WIS, WWA | I cracked because, toilet paper.
What I Spent
I was hoping to stay out of the stores entirely this week, but I cracked and made a quick stop in search of toilet paper (I came up dry on my last big grocery haul).
Happily, I found some, so now we have a backup pack. Excellent.
Running low on toilet paper makes me nervous.
Anyway, my total for this week is $35.
What We Ate
Saturday
Our neighbor had gone fishing and came home with extra rockfish. Sweet!
I grilled that, and we had broccoli plus a loaf of garlic pull-apart bread with our fish.
For Sonia's sake, I used unsweetened coconut milk in the bread dough, and it worked out great.
Sunday
Mr. FG and I did a takeout date night by getting subs and eating them out by our fire pit.
And I made apple pfannekuchen for the girls, using coconut milk for Sonia's.
God bless the fact that Sonia can have coconut milk. And butter. Whew.
Monday
I grilled burgers (using this recipe) and cut up a watermelon.
Tuesday
I realized it was Cinco de Mayo, and I didn't really have fixings for tacos (it's been too long since I did a grocery haul! No cilantro, no avocados, no mangoes...)
So, I made bacon and cheese quesadillas, and we ate those with chips/queso and watermelon, with a Cinco de Mayo playlist going on Spotify. 😉
Sonia really hates the non-dairy cheese we've bought, and cheese of some sort really is essential for a quesadilla.
So, I made her a BLT instead of a quesadilla.
Wednesday
We had hibachi chicken and shrimp on rice with yumyum sauce.
And since that dish has veggies, protein, and starch all in one, that's all I needed to make.
Thursday
I tried a recipe from Dinner Illustrated for pork Milanese. Sonia's not a big fan of meat, but she does like it pounded thin and breaded with panko, so I was not surprised that she asked me to try this one.
When I make pull apart garlic bread, I always have an extra loaf's worth of dough, so I bake a plain loaf. I'd frozen that on Saturday, and I pulled it out to have with dinner last night.
And we had a green salad.
Friday
I shredded and froze the mozzarella I bought last trip, so I have plenty to make pizza tonight.
And heaven knows I have enough flour. Fifty pounds of flour makes a LOT of pizzas.
Here's the recipe I use to make pizzas.
What did you have for dinner this week?
I have had a lot of spaghetti bolognese. I made up 500 g of beef, just over a pound, and it has fed us three times and there is still some left. We have also had corned beef. That has made a huge amount of left over meals. There was chicken on Tuesday. That is all for our main meals this week.
I think you have done very well at keeping costs low. I have to agree that running out of toilet paper is a very uncomfortable thing. The poor plumbers in my town have spent a lot of time unblocking drains due to the alternatives people have used.
Our city hall readerboard has been running a statement not to flush anything but toilet paper to prevent clogs for the last 6 weeks.
I don’t know if you have tried it, but Miyyoko’s brand is my favorite df cheese. I don’t like most kinds either, but I will eat that any day. It is pricey but if you can manage to avoid touching it, it keeps for a good bit in the fridge.
Saturday: Asian noodles with bok choy and broccoli, seasoned with chili oil
Sunday: roast beef with rosemary potatoes and homemade remoulade
Monday: pasta with sauce made of tomatoes and cabbage
Tuesday: long work day, so we eat store-bought frozen meals (sweet potatoe skillet)
Wednesday: pfannekuchen (hearty with bacon and mushrooms and sweet with apples)
Thursday: first day of a short vacation so we took a stroll into the city centre, bought some greeting cards for Mother‘s Day that is celebrated here this Sunday. One of our favorite places offers take-out again since Monday so no cooking.
Friday: I will defrost some bolognese sauce for pasta.
Saturday: Elk chili, which finally finished the big bag of elk from the last freezer exploration, and rice
Sunday: Leftover chili and rice, fried eggs, carrot sticks, fake banana "ice cream" to which I always add cocoa powder
Monday: Grilled cheese sandwiches, cucumber spears, and yogurt for the kids; leftovers for me
Tuesday: Ground beef tacos for Cinco de Mayo. And we, in an ironic twist of fate, DID have an avocado left from my husband's foray to the outside world the week before. It was perfectly ripe for Cinco de Mayo, too. We even had fresh lime. Aren't grocery stores amazing?
Wednesday: Sheep ribs, baked potatoes, steamed broccoli
Thursday: Tacos with the leftover meat, leftover broccoli, strawberry and cream tacos (totally a bribe to get my children to clean their bedoom/toy room thoroughly enough that I could vacuum it)
Tonight: I think split pea curry and rice, with eggs for the child who doesn't like curry. And probably salad with ranch dressing. (Yup, still MY LETTUCE HOORAY!)
Strawberry and cream tacos? Ew. No. That should have been popsicles. (Although I wouldn't put it past my children to enthusiastically try something actually called strawberry and cream tacos.)
I think I might try them!
I was wondering if Sonia can eat Velveeta. I know it has milk products but not really considered dairy. I pretty much ate vegetables the last week- eggplant, corn on the cob, lots of different kinds of peppers, and potatoes. I made a big batch of marinara from fresh Roma tomatoes. I’m looking forward to some pizza tonight- I now have Mozarella thanks to GS who bought me that snd 1/2 and 1/2 for coffee.
Lets see if I can remember!
Saturday- we ordered out pizza, from a local spot (trying to do this once a week)
Sunday- Shrimp scampi for me, dh, dd, ds has pasta with red sauce, since he doesn't do shrimp
Monday- Grilled BBQ Chicken, shrimp skewers marinated on the grill, Potato salad, (from a couple of potatoes I had left from last weeks potato packets.) cucumber salad(oil, vinegar) (when I did the scampi I only used half the bag, so grilled the rest)
Tuesday- Beef Taco's and quesadillas (chicken/ shrimp quesadillas) Not on purpose, just took the hamburger out of freezer and then realized it was cinco de mayo!!!!
Wednesday- French toast, pork roll, apple slices/strawberries
Thursday- Tried a recipe from Pintrest- Chicken Marsala, buttered noodles, corn. It was just ok, not sure I would make again. but at least our bellies where full.
Friday- Not sure, suppose to rain today, so no grill. Thinking of Pasta...(when I make sauce, I make a bunch and freeze it, so its an easy meal)
Saturday- gorgeous weather so grandparents came over to sit outside for supper! grilled lots of hot dogs, and burgers. I made a pan of cheesey potatos and a crock pot of baked beans.
Sunday- Leftovers from Saturday! by supper we were running low on protein so I sliced up a ring of keilbasa and warmed that and served with beans and fruit! Fridge is empty!
Monday- I made chicken gnocci soup using up broth and chicken from freezer. I also cooked a pork shoulder and shredded that so we had options for those who balk at soup..
Tuesday-TACO TUESDAY! Salsa chicken from the freezer, seasoned black beans, chips and soft tortilla shells.. build how you want! I ate mine salad style!
Wednesday- I had a later afternoon Zoom Board meeting so I while doing kitchen work earlier in the day I browned off some ground beef and made pizza dough.. added pepperoni and lots of cheese. Served this with the last of the green salad.
Thursday I made homemade meatballs and browned them off then finished cooking in a mix of jarred sauce and leftover pizza sauce-#nowaste served with spaghetti and frozen garlic bread! fresh pineapple and strawberries
Tonight- I have no idea... lots in the freezer protein wise.. need to evaluate the items available..
I hear a lot of people asking what people did before Covid- since so many are complaining about cooking....For my situation.. I have always cooked.. and most supper meals have always been eaten at home... BUT now 3 teens home all day and husband working from home there is not need to have lunch packing foods.. there are no portable snacks for after school snack before sport/musical. Meals that might have had extra for a leftover supper night are consumed for lunch now. everything is fair snacking game. So we are not wasting food, and we are not ordering in much.. so its new meals everynight.. where during spring sport season I would have had some easy pick up fast food nights after later events etc.
It was a lovely week here, weather wise, so we've been able to eat our dinner outside most nights. What a game changer that has been, attitude wise!
Sat- Takeout night, a new COVID-19 tradition. We picked up ahi poke and ate it at a park. So nice.
Sun- Grilled BBQ chicken, roasted sweet potato, and green beans.
Mon- Pork & green chile posole, salad, corn bread.
Tue- Cinco de mayo, so we picked up Mexican food takeout and enjoyed it at a local park.
Wed- Aldi's Thai coconut chicken, white rice, green beans. This prepared chicken one of my early COVID-19 stock up items, and it was so delicious it may remain on repeat.
Thur- Aldi's packaged 3-bean chili, garlic bread. Purchased for same reason as above, but nowhere near as tasty. Will not be repeating!
Fri- Leftovers from last night, unfortunately.
I'm dairy free, and highly recommend Chao cheese for sliced cheese (I wish they had shredded cheese). Even my cheese-loving husband thinks it's amazing, and I can eat grilled cheese again!
I should try to see if it's available in my area; thanks for the recommendation!
Agree on the Chao slices. They melt surprisngly well and taste pretty good. I'm not a vegan and buy these for my vegan kids when they visit. When they go home, I'm more than happy to finish off whatever they left behind. It's yummy. 😉
I LOVE all of the Violife vegan cheese offerings (and I'm not a vegan) - my vegan children agree. It's a little expensive but it's worth it.
Your dinners sound especially good this week - maybe because I have been craving a good burger. And, eating by the firepit is one of my favorite things. We ate:
Monday - (freezer) Pinto Beans with leftover cornbread
Tuesday - Tater Tot Casserole (loaded with veggies and cubed roast pork with homemade mushroom sauce!)
Wednesday - Sliced ham, the rest of the copper pennies from last weekend, a twice baked potato
Thursday - Leftover something I can't remember, chard
Friday - (freezer) Penne Pasta and Beef, zucchini
Saturday - Eat out - we are doing yardwork all day
Sunday - Mexican Tilapia, the last two twice baked potatoes from the freezer, kale
***I have managed to stay out of the grocery store! I think we can make it until the end of next week without going. We have more than enough food and TP for two***
Ugh typed my hold post out, and it got lost~ Let me see if I can remember what we ate this past week.
Saturday- Order take out from a local pizza place- so pizza it was! trying to do this once a week
Sunday- Shrimp scampi, salad DS had pasta w/red sauce, since he doesn't do shrimp.
Monday-Grilled BBQ chicken, grilled marinated the rest of the shrimp (only used 1/2 the bag), potato salad (using potatoes I had left from last week) Cucumber salad (oil/vinegar) some mac and cheese for the kids
Tuesday- Beef Taco's and chicken and shrimp quesadillas (shrimp/chicken left over from yesterday) Not even realizing it was cinco de mayo!
Wednesday- French toast, pork roll, cut up apples/strawberries.
Thursday- Tried a recipe from Pinterst- Chicken Marsala, butter noodles, corn. Not sure I would make this recipe again, was just ok. But I guess at least our bellies where full.
Friday- suppose to rain today, So I am thinking pasta! when I make sauce I make a bunch and freeze it. so an easy meal.
Hope everyone is hanging in!
Oh no! That's so frustrating. If you experience that again, let me know so I can look into why it's happening.
Monday: cannot remember
Tuesday: ham helper , strawberries and carrots and ranch
Wednesday: spaghetti with meat sauce garlic toasts green salad
Thursday: subway pork rinds and fruit
Friday: leftover spaghetti homemade cheese pizza green salad
For the first time in seven weeks... salad greens were available ( not out) when I did a grocery pick up in metro Detroit. HOORAY
After the initial rush there seems to be toilet paper but not really any choice.....usually just a brand or two. MMMM rockfish.
Hello, I was wondering if Sonia only has an issue with cow milk cheese? My son was able to eat cheese made from goats milk that we found at Trader Joe's.
Also, we used the So Delicious unsweetened coconut milk that was shelf stable. We used it in place of milk in everything, and couldn't tell a difference.
I hope you find something that works for her!
Monday we had chicken fajitas and fruit.
Tuesday I made a big batch of spaghetti sauce so we had spaghetti Tuesday and Wednesday.
Thursday is pizza night so we had...lasagna! Once in a while I like to shake things up.
It's rainy and cold today so the plan is to have one of our fast and favorite casseroles--potatoes, beef and green beans in a mushroom sauce with spinach on the side.
And I think there are brownies being made for Mother's Day!
Hi. I can't remember but how intolerant is Sonia to dairy. I have lactose intolerance and from my research, hard cheeses have very low amounts of lactose. For example cheddar doesn't give me issues at all. Everyone is different obviously so shemight not have luck with that but just thought I'd throw that out there.
Monday: At this point I really don't recall but I believe it was just eating leftovers.
Tuesday: On my last trip to the grocery store I will be able to make until my evil governor allows me to do so without a mask, I went to BJs and got a rotisserie chicken. We ate off of that with some rice, vegetables etc.
Wednesday: Salads with potatoes and shredded cheese.
Thursday: Kind of a mishmash of various foods. One net positive is that I waste very little food these days. We try to eat just about everything unless it's gone rotten.
Friday: Going to turn the end of the rotisserie chicken and rice into stir fry.
I totally understand going back to the store for toilet paper. For those of us who didn't panic-buy 4000 rolls when this first started, it's now time to re-stock, and thanks to the hoarders, that's now hard to do!
