WIS, WWA | I'm done with the bookshelf
Happy Friday, everyone!
I'm happy to tell you that I think we'll be able to put the new bookshelf in Sonia's room today. Which is excellent because the shelf and the sawhorses are seriously making it hard to walk downstairs right now.
Of course, I will definitely share photos once it's all set up in her room. 😉
What I Spent
I went to Aldi and spent $124, and later in the week, $17 on a quick stop for a few other things.
So, $141 total for the week.
November Spending
Week 1: $60
Week 2: $141
What We Ate
Saturday
We had a fend for yourself kind of night; I remember that Sonia ate ramen, but I'm fuzzy on what everyone else ate!
Sunday
I made a main dish green salad with shrimp and bacon, which we ate with some fresh homemade French bread.
Monday
We had pasta alfredo (pasta with tomato sauce for Sonia), plus a salad and the leftover French bread from Sunday night.
Tuesday
Breakfast for dinner! I made fried mush, French toast, and bacon. And we had OJ.
(I really need to update the fried mush post because there's no printable there. And it's a little lacking in the photo department.)
Wednesday
We had burrito bowls (rice, veggies, this chicken, sour cream, and mango salsa)
And applesauce on the side.
Thursday
I made pulled pork sandwiches, which we ate with applesauce, oranges, and potato chips.
Friday
I have book club tomorrow night, so I think Mr. FG and I might do our takeout date night tonight instead.
I headed into the week thinking it'd be a low spending one, but it turned kind of high. Rumors are circulating about a state-wide shutdown, so I went through the list of foods that I want to be sure to have for Thanksgiving and Christmas and purchased the ingredients for as many as I could. On the positive side, turkeys are 29 cents a pound at Meijer (I've purchased 2 already) so we'll have lots of inexpensive meat in our freezer for the coming months. We ate...
Sunday: It was super warm, so we packed a picnic to take to a park for dinner. Odd things about picnics in November that I don't normally think of as a Michigander: you have to eat early because it gets dark early and there are no bathrooms at the park because they're all closed for the season.
Monday: Spaghetti and peas
Tuesday: Fajitas
Wednesday: Chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, butternut squash
Thursday: Chili and baked potatoes
Friday: Pizza!
Holiday sales and stocking have begun over here so this week's spend was a bit high compared to the last several weeks. I've spent $135 so far and still have a bit more that I am planning to purchase for holiday meals and some groceries for a family in need.
For the amount above I bought two 23# turkeys, 3 pork loin roasts, one 15# ham, one 7# ham, and several cooking items - tomato sauce, green beans, corn at the local case lot sales.
We ate pretty frugally though....
Saturday I made a pot of spaghetti & meat sauce. We ate that with salad.
Sunday I poached a whole chicken and made a large pot of creamy chicken noodle soup. Since my little one had two teeth extracted I left out the chicken chunks and used them to make a Ritz Chicken Casserole.
Monday & Tuesday we ate leftovers of all of the above. Plus homemade chocolate pudding.
We are low on the veggie count but this week has been rough. Everyone was fed and we will start fresh this week.
Wednesday we ate salmon patties, mac & cheese, and fresh green beans.
Thursday I hit the easy button and we ate pizza.
Friday I made Dr. Pepper pulled pork, homemade baked beans, coleslaw and chips.
Saturday & Sunday are without plans but I'm sure leftover BBQ will appear.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Haven’t seen anyone eat fried mush since my mom and her sisters passed away- 20 yrs!
I don't know what I spent in Nov. so far. I might be able to tell next week. But some of my grocery store purchases are Christmas presents. I went to Trader Joe's for the stuffing and turkey en croute (my husband and my Thanksgiving--I pretty much have it all now) and the chocolate passport (a gift) and I found some cute, useful and, I thought, tasty holiday ideas to purchase for the family, so my bill was a bit higher. I really don't need much more now.
Saturday Burgers, baked beans (I use your burger recipe as my base and sometimes add cheese or whatever to it and freeze them up. I always bought 85 or 90% ground beef. I am enjoying the 80% with the additions.)
Sunday Lemon chicken, baked potato.
