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.
Did I drive there in my new car? YES I DID.
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. 🙂
Ruth T
Friday 2nd of January 2026
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.
Karen A.
Friday 2nd of January 2026
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.
Bee
Friday 2nd of January 2026
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!
Gina from The Cannary Family
Friday 2nd of January 2026
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 (:
Karen A.
Friday 2nd of January 2026
@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!
Ruby
Friday 2nd of January 2026
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.