WIS, WWA | under the clouds
What I Spent
You know how on Thursday I was like, "Oooh, it's gonna finally be sunny today!"?
Well, it wasn't. BOO.
Just still cloudy and damp all day.
Maaaaaybe today the sun will peek out.
I spent:
- $50 at Safeway
And that's it! It was a low-spending week for me.
What We Ate
Saturday
I made French toast with berries and whipped cream....and I was lucky enough to snag the last container of whipped cream at Safeway.
Happily, the cream shortage is not as terrible as it was last holiday season though. I had trouble finding cream from Thanksgiving-Christmas last year.
Sunday
I made chicken fingers to use up some random pieces of chicken in my freezer, and we had fruit on the side.
Monday
We had a simple dinner of ham, rolls, and fruit salad.
Tuesday
I made Zoe's fave baked ham sandwiches (mission use-up-the-ham!) and served them with some fruit and sliced veggies.
Wednesday
Zoe didn't get home until later, so she ate some leftover sandwiches. For myself, I sauteed a single chicken thigh from the freezer, topped it with a chive/sour cream sauce, and I also had some oven fries and a broccoli salad.
Thursday
I made burgers, potato cubes, and sauteed broccoli.
Friday
I made a batch of butternut squash soup earlier in the week so maybe that'll be dinner.
We had a lot of rain and considerable wind too. The mosses are gorgeous.
In no particular order we had red cabbage (twice), french beans, brussels sprouts, vegetable soup. I cannot recall the sixth day. Today will be a vegetarian millet dish and for new years eve most likely hamburgers and salad.
Have a good new years eve all, and best wishes for 2024.
I think you'll have sun today. This is a purely non-scientific thinking, maybe hoping? At least, just west of you, the sun came out by noon-ish. I can't remember exactly.
I don't have time to write everything, but for Christmas I did something odd. I followed not one, but two recipes exactly. I made date nut bread for dessert (we decided this recipe was too sweet), and bourbon orange glazed turkey was served as the main dish. One son said this was so good that it was the first turkey he'd eaten that had any real flavor.
@Jody S., Wait, what? I definitely need that bourbon orange turkey recipe!
@Jody S., that turkey recipe sounds interesting. Like your son, I too find turkey flavorless.
@KJ, It is from a magazine I received as a gift, but I found it online here: https://southerncastiron.com/skillet-roasted-turkey-with-bourbon-orange-glaze/.
Looks like rain all day here for me (still). Maybe chance of sun on Saturday or Monday but looks better on next Tuesday for sunshine here. I miss the sunshine also.
What I spent---
Meijer $56.72
Family Fare $52.49
What we ate---
●teen eating usual popcorn & box of Blueberry chex cereal as snacks almost everyday
●Pork chops with agratin potatoes
●pulled chicken sliders
●Spiral ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, Hawaiian rolls
●leftovers
●ham sliders, shells & cheese
●pizza/leftovers
●breakfast sandwiches--scrambled eggs, bacon & cheese with American fries
Cloudy here too in KY, & not much sun forecast for the next few days. I’ll manage somehow. I always do.
I gave up on tracking spending the last part of the month. It was more than usual as I was also buying some things for those with special diets. It’s hard to remember what we ate on which days, so in no particular order:
Gumbo over rice, prepared by my dear DIL
Pizza delivery - 2 large
Turkey, ham & all the Christmas feast fixings
Leftovers for another day of Christmas food
Leftovers for sandwiches
“Fend for Yourself” night with whatever is available
I confess that I am looking forward to a January reset, not only for my surroundings, but also for myself. HappyNew Year!
That picture of the cat was perfect placement. She looks just how I feel when we're in a cloud. (We're at a high elevation, so often instead of a cloud being above us, it's around us. Looks like fog, but it's a cloud.)
Saturday: We didn't get home until 5 p.m. from Mass, and I was going to make tuna salad and serve it with the many crackers left from my contribution to the elementary school Christmas party, but . . . instead I made a hot tuna dip. Which basically involved adding every kind of fat possible to the tuna and baking it. It was okay, although a little overpoweringly rich. I had also set out carrots and radishes with dip beforehand, to ensure vegetable consumption.
Sunday: I made chili the day before so we could have Frito pie this night. Not a traditional holiday meal at all, but I appreciated staying out of the kitchen for one day. Well, except for making eggnog (I use the Mel's Kitchen recipe) so we could have that for dessert with the molasses cookies I made the day before.
Monday: Ham, scalloped potatoes, green salad with vinaigrette, and our traditional Christmas mushrooms. (The story on the mushrooms is on my blog today.) And chocolate roulade.
Tuesday: I made some toasted burritos with leftover chili, cheese, and flour tortillas. There were also carrot sticks.
Wednesday: For my birthday, I made myself sausage, roasted potatoes, and green salad with vinaigrette. I prefer to make my own birthday dinner, because then I know it will be exactly as I like it. I do not, however, do any dishes whatsoever. Happy birthday to me. For dessert, one son made brownies, so we had brownies and ice cream, plus leftover salted caramel sauce from a previous birthday.
Thursday: Elk steaks, garlic bread, green salad with vinaigrette, leftover brownies
Tonight: I have more elk steak left, which I will use for . . . something. Stir-fry? Stroganoff? I'll figure it out sometime today.
She looks so comfy, doesn't she??
@kristin @ going country, Happy belated birthday! Your birthday dessert sounds delicious!
It continues cloudy, foggy, and drizzly in Central NY as well. But our mantra here when it rains in the winter is "It could be snow."
Now, WIS: $65 at Wegmans and $17 at Price Chopper.
WIA: The Two Fat Ladies lamb dish I served for Christmas Eve dinner (once I woke up, that is!), on repeat. Fortunately, (a) this is a seasonal treat for me and I love it; and (b) I can outlast any leftovers whatever!
@A. Marie,
Ha! As a teacher, whenever it rains in the winter, I always think "Damn it! This should be snow! What a waste!"
@A. Marie, I have one month of Amazon Prime that I bought accidently so I hoped to redeem the error with Two Fat Ladies. Seven episodes of Season 2 show up in my list but there is this nasty message "This video is currently unavailable to watch in your location." I suppose I live on the wrong side of the railroad tracks??
@Elaine N, Yes, and the railroad track is the Atlantic Ocean. Sadly.
also, just FYI, the second season is on Youtube. Quality isn't great, but it's there.
We had an overly elaborate Christmas Eve meal on Sunday: Beef Wellington, mashed potatoes, red wine gravy, roasted parsnips with honey and sprouts with pancetta and chestnuts. English Christmas pudding with brandy butter for dessert.
Monday: we ate out. I had a truly delicious endive salad to start, then lentils with more parsnips and scallops (gave the scallops to Son), mushroom risotto (other choices were lobster thermidor or prime rib), and eggnog creme brulee for dessert.
Tuesday: more wellington
Wednesday: Son drove into the city to see a movie and picked up Chinese from Chinatown.
Thursday: more leftovers
Friday: no idea. Maybe sweet sliders--which Son is sick of but he's going away for the weekend. Still tons of food around.
@Rose, you sure do know how to live! That Christmas Eve dinner was impressive. Did you do all that cooking??
I have never in my life given someone my scallops. lol I keep those ALL to myself!
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, Yep. I did it in stages. Only way I can without dropping dead from exhaustion. Parboiled the sprouts, peeled the potatoes, cut up the shallot (for gravy), and toasted the chestnuts early. The pudding was made weeks ago; brandy butter is literally softened butter with some brandy in it. The parsnips roasted along with the meat. Gravy is sauteeing the shallot in butter with a splash of brandy, thyme from the garden, beef stock, red wine, pepper. My kids talked me into it--I am putty in their grubby paws.
@Kristen, I haaaaaate shellfish and fish. Sorry, everyone! Meanwhile, my son's favorite food is lobster. His starter was oysters and caviar while I had the salad.
You'd like it here. Large fishing fleet and a friend of mine's husband is a bayman, who brings in fresh scallops, clams etc daily at reasonable prices.
I actually think lobster is a little overrated. I find it to be a little too chewy. I prefer shrimp or scallops!
@Rose,
I also hate all fish and seafood, but my family loves it. I have gotten to where I can eat some fish (salmon, tilapia or tuna) if my husband makes it in a non-fishy way, but I just can't do seafood. There's just too many objectionable attributes to something like shrimp-the taste, the smell, the rubbery texture, the googly little eyes...just nope. Plus, it's expensive. I let my family have it all.
Oh yeah, there's no point in a frugal person eating shellfish unless they really love it! There are much cheaper proteins that you can enjoy more.
@Becca, I take my son out for a ridiculously expensive lobster meal for his birthday every year--he loves this place because they grill the lobsters if you like. He starts with oysters. I have a burger and start with crudites. I'm a cheap date. Besides, I genuinely like burgers. It's my opinion oysters are even more disgusting than shrimp--he eats them raw. Yuck. Whatever, it takes all sorts.
My mother started him on this road. Once we sat down at an eatery when he was two and ordered him a one-pound lobster. The entire waitstaff watched as he put away every bite, ha!
I do not like oysters either. I ate one raw, from a friend who bought them, and while I could get it down, there was no joy in the process for me. So I think oysters are just wasted on me!
@Becca, Also--tilapia is a freshwater fish and it is usually farm raised in utterly revolting conditions in the Far East. I'd avoid it for your entire family.
@Rose,
Don't even get me started on oysters...why would anyone want to swallow a big, rank-smelling loogey?
@Becca, and pay a lot for the privilege! Which reminds me of the time my old boss (now a dear pal), after a $$$$ Christmas staff dinner at the Four Seasons, insisted on taking me to Petrossian to try caviar. Not sure how many bottles of Pol Roger I'd drunk by then (my favorite champagne) but he talked me into it. I said it tasted like the stuff you scrape off an aquarium. I think that must have been the most expensive meal in my entire life. (All charged to our tech company.)
@Becca,
Exactly.....I also hate fish and seafood (can eat very mild white fish). The - what one of my sisters would call - googley texture (loogey-like) is disgusting to me. My oldest sister LOVES raw oysters....she can have my share.
@Becca, We were in Maine this fall and stayed at a place known for its oysters. We found a place that was open to eat the first evening, excited to eat some local seafood. When we asked if the oysters were local, the waitress was a little squirmy and said that the oysters were from the Chesapeake Bay; we live in Maryland! Some of our family tried the oysters, but they were all fried. Meh.
I see lots of ham and ham sliders were consumed this week. My family was no exception!
Dinners this week included:
1. Vegan Mexican lasagna with salad
2. Ham sliders, shrimp pasta, turkey, shrimp corn chowder, fruit, veggies (potluck)
3. Vegan Swedish meatballs with rice and broccoli
4. Leftovers
5. Bean soup (with ham) and salad
6. Burrito bowl/burrito from Qdoba
7. Tonight will likely be tofu stir fry
Your dinners look simple and perfect - thats what I was aiming for on Christmas and I think I did good. I have a lot of ham leftover, too. Next year I am not fixing one!
Monday - Spiral Ham, corn casserole, Caesar salad, rolls
Tuesday - The rest of the pulled pork from Christmas Eve over baked potatoes with salad on the side
Wednesday - Chicken Ramen Pad Thai (this was meh but we ate it all)
Thursday - Chicken Thighs cooked over the rest of the Thanksgiving stuffing, fresh green beans
Friday - Cranberry Pork Sausages with some skillet potatoes and the rest of that romaine (unless I eat it for lunch)
Saturday - Monday - I am not cooking because its back to work for me and we have plenty of containers made up in the freezer, but I am continuing to use up food we already have with my menus next week and will shop for whatever on Tuesday. Happy New Year! Hopefully you will get sun today!
https://cannaryfamily.blogspot.com/
The constant rain gets me down too.
WIS: Ok, so I went into Aldi even though I didn't need to...I also went into the random crap aisle...I spent, um, 335.24 and like 150 of that was not even food...but my youngest son picked out lots of presents for his older brother's birthday, so I have a very virtuous excuse. 😉 Also, we got about a dozen vaccines yesterday, so we picked up pizza for a treat lunch and that was another 37 and change, so like 373 to end out the year. It could be worse.
WWA:
Fri: orange slices, apple sauce and mozzarella focaccia.
Sat: carrots and hummus and air fried leftover focaccia.
Sun: Christmas Eve! We had arugula salad, cheese lasagna and sourdough baguettes with butter. Reindeer ice cream for dessert.
Mon: Christmas, and we had leftover lasagna, arugula salad, leftover baguette with butter and Mexican street corn. Then we had "blind bag" holiday ice cream for dessert-there was only one left of reindeer, Christmas tree and snowman ice creams but they all had white wrappers so we randomly chose one. Cheap fun.
Tue: we had bibimbap bowls with jasmine rice, Korean pears, red pepper, cucumber, carrots and fried eggs plus gochujang sauce.
Wed: birthday boy wanted personal pizzas, so we got little crusts from Aldi and put out a billion toppings: mostly vegetables, but also mozzarella, Parmesan, and feta cheeses, turkey bacon and pineapple pieces. We also had box salad with spray dressing. Then we had a hilariously precarious birthday cake that tasted great.
Thu: box salad and leftover pizzas air fried. Leftover birthday cake-this time it was in a more ice cream-like format, but still very good.
Fri: we've had a lot of pizza this week, so I think we will have fancy ramen bowls tonight. And definitely more of that birthday cake ice cream. It's taking up my big salad bowl!
I hope everyone has a very Happy New Year!
@Becca, I have no Aldi but am so curious (one is coming to the town 35 miles away). Please elaborate on "random crap aisle" for this inquiring mind so I know what to look forward to!
@Central Calif. Artist Jana,
Not @Becca, but Aldi stores have what is jokingly called the "Aisle of Shame" that has non-food items - household/kitchen items, home decor, candles, clothing, gardening items, small kid's toys, gift items, etc. They're usually pretty stylish, and not terribly expensive - so, it's very easy to decide you *need* an ombre-dipped set of ceramic mixing bowls. :-). The stock changes weekly, too.
I can say, I've bought some very useful items there (like windshield covers for winter use).
@Liz B.,
Yup. It's about two-three central aisles of rotating stock that is truly best described as random crap. Some of it is seasonal food itsms, but a lot of it isn't. It's usually pretty good crap, though, and because it rotates out every week (on Wednesdays), if you go on a Wednesday you can often get last week's crap deeply discounted. It's also good to go on Wednesday if you see something you want advertized in the circular because, as the signs will tell you, "when it's gone, it's gone!" Generally there is a rhythm to what's available, like with other stores: Christmas stuff in December, health type things in January, rain boots in March, etc but there's also no guarantee that you will see the same items the next year. There are websites devoted to these aisles maintained by Aldi devotees with reviews of items. If you are curious, just search for "aisle of shame" or "Aldi finds."
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, our local ones (have not been to any others) is considered general merchandise. Currently dog shirts/coats, candles, holiday decorations, household, few toys, welcome mats, small seasonal appliances (mini waffle makers), seasonal pjs/leggins & socks. I'm sure there was more but new items come in at beginning of month & go quickly sometimes. From what I understand, the rarely get same/more product in later so is while supplies last.
@Liz B., Becca, Regina—thank you! I will google it (actually duckduckgo it) and vicariously enjoy without spending $ or acquiring unnecessary plastic items.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana,
Some of it is plastic, for sure, but not all of it. I call it random crap because it is truly random, especially for a grocery store, but most of it is pretty decent quality. Just today I got complimented on my shoes which I bought during my recent haul. They are light blue, fur-lined Birken-knocks and I paid 3.25 for them because they were clearanced. Generally their shoes are between 20 and 40 dollars at full price and I have bought quite a few pairs for me and my kids over the years. They hold up reasonably well for the price and they tend to be pretty cute styles. Nothing super fancy, but good for daily wear.
@Becca,
I want to thank you for the wonderful description of the birthday cake “fiasco”, my word not yours. You are my kind of adventurous baker! I had a good laugh at your efforts and your family clearly appreciated the cake. You are making some great memories for future family remembrances! Happy New Year to you all.
Vickymac
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, all three Aldi's near me have an aisle that has seasonal items, items that didn't sell during the season, interesting new things, all kinds of things. I've bought candles, candy, coloring books, kitchen utensils, cutting boards. I've seen sleeping bags, leggings, flower pots, battery chargers... "random crap" describes it pretty well. I've never spent as much money as Becca on that aisle, but then I don't shop there with kids or grandkids.
@Elaine N,
Man, you guys, that random crap aisle is definitely my frugal Achilles heel, but, in my defense, I very rarely shop anywhere else.
@Elaine N,
Also, in the interest of full transparency, I feel I should confess that this particular random crap trip included a fairly significant frugal fail. Most of the items I was getting were clearanced and so were not accurately priced. Therefore, I picked up two LEGO Advent calendars assuming they would be discounted too. When I was reviewing my receipt, I saw that they were NOT discounted AT ALL, and their full price was 40 bucks a piece, so fully 80 dollars of that 150 shopping spree was for these. I was so annoyed with that price, that I almost returned them, but then I decided that 80 dollars is probably a reasonable price for 48 tiny Lego builds and I know that both of my sons will get a lot of enjoyment out of them, so whadareyagonnado? Still, frugalistas be warned, pay attention to the prices in the random crap aisle because they can vary tremendously.
That's so stupid that the advent calendars were not marked down! Advent is definitely over.
@Kristen,
I KNOW, right?!
But, Aldi apparently has some sort of Advent calendar cult following, so I don't think they ever get marked down. Besides, it's not like Legos go bad, so maybe that's the reasoning? But I feel like buying items that keep right after a holiday is one of those secrets that us frugal people should retain the rights to, you know? Also...80 bucks! I'm still salty...
@Vickymac, de
Ha! You're welcome, and I believe my term for it was "culinary fail." At this point, I think I'm famous for them in this community. But if I make even one person laugh with my stories, then I have brought a tiny bit of joy into the world and that makes all the sloppy cakes and cranberry jellies worth it. 😉
@Becca, I tried very hard to find one of those Lego advent calendars on clearance too this past week! My son had one for advent and loved it so I wanted to get a different version. The best I could find was $36 on Amazon, most places were sold out and didn’t even have it so I finally gave in and decided that was the best option. I think Lego is too popular to ever go on clearance so $40 was probably about the best you could do and I’m sure they will love them!
@LB,
Ooh! Which one did you get? I got the star wars one and the Harry Potter one. Does each day actually have a Lego build, or are some of the days stickers or some other rip-off?
@Central Calif. Artist Jana,
Some time last year, they had Aldi branded clothing (using the signature color "rainbow", store colors and name) in the Aisle of Shame that was wildly popular.....it was very casual stuff, but blew out of the stores! One couple even got married in Aldi outfits. Lol. I follow an Aldi Aisle of Shame Facebook page, which is a lot of silly fun.
@Becca,
I have to say - the underwear I've bought there (in a multi-pack) are some of the most comfortable I've ever bought, and have held up well.
@Becca,
I bought an A Christmas Story Advent calendar there two years ago. We still put it out every year. 🙂
@Central Calif. Artist Jana and others,
This aisle has seasonal items and gift items and such.
One tip for Aldi shoppers: right after a holiday or season, they put a lot of this stuff on sale. So after Christmas last year, I got some scented candles, the kind with 3 wicks in a jar, very inexpensively. (Sorry but I've forgotten the price by now.) I put them away in my gift storage closet and they got given out this year. Even better: I have plenty left over so they will be future gifts as well. They also have some really swell greeting cards, which I also scoop up when they're marked 'way down after that holiday (not just Christmas, but Valentine's, Easter, and others) and save for a year. Sometimes I can get a $3 for 50 cents, etc. Oh, and their great big seasonal gift jar of fancy olives -- I bought one after Christmas last year, ate all the olives up myself (took several weeks but hey, I love olives! I'm Greek!) --and then used the cleaned-out jar and its attached red ribbon as a gift -- I just filled it with hard candy. Looks like an overpriced gift jar of candy that you'd get at the mall. And the candy had red wrappers and looked very Christmas-y.
@Becca, Thanks for that tip. I didn't know about the Wednesday thing or the aisle of shame websites.
We spent minimal, but it was wrapped in with Christmas dinner shopping so I don't have a total. We hosted this year, so I knew that after Christmas I wasn't going to want to cook this week...
Tuesday - Breakfast for dinner (eggs with toast)
Wednesday - Canned Ravioli, we keep it for emergencies like this 🙂
Thursday - Balsamic Chicken w/leftover broccoli
Friday - Probably a frozen pizza tonight
I didn’t make a meal plan for after Christmas (just too much planning for other things) but managed to pull together simple dinners all week which felt like an accomplishment!
Saturday - we roasted hot dogs over our fire pit again, since the kids loved it so much the previous week.
Sunday - we had brunch at my parents house earlier in the day, for dinner it was just us so I made a snack/appetizer dinner. The shrimp cocktail was the favorite, followed by the mozzarella sticks. I enjoyed the variety of cheese and crackers myself.
Monday - we hosted Christmas dinner. My husband made a beef roast, I made Mac n cheese, potato and cheese pierogis, buttermilk rolls (along with those kings Hawaiian rolls, which my kids call “the best bread in the world”), spinach, candied nut and cranberry goat cheese salad and Christmas cookies for dessert.
Tuesday - Trader Joe’s orange chicken and steamed green beans
Wednesday - top ramen with vegetables added and Trader Joe’s steamed shrimp dumplings
Thursday - chicken patty sandwiches, spaghetti with butter, garlic powder and Parmesan, and steamed carrots and green beans
Friday - spaghetti and meatballs (jarred sauce, frozen meatballs, my easiest meal to make!)
-For Christmas Eve, we had prime rib, mashed potatoes & salad. And, Christmas cookies.
-We have soup & appetizers on Christmas, so that was one night.
-We flew home & were fed a snack tray on the flight. Given it was the holidays & we'd eaten plenty leading up to that, we called it a day & went to bed after we got home from the airport.
-I made veggie stir fry & chicken one night
-We had salmon & salad another night.
-While we were traveling, we met my sister & her partner for a cocktail, and then we had steak & risotto, both of which were amazing.
Your photos are so beautiful and inspire me to pay more attention to my own (and to consider for the umpteenth time the possibility of getting a decent camera).
Your menu creativity is astonishing. When I am alone, I NEVER go to the amount of work that you do.
Ha, well, most of the photos I share these days are just taken with my iPhone. I do have an SLR but I am hitting the easy button an awful lot when it comes to pictures these days. 🙂
What kind of phone do you have?
Sometimes when I am alone, I just saute some veggies and add some eggs. 🙂
@Central Calif. Artist Jana,
As someone who's hobby is bird and wildlife photography, I can say having a good camera (such as an SLR or DSLR) has been a game-changer. I've been fortunate enough to have been gifted (by my hubby) very good used cameras from eBay and (I think) keh.com. Cell phone cameras have also come a very long way in terms of photo quality, too.
@Kristen, I got a really nice digital camera (years ago) (& still have) but since getting smart phone with built in camera it is so much easier. Plus my (library) tech guy adjusted the image quality on my phone & now takes 1080 quality pictures. Downside is that also takes up more space on phone because higher quality is higher storage.
@Kristen, my phone is an SE3, the bargain Apple. My better photos are with a Canon Elph. I used to have a Canon SLR, but dropped it. Bought another, and after about 5 years, it croaked. I am tired of trying to keep up with tech, stuff always needing an update or breaking without hope of repair. So, I limp along, because my blog doesn't need awesome photos and most of my photos are simply reference for drawing and painting.
A Canon SLR is what my big camera is! I got it waaaay back in like...2010?
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, and @ Kristen,
I have a Canon SLR, too. I moved up from an older Canon model last year, and an thrilled with it.
Hello, this week we ate:
Sunday - BLT pizza ( don't knock it til you try it, simple to make to), green/spinach salad, gingerbread for dessert.
Monday - Christmas dinner =a lot of food which =a lot of leftovers.
Tuesday - Everybody ate leftovers which for me was a grilled turkey sandwich (which honestly I prefer over the whole big meal thing. I'm a simple girl at heart) raw veggies to go with.
Wendsday - Was getting tired of looking at all the leftovers and playing refrigerator Tetris so I made up some ham and bean soup kits (ground ham, mashed potatoes, shredded and chopped veg, gravey, and a lot of the bits and bobs lurking in the depths of the vegetable bin...oh and broth I needed to use up) these go in the freezer for future meals. It's nice to be able to thaw, add beans and a bit more liquid in the crock pot and go about my merry way. Anyway, soup was for dinner this night along with rolls and cheese.
Thursday - Rice and pinto bean bowls topped with peppers, onions, pico and guacamole.
Friday - Plan on going out.
Saturday - Not to sure yet, rumor is we're headed to the coast which makes me happy...The perfect way to shove 2023 out the door (with a healthy kick in the behind to hurry it along if I'm honest) and begin to embrace 2024.
Happy New Year to all.
Oh, how do you make BLT pizza? Share!
I wonder if it's like CPK tostada pizza, which was my favorite for a long, long time. I no longer live near one, but I have the recipe book. Mental note: next week.
@April,
The best item on the California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) menu is the BLT pizza with the mayonnaise on the side. Yumm!
@April,
Ok, my curiosity is peaked too...please share the recipe, and if it uses ground beef and bacon, do you think it would still be good with ground turkey and turkey bacon?
@Kristen,
Hi! Hope I'm not to late in answering.
There is really no recipe per say, fact is I've never written it down before now so I really had to think about what I do to get it on the table. I tried to explain best I could. (I just discovered that a cook book writer I will never be...ha!)
This pizza was created because I was running late, dead tired on my feet, and I had a toddler wrapped around my ankle screeching that she was in danger of immediate starvation and I happened to have the stuff I needed to throw it together.
This is a SUPER quick version for those nights when I'm running behind. I've certainly done the whole made from scratch crust, sauce and tomatoes (both dried and packed in olive oil with lots of garlic though fresh summer tomatoes win hands down if I can get my grubby paws on them) and It's certainly best that way BUT..I find myself defaulting to this version, I've got two jobs that I bounce between so time is something I'm constantly running out of.
BLT PIZZA
NOTE: If you have a pizza parlor that you frequent ask them if you can buy crust dough and marinara, they usually will sell you some and for not a lot of money. That's what I do. I speeds things along and its better than supermarket dough imo. Tell them how many pizzas you want to make and they will sell you the amount of dough you need.
Anyway. What you'll need for one generously sized thin crust pizza.
Pizza dough (see note above) - You will also need flour and corn meal for rolling out the dough
Olive oil
Marinara (ditto)
Shredded whole milk mozzarella cheese (I'll be the first to say that shortcuts are allowed but not when it comes to cheese. Shred it yourself. I usually just shred the whole ball and what I don't use for this means a cheese omelet the next night for dinner)
Cooked and crumbled bacon (This is a every cook for themselves thing. Use the amount your inner Julia Child tells you to.)
Shredded lettuce (If you use the pre shredded kind I won't judge, its certainly easier. Just make sure its finely shredded. Makes it easier to eat)
Thinly sliced tomatoes, enough to cover the pizza. (If the large tomatoes arnt looking so great, thinly sliced cherry tomatoes work. Sundried tomatoes packed in olive oil are good to)
Mayonnaise (Plain works - I use best foods - but by all means doctor it up to suit your taste. Note: I usually put some mayo in a old mustard squeeze bottle I saved just for this purpose so its easier to drizzle over the pizza.)
OK. Take off your coat and shoes and wander into the kitchen. Crank up the oven to 450 and if you have one, put your pizza stone in there to heat up. A cookie sheet works just fine to.
Scatter a bit of flour and corn meal on the counter - I say this as if I don't manage a fine dusting on the floor lol - and roll out your dough as far as it will go.
Lightly brush olive oil on top of dough
Spread a thin layer of marinara on top of that (don't glop a bunch on, just a thin layer. What you don't use can be frozen for another time)
Sprinkle a thin layer of mozzarella cheese on top of the marinara
Sprinkle the crumbled bacon on top of that
Sprinkle more cheese on top
NOTE: Don't over load on the cheese. Your inner rat will tell you to put on more but ignore that furry pest. You want just enough to hold everything together, more will just make it to heavy.
Now, Put pizza on what ever cooking vessel you are using and get it in the preheated oven. If using a cooking stone I would say it gets done faster than if you use a cookie sheet so keep checking. We like our crust somewhat well done and crispy so our cooking time is a bit longer than most people I imagine.
Like I said, keep checking for desired doneness. Sorry I cant give a specific time. Pizza is a personal thing and everyone has their preference on doneness. Cheese should be nice and melted with some brown spots.
When pizza is done, swat your husbands sneaky fingers away from the bacon covered with cheese and place tomatoes on top, then the shredded lettuce tops that and lastly drizzle with mayonnaise. We do a light drizzle but you do you.
And that's it. BLT PIZZA.
Enjoy!
NOTE: Of course if you want more on this (I heartily recommend caramelized onions , I always make a bunch of these on Sunday to eat throughout the week) then of course add all the extra ingredients your happy little inner pizza chef desires.
@Rose,
Hey, I'd be interested in that recipe!
@Vickymac,
Oh wow! your kidding! I've never eaten there so I had no idea BLT pizza was a thing...go figure!
@April,
Thanks! I'll see what my husband thinks of trying it!
@Becca,
I shared down below. Hope you like. Ground beef and bacon pizza sounds awsome! I figure pizza is a personal thing and if you like the taste of turkey and turkey bacon then go for it!
@April,
Yeah, I don't know why my tired brain was thinking there was a hamburger patty on a BLT sandwich because obviously there is not. We love bacon and ground beef for that matter, but we have had to adjust our diet to remove all mammal meat for my youngest because he can't seem to handle the heaviness of it lately. We've been using turkey versions of things like ground beef and bacon. It's definitely not as tasty, but it is healthier, I suppose. Sigh.
@Becca,
I don't know about the turkey bacon but turkey burger is good as long as you season it well and don't undercook. In the case of burgers I use this recipe:
1 lb ground turkey breast
1 large egg, beaten
2 cloves minced garlic
1 Tbsp Worcestershire
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped, less of you use dried
Salt, ground pepper
Mix all together well and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour.
Cook burger patties well. You want brown bits on the patty for more flavor.
