WIS, WWA | Tired times
What I Spent
I spent:
- $72 at Aldi
- $20 at Domino's
So, $92.
What We Ate
Saturday
I worked all day, and I am unsure of what I had to eat when I got home! I have a picture of me after the shift but no food appears in the frame. Hmmm.
Sunday
I made some grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, with some fruit on the side.
Monday
I had a new grad hospital training day, which involves a lot of sitting. And it always reminds me that I'm glad my actual nursing practice is not heavy on the seated hours.
Naan pizzas with sauteed green beans on the side.
Tuesday
I went in for an overnight shift, and before I headed out, I just ate a ham sandwich.
And then for my overnight meal, I had sweet potatoes, yellow peppers, and shrimp, topped with some sriracha mayo. Plus some fruit.
Wednesday
Honestly, just a repeat of Tuesday, both in the sandwich that I ate and the lunch that I packed.
I am in survival mode when I do night shifts; I am not about to be creative. 😉
Thursday
Last day of class for Zoe!! I asked her what she might like in honor of the occasion, and she chose stuffed crust pizza from Domino's.
This was perfect because I was exhausted.
Friday
I should be feeling more like myself today! I have some butternut squashes that need to be used, so maybe I will make some soup.
I feel more cheerful today because for at least the next five weeks, I have ZERO night shifts. Yay!!
This week we ate away all the healthy leftovers we had in our freezer, because we were so busy.
I will need to cook meals that will provide new leftovers, in the coming days. Also I foresee a meal prepping/ veg slicing session this weekend.
Saturday: Baked sweet potato with some sauteed vegetables
Sunday: Burritos with rice, beans and mixed vegetables with homemade garlic bread on the side
Monday: Aubergine and spinach over spaghetti
Tuesday: Chilli mac and cheese
Wednesday: Aubergine curry over rice
Thursday: Leftover chilli mac and cheese from Tuesday
Friday: Undecided! Possibly burritos again
We had an expensive week: $188 at our usual grocery store, $105 on one dinner out, and I spent $52 at Whole Foods, for a few food and HBA items that are only available there.
Saturday—leftover homemade pizza with red grapes
Sunday—we went to a Christmas choral concert and then out to dinner afterwards. Two entrees and one dessert were $85. I know restaurant prices have risen, but this seems like a lot to me. I left a little larger than usual tip—it’s Christmas!
Monday—I used Kristen’s brinerade (thank you Kristen) and made pan cooked chicken strips, with the mushrooms and onions I had pre-cooked earlier to save them from the waste bin. I baked a whole squash—so easy!—to have on the side
Tuesday—I made beef stew in the crockpot and used some frozen rolls leftover from Thanksgiving
Wednesday—cheese omelet and roasted broccoli
Thursday—leftover beef stew and more rolls from the freezer
Friday—plan is for smash burgers, yummy Tru pickles, and roasted cubed sweet potatoes
YAY for no night shifts for weeks! I have a friend who started a part time job as a patient assistant at a children's hospital and because of child care and the fact that aside from her husband she has no "village", she had to take night shifts. I do not envy her.
This week's theme was "I actually cooked something because classes are done."
Monday: I made chicken alfredo with spaghetti; green peas and broccoli on the side. We found a recipe for alfredo sauce that we tweaked to have less Parmesan cheese, as most jarred alfredo sauce, according to half the boys, smells like feet. The homemade sauce is received with much excitement. This was my "Thank you for putting up with my crazy month of classes" meal for them.
Tuesday: DS#2 made vegetable chili, tossing in a bit of the chicken leftover from Monday, and it was very good. This is the one singular soup that DS#4 will eat, because he likes to think of himself as a tough guy eating 'spicy' food.
Wednesday: DS#3 made taco fixings.
Thursday: DH made salmon, and his sides were veggies and scrambled eggs, as eggs were apparently on sale.
Tonight is going to be turkey stew for most of us, mac and cheese for DS#4.
I made both a huge cottage pie plus a big cous cous salad. Between those, we had leftovers plus a birthday meal out. I've been eating a lot of toast when just me, with clementines.
Saturday: I had opened one of the food-service-sized cans of crushed tomatoes my sister brought me when she and her friend closed down the kitchen at the camp they volunteered at. I used some of the tomatoes this night to make a spaghetti sauce with Italian sausage, and then I used some of the bell peppers my mom had brought (my family knows they can always show up with food 🙂 ) to make peppers and onions. Separately, because not everyone would have enjoyed that in their spaghetti sauce. We had a green salad, too.
