WIS, WWA | from a rainy part of the world
What I Spent
I saw yesterday that we've had recorded rain for 20 out of the last 29 days! We did need all this rain, so I'm mostly happy. But I miss seeing the sun.
Next week promises to hold more sunny days.
I spent:
- $47.49 at Aldi
And that's it! It was a low-spend week for me.
What We Ate
Saturday
Cheese quesadilla plus sweet red peppers. Easy-peasy.
Sunday
I made the kale salad I mentioned in my Five Frugal Things post, topped with seasoned and sauteed shrimp.
That salad is seriously such a good way to use up kale!
Monday
I ate a chicken salad sandwich after my work shift; Zoe got home after I was in bed and she ate a frozen pizza.
Tuesday
Lots of big tomatoes had arrived in last week's Hungry Harvest box, so I decided to make BLTs.
Wednesday
I made some blueberry pancakes after a work shift.
Thursday
A made-without-a-recipe meal: mashed potatoes, sauteed tilapia, and a sauce with onion, tomatoes, and spinach in it.
Friday
I have more mashed potatoes left so I probably will just figure out some kind of protein to go with those.
This week was pricey for me at $135, as I restocked my freezer and got some pantry items. I also got $9 worth of frozen custard from Andy's and bought a $12 drink at a concert. But the next couple of weeks I shouldn't have to shop.
M - Chicken Slammer at SS
T - Salad with seasoned chicken breast strips
W - Bowtie Pasta with marinara and meatballs, peas
T - Sandwich at home after the concert
F - I am making a skillet meal with a chicken thigh, some baby potatoes, and some carrots I need to use up
For my weekend "work week" I take freezer leftovers to work and I have plenty o' those.
Rain, rain go away my yards are a swamp! Happy end of May!
Hey, it's the return of sandwiches! Haven't seen those much lately.
Saturday: Lamb chops that I sorta grilled, but then had to finish under the oven broiler because I couldn't get the coals hot enough. Then I made curried split peas, rice, pureed potatoes for the child who had his wisdom teeth out--I was informed that pureed potatoes and curried split peas are an excellent combination, by the way--and green salad with vinaigrette
Sunday: I made an elk and sausage lasagna that actually turned into two lasagnas. One in my 13" Pyrex casserole and then an 8"x8" one that was entirely untouched. Yay, leftovers! And another salad, because I harvested a lot of lettuce. Sunday dessert was strawberry/rhubarb crisp with vanilla ice cream
Monday: I used ground elk to make Hunter's pies, again, one 13" and one smaller, and again, the smaller one survived to be eaten another day. Also again? Yup, another salad.
Tuesday: I heated up the entire leftover lasagna, and of course we had salad again. This time with ranch dressing. Also, since I had the oven on to re-heat the lasagna, I made oatmeal-raisin cookies. This was my mother-in-law's last night with us, and they're her favorite.
Wednesday: My family was in the city dropping my MiL off at the airport, and they ate at the Chinese buffet before coming home. This is the way to eat out, apparently, if you've got huge eaters like I have. My husband told me the empty plates on their table were a sight to behold. Those boys have been waiting for a buffet their whole lives. 🙂 I had some leftover lasagna at home.
Thursday: The entire leftover hunter's pie. Nice to have a few days where I didn't actually cook at dinnertime.
Tonight: Husband and eldest will be gone. I made a pot of pinto beans yesterday that got pretty mushy--I experimented with adding baking soda to make them soft, which certainly worked--so I think refried beans in burritos.
@kristin @ going country,
Is Hunter’s Pie a shepherd/cottage pie swapped with game meat?
@Kyndra, Yup!
@kristin @ going country, I see you have elk white often. We used to love venison, but now are afraid to eat it because there is chronic wasting disease affecting deer populations in several counties in Arkansas and we suspect it is more widespread than is reported. We don't want spongey brains. Curious if that is an issue where you live.
