WIS, WWA | Maybe I am studying too much
Guys, I think anatomy and physiology is really taking it out of me. Shew.
I technically have time to cook dinner, but I have been spending so many hours studying (on top of all the usual stuff I do), I feel entirely out of motivation at the end of the day.
And it's not like anyone else in my house suddenly has a lot of dinner-cooking time either...for instance, Sonia is super busy with work + college.
So, we are routinely getting fed, but it's nothing fancy, and there's some takeout help in there too.
I kind of wonder if I am spending more time studying than I really need to; I could study less and probably still get an A in the class.
Or I could put earbuds in and listen to lectures while I cook.
Or I could do some dinner prep early in the day while my motivation is not entirely sapped.
Stay tuned to see how I figure this out!
What I Spent
I spent:
- $11 at Noodles and Company
- $39 at Giant
- $26 at Harris Teeter
- $10 on sushi
- $25 on a Hungry Harvest box
And that adds up to $111.
October Spending
Week 1: $110
Week 2: $148.50
Week 3: $111
What We Ate
Saturday
Date night for Mr. FG and me! I had a hankering for a very vegetable-heavy pizza, so I suggested Mod Pizza. Why do I love Mod? Well, since they serve individual pizzas, I can customize my pizza to be precisely the way I like it.
This is perfect because a Venn diagram of my ideal pizza and my family's ideal pizza is basically two separate circles.
Also perfect: a pizza night is pretty always right around our $20 budget.
Sunday
Zoe ate pizza with some friends, I was not hungry because I had a late lunch that was an enormous bowl of sweet potatoes, black beans, zucchini, and eggs, Mr. FG picked up some Korean food for Sonia, and he got $10 of sushi for himself.
I have no idea how much the Korean food cost because I don't see it on our credit card statement at all.
Maybe they didn't charge us? I dunno!
Monday
I made skillet ziti, using a Cook's Illustrated recipe:
I made two loaves of homemade French bread as well, and we ate one with dinner. I put the other one in the freezer for later use.
And I made a green salad.
Tuesday
I made ham panini, heated up some canned chicken noodle soup (for everyone but me because I hate canned chicken noodle soup!), and cut up some produce.
Wednesday
This was the day I gave blood, and I was feeling pretty drained after that.
(Ahahaha. I did not mean to make a pun, but here we are.)
I managed to do my classwork, help Zoe with algebra, take care of the shelter cats, and get Zoe to youth group and back. But there was no energy left for dinner, so we all did a fend for yourself type of thing, and I got a Japanese steak noodle bowl at Noodles and Company while Zoe was at youth group.
It was actually very lovely...I ate all by myself and I read a library book, just for fun. No studying!
Thursday
I made easy BBQ chicken, which we ate on buns with potato chips and raw produce on the side.
Friday
I think I will thaw the other loaf of French bread that I made and I'll use it to make French bread pizzas.
I hear you! I've found the Domestic Geek on You Tube and have tried her one pot one skillet meals, they are really good and they don't take a lot of time to make. That has saved me.
@MommaL,
I haven't heard of that one but I'm going to go check it out! Thanks for the new idea!
Your Sunday lunch sounds excellent!
Basically, we were fed too. Plus on one very busy day our eldest was pre-warned and cooked for us. It is great to drop work and come to a dinner table that is set already and fragrant with good food. As one of my colleagues always says: "that's what it feels like to be a man" lol.
So nothing fancy here but as I have a holiday week ahead, I will make up for it and also cook ahead a little for the busy weeks after that. Soups, stew and sauces are great to make in batches.
You sound like a very diligent student Kristen! You mentioned you are a satisficer but for your studies you aim at straight A's perhaps?
In a completely non-patronising or demanding way, I invite you to consider another option, where you:
- accept that in this season of life (this semester?) that meal prep will take a backseat sometimes
- remember that one of the benefits of frugality is having the money when you need it (for greater take out or more pre-prepared food right now)
- recognise that food planning is a rubber ball that will bounce if you need to drop it for a while
- remember that you're awesome and are studying to save lives and help people
@Victoria, ps I can only comment when I'm on desktop, and not through iPhone or iPad, I just get an error message
@Victoria,
YOU are exactly correct! Life ebbs and flows and this season of life is not the demand that 4 littles needing fed ALL the time is!
