What I Spent, What We Ate | It's a new year!
Happy New Year, friends!
I rang in the new year by....going to bed at 10:30.
(Good thing I have never claimed to be a party animal, because that way I have no reputation to lose with that admission.)
I regret exactly no part of that decision. Sleep trumps a lot of other things in life for me, and more sleep is rarely a regrettable decision.
Staying up late, on the other hand? I regret that almost every time!
What I Spent
First day of the year, first grocery report of the year:
I spent $91 at Aldi, and $10 at Harris Teeter for fennel, green tomatoes, and bananas.
(Aldi doesn't have fennel or green tomatoes, and I don't like Aldi's bananas.)
So, I'm starting out 2021 with a $101 week.
What We Ate
Saturday
Mr. FG and I got Potbelly subs for our takeout date night. I used the Potbelly app, but their points system requires you to spend $100 to get a free entree, it's going to be a while until I get a reward.
But hey, I have no problem being patient. And I also have no problem eating more sandwiches on our takeout date nights. 😉
Sunday
We've been typically getting Sunday night takeout from local restaurants (to help them out during the restrictions) but this time, the girls really wanted Firehouse subs. So that's what we did.
I suppose you could look at it as helping the local franchise owner? Still, not as virtuous as supporting an actual local restaurant.
Monday
Breakfast for dinner to use up some buttermilk in the back of the fridge!
I made:
And I also made a little batch of blueberry syrup, to use up some random blueberries I'd thrown in the freezer a while back.
I am definitely making blueberry syrup again, because that was really tasty.
Unfortunately, I don't remember exactly which recipe I used, but there are oodles of them out there if you google, and most of them are pretty similar.
Tuesday
I tried a spiced citrus chicken recipe from Cook's Country, and it was just ok. I think I do not like cinnamon combined with chicken, so I'm gonna try to remember that in the future when I peruse recipes ideas.
Luckily, I made potato cubes fried in bacon grease on the side, so at least that was a dependably good part of the meal.
Wednesday
I made slow-cooker sausage ragu with large rigatoni, and on the side we had raw veggies and fruit.
Thursday
I made French bread pizzas with garlic butter, on two loaves of homemade French bread.
Homemade French bread makes way better French bread pizza, in my opinion. The store-bought bread always seems to get too dry, almost in a shatter-y kind of way.
Friday
For something a little unusual, tonight I'm going to try a Cook's Country recipe for fried green tomato BLTs.
We already love BLTs and the idea of doing a fried green tomato instead of a regular tomato sounds interesting to me.
Also, I have never had a fried green tomato, so I'm curious to see what those taste like!
Any time you use a business local to you, you are helping your neighbors. A franchise store still employs your neighbors; buying online keeps people employed who need to process the orders, pack them, deliver them. I understand the concept, but if everyone stopped buying from Amazon (for example), or going to Starbucks, how many people who ARE your friends and neighbors would wind up unemployed? Plus, how many online businesses are actually 'local' businesses to someone?
Yes, this!!
Supporting the economy generally is a form of supporting your locality.
I think the basic idea behind especially focusing on locally-owned restaurants during this pandemic is that big corporations have enough financial wiggle room to weather a long period of reduced income. Panera Bread is not going to go out of business as a result of the pandemic, for example.
But a small local bakery might actually have to close its doors in the same situation, just because it does not have enough financial wiggle room.
Also, when you spend money at a restaurant owned by a corporation, some of that money goes to corporate, whereas if you spend at a locally owned restaurant, more of the money actually stays in your community.
I'm not an expert on this; I'm just going off of what I've read!
This week has been a blur thanks to a very busy work schedule. The only grocery purchases made were for milk, a loaf of bread, cilantro, and a few tomatoes. Let’s see what I can remember.
Saturday we had dinner with some friends...the only ones we have seen since the pandemic began. They are tested and we stay home so win win. We had ham, asparagus, pineapple casserole, and raw veggies with dip.
Sunday we made ham sandwiches with croissants I had on hand and some Navarro cheese. I used some leftover spinach and artichoke dip on mine. Yum.
