WIS, WWA | I passed!
What I Spent
I know it's not relevant to today's post, but...I passed all of my competencies yesterday!
WHEW. I am so happy and relieved. And now it's time to study for the exam next Tuesday. Ha.
I spent:
- $61 at Lidl
- $30 on a Hungry Harvest box
- $50 on a dinner out with Zoe
So, $141 this week.
What We Ate
Saturday
I went to visit a friend who has a broken foot, and we ate sandwiches up at her place (Because of course. It's usually sandwiches or tacos with me!) Zoe fended for herself. 🙂
Sunday
This was the day I had the squash soup/homemade crouton combo, in an effort to clean out my freezer.
And when Zoe got home from work, she had a frozen pizza.
Monday
Something good happened, which I will tell you about later, and Zoe and I celebrated by going to a bubble tea place for dinner. I got a bowl of ramen (with an extra soy-marinated egg, thank you very much) and Zoe got a sushi burrito.
She IS allergic to shellfish, but happily, the sushi burrito has only fish products in it, not shellfish. Yay!
Tuesday
We had too many leftovers in the fridge (happens in a jiffy with just two people!), so we worked on those. Zoe had the rest of her sushi burrito, and I had the rest of the butternut squash soup, along with some more homemade croutons.
Wednesday
I took some leftover ravioli out of the fridge, made an eyeballed Alfredo-style sauce, added in chopped kale, and mixed it all with the ravioli.
Thursday
I got some leftover Christmas ham out of the freezer and made baked sandwiches with that. And I sauteed some broccoli for the two of us.
Friday
My friend arrives tonight! I don't know if she will have had dinner by the time she gets here, so we will play it by ear.
I don't know if it's just me, but my appetite always feels oddly off after flying. I'm not an anxious flyer, but for some reason, flying often makes my stomach feel a little weird.
Soo, I'll see what she feels like when she gets here.
Congrats on passing all your competencies. You're killing it day by day, week by week, test by test. You've got this.
Flying does not diminish my appetite. I am always hungry and I eat a lot.
Well done on passing, and I'm looking forward to hearing about your good news! You deserve all the good things! ❤️
WIS: 19.05 @Subway for lunch out with my para, 25.75 on a box of wine, and 55.35 @Aldi. The last two were my husband because I decided to skip groceries and wine Wednesday this week, so he went out with the kids today and got treat foods for the weekend. My total this week, therefore, is 100.15-much less than normal, so next Wednesday will likely be a bigger shop.
WWA:
Fri: salad (mixed greens, crispy onions and spray dressing) and focaccia topped with pumpkin chipotle sauce and mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.
Sat: we went to a Christmas tree bonfire at our pool, so we packed a dinner of hotdogs (roasted on a stick over the fire, of course!), buns, cucumbers, moo tubes, cheese sticks, clementines, apple slices and Asian trail mix. We also shared a chocolate chip cookie for dessert.
Sun: salad (mixed greens, cucumber, celery, craisins, orange peppers, cherry tomatoes and spray dressing), spaghetti and turkey meatballs with leftover pumpkin chipotle sauce and grated Parmesan.
Mon: crudites (carrots, celery, cucumber and mini peppers) and roasted red pepper hummus, garlic naan and curry made with ground turkey, collard greens, carrots, peppers and onions.
Tue: rice and beans with red pepper, purple onion and kale mixed in because I was too tired to make a separate salad. We topped with diced avocado, shredded cheddar cheese and chipotle Cholula sauce.
Wed: empanadas stuffed with leftover curry, spicy guacamole and cubed watermelon.
Thu: celery and red peppers, small amounts of an assortment of leftovers: salad, watermelon, curry, rice and beans, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken tacos (on Fritos), and corn.
Tonight: focaccia and maybe carrots and hummus. Salad options are going to be creative for the next few days until I do a proper shop.
Happy weekend, everyone!
@Becca, I am wondering what spray dressing is - could you elaborate please?
@Jean C,
Sure. I just spray olive oil spray on the salad and then I spray vinegar spray on. It's super fast and one spray can each of the oil and vinegar lasts a really long time.
Good job! (But a cliff hanger post? I'm the reader who skims ahead in the book when things are hinted because I can't stand the suspense.)
I may have some of these in the wrong order, but since I got up earlier than usual, I dragged my brain(planner) over to the computer so I could "remember" our meals.
Saturday-- Supposed to be turkey, but it wasn't thawed. Plan B-- Taco salad
Sunday-- Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, broccoli
Monday- beef roasted with carrots and potatoes, sauteed bagged cole slaw mix
Tuesday- I don't know what the name for this is. We didn't follow a recipe. Baked chicken breast in the oven, then sliced. Cooked spaghetti. Cooked sliced mushrooms in butter/olive oil-- added garlic, lots of baby spinach. Tossed it all together and put parmesan cheese on tp.
Wednesday- Same as Tuesday. We had so many leftovers that we ate them for lunch AND supper. (No cooking except for breakfast!)
Thursday- Random soup using up turkey broth (made from Sunday's turkey), chicken breast from a jar, tomatoes from a jar, frozen veggies from the freezer, and some pasta that I bought because it was cute. And a few cubed up potatoes because the soup looked awfully thin. It still was afterwards, but nobody complained.