I didn't shop for groceries last week, but I did make a snack run for my husband. I loaded him up on his favorites so he should be good for a while. Today I will shop for groceries for two weeks, and I wonder what I will find. The sales ads are dismal. However, one of my farmers will be taking a few pigs to the butcher next week -- she finally found one who wasn't snowed under by requests - so I have a chance to get pork. It's been hard to plan a menu because I don't know what I will find when I get to the store, but I'll do my best.
What we ate:
We had chicken tenders with peas and applesauce.
I made my mom's old burger-stretcher meal of mushroom sloppy burgers, only instead of cream of mushroom soup, I chopped up lots of mushrooms, onion, and garlic, then used bone broth thickened with a little cassava flour as the saucy part. I put mine on a cassava flour tortilla because I didn't take time to make any other cassava bread. With it we had sliced raw veggies.
I made a chicken dish with lots of vegetables cooked in with the chicken, so a one-pot meal.
We had burgers with sliced raw veggies and something else.
One night my husband craved a store-bought pot pie, which I normally buy for him to have for lunch while I'm at work. I cooked that for him and made cauliflower and leftover chicken for me.
I cooked a bunch of uncured bacon ends and pieces and then sauteed cabbage in some of the bacon grease. With it we had leftover potato salad and canned fruit.
I will echo the sentiment that Violife has an amazing line of dairy free cheese! Some of our family's pickiest cheese lovers like it!
We are good on toilet paper. When I get toilet paper, I get enough to last the whole year. I usually do a pantry & supply stock up in March & August. I ordered our years supply of toilet paper in February just before the toilet paper suddenly started disappearing from all the shelves.
Your timing is IMPECCABLE. Wow!
I always keep quite a bit of toilet paper on hand. I usually pick up a 6 pack of mega rolls every week when I shop, and sometimes they accumulate before getting used. That was the situation when TP started getting short, plus I had seen a special on 9 packs, so had bought 2 of those. Soon after the shortage started, even though I had plenty on hand, I saw another mail order sale on four 9-packs. I could hardly believe that they really had the stock while there was such a shortage, but decided to give it a try and order. It came--a whole case in just 2-3 days! So I have just used up my stock from before the shortage this week and broke into the case of mega rolls. That should last another month or two! Unfortunately I haven't been able to find antiseptic wipes or hand sanitizer until this week, but managed without them by using spray cleaner in place of wipes. I also found disposable masks, which I like better because they aren't as hot as the cloth ones.
I quelled my toilet paper inventory dilemma by making reusable wee wipes out of old flannel jammies. Easy, economical and efficient!
This week's dinner lineup:
1. Mushroom crostata
2. Chickpea-zucchini curry
3. Pasta with broccoli and szechuan peanut dressing
4. Curried rice with carrots and currants
5. Egyptian split pea stew
6. Veggie pizza
7. Popcorn and oranges
It is hard to find a good dairy-free cheese! Does Sonia like butternut squash? I have made quesadillas with black beans and butternut squash that were delicious. My dairy allergic kid loves smashed avocado in all foods that include a tortilla. It adds that bit of creamy rich texture without the dairy.
This week was a jumble of meals. I’m having trouble staying on a schedule. Last night, I made homemade turkey sausage (eggs for me), roasted sweet potatoes, broccoli. The rest of the week is a blur!
Mashed sweet potato is also an excellent quesadilla filling!
Saturday- Spaghetti, salad and garlic bread
Sunday - Chicken and noodles, mashed potatoes, Corn Bread dressing and Green Beans
Monday- Leftover Spaghetti
Tuesday-Taco salad, Green Chili dip with chips
Wednesday- Leftover chicken and noodles
Thursday- Frozen pizza and salad
Friday- I'm going to make stir fry with all the vegetables I have leftover in my fridge.
The week sounds so boring when I write it out but we were well fed!
It was a lovely week here, weather wise, so we've been able to eat our dinner outside most nights. What a game changer that has been, attitude wise!
Sat- Takeout night, a new COVID-19 tradition. We picked up ahi poke and ate it at a park. So nice.
Sun- Grilled BBQ chicken, roasted sweet potato, and green beans.
Mon- Pork & green chile posole, salad, corn bread.
Tue- Cinco de mayo, so we picked up Mexican food takeout and enjoyed it at a local park.
Wed- Aldi's Thai coconut chicken, white rice, green beans. This prepared chicken one of my early COVID-19 stock up items, and it was so delicious it may remain on repeat.
