WIS, WWA | Well, now I know
What I Spent
This week was definitely one of adjustment! I've been out of school for the last two semesters, so I'd gotten kind of used to my carefree life. 😉
(Ok, well, not entirely carefree. But relatively speaking, yes.)
Anyway, this week has made it clear to me that I need to change up how I do things; I need to switch up how I use weekend time, how I plan meals, and when I do household stuff.
Because I was definitely doing some fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants things this week.
I spent:
- $20 at Five Guys
- $30 on a Hungry Harvest box
- $41 at Safeway
So, that makes $91 for me this week. And honestly, considering that it was the first week of school, I'm just happy that I only ended up getting takeout one time!
What We Ate
Saturday
Leftover chipotle chicken on a salad.
Seriously, if you have not tried this simple chicken marinade, you should! You can grill the chicken or broil it, and it's great on its own or on top of a salad.
And it works equally well with chicken breasts as it does with chicken thighs.
Also...the sauce makes a good salad dressing!
Sunday
I made some panko-breaded fried chicken strips, which we ate with some fruit.
I purposely didn't fry all of the chicken, with the plan to save some for frying the next night.
It's not that hard to fresh-fry some chicken the next day, and fresh-fried is always better than reheated!
Monday
I fried up the rest of the breaded chicken and we ate that on top of a salad.
In the latest Five Frugal Things, I mentioned that I'd made croutons and I meant to say, "from hot dog buns" but I accidentally typed, "hot dogs" instead.
And man, that would be quite impressive if I'd made croutons like this from actual hot dogs.
But nope...I just made bread cubes from the package of buns that I'm trying to use up!
To make croutons, I usually just saute bread with butter and garlic powder on the stovetop and then do the final crisping in the toaster oven, on the air fryer setting.
Tuesday
This was my first super long day at school and I did a great job of packing my lunch.
And I'd even brought a smoothie with me for my breakfast.
But my goodness, I was a little unprepared for how tired my brain would be at the end of hours and hours of lectures.
Sooo, we got burgers from Five Guys for dinner.
Wednesday
I made this pulled pork recipe, which we ate on buns, with sauteed asparagus on the side. And also watermelon.
Gotta enjoy summer watermelons while they're still here!
Thursday
I made potato and chorizo tostadas, and we had watermelon and asparagus on the side again.
Friday
Zoe will be working and I'm gonna be out to dinner with my two support group besties. I have no idea where we're going, and I don't care because the social aspect is the main point.
Also: I can be happy eating almost anything, which makes dining out with other people very easy. Being un-picky and having no allergies sure does make eating simple!
Happy Friday!! Enjoy your dinner out tonight 🙂
Phew! As a teacher, I feel you on that first week fatigue! But! I know it gets better and I bet it will get better for you, too.
WIS: 168.38 @Aldi, 20.42 on box wine, 114.27 on lunch at an Indian restaurant with my teaching team for a total of 303.07 this week.
WWA:
Fri: leftovers: bucatini with Sunday gravy, rice and beans, pear oven pancake.
Sat: carrot sticks and apple slices with roasted red pepper hummus, sandwiches (Gouda cheese, roast beef and tomatoes on sourdough artisan bread).
Sun: salad (mixed greens and balsamic dressing), brown rice, sauteed tilapia fillets alongside sauteed green beans and broiled Parmesan yellow squash rounds.
Mon: salad (mixed greens and Italian dressing), leftover lasagna, chocolate and vanilla ice cream in cones.
Tue: salad (mixed greens and balsamic dressing), chicken and rice with lots of added veggies: poblano peppers, celery, carrots, onions, etc.
Wed: salad (mixed greens and balsamic dressing), hotdogs on brioche buns for the kids and leftover chicken and rice for the adults.
Thu: salad (spinach and Italian dressing), sourdough rolls, "lentil dahl-ternative" (which is what my husband calls a very simple Indian adjacent but not at all authentic dish made with onions, yellow peppers, a can of coconut milk, a can of lentils and some Indian spices.)
Tonight: salad and focaccia, of course.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
@Becca, we eat a lot of "lentil dahl-ternative" in our house too! Easy and tasty.
@Becca, WOW! Your menu sounds delish!
We ate pretty simply:
- Chicken veggie sauce over rice
- Chicken and rice bowls
- That's all I can remember.
