WIS, WWA | I wore heels once this week
What I Spent
See Saturday for the heels situation. 😉
First up, food spending!
I spent:
- $86 at Aldi
- $10 at Safeway
- $30 on a Hungry Harvest box
- $20 on some pizza (see Thursday)
So, $146 for me.
What We Ate
Saturday
I was at my niece's wedding for dinner, and I thought what they chose for the meal was so smart! It was sort of a serve-yourself burrito bowl buffet, and honestly, I thought it was much better than a lot of wedding food I've had (like the type that comes pre-served on a plate).
I wore one of my only pairs of heels and was reminded why I almost exclusively wear flats. Ha.
Sunday
This was the day I did all the food prep I told you about in my Five Frugal Things for this week.
At dinner, it was just me here, and I had a mashed potato bowl topped with the shredded chicken plus some cheese, with some cucumber slices on the side.
Monday
Zoe and I had the rest of the shredded chicken with BBQ sauce, on buns. And we had various raw veggies/fruit on the side.
Tuesday
I used some of the mashed potatoes in my fridge as a base for a one-bowl meal. I cooked some scallops (frozen, from Aldi), removed them from the pan, and then sauteed some peppers and grape tomatoes. I added some chicken broth to deglaze the pan and make a sauce, and then put it all on top of the mashed potatoes.
10/10, would recommend.
Wednesday
I used one of those bagged salad kits (on sale for $3.60) and added some sauteed chicken tenderloins to it.
Thursday
I got the news that I passed my retest for my competency. Yay! Now I'm alllllll done with competency testing in nursing school.
(Although there will be competency testing at work, of course.)
So, we got some pizza for dinner. 🙂
Friday
Zoe's got a late-night shift, which means I'm gonna be on my own. Sooooo, I'm probably gonna rummage around in the fridge and pull together something for myself to use up odds and ends.
I do still have the other half of the bag of scallops in the freezer...but also, I could eat blueberry pancakes. Hmm.
Congrats on passing the competency!! (I would celebrate with pancakes, but that's just me.)
WWS: $431.90 at Kroger. Not too bad!
WWA: In the interest of reducing decision fatigue, and simplifying our lives, I decided to just repeat last week's menu. Most everyone here is fine with that, because we are creatures of habit. Lunches vary, of course, and I jazzed things up with different salad topping selections and sides.
Saturday: homemade pizzas, of course. Keto brownies as a treat for dessert.
Sunday: Same, except I tried out a new soup on everyone: Split pea soup. So good. It think mostly DH and I liked this, but I'll make it again.
Monday: Tuna burgers (DH and DS#1 made these) and Hungarian potato soup.
Tuesday: Chicken drumsticks, brown rice, salad bar and leftover soup. The salad was phenomenal (IMO) thanks to this fantastic lemon dressing that uses the whole lemon (less food waste!): https://www.foodandwine.com/whole-lemon-vinaigrette-8769874 It was a little on the salty side for my tastes, so next time I'll cut the salt by half. I roasted myself some tofu for my salad, as I wasn't in the mood for chicken, really.
Wednesday: Hamburger stew (DS#2), mac and cheese for the Selective Eater, salad.
Thursday: DS#1 made hamburgers and baked potatoes, and of course salad. This time with this dressing: https://www.sipandfeast.com/balsamic-vinaigrette/ Very good it was, too.
Friday: Today is busy, I have food pantries to visit and cleaning and preparing for the Sabbath; DS#3 will make taco stuff.
@Karen A., Pancake celebrations? No, that's not just you. Speaking for a friend.
@JDinNM,
Count me as #teampancake.
I’m impressed with your commitment to eating meals even when you’re on your own. My dinners when I don’t have kids largely look like leftovers or salads with chickpeas so I don’t have to cook protein.
But I am thinking about blueberry pancakes for tonight.
