WIS, WWA | so tidy
Very random, I know, but I want to give a little shoutout to whoever left all the colorful kettlebells lined up so nicely at the gym.
What I Spent
I spent:
- $24 at Safeway
- $65 at Aldi
- $8 at Giant
- $30 on a Hungry Harvest box
So, $127.
What We Ate
Saturday
Chicken quesadillas 🙂
Sunday
Zoe wasn't here, and I wasn't especially hungry, so I just had a bowl of yogurt with fruit and some chia seeds.
Monday
I boiled the last of a box of protein pasta and made a quick pan sauce by browning some fresh tomatoes and onion, deglazing the pan with chicken broth, and adding some half and half plus salt/pepper, etc.
Tuesday
I made these chicken enchiladas so that I could have leftovers for lunches. I haven't made them in forever, since 9x13 pans of things are too much for two people....unless one of those two people needs lunches! 😉
I used chicken thighs this time instead of chicken breasts, since chicken thighs hold up better when reheated at lunchtime.
I also prepped some high-protein chocolate overnight oats for breakfasts for the next three days.
I use this basic idea, but I leave out the carrots, raisins, orange peel, and spices, and I add in some cocoa powder.
Wednesday
Workday ⅓! Overnight oats for breakfast.
For lunch, I ate enchiladas, plus some fruit and other sides.
After work, I switched out my usual cold cereal for cottage cheese.
Thursday
Work again! A lather, rinse, and repeat on all fronts.
Friday
Shift 3/3 for me, and I'm out here copy-pasting the last two days. Interesting? No. Did it get the job done? Yep.
Aldi had protein pasta on the regular pasta aisle. I wonder if it is going to be a normal item. It was 10 grams vs. 7 grams for the normal pasta.
Less heat, so also cooked veg and meat on a few days instead of just salads. And actually even fries on one day.
Tonight will be chili beans.
Everyone in the US: I hope you will have great celebrations tomorrow!
Thank you!
Enjoy the weekend! I expect Chiquita and/or Shelly would have liked to help with the chicken 😉
This week's eats (not sure if it was in this exact order):
Saturday: Veggie burgers with hamburger buns and salad. I had strawberries with natural yoghurt and granola afterwards.
Sunday: Spinach with mushrooms, onion, garlic and cream cheese over pasta
Monday: Pesto and sundried tomatoes and spinach over pasta
Tuesday: Mushroom omelette. I had a strawberry smoothie with protein powder for dessert.
Wednesday: Burritos with mixed veg, black beans and brown rice with sauce
Thursday: Pizza
Friday: Undecided. I'm cat-sitting for my friend and staying in her flat. I'll probably end up having pasta again!
Sophie, thanks for your reply yesterday on where you swim in the sea!
Enjoy your cat sitting time and have a wonderful holiday back home soon!
Thank you! 🙂
This is where those 8x8 and 9x9 pans come in handy. But, I definitely do this for lunches for a couple days. I work swing shift. Working the same shift 7 days in a row. Some shifts are easier to meal prep than others.
Saturday: Chicken drumsticks, using the Smitten Kitchen recipe for slow and low dry rub chicken, which actually made good drumsticks. Not something I usually say about drumsticks. We also had rice. My husband had a breakfast burrito, as there weren't enough drumsticks. And watermelon.
Sunday: Grilled steaks, leftover mashed potatoes or spaghetti, carrot sticks, and not at all seasonally appropriate pumpkin custard. A Smitten Kitchen recipe again, this time for silky smooth pumpkin pie, except minus the crust. I made it the day before when I had the oven on for a long time for the chicken,
Monday: My husband flew to New York in the morning with three of the four children. The eldest stayed home. He had a cold, so he just had leftover mashed potatoes and spaghetti (not together) for dinner, plus some of the butterscotch pudding I had made to use up excess milk. I was exhausted because I had been painting my kitchen, so I had vodka and seltzer first, then a hardboiled egg, then some granola with milk, and finally some butterscotch pudding.
Tuesday: I had a salad with hardboiled egg and feta cheese. Son wasn't hungry for dinner. I think he ate something before bed, though I don't know what.
Wednesday: I had one small steak, which I chopped up and fried with chopped potatoes, frozen peas, and cheese for a very ugly but tasty skillet meal.