- Tonight we're having company and I'm making chicken, bean and rice bowls (spicy Mayo and veggies to top it with), I also made Bissap juice and have some snickerdooe bars in the oven. I had to do some substituting, so I hope they turn out!
@Katy in Africa,
I'm curious: what is Bissap juice?
WIS: About $20 at the Regional Market (JASNA BFF was buying fruit so fast that I lost track of the exact amount), $16.60 at Ollie's, and $12 at Price Chopper.
WIA: While BFF was here, I made a frittata with herbed goat cheese and a sort of tilapia pilaf for dinners at home. Nothing special since BFF left, except for the shrimp stir-fry I made yesterday with an eggplant, a zucchini, and an ear of corn that needed to be used, plus some of Dr. Bestest Neighbor's bok choy.
@A. Marie, I don't know where your friend is from, but I can understand her excitement about the fruit. I really miss the summer and fall fruit in New York.
@kristin @ going country, BFF is Manhattan-born and -bred. But the prices at our Regional Market are considerably lower than what she's used to paying at her local Greenmarket.
The first few weeks of school are always tough! The brain is not practiced at absorbing new info at a huge speed just yet. It won’t always feel this tiring.
I believe you don’t love batch cooking whole dishes and like a good amount of texture and variety of flavour. Some solutions that might work (that work well for me with similar preferences) center around extremely easy carbs + no prep veggies + thinned out pre-marinated meat you can cook straight from the freezer.
Carbs = sandwiches :), wraps, small couscous (rehydrates with just kettle boiling water in your eating bowl covered with a lid for 6-8 minutes), rice you cook/portion/freeze/defrost.
Easy veggies = raw (cucumbers, tomatoes, raw broccoli, celery sticks), or batch blanched over the weekend. A a big salted water pot, you can cut and quickly boil each hearty veg (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, etc).
Meats = batch cooked with universal flavour, or thinned out + freezer bag with 2 servings each, in marinate and laid flat in the bag. The first few days, you can spend almost no time, tossing batch cooked meat and prepped veg into a pan with a quick sauce of your choice for fresh dinner eating + lunch leftovers. When you run out, you can use the thinned out marinated meat and do the same in 7-8 minutes. That way you can cook from frozen even if you forget to defrost.
I’d lean into batch cooked or storebought sauces or ready spice mixes (esp. for more complex Indian spice mixes etc).
You’ve got this.
@Kat, I was thinking the same thing- I would batch cook and make a big pot of soup every week. I do that myself snd it’s just me now. Also there is no reason Zoey can’t prepare dinner at least twice a week. I expect she’s doing her own laundry- my kids all did theirs around age 10. I just made a zuchinni casserole yesterday and am eating it again today and tomorrow. I also made a batch of pimento cheese for snacks snd sandwiches. My freezer is my friend.
Oh yes, Zoe does her own laundry, cleans her bathroom, changes her sheets, is responsible for cleaning her level of the house, and so on.
I would have been starving if I'd had her cook dinner this week, though! She had a lot of evening shifts, so I was eating dinner around a normal time and then she had reheated leftovers later on.
WIS: $54 @ Food Lion. The return of cool, dry days meant I was too busy doing yardwork to fuss much with groceries.
WWA: Leftover meatloaf. Homemade bread. The usual line-up of homegrown tomato sandwiches, protein shakes, cheese, fresh veggies, nuts, crackers, plums, cantaloupe, and Tuesday we went out for burgers and brought home plentiful leftovers.
The first week of any school for any student or teacher is just exhausting. You did good!
Saturday: I was very, very sick the previous two days, and while I was a tiny bit better this day, I was not up to eating much. I made myself some strawberry jell-o--which, being me, meant I made strawberry juice with sugar and water, then added gelatin powder to make jell-o--and my husband made t-bone steaks and rice for those who were eating solid foods.
Sunday: Cooking again, but not eating much. I made a pork shoulder and baked potatoes in the morning, then shredded the meat and fried it with spices and mashed the potatoes. I also fried a package of mushrooms that were threatening to go over the edge and cup up some carrot sticks. I'm pretty sure that was the first vegetable anyone in my family had had in three days. 🙂 One kid had to make cookies for a school event, so we made some gingersnaps together and the kids ate the extras. Oh, and I made blueberry jell-o, but I was not a fan.
