WIS, WWA | time for hot-weather meals
First, I just want to say: thank you so much for keeping the discussion on my last post so respectful. I really appreciate all of you.
What I Spent
We've had a rather chilly spring, and after a cool start to this week, it's now feeling like summer here. Time for cool meals!
I was going to do a big shopping trip this week, but I ended up doing another smallish fill-in trip for $104.
Apparently the really big shops I did earlier actually were a little excessive. And maybe the grocery spending is going to all level out!
I also got a $25 Hungry Harvest delivery, so my total this week is $129.
What We Ate
Saturday
Mr. FG and I had a takeout date night at the taco truck, and the girls ate ravioli and garlic bread at home.
Sunday
We got take-out tacos for the whole family.
Are tacos two days in a row wrong?
(no.)
Monday
The girls were social-distantly (is that a word??) visiting some friends, so Mr. FG and I used our Panera gift cards to get some sandwiches for ourselves.
Tuesday
I grilled burgers, which we ate with watermelon and chips/dip.
Here's the recipe I use for grilled burgers.
Wednesday
I made a chicken taco salad. And on the side, we had toasted oatmeal bread.
(A very traditional taco salad accompaniment, as everyone knows.)
I did not realize until I sat down to type up this post that it has been a 3-taco week here (tacos, tacos, and taco salad).
Thursday
It's suddenly summer here, so I made Korean lettuce wraps, which are very lovely to eat on a hot day.
Friday
I might make fish cake sandwiches; definitely too hot to make indoor pizza!
Hi Kristen, I'm new to your blog and I'm loving it! Whenever I start comparing myself to others, I go here and remember to be content with what I have. I also enjoy getting meal planning inspiration from your posts! My food week featured pea soup, salad, fish cakes and Persian stew!
Dinner's this week:
1.Chipoltle date night. We ate in the car and it was glorious.
2. Speghetti with meat sauce and salad. My family loves this meal, regardless of the hot weather.
3. Grilled Fish Tacos (unfortunately, only 1 night of tacos for us 😉 with rice
4. Grilled Fish (why yes, I cooked extra fish, so why not have it again) sandwhiches (or on rice) with strawberry salad
5. Grilled Burgers and veggies, sweet potatoes
6. Sloppy Joe with Chickpea salad
Tonight, I'll probably make stuffed peppers repurposing the left over sloppy jo and rice. I plan to try this on the grill.
Saturday: We were the unexpected recipients of quite a bit of antelope, so we had antelope backstrap with garlic scape pesto, leftover boiled potatoes or bread and butter (not enough potatoes for everyone), frozen peas
Sunday: Carnitas-style pork, garlic bread, green salad with ranch dressing, butterscotch pudding. I discovered, after spending almost an hour making a double batch, that only half my family likes butterscotch pudding. Boo. Chocolate from now on, then.
Monday: Bacon, pasta with garlic scape pesto, frozen peas
Tuesday: Tuna patties, leftover pasta, steamed broccoli
Wednesday: Italian sliders (small hamburgers seasoned like meatballs, then covered in marinara and melted mozzarella), leftover pasta, roasted sweet potatoes.bell pepper/onion, green salad
Thursday: Antelope stir-fry, salad. My kitchen was 81 degrees when we sat down to eat. Yuck.
Tonight: Carnitas tacos, pinto beans, salad. It's supposed to be almost 100 degrees today, so I chose something that could be cooked mostly in the morning. The pinto beans were from a huge batch I made a month or so ago and froze in small containers, for which I've been thanking myself ever since.
Kristin, did you marinate the backstrap with anything? How did you cook it? I have a deer backstrap in my freezer that I need to prepare and I have been hesitant because I don’t want to ruin it. Any pointers you can provide would be great.
I have SO MANY pointers! 🙂
Yes, a marinade is the best best. You can use anything that has acid in it, so either a yogurt and lemon juice marinade, or something with olive oil and vinegar, or something with soy sauce, vinegar, and vegetable oil. Or, if you have red wine, you can use that, too, with olive oil. Any spices you like (ginger with the soy sauce, oregano with the yogurt, basil with the olive oil) and always salt and lots of garlic powder.
