WIS, WWA | I compensated!
What I Spent
Remember how last week, we ate down our fridge stash, and I spent under $20?
Well. I definitely compensated for that this week. Ha.
I spent $88 at Aldi and $150 at Sam's Club.
Soooo, I'm at $238 for this week.
No biggie, though...I obviously will not need to repeat that behavior at Sam's Club again next week. 🙂
What We Ate
Saturday
I went to the symphony that night, and I honestly do not remember what I ate before I left.
I do remember that Zoe was at work, and on my way home from the symphony, I used my free pizza in my Domino's app to pick up some pizza for her.
Sunday
Zoe had her leftover pizza, and I made myself a ham sandwich, which I was perfectly happy with. 🙂
Monday
A clinical day for me (ending at 8:30 pm). I made the chipotle-marinated chicken with half a pack of chicken thighs, in the morning and packed it as a salad for my dinner.
Zoe ate the same thing at home while I was gone.
Incidentally, my little jar of chipotles was almost empty, so I blended up a new can and now my jar is full again. In case you didn't know...here's how to easily store a can's worth of chipotles in your fridge.
Tuesday
In the morning, before clinical, I cooked the rest of the chicken thighs (cut into pieces and seasoned with salt and pepper) in a hot skillet and then added Aldi's tikka masala sauce. We had that with naan (also from Aldi) and cilantro.
Wednesday
I had an evening meeting and I just ate a peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread before I went.
Zoe was at work, and she had a grilled cheese sandwich when she got home.
Thursday
Zoe wanted French toast so that's what we had, along with some orange slices.
Friday
I think Zoe and I are both free tonight sooo....perhaps a movie/takeout night is in order for us. 🙂
Saturday - Pitta bread with salad
Sunday - Aubergine and caramalised onion over pasta
Monday - Baked sweet potato with a mushroom omelette
Tuesday - Veggie chilli
Wednesday - Leftovers with a baked sweet potato
Thursday - Veggie stir-fry
Tonight I think I'm going to treat myself to takeout!
@Sophie in Denmark, You got that payrise! Treat yourself to takeout!
@Sophie in Denmark, all of your meals sound fabulous!
I love that Tikka masala sauce from Aldi!
WIS: finally 0, hurray for a no spend week!
WWA:
Fri: focaccia (turkey bacon, marinara sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses) and salad (mixed greens and spray dressing).
Sat: crunchy corn tacos with chicken, corn and green bean filling, plus greens, tomatoes, queso, and avocado.
Sun: salad (mixed greens, spray dressing and crispy onions), leftovers: focaccia, chicken nuggets and chickpea lentil curry.
Mon: fried eggs, cinnamon raisin bagels with butter, mixed fruit cups and sliced apples.
Tue: salad (spring mix, tomatoes, carrots, cucumber, avocado, spray dressing and crispy onions), Brussels sprouts, spaghetti and turkey meatballs with marinara sauce and shake Parm.
Wed: carrots and hummus, rice and beans, tortilla chips and assorted leftovers: chicken taco filling, chick pea lentil curry and queso.
Thu: Pi day, so we had chicken pot pie and mixed fruit (apples, pears, peaches) pie with Irish cheddar cheese.
Tonight: focaccia and maybe some crudites...running a bit low on salad... gasp!
Have a great weekend, everyone!
@Becca,
Well...it was 0, but then someone (ahem, not me) felt the need to purchase "treats" today...so, 42 @Giant and 72 @Aldi...ah well...still less than usual although the someone did not think to buy any salad...can one make a salad out of cookies? Hmm...
@Becca,
Lol, I think I did see a "salad" recipe once that included cookies, and Cool Whip, etc....really a "dessert salad" than the type you're suggesting. 😉
1. Mussels marinara, pasta and salad
2. Pork roast, broccoli and rice
3. Chicken thighs and salad
4. Sloppy joe sandwiches and cold slaw
5. Cod, salad and rice
6. I honestly cannot remember what we ate for two of the meals this week. Probably some form of leftovers-lol. It's been a very long week!
We have a restock shopping trip coming up too!