Thursday: I got a rotisserie chicken at Walmart this day, some of which went into my salad. Son made a toasted burrito with some of the chicken. We both had ice cream.
Tonight: Not sure. I think I had some tuna salad in the refrigerator, so maybe tuna quesadillas. Almost certainly ice cream. It hasn't been as hot and miserable here as it is in a lot of places, mostly because we have lower humidity, but it's hot enough that ice cream seems justified. Especially because we don't have any air conditioning.
No A/C in this passive solar adobe house. It goes down into the '60s overnight so I just run the fan on the evaporative cooler (no water) and it cools the whole house. I just have to remember to shut it off as soon as the sun comes up and the outdoor temps quickly climb into the high 90s+. "But it's a dry heat!" as the saying goes.
WIS: $43 at Aldi and $26 at Ollie's.
WIA: The usual nothing much interesting, this week because of the heat. But I did make a potato salad for the first time in ages, to use up some elderly potatoes, eggs, and celery, plus my abundant garden dill. My salad (I don't really follow a recipe; I just eyeball stuff) goes heavy on the bread-and-butter pickles and light on the mayo, since I don't like a lot of mayo in it. And I did also roast some 50% off chicken drumsticks from Aldi; along with kristin @ going country, I prefer a dry rub and a low oven.
It's been an especially yummy week again!
Monday: Pasta with garden basil and chard, parmesan, red pepper, garlic, and chopped up bacon. I only used two pieces, which is plenty to get the flavor throughout the dish.
Tuesday: Mushroom lentils from BudgetBytes, served over couscous with a giant pile of sauteed garden chard on the side. This dish is so delicious, cheap, and filling that it's become a household favorite. https://www.budgetbytes.com/lentils-with-creamy-mushroom-gravy/
Wednesday: I used the rest of the mushrooms to make savory mushroom mac and cheese, with gouda and sauteed onions. Another side of chard!
Thursday: As my husband's prize for mowing in the heat, I used the last of the bacon to wrap venison backstrap steaks (courtesy of my brother, the mighty hunter). Our side salad was composed totally of garden goodness, with cranberry beans, kohlrabi leaves and centers, the last of the current chard, and cucumber.
Tonight my husband is making tacos (he cooks Friday - Sunday), so I'll be raiding the garden for lettuce and cilantro.
ALSO!!! This isn't food-related but is definitely frugal:
I stumbled across a grant program for teachers who want pets in their classrooms. Applications open today! https://petsintheclassroom.org/ I've passed the link on to every teacher I know personally, locally, and only wish we were able to use it for our local library. Have at! 🙂
Wow, your brother must like you very much, that's the best part of the deer!
LOL More like he needed to make room in his deep freezer last season (he usually has three tags to fill), so I was just given a grab bag/cooler of random venison goodness!
N, the lentil dish sounds amazing. I have all the ingredients on hand. Thanks for sharing the link!
Glad to be of service!
Those enchiladas are a favorite in our house.
This week we ate:
Saturday: A taco bar, fruit salad, lemonade bar, and ice cream cake for my daughter's 8th birthday party with a bunch of her sweet little friends.
Sunday: Shrimp, devilled eggs, salad, fruit, chips, and angel food cake with strawberries to celebrate her birthday with grandparents and her uncle.
Monday: Brats and hot dogs, chips, baked beans, and fruit
Tuesday: Southwest chicken alfredo and fruit
Wednesday: My in-laws took the kids for dinner and my husband and I ate at Chipotle
Thursday: Chicken nuggets, copycat Panera mac and cheese with bacon, and devilled eggs
Friday: We are going to my friend's house and they're making burgers. I'm bringing a couple of side dishes and popsicles.
WIS: $5 Dollar Tree, $3 Target
WIA: This week I have had salmon patties and mashed potatoes a couple of days in a row. Today I will have a salmon pattie on rye bread with mustard and pickles.
Yesterday I ate scrambled eggs with chopped peppers tucked into tortillas with cheese. That was breakfast. I didn't eat again until I had a slice of bread and butter in the evening. I think the heat is affecting my appetite.
Several of my main meals have been yogurt with nuts and granola.
WIS: $42.43 (not including $5.98 for a stuffed squeaky toy for the dog which should be inedible but somehow never is).
