WIS, WWA | whoa, the empty shelves
The grocery stores are feeling eerily reminiscent of their early 2020 selves. It's kind of wild!
I don't know if I'm just getting sort of used to this type of thing or what, but I am less pressed about it than I was in early 2020. I'm kinda like, "Well, ok. This won't be permanent, and we'll just adjust for now."
What I Spent
It was a quiet week on the grocery shopping front:
- $27 at Harris Teeter
- $22 at Giant
- $42 on takeout
So, $91 total.
And this is not wholly unexpected, given that I spent $229 last week!
What We Ate
Saturday
Mr. FG and I got takeout from a local seafood place and ate it while watching Law and Order.
Sunday
This is usually Mr. FG's night to cook, but he ended up skipping his night and we got subs instead.
Monday
I tried this Pioneer Woman panini recipe, and I would say it was just ok. I didn't love the sage leaves combined with the apricot spread; something about it felt odd.
Tuesday
I went out to dinner with my sister-in-law and Mr. FG and the girls fended for themselves, with things like ramen and mac and cheese.
Wednesday
We had waffles, bacon, and OJ. But notably, not whipped cream and strawberries, which was a bit of a letdown to Sonia.
And I have to say, I'm on her side. Whipped cream and strawberries > maple syrup and butter, in my opinion.
Thursday
We had a rotisserie chicken with sweet potato fries, raw produce, and some gravy that I made.
Friday
Ever since I wrote the post this week about meals to bring to other people, I have been seriously wanting a burrito bowl. So I think that's what I might make for dinner tonight!
Dinner is our smallest meal of the day so we keep it fairly simple. This week we had:
- Crustless quiche with broccoli, mushrooms and wild rice
- Wild rice soup
- Noodles and broccoli
- Stewed lentils and tomatoes (twice)
- Plate of veggies: mushrooms, broccoli, pearl onions and golden beets
- Popcorn and fruit
@MB in MN, Every time I see the popcorn and fruit night on your weekly menus, I start to dream about the future when I might be able to have meals like this on occasion, rather than cooking a full multi-dish dinner every night for six people. Of course, if that ever happens, I'll probably be crying into my popcorn, missing my insane children, but still. I love seeing it on your recap every week.
@MB in MN,
If it is t too personal: Is lunch then your biggest meal? Do you make dinner-type foods for it?
I love the pared-down dinners in your list. We have something similar since we are empty nesters now. I have to rethink dinners when they visit as they did for 2 weeks over Christmas!
@kristin @ going country, I found it very difficult to make the adjustment to cooking smaller meals after my little chicks flew the coop. I remember my husband asking for chicken pot pie. I made as I always did in a deep dish 9 x 13 pan. We ate it for days. When I made chili, I took out the stock pot. My recipe for spaghetti sauce made 8 quarts.
Now, 10 years later, I have the opposite problem. I forget how much 6 people can eat. When everyone was home for Christmas. I kept running out of things. I made multiple trips to the store. That wouldn’t do for you.
@kristin @ going country, it's definitely easier to eat this way without kids. Even if fruits and veggies were cut into the most fun shapes imaginable, there would still likely be a revolt! Plus, kids obviously need more food for their growing selves. Since I’m shrinking as I get older (I’m 62 and a half), I don’t need near as much or as often.
@Erika JS, I’m happy to answer your question! The short answer is that we follow the old adage “Breakfast like a king; lunch like a prince; dinner like a pauper.” We often flip the script and have dinner-type foods earlier in the day. Just this morning, I had the leftover stewed lentils and tomatoes (over brown rice to make it more filling) along with fruit and granola. The longer story is that I have the pandemic and retirement to thank for this different way of eating. Being home so much and having time to be more mindful about what/when/why we were eating made us realize that we needed more fuel earlier in the day and that we slept better on emptier stomachs.
@kristin @ going country, empty nest here. We have popcorn for supper every ten days or so.
@MB in MN, Active reader, seldom commenter here.
I live alone, and your dinners make so much sense to me. A few nights a month, popcorn and fruit are a full meal. Most nights are a batch cooked meal, and the remaining nights are a mismatch of takeout or pre-packaged frozen meals.
The real magic is the takeout nights. Often, falafel from the local Syrian market or bibimbap from the Korean restaurant in my small but diverse town. Thank goodness for affordable, diverse food. Keeps my world interesting.
@Abigail, yum to your takeout choices! My small town is sadly lacking in diversity, culinary and otherwise.
@kristin @ going country, trust me when I say you will greatly miss cooking for six and its hard to lean into eating whatever you want...even if you love popcorn like I do!
@MB in MN, I love this and have wondered about following that adage since we retired. We have noticed that we sleep much better after a lighter meal too. Thanks for your explanