WIS, WWA | maybe some snow
What I Spent
Ooh, it's gotten a little chilly here and there is a promise of maybe some snow here today.
Unfortunately, I will be at work, which means I won't get to take any pictures.
But there was some lovely frost on my morning walk yesterday.
I spent:
- $28 at Trader Joe's
- $118 at Aldi
So, $146.
What We Ate
Saturday
Shrimp and rice, because Zoe had a closing shift. And when my shrimp-allergic girl is gone, I will eat shrimp. 😉
Sunday
I didn't feel like cooking, so I used my credit card reward points for a Panera gift card, and I picked up dinner for Zoe and me.
Monday
I had added on a $1 cup-of-chili-deal to my Sunday night Panera meal, but I didn't eat it on Sunday.
So I heated it up when I got home from work on Monday night, and ate some fruit too.
(I'd had a big green salad for lunch at work, so I did eat veggies that day. Don't worry!)
Tuesday
I made French toast with sausages on the side, plus some fruit.
Wednesday
Zoe wanted Trader Joe's orange chicken, so that's what we had. Trader Joe's veggie fried rice on the side (surprisingly good! I recommend for a quick side.), plus some green beans.
Thursday
I made some chili over rice, topped with cilantro sauce, and I did this partly because I wanted some packable leftover lunches for the next two days!
Friday
I'm working a 12-hour day shift today, followed by another one tomorrow. Soooo, it's a tight timeline tonight between work and bedtime.
Which means I will eat something quick, take a quick shower, and go right to bed.
We are knee-deep in turkey leftovers and using EVERYTHNG. I made vats of turkey broth and added yams, cabbage, celery carrots and onions topped with some tomatoes for a sort of turkey minestrone (which I put into empty pickle jars). We had turkey sandwiches and turkey meat over rice We had many meals of soup. All I have left a week later is some pumpkin pie, one baggie of white meat for a last Thanksgiving Dagwood sandwich, a jar of soup and a freezer with liquid gold and turkey fat in Tupperware containers. Oh and the bonus? Our 16 pound Butterball turkey cost $6.46 and I think we had 15 meals from it!
@Millicent, this is the main reason I love to roast a turkey. None of it needs to go to waste. (:
@Millicent, I am in awe -- AWE! -- that anyone has leftover pumpkin pie a week later. I'm sending this to Ripley's Believe It Or Not. NOT!
@Millicent, We had a 16 pound turkey and with six people here (five of them guys) we were able to make the leftovers last for dinner the next day and maybe lunch the next day. I am always envious of those who get so many meals from one turkey!
@JDinNM, ha ha There are only two of us!
@Karen A., There are two of us. And I cooked the bones down for broth and added veggies for soup-- we had a 16 pound turkey of mostly meat-- once I boiled down the bones there was a TON of meat in small pieces that I pulled off (for sandwiches and soup) Plus my husband LOVES the innards, and the neck was a whole meal for him-- He lives picking off the bones for every bite. I saw that same turkey for only $5 today and I am tempted to buy it for Xmas--such a deal.
@Millicent, My DH loves turkey, so I imagine when we are empty nesters (whenever that may be) we will still be buying big turkeys and enjoying those leftovers to the fullest! Definitely get the turkey for Christmas, we're planning to do another turkey then too!
@Millicent,
I'd get two $5 turkeys -- one for Xmas and one to freeze for later in 2026.
@Gina from The Cannary Family, Yes!!!!
@Fru-gal Lisa, That is what I JUST DID!! Had to clear out a whole shelf in my freezer but I managed--
Saturday - Brat sheet pan dinner, pineapple, and Aldi's candy cane Oreos
Sunday - Chili, baked potatoes, and corn bread
Monday - My husband and I went to his work Christmas party. It was a potluck and we had enchiladas, chips and queso, an awesome guac dip (I just got the recipe last night) and I brought a veggie tray.
Tuesday - Ham, sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, peas, and pineapple
Wednesday - Ham and potato soup
Thursday - Thankfully, I got to bring catering leftovers home from work because I was tired by the time I needed to make dinner. So we had the same thing that I ate for lunch: Marry me chicken, garlic red potatoes, and green beans. It was delicious both times.