The backstrap is the tenderest cut of meat, so I just sear it all over first in a very hot cast iron pan, then take it out and let it sit for a few minutes on a cutting board before slicing it into maybe half-inch pieces. Dump all the meat and juices back into the pan, and then mix in something to make a sauce. Either the same things you used to marinate it with (i.e., more soy sauce, more red wine) or something new, like pesto, chicken stock, marinara sauce, etc. Depending on what kind of sauce I'm making, I usually use heavy cream or butter because this is a very lean meat--though I wouldn't do that with the soy sauce. The meat will finish cooking to whatever doneness you like in the sauce, and it only takes a minute or two.
Something I like to do with game is to wrap it in bacon or lard before roasting it. Game is so lean that it benefits from the extra fat.
Carol, around here venison backstrap is sliced, floured, and fried "chicken-fried steak" style. A few people soak it in buttermilk or ranch dressing first, some use a marinade, some use nothing-just slice it up and go.
Thanks to all for your suggestions. I’ll try some of them
Garlic scape pesto sounds tasty!
We’ve been hot and muggy the last couple of days but a huge thunderstorm just blew through this morning clearing the air. By afternoon it’s supposed to be back up to almost 90. Seems like a good nite to grill out.
Grocery store this week: $11 but I ate lunch out several times $35
Saturday: my son and I did drive up at the A&W
Sunday: Chicken Teriyaki from CC magazine. Just as yummy as I expected!
Monday: leftover chicken teriyaki. Not AS good second day but still tasty.
Tuesday: I got home late so it was a YOYO nite and I had a bowl of cereal.
Wednesday: my husband made it back safe and sound from his hunting trip in Idaho. He fixed me sausage, eggs and potatoes O’Brien
Thursday: hot and muggy so I just threw together egg salad sandwiches
Tonight? I’m thinking maybe salmon or burgers on the grill.
After declaring for years that I could not see a purpose for us owning an instant pot, I ended up buying one this week. The verdict is still out on it, but I did really like it for making stock. I could make it in a quarter of the time (I previously cooked mine for 24 hours in a crock pot) and I didn't have to wake up in the morning to my house smelling like chicken noodle soup (coffee and chicken soup don't mix well).
Monday - Marinated and grilled chicken, sweet potatoes, and green beans
Tuesday -Turkey sloppy joes on homemade buns, fries, and homemade applesauce
Wednesday - Zuppa Tuscana soup (using broth from the new instant pot)...I was supposed to make bread to go with it but we had a ROUGH day with at home learning (our family is definitely not cut out for homeschooling...even my kids are like "can we please go back to school")
Thursday - I made the Farmhouse on Boone's cobb chicken salad on Aldi Hawaiian rolls and chips. I had never tried this before and it was a great twist on chicken salad. I had previously cooked a whole chicken in the instant pot and it practically shredded itself which was nice.
Friday - Homemade pizza...probably one pepperoni and one BBQ chicken and one dairy free for my son
Getting harder to figure out what to make for dinner. Frustrating! Trying not to make the same thing week after week and it hard! both my kids are picky eaters! this is not my week for shopping, We are going to hit up wegmans for some items we only get there. Love there tea, and their frozen raviolis, lets see what else hops in the cart!
Saturday- our take out night, we had Portuguese BBQ, yum!
Sunday- DD turned 12 today, so we social distanced with family, we had a bunch of appy's, and ordered pizza, I made a big salad. (wasn't sure how the weather was going to be so this was best) cake, brownies, sil fruit salad.
Monday- Shrimp scampi, salad.
Tuesday- Pasta with sauce, salad.
Wednesday- BBq chicken on the grill. corn, buttered noodles
Thursday- Dh and I had sausage pepper, onion and potatoes. DS had fried mac & cheese, DD ate at my sisters.
Friday- not sure yet, but might be breakfast for dinner.
Saturday- After the oldest had his drive through graduation service.. we grilled at home- burgers, hot dogs, watermelon, pasta salad, baked beans, cake and ice cream
Sunday-Leftovers from Saturday Graduation grill out
Monday-steaks, baked potatoes, salad ( graduate requested but I was not doing this amount of steak for everyone on Sat!)
