WIS, WWA | last one for March!
What I Spent
Happy Friday! Time for some food chit-chat.
I spent:
- $110 at Aldi
- $47 at Safeway
So, $157, largely because I pressed the easy button too many times and went to Safeway. Ahahaha. Everything I bought at Safeway was marked down or on sale, but still...Safeway ain't no Aldi. 😉
What We Ate
Saturday
Zoe had a leftover sandwich to eat, and this was the night I did the dutiful chicken soup eating (which I mentioned in Tuesday's Five Frugal Things.)
Sunday
I opted for a breakfast-for-dinner night, and as you can see, Chiquita joined us. 😉
She did not, in fact, have any waffles.
Monday
We had an easy meal of cheese ravioli and a jar of red sauce.
Tuesday
I had a singleton work shift, which is a little unusual! Zoe had already eaten, so I pulled out a trusty bowl of raisin bran. 😉
Wednesday
I made a pan of Marry Me Chickpeas, which is a super-easy one-dish meal.
As I ate it, I thought it would also be very good with some cannellini beans instead of the chickpeas. I will try that next time!
Thursday
I made a green salad with chicken.
Friday
Today is day one out of three work shifts in a row, and I'll probably just eat a peanut butter sandwich when I get home.
I did pack leftover Marry Me Chickpeas for lunch today, though, so don't worry, I am getting my greens in (they have spinach!) 😉
The waffles look so good!
This week's eats:
Saturday: Potato frittata with spinach.
Sunday: I cooked a roast dinner. I had roast potatoes with veggie burgers, carrots and sauteed spinach and made a fruit crumble for dessert, which I had with vanilla ice cream.
Monday: Burritos with mixed veg, black beans, brown rice and sauce.
Tuesday: Chilli mac and cheese.
Wednesday: Leftovers.
Thursday: I had a plumbing crisis so ended up ordering pizza
Friday: I'm at my parents' place so whatever they decide to cook!
How do you make your frittatas? My attempts at baked egg dishes usually come out with an unappealing texture, and I'm wondering if I'm missing something.
I make them inappropriate skillet; I slice some potatoes very thinly and fry them, add some spinach and then whisk two or three eggs with some milk and salt and pepper. I tip the potatoes spinach into the egg mixture, pour it back the pan and let it cook a little before adding some cheese and garlic powder and finishing it in the oven 🙂
* in a skillet! Stupid autocorrect!
I struggle a lot with quick breakfasts - something I can eat in between meetings. How do you prepare your overnight oats? Could you please share your recipe?
She's posted a few variations, but I think this is the main recipe: https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/how-to-make-diy-instant-microwave-oatmeal-for-one/
I was just about to request the overnight oats recipe too. It looks like you add chia seeds. I just bought some and am looking for recipes to use them.
My basic overnight oats recipe is:
1/3 cup oats
1/3 cup milk of choice
spoonful of chia seeds
sprinkle of cinnamon
couple spoonfuls of Greek yogurt
In the morning I add whatever fruit and nuts I have and a drizzle of honey.
I make chia pudding which looks and sounds weird but it's pretty good and a good way to start your day with some fiber. I just put 1/2 cup of almond milk (or milk of your choice) with 2 TBS of chia in a bowl and stir it up. You can also add maple syrup or sweetener. cover it and leave it in the refrigerator overnight and then stir/top with whatever you like in the morning. (berries, coconut dark chocolate chips, walnuts and pumpkin seeds are my favorite)
WIS: $0 on groceries, but $83.83 for my 1/5th share of the always lovely afternoon tea service at the St. James Tearoom, where our small group of 6 celebrated once again our dear friend’s 90th birthday. We had previously gathered at a hotel with 100+ of her friends and family, but we wanted to have another special celebration for just the 6 of us. So I guess this was an “unbirthday” celebration, as the Mad Hatter and the March Hare would call it.
WIA: Dublin’s Fare, Cheers to Arthur Guinness! Savories (served with Irish Breakfast traditional black tea) included Beef and Ale Pot of Gold Stew, Dublin Castle Traditional Mint Butter and Cucumber Tea Sandwich, Twice Baked Cheesy Potatoling, Irish Salute Coleslaw, and Arthur’s Savory Chicken in Phyllo. Breads (served with Lady Day scented black tea) were Irish Soda Bread with Whiskey Butter, and Traditional Cream Scone with Lemon Curd and Clotted Cream. Sweets (served with Harvest Apple Chamomile herbal tea) were Country Apple Cake with Walnuts, Creme de Menthe Chocolate, and Flakemeal Crunchy with Irish Cream Whip.