Sunday: National ranch day! We had a Mississippi pot roast (which includes ranch), roasted carrots, ranch mashed potatoes, and carrot sticks with ranch dip
Monday: Broccoli cheese soup, to use up some assorted cheeses in the fridge
Tuesday: Preschooler's choice, mac and cheese with sliced apples
Wednesday: It was supposed to be leftovers, but we didn't have much so we also added a few steamed some pork buns and some edamame
Thursday: Kristen's Korean beef lettuce wraps! It's one of my daughter's favorites and ours too (we didn't miss pi day, we did pizza for lunch)
Friday: Teriyaki bowls, chicken and salmon were both options
Saturday: Leftovers
Have a great weekend everyone!
WIS: $28 at Price Chopper, $20 at Wegmans, $12 at Aldi, and $10 at the India Bazaar.
WIA: Mixed success, at best, in the kitchen this week. First, I must respectfully differ with Kristen and Becca about the Aldi tikka masala sauce: I made a chicken curry with it and found it too bland. (However, Ms. Bestest Neighbor--who loved it, BTW--helpfully pointed out that you can always kick the heat up a notch; it's a lot harder to turn it down!) So I stopped at the India Bazaar later in the week for some Patak's curry pastes, which I prefer.
But the soup I made in a "clean out the pantry" effort was much, much worse. It was a sort of "meal ready to eat" packet of Italian bean soup with spelt in it that someone had given me. It looked revolting and didn't taste a lot better! True confession: I didn't finish it.
@A. Marie, man, I hate when that happens! I don't like throwing away food, but sometimes it really is too gross to finish.
I don't usually make tikka masala--too bland for us--but the best recipe comes from Spice of Life restaurant in Glasgow, where tikka masala was invented. I have to find that recipe book, but it might be online.
My kids frequently ask for this vindaloo, which is delicious and fast in the Instant Pot. I usually serve with rice and mango chutney, with carrot salad on the side.
https://twosleevers.com/chicken-vindaloo/
@A. Marie,
If you managed to eat some of it, then you didn't waste all of it.
@A. Marie, when something is inedible, I bury it in the herb garden, calling it "fertilizer". Therefore, it feeds the plants, which mitigates the guilt about wasting food.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, Going fishing with my grandfather back in the day, he allowed us to keep fish that were too small to be caught and were supposed to be thrown back. So we got home with small bluefish and my mother didn't know what to do with them. I knew! I learned that Native Americans planted corn with a small fish to serve as fertilizer, so we buried them in Mom's rose garden.
@Rose, I don't go as hot as vindaloo, myself; madras is about my limit. But DH loved his vindaloo and ate it at every opportunity, especially on our visits to England. The waitstaff in English Indian restaurants, hearing his American accent, would always ask solicitously, "Are you *sure* you want that, sir?"
@JD, that's what I'm trying to tell myself.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, I'd have done that (or dumped it in the compost pile) if I hadn't made the soup with a can of chicken broth, also in an effort to clean out the pantry. I don't put any meat or meat products into the compost or garden, for fear of attracting undesirable critters.
@A. Marie,
I once made a huge crockpot full of a Thai chicken soup that was truly awful. It had plenty of seasonings in it, but it was oddly bland and flavorless, as well as a mushy texture. I tried doctoring it up to add flavor, but it was a lost cause. I remember dumping almost all of it, and feeling like a frugal failure.
@Liz B., Someone who hasn't had a recipe turn out weird and gross is someone who never cooks.
@Rose,
Hubby and I can't go as hot as vindaloo, but he loves chicken Tikka Masala. Our local Indian restaurateurs are good at not rolling their eyes when he orders a "1" spice level. 🙂
@Rose,
I like the way you think.
That's how it goes, some weeks are less and some are more. I see that I made some great meals this week, but it felt like a lot of work. I'm working from home now, so I have the time, but I'd like to streamline. I'm late to the party on sheet pan meals, but wow, what an improvement on cooking things separately!
Monday: I made pasta with leftover tomato sauce and cucumber salad.