Tuesday- smoked turkey breast( tasted like ham) and scalloped potatoes, salad, fruit
Wednesday- chicken patty Parmesan, garlic bread and spaghetti, fresh fruit and fruit dip
Thursday- Took a bag of pre-cooked ground beef and divided it.. 1/2 with taco seasoning and 1/2 to make lettuce wraps, white rice, all the fixings.. everyone ate what they wanted
Friday- Not a clue right now... I figure leftovers will be eaten for lunch...
Monday— grilled chicken burgers with parsley potatoes kale slaw and strawberries
Tuesday— chicken salad celery with pnut butter and fresh pineapple
Wed— Mexican rice skillet. Guacamole. Chips n salsa and bean dip
Thursday— slow cooker baked beans and cucumber salad strawberry icebox pie
Friday— leftover smorgasbord fruit salad
Tacos are never wrong.
Its jut about time here to declare the oven closed for the summer. So I will start relying on my crockpot and a skillet during the week. This week we ate:
Monday - Enchilada Chicken (using this sauce recipe) over rice, with chopped fresh peppers, onion, and cilantro
Tuesday - Omelettes, tomato chickpea salad that I added avocado and cucumber to
Wednesday - Gyros with the rest of the chickpea salad, curly fries from the freezer
Thursday - Tater Tot Casserole for two made with ground turkey (so good!)
Friday - A pot of pinto beans with smoked turkey, corn muffins (I will serve two big bowls, freeze the rest)
Saturday - Going to do a cocoa spice rub on grilled baby back ribs, sweet peppers skillet, and a twice baked potato
Sunday - Fried fish, corn on the cob, the rest of sweet potato fries, green peas
*Its almost time for me to shop again and we've been doing great with going every couple of weeks or more*
OH! Here is the enchilada sauce recipe link:
https://cannaryfamily.blogspot.com/2016/06/perfect-enchilada-sauce.html
Saturday: Spent time with my family and we all brought various things.
Sunday: Cleaned out the fridge of any remnants of leftovers and more or less just did a purge. Dinner has become much less formal lately and I'll be honest if I didn't say that I hate it. I find myself more likely to snack when dinner is just time to fuel up on food.
Monday: Made sweet and sour chicken. We had no sweet and sour sauce but I used a recipe I found online.
Tuesday: Breakfast food for dinner. Bacon, eggs, fruit,
Wednesday: BLTs, salads and other foods that aren't so hot.
Thursday: Homemade pizza and crazy bread.
Friday: My daughter is having a sleepover at grandma's house tonight so it's just the two of us at home. We might get takeout but haven't yet decided.
Much grace was needed Chez WilliamB this week, which affected dinner.
- Chicken Tex Mex night. My usual Tex Mex meat is ground beef in Ortega's Skillet Taco Sauce. [1] This time I simmered cooked shredded chicken in Ad-Hoc Tex-Mex Sauce[2] instead. Served with burrito wrappers rather than the usual taco shells.
- Smorgesborg (leftovers for a sitdown meal).
- Scrounge (leftovers, not a sitdown meal), in front of the TV no less. We needed a lot of grace that day.
- Pork chops, applesauce, green beans.
- Baked pork ribs. We like them really plain and simple: sprinkle with salt, bake in oven for about 20 min. No rubs, not sauces.
[1] This stuff is GREAT. It's quick, easy, tasty, and has only wholesome ingredients.
[2] Puree 1 can Ro-Tel (any type) and a 14.5oz can of tomatoes (diced, whole, pureed, etc). Optionally, add some taco spices.
Tacos - Yes! Not had them in a while but could eat them for several days worth of meals. We're gilling chicken for the weekend. Friday! Yay! I made chicken cakes this week same as fish cake except (you know) using chicken. The recipe called for stuffing mix, so just a little different than fish cakes I make.
It was also pretty hot here (90-95), which is unusual in the bay area.
We had:
-Beef tacos (x2 nights) 🙂
-Mahi mahi tacos (apparently, tacos were a real thing this week) x2 nights
-Pizza (cauliflower crust for one, naan for another, traditional for the other two)
-Salmon + thai vegetables
-Greek takeout
It's summer here, too!
