WIS, WWA | snow week eats
What I Spent
It was an odd-feeling week on the food front! That's partly because of the snow and partly because I volunteered to move my shifts around to help with staffing, so I was flying by the seat of my pants a bit.
I spent:
- $92 at Aldi
- $30 on a Hungry Harvest box
So, $122 for me.
What We Ate
Saturday
Tuna melts, topped with halved grape tomatoes:
Sunday
I didn't take a picture, and there is no memory stored in my brain either. GEEZ. I haven't the faintest idea what was for dinner.
Monday
I had no idea that Wednesday was actually National Blueberry Pancake Day, so I made the error of mixing up a batch of pancake batter on Monday.
AMATEUR HOUR.
I will do better next year.
Tuesday
In my continuing cluelessness about Blueberry Pancake Day, after work, I used the rest of my blueberry pancake batter and also ate some grapes and popcorn.
Girl dinner? I dunno. I was fed before bed. 😉
Wednesday (actual Blueberry Pancake Day)
I made baked ziti, except it was penne, and I used the Barilla protein pasta.
(not to be confused with the disgusting chickpea flour pasta from Aldi. Ha.)
Zoe and I both agreed the protein pasta was virtually indistinguishable from regular pasta this way, and hey, some extra protein and fiber are good additions to a pasta dish.
The Barilla protein pasta ingredients are semolina, wheat flour, lentil flour, pea protein, chickpea flour, barley flour, and spelt flour. The Aldi protein pasta is 100% chickpea flour, and therein lies the problem.
Thursday
Leftovers of the pasta from Wednesday. Easy-peasy for after work!
Friday
I'm off today, which is good, because woo, I am exhausted. I have not given a thought to dinner tonight until I typed this sentence.
And even that was barely half a thought. 😉
Happy Friday everyone!
Saturday: Burritos with mixed veg, black beans and rice.
Sunday: Pasta parcels with ricotta and spinach.
Monday: I went to the cinema after work and wasn't very hungry when I got back. I had a scratch meal of a tortilla with cream cheese, onion, mushroom and spinach.
Tuesday: Burritos again!
Wednesday: Chilli mac and cheese. I normally have it with black beans but unexpectedly ran out so used chickpeas instead.
Thursday: Leftovers.
Friday: I'm going to dinner with a friend so I don't know yet!
WIS: $18 at Aldi and $45 at Price Chopper (both spent yesterday, the only day this week I've been able to go grocery shopping).
WIA: Best effort this week was a batch of chicken sliders I made yesterday with a pound of ground chicken from the freezer and a bag of day-old "Western rolls" I bought at Price Chopper. I found an online recipe for chicken burgers that includes mayonnaise, bread crumbs, and various spices, which keep the ground chicken from turning into tasteless hockey pucks. And I found a nice piece of 50% off salmon at Aldi that will be the basis of today's menus.
Saturday: Ground beef and bean chili, cornbread, leftover baked rice pudding. The only reason we had leftover rice pudding from the day before is that I made a quintuple recipe. I usually only--"only"--make a triple recipe.
Sunday: Potato and ham soup, leftover cornbread, leftover baked beans, raw bell peppers, and for Sunday dessert, chocolate chips melted with coconut oil to make a dip for either marshmallows or peanut butter cookies.
Monday: I was going to make pizza, but my kitchen was too cold and the dough wouldn't rise fast enough for dinner. So instead, I made pizza grilled cheese sandwiches. We also had more leftover baked beans, carrot sticks, and the chocolate chip cookies I had made for school snacks.
Tuesday: Breaded pork chops with gravy, mashed potatoes, collard greens or still-frozen peas, and a crepe cake made with Sunday's after-church leftover crepes layered with sweetened whipped cream and homemade strawberry jam.
Wednesday: Roasted chicken thighs, roasted potatoes, green salad with vinaigrette, green grapes
Thursday: Beef and bean toasted burritos, raw bell peppers or cooked collard greens
Tonight: I found a container of egg . . . product? I don't know, one of those cartons of basically scrambled eggs that our commodities program sometimes includes. It had been in the freezer for like a year, so I really need to use it. I'm going to cook some this morning to decide how to use it. If it's good enough plain, I can use it make omelets tonight. If it needs to be disguised, maybe I just need to bake with it to use as much as I can that way and then give the rest to the dogs. We shall see. So maybe omelets tonight. Or maybe I'll make meatloaf and use some of the egg stuff in that. I also have a few more crepes to use up, so I'll probably make another crepe cake.
Keep us posted on the egg product! I'm fairly certain that is what my hospital uses for patient meals. Ha.
I bet your kids loved dipping things in melted chocolate chips. What a great idea for dessert.
Chocolate fondue was my favorite treat as a kid! In addition to marshmallows and cookies, we dipped banana pieces, maraschino cherries, donut pieces, apple slices—really anything! Thanks for bringing back this happy memory!
Keeping folks fed was an adventure this week for sure:
Friday (in London on work trip) - stopped at Marks & Spencer next door to the office & picked up a salad & a few other things for dinner. No clue what the folks at home ate.
Saturday - went to bed without dinner at like 5:45 pm, because I was semi comatose.
Sunday - ate all of the food, because I think I just ate a protein bar (not purposefully) on Saturday. DH had picked up street tacos from Costco, so we had that.
Monday - we were supposed to have stuffed peppers (also from Costco), but DH forgot to pick those up. I had chicken noodle soup (freezer) & DH had salmon (freezer)
Tuesday - we were supposed to have leftover street tacos, but didn't know DS19 would be home on the night we had them (he typically works), so there were no leftovers. Back to the drawing board. Defrosted a chicken/rice/black bean dish from the freezer & served that with the remaining cilantro crema from the street tacos.
Wednesday - was supposed to be leftover stuffed peppers, but given that wasn't happening, again to the freezer, where I found a rotisserie chicken/orzo/veggie dish & doctored that up a bit.
Thursday - the theme continues, with the added bonus of a late work call for me. DH had another salmon filet from the freezer. I made ravioli (picked up at TJ's mid week) for myself + DS19 & meatballs (Costco, from the freezer). We love the TJ's goat cheese & caramelized onion ravioli. Good to have on hand for meals in a pinch.
As for tonight, who knows. I'm guessing pizza from the freezer? The good news is that the freezer is looking pretty roomy now!
My goodness, you planned so well and then did so well at pivoting! Great job to your past self for having such great options in the freezer.
Ha, thank you! We are down to more bare bones freezer options, so I will have to get busy again!
WIS: $14, divided between two grocery stores.
WWA: For my husband, leftover roasted chicken and a big pan of sweet chili pork and veggies. Chili for him today. For me, leftover hamburger veggie soup, broccoli-ham mac & cheese casserole, and yellow rice and black beans. Fruit and baked potatoes on the side. Dessert was chocolate chip muffins.
Dinners this week. Very uninspired. JANUARY IS LONG.
Homemade chipotle bowls with fun fixings. X2
Canned soup and grilled sandwiches
Rotisserie chicken salad veggies x2
Breakfast for dinner : biscuits and turkey sausage gravy with fruit.
We spent 304 at Sam’s. We needed lots of ( quarterly) household items. Prob 130 was food.
I stocked up with a lot of comfort foods this week, as I knew we would be stuck in snow and kids would be at home eating lunches and snacks.
Saturday: As the last hurrah before the snow storm, Mexican dinner out. Lunch was a late breakfast of hashbrowns, eggs, bacon, baked beans and lightly fried cherry tomatoes.
Sunday: Hamburgers, tater tots and a green salad (veggie burger for me).
Monday: Chicken thighs, roasted potatoes and green beans. Tofu for vegetarian version.
Tuesday: Pasta with sauteed cabbage and roasted hazelnuts.
Wednesday: Tacos with carnitas and black beans.
Thursday: Shakshouka with chorizo and chickpeas, warm baguette on the side.
Friday: Not sure yet, maybe flounder from the freezer. We also have a lot of salad ingredients still.
Friday: Our planned date night was cancelled due to the restaurant closing for Ice Out day. I was disappointed but understood and considering that it was well below zero outside, eating at home was an easy choice. Thankfully I picked up lemon spatchcocked chicken at TJ’s a few days before just to have in the freezer. I paired that with sundried tomato risotto and roasted veggies.
Saturday: My husband made Pasta all'amatriciana and garlic bread. We needed some comfort food and this is my favorite pasta dish.
Sunday: Leftover night
Monday: Zucchini Pizza Casserole
Tuesday: Tomato Pepper Soup and Grinder Salad
Wednesday: TJ’s Shrimp Burgers on homemade buns, tater tots, fresh fruit and veggies
Thursday: Leftover night
Happy Friday, everyone! We spent $170 at Sprouts. We had guests with us for three days so that accounts for the higher than normal amount. We also went out to eat, but I count that in a different expense category. Dinner drum roll:
- Vegetable curry over brown rice
- Nachos (blue corn chips topped with chunks of sweet potato, avocado slices, refried beans, roasted verde salsa, shredded cheese, and sour cream)
- Popcorn and fruit
- Mediterranean veggie pizza (friends treated us)
- Fettuccine with tomato and basil, bread, salad, tiramisu (44th wedding anniversary restaurant dinner)
- Butternut squash soup
I have always been hesitant about protein pasta in general but when you said you tried Barilla and it was good, we tried it. You are correct, it's GOOD! I knew I could trust your judgement.
Yes, exactly! It's not at ALL like the other protein pasta.
Barilla is one of the best pastas - it has the best ratings.
For health reasons as well as animal issues, my husband and I are returning to plant based eating.It’s a transition but I have done it before! We have some meat and fish stored in freezer,so we will have one meat or fishmeal a week till it’s used up. No waste! no hurry!!
So, this next week’s menus are:
Fish tacos,air fryer zucchini, spanish rice
Yummo Baked Beans in oven,corn bread, garlic broccoli
Lentil Stew,cornbread, salad
Chickpea piccata over mashed potatoes and arugula, applesauce on side
Spaghetti and sauted peppers and mushrooms, large greek salad. (When we are plant based I still use feta cheese!)
Squash/orzo casserole and side of Greek salad
Eggplant parmesan with no cheese, more mushrooms. Side of cauliflower.
I also eat eggs three times a week when plant based.So breakfast is oatmeal or eggs or french toast and fruit.
Lunches are soups stews,leftovers, white bean spread sammies. “Bowls” of corn,beans,rice,etc…
I love to cook,thank goodness, and meal plannign is a hobby, and I have tons of plant based cookbooks so you know I’ll be buried in that hobby thenext few weeks as I switch us over!!
I look forward to reading your WWA. I don’t eat plant-based, but I’m always looking for more beans and veggie ideas.
Agree completely about Barilla protein pasta. None of the others we've tasted have been any good at all, but the Barilla is delish. We cook it a tiny bit longer than they say, to make it a little moister. But we really like it.
Really off topic but I need some assistance here. I am diabetic and my blood sugars have been very very low for a week or more, even after eating. Any suggestions?
Oh, that must be frustrating, because usually our first line for a low blood sugar is to have the patient eat or drink (something like orange juice).
There are many possibilities for why this is happening, and since none of us knows your particular health situation, I think it would be wise to contact your health care provider. Is there a number you could call? Or an online portal where you could send a message?
I hope you are able to figure out a way to feel better soon!
Just contacted my doctor through the online portal. Will let you know what he says. BTW, I take 3 medications for my diabetes so he might want to reduce dosages.
I hope you and your doctor are able to get this figured out soon, and that it’s a simple fix that can help you feel better quickly.
He got back to me yesterday at 5:00 pm (color me socked lol) and wants me to take only 1/2 a glimepiride for now
So glad you got a helpful suggestion to try!
I'm diabetic as well and there are so many reasons you could be suffering from lows, anything from stress, to problems with your medication, to bad information from whatever method you use to measure your blood sugar levels. I agree with Kristin. Please contact some type of healthcare provider. Fingers crossed for you.
I can't believe it's Friday already!
WIS: $10 at Walgreens (my emergency grocery store in bad weather)
Saturday: refried beans, cheese, tomatoes, celery sticks, applesauce
Sunday: Southwestern bean soup
Monday: Sausage pizza with peppers on whole wheat pita.
Tuesday: Yogurt with granola, almonds, and dried cranberries.
Wednesday: Grilled cheese sandwich, apple
Thursday: Chicken fajitas
Friday: probably more chicken fajitas. There was a lot left over.
I love that you use Walgreens as your emergency grocery store; I used do the same when everyone lived with us. A pharmacy is a great place to do storm shopping because the actual grocery stores are packed and the pharmacies are practically empty.
Sat - Swicy Ramen with Mini Dumplings and Broccoli
Sun - McDonalds (2 Cheeseburger Value Meal)
Mon - Chili with Rice
Tues - Swicy Ramen with Mini Dumplings and Broccoli
Wed - Nacho's
Thurs - Grilled Chicken Sammies w/fries in the air fryer
Friday - Leftover Chili & Rice
Busy week. Can't recall Saturday at all.