@Victoria, well said!
My phone just lost my comment. Wahh. So here I go again!
Kristen, I suspect that you are holding on to expectations that you had of yourself when you were home full-time with your kids. I work in healthcare as resource staff and when my work schedule gets busy, it's hard to pull together energy to do a lot of cooking when I get home. All to say--your feelings are typical and millions of women out there share them! This may be a time of shifting priorities for you. I doubt that, once you start your nursing career, you will suddenly have bursts of energy when you get home from working and want to cook like you did back when you were home all the time.
This has been mentioned by other commenters, so it's not a novel approach, but perhaps it's time for you to re-think crockpot cooking. I know you dislike it but there are recipes out there that don't involve a canned soup festival in your slow cooker. One of my brain-dead meals that I fall back on a lot is baked potatoes in the crockpot. We have a baked potato bar with whatever sources of protein I can find and heat up in the microwave, plus toppings and a salad or microwaved veggie. It's crazy flexible for lots of dietary preferences and for whatever reason, if I add the word "bar" to the descriptor of my meal, my family thinks they are getting a treat. Budgetbytes.com also has several tasty recipes that don't consist of Velveeta and cream-of-something soup. Here's a favorite, and you can leave it cooking all.day.long!! https://www.budgetbytes.com/taco-chicken-bowls/ Everyone's energy levels are different, but I find I can muster the energy to prepare an easy meal much better the night before working and then turn on the crockpot in the morning rather than rustling up something when I get home from work, regardless of how easy the meal may be.
Another thought .... can other family members be the Chef For A Night? I know they are all busy, but I think that we moms pay more attention to our family member's busyness at the cost of our own. Or maybe that's just me. 😉
@Victoria is totally right ... and sometimes you just need some external permission. Or at least I do. 🙂
@Kris, @Karen, you are so right. I have a buddy who is just back at University with pre-teen and early teen kids, a husband who is traditional and she has some serious health issues. I worry about her awareness that something has to give, and I was never good at letting the food thing move from fairly complicated to really simple. but simple can also meet food requirements! I agree that budgetbytes is awesome and I found another freezer meal group that doesn't use the can of soup approach - they send out random recipes or you could buy their ebooks. thefamilyfreezer.com is the url, I subscribe and love her attitude.
Kris, the potato bar is a super idea! I just made black bean turkey chile (we had Canadian Thanksgiving and leftovers) and tomorrow I am going to bake a couple of potatoes and grate some cheese, heat up the leftovers and call it a success!
Another vote for Budget Bytes! When I’ve had really busy seasons of life, bulk cooking worked for me. I couldn’t cook every night, but I could use 2-3 nights a week to meal prep and/or cook meals for later in the week. I did this with meals I was already very familiar with, so it wasn’t a lot of extra work. Good for you for putting so much work into school. You’ll figure this out too!
This week has been a week of cooking once and eating that meal several times. I made French onion soup, braised brisket and vegetables and I can't remember what else I cooked. We have also eaten out twice so that filled in some meals.
Eating alone while reading a book is one of my very favorite things. Also a very rare thing. 🙂
Saturday: The three elk scouters came home all feeling a little bit ill. I had been planning on pizza, but also had pulled out a bunch of packages of oxtail and soup bones, so I made beef soup using my pressure cooker. They were all recovered by dinner--I suspect they had a bit of altitute sickness from strenous hiking at near 9,000 feet--and probably would have preferred pizza. Oh well. I did make some garlic bread too.
Sunday: Bunless cheeseburgers, boiled potatoes, fried onions, green salad with ranch dressing, apple hand pies made with some apples a gentleman at church gave us. I must announce that in this, the year of our Lord 2021, at the age of 41 years old, I actually made good pie crust. Of course, I don't really like pie, so I've only tried like half a dozen pies, but I was quite proud of myself for getting it right. I'll still always pass that job off to my MiL if possible though. She actually won a ribbon for her pie at the county fair one year.
Monday: A skillet meal of some ground beef left from when I made hamburgers, plus leftover boiled potatoes, and grated cheese. Also carrot sticks with ranch dip.