Tuesday: I think Mr. B made scrambled eggs.
Wednesday: I made baked, breaded tilapia and threw some butternut squash cubes leftover from last week on the sheet pan. I made a quick salad, too.
Thursday: I made sheet pan chicken and vegetables, with stir-fried bok choy and bulgur (trying to use it up!)
Friday: Mr. B will likely make us salmon and vegetables.
It was spring break and my mother-in-law was here, so I made slightly more effort in the kitchen this week than I do during work weeks.
Saturday: Elk stir-fry, rice
Sunday: Pork butt--cooked until tender, then shredded and broiled with mustard and maple syrup--cornbread, green salad with vinaigrette, baked rice pudding.
Monday: Andouille or plain smoked sausage, leftover fish chowder (the one with the carp-head stock--it came out well), leftover rice, leftover cornbread, green peas, chocolate ice cream
Tuesday: This was the day we went to Chimayo, and I had brought a bunch of stuff for the car/lunch. Then we ate a late luunch/early dinner at the Mexican restaurant right across from the church, then back in the car with more car snacks, then everyone was still hungry when we got home at 7:30 p.m., so I microwaved corn tortillas for them with cheese, leftover pork, and salsa.
Wednesday: I fried the rest of the pork in its own rendered fat with taco-ish spices and made corn tortillas for that, with all the toppings. I also had a bag of chili beans in the freezer (pintos seasoned like chili) that I pulled out, and a bag of pureed squash I likewise found in the freezer and thawed.
Thursday: I used some of the bull meat my husband ground earlier in the week to make cheeseburgers, and also made buns, since I was making bread anyway and had dough on hand. My husband had asked if it was possible to make a Big Mac sauce, and indeed it is. There are copycat recipes for it all over the place. So I made that, too. Also oven fries and leftover pureed squash. Only half my kids eat squash, but they had all eaten carrots and bell peppers with ranch dip while I was cooking, so I didn't worry too much about the vegetable on their plates.
Tonight: My husband had asked me to buy fish patties for sandwiches, which I did. They're usually on sale this time of year anyway. I made bread yesterday, and have more of the Big Mac sauce left (which is actually much like tartar sauce), so I guess we'll have fish sandwiches tonight. I might make oven fries again, because my daughter was sad she didn't get very many last night. I will also be making more chili beans today so I can freeze a bunch more, so we have many options for our meatless Friday. And I can make a salad.
@kristin @ going country, what do elk and bull taste like? Do you find that they are suited for certain types of cooking but not others?
You're a better woman than I re the carp head stock. It sure seems, though, that the most gross things make the best stock, like chicken feet.
@Meira@meirathebear, It depends very much on the way they are treated after they are killed. All red meat should be hung (gutted, in a cool place) for at least 10 days. Two weeks is even better. Some prefer three weeks. This improves the flavor--much less gamy--and the texture. This elk was aged for about a week, iced in one of our coolers because the weather wasn't cool enough for hanging outside. It is virtually indistinguishable from beef. We had steaks, stew meat, and ground meat from it, and all were good. The bull wasn't aged, and so is very tough. It tastes fine, but grinding breaks it down enough to be edible without jaw pain. If meat is strong-tasting, I use it in things like chili.
@kristin @ going country, I love that your family members visit regularly though they live a distance away. You’re very lucky.
@Rose, I also have a big bag of chicken feet in the freezer collected from all the roosters people have given us to dispose of. I'm making stock with them tomorrow. It involves cutting off the toe nails, apparently. 🙂
@kristin @ going country, I just cannot do it. Bad enough I was recently reading a recipe from the 1870s about a pigeon pie. Yeesh.
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Molly had already prepared a pair of pigeons. She now put on to stew very slowly, with half a pint of water, a pound of juicy round steak, for the pigeon pie, which she intended to make next day. When the steak had simmered an hour and a half, it was taken up and put away. The calf's tongue was parboiled, to be used on Monday.