Sunday: I cooked one of the EIGHT pork butts my husband brought home (he can't pass up a good deal on meat). I always cook pork like this with just salt and water, then season it when I re-heat and crisp it. This time, I re-heated it with soy sauce, vinegar, and maple syrup while I was roasting green beans. I made rice with the juices from the pork. Chocolate pudding for Sunday dessert.
Monday: We were at church until 6 p.m. I had made curried split peas earlier in the day, so when I got home, all I had to do for those was add some cream and re-heat. I fried leftover plain pork and heated up leftover rice, too. And quickly cut up some cucumbers.
Tuesday: I subbed at school and then went straight to First Communion class with my daughter, getting home at 5:45 p.m. We had enough leftover chili from Friday for everyone, thankfully. I supplemented that with corn tortillas and cheese. I don't remember a separate vegetable, but I put a lot of squash in my chili to thicken it and add a bit of sweetness, so I'll say that was the vegetable.
Wednesday: I had enough leftover pork for half the family. For the other half, I cooked a package of jalapeno-cheddar sausages. Then I made mashed potatoes, re-heated the last of the curried split peas, and made a salad.
Thursday: I cooked two of the roosters we got from our neighbor, just with salt, pepper, thyme, and olive oil. Thankfully, these were young enough that they were quite tender. I also had a skillet of potatoes and onion in olive oil in the oven at the same time, as well as some broccoli. Those who don't like cooked broccoli had it raw.
Tonight: I'm baking bread today, so I think I'll use some of the dough to make buns for hamburgers. Also while the oven is on I'll make baked apples with some of the many Granny Smiths our elderly friend brought us, and then some oven fries. My husband and younger two boys will be doing stonework all day and they will need a very substantial meal when they get home. The green salad I will add to it doesn't help with the substantialness, but I am a mom, after all, and moms insist on vegetables of some kind. 🙂
@kristin @ going country,
Those food service-sized cans used to be called #10 cans. Not sure if that's still a thing, or the history behind it. 🙂
@kristin @ going country, Very impressed with 8 pork butts. There are only 2 people in my household and we just made one last weekend even though most people think it's too much for 2 people. I do end up freezing some usually, which is not a problem for us. Sometimes I pre-make a few work lunches with veggie sides so they're easy to pull from the freezer.
I treat it much the same - season simply to cook, then add flavors or sauces when reheating/serving so the whole thing stays versatile for all kinds of meals. I usually take mine in a Mexican or Caribbean direction so thanks for your flavor combo idea which is a little different! I also like to take the bone and cooking juices and make some beans from dried. Makes using up allll the yummy goodness easier and then I'm not left with fat or juice or broth at the end that I'm sad about wasting.
I'm always so impressed with your creativity both in flavors and avoiding food waste!
It's a heavy on leftovers/freezer-pantry clean out month. Trying to spend as little as possible, which makes for interesting, if not somewhat boring meals.
WIS: Approximately $97, mostly at Food Lion, though two items were bought at Walmart Market because I had a gift card.
WWA: Leftover mustard chicken, followed by pizza. Vaguely Asian inspired roast chicken. For today, pork ribs in barbecue sauce with carrots. Sides of fresh fruit. The last of the turkey-butternut pasta dish from the freezer and some potato-ham soup from the freezer, with cheese, crackers and fruit on the side.
So glad that you are done with your class & night shifts for at least 5 weeks! Very exciting.
I had a super busy week with work stuff & life in general, so we ate a lot of leftovers.
We had:
-Egg roll in a bowl x2
-Chicken fajita rice x2
-Grilled burgers (freezer) on salads for 2, and on a burger for DS19
-I was out to dinner last night with friends, and had a French dip + salad. I brought the other half home for DS19, who ate that as his dinner, supplemented with random fridge leftovers.
For tonight, I'm exhausted & it's Friday, so who knows. Depends on whether either of the teens have to work. I might make soup? Or, roast some veggies & serve that with eggs?
I cooked a LOT this week. It was cold in NC so I think everyone appreciated the cozy nature of the meals.
Monday - potato soup using leftover Thanksgiving mashed potatoes.
Tuesday - chicken stew and biscuits. I made tons because I signed up for a Meal Train. Chicken stew for everyone!
Wednesday - Breakfast. My 11 year old daughter made pancakes, eggs, and hash browns!! I made the bacon. A treat to be served dinner, for real.
Thursday - Smitten Kitchen's Beans, greens, sausage in tomato sauce, topped with mozzarella. Kids had it over pasta, we had polenta.
Friday - leftovers.
Happy weekend to all!
