WIS, WWA | kitchen: closed
What I Spent
It was another weird week of very little cooking!
I spent:
- $24 at Safeway
- $30 on a Hungry Harvest box
- $16 at Royal Farms
- $24 on fast food
So, $94 which is not too shabby for a kitchen-mostly-closed week.
And I DID cook all my breakfasts and pack all of my work lunches, so there's that.
What We Ate
Saturday
This was the only time in an eight-day stretch around Christmas where Zoe and I were both off of work.
So we did a little bit of belated Christmas stuff, like exchanging presents and eating cinnamon rolls.
And then in the evening, we went to see the Wicked movie and picked up fast food on the way.
Sunday
One of my cousins was doing photography at a wedding and needed help with one of her kiddos, so she asked if I could come and help.
They had Mission BBQ at the wedding, so that's what I ate for dinner.
Monday
I know I went to work this day, but I have absolutely no record of what we ate for dinner.
OHHHH. Wait, I remember! I ate my work lunch crazy crazy crazy late this day, and I wasn't even hungry for dinner when I got home. I think I ate a few snacks and then went to bed.
Tuesday
I made blueberry pancakes for myself after work.
Wednesday
It was New Year's Eve, yes, but it was my last of many shifts, so I was TIRED. I went home, cooked up the rest of the pancake batter, showered, and went to bed.
Thursday
I had a pretty productive first day off, but my productivity was not of the kitchen variety. Ha.
So, I spent $16 on chicken and waffle sandwiches from Royal Farms for Zoe and me. 🙂
Friday
Today I am hoping to organize my fridge and get my kitchen life in order! Sooo, perhaps I will actually cook a meal tonight. 🙂
Saturday: This was my birthday, and I chose, as I almost always do, to eat leftovers. 🙂 I do this because I like my own food best, and this way I don't have to actually cook again. Well, this was minimal cooking. Just leftover ham, rice, alread-cooked onion, and peas and shredded carrots sauteed in butter. I love this kind of plain skillet meal. I am not usually keen on yet more baked goods on my birthday after a month of Christmas baking and treats, so I typically just go with ice cream. We only had vanilla ice cream so I made chocolatefudge/peanut butter sauce to go on top.
Sunday: Hamburger patties (no buns), leftover scalloped potatoes, pickled radishes, and for Sunday dessert, I shared the dark chocolate my parents sent me for my birthday.
Monday: My husband came home with the two younger boys from their hunting trip. I made green chile hamburger stew with the remainder of the ground beef. To that I added as many vegetables as I thought they would all eat (potatoes, carrots, peas, pureed squash), which had been sorely lacking for the hunters all week. I also made cornbread.
Tuesday: I cooked one of the roosters from the freezer in a tomato sauce, and then used most of the sauce from the chicken for pasta. And since the rooster was in the oven for awhile, I also made baked rice pudding. There were carrots cooked in the pan with the rooster, and frozen peas for those who do not enjoy cooked carrots.
Wednesday: When my husband is hunting/camping, he always buys hamburger patties, American cheese, bacon, and butter bread to make his grease burgers over the campfire. They came home before he cooked them, though, so he brought all of that home and made them this night. He also made french fries, and I added some carrot sticks.
Thursday: Our traditional New Year's Day meal, which is pork for health, greens for wealth, black-eyed peas for happiness, rice for peace, and pecan pie for joy. Those last two aren't part of the Southern tradition. My children came up with them just because I always make rice and the pie.
Tonight: I suspect the home crew will have leftovers from last night. I will be away for my one night at a hotel in the city. I'll probably eat in the hotel bar, where I go to have a drink. Usually I get nachos or a hamburger or something. We'll see. But I won't be cooking or doing dishes! Whee!
Happy birthday!!!! (Belatedly!
@kristin @ going country, Happy Birthday. Hope the year ahead is wonderful, and enjoy your day away.
@kristin @ going country,
Happy birthday! I definitely would not object to any leftovers from tour kitchen -
@kristin @ going country,
Happy birthday and enjoy your night on the town!
@kristin @ going country, Happy birthday!
@kristin @ going country, Happy Birthday!
@kristin @ going country,
Happy Birthday! In our family, we celebrate birthday season....celebrate with all that you love!
@Kristen, Happy Birthday. Sounds like a peaceful, relaxed meal. My birthday is in February, and I am already thinking about how I will treat myself. If I take myself out for lunch, it will have to be someplace that is worthwhile. My friends and I went to dinner a couple of weeks ago, and again (I had been to this place last year) it was just food--not worth price and not up to the menu description.
