WIS, WWA | still not over it!
What I Spent
I am still not over the joy of daylight at dinnertime. My family is probably getting tired of my enthusiasm over it, actually, but I can't help it; I am so happy to have daylight when we sit down to eat.
We spent $103 at the grocery store, $25 on a Hungry Harvest box, and $28 on a fast food stop (see Wednesday below!)
What We Ate
Saturday
Mr. FG and I did our usual takeout date night, and the girls fended for themselves.
No, wait! This was the day after Sonia got her second shot, so she was not feeling well. She thought McDonalds sounded really good, so we picked that up for her.
Sunday
Continuing our trend of ignoring holiday food traditions (and also continuing our support-a-local-restaurant Sunday).....we got Chinese takeout from a local spot. Ha.
Monday
Zoe was at a small outdoor bonfire with some youth group friends, so I said, "We should eat what she is allergic to!"
(which is shrimp)
So I made a green salad topped with shrimp, chopped bacon, and a homemade vinaigrette. Toast on the side for those who wished.
Tuesday
I grilled some bratwurst, which we ate in buns. Chips on the side, plus some fruit.
Wednesday
I did put on a pot of chicken broth, intending to make an orzo dish, but the broth is as far as I got.
So on our way home from our weekly cat shift, Sonia and I picked up fast food for the four of us (Lisey was at work).
Thursday
I made orzo with sausage, and I used asparagus and red peppers (from Hungry Harvest) as the veggies this go-round.
(It's a pretty flexible dish, so I use whatever I have on hand.)
I found a container of applesauce hiding in the chest freezer, so we had that on the side.
Friday
Last week, everyone was really happy when I made homemade pizza. So maybe I will do that again tonight, since the weather isn't hot.
Bring on the 500° oven!
WWS: $41 Market Basket; WWA:
Sat: cromlet (cross between an omelette and socca) with duck pastrami, roasted cauliflower & leeks
Sun: lamb arayes in homemade pita; cucumber-yogurt; beet salad
Mon: leftover shredded chicken made into an "Asian-esque" stir fry with snow peas, cauliflower, & red peppers. I made a sauce with lemongrass, ginger & garlic.
Tues: Cock-a-leekie soup from the freezer
Wed: 2nd Covid shot! Since I had to drive 3.5 hours to get shot, I went for the local speciality in Plattsburgh, NY: a "michigan" (apparently lower case).
Thurs: 2nd Covid shot, day after = garlic soup
Fri: Chicken paprika with pierogi; green beans
WHOA. 3.5 hours! That is a seriously long drive.
Why such a long drive to get vax, Betta?
It was 3.5 hours one way! I work in NY as a college teacher which made me eligible as part of 1B in NY 6 weeks ago, but only as of Monday was eligible to *make* an appointment in MA. Back when making the appointment, I couldn't find anything in the area where I worked, but there were plenty of appointments in Plattsburgh. So, because I have a flexible schedule and a car that can get me there (and I can afford gas), it seemed like it was a better option to get the appointment where I could ASAP and be grateful that I had the time/means to go somewhere when others may not be as fortunate. And, it gave me the opportunity to try the "michigan!"
As a Michigander, I was curious to see what has my state's name. I was totally tickled to find that it's a coney dog (which is like a chili dog, but not quite)!
Monday: leftover Easter goodness
Tuesday: spaghetti and meat sauce, salad, garlic bread
Wednesday: picnic OUTDOORS (80 degrees in metro Detroit) sandwiches pretzels grapes and cherry tomatoes and h/m cranberry bars
Thursday: tuna salad with triscuit crackers cucumbers and ranch Girl Scout cookies
Friday: jambalaya and cabbage slaw
Saturday: grilled marinated pork cutlets. Rice. Jello and slaw
I must still be tired...I read that as ranch girl scout cookies and was like "what the heck is that?" Oh could you imagine? haha
We grilled hot dogs on Sunday and threw on some chicken breasts to use later in the week. We made a couple main dish salads with it, one more Italian with artichokes, mozzarella, and dressing from a local restaurant and one with buffalo sauce, ranch, and celery. But the highlight was making chicken salad with the chopped grilled chicken. I tried a new combo that was delicious and it was so much more flavorful than the canned chicken we usually use.
