WIS, WWA | It's 8:30! I'm late!
What I Spent
Hello, hello! To all my early-bird readers, apologies for not getting this out until the 8:00 hour. 😉
I worked a 7 am-7:30 pm shift yesterday and it was a doozy. So when I got home, I ate a bit of food and went almost straight to bed. No blogging. 😉
I spent:
- $100.22 at Sam's Club
- $11 at Aldi
- $3 at Safeway (on bananas and a container of yogurt for a starter, in case you were wondering!)
So, $114.22 for me.
What We Ate
Saturday
I ate some of the same chickpea salad I'd been packing in my lunches, with some shrimp.
A lot of you asked about the salad when I posted the picture of my lunch; it's this recipe, modified to include more vegetables.
Sunday
I threw together a pot of soup with no recipe, but it included homemade broth, potatoes, carrots, chicken, garlic, spinach, and some half-and-half.
It was tasty, and it used up spinach, potatoes, and carrots from Hungry Harvest. 🙂
Monday
More soup!
Tuesday
I grilled some burgers for us since the weather was feeling very not-like-February.
Wednesday
Zoe wasn't here so I had a leftover burger.
Thursday
I ate a bowl of yogurt with berries and granola while chatting with Lisey on the phone and then I put my tired self into bed where I immediately fell asleep.
Friday
This depends if Zoe will be here or not! I think she might be but then again you never know with teenagers. 😉
I am impressed by all of your healthy eating! I think I ate a lot healthier here when cooking didn't make me feel rageful...This week I spent around $110, but it included non-food items and one lunch out. And I may yet eat out again today, for lunch.
Monday - Made a cheesy broccoli chicken rice pot and froze 2 extra containers of it
Tuesday - Baked stuffed potato with some freezer pulled pork and chopped red onion
Wednesday - Frozen stuffed pasta shells with some marinara I amped up with ground beef, zucchini, and red pepper
Thursday - I made two beef tacos with freezer taco meat and some organic spring mix on corn/flour "mixla" tortillas
Friday - Tonight I'm planning a salmon patty, salad, and some frozen corn.
Hooray for the end of February - bring on March!
Honestly, I credit my Hungry Harvest box for some of this; I don't want to waste the food, and having the produce delivered here is largely mindless. I don't have to decide, "Oh, I'm gonna buy some kale." It just shows up and then I gotta figure out how to use it.
I can't remember...do you ever buy those salad kits? I've been finding they are great for making a super quick meal for one when I don't feel like cooking. Add a protein and you're done.
@Gina from The Cannary Family, I agree that salad kits make easy meals; just add protein to a bag of mixed greens! The bowl-sized salads, however, make my stomach squirm a little, because the chicken/hardboiled egg/ham never looks very fresh. Otherwise, your meals for the week make my meal planning for next week very easy! (Except I wish I had freezer taco meat . . .)
@Kristen, actually, yes. I do it a lot. I like the cabbage based ones. I also pre-cook chicken and taco meat and carnitas (all kinds of proteins, really) and store in small baggies to top a salad or pasta or potato.
@Kristen, we love the Southwest salad kit from Sam’s. We like to add some grilled chicken and some good bread on the side and it’s an easy and tasty meal.
@Addy, That's my favorite.
@Gina from The Cannary Family, Ooo...I'm gonna copy you! Thanks!
@Addy,
I like that idea for an easy meal! Kinda what you can do in a restaurant — get a salad and add a protein.
I can't read that title without continuing the White Rabbit's song in my head. 🙂
Saturday: Chicken corn chowder. My own made-up chicken soup, but inspired by a vegan tomato-corn chowder my mom used to make when I was a kid. I also made some pumpkin bread with the last of the pureed winter squash in the freezer. And everyone ate their soup with cheese.
Sunday: Elk burgers, which I made solely because I had baked bread the day before and made some buns. So I needed something to put in the buns. I also made baked beans with some already-cooked pinto beans from the freezer, a green salad with vinaigrette, and some very lazy chocolate fondue for dessert. That was just chocolate chips melted in the microwave with a bit of coconut oil. Marshmallows to dip in it.
Monday: I made chicken salad with leftover chicken, so we had sandwiches, leftover baked beans, and carrot sticks.
Tuesday: I had to very last minute change my plan for dinner when the lamb I thought was quick-cooking steaks was actually not-at-all-quick-cooking stew meat. Luckily, I had been to the store this day, where I had bought a rotisserie chicken so I could eat the drumsticks on my drive home. I used the rest of the chicken to make what we call chicken slop, which is just chicken in gravy. I had already made mashed potatoes, which worked well for the chicken slop. I also had thawed a small bag of pork stir-fry pieces, which I also cooked--just fried in bacon grease with spices--because there wouldn't have been quite enough chicken for everyone. Frozen green peas for a vegetable.