Thur- Aldi's packaged 3-bean chili, garlic bread. Purchased for same reason as above, but nowhere near as tasty. Will not be repeating!
Fri- Leftovers from last night, unfortunately.
I have started using Country Crock plant butter. It has worked in muffins and casseroles so far. Also, some Mexican cheeses are made with goat’s milk.
Monday-random leftovers before grocery shopping
Tuesday-salmon croquettes, peas, baked sweet potatoes ( still using a 40-lb box I bought from a restaurant)
Wed-rotisserie chicken from Costco trip, leftover peas and sweet potatoes
Thurs-baked ham, roasted veggies, baked beans
Fri-leftover rotisserie chicken, leftover roasted vegs and roasted sweet potatoes
Sat-ham, potato salad, baked beans
Sun-blackeyed peas w/ham bits and rice
Sun-TBD
Yes, we eat quite a bit of leftovers and repeats, and this week was more than usual. I try to change them or add a new side, but thankfully my husband is very patient with my “no food waste”
policy. After 35 years of marriage, I think he is resigned to it. He chooses his breakfast and other main meal, so I guess he is content with that.
Fortunately I haven't run out of paper towels or toilet paper. My stores have had that so I'm always able to grab a package. I can't find hand sanitizer or Clorox wipes or basically any cleaning supplies.
Sunday - family came round to hang out and use the pool, they ordered in and treated me.
Monday - defrosted some chicken and had that with a crunchy salad.
Tuesday - celebrated Cinco de Mayo with family, traditional Tex-Mex and the best strawberry margaritas!
Wednesday & Thursday - spaghetti bolognese made with ground meat from my freezer, canned tomatoes and pasta from my pantry.
Friday - I'm having steak from a yellow sticker piece of sirloin that I divided into four and froze, accompanied by defrosted mediterranean vegetables left over from Sunday.
I've been following Weight Watchers since November 2019 and so far have lost 25 lbs, cooking from scratch has been the key to healthy weight loss, and great, tasty meals!
Saturday-pasta with garlic, chickpea, lemon, bell pepper and parmesan
Sunday-curry flavored popcorn, fruit, cheese/crackers, ice cream
Monday-pork tacos
Tuesday-pork chops with a starch (bread? potatoes?) and broccoli (I totally should have flipped Monday and Tuesday, but we really needed to use up produce before it went bad)
Wednesday-pork stir fry with corn and green beans
Thursday-burritos for a birthday dinner and ice cream cake
Friday-it's been a rough week, so we may get take out for the first time in over 2 months. We'll see
Sunday: Hawaiian chicken sandwiches
Monday: Shepherds pie. I didn’t have enough ground turkey for the whole pan, but I did have some breakfast sausage that I threw in. Surprisingly delicious!
Tuesday: Thai peanut noodle salad with veggies and chicken. It made tons so we’ve been snacking on it for days.
Wednesday: Taco bar (we were a day late as far as Cinco de Mayo goes). We had both chipotle shrimp and roasted cauliflower/chickpeas as filling options.
Thursday: Take-out Tex-Mex! One wonderful perk of this type of food is the plethora of leftovers. We’ve got rice and beans for days!
Friday: Something with tortellini. If it rains like the forecast says, maybe soup. If it holds off, maybe a cold salad. We’ll see!
Saturday: My husband is planning a nice Mother’s Day meal for us (smoking ribs and making homemade mac and cheese) since he is busy on Sundays with streaming church services. I’m so excited!
Happy Mother’s Day to all of you mamas!!!
Our Costco stash of toilet paper was starting to run low. Luckily my daughter was at Target and grabbed a pack for us. Now I won't have to fret about getting low for a little while.
Sunday: both kids came to visit so we ordered take-out pizza
Monday: sheet pan fajitas
Tuesday: shrimp tacos with spicy slaw
Wednesday: no one wanted to cook so "fend for yourself night" and I had a bowl of cereal
Thursday: Home Chef meal of steak tacos (we had a lot of tacos this week!)
Friday: not decided yet, maybe homemade pizza but definitely not tacos 🙂
Happy Mother's Day!
I second the Chao recommendation. I love their vegan Parmesan grated on pasta. Here in CA it is quite speedy and harder to find. Our go to is Daiya for shreds and slices. Slices melt for a perfect grill cheese and the shreds make great pizza, mac n chz, quesadillas...
