WIS, WWA | notttttt a low-spend week
What I Spent
Well, I compensated for my $6 spend from last week. Ha. And that's largely because I did a big stock-up trip at Aldi, including buying several bags of frozen meat/fish to use for protein in my meals.
This week, I spent:
- $147 at Aldi
- $15 at Safeway
- $30 on a Hungry Harvest box
So, $192 total (!!)
What We Ate
Saturday
I grilled some chicken drumsticks that I'd bought on sale, and I also threw some par-cooked potato wedges on the grill.
And then I just added some cherries and a cut-up orange pepper.
Sunday
A grilled chicken sausage, a cut-up red pepper, and some fruit.
Monday
I made a tuna melt on whole-grain bread, and I ate some raw veggies on the side. The tuna melt from that day was a little ugly so please enjoy this one instead:
Tuesday
I had dinner at a friend's house, and she served baked sweet potatoes with black beans and rice. 🙂
I didn't take a photo of dinner! But this is my lunch from day two of RN orientation:
Wednesday
I sauteed some tilapia, then sauted onion and chopped tomatoes in the same skillet. I deglazed the pan with half and half, added some spinach and cooked that until it wilted, and made that a sauce for the orzo.
Thursday
I wasn't wildly hungry, so I made a green smoothie for dinner.
Friday
After 4:30 today, I will have officially completed one week of RN orientation! Two more weeks of orientation/boot camp stuff, and then I'll be on the floor.
I haven't decided what's for dinner, though.
Congratulations on your first week of being a registered nurse!
What I ate this week (and spent).... I think I spent about 50.00 that's including a milkshake on Tuesday, and coffee on Sunday. I got treated to 2 meals out, on Sunday and last evening.
I had green/yellow beans with pork.
I made corned beef hash ( and ate leftovers for breakfast).
I made a ramen noodles with micro green, snap peas and an egg.
I'm make a salad today with grilled peaches, roasted beets and blueberries.
It dawned on me last evening, when reading recipes/watching cooking shows, they use gas/propane tops, which speeds the process up. I've got to adjust my cooking time as I had been using an electric stove top, but now with the propane, its way faster!
Happy Friday all!
@It's me, Sam, your salad sounds amazing!
I vote you make blueberry pancakes 😉
Oh my goodness I just realized I made no pancakes this week. EMERGENCY!
@Kristen,
Haha! Chiquita is your pancake this week!
@Becca, Chiquita looks like she's been eating well. Perhaps too well. Or maybe that's all just ... fluffiness!
@Kristen,
It's a PANCAKE EMERGENCY SITUATION!!
(lol)
CODE BLUE! CODE BLUE!
Congrats on getting through week 1!!
Dinner's this week included:
1. Bulgogi, rice and zucchini
2. Chicken curry, (or chickpea curry) rice and zucchini
3. Ground turkey salad
4. Pizza and/or salad-> I hit the easy button and bought both at Sam's Club for approx. $13. It easily served 4 adults and was a cheaper alternative than buying one meal at many fast food restaurants.
5. Cookout fare (burgers, chicken, salads, fruit)
6. Leftover bulgogi or chicken curry on salad
7. Not sure about tonight... maybe wraps or omelets?
We had a busy week, and we were light on vegetables and side dishes!
Monday: Raided the freezer and pantry found lots of ingredients for chicken noodle soup. Seasonally inappropriate, but very good.
Tuesday: Mr. B made pasta with tomato sauce.
Wednesday: I was feeling a bit yucky after my iron infusion so I rubbed some spices on some boneless, skinless chicken breasts and roasted them along with frozen fries.
Thursday: I was on my own for dinner after a big lunch so I tried some store-brand frozen ravioli and they were not good. Longos (Curato) for my Canadian friends. Wouldn't buy again.
Friday: breaded tilapia, green beans, challah, ice cream for dessert.
Happy weekend! I'm working Sunday so please enjoy it extra hard for me 🙂
@Meira@meirathebear,
Shabbat shalom! Do you bake your own challah?
@KathyL, I do not! Mr. B buys it weekly. I like baking, but it just doesn't work with my work schedule. Eventually my plan is to arrange a work schedule where I only work a half-day on Fridays to make a nice Shabbat every week, but that's still a few years away from being possible.
WIS: $58 at Wegmans. And I'm taking JASNA BFF today to Wegmans, which is one of her non-negotiable stops in my city. There are, of course, now two or three Wegmans in the NY Metro area, but she says that she'd still rather come here and shop. My Weggies is the biggest store by square footage in the chain!
WIA: I made ratatouille on Tuesday and a family pack of chicken drumsticks on Wednesday, and BFF and I finished the ratatouille and almost all the drums last night. We're having lunch out today with NDN1 and CF, and we'll see what Weggies can provide for dinner.
@A. Marie, What can't Wegman's provide for dinner? It's the prepared-food champion among grocery stores, I'm pretty sure. 🙂 Myself, I can just eat their cheese bread and artichoke dip and be happy . . .
@A. Marie,
We don't have any Weggies in my area (SW Ohio), BUT Dayton, Ohio (which is a stone's throw away from where I live) has Dorothy Lane Markets, which are AMAZING. It is the home of the Killer Brownie, which if you're gonna go, that's the way to do it. Ha. Even better, they're getting ready to open a new DLM close to where I work!! I'm soooo excited. Not a frugal place to shop, but ohhhh, the bakery items and the hot food to go. So good.
@Liz B., The bakery at DLM is insane. The Killer Brownies are, indeed, lethal. I used to live in that area and when I was in my jogging era I would jog my route so it would end up there and treat myself to an iced coffee! Their sushi was pretty excellent too!
@Karen A.,
Ah, so you know exactly why I'm so excited! Their bakery is the only place I've ever found Bakewell tart. Yum. And thank for the sushi intel....my teen son is really into sushi!
Happy Friday, everyone! We spent $141 ($9 at Trader Joe's, $53 at Aldi, $42 at Target, and $37 at natural foods co-op). We're fully stocked so next week should be much lower.
- Thyme roasted potatoes and green beans
- Vegetarian egg rolls with sweet chile sauce
- Orzo salad and baguette
- Charcuterie tray
- Thai vegetable curry
- Bruschetta and red grapes
- Salad
So you're still a "nursing graduate," I see. Do they take that off your badge when you finish orientation?
Saturday: Last day of the county fair, and a very hot day. I made pasta in the early morning, with meat sauce from the freezer and asadero cheese, and just heated that up for anyone who wanted it when we got home as they were getting ready for the dance. No one ate a lot of it, because I always bring a cooler with snacks for this long day at the fair, so there was a lot of pasta left over.
Sunday: So I served the pasta again. 🙂 It needed a lot more sauce, though, which I made with a big can of crushed tomatoes, garlic, the collard greens and parsley I had entered into the fair and wanted to use up (those I blended in so they weren't so noticeable), and cream. We also had a green salad with vinaigrette and chocolate pudding I had made the day before to use up aging milk.
Monday: I left with one son this day for a long drive to a city. Son wanted Raising Cane's chicken, so that is what we had. My husband made tacos with refried beans for the ones at home.
Tuesday: I was still on the road. We had sushi and curry. My husband made French toast at home.
Wednesday: Home again, yay! I had, of course, stopped at a grocery store on my way home, where I bought ground beef that I made into hamburger steaks--pretty much just giant patties served with milk gravy. I made rice, too, and I found lots of ripe tomatoes, so I made a tomato salad with those, basil from the garden, mustard vinaigrette, thinly sliced onions, and asadero cheese (this is very much like mozzarella, and that's how I use it). We also had ice cream.
Thursday: It was very hot, so I decided to use our grill. I marinated chicken breast and pork chops and grilled those, then grilled some buttered garlic bread, too. We also had corn on the cob, which I cook in the microwave wrapped in a damp towel, because I have no interest in bringing a giant pot of water to the boil in my 82-degree kitchen. This was the first day of classes for the older boys, so we had some more ice cream a morale booster.
Tonight: I had thawed a bag of ram chops yesterday, planning on those for dinner tonight. There was still quite a bit of heat in the coals after the chicken and pork were done, so I put the ram chops on there with just salt and cooked them, too. I'll re-heat them in a pan with more seasoning tonight and serve them with leftover rice and a salad. It's not going to be as hot as yesterday, but hot enough that I won't want to heat the kitchen up any more.
@kristin @ going country,
When I boil corn I put a bit less than an inch of water in the pot, bring it to a boil and drop several ears in, then cook for only five minutes with the lid on. I repeat with the same water if I need more ears. I don't know if you meant you bring a full pot of water to a boil, but if you did mean that, I thought I'd mention that you don't have to do it that way.
@JD, Oh, so just like steaming. That makes sense. Yes, my mom always cooked corn in a full pot of boiling water, so that's what I used to do until I started microwaving them.
It’s actually an error on my badge. It’s supposed to say “staff nurse” bc I already passed my NCLEX. A bunch of us are waiting on correct badges! But at least I have the RN card on there.
@JD, wow, that's a game-changing method for corn on the cob. Thank you!
@kristin @ going country, My mom also boiled corn in a huge pot of water. I use the crockpot, no water needed--I just shuck the corn, put it in the crockpot and cook on HIGH for about 2 hours, then turn to warm. We like our corn a little crunchy. I suppose putting a bit of water in the bottom would not hurt at all, but they steam just fine. The microwave is faster, though!
We also make our corn in the microwave, but we wrap it in saran wrap and cook for 2 minutes per ear. It does stay nice and hot that way, but definitely more waste than your method.
@JD,
I cheat and use the Instapot. 2 minutes, let the pressure go naturally and then eat once cool enough. I can even put the instapot outside and do it on the back porch so no steam inside.
@Kim from Iowa, We follow Ken's instructions for fast, perfect corn every time. No Saran wrap needed and no silks!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzYtMeIFH8o
@Kris, same method in our home, too. My Dad taught me that about 30 years ago. He'd read a tip and tried it, even though he was not the cook in our family. That was probably early on in my folks' kitchen with a microwave...Good memories.
Yeah, I agree, where's the pancakes?
WIS: Right at $195, ouch, but I'm starting to restock the freezer and that is for two weeks. I'll be making more farm purchases this coming week, though.
WIA:
Slow cooked goat meat with a ton of onions, mushrooms, and quick-pickled beets.
Gai Tod Takrai, which is the dish using lemongrass I mentioned on Tuesday. I had this with rice and (shout out to A. Marie) green amaranth, aka a form of pigweed. It is growing over the place where a certain dog started digging around a pipe. I added back dirt then loose concrete pavers and the pigweed is growing all over it since the mowers can't mow there now. Normally, it doesn't get a chance to grow in my yard.
Beef steak, baked potato and salad, the first steak in a looooong time. I used my potato sack to bake the potato in the microwave.
Odd meal of chicken gizzards (par-boiled and then fried) green peas and maduros.
I had a few unused chicken thighs left over from the Gai Tod Takrai, so I seasoned them really well and baked them in the toaster oven to have them with steamed broccoli and mashed celeriac.
Hot dogs, leftover maduros, sliced bell pepper and carrots with ranch dressing. I had that twice, except I subbed amaranth/pigweed in for the sliced raw veggies. Also, grapes for dessert.
Tonight... TBD!
Sunday: marinated tri tip roast on the grill, mac n cheese, roasted broccoli, Crumbl cookies for dessert (bought with a birthday gift card)
Monday: antipasta salad, hot parmesan wings
Tuesday: free food at an outdoor concert.....I had breaded chicken strips, dill potato salad, fruit salad, nachos
Wednesday: mini pizzas, a few leftover wings, fresh peaches
Thursday: grilled chicken salads with toppings
Friday: tonight will be sausage toretllini, bread and butter, cucumbers with tomatoes
Friday: Broiled Canadian Walleye, Pasta with Yellow Squash and Sweet Corn
Saturday: Philly Cheesesteaks with roasted potatoes and fresh veggies
Sunday: Woodfired pepperoni pizzas – this was our second attempt at using the new pizza oven and it was a smashing success. I tinkered with a pizza dough recipe that I’ve been using forever by switch up the grind of the flour and it made a wonderful crust. We roasted mushrooms for a side dish.