Tonight is supposed to be "deconstructed egg roll thing."
@Jody S., I always flip to the back of a book, too, to make sure nothing terrible happens to any of the characters. 🙂
@kristin @ going country, I do the same thing!
@Jody S.,
I often read the last chapter midway through a book. I want to know what happens and can’t wait. Other times, I decide the book isn’t worth reading, but I want to know what happens.
I heard an interview from a book editor who said she read the last chapter first. This way she could keep the ending in mind when editing the book. A. Marie, is this done often?
@Bee, Former book editor here says I've never done that.
@Jody S.,
@Jody S., I think I may be one of the few here who refuse to flip to the end of a book. My husband told me he did this when we were dating and it shook me! I love the suspense. I also get irritated when my kids give me spoilers about tv shows and movies, unless, like Bee, it's something I know I'm not going to read/watch or finish reading/watching, then I'm fine with it.
@Bee, I'm afraid I can't answer your question, since my professional editing was all done on nonfiction (mainly mental health texts for mental health professionals, with occasional forays into geography, political science, etc.). I proceeded from start to finish in the usual fashion, unless there was some compelling reason to read a later chapter first.
@A. Marie,
I'm not sure how interesting your editing work was, but my oldest is an editor and helps edit our state's statutes every year after session is done. She's never claimed it was an exciting job, but it sure uses her English degree.
@JD, Re editing: the more enjoyable it is, the less well paid. I used to make a ton of $$$ an hour as a technical editor (computer programming books and magazines) and a measly $25 an hour (standard in NYC publishing at the time) as a freelance fiction editor.
Right now, I'm thinking of going back to high tech, specifically machine learning, since it's so well-paid. Also well paid is medical editing.
@Rose, did you have to actually test out instructions to see if they were accurate on the computer programming books and magazines?
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, Absolutely. I had to enter the code, compile it and run it. I had to make sure all the text was accurate, which was hard in the beginning since I'd never taken a programming course in my life, but I figured it all out. I also wrote a number of articles about programming a couple years after I started.
As for the $25 an hour, of course I actually charged much more than that. I usually at least doubled the time I'd spent on the manuscript. Why should I be punished because I am smart and fast at working? My sister, who was a staff editor at Penguin, told me, "Decide what you want to charge for the book, divide it by 25, and charge that many hours." So I did.
@Jody S., When my Mom did not have a name for a recipe she would call it "Pauline's Delight." (That was her name.) I love egg roll in a bowl and can help use up bits and bobs of veggies.
I can't ever remember "reading ahead." It's just not right! (chuckle)
@Rose,
Oooo, I wonder if I could learn medical editing? I have a pretty decent working knowledge of medical technology already. Something to look into.
@A. Marie - you have a grammar geek daughter also. If a phone caller asked to speak to her, did she reply "this is she" at the age of nine of ten years old? Mine is also an English major.
@Selena, no, I have no children. But I was certainly raised to say "this is she" on the phone, by my mother (another grammar geek).
Congratulations on the test!!! Here’s to the future reveal of your other happy news!
I remembered to write meals down this week—yay!
—Monday was a “random things in the fridge” dinner. I made rice bowls with the last of the bok choy, green onions, two diced strips of bacon, uzo sauce, and a fried egg over the top. My husband did our taxes while I cooked and meal-prepped for the week—woot, refund! (I’m the household bookkeeper but loathe filing taxes; he’s genuinely good at them, so I just make sure to have everything he needs ready on his desk.)
—Tuesday, the remaining bacon went into crockpot Zuppa Toscano along with kale, potatoes, and onion. We didn’t have pork sausage, so I thawed ground turkey and seasoned it like sausage (but skipping the salt). Since turkey is basically neutral, this worked surprisingly well! This made lunch and dinner, served with my husband’s homemade bread for dipping.
—Wednesday saw the last of the turkey become enchilada filling. I used clearance tortillas, a wilty red pepper, random cheese, black beans, and assorted other bits and bobs. Anything goes with Budget Bytes’ rocking enchilada sauce, I swear. For lunch, I made peanut noodles with sautéed kale and the last green onions.
—Thursday, I phoned it in with frozen pizza. It had been a long day of errands, including hitting up a 20% off everything sale at a local organic market. They had frozen pizzas BOGO free in addition to the 20% off, and the salt content was shockingly reasonable at only 8% per serving. I sautéed kale to go on the side so we could still pretend we were being healthy. 😛
—Tonight will be Budget Bytes’ crockpot black bean soup. This recipe is an excellent catch-all for fridge randomness and will finish off Wednesday’s black beans, red pepper, some cabbage, carrots, etc.
Yay, you! I always knew you were competent, but I guess now it's official. 🙂
Saturday: I was at homecoming with three of my children all afternoon and evening. I was so rushed getting out the door that all I grabbed were some cookies in a jar. Those were eaten in short order, and that left me with concession food. So I spent way too much on frito pie, hamburgers, a hot dog, and various drinks, candy, and chips. Oh well. Once a year. My husband and youngest son were at home, sick. They had leftover ham and bean soup and fresh bread I had baked that day.
Sunday: Tuna/salmon patties, leftover rice, steamed artichokes, homemade chocolate pudding that I almost ruined by putting three times the amount of cornstarch needed, but managed to salvage by adding more of everything else. Ruined pudding is a sad thing.
