WIS, WWA | I'm $55 over budget
What I Spent
Last Friday, I spent $10.47 at Target. I rarely buy food there, but I had to get some clothes for Zoe, so I picked up some pepperoni, tomato sauce, and mozzarella for our naan pizzas.
I got my $25 Hungry Harvest box on Saturday.
On Sunday, Lisey surveyed the snacks I bought and noted that Doritos were conspicuously absent. So, she and Mr. FG dropped everything and went out to get Doritos, a few other snacks, and some bananas ($14.47).
I spent a whopping $124 at Aldi.
And then I had another $14 stop elsewhere.
And an $18 stop at Costco.
Woo.
That's $205.88, folks.
However, I was $55 under in January. And February is still young! I have time to get back on budget.
February Spending (average/goal is $150/week)
Week 1: $154
Weeks 2: $205
What We Ate
Saturday
Mr. FG and I went on a date, Joshua was at work, and the girls had pasta alfredo.
Sunday
I made ramen noodle bowls after church for lunch.
And for dinner, we had bacon cheese quesadillas plus all kinds of snacky stuff, since it was Super Bowl Sunday.
Monday
I made these make-ahead chicken enchiladas except I didn't make them ahead of time.
We had orange slices with these (from my 5 pound bag!)
Tuesday
I made panini, using up some ham from the freezer. Yay me!
I made a green salad to go with our sandwiches.
Wednesday
We had BLT chicken salad, and I made some skillet cornbread to go with it.
The skillet cornbread turned out pretty well, but I think we all decided we like our cornbread to have at least a little bit of sweetener in it.
(I know, I know. Southerners feel that's anathema, but hey, we like what we like. 😉 )
Thursday
We had fresh orange slices and also some steamed broccoli topped with cheese to round out the meal.
Friday
My newest issue of Cook's Illustrated has a recipe for One Hour Pizza. It calls for semolina flour, so if I can find some of that, I might give this recipe a whirl.
Saturday- over moms for homemade beef veggie soup, and grilled cheese
Sunday- Snackie foods before the super bowl, pigs in a blanket, pizza, white castle burgers, buffalo chicken dip, chips, Chili, homemade corn muffins (I think your recipe)
Monday- chicken cutlet, pasta with garlic and oil, veggies,
Tuesday- Pulled some lasagna out of the freezer, meatballs, and salad
Weds-homemade Chicken pot pie (made the filling on Tuesday, so when I got home just had to fill the shell and bake!) and I had some salad also.
Thursday-pizza out before daughters Basketball game
Friday- I think we are doing Breakfast for dinner after sons soccer practice
How come I keep getting an error message that my comment is too long even when it's no longer than usual (which, admittedly is sometimes kind of long . . .)? Let's see if this one will post . . .
Hmm. That's super weird! I'll double check to see if something went wonky in my admin comment settings.
Nope; no setting changes in the comments panel. Is it still giving you a problem?
Obviously, the shorter version of my comment posted after I cut some stuff (which I probably should do anyway, because man, do I get wordy when it comes to food), but it did happen one other time last week. Maybe it's a new thing for WordPress or something? Dunno.
Ooh! I found a setting! It was limited to 1500 characters and I upped it to 2000. Let me know if that seems good, or if you keep on getting the error.
I appreciate you looking into it, but maybe you should have left it at 1500. I'm not sure I should be encouraged to write more than that many words about what we ate in a week. 🙂
FG, I've been having this problem also. It's been happening for a few weeks for longer posts (but still within my norm).
I have also had that problem over the last month or so, even once when I shortened my comment to just a few sentences. But no problem the last few comments I made.
This week in food . . .
Monday: Scrambled eggs, cheater's quesadillas (two corn tortillas with cheese in the middle, microwaved to melt the cheese) and carrot sticks. There are no restaurants near me, and this meal is my answer when people ask what I do when I don't want to cook. I cook anyway, just as minimally as possible.
Tuesday: Top round steak, bread and butter, and frozen peas. Another example of a "when I don't want to cook" meal. Child-related sleep deprivation was really kicking my tail in the early part of the week . . .
Wednesday: So my husband made a big pot of pork stock with a couple of pork bones. I had no idea what to do with it until I remembered the rice noodles from the pantry. So I seasoned the stock with various Asian flavors and added the noodles to that, then set out bowls of the pork meat from the bones and other toppings. Then everyone made their own noodle soup. It was fun, and pretty much a "found" meal using things that needed to be used. I love those kinds of meals.
Thursday: Roasted Italian sausage, potatoes, peppers and onions, white beans with olive oil and garlic, salt and vinegar cucumber slices, peas
Tonight: I think barbecue meatballs, baked potatoes, and green salad. Assuming I actually get the ground beef out of the fridge and defrosted. Speaking of which, I'm gonna get off the computer and get it right this moment . . .
This may help: https://www.thebalance.com/easy-semolina-flour-substitute-4142772
Carol's idea has me thinking... I don't think the linked idea will work for CI's recipe, as The Balance says to sub AP or bread flour for the semolina. Doing so will yield a fine product but not one with the extra hardness that semolina provides.
Which makes me wonder: if one can't find semolina, what about adding actual wheat gluten? Since wheat gluten is the source of the extra gluten that makes semolina special, maybe that would work.
I am SOOOOO intrigued by the Naan pizza....I just discovered Naan but all I do is dip it in hummus. Do you bake it a little bit before putting the toppings on it and then bake it again? How long? What temp?
I've only done it once, but yes, I baked the naan for about three minutes in a preheated 400 degree oven, and then I put toppings on and baked it until the cheese melted.
I don't pre-bake and my naan pizzas are always amazing! Aldi's has great naan and it freezes really well too. We always do pizza for dinner on Fridays and "making our own" with naan feels fancy. Easy way to jazz up the toppings too - pesto with ricotta and mozzarella; ham with a little dijon mustard, apples, and cheddar... so fancy!
I usually have naan with Nepalese or Mediterranean food. I had no idea we could make pizza with it. I like the taste and the texture of it! 😀
I think baking it for a bit is a great idea. I usually just pop it into the microwave, and then it gets super chewy @_@
Saturday - CI shrimp & broccoli stir-fry #2 (from 2017), honeybell slices.
Sunday - CI shrimp & broccoli stir-fry #1 (from 2010), strawberries. This was to compare the two recipes. The big difference is in how the shrimp is cooked - in 2010 it's pan-fried, in 2017, it's simmered.
Monday - frozen pizza, orange slices, and whatever veggies were suitable for eating raw.
Tuesday - I fell asleep before dinner.
Wednesday - frozen dumplings, lettuce, and strawberries.
Thursday - spare ribs, tomatoes/celery/carrots, baked apples in a nest[1], fruit smoothies.
Friday - the plan is for a sandwich shop.
[1] This is either the most time consuming quick dessert, or the easiest fancy dessert. Conceptually they're easy: sliced apples tossed with cinnamon sugar and butter, wrapped in dough and baked in a muffin tin. In practice I find them a bit more time consuming than one expects for a "quick" dessert. The apple prep and the thinly rolling the dough[2] – the time adds up. You can eat them as is for a very nonsugary dessert. Or add sweetened cream, or whipped cream, or ice cream, or caramel sauce, or more melted butter + cinnamon sugar...
[2] This can be any sturdy dough: biscuit, pie, croissant, filo, pizza,... Tube dough is easiest to roll extremely thinly.
Do we get the verdict on which recipe is better??
Hah - I cut that part to make the post short enough.
The winner is 2017 version but not for the expected preason. We couldn't tell the difference between the shrimp cooking method but everyone who was at dinner those nights, preferred the 2017 sauce. It was more vivid and less sweet.
Sunday - Super Bowl snack food. Pigs in a blanket, chips and dip, chips and salsa, and mozzarella sticks.
Monday - I had the afternoon off work, so had a late lunch after driving home, and then made eggs and toast later in the evening.
Tuesday - orange marinated chicken breast with a salad and cornbread
Wednesday - chicken parmesan over spaghetti and salad
Thursday - chicken parmesan leftovers
Friday - probably the rest of the chicken parmesan. I'm tired of eating it and usually do pizza on Fridays, but there is just enough for one more meal left.
Your dinners always sound super delish and one of the these days I'm going to actually follow a budget...we don't speand a ton on food, but I think it would be smart to keep an eye on it since Hubby and I are getting closer to retirement...this week we ate:
Monday - Lazy Daisy Meatballs, mashed potatoes, peas with carrots
Tuesday - Beef Taco Rio in crispy shells, taco fixin's, chopped salad
Wednesday - Crockpot lima beans with ham, garlic toast
Thursday - Southern Fried Cabbage and Kielbasa, carrots
Tonight will be Crockpot Apricot Chicken, rice, green beans
Saturday - YOYO Hubby and I are going out!
Sunday - Parmesan Chicken, scalloped potatoes, brussels sprouts
I am happy to say that leftovers are getting eaten UP. Hubby and I are both taking our lunch to work and the boys are happily scarfing up the rest. (:
I think your dinners sound delicious!
That enchilada recipe looks great! Do you have recommendations for other "make ahead" recipes that aren't frozen? I'm looking for things I can prep on a Sunday and keep in the fridge to pull out for the week ahead. My freezer is tiny and full of waffles...
You could have waffles...:)
...waffles sound GOOD....
Monday: Leftovers from the Toddler's lunch (he ate out with his baby sitter and I didn't want his food to go to waste, so we split it and added in a couple of cheese sticks.
Tuesday: Eggs, pancakes, bacon...zero vegetables. But, I have no regrets!
Wednesday: We ate pizza at our church small group. We provided drinks and dessert.
Thursday: Local pizza place (we actually ate all of our meals out on Thursday except for breakfast because our carpets were being cleaned that day and were still drying at bedtime. Toddler + clean but damp carpet + eating in carpeted dining room = not so clean carpet)
Friday: I'm eating leftover pizza from Thursday night. Toddler is staying somewhere else so I can put our house back together and will eat there.
My goal has been to not waste food: no letting leftovers go bad and no wasting ingredients. This week has been decent-I threw away some of DH's chicken (he had purchased some cheaper chicken and marinated/cooked it but hadn't eaten it all) and some lentils that I forgot were in my lunch bag. Everything else has been consumed, so yay me!
Bethel, one thing that helps me waste less food is to freeze it. Specifically, freezing leftovers that I'm not sure what to do with. Most leftovers will happily wait in the freezer till I figure out what to do with them.
Remember to label your containers! Random bits get lost so easily otherwise.
I’ve learned to cut back on foodwaste with some flexible recipes. All sorts of stuff can go in stir-fried rice, for example. I've also become more flexible in my thinking about what I eat when. A small leftover of lunch food can be a great, quick afternoon snack. I keep leftovers in little mason jars and pop them straight in the microwave.
You're so right, I've only recently gained confidence in mixing up recipes / substituting ingredients & your snack idea is great; you're right; we don't have to eat certain foods only at particular times of the day. Tonight I didn't need to eat all my dinner but there is not enough left over for another meal & can't think of something to put with it so I'm gonna have it for a snack tomorrow - great idea, thanks.
Monday - Turkey and Kielbasa casserole (do ahead meal), rolls, avocados, red grapes
Tuesday - Hummus and veggie wraps, pita chips, red grapes
Wednesday - Meatloaf (do ahead item), roast potatoes, sautéed green beans, rolls
Thursday - Baked sweet potatoes (crock pot), veggie platter with ranch dip, rolls
Friday - Tonight will be garbage soup (crock pot), cheese, crackers, baked apples (another crock pot item, yes I have more than 1) for dessert
Have a good weekend everyone
Hmm, let's see if I can remember back that far. Is it weird that I have to start with Friday to remember back to Monday?
Mon-My kids and I split a foot long subway sandwich
Tues-I doctored up a frozen pizza with spinach and extra veggies
Wed-BLT's for some, subway for others in my house
Thurs-bacon wrapped baked BBQ chicken tenders, baked beans, and sweet potatoes
Friday- unsure yet
I was getting the "message too long" thing, too. I'm too wordy, is my problem.
Still on the elimination diet (just re-introduced egg yolks -- so far, so good), so my meals are out of the freezer from having cooked in batches, in most cases. In no particular order, I had Lemon Scented Chicken Stew, Beef Curry Stew, "Chili", an AIP compliant (except for one egg yolk) meatloaf, which turned out nothing like my normal meatloaf, but was not bad, and home-seasoned sausage (no pepper allowed yet) with roasted sweet potatoes and parsnips. We also had parsnip "fries" which my husband actually loved. The meatloaf, he refused to eat. Ahem. Other sides included okra, squash, apples and onions.
I stayed a bit under budget last weekend when I shopped, since a had some stuff in the freezer, but on the other hand, I bought some "healthier" frozen meals for the husband, since I knew he wouldn't eat some of my meals. Let's see, I think I was $36 under budget. I'll take it! I'm craving pizza now. I can't have peppers, flour, tomatoes or cheese yet. Hm, what does that leave? 🙂
Sunday - ate a Lean Pocket during the Super Bowl
Monday - Found a 1 skillet chicken and rice dish that had veggies. It was edible but probably won't make it again.
Tuesday - I picked up a sub with a $2 off coupon and brought it to class with me because I have class from 6-9 after working 8-5
Wednesday - Instant Pot Lasagna again! I made this last week but the smallest container of ricotta that I could buy was enough for 2 lasagnas so I wanted to use it up.
Thursday - I had packed my usual ground turkey burrito bowl for lunch, but didn't eat it because my work provided pizza. So I ate the burrito bowl for dinner and made my husband a chicken breast with mac & cheese and some frozen broccoli.
