WIS, WWA | That was not a break
What I Spent
Last Sunday afternoon, I decided to take a break from studying, and I went to Sam's Club. Except, silly me, I should have thought about the fact that Sunday afternoon at Sam's Club is probably worse than studying. Ha.
It was so crowded. And they were behind on rotisserie chickens, so everyone was standing around waiting for chickens, with plenty of bad attitudes to go around.
And then when I went to check out, I realized that somehow I had lost my Sam's Club card in between entering the store and trying to check out.
Sooooo, I had to go over to the customer service desk to get a new one.
I did eventually make it out, but not with a chicken. Because no chicken is worth standing in a line of angry people. 😉
I spent:
- $140 at Sam's Club
- $30 on a Hungry Harvest box
- $15 at the mall food court
- $24 at Safeway
So, $209 for me this week.
What We Ate
Saturday
I worked 7:00 am - 7:30 pm, and I picked up the Panera meal I mentioned in this week's Five Frugal Things (free because of a gift card!)
Sunday
Zoe was at work and I made myself some whole-wheat blueberry pancakes.
Monday
I guess I was in a breakfast-y mode because we had Swedish pancakes for dinner with berries and cream.
Tuesday
Chicken quesadillas, with some fruit on the side.
Wednesday
Zoe was at work and I had a tuna melt for dinner.
Thursday
Zoe had an errand to run at the mall with me, so we popped into the food court and got some food at a place that is a bit like Mezeh or Cava.
Mine was a falafel, rice, and salad dish. 🙂
Friday
I will figure that out after school today; we get out at 4:00, and after that, I will get my life in order and plan out the next week. 🙂
I'm with you on hating weekend grocery shopping, but going after work isn't much better. Less crowded shopping is one of the things I miss about working part time. Oh, well. I don't miss the smaller paychecks.
WIS: 36 @Walmart on clearance food when I was buying lamps for my classroom, and about 150 @Aldi in two different quickity trips -one crowded Sunday trip and one crowded week night trip.
WWA:
Fri: salad and focaccia
Sat: salad, rice, air fried leftover eggplant cubes, pumpkin chipotle tomato sauce.
Sun: salad, hotdogs on brioche buns and topped with melted cheese.
Mon: tacos with tofu scramble, peppers, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, guacamole and chipotle Cholula sauce.
Tue: rice bowls with salad, jasmine rice, grilled salmon, soy hard-boiled eggs, guacamole, sesame oil and chili flakes.
Wed: salad, pasta with red sauce, pan fried chicken breasts.
Thu: rice and beans over a bed of salad greens.
Tonight: salad and focaccia.
Have a great weekend, everyone! I wish you all uncrowded grocery shopping experiences!
@Becca, love all those salads! How do you keep them interesting? I waste too much produce because my salads do not inspire, and I get tired of making them. Help!
@Becca,
I enjoy your posts! I am going to appropriate the word “quickity” cause it makes me giggle every time you use it. Have a wonderful and relaxing weekend.
@Vickymac,
With my students, I tell them to do something lickity-split and quickity-quick!
@Book Club Elaine,
Why do they have to be inspiring? I mean, when you go to wash your hands, do you think "man, this soap is so uninspired...guess I won't wash today..."? What I mean is that I eat salad every day because I like it and eating it makes me feel better. Sometimes I put lots of energy and effort into making fancy salads and homemade dressings, and sometimes I just plop a handful of prewashed greens onto my plate and call it good. I don't know if that helps or not, but that's what I do.
Better luck on the rotisserie chicken next time, Kristen. I'm totally with you on staying away from lines of impatient people, no matter the payoff. And I'm not normally a fan of tuna melt, but your photo makes me want to run to the kitchen right now and make one.
I don't have an organized list of what we ate over the last week because I really can't remember except there mostly leftovers and one very exciting supper of oatmeal with walnuts and maple syrup. I have been very haphazard with cooking since having COVID in July. I'll blame COVID because, why not.
Sweet Man and I are leaving suburbia today for 5 days in rural PA with longtime friends (I'm terribly sensitive to avoid the description "old", even though we are). I hope everyone here has at least one friend like these people - no matter how long since you last spoke or saw each other, the conversations just pick up where you last left them. No guilt over not being in contact more often. And no expectations except to enjoy the time. The weather forecast indicates rain, rain and more rain so I'm taking my knitting and warm socks.
