What I Spent
I started out April with $115 of spending.
I have been on a roll with low spending, and you know what my trick has been? Sending Mr. FG instead of myself.
If I just have him pick up odds and ends that we need, he pretty consistently sticks to the requests and doesn’t make a bunch of impulse buys.
Whereas if I go to the store, I tend to throw a bunch of just-in-case things into my cart.
So, this is working out well; I get to skip more of the shopping, and less money is being spent!
And another win is that Mr. FG likes to be out and about way more than I do, so he doesn’t even mind running the shopping errands. Perfect.
(I know this is not the case in every marriage; if your spouse is the just-in-case buyer and you’re not….then you are the person who will be more responsible at the grocery store!)
What We Ate
Saturday
Mr. FG and I got takeout from a local spot we’d never been to before. I got a blackened shrimp burger and he got a crab cake sandwich.
That was tasty, but definitely over our usual $20 date night budget!
Sunday
Sonia really wanted poke bowls again, so that’s what we did.
Monday
Sonia made shrimp viennese, and we had raw produce (cucumber slices and apple slices) on the side.
Tuesday
I made chicken tacos on corn tortillas. Chips and queso on the side, plus cut-up fruit)
I used the chicken taco recipe from Dinner Illustrated, which calls for chipotle chilies. Here’s how I store my chipotle chilies so I have them always at the ready.
(Full review of Dinner Illustrated here)
Wednesday
I spent the afternoon helping my cousin, so I planned a super easy meal of grilled hamburgers and roasted baby potatoes.
Unfortunately, I did a very bad job of greasing the grill grates, which meant one of my burgers ended up looking like this.
top-notch chef-ing right here
Since it was my fault, I went ahead and served that particular burger to myself.
Thursday
I smoked some marked-down chicken leg quarters I had in the freezer, and we ate the smoked chicken on buns.
Friday
Since Sonia is now eating gluten again, and also since the weather is not hot (perfect for a 500° oven!), I’m going to make some homemade pizza.
Here are my best tips for making homemade pizza that is not disappointing. 🙂
And here are 5 reasons your homemade pizza might be terrible.
Sarah G
Friday 2nd of April 2021
All this talk of shrimp burgers, crabcake burgers, and poke bowls is literally making me salivate..... sooo hungry. Saturday- We got take out sandwiches from a sweet little mom and pop diner in our town. Sunday- dinner at in-laws' Monday- random leftover buffet Tuesday- sausages, pierogies with bell peppers and onions, also fried cabbage with onions to use up some extraneous cabbage from our corned beef dinner ingredients Wednesday- leftovers from Tuesday for the kids. At-home date night for us after the kids were in bed. We made the most amazing grilled cheese sandwich ever made (Hello, Andy Dwyer!) and watched Northern Exposure, the series were currently rewatching. Thursday- spaghetti bolognese Friday- waffles and eggs, fruit on the side
JEG
Friday 2nd of April 2021
WIS: $2 on cantaloupe for Sunday. I was going to the grocery store today to pick up the rest of the fruit for Sunday after my 2nd vaccine shot but the traffic was awful. Hopefully no side effects and I will get up early tomorrow morning. Pineapple is on sale for $1.
WWA Sat: Burgers, oven roasted potatoes, lettuce with tomatoes & feta for him and with beets & feta for me. Sun: Half-priced turkey breast tenderloin from Aldi w/butternut squash, cornbread souffle, mashed potatoes, and homemade cranberry sauce. When my kids left for a soccer tournament for their daughter, I told them I would cook up the tenderloin. I looked through the pantry to see what I had. I think they will be happy because my daughter called home to ask us to close their windows and turn up the heat—it has been rainy and they are cold. I am sure the heat from the drive home will warm them up. Mon: Left over from Sunday. There was just enough left. Tues: Pasta, meatballs, sausage Wed Marinated steak, baked potato, broccoli Thurs: (Childcare day) Leftover pasta. Childcare days need to be quick and easy. The 2+ year old can wear me down. Fri: Fish sandwiches, oven roasted potatoes, salad
Made it the whole week out of freezer.
Happy for Sonia that she can eat the family pizza.
Ruth T
Friday 2nd of April 2021
Yay!! Congrats on the return of your Friday pizza night! We had... Monday: Cheeseburgers, cantaloupe, asparagus Tuesday: Spaghetti with meat sauce, garlic bread, green beans Wednesday: Chicken nuggets, colorful carrots, broccoli with cheese Thursday: Burrito bowls, pineapple Friday: My husband's birthday! Steak, macaroni and cheese, peas, and dessert will be carrot cake with vanilla ice cream
Bee
Friday 2nd of April 2021
My husband has taken over the grocery shopping since last March. Working from home has nearly driven him crazy, and trips to the grocery store have given him a reason to get out of the house. However, he is not the most cautious shopper. Although he doesn’t always get the best deal, I have been happy to relinquish this task. This week’s menu — Saturday - We fended for ourselves. I think that I ate yogurt and my husband had a stuffed baked potato. Sunday - I cooked a 16 pound Turkey that was in my freezer. I served it with smashed potatoes and broccoli. Monday - We had a family birthday. I brought a salad and the cake. Tuesday - I made two Turkey pot pies. I served one for dinner and froze one for later. I also used the carcass to make stock which I also put away for later us along with some sliced Turkey. Wednesday - Homemade GF Pizza Thursday - Pork loin roast with mushroom ragout, roasted potatoes, and asparagus. Friday - Bar-b-que pork sandwiches made with last night’s leftovers. We will eat some of the leftovers sides that are in the refrigerator. This should make room for Easter lunch.
michelle
Friday 2nd of April 2021
Did I miss the recipe for the poke bowl on a previous post? Because yum!
Kristen
Friday 2nd of April 2021
Sadly, no! I haven't ever made a poke bowl; we've just gotten them several times on the Sundays when we support a local takeout place.