Monday: Pork chimichangas made with leftover pork shoulder, and a choice of frozen strawberries, frozen blueberries, or canned peaches.
Tuesday: Cube steaks, mashed potatoes, green salad with vinaigrette, granola for those who were still hungry after dinner.
Wednesday: My plan was barbecue pork sandwiches with the leftover pork, except when I opened the container with the pork in it, I found my son had been eating it for bedtime snacks and there wasn't enough left. Plan B was eggs. Also leftover mashed potatoes and melted cheese and carrot sticks with curry dip.
Thursday: My husband and I got the last of the bull meat from the freezer ground up, so I made barbecue meatballs with that, plus cornbread and frozen peas.
Tonight: I'm baking bread, so I'll use some dough to make a couple of pizzas. And a green salad with ranch dressing.
Congratulations on your first week!
Pantry/freezer theme this week
Sunday: Was going to be Buddha bowls, but we ended up hosting family for dinner, so we pivoted to pasta because that's what we had enough of in the pantry
Monday: Pantry nachos, using up random cheese whiz that had somehow ended up in our pantry and lived there for too long haha
Tuesday: Preschooler's choice, this time it was mini corn dogs instead of the regular ones. We all agreed they tasted better, but we're not sure why. Something in the batter was different
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: An old friend was visiting from out of town, so a group of us got together and ate at a park. The kids played, the adults talked, and it was lovely.
Friday: Some pre seasoned chicken drumsticks from the freezer that I bought when it was on a crazy sale. We'll grill or bake them, depending on weather
Saturday: Leftovers
Have a great weekend everyone!
I am so happy its September, I could cry! That's gotta mean a least a few new things that are moving in the right direction! That's how I'm gonna look at it...this week at my house:
Monday - kitchen closed (can't remember exactly but I think I had a quesadilla)
Tuesday - Crockpot Chicken Drums, baked potato, brussels sprouts
Wednesday - (freezer) Sloppy Joes, curly fries, watermelon
Thursday - Tilapia, greens, seasoned mushroom wild rice
Tonight - (my homemade version of) Shake and Bake Chicken Thighs, mashed potatoes, fresh green beans
Saturday and Sunday - My youngest will cook for us one of these nights each week. Its like having a personal chef!
I spent a lot more on groceries this week because I added in air filters, sparkling water, chik-fil-a bottled sauce, some plastic hangers...etc. And I am loving curbside pick up which makes it easy to get a lot of random things picked up!
@gina, I love September and the promise of cooler weather...around here, I get so excited when we start getting 50 degree nights, and DH always reminds me to not get TOO excited, because "summer fights back" and it looks like it will this weekend, but...I'm still excited.
Okay- I am going to try to remember what I had to start participating, instead of just observing.
WIS- $5.39 BJS (rotisserie chicken), $18.61 Wegmans (Salt and cracked pepper popcorn, and take away) for a total of $24. I am in the midst of trying to use up a lot of back stocked food from COVID worries while also paying for some major house work. Working to channel my inner creativity.
Friday- Chicken, pasta and oven roasted tomatoes
Saturday - Chicken, pasta and oven roasted tomatoes
Sunday - Take away from a local grocery store. - Spicy pork dumplings and General Tsao's chicken.
Monday - Kale and pork wrap
Tuesday - Quesadillas and sautéed squash.
Wednesday - Kale and pork wrap
Thursday - Freezer ham & peas with greens over rice.
Tonight- TBD depending on what thaws. Probably a pork and kale wrap to use up the leftover pork.
@ElbowGrease, well done working on using food that you stocked during Covid! It can be hard to be creative, but really satisfying at the same time. Keep up the good work!
@Lindsay B, thank you! I have a lot of repeats but fortunately almost all of it is shelf stable so it’s okay to slowly whittle away at it.
Have a great dinner tonight!
I prepped 4 meals last weekend for this work week and then of course had some unexpected overtime on Thursday. We did eat at home, but not the meal I had intended to. We will eat that tonight and the leftovers will be for tomorrow.
I had expected to have 5 portions of leftovers from my crockpot meatloaf, but had only 1,5 instead. They kept on eating. I'll take it as a compliment, but next time I will cut up and serve portions instead of putting the pan on the table.
Mealplanning for next week is probably a good idea, I'll see what I can think of.