@Book Club Elaine,
How about a recipe for the oatmeal supper? I love oats, and walnuts, and maple syrup. I wouldn't mind giving it a try!
@JNL, it was just a bowl of oatmeal. No recipe needed - water, salt, oats, cook, pour in bowl, add chopped nuts and a splash of maple syrup. Oops, I forgot the best part - a dab of butter. It's a great filling but not too heavy meal. Plus, budget friendly.
@Book Club Elaine,
😀
@Book Club Elaine,
Longtime friends is a delightful way to refer to your friends. I am sure they are like family members to you at this point. Enjoy every minute of your time together.
@Book Club Elaine, and cinnamon!
The tuna melt looks delicious, I will keep it in mind for a future lunch.
I like to munch on carrots when I have work that requires deep thinking, and as a result I have them nearly every day. It is a good way to get some additional veg, and I understand it also supports vitamin D absorption. However I wonder if what my colleagues call my healthy outdoor hue is not in fact a teensy bit of orange from the carrots 😉
This week, reverse order:
Today - vegetable soup and sourdough bread
Thu: Brineraded chicken with potatoes, salad and applesauce
Wed: Beef Masman curry over rice, with pickled vegetables
Tue: Quick macaroni
Mon: Szechuan spiced noodles with stir fried vegetables
Sat and Sunday escape me, as I do not "plan" them in my Outlook calendar. Probably something with salad, because they were the last really sunny days that week.
Our eggs are home delivered every fortnight and we are moving from cash payments to app. I think someone has got wind of the egg boy's regular round, because our money had disappeared from the carton (which we had put out as we normally do, to go about our regular weekend business). So yay for paying by app. It has decreased our use of cash money however and I am not in favour of a society where all payments are necessarily digital.
@JNL, home egg delivery?? That's something most of us Americans (except those who have their own chickens) can only dream of. But I'm sorry that someone stole your cash and that you had to go to an app.
@JNL, when I was a kid, the TV program "The Partridge Family" was a big deal. The oldest girl in the family, played by Susan Something-or-Other, ate so many carrots (not in her role but in real life) that her skin actually did take on an orange tint.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, This happened to my baby sister. My mother found carrot baby food sale and fed it to the baby almost exclusively for weeks. We siblings thought it was a hoot.
@JNL,
My sister was a raw food vegan for a while. She juiced a ton of carrots. Like 20lbs a week or something like that. She did in fact turn orange.
@Jaime, my mother turned my father orange after his hair had turned silvery white. Think orange skin, silvery white hair, blazing blue eyes !!!!!! Luckily, they maintained their weird ability to laugh throughout their lives and had a hysterical laugh over this juicer time also.
Isn't Sam's club (or Costco) the worst on the weekends? I do the bulk of my grocery shopping on Thursday evenings to avoid the crowds, but occasionally, do stop off at Sam's/Costco on the weekends. I also would not stand in line for those chickens (even at the amazing price!).
This weeks dinner (in order of my memory, not actual days):
1. Fish (whiting), rice and salad
2. Beef Stew over mashed potatoes for my family, I ate leftover fish
3. Vegetarian baked ziti (or vegan meat sauce over rice for those who are GF) with a side of roasted eggplant
4. Lettuce wraps with ground turkey/carrot mixture, rice and roasted carrots zucchini
5. Tomato soup and grilled ham/cheese sandwhich
6. Chef salad
7. Today will be a leftovers day-clear out the fridge We have a ton of stew leftover.
I love a good rotisserie chicken, but I wouldn't have waited either. Tuesday I spent $78, but that was for next week's meals. This week I ate:
Monday - kitchen closed - I had a PBJ at work
Tuesday - BBQ Meatballs, baked sweet potato, brussels sprouts (made two servings, one I froze)
Wednesday - Fajita Chicken Salad
Thursday - I threw three chicken drums into my small crockpot, then tossed the cooked and shredded chicken into a salad with romaine, spinach, peach slices, some crumbled stilton, and some raspberry-pecan dressing. So good, but did not fill me up, so later I had a bowl of granola. (:
Tonight - Grilled Ham and Havarti on apple bread, kale salad
Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed, but I have freezer leftovers aplenty
Happy last weekend of September!
