggs yesterday while chopping up vegetables for the naked pot pie.
As usual, most meals this week yielded at least one extra serving by design. Leftovers become my husband's work lunch, and it's a weird point of pride for me that he's the only one who consistently brings lunch instead of eating out every day.
Perhaps next I will wear...PLAID.
Heh.
Discovered a huge zuke on the bottom shelf of the fridge, where it had managed to escape shredding and freezing for winter use. So, having no more room in the freezer, we ate off it for several days. Also had a last picking of peas to eat, so:
Sun/Mon/Tues: zucchini latkes, bacon/cheese/peas salad. Grapes for dessert
Wednesday: cheese omelets, peach pound cake made from peaches that were a bit mealy for eating but did great baked into a cake.
Thursday: hamburgers, cuke and tomato salad, more pound cake for dessert.
Friday: baked halibut with hollandaise sauce, smashed potatoes, fruit salad for dessert.
WIS: $103, WWA:
Saturday: homemade pizza; salad
Sunday: leftovers
Monday: Went to Maine to visit the inlaws. MIL made stuffed peppers; corn & green beans. She served something like this for dessert but made it with mocha ice cream and it was delicious! https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/crunchy-ice-cream-dessert/
Tuesday: We cooked the rest of the week to give MIL a break since she does all the cooking for my FIL: roasted salmon with blistered cherry tomatoes and white wine; golden zucchini and herbed goat cheese tart (Ina Garten)
Wednesday: ćevapčići with lepinja, ajvar & kajmak; shopska salata https://foodperestroika.com/2016/08/09/bosnian-cevapi-with-kajmak-ajvar-and-lepinja/
Thursday: shrimp & sweet potato fritters on greens with nước chấm; grilled lemongrass pork chops with jasmine rice; sauteed broccoli and golden zucchini
Friday: Cobb salad
That shirt looks good on you! The colors work well with your hair color.
This week we had...
Monday: Pigs in a blanket, corn on the cob, and a squash/potato mix
Tuesday: Cheeseburgers, peas, chips, and smoothies.
Wednesday: Cheddar bacon brats, squash/potatoes, and smoothies. I may have to stop having smoothies with meals for a while because my 2yo adamantly ONLY wants smoothie when it's out.
Thursday: Dinner from the cafe in the company where my husband works
Friday: Ham (that I got cheap at Easter), potatoes, and corn on the cob.
Let's see if I can remember everything we ate. At least we had no take-away. Going backwards from Friday - corned beef, dressed up shop-bought mashed potatoes, white sauce, and frozen mixed veggies.
Thursday - Rhiannon and I had toad in a hole, Chris made egg and bacon, and Michael had rice and rotisserie chicken.
Wednesday - Rhiannon and I shared mac and cheese with the lot and extra cheese. Michael and Chris had rotisserie chicken sandwiches.
Tuesday - salmon, rice, and broccoli.
Monday - I know Rhiannon and I had steak, but I can't remember what anyone else had.
Sunday - I honestly can't remember what anyone ate.
Saturday - sausages and veggies.
Just curious, what is toad in a hole?
It's an egg that's pan fried inside a piece of bread with a hole torn from the middle. You put the slice of bread in a frying pan greased with a little hot butter, then crack the egg into the hole in the middle. Fry it on both sides like you would an egg over easy. I think it tastes best with sourdough bread.
I haven't made that forever and love it. Going to make it this week for sure.
I grew up with these, and we make them often now with the kids = Peekin'-Eye Eggs. Yum!
P.S.---I think that print shirt looks wonderful on you, too.
Backwards is so much easier to remember!
Aldi's sells cans of Skyline chili. It isn't as good as in the restaurant, no, but it is the least expensive that I can find at under $4 for the larger can.
Yes! Love Skyline chili & Aldi has the best price even here in the center of Skyline nation.
I hope this isn't a nosy question (if it is I understand if you don't answer) but I notice that you and your husband go out to eat without your kids and wonder how that works. Do you tell the kids it's a date night? Or do you tell them they can pay for their own restaurant meals with job earnings if they want to join you? I ask only because I don't think I ever ate dinner out without my kids until they went away to college (lunch was a different matter while my kids were in school).
Oh yeah, it's our date night, and they understand that.
Even before they were little enough to leave, we did takeout date nights here at home. https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/how-and-why-we-do-takeout-date-nights/
If it's a regular weeknight and we get takeout instead of me cooking, then we always buy food for them, like we did this week when we got fast food carryout. 🙂
That makes perfect sense. Thanks for the reply
This past week we enjoyed:
- Baked potatoes and broccoli from our garden
- Impossible burgers with red cabbage salad
- Tofu-veggie stir fry over angel hair pasta
- Pasta with broccoli from our garden
- Avocado-tomato salad and creamy cucumbers using the last cuke from our garden
- Tomato-coconut curry over rice
- Butternut squash risotto topped with fried sage from our garden
Still spending a lot on groceries even with the garden. So grateful to be able to afford good food.
The floral print looks pretty on you!
We spent $38 on groceries this week. $20 was on fresh made, ready-to-eat meals from our grocery store. I took my daughter back to college and helped my friend shut down her shop (damn COVID) after 16 years. I felt I deserved a little comfort food that someone else made this week.
Here's what we ate (We had a ton of chicken, lol. I'll have to change it up next week):
Saturday - my daughter's best friend's family invited us over for a big, socially-distanced, going away pasta dinner on their deck.
Sunday - After taking my daughter back to college, I had a bowl of Rice Krispies with a banana sliced in it.
Monday - It was my birthday so the hubby took me to a new restaurant/micro brewery we were anxious to try. They have a gorgeous rooftop patio we are out on. We went early and there was only one other occupied table at the time. He had a Hawaiian chicken dish and I had a california burger with truffle parmesan fries. Wonderful meal on a perfect summer night.
Tuesday - Cajun chicken with dirty rice and coleslaw.
Wednesday - Korean BBQ chicken with baked potatoes, corn and garlic bread sticks.
Thursday - premade meals from the grocery store. Hubby had grilled lemon chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans, and I had chicken French rosemary roasted potatoes and green beans.
Friday - BLTs with chips.
We did our normal plan of cooking on weekends, and eating leftovers during the week. Except this week we unexpectedly had contractors in the kitchen. We are all masked up, but both to give them space to work, and due to COVID, we ended up eating a few meals out, which is unusual for us. So, Subway & In & Out both happened.
Other meals:
Kebabs, rice, grilled tomatoes & yogurt sauce
Chicken curry & rice
Tacos with homemade pico de gallo
Pretty shirt!! I don't wear prints either. They just feel weird. The only exception i make are plaid flannels in the Fall. So happy i get to wear those soon.
You look GORGEOUS in the flowered top! The colors, pattern, and style are FANTASTIC on you!
Kristen, you make that shirt look good! Very nice!
This week we had-
1) Smoked pork ribs as DH uses his smoker a lot and even thru the winter...
2) Chicken enchiladas, which we eat a lot of in general.
3) Beef tortilla wrap with chiles, onions and cheese, all warmed up.
4) Traditional Turkey dinner since the cold front moved in and we are getting snow. Time to heat the house up.
5) Chicken salad with boiled eggs, fried chicken bites, cukes, tomatoes, spinach and green onions