The next morning Molly made the pie directly after breakfast. Laying the steak, cut into finger-lengths, at the bottom of a deep oval dish, the birds were divided into halves, and both steak and pigeons seasoned highly with pepper and salt. The birds were laid over the steak, placing them so that the pie would be dome- shaped when covered ; two eggs were hard boiled and cut in four and the pieces laid among the meat ; then a small half cup of water was poured in ; the gravy from the steak was left to pour in hot when the pie was cooked. The pie was then finished in the same way as the veal and ham pie (see recipe Chapter XXXII. ) , except that the feet of the two birds were put in boiling water for a moment, the skin rubbed off them, leaving them a bright crimson, and a slit was made at each end of the groove that went round the pie, and two of the little feet put in each, the claws outwards. Mrs. Welles gave Marta the pieces of calf's head that were to go into the soup, told her to put them in half an hour before dinner, let them simmer, and just before serving she was to put into the quart, which was all that was to be made hot, a table-spoonful of brown thickening, a glass of wine, and the juice of half a lemon, with half the egg balls. The pigeon pie would need an hour to bake, and was to be kept in a very cold place until twelve.
@kristin @ going country,
Cutting off rooster toenails?!? (as I quietly gag just a little...). You have my admiration!
@Rose,
Yeesh is right.
@kristin @ going country, thanks for the explanation! Very interesting.
I also had to buy more chipotles recently. I learned the hard way - on a time crunch for a recipe I was making for a crowd - that my Aldi doesn't sell them anymore. Bummer.
As I look back on the week, I'm pretty happy with what I put together for meals. We started the week thinking that my husband was working evenings Tuesday through Thursday. He ended up getting coverage for all of those nights but is now working tonight. And all 3 of my kids have been sick at various points this week. So almost nothing went according to plan!
This week we had:
Saturday: Pizza and breadsticks
Sunday: Tacos
Monday: Honey-garlic chicken thighs, pineapple, and asparagus
Tuesday: Ham with corn casserole on the side
Wednesday: Rice, leftover honey-garlic chicken thighs, and a strawberry/pear combo
Thursday: Chicken fries, zucchini, asparagus, sliced red and yellow peppers, and apple pie
Friday: It'll just be me and the two youngest kids - I think we will have nachos. Maybe soft pretzel bites, too. And fruit.
Saturday - Thai food takeout that was not good, so bland! I think we got it before from this place and it also wasn’t good that time but we forgot. I made a note in my phone on my list of takeout options to not go back there!
Sunday - creamy chicken and orzo skillet
Monday - coconut rice pilaf, and I added some leftover sesame chicken from the previous week
Tuesday - herb butter chicken thigh, pearl cous cous, steamed broccoli and green beans, crescent rolls
Wednesday - leftover coconut rice pilaf, fried in oil to make fried rice and Korean vegetable dumplings
Thursday - I had my monthly moms night so had a cheese board and wine there for dinner, everyone at home had chicken nuggets, popcorn shrimp, chicken sandwich, steamed broccoli and green beans and some broccoli cheddar mashed potato bites that no one seemed to like
Friday - my husband and I are attending a fundraising dinner for the school district, my mom is babysitting so I left her plenty of easy dinner options for the kids
I spent only $83 and change for two weeks last Friday, because the goat meat I ordered was out. That farm is getting rid of their goats, and it was first come, first served on ordering goat meat; I wanted to get some of it before it was gone. I fell back on stuff I had in my freezer, so it was fine.
I roasted a large chicken, so I've had chicken a lot. I've had it with asparagus, roasted potatoes, broccoli/cauliflower/carrot "California" frozen blend, applesauce and sautéed garden greens.
I bought a sale-priced package of an uncured "natural" version of Li'l Smokies. They aren't great, but I'll eat them. I had those with jicama sticks and some dilled okra I made last summer that is sooooo good.
Greek-style meatballs over leafy greens with carrots and other salad-y stuff that I forget what it was.
The last of the tuna salad, fruit.
Unfortunately, I'm having nothing but liquids today, as the twinges in my gut are starting to warn me. It's no fun living on clear liquids for 36-48 hours, but it sure beats the severe pain and nausea that I'll have if I don't.
@JD, Gallbladder?