Monday: I used the rest of the tuna/salmon mixture, plus rice, cheese, and onions, to make a skillet meal. Because it's either that or leftovers on work days, typically. There was also more pudding. Benefit to having to triple the recipe is extra pudding. Much appreciated on a random Monday night.
Tuesday: I was at a grocery store in the afternoon with my eldest, after his pre-surgery doctor visit (next foot is on the docket in a couple of weeks), and he wanted to get fried chicken at the deli. This is not something I usually buy--in fact, have never bought--but one of my other sons had been waxing rhapsodic about the fried chicken sandwich at Popeye's when he went to one awhile ago with his dad, so I figured we could make everyone happy with this. I got 16 pieces of chicken. We had it with leftover rice and grape tomatoes this night. Except the Popeye's fan, who had his sandwich when he got home from basketball. Actually, he had two giant sandwiches, which was an impressive feat of feeding, and made him very, very happy.
Wednesday: There was enough chicken left for the two who wanted them to have sandwiches again. My daughter had a piece of the spanish tortilla I had made the day before, to have on hand for the home crowd in case I didn't get home in time for dinner. One other child had just plain chicken, along with leftover tuna/rice skillet. My husband had the tuna skillet plus the last piece of lamb that needed to be eaten. I had a salad with chicken. Many leftovers cleared out. Always satisfying.
Thursday: Only two people were eating. Two were sick with the flu, one was at a basketball game, I had eaten in the late afternoon and wasn't hungry. The two who were eating finished off the spanish tortilla. A handy thing to have in the refrigerator. It will be in permanent residence there shortly, now that the chickens have started laying and we will be awash in eggs.
Tonight: I made a big pot of beef stock yesterday, mostly so the sick ones would have something to sip when they started feeling like they were hungry but shouldn't tax their stomachs too much (an AGONIZING stage for a teenage boy, as I have learned). The soup bones and ox tail I used had a lot of meat on them, so I'll make beef and vegetable soup today with that. I'm baking bread again, too, so I can make some garlic bread to go with it.
Will anyone in the Commentariat really be surprised that you passed all your competencies? I doubt it. Congratulations!
Now, WIS: $15 at Trader Joe's and $48.50 at Price Chopper.
WIA: The week's highlight was a pork and veggie stir-fry (loosely based on a Taste of Home recipe) that included boneless pork rib meat bought Reduced for Quick Sale, carrots, a can of baby corn bought a while ago at the grocery outlet, and some elderly cauliflower. (I have a bad habit of forgetting to eat cauliflower until it informs me that it's ready to apply for Social Security.)
@A. Marie, I do this with cauliflower, too, even though I love it. I have one in my refrigerator right now, in fact, that needs to be cooked TODAY. Perhaps I will make curried cauliflower . . .
@kristin @ going country, my family loves the buffalo style cauliflower - seasoned like buffalo wings — with blue cheese dressing.
@Bee, that's a great idea. It might get me to eat cauliflower before it needs to go to the compost pile!
@A. Marie, There's a cauliflower in my refrigerator too. Tonight's the night.
@A. Marie, Roasted cauliflower is so versatile; it accepts so many different flavors.
@Bee,
This is our normal go to also. However, we have recently discovered the Bang Bang Cauliflower (similar process but bread crumbs instead of batter and Asian-inspired sauce instead of buffalo). So good.
@Jaime, It's funny because the name of biang biang noodles (from Xi'an, China) come from the sound the dough makes when it hits a countertop. And now "bang bang" just means "spicy."
@A. Marie, Hand up. Cauliflower in my fridge also...
@Rose,
That's an interesting fact. Thanks for sharing it!
@A. Marie, Am I the only person who likes cauliflower the best when it is raw? I can eat half a head by myself, no dips or coatings or cooking required. But in the winter I only make it for the husband because grocery store cauliflower cannot compete with my garden's cauliflower.
@Lindsey, if you can grow cauliflower, my golf visor is even further off to you than it already is. The only cabbage family crop I've ever grown successfully is kale. (And, no, I can't eat cauliflower without some disguise--and I can't eat broccoli at all. This may be the only thing Bush 41 and I ever had in common.)
Here's to good things happening!
We had
Th -Takeout sushi! A date night planned by our kids, since my husband was out
We - Vegetarian millet dish with almonds and cheese
Tu - Mash potatoes and beetroot, with hamburgers and leftover garlic sauce
Mo - Ricotta topped chicory from the oven, with baked potatoes
Su - Couscous, Greek style salad, brinerated chicken, with homemade garlic sauce
Sa - Leftover duck cacciatore - sadly it was the last
Tonight I will probably make rice and eggs over a lot of stirfried vegetables, with some cashew nuts plus homemade teriyaki style sauce.
Congratulations!!! I'm so impressed with all your hard work and diligence!
Dinners this week included:
1. Pork roast in the air fryer, rice and veggies->first time making an entire pork roast in the air fryer-it was fantastic!