WIS: 248 @Aldi, and this included my husband and I each taking a child with us to purchase five surprise ingredients that the other parent-child pair had to use to prepare dinner. I spent about 15 dollars on ingredients and my husband spent about 64...so now the pressure is on for me to not ruin 64 dollars worth of ingredients! Yikes! He made dinner last night and I'm cooking on Saturday. I will, of course, report back in full.
WWA:
Fri: salad and focaccia.
Sat: salad, crispy sweet and sour tofu with peppers and onions over jasmine rice, blueberry dump cake for dessert.
Sun: salad and an assortment of leftovers: broiled grapefruit halves, cherries, sweet and sour tofu and jasmine rice, scrambled eggs, focaccia, crispy home fried potatoes, and roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli.
Mon: salad topped withouleftover roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli, pasta carbonara with peas, turkey bacon and Parmesan.
Tue: salad, breakfast tacos: guacamole, scrambled eggs, refried pinto beans, turkey bacon, diced tomato and feta cheese crumbles.
Wed: salad, steamed California veggies, corn flakes crusted chicken breasts, jasmine rice.
Thu: this was the night my husband and oldest son made dinner using the ingredients my youngest son and I picked out. The parameters were: 1 protein, 1 carb, 1 veggie, 2 "wild cards" and a bonus dessert. We chose apple and feta chicken sausage, small flour tortillas, a cauliflower head, Camembert cheese, candied pecans and a package of Italian style cookies made with "apricot pits," which are also just almonds, apparently, which I knew, but also didn't really believe...Anyway, from these ingredients, they made a fruit salad of chopped apples, chopped prunes, chopped romaine lettuce, celery, cubed cheddar cheese and the candied pecans. They served the salad with pita-like crackers they had made by baking some of the tortillas and a dip made using greek-style honey vanilla yogurt, mayo, clementine juice and Clementine zest. They also made a baked sourdough brie ring, but used the Camembert instead of brie and added sliced garlic cloves and rosemary to the Camembert. They steamed the cauliflower and spiced it with lemon juice, butter and chives. Then they cut the sausages in half lengthwise, rolled them in smoked Gouda cheese slices and another tortilla spread with roasted red pepper hummus and baked them in a hotdog pan. They arranged them so they looked like the rays on the cauliflower sun. Finally, my son spread Nutella on the cookies and sprinkled pink sprinkles on top. My youngest son and I gave them 9s on both presentation and taste, so the bar is very high for us on Saturday. Our ridiculously unfrugal ingredients are: frozen cooked crab legs, Mexican corn chips, green plantains, Stilton cheese with mango and ginger bits in, blue cheese stuffed olives, and mint ice cream chocolate cookie sandwiches. We are planning a Coastal Mexican feast. I do not own the tools for cracking open crab legs. Also, I don't like seafood of any kind, olives or blue cheese, which is why they picked them, no doubt. Well, they do like these things and I do like a challenge, so wish me luck!
Tonight: salad and focaccia.
Have an amazing weekend, everyone!
@Becca, For the green plantains, you could try making these: https://hostthetoast.com/tostones-fried-green-plantains/ I've read about them and they sound so good. Plaintain chips are delicious. Anyway. Loved reading about your cooking challenge, and good luck with the crab legs!
@Becca, That's a really fun idea! And I feel like your family totally has the culinary creativity to handle it. 🙂
Exactly what I was going to say!
I want to come visit for these cooking challenges. 🙂
@Becca, What a great idea for creating family fun and memories! Best of luck on your cooking challenge! I hope you'll report back on your adventures and menu.
@Becca, I love your parameters for meal planning with your kids. I'm going to copy it for use with my grandkids over the next couple of weeks. It will be especially fun to see what they choose for wildcards.
@Becca, I too think that the family team cookoff idea is a great one. I look forward to future reports of these.
@Becca, I loved this post. My co-worker does these kinds of challenges with his family. So fun and creative!
@Karen A.,
That's the exact recipe I have pulled up! I'm currently trying to ripen them in a bag with an apple, so if they get riper by tomorrow, I may go the sweet route, but tostones are my fall back.