I feel you on this week. I had a major deadline and was up late every night, plus since we were back from our weekend away, our toddler wasn't sleeping well. Definitely more takeout than I even enjoyed. I really just want a home-cooked meal!
Sunday: We came home late from the airport and ordered pizza. I actually recommend this as a part of a vacation--we order it when we land and it arrives home when we do. One last vacation treat!
Monday: I baked some chicken breasts from the freezer and sauteed some kale; Mr. B made some rice.
Tuesday: I had a gift card from work, and I got us sushi for dinner.
Wednesday: My mom treated us to takeout...and I chose sushi again! It's the secret healthy option, IMO.
Thursday: Mr. B made pasta and a salad.
Friday: Mr. B is making dinner, likely fish.
I can actually remember what we ate this last week, so I'm going to participate.
Last Saturday: we had bacon cheeseburgers, potato salad, refrigerator pickles at camp
Sunday: We went to our daughter's and we took corn on the cob and leftover potato salad and daughter made chicken and swiss sliders. Yum!
Monday: soft tacos
Tuesday: Chicken Parmesan over fettuccini noodles
Wesnesday: Open faced meatball subs on Garlic toast, french fries
Thursday: Chicken shepherd's pie
Saturday - I met with two friends in the afternoon for drinks and nachos so wasn’t hungry by dinner. The kids were having a playdate when I got home so I just put out a bunch of snacks for everyone (cheese, grapes, apples, crackers, salami) and they were happy enough with that for dinner!
Sunday - I made a large pot of pasta sauce with ground beef and Italian sausages, served over spaghetti
Monday - chicken and rice salad, I love this recipe, my kids normally just pick at it but this time my son ate it all, nice when their tastes change!
Tuesday - picnic night at the beach, half of a Trader Joe’s bagged salad kit for me, pb&j for kids, sliced peaches, plums and apples, baby carrots, vanilla wafer cookies for everyone
Wednesday - I took the kids to their favorite playground after their dentist appointment so we got home a little late. Luckily we had a lot of leftover pasta sauce from Sunday so I cooked some more pasta and we had that again
Thursday - Our 10 year wedding anniversary but we did not get to celebrate, we have rescheduled the celebration for next week haha Husband was home all day trying to work and take care of our daughter who woke up with a fever that morning, I was at work at the office. It was back to school night so I rushed home and picked up some Italian food on the way, it was just ok food. I got home and we got the kids into bed, then our daughter woke up a couple hours later, vomiting. We made it through the day at least!
Friday - not sure yet but something easy! I’ll be home with sick kid today. Maybe just cook some chicken Pattys with marinara and cheese on top and serve that with butter noodles.
WIS: Not much because trying to eat down the fridge and freezer. But about $4 on some cans of marked down Progresso soup because it sounded good but was being “discontinued”.
WIA: A lot of discounted Progressive “Light Italian-Style Meatball” soup. When I saw the size of the meatballs – from ¼ inch to ½ inch in diameter – I understood why it was being “discontinued”. Remember the old Wendy’s “Where’s the beef?!” commercials? These meatballs ranged from microscopic all the way up to … miniscule.
BUT … it was actually a pretty tasty soup – if you weren’t expecting, you know, actual meatballs. So I added some more pasta (and the pasta water) and a lot more vegetables to fill it out. And that’s pretty much what I ate this week. And there’s still some left, if anyone’s interested … No? Anyone? Bueller?
You know, in food – and life – it’s all about managing expectations. “Under promise and over deliver” has always been my motto. If Progressive had called it “Light Italian-Style Carrot and Pasta Soup with a Subtle Hint of Meatball” it might have been a runaway best seller.
But, alas, they overreached and dared to call it … Meatball Soup.
@JDinNM, I hear you on Progresso soups. The few times I've bought them, I've not only asked, "Where's the beef?", but "Where's the chicken?". etc. Oddly enough, however, I once bought a can of Progresso white clam sauce at our local grocery outlet, and it had a respectable number of clams in it. So I went back and bought more of it.
@A. Marie, The irony of this episode is that I don't as a rule cook my own soup from scratch -- too much work. But, having bought this soup, I pretty much had to re-make it, from scratch. But I did use up a lot of pantry items in the effort!