Monday Chicken salad sandwich, vegetable fries from TJs--I like them.
Tuesday Pancakes and bacon because I have extra milk.
Wednesday Homemade pasta and sauce I froze. (I went to observe the annual ravioli-making production line my friends do to get hints on how to do it with my girls. They have been doing it for years and years and.... They sent me home with the remaining dough and ran it through the machine.)
Thursday Turkey dinner (a fundraiser a local church was having). It was a 2/$, turkey, potatoes, squash, gravy, cranberry sauce and dessert) we ordered 4 pkgs. and invited my sister-in-law. 9 adults and 3 children.
Friday Recreate leftover from last night's turkey dinner. Should feed 6 of us.
Saturday: Leftovers (bull and vegetable soup, and taco meat+rice+cheese), plus garlic bread
Sunday: Roasted chicken with onions and peppers (the peppers I thought were just immature bell peppers I harvested before the freeze, but they were actually immature paprika peppers, which are VERY SPICY when immature, ow), baked potatoes, calabaza squash, peanut butter cookies
Monday: The same leftovers as we had Saturday, but no garlic bread
Tuesday: Meatloaf, roasted potatoes, mashed squash, frozen peas
Wednesday: Bunless cheeseburgers, rice, leftover squash and peas
Thursday: Bull meat (a big, thick chunk seared, then sliced thin and put back in the pan with roasted tomato sauce and romano cheese), pasta with roasted tomato sauce, frozen green beans
Tonight: Bull goulash with sauerkraut and carrots, garlic bread, frozen peas
That’s a lot of bull! Couldn’t resist!
I want to see pictures of the bookshelf when you are done. I love your painting projects!
Oooo that adobo chicken looks fabulous!
I can't remember what I spent but it's averaging $90 - 100 per week. All meals eaten in and taken to work except for Friday Treat Night, which was Italian at our local spot. We sat outside, chatted with the owner, and had a lovely evening. We walked to and from and got to support a local business and a lovely, lovely proprietor, whom we have known for years. Then, it was back to reality ;):
Saturday: Last of the chili and big salad.
Sunday - Homemade chicken soup, salad
Monday - Big dill pickle salad with sauteed chicken breast
Tuesday - Frozen doctored veggie pizza (extra onions and peppers), steamed broccoli
Wednesday - Salad for both and husband added lean cuisine something or other.
Thursday - Last of the chicken soup doctored into "use up all the things" potage- canned beans, really ancient frozen spinach and peas, onions, carrots, etc. And steamed broccoli.
Tonight -- Friday! A cheap treat of some sort . . .Happy weekend!
This week I spend $63 on groceries. That included some items for Thanksgiving dinner. I have been doing a little each week and only have the fresh items to pick up last minute now. Here's what we ate:
Saturday - pizza and Mandalorian night (a day late due to a pile of homework).
Sunday - broccoli rice casserole.
Monday - breakfast for dinner of eggs, bacon and toast.
Tuesday - Pork chops fried potatoes and steamed brussels sprouts.
Wednesday - tacos.
Thursday - leftovers.
Friday - calzones and Mandalorian night.
I'm ready to see the bookshelf!
I had an average, or maybe just below average spend this past week, but the week before ended up high, so right now I'm overbudget. I'm hoping to get a few days away from the house at the end of the month, so we'll see how my monthly spend evens out. Buying organic is so expensive!
What we ate:
I got steak on sale and we had roasted asparagus with it. I was going to make a salad, too, but I was tired when I got home from work, errands and grocery shopping. We had fruit as a dessert.
It was a busy day the next day, too, so I cooked a pot pie from the freezer for him and ate leftover random veggies, myself.
Bacon, cabbage sautéed in some of the bacon fat, roasted acorn squash and corn bread.
Pulled pork from the freezer, tostones. Another tired night, so that's as far as I went.
I pulled all the little eggplants from our plant and made eggplant parmesan, using tomato in his and nomato sauce in mine. I cooked it in two little pans. I am so happy that I can tolerate eggplant.
Leftover beef stew with lots of vegetables, also from the freezer.