@Ruth T,
Aww, shucks! My husband does for sure. Me?...I'm literally almost always making it up as I go, and cooking is no exception. I'm sure you all will wish to be flies on the wall when I try to figure out how to get the crab legs open without the proper tools. There will likely be swearing... hopefully little to no blood...
@Lisa K,
I will definitely report back. I highly doubt I can top the can-shaped cranberry sauce debacle, but I'll do my best to entertain.
@Book Club Elaine,
I hope you have fun! I got the idea from a YouTuber I watch, Fallon at the Moss Family Kitchen. I changed the parameters slightly to suit our family, but I give her credit for the idea.
@Becca, My family used to use a pair of pliers to crack crab legs and a nut pick to pull out the meat
@Nancy in Eastern Washington,
Hmm...do you think kitchen shears and those horrible little stabby corn holders would work? Or will that just guarantee blood letting?
I don't know why I forgot about scallops - I really love them. Must add that to my grocery list. I had the best of intentions this week, but tonight's meal is up in the air, same as you:
Monday - kitchen closed {but this has become my Chik-fil-A day}
Tuesday - (crockpot) BBQ Pork Chop, twice baked potato, green beans
Wednesday - Chicken strips in a salad with bleu cheese dressing
Thursday - Coconut Shrimp, Fried Rice, chopped salad (made two meals)
Tonight - I haven't figured this out yet, but I am tired of cooking. I could also rummage, but I am getting tired of the same old grind. Mexican food sounds good...
Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed, and I have leftovers to take to work
Happy Weekend!
And for one person, a serving of frozen scallops isn’t wildly expensive! Plus, they are crazy high in protein.
@Kristen - not to mention really good. Which makes it easier to eat things that are good for you.
I know; scallops are my fave seafood!
WIS: $50 at Wegmans, $7 at Aldi, and $6 at Price Chopper.
WIA: The week's highlight = four pork chops I found Reduced for Quick Sale at Price Chopper and cooked in a cider and mustard sauce. Nom nom!
I forgot to note that friends took me to lunch at my favorite Thai restaurant on Lunar New Year (Wednesday) as their belated Christmas gift to me. I had a lunch special with chicken, rice, baby corn, mushrooms, and other veg. Mild and delicious. (Not all Thai food is hot by any means.)
My partner walked past me as I was reading your post this morning and questioned the scallops dish... so I explained how you often use mashed potatoes as a base and put... stuff on top. She was not interested in this idea. I, however, am always interested and have plans to do this over the weekend to try and use up some stuff that's lurking in our fridge and freezer.... I'm also just about to search your blog for everything you've ever put on top of mashed potatoes. OK not everything because that would be a lot, but I am going to surf your history to get more inspiration. 😉
@Denise, Happy browsing! I, too, am inspired by all the different combos that Kristen has whipped up to put on top of mashed potatoes. Similarly, I love her theory of "an egg makes it a meal." There's quite a lot that can go under some eggs that I'm needing to enjoy/use up and it makes for a great meal. Even while eggs are expensive, still pretty cost-effective!
I like scallops but I always wait to see if my daughter or granddaughter get some from the Gulf, which they do at times. I just don't buy them, when I know I might get some for free. They are good, and we all enjoy them, but the enthusiasm for scalloping has slowed a bit, you know, since that is what my granddaughter's friend was doing when the bull shark attacked her.
WIS: Right at $85 for two weeks. There was also a farm pickup that was around $62 but it was actually from last week and I had pre-paid the week before that; we just picked up this week because of the winter storm last week.
WIA:
Roast chicken (I froze the rest), roasted root vegetable medley and (sigh) kale. That finally finished the frozen kale and I won't inflict more on myself for a good while. I had this twice, but I subbed spinach for the kale the second time. I could probably outdo Popeye on spinach. I love it.
A "curry" dish of ground pork, shredded cabbage, sliced carrots, mushrooms and onions. The seasoning is the AIP version of curry seasoning, hence the quotation marks.