@A. Marie, I will say Progresso Lentil Soup is very nice. And the Clam Chowder has always been a hit around here, on the rare occasion, but I suspect that's because it's mostly potatoes and creamy broth, rather than a respectable number of clams.
@Karen A., They do make a good broth!
@JDinNM, I loved Progresso black bean soup and have not seen it in years. No one else in my family will eat bean soup, so there's no point in making a whole pot for myself. A can was just right.
"subtle hint of meatball" wouldn't make it past the marketing department, probably. lol
@Kristen, Lol!
Y'all know, I hope, that the meatballs in Italian Wedding Soup are supposed to be very small. Much as I love Progresso I find their IWS is too salty, so I can't opine on whether there are enough meatballs to make up for their size.
@JDinNM, If you like ready-made soups, I can recommend Campbell's Italian Wedding Soup. It has small meatballs, but there are a respectable number of them. I don't usually love canned soups, but this one is pretty good.
Kristen,
I’m so excited for you that you’re back in school aaand that you have a girl date with friends tonight!
Things we ate:
Friday- leftover enchiladas, refried beans, fruit
Saturday- pizza night
Sunday- leftover sausage w/peppers & onions, ziti, & red sauce, Caesar salad
Monday- honey garlic beef w/rice &broccoli
Tuesday- chicken strips, macaroni & cheese, corn, watermelon
Wednesday- garlic shrimp, brown rice, caprese salad, fruit
Thursday- chicken sausage, roasted potatoes, tomato & cucumber salad, melon
Friday-will be a pizza night but I think we will make a boboli pizza
Have a good Labor Day weekend everyone!
I still have Covid brain fog from being sick last week, but some meals that I remember:
-Odds and ends pasta bake - shredded mozzarella, ends of sour cream, marinara sauce that didn't get used up. Also fried calamari from the freezer and some green veggie I can't recall.
-Beans and rice, the beans were made in a sauce with lots of veggies, carrots, onions, etc. I think I also heated up frozen meatballs for the meat eaters
-Rice noodle teriyaki stir fry with tofu and lots of veggies
-Frozen pizza and a green salad
-Rice noodle soup of the leftovers with pork and veggie dumplings from the freezer
-Cheese quesadillas and wraps with the leftovers of the green salad.
Kristen, enjoy your long weekend break from classes!
I would like to say that nursing school gets better, but I think it is more that you get used to it. But the first week is always overwhelming, eventually chaos becomes the norm (lol welcome to nursing!)
Sunday: chicken meatballs with broccoli and protein pasta
Monday: korean rice bowls bc I am still on my homemade kimchi kick
Tuesday: Sushi takeout bc I ran errands all day (and we found a new sushi place with better hours!)
Wednesday: Shrimp and tofu pad see ew
Thursday: Greek turkey patties with roasted potatoes and salad
Friday: date/celebration night!! (I have been officially told to kick the boot to the curb and be in shoes 100% AAAAND I can watch as much as my ankle tells me to, so we are using a gift card and going out for dinner)
Saturday: I need to use up some cheese ravioli
Also, next week is going to be insane. I am a bridesmaid in a very big, very fancy wedding in NorCal, and there is SO. MUCH involved. So send the good vibes my way....
@Heather, does this mean that your Achilles is healed? Or do you have to clomp down the aisle wearing that clunky boot? (I had a bad ankle year awhile ago and oh ugh, The Boot. . .)
Yes! I figure that I will be the one changing and adapting...school won't change, but I can!
WIS: I made a small trip to the grocery store and spent $151; I pulled many digital coupons and shopped the sale to save a few extra dollars and add some items to our pantry and freezer. I will likely do a larger trip to Costco this weekend which I expect to be around the $300 mark. I still find these prices shocking even after all this time.
WWA:
Saturday: I cannot for the life of me remember. I know we were all fed.
Sunday: We had church and a Cub Scout meeting on this day so I threw two chuck roasts in the crock pot with some spices and tomatoes and we ate chipotle shredded beef bowls with jasmine rice, romaine, tomatoes, a bit of cheese, and salsa.
Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday: BBQ Chicken thighs cooked in the crockpot along with green salad & baked potatoes
Wednesday: I was out this evening so we hit the easy button and got takeout pizza
Thursday: Asian lettuce wraps with ground chicken & romaine lettuce leaves, jasmine rice and roasted green beans
Friday: Truly I have no idea but it will likely be something super easy like breakfast for dinner because I am tired and ready for the weekend!!