Friday - Tater tot hot dish! It's super cold here, so this will be perfect before we head out to our town's Christmas parade.
What we ate this past week: we were away for the weekend - so I didn't cook until Monday...
Friday - Montana's
Saturday -wendys and Taco Boyz ( which was really good)
Sunday - we ate wood fired pizza, burgers and salad. Oh, and fire cooked in beef tallow....
Monday - salad, chicken fingers and fries
Tuesday -chicken pot pie, mashed potatoes and green beans from the freezer
Wednesday spinach and ricotta cheese cannelloni with salad and garlic bread
Thursday - haddock with potatoes and corn. I'll tweak the recipe to see if it will have more flavor next time.
Friday - chili with chips is on the menu for tonight. We have an activity to attend this evening, so I'll make chili and keep it in the slow cooker to keep hot. It's going to be cold ? this evening.
We spent 344 on groceries and about the same amount eating out on the weekend.
Happy Friday all
I was not terribly organized this week, so things were a bit haphazard.
Friday - DH & I had leftover Thanksgiving steak + sides.
Saturday - we ate at a party we attended. Persian food - yum!
Sunday - DH made rice & I defrosted Korean beef & we had that together, plus a lot of green onions from the ones in the garden (regrown from purchased green onions)
Monday - chicken noodle soup + bread from the freezer (me) + Korean beef (DH)
Tuesday - DH had salmon, I had chicken noodle soup
Wednesday - DH had salmon & I had chicken & roasted veggies
Thursday - DH finished the salmon & I had chicken & roasted veggies again
Friday - no idea. We may hit up a couple of shops right before the close to exchange a few Christmas gifts. If we do that, we might grab dinner out together.
I usually buy Anderson house soup mixes when they go on sale during Black Friday. I get 25% off. I had a mix left over from last year - Butternut Squash Soup. I asked ChatGPT if I could use a can of pumpkin puree instead in an attempt to clear the pantry. I also wanted it to be instapot easy. I ended up with a pumkin pasta with bleu cheese ( I got 4 ounce blocks for .50 cents each at Grocery Outlet. ) It was just ok. I added chicken and Hubby ate it. I have 4 dinners remaining when all is portioned out and frozen. Good enough.
I returned to G.O. some cherry jam that had a million pits. The store will get credit from the manufacturer.
Hubby and I have been on our food plan for 4 months. He has lost 25 pounds eating only what I put in his cooler bag. I have lost 7 - Sigh. My BMI, though, has slip to simply "overweight" from obese; I have lost fat not muscle, and my A1C is back in normal range. Using Chatgpt to construct menus from pantry/freezer items that fit our protein goals has been critical to keep costs down. Also it has been critical to accept just "ok" meals.
@Mary Ann, your discipline is very impressive.
@Mary Ann, I agree - super impressive to work on your protein goals & use AI to plan your menus & reduce costs. Well done!
Kristen, I made pumpkin chili for the first time recently, and I highly recommended - the pumpkin gives a fabulous, savory depth to chili.
What We Ate (Two retirees)
Sat- Friendsgiving party. We contributed a small shrimp platter, but ate Mexican otherwise, the primary party theme.
Sun- Thanksgiving leftovers from our own celebration at home, so the traditional foods vs above.
Mon- The Pioneer Woman Spaghetti Carbonara Frittata, salad, garlic toast. The recipe was fabulous. Easy to search online, and free)
Tue & Wed- Repeats of Monday. I lightly warmed sliced fritatta at half power in the microwave, and then quickly re-crisped in hot air fryer. It turned out just as hot and crispy as when I first made it.
Thur- Both out at separate events that included food.
Fri- Fancy holiday dinner party. I have a great outfit ready to go, so I'm excited even as typically hotel banquet food awaits us, lol.
I'm getting ready for two 12's as well. Friday is usually my prep day and I am off on Monday so it will be easy - a version of chicken filling for lettuce wraps that I will serve over chopped romaine with some sliced bell pepper. This week:
Monday - kitchen closed - I think I had a sammie?