@Joyce from Arkansas, I had never heard of it. I looked it up, and apparently it is present in some places in New Mexico, but no person has ever contracted it, anywhere. There is substantial evidence that it doesn't pass from the deer family to humans. And of course, if we're talking food safety, I'd pick an elk over grocery store chicken any day.
@kristin @ going country, CWD/its human Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is present in elk in NM. Can't speak for your state but in my state you *can* have your harvested deer tested - I certainly would.
We're in the midst of a long stretch of rain too. At least I don't have to water my plants!
I tried to use up various refrigerator items and decimated my veggie drawer with a pot of tortellini soup, likely last soup weather day until late September. Pork burritos from frozen leftover funeral pork, salad remains, and a pack of drumsticks that needed cooking rounded out the rest and leftovers ruled.
Kale freezes well, especially if you're planning on cooking it vs. eating it raw. If ever faced with an overwhelming amount of kale, just pop it in the freezer already chopped and ready to go!
Good to know!
@Kristen, Ever since I got listeria from raw kale I have given it a side-eye. I have some growing in my garden but plan to always eat it cooked!
I can understand that; it takes a bit to get over something that gave you food poisoning! Do you swear off all raw greens now too, like spinach?
@Kristen,
Kale never seems to die here, so I know it freezes well. We can get snow and freezing temps and the kale returns. Same with collards and we live them both. The Pioneer Woman has an excellent collard/white bean soup recipe that I make often in the winter.
Happy Friday, everyone! This week, we enjoyed eating:
- Vegetarian corn dogs and potato salad
- Pasta with pesto, sauteed summer squash, and steamed cauliflower
- Spaghetti squash with tomato fennel sauce
- Homemade tomato bisque (I don't know why I typed homemade. Everything is homemade!)
- Corn flakes (not homemade!) and banana
- Sweet potato puree, roasted cauliflower, and steamed broccoli topped with cheese
- One night I went without dinner after going to a family potluck lunch
This week’s meals came in just over $100 - pretty happy with that!
Saturday: We kicked off with lemongrass and chilli pulled pork with rice and veg. This made two extra servings, one for Thursday and one for the freezer.
Sunday: kept it simple later with grilled cheese.
Monday: Burritos are always a hit.
Tuesday: Homemade mac and cheese with a side of chicken, lovingly cooked by our 10-year-old. Parenting at this age genuinely enjoyable.
Wednesday: Homemade pizza and garlic bread because it was a big night of footy.
Thursday: Banh mi using the leftover pulled pork from Saturday. First time making both the pork and the banh mi - definitely one for the future rotation.
Friday: Chicken stroganoff was on the plan, but we ended up grabbing dinner out instead. A massive portion of Louisiana fried chicken and smoked sausage, which considering we live in Brisbane, is not easy to come by.
@Natalie, I LOVE this: Parenting at this age genuinely enjoyable. ... I'm sure that's felt and cherished whether recognized or not.
Love finding a new recipe that goes right into future rotation.
We finally got some rain yesterday and maybe will today, but then it's back to dry weather. I'll take it, though.
I didn't contribute to last week's WIA so I'll include it, too. I didn't keep to a menu very well while my sister was here.
WIS: About $172 for two weeks of groceries on the 16th. I shop again today.
WIA:
Kristen's Bourbon Broccoli Chicken with homemade pear sauce canned last fall.
Sautéed squash, onions and zucchini with leftover ham from the freezer.
Venison tacos with maduros.
Boom boom shrimp (frozen) with salad and homemade ranch dressing. Homegrown carrots and longevity spinach were included in the salad.
Lamb ribs, peas and...something.
Tuna salad on toast, then tuna salad on lettuce later, both served with berries from the garden as a side dish.
My sister treated me to a meal at the local oyster house, where we had catfish instead of oysters. Mine was grilled, with cole slaw and french fries plus the local standard of hushpuppies with guava jelly.
Five-year-old birthday boy's request of Trader Joe's orange chicken, fried rice and potstickers. Ice cream cake for dessert.
Roasted, seasoned pork sirloin chops, California mix frozen veggies (carrot, broccoli and cauliflower), with applesauce.