Friday - Tonight I am going to try pulled BBQ chicken in the Instant Pot using chicken breasts. But I do have a frozen pizza on hand because I have only been successful with the Instant Pot about 50% of the time I've used it!
On a side note, I am now tracking my grocery spending as well. I always see people in blogs say what they spend but never had any idea where I was at. The tough part is, whenever I buy groceries I also buy things like toilet paper and kitchen cleaners, so I can't just add up the total of Kroger transactions from my credit card. Also, I'm deciding if I should add in any restaurant food to my "grocery spend". I spent $4 on that sub on Tuesday, so should I include that? It seems like if I don't, I could make my grocery spend look really good by eating out a lot, which is not what I want to do. Anyway, everyone have a great weekend!
I think the advice I have seen about drawing lines between grocery, non-food, and restaurant buying is to simply be consistent with yourself, so when you look back over the months to compare and celebrate your own saving, you are comparing yourself to yourself.
Maybe two categories for your all-groceries shopping and restaurant buying? (Which sounds more intentional: Shopping, Buying, Spending, or Costs? Or just leave off that word in your tracking categories? ). Good weekend to you, too!
I track everything I buy at the grocery store as one category. That includes TP, shampoo, dishwashing soap, etc. Restaurant eating is its own category for us. I even use to split out “eating out as a family” from random work lunches and snacks bought out. What really matters is that you are consistent month to month.
I usually include everything I buy at the grocery store as grocery except pet products. If I should happen to purchase cat food there I add it to my kitty line item. Restaurant spending is, for me, a separate line. As others have noted just go with what makes sense for you and be consistent.
I also include toiletries/household products in my grocery budget as I find it easier to keep track that way. If I buy takeaway that is close to a homemade lunch or dinner cost I will count it in my grocery budget but if it's more than that I consider it a treat & count it with entertainment.
Thanks everyone, very helpful!
Those naan pizzas look amazing! I've always loved the idea of making a pizza base out of something less traditional. I have to admit my guilty pleasure is garlic bread pizza. 🙂
This week we ate:
Monday: Corn dogs and tater tots. I tried to do homemade meals and met one barrier after the next. I pulled these bad boys out of the freezer and was grateful we at least didn't have to get takeout.
Tuesday: Butternut squash zoodles with pesto, chicken, and chopped sundried tomatoes.
Wednesday: Minestrone soup. Perfect for our chilly weather!
Thursday: Barbecue night. We ate brisket from the freezer and paired it with baked potatoes, pinto beans, and salad.
Friday: Tonight we're grilling hamburgers. 🙂
Biz at my frugal kitchen makes her naan and a simple dough she uses a lot for pizza. She's an awesome cook but not necessarily frugal LOL. You can't go wrong with her recipes though.
No food waste this week so that was a plus!
Monday - Puffed pastry sandwich bake from Sarah's recipe at Sustainable Cooks (fabulous tasting and easy!), apple slices, broccoli with cheese
Tuesday - Baked chicken breasts with pesto, tomato and provolone, rice pilaf, peas, orange slices
Wednesday Baked marinated salmon for the bigs and fish filets for the littles, macaroni and cheese, string beans, fruit salad
Thursday - Turkey hot dogs in wheat buns, cole slaw, pickle chips, strawberries and bananas
Friday - Either baked ham and cheese sandwiches or mini subs, apple slices, veggies and dip
I don't know if this is the right place to ask this but I read about L.L. Bean's new return policy and that there is no longer a lifetime guarantee and I wanted to know your thoughts since you have previously written about buying their products. Do you think you will still be a customer?
Things started off well, but sickness hit another two midweek so we're coming out from under it again.
Sat - Chicken noodle soup & baguettes
Sun - homemade pizza for all for the Super Bowl
Mon - tacos
Tues - hot dogs & strawberries for the kids; homemade pizza for the adults late
Wed - Korean braised short ribs, green beans, rice
Thurs - chicken nuggets, carrot & jicama sticks for the early bunch; Indian take-out for the late set
Fri - Probably mac & cheese with strawberries for the kids; homemade pizza for the adults. But it really depends on how much sickness we're still dealing with in the afternoon.
Wednesday- chopped up leftover beef pot roast in barbeque sauce on bread,
potato salad
Thursday- Frozen eggplant parmesan, meatballs with tomato sauce and parmesan, garlic bread
Friday- Chicken, broccoli and leek stir fry on rice, orange slices
Monday- baked chicken breast (some with pesto and provolone, buttered noodles and corn
Tuesday- kids had chicken stuffed shells from freezer... I ate at the school cleaning up the teachers conference supper-yum!