Wednesday: I took out a container of lamb chili from the freezer, and then apportioned out all the leftovers to get everyone fed. And then we had grapes instead of a vegetable, which my family thought was very fun. Low standards.
Thursday: I used the not-lamb-steaks to make a lamb stew. We still had pumpkin bread left, so some people had that and some had sourdough bread with butter. And then we had ice cream. Why ice cream? Why not? Lent is almost upon us. Eat yet ice cream while ye may, I guess. 🙂
Friday: One of my tracksters informed me his coach told them to rest and eat a lot this weekend, to recover from the first strenuous week of track practice. Accordingly, I asked him what he wanted for dinner tonight. He requested tuna melt sandwiches and oven fries. And so it shall be done. Plus a green salad with vinaigrette, because I bought two big plastic containers of "spring mix" this week just to have the containers to plant seeds in. So we have a lot of lettuce to use up.
@kristin @ going country, I was raised in the Catholic church but I don't remember anything about giving up ice cream for Lent. No meat on Fridays, but ice cream?
@JDinNM, No, that's not a specific thing from the Church. That's just me informing my children that their penance for Lent is not eating dessert except on Sundays. Pretty minor, as far as penances go. 🙂
@kristin @ going country, Not in the family of my youth! Ice cream was sacred to my French-Irish ancestors. I can still recite the Lord's Prayer in French.
@kristin @ going country, my parents used to do that as Lenten penance for us kids, too. (I was raised High-Church Episcopalian.) I do recall one memorable Oreo binge one Lenten Sunday after church!
@A. Marie, Does anyone refer to themselves as Low-Church Episcopalian? Or just Run of the Mill Episcopalian?
@A. Marie, And you remember it because of the indulgence after 40 days of penance, right? Which is exactly the idea. 🙂
@JDinNM, good question. I doubt it.
@JDinNM, my dad does!! I grew up going to an episcopal church in the country in VA. It was lovely and I remember it for lt. he would always say we’re low church, no smells and bells here!! 🙂
@JDinNM, and we're definitely low-church Anglican (Church of Ireland Episcopalian)
@Joan from Dublin, Ireland, and @Caitlie, I stand corrected!
@Caitlie,
"No smells or bells here"....that's hilarious!
@kristin @ going country, et al,
As a Baptist, y'all lost me here. I would not give up ice cream for much of anything...kale yes, ice cream? Nope!
@Chrissy, I'm not sure how it works in other churches, but Catholics are obligated to practice some form of penance during Lent, which is the forty days leading up to Easter. The form of the penance might be self-denial (like giving up ice cream) or it might be an action (like daily prayer or volunteering). Unless you really love kale, I'm guessing giving it up for forty days wouldn't have much effect, except relief. 🙂 Penance during Lent is a reminder of the season we are in and therefore a reminder that this life is not all there is. We are trying to focus more on God, and, by extension, our wish to be joined to him both here and after this life is done.
WIS: $0 on groceries (still eating down the refrigerator and freezer), but $85.57 for my 1/4th share of a dear friend’s birthday gift of a formal English Tea for 5 (was supposed to be 6 but one friend was ill and couldn’t come) at the St. James Tearoom, where the menu for the month was “Dublin’s Fare: Cheers to Arthur Guiness”.
So expenditures for the month of February are $93.74 for groceries, and $85.57 for eating out, for a total of $179.31. Which meets my target of $200 or less per month, and offsets my $19.43 overage for the month of January for a net “savings” of (drum roll, please) $1.26! I’ll try not to spend it all in one place…. Meanwhile,
WIA: Tuesday afternoon at the Tearoom:
Beef and Guiness Ale Pot of Gold Stew, Savory Chicken in Phyllo, Irish Coleslaw, Twice Baked Cheesy Potatoling, and Mint Butter and Cucumber Tea Sandwich, served with “Irish Breakfast” traditional black tea;
Irish Soda Bread with Whiskey Butter and traditional Cream Scones with Lemon Curd and clotted cream, served with “Lady Day” scented black tea;
and for dessert (!), Country Apple Cake with Walnuts, Flakemeal Crunchy with Irish Cream Whip, and Crème de Menthe Chocolate, served with “Hesperides Golden Delight” green tea.
And (burp!) nothing else for the rest of the week.
@JDinNM, that sounds like an excellent spread at the Tearoom, especially the beef and Guinness stew. With St. Patrick's Day in the near future, I've got one of those in mind.