Uncured and bunless hotdogs with maduros and a salad based on greens and carrots from the garden. I had this twice in the evenings.
Some strip steak pieces bought on sale that were more marbled than most of the strip steaks, so I bought the pieces instead of the steaks, plus small baked potato and green beans.
Seasoned, baked pork chop sheet pan meal with potatoes and zucchini. The roasted zucchini tasted fine, but the texture was different. I'll probably do it again, though.
Today I have to be home early for the annual termite inspection, so this will be the evening I make beef bourguignon with some of the ranch-raised beef. Woo-hoo!
@JD, I too love spinach and STRUGGLE with kale.
Burrito bowls have become one of my favorite buffet line menus. We do it sometimes for catering and everyone loves it!
Saturday - After a day full of sanding our living room floor, we had leftovers. (Well, those of us at home had leftovers. My husband and youngest kid had to drive to Nearest Big City to get more supplies and used some rewards on our McDonald's app for dinner.)
Sunday - Crockpot sausage and white bean soup.
Monday - Air fryer chicken legs, macaroni and cheese, veggies
Tuesday - My husband was gone for a meeting and my daughter wanted to make dinner while I wanted to use up more leftovers. It was a real hodge podge meal. Chicken fries, ramen for one, chicken alfredo lasagna roll-ups, and other randomness.
Wednesday - White chicken chili and fruit
Thursday - Venison roast, baked beans, salad, fruit, and leftover mac and cheese. Today will be my very first time giving blood and so I tried to get some things that were high in iron (yay, venison!)
Friday - I have scrapped my original plan for tonight and I'll be winging it. But I usually go grocery shopping on Fridays - surely I can come up with something!
@Ruth T,
Thanks for signing up to donate blood!...from a fellow blood donor 3>. They can never have enough donors
WIS: $214 @ Kroger; This was a surgery week for me so a bit odd in the meals category but I am giving myself grace cause I needed lots of rest and everyone was still fed
Saturday: Pizza
Sunday: Leftovers
Monday: we finished off the last of the takeout chicken & I baked a pan of dressing from Thanksgiving that I had frozen
Tuesday: Turkey tacos with all the toppings
Wednesday: Today we had something to celebrate so we went out for Chinese & ice cream afterwards
Thursday: Leftovers for some & a pork chop rice bake for others
Friday: this will be a clean out the fridge night so we can start the weekend off fresh!
Happy weekend everyone!
We've been trying to be good at meal planning, eat out less and also eat down our freezers. We are doing pretty good....
Last Saturday: Takeout pizza and cheesy breadsticks (used a 30% off coupon to help)
Sunday: We made our own chicken wings (4 flavors) and I made an antipasta salad to share
Monday: the last sausage stuffed zucchini I had made & stuck in the freezer a few months ago. I served that with a side of cheddar broccoli rice
Tuesday: taco nachos....they hit the spot!
Wednesday: teriyaki/pineapple foil packets (with veggies inside too) and a side of alfredo noodles. Very yummy!
Thursday: A rack of BBQ ribs (we had froze from New Years day) from the freezer, baked sweet potatoes and garlicky green beans
Friday: Tonight will be BLT sandwiches and seasoned potato wedges
This week, we enjoyed:
- Restaurant meal: blistered shishito peppers, Asian salad, flan custard. (Utterly delicious. No leftovers. I refrained from licking the plates or the chef's shoes.)
- Popcorn and fruit
- Gelato (yup, had it for dinner again!)
- Cold tofu, edamame, cucumber, and peas tossed with avocado oil, black pepper and soy sauce
- Pizza
- Roasted vegetables topped with fried egg
- Baked potato and broccoli
@MB in MN, All the entries aren't in just yet, but I'm predicting you'll win Most Eclectic Menus of the Week.
Perhaps it's time to be on the lookout for square-toed low heels? I have some that are relatively comfortable, if perhaps not the most stylish. They work for most outfits for me, though.