I had made chicken stock so I cooked a variety of vegetables on hand in the stock to make soup. I made grilled cheese n' bacon sandwiches, using a recipe for cassava pizza dough to make my "bread." I cooked it in squares in the iron skillet on the stovetop instead of in a circle in the oven, and it made a pretty passable bread for my sandwich. I'll be doing that again.
We ate out way too much this week but between my physical therapy and Mike working nonstop on our new property cooking wasn’t practical.
Tonight however I think we are doing a massive pot of creamy spaghetti.
Monday: Breakfast for dinner consisting of sausages, hash browns, pancakes, fruit etc.
Tuesday: Various leftovers from the weekend. I feel like so much of what we eat lately is eaten in stages. I guess I should be happy it's not takeout ...
Wednesday: Wife had a migraine and I had to work late. We had a store bought rotisserie chicken, rice and some vegetables.
Thursday: Cleaned out the leftovers of the fridge.
Friday: Getting our Christmas card pictures taken today so we will be getting dinner out at a local diner that my daughter has been asking to go to since March.
No idea on what we'll do this weekend. I said to my wife that we really need to up our game on the planning again.
Saturday: squash/potato mash baked with soft goat cheese
Sunday: Swedish meat balls with dumplings and red cabbage
Monday: leftovers
Tuesday: molten cheese with baguette
Wednesday: Sweet potatos with crema mexicana
Thursday: rice and bean chili
Friday: fish cake, potatoes and peas
Ooh, I love fried mush! Will make some for breakfast tomorrow.
WWS: $80 (including 18 lbs of butter from Aldi's!) + $? the cost of 25 lbs of flour and 10 lbs of coffee from Costco. WWA
Saturday: dinner at friends around the fire pit (Garbage plates)
Sunday: the previous Friday meal plan changed, so homemade pierogi, kielbasa, roasted onions and cabbage salad
Monday: eggplant parmesan; salad
Tuesday: leftovers
Wednesday: sticky sesame cauliflower & rice; cucumber & red peppers with Ippudo dressing
Thursday: homemade gyros ("serious eats" recipe: seriously delicious!) on homemade pita; yogurt sauce & fixins'; sautéed zucchini
Friday: Braised Chicken Thighs with Squash and Mustard Greens (Epicurious) over rice
Fried mush has the worst name but my goodness, it is so tasty!
Was butter marked down at your Aldi??
I can't speak for Betta's Aldi, but ours had butter quarters marked down to $1.79! I grabbed some, too, though I tip my hat to 18 lbs worth!
Our Aldi had a limit of 6. I think I'll go back, while the sale is still on.
Yes! $1.79 - I had my partner come with me and we both got 6. When checking out, he said that I could get as many as I wanted so I went back for another 6.
I think it was one day only.
I stocked up on that great deal too!!!
Butter at the Aldi’s in San Diego is on sale for $2.29/lb limit 6.
My Aldi had butter for $1.79 a pound today, but with a limit of 6. So I got my 6!
OK, what is meant by “garbage plate”?
This week was a blur of chicken noodle soup thanks to a wannabe ear infection that needed headed off at the pass. (My ears and sinuses love a good, rollicking infection, so it's serious business around here.) Thank goodness for a soup savvy husband and chicken carcasses in the freezer! My once-stabby ear is nearly normal again, which feels wondrous.
Earlier in the week, I spent $63 at Aldi, $25 of which was two ducks (Christmas Day and my winter birthday). The rest was stocking up on fruit and dairy. I did a pantry/freezer check prior to shopping, and we're already good to go for our hermit Thanksgiving.
I have never seen fried mush. Sounds...plain? I guess it is like the south where people eat a bowl of leftover cornbread with buttermilk. Or grits. Or hoecakes. Which all are plain to me too, like cooked corneal . And did someone say they are a garbage plate??? I love you guys and learning about regional foods.
Cornmeal mush on its own is pretty boring. But when it's fried in butter until it's crispy? Ooh, it's so good!
I’ll have to try it! I only have corn meal for making cornbread, which I then make into dressing at Thanksgiving.
Yes! and then served with maple syrup. I'll saute apple slices with cinnamon to serve alongside. If we are feeling lazy, we will also coat with a bit of cornstarch and crisp up in oven with some bacon fat. SO good!