Monday we ate pot roast with carrots and onions and had rice and squash on the side.
Tuesday was a leftover night.
Wednesday I caved and ordered pizza from a local spot. At least we are lending support to a family owned business.
Thursday I browned some ground beef and seasoned a pot of dried pinto and kidney beans. I used these to make a large batch of sheet pan nachos. I served these with all the usual accompaniments while we played cards.
No New Years party hounds here...we were all in bed by 10 pm. Sleep when raising a 5 yr old is crucial.
Have a great day everyone!!!
Every year I tell myself I will keep track of what I spend on food or how many books I read...Maybe this year I will do that!!
Sunday-Marinated chicken breasts and cooked them on my new cast iron grill top- served in tortillas with rice and toppings- first meal I have prepped and cooked since surgery earlier in the month and it was good!
Monday-My daughter made *chik fila sandwiches* ( red bag from Aldi) and served with onion rings and waffle fries..
Tuesday- I made homemade mac and cheese and air fried some mini beef sausages for the kids for lunch ( after online drivers ed all morning)- we went out for supper as a family since the oldest was off work
Weds- Made a batch of chili that the guys enjoyed.. The girl and I ate some thanksgiving casserole I pulled out of the freezer!
New Years Eve- Appetizer night! This year we have an air fryer and things tasted so much better then baked in the oven. We just kept it running and made thing in phases and it was laid back and yum! Homemade pretzel bites tossed on garlic butter, mozzarella sticks, veggie egg rolls ( made homemade sweet and sour sauce that was good!), broccoli and cheese tots ( from Aldi and they were GOOD!-shocked actually), pizza rolls and mini corn dogs..
New Years! -Tradition around here is pork and saurkraut... and my kids do not love the kraut.. and neither husband nor I are feeling it.. so my mom is bringing a spiral sliced ham and her baked beans.. I am making some baked corn, homemade rolls and whatever else makes me happy.. keeping it simple..
~The overall theme is mama needs to get back to 100% so we can start eating more fruits and veggies!
Happy New Year all!
I'm not a fan of "sour" sauer kraut, I put brown sugar in it, to taste. Can't hurt the probiotic value that much, can it????
WIS: Total spent at the grocery store this week $77 (Went on Tues. & Thurs. to pick up a few specials!)
One store was to pick up frozen crab rangoon for NYE (initially) but now it is for NYD (our holiday celebrations have been very "fluid". While there, I picked up some ricotta for lasagna this upcoming week and some Gorton's sandwich fish for another meal. I went to the 2nd store to get the on sale Cheez It's for my daughter's upcoming Cheez It houseparty that she was pick for. And I got the on sale frozen pizza--cheap meal some night. KA flour was on sale for $3.49/5 lb. My plan this month is to use up the freezer, only supplementing with what I need to create a recipe.
WWA:
Sat: Left over wild rice, vegetables & pork from Christmas dinner
Sun: Roast beef (was suppose to be family day after Christmas meal) with left over vegetables & rice from Christmas dinner
Mon: Chicken & rice casserole
Tues: Leftover from Monday
Wed: Ranch chicken burgers (may need a little more pepper or something) using organic ground chicken from our harvest box), free everything burger rolls (Walmart reimbursed my daughter on her pick up order when I noticed the "Best Used by Date" was 5 days earlier than purchase.
Thurs: Family did take out Thai from a local restaurant that has had problems in the last 3 yrs--pipes burst in restaurant; long time torn up parking lot while owner put in new septic system and now Covid. Their food is always so good.
Today: We may possibly have the opportunity to finally gather together with the rest of our circle, which has been postponed since the original date--the day after Christmas. We make homemade Chinese. My sister-in-law, who lives alone, loves it because she doesn't cook all of this for herself.
Happy New Year everyone. Stay safe. Stay well.
Hi. I am intrigued - what is a Cheez It houseparty? It sounds yummy!
There are marketing companies that you can sign up to host parties for their products. They will send you coupons and accompanying items for the party. Cheez Its one was for the college bowl season, I believe.