Home canned turkey cooked with mushrooms and garlic; raw carrots, last year's home canned loquats from my tree that is dying, darn it, and the last of the Boysenberries mixed with now-ripening blackberries from my plants.
Chicken schnitzel with *slow-cooked* (sorry, not sorry) green beans and sautéed radish greens from the garden.
Hehe, I do not judge you for your green bean preferences. If you were happy, that's all that matters!
@JD, pardon me while I drool over the meal at the oyster house! I know that you are in prime oyster territory, and I probably would have gone for those.
@JD, trader joes orange chicken is loved st our house too!
What I spent: $0
I didn't buy food this week, but I will next week.
What I ate:
Friday - pasta with red sauce and baked tofu cubes
It was my first time trying tofu. Not bad, but the texture might take getting used to.
Saturday - pasta again, this time with crumbled tofu made into a ground beef substitute
Sunday - shredded chicken over mashed potatoes
Monday - chicken salad sandwich
Tuesday - ham and bean soup with cornbread
Wednesday - ditto
Thursday - rice cereal with sunflower seed butter and raisins
Tonight, I haven't figured out yet.
I've used up my leftovers so will either cook something simple or have cereal again.
I spent about $90. About half of that was on ground beef that was on a great sale. So, the freezer is stocked with ground beef again. I was almost completely out of that.
We ate:
Saturday: I made 6 turkey tenderloins with different seasonings in the air fryer (sidenote: I will never make turkey another way now. Even DH thought it was better than any deep fried, Thanksgiving, or smoked turkey). We sliced one up and had it for sandwiches for supper that night with some veggies.
Sunday: Younger son came by for lunch after church and we had sloppy joes, mac&cheese, green beans, fruit
Monday: grilled hotdogs, potato salad, veggies and dip
Tuesday: warmed up one of the turkey tenderloins, made dressing with leftover sourdough bread and some leftover hotdog and hamburger buns, and broccoli
Wednesday: DH was out of town, and I had leftovers.
Thursday: brats, cabbage, onion fritters, and roasted potatoes
Friday: Grilling pizza
Monday: I had family to drop off at the airport in the late afternoon, so fend for yourself night. We cleaned out the fridge.
Tuesday: Minestrone with pesto. It was a cool 63 degrees and rainy (wild for NC in May), so soup was perfect!
Wednesday: Bible study night elsewhere. The host made chicken/rice bowls with the most delicious pineapple salsa. I brought a sourdough espresso double chocolate loaf. 100/10 will make again.
Thursday: Honey mustard chicken wraps, salads, chips
Friday: Pizza! And my husband is at a men’s retreat this weekend, so my girls and I will scrounge around for meals. We like picky bits, so I’m sure we’ll all be contentedly fed.
@Kyndra, "Fend For Yourself Night"! That should be a mandatory holiday. Every. Single. Week.
WIS: $38 at Food Lion.
WWA: Chili with corn muffins. Vegetarian shepherd's pie. An array of fresh veggies with cheese and grapes. Cheddar polenta with bacon, red peppers, spinach and onions. For tonight, meatloaf with corn on the cob and petite green peas. Homemade chocolate cupcakes.
I really hope your rain comes our way. WWA:
Saturday - we celebrated DH’s birthday with an antipasto platter, fresh pasta fettuccine Alfredo with ham and peas, green salad, and mocha Bundt cake
Sunday - grilled bratwurst on buns with sauerkraut
Monday - chili from the freezer over a baked potato
Tuesday - leftover bratwurst
Wednesday- leftover chili
Thursday - coconut shrimp tacos with pineapple salsa (Budget Bytes recipe)
Friday - depends on my mood later today - may go out to celebrate my last day of work (retired effective today) or have sandwiches to use up the sandwich meats and cheeses
Wishing everyone a bit of joy this week ahead
@kj, Congratulations on your retirement!
@kj, Wishing you a happy, healthy and fun retirement! Congratulations!
@kj, retirement rocks! Wishing you the best.