@kristin @ going country, happy belated birthday!
Pancakes are so great. I made some yesterday!
Sunday: My parents had held a celebratory lunch so we all had leftovers for dinner.
Monday: I made chicken schnitzel (and frozen two extra meals' worth) plus a simple salad.
Tuesday: Modular pasta. Our 4 y/o ate pasta and broccoli separately, I ate them together olive oil, lemon, black pepper, and parmesan, and Mr. B added parmesam and olives, no lemon.
Wednesday: NYE! We kept it fun and low-key. We had hotdogs, fries, and salad.
Thursday: We had chicken broth and schnitzel from the freezer, plus cucumber salad and rice.
Friday: Not sure. I kind of feel like just getting a pizza and making a salad.
Whatttttt would I do without pancakes?? I might starve. Hehe.
@Kristen, haha they feel like cheating. They're easy, my kid gets SO excited for them, and they are so inexpensive. I've found that despite all the hand-wringing on recipe sites, they come out fine whether I have buttermilk, diluted yogurt, milk-and-vinegar, or baking powder instead of soda. Some day I'd love an electric griddle, but for now our pan and unreliable stove is good enough.
I feel like the buttermilk and the yogurt are miles better than the milk and vinegar trick! The milk and vinegar is never thick enough for my taste.
@Meira Bear, One trick I've found that is quicker (and some of the kids think it is a special pancake treat), is pouring the batter on a buttered cookie sheet and baking them in the oven. It's even BETTER if you have sprinkles to add to the batter-- very fancy (in kids' eyes). So sometimes I do this.
@Kristen, I agree completely. When I do milk/vinegar it never really gets thick--but it does work if you're desperate! I don't stock buttermilk because we use it so rarely, but we usually have some yogurt around.
@Jody S., thank you! I've never tried that, but maybe I will.
@Kristen, Us too. I often go to that--always have flour in the house.
Heh! I know that wedding family! Thanks for supporting the home team so your cousin could work her magic behind the camera. She does beautiful photography!
Haha yes I saw one of your kiddos!
Time never makes sense this week! I keep forgetting what day it is lol. This is my general recollection!
Christmas Day: We had a big roast dinner at lunchtime and sandwiches for our evening meal.
Boxing Day: Leftovers with mashed potatoes.
Saturday: Leftovers with roast potatoes.
I don't remember the order of what else we ate but it included veggie burgers and mushroom omelettes. On Friday I got a large hummus wrap and waffle fries which I ate during a film night at my sister's place and on New Year's Eve I had a scratch meal before going to a New Year's party. I also had a fried egg sandwich when my friend and I got back to her place. I'll be back to cooking my own meals next week!
@Sophie in Denmark, yes indeed, “time makes no sense this week”. I’ve always felt as if the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is a freebie, a bonus, time that doesn’t count. It’s when I can do nothing, or get ahead on a to-do list.
@Sophie in Denmark, My yoga instructor said today that “these are the weeks that you eat too much cheese & you don’t know what day it is.” Yes. Yes, it is
@Sophie in Denmark, same. I'm already looking forward to next week when time will make sense again.
@Diane, The perfect description!
I have been SO confused about what day it is this past week or so!
@Kristen, It's liminal space time!
@Kristen,
That's because you're working so many days that you meet yourself coming and going!
@Diane, this is soooooo true. It is like time stands still and all the days blend together.
@MB in MN, As we left work on Tuesday, already having a 2 day work week before Christmas and a 2 day work week before New Years, we said back to routine next week. I am looking forward to getting back to my routine and catching up.
WIS: $85 at Food Lion.
WWA: Leftover Christmas ham with a big green salad, crackers, olives and cheese. Boneless beef ribs cooked pot roast style with carrots, onions and chopped sweet peppers. Hamburger-vegetable soup that used up some discounted burger patties from Aldi with a can of sale Progresso tomato soup as the base. Apples and oranges as the fruit and chocolate pudding for desserts.
Is it just me, or does it seem like take-out is cheaper where you live? Because in Austin you cannot eat dinner out, for one human, for less than $15, all told. I usually eat lunch out, if anything. But even then, its at least $10. ): This week I spent around $30 at HEB and maybe around $20 for take-out as my dishwasher broke and I have no water in the kitchen... I ate:
Monday - I had a quesadilla at home after work
Tuesday - (freezer) Baked Chicken Breast, Mac and cheese
Wednesday - Steak for one, (freezer) twice baked potato, broccoli
Thursday - (freezer) roast pork, corn casserole, coleslaw, Moscato
Friday - I haven't decided yet...I'm kind of back to Sick of Cooking.
Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed, but I am packing big salads with protein because this girl needs a vegetable!
Happy weekend (:
@Gina from The Cannary Family, I just read your blog story about the dishwasher. It seems my oven and your dishwasher decided 2025 was just too much and went on strike. We're waiting on an oven part. I hope your dishwasher is back in action soon!
@Gina from The Cannary Family, I bought 2 burritos to bring home for dinner after a day of mural painting (husband had left a message that the power might be out when I got home). TWO BURRITOS, a la carte, $28.25!!! What in the world?? We split one and the other remains in the fridge for tomorrow night.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana,
Yikes on the cost of 2 burritos! A chain burrito/bowl place near us has a deal after 6 PM (2 burritos or bowls for $16.99), so we usually order after 6 PM if we're getting dinner from there. The burritos and bowls are very generous, too.
It might be! I know Austin is not a cheap area, but I'm not sure how it compares to here.
@Gina from The Cannary Family, I have a friend that I met regularly for lunch. Where I live, we cannot have lunch most places for less than $20 without tip now and most lunches are reaching $30. (Except for Panera). We are now meeting for coffee more often now or running errands together. Food is so expensive.
@Bee, we have a local Mexican restaurant that does senior night on Tuesdays and all entrees are half price. If we're dining out, that is always our choice now if in the mood for Mexican. It IS crowded and we live in an area with LOADS of small Mexican dining options. But we can eat for $10 for two. DH always gets a margarita which is about the same price. He says that's where they'll make some money (or he just says that); we tip on full price before discount. And nearly always leave with a lunch portion for each of us leftover.
Yesterday I met friends at Panera and was shocked at how pricey it was. I'm old enough to remember the you pick two option when they were about $7 total for both halves. Chose a bowl of soup that I don't make myself ... that we thought looked about the same size as the cup of soup. Each was in different size bowls but suspiciously close to the same amount that day.
Meals I remember this week - Ikea plant balls, vegan mashed potatoes, cole slaw, leftovers of that meal, gnocchi and salad, soup and sandwich, and leftover of Mexican dinner out - which had ended up being our anniversary dinner out!
WWS - $283. I made my monthly trip to Costco where I spent $190 on food items. I spent $93 at Trader Joe's. We were out of a lot of items because of the holidays. We also splurge on New Year's Eve dinner rather than going to a restaurant or club. I expect next week's totals to be much smaller.
WWA -
Saturday and Sunday - We ate various leftover. Our adult children were heading home after the holidays so we cleared the refrigerator. I don't think our meals were particularly balanced, but they were nutritious.
Monday - Steak, roasted butternut squash (me), baked potato (DH), and broccoli.
Tuesday - rotisserie chicken, roasted carrots, and jasmine rice.
Wednesday (New Year's Eve) - lobster and salad with spinach, apple, dates, nuts, and feta.
Thursday - Traditional dinner of black-eyed peas, greens, and cornbread.
Friday - Tacos
Bon appetite and have a great weekend!
Monday: Just pasta with storebought sauce; I didn't make quite enough pasta, a mistake I won't repeat!
Tuesday: DS#2 made tacos.
Wednesday: My plan was to bake salmon filets, roast chickpeas, make hummus (we had cooked a huge batch of chickpeas earlier), make crockpot potatoes and put out a veggie tray as well for a NYE dinner. However, in the early morning, as I heated the oven up for the roasted chickpeas, the heating element in the oven made a profound POOF, alerting both me and the Commodore, and we investigated and confirmed that the element had exploded. Happy New Year! Texted DH and he quickly ordered a new element, but it won't arrive til Saturday. I pivoted: potatoes in the crockpot, burgers done on the skillet, veggie tray and hummus. I also took this opportunity to deep clean the oven, as I didn't have to worry about jostling the coil, it being broken already!
Thursday: DH brought home ingredients for pasta alfredo, and he pan-cooked some of the salmon steaks I had to go with it. Very delicious.
Friday: Well, we still don't have an oven but we have lots of leftovers. So we will do leftovers and extra pasta, and then maybe tomorrow we'll have an oven so we can have pizza. If not, DS#3 can make chili, as we have all the ingredients for that! I'm sure by Sunday we'll be back with a fully operational oven.
We're currently in southern Pennsylvania and I had my first crab burger last night! It was delicious!
Tonight will be fast food on the road home.
@Ruth T, that sounds really good to me, as I sit here and make menus for the week!
WIS: $46 at Wegmans and $74 at Price Chopper ($42 of which was for supplements).
WIA: The most creative effort this week was a lentil soup that used up the last of the small ham I bought myself, some tomato paste left over from Christmas Eve dinner, and assorted veg (including homegrown garlic and herbs).
Ahhh...winter--when I can make pot after pot of stews/soups and call dinner done. This helps me get through winter because I'm not a huge fan of snow & ice.
With our all adult household now, everyone can either eat what's on the stove or fend for themselves. This week's choices were: ham & bean soup, Brunswick stew, rice & cowboy caviar, eggs in whatever form people made for themselves (mine were scrambled on sautéed greens over rice; son's were scrambled with hot spices & laid into wraps with cheese), and we went to a wedding on Saturday last so had delicious food there.
WIS: Panera $11, Aldi $39 still using up holiday leftovers so low spend week
Happy Friday, everyone! We're now in Arizona for the winter and we spent $297 stocking our Airbnb ($124 at Sprouts and $173 at Walmart). But you wouldn't know it by what I ate for dinner:
- Rice/veggie concoction (leftovers from home)
- Salad (leftovers from home)
- Cheese pizza
- Cottage cheese and mandarin orange
- Roasted veggies
- No dinner as I was still full from restaurant lunch
- Truffle parmesan risotto
What I spent: $49 at Kroger, just today. The past week's meals were all from the pantry and fridge/freezer.
What I ate: leftovers of ham and sweet potatoes and corn muffins after Christmas. Then I used the last of the ham, plus some frozen peas and carrots, in a batch of potato soup. I also had a beef pot pie and the last of my frozen burritos. On New Year's day I had the traditional black eyed peas with pork and spinach, along with some cornbread. I have no idea what I'm eating tonight. I'll figure something out.
WIS: right around $128 with a little stocking up included.
WIA: sheet pan meal of pork chops and a mix of frozen vegetables including green beans, zucchini, cauliflower and other stuff I don’t remember. I made two lunches and two dinners out of this. I also had homemade applesauce with it.
I was going to have a salad with protein but it got cold and the house was cool so I thawed beef stew from the freezer and had that.
I had Brunswick stew that my son-in-law made on New Year’s Eve. It was delicious.
The traditional New Year’s dinner of hog jowl, black-eyed peas, greens (mine were mustard) and corn bread with a slurry of molasses (aka cane syrup) and softened butter, spread on it. Iced tea with it. I departed from tradition to have a fresh grapefruit from my daughter’s tree for dessert. Except for the grapefruit this has been my New Year’s dinner all my life.
Tonight will probably be that salad with protein.
I spent $112.
Saturday we ate lunch out and got a chicken sandwich while helping our sons with a house project.
Sunday: All the kids came over and we had hamburgers/tots/salad/homemade buccee nuggets and the last of any Christmas candies
Monday: beef stew
Tuesday: chopped italian subs and fruit (sub buns made with pizza dough from the freezer)
Wednesday: ramen with chicken and an egg
Thursday: We met my parents halfway between our homes at Texas Roadhouse for a late lunch. I had chicken tenders.
Friday: We are having pork chops, dressings, and asparagus
Sunday dinner was left over prime rib made into French dip sammies. Veggies and dip and mix of cake, pies, bars and ice cream.
M - Asian cabbage salad with chicken, mandarins
T - fried rice with the rest of the of the Lunch ham
W- made baked beans, layered salad, black eyed peas, cornbread, apple slab pies and hard sauce for community dinner.
Th - bean soup,green salad, smoked pork butt
Fri - mom woke up with the flu, she never gets sick, so I got out a rotisserie carcass for soup, will make a green salad for me. Artisan bread for her toast.
Saturday & Sunday will depend on how she feels. My cousin is picking up her tamiflu prescription right now.
Sunday dinner will be the smoked pork butt, sauerkraut, apple salad and bar cookies.
Am I the only one who felt like today is Sunday? My daughter calls this week Chrimbo (Christmas Limbo).
@Blue Gate Farmgirl, nope, you're not the only one!
Sunday: Grilled cheese sandwiches and an orange
Monday: sticky chicken, chicken fried rice, peas
Tuesday: Penne pasta with homemade meatballs & sauce, garlic bread
Wednesday: Homemade pizzas
Thursday: smoked bbq ribs (2 flavors), baked beans, coleslaw, macaroni & cheese. banana split dessert
Friday: tonight will be leftovers
It’s been a few weeks since I shared WWA and my kitchen has been BUSY! Between hosting both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we also hosted my sister and niece during their visit before Christmas and offered our home for all family meals while my sister was in town. One of the reasons we fell in love with our house was that we could host and feed our family and friends and we certainly did that in December.
Friday: Dinner Out! My husband and I celebrated our 5th anniversary with a lovely dinner for two.
Saturday: Tater Tot Hot Dish. My coworkers came over for our annual winter break puzzle party.
Sunday: A crockpot beef and potatoes concoction that my husband made for his weekly lunch meal prep.
Monday: Red Beans and Rice with chicken
Tuesday: Sriracha Salmon and Rice Bowls
Wednesday: Ina Garten’s Kitchen Clam Bake and homemade Cheddar Bay Biscuits
Thursday: Burger Bowls
I've decided that this year I will try to participate on Fridays--if I have time and if it doesn't cause me to neglect my family. However, I will not set myself up for failure by trying to remember all the foods. I'll just hit the highlights.
*New Year's Eve-- bits and bobs. That's what we call finger foods. I wanted to make something fancy (beyond our normal cheese and crackers), so I tried to make puff pastry. It worked. I make puff pastry mini-cups filled with a smoked salmon and cheese concoction. Now my daughter wonders if I can also make croissants from scratch. I think I'll have to try it this year.
*onion strudel with cucumber salad. The meat here was braised beef (oxtail and short ribs).
*chili soup and carrot sticks.
*deer loin (thanks to daughter #2), roasted butternut squash and onions, leftover rice stuff, leftover salad, broccoli with garlic.
That's all I can remember.
I spent $19 at Aldi and $6 at Jewel (but also got $10 worth of free groceries at Jewel).
Saturday - broccoli cheese soup
Sunday - sausage and Swiss cheese sandwich
Monday - crab cake sandwich
Tuesday - sausage gravy and biscuits
Wednesday - vegetable soup and bagel
Thursday - apple slices with peanut butter and honey
Friday - tonight I will probably make a green bean casserole and baked sweet potato
I cannot even remember what I ate all week. Mostly snacky stuff. Lol.
My decluttering group is doing a monthly challenge for 2026 and January's task is cleaning the kitchen (in my case the open floor plan means the office and laundry room are fair game as well as the kitchen).
Assembled and hung up a over the door storage thing which I would not have bought if I realized that the shelves were plastic. It was also a bear to assemble!! But it's done now.
I am starting to browse these kinds of posts for dinner ideas. Do you have a spot where meals are consolidated into one post? Kind of a virtual cookbook?
@Kaitlin, You could try the main dishes tab under Categories?
One of the challenges of shift work, especially shift work with no regularity, is eating well and frugally. I've always found this difficult and no doubt many people struggle with this. So often I would swing from exhausted to rested....it got tricky to plan ahead. I'd be curious how other people deal with this frugally and healthily. Having been a nurse for 25 years I still haven't completely succeeded in this realm. Having a family and sticking to those healthy work/eat/rest routines even when my personal routine is off is definitely helpful. I've also found it helpful to simply acknowledge this challenge and not just feel that I'm failing.
Any tips or things you've learnt?
@Helen,
This could be an interesting discussion. It may also be helpful for working parents and those who have heavy seasonal loads.
Roche Bros $1.25
I had shopped before Christmas. My daughter and her family were coming over the Sunday after Christmas. I thought I might have to go to the grocery store to make a meal for 5--But, I did not. I had bought plenty before Christmas.
My "smallest ham in the store" served us Christmas, Wednesday, Thursday and there is still a piece for tonight
Sunday: Ham, scalloped potatoes, squash, cornbread souffle.
Monday: Leftover prime rib in onion soup grave.
Tuesday: I ate my lunch on the way home from work, arrived late at home and was tired--not hungry.
Wednesday: Leftover ham, roasted potatoes.
Thursday: Frittata with leftover ham and vegetables.
Friday: We had a late lunch provided by my grandson (and granddaughter-server). So I was not hungry. Husband at remainder of frittata.
Tonight (Saturday) remainder of the ham--clean out whatever is left in the 'fridge. Back to some kind of routine next week.