Oh, I can imagine that; grilled chicken really elevates salads.
Sunday: We had a big brunch with eggs, ham, bacon, hash browns, scones, cinnamon rolls, fresh fruit and more. After that, we just had some veggies and snacky things in the evening.
Monday: Tortellini and pesto and leftover fresh fruit from our brunch.
Tuesday: Tacos with some ground beef from the freezer and lots of toppings.
Wednesday: Grilled flank steak and salad
Thursday: Meatball subs, cut veggies and chips
Tonight: We like to get take out from a variety of local places on Friday.
Ooooh - I tried that orzo recipe when you posted it a while back - it was tasty! I use vegan sausage and it's still yum. I need to add that back into the rotation!
I made it too and the family loooved it! Need to do it again.
Sunday: We went all traditional and ate ham, scalloped potatoes, roasted carrots, pineapple etc.
Monday: Leftovers from Sunday.
Tuesday: I too grilled a bratwurst but the rest of my family had hot dogs instead. We also had baked potatoes and salad.
Wednesday: Waffles, ham, fruit and home fries made from the leftover baked potatoes.
Thursday: I went to see my father as he's home from the hospital and thus my family ate separately. I'm not sure what they had but I ate a ham and cheese sandwich.
Friday: My wife has asked if we could order pizza since we haven't done that in ages. Since I don't do enough for her, we're doing that tonight.
I love this "since I don't do enough for her"
Sunday: Easter dinner of ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, deviled eggs, and rolls
Monday: Grilled ham and gruyere cheese sandwiches using leftover ham, fruit and chips
Tuesday: Burrito bowls
Wednesday: Crescent roll hot dogs with fruit
Thursday: Bean soup using leftover ham
Friday: Steak and baked sweet potatoes
Sunday- We went to my parents for Easter/ Delayed Passover. We had seabass w/ herbed potatoes and blistered tomatoes. Dessert was matzah crack, which is kinda like the saltine caramel-chocolate candies people make but w/ matzah
Monday- I was feeling bleh all day so dinner was cheesy scrambled eggs w/ avocado and toast. Husband finished the vietnamese summer rolls from airport takeout since we was still hungry.
Tuesday- Vegan irish nachos w/ pulled jackfruit and veggue fajitas. My addition of cheese made this thoroughly un-vegan...but delicious
Wednesday- I got home waaaaay too late from work to even THINK about cooking so my lovely husband got us pho, which is one of my biggest comfort foods and helps out a local business
Thursday- HelloFresh turkey meatball, pepper and onion flatbreads...which I of course can't leave alone so I added sun dried tomatoes, kalamata olives and goat cheese
Friday- TBA. If I do all the yardwork I have told myself I have to do, then probably frozen snack-y stuff from Trader Joe's bc I will be waaay too tired to make something. If the yard remains unworked, probably a pasta primavera to use up all the leftover veggies before my new Imperfect produce box comes.
I love that saltine caramel dessert -- crack, indeed! Genius to use up matzoh 😉
I didn't spend all that much last week, $66, I think, which is good for me, since I buy so much local farm-produced and organic food.
What we ate:
Seasoned ground pork, mashed potatoes, cabbage and onions.
Uncured "smokies", crackers for my husband, cheese, carrots, fruit, and cucumber
Both Sunday and another day we had Easter ham. On Sunday we had the big lunch, then some leftovers for our evening meal. In the evening we had asparagus, roasted tomatoes (for my husband), something else for me that I've forgotten, and leftover lemon cream pie. The other day, whichever it was, we had peas and carrots, sliced cucumbers and.... something.
Tuna salad, made as I always do now, with shredded carrot, celery and onion, plus raisins, usually. Served on crackers for my husband. Fresh Mandarin sections on the side.
Homemade pizza with a cassava crust. Mushrooms, onions, fresh spinach, home-brined black olives, cheese, and tomato slices on my husband's half. I ate a little of the tomato sauce. I give him the bulk of it on his half.
Last night my daughter and granddaughter came to help me with some heavy lifting, ahey picked up supper for us as well! I had my first shrimp tacos - they were good.
Sunday: We had ham and a couple of sides for lunch, then I made grilled pizza for dinner. However, this was my first grilled pizza of the summer and I forgot how we normally do it and ended up making a big ol' mess on my grill! Thankfully 4 of the 5 little pizzas turned out well and I wasn't all that hungry.