Tuesday: Meat hand pies made with the other half of the pie dough and some shepherd's pie meat I had frozen last week, plus green salad with ranch dressing
Wednesday: I had made rice the day before, so I made another skillet meal, this one with leftover rice, some of the shepherd's pie meat, and cheese. There wasn't quite enough of that for all six of us, so my eldest son and I had some soup I had made the day before for lunch out of beef stock, leftover hamburgers and fried onions, the rest of the ground beef and potato skillet, and some frozen green beans. Which would make it . . . leftovers of leftovers. Still tasty, though.
Thursday: My sister arrived for a visit, so I made my standard Guest Meal: pizza. One cheese, one with half bacon, half kalamata olives and mushrooms. We also had a green salad with vinaigrette.
Friday: I'll have to ask our guest what she would like. Husband and eldest son will be gone elk hunting, so maybe I'll take out a couple of the packages of filet mignon, make some french fries with chicken fat, and have a very indulgent meal.
@kristin @ going country, yum! Can I join you all for dinner, too?! Haha hope you all have a wonderful visit!
I always want to eat there!
"we are routinely getting fed"
Then you're getting the job done and, I note, within budget. So there's nothing to worry about. As for your class: you're studying to learn to keep people alive, not to get good grades. There's something to be said for over-preparation.
Also, there's the fact that classes down the road are going to build on the knowledge I'm supposed to be grasping now. So, I don't want to do the bare minimum and then struggle down the road. I feel really happy that I worked hard in my biology class because that knowledge is helping me in A&P. I figure that pattern is going to continue.
@Kristen, exactly! Keep up the studying!
@Kristen,
Yes, this. Ds had no idea about this during his first year while he was at community college and when be got to his 4 year school, it was a steep learning curve.
Oh, I forgot how much I love French bread pizzas - need to do that soon. As for the dinner time crunch, have you considered using your crockpot? Soup is usually a crowd-pleaser and ridiculously easy, plus leftovers are also good...This week we ate:
Monday - Rotisserie Chicken on Sweet Thai chopped salad, avocado
Tuesday - Gnocci with pumpkin pasta sauce with ground turkey, green beans
Wednesday - Turkey burgers on whole wheat buns, sweet potato fries
Thursday - Grilled Chicken, red lentil pasta with pesto, mixed greens salad
Friday - Lemon Garlic Trout, broccoli with zucchini
Saturday - TBD, but maybe take-out, otherwise, leftovers from the freezer
Sunday - TBD - yardwork day so something hearty
Happy Weekend!
Like other commenters, I think you’re being too hard on yourself given that you’re still fed and within budget. However, knowing your preference for home cooking, might I suggest the humble crockpot? (They are omnipresent at Goodwill if you need one.) Crockpots are magical things and how I manage to feed us on busy and/or wiped out days. You’re not stuck with just soup, either. I recently cooked the best salmon of my life using the crockpot!
That said, here’s a bunch of soup recipes. 😉
Household favorites:
Chocolate lamb chili. We trade the beans for red lentils since we both dislike kidney beans.
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/68757/brys-chocolate-lamb-chili/
Vegan peanut stew. We swap spinach or kale for collard greens just because we usually have the first two on hand. Powdered ginger works, but fresh ginger truly makes it!
https://www.budgetbytes.com/african-peanut-stew-vegan/
Black bean soup. This is an amazing way to clean out vegetable and sauce odds and ends from the fridge! Each batch is slightly different but always good.
https://www.budgetbytes.com/slow-cooker-black-bean-soup/
@N,
That chocolate lamb chili dish sounds delicious!
@Laura, It is AMAZING and is the chief reason why we stock up on ground lamb whenever we find a good sale. It also freezes well!
Three cheers for keeping everyone fed and making it through A & P! My hat is off to you Kristin since neither are an easy task. Keep your head up 🙂
We have had an interesting week since we have had major issues with our kitchen sink faucet resulting in a pretty major leak and no water in the kitchen for a couple of days.
Sunday - I made a huge family dinner crockpot bbq ribs with peach salsa, okra & tomatoes, green beans, corn casserole, lima beans, & a cherry cobbler.