Saturday: Spiral ham, baked potatoes, tomato and cucumber salad with feta. The salad made me miss my garden, because making it with store ingredients is really not as good. Only, um, six more months before I have garden tomatoes and cucumbers again! I didn't really have this in mind when I made the ham, but this week was crazy busy with homecoming and other things, so having a bunch of leftover ham was very helpful.
Sunday: I made some pasta shells into a sort of baked ziti thing, and then roasted one package of Italian sausage in the oven with them, plus some wrinkly bell peppers and onion. Pots de creme for Sunday dessert.
Monday: Bean and cheese quesadillas for the children in between getting home from work/school and going to the basketball players scrimmage. I had a salad with the ham in it.
Tuesday: I had to sub at school this day and then wait for my daughter to finish cheerleading practice, so it was after five when I got home. Also, we had my sons' friend staying with us in advance of all the boys going on an early-morning FFA trip the next day, so I had seven people to feed, four of whom were either actual teenager boys or eat like it. So! I put out carrot sticks and curry dip for the children to eat while I made dinner, which I did by microwaving a bunch of potatoes to cook them quickly, then chopping them up with leftover ham. This went into a big casserole with a bunch of butter and the last of some chicken fat and juices, plus salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I baked that while I was baking some brownies. Then when the brownies were out of the oven, I browned the casserole under the broiler and then added a bunch of shredded cheddar cheese. It was pretty tasty, ready in about 45 minutes, and made enough food that there was even a small serving left over to be my work lunch the next day. Yay.
Wednesday: Lamb steaks, bread and butter, green salad with vinaigrette, bread with jam for dessert. My daughter's friend was with us for dinner, but she eats significantly less than her brother (our guest from the night before), so there was some lamb left for the two older boys when they got back later from their FFA trip.
Thursday: I had about half an hour between getting three out of four children home from the pep rally and leaving for the basketball player's game and the long homecoming night. So I made the three children bean and cheese quesadillas, to mitigate the damage at the concession stand for the evening. Homecoming is the only night when we buy them dinner at a basketball game--otherwise, if they come with me they have to buy their own food because I will always feed them before we leave--and I think they all had various things involving more cheese. I had a piece of quesadilla and some cottage cheese with strawberry jam before we left.
Tonight: Pizza. I was finally at the store that sells the giant blocks of asadero cheese (my mozzarella substitute--so we can have pizza again. I even have some pepperoni in the freezer. And I'll probably make a salad for everyone. It's been a light on vegetables sort of week.
WIS: $29.53 at Albertsons and $35.27 at Sprouts for groceries (total $64.80), and $30 for lunch out with friends (tax and tip included).
So, for the month of January, $174.59 for groceries (including eggs!) and $44.84 for lunches out with friends for a total of $219.43. I’ve been having a contest with myself to see if I could keep January’s grocery and restaurant spending to $200 or less, so I missed it by … $19.43. But that’s an average expenditure of $7.08/day, which isn’t too shabby. Frugally speaking.
February is a shorter month so maybe I can recoup that $19.43 by keeping February at $180.57. But I’ve already got a couple of pricey meals out with friends on the calendar, including a reservation at the VERY pricey St. James Tea Room for a friend’s birthday. We’ll see!
WIA: Excellent Kung Pao Shrimp at lunch out, with enough left over for 2 dinners, and enough leftover sauteed red and green peppers to rework into chicken fajitas; leftover Crispy Artichoke Pasta from last week; and herb roasted rotisserie chicken with roasted Brussel sprouts and potatoes.
- Curry lentils over rice
- The day we were out of town I took homemade pizza. I was out of my normal pizza toppings so I made chicken bbq and Mexican chorizo on the others. Really liked the chorizo topping!
- Meatless spaghetti
- Pasta bake
- Baked potatoes with beans, broccoli and cheese sauce
That's all I can remember
WIS: $52 at Food Lion.