Can’t wait for the fried mush recipe—I love grits and polenta so I think I will love it!
This week we had: (lunches and dinners)
* Butter chicken on rice, with carrots
* Chicken fried rice
* Spaghetti Bolognese
* Spicy eggplant tofu/beef
* tacos
* Tuna melts
* Salads
* Beans salad
Lots of cooking this week! I am trying to meal plan more
Saturday and Sunday: Chicken noodle soup made with homemade noodles. Fruit.
Monday: Homemade noodles left so supper was buttered noodles with parm cheese sprinkled on. Grapefruit (which both of us like peeled and eaten like oranges).
Tuesday: Bacon wrapped shrimp to use up shrimp so we have room for turkey leftovers.
Grapefruit (we bought a case of them as part of a friend's church fundraiser so now we are plowing through them instead of other fruit. The only exception is persimmons, which I love beyond measure and are seldom available here. When we see them, we buy them, irrespective of price.)
Wednesday: omelets and grapefruit.
Thursday: Clam chowder. homemade apple and rhubarb sauce, to clear it out of the freezer.
Friday: Tonight we plan to go through the Sonic drive thru. The first one opened a few weeks ago. We have a two for one coupon and have only been to Sonic once before, on a trip Outside, so are looking forward to it. I feel like I am cheating on Ronald McDonald, since Friday is usually Filet 'o Fish night.
I agree. Persimmons are a delectable fruit and difficult to find.
Some of my Asian neighbors are growing them and selling the extra persimmons!! I had never tried one until a few years ago and my neighbor that I tutored her daughter and chauffeured her daughter. She ate them often for a snack and I decided to try it because it smelled wonderful, yum!!
Does your area have Asian markets? Our local ones always seem to have persimmons, regardless of season.
Monday and Tuesday : very spicy slow cooker chili with cornbread
Wednesday : breakfast for dinner
Thursday: pork loin and large carrot chunks in slow cooker with 1/2 c chicken broth and one envelope garlic and herb Lipton dry soup mix. With egg noodles.
Friday: FIRST TIME EVER TRYING POPEYES CHICKEN it is always crazy jam packed. It was so busy it took us 50 mins to get thru drivethru. We were 19th in line. It was yummy but I like chic fil a better!
Sat: Swiss steak. Masked potatoes.
Sunday we enjoyed gorgeous weather outside, visited with family( bring your own food style)- grilled kielbasa and served with baked beans, cheesy potatoes and pumpkin cake
Monday I planned to grill due to great weather still.. but things came up and husband needed me to run errands with him so I used a local fundraiser card deal and ordered 2 large pizzas and sent the oldest to pick them up$13 cannot be beat!
Tuesday- grilled those burgers! Served with steamed cauliflower and cheese sauce, onion rings and grapes.
Wednesday- Started to get back to normal cooler weather.. made chicken, broccoli alfredo and served with cheesy garlic toast. I never get the cheese toasts at ALDI but I could not reach the box behind it to get the plain.. so I took the cheese.. kids were thrilled.
Thursday- poached some chicken thighs I found on sale and chopped that meat down, mixed with cheeses and made enchiladas and red rice for supper.
Friday- pulled pork sandwiches and baked potatoes, steamed broccoli and the rest of the cheese sauce from earlier this week.
I need to free up some freezer space so I think I will pull out a container of chili and work through that this weekend
Monday: chicken Normandy, mashed potatoes, asparagus and French bread
Tuesday: Salisbury steak and rice, squash casserole
Wednesday: dinner out at Perry’s Steakhouse, as they offered a free meal to Veterans when you buy another meal. I had fried shrimp, the veteran had their famous pork chop
Thursday: beef stew using a chuck roast I got on sale for $2.77/lb, and cut into chunks, only used half so froze the rest. And homemade biscuits
Friday: takeout chicken
Spent $106 at Aldi today. Enjoying their “seasonal” offerings that they don’t usually carry, such as heavy-duty foil, heavy cream in the quart size instead of just pints, their white cheddar-Parmesan cheese that is sooo good.