Tuesday - (freezer) Coconut Shrimp, dinner salad
Wednesday - Stuffed Baked Sweet Potato (with roast pork), green beans
Thursday - Turkey Pot Pie for one with mixed veggies (I froze the other one and a half pie crusts for future me)
Friday - I am really jonesing for that Grinch adult Happy Meal
Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed (Lettuce Wrap Salads, apple, some other snack item, and two easy breakfasts. Tea for dinner.)
Happy Weekend!
@Gina from The Cannary Family, Me, too on the Grinch meal...
Sunday: turkey soup, homemade bread with butter
Monday: weiner wings and french fries
Tuesday: chicken fajitas for some, fajita bowls for others
Wednesday: hubby had a frozen pizza: I was at a work event and had cheese pizza there
Thursday: spicy chicken, penne pasta dish. So delish! we also had cottage cheese as a side
Friday: tonight is probably leftovers
@Gina, what is a weiner wing?!? I am having the funniest, albeit vulgar, images in my mind!!!!
@Diane,
LOL.
A weiner wing is a boiled hot dog, bread and cheese. Boil your hot dog, Then butter one side of a piece of bread that will go buttered side down on a baking sheet. Put a slice of american cheese on unbuttered side and lay the hot dog diagonally on the bread and pull those sides up and secure with toothpicks. Heat in the oven until cheese is melted and bottom of bread is crispy tan. so yummy!
@Diane, I confess that my mind was wandering down the same vulgar pathway. But I'm glad that Gina explained it for us.
@Gina,
I've never heard of weiner wings either. I looked it up online and it looks like a quick and different way to eat hot dogs 🙂
I'm a little jealous of everyone's Thanksgiving leftovers, however the smiles and hugs from all of the kids taking their share of leftovers...priceless. I will take a rotisserie chicken carcass out of the deep freeze and make a big pot of chicken and noodles.
Sun - family dinner of street tacos, corn, apple pies. I had a taco bowl when I got home from work.
I made a 1 lb pkg of beef burger stretch this week:
Mon - bbq burgers, green salad
Tue - 1/4 lb burger, pintos from the freezer, dried tomatoes, onions & Chiles from the freezer in the instapot. Taco salad for 2 days. Some of Kristen's cilantro sauce and home canned spicy salsa.
Thurs - 1/4 lb burger made into beef and veggie lomein.
Friday - town Christmas parade, choirs & tree lighting will have leftovers before we go, but will buy some treat at the food truck court.
Saturday will be soup! I'll get the rest of my baking done.
My sister was here and I just grabbed this and that, shopping, so only $68 and change for me for two weeks.
My menu gets hijacked when she is here too, but this is what I think we ate:
I made beef stew and we had that a few times for lunch and a couple of dinners. with leftover sourdough rolls and/or salad.
Tuna salad with veggies in it and fruit on the side, one of my favorite easy meals.
One day we ate a hearty late lunch out, so supper was nothing. We didn’t even snack.
Out for the grandkid’s birthday! Chicken fried rice with cupcakes for dessert.
I pulled leftover roast lamb from the freezer and had it with broccoli topped with cheese and cranberry sauce, which was not a Thanksgiving leftover.
Tonight, the rest of that lamb probably.
Friday: After three nights of hosting in one week we went out for dinner. We all had comfort food – mac and cheese, grilled cheese, and a chicken sandwich.
Saturday: Beef, Tomato, and Acini di Pepe Soup. My husband also chopped up the remaining mirepoix veggies in the fridge and used the remaining Thanksgiving chicken stock plus some frozen chicken to make a chicken soup base for the freezer. When we are ready for the soup we will defrost, reheat, and add noodles or rice.
Sunday: Jollof Rice with Chicken
Monday: leftover soup or jollof rice
Tuesday: White Chicken Chili – this recipe has hominy in it and is so delicious!
Wednesday: My husband had a work dinner and my son had a late practice so we had another leftover night. My son enjoyed soup after practice and I enjoyed a charcuterie plate.