@JDinNM,
Oh my....that Tearoom meal sounds amazing! Well worth it, plus spending time with friends and celebrating a birthday - perfect.
A friend once made Guinness beef stew for me and DH - I think it was after my first knee surgery - and it was scrumptious. My favorite use of stout beer is Guinness chocolate cake....absolutely the BEST chocolate cake I've ever had. No exaggeration.
@A. Marie, Don't skimp on the Guiness! It really made the dish.
@Liz B., It's definitely a "special occasion" place. But it's funny how many "special occasions" we seem to come up with. ;-}
@Liz B., can you actually taste the Guiness in the cake?
@JDinNM,
"It's National Bowling Day...let's go to the Tearoom!" 🙂
@SandyH,
The alcohol cooks off, so it doesn't taste of alcohol....but it does somehow intensify the chocolate flavor, and also imparts an extra, hard-to-define flavor that makes it delicious.
@SandyH, You can certainly taste it in the stew -- thank goodness!
Still no fully functioning kitchen but ate all dinners at home.
- Vegetarian broiled open-faced Reubens: toasted sourdough bread, homemade Thousand Island dressing (mayo, ketchup and minced pickles with juice), sauteed mushrooms, red cabbage, sauerkraut, and topped with cheese
- Spinach salad topped with cannellini beans, raisins, walnuts, Parmesan cheese, pepper and olive oil
- Veggie pizza and spinach salad
- Roasted carrots, steamed broccoli and sauteed mushrooms
- Popcorn and fruit
- Baked potato and sauteed zucchini
- Oddest "meal" ever, which I ate standing up: Had the last 1/2 cup of cold cereal with milk, cold slice of veggie pizza, cold roasted carrots, and - yes, cold - slice of cinnamon raisin bread
You're going to be SO delighted when your kitchen functions again!
@Kristen, yes! I'll never take a kitchen for granted again.
It was an easy but delicious week (Mon-Thur) of meals, all from one rotisserie chicken.
Mon- Rotisserie chicken dark meat, warm potato soup (leftover), roasted Brussels sprouts
Tue- Chicken pot pie with leftover rotisserie chicken, leftover potato, carrots, onion, and last of frozen pies in freezer, plus roasted asparagus on the side.
Wed- Leftover chicken pot pie, plus more, but freshly roasted , asparagus.
Thur- Repeat of Wed (and Tuesday, lol), at which point my husband looked at me sadly and said 'Is it really all gone? Could you make a double sized batch next time?' So cute, but yes, it was really that yummy. 🙂
Tonight, Friday, we're out all day, so I'm planning bacon grilled cheese sandwiches, plus a hearty salad-in-a-bag.
The rest of the weekend we're out at events that will include dinner.
@Tamara R, Plot twist! I thought it would read "my husband looked at me sadly and said 'Chicken? Again?' Is that all there is?'"
@JDinNM, LOL! If I sense twice is enough, I move it to lunch as a leftover option. It was so, so delicious though, I likewise could have kept eating it night after night! Total comfort food. I avoid a soggy crust by 1) not lining the cassarole pan with crust - the crust goes only on the top, 2) I leave it uncovered overnight in the fridge when first baked. I don't cover it until the AM, at which point the excess moisture that sogs up a crust is gone. I do same for pizza, or anything with an abundance of bread, and then 3) I rewarm in at just 50% power in the microwave. The crust remians crisp, again (!) when I do this. I use Trader Joe's ready made pie crust from their freezer section - I love it!
@Tamara R, Genius! Nothing, NOTHING, is worse than a soggy crust.
It was a sort of back to normal week, but DS17 & I are out of town this weekend, so expect next week to be light on cooking again. 😉
This week, we ate:
-DH grilled Persian kebabs & made rice, while DS17 & I were at his last soccer match & we had that 2x
-I made a delicious beef & broccoli dish, and we had that 2x
-We had lemon chicken (from the freezer)
-DH & I both skipped dinner the night he got laid off. We instead had wine by the pool & strategized. We did make dinner for DS17 (spaghetti & meatballs)
DS17 & I will be at the airport for dinner tonight. We will likely scrounge something up at the lounge we have access to, and then my friend we are staying with said she will have pizza for us when we get to her house. I defrosted mahi mahi for DH to make for himself.
@Hawaii Planner, I am so sorry to hear about your husband getting laid off, and I hope both he and you find work in your fields soon.
@Hawaii Planner, So sorry to hear about your current life hiccup, but it's nice that you and your husband sat right down and immediately worked on the problem together. I hope one or both of you is successful in your job search soon.