Toasted buns, lettuce and tomatoes with spicy mayo is how I serve them.
Best.
Oh...and before I forget, we eat meat but not much. Daughter is a vegetarian so I learned how to cook all sorts of new to us dishes and we find we feel better eating more meat free meals so I get how your son feels. If we have meat it's usually in/a part of something instead of the main event. I tend to lighten hamburger with carrott, zucchini, ect mixed in...you might try that.
We had an unusual brown Christmas (he who runs the snowblower is happy). WWA:
Saturday- leftover Chinese food
Sunday-shrimp tacos
Monday-had all of our, now grown, kids here for Christmas Day so I cooked a traditional turkey dinner with mashed potatoes, dressing, mashed carrots & rutabaga, gravy, ambrosia salad, pickles & olives, buttered peas, sticky toffee pudding. It was a good day.
Tuesday-leftovers
Wednesday-leftovers on a bun (aka turkey sandwiches)
Thursday-charcuterie
Friday-eldest and his partner will be coming over. I will be making one of his favourites: cedar plank salmon with maple ginger glaze, mushroom risotto, roasted broccoli, cookies/ butter tarts.
Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend
Cloudy, misty days here, too.
Monday: Mr. B grilled lamb burgers, and we had sauteed green beans on the side. Toddler and I made burger buns because the stored were closed.
Tuesday: We went to a hockey game and snacked there, so we wanted something light. We had butternut squash soup from the freezer, scrambled eggs, and sauteed kale and green beans.
Wednesday: Mr. B made roasted chicken breasts, I made cucumber salad.
Thursday: Mr. B made pasta and meat sauce, and we had leftover pineapple.
Friday: I am on call tonight and my supervisor will buy dinner. Mr. B and toddler have fun meals when I'm away, so I imagine that frozen french fries will be involved 🙂
I can’t believe 2023 is nearly behind us. I awoke to a cool, sunny day. We haven’t seen the sun much during the month of December. The last time was on the 23rd. I hope to get a good dose of natural vitamin D over the next few days.
WWS: I have no idea. I haven’t reconciled my holiday spending. I’m putting it off. No reason to put a damper on my already dampened holiday cheer. Very unfrugal of me.
WWA:
Saturday - The family went fishing. I stayed back and took care of the little ones. I was happy to do so. They were taking a trip out into open water and I get sea sick. I made a pot of white chicken chili, refried beans, avocado, tomatoes, tortillas, etc.
Sunday - We did our family’s version of the Feast of the Seven Fishes. We had seafood gumbo, 3 types of fish which were caught on Saturday, and seafood linguini. I made a tower of cream puffs for dessert, and we had assorted Christmas cookies.
Monday - We went to a large family lunch. Our contribution was a large green salad and a berry triffle with lemon cream. Upon returning home, we discovered Rescue Pup had helped herself to the remaining cream puffs. She does this type of thing very seldom. She is part Pyrenees so not much is out of her reach if she wants it. Apparently, she loves cream puffs.
Tuesday -Friday
Late that evening or early on the 26th, my middle son who had come to visit came down with the insidious stomach virus that has been making the rounds. The family then started to fall like dominos. Every 8 -12 hours there was a new victim. I managed to freeze the leftovers, but we will still have some food waste. It can’t be helped. I’m on day three and am still adhering to a dry toast diet.
Hopefully, I’ll be back on my feet by New Years Eve. Wishing everyone a Happy New Year! May 2024 be the year that dreams come true, hearts are mended, and there is once again peace among us all.
Aww, I'm so sorry you all have been under the weather!
@Bee, Oh noooo! The worst. But it sounds like you did admirably during your marathon of cooking while everyone was still eating. I hope you get to eat real food soon.
@Bee, I'm sorry you're sick. Our fall/winter so far has been peppered liberally with various respiratory sickness that linger. One son said, "Can't we just get a decent puking sickness so it's over quickly!" As the resident puke-cleaner/hydration specialist who is on-call 24 hours, I beg to differ.
I am in the between holiday fog. Lots of eating up Xmas cookies and treats.
Things I have cooked this week in no particular order
Tortellini and peas with sautéed broccolini
Slow cooker beef stew
Hot breakfast and fruit
Sandwiches with left over ham and fruit and chips
Random snacks cooked in air fryer with chips and dip
Happy New Year!
I recently read an online article (Your Tango/Tik Tok) about the grocery budget/costs of feeding kids & adults for October. The USDA has a chart broken down by age & household income level (broken down into 3 sections--poverty, middle class & upper income level). The USDA is using 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, using 2001-2002 data updated to today's current dollar value.
Children. Low. Middle. Upper (weekly)
1 year. $36. $40.70. $49.30
2-3 year. $37.80. $45.40. $55.10
4-5 year. $39.20. $48.30. $58.40
6-8 year. $55.90. $66.40. $77.60
9-11 year. $59.10. $76.30. $88.90
Male
12-13 year $69.20. $86.10. $100
14-18 year. $70.30. $88. $100
19-50 year. $69.40. $87. $100
51-70 year. $65.30. $82. $
71+ year. $64.70. $79.80. $
Female
12-13 year. $58.80. $70.20
14-18 year. $59. $70.20
19-50 year. $60.10. $73.40
51-70 year. $58.60. $72.60
71+ year. $58.50. $71.90
*I could not read/catch the upper numbers for females. 🙁
The article admits that the numbers/amounts are actually lower than what is actually spent & in some cases not true reality of costs of food(s) in different areas/states.
Tik Tok #thebiggersthebetter
I personally found the numbers/amounts to be higher than what I currently pay. BUT I do (mostly) only buy on sale items, items I absolutely need now(not on sale), use coupons/rewards/sale combination to get best price. I do not buy generic brand everything (actually more name brand on sale which is cheaper & many times better flavor). And I also stock my freezer & pantry so even on higher months (which are closer to poverty amounts but with take out is closer to middle) I am not usually those amounts regularly.
I'm not sure exactly how these amounts were determined but I do know that if if this was my weekly budget I would be spending more than I do now & am glad that I know I have ability to do better.
We typically do an unconventional dinner for Christmas and this year was no exception.
Mon: Beef Chili, White Chicken Chili, cornbread, corn spoonbread, assorted toppings of Fritos, sour cream, cheese, jalapenos, oyster crackers. We also had oven baked wings with a spicy sweet sauce. Assorted Christmas cookies and cheesecake for dessert.
Tues: Tacos for our celebration with my husband's side of the family.
Wed: Leftovers
Thurs: Chipotle while errands were run.
Fri: Takeout pizza will likely be our dinner as we have some medical events going on.
Given Friday's activities I will likely do some quick snacks for New Year's Eve and call it good.
Oooh, your Christmas dinner sounds lovely!
It does feel like an especially cloudy, dreary, stretch of days. I am ready for some sunshine.
The past week, we ate:
-Sirloin tip roast in the crockpot with mashed potatoes and green beans
- ate up some random leftovers from the fridge like chicken Alfredo and chicken pesto
-Leftover roast over egg noodles, more green beans
On Christmas we had brisket (which unfortunately wasn't as tender as we wanted it to be, needed more time in the oven), mashed potatoes, and broccoli with cheese sauce
At my parents house we've had:
-pulled pork BBQ sandwiches with a side of fries and broccoli
- prime rib with mashed potatoes, asparagus, and corn
I think I've had enough mashed potatoes for a while!!
I am one of those few people who like cloudy days, but I do acknowledge that we need the sun now and then! 🙂
Saturday/Sunday: homemade pizzas. We usually cook sausage for these, but the roll of sausage was mysteriously missing when we went to look for it. My son said he didn't see it when unloading the groceries, so we supposed we had lost it between checking out and getting in the car, no surprise, since we had tons of food and stuff for Christmas in our cart.
Christmas Day: Turkey, since it was a better deal than ham, and stuffing, gravy, a red cabbage slaw with feta, cranberry sauce, mixed vegetables, rolls, brownies for dessert (as well as stocking candy!) Clark could not believe we had large platters of meat he wasn't allowed to eat off of, but he got his own little plate of meat and was happy as a clam.
Tuesday: Leftovers x infinity.
Wednesday: Burgers plus leftovers.
Thursday: Cat shelter night= Chik Fil A
Tonight: one of the kids is making tacos, for which I am eternally grateful. I had a bad headache out of nowhere yesterday, and its' faded but I'm tired.
WIS: $0. We just did not need anything this week.
WWA: Bowls of veggies and quinoa topped with a homemade patty of tuna and smoked herring. These are very good. Various sandwiches. Cheeses, nuts, fruit, fresh veggies, fresh fruits, protein shakes, rye crackers, whole wheat crackers. Leftover roasted duck from Christmas. Ice cream sandwiches for dessert.
We have very mild weather this week, so my outside work means I cook a couple of meals and we eat leftovers.
Christmas Eve: my contribution to family meal - smoked salmon, dirty martini dip w/blue cheese, I made a GF wheat thin type cracker and a GF Ritz type cracker, layered taco dip, plus our "hot wings" competition. We had ham, potato salad, green salad, fruit salad and 3 kinds of pie and yummy toffee and fudge.
Christmas Day - I made a Prime Rib roast, funeral potatoes, brussels sprouts, green beans and rolls.
T: French dip sammies, veggies to go with the last of the dirty martini dip, lemon squares
W: Green dinner salad w/roast
Th: Big work day - pulled meatballs out of freezer and made swedish meatballs over rice, green salad.
F: pizza in my new wood fired pizza oven
S: New Year's Eve eve party w/girlfriends.
I spent about $112, but $100 of that was prime rib...some for Christmas, some was cut into ribeyes for the freezer. I ended up buying a lot of prime rib the past few weeks for steaks for the freezer, but shouldn't have to buy any for a few months.
Sunday: We had chinese out as a family before Christmas eve service. After the service we watched movies and ate a few appetizer like things (cheeseball, small crabcake bites, sweets, etc)
Christmas: Smoked prime rib, roasted potatoes, broccoli casserole, rolls, fried shrimp (for the son that doesn't like steak), mac & cheese, and various desserts.
Tuesday: We had ham on the Saturday before so I also used it up making the little sandwiches Zoe loves. Salad and warmed up various side dishes from Christmas with that.
Wednesday: warmed up the fried shrimp in the oven and made fried rice and veggies to go with and had sweet and sour shrimp.
Thursday: made stock with the ribs of the prime rib and made a great beef stew using the bits of leftover meat. Also had the leftover rolls from Christmas.
Friday: tonight we are having a turkey sandwich because I have deli meat that needs to be eaten, and deli meat is so expensive that we're going to eat it 🙂 We should finish off the various side dishes and cheese ball with it....and then my fridge will be all cleaned out!
Any leftover sweets are being tossed. I keep sending them home with the boys every time they are here because we don't need sweets in the house.
The freezer cleanout is still underway, but the Christmas did call for extra trips to the store to pick up special ingredients that I normally don’t have on hand which I was more than happy to make an exception for.
Friday: Red Beans and Rice
Saturday: Anniversary dinner out with my husband
Sunday: Tri-Tip, Au Gratin Potatoes, Santa Maria style beans, garlic bread
Monday: we had a late lunch with my in-laws so I planned “fancy plates” for dinner – basically a charcuterie board but my son called them fancy plates when I would make them for his lunch when he was little and the name has stuck.
Tuesday: Halal Cart Chicken
Wednesday: Chili with Sour Cream and Cheddar Biscuits
Thursday: leftover chili for my son and me, I picked up ham and wild rice soup for my husband because he had a procedure that made spicy food less desirable on his esophagus. The soup had slivered almonds in it, which was a surprise and not esophagus friendly so he made mac and cheese as a backup.
Christmas desserts I made to share: Krumkake, brownies, white chocolate cranberry oatmeal cookies.
@Geneva, I love "fancy plates"; we call it "bits and bobs."
