WIS, WWA | Mainly bowls!
What I Spent
I tried four recipes from the ATK Bowls cookbook that I patiently waited for at the library. Since it's new and in high demand, I figured I'd better dive in and quickly see if it's a cookbook I want to own!
Anyway, grocery spending first!
I started the week off with a $157 trip to Aldi. Which is a sign that we were out of a lot of things!
I had a pretty disorganized week after that, requiring a bunch of small trips to the grocery store, and by the time the week ended, I was at $240.
GEEZ.
Fortunately, I know that this kind of week does average out over time, so it's gonna be fine.
What We Ate
Saturday
Mr. FG and I went out on a date night; the girls ate at home.
Sunday
We made a strawberry and chicken green salad from Pioneer Woman, which we ate with some toast.
Monday
I tried a pork and quinoa bowl recipe; thumbs up! It'll go into rotation around here.
Tuesday
Next up from the Bowls cookbook: a green curry paste Thai soup.
This one is a lot like the Thai chicken soup I posted before, except it's got green curry paste, shrimp, and sliced snow peas.
I would not have thought to add raw sliced snow peas to a bowl of soup, but they were really good. Nice and crunchy!
Wednesday
This time I tried a Thanksgiving-inspired bowl, and all the elements were good except the sauce. Thanksgiving made us think of gravy, and the sauce for this dish was more like a salad dressing vinaigrette.
Verdict from all of us: weird. We do not want salad dressing on meatballs.
I don't think I'll give up on the idea of a bowl like this, but I'd be inclined to make a more gravy-like sauce next time.
Thursday
My last bowl meal was this salad.
This one was just ok; nothing amazing, perhaps because salad in a bowl is not that unique of a concept (whereas a quinoa bowl feels more interesting.)
Friday
I have a wedding to go to and I haven't quite decided what the not-at-a-wedding portion of the family is going to eat. Maybe a fend-for-yourself kind of night with the leftovers in the fridge.
What did you eat this week?
P.S. Washington's Green Grocer, a DelMarVa produce/meal kit delivery service, reminded me they'd sent me a coupon code for you guys. Click here and you can get $10 off your first order with code FRUGAL GIRL .
I just got that same cookbook from the library and appreciate your thoughts on the recipes. Keep them coming!
Leftover meatballs are one of my favorite things to add to a salad, and I always use a vinaigrette, so that would probably work for me. If I should ever decide to actually follow a recipe . . .
Saturday: Italian sausage that my MiL brought all the way from an Italian butcher in Albuquerque when she flew in, roasted potatoes, fried peppers and onions from a frozen stir-fry mix, and green peas
Sunday: The pizza I always make for guests, green salad, chocolate pudding pie mostly made so my son could practice pie crusts with his grandmother the pie expert
Monday: A picnic of tuna salad, bread and butter, carrot sticks, raw tomatoes on the excursion we took in the back country to see an old church
Tuesday: Pork carnitas tacos with homemade corn tortillas, refried beans
Wednesday: Scrambled eggs, skillet of potatoes/bacon/cheese, roasted sweet potato/peppers/onions, green salad, baked custard to use up some of the ten dozen eggs I had in my refrigerator
Thursday: Chicken drumsticks, potato soup, steamed broccoli
Tonight: I'm down to maybe seven dozen eggs, but that's still a lot of eggs. So I think eggs are a must. I also have some egg whites to use left from separating yolks for the custard, so scrambled eggs. Probably the kids will get breakfast tacos with the eggs, cheese, corn tortillas, and salsa. If I'm ambitious, I'll make the tortillas. I have some pinto beans to use up, too. And more broccoli needs to be used before it starts to get yellow.
And no elk this week. I feel as if I've let everyone down. 🙂
My weekend is ruined because of no elk report. 😉
We have Lindsay's Caribou report in the meantime!
The bowls look interesting, but I know my husband -- he'd turn them down. Sigh.