OP, please correct me if I'm wrong.
True Southern gal here. Fried Green Tomatoes are surprisingly very tasty! The secret is in the breading. Too thick makes them super greasy and weirdly chewy IMO. Also, super delish are Fried Pickles!
Regarding frugality, that is a work in progress for me. But, I'm trying to get a handle on my online shopping (hello wicked easy Amazon) by tallying my spending in December, separating out Christmas shopping from hey we could use one of _________.
Happy New Year to you and your family. We stayed up to watch the ball drop...very anticlimactic seeing a bare Times Square. About five years ago my daughter and I went there to tick off a crazy bucket list item, so it was sad to see the place so deserted on tv. Here's to 2021 and all the wonderful things I hope it brings to everyone.
I haven't grocery shopped in the new year yet, but last week spent $32 on a few item we needed. Here's what we ate:
Saturday: Christmas dinner leftovers.
Sunday: Leftovers again!!
Monday: Spicy pineapple chicken with fried rice.
Tuesday: Tacos
Wednesday: Grilled chicken breast, green beans and tater tots. Our vegetarian enjoyed buffalo wing soy nuggets.
Thursday: Each week we order takeout from a local restaurant to help keep them afloat during these tough times. We ordered food from a Mexican restaurant and had a New Years Eve fiesta.
Friday: I am planning to clean out the refrigerator today, so we'll see!!!!
You can make blueberry sauce by simmering blueberries with a pinch of salt till they're saucy; then adjust sweetness as necessary. It's extra tasty when cooked with some minced ginger or dried orange rind. (Basic idea from either The Little House Cookbook or Susan Loomis' Farmhouse Cookbook.)
We went to bed at the same time! Like, literally, because I went to bed at 8:30 p.m. here, which I think is 10:30 p.m. your time. 🙂
Friday: I made spaghetti and meatballs, sauteed mushrooms and onions, green salad with ranch dressing, and an apple pie with ice cream. I made that because I really didn't want to spend hours in the kitchen making the tamales and chocolate roulade I had planned on. What good is being the cook if you can't change your mind about what to cook?
Saturday: Ground beef tacos, cucumbers with ranch dressing
Sunday: Leftover spaghetti and meatballs and miniature carrots for the kids, a skillet combination of a bunch of frozen garden vegetables with leftover meatballs and asadero cheese. Because it was my birthday, and that's what I felt like eating. We also had hot chocolate and some bizcochitos (a kind of shortbread cookie flavored with anise and cinnamon that is actually the New Mexico state cookie) made by a neighbor.
Monday: Ground beef tacos, oyster stew (my husband and son were hunting near Taos, and they got fresh oysters at the grocery store there), cucumber spear
Tuesday: Boneless lamb leg roast, roasted potatoes, green salad with ranch dressing
Wednesday: Leftover lamb, rice, taco meat with rice and cheese, frozen green peas
Thursday: Beef and vegetable soup, garlic bread, cheese
Friday: Well, it's New Year's Day, and that always means pork (for health), greens (for wealth), and black eyed peas (for happiness). This year that's pork chunks, beet greens, and a can of black eyed peas because I forgot to get dried ones. Whoops. I was saved by a random can given to us by a neighbor who gets the commodities boxes. So thanks for the happiness in the coming year, USDA! Plus leftover rice and cornbread.
My husband joked the other day about the disappointment of seeing one thing listed on the menu board when he leaves for work and coming home to a totally different dinner. As you said, you get to change your mind when you're the cook!!
Haha, well, you are even less of a party animal than me, then.
Are you finding that the newer Cook’s Country recipes aren’t as tasty as they used to be? I don’t know if it’s my imagination or not.
I don't know if I've noticed a pattern yet! I mean, I've had some duds here and there, but also plenty of wins.
And I think the citrus chicken recipe was not a bad recipe per se; it's more that I didn't like it.
That’s good to know. Enjoy the rest of your week. Thanks for all you do!
What did we have this week? Well let's work backwards since that seems to be my best method for remembering...