Sunday - grilled salmon, oysters over the fire pit, crab and shrimp linguine, oven fries and coleslaw.
Monday - dinner salad, leftover salmon made into patties.
Tues- hot dogs and fresh sauerkraut
Wed - bolognese, green salad and French bread for a crowd.
Thurs - Pizzas in the pizza oven, green salads
Fri - probably more of the same
Saturday bunch of friends coming over, probably grilled burgers
Frigid weather, minor oral surgery edition -
Friday - beef stew, challah
Saturday - leftover beef stew, applesauce
Sunday - not beef stew 😎
Monday - chicken tortellini soup
Tuesday - leftover soup, for me - mashed potatoes and two large, self pity servings of cream
Wednesday - very tender meatloaf, baked sweet potatoes
Thursday - rotisserie chicken from Whole Foods, corn, leftover mashed potatoes, roasted carrots
Tonight - something easy, along with challah
I meant two large, self pity servings of ice cream!
Sometimes we get oral surgery patients on my unit and oh my word, I always feel so bad for them! They look positively miserable.
With no intention of yucking anyone's yum, tuna melts are unfathomable to me. Probably because I hate tuna, but even thought I love salmon salad I cannot imagine wanting it to be hot or combined with cheese. All the more tuna melts for everyone else to enjoy, I guess!
Saturday: We grabbed an early dinner at a favourite restaurant (like, at 4:00) and snacked in the evening.
Sunday: Mr. B made roasted chicken, rice, and broccoli. I was unusually cranky and couldn't figure out why, but figured it out after eating an entire breast, a drumstick, and half a thigh. Pregnant + hangry.
Monday: I prepped and froze a huge tray of schnitzel so we had some of that, fried rice, and sliced cucumbers.
Tuesday: Mr. B made pasta with tomato sauce and mushrooms, with green beans on the side.
Wednesday: Mr. B was working late so we had homemade macaroni and cheese and frozen peas.
Thursday: I was out for a work dinner, the home crew went to a free movie night hosted by the school and had pizza and popcorn.
Friday: I'm WFH today, so I'll make some challah dough in the bread machine. I think that making some kefta-style meatballs with roasted veggies, frozen French fries and salad will probably satisfy all stakeholders.
I can completely understand why they're a yuck to some people! Haha. Maybe you have to have grown up with the concept. 😉
(says the person who ate hardboiled egg and sardine sandwiches on toast as a child. lol)
That reminds me so much of my mother! She read an article in the newspaper when she was pregnant with me that said eating sardines and beets would give you a smart baby. (Not necessarily as a combination.) My dad would eat neither of these things, so I remember many meals when he was out driving truck that she and I would have sardines, butter bread, and beets. I don't love sardines a ton now though-- only small amounts.
Sardines straight from the tin were one of my childhood treats. Having parents who were children of the depression made a huge impact on my food preferences (as in I loved almost everything but would only drink raw milk living in dairy country. I remember that a gallon of milk straight from the farm cost $1--yes, really). And do today's young parents still guilt-trip their children with "there are children starving in Africa"?
The tuna melts are okay but the addition of tomatoes, particularly out of season tomatoes, is an abomination to me. Better half buys those nasty out of season, greenhouse tomatoes this time of year. He likes a a little "something else" on his sandwiches - extra mayo for me when tasteless tomato time. I do not. Onions are okay with some sandwiches. I like avocados and more often than not, eat them on the side. I'm good with mayo, maybe mustard, occasionally some cheese.
I try not to complain - I have a better half who is a good cook. But vegetable only soup is not going to happen again. I'm not fond of soup without an animal protein.
We are starting to adapt to the ever-so-slight differences in NZ food.
WWA:
Saturday - leftover chicken fajitas
Sunday - roast lamb with mint sauce, roast potatoes, peas, green salad
Monday - leftovers
Tuesday - salmon and veggie packets, rice
Wednesday - chicken schnitzel, oven fries
Thursday - slow cooker pulled pork with coleslaw on buns
Friday - dolsot bibimbap at a Korean restaurant
Wishing a warm week to all
I asked the kids if they could remember what we had for suppers this week, and they said, "Salad, salad, salad, salad!" I can't remember what we had which day, but our meals included:
*steak (from our whole beef), oven fries, and salad
*taco salad
*Sam's Club rotisserie chicken and salad and bread (also from Sam's). This was the day I was gone for my face therapy. We hit Sam's on the way back home.