Monday: Sheet Pan Dinner of BBQ Meatballs, Potatoes, and Green Beans
Tuesday: Pasta with Yellow Pepper Sauce – I didn’t have enough peppers for the recipe so I used some sun-dried tomatoes to round things out. Absolutely wonderful.
Wednesday: We took my son out to one of our favorite restaurants to celebrate him making the sophomore team! He had a variety of street tacos, my husband and I both had enchiladas, and we all enjoyed the lake view and mild temps.
Thursday: Leek and Potato Soup
CSA veggies used: yellow squash, corn, green bell pepper, potatoes, mushrooms, green beans, cucumber, yellow peppers, leeks
WIS: $97 @Costco and $87 @Publix
WWA:
Saturday: Leftover Chinese Food
Sunday: Clean out the fridge night - I was at a class so everyone found something to eat in the fridge - leftovers, pb&j, etc..
Monday: I made bone broth from a whole chicken and used the meat to make a pot of chicken noodle soup
Tuesday: Leftover soup for some and date night for my husband and I
Wednesday: I made a homemade sauce by roasting tomatoes, garlic, and some Boursin cheese with olive oil - I pureed it and served tossed with noodles & fresh basil - delicious! We had that with baked un breaded chicken cutlets and a mixed green salad
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Clean out the fridge since I will be at a meeting and there are plenty of leftovers to feed everyone
Thank God it is Friday!!!!
WIS: High spend here too. Almost 350 @Aldi and about 80 @ our local health food store.
WWA:
Fri: salad, Tah dig, and focaccia.
Sat: homemade ramen bowls topped with sliced heirloom tomatoes, Brussel sprouts, chopped celery and orange peppers, and soy eggs.
Sun: apple and onion bialys made with apples from our tree picked before the damn squirrel could steal them all, salad topped with sliced cucumbers, Brussel sprouts and leftover Tah dig.
Mon: rice and beans in blue corn tacos (an expensive splurge from the health food store but sooo good) with sautéed tomatillos and other veggie toppings.
Tue: cabbage steaks (with the right amount of salt this time) and a croque monsieur style focaccia.
Wed: leftover rice and beans and cherry tomatoes.
Thu: salmon, mashed potatoes, salad, cheese and rice cakes (because growing boys, AKA bottomless pits) and tiramisu yogurt cups for dessert.
Tonight: salad and focaccia and maybe some sliced tomatoes.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
I am just back from vacation, so I had a very expensive grocery and farmers market run.
Sunday - ribs, corn, potato salad.
Monday - ground chicken stir fry, shiitake mushrooms, rice.
Tuesday - scrambled egg/black bean tacos with guacamole and grilled salsa== from Rick Martinez's Salsa Daddy (from the library). It was a top notch salsa for much less than the jarred versions.
Wednesday - I baked some drummettes I bought on clearance for the kids and then we ate out of the fridge - left over rice, beans, potato salad, watermelon, peaches, and raw veggies.
Thursday - I had a super fancy work dinner and somehow the family was fed.
Friday - SALAD. We are going in different directions tonight so husband is bringing home a rotisserie chicken and we will eat up the veggies in the fridge.
I just discovered they sell Chick Fil A's avocado lime ranch dressing at Harris Teeter which will majorly up my salad game. Is is healthy? No. Will it make a homemade salad feel special? Yes. Especially with those Just Bare chicken nuggets.
Spent $65. $30 was on roasted hatch chilis. They only sell them one weekend out of the year here, so I buy enough for the year.