2. Fish & chips, kale salad
3. Shrimp stir fry, rice
4. Pad Tai with tofu and roasted veggies
5. Leftovers (everyone fended for themselves!)
6. Grilled Chicken Salad
7. Tonight, IDK maybe beans and rice to use up some of the leftover rice with a salad
I talked to my son’s pediatrician about this (tubie kid so we changed his diet to fly comfortably) and they said the change in altitude changes pressure in our bodies and that makes the air in our abdomen expand, causing bloating and a sense of fullness. Dehydration can also play a role.
@Kaitlin, I learned something today! Thank you.
@Kaitlin, I just bet the airlines have known about this for ages, which is why they can get away with serving tiny portions. 😉
@Karen A.,
That, and you know, your options are limited since you are confined to a metal tube. . .
The whole experience of flying--pressurized air, dehydration, and even background noise--are why so many people order tomato juice on planes. It actually tastes better on a plane, studies have shown. (I adore tomato juice at any time.)
Congratulations Kristen! Celebrating with your friend will be extra special. I have no WIS/WWA to share, but as I read my favorite forecaster’s post the morning, I thought of you. Add another thing to celebrate:
And for you clock watchers, our sunset passes 5:30 today and will not set before that time again until we move the clocks back in early November.
Now that we are more than a month past the winter solstice, we are adding over 2 minutes per day of day length. We'll add over a full hour (65 minutes) of additional daylight between now and the end of the month.
@Theresa,
I noticed last night that the days are getting longer. It stayed light for the entire duration of Rescue Pup’s evening walk. It has been an exceptionally gray and gloomy winter, so this make me very happy.
@Theresa, This is awesome. Thank you for sharing!
Congratulations! It's always such a relief when things like that go well.
Sunday: We tried a new Philly cheese steak pasta skillet. It was good, but we're definitely adding more peppers next time.
Monday: Out to dinner with some friends, the birthday girl requested a local potato restaurant.
Tuesday: Preschooler's choice, this time was mac and cheese.
Wednesday: Leftovers, with hot chocolate (it was national hot chocolate day).
Thursday: Curried chicken salad sandwiches, on bread or crackers.
Friday: It's national tater tot day, so we're doing chili and tots.
Saturday: If there's a bunch of leftovers, we'll have those. If not, we'll have a chili mac skillet.
Have a great weekend everyone!
@Natalie J,
There is a national tater tot day?
@JD, there is! We like to celebrate those random food holidays, if they fit in with our schedule that week.
@JD, Funny, I heard a discussion of Tater Tot Day on SiriusXm this morning. They were debating regular tots vs. sweet potato tots. I'm outta the loop on designated food days too.
Congratulations on passing!
This week, we ate:
-Reubens for 3 people, grilled cheese for the other 3, chips and raw veggies on the side
-Sunday was leftovers
- biscuits, creamed chipped beef, scrambled eggs
- chicken over garlic Parmesan rice, green beans, applesauce
-Homemade macaroni and cheese, ham, broccoli, pineapple
- my daughter redeemed her good report card reward for takeout pizza, I made a salad to go with it
- I think I am going to make beef stew tonight, and some bread to go with it
What a great week you had! Can't wait to hear about the good thing that happened. Enjoy your visit with your friend. 🙂
I'm pretty pleased with what we spent on food this week, even with a guest for dinner four nights running. Happily this guest has been here before and enjoys anything we offer, so no need to worry about fancy meals.
WWS: $377.63 at Kroger (I am back to subtracting out household and toiletry products, we don't eat those! When did non SLS shampoo get so expensive anyway??)
Saturday/Sunday: Homemade pizzas. I have to say that pizza when you have a dairy allergy is just the pits. I think I need to find better toppings. I've sampled all the vegan "cheeses" before and none of them are great, plus some of them have nuts, which I'm also allergic to. Any ideas? Maybe I need to find something else fun to eat on the weekends.
Monday: Baked chicken, roasted broccoli, steamed rice, and a salad bar because I had a split vote for broccoli or salad bar as a side, so we had both, since we had company. I love salad bars as a side, because often you have lots left over for the next lunch or even dinner. My guest was touchingly pleased with dinner, and even asked how I made the broccoli, because he said it was the "best broccoli he'd ever had"!
Tuesday: Burgers, leftover chicken, leftover salad bar and I made a big bowl of popcorn as well.
Wednesday: Hamburger stew, and to use up some cornmeal we'd brought back from a trip I made a big pan of cornbread. Luckily our dinner guest likes cornbread.
Thursday: Cat shelter night, also a dinner guest night, DH made tuna burgers and heated up clam chowder as a side. I had baked sweet potatoes and salad with my burgers.
Friday: The boys will have tacos, DH and I are starting our monthly weekend-long fast.
@Karen A., Foccaccia is pizza/like but can skip the cheese. If you like olives or artichoke hearts it's really good, also!
@Karen A., I never liked the vegan cheeses either. I used to put friend onions on my pizza instead of cheese. It gave that chewy, salty texture. Not exactly cheese but better than vegan cheese.
@CrunchyCake, Believe it or not, $$$$$ vegan cheese is really good. I would never have believed it except a rich friend of mine was going through a vegan phase and served it. Tasted just like real cheese, and I'm a cheese lover.
@CrunchyCake, Oooh, now I'm thinking caramelized onions might be a better layer than tomato sauce. Amy's brand makes a no-cheese pizza I did like back in the day, and the "sauce" was, from what I could tell, caramelized onions with balsamic.