*vegetable beef soup (several lunches, too)
*chicken breast, cheese tortellini (with butter), and sauteed onions and peppers. (This was the day we picked up the really cheap red and orange peppers.)
*stuffed peppers and rice and applesauce. My husband made this with no recipe, and it was delicious.
*My dad thinks we had bits and bobs. I think he's right, but I can't remember what we had other than cheese and crackers.
Let's pretend I had salad on my missing meal, so I can match with you guys. 😉
I've got a good imagination. Besides, if you look at blueberry pancakes in the right light, they look kinda like salad.
Saturday: chicken and biscuits, m&m cookies for dessert
Sunday: homemade pizzas
Monday: leftover chicken and biscuits or pizzas
Tuesday: tacos
Wednesday: cheddar broccoli bacon soup, rolls
Thursday: takeout which wasn't great
Friday: chicken casserole, fruit
Saturday—meatloaf from the freezer, sweet potato, peas
Sunday—I made one of my favorite dishes, a Moroccan stew with chicken thighs, tomato puree, raisins, chick peas, carrots, peppers, zucchini, spices. So delicious.
Monday, Tuesday—leftover stew
Wednesday—tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches
Thursday—chicken tortilla soup from the freezer
Friday—I’m longing for takeout burgers but will probably have Amy’s lasagna
HI KRISTEN. THANK YOU FOR THE IDEAS. I HAVEN'T BEEN TO YOUR SITE IN SO LONG. I LOVE THE MEALS YOU PUT TOGETHER TO STAY FRUGAL. YOU ARE AMAZING. STAY WARM.
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
CATHIE WALKER
WIS - Less than $50. Maybe it was $38?
WIB (What I bought) The cutest snow week grocery trip of exact sandwich items, milk, cereal, eggs, and bananas.
WWA:
Sandwiches haha
Cereal
Bean soup with a little chicken (huge batch, will continue to eat for days)
Fish/mac&cheese/veggies
Saturday: All of the Sunday morning kids ministry volunteers were invited over to our Children's Director's house for dinner and games. It was fun! I brought pineapple and chips.
Sunday: Chicken tenderloins, devilled eggs, pineapple, chips, and broccoli with cheese
Monday: The 189th birthday of the great state of Michigan! We celebrated by eating pasties, cherries, blueberries, and asparagus, drinking Faygo pop, and having Hudsonville ice cream for dessert.
Tuesday: Leftovers
Wednesday: Chicken... and that's all I remember!
Thursday: Cool ranch crunchwraps and fruit
Friday: Shrimp, broccoli with cheese, cherries, and whatever else I see in the fridge that needs used up.
Hi, long time reader but first time poster from Alberta,Canada, I am a household of one and recently retired after 43 years in healthcare,
Here are my meals for the week:
Sat: Meatloaf from the freezer,roasted veggies
Sun :Meatloaf sandwich, raw veggies
Mon: Chicken cutlets, mashed potatoes, corn
Tues: Repeat of Monday
Wed: Cooked a big pot of Polish sauerkraut stew called Bigos , had it with leftover mashed potatoes
Thurs: Frozen mushroom pizza, bagged salad bought on Flashfood
Fri:Repeat of Thursday
Have a good week!!
Welcome and congratulations on your retirement!
We were approaching a local restaurant for an ad in our spring show program, so we picked up fresh sushi while we were there.
Aldi $43
The individual days are a blur, but I do remember avocado toast, eggs with spinach & quinoa, bean soup, bran flakes with raisins & banana, and on Friday (expecting my sons home but neither showed up) I made chicken & dumplings which were delicious and the big pot of leftovers are in the fridge 🙂
Kristen (and everyone else, of course!), I just finished a library book and knew you would be interested! It's about the training the nurses received at Bellevue Hospital in 1880's New York. This is prior to Dr. Lister finally being believed, and the common treatments for various ailments. The author is Amanda Skenandore and she has other similar books. I'm not doing this justice;sorry. I blame the sinus medication, or the cat, whichever one is furry.
I agree, the Aldi protein pasta is less than pleasant 😕
Ha, that's funny, I absolutely love the chickpea pasta from Aldi! My kids will even eat it. I usually use it in Once Upon a Chef's Chili Mac. But we're used to gluten free so maybe our taste buds are messed up 😆
Hahah, that's so funny! And yes, I bet it tastes ok to you because you haven't had the real thing in ages.
Unfortunately for me, I have had gluten-full pasta too recently to tolerate 100% chickpea pasta. 😉