I hope that the 3-day weekend ahead is a relaxing one for everyone.
Well, my menu went out the door this week. I started out well! I made Chicken Shawarma with chopped cucumbers and a cassava naan bread. I also made Beef Bourguignon.
Then my younger daughter and I sheltered in the capital in an extended-stay hotel with a kitchen so my daughter ran out for a rotisserie chicken and fresh squash and zucchini plus a salad mix, which we had Tuesday night. The next night she went back home (her road was cleared, mine was not) and that evening I had eggs she had bought at the store so I made an egg sandwich with GF bread I had brought from home, plus a fruit salad my oldest daughter brought me. ( I had leftover chicken and vegetables at breakfast and lunch). My oldest daughter lives in the capital, but her house has been a plague house this week (Covid AND strep throat) so we didn't even attempt to shelter with her.
I went to work for a few hours on Thursday then went home. It was so muggy and hot at home I didn't cook on my camp stove. I had home canned beef soup for just such an emergency, but hot soup sounds horrible when one is hot and sweaty and the house is miserably hot. All that day, I ate one apple, one banana, a slice of GF bread with peanut butter, and some potato chips I picked up on the way home. Potato chips are not on my diet, but at this point, I'm not being too picky.
Thanks heavens my younger daughter's house is in town, so she has water although no power. I took a cool shower there.
I'm back at work today - ah, air conditioning - and may pick up something on the way home. It remains to be seen.
Happy long weekend to all the Labor Day observers! I've been told I might have power by Sunday; I'm really hoping I do. My yard is another story, but if I have water, lights and a/c, I can deal with it.
@JD, thank you for the update on your storm experience, but I'm sorry so much of it has been so bad. I remember my mother (who was living in Miami at the time) saying that the three weeks after Hurricane Andrew were three of the worst of her life, living with everything you describe (no water, no power, miserable heat, etc.). Here's hoping you have everything you need ASAP.
@JD, I am in absolute awe of you. I would still be curled up in a ball at that extended-stay hotel. Probably until Christmas. At least.
I hope your power is on soon! Being without air conditioning in hot, muggy weather is so awful.
Did too much last weekend so am trying hard not to over-schedule this glorious 4 day weekend, starting with take away tonight 😉 WWA:
Saturday- shrimp tacos with red cabbage, avocado, feta cheese, red onions, cilantro, and creamy hot sauce on top (yum!)
Sunday - homemade lasagna (Italian style with ragu and white sauce but dried noodles because they were in my pantry), green salad made with shredded romaine, dill, mint, feta, and lemon dressing, bread pudding made with old buns from the freezer served with vanilla ice cream
Monday - leftovers
Tuesday - red beans (made with ham-bone from freezer) and rice
Wednesday - no energy after work so had a bowl of cereal and struggled to stay awake until 8 (DD and DH had leftovers)
Thursday - stir fry chicken and veggies (crisper clean out) over noodles
Friday - fish and chips take away
Wishing everyone a wonderful long weekend
Enjoy your dinner out---you deserve it after getting through the first week!
Saturday/Sunday: Homemade pizzas, plus I made some pudding on Sunday with milk that was about to go south. I was able to make eight so the guys would have some for Sunday and Monday night.
Monday: First day of classes (in person for the first time) for our college sophomore, and first day of online classes for my College Credit Plus high schooler. My one remaining homeschooling middle schooler will start after Labor Day, as we've always done. So I made everyone's favorite chicken and rice casserole, which is everyone's favorite, roasted broccoli, chocolate pudding.
Tuesday: Burgers and salad bar.
Wednesday: Hamburger stew, courtesy of the oldest kid, and the leftover burgers from Tuesday. Youngest had mac and cheese and steamed broccoli.
Thursday: Tacos at home for those not volunteering, those who volunteered with me got to go to our favorite gyro place and we had a feast. Gyro plate with a side of falafel for me and the sophomore, DH had a gyro sandwich, and youngest had...the fried cod and french fries. Though he also graciously tried the falafel and had two patties! He actually liked something "spicy"! He said the texture was great. His "pickiness" is really a texture thing for him, not a taste issue.
Tonight: DH and I are fasting, but (God bless him) he's making tuna burgers for the kids. It is so hard to cook for others when you're fasting but he does it.