@Gina from The Cannary Family, Friday’s sandwich sounds quite tasty.
@Gina from The Cannary Family, That salad sounds scrumptious. You had me at Stilton and the dressing must be yum.
This week, we ate:
-last Saturday we had a family over for supper; we grilled burgers and had macaroni and cheese and green beans on the side
- Sunday was leftovers
- ham, potato, and cheese soup with homemade french bread
-waffles and bacon
- Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, green beans
- sausage and tortellini soup with more bread
-tonight will probably be takeout. Two kids will be at birthday parties so we'll do something fun with the other two
Saturday: Pizzas--one cheese, one with pepperoni and leftover bacon--and cucumbers with ranch dip
Sunday: Pork shoulder, cornbread, tomato/cucumber/feta salad, baked rice pudding
Monday: Leftover pork and pizza, cucumbers with ranch dip, chocolate chip/peanut butter/almond cookies
Tuesday: More leftover pork! I ended up working the first three days of the school week this week (I'm usually off Tuesdays and Thursdays), so it was lucky I had so much pork on hand for fast dinners when I got home. This time I put them in tortillas. Also more cucumbers, because it's that time in the garden. And then I made hot cocoa with marshmallows, because some people were still hungry.
Wednesday: I had some extra meatballs I stashed in the freezer last time I made them, so I used those with a bag of frozen roasted tomato sauce to make dinner. Spaghetti for children with part of the tomato sauce, fried potatoes for my husband who doesn't eat pasta. And yes, more cucumbers.
Thursday: Roasted chicken thighs and drumsticks, roasted potatoes, and, to switch up the vegetables, sauteed calabacita/tomato/onion for the adults and raw green beans for the children
Friday: I took out a bag of pork steaks--cut from a whole loin--that I'll fry and make a milk gravy for. And then rice and most probably more cucumbers. Maybe with salt and vinegar this time for a bit of novelty. 🙂
I like to go to Sam’s in the morning and often I will get packages of cold chicken from the day before- $3.98 for 36 ounces of leg quarters and a bit more for the breasts.
Of all the things I don't miss about DH's and my former warehouse club memberships, weekend crowds top the list. And of all the things I appreciate about retirement, the freedom to shop whenever I darn please is pretty high on the list.
Now, WIS: $30 at Ollie's, $37 at Wegmans, and $11.75 at Tops. When I took my next-door neighbor to Tops this week, I had her use her Tops card to get me two Springer Mountain all-natural whole chickens Reduced for Quick Sale, and then I reimbursed her.
Incidentally, I noticed that one chicken marked down to $5.13 was bigger than another marked down to $6.77. When I looked more closely, I saw that these two chickens had been labeled in error: The bigger one should have had the $6.77 label. So, of course, I bought the $5.13 one plus a correctly labeled $6.62 one. 😉
WIA: The highlight from earlier this week was that I marinated a London broil from my 1/4 steer (using a marinade of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire, and soy sauce, plus garlic powder, rosemary, salt, and pepper). I cooked it rare (that is, I did it about 5 minutes on either side) and enjoyed every last bite. I regret nothing. 😀
Saturday - We celebrated my dad's birthday at lunchtime. I hosted, but my mom brought all of the food.
Sunday - We had a potluck at church for lunch and a potluck with our life group for dinner. Lots of community eating!
Monday - Burger sliders, cantaloupe, cucumbers, and baked beans
Tuesday - We only had about 30 minutes to get home, change, and eat, so I made quesadillas (with taco meat I had prepped earlier in the day).
Wednesday - Popcorn chicken, macaroni and cheese, and red peppers
Thursday - Philly cheesesteaks, air fryer baby potatoes, salad (that I had packed for lunch at work but didn't eat there), and peas
Friday - Tacos!
And, of course, yesterday's cheesesteaks were served on day-old Jimmy John's bread because it is the best deal and so yummy!!
DH and I went to the grocery store on Saturday night for logistical reasons and it was practically dead. I loved it.