Despite me working long hours at home in my temporary office next to the fridge (useful to stop random snacking ) we had a surprisingly decent menu for the week:
Monday - beef burgers, green salad, garlic sliced potatoes
Tuesday - chicken fajitas
Wednesday - whole meal pasta with homemade sauce - olives, onion, bacon, red peppers and cream cheese
Thursday - Southern fried chicken, green salad, homemade potato salad and homemade garlic bread - this was quickly defrosted whole meal rolls (that were long past their best), sliced, topped with butter and garlic granules and popped in the cooling oven after I’d taken the chicken out!
Friday - pizza night, yay! No cooking for me as my two sons make theses from scratch.
Saturday - fortnightly lockdown takeaway, we have yet to decide between Chinese or fish & chips.
Sunday - roast gammon ham, white sauce, roast potatoes, carrots and green beans.
It’s not Mother’s Day here in the U.K. - ours was in March - but happy Mother’s Day to you all!
Monday - It was nice outside and so we took dinner outside, but the meal I had planned was extremely inconvenient for it. We did it anyways. Burrito bowls!
Tuesday - Sheet pan dinner of brats, green beans, sweet potatoes, broccoli, asparagus (from our garden!), and carrots. Strawberries on the side.
Wednesday - Bacon cheeseburgers, broccoli with cheese, strawberries, potato chips
Thursday - BBQ chicken leg quarters, pineapple, roasted asparagus, and baked beans. This was my second time making baked beans from scratch and it went really well! The asparagus was also kind of exciting because we've been letting our plants grow for 5 years and this is the first spring we've harvested any. We have lived in the same house and state for 5 years!!! (Very different from the first 6 years of our marriage.)
Friday - Not entirely sure. I'm thinking maybe another sheet pan dinner because I have a weird amount of green beans that need to be consumed and this is probably the best way for it to happen.
My family and I cannot remember what we had for dinner one of the weekend days so here's what I got.
Saturday or Sunday: Venison meatpie
Monday: Chick-Fil-A copycat chicken sandwiches. OH. MY. GOONDESS. They were so delicious. Caesar salad accompanied the sandwiches.
Tuesday: Tacos, homemade guacamole with Tostitos Scoops, and pineapple.
Wednesday: Leftover night. We all foraged for ourselves.
Thursday: Pork chops, fried potatoes with ramps, broccoli.
Friday: Homemade chicken wings with BW3 sauce, celery & carrots.
Do you have a link to the copycat sandwiches? My family would love that!
http://www.aisleofshame.com/copycat-aldi-chick-fil-a-sandwich/. I don’t know if this is what Molly used, and I haven’t tried it yet, but I plan to after I get to Aldi’s again.
WIS: $32 for weekly fish delivery & $18 for chicken mole tamales
Working backwards:
Tonight: dry brined roasted chicken with cauliflower and carrots and baked potatoes
Thursday: salmon roasted with zaatar; Israeli cous cous with chickpeas, mint, cilantro, preserved lemon, cumin & cinnamon; roasted broccoli & salad
Wednesday: tarragon štrukli; fresh kielbasa, Balkan cabbage salad & carrots glazed with blood orange & tarragon
Tuesday: blackened cusk tacos on homemade tortillas, with all the fixins', sautéed veg
Monday: chicken mole tamales, refried beans, sautéed zucchini, summer squash and red peppers
Sunday: homemade pizza
Saturday: grilled ribs, black bean and farro, cabbage salad, grilled pineapple
Only $35 and you found toilet paper in stores? Here, one 12 roll of Bounty (only thing I could get from FreshDirect, no one else I can order from had any and I can't go out to shop), was $25.
That will last us about two weeks, depending. Normally, we pay $12, on sale. But there are no more sales.
We're in NYC and the price raising and gouging is intense. But we really don't have options. Neighbors who shop tell me that you either buy what you find, regardless of price, or you do without.
Some have to shop multiple times a week in the hopes of getting needed paper products and food. It is NOT ideal.
Best stocked place (though no Paper towels or toilet paper)? Our neighborhood Trader Joe's, depending on when you go. But lines are often one hour or longer, though social distancing and crowd control is practiced.
We have friends in Florida and Arizona. Stores there? Almost never out of stock NEVER
We have to wonder how the brains in charge of distribution have excess in these places but nothing here? Ship more. It moves fast. It won't be hanging around in warehouse or the smaller-size supermarkets (if you want to call them that; I don't given their size and limited products to choose from, not to mention, lack of depth of stock.)
Too bad our friends can't get some super big boxes and mail to us. Even if we paid for shipping, it would be cheaper!
It's very frustrating and expensive. People are going into debt when they even can to buy basics.
