WIS, WWA | I found heavy cream!
What I Spent
Last night I had to stop in at Safeway for a few things and on a whim, I decided to check the dairy fridges. Lo and behold...THEY HAD CREAM.
I did not care that it was $6.50 for a quart; I happily bought one.
And I look forward to some delightful coffee this morning. 😉
This week, I spent:
- $56 at Safeway
- $27 at Aldi
- $70 on pho (I know, I know)
But, that adds up to $153 for the week, so I don't feel too bad.
What We Ate
Saturday
Zoe was at a friend's house for a sleepover, and Lisey and I decided to get some takeout pho together. SO GOOD. We kind of wanted to get it again every night this week!
Sunday
I made skillet-baked ziti, garlic bread, and a green salad.
Monday
We had naan, chicken tikka masala, and on the side, we had some kind of produce that I don't recall.
Tuesday
I finished my chemistry exam at 6:00 pm and...then I went out and got pho for the three of us. 😉
Wednesday
Lisey was out with a friend, Zoe had the rest of her pho, and I cobbled together a pho bowl for myself, using some noodles from my pantry and some leftover broth/bean sprouts/basil/jalapenos from our takeout.
So, I kind of had pho three nights this week.
I am not unhappy about this. 😉
Thursday
Lisey spent a night with my aunt and uncle (the ones she lived with last year), so it was just Zoe and me here. We had ham and cheese panini with fruit on the side.
Friday
I haven't decided what we're eating, but I think we will...not get pho. 😉
I will behave myself.
WIS: 135.55 @Aldi, 77.77 @Giant and another 54.98 @Aldi for a total of 268.30. However, a lot of the Aldi purchases were gifts, so I think my actual grocery spending was more like 150.00 this week.
WWA:
Fri-Tue Thanksgiving leftovers, of course! Some days we just heated the leftovers on individual plates in the microwave. Other days I put whole casserole dishes into the oven, and a few times we reimagined the ingredients. Some reimagined meals were turkey and cheese quesadillas, turkey Caesar salad and bubble and squeak with mashed potatoes. All we have left now is a bag of shredded turkey and the carcass in the freezer.
Wed: raspberries, flatbread pizza, pumpkin wafer cookies with milk.
Thu: Chicken and waffles with grapes on the side.
Fri: Not sure. Maybe focaccia, or maybe steak since I got some on markdown at Giant.
Have a great weekend, everyone!!!
@Becca, "bubble and squeak?"
@Ginger Bruce, Potatoes and cabbage, also known as colcannon or champ.
@Rose,
Yup, except that my husband doesn't usually add cabbage to bubble and squeak. He makes it by sauteing onion and sausage slices (and this time he also added mushrooms because they needed using up), mixing them into the leftover mashed potatoes and then topping it with cheese and putting it under the broiler. He makes colcannon in a similar manner, but to that he does add cabbage. I don't know if these are the traditional recipes, but those are the two dishes he makes with mashed potatoes. Me, I just eat leftover potatoes as is, but I like what he makes with them too!
@Becca, I'm not sure it is bubble and squeak without cabbage, but last I heard, I'm not the Food Police.
@Rose, and I thought Bubble & Squeak means without cabbage, while colcannon means without sausages! Champ is with just green onions or leeks, right?’Good in any case!
@Jenny, thought colcannon was mashed potatoes with cabbage, spinach or kale (and cheese and butter)
I never keep track of this, but-- remember-- cream has a long shelf life. Buy 2! (Christmas is coming up, and if ever there was a time for cream, it is Christmas.) I am sometimes exasperated with my husband because he frequently "stocks up" on things which we just cannot eat fast enough. However, I noticed the no cream in the stores, but I did not panic because I had 5(!) in our fridge. Same for butter recently. I cannot be mad at him for loading our freezer with butter (on sale for $2/pound) last spring considering the price now.
@Jody S.,
The good ‘old days of $2.00 lb. butter! I did the same last year—now I feel lucky I found it for $2.49 at Aldi!
@Debbie H., ditto! When I saw butter at Aldi for $2.49 two weeks ago, my parents and I bought 18 pounds (6 pound limit each).