WWS: $538, stocked up due to some good sales
Saturday/Sunday: homemade pizzas
Monday: baked chicken drumsticks and wings, crockpot potatoes, roasted cauliflower, mixed veggies I found in the freezer
Tuesday: Lentil soup and leftovers
Wednesday: Taco night
Thursday: Burgers and the everpresent lentil soup
Tonight: Tuna burgers and corn on the cob
WIS: $22.87 on groceries, bringing the 5-week rolling average down to $53.85 per week. But …. $49.61 on my monthly dinner with friends at one of our more extravagant venues this year. I put that in the “entertainment/friends/sanity clause” budget category*, not groceries.
WIA: Pan roasted halibut with basil pesto couscous stuffed piquillo peppers, roasted vegetable “mélange” (fancy!) and lemon beurre blanc. But left to my own cooking? Roasted sweet potatoes stuffed with spinach and feta cheese; hamburgers with sauteed mushrooms and Swiss cheese; chicken salad (made with chicken tenders a la Kristen’s brinerade). Strawberries for dessert (no cooking required).
*Bonus points if you can name that movie: “You can’t fool me. There ain’t no sanity clause!”
@JDinNM, I want bonus points for the movie: the Marx Brothers' "A Night at the Opera."
@JDinNM, A Night At The Opera! When I started reading your post, I immediately thought of that quote.
@A. Marie, @Elizabeth M, we have not one but Two (2!) Winners! Groucho and Chico are tearing up clauses from a contract Groucho wants Chico to sign until they get to the very last clause -- that Groucho says is "the sanity clause" that goes in every contract -- and Chico says (all together now) "You can't fool me. There ain't no sanity clause!" And they thrown away the last remaining bit of the contract. A Night at the Opera (1935) -- classic!
Kristin, could you share your favorite items to get at Sam's Club? Is there anything you find considerably more affordable there?
I'm a pretty frugal shopper and do a lost of cost comparison on products we buy regularly. I've noticed that since Costco came to town (just within the last year, and less than a mile from Sam's) our Sam's has added more of their house-brand products and dropped some prices, which is nice. Overall, the prices at Sam's have been lower than Costco, and it's much easier to get in and out for sure.
@Mallory L., does Sam's require a membership fee?
They do! It's pretty affordable though.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, people looking to join Sam's club (or Costsco) look for discounted new membership online. Sometimes Sam's club (I'm not a Costco member so not sure about their site) runs a special where get membership for discounted (flat) price or buy membership get ________ FREE, which usually is decent value.
I have seen on Groupon discounted Sam's club & Costco membership. My sister asked at her (former) employer (hospital) if had company discount for new memberships & they did. Maybe other employers have company discounts also. Usually October through January Sam's club has some new membership discount (have in previous years at those times).
@Regina, thank you! No Sam's Club around here, and Costco is 35 miles away. I let our membership lapse about 15 years ago, but still have a bit of curiosity as to how it all works, because so many people use it. We seem to do fine with Winco, just as cheap (or cheaper), a little lesser quality, and no membership fee or giant bag temptations.
We had spaghetti and salad last Saturday for dinner. From the leftover sauce and noodles, I made baked spaghetti. We enjoyed that for Sunday and Monday dinners and my daughter took some in her work lunches Monday and Tuesday. The rest of the week we’ve had salads with baked chicken on top. I try to rotate what extra veggies I add to the greens. One salad had broccolini and yellow pepper; another night the salad had carrots and cucumber. But we always have chicken or ham or turkey on our salads for protein. One of our salads this week had croutons that I made from some sourdough getting a bit stale.
Tonight we’ll be at a party for our grandson and I’m not sure what the fare will be…
Hmmm.... last night was meatloaf with Mongolian sauce and hash browns, with green beans. Excitingly, someone who was not me left a burner on, so I woke up to the smell of smoke. Yuck. And I need to get new smoke dectectors because these clearly don't work.
Night before that was white chicken chili, and Tuesday was roast turkey with carrots. I made stuffing from a recipe I saw using Popeye's biscuits. Meh, wasn't worth the effort. Monday was kung pao chicken with homemade egg rolls. Weirdly enough, the egg rolls were too crispy.
Tonight, dunno if Son is gonna be home so I'll make sweet and sour chicken with red peppers.