Saturday: This was the last cool-ish day this week, so we had a baked potato bar to use up some potatoes
Sunday: Grilled chicken, LO baked potatoes, and pepper salad
Monday: Brats, baked beans, carrots & dip, coleslaw
Tuesday: Tacos
Wednesday: Dinner salad - this is one of my favorite hot-weather dinners. Basically, I just cut up a bunch of veggies and some kind of meat (this week it was deli turkey, other times it's been pepperoni or LO grilled chicken or whatever I have), shred some cheese, put out a bunch of condiments (some of us like mustard on salads!) and dressings, and everyone just makes their own salad.
Thursday: LO night
Friday: Pizza night! We always do pizza, even in the summer. Sometimes on the grill, but usually just in the oven - we have a fantastic vent in our new house and the kitchen is on the east side of the house, so making pizza doesn't heat it up too much, and then we all head down to the cooler lower level to watch a movie and let the rest of the house cool off.
I'm still shopping every two weeks, so this will be a big bill again when I go shopping today.
We had pork chops two separate nights, since they come six to a pack from our farmer and there is just the two of us. We had cauliflower n' cheese and green peas one night and bok choy and something else the other night.
We had burgers with cut up raw vegetables and potato chips (plantain chips for me, and no bun)
We had stir fry this week, I think. Since I'm planning for two weeks at a time now, my menus get mixed up in my head. I used a single big chicken breast sliced thin in it, mostly it was vegetables.
At some point we had the last of the chuck roast I made in the pressure cooker. And sides, whatever they were.
The roast was pretty big, so had I cut almost half of a pound of it into small chunks and froze them. I pulled that out of the freezer one day and we had a mini-pot of stew, with carrots, celery, onion, garlic and white sweet potato.
Tonight -- depends on what I find in the stores and how late I get home from shopping after work.
Monday- vegetarian stir fry with fried egg on t
Tuesday and Wednesday- slow cooker ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and mixed vegetables
Thursday and Friday- hawaiian pizza using the above ham
Saturday - A friend came to help my husband add on to our deck, so we went big with dinner! Ribs, grilled zucchini, grilled peaches, deviled eggs, and ice cream!
Sunday - Individual pizzas on the grill
Monday - Sloppy joes and cooked carrots
Tuesday - Bacon cheeseburgers, grilled asparagus, potatoes, and smoothies
Wednesday - Spaghetti with meat and zucchini in the sauce
Thursday - Grilled chicken, mac and cheese, watermelon, and s'mores
Friday - We should be able to have a fire tonight, so I'm planning to roast hot dogs and have pineapple and ice cream. I suppose we'll grill the hot dogs if we decide it's too hot for a fire. Our grill is getting a workout. 🙂
Saturday and Sunday: moose pot roast, potatoes, cucumbers, nectarines.
Monday: Cheesy scrambled eggs, cucumbers, melon
Tuesday and Wednesday: Chicken enchiladas, more cucumbers, apples
Thursday: subs picked up from a small local place
Tonight: homemade crab cakes, the last of the cukes, fruit salad.
Last weekend- absolutely no clue but I know it included cheap family takeout once. I think it was our local burger/ice cream joint?
Monday- whole wheat spaghetti with a jar of vodka sauce to which I added ground beef and tons of carrots, peppers, and onions. My three littles adored it and had seconds.
Tuesday- a roast chicken with green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy
Wednesday- leftovers from Monday
Thursday- I was supposed to make enchiladas with the leftover chicken, but the afternoon took an unexpected turn with timing of things, so we did our Friday pizza delivery on Thursday instead.
Friday- I'm making the enchiladas that got preempted yesterday. I'm using the chicken left from Tuesday and making some with red sauce and some with white. We'll have some sliced cucumbers, and a side of cooked broccoli too.
I enjoy seeing what everyone else made, as it gives me some good ideas. Here's what we had:
Saturday - takeout from Longhorn and a socially distant dinner with friends on our back porch
Sunday - can't remember what we had after church, but we had popcorn & apples for supper.
That's our traditional Sunday supper.
Monday - Fresh green beans & red potatoes with bacon in the crockpot, roasted brussels sprouts and some leftover beef with sauce from the freezer.
Tuesday - Stuffed peppers, fresh broccoli, leftover beans & potatoes.
Wednesday - Takeout from a local place.
Thursday - Leftovers from Wednesday take-out and salad.