@Rose,
Crohn’s. I am atypical meaning I never have lived in the bathroom but I get fevers, joint pain and once in a while, a partial blockage that puts me in real pain till it clears. Clear liquids for 24-36 hours is my gastro’s instructions and it works for me although sometimes I have to go 48 hours or more.
With a more flexible schedule, I find myself going to the store more often, & picking up the deals of the week. But, our overall grocery bills are less, so I'll take it.
I never remember the days, but here's what we ate:
-Cauliflower taco rice bake (using up cauliflower rice & corn from the freezer) x2. On the second go round, one diner had it as a filling to a burrito, and one had it over a salad, like a Chipotle salad.
-Beef kebabs & rice, x2. DH made a delicious dinner on Sunday.
-Burgers (from the freezer)
-I had cilantro, sour cream & avocados from the taco rice dish, so I planned another similarly themed dinner to use that up. We had chicken quesadillas, x2.
For tonight, I think we're going for an appetizer style dinner. I have a box of a Trader Joes appetizer I can't recall (leftover from the Super Bowl), we have wings, coconut shrimp, gyozos, edamame...we won't have all of that. A few to round out a dinner, plus salad.
I have had a glorious 5 days off ! However, I did press the easy button with a couple of meals and I am Ok with that! I did make a run to HEB which was $90 something. This week:
Monday - Leftovers smorgasbord - I am almost done cleaning out my freezer
Tuesday - same as Monday
Wednesday - Skillet Lasagna, broccoli (used up the rest of the lasagna noodles)
Thursday - Didn't want the pea soup I had planned, so I made a Ham and Green Onion Quiche (for Pi Day!) and three side salads. Bonus: all of the Christmas Ham has been used up!
Tonight - Seasoned Chicken Thighs, baked potato, green beans
Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed, but we have leftovers to eat up - they are not going into my newly cleaned freezer! I will pack some of them for my lunches at work.
Happy Weekend!
WIS: Approximately $150, divided into stops at Food Lion, Ollie's Outlet, Aldi, Publix, and Trader Joe's. The latter two markets are way out of my usual shopping route and I stopped in after nearby medical appointments. Most of the spending was restocking the pantry and freezer.
WWA: Not that much! Salad, homemade bread, various sandwiches with Trader Joe's knock-off of Taki chips, smoothies, fresh fruit, macaroni and cheese, and chicken cilantro-lime burritos from Aldi.
This is a going out/holiday heavy month for us between birthdays, a friend's competition and Easter, so I am trying to compensate both in health and shopping amounts when I am home. I did have a little slip up at Northgate (a local Hispanic market). They opened a new one that is also a food court and has all these stands and samples. But to be fair, where else am I going to get fresh Oaxaca cheese?
Sunday- no dinner for me lol. I had a very long transfer and decided to prioritize sleep over food. I ate the time honored EMS dinner of Cheez-its that I keep in my flight bag.
Monday- egg/broccoli/potato hash, a deconstructed baked potato if you will
Tuesday- leftover quesadilla w/ beans and pico I had made for lunch
Wednesday- white bean and brussels sprouts pasta
Thursday- steak fajita quesadilla. I had a freezer burned sirloin that I threw in the Instant Pot and I am determined to use all my Oaxaca cheese
Friday- I am kinda craving greens and grits or the roasted cauliflower ravioli I picked up at Trader Joe's
Saturday- going out for my friend's birthday and her first amateur pole dance competition. Lol
I have had a tupperware container of blended chipotles in my fridge since you first mentioned it years ago. It is one of my husband's favorite condiments. He eats it on everything.
I spent $128...I went to walmart (which I try not to do but once a month because it is so awful there). I stocked up on some cleaning supplies and dishwasher tabs and spot rinse and all that, so I'm surprised the total wasn't more than that.
We ate:
Saturday: Rueben sandwiches and sweet potatoes
Sunday: grilled ribeyes/roasted fries/grilled asparagus
Monday: shawarma on pita/roasted purple cabbage/roasted carrots
Tuesday: homemade ramen (not the noodles...but the seasoning and add ins) with chicken/egg/veggies
Wednesday: leftovers on a busy night
Thursday: turkey breast/stuffing/green beans
Friday: We are going out tonight to celebrate DH's raise at work! I don't know where we are going...it's his pick.