@Contrite-ish Rose,
Hi 🙂 What is Mongolian sauce
@JNL, We loved it.
https://www.allrecipes.com/mongolian-meatloaf-recipe-8362702
Also I discovered this morning that Rescue Puppy also helped himself to a good sized block Parmesan. Why can't he eat the cheap cheddar?
Don't believe her just because she found the wrapping from the Parmesan in the back yard. I was guarding it from the other bad dogs who wanted to eat it, trying to do her a favor, but she always thinks the worst.
@Rescue Puppy,
Hmmmm......are those Parm crumbs I see in your whiskers?? 😮
Saturday - dominos pizza
Sunday - I made some spaghetti and pasta sauce for the family with diced tomato, ground chicken and Italian sausages and then a “lentil bolognese” for myself (I just combined some already cooked lentils and a leftover jar of sauce, it was pretty tasty though)
Monday - impossible burger for husband, quinoa black bean burger for me and turkey corn dogs for the kids, corn on the cob and peas for everyone
Tuesday - beach picnic night, it was a nice warm day and we are dog sitting so we took the dog to the beach with us too. I had a nut butter sandwich, kids had pb&j or turkey and various fruits and veggies.
Wednesday - husband and I went out to dinner while my mom watched the kids, he had prime rib and I had a delicious eggplant parmigiana
Thursday - I started a new job this week so my old team organized a congrats/good bye happy hour for this night. It was a lot of fun and good to just socialize outside work, I had nachos and fried cauliflower bites
Friday - my 4 year old has been asking for soup with alphabet noodles in it so I think I will make that, it uses up a lot of veggies too which will be good since we fell behind with our veggie box after two nights in a row of me dining out.
The rotisserie chicken is a tough to avoid but for everything else at Sam's, I use Scan and Go in the ap. When I put it in my basket, I scan it. When I am finsih I push check out and go straight to the exit with a QR code. Very easy to avoid people even on the busiest days.
@mary ann,
I use scan & go at sams too and love it! So easy!
@mary ann,
I was just coming here to check to see if anyone else uses Scan ‘n Go on the app. It’s super amazing convenient plus I love that I can use the digital card on my app for everything. Which is helpful since I long ago lost my card.
WWS: $250
$85 at Trade Joe’s
$25 at Whole Foods
$20 at Publix
$120 - Anniversary Dinner out
This was a little more than anticipated because we bought several flats of bottled water in preparation for Hurricane Helena. I also stocked up on some seasonal GF specials at TJ and WF.
Saturday - Dinner out for our 39th wedding anniversary. My husband always over orders. He loves this restaurant.
Sunday - ?. It was not memorable. Probably leftovers.
Monday - Football at my son’s house. My daughter in law who is from Up State New York made chicken wings.
Tuesday - White chicken chili with pumpkin
Wednesday - Hamburgers and Fall salad
Thursday - Egg Roll in a bowl
Friday - We are baby sitting tonight so I don’t have a plan.
We made through the storm. There is a great deal of debris. The porto potty down the street was tied to a tree ant the last minute and stayed upright through the storm. Rescue Pup who is part Pyrenees stayed up all night warning us of impending danger. My thoughts and prayers are with others impacted by the storm. A special note to @JD - my heart goes out to you especially. I hope you and your loved ones are safe, and your property sustained little damage.
@Bee, I'm glad your household made it through Helene with nothing worse than a lot of debris (and the commentary from Rescue Pup). And I join you in sending good thoughts and wishes to @JD.
@Bee, I'm glad to hear yhat you are ok. I thought about you & JD & others yesterday & last night as I kept checking in on my family in Florida. The back half of the hurricane was not good for my family & unfortunately my Aunt house & vehicle is under water. Luckily she was able to get out in night time with help of neighbors. My dad is trying to make his way to her (usually 2 hours away) but so many roads & bridges closed.
@Regina, I’m so sorry to hear that. I am glad to hear that she has your Dad’s help. Prayers for a speedy recovery from the storm and an end to hurricane season, Strangely my children in NC were impacted more than we were.