Tonight - we're having standard New Year's fare of black eyed peas with smoked sausage over rice, a greens salad and cornbread
Last night -we had white chicken chili with a salad and corn chips
Wednesday night - We had leftover jambalaya
Tuesday night - pizza with turkey pepperoni and mushrooms
Monday night - original jambalaya night
That's as far back as I can remember.
Happy New Year everyone!
Happy New Year of Cooking, everyone!
When I was up in the Alto Adigo a few years ago, we had a course which was pasta in a blueberry sauce (savory course). It was surprisingly delicious! Anyhoo:
WWS: $107 - we hadn't gone shopping for 2 weeks prior, so the fridge was EMPTY!
WWA:
Sat: duck liver paté (homemade); roasted rack of lamb with pomegranate molasses and fennel seeds; roasted anise; potato gratin
Sun: leftovers
Mon: homemade pierogi with kielbasa & sauerkraut
Tues: bouillabaisse (haddock, cockles & shrimp); homemade baguette; rouille
Wed: lamb pita pockets (using the leftover lamb) and homemade pita; tzatziki; sweet potato fries (we used the air fryer that we were given for Christmas. I'm not sure if we did something wrong, but I was not impressed).
Thurs: queso fundido with chorizo and homemade tortilla, refried kidney beans, guacamole & salsa
Fri: A Georgian Feast! Meskhetian-style Georgian cheese bread; Cornish game hen with garlic sauce; beets in tart cherry sauce; green beans with walnuts (all but the last come from Saveur).
We love our air fryer. Try frying things like fries twice. That definitely elevates them. Also great for leftovers. Don't give up on it yet!
Your meal plan sounds very delicious!
We finished the gumbo from Christmas Day; sautéed a steak for three of us and made a salad; baked fish and topped with the crab salsa my sister gave us; and we got take-out from a local restaurant to give us a break from cooking.
Happy New Year ! Glad to see 2021! We are eating out of our freezer..
Ham,made into ham salad
Frozen fish squares
Hamburgers
Steak,moose
Chinese takeout for New Years Eve.
Today we had brunch with our grandkids , in our bubble. Great fun.
Last week we did a $120 shop at BJ’s all stocked up. Nancy
I grew up on the Jersey Shore and my mom in law used to be on a strict budget,raising 3 boys. One of her budget meals was buying up a bushel of tomatoes at the local farm stand and then frying up the RED tomato slices, after breading them with some salt pepper and flour, then she would make a medium milk gravy, with lots of black pepper, and serve us fried tomatoes on toast with the milk gravy—oooooohhhhh soooo good. I have not made this in years..the tomatoes I get in Arizona are not the same.. but If I can find some nice beefsteaks this year I will give it a go.. I have never had fried GREEN tomatoes!
That sounds GOOD! Do you have a recipe with proportions?
We has spaghetti with home made marinara sauce, I use GIADA de Laurentis’ recipe for a marinara and make batches to freeze. Served with side of garlicky green beans.
Chicken enchiladas in a tomatillo (green) sauce and a side of Spanish rice and some sliced cucumbers.
Barbecue spare ribs for our Christmas Eve dinner,with twice baked potatoes and a large spinach/mandarin/almond salad with poppyseed dressing.Got my ribs on sale at Winco about a month ago and had in freezer. I use Trader Joe’s CAROLINA mustardy BBQ sauce..we love it. In Arizona we are still barbecuing!!
Cajun Shrimp with Grits and a side salad.
Soup night we had home made bread and some lentil stew with potatoes and lots of veggies in it.
Mushroom ravioli with home made pesto sauce from my basil garden and a large Greek salad.
We are eating really well at home, ALL our meals, no more lunch dates ,with Covid, and the few takeouts we’ve gotten have been disappointing. So we don’t do take out anymore. I splurge a little on groceries but we spend ZERO on take out food now.
Everything sounds amazing!!