Monday - leftovers & my son ate a peanut butter sandwich as we arrived home late after a visit with Grandma
Tuesday - more leftovers
Wednesday - pancakes for dinner, sausage, fresh strawberries; this was the night the the sink officially exploded so I put a chuck roast into the crockpot in anticipation of not being able to cook/do dishes
Thursday - I shredded the pot roast and some of the Au Jus onto hoagie rolls, added provolone cheese and threw them into the oven, we harvested a bunch of mustard greens from the garden and cooked those up, and we have some potato chips and fresh strawberries
Friday - the sink is lovely and fixed AND there are leftovers in the fridge so I am thinking dinner tonight will be a hodge podge
Saturday - Mom may hit the easy button and do takeout for this night as I am planning a Sunday dinner with an Italian theme
Enjoy the weekend everyone!!
There are just some seasons of life where fend for yourselves or take out happens more often :).
This week:
1. Teriyaki Tofu w/Rice and Brussel Sprouts
2. Veggie or Turkey Burgers, and Squash/Kale Salad
3. Vegetarian Chili w/Salad
4. Marinara w/Vegan Meatballs w/Pasta or Rice
5. Dinner out-Cracker Barrel.
6. Encore Meals
7. Not sure yet. Possible options (Soup or Pizza w/Salad)
FWIW, if you're ever my nurse, I'll be super appreciative of all your extra studying!
@sarah, bravo to your "encore meals"! Sounds better than leftovers. Your lineup is lip-smacking to this vegetarian.
@sarah,
Thesesound like great meals! Definitely note then for future planning!
I went to college last fall and this spring online fulltime so I could finish in May. After being away from college for many years, it was a hard adjustment so I would encourage you to give yourself a break! You are staying on budget and your family is fed- that’s success!
Saturday I made 2 kinds of homemade soup- chicken noodle and potato leek and we had garlic bread and green salad
Sunday- quiche and leftover soup
Monday- spatchcock chicken, green beans with bacon, spinach salad, roasted squash and baked pears
Tuesday- chicken enchilada stack with jicama orange salad
Wednesday- leftovers from Tuesday
Thursday- 5 spice chicken thighs with cabbage and carrots sheet pan dinner with brown rice
Friday- pizza night (takeout)
I set a personal goal last weekend to not get any takeout this week except pizza, walk the dog daily, get 10,000 steps per day- I haven’t gotten 10,000 steps every day but I’m close so I will walk a little extra this weekend and still hit 70,000 for the week. I’m on track for my other goals- and my dog is loving her daily walk- she is a German Shepherd and could walk miles every day. Have a great weekend everyone!
I’m not in school but know that dinner struggle! For me (which you may have dealt with previously) it’s my kids being so young, they are sometimes not so agreeable to me being in the kitchen and want to be held while I cook or stand under foot although other times they are perfectly content to play in the living room, I can just never predict what type of evening it will be! I’ve started picking mostly easy meals though just in case, and if I do have something a little more complicated, I try to do some prep during the day or the night before. Your week sounded great though, I’m sure you will figure out something that works!
Saturday - takeout taqueria
Sunday - pasta and meatballs
Monday - Vegan peanut stew (same recipe someone linked to above actually!)
Tuesday - broccolini, chicken sausage and orzo skillet
Wednesday - cottage pie
Thursday - baked bean and hot dog casserole
Friday - chicken piccata, pearl couscous, green beans
Food. My favorite. 🙂
Monday--tacos topped with soon-to-go-south spinach and tomatoes from our garden.
Tuesday--crockpot chicken with peanut sauce over rice, plus salad from the remainder of said spinach.
Wednesday--crockpot turkey tortellini soup with cream biscuits.
Thursday--I ate out with friends (yay!) so hubby and daughter ate turkey soup leftovers and the remaining biscuits.
Friday--good question. I'll come up with something.
I typically don’t remember what we ate after a day or two, but wrote everything down this time. After some weeks, I am trying to get back to cooking more at home.
S - Roasted Chicken, Noodles with Soybeans, Green Salad w/ Ginger dressing
M - I had a Girl Scout meeting to go to around dinner time, so I gave the kids Hot Dogs, Tater Tots, and Fruit. I had Eggs, Clementine, and Pretzels when I got home.
T - Rice bowls with Brown Rice, Ground Turkey, and Spicy Cucumbers. My kids skipped the spicy sauce and ate everything plain.