$75.00 Roche Brothers ($40 on a gift card that I had won at the annual Police sponsored Thanksgiving dinner for senior citizens) and then paid $35.
Sat: I had dinner with friends
Sun: Store Roasted chicken and vegetables.
Mon: Fried rice with chicken
Tues: I forget. I had stopped at a library program on my way home from work.
Wed: Remainder of the chicken, fried rice, squash.
Thurs: Egg & sausage on cheese & chive scones.
I have cleaned out my freezer. I better get to the store.
Two things occurred which messed up my usual WIS and WIA:
1. I was at my sister's on a day I normally shop for two weeks' worth of groceries and
2. She and I both got sick.
However, before we got sick, I went to the store with her and managed to pay for the groceries for White Chicken Chili by having cash in hand and held out when the cashier announced the total and my sister was pulling out her debit card. Ha. So WIS was about $40, because there were some other small things in there as well. Once home, I spent about $6 only, because I'm getting by with what I have until the next scheduled shopping day and because I am not eating or cooking much anyway.
WIA:
White chicken chili one night, obviously.
One night, absolutely nothing. All day, in fact.
One night, a small grilled ham and cheese, but that filled me up.
I got a little more adventurous and thawed lamb rib chops then roasted them, along with asparagus, in the oven. I was going to have more than that, but I still wasn't very hungry. I had this two nights.
I had a couple of roasted beets to be used, so I cut up one of them and had it with the last of the asparagus and some cooked chicken I had pulled from the freezer.
Tonight, well, I don't know. Today is the day in which the calendar tries to deny the fact of my birth, but my kids are planning a meal for tomorrow, so... I really don't know!
I can say that I must feel better next week, because Shrove Tuesday is March 4 and I WILL be having all the pancakes I can make and eat. It's the one time I eat pancakes with abandon. Wednesday, I fast.
@JD, I wish you a happy Not-Quite-Leap-Day birthday! (I do recall that you're exactly 6 months younger than I am.) And I hope you and your sister both feel better soon.
@JD, Are you a February 29 Leap Year Baby? Let me wish you a Happy Missing Birthday, I guess a second after the stroke of midnight?
@JDinNM,
I am indeed, born just before noon on Feb. 29. My mother declared my birthday would always be the last day of February, and so it has always remained.
@A. Marie,
Thank you - we are both gradually improving. Getting rid of the cough that wakes me up would help.
@JD, Happy birthday! Enjoy your meal with your kids!
@JD, Happy Birthday! I have a nephew who was born on Leap Day, and IIRC his parents alternated on non-Leap Years: one year they'd celebrate on the 28th, another year on March 1.
@Karen A., Pick a lane, people! How was the poor kid supposed to remember from one year to the next?
@JDinNM, It's February 28! No, it's March 1! No, it's February 28! No ... it's finally February 29!
@JDinNM, And they wondered why he had some issues....
@Karen A.,
.......years of therapy right there! 😉
Thanks for sharing that salad recipe. It looks yummy. I need to try it.
I like eating healthy foods, but lately I've been really struggling with motivation/time/energy to get all the food prep steps done. Taking inventory, deciding what to buy, picking it up, bringing it home, unloading it, remembering to take out a protein for dinner ahead of time, cooking, putting away leftovers. I think it's partly because I spent 3 weeks in February not feeling great with two back-to-back respiratory illnesses. Blah. I finally have normal energy but I feel like I'm playing catch up with everything household related.
And it's finally nice, so I'd rather be outside on a walk than making food. Haha. We're in "fake spring" after a week of super cold weather (negative Fahrenheit actual temps).
@Kayla, Ditto ditto ditto on the "food prep steps" and all the rest (except the respiratory illnesses -- so sorry for that). And thumbs up for "fake spring" -- it may be temporary but is much appreciated. You are not alone!
WIS: Approximately $90, divided between Food Lion, Walmart Market, Dollar Tree and Ollie's Outlet.
WWA: Leftover spaghetti. Marked down pork ribs slow cooked in barbecue sauce with carrots and onions. Roasted whole chicken seasoned with a free sample of spices and served with baked potatoes. We had a few elderly eggs to use up, so I twice had an egg sandwich with canned peaches as the side. Homemade GF cupcakes for dessert.
Saturday - harissa butter beans for me, fettuccine Alfredo for them
Sunday - I think I may have taken them to in n out. I have no idea what I ate.
Monday-taquitos
Tuesday-Okonomiyaki (Japanese cabbage pancakes)- first time making these and they were pretty good!