Thursday: American Style Cheesy Beef Goulash and Macaroni
I spent $83
We ate:
Saturday: was some form of leftovers
Sunday: swedish meatballs and leftover mashed potatoes with broccoli
Monday: we tried the Instagram popular doner wraps with roasted peppers and onions, pita, and roasted carrots. DH really liked this, but I thought it was just ok (texture wasn't the best for me). DH likes anything with a yogurt sauce and a pita.
Tuesday: chicken breasts/potato salad/asparagus
Wednesday: mix of leftovers
Thursday: chicken cutlets with spaghetti/salad
Friday: I don't know. Maybe chili or ham/bean soup
Happy Friday, everyone! We spent $90 ($36 at Target and $54 at Trader Joe's).
--Ginger rosemary scone and tea
--Vegetable/tofu stir fry and brown rice
--Popcorn and fruit (happens regularly this time of year as this is what my husband makes for dinner when he watches the Wild hockey game on TV)
--Salad (x2)
--Tomato soup and grilled cheese spinach sandwich
--Stewed lentils and tomatoes
What a week! It was BUSY but we managed to eat, with combined efforts from all:
Monday: DS#1 took a day of leave to be home and made burgers and baked potatoes with toppings.
Tuesday: DS#2 and I didn't have clinicals today, so he was home and made roasted chicken drumsticks and mashed potatoes. Frozen peas and carrots (cooked, obviously) on the side.
Wednesday: Last day of clinicals! DS#3 made a taco night spread and it was SO good. He even found a can of black beans and heated them up for me (the refried beans we get have soy in them).
Thursday: DH made lasagnas...to be precise, he made FOUR lasagnas. Either he was giddy at the idea of me being done with both classes, or he was concerned about there not being enough food. One lasagna was wheat free, the other three are regular, and we still have nearly three whole lasagnas in total for tonight.
Friday: Leftover lasagna. I was going to make chicken alfredo, but I think I will make that on Monday, as I have NO MORE CLASSES right now. Woot!
@Karen A., "No more classes! No more books! No more teacher's dirty looks!" But LOTS more lasagna!
Sorry. Couldn't resist.
@JDinNM, That's spot on! My bio professor has a wicked sense of humor and if we answered a question wrong in class she would give us a *mock* dirty look and say "Nobody remembers anything!"
WIS: $10 at Ollie's and $16 at Wegmans. (However, I spent my "30% off one item" Ollie's coupon on a home blood pressure monitor, since my PCP is getting on my case about my BP. Also, I'm once again a 3-star general in Ollie's Army, till the end of the year--so everyone stand up and salute!)
WIA: Soup season is in full swing at Chez A. Marie. As previously noted, I made a Portuguese kale soup with some of the "habeas corpus" turkey broth plus the rest of the kale I bought for the T'giving kale salad. And yesterday, I made a split pea soup with some more of the turkey broth plus ham bones from the freezer. (Hey, we've had three lake effect snow systems through here in the past week. All this snow has kicked on my soup-making switch.)
Saturday: I was in the kitchen a lot of the day making pies, cranberry sauce, and extra chicken stock for our delayed Thanksgiving dinner the next day. Therefore, I was not enthused about making anything involved for dinner. I had some leftover taco meat in the freezer that I combined with some rice I had frozen before we went on our trip. These two things, in a skillet, with sour cream added, plus tacos made by frying corn tortillas in lard and then folding them over canned refried beans and cheese, made a very filling and very peasant-y dinner. We also had raw radishes.
Sunday: This was our Thanksgiving meal. Turkey, gravy, sage/sourdough dressing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, maple carrots, frozen corn, pecan pie with whipped cream or ice cream, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and crispy rice treats.
Monday: Leftovers of everything but the cranberry sauce, which was gone.
Tuesday: I made turkey noodle soup for the one child with a nasty sinus infection. The rest of us were ready for a turkey break, however, so we had hamburger patties, garlic bread, leftover mashed potatoes and gravy, and some of the produce my mom arrived with this day. That included corn on the cob, green salad with vinaigrette, green grapes, and Mexican wedding cookies. Yes, I know that last is not produce, but my mom did bring them. They were purchased somewhere and were not much like the ones I make. Mine are better. 🙂
Wednesday: This was the night of our FFA fundraiser. The FFA students prepare and serve the dinner, which was ham, rice, green beans, salad, rolls, and a sopapilla cheesecake.