W - Tofu, Noodles and Kale.
Th - Turkey Burgers for the husband and kids. I was tired of Turkey after finishing off the previous Turkey at lunch and made myself Eggs. My husband and I finished off the leftover green salad. The kids finished off the kale. We all had roasted potatoes from my garden.
F - Tonight, I am am using up the last of things in my kitchen. We are having Black Beans, Tortillas, Avocado, and raw Carrot strips.
S - No idea yet! Maybe I will give myself a break and send the husband out for takeout.
When I first went back to school I was still working full time and driving to night school an hour away, with a diabetic suffering from a severe case of neuropathy and two young kids, one with numerous food allergies, to feed. This is NOT a "so you think YOU have it bad," comment; this is a comment that says, "Do what you have to do and don't give in to the guilt," because I hear you, sister, and I know how you feel! You are getting it done, so you are winning at this! You will do just fine as you learn to adjust. Oh, yes; please delegate. The more people who pitch in, the less time each has to take out of his or her own schedule. Even a very busy person in the household can take a minute to peel and chop a few carrots or onions, take something out to thaw, cook the chicken breasts in a skillet, or build a quick salad sometime during the day for that night's meal. Every little bit of help you get also helps your family.
I agree with the commenters who point to crock pots. You don't have to cook a whole meal in it, either, for it to be helpful - you can cook just the meat, or a slow-cooking vegetable, and the rest of the prep can be simple and quick.
Where was I? Oh, yes, what we ate:
We had an easy button night, hotdogs, baked beans and several raw vegetables on the side, I think cukes and carrots. I skipped the beans and the buns on my plate.
Steaks from the box o' meat my daughter let us have cheaply, and french fries (frozen) for him, jicama sticks for me, sliced cucumbers for both.
Pork tenderloin roast, with a baked medley of carrots, sweet potatoes, onions and apples, seasoned with cinnamon, on the side. We would have had the pork again, but that was the night I left the meat sitting out... sigh.
Meatloaf, with broccoli and roasted beets.
Fried boneless chicken thighs, vegan cole slaw, and... something.
Sweet Italian pan sausage with a huge skillet of zucchini, summer squash and onions, cooked in the drippings with Italian seasoning.
Leftover Italian sausage crumbled into a bowl with cassava orzo, onion, garlic, lots of mushrooms and peas.
Thank you for the encouragement!
Ditto to the encouraging comments written here!
Also, consider when the best times for studying in different ways are. For memorizing, do it at night, so you can sleep on it and recall more. For problem solving, do that shortly after you wake up.
And of course, different people study differently for results; sounds like you are memorizing a lot in this early class. Read material, diagram material, make flash cards, write notes, re-listen to lectures, color your books, make models, study alone, review with a partner, make powerpoints, be your own lecturer outloud-- You probably already have some ideas about what works best for you.
Does your family like things such as slow cooker pot roast, chicken stew, chili or pulled pork? The slow cooker is the busy at-home person's personal chef.
We spent $105 at the grocery store, of which about $7 was non-food, but it included an enormous chuck roast marked down 30 percent to "only" $15. It made suppers and lunches for my husband and myself from Sunday onward and I should have leftovers to plate up for future frozen brown-bag lunches for myself.
Last night we had our cheap local Mexican food outing, which was $21 for food and drinks for three people.
I know it's been a shocking zillion years since I was in college, and I was on the analytical side of science, not the biological side, but I seem to remember that if A&P isn't actually killing you, you're probably doing it wrong. lol.
Ahahaha, that sounds about right! As soon as you make it through one module, you jump right into preparing for the next exam. And this time around, I'm only getting six days to learn two chapters of material before another exam. Yikes.
At the beginning of the semester I know they said that you need to set aside around 20 hours a week for the work associated with this class, and that does seem right. It's basically a part-time job, and it's a mercy they don't have you do this concurrently with the nursing program!
I hate canned chicken noodle soup but LOVE French bread pizza. So fast easy and crunchy and yummy.
You were always the 100% homemaker--making yogurt, trying new recipes, and more. My meal prep always paled by comparison. But now you're doing exactly what I've always done--skating by and making sure no one in your home actually starves...and it's fine!