@BettafrmdaVille, I don't often shop at Aldi, don't use that much butter, and am cooking only for myself these days--but even I made a point of stopping in to grab 2# of that butter!
@Debbie H., I only bought five, and it's in the freezer waiting to make cookies!
@Jody S., It was actually $2 at Lidl a week ago. I stocked up again.
@Jody S., If we ever see butter for less that $4/lb, we stock up now!
@Debbie H., You'd better believe he took advantage of that price. We went and took 2 kids with him to stock up again. But it's back up to the higher price at our Aldi. 🙁
@Bobi, Ooh. Thank you. I need to have him check out there from now on.
@Jean, I bought 6 and I will also be making cookies with that. Plus, butter for mashed potatoes and Chex mix. Butter in the freezer lasts a long time.
@Jody S., my husband's work gave $50 HyVee gift cards as part of the guys' Christmas bonuses. Heavy whipping cream was on my list (I only shop there when we have a gift card), but a quart was $10! I went instead to the nearby Target, where cream was thankfully still $5 for a quart. I bought three (dated Feb. 3rd), as that's what we have room for in the fridge.
Pho sounds delicious.
Kinda wishing I hadn’t just put in a grocery order so I could redo what I ordered to center on pho for the week.
Cannot remember what we ate but it was lots of scrounging since we haven’t had an organized grocery run in several weeks (yay sickness!). But today I placed an Aldi order (sick little at home) since we are out of fruit and veggies and leftovers totaling $125. I have no idea how long it will last us but it’s better than nothing.
My family and I did an extended Thanksgiving trip to Ireland and came home on Tuesday, so I'll pick up there.
Aldi $? took my parents there on the way to drop them off from airport & they paid for pizza; $30 Market Basket; $12 Star
Tuesday: pizza take/bake from Aldi & big green salad
Wednesday: while I drove my parents (live in a different state) home from airport, partner had ordered himself take-out Chinese. Ate leftovers from that.
Thursday: Triscuits & raspberries (but I did make myself a big batch of broccoli-potato-leek soup and had a late lunch)
Friday: Slovenian Golaž (goulash) over polenta (will make extra for mush tomorrow morning!), sauteéd cabbage
Kristen: I've been meaning to ask: whenever you post your baked ziti recipe, it looks SO creamy/cheesy (which equals delicious in my book)! (as opposed to just tomato sauce with some clumps of mozzarella). I looked for the recipe on the site but didn't see it. Could you please post it or point me in the direction?
@BettafrmdaVille, We love sautéed cabbage at my house! In the summer we do it in an aluminum pan covered with foil. After it's ready and on our plates, we add a dollop of sour cream! Yum!!!
@BettafrmdaVille, love Ireland. I think I could happily live summers there in a cottage by the sea. Sigh...
So, would it be fair to say that you are pro pho?
For this week at least. 😉
I think I need to try making it myself.
@Becca, hahahahahahaha!
And Kristen, I'm so happy to see you followed your urges this week! Go pho!
@Becca, yes, she's pro pho. But if she decided to substitute something for the pho, that would be a quid pro pho.
But Pho is pronounced "fuh" as in, huh or d'uh.
We will make an exception and mispronounce it for the sake of a pun. 😉
@Erika JS, supposedly it comes from "pot au feu"
@A. Marie,
Good one! Lol!!
@Erika JS,
As my 4th and 5th graders would say, "Bruh!"
@Becca,
Good one! I was casting around for a good rhyme word.
@Erika JS,
😉
Saturday - takeout sushi and udon noodles for the kids
Sunday - made turkey stock with the carcass and used that to make turkey corn chowder. Served that with a boxed mix of red lobster biscuits
Monday - Parmesan chicken, pearl cous cous and steamed carrots
Tuesday - mushroom spinach lasagna rolls
Wednesday - big salads with chicken, crescent rolls
Thursday - I tried a new recipe, a rare event lately (I worry a new recipe will take longer than planned or not turn out and then it’ll be late with 2 hungry little kids, so I’ve been sticking to what I know) It was bbq meatballs, cheese grits and spinach. I did not make the meatballs from scratch as the recipe called for, just used frozen ones, and it all turned out great, easy to make and delicious.
Friday - I’m hosting book club so I have a frozen pizza for husband and kids, I’ll be eating book club snacks for my dinner (snack dinner is my favorite kind of dinner!)
WIS: $427 @ Costco but $100 of that was Christmas gifts so only $327 was spent on actual food which is about normal for a 2 week stock up with inflation. Plus ground turkey, salmon, and lots of fresh produce for healthy eating are not cheap.
Saturday: Thanksgiving leftovers
Sunday: Turkey soup using homemade broth from the turkey carcass & leftover rice plus lots of veggies from the fridge
Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday: I did not plan at all. Oops. the little one had fish sticks & a baked potato & an apple, hubby & I had turkey & cheese on whole wheat, one had leftover soup
Wednesday: Turkey Chili
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Cubed Steak in the crockpot with some type of potatoes and green beans
Saturday: I plan to roast a sirloin tip from my freezer
Sunday: leftovers for sure!
Sunday: Out at my parents' house.
Monday: Salmon, stir-fried bok choy, and rice. One of my all-time favourite meals is salmon, rice, and a green vegetable. Yum.
Tuesday: I was out for dinner with a friend; my husband and baby had frozen chicken nuggets and pasta.
Wednesday: An improvised chickpea curry with cauliflower and rice. It came out weirdly bland; I think I didn't toast the spices enough and didn't make enough sauce. Regardless, we were fed!
Thursday: Pizza, with broccoli on the side. I tried Smitten Kitchen's lazy pizza dough, and it was great. Weighing ingredients makes such a difference!
Friday: Chicken gyoza, rice, stir-fried green vegetables, and challah.
We are nearing on two months without our kitchen, and I'm so ready to cook real meals again! We are using a microwave that also has an air fryer/grill setting, panini grill, and outdoor camping stove.
Sunday: Orange chicken, cauliflower, and fried rice cobbled together from microwave meals. Not that great, especially when every part had to be microwaved separately and cooled down while waiting for the other parts.
Monday: Pasta with tomatoes and broccoli, chicken nuggets. Boiled the pasta outside on our camp stove and cooked the tomatoes and broccoli in the microwave. Decent.
Tuesday: Reheated leftover pasta for the kids and warmed up frozen meatballs, while I ate out at a pub quiz night.
Wednesday: Broke down and ordered Chinese food after the fiasco of Sunday.
Thursday: Used the leftover Chinese food to make fresh fried rice, and bought a rotisserie chicken. Salad on the side.
Random panini sandwiches for lunch, but we almost never have sandwiches for dinner.
I don't know that I have ever had pho or could tell someone what it is! I have learned as an adult that my midwestern father is definitely a meat and potatoes kind of guy and doesn't venture far from that, so I did not grow up eating a large variety of foods.
Saturday: We were in Pennsylvania and ate dinner at my husband's best friend's house. He made brisket and pulled pork (he smokes his own meat!) and it was delicious. Unrelated to food, I got to hold their 2-month old baby and it was delightful.
Sunday: We stopped at Wendy's on the way back to Michigan and got dinner to eat in the van. I had a salad because that was all I was craving after a weekend full of tons of food.
Monday: Haluski with smoked sausage and corn
Tuesday: Ribs, chicken nuggets for the kids who don't appreciate the goodness of ribs (and because my ribs pack was smaller than I thought it was and wouldn't have fed everybody), mashed potatoes and gravy, and the leftover corn from Monday
Wednesday: Chili over baked russet potatoes and baked sweet potatoes
Thursday: Chicken tacos and blueberries
Friday: My 8yo requested a Thanksgiving dinner (I didn't cook last week since we travelled) so tonight I'm making a turkey, sweet potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce with apples
@Ruth T, my husband grew up in a similar household in Idaho, so it's been fun (and sometimes less fun, haha) to "expose" him to new types of food that he's never had before.
It's a Vietnamese soup with rice noodles, vegetables and herbs. Thinly sliced raw beef is added to the boiling broth just before serving.
@Ruth T, Traditional pho is cooked as said below, but the broth is made with different cuts of meats and cooks forever. Another component is adding a jammy egg.
At Oriental season (much like German season) Aldi's offers plain ramen noodles and boxed pho broth.