Wednesday-One pot enchiladas
Thursday-mahi mahi with garlic butter sauce, bok choy, and curly fries
Friday - don’t know yet. Let’s see how this plays out
please don't apologize for being late. you are so busy. i am grateful you are still blogging at all. the time has passed so quickly (for me) since i found your blog when you were working on your dining room at the marital house. course at my age everything goes quickly.
your post about eating healthy really resonated with me and I now prepare my son's lunches for school. he is in middle school and hates school lunch with a passion. i used to just go to subway, popeyes and such. through this blog i have learned about great books, great underwear, sweater shavers (wow) what a life changer they are. and so much more. thank you from the bottom of my heart.
my incredibly shy 16-year-old daughter has a high school dance tonight. this is her second one. i pray she has a good time. am so proud of her.
@Anita Isaac,
I hope your daughter has a good time! I had one girl who spent most of her dances standing in the hallway talking to chaperones. Those can be hard years.
@mbmom11, thanks somuch. so do i. am so excited for her. none of her two friends are going but she still is. she went to her middle school dances too. my dad made me go to one high school dance it was the worst.
@Anita Isaac, I hope she has a great time! She gets points already by doing something hard & going to the (loud, extrovert-oriented, chaotic) dance!
@mbmom11, she just came home by herself and had a great time. she even danced a little. yay zoe
First, Kristen, I agree with @Anita Isaac that you don't have to apologize for a late post. (Not now, not ever.) You noted yesterday that you had a 12-hour shift coming up, and I think we're all big enough kids here to understand.
Now, WIS: $33 at Price Chopper and $36.50 at Ollie's.
WIA: I actually made myself a couple of semi-interesting things this week, out of sheer boredom and the need to use up some produce (a la Kristen). The first was a tomato, mushroom, and spinach pasta, to which I added some shrimp a day later. The second was pork chops made the way my late MIL used to make them: first browned and then braised in a little water with thinly sliced potatoes and onions (plus a little soy sauce, my own innovation). Feed a cold, starve a fever, stuff a bruised ribcage. (See my Thankful Thursday yesterday.)
@A. Marie, I know that we talk about food here on Fridays, but my library always posts a "What are you reading this weekend?" thread and I thought I should tell you - I'm reading Jane Austen's Emma for the first time. 🙂 It will probably take me a while (it's big! and I don't have large blocks of reading time right now) but I'm enjoying it so far.
@Ruth T, I'm glad to hear you're reading Emma--and it's very appropriate that you mentioned it today, since it's probably JA's most "foodie" novel.
WIS:$165 @ Kroger
WWA:
Saturday: Trader Joes Mandarin Orange Chicken, Jasmine Rice, and Roasted Baby Broccoli - I am not a fan of frozen entrees at all but this chicken was very good!
Sunday: Brown Sugar glazed ham, Amish pasta salad, green beans and rolls
Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday: Leftovers, sandwiches, everyone kinda fended for themselves
Wednesday: Jersey Mike's takeout
Thursday: Fusili with italian sausage, red peppers, zucchini, basil & onions in a creamy tomato sauce. This was a one pot meal and everyone loved it. I served it with garlic bread. This one will go into the rotation.
Friday: Leftovers
Happy Weekend everyone!
I am re bounding from travel and an empty fridge. I weighed in this morning and joyfully discovered I maintained my 5 pound weight loss in spite of having being faced with endless buffets three times a day for two weeks. I am very proud of myself.
To keep the success going I was very intentional for my trip to Sam's:
I spent $117:
*Four family sized salads packages including the new to me Green Goddess which is delish. I ate one half of one and added my thawed cooked chicken thighs.
*Two packs of fairlife protein milk.
*A package of bell peppers for which I will make lentil hummus.
*Frozen riced cauliflower for protein bowl dinners.
cherry tomatoes
*five pounds of sweet potatoes and knudsen cottage cheese ( a favorite lunch with the tomatoes)
* 2 18 packs of organic eggs because they didn't have the 5 dozen boxe I like. The eggs were 4.17 a dozen. Still a bargain for protein.
I will supplement with frozen 13 bean soup, homemade bread and lots of beans and rice. March will be a uber frugal month for me since February cruise broke the bank. I need to prove to myself that I can go back to living on a dime.
I spent $52, which included 2 pounds of low fat ground beef for meatloaf. Who knew meatloaf would be an “expensive” meal one day?
The meals:
Chicken vegetable soup and focaccia. (All from scratch.)
Meatloaf, broccoli and focaccia.
Meatloaf, asparagus and focaccia.
Pasta with lamb ragu (from the freezer) with zucchini and cantaloupe.
I haven’t decided on tonight’s dinner, but I won’t be going to any stores to purchase parts of it!