Tonight, probably biscuits and gravy and strawbs.
Last night, steak, french fries and cavalo nero.
Wednesday, pizza (takeout), salad
Tuesday, ravioli and meat sauce and salad
Everything else lost in the mists of time.
I'll probably make cottage pie or O'Flanagan's Sausage Supper for St Paddy's Day as that is what Irish tend to eat, not corned beef. The sausage supper is super easy: it's onions and apples, peeled and quartered, Irish bangers, gravy, with hot mashed potatoes on top and baked. I make cottage pie very similarly, with vegetables, gravy, ground beef, mashed potatoes and leeks and cheese up top.
@Rose, all of this sounds delicious to me and yes, Monday was a loooong time ago...
@Gina from The Cannary Family, Hike on up to the middle of nowhere and I'll cook for you!
If you want the recipe I follow for cottage pie, it's here. I generally use a blop (technical term) of ketchup instead of tomato puree, I often use dried parsley, but we always have fresh thyme (it's taking over one of my herb beds) and the little bit of cinnamon is sooooo good. I use beef and beef stock because we're iffy about lamb, and sometimes I use a turnip (swede) and sometimes I just add more carrots. The leeks and cheese on top are utterly delicious. There are never any leftovers.
https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/international/european/british/shepherds-pie-with-cheese-crusted-leeks
The problem with shepherds/cottage pie today, as I see it, is that it was designed to use up leftovers from a big roast Sunday dinner. Usually it was served on Monday to save the housewife from making much of a dinner because Monday was traditionally laundry day, which was a big horrible amount of work back in the day.
Nowadays we have to cook the meat from fresh, ditto vegetables and we don't have leftover mashed potatoes, so it's kind of a pain. I'd honestly love to use instant mashed potatoes but my kids won't let me and it's not that hard to make mashed potatoes blah blah.
You all are so welcome for my thoughts.
WIS = $17.48 at Sue's (a small high end food market) and $114.20 at my budget grocery store.
I had 2 wins this week. I think it was @Meirathebear who inquired last week about using up cornmeal. I was making breaded tilapia to bake and the recipe called for breadcrumbs and cornflake crumbs. As I didn't have the latter, I substituted in 1/4 cup of cornmeal to the 3/4 cup of breadcrumbs to coat the fish, and the fish turned out nice and crispy - a WIN for sure.
My 2nd win was saving 2 items from food waste. I had leftover beef broth which I divided into 2 x 1 cup portions into mason jars and put it into my freezer for future use. The same for 2 cups of leftover crushed tomatoes, divided into 2 portions and into the freezer for future use. Can't lie, I'm kinda proud of myself. Normally these would languish in my fridge for a while until I tossed them.
- Chili bean stew - a bit of a failure, but it tasted okay. Will file under the "don't make this recipe again". Leftovers for the following day; note: it tasted better on the 2nd day.
- salad with felafel balls that I had purchased, with homemade Greek salad dressing and drizzled with homemade tahini sauce.
- fish (as above) and chips, with cucumber, tomato and onion salad. Leftovers the next day.
- Easy: frozen pizza, to which I added hot peppers onto my half.
- the plan for tonight is to make Potato corn chowder, if I have time. Otherwise it will be an easy salad or a grilled cheese sandwich.
Happy weekend to all.
@Linda in Canada,
DH and I both grew up eating fried fish that was coated in corn meal before frying. It's even better if the fish is brushed with plain yellow mustard before rolling it in cornmeal.
@JD, that sounds interesting, will put that to try for next time. Thank you for the idea.
@Linda in Canada, ooh excellent idea! I will try it. I'm glad to hear it worked in baked tilapia; I would have thought that cornmeal breading would need frying.