Your comment about little sitting during a shift made me wonder - how many steps are you getting most work days? Just curious.
It depends so much on how the day goes, but often around five miles.
However, there’s also a lot of standing, and sometimes I think that’s more exhausting than the walking!
@Kristen, I find standing for too long to be really hard on my lower back and find myself constantly shifting my weight.
Yup, exactly. But walking doesn't make my back hurt at all.
Have I missed what Zoe is going to school for or has she decided yet? I know she is relieved for the break.
I spent an unusually low number of $65.32. We have been eating down the freezer to clean it out of any old stock by the new year so I'm only buying dairy, bread, and fresh veggies for now.
We ate:
Saturday: wasn't hungry for anything specific so DH had tuna salad and I had a sweet potato and a salad
Sunday: white beans with ham over a slice of sourdough bread
Monday: chicken casserole with salad
Tuesday: beef brats with asparagus
Wednesday: mix of leftovers
Thursday: pulled bbq, roasted potatoes, and salad.
Friday: I don't know. Maybe pizza or easy button grilled cheese and salad.
She’s just doing Gen Ed classes for right now and she’s a little bit undecided about what direction to go after this. But hey, a Gen Ed two year transfer degree is perfect for such a situation!
@Kristen, it definitely is the way to go until you are firm on what you want to study!
Yup! And the community college lets you do it on a budget.
Saturday - We had homemade pizza and breadsticks, plus a store-bought gluten-free pizza for my daughter's gluten-free friend.
Sunday - Chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans
Monday - We got a last-minute invite to swim with friends after school, so I scrapped our Plan A and we had chicken nuggets, shells and cheese, and salad
Tuesday - Sheet pan ham and cheese hashbrowns, plus peas on the side
Wednesday - A snow day cancelled both school and our evening plans, so we did a Home Alone night! Our kids hadn't seen the movie before (it's one of my faves!) and we themed dinner around the movie - Little Caesar's pizza, Pepsi ("Fuller, go easy on the Pepsi!), and ice cream sundaes. It was so fun!
Thursday - Shepherd's pie and - because I needed an easy side - BBQ chips
Friday - My daughter wants to make dinner, which is great because I'll be eating at a women's event at church. She wants to make quesadillas. I will get some fruit to go with it.
@Ruth T, I love your Home Alone theme night. That's one of the movies we watch every Advent--we watch one Christmas movie every Sunday of Advent--and my kids would love the foods to go with it. I'm not sure I want to start yet another tradition that requires me to make specific food in the Christmas season, but I'm considering it now . . .
I feel like this week's theme was "the plan was......" Thankfully meal plans are flexible.
Friday: My husband called to let me know he would be cooking me dinner! He made Chicken Française over angel hair pasta and sauteed spinach.
Saturday: The plan was leftovers. The reality was neither of us was hungry after an impromptu happy hour/heavy apps while Christmas shopping. Late night snacks were enjoyed.
Sunday: Classico Two Sauce Lasagna (no Classico sauce was used, ha).
Monday: Instant Pot Pork Ramen
Tuesday: Quick Beef Bourguignonne over mashed potatoes. Thankfully this recipe comes together quickly because I had been driving for three hours in a snowstorm. Hearty comfort food was very welcome.
Wednesday: I had planned to make a chicken dish that used a pack of chicken thighs but my husband used the pack while meal prepping his lunches on Sunday (he had his own pack but used both). I brought home a huge container of cooked chicken from a catered work lunch so I pulled together a Green Chili Chicken Pasta Casserole. I ended up using so many odds and ends in this dish that I was no longer frustrated that I had to do a last minute pivot.
Thursday: I had planned on leftovers but my husband offered to bring home pizza from his favorite pizza place. I rounded out dinner with blackberries, fresh carrots, and ranch dip.
WIS: $35 at Price Chopper and $31 at Ollie's.
WIA: Best thing was a squash and red lentil soup, made with some more Honeynut squashes from the Regional Market a few weeks ago (these taste wonderful but don't seem to keep as well as other winter squash, so I figured I'd better use them). Most adventurous thing was a fish curry, made with some tilapia from the freezer plus some ancient basmati rice and a packet of korma sauce (decidedly past its best-by date) from the back of the pantry. And I didn't die. 🙂
@A. Marie,
I get it about not dying after eating something well past its best-buy date. I ate an ancient (in food years) packet of pre-made chickpea masala over rice for two lunchs this week, and I'm still here to tell the tale. 🙂
@A. Marie, there are a few things that are a "not gonna eat/use it when past best-by date". Some are okay but I will tell you Jiffy cornbread mix is quite edible past best-by but doesn't rise all that much. Next time we'll try adding some baking powder (which reminds me of how old my can is!) if we want a "thicker" cornbread.