I have gotten "instant pho" in my Misfit's order in the past, but the notion is such an oxymoron, as traditional pho is anything but instant!
@Chrissy, how was the instant pho? We do misfits when it's not farmer's market season.
@Chrissy,
The broth is ambrosia.
I love that I learn something new here all the time! Thanks!
WIS: $16 at Wegmans and $78 at Price Chopper. (The PC total includes a BOGO deal on Filippo Berio EVOO, a 10# sack of Blue Tastefuls dry cat food, and several bargains off the clearance shelf.)
WIA: Once the turkey-related feasting was done, I made myself a small pot roast with a chuck roast from our 1/4 steer, and will be making a beef stock off the chuck bone plus accumulated bones in the freezer.
And I'm earnestly hoping that the friends who raise the steer--and who, like me, are getting up there in age--will keep doing it next year, at least. Supermarket beef prices are beyond a joke.
I found Tom Yum broth in the chicken broth/soup aisle at our fancy supermarket, which I use to make phake pho. You can also find precooked noodles in the foreign foods aisle at most supermarkets. The rest is frugal (phrugal?) fun!
@Jean, tom yum broth would be a great supermarket find!
We use the Serious Eats "no waste carnitas" recipe (but not the salsa). We save the seasoned pork broth from the carnitas to make ramen (mix with chicken stock and miso) but now I think it might make a phonomenal phrugal pho!
I started work this week, which required me to be gone during dinner time multiple days. We had a lot of easy meals.
- Hamburgers, oven fries, carrot sticks with dill dip.
- Ground Beef with mukimame, and noodles
- Leftovers for two of us. Burger King for the other two.
- Turkey Sausage Burgers (ground turkey with sausage seasoning), roasted potatoes.
- Scrambled tofu, broccoli, brown rice.
I know we ate six dinners, but have zero recollection of the other dinner. Also not sure yet what we’ll have Saturday. We will probably just finish clearing out the leftovers so nothing goes bad.
I just remembered… I made green beans to go with the Sausage burger. Last night the hubby made hotdogs for the kids, with leftover potatoes and green beans. I couldn’t remember because I ended up having frozen pizza leftovers from my lunch!
YAY CREAM! It's $8 a quart at the store closest to us, but that's not enough to stop me from buying it.
Saturday: Brisket, rice, pureed calabaza, more Thanksgiving leftovers, canned peaches.I had made the brisket thinking everyone would appreciate a turkey break, and then half the kids chose the turkey, anyway. Whatever.
Sunday: Turkey enchilada casserole, blueberry/peach crisp with maple yogurt
Monday: Leftovers in various combinations
Tuesday: Chuck eye steaks, boiled potato chunks, the very last of my lettuce from the garden in a salad with the very last of the dill from the garden (which had been in a jar of water in the refrigerator for weeks) in the ranch dressing
Wednesday: I managed to get a bunch of leftovers into the oven to heat up before I collapsed into bed with my migraine. So, leftovers for the family, and sleep for me. 🙂
Thursday: Beef tri tip in tomato sauce, spaghetti with roasted tomato sauce (and lots of butter), leftover peas and pureed squash
Tonight: I took out a very large package of beef shoulder steaks, which I think I will braise and some will become barbecue beef for tonight. I have two small cabbages from the garden that have been in the refrigerator for awhile and should be used, so those will become coleslaw. I'll take out the last quart or so of baked beans I froze last week from the giant batch I made, and probably rice for a starch. There will also be cookies, because I need to make some as a bribe to get my kids to finish stacking the very large pile of fire wood in our driveway.
@kristin @ going country,
Brisket, kids! Always say yes to brisket!! Come on!
@Ruth T, I know! But there is the possibility that you'll be horribly disappointed when the brisket turns out to be not biscuits. 🙂
I've done that with ramen before, add extra noodles to the leftover broth from takeout. It makes me feel so smart every time haha
Sunday: Turkey tortilla soup. We normally use chicken, but we had leftover turkey from Thanksgiving
Monday: Leftover soup
Tuesday: Butter chicken. We doubled the recipe and brought some over to our in laws, they had a baby that day!
Wednesday: Preschooler's choice, which this week meant mac and cheese with green grapes on the side.