WIS: $10.65 at Sprouts for bok choy, spinach and multigrain bread, and $186.43 (ouch!) at Albertsons, but $109 of that was for flowers and wine. (Like Kristen’s last week's stock up at Sam's Club, I won’t be doing that again for a while. Well, flowers every 2 weeks or so…) And yet the Albertsons receipt says “You Saved $85.81!” Um, no. Not really.
So $88.08 for actual “groceries”. And $20 (tax and tip included) for a belated birthday lunch with two friends at the Santa Ana Café at Tamaya, owned and operated by the Santa Ana Pueblo.
WIA: A glorious salad of romaine, arugula, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, goat cheese, candied pecans, chicken and an apple cider vinaigrette at the Café. 10 thumbs up. If every salad tasted like that, I’d be eating a heck of a lot more salads.
Left to my own cooking, I had Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon with “Everything Bagel” seasoning on top (delicious) and asparagus cooked in the air fryer; chicken fajitas with refried beans; chicken quesadillas with grilled corn and peppers; and a lot of tuna salad.
@JDinNM, I often make a salad with mixed greens, some kind of berries, goat cheese, candied pecans (bought that way although they're easy to make) and vinaigrette. If I have any leftover chicken I might add it but usually the cheese is enough. No reason you can't do the same! I love salads--one of my favorite foods.
@Rose, Everything and anything tastes better when someone else makes it, serves it, and cleans up after. And fills your water glass. And brings you a complimentary dessert because it was a birthday celebration. And you have free valet parking. And you're at a luxurious resort. Just saying....
We ate well this week, but all I remember is:
* Garden risotto
* Spoonful of peanut butter (wasn't hungry after a late lunch)
* Risotto cakes with roasted asparagus
* Dinner at our neighbors: Tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, salad, chocolate torte with raspberries
Had an odd week. WWA:
Saturday - ate at the theatre while watching a movie (non-frugal date night)
Sunday - baked pork chops, rice pilaf, ratatouille, apple crisp with ice cream
Monday - leftovers
Tuesday- leftovers
Wednesday- bratworst on buns, store bought potato salad
Thursday- creamy orzo, grilled cheese
Friday - planning to make Greek sheet pan chicken
Happy weekend to all
248 at Sam’s. Weekly stock up. My gluten free daughter in law moving in for a couple weeks. Military in between. New station in mid April. Son on assignment elsewhere. Sam’s has nice gluten free snack options. My Aldi gluten free options were BARE.
Monday: air fryer coconut shrimp Brussels sprouts and applesauce
Tuesday: chicken sausage on grill sweet potato fries carrots and hummus
Wednesday: chicken salad on wheat thins sliced apple and walnuts
Thurs: pesto baked salmon rice corn and salad
Fri: meat free lent feta and veggie omelets and air fryer hash browns
Tomorrow I am making potato soup and Sunday I am making red sauce over GF noodles
WIS: $33 Market Basket (included a $17 orchid for mil's birthday); $3.5 Star, + a pricy meal at Fore Street in Portland, ME:
Sat: cilantro chicken, leftover rice, sauteed summer squash
Sun: MIL's 80th birthday dinner at Fore Street
Mon: brothy beans with herbs & lemon (we thought that this was an excellent dish), served over roasted spaghetti squash, pork sausage
https://thefirstmess.com/2023/01/04/vegan-brothy-beans-recipe/
Tues: chili mac, roasted spaghetti squash
Wed: mystery shop dinner with a friend
Thurs: mystery shop burger for loooong commute
Fri: chimichurri meatballs, over mashed potatoes with roasted cabbage (because I was lured by $.17 per pound cabbage and I bought too much!). Perhaps I'll make leftovers for bubble and squeak in the coming days....
Sat - Carne Asada, Black Beans and Rice and Corn on the Cob
Sun - Pork Loin with Roasted Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes, Asparagus and Cream Corn
Mon - Leftovers from Sunday
Tues - Spaghetti (that had been previously frozen)
Wed - Grilled Cheeseburgers and Fries
Thurs - I had the last bits of the pork loin and corn from Sunday leftovers with some sweet potato fries and the rest of the fam had meatballs & sauce on garlic toast with parmesan cheese on top & sweet potato fries
Today - We've got errands to run, so we'll eat something while we're out.