We have had a challenging few weeks due to my complex foot surgery (am so thankful for universal health care and banked sick leave, so maybe the challenge is minor). Have just started to get some energy back although not yet able to walk. Needed to focus on high protein and easy (for DH with my armchair support) to prepare meals. WWA:
Saturday - pasta with sausage and tomato sauce
Sunday - pork chops, boiled potatoes, sauerkraut
Monday - leftovers
Tuesday - roast chicken, baked potatoes, asparagus
Wednesday- leftovers
Thursday - meatloaf, oven fries, asparagus
Friday - we have leftover meat loaf
Wishing everyone a peaceful (long in my country) weekend.
@kj, What holiday is your country celebrating?
@CrunchyCake, here in Canada , on Monday, September 30, it's "National Truth and Reconciliation Day". Or Orange shirt day . It's about the impact still felt today from the residential schools had and still impacts the aboriginal people of Canada. To learn more about it, I've included a link . There's lots of information available.
https://nctr.ca/
WIS: $54 at Kroger
WIA: in reverse order: enchilada casserole with a mix of chicken and lentils; sausage and mashed potatoes; mac and cheese, except the pasta was penne instead of macaroni because that's what I had. I'm sure there were other meals that I'm forgetting.
I love a good tuna melt and yours looks so yummy!
If any grocery store near your house does rotisserie chickens, it's worth the couple extra bucks not to have to wade into the scrum at a warehouse store. Consider it an investment in mental health.
WIS: $40ish at Aldi. I think it's $46, but I bought a $4.99 item for my son that's not part of the food budget.
WWA: Soup! I have had a bad head cold and did not feel like cooking at all, but made two pots of homemade soup (beef veggie) and garlic potato-ham. We also had ham with cheese, crackers, and fruit. I had a couple of peanut butter and apple butter sandwiches. One day we ate a late lunch in place of dinner at our favorite cheap Mexican place for some restorative tamales and tacos. That was $28.
After a freezer cleanout/reorganization I did a pretty good job of using up lots of odds, ends, and last bits of things this week. I picked up a few items to make my son’s school lunch but otherwise no grocery shopping this week!
Friday: White Pizza (sausage and spinach), salad, fruit
Saturday: Birthday dinner! My FIL and I both have birthdays in September so we go out as a family to celebrate both (we do the same thing in April for my husband and MIL).
Sunday: Beef roast, poblano au gratin potatoes, corn on the cob
Monday: Pork Enchiladas with a creamy sauce, black beans, Spanish rice
Tuesday: Lasagna Soup
Wednesday: Egg Roll in a Bowl over brown rice
Thursday: Homemade pepperoni pizza, homemade ranch dip with veggies, Yellow Doll Watermelon (amazing!)
We have been trying to eat down our freezer, and have had good success this week.
-It was just me for dinner 2x this week, so I had cheese & crackers + popcorn. Dinner of champions. 😉
-We had spaghetti & meatballs x2
-I defrosted egg roll in a bowl & added extra coleslaw mix, to make it fresher. I thought this was actually taco meat, so bought tortillas to go with it... fail.
-DH made fish one night while I was on a call, and we served that with Trader Joes chicken Tikka samosas (one of my faves)
Tonight will be an easy appetizer night. Probably coconut shrimp & a cauliflower gnocchi (Trader Joes)
My favorite meal this week was chicken, chorizo, eggs with some avacados, mashed potatoes and a new cheese I recently dicovered
Also made
- burgers with wedges
- some steak tacos with guacamole with the new cheese
- Chicken burritos...also with that cheese
Ok, I'll bite: what's the cheese?
@Kristen,
I've never asked the question "what's the cheese?" before...
"Who moved my cheese?"
Yup.
"Who cut the cheese?"
Alright, occasionally.
"OK, where is the $&*@ is the @#$+ing cheese I just bought?"
All. The. Time.
But "What's the cheese?" is a new one for me.
Don't wanna brag, but I'm something of a cheese connoisseur. Then again, I drink out of the firepit if it's rained lately, so there we are.
@Rescue Puppy,
Lol!
Friday - Not sure but I'm guessing fettucine alfredo
Saturday - Went to a friend's birthday party where they served indian food
Sunday - Potstickers
Monday - Taquitos, guac, watermelon
Tuesday - Baked Potatoes and moondrop grapes
Wednesday - Chipotle
Thursday - Lemon Garlic Mahi Mahi, salad, roasted potatoes and sliced baguette
Sunday: hubby smoked ribs and a chuck roast so we had those with homemade Mac n cheese and cucumbers & onions in a vinegar/sugar marinade.