WIA: Sweet Corn Elote Bowl*. Chicken and beef fajitas. Caesar salads with chicken. Corn chowder. BLTs on toasted brioche with heirloom tomatoes. Shrimp scampi on ramen noodles. An enormous Asian pear that was a delicious meal all by itself. All except the salad and pear had been pre-cooked and either frozen or refrigerated because it’s been just too hot to be cooking.
*Fire-roasted sweet corn, brown rice, chickpeas, red quinoa, parmesan cheese, olive oil, potatoes, red bell peppers, and a ton of spices and seasonings: apple cider vinegar, lime juice, cilantro, serrano pepper puree, sunflower and pumpkin seeds. To which I added some leftover chicken.
Happy 4th, everybody!
WIS: $39 at Food Lion and $11 at Ollie's Outlet.
WWA: DH had sandwiches with fruit, homegrown cherry tomatoes and sweet peppers as the sides, along with a big pan of beef-veggie stir-fry that made several days of leftovers. I made for myself a pot of delicious "use-it-up" soup that included some pork, turkey, the last of a bag of green beans, a baggies of long-frozen shredded carrots, and the last potato. Also used a small can of salmon to make salmon patties with steamed broccoli and applesauce.
Desserts this week were chocolate pudding and peanut butter cookies.
Friday: late lunch on a flight, then went straight to bed
Saturday: skipped dinner again (jet lag)
Sunday: DH grilled burgers
Monday: tacos
Tuesday: grain salad (Costco) + rotisserie chicken
Wednesday: grilled chicken + Persian rice
Thursday: grilled chicken + chicken Tikka samosas (TJs)
Friday: we are going to be out, in Lake Tahoe
Happy Friday, everyone! We spent $62 at Trader Joe's.
-- Orzo salad with sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives and feta (twice)
-- Broccoli-mushroom egg bake
-- Vegetarian sloppy joes
-- Potato salad and carrot-cabbage-raisin salad
-- Green salad with lots of toppings
-- Blueberry pancakes
Saturday - our usual takeout night, we got dim sum but we also have a few coupons for a free Panda Express cub meal that the kids earned through a reading program at school. You can only use one coupon at a time (which is a pain since we have 2 kids) Panda Express is next to the dim sum place so I ran in and got a free cub meal that the kids split and had with the dim sum.
Sunday - I went to a wnba game with my mom and sister and didn’t eat anything there. I had some toasted sourdough topped with hummus, cooked greens, tomato and balsamic glaze when I got home. The kids and husband had dominos pizza (I have a lot of points to redeem because I ordered the pizzas for several school pizza parties last year)
Monday - I didn’t get to make my weekly vegan meal on Sunday so I moved it to Monday. It was an instant pot ragu that included red lentils and diced mushrooms to make it a bit “beefier”. It was a huge hit with everyone so another success! Red lentils tend to dissolve so that helped disguise them a bit.
Tuesday - kids had a playdate, they also had a field trip for their summer camp that got them back late so they had to go right from camp to the playdate. I offered to order pizza for everyone since I wouldn’t have time to feed the kids dinner in between but the mom hosting said she was already going to order pizza so that was nice of her. I came home and enjoyed a house to myself (a rare treat) while they were at the play date and ate more of my beloved toasted sourdough, topped with hummus, cooked greens, sliced tomato and balsamic glaze.
Wednesday - bean burritos, Spanish rice and corn for the kids, I had homemade black bean dip spread on corn tortillas that had been baked in the oven until they were crisp tostadas. Topped with avocado and mango peach salsa.
Thursday - I attended a goodbye happy hour after work, I had the happy hour nachos with all dairy removed so not sure I could call them nachos at that point. When I got home I also ate a bunch of fruit. My mom was with my kids and fed them McDonald’s
Friday - We are all home today for the holiday. I don’t have a dinner planned though. We are hosting for 4th of July tomorrow so cooking a lot for that, maybe something simple tonight.
I spent 93 at the local up north grocery story called Super One Foods. ( I saved 41 dollars!).
We had ground turkey tacos with all the fixings. Then I used leftover meat to make a large taco pasta salad with home grown herbs and green onions.
We had fried chicken and a big salad.
HEAT DOME! Day 1. We had snacky supper. Day 2.Big salad with cottage cheese and shaved deli turkey.