Canned tomatoes much past best-use by are not a risk I want to take. I have friends who despite my post-Covid as well as felon election "winner" don't a) be objective about what they buy and b) do pantry management well. I will be sending them a gentle reminder to look through their pantries. While I understand food banks have rules and standards, better to donate before items hit their best-use by date.
Sunday family dinner dinner sausages, sauerkraut, oven roasted butternut squash, garlic rolls, apple pies.
Monday leftover sausage cut up, sauteed green beans, mushrooms, onions, fried apples.
Tues chicken alfredo, green salad
Wed leftovers
Thurs elk fajitas, pineapple tamales from a friend
Fri leftover fajitas, fried apples
Sat going to a bbq potluck I'm taking a baked brie cheese board and peppermint hot cocoa.
Yay for a break from night shifts! I was wondering if you will be able to avoid them altogether once you are more senior? Or is that just part of the normal schedule for nurses no matter what?
I am hopeful for that; after my first year, I will see if I can negotiate something!
@Kristen, you need to find someone who dislikes nights - aka horse trading if allowed.
We should have a "Write a Caption" contest for Chiquita photos. My vote for today's is "I have that woman wrapped around my cute furry paws."
@JDinNM, mine would be "That's not a plump tummy, that's excess belly fur."
@JDinNM, mine"Does my winter coat make me look fat?"
Sunday: Zuppa Toscana soup and homemade bread
Monday: toasted subs and french fries
Tuesday: Meatloaf, baked sweet potatoes, green beans
Wednesday: Grilled cheese sandwiches for hubby and grilled ham and cheese for me
Thursday: Chicken alfredo, and hubby had bread too, sweet pickles
Friday: Tonight we are trying a new sausage flavor from our favorite meet market....sweet italian swedish fish sausage, mac n cheese, a veggie
Saturday: Friend's house to celebrate their daughter's 16th birthday
Sunday: Burritos with guac and fruit
Monday: Taquitos with guac and fruit
Tuesday: Black channa, roti, rice, and dal
Wednesday: Ate out while getting some things checked off the to-do list
Thursday: Crispy tofu bowls with roasted sweet potatoes, bell peppers, steamed broccoli, carrots, etc.
Friday: Meeting friends to celebrate a 50th birthday. Kids will likely eat ramen bowls topped with some of the veggies from yesterday.
I filled in for a night nurse early on in my career for about 3 months. I thought I was going to die. I had no idea how I made it home every morning. I was physically ill from the wonky sleep and naps. Never again. Once you are no longer on the bottom rung as a new nurse is does get much better.
My husband came home with inexpensive, ($6.50 each) yet delicious bahn mi sandwiches after work last night. The restaurant is close to his new job, so we may make this a Thursday tradition, as that's his "Friday."
Ooooh, that sounds like a perfect plan!
I will never willingly work night shifts. Everyone's schedule in Imaging stays pretty much the same - even our nurses. I feel like I make a menu lately, then barely follow it!
Monday - Green Chili Chicken Crockpot, rice, corn (this was YUM)
Tuesday - Thanksgiving Shepherd's Pie for one
Wednesday - I was supposed to eat a dinner salad with sliced chicken breast, but I had something else entirely and forget what it was
Thursday - Again, supposed to eat Quiche for One with bacon, skillet potatoes, but ending up getting a chicken sammie from Short Stop which I was not sad about.
Friday - Ate a stuffed sweet potato with lettuce wrap chicken filling and the rest of a salad from one of my kids coming to enjoy a spaghetti lunch with me. (:
Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed, but I have things planned and packed
It was a super busy week, so I am giving myself lots of meal-planning grace!
Yep, I only work them when forced. lol
Saturday: fried eggs, toast, raspberries
Sunday: BLT
Monday: scrambled egg crepe
Tuesday: BLT
Wednesday: chopped salad
Thursday: Reuben sandwich
Friday: Reuben sandwich
I repeat a lot because I live alone and there are always leftovers. I'm just warning you, the Reuben will make another appearance!
Night shift’s are not easy, it takes a different kind of person for them and I salute them?
I am surprised. your hospital requires moving from shift to shift. Many hospitals don't do that anymore. Any chance you can JUST get onto DAY SHIFT soon?? Hope so.Congrats on having that class behind you and getting an A!!
Any chance your hospital will let people just work one shift or the other?SO you don’t have to do nights/I know they did me in!!!