Monday: snacky dinner as hubby worked late. I made breaded chicken tenders, mozzarella sticks and Texas toast. Used all 3 things up that were in my freezer.
Tuesday: hubby had pizza at work and worked super late. I had cucumbers/onion from Sunday, and made a grilled hand and cheese sandwich. Air popped popcorn for snack.
Wednesday: goulash, salad
Thursday: sausage, parsley potatoes and French green beans
Tonight: bbq chicken thighs, fried rice, veggie
People are really stressed out to have a sense of entitlement and anger about getting a bargain chicken! Such hair-triggers. . . Good decision to not hang out with angry people. Anger is infectious.
Popping in to say my family and I are okay and it appears our houses are, although our trees took another beating. I’m still at my sister’s house getting ready to go home. My oldest stayed in Tallahassee and they came out with no structural damage. My younger daughter’s co-worker checked on her house and my house today since she evacuated with me. It seems my extended family made it through. We had tornado warnings here last night.
But y’all, the beach and river communities are devastated. These are still mostly small businesses and family owned little beach houses passed down generationally, not rich mansions on the waterfront. Now much of it is gone. Places like Steinhatchee are really hurt, from what we hear.
And there is absolutely damage away from the beaches too. Many hadn’t recovered from Idalia yet, or just had. Taylor county took it on the chin 3 times in 13 months and I would appreciate all the prayers possible.
Also, there are a lot of reputable organizations helping out. Donations there are appreciated too.
I'm so glad you all are ok, but so sorry to hear of the devastation by the water.
@JD,
I’m glad to hear you and your immediate family are well. When I saw the expected storm surge in that area, I knew what would lay ahead for many. I have primarily given through the Red Cross; however, if you know of an organization that will utilize funds to directly help those need, please let us know.
@JD, Thanks for letting us know you and your family are ok. What a monster storm, and you all must be getting battle-weary with the frequency.
@JD, glad to hear your update & that your families & property survived. Please be safe as you try to make your way back home.
@Bee, Samaritan’s purse spent a lot of time on the ground here after Idalia, and they worked hard. The Cajun Navy has helped out several times and I wouldn’t be surprised if they were here now.
@JD, Thank you for reporting that you all are safe. I released a breath I didn’t even know I was holding.
Saturday was a fend
Sunday was lentil soup & GF cornbread
Monday was going to be Panera as I had a coupon but we ate at home instead having quesadillas with leftovers (I had vegan “meat”).
Tuesday was Trader Joe’s Indian tv dinners (eggplant curry, rice & naan)
Wednesday was soup leftovers as I felt under the weather
Thursday was pizza! We had corn, vegan meat, fancy cheese with lemon zest.
Tonight will be stir fry (chicken sausage for Gent & fajita ground meat for me).
Sam's club has been cooking less Rotisserie chickens compared to past & working more on their prepackaged ready to cook items (mac & cheese, different salads). In the last month I have managed to only get 1 (out of 3 trips) chicken because out (at noon & 2pm which was told done for day cooking). So early morning shoppers (Plus members) don't have chickens ready until after 10am & end of day shoppers are lucky to get chicken.
Gordon's (Food) has $3 Rotisserie chicken everyday from 4-6pm (?---limited hours only) but they are smaller than Sam's club chickens & (also) cook limited amount.
@Regina,
And you don't need a membership to shop at Gordon's Food Service (GFS).
I too am a sucker for Falafel. Always!
Leaving summer cottage ( not fancy and not in water). Did not grocery shop. Ate down what we had. Zero dollars spent.
Lots of egg sandwiches with cheese. Yogurt and nuts. Fruit. Veggies. Pinto beans from freezer over rice with salsa.
Bruschetta pasta with free tomatoes frozen garlic and fresh home grown herbs. My fave no cook sauce. It is only yummy with garden tomatoes. Cottage cheese.
Most everything is gone! Will have to throw out some condiments!
Bruschetta NO COOK SAUCE. The longer it sits around the better. 3-6 hours.