Saturday: Chicken quesadillas and salad (used part of a rotisserie chicken)
Sunday: Chicken casserole (other half of rotisserie chicken)
Monday: Croque madame sandwiches, hashbrowns, salad
Tuesday: baked pork chop, mashed potatoes, roasted cabbage
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: baked fish, French fries, asparagus (I keep trying to make fish, but I really don't like it)
Friday: Kids are all coming and we are having grilled cheeseburgers, fruit salad, baked beans, and either oven fries or mac & cheese...haven't decided that yet.
@Marlena, I too don't really love fish, but here is a way I have found disguises the flavor.
Place thawed fillets in casserole dish. In a skillet, saute chopped onions in butter until soft and translucent, and then add some flour. Then add several cups of cream to make a white sauce and cook several minutes until thickened. Then add salt, pepper, dill weed, and the grated zest of one lemon. Pour sauce over fillets and bake until fish is done. Serve with hot cooked rice. The lemon zest, dill, and onion are a wonderful flavor combo. I have served this to guests with rave reviews.
@Lisa K, thank you. I will give it a try!
@Marlena, Gosh. They sell roasted hatch chile every day for weeks on end out here! They set up the roasters in every conceivable (and inconceivable) parking lot they can find.
WIS: $61 at Food Lion.
WWA: Sweet chili chicken with onions, peppers, carrots and peas cooked in the sauce. Spaghetti with a sauce of homegrown tomatoes and Italian sausage. White bean-quinoa-tomato soup. Cheddar-tuna soup with the addition of diced tofu and cherry tomatoes. Spicy black beans and yellow rice with a little turkey sausage. Mixed berry smoothie with a chunk of tofu added. Chocolate chip muffins for dessert.
Am really enjoying the clean air and cooler temperatures this week has brought. WWA:
Saturday - celebrated DS25’s birthday with Ethiopian food (at a restaurant) - it was a real treat
Sunday - I was under the weather so DH got fast food
Monday - homemade falafel, veggies and tzatziki in pita pockets
Tuesday - air fryer chicken drumsticks, sweet potato fries, green salad
Wednesday - beef and clean out the crisper veggie stir fry, rice
Thursday - leftover stir fry and rice, peach crisp with clotted cream
Friday - am planning to make al pastor pork skewers, corn on the cob, green salad
Wishing everyone a peaceful weekend
WWS: $0
WWA:
Sun - Stir fry veggies from the garden - cabbage, zucchini, onion, red pepper, carrots, broccolini, pea pods. Thai cucumber salad, rice and chicken thighs. This was family dinner with 16 attending. Blackberry cobbler & French vanilla ice cream.
Mon - so hot. Greek pasta salad with grilled lamb chops
Tue - taco salad & fresh corn. Peaches.
Wed - grilled burgers, corn & a baby cantaloupe from the garden
Th - Asian cabbage salad, peaches
Fri - fresh ocean fish dinner
Sat - fish tacos
Congratulations on your first week in your new nursing job!
What I spent: $0
I've been eating down the freezer and pantry.
What I ate:
I actually wrote it down this week.
Friday a banana nut muffin
I had planned to cook rice and open a can of beans but I was too tired even for that. I had made muffins earlier in the week and there was one left, so that was dinner.
Saturday a burrito bowl with rice, canned beans, diced tomato, and a spoonful of plain dairy-free yogurt as a sour cream substitute
This provided leftovers for lunch the next two days.
Sunday scrambled eggs and corn tortillas
Monday chicken spinach quesadillas
Tuesday gf pasta with tomato sauce and shredded chicken
Wednesday a rice, broccoli, and chicken bowl
Thursday pasta with cut up bologna and tomato sauce
I've been watching Young Sheldon lately. Sheldon and his family always eat spaghetti with cut up hot dogs for dinner on Thursdays. I didn't have hot dogs but did have bologna, which is kind of the same thing, so I tried this for fun while watching an episode.
Tonight I think I'll make a single serve pizza in the toaster oven.
Last week's roast that I pulled from the freezer that turned out to be ribeye steaks (and three of them instead of two!) were still fixed in the crockpot like a roast. (Oh, the chagrin!) I have had several meals of that. Last night it was with green beans and baked potato. I also made some eggroll in a bowl made with a baby bok choy, Asian chopped salad, some cremini mushrooms, chopped onions and extra cilantro and half pound of ground beef. I actually made it the same day the bok choy and salad mix came in the MisFits box instead of waiting until it was aged. The rest has just been scrapping. I have little or no idea what I'm going to fix tonight. I have NOT "driven through" all week. I've kept telling myself, "You've got food at home." But the main reason, while it is convenient, it has gotten so expensive and is usually poor quality. I come away thinking I can make something better.
I am going to need to go to the store. My yummy sourdough everything bread has molded because there was no room in the fridge freezer, so no toast for breakfast. And I'm completely out of ice cream. Had to sub with milk and the Oreo dupes from Aldi's last night before bed. (It actually was a fair trade.)
Clark is also a splooter, like Chiquita! We call that a "sploot salute." Sometimes he crosses his hind paws and we call that a "fancy sploot salute."
I was not in charge of cooking or grocery shopping this week, as I was studying for the psych CLEP. (I passed with a very respectable 77, even though it's just pass/fail, I was pleased to see I had a large buffer zone there)
Monday: DH made pasta (chickpea pasta for him and me). We haven't had pasta in a while and I was frankly amazed at how much pasta the boys can eat.
Tuesday: DS#2 made roasted chicken drumsticks, corn on the cob, and we had a lot of fruit (watermelon and cantaloupe)
Wednesday: DH made burgers and something else, I think tomato soup.
Thursday: DS#3 made tacos.
Tonight DS#1 is making hamburger stew, DS#4 will make himself mac and cheese, and right now i'm enjoying some crunchy roasted chickpeas DH made for me, while somehow also cleaning the bathrooms, mopping, and installing a rearview camera in the truck. He's a keeper.
This is not dinner, but I just had a tomato sandwich (first big, glorious tomato from my garden!) and a peach from a local orchard for lunch and I'm in August food heaven. 🙂
This past week we had:
* Saturday - While camping in Michigan's Upper Peninsula we had planned to have friends over to our campsite (they were also up there on vacation) to roast hot dogs and have s'mores, but a storm cancelled our plans. We drove 40 miles to get to a town with kid-friendly restaurants and since most of the town was without power, we ended up at the one place with power: McDonald's. At least it was dry inside.
* Sunday - we had an expensive lunch (a food truck called Catch of the Day where they fish in the morning, then cook what they catch and serve it for lunch - so cool!) so we went with Little Casear's pizza on our drive home.
* Monday - Tacos and mango
* Tuesday - Chicken, zucchini, corn on the cob, and asparagus
* Wednesday - Spaghetti with meat sauce and peas
* Thursday - I catered a fancy event and ate dinner there. The rest of the crew had Culver's.
* Friday - I have some chicken and asparagus to use up, plus more zucchini, so tonight might look a lot like Tuesday night did.
Chiquita, looking longingly at fish: "Mahm, if you loved me, you'd share". 🙂
(And yes, I'm listening to the Hamilton soundtrack. :-))
I love Chiquita's sploot. Cats are such funny creatures.
I think I'm going to make blueberry pancakes for dinner one day this week. I've always liked breakfast for dinner, AND I like leftovers for breakfast. (you KNOW pizza is a great breakfast) Thank you commentariat for the inspiration ; )
I support a blueberry pancake dinner. 🙂
I've not been getting your emails lately I don't know if I fallen off your list. I just updated my profile hopefully that'll help. This is late, but. . .
I spent $70 at Kroger and $30 at Edwards Food Giant.
Monday -- chicken cheese orzo spinach bake with biscuits.
Tuesday -- beef pot pies with rice and green dinner salad.
Wednesday -+ left over chicken dish from Monday with a corn on the cob.
Thursday -- pork tenderloin rice, cucumber kimchi.
Friday -- beef sirloin stir fry with broccoli snow peas carrots onions and peppers over ramen. Added Sam's egg rolls.
It's not you! I see you got the last one that I sent out on August 12...I just was so busy with orientation, I didn't get around to sending out the last few posts via email.
This is the hazard of being a one-person operation. Ha.