We had a week in which things kind of took over my evenings, so we ate a lot of leftovers.
I made an AIP-approved pulled pork roast, which I'm glad I did, because it fed us three times this hectic week. Various sides server with it included sweet potato fries, roasted asparagus with onions and mushrooms, celery slaw, applesauce, and who knows what else I patched together for those meals.
I think I made a chicken dish, but I'm not sure if that was this week or last.
We had burgers one night and tacos one night.
It was not my week to win any cooking awards.
My budget was a little under last week, but this week I may end up like Kristen -- stocking back up.
It might still be worth reading - I find a bowl is a great way to turn leftovers into a treat!
Monday: Slow cooker spicy turkey chili
Tuesday: Steaks on the grill, sweet potatoes, sliced strawberries ( Our first cook out of 2020!!!)
Wednesday: BOGO free Subway footlongs and carrots and dip
Thursday: Leftover Turkey Chili and Tuna Salad on Buns
Friday: ( Lent): Homemade French bread veggie pizza, chips n salsa
Saturday: Homemade potato soup and grilled cheese
1) Monday- bangers and mash, corn. I think I cut up some fresh vegetables too, to make it a little healthier.
2) Tuesday- Chicken Adobo, rice, butternut squash
3) Wednesday- Tuesday's leftovers
4) Thursday- Grilled hamburgers, mac and cheese, raw veggies
5) Friday- This week feels all messed up because my husband worked from home yesterday so I could go to a doctor's appointment. I didn't even realise today is Friday. I was planning on kielbasa, pierogies, leftover squash, and green beans. But I might switch to pizza instead. We have two frozen ones in the freezer.
Thanks for the reminder to request this book from my library! Mass shutdowns have begun here in Michigan and I'm not panicked about food... We're stockpiling library books! If the library closes, I want to be prepared. So I've gone on a small book requesting spree this week.
I got to go to the discount produce store this week, so I'm excited about all of the produce we currently have that didn't cost me very much.
Monday - Tacos, rice and beans, blackberries and green grapes
Tuesday - Quesadillas and blackberries
Wednesday - Tuna noodle casserole (which I haven't made in ages but turned out to be a big hit with the kids), broccoli with cheese, rolls
Thursday - Hot dogs and blackberries/strawberries/green grapes before swim lessons. More hot dogs after swim lessons and I think someone had a peanut butter sandwich.
Friday - Sausage sheet pan dinner. I made one on Sunday (first one ever) with brats, butternut squash, broccoli, and asparagus and it was SO GOOD! My 6yo said it was the best lunch she'd ever eaten. I showed a lot of self-control in waiting 5 days before making it again. 🙂 This is something that will definitely go into our rotation.
Kristen, last night on our ETV stations in NC, ATK had a special where they highlighted their Top 20 recipes. Well, I DVR'd it and I think that was the general premise. Either way, I thought of you and wanted to tell you about it in case you wanted to look out for it.
Ooh, that sounds like a fun program!
Saturday and Sunday: Caribou thai stew. The recipe would work for other wild game, so here is the recipe. https://www.thealaskalife.com/blog/alaskan-slow-cooker-caribou-thai-stew/?fbclid=IwAR2HvJq8HTjW7T9zxTWh1UWS4w-cwcrq9g0LyLhZermRvaZtnbc911RNTNE
Monday and Tuesday: cheeseburger soup
Wednesday: Tacos, a huge favorite around here.
Thursday: Cuban sandwiches and salad
Friday: Filet o' Fish and sliced cucumbers
Had fruit for dessert every night
Been distracted this week with all the virus news. We're awaiting our niece to come home early from France where she's been studying abroad. When times are scary, I crave comfort food so two different homemade soups were on the menu several nights this week. I think I even had soup for breakfast one day. And one night we had breakfast for dinner. I just don't remember what we had and what night we had it. The only thing I am sure of is that I had soup for dinner five minutes ago!
Not organised here, but am so happy the rest of you are xo
We live in Ohio and are shutdown for the next three weeks. No school and sent home to work remotely. We did run to the library (which is shutting down effective tomorrow) and to the grocery store. We did not go crazy with stock piling but we did buy few extras that would reduce a need to the store next week. We are thankful that we have the funds to purchase ahead. Organizations are scrambling and folks are stepping up to help those that rely on school for free or reduced cost breakfast/lunches.
Monday: spaghetti and meatballs
Tuesday: pork lo mein ala daddy- aka my hubby improvised and turned out pretty good.
Wednesday: hmmm?
Thursday: needed an easy night- cheeseburgers, chips and veggie slices
Friday: Chicken and Rice
I live in Ohio too. Things feel crazy. I too am so grateful we have the funds to purchase necessities ahead of time. My husband is probably going to be working remotely also, and with the kids off school, it's gonna be a cozy few weeks!
NE Ohio here! (waves) Our Library also was closing at 5pm on Saturday so I jumped online and put a bunch of books on hold that were at my local branch! I read most books on my kindle but got a bunch of new cookbooks for fresh ideas since my chaotic daily schedule just came to a grinding hault!
I love the idea of bowls for dinner and I do that often! Here's what we ate:
Monday - Meatballs and Marinara with wholegrain pasta, broccoli
Tuesday - Tuna Salad on leftover onion buns
Wednesday - Farro Skillet with chicken sausage, bell pepper, onion, tomato, corn
Thursday - Grilled Chicken Breast, baked sweet potato, kale
Friday - Pesto Tilapia, green beans and carrots
Saturday - Going to do pork tenderloin chops and a potato in our SBT oven, chopped salad
Sunday - Going to wing it - maybe eggs and sausage
Monday - chicken apple sausages, rice, & peas
Tuesday - fish tacos, grilled veggies (frozen heated in the oven, thank you Wegmans!)
Wednesday- pasta with Italians sausage meat sauce
Thursday - lentil chick pea curry over rice
Friday - veggie burgers & kale salad for my husband and I; cheese pizza for the kids (we abstain from meat on Fridays during lent)
Weekend dinners are burgers, fries, and a salad. Chicken drumsticks, roasted potatoes, and spinach salad. Not sure which night we are having which.
Those bowls look yum - I do like meatballs in a salad but I can see how that would be weird for you - incidentally has anyone got a recipe for chocolate cream pie? I always drool over the one in the film 'Julie & Julia' & I've never been able to find a recipe.
Anyhow, this week I have eaten lentil veg soup twice, chicken & veg soup, tuna & avo rolls, ham & pineapple pizza, & spaghetti in tomato sauce.
This one came up first when I Googled to see what you were asking about:
https://www.pjandthomas.com/blog/2018/11/22/the-chocolate-pie-from-julie-julia
And this is one I made just last week, though my MiL made the pie crust with my son without that recipe, so I don't know about the pie crust recipe right there, but the filling was delicious:
https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/chocolate-pudding-pie
Sunday - Chicken Pot Pie
Monday - Pizza
Tuesday - Spaghetti & Meatballs
Wednesday - Philly Cheesesteaks
Thursday - Hamburgers
Friday - Beef Stroganoff
Saturday - Fried Chicken
Monday: Bacon cheddar burgers with homemade fries and salad
Tuesday: Shrimp tacos for me and New York Strip and roast potatoes for DH. Roasted broccoli for both.
Wednesday: Tacos -- defrosted ground beef and also have chicken leftover from a whole chicken I roasted earlier in the week. Will throw that in a couple, even though I never love chicken tacos as much as I'd like to!
Thursday: Not sure yet! We have a lot of fresh meat to go through, including a corned beef that I didn't feel like making Tuesday.
Friday: Beef stroganoff, egg noodles and green beans
Saturday: Going to see family (less than 10!)