@Ann on the farm, Meatloaf as a splurge! I'm trying to decide what to do with the last pound of some very good ground beef I got at Sprouts using a $10 off $25 coupon. I'm leaning toward a Bulgogi Meatball recipe I saw the other day, just because Korean beef sounds so much fancier than hamburgers. The recipe says you can just throw the meatballs on a plate and serve them as appetizers, but the better suggestion is to serve them as a main course with rice and sauteed bok choy and cucumbers....
@JDinNM, that sounds great! I’ve never tried to make bulgogi, but I like Asian flavors, so I should do it.
@Ann on the farm, I'll try out the recipe and if it's good, I'll put it in a post here some Friday. I found it in the Washington Post food section (before I cancelled my subscription -- for the second time).
@JDinNM, thanks!
That chickpea salad recipe looks interesting! Thank you for sharing the link. I've never really enjoyed chickpeas very much but I am trying to learn to like them, so maybe a recipe like this one could be a nice way to try them more.
I am hankering to make that edamame salad. Soon. DH likes it but he's fasting this weekend and I don't want to tempt him....
WWS: $293.11 at Kroger. Not bad! I subtract household goods, so that is all food (and tea that I'm stockpiling which is on a major sale right now).
We had our usual line up, with the exception of my first successful homemade bean burger EVER. I used this recipe https://eatwithclarity.com/vegan-chickpea-burgers/ only I left out the cilantro, which some of the family says tastes like soap, and the red pepper flakes, which I knew would be a nonstarter for 4 out of 6 of us.
Other than that, I followed the recipe to the letter. I don't keep quick oats on hand so I blitzed some old fashioned oats in my little blender to get oat flour, and they were SO good. One of my kids said they looked just like the veggie burgers he used to eat all the time. DH was so pleased with another frugal burger recipe in our repertoire, and he took a big container for his lunch the next day. Only DS#1 wasn't a huge fan, and he claimed he could taste the 2 teaspoons of paprika, AKA the mildest spice known to man.
@Karen A., is tea one of the things that will go up? I found some close out tea and have a stockpile because of that. Did I unwittingly prepare myself for a teapocalypse?
@Ann on the farm, Not sure, I just know that I mostly drink herbal teas, and try to get brands that don't use plastic in their bags. Yogi Tea is one of them, and Kroger has had them in their "buy 5, save $1 off" promotion, plus they are on sale even before that. There's one variety that is on closeout, as well, so I've been snapping them up for anywhere between 2.99 and 1.24. I figure I don't go out for tea or coffee, and having nice teas on hand helps me focus on studying, so it's all good. It looks like I have a slight hoarding problem right now, though, in my tea cupboard!
@Karen A., yes, my husband has made a few comments! 😉
@Ann on the farm, I sent a picture of my cupboard to my best friend and asked if I had a problem, and she pointed out that in the past I've sent her teas to try, so I'd only be hoarding if a) I never wanted to share and b) refused to brew any! My kids know the tea cupboard is always open to them; one likes spicy herbal teas and another is a fan of the occasional decaf Irish breakfast.
@Karen A., I’ll definitely work through my stash. It’s such a frugal pleasure for me.
Hi Kristen! On potatoes in soup: I think this looks like it’s worth a try, if you haven’t! (I love Serious Eats.) https://www.seriouseats.com/potato-cutting-trick-for-soups-and-stews-8759081
What I spent: $45 (but $15 of that was for a new phone charger after mine unexpectedly died).
What I ate:
I've been trying to use up random little bits of things from the freezer, so there have been a lot of soups and pasta dishes.
Friday and Saturday, pumpkin soup with gf bread
Sunday, tortilla soup from the freezer
Monday and Tuesday, gf pasta with red sauce and sausage
Wednesday, gf pasta with margarine and broccoli and sausage
Thursday, gf pasta with olive oil, diced tomatoes, and the last of the sausage.
Tonight I'll probably make a pasta salad to finish the pasta and diced tomatoes.
Saturday: takeout as I was too tired to cook after hosting oldest daughter's baby shower all day
Sunday: Fajita chicken bowls....they were really yummy
Monday: meatloaf, roasted potatoes, broccoli
Tuesday: $.25 wings out with friends
Wednesday: Blt sandwiches and french fries
Thursday: shepherds pie from freezer (made from Thanksgiving leftovers)
Friday: unknown as we need to shop for home improvement supplies
@Gina, BLTs! NOW I remember what I forgot to pick up at Sprouts yesterday -- a tomato! They always have those beautiful heirloom tomatoes that are so pretty and juicy. The bacon I have, the bread I have ... the tomato? Not so much.