I love how real your blog is, Kristen! Some weeks it really is just about "getting fed," even if it's not a glamorous meal!
Last night we had...popcorn shrimp tacos. I made Alton Brown's baked brown rice, we used up some leftover black beans, and I made some slaw from a head of cabbage I had.
Wednesday we had bbq turkey meatloaf, roasted brussels sprouts and roasted potatoes. I made some quick biscuits too because it was a cold and dreary evening here.
Tuesday we...had leftover black bean and turkey chili and a salad.
Monday we had...pizza, I think. I'd gotten some charcuterie from Sam's and used some of that on the pizza with mushrooms and onions.
Sunday - I made the turkey chili.
Saturday - I cooked the beans for the chili but I don't remember what we actually had for dinner that night.
I've been really into oven meals and one-pot meals lately. Tonight is either going to be leftovers (there's meatloaf, brussels sprouts, biscuits, slaw, rice, pizza...) or spaghetti and chicken meatballs (Sam's has great frozen ones).
We have eaten out a lot lately, but it is just a season. We get to move into our house the end of this month, and cooking at home will be a top priority for a long time! It has been fun to spend lots of mealtimes with our kids and my husband's family though.
Saturday - We were treated to a late lunch at a local brew pub.
Sunday - Oktoberfest at a local spot - pretzels, schnitzel, and brats
Monday - Meatballs with a garlic white wine pan gravy, mashed potatoes, and asparagus
Tuesday - Sheet pan nachos with homemade salsa
Wednesday - Yeast waffles with blueberry syrup, bacon and eggs
Thursday - Grilled cheese and tomato soup
Friday - I think we are going to meet our kids for fish and chips at a local spot.
I must congratulate you on staying in budget. That is a big struggle for our family when we have busy weeks with lots of takeout.
I agree that during this time in your life, cooking is going to have to change a bit. I had a friend with a working husband and 2 young adult children at home. Each person was given a day during the week to be responsible for the meal- she cooked, her husband brought home take- out and not sure what the kids cooked. Friday, Saturday was eating out and I believe Sundays were at Grandma’s……
Crockpot meals are great for busy lives.
Glad you still found time for date night! Sooooo important!
You did very good with your week. Remember this is just a season in your life that you will get through. I'm proud of you for reaching your goals and keeping your family fed. Rah! Rah! I'm your cheer leader.
Kathy in Alabama
Be kind to yourself. You have a lot going on. Everyone will understand if they have to eat canned soup for dinner. Wishing you the best on your A&P!
First things first, give yourself grace during this time. This too, shall pass and spending time gaining knowledge will benefit your patients in the long run. Ds just graduated with a degree in Exercise and Sports Science and Physiology simply kicked his butt and he had all the time in the world to study.
Is anyone struggling with their grocery budget? I am just getting back to cooking and I am blown away with how they've gone up in the last 6 months! I'm in a new area, so the blogs that I used to read for grocery deals don't cover some of my new stores. Plus, I need to find some new recipes as I am in such an unhealthy rut.
I cook for two dinners so last week was 2 nights of goulash, 2 nights of salads and two nights of Chicken Bog. Can't remember the last one.
Be kind to yourself. And remember that your family is probably enjoying the food.
Sometimes we eat bagel pizzas for four days in a row. I feel bad about it because I'm not really cooking and it's not super nutritious but my husband loves it. He also loves when I cook a bunch of chicken breasts and we have several days of chicken sandwiches. (We are a family that loves leftovers and don't mind eating the same thing for several days in a row.)
As long as the budget doesn't get too far out of wack and your people are happy (enough) it is okay to cook less.
We had two of our children home with us, so groceries were a bit more expensive as I like to cook their favorites. I spent $92. Here's what we ate:
Saturday - Eggs benedict and hash brown potatoes.
Sunday - Took the kids out for Mexican at a local restaurant.
Monday - Homemade mac & cheese and dinner rolls.
Tuesday - Leftovers.
Wednesday - Pancakes and venison sausage.
Thursday - Rotisserie chicken, rice, sliced cucumbers and cranberry sauce.
Friday - Planning hot chicken sandwiches with mashed potatoes and gravy and cranberry sauce.