@Rose, I have tried the very pricey stuff (before I developed my nut allergy) and it is good; it's the cost I resent. I think some of the pricey stuff uses cashews or other nuts, so I can't eat those anyway.
@Karen A., Oh, I'm sure. And I have zero idea how meltable they'd be on pizza anyway.
@Karen A.,
Are you intolerant of all cheese or just the softer ones? My husband is lactose intolerant, but he can handle the harder cheeses like parmesan.
If all cheeses are truly off the table (I guess literally), then I'm thinking you're gonna need to elevate your sauce instead. Try a barbecue one, or maybe a spicy garlicy one, or how about a curry flavor that uses coconut milk for creaminess?
I also suggest you use naan as your base. I don't know if you have an Aldi near you, but they sell packages of pre-baked naan for a reasonable price and they are pretty tasty. Because they are a flatbread of sorts, you don't necessarily expect them to have cheese on them, you know? For that matter, flatbread would probably work too.
Experiment and report back!
@Becca, A local restaurant has a pizza variation that I think might be good even without the cheese. Use sweet Thai chili sauce for the pizza sauce, and top with chopped cooked chicken, pineapple chunks, red or green sweet peppers, mushrooms, and onion slices. They do usually have cheese on top, but I think it would probably be good without it. Super tasty!
@Karen A., Is it just cow dairy? If so, you might try goat or sheep. I can’t have cow or goat, but do fine with sheep and water buffalo. Pecorino is sheep’s milk, which I get at Costco.
Congratulations!!! I had no doubt you would pass without complication!
This week I was out of quarantine and back to work! How exciting!
I can never remember everything-
Last night was a buffalo chicken and potato bake with peas on the side...
we also had a beef roast in the crockpot, carrots and mashed potatoes...
pasta with meatballs and garlic bread
homemade pizza (love those balls of dough from aldi for an easy night)
leftover night somewhere in there.
I think I remembered everything! lol
236 spent at Sam’s club in our monthly stock up. 34 spent at ALDI.
Monday: leftovers from the weekend. Big salad. Cottage cheese. Chicken.
Tuesday: tomato soup from a can. Sourdough cheese toast from the broiler.
Wednesday: ceasar salad from a bag with air fryer chicken strips.
Thursday: air fryer egg rolls. Sliced apple. Leftover salad.
Friday: frozen pizza. Fruit. Celery sticks.
Tomorrow I am making slow roasted beef tips 3 hours at 300 degrees. Over mashed potatoes and steamed corn.
Congrats on your celebration. Wooooo
I'm happy to hear that you have good news and something to celebrate in your life! Yay!
This week we had...
Saturday: It was just my two youngest kids and me, so they picked out individual frozen pizzas at the store and I had a salad.
Sunday: Pork roast, summer squash, apple slices, broccoli with cheese, and cottage cheese (my 5yo and I are the only cottage cheese eaters in the family, so I sometimes put it out just for her)
Monday: Pork fried rice and veggies
Tuesday: Minestrone soup with zucchini and ditalini with a side of Kristen's French bread
Wednesday: Tuna noodle casserole and oranges
Thursday: Beef stroganoff and peas
Friday: Pork chops, sweet potatoes, and cranberry sauce with apples
Of course you passed...(: Never doubted it. Your dinners look really satisfying this week! I wish I could say the same about mine, but hey, we are eating!
Monday - kitchen closed [I ate a freezer ham dinner from Christmas]
Tuesday - Chicken Patty with stir fry veggies with some cheesy shells on the side
Wednesday - I had late afternoon beer with chips and guacamole in honor of Hubby's birthday and when I got home I wasn't hungry and neither were the boys...not sure what they ate.
Thursday - Beans and Ham Soup from the freezer with jalapeno corn muffins
Friday - Chicken thighs, collards, yellow squash
Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed, but today I am going to prep some things for us to eat on, like a fruit tray, taco fixins', mini pizzas in the freezer. I know the boys are tired of sammies and ramen and I personally would like a little snack when I get home from work!
Happy Weekend!
Congratulations, Kristen! I am looking forward to hearing about the good news!
What I ate this week:
Saturday - veggie stir-fry
Sunday - veggie lasagne
Monday - leftovers
Tuesday - chilli mac and cheese
Wednesday - leftovers
Thursday - veggie stir-fry again.
I haven't decided about tonight yet - possibly pizza.
Congratulations! Everyday you are closer to achieving your goal. I am happy for you. You are doing exceptionally well!
WWS -
$26 - Eating out
$ 120 - Costco (monthly stock-up)
$12 - Trader Joe’s
Saturday
I had been craving sushi. My husband and I went to my favorite sushi bar. They are one of the few places that will make special gluten-free rolls for me. Unfortunately, the restaurant was busy and our order was incorrect. At least, DH could eat it. The server removed the sushi from the bill. However, we did leave a tip based on the original bill and paid the bar bill.
Sunday - My husband, son and friends went fishing. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any luck. We had hamburgers, salad and baked potatoes.
Monday - Wednesday - DH travelled this week. I had a variation of chicken shawarma, rice and salad these 3 days. I also made a quiche to use up some Christmas ham.
Thursday - DH came home and I had book club. I made beef stew for him and left it in the IP. I used up some little potatoes that had been in the vegetable crisper for a while.