Loving the comments further up about random crap at Aldi, I love a good ferret around in that aisle, who knew I needed a socket set when I popped in for olives 🙂
We also have lots of Lidl stores nearby and ‘the middle of Lidl’ is also a thing too. Again you may find an ironing board nestled next to the marshmallow fluff, it’s the main reason I pop in so often :):)
WIS £204 Ocado delivery
£23 fish & chip takeout
£5 corner shop - forgotten stuffing mix and extra loaf of bread
WWA
Sat - fish and chip takeout, so yummy
Sun - out tradition of Christmas Eve homemade pizza & fancy schmancy ice cream eaten in our new pjs
Mon - assorted nibbles to start - smoked salmon blinis; pate on toast; beetroot & goat cheese lettuce wraps
Main - turkey, roast potatoes, roast parsnips, carrots, red cabbage, runner beans frozen from the summer Brussel sprouts & chestnuts, stuffing & gravy
Desserts - choice of Christmas pudding or Buche de Noel (homemade)
2 hours later cups of tea with Christmas cake and/or mince pies - both homemade
Tuesday- leftover Turkey in sandwiches
Wed - no idea
Thur - salmon stir fry & noodles
Fri - meatloaf, fries & veggies
It would be so interesting to see how the UK special buy aisle differs from the ones here!
@Kristen, now that’s an experiment I can get behind.
I’ll see if I can screenshot from my Aldi app some offers and email them to you.
@Joanne in the U.K.,
I, too, would be interested to compare UK vs US Aldi. As for Lidl, I've gone in a couple times and I've been disappointed. It strikes me as a higher priced, less good Aldi with a lot more prepared items that we just don't eat and the loss leaders require the use of an app which just pisses me off because I always feel disgruntled about inviting technology into my bargain seeking. Move along smart phones, you got nothing on the good old fashioned haggling of yesteryear...
@Joanne in the U.K., Do you make your own mincemeat or buy it? I go back and forth. I have to special buy Atora from the UK to make it, as it's not sold here. This year I didn't make any mince pies (note for Americans: they're small) but that was more because I've had too much stuff going on. I did make the Christmas pudding. I ordered the mince pies and Ecclefechan (gesundheit) tarts from Walkers.
@Becca, I use both stores for specific things, the antipasti at Lidl is far superior to Aldi but Aldi’s veggie offers are often better than Lidl. If I didn’t work full time I’d regularly shop from each but I don’t have the time unfortunately.
@Rose, I don’t make my own mincemeat, some friends do but my family like the bog standard mincemeat with nothing fancy in there so I tend to buy the cheap stuff. I make my own pastry from scratch which is always in reading short and crumbly which everyone likes so it’s a win!
Personally I dislike mince puss, Christmas cake and Christmas pudding which I make for everyone else. Can’t stand the mixed fruit, dead flies I call it 🙂
Atora, what an iconic brand - my mom always has a box in her larder.
@Joanne in the U.K.,
A new Lidl is about to open about a half mile from my house, so maybe I'll give it another try, but generally speaking, I think I'm just an Aldi girl through and through.
@Becca, definitely download the app if you don’t already have it and set your new store as your favourite one. I get random ‘free bakery items’ offers pop through and those are always a winner for me.
@Rose, My grandmother used to have mincemeat pies for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but you can't find any mincemeat here in Texas anymore. I miss 'em like crazy. Where can you order them?
We have had a very dreary week here in Michigan, too. But still lots of Christmas fun! (Although, as I'm about to start typing out what actually happened, it definitely wasn't perfect.)
Saturday: My big family dinner gathering got cancelled because my mom (the host) got sick. Instead, my friend invited us over for dinner and a game night. I made 2 loaves of FG french bread - turned one into garlic bread - and brought those to go with her spaghetti and meatballs.
Sunday: We planned to drive up to my brother's 5pm Christmas Eve service an hour and a half away, so we packed sandwiches and veggies and stuff for dinner. He called when we were an hour away to say that he wasn't feeling up to going. My dad ended up taking him to the hospital (he's doing much better now) and we just ate our packed dinners at home. To make it a less crappy Christmas Eve, we made Christmas cookies. Definitely not how we hoped the night would go, but we didn't waste the food we prepped.
Monday: Venison steak, cranberry sauce, broccoli with cheese... and I think a second veggie, but I didn't write it down.
Tuesday: We ate a big lunch at my parents' house and I didn't have to bring anything.
Wednesday: After taking my in-laws to see the Christmas lights at the zoo, we went to McDonald's because my kids were excited about the Squishmallow toys in the Happy Meals.
Thursday: My MIL brought hamloaf from Pennsylvania and she made scalloped potatoes to go with it. I made zucchini and rolls to go with it.
Friday: Chili and baked potatoes. We spent the day at a museum, so I'm thrilled that dinner was in the crock-pot and I don't have to do anything else for it!
Also - I made your cinnamon swirl bread yesterday and it is SO GOOD! Definitely a keeper!
@Ruth T, I’m making he cinnamon swirl bread right now—it’s on its second rise! My first time too. Stomach is growling. . ..
Here in Ohio I can not remember the last time we had sun!!! I am so ready.
Thank you for keeping our heads up and out of the gloomy!
I hadn't spent anything or been into a grocery store all week until I needed to get a few things for our family Christmas/New Years Eve get together. The plan was homemade Chinese. I spent $38
WIS; WWA
12/28/23 I have not been back to the grocery store yet. My daughter picked up milk for me from the little food store she works.
Saturday: Burgers
Sunday (Christmas Eve): Pizza
Monday: Breakfast: Casserole, sausage, fruit, cinnamon rolls; Lunch time charcuterie; Dinner next door with daughter’s family—Pasta, meatballs, braciole, salad.
Tuesday: I had gone out in the afternoon with a friend for a hike. DH took burgers out of freezer. There were leftover baked beans in ‘fridge.
Wednesday: Cooked up the Aldi’s ham and butternut squash. I will freeze up some so that I can make lunch for work next week. I’ll make up a chopped ham and pickle for my friend—she loves it. We’ll probably have some kind of egg dish or casserole. The bone will go to my daughter to make pea soup for my sister-in-law.
Thursday: Spinach salad with egg, ham, feta, and a cranberry viniagrette
Friday: Ham again with remaining veggies in the 'fridge to get that cleaned out.
Kristen, I love the lichen photo. Lichen is so pretty and so diverse. It's art in nature. I do a Monday morning walk with a group of women. Obscure nature words have been popping up and I share them with one of the women. We thought it might be fun this year to add in a weekly nature word. Build on our vocabulary.