I was in a van doing a running relay for a few days, so I ate things out of the cooler. I was also very not hungry,which I later found out was due to COVID. I ate glamorous meals like 1/2 a ham sandwich & cheese puffs. Or, PBJ & a banana. I did buy a baked potato at one of the fundraiser stands, way, way out in the Oregon coast. A baked potato is perfect running fuel - totally bland for the stomach.
I have no clue what the folks at home ate, but looks like maybe some frozen lasagna, and pizza. They were also clearly healthing it up.
When I got home, I had COVID, so I locked myself away & missed both a lovely looking steak dinner on Sunday, and grilled burgers one night. I ordered takeout, and had a lot of soup.
For tonight, I'm going to defrost some taco meat, and see how many teens end up dining with me. If I defrost the small container, inevitably, all teens + guests will likely show. Big container? It will just be me.
Kristen, is nursing school all-day classes, 5 days a week?? (Unlike regular college, where you can arrange classes to be clumped together with breaks in between) Sounds exhausting and overwhelming. I'm thinking it is time for those who pray to hold you up now!
@Central Calif. Artist,
that's what I was wo during as well. How is nursing school organized in the US?
Weeks on stretch with all day classes and then weeks of practical training in a clinic? When training/working in a hospital - do you do shifts as well? Like working evening or nights?
Your week did sound stressful - enjoy your evening out with friends and the long weekend!
Hi Kristen! Ha, this was my first week back on campus too and I also brought my lunch to eat between classes. I noticed you brought a smoothie and I'm wondering, do your classes start early in the morning? I have such a sensitive stomach in the morning that I can't bring anything that gets things churning too much, if you know what I mean. I bring boring foods like crackers and sandwiches.
Christie
It depends on the day; some days lectures start at 8 am, some days 9 am, and on some days I don't have any events until the afternoon.
The only consistent thing is the inconsistency!
@Kristen, Good prep for nursing shifts, I imagine.
BRAVE, first week of nursing school under your belt! Every week you will get closer to new routines that work well for you both at school, in clinical, and at home!
Yes,I was scouring the photos to try to figure out how your hot dog croutons would taste!!
Enjoy the holiday weekend!!
@Madeline, I meant BRAVO!!!!!!!!!
Ooo so glad you shared the pulled pork recipe link! I love pulled pork so much. Gonna be trying your recipe soon! I also want to say good for you for spending some time with your support group friends. Support groups are so priceless when it comes to how helpful they are in supporting your emotional and mental health. I am in a cancer support group (we are only in our 40's and my husband has brain cancer) and I should probably try to find a way to do the same with some of the other spouses! Thanks for the inspiration/encouragement.
Being with people who are going through/have been through your particular trial is so helpful! They understand you so easily.
Ok. I'm going to try to remember.
Like Kristen, this was the first week of school, but not for me, just the kids.
Sat - My husband took the older boys out for their birthday dinner. This was a VERY FANCY dinner so it counted as their present, but they've wanted to go to this place since they heard about it last spring. I took the younger ones to the 99 (their request).
Sun - I had a dinner meeting (ate pizza and apps) and the rest all had spaghetti & meatballs.
Mon - Corn & fish chowder
Tues - First day of school for some. We ate tacos.
Wed - First day for the rest, second day for some. I gave the kids spaghetti & meatballs while hubby & I went for a start of school year dinner out.
Thurs - Shrimp with squid ink pasta
Fri - Football BBQ for one kid plus parents. Boxed mac n cheese with spinach salad for the rest.
Next week is the first relatively full week. Still only four days. This week was three full days, 2.5 days, or just two days depending on how old you are.
I really enjoy seeing the side/dessert of fruit you frequently serve. We have adult men back home now, so we prioritize a lot of food and mostly meat (I used to be this way too, when I was younger, so I understand.)
Curious how you’re going to handle the busy weeks as they pile up, but you are powerful, Kristen, and will navigate as your household needs.
One suggestion: if you end up doing more meal prep on the weekend… Perhaps a late/midweek post of what you did/made that just gets dropped later in the week? My 2 cents that weren’t asked for, but I am wishing the best for you and I’d be curious to see your decision process.
I tried the chipotle chicken marinade on shrimp and grilled them. Two enthusiastic thumbs up!