Thursday: Banana pancakes with coconut buttermilk syrup. I'm a decent cook, but for some reason pancakes are my Achilles heel. I have the hardest time not burning them!
Friday/Saturday: We still have a fair amount of butter chicken, so we'll finish that off with whatever else is still in the fridge.
Back to deep freeze outside but I am liking all the lights we see in the mornings on the way to the office. WWA:
Saturday - pasta al limone with scallops (this was supposed to be the previous nights dinner but my eyes were so dilated from an eye appointment that ordering pizza was about all I could muster on Friday)
Sunday - roast chicken, baked potatoes, roasted squash, homemade buns, pumpkin pie
Monday - leftovers (chicken sandwich…)
Tuesday - ribolita (I like the idea of this soup with the beans and kale, but my execution of the recipe went sideways, will re-assess and try again)
Wednesday - sheet pan meal with sausages, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, onions, yoghurt curry sauce
Thursday - one pot unstuffed bell peppers (really good budget bytes recipe), homemade buns from the freezer
Friday - leftovers
Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend
I leaned heavily on my slow cooker this week because our schedule was busier than usual. I also dug deep into the freezer and pantry after Thanksgiving.
Friday – Low Country Boil Foil Packets (I needed something that took minimal effort and clean up)
Saturday – Adobo chicken over brown rice and roasted Brussels sprouts
Sunday – I’ve been playing around with what I could use as filling in egg roll wraps. I tried pastie filling and used the rest of Thanksgiving’s gravy on the side. They were delicious!
Monday – Polish pork goulash with sauerkraut over brown rice
Tuesday – Stuffed pepper soup
Wednesday – Chicken enchilada rice bowls
Thursday – planned leftover night
I also cleaned out a few containers in the pantry by making Monster Cookies and Energy Balls. I’ll have a big restocking grocery trip coming up but right now it feels good to see so much space in the freezer and pantry.
Had Pho this week, too!
Caught a little cold that had me shivering with the rainstorm. My DH surprised me by bringing home Pho from our local pho place. Instant "feel better."
So happy to have an authentic Pho restaurant in town and was glad to have it make it through the pandemic shutdowns. Not a chain, family-owned so I was worried. But, apparently everyone feel as the same as we all do about their tasty offerings.
Congratulations on finishing chemistry!!
I am recovering from surgery so my husband has been cooking. We used up all our Thanksgiving leftovers. He is a great cook and I feel spoiled.
I originally thought you'd spent $70 on pho for just the two of you, on one dinner, & thought that was some pretty crazily expensive pho! 🙂 The second dinner made more sense.
It's a really intense time at work, with late meetings & such, so we've been cobbling things together a bit more. Our menu also featured what I'd call some "emergency meals".
We had:
-Thanksgiving leftovers
-Butternut squash soup, made from squash we grew & roasted/froze a few months back. It was so delicious. Served that with goat cheese crostini, left over from Thanksgiving.
-In & Out, on a night we were running super late, and one of the kids had plans. It's been a long time since I've had In & Out, and it was delicious & pretty inexpensive to feed four. (For takeout. Obviously, always cheapest to eat at home.) I paired mine with leftover sparkling wine, which made all of the difference. 😉
-My husband made Philly cheesesteaks, from things we had in the freezer
-My husband (I had a *busy* week) made a Persian chicken dish (fancy grilled chicken that you marinate all day) + Persian rice
-I defrosted chicken curry, & served that over the rest of the rice
-And, we topped off the week with frozen pizza last night, because I got home so late. All of the cooking wins. 😉
I believe my husband & I are going on a date tonight, to wrap up a couple of holiday gifts. We will probably eat out, and I will likely leave cash for the teens. Which, I'm guessing means they will pick up either Subway, or Greek food.
I tried a "healthy" lasagne recipe made from ground turkey, with sautéed spinach mixed with ricotta cheese and egg, mozzarella cheese. Not great enough to be a new favorite but 12 servings give us lunches and dinners for a while! Not sure it makes any more sense than just smaller servings of lasagna made with ground beef.
Used more of the pasta e fagioli I made last week. Recipe from the Goya beans package. OK but not exciting. Needs hot sauce or something. Served with steamed broccoli.