Friday - ???? Something simple. Perhaps fish. Roasted mahi with garlic and ginger or pizza. Definitely different flavor profiles.
Wishing everyone peace, good health and prosperity.
It’s always nice to see when someone is rewarded for all their hard work - way to go!
WWA:
Saturday - baked pork chops, perogies, marousalata (in remembrance of my late father on what would have been his birthday)
Sunday - roast chicken, mashed potatoes, roast broccoli, gravy, apple/raspberry crisp
Monday - leftovers
Tuesday - pasta shells with zucchini “sauce”, hot Italian sausages
Wednesday - falafel-inspired roasted veggie bowls
Thursday - lemon chicken piccata, baguette
Friday - looking forward to a fish and chips take away (it’s been a long week)
Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend
Congratulations and I know you are looking forward to time with your friend!
WIS: $99 and change for two weeks of groceries, which included a farm order. Hurray for a low-spend week!
WIA: I made pressure cooker beef stew and I've had that three times. I cobbled together a recipe from AIP and regular beef stew recipes; I like it and I remembered to write it down, so it's a regular in my winter meals.
I ate the second half of a recipe of chicken liver pate from the freezer with a carrot sticks made from a large carrot I pulled from my garden.
It was late and I was tired getting home last Friday, when I got a call that DH was having severe hypoglycemia again and might need to go to a hospital if the Glucagon pen didn't work (he didn't - the Glucagon pen saved the day). I scrambled some eggs for supper and waited up to see if I needed to drive the 55 miles back to him, or not. Glucagon really works well, so he recovered nicely and I was able to get a little rest.
I thawed a chicken I had already spatchcocked before freezing, then brined it yesterday. I cooked it last night by browning it in my 12" cast iron skillet, taking it out and putting cut up celeriac, carrots, onions and mushrooms in the skillet, then putting the chicken back on top and finishing it in the skillet in the oven. Sort of Kristen's recipe, sort of my own.
Tonight - chicken again!
Saturday: Moussaka with Greek salad and roasted potatoes
Sunday: Went to see The Wizard of Oz and used GC at Texas Roadhouse for a predinner. Leftovers for dinner at 7.
Monday: Italian wedding soup with "Sandwich" (Hawaiian Rolls with ham, salami and cheese with mayo pesto)
Tuesday: Sheet pan dinner with chicken
Wednesday: Shrimp and Fries
Thursday: Meatloaf, Baked Potatoes, and Corn
Friday: Sushi bowl take out
Aldi: 11.78
Flashfood: 22.00?
Meat: 35.18 (fun fact the most expensive item was the shrimp at 13.99 from Sam's)
Good job on test! No doubt you wouldn't pass. Keep up good work. 🙂
What we spent-- Meijer $54.33
Family Fare $5.96
What we ate---
●teen usual snacks of popcorn & (few different flavors) chex cereal & blueberries
●meatballs
● teen had 2 pizzas & I had corndogs
●blueberry pancakes with eggs
●teen had 2 Digiorno pizzas & I had corn dogs
●steak with garlic mashed potatoes
● bbq chicken wings with Arby's curly fries
●tonight Breakfast wraps
I didn't keep track of spending, but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary for this month.
Saturday we had a brisket based/tomato/bbq spaghetti sauce lasagna.
Sunday: fish, mac & cheese, salad
Monday: coconut shrimp, rice, broccoli
Tuesday: lentil soup
Wednesday: I hurt my back this day and my husband was out of town. I made a sandwich and called it a night.
Thursday: cheeseburgers, oven fries, salad
Friday: I think my husband is going to grill pizzas tonight. I'm still down with my back.
My son decided to get several packs of ground beef out of the freezer, so we ended up having a lot of that this week.
Sat/Sun - It was my birthday weekend and I was lucky enough to not cook dinner.
Mon - Hamburgers/hot dogs, oven fries, green beans
Tue - We must have had leftovers at some point and I roasted some Brussels sprouts. I think I also made turkey and noodles for my kids’ bonus meals.
Wed - Baked chicken tenderloins, sweet potato, sautéed kale and onions
Thur - Ground beef and noodles, mixed with an assortment of leftover veggies like kale and green beans, plus a little teriyaki sauce.
Fri - My son wants to make Onigiri and I have tofu to use up, so we’ll likely have tofu onigiri, which will be a first for all of us! We will likely also experiment with fillings using leftovers.
Congratulations, Kristen! You rock!
WIS: $66 at Aldi. $8.50 at Ollie's Outlet (crackers and trail mix).
WWA: Spaghetti. Homemade bread. Leftovers from the freezer. Fresh sweet peppers, radishes, carrots, oranges, apples, cheeses, trail mix, crackers, homemade muffins, various sandwiches.
Saturday - had a weird night where both takeout places we went to were unexpectedly closed with no explanation. Businesses around both of them were open so didn’t seem to be a power outage. We ended up trying a burger place we’d never tried before and it was very good so it worked out, now we have a new place to add to the takeout rotation.
Sunday - had a taste of summer this day, it got up to 70 degrees! I made chicken wings for the adults and the kids roasted hot dogs over a fire outside. We also had some melon and steamed baby corn. It has gone back to more normal winter temperatures (normal for here, so 50’s, it does not really ever get to freezing here) so we really appreciated this warm day.