WWA: Pork roast with carrots, sweet peppers and sweet onions, with air-fryer russet potato cubes on the side at the beginning of the week and chili at the end. Today I will make a meatloaf and a pan of roasted vegetables to enjoy through the weekend. DH will not eat bean soup, so I have been enjoying the white bean soup with sweet potato cubes from the freezer.
Congrats on the competency. I’ve never had to pass a test at work, and sometimes I think that might have been a good idea!
I continue to use what is in the freezer and pantry, so my spending was around $70 this week. I found a great price on halibut! $10.98 per pound!
Meals were:
Halibut, rolls, and asparagus.
Chicken stir fry with rice.
Lentil soup, bread, and crudités.
Leftovers!
Flanken ribs, rice, and broccoli.
We are having a birthday dinner out with two of the kids tonight in their college town.
Friday: Taco leftovers – crunchy shells for the boys, salad for me
Saturday: Pizza – the boys had a special movie night at home and paired it with fancy pizza take out.
Sunday: Meatball Stroganoff over mashed potatoes
Monday: Beef and Bean Soup
Tuesday: Burger Bowls – all the yumminess of a burger but in a salad
Wednesday: Spicy Chicken Poblano Risotto – I reduced the crushed red pepper in the recipe but it was still almost too spicy to eat (and we are a spicy household!). It was good and I’ll make it again, but I may omit the crushed red pepper completely.
Thursday: Pasta with roasted vegetable sauce. I roasted the remaining veggie odds and ends from the week and pureed them with a little cream and parmesan. Amazing!
The only interesting food notes:
I went skiing using my midweek ski pass for the very first time. What a luxury! I have dreamed of the time I would retire and ski an entire mountain with no crowds at a bargain rate. Excellent. I treated myself to lunch there because I could stay on my food plan. I tried a Papusa for the first time. It is the national food of El Salvador. It is a corn griddle cake with cheese and beans in it. Very tasty. It came with boiled black beans and Spanish rice. Roasted veggies came on top. Fun. I only ate half of the starches and really enjoyed the new tastes.
The only other note was I went to the thrift store and bought a big enough bowl for my personal salad. I like a lot of lettuce and veggies. They are the base of any meal. I settled on one that is probably meant for a veggie side dish. It is a treat to have a pretty bowl to eat and that encourages me to stay on my food plan.
Ooooh, I love your skiing adventure! If I lived near a ski resort, I'd go out and do maybe an hour first thing in the morning while the runs are freshly groomed, and then go home. The first few runs are always the best of the day in my opinion.
And yes, I love pupusas! So good.
Congrats on passing the competency! You are crushing it.
I've been sick for most of the week, so dinners have been unimpressive around here.
-I did make one recipe that will for sure be repeated & that had the handy bonus of using up some of my January pantry challenge items. Highly recommend the crockpot chicken satay recipe at GimmeSomeOven, if you at all like the Thai food flavor profile. We had this 2x.
-DH made rice to go with the chicken satay, so I defrosted Korean beef (freezer) & we had that 2x as well.
I honestly can't remember beyond that (cold brain fog!), but I'm guessing DH had things he found in the fridge, & I had soups or nothing.
As for tonight, DS17 has a late soccer game. Depending on how I'm feeling, I'm going to try & go. I might have a smoothie before we leave, or pick up something on the way home.
I was at that lovely wedding too! I agree ... the food was absolutely delicious. And my seatmate at the reception was the best, as well!
Note to everyone else: BJS and I sat together at the reception. Hehe. So I had a lovely seatmate as well.
I really like the color of that dress!
I spent a lot this week for us...$130 and then spent another $75 this morning, but the $75 was coming across good deals for the pantry and stocked up. They were all things we use often....like dried garbanzo beans for $1/lb. But, my spending was low the past few weeks with having no kitchen so it will average out.
Sunday: spaghetti and salad
Monday: air fryer chicken, baked potatoes, okra
Tuesday: we ate out with our kids at a new mexican place
Wednesday: tuna casserole and salad
Thursday: arroz con pollo (my son had it Tuesday night and it made me crave it haha)
Friday: Taco salad. I don't know why we are on a mexican kick this week, but it works!