Made chicken adobo the slow way, wasn't better than the quicker instant pot version. Live and learn. We don't have a lot of fine restaurants in this rural area so Asian dishes we cook at home.
Sandwiches for DH made for lunches, with deli ham and homemade onion jam, and cheese. Delicious.
@Kristina,
Would you share how you make onion jam? Sounds delish!!
Pho is my favorite thing - I could probably eat it every day!
113 Kroger pickup 22 Aldi in store
Grocery prices y’all !
Monday: leftover beef barley soup. Even better when leftover! GRlic flat bread.
Tuesday: cereal with sliced banana for supper. Hubby was working. CINN LIFE! Such a treat.
Wednesday: very busy day with late appts. Threw some chicken sausages in air fryer. Smoked Gouda on crackers. Sliced apples. 10 mins and fine. Fought hard. Really wanted to pick up something.
Thursday: Teriaki beef with broccoli and carrots over rice cooker rice.
( frozen broccoli and shredded three not so great looking carrots). We use the shaved cheesesteak style beef and this is done VERY QUICKLY.
Friday: frozen pizza. Salad from a bag. Our version of takeout. Freschetta pizza is our new fave. We really also like digiorno croissant crust and old original tombstone.
HAPPY ( dark!) DECEMBER!!
@Stephanie, I also just discovered the freschetta frozen pizzas and they are so good! And grocery outlet always seems to have them so they are so cheap too.
Also wanted to say your sausage, Gouda and cracker dinner is what I would eat for dinner every day if I could!
I’m a newbie here so can someone please tell me what pho is?
Thanks Marie
Sure! Here's a helpful link: https://spoonuniversity.com/how-to/what-is-pho
My memory is horrible lately but I'll give it a try here.
Sat: Friend's kid's 1st birthday-ate a ton at lunch...still there at dinner time so broke out the rest of the mac and cheese and cheese/meats/crackers
Sun: turkey soup w/ dumplings
Mon: turkey, mashed potatoes, and roasted carrots
Tues: leftover turkey soup?
Wed: turkey, mac and cheese, and a vegetable I can't remember
Thurs: Cauliflower soup, mustard pork tenderloin, Israeli couscous w/ pomegranates
Tonight: most likely leftover pork w/ whatever else is quick
I have been fighting off a head cold this week, and since it’s just me I’m feeding, have a very un-imaginative menu: Toast, coffee, herbal tea and a big pot of soup - which were all made with items on hand.
I spent $39.58 on my Misfits Market delivery ( Thank you Kristen from Goin’ Country for introducing me to them! Produce is EXPENSIVE in our little mountain town!)
However, I have a pho “hack” that has saved me from demolishing my budget with take out. (Pho and Sushi are my weaknesses when it comes to ordering in!)
Pho'nomenal Bowl Instant Pho Noodles Gluten Free Low Sodium Vietnamese Vegetable Soup No MSG Authentic Family Recipe Non GMO No Soy 2.1 oz. (6 Bowl Pack) https://a.co/d/2Ue1P0V
I keep it as a pantry staple now. It’s low sodium, but the broth is still delish. And it’s cost is less than one bowl of takeout from the local restaurant. I buy it from Amazon at $16.50 for 6 bowls, but you may be able to find it in a large urban retailer. I empty the contents into a bowl, and then recycle the cardboard container. This allows me to assuage my “prefab meal” guilt by reminding myself the amount of non-recyclable packaging from the local restaurant is waaaaaay more than this.
Oh, that's a good tip! Especially if you are feeding just one person.
I hope that you feel better soon!
@Mimi-in-the-mountains, I'm so glad it works for you! Produce is expensive at the store closest to us, too, and also not good quality, so Misfits is a great option for us.
No shopping for groceries last Friday, and there will be very little shopping today. What with the holiday, being out of town, and feeling off-color some, I didn't eat much of the groceries I had bought last time. Luckily, most of it is frozen or long-lasting, such as carrots.
My daughter and son-in-law sprang for a purchased Thanksgiving meal this year, and any leftovers were given to them, since they kindly paid for all of it and have the largest family to feed.
WIA:
While visiting, I got leftover turkey to top a nice big salad, so I did manage to have leftovers from their holiday, if not mine, ha.