Friday - I think I am going to do chicken nachos, using up lettuce and fresh veggies sides from our Misfits Market produce box and our CSA bag.
Does cooking for the dog count? One of our dogs has been sick this week with a digestive upset and I wound up making freezer meals for her. She is allergic to so many things that it has become hard to find commercial dog food for her, so right now she's on a vet-approved homemade diet.
For the humans, there were several “use up the leftovers" meals, along with a couple of sandwich/smoothie nights. The real cooking night involved slow cooking a pork roast for sandwiches, which were made with whole wheat bread, caramelized onions, garlic dill pickles, spicy mustard, and served with potato chips and sliced nectarines.
First, I hope your dog is feeling better.
Secondly, oh my word, that pork roast sandwich night sounds heavenly!
She is much better, thank you. She is a rescue dog and the sweetest little girl.
That roast as sandwich pesto meal is staying in the menu rotation. It was super easy to do and just incredibly delicious.
I have no idea why auto correct randomly threw "pesto" into my reply above!
I can't remember the whole week, but I know there was vinegar potato chip crusted cod, ham steaks, and homemade pizza. There was also a night where my teen son and I split a box of mac and cheese because it was the closest thing to a night off of cooking I'd had since mid-March. My husband and daughter drove two states away that night to pack up her things from her dorm room - this was the earliest she was allowed into her dorm since she left for Spring Break in early March - so I hit that Easy Button hard. I felt terrible since his high school "graduation" was earlier that day, but it was all I had the mental energy for after one family member had a full-blown panic attack since no one at the school was wearing a mask or social distancing. I'm just done with this school and so very glad my children are, too. Now, on to college...hopefully...
We finally splashed out and purchased a BBQ, I’ve been wanting one for ages and it’s so exciting!!
Sunday - hot dogs on the bbq, salad and veggie skewers.
Monday - burgers on the bbq, salad and veggie skewers
Then the weather turned and it’s rained every day so no more bbq meals
Tuesday- chicken fajitas
Wednesday - homemade chilli (from the freezer) and couscous
Thursday- breakfast for dinner
Friday- DSs make pizza
Tonight - Chinese takeout
Tomorrow- I’m planning on roast chicken, roast potatoes, carrots, beans and peas but as I have to take my dad for a CT scan tomorrow I’m not sure as plans may change.
The appointment lasts 2 hours at least and as only mom can accompany him into the hospital I am going to meet my best friend who lives close to the hospital for a socially distanced walk in a local park. I haven’t seen her or any females except my mom and MIL since 23rd March, I’ve so missed female companionship. Talking on the phone/Zoom/messaging is a poor substitute for face to face interaction. I have a DH and two sons but as even the dog is a boy I’m looking forward to catching up!!
Monday--Pork bbq, pea salad, pickled beets
Tuesday--Roasted veggies with chunks of roasted Spam, watermelon
Wednesday--Ham and cheese roll-up and chips
Thursday--Turkey sandwich, pea salad and watermelon
Friday--Pizza and salad
Saturday--Shrimp stir fry with rice
Homemade ice cream for dessert a couple of nights
$16 on fish, working backward.
Friday: chicken salad with capers and olives, green beans
Thursday: poached skatewing with red wine vinegar, caper butter sauce; rice; sauréed zucchini, with kale and garlic scapes from the garden
Wednesday: Kawloon Chinses takeout!
Tuesday: Argentine empanadas with cilantro caper sauce, big salad
Monday: Red Thai tofu curry with veg over rice
Sunday: crispy peppercorn chicken wings; salad
Saturday: homemade pizza, saad
Just had to share because it made me laugh, and maybe will bring a smile to others too:)
My husband and I were quietly on the internet, on opposite couches, each doing our own thing. Then he asks, "what are you up to?". I said, "oh reading the Frugal Girl". He then asks, "anything good on there?". I said, "yeah, she had tacos 3x this week." He pauses, thinking I'm joking. Like there wouldn't be such topics on a blog. Then he says, "She puts what she eats up on there?". Me: "Yes, every week. Lots of women do". Too funny to think about everyday life blog culture and my man's surprise at what we read/share about:)
Not this week but in the past month we made both the fish cakes and the Korean wraps. Both were delicious and we will definitely make again!