WIS: um, a whole lot...309 @Aldi, 16 @Lidl, 72 @Target and then another 71 @Aldi for a total of 468 this week. A lot of that was on juice and snacks for sick kids. But I also got cat food and some liquid egg whites which haven't gotten stupid expensive yet. I'm planning to save the precious golden cloaca droppings for the times when it really matters like for a fried egg or a hard boiled egg, and use the egg whites for baking or scrambles, etc. Was my husband annoyed when I brought home six cartons? Maybe, but since he has also been running a fever, I'm just going to pretend that he is too sick to properly see my brilliance with this plan. Those egg whites are good for two and a half months in the fridge, you can probably freeze them literally as is, and honestly, how long will it be before they jump up in price too? See? I'm not that crazy. He's just feverish.
WWA:
Fri: salad and slightly lighter than usual focaccia-just cheese and no bacon.
Sat: salad and leftover lasagna for those who were eating.
Sun: we had leftover salad and I turned the leftover lasagna into a soup by dicing it up and chucking it into the crockpot with two cans of chicken broth. It turned out pretty good.
Mon: leftover lasagna soup, leftover focaccia, apple sauce and crackers.
Tue: I got back from grocery shopping kind of late, so we had palak paneer and dim sum I had picked up at Lidl. We also opened a can of mutter paneer from the pantry and the kids had garlic naan, apple sauce and strawberries.
Wed: husband started feeling sick, so I made yogurt with corn flakes, grapes, strawberries and juice for me and the still sick kids.
Thu: I made chicken noodle soup using some homemade chicken stock, a can of chicken, 12 oz of tricolor rotini pasta and some random veggies. It was delicious. We had it with juice and strawberries that may or may not have been frozen from being crammed into the fridge on top of all the excess juice boxes. I expect I might just find out if cartons of egg whites freeze well even if I don't actually put any in the freezer...
Tonight: maybe leftover soup since my husband was too sick to make focaccia dough. Oh, well. At least it's finally Friday!
Happy weekend, everyone!
@Becca,
I would think the egg whites would freeze just fine, but I dont know if you can freeze them *in the carton*. Wondering if theres enough "head space" in there for expansion when it freezes. Maybe someone else from the Commentariat knows?
I was gifted a couple cartons of whole eggs a few months ago (the liquid kind your pour), but I subdivided it into zip lock bags (the equivalent of 2 eggs/bag). It's kept well in the freezer. I usually use them in baking.
Saturday - we had so many leftovers from the previous week that we had leftovers for both lunch and dinner this day
Sunday - We went to my parents' house to celebrate my brother's birthday. I brought ice cream.
Monday - Beef stew and crescent rolls
Tuesday - My husband was at a meeting at church and had dinner there. This meeting happens once a month and I always do something easy at home. We had salami/cheese/crackers, a few different fruits, and a few different veggies. Then put on a movie while we ate and I gave the kids an early bedtime.
Wednesday - Steak fajitas and mango
Thursday - Pork roast, sweet potatoes, green beans, and pineapple
Friday - Chicken, broccoli and cauliflower with cheese, and baby potatoes
Friday: We tried the new Korean Fried Chicken place that just opened in our town. Excellent!
Saturday: Dinner out with friends before a show. My husband and I split a steak and we shared sides of hash browns and brussels sprouts with the table.
Sunday: Veggie soup, chicken Caesar wraps.
Monday: Slow cooker sausage, potatoes, and green beans.
Tuesday: Korean Short Ribs, cauliflower fried rice.
Wednesday: Cheesy Beef and Kale Pasta Bake.
Thursday: Chicken Thighs with Spicy Corn, mashed potatoes.
WIS: Safeway - 15.95
Still sorting out the freezer and using what I have!
WWA:
M - Turkey tetrazzini with turkey from the freezer, salad
T - Leftover crust less quiche with duck eggs from last week plus fruit and something else???
W - Mock reuben’s (beef lunchmeat, white cheese slices, homemade 1000 island dressing, leftover red cabbage), potato chips, crudités
T - Beef sirloin petite steak with onions, the last small winter squash, carrot & raisin salad
F - Pineapple chicken with rice
S - Shrimp, cheesy grits, sautéed onions & peppers
S - Leftover pineapple chicken with rice
Spent $76 at Aldi, and $40 at Walmart.
“Throw Together” beef short ribs ( crock pot recipe I’ve made for years) with easy rice pilaf and roasted acorn squash.
Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, peas, and pickled beets.
Pork chops in wine gravy with mushrooms, roasted sweet potato “medallions” ( just peeled sweet potatoes cut into thick slices, brushed with butter and sprinkled with brown sugar) green beans with bacon
Chicken salad sandwiches on croissant, with pasta salad
Homemade vegetable beef soup with corn muffins.