@kj,
Oh, congrats on retirement. I retired early 9 years ago and haven't missed work at all --miss people, but not work. I have lived retirement after working 2 jobs most of my life -- which made it possible to retire. Haven't looked back . . .
@Joyce from Arkansas,
Meant nearly 9 years ago . . .
WIS: $50.24 at Sprouts, and $71.76 at Albertsons, mostly for meats because there were some good (not great but good) prices as things approached their “sell by” dates. So lean ground beef at 25% off, ground round for $4.25 a pound, bacon at $2/pound off, salad kits for $2/bag off. (We won’t mention the Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolate bars that were $1.30 off. Hey! I said DON’T mention those.) Cooked up pounds of taco filling, ground beef for Asian lettuce cups, and hamburger patties, and put most of it in the freezer, for which Future Me will be grateful. IF she remembers to take it out in time for it to defrost.
WIA: Asian greens soup made with Baby Bok Choy and Napa cabbage; roasted sweet potatoes stuffed with spinach and feta cheese; mushroom ravioli with mushroom pasta sauce and cheese tortellini with tomato sauce, both with side salads and toasted rosemary and olive oil bread; chicken quesadillas and fajitas with sides of roasted corn, Spanish rice, and refried beans with melted cheese. Maybe … a square of chocolate for dessert. I said MAYBE!
@JDinNM,
I'm sorry, but there is no "maybe" with Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolate. You must have some every day until you run out. It's a law.
@JD, Well .... If you insist!
@JDinNM, those ghiradelli bars are $4.19 in my neck of the woods. It wasn’t that long ago that I could find them for around $2. But as JD says, we MUST have them (or a similar facsimile.)
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, Apparently cocoa prices increased almost 300% last year (2024) due to decreased production of cocoa beans because of high temperatures, ageing trees and disease. So this year's retail chocolate prices in the U.S. were at least 20% higher this (2025) year. This is straight from aljazeera.com so it must be true!
@JDinNM, it is only intense if it is 90%+ dark chocolate.
I feel like I’ve barely cooked this week, and honestly the break has been nice. I spent about $175 at Trader Joe’s stocking my freezer for the summer. I stumbled across a few IG accounts that share fun ways to use Trader Joe’s items for quick meals and I wanted to give myself the gift of time.
Friday: My husband and I met some friends for dinner – he had chicken tenders, I had a burger.
Saturday: I pulled from my freezer and brought dinner over to my grandma’s house. I made a couple of dishes since just one wouldn’t be quiet enough for five people: Skillet Potatoes with Smoked Fish AND Ravioli with Pulled Pork Ragu. I also made some brownies for a sweet treat for grandma.
Sunday: Brats and hot dogs, fresh veggies, Cheesy Corn Orzo.
Monday: Meatball Pizza, fresh veggies and ranch.
Tuesday: Husband and I were invited for dinner at a friend’s house. They served steak, baked potatoes, and salad. My son indulged in mac and cheese and leftover hot dogs at home.
Wednesday: Zuppa Toscana – this soup is amazing for using chopped frozen kale!
Thursday: Tournament an hour away from home AND over dinner. My son and I picked up Culver’s on the way home – chicken sandwich and fries for him, chicken tenders for me. I ended up giving my son most of my tenders since I wasn’t super hungry and he just burned energy for almost two hours. My husband had leftovers at home.
What did we eat over the last week:
-Chicken fajitas with guacamole
-Philly cheese steaks on the grill
-Grilled chicken and rice
-Leftovers of the above
-One night the adults skipped dinner, as we had a senior awards night for DS18. I had popcorn when we got home. DS18 has been on a cooking jam (trying to impress his GF, I think) & he made a penne alla vodka dish that looked fantastic.
As for tonight, I highly suspect it will be just me + DH. We will have grilled chicken over salads, using lettuce from the garden.
Kristen, do you ever eat between meals? Do you ever just cut loose and finish off something sweet, even if it is several servings? It seems to me that you have a remarkable amount of self-discipline and restraint (which is why I am remarking on it!)