Saturday-homemade mac & cheese, green beans, fruit salad
Sunday-leftover roast beef, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, fruit salad
Monday-pizza, salad
Tuesday-leftover mac & cheese, fruit
Wednesday-shepherd's pie, fruit
Thursday-snack type foods (tomato bacon cups, chips and guacamole, cheese ball on crackers), fruit
Friday-going to my sister's for barbecue pork chops, black-eyed peas and potato salad
Southern Indiana girl here, and we love our fried green tomatoes! Many recipes call for egg wash and breading which are good but honestly just salted and peppered and dredged in flour they are wonderful! The key is frying quickly so they don't soak up too much oil and then keeping them warm until mealtime! I have even canned green tomato slices when I have an overabundance. So good in the middle of January!!
I put skinless, boneless chicken pieces in a baking dish, top with peaches, then sprinkle with cinnamon and bake. Most of the cinnamon stays on the peaches. I like easy. 🙂
What are you gonna be making with the fennel you bought? I've only cooked with fennel a couple times, but I really like the flavor.
That goes into the slow-cooker ragu that I made earlier this week. It's the only recipe I've ever used fennel for!
It is really good raw in a salad, sliced paper thin, with orange segments, cured olives (cut up), and arugula.
How did you like the fried green tomatoes? I LOVE them but they are sometimes an acquired taste!
Happy New Year!
Same! I only like them with a sweet tomato salsa, or chow chow. I don’t think I’d like without the sauce.
So, I am about to fry them for dinner tonight. Which means the verdict is still out! I'll let you guys know.
If you make green tomatoes in the fall, at least here in Illinois, they are great, with a “certain something”, fresh from the garden. The rest of the year, they are tasteless and weird.
I feel like I just can’t get enough sleep today and the last few days!
Happy 2021!
Update! The tomatoes were good, but I didn't think they added enough to the BLT to warrant the effort required to make them.
Sunday - French dips and fries using leftover beef tenderloin from Christmas dinner
Monday - beef stew using the rest of the beef tenderloin with sweet potatoes (from a 50lb box I got at the fruit stand for $15, total
Frugal win)
Tuesday - homemade turkey burgers
Wednesday- potato, ham, and cauliflower soup (using the rest of a 15lb bag of russets I got for $3 at the same above fruit stand)
Thursday- takeout Chinese (New Years Eve tradition)
Friday- leftover Chinese food
I did score a spiral sliced ham for 67c a pound this week!
All days also had green salad accompanying.
Fri (Christmas): "Christmas on the bayou" shrimp and sausage gumbo, greens and chick peas, hoppin' john, brined turkey breast, and corn polenta. We ordered food from our milk delivery service as a Christmas gift to ourselves-the first food we had eaten not cooked in our house since before lockdown. Verdict: my husband's cooking is way better. Also, our local dairy farmers are excellent at dairy products but do not understand what Cajun food should taste like-either that or they are catering to people who can't handle heat. We ate it anyway and enjoyed the break from cooking. Also my husband felt appreciated for his far superior cooking.
Sat: leftover wannabe Cajun food because we are frugal and it was edible.
Sun: focaccia AND Sunday gravy (meat and garlic tomato sauce that cooks all day) for the 8 year old's birthday. Blueberry muffins for dessert.
Mon: leftover Sunday gravy
Tues: more leftover Sunday gravy and the last of the leftover "Cajun" food
Weds: leftover Sunday gravy and focaccia and blueberry goat cheese cheesecake for dessert with fresh whipped cream for a secondary birthday celebration with all of us.
Thurs: scrambled eggs, bok choi pancakes with sour cream, pork sausages, and jasmine rice.
Fri: (New Years day) roast buttered turkey (stuffed with lemons and rosemary and roasted over bed of onion slices), leftover jasmine rice, pomegranate seeds, and fruit salad (pineapple, kiwi, and satsuma slices mixed with sour cream). The fruit salad sounds fancy, but it basically used up a lot of fruit that was going and some leftover sour cream.
Sat-foreseeable future: lots of turkey leftovers/reimaginings.
Happy new year everyone!
And now you can watch (or read, but I prefer the movie, which is unusual for me) Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe. Still a funny movie, all these years later.