And a very good time was had by all!
Saturday: My family was hither and yon, and our dinners reflected that. My daughter ate two pieces of pizza at the basketball tournament we went to watch, so she didn't eat anything when we got home. I had leftover carrot slaw and baked beans. One son when he got back from his FFA trip had baked beans, carrot slaw, and a grilled cheese sandwich. Another son when he got back from his field trip had a grilled salami and cheese sandwich.
Sunday: Lamb chops from the wethers we just butchered, with caramelized onions; rice cooked in chicken stock, tomato paste, and spices; green salad with vinaigrette; and gingerbread my daughter made, with whipped cream
Monday: Pizza--one cheese, one pepperoni--with ranch dip, carrot sticks, leftover gingerbread
Tuesday: Leftover pizza for the three besides me who were home, plus scrambled eggs for my husband. Peaches with or without cottage cheese. One of the FFA boys had a fried egg sandwich when he got back from his trip.
Wednesday: I made chili the day before because I was subbing at school this day and knew I wouldn't be home to make dinner. I would typically make cornbread to go with the chili, but it was almost 90 degrees, so instead they had corn tortillas microwaved with cheese. I also had just enough of our Lady Day waffle batter left from breakfast to make a waffle for each person to top as they wished for dessert.
Thursday: Leftover chili+rice+cheese, and then applesauce with cream
Tonight: I have five dozen eggs in the refrigerator thanks to both of my friends with many chickens giving me eggs this week. So something with eggs, to be determined. Maybe just fried egg sandwiches. Maybe omelets. I'm baking bread today, too, so I can make garlic bread if we have omelets. We'll see.
Salami and cream cheese on toast is a good sandwich - with or without tomato and/or onion.
I've had terrible luck with frozen ravioli. I don't know why--all the brands I've tried fall apart. Weirdly, frozen tortellini seem to be OK.
Friday: Tilapia with vegetables, frozen fries, cucumber salad
Saturday: We were at my parents' and I can't remember what we ate!
Sunday: Mr. B and I went to a steakhouse to celebrate our anniversary early, since our actual anniversary is during Passover. We each had a steak and shared some hummus, green beans, and mushrooms, with lots of sides left over.
Monday: I was home sick, but made myself rally in the afternoon. I prepped a tray of chicken breasts into Passover-ready baked schniztels, baked off some and froze the rest. I heated up the leftover restaurant side dishes and cut up some peppers to snack on.
Tuesday: Pasta with tomato sauce, raw vegetables on the side.
Wednesday: My mom came over and Mr. B was working late. Since he doesn't like macaroni and cheese and the rest of us do, we had homemade macaroni and cheese, and my mom brought snap peas and grapes.
Thursday: I had a glorious, glorious WFH admin day, during which I prepped a cottage pie. Mr. B and I walked over to our daughter's school to pick her up and got sushi on the way home.
Friday: Cottage pie, probably broccoli on the side, and challah. I guess I'd better put the challah in the bread machine now, since I'm WFH in the morning and have to leave at noon.
Happy Friday, everyone! We're going to two birthday parties back-to-back this weekend...send me strength.
I'm sending you all the strength! That sounds exhausting/horrific (I like a party but not two back to back)!
happy anniversary. and enjoy the birthday parties.
What is in your overnight oats? I see chia seed, cinnamon, and maybe protein powder? I have all these things and would like to try it!
We are going on Spring Break tomorrow, so we had an eat-it-up week:
Sunday - ribs, fries, cole slaw, and a veggie tray.
Monday - Leftover ribs with baked beans and veggie tray.
Tuesday - Chicken fajitas
Wednesday - leftover chicken in tacos, or with mac n cheese. Veggie tray!
Thursday - Waffles, sausage, scrambled eggs, mandarins.
Friday - find your own dinner night.
I love your use of a veggie tray!!!
She's posted a few variations, but here's one of Kristen's oats recipes: https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/how-to-make-diy-instant-microwave-oatmeal-for-one/
Happy Friday, everyone! Still in restocking mode. We spent $153 ($57 at Fresh Thyme, $59 at the natural foods co-op, $8 at Tare Market, and $29 at Aldi).
- Fruit-yogurt-granola parfait and toast with peanut butter
- Veggie egg roll, 1/2 veggie burger (no bun), sweet 'n' sour cabbage
- Avocado toast, enhanced with poblano sauce and Sriracha sauce
- Carrots and dip; oatmeal raisin cookies
- Protein pasta with broccoli, walnuts and fresh Parmesan cheese (bought Barilla brand as recommended here - I didn't notice a taste difference but I was happy to get more protein in my body)
- Homemade tomato bisque with homemade croutons made with basil olive oil
- Salad: mixed greens, sliced radishes, raisins, walnuts, homemade croutons, shredded cheese, cottage cheese, homemade vinaigrette
I have never hear of Tare Market! I just looked up their website and I think I'll make a trip there this weekend - thanks for sharing!
Enjoy! Fantastic store. I get my hair conditioner in bulk there 🙂
I have made that dish with white beans before and it is very good. I give it a blitz or two at the end with the stick hand blender and it makes the whole thing thicker and creamier. Yum!
I spent about $80.
We had so much chicken! I cooked a bunch and it never got to the freezer so then I needed to use it. We had bbq chicken, chicken ramen bowls, marinated chicken breasts with roasted potatoes, and some chicken salad at lunches.
The stand out was the garlic chicken pasta last night with lots of garlic and a simple broth/cream sauce and italian herbs.
This week, I had
- Shepards pie made with a mix of beef, lentils, carrots, brocoli, cream of mushroom, topped with mashed cauliflower and potatoes
- Taco (beef, lentils, tomatoes, spices + onions and bell peppers)
- ham croissants
- pad thai (restaurant)
- Left overs!
All hail leftovers! Fortunately for me as a single person, I rarely mind eating them.
And there's a cartoon in the 3/30/26 New Yorker that is apropos: The shorter member of a couple, with longer hair, is holding two containers of leftovers. The taller member, with shorter hair, is saying, "Instead of eating leftovers, I'd rather you cook me a whole new meal." Not making any judgments about gender assignments here--but if I were the shorter party, I think I'd have dumped the leftovers on the taller party and said, "Make your own &*## dinner!" (Probably a waste of good leftovers, though. 😛 )
Ex asked, reproachfully, ” Why do we never have stuffed fish anymore?”;My reply “ It’s ages since you’ve felt like cooking” wasn’t what he was expecting, but was, nevertheless, 100% , undeniably, true!
WIS (for two weeks, since I didn't post a WIS/WIA last week): $46 at Price Chopper, $30 at Aldi, approximately $30 on food items at Ollie's (a lot of non-food purchases there), and $32 at Wegmans.
WIA: The bad news (and the reason I didn't post last week) is that I've at least temporarily lost interest in cooking and am pretty much eating the same old same old, with which I won't bore the better cooks among you all. The good news is that I bought a container of salad greens Reduced for Quick Sale at Price Chopper and managed to finish it without having to compost more than odd bits and bobs.
I've certainly had days when peanut butter on a handful of Triscuits = dinner. And no dishes to wash up!
I honestly love reading what other people’s same ol same ol is. We’re all so different… that it’s nice to hear some new ideas!
Like going to a friends house when your were little and seeing that your “normal” was just a little different than their “normal.” Does that make sense? My best friend in junior high always came home from school and put an English muffin In the toaster oven, then added a slice of cheese. That was her afternoon snack. Blew my mind! lol i loved them!! At my house English muffins were only eaten with butter and jam. I never thought to add melty cheese 🙂 yum.
Caitlie, it does make sense! I liked learning new foods and new ways of eating them at other people's homes. This also reminds me of having hot dogs for dinner at a friend's house where her siblings called them penises and made all sorts of jokes. Everyone was laughing, including the parents. My home life was prim and proper so my eyes were as wide as saucers! This was 60 years ago and I still remember how fun it was.
Omg 😂😂😂😂😂 that’s so funny! My cheeks would have been bright red too!
I love these stories! I had a similar experience at a friends house. I’d only ever had maraschino cherries (which I didn’t like) and I thought that was the only type of cherry. At a friends house one day, her mom gave us a bowl of fresh cherries. My friend was excited and I didn’t understand why since I thought cherries were gross, I was so confused when I saw them! And delighted when I tasted them, I still eat pounds and pounds of cherries when they are in season!
Yay for real cherries! I didn’t eat those until adult hood and now I LOVE them.
IMHO, nothing wrong with same old same old. Eating something is better than nothing (or a diet of ultra-processed foods).
Better half doesn't *get* that when it comes to food, I like certain things/flavors. I like 4 flavors of yogurt - don't buy me other flavors for "variety". I provide the brand name/flavor of a snack I only eat when I work elections - don't buy me another brand's variety pack. Better half means well but you'd think after 40+ years of marriage, better half would get it.
I agree on the switch from chickpeas to camelli beansh Although I like chickpeas, I think they are kinda dry once you bite into them. Other beans have better texture to me.
As far as leftovers, soup and all, my sister lives a few miles from us and happily accepts any leftovers we have.
Here's what we did this week: I spent $70 at Walmart and $101 at Sam's, Sam's purchase was mostly for steaks and lamb chops.
Sat – gyros sandwiches made from gyros meat and sauce from Sam's, onions, tomatoes in pita bread from Aldi with oven roasted potatoes.
– S – grilled strip steaks, baked sweet potatoes, fresh steamed broccoli with cheese sauce.
– M – homemade Italian sausage vegetable soup, oven grilled lunch meat and cheese sandwiches, potato chips. (Throughout the winter we often have soup and sandwiches on Mondays.) As the weather gets warmer I'll switch to salads and sandwiches – (kind of like Panera does).
– T – canned beef stew from our disaster food supply that was getting close to its use-by date and homemade biscuits.
– W– fresh store bought meat pizza doctored up with feta cheese, red onion and jalapenos, green salad.
–Th – leftover Italian veggie soup, baked pork chops with steamed brussels sprouts, and croissants.
– F – will probably go out to eat since I'm out all day visiting my old friend.
Saturday: we had some buns to use up so we made pizza burgers
Sunday: hubby ordered wings out and brought home, I had peanut butter toast
Monday: Strombolis and salad
Tuesday: tacos
Wednesday: sausage, pierogies, steamed broccoli
Thursday: sweet and sour chicken over rice, peas
Friday: fish of some sort
What I spent: $22 for a bag of coffee beans at our local roaster. The coffee is good and it will last us at minimum a month. And less than $6 at Aldi for milk and bread.
Fri: Chicken soup
Sat: Chicken patty sandwich & fries
Sun: Eggs and Sausage
Mon: After a 3-hour on-line chat to get wifi in new home, I had to go pick up the modem. Told husband he was on his own. When I got back, he had not eaten. And I had a 7 p.m. zoom meeting and needed to get organized for work on Tuesday. Saw some chicken soup that needed to be eaten and I made toast for myself.
Tues: Picked up 2 frozen pizzas on way home from work, and we were moving on Wed. At the take-out/eat in, the frozen pizza can be $1-2 less than at the grocery store, and way less than if they cook them
Wed: (Moving day) Macaroni and papa sauce with frozen Aldi meatballs (are they the same as Carando--packed the same--but less expensive?) (Papa sauce is from son-in-law's father--better than name brands) And some homemade flat bread from the freezer.
Thurs: Leftover pizza (from Tuesday)
Tonight (Friday) leftover sauce and meatballs--can't waste it. My daughter brought over some fresh beans the other day. I think that will be the side. Need to get back to having a decent meal with some green.
And I also want to get back to admitting to my waste in foods (I think that used to be on Tuesday)=-hopefully it will make me more responsible and have less waste.
Have you linked the Marry Me Chickpea/chicken before? I'll look for it trying to do more plant based proteins.
Hi Sam, it looks like she talked about it in the 2/25 blog entry:
"Here's one I looked at, but I used chicken broth instead of veggie broth, and I added spinach." https://www.liveeatlearn.com/marry-me-chickpeas/#wprm-recipe-container-90865
Thanks Jan
I didn't look through all the comments when I asked for recipe. Thanks for this and Kristen, pls ignore my request in my comment.
Saturday - takeout night, we had sushi, veggie only for me and udon noodles for the non-sushi eater.
Sunday- my husband smoked chicken wings, I made diced roasted potatoes, coleslaw, and mozzarella sticks for the kids.
Monday - burrito night, chicken for my husband, refried beans for the kids, I repurposed the coleslaw from the night before (which wasn’t very good) and sautéed it with some beans and then baked some tofu and made my burrito out of all that. We also had Spanish rice and corn.
Tuesday - My mom fed the kids, I had cauliflower soup and toast.
Wednesday - my husbands birthday so we went out to dinner. It was a Peruvian restaurant, I had mushroom empanadas and plantains, my son had paella, husband had some type of seafood stew, daughter ordered a cheeseburger off the kids menu but did end up eating a good amount of seafood from husband and sons plates. We had a banana cream pie at home later as his birthday cake.
Thursday - I used the leftover broth from our takeout udon to make udon soup for the kids with udon noodles, carrots, broccoli, peas and corn. For myself I made fancy toast. I had some sliced olive bread and walnut bread in the freezer. I toasted some and added white bean spread, cooked kale, sliced tomato and balsamic glaze to the olive bread, I added apricot jam to the walnut bread. It was delicious!
Friday - I’ll make orzo with broccoli and mushrooms tonight.
Friday: Movie theater popcorn. We went to see Project Hail Mary at dinner time and splurged on popcorn since it will more than likely be the only movie we see in theaters this year. We were not hungry when we got home.
Saturday: We attended a “The Bear” themed birthday dinner party. It was a 6-course meal and the birthday boy’s girlfriend (and hostess) went to culinary school so it was a real treat! My husband made the Hot Beef course to help.
Sunday: Leftover Hot Beef Sandwiches, green salad.
Monday: Chick-Fil-A night – my son and I volunteered and Chick-Fil-A offered a free meal to the group’s organizer (which was me) so I treated my son and got myself a free meal. My husband was out of town.
Tuesday: Sheet Pan Dinner – sausage, cherry tomatoes, mini peppers, onion, seasoning. Usually I mix gnocchi in this but I noticed my husband had been politely not eating the gnocchi. This time I added cauliflower and cooked barley and everyone liked it much better.
Wednesday: Cabbage Enchiladas turned into a casserole – instead of rolling the enchilada filling in the cabbage leaves I mixed half a bag of coleslaw mix into the “filling” and topped everything with cheese. It made it easier/less messy to pull together.
Thursday: Fancy dinner date night. My husband and I kept missing our Valentine dinner out for various reasons but were finally able to make something work with a special event at one of our favorite restaurants. Lots of little bites all of which were delicious.
We will be leaving for Spring Break next week so my goal is no grocery shopping before we go. Meal planning is going to be interesting and honestly a little fun. I will pick up some basics for my parents who are house sitting but I will check with them first since I am sure they will bring food from their house that they don't want to go bad.
The Marry Me Chickpeas looks so delicious, I get hungry every time I see it on the screen 🙂
Saturday: Literally no memory of what we ate!
Sunday: Ravioli with Brussel sprouts and shallots in a brown butter sauce (using up leftover grilled Brussels), pork belly
Monday: Indian-style butter chicken (and tofu for me), rice and broccoli
Tuesday: Lentil soup, sausage and baguette
Wednesday: Linguini with meatballs in tomato cream sauce and grilled broccoli
Thursday: Jansson's temptation (potato anchovy cream casserole) and green salad
Friday: We have more sausages/hot dogs so might cook those with potatoes and more green salad
Sun - fam dinner , corned beef hash, savory jalapeno cheddar waffles and regular waffles, poached eggs, fruit salad and brownie waffles with cream cheese sauce.
Mon - elk and broccoli stir fry over rice
Tues - leftovers
Wed community dinner - Swedish meatballs, egg noodles, green beans.
Thurs - Asian cabbage salad
Fri - more A cabbage salad
Basketball party - I'm taking layer bean dip and smoked carne asada meat for taco bar.
Hi! I searched your site for the Marry Me Chickpea recipe but it didn’t come up. Can you share it? Thanks 😊
Hi Joan, it looks like she talked about it in the 2/25 blog entry:
"Here's one I looked at, but I used chicken broth instead of veggie broth, and I added spinach." https://www.liveeatlearn.com/marry-me-chickpeas/#wprm-recipe-container-90865
WIS: $20 Dengeo's
$4 Target
Dengeo's is a local casual restaurant, where just about everything is on the menu. I ordered a half BBQ chicken, which fed me on Sunday and Monday. I'm not sure what I had on Saturday, but it probably wasn't very exciting!
On Tuesday I made chicken tortilla soup; on Wednesday a grilled cheese sandwich and peas, on Thursday a chicken quesadilla and refried beans, and today creamy chicken and bean soup. That was lunch, which is usually my main meal of the day.
I try to remind myself when I press the easy button and run into an expensive grocery store for a few items, that it’s a lot cheaper than pressing the easy button and getting takeout!
I love the flexibility of your choice of meals and how you go with what's in the fridge/pantry and how you're feeling! Could you pls share link for your Marry Me Chickpeas?
Many thanks
Thanks Jan MN for sharing recipe, much appreciated 👍
Sat: Potstickers and fried rice
Sun: Grilled cheese and vegetable soup
Mon: Lamb kofta, lemon potatoes, salad
Tues: repeat of Monday
Wed:ham,eggs and hash browns
Thurs:pork chops in cream of mushroom soup, mashed potatoes,carrots
Fri:repeat of Thursday
I’d never made Marry Me Chickpeas, but we had the equivalent of two cans of lima beans in the fridge that needed to be used, so I made Marry Me Lima Beans and it was fantastic. (Not that these were nice heirloom cooked-from-dry beans, not the mealy frozen lima beans I grew up on. Those probably wouldn’t be so good.)