I live in Florida and have had a difficult time getting toilet paper. We have found some at The Dollar Store and at Trader Joe’s .
Our neighborhood Trader Joe’s is always well-stocked and their prices have remained steady.
I live in Tennessee and could not find toilet paper for over a month. Had I not bought an 18 roll pack at Aldi in mid-March on a day when I heard on the radio that there was a national shortage, we would have been repurposing junk mail.
It's back now, but the selection is either store brand or the expensive high end stuff and there are still limits on how many packages can be bought.
Yes! I stopped at Safeway and they had some brand I'd never heard of, and it was really expensive.
But desperate times call for desperate measures and I forked over the cash.
I spent $180 at Whole Foods on produce, dairy, and 2 large bags of chips; no meat or prepped food (not even sushi).
Meals this week included:
- Pasta/spinach/chicken dish from CI's Quick Family Dinners. It was "meh" and not good enough to fiddle with. Raspberries to do with.
- Weeknight Bolognaise, also from CI's Quick Family Dinners. A big hit. It was more like pasta with simmered meat and chunks of tomatoes, because I used stewed tomatoes rather than pureed/tomato sauce, because that's what I had. With carrots and watermelon.
- Dimsum, steamed broccoli, and watermelon.
- I probably had smorgesborg at some point, because I usually do.
- Sushi and grilled food, from curbside pickup.
- Subway & smoothies while waiting for the car brakes to get fixed. This was the dealer's fault, because I'd just taken the car in for maintenance, brake work, and new tires. They will be hearing from me.
- Hot dogs, bananas, strawberries, and s'mores.
- Tonight is slated to be chicken burritos.
Ah, so frustrating about the brakes. I hope they did not try to charge you for the fix.
No, but it cost us a great deal of time (about 8 person-hours), some money, and unnecessary exposure to strangers. I gave them a week to call with ideas for recompense. Since they didn't, I will have to call on Monday and, because of the wait, they will be dealing with a very displeased customer.
We had roasted chicken thighs, Rice a Roni, peas, and applesauce, which made leftovers for a few days, followed by homemade pizza, which also made some leftovers, and a couple of nights of sandwiches. Tonight I am trying to decide between spaghetti and meatloaf.
I may see if we can order carnitas from our favorite Mexican restaurant for Mothers Day, as it is still doing curbside delivery.
I opened my 50 lb bag of flour today that I bought through the link you shared. It gives me such peace of mind to know I can make lots and lots of bread. THANK YOU 😉
Yay! Having a good stash of flour is almost as fabulous as having a stash of toilet paper. Ha.
Spent $120 on groceries this week. Mostly on meat and salmon.
What we ate:
Why does last Saturday seem so long ago?
Saturday - salmon loaf and stewed tomatoes
Sunday - Daughter and SIL and grandkids came over so we grilled burgers and dogs and had pineapple upside down cake for dessert
Monday - might have been left over salmon loaf but I don’t remember
Tuesday- don’t know what my husband had, but I had a banana and toast
Wednesday- baked potatoes with fixin’s
Thursday - pork steak and baked potato
Friday - tonight will either be eggs with potatoes O’Brien or tuna melts. Haven’t decided.
We almost always have fresh, frozen, or canned veg with the above dinners
Husband is doing quite a bit of the cooking right now which makes it easier for me to forget what got prepared. We got a good price on a pork shoulder roast and he cut it into more usable sizes but he tossed the bone. He didn’t think that he could have used the bone in a pot of beans. He’ll get there in time. Can’t fault him too much, I lost a bag of chopped salad in the back of the fridge and it was too far gone even to feed to the chickens.
It’s funny - toilet paper isn’t too hard to find here now. (A month ago, it was a different story!!) But I cannot find any disinfectant wipes no matter where I look. Is that the same for all of you?
Our meals lately are sort of a hodgepodge. Sometimes we cook and have proper meals (and planned leftovers), and other times - like tonight - we both just do our own thing. I’m having Annie’s gluten free white Mac ‘n’ cheese with a side of Brussels sprouts. Weird, but it is EXACTLY what I feel like having. Haha
Earlier this week we had:
Monday: Leftover curried lentils and veggies over rice (so good!! I just use the quick-to-cook red lentils and a bunch of fresh veg)
Tuesday: Terrible, but I can’t remember!
Wednesday: Stewed chicken and rice; veggies on the side
Thursday: Leftover stewed chicken and rice; veggies on the side
Friday: I’m having Mac ‘n’ cheese and Brussels sprouts. Hubs is having two homemade egg and ham ‘breakfast’ sandwiches on toasted whole wheat English muffins. We’ll probably have blueberries and yogurt for dessert after. Yum!