@Marlena, for me, if it isn't meat and potatoes, then Mexican will do.
Hooray for passing the competency test! As usual your weekly meals look so delicious. I say always choose blueberry pancakes when asked.
I would like to ask the commentariat’s opinion on freezing white wine. I make a stovetop recipe which calls for a cup and I have to buy a large bottle. I don’t drink wine and wish to portion it out and freeze it. Does anyone do this? If so, how does it taste in recipes when used after being frozen? Thanks for your help.
Happy weekend everyone!
I believe I have heard of people successfully freezing wine for cooking purposes!
I cannot imagine freezing changes wine more than cooking it does, so I'm guessing you'd be just fine.
@Vickymac, Freeze away without fear. It doesn't change the flavor or anything at all. Most useful perhaps frozen in ice cube trays, because then you have small amounts to use, too, but if you only use it for a specific recipe, you could just freeze it in the 1-cup portions.
@kristin @ going country, thank you!!
@Vickymac, most anything freezes. The expectations once thawed is the question. I freeze chopped up fresh picked HG asparagus. Do I expect it to be a side dish as when picked fresh - no I do not. It goes into meal as an added veggie.
Pecan pie - why yes it does freeze. The crust is well edible but that sugar/vanilla/egg laden filling tastes just fine. The pecans are edible - we only use halves. Growing up, sibling wanted pecans, did not care for filling. Well I was okay with the occasional - yeah, you can have my pecans, I'll take your filling.
Kristen, life is too short to wear uncomfortable shoes!!! The last time I bought marginally wearable shoes just to look good was for my son's wedding and rehearsal dinner. At the reception, I shed the heels (wedding shoes) for the flats (rehearsal shoes) and finally pulled my Birkenstocks out of the car to have a pleasant end to the evening. Interestingly, a cousin was fascinated with my shoe changes and commented loudly. Otherwise, no one else would have noticed.
@Book Club Elaine, in your (various) shoes, I think I'd have told the nosy cousin where to shove it. 😀
And for the last several decades, I've never had a problem with wearing flats to formal occasions. In fact, I wore not only flats but a tuxedo and matching pants to DH's and my favorite two nephews' weddings back in the oughts--and at nephew #2's nuptials, I saw most of the fashionably high-heeled females off the dance floor. (I did not, however, outlast the bride's father--who could have given Zorba the Greek a run for his money.)
@A. Marie, LMFAO - the nosy cousin, where to shove it were my very first thoughts reading BCE's post. Obviously the bride's father was quite happy, I hope the couple is still together and doing well.
I am doing a pantry challenge so I only spent $12.86 on groceries this week and bought graham crackers, heirloom tomatoes, and the Peanuts themed Hershey Kisses for the candy bowl at work because those are a necessity. Obviously.
I also spent $48 eating out this week. That covered one breakfast, one lunch, and one dinner out.
Saturday/Sunday - Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans.
Monday - Turkey sandwich and fruit
Tuesday - BLT
Wednesday - Chicken, mac and cheese, salad
Thursday - Dinner out (I had a salad with blue cheese, bacon, green apples and grilled chicken)
Friday - Navy bean soup from the freezer. Maybe corn bread if I am feeling ambitions.
WIS: 15 at Trader Joe’s, 16.99 at Fred Meyer
Congrats on the competency test!
I’m allergic to chicken eggs, although I have a source for duck eggs, which are seasonal. When I don’t have access to eggs, I’ve used a flax egg, egg replacer, aquafaba, or oil, dairy-free yogurt, applesauce, banana, or pumpkin purée. It depends on what I’m making and what other ingredients are in the recipe. Flax eggs and egg replacer work best when you just need one egg. Both are best made with very warm water or other liquids (think plant-based milk) and allowed to sit until dissolved and gelatinous. I started with recipes that called for egg substitutes (vegan) before I started experimenting/substituting on my own. When baking, I’ll sometimes use a combination … 1 flax egg and 1/4 cup applesauce when the recipe calls for 2 eggs, for example. This works well in muffins. There are plenty of vegan recipes available through the usual internet portals. Tried and tested are best to start to start with.