We had steak, baked potato (sweet potato for me) and broccoli. I was still visiting.
One night I ate nothing - I was having a bit of a flare up of my autoimmune disease and was running a fever. For 24 hours I had only water and a couple of soft drinks to try to help my fatigue, but I wasn't hungry at all so not eating didn't bother me.
That started clearing up, so the next night I had a few bites of leftover brats, sauerkraut and sweet potatoes from a freezer meal. I hadn't thawed out any meats and didn't want to have to cook. This was an unusual choice to start back eating with, but it was there and ready.
I felt almost normal. I made tuna salad with grapes, shredded carrots and parsnips.
Back to normal. I made sheet pan pork chops with broccoli, cauliflower and carrots cooked with the chops. I had this twice.
Tonight, who knows?
Saturday: Cheesy Zucchini bake
Sunday: Grain bowls with crispy tofu, roasted broccoli, pomegranate molasses brussel sprouts, carrots, arugula, hummus, green onions, cucumbers, etc.
Monday: Enchiladas and Taquitos
Tuesday: Leftovers for me, In n Out for the kids
Wednesday: Thai dumplings and ramen bowls (with crispy proscuitto for the big sister)
Thursday: Takeout pizza, salad, and oreo cheesecake
Friday: We need to clean up left overs from the refrigerator so we'll go buffet style on the leftovers
@CrunchyCake, how do you crisp up your tofu for your grain bowls?
@Natalie J, I do a 20 minute marinade in soy sauce and sesame oil and then I use the air fryer for 13-15 minutes.
Hey folks
I have been making Instant Pot Chicken Pho (here is a recipe similar to what I used) https://thehungrybluebird.com/instant-pot-pho-ga/. I think I actually got my original recipe from a youtube video Flo Lum https://youtu.be/Im92OT3mUWc Once we figured out how great it was, I made up little packets of the spices I used and that makes the process so much faster. Essentially you sauté the onion and ginger in your pot, add the spices to bloom them, add your chicken and water and cilantro and whatever and pressure cook. Strain the broth, shred the chicken, then add the noodles (2-3 minutes in boiling water with rice noodles, depending on the variety, then cold water to stop the cooking. ) put the noodles into the broth to reheat, then pile chicken in your bowl, add noodles and broth and your fixings - we use whatever - fresh herbs if we have them, bean sprouts if I have them, jalapeño, maybe thin strips of carrots or... research and come up with your own. HOWEVER folks, you can make the pho broth with your own broth and the spices- just fry up the onion and ginger, bloom the spices, add the broth and simmer for long enough that the onion and ginger give up their flavours to the broth. Strain and you have the basis for your lovely soup. It can be cheap, it is a cheap food in Vietnam!
.
Other than that, can't remember much of what we ate other than a lot of crepes - my chickens are overproducing, so I made a huge batch of crepes that I filled with chicken and mushrooms in gravy, rolled up in a casserole with more gravy and cheese on top, baked. Very yummy.
And cooked up some salmon and some rice for #2 son to take to work...
Dealt with a bunch of tomatoes that I roasted, then stick blended, a basis for soup or sauce, TBD, currently in jars in the fridge.
I have a chicken I thawed that will be roasted with potatoes and carrots for supper tonight.
.
Off thrifting with a buddy today, my church's small store is on 50% off today for non-clothing items, I don't 'need' anything however am upgrading a few items. And mostly an opportunity to be with a friend who I haven't been seeing for no reason other than us both being busy and tired.
Pho used to be a very inexpensive meal out around here, but they are getting wise and charging a lot more for pho. It seems the price has doubled.
If you're interested in making pho at home, this recipe is delicious: https://steamykitchen.com/139-vietnamese-chicken-noodle-soup-pho-ga.html
I make it in my electric pressure cooker and you don't have to parboil the chicken or skim off any pot scum if using a pressure cooker. Making it on the stove does stink up the house, and that's less of an issue in the pressure cooker. I also have a fine mesh basket-shaped sieve that sits inside my instant pot. I put the solids in that basket so that it's easy to pull out and separate the solids after the broth is made. That makes pho much less of a chore.