Saturday Hamburgers, homemade rolls, canned baked beans,
Sunday Shaved steak, peppers and onions, and various leftovers
Monday Homemade pizza, Caesar macaroni salad
Tuesday Sheetpan quesadilla, homemade tortilla, cornbread salad
Wednesday Omelets and leftover sheetpan quesadilla from Tues. night
Thursday Chicken Marsala, instant pot winter squash/sweet potato, salad, fresh Italian loaf
Friday Hamburgers, fries, and leftover salad and zucchini pancake.
.
We had various items from the ‘fridge for our lunches.
Daughter made the hamburger rolls, pizza dough, Italian loaf. I made a batch of sourdough oatmeal chip cookies and each night cooked up a small batch for the family.
Today I have sourdough dough working for English muffins and bread
I have looked over the recipes you used for some of your menu. I may add them to next week's menu. Thank you.
So many yummy-sounding meals. We had:
Monday: cheeseburger pie
Tuesday: my birthday (and also Cinco de Mayo) so I asked hubby to cook as his present to me. He made chicken fajitas. Knocked out 2 holidays in one meal.
Wednesday: kielbasa sheet pan supper
Thursday: Huevos Rancheros
Friday: potato and ham soup with a wheat quick bread.
Here in west Michigan the stores are reasonably well stocked. I heard they started running out of meat, but Monday there were supplies available. I've been able to get Lysol wipes (or the store brand) 2 weeks in a row and last week there was even hand sanitizer available. I've always been able to get my hands on white flour--I saw whole wheat on the shelves last week. Still no yeast but I anticipate, with the weather getting nicer, that people will be less motivated to bake their own bread in the next month or so. The variance in availability depending on where you live is pretty crazy. When all of this started, I stocked up on facial tissues (there was no toilet paper available for awhile)--I know they will flush and while I'd be willing to use a handkerchief if I had to for blowing my nose, I'm not too excited about alternatives other than kleenex for toilet paper.
Monday- Wedge salad, garlic bread, and watermelon
Tuesday- Trader Joe’s Genovese chicken, grilled asparagus, caprese salad, pasta
Wednesday- Grilled steak, baked sweet potatoes,broccoli, and fresh fruit
Thursday- Boboli pizza, cucumber and tomato salad
Friday- Papa Murphy pizza and fresh fruit
Sausage & mushroom & cream cheese stuffed peppers on Monday. Pulled pork tacos with black beans on Tuesday. The leftover taco fillings as nachos on Wednesday. BBQ pulled pork sandwiches on Thursday with sautéed veggies & sweet potatoes. Homemade pizza on Friday.
I always struggle to remember, but here's what I can piece together:
-Lubia polo (Persian rice, beef & green bean dish) with salad
-Grilled chicken, grilled potatoes & sauteed green beans
-Tacos with margaritas
-Salmon
-Taco salads
We make enough of all meals to have leftovers, so the remainder were leftover options.
Well, I think I can stop stocking up now. My grocery budget has been out of control for 2 months and the larder is full! I need to eat what I have and keep my fingers crossed that I have enough to get through any shortages. Resuming my regular budget next time. I did my biweekly trip to the grocery store and a bonus trip to Costco to pick up cat food and a few other things. I was pleased to see that both paper goods and meat were in good supply at both stores I went to. However, hand sanitzer and wipes are still impossible to find in my neck of woods.
Saturday - fish and chips
Sunday - chicken, stuffing and artichoke
Monday - I tried that Disney recipe for grilled cheese that has been making the rounds. Tasty, but too rich. Could only eat half. Also had a cup of tomato soup.
Tuesday - Tacos for Cinco de Mayo!
Wednesday - bowl of cherrios.
Thursday - So. Many. Strawberries. Also scrambled eggs and loaded hashbrowns.
Friday - Take and bake veggie pizza from the grocery store.
Oddly enough, I never had an issue finding toilet paper. It does help that my mom (who lives with me and was recently diagnosed with moderate vascular dementia) was already concerned about running out of toilet paper. So we generally have a stash of it (maybe 2-3 weeks worth NOT 2-3 months worth)
Sunday - Fried Chicken
Monday - BBQ Ribs
Tuesday - Spaghetti & Meatballs
Wednesday - Philly Cheesesteaks
Thursday - Bean and Cheese Burritos
Friday - Meatloaf
Saturday - Chicken Pot Pie