I haven't had fried green tomatoes in years. I love them but only when they cook up nice and crisp, not soggy.
We ordered pizza and the world's best bread sticks from a local eatery on Monday. I made sausage/lentil/barley soup and bread one night, last night we had an appetizer-ey meal and stayed up playing games till midnight, and tonight hubby made the black eyed peas NY meal. I can't remember our other dinner ....
Most years we haven't bothered with ringing in the new year, but now that I have teens, it's kinda fun for them. I have more munchies out than I normally allow in the house and I'm sure that's a lot of the appeal. This year in particular, I've been trying to make an effort to up the "fun quotient" in our home.
You’ve never had a fried green tomato?!? They are yum. Although I only eat them when I’m out at a restaurant and never at home. And truly the “whistle stop cafe” in Juliet, Georgia is the very best I’ve had. Also where the movie was filmed. A must see!
We have been trying to support our local restaurants as well. But I am also supporting franchises because the owners are usually fairly local and the employees are people that live and work in my community. So I am definitely helping local people even when I eat at a larger chain.
We ate Christmas leftovers until they were gone. Fortunately they were excellent leftovers, so no hardship there. Then I made a vat of chili, which we ate until New Year's rolled around, when we had roast chicken, spinach, crowder peas, cranberry sauce, mac and cheese, biscuits and baked potatoes because a few of those at the supper table felt carb deprived. No dessert because were were too full.
My December spending at the grocery store averaged $138 per week, which is not all food. To cut down on trips to stores and avoid more potential virus exposure, we buy cat litter, paper goods, cleaning products and OTC meds at the grocery store. It is a bit more expensive that way, but I'd rather do one trip to a store that is being careful and be done with it.
Happy New Year!
Monday- I am sure it was something yummy?
Tuesday- paprika chicken and noodles
Wednesday- Brinner also known as Breakfast for Dinner - sausage gravy and homemade biscuits
Thursday- Local Restaurant support- Thai takeout
Friday- pork and sauerkraut (just a forkful for me - not my favorite) along with peas and mashed potatoes.
Saturday - scalloped potatoes with the last of the Christmas ham
I'm pretty late to comment on this post - just catching up on blog reading, but here's what we ate:
Monday - Bruschetta Meatloaf, baked potatoes, fresh veggie*
Tuesday - Tilapia, fresh veggie, garlic toast
Wednesday - Pot of beans with smoked ham hock, corn muffins
Thursday - Sausage Hashbrown Casserole, fruit
Friday - Swedish Ham Balls, cabbage, black eyed peas, rolls, leftover birthday cake, bubbly {I left for work at 2:30 p.m.}
Saturday - Crockpot Apricot Chicken over rice, fresh veggie
Sunday - Who knows. Probably a leftovers smorgasbord.
*fresh veggies this week will be an assortment of kale, zucchini, bell peppers, carrots, green beans, brussels sprouts
I am powering through the freezer for the next week's meals so lots of creativity and leftovers in store!
In South Georgia we love fried green tomatoes dipped in Ranch dressing.
I'm just back from two weeks off, and I can't remember much of what we ate, but I'm having fun catching up on the blog! I'm glad to see Thankful Thursdays are continuing. I sure need them!
Welcome back to the internet world! 🙂
Fried green tomatoes are awesome, but where do you find green tomatoes in January???
Harris Teeter had them!
I came to say I also don't like Aldi bananas! What's up with them? I thought I was crazy.
I’d never thought about it but Aldi bananas almost always end up in our freezer instead of being eaten right away!
Friday - bacon wrapped pork loin
Saturday - leftovers
Sunday - chicken wings and fresh veggies
Monday - chili and corn muffins
Tuesday - Verde chicken enchiladas
Wednesday - beef stew and rolls
Thursday - spaghetti with sausage
Friday - take out pizza
Saturday - not certain yet I think my hubby is cooking
Sunday - also no clue
All four of us are home all day 5 days a week and my 17yr old is in school 2 days a week so our leftovers get eaten for lunch most days. We almost always get either takeout pizza or a take and bake on Fridays to enjoy during a movie night.