This recipe makes a large quantity and you can scale it down, but I freeze it in serving sizes (I use a silicone mold for 1/2 cup cubes) and then whenever you have a hankering for pho you just need the fresh veggies to add as toppings, and rice noodles which are very inexpensive if you can find an Asian grocery.
I also buy large hands of fresh ginger, wash it, dry, it and break off 4" pieces to freeze. When you want to make new pho broth, just pull a piece of ginger out of the freezer.
This would be a nice thing to make ahead on your school break, to have for a quick and satisfying meal on those days when there's no time to cook.
@jan, what about it “stinks up the house”? I’ve never made or tried pho.
since last week WIS: $39 today.
Saturday: Turkey leftovers
Sunday: I had a turkey croissant panini at my daughter's with fruit. We had done a 5k charity walk. I told my husband he could have what he could find as I was full.
Monday: Orange chicken, potatoes, cranberry sauce
Tuesday: Grill cheese sandwich (after work, it's what I felt like making).
Wednesday: Tortellini, garlic bread
Thursday: Lasagna rolls from the freezer, and I gave my husband the one leftover burger.
Tonight N.E. clam chowder.
On the way home from work, I stopped at the market for the clam chowder, found some wheat dinner rolls on the day old shelf. I also found a store made chicken pie with $1/off and some short ribs @$2/off. I have a busy volunteer week coming up, a car that the steering wheel squeaks and the remote start doesn't work--so I have to fit in the mechanic too. The short short rib weren't really inexpensive but will make an elegant Christmas Eve or Christmas Day dinner.
You know what, Kristen? I feel like you deserve some Pho. 🙂
WIS: If I remember correctly, $150 @ Food Lion, $8 @ Dollar General, and 75 cents at Food City for a discounted loaf of bread.
WWA: Chili, beef-barley-vegetable soup, apple-bran muffins, veggie quiche, homemade baked beans.
1. Made a big pan of chicken enchiladas with verde sauce,using pantry and refrig items that needing using.. and a random package of frozen chicken breasts from freezer.Served with rice and applesauce.
2. Spaghetti and homemade meatballs, made a crockpot of sauce and meatballs and froze half for another time.Served with a Greek salad.
3. Take out:Cheesesteaks from Jersey Mikes
4. Leftover chicken enchiladas and some grapes
5. Navy Bean soup and homemade bread.More grapes,the grapes are so sweet this year!!
6. Baked cod and rice with leftover verde sauce, and carrots.
7. We all ate leftovers gleaned from refrig at our own preferred times..busy day!
Its been such a hard week at work - I am proud of myself for sticking to my dinner plans with very small changes!
Monday - Skillet Tilapia with seasoned potatoes, brussels sprouts
Tuesday - Cast Iron Chicken Thighs, shredded cabbage. green beans, wild rice
Wednesday - Shrimp Tacos with onions and peppers, and the rest of the cabbage
Thursday - Pork Tenderloin, green beans, leftover wild rice (I made this as an all in one meal and it was yum)
Friday - Worked late - enjoyed myself some Chick-Fil-A!
Saturday - Goong to make Turkey Shepherd's Pie with dressing and peas topped with mashed potatoes
Sunday - Dinner at The Girl's place - we are building her gingerbread house, too
Happy Weekend!
https://cannaryfamily.blogspot.com/
WIS - $41.80 at Kroger
WWA -
Lots of easy items, mainly of the sandwich variety - grilled ham & Swiss with fries; hamburgers & fries; Thanksgiving leftovers; salmon patties & cheesy, broccoli rice; & pizza delivery were definitely eaten. On Thursday, my sister & I ate lunch at a really good Mexican restaurant after visiting my dad at the nursing home. I was so full that I didn’t want supper. Tonight was chili/cheese coneys & baked potato.
Friday-- we had rainbow trout with orzo and a chick pea salad
Thursday--veggie chili from the freezer
Wed-- turkey veggie soup made from the Thanksgiving turkey with the last rolls from the holiday
Tuesday--penne pasta with homemade marinara
Monday--the last of the turkey sandwiches (with carrots and cranberry and stuffing and olives)
Sunday --I cannot remember but we DID have pumpkin pie with HEAVY whipping cream that I magically make LOL