Wed- kids had a snow day, cooked a pork shoulder in the crock all day.. served with biscuits and scalloped potatoes.
Thurs- I was going to make a meatloaf.. but husband was not interested... he seriously asked for Hamburger Helper.. Seriously??? I hit the store on the way to pick up kids from musical practices and we had cheeseburger macaroni and steamed broccoli.. and they DEVOURED IT! lolol
Fri- I just ate ice cream I got on store markdown.. daughter will eat a subway sub between musical and volleyball.. My boys are being dumped at Grandmas to help her rearrange furniture.. she will be paying them with Dairy Queen for dinner! Husband says he is not hungry!
Kristen, do you calculate what's spent on food for the year and see what the average is for each month? I only ask as spending may be different month to month but the average amount spent for the year may be on target........
With a stocked freezer, we've been thawing out meats and buying some milk/veg items. So far, we've had stew, smoked pork, breaded chicken, and homemade breads (banana and white bread). For February, my spending is at $80 which is on target for the family.
We've had gift cards for subs and chickfila so those got used too. Nice not to cook once in a while.
$150/month is generally my average over a year's time. Since it's a year, I don't stress too much if I'm over in a particular month. As long as it averages out over time, I'm good!
Monday - pasta with goat cheese, peas for the kiddos, pureed butternut squash and mixed greens from the freezer for the adults
Tuesday - pasta fazool, broccoli
Wednesday - baked tofu, roasted cabbage, rice, pickled carrot and daikon
Thursday - rice and black beans, cheddar cheese, mango and cuke salad
Friday - pasta with tomato sauce, chickpeas stewed with carrots and garlic
This week was good budget-wise again. I spent $125. Tomorrow is my husband’s birthday and we are having people over for lunch, so next week will be a bit more spendy, but that’s alright.
Saturday- Spinach salad with dried cranberries, pecans, shredded carrots, sunflower seeds, and honey mustard dressing with garlic bread.
Sunday- Chicken wings, barbecues, chips and chocolate chip cookies
Monday- Pepperoni pizza
Tuesday- Salmon, sweet potato fries, mixed veggies
Wednesday- Deli turkey sandwiches with provolone cheese, potato chips, and fruit
Thursday- Turkey meatballs, baked potatoes, corn
Friday- Cheese Quesadillas, sun chips and fruit
Sunday: Philly cheese steaks (because Eagles!!!) and Cannoli Cream pie (because Philly!!!)
Monday: leftovers from Superbowl plus Salad
Tuesday: fajita soup
Wednesday: Chik-fil-a(a reward for my daughter)
Thursday: teriyaki stirfry
Friday: potato skillet
Not the healthiest week, but sometimes that happens.
That reminds me! in the film 'Julie & Julia' Julie Powel makes a chocolate cream pie that looks so good I haven't been able to find a comparable recipe does any one have one?
I try to cook regularly on my days off to freeze whole meals or parts of meals so they are quick to prepare after a long day at work so sorry if this is getting a bit boring but I have a few things on rotation:
Sun - Shakshuka on toast - base & bread from freezer fresh eggs & parsely
Mon - Bolognese - freshly cooked pasta, sauce from freezer
Tues - Tacos - More bolognese sauce from freezer, fresh salad, cheese, greek yogurt & sweet chilli sauce from fridge, stand n stuff shells from pantry
Wed - sister made one of our favourite pastas - fettucini cooked in chicken stock, lots of pepper, parsely, blanched frozen baby peas, & parmesan
Thu - Fried rice from freezer
Fri - Braised beef mince, pasta & vegie dish from freezer
Tonight - Thai takeaway - spicy wide rice noodle dish w beef n lots of veg; so yum & will eat the leftovers for a snack tomorrow:)
Ps that pizza looks really good
Since the movie is all about Julie cooking her way through Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," I should imagine the recipe comes directly from that. Julia Child's recipes dirty every pot in the kitchen, but they also always work and are always delicious.
No it isn't, I have the book but Julie makes the chocolate cream pie before she starts cooking her way through the book.
I ate out a lot this week - two lunches, a breakfast, and two dinners so even though my grocery budget was in check, I went a overboard on restaurant spending this week. Sigh.
Saturday - hot dog and oven fries
Sunday - a big green salad with lots of bits from the fridge thrown in.
Monday - wasn't feeling well so I just heated up a can of soup and had with a toasted english muffin.
Tuesday - Went to Applebees and had the 6 oz steak with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans.
Wed/Thurs - Tacos.
Fri - Attempted to go to a pizza place with a friend but we were informed the wait was 90 minutes so we wound up at a local Mexican place where I had taquitos.