Monday - Ground turkey and mushroom stroganoff
Tuesday - Cajun fried rice
Wednesday - tacos with beans and chicken, avocado, corn. Instead of a taco, I had my taco filling over half of a chopped salad kit that was leftover in the fridge. This blog and commenters has made me so aware and better at using up leftovers and reducing waste!
Thursday - crockpot marry me chicken, I had mine over a leftover half bag of cauliflower rice, the rest of the family had theirs over pasta
Friday - mozzarella sticks, pasta with jarred sauce, steamed broccoli
Congratulations Kristen! We love to hear it.
I spent $89.98 at Trader Joe's and Raley's, partly because I splurged on a $10 tub of honey roasted cashews. This is way above my $50-$60 budget for one person. But I averaged $66 a week for the month of January so it could have been worse. I'm still trying to navigate inflation (like everyone else!).
Saturday I had fish and chips and broccoli
Sunday made a bean and cheese burrito.
Monday and Tuesday I had homemade veggie pizza and salad
Wednesday and Thursday I made a soup with Trader Joe's miso broth, veggies and soup dumplings.
I am going to a sub and pizza place to meet a friend for lunch. I am hoping to have leftovers for dinner.
Congrats on passing! Well-deserved. In the run-up to my licensing exam, we are relying more and more on convenience items which is just fine by me.
Monday: Meatloaf (previously frozen,) butternut squash soup, and a salad kit.
Tuesday: Mr. B made pasta with tomato sauce and we had the other half of the salad kit.
Wednesday: Odds and ends; meatloaf, frozen fries, scrambled eggs, and cut up vegetables.
Thursday: Mr. B was working late so toddler and I had macaroni and cheese and went to the NHL All Stars Draft (long story--we had cheap tickets.) We ate snacks that I'd brought (dried fruit and popcorn) and then we shared a slice of pizza for snack.
Friday: I think I'll take some chicken out of the freezer to roast along with some scratch-and-dent baby potatoes. We'll finish off the soup (I'll just boil the heck out of it--it was vegetarian, so I'm more flexible on how long it stays in the fridge,) and I'll probably cook up some broccoli.
Congratulations on passing all your competencies!!
Congratulations on your competencies! So impressed with you & all of your hard work. I agree with your take that all of those years of homeschooling set you up well for this phase of your life.
We actually cooked this week, which was a change from our flying by the seat of our pants & digging things out of the freezer phase we'd been in for a few weeks.
-Coconut chicken curry x2
-Korean beef & rice x2
-Greek vegetable bake + rotisserie chicken
-rotisserie chicken + quesadillas for the kids (salads for the adults)
As for tonight, I think DH & I are going out to dinner. Work has been a real adventure for both of us lately, and it will be nice to get out of the house & have a laugh.
Good job on your tests!
This week, we continued to cook from Christopher Kimball's book "Cook What You Have." All starred recipes have been delicious.
- Pasta with Fennel, Green Olive and Pistachio Pesto *
- Potato Soup with Almonds, Garlic and Lemon *
- Barley, Bean and Butternut Stew *
- Salt and Pepper Tofu *
- Grilled cheese and fig sandwich
- Big ol' salad
Mazel on passing the competencies! Knowing you, it's not like this was anything to be concerned about. I love a good celebration meal. Mine is usually pizza from a local place that is amazing (if anyone is ever in North OC, let me know so we can share the wealth). As someone that is also cooking for two, boy do I understand the leftover pile up.
This week was hard. I worked 144 hours and then drove home, so recovery was first on my mind, not cooking.
Monday- my first day off in five days. I made a broccoli potato at the crew house and had cookies and cream frozen yogurt bc it was also a hormonal time.
Tuesday- rice bowl with avocado, fried eggs and leftover veggies
Wednesday- finally home. My husband got some frozen pizzas and a salad kit. I fell asleep at 845 on the couch lol.
Thursday- I had an event to attend so I got takeout at a local Greek place bc I know we will eat the leftovers. I love a salmon gyro and spanakopita.
Friday- I am leaning towards either pad see ew or rice bowls bc I have gai lan to eat up
Saturday- A friend had a pretty big scare so we are having a girl's night to help her rally, Lord knows what we will consume.
Sunday- either Italian wedding soup bc I have kale and white beans to use or a vegan bolognese bc I have lentils too
Yay, you - Kristen! Of course you did!
You were made for this. You can always tell the medical practioners who 'have it' (compassion), who force it (this is where I smile and say the right things, but the smile does not reach my eyes) and who intelligently know it, but have the personality of cardboard when it comes to bedside. bless their hearts.
Have a great weekend with your friend. I am heading off to a monthly friends lunch gathering and stop off at an estate sale. woot.
WIS: $8.99 & $1.59 for a jar of Hellmans (after sale, in-store coupon & Swagbucks cash back! $18: fish moger. total $28.58 WIA:
Sat. went out to dinner with my parents & dad paid.
Sun: chicken piccata-ish, sauteed cabbage, popcorn.
Mon: Korean meatloaf, broccoli, mac & cheese (from freezer/prepped 2 weeks ago).