Monday: Leftover ham, macaroni and cheese, pineapple, and cottage cheese
Tuesday: Grilled hot dogs and brats (Aldi has their summer brat options back! Hooray!), green beans, and chips
Wednesday: Cheeseburgers, orange wedges, broccoli with cheese, and chips
Thursday: Cheesy scalloped potatoes with ham, corn
Friday: One-Pot Ham and Veggie Pasta... We'll find something quick to go with it. I have a pineapple that needs cut up or I could pull some peas out of the freezer. It'll be a quick and easy dinner night!
I am really craving a burger and fries, but McDonald's is a big old nope from me! We will likely have one at our favorite burger place in Burnet (https://www.billsburgerswingsandthings.com/) this weekend and I CAN'T WAIT. This week we ate:
Monday - Grilled Chicken, skillet eggplant and onions (never fixed this last week)
Tuesday - Salmon, chopped salad with edamame
Wednesday - Weeknight Lasagna Toss for two (never fixed this either!)
Thursday - Asian BBQ Chicken, brussels sprouts, the rest of the copper pennies from Sunday }
Friday - Crockpot o' Lima Beans with ham hock (this was ridiculously good)
Saturday - Grilled Chicken thighs and veggie kebabs
Sunday - Skillet Tilapia with yellow squash and maybe some pie from the freezer
Last Saturday I cooked a turkey. I had it in the freezer and figured I'd cook it before the weather turned too warm to have the oven on for hours. And even though we usually celebrate Easter with my husband's family on Greek Orthodox Easter I still wanted my Easter meal lol. So we had turkey, stuffing and carrots for a few days and then I chopped up the turkey that was left over (4 cups worth) and froze it, and made stock from the carcass. I made a big pot of Cajun red beans and rice Monday. Wednesday we had soil delivered for our new raised beds and we filled those, and spread the rest in some spots around the yard to regrow grass. So we worked on that all day, hubby in the am, me in the pm and both of us after 4, and so we got pizza and wings-we were ravenous and too tired to cook, and felt like we deserved it after all that hard work! Leftovers for yesterday and today I have beef stew in the crockpot.
I got 3 packages of reduced for quick sale Italian sausage in my freezer...I think that orzo recipe will be making an appearance next week 🙂
This week we had:
Saturday-We hit the easy button---store made Greek salad and cheesy chicken/veg/noodle frozen meal
Sunday-Easter---Homemade rolls, rolled leg of lamb, cheesy scalloped potatoes, asparagus, and ricotta pie
Monday---Lamb ragu over fettucine and leftover asparagus
Tuesday---Leftover lamb ragout with roasted carrots
Wednesday---Left our cheesy scalloped potatoes, honey mustard pork lion, roasted cauliflower
Thursday-Local support night---Hot dogs, nachos, popcorn, candy (kit from restaurant, the made a little movie to announce their upcoming expansion).
Friday-Fish delivery this morning---Monkfish with an assortment of vegetables (maybe rice if no potatoes)
Ooo Ricotta pie -- just love it
We spent $86 at the grocery store. Of that total, $85 was food (99 cents was for a package of toothpicks) and $20 and some change was for a lamb shoulder roast for Easter supper.
For dinner all week, we ate leftover lamb and sides. My husband and I got a great deal of yummy goodness out of that lamb. Last night I cut the last slices off the bone, and the bone turned out to be a completely intact and very sturdy humerus. I gave it to our youngest dog, who is a careful eater, and she daintily stripped all the tiny nuggets of meat off before I disposed of the bone.
For my brown bag work lunches, I had one day of dinner leftovers and subbed in a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner that night. The other four days I had salmon patties made with mashed potatoes, Spanish rice, the eternal peas and carrots, and tangerines, with decaff iced tea from home to drink.
Monday: Anniversary takeout! We got Italian food from a new-to-us restaurant, and I made garlic bread. I'd get their main dishes again, but I'd make our own salad.
Tuesday: Sandwiches with homemade foccacia (smittenkitchen's recipe) with roasted veggies and goat cheese, and eggs on the side for my husband. Easy, tasty, with great leftovers the next day.