My friend and I call each other when we’re at grocery stores not close to where we live. Trader Joe’s is a 30 minute drive. She called and I had a short list ready, which she got for me. We then Venmo each other. Because we both have food allergies and there are specialty foods available at TJ’s or other higher end/speciality grocery stores, this works so well.
I continued my freezer/pantry challenge and used up some more items in the freezer!
We ate well and I’m going to go for a few more weeks. I really need to clean out the freezer. Meals were:
*Stuffed winter squash, fruit salad
*Split pea soup, cornbread, pears
*Pizza
*Butter chicken, rice, parsnips
*Shrimp (in leftover butter sauce), cheesy grits, broccoli
*Tamales, avocado, Spanish rice
*Lasagna
@PNW Casey, I love how you work out the shopping and Venmo with your friend! Such a good idea!
@PNW Casey, forgot I also spent close to $60 at Costco on food. This was for my normal “go-to” items I always want a backup in the pantry (maple syrup, etc.).
WIS: Farmers Market-$61; Flashfood-$70; Neighborhood-$25; BJs-$6.50; Milk delivery-$20.50; Meat delivery-$215 Total-$398
WWA: Sat- Went to the movies and can't remember what we had when we got home
Sun- Went to my cousin's shower in the AM and again I can't remember what we had later for dinner
Mon- Broccoli cheddar soup
Tues- Slow cooked roast with carrots, onions, and mashed potatoes
Wed- Chinese food
Thurs- Leftover Chinese food before a concert
Fri- Last of the leftovers of Chinese food plus whatever odds and ends in the fridge to round it out
Sat - leftover chicken stew for me, HM pizza for better half
Sun - HM egg rolls (cooked in oven), shrimp cocktail to use up the bag of shrimp, Chinese takeout, sesame toast
Mon - leftover pizza/Chinese
Tue - grilled burgers, beans with leftover carnita meat (from freezer)
Wed - baked marinated chicken, sweet potatoes - the marinade was underwhelming
Thu - $6.00 steak, fish for better half, baked potatoes
Fri - rigatoni in what was left of meat sauce with mushrooms, peppers, and HG Roma tomatoes. Edible but the cook and I don’t see eye - the cook likes the pasta soaking up literally almost all the sauce. I should have added more salt, pepper, and Italian cheese (I did add pepper and cheese, just not enough) and realized I didn't need a slice of bread. Suffice it to say I'll remember next time - no need for bread, just more salt, pepper, and Italian cheese.
I keep WWA on a notepad on the laptop. WHS this week - around $110.
What I ate... Breaded fish with raw veggies, a fish burger on rosemary focaccia, a BBQ chicken mixture with mushrooms over rice, an omelet with peppers, mushrooms and salad greens. My partner arrived home late Thursday night, so we had our Friday nights are "fun food" nights. We had nachos, topped with taco beef ( peppers and onions added in), corn, tomatoes, green onions and frozen avocados ( I just chunked them up and tossed them on). I used feta, cheddar and mozza for cheese. For a dip, I mixed plain Greek yogurt, chipotle sauce and a squirt of chipotle mayo, it's so good). We ended up with more toppings than chips!
I spent less than 100.00 and that's including a lackluster lunch from DQ...
78 dollars at Kroger.
Sun and Mon. Turkey meatloaf. Rice. Steamed broccoli.
Tuesday and Wednesday. Chicken sausages in air fryer. Big salads.
Thursday. Cheesy potato soup. Homemade croutons out of hot dog buns. Pumpkin bars.
Friday. Big salads with diced chicken. Feta. Cottage cheese.
Saturday. Waffles. Quiche. Berry fruit salad.