I do sometimes snack between meals; it all depends on the day. And I do have sweet treats of some sort almost every day, like a little bowl of chocolate ice cream after dinner, or a chocolate bar. 🙂
What helps me more than restraint when it comes to meals or snacks is this: I am always thinking about what will make me feel good, and that's usually some combo of protein, produce, or whole grains. So, feeding myself something from those food groups is less about deprivation and more about being nice to myself! I hate having a sugar crash.
Buttt, a little bowl of ice cream after dinner usually doesn't cause a crash because it's coming on the heels of a meal.
WIS (for 2 weeks, since there was no WIS/WIA last week): $37 at Trader Joe's, $27 at Aldi, and $70 at Wegmans.
WIA: Highlights included a chicken curry with one of the three packages of boneless/skinless thighs I got for $2.49/lb. at Aldi, and an olive/onion/mushroom pizza. I made the pizza dough in my bread machine as usual, and although the green onions I used out of my garden were already a little tough, they provided the necessary flavor.
WWS: $0
Sun Work - family dinner was elk steaks low and slow on the smoker, layered salad, homemade sourdough and roasted asparagus.
Mon work - I took a TV pita stuffed w/elk steak sliced salad, roasted garbanzo seasoned with my bbq rub as snack and an apple.
T - freezer salmon bbq, fresh steamed baby bok choy, roasted sweet potato slices.
W - pork roast, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn and baby greens salad
Th- spicy pork noodles, prune puree spice bars (I canned low sugar Italian prunes for my dad and I have 24 pints to use up.)
F: Asian cabbage salad w/shredded pork and spicy peanut salad dressing
S: family birthday dinner I'm taking meatballs in enchilada sauce, Mexican street corn casserole and a cookie plate.
@Blue Gate Farmgirl, would you mind sharing your prune bar recipe. I have a lot of canned prunes as well.
I spent $73 at Kroger and $52 at Sam's
Sunday – grilled strip steaks, baked sweet potatoes, green beans, Bisquick biscuits.
Monday – chicken pattie and fish sandwiches (I had a few of each), Cole slaw and tater tots.
Tuesday – oven baked bbq chicken, Mediterranean kale/ pasta salad from Sam's, corn on the cob.
Wednesday – oven roasted pork loin, cooked turnips, more Mediterranean kale/pasta salad from Sam's, garlic bread.
Thursday – we out to eat at a local restaurant. We usually treat ourselves ( and me since I don't have to cook!) one dinner every other week. It's not usually anything fancy.
Friday – leftover pork loin turned into pork fried rice, egg rolls, salad.
Saturday - we will have hot dogs, homemade dill cucumber/onion salad, chips.
Let's see what I can remember:
- Friends took us out, and then we came back to our place for chocolate bundt cake, strawberries and ice cream.
- tonight is a pasta bake
- roast and potatoes
- bean and rice bowls
Sat - Freddy’s
Sun - dine out Mexican
Mon - home grilled burgers/fried potato (the other huge baked potato which was part of Friday's meal)
Tue - enhanced leftover fajita fried rice from Sunday dine out
Wed - fried leftover rigatoni (from a meal last week)
Thu - grilled marinated chicken, mashed potatoes (I had gravy) and veggies (not for me)
Fri - bday family dine out at Mexican restaurant
I would love days of rain. Living in the desert that doesn't happen too often.
I spent $65 at trader joes and then went a little nuts and spent another $50 on interesting snacks from World Market, although I did buy some curry mixes there too.
Sunday/Monday- I pulled a Kevin's turkey breast and gravy entree out of the freezer which had been there since Thanksgiving. I generally really like Kevin's meals and the turkey gravy in this one was delicious. I had it with mashed potatoes, cauliflower and a
spoonful of ligonberry jam.
Tuesday - I used up the last of the turkey on a green salad.
Wednesday- snacky plate with cheese, crackers, salami, apple. Later I had some Japanese peanuts.
Thursday - dinner out with friends. I had a Cobb salad.
Friday - just could not bring myself to turn on the stove. It was 96 degrees out. Had delivered a gourmet veggie pizza with chicken on it for extra protein.