Wednesday: A freezer meal--breaded fish, perogies, and fries, with a salad on the side.
Thursday: Tofu and broccoli stir-fry over rice noodles.
Friday: Beef kofta (just the meatballs from budgetbytes' recipe) with the rest of the fries, salad, and homemade challah. I made the dough over lunch; the perks of working from home!
So this week I spent a total of $160 which is high for me. This included a trip to Costco though for some stock up items like Peanut Butter, coffee, toilet paper, etc... About half of this amount was spent on food items which is pretty average for us.
We ate....
Sunday - I baked a large ham and we ate that with potato salad, pea salad, raw veggies, yeast rolls, deviled eggs, and pineapple casserole. A homemade and very festive sprinkle cake for dessert & my goodness there was chocolate.
Monday - leftovers
Tuesday - physical therapy today so Mom hit the easy button and we got take out
Wednesday - Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, lima beans, fresh fruit
Thursday - leftovers
Friday - I have been very negligent and not taken anything out of the freezer for dinner. We may have a veggie dinner as I have rice and beans, fresh asparagus, corn on the cob, avocados and tomatoes to be eaten.
Enjoy the weekend everyone!!
Saturday - quiche, green beans, carrots
Sunday - last of the bean soup, rolls
Monday - spaghetti, green beans, rolls
Tuesday - waffles, banana
Wednesday - burger, chips, pineapple
Thursday - leftover quiche
Friday - french bread pizza
There are always so many inspired menus. Mine is a little ho-hum.
Saturday- Small beef fillets and salad
Sunday - Traditional Easter Ham and sides
Monday - Chicken taco salads
Tuesday - Rotisserie Chicken, rice and veggies
Wednesday- Berry, Feta and Chicken Salads (leftover rotisserie chicken)
Thursday - Gluten-Free Pizza
Friday - Not sure. I’m making shrimp, but I have not decided how I’m going to prepare it.
Since it is just me for a few weeks, I only spent $52 and change for groceries. My favorite salad mixes half-priced, extra veggies, some drumsticks from the "used meat" section that will last me 2 -3 days, and my free Polar Seltzer water. I will probably hit Sprouts or Aldi for some avocadoes but not much else.
Although my visit east was not frugal -- Dinners out with family were delicious 🙂 -- I did manage a couple of frugal moves:
Before I left -- froze the milk I had bought for my husband, who was suddenly out of town for work; ate up most of the veggies and fruits in the frig the night before and the morning of my trip; packed a snack box of open humous, half an avocado, and veggies that needed to be eaten for the airport and did not spend a penny there on overpriced food.
During trip -- ate dinner out 🙁 but went to grocery store for snacks and breakfast stuff to have at my brother's house. He provided excellent coffee and homemade muffins and all kinds of treats. On the trip home, he packed me some muffins and I did spend $4.00 on a DD iced coffee at the airport.
Realized when I got home that there was still just enough salad stuff in the frig for a lunch before grocery shopping (Wednesday) and cooked up last of the broccoli and a frozen turkey burger for dinner that night.
So back on track -- no regrets but happy to be home and eating healthfully and cheaply 🙂
Spent $90 at Aldi, $50 at Walmart. High for me, but I had Easter Extras.
Sunday:Easter dinner at a seafood place.
Monday chicken in white wine sauce, Caesar salad with homemade dressing, store bought French bread.
Tuesday: veggie meal, plus corn muffins, and lemon bars for dessert.
Wednesday: we fended for ourselves. I had a snacky dinner of half a pimento cheese sandwich on multi grain bread, a hard boiled egg, a few Cheetos, some pickles, and something else I don’t remember.
Thursday: Takeout WHATABURGER
as we had a guy coming to give us a quote on new flooring at 5 pm. The quote almost made me lose my appetite—almost. It was also my birthday
Friday: Mexican!
Oh, be still my heart - Whataburger! I grew up in Corpus Christi so was spoiled by having easy access to those delicious burgers.
Now, I live in Ohio - no striped orange and white roofs for thousands of miles.
Enjoy - and thanks for a memory of Texas deliciousness.
I spent about $50 last Saturday in preparation for our Sunday brunch--lots of fruit.