I have been tracking all of our food expenses with a budget of $600 a month. It used to be $400 but groceries are up so much that I just couldn't do it for $400 and feel like we were eating decently. Since we started this, I have always been closer to $550. I just calculated for this month and we're at $658...but wait! I had counted my brand new $65 annual Costco membership as groceries -- it kind of is? So we are still under $600, almost exactly.
Started the week eating leftover birthday pizza and cake. Not healthy, but delicious. Tuesday I made lemon chicken from prev. marinated and frozen chicken thighs. Husband hates dark meat and the taste was not to his liking. I made a pilaf from rice and the last bit of orzo from the spilled box to go with it.
Wednesday I made a batch of garam masala and then a pot of chickpea masala for dinner (including carrots, bell peppers, onion, yogurt, butter). And I put in the rest of the chicken anyway. Served it over couscous, which I adore and plan to make tabboulleh with the leftovers. Husband did not notice the chicken and loved the meal.
Husband came down with a bad cold to I cobbled together a (white meat) chicken noodle soup using frozen chicken breast, Costco broth, carrot, frozen peas, and some alphabet noodles from the Mexican store (super cheap -- not sure now that the tariffs are kicking in). It's a large pot so he will eat that for a few days.
I had more chickpea masala over the original pilaf Thursday for lunch, then I had it over the couscous Thursday night.
I'm about to make spinach ravioli from the freezer tonight, with jarred sauce from the pantry, and a tossed green salad from the fridge. No spending money today in the economic blackout.
@Julia Tracey,
I would love your recipe for chickpea masala!
Late to the party.
I got a Misfits box on Saturday for $56, bought some things at the Mennonite store for $40 something but it included "biscuit ham slices" to use on the Hawaiian dinner rolls (baked with the sauce) for church dinner next Sunday. Bought $60 plus of groceries at Aldi. Total:$156. Aldi's was a lot of impulse buying. I will probably not shop again for a couple of weeks with the exception of milk, ice, ice cream and Misfits on the 7th.
Sunday night, I prepped iceberg lettuce/spinach salads with some homegrown dried basil for two nights work, and a bigger bowl to pull from the rest of the week. This included: sliced cremini mushrooms, red bell pepper, green onions, very good grape tomatoes, cucumber peeled and cut in chunky sticks. For the work salads I added ham strips, thin sliced turkey, jack and swiss cheese strips. Sunday night, I ate while I prepped. I had those chef salads Monday and Tuesday night. Wednesday night it was Sun Chips and Tzatziki dip. Last night, air fried wedged potato, two pieces of beer battered fish from Aldi and some mushrooms. I had a side salad, too. I must admit, I generally am not big on salad BUT after two nights at work, the side salad last night was very good. There is a restaurant in a not so far away town that bottles their own sweet onion house vinaigrette and I could eat it with a spoon. I found the fish heavy on the batter and lean on the fish. Tonight is Sun Chips and tzatziki plus a half sweet Lebanon bologna sammy with sour dough bread, co-jack (and sacrilege-mayo or miracle whip).
My mother-in-law is here right now so we're taking turns making the main meal.
- Burritos
- chick péa rice bowls
- Smash burgers, fries and carrot cake for my son's bday
- leftover Chinese take out (I just cooked up more rice)
- Pasta bake
What we ate this week
Monday— rotisserie chicken from Sam’s, wild rice, broccoli
Tuesday — homemade black bean soup, leftover rotisserie chicken salad sandwiches, chips ( a soup and sandwich meal)
Wednesday — more soup, quick beef and broccoli from sirloin I had in the freezer served over ramen noodles, cucumber kimchee a friend makes for me.
Thursday — cheese and broccoli chicken cordon blues from Sam’s, baked potatoes, frozen green beans, garlic bread I made from a loaf of reduced French bread I had put in the freezer. I used half the loaf.
Friday — hubby picked us up burgers, fries and drinks since I was out visiting an elderly friend all day.
(Wow! Lots of broccoli and chicken this week! )
Sat - take out Chinese with gifted HM egg rolls
Sun - dine out Mexican - juevos for both of us but neither of us had juevos rancheros
Mon - left over pieces of steak from freezer fried up with potatoes, red peppers, mushrooms, onions, salad
Tue - grilled cheese, tomato soup, leftover pizza, salad
Wed - one skillet cheese/asp or mushroom bacon wrapped chic breast, potatoes, carrots
Thu - beef tenderloin and potato rounds brown in oven
Fri - tortelloni with mushrooms, red peppers, onions, and shrimp casserole style