WIS: Farmer's Market-$15; Milk delivery-$18; S&S-$28; Foodocracy-$27; Flashfood-$198; Penzeys-$111 (mostly on giftcard deal ($150 in gc for $105) for future spices so does it really count here?) Total: $397 with gift cards, $286 without) Really looking to reel it back in next week. Here's hoping.
WWA: Sat- Take-out birra tacos and pupusas
Sun- Oscars! Movie themed food- String and alpine cheese and crackers, beet hummus, cornbread w/ hot honey, kimchi latke quesadillas, Portobello mushroom cloud burgers, and of course cherries jubilee and the champagne of beers
Mon- Sorrel soup w/ garlic and cheese sausage, kale, and ravioli
Tues- Supper Club! We made Fideo tacos as our contribution
Wed- Leftover fideo tacos, chicken carnitas nachos, and cabbage/carrot slaw
Thurs- Pi day---failed with buying a pre-made meat pie. French style-didn't look like the picture and was mushy. Unfortunately we had to toss and have leftovers from Monday. Peach hand pies for dessert.
Fri- Leftover sorrel soup, shrimp pasta
Are you setting an example for your classmates to bring dinner to late clinical day?
I like French toast. Maybe next week with some of my free bread. The local market donates all of the day old bread and other bakery items to the senior center. I usually pick up bread, which I may do bread crumbs or croutons. I'll have to remember to get a loaf to freeze to make bread pudding for Easter for my daughter's FIL. (Easter is 2 weeks away. Yikes.)
WWA
Sat: Meatball sandwiches and salad
Sun: Steak & pepper sandwiches and salad
Mon: ATK Lasagna Rolls for 2
Tues: Steak & pepper sandwiches and chicken parm, fruit
Wed: Frittata
Thurs: Burgers, corn
Friday: haddock, crab cakes and fries
WIS: $63.00 Market Basket. I do think that is high for having under 20 items to go through the quick register. But I suppose if we ate out, it would cost a lot more. I went to the market to pick up a few things because my grandson was going to be with us but he decided to go to his sister's soccer tournament. I was interested in food when I went. We had not had steak subs in a while and right next to the shaved steak were pkgs of peppers and onion all cut up. That package showed up in the steak sandwiches, chicken parm, and frittata. It was worth it to buy that way, no waste.
On lasagna roll night, I made enough for 2 more meals. They are sitting in the freezer, ready for that quick night.
Tonight I used one of those $1.99 Aldi fish and chip dinners with 2 crab cakes from MB. Dinner came in under $10, actually just a little over $7. There are plenty of fries in the dinner for two people.
This week I also made a plate of baked steel cut oatmeal for my breakfast.
Kristen you used to go to Costco and now I see you’re shopping at Sam’s Club. Is Sam’s Club closer to you now or do you prefer it over Costco?
Location! Now that I live in a different house, Sam's Club is more convenient for me. 🙂
Saturday: not sure
Sunday: Veggie chili and Mac and cheese
Monday: polenta bake with corn and tomatoes
Tuesday: Indian spiced black eyed peas
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: sausage pasta bake
Friday: leftovers
Saturday - steak for me, salmon for the better half. I am a red meat - most any meat - girl, baked potato.
Sunday - Mexican - chicken/chorizo & shrimp/grilled onions. Both with cheese of course. I love frijoles, better half not as much. We both saved our arroz, I save half of my chicken. Better half had a guacamole salad. Good food, good service, good socializing with the staff.
Monday - bacon wrapped stuffed chicken breasts w/potatoes. One pan oven meal.
Tuesday - I ate Sunday leftovers. better half made himself a pizza using Jus-Roll pizza crust. The arroz I didn't eat got added to soup for lunch on Thursday.
Wednesday - a cut of beef (can't remember the name but it was $5 or less) w/potatoes & carrots - crockpot meal.
Thursday - hamburgers and baked beans
Friday - tilapia filets (butcher shop sells 3 or 4 different "seasoned" varieties) and shredded potatoes w/cheese.