Tue: I was able to grab a free dinner at work: spanakopita & salad
Wed: again, I was able to grab a free dinner at work: Turkish manti & salad, sampler meze plate
Thurs: on the road. I grabbed an Italian sub and seltzer from the grocery store
Friday: baked flounder & whatever veg we have in the fridge (I've been gone for a week)
@BettafrmdaVille,
If you happen to see this, may I ask who your fish monger is?
We do C&C Lobster and Fish in the summer but in the winter it is a little more difficult with just the one winter market on Saturday. I sometimes do the fish delivery but that takes a little planning as you have to order days in advance and only 2 days delivery.
I just want to comment, the soy egg in the ramen is the BEST part of the ramen. I usually order an extra AND steal my husband's for a total of 3 lol
Congrats on passing another test. You are a star. Eager to hear your good news, because whatever it is, you certainly deserve it. ❤️
January not so great on the frugal grocery front. The meat delivery was the bulk of this week though which was our normal monthly delivery plus 5 pork loins so those will last a while (and somewhat frugal as I got a deal for buying 5 at once). Here's hoping Feb will be better. I think it will.
WIS: Neighborhood-$8.50; Milk Delivery-$19; Meat delivery-$214; Farmer's Market-$19; Whole Foods-$28; Flashfood-$72 Total: $360.50
WWA: Sat- Can't remember
Sun- Chicken parm w/ spaghetti
Mon- Tuscan soup, garlic and cheese chicken sausage w/ raviolis
Tues- Shrimp and grits
Wed- Left over shrimp and grits
Thurs- Cheddar and potato dumplings, sweet and sour chicken w/ a side of mushrooms, peapods, and bean sprouts
Fri- Lasagna w/ lasagna noodles, butternut squash sauce, ground turkey, ricotta, and mozzarella
@Jaime,
Saturday was Pho...we made beef stock so we had beef pho for dinner.
Kristen, Big, big congrats on the competencies; your practice group really paid off. And, it was probably more fun than preparing alone. I’m really impressed with the connections you’ve made with classmates. Though it helps you, too, I feel that they’re the lucky ones.
I’m excited to hear your good news! I hope it offsets that awful comment that "someone" made to say you are becoming a nurse to get attention. Such a comment is only made to undermine a person, not in any way constructive. Just plain mean. You can’t be having someone like that around you because they are clearly jealous of your progress and do not respect you (or nurses!).
I knew you would pass with flying colors, and I'm excited to hear your good news. Even with another test coming up, take some time to relax and enjoy your friend's visit. It's good to recharge your batteries.
Wow, we eat out so rarely except birthdays and our anniversary which are splurges, so I'm shocked at prices. We decided to get burgers and share garlic fries at a somewhat upscale burger chain in our neighborhood. We took them home so we didn't buy drinks and it was over $40. Home cooking for the win, that same meal would have cost us much less at home but it was one of those days where nobody felt like cooking what we had in the house.
We're eating a lot of soups right now to ward off the cold, rainy weather. We got butternut squash in our CSA so that made a delicious butternut squash soup, and we turned a bounty of onions into French onion soup. Our latest favorite winter meal is "many bean soup" and we spent a bit on a beef shank in the "used meat" bin (as my husband likes to call the bin for meat about to pass its' sell-by date) for the soup.
Kristen, congrats on passing the competencies! But we are not surprised. Waiting w bated breath on the good news! I like to guess so I will see if I'm correct!
My meal planning is nil. I try to have "quick and easy" things to fix for right before and to pack for "lunch" at work. Ham or turkey or turkey almond salad for sandwiches or with crackers. Mornings, even the ones I've worked the night before, lately are chai latte and cinnamon bread toast (made from cinnamon bread from Misfits Market) or wide pan Killer Dave's seedy bread. Otherwise, when I plan to cook, it is something special r/t what meat I have thawed or bought. Yesterday, I was so hungry at lunch time, I air fried an Aldi crab cake and roasted a cut up potato at the same time with some onions. Then at supper I had a bowl of microwaved old fashioned oats. We've had some intestinal issues/illness at work and my tummy has been "on the edge" for a week although surprisingly the crab cake tasted pretty good and did not offend. Since at least three days out of the I week, I sleep during the day, breakfast for supper is not unusual. And that is biscuits and sausage gravy or bacon, fried potatoes with whatever veggies are on hand. Favorite are peppers, onions, mushrooms. Or sometimes broccoli or spinach or cabbage. Egg roll in a bowl is another favorite. Since I currently have very good beef, sometimes a plain burger, no bun but cheese and hand cut air fried fries are good. (The Scot in my cannot do w/o potatoes)(even sweet potatoes.) I fry the burger in a hot steel skillet with salt and pepper. Ground beef stroganoff over mashed potatoes is a favorite since I always have mushrooms and onions. I have some brats that need used, and have found that they are delish fixed in the air fryer. My favorite soups are (you guessed it) potato soup with any other veggies available, cauliflower, cheeseburger, vegetable beef. I love chili w/o beans (simply because adding beans makes that much more to consume) but it is dreadful for GERD issues. Another quick favorite is pasta with garlic and egg sauce.
I know this is all over the place, and a disciplined approach would be beneficial. But I don't know if I have it in me, this late in the game.
Was there ever any doubt that you would do well? Congrats. Am so grateful you still have time to blog.