WIS: 128 @ Costco, $41 @ Winco
Sun fam dinner - Bulgogi short ribs, garlic beans, hobak bokkeum (simmered zucchini and other veggies) Cotton Cheesecake, mango and berry sauce
M - short rib sliders, pickled onions & coleslaw
T - fish tacos
W - Hawaiian meatballs, veggie rice, avocado mango salad
Th - leftovers
Fri - marinated smoked turkey leg, salad
Sat - parade, picnic, rodeo & dance
WIS: zero because we are still eating up vacation lefties. I do have a big grocery list started though…
WWA:
Sat: first night home from vacay, and we had leftover grilled sausages on buns and leftover pizza
Sun: leftover grilled chicken breasts and turkey burgers on leftover
Mon: microwaved nachos
Tue: mini pizzas on homemade naan bread
Wed: rice and beans
Thu: breakfast for dinner: fried eggs, chocolate chip pancakes, turkey bacon, fried potatoes, sweet and spicy Swiss chard and a salad made with beet greens, celery leaves, broccoli leaves, peppers, feta and Italian dressing.
Fri; we were going to grocery shop and make focaccia, but I think I’m going to talk my husband out of that plan because it’s just too hot to do either of those things. Maybe chicken salad sandwiches?
Not sure of the days, but meals this week have included:
Pork curry made with a jarred sauce over rice, mixed vegetables
Tacos made with a ground pork filling that was just meh
Taco meat made into nachos
Cheese burgers, roasted potatoes with toppings, Caesar salad, Greek salad, rhubarb crisp at a friend's BBQ
Picnic foods at a potluck
Crepes
Tonight may be a free barbecue as part of our town's celebration of it's 100th birthday.
Too hot to heat up the kitchen!
Egg salad sandwiches with kidney bean salad, cut up raw veggies and fresh fruit
Taco salad wi fresh fruit
Blue corn tacos (leftover meat) with coleslaw and fresh fruit
High protein waffles with scrambled eggs and fresh fruit
Tuna salad sandwiches, cut up raw veggies, chips and (surprise) fresh fruit
Stir fry bowls from Honey Fresh
Friday: Sheet pan sausage, veggies, and gnocchi
Saturday: Our monthly free pizza night! Husband and I split a pepperoni and sausage pizza along with a couple drinks from the local brewery.
Sunday: Steak, steak fries, and Caesar salad
Monday: Girl dinner – cold leftover steak, blackberries, diet coke. My husband and son were both out of town and it was too hot to cook.
Tuesday: Instant Pot Baked Ziti
Wednesday: Green Thai Chicken Curry
Thursday: Salmon, baked zucchini fries, leftover baked ziti
Every time I see your savory cottage cheese I think I need to try that. I usually just add in peaches. The tomato and basil/spinach combo looks
Monday was yakisoba.
Tuesday...I met up for a ladies coffee afternoon and it ran long. So I had a chicken burger and fries.
Wednesday- had a planned procedure and now some stitches in chin, so chewing is off the table. Had potato soup.
Thursday- Scrambled eggs and then some cottage cheese. Dragon fruit.
Friday- oatmeal with peanut butter and honey. Watermelon.
Saturday- it may be a pancake day with a side of Greek yogurt.
And since I wasn't here for Thankful Thursday: I am thankful that this place has a random small spoon.
Sometimes repeats are the best. And I love chicken enchiladas, too. If we have leftovers, we will have them as leftovers the next day, or skip a day so we don't get bored. I sometimes just hand them off to my sister or freeze them.
WIS/ WWA this week
I spent $30 at Aldi
Friday – ??????
Sat – beef tacos and charro beans made in a crock pot with dry pinto beans, bacon, peppers, onions and spices.
S – grilled ribeye steaks, fresh green beans from the garden, bagged kale salad, corn on the cob.
M – baked, chicken, cole slaw, cornbread stuffing.
T– out to eat – catfish at a newly re-opened favorite restaurant. We are leaving on a trip and I didn't want to make anything that would leave us with leftovers in the fridge
W – we ate sandwiches on a road trip. My husband had a burger for dinner. At our hotel, I just kinda grazed on snacks we brought.
Th – husband ate chicken soup and snacks at our relative’s house when we got there about 6:30 pm. when we got there. I had our remaining chicken salad sandwich I had made for the road trip and some sun chips.
F – pizza, wings and salad at our relative’s house.
Happy 4th of July! ❤️🇺🇸🗽🎇
Happy blogiversary!
Oh my gracious, how did I forget???
You may be a tiny bit busy…