Sat. 4/3/21 Dutch baby. Fri I had my 2nd vaccine. I had to run to the store to get the fruit for my share of tomorrow. When I came home, I went to sleep for 2.25 hrs. My legs are sore—Is it from the vaccine or from the push up challenge I am doing with my daughter? I’ll make sure I get to bed early tonight.
Sun. Brunch with the family. My share—all the fruit and I made a pistachio shortbread for a sweet.
Mon. Chicken, baked potato, roasted asparagus
Tues: Burgers, corn, broccoli,
Wed: Omelet (from home chickens), bacon, roasted potato & green pepper. Potatoes were delicious with that pepper in them.
Thurs: Tuna sandwich & fruit (Thurs. is daycare day for 2.5 yr old grandson. After daughter finished her work, we took him for a 5+ mile walk. I was tired.)
Fri: We shared a fried fish platter from a local restaurant. I made a reservation but on the way my husband realized he did not have a mask in the car. So I called ahead to cancel and ordered take out. Actually it was more frugal—no drinks, no dessert.
Saturday- we had friends over we hadn't seen in ages. I made sloppy joes, baked macaroni and cheese, veggie tray, and some store-bought cupcakes (kid friendly food...there are seven kids between the two families)
Sunday- Easter dinner/my mom's birthday celebration at our house- I made ham, roasted baby potatoes, green beans, dinner rolls, coconut cake
Monday- leftovers
Tuesday- hot ham and cheese sandwiches, bell peppers, carrot sticks
Wednesday- chicken quarters in the crockpot, roasted broccoli, boiled potatoes
Thursday- got home much later than intended; scrambled some eggs and popped some bread in the toaster. Random fruit on the side.
Friday- once again out later than expected (took my bored kids on an outing with my mom to a little working farm where you can spend the day). So dinner turned into frozen pizza from Aldi with raw veggies on the side. The grilled hamburgers I planned will get bumped to tomorrow! 🙂
I did a grocery pick up order this past week and between that and the produce box delivery I feel like we have a TON of food in the house. No shopping for us for a while! We're whittling down the freezer and the fresh produce though!
Saturday night some friends we'd helped out this past year while they built a house made a "thank you" dinner for us. I contributed a "mixed berry" cobbler using up some peaches and blueberries from the freezer.
Sunday night we had spaghetti with meatballs, and salad.
Monday was grilled chicken, roasted potatoes, salad.
Tuesday we had some leftover spaghetti but not quite enough for 2, so I used up some mushrooms from our produce box and the last of some spaghetti noodles from the cabinet to make a 2nd pasta...so we had 2pasta night with roasted broccoli and salad.
Wednesday we had crab cakes (Sam's has really good frozen ones) with leftover roasted potatoes, leftover broccoli and leftover salad. I'm pretty happy with this night because we'd met some friends at a brewery and after a few beers they were considering the food truck parked at the brewery...we opted to just head home for dinner because we knew we had a bunch of stuff we needed to eat!
Thursday was grilled salmon, coconut rice and salad.
Friday we finished up the 2nd pasta dish and topped it with leftover grilled chicken. Of course we had salad!
No money spent this week as the prior week was enough to cover 2 weeks and more. We ate:
Sat. Takeout pizza
Sun. Steak, baked potato, salad & homemade buttermilk biscuits
Mon. Salmon patties, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, leftover biscuits
Tue. Hamburgers & French fries
Wed. BBQ pulled pork, cole slaw, roasted potatoes
Thu. Cheese coneys with homemade Cincinnati style chili
Fri. Leftover BBQ & French fries
We managed to eat all the 2 dozen hardboiled eggs I had made for dyeing Easter eggs.
That was my major food-waste accomplishment of the week. 🙂
I had a few as egg salad packed into yellow pepper halves (I eat low-carb, so that's my preference over low-carb bread, which is really icky), a couple on a salad with some bacon and blue cheese dressing, my husband had some egg salad on toast, and my kids ate the remainder as plain hard boiled eggs for snacks and lunches.
My other accomplishment was managing to consume all of the berries and grape tomatoes I had bought before any of them went bad! The last cup of blueberries ended up in muffins this morning for breakfast for everyone else (I had scrambled eggs with peppers, onions, bacon, and cheddar).
I am always amazed how little your family eats at a meal. My group would be back in about a hour asking when the next meal would be.
Mine too!