In a nonmetal bowl add
Chopped tomatoes, seeded Roma work best but any kind work
Chopped garlic , we like a lot
Salt
Pepper
4 T olive oil
Chopped fresh herbs A LOT
I added lots of basil and parsley
And a little thyme rosemary and oregano WHATEVER YOU HAVE
Every time you walk by the bowl stir with wooden spoon.
Toss with 1 pound hot pasta. Serve with Parm and hot pepper flakes.
@Stephanie,
Mmmmm! I'm going to try this!
@Stephanie,
I can almost taste it, it will be lovely with the herbs. I would be tempted.to add a squeeze of lemon, or would that be too sour?
I have to ask - are there times you make a meal because you already have a picture of it?
I just reviewed my food spending for the month and it is about $300 for the 2 of us. We don't generally eat out because it would be take out. I have an aversion to being the one who has to go out and pick it up someplace.
And now I am trying to eat in a better fashion to see if it improves some symptoms I have.
This past week:
Friday: Feta/pesto Turkey burgers.
Saturday: Salmon with rice and something
Sunday: Green pizza--with pesto, broccoli and artichokes.
Monday: Whole grain pasta with a vegetable sauce (-minus the tomatoes).
Tuesday: Whole grain pasta with left over sauce mixed with left over taco soup
Wednesday: rotisserie turkey thighs, sweet potato, and I can't remember the vegetable.
Thurs: chicken, brown rice pilaf, and roasted (purple) cauliflower
I picked a lot of tomatoes from the garden, but they are off the new foods. My husband enjoys them.
I was going to pick up a rotisserie chicken at the market the other day but they did not have any 2 days in a row. I wonder what is going on. Last week they were piled high with them.
I too try to avoid shopping on weekends. Though, last week I ended up at Market Basket, which is always crazy packed, at noon on Sunday and it was much less busy than usual. I'm trying to move my shopping there so I'll have to keep that in mind.
WIS: $137 at BJs, $149 at Market Basket, and $77 at Stop & Shop for a total of $363
WWA:
Monday - There was a sports fundraiser at a local pizza place.
Tuesday - Breakfast for dinner
Wednesday - Chinese take-out; I was at Back to School Night and that's what they wanted
Thursday - Baked ziti (prepped early because I had another Back to School night), cut veggies
Friday - Take out pizza because I'm on my own driving three kids to/from three different sports fields between 5:30 & 8:00 tonight
Happy to say all four Back to School nights are now done so we're only left with evening sports for a bit.
WWA
Sat - dine out burger for better half, steak sandwich for me
Sun - usual dine out Mexican
Mon - leftover Mexican, left over pizza
Tue - goulash with added odds-n-ends veggies from the frig
Wed - burgers grilled at home oven cooked potatoes (including a bonus potato we missed when we dug the last plants), cooked apples (before they went bad)
Thu - leftover steak from freezer (including from Sat), lemon pepper noodles (free food from friend) tossed with butter, olive oil, and Parmesan/Asiago/Fontina blend
Fri - pounded pork tenderloin w/stuffing, potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, onions w/cream of mushroom soup. One pot oven meal.
Hiss boo to weekend grocery shopping. One of the benefits to working weekends...shopping during the week!
$38 @ an estate sale - the person was a prepper with 1 gallon cans of sealed dried beans/gf oats/freeze dried whole milk @ $2/can.
I also picked up 5 gallon buckets with sealed screw top lids. I use these for storing cereals in the larder.
$34 @ Costco - dairy and a chicken
$58 @ Grocery Outlet for NutroMax cat food
Sunday supper was taco bar and apple slab pie w/homemade soft serve
Monday - taco salads
Tuesday - Roast beef dinner
Wednesday - hot beef sammies, pea salad & butterscotch pudding
Thursday - Chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas
Friday - Asian Cabbage Chix Salad
Sat - work - baby greens, chicken, spiced walnuts, apple salad w/homemade blue cheese viniagrette.
Hi! I make a weekly menu and try to stick with it. I’ve gotten better at freezing leftovers so I have them at the ready when I don’t feel like cooking or run out of ideas.
Saw your pancake dinners. Have you ever made a sheet pan pancake? It’s a good thing to and put extra pieces in the freezer so you can pull out as nededed later. There are easy recipes online.