I think you did great -- you are studying hard stuff and still getting fine meals on the table. Sometimes takeout is just the lift you need . . .(see "Sunday," below)
Friday -- Local Thai restaurant, using coupon
Saturday -- Pretty sure this was leftover turkey burritos with salad on side
Sunday -- Pollo Loco, fast food chicken, with coupon or reduction of some kind -- just couldn't face it
Monday --Salad with chicken breast
Tuesday -- Salad with chicken breast
Wednesday -- Grass-fed hamburgers (with 1/2 the $5/lb. Friday special from market)
and a heap o' steamed broccoli
Thursday -- Spaghetti Bolognese (with the other 1/2 of the lb. of burger) with edamame noodles for me and regular for husband) and salad.
Friday -- not sure -- something quick and cheap for treat night.
Happy Friday !
You can cut yourself some slack. This is hard work and you don't have to be perfect in cooking all the time. And what about the others in your home--can't they help???
When you are a nurse you may be working 12 hour shifts on your feet the whole time, wolfing down a small meal if you're lucky mid-shift. You will come home dead tired. Now is a good time to set up some routines. Reconsider a crock pot or an electric pressure cooker, meal prep one day a week, spend a little more on some convenience foods (IMHO, it's LESS expensive to buy a rotisserie chicken, it doesn't dirty the oven, AND I can squeeze 4 meals out of one for a family of four).
Butternut squash soup with cheesy garlic bread.
Puffball mushroom Parmesan and noodles and green beans
Breakfast burritos and fruit
Pasta with marinara and mushrooms, side salad, roasted cauliflower
Puffy apple pancake, sausage, and smoothies
Egg fried rice
Tonight we are having butternut squash ravioli with sage butter sauce and salads.
I’m realizing it was a very pasta heavy week. I have some salmon and ground turkey in the fridge already so next week should be less reliant on pasta!
I am out of energy and interest in cooking, so we had a pretty boring week of meals. Thankd heavens my husband will eat the same thing day after day.
Sat/Sun/Mon/Tuesday---chili and apple/rhubarb sauce for dessert.
Wed/Thursday---Russian mushroom and potato soup. Oranges for dessert.
Friday---today is a birthday day so we are having steak, mushrooms, onions and baked potato, with cheesecake for dessert.
The soups and chili are boring but pretty healthy because I hide shredded zucchini and carrots in them, in addition to the vegetables in the recipe. And the chili has half the required hamburger with the other half made up with chopped mushrooms.
I wish I could feel more inspired.
Well, happy birthday to either you or your DH! 🙂
Girl…. Cut yourself some slack! The prereqs and nursing school courses are no joke. They are exhausting. You know how much you need to study. Your family is of the age that they will figure it out if you are busy and it looks like it’s flowing well and you are in your budget. You got this!
Kristen, when I was in grad school, what helped me cook at home was pre-chopping all the vegetables for the meals I was planning to make throughout the week the Sunday before. I'd put them in the fridge with a label reminding me what meal each vegetable was supposed to go into. That made me much more likely to cook in the evenings because the most time consuming part was already done. On Sundays, I didnt mind spending some time chopping - I treated it as a rewarding study break. I usually listen to a podcast I like.
Not my best week, cooking wise, because work has been crazy. I think I'll cook something nice this weekend though.
Saturday: we celebrated my birthday early with some friends and had a fancy meal, even though it was a typhoon!
Sunday: We treated ourselves to some frozen pizzas, my guilty pleasure 🙂
Monday: It was my actual birthday and my boyfriend made burgers at home.
Tuesday: don't remember
Wednesday: another typhoon came through the city! I made pasta with tomato sauce (another guilty pleasure) because we had the ingredients at home
Thursday: I made a big pot of soup with all the random vegetables in the fridge and freezer, homemade frozen chicken stock, and grated firm tofu. A very frugal meal! I also made a batch of blueberry muffins.
Friday: Grocery store sushi after work
That skillet ziti looks so good!
Also, hang in there with the studying, Kristen. You'll figure something out :). Best wishes.
Kristen- Keep up on the studying and the dinner ideas are great, even if they aren't long drawn out meals..Who needs that when school comes first....
This week, dinner was chicken parm with french bread, mexican chicken casserole, chicken/mozzarella ravioli, pizza and breakfast for dinner. I can't remember anything else.....