Thursday: Chicken tacos with homemade corn tortillas, refried beans, raw broccoli, cherry pie with vanilla ice cream
Friday: Ground beef and bean chili, cornbread
Ooh that orange chicken looks good. I haven't had that in years--yum.
WIA:
Saturday: My parents made a feast. I ate meatballs in tomato sauce, bread, roasted vegetables, and fruit.
Sunday: I took Friday's roast chicken, picked off the meat, used the bones for broth, and made chicken-noodle soup. It was a moderate amount of work, but now we have lots of broth in the freezer.
Monday: I was on vacation, so I made a double-batch of Bolognese sauce, but my daughter started singing a song about pancakes. So we made pancakes together and I scrounged up some berries and canned peaches.
Tuesday: Spaghetti Bolognese and peas.
Wednesday: I work late on Wednesdays, but had a late lunch, so I just ate some snacky things I'd brought. Nuts and fruit, etc. Home crew had pizza.
Thursday: We usually get pizza on Thursdays, but my daughter had pizza day for lunch, so we just had pancakes, fruit, hard-boiled eggs, and cheese.
Friday: Mr. B is making it.
This week brought a fair amount of snow followed by some really cold weather and a dead furnace. WWA:
Saturday - falafel bowls made with rice and homemade falafels from the freezer. Also used up veggies and other ingredients we already had in the pantry or fridge.
Sunday - we had friends over and served a special (low fructan) meal of roast beef, mashed potatoes, buttered baby kales, green salad, and lactose-free creme brûlée
Monday - leftovers
Tuesday - egg noodles with Swedish meatballs from the freezer
Wednesday - trout and veggies baked with lemon in parchment paper packets, rice
Thursday - Thai takeaway (needed a break after several days of navigating a frigid house and the general disruption of a day-long furnace installation)
Friday - planning to have perogies from the freezer along with sausages and a green salad served in a pleasant 20 degree (Celsius) dining room
Wishing everyone a warm week ahead
We spent $163 and ate:
Saturday—we had a family get together at lunchtime with lots of good food, so I just had a jar of Rao’s chicken soup for dinner.
Sunday—I made my favorite minestrone soup—I like soup!
Monday—mushroom, onion, and garlic dill cheese omelet, with red grapes on the side.
Tuesday—leftover minestrone.
Wednesday—grilled cheese sandwiches and half a can of tomato bisque soup (yep, soup again!)
Thursday—another grilled cheese and the other half can of tomato bisque soup
Friday—homemade pizza (with store bought dough), my last try at recreating my brother’s easy and delicious homemade pizza. Previous attempts have not been great, just want to use up the last of the dough.
WIS: $79, divided between Food Lion and Dollar Tree.
WWA: Leftover homemade beef-veggie soup. Pork butt roast cooked like a pot roast, with carrots and sweet red pepper as the pot veggies. Those two were meals for my husband, though I did eat a half cup of soup. For myself, veggie burgers with fruit, a turkey-pasta-butternut squash dish, spicy rice and beans, and a one-pot meal with veggies and quinoa that came out strangely bland until I added a quarter cup of hickory barbecue sauce. That perked it right up.
Saturday -- I was at my brother's house after Thanksgiving. On Saturday, we ate chicken tenders and French fries. The fries were homemade. However, my stomach was queasy I didn't eat much.
Sunday -- Still at my brother's -- the weather kept me captive. We had homemade pizza on naan and side salads of lettuce, tomato, red onion and croutons. And dressing, of course.
Monday -- home at last! My main meal was a turkey sandwich. Not from Thanksgiving. I actually bought turkey lunch meat on the way home. I had carrot sticks on the side.
Tuesday -- turkey Manhattan -- an open face turkey sandwich topped with gravy and mashed potatoes, also topped with gravy. Cooked carrots on the side.
Wednesday -- a repeat of Tuesday.
Thursday -- chef's salad with homemade croutons.
Friday -- tuna noodle casserole from the freezer. Unfortunately, it gave me the runs -- or something did -- so I tossed what was left.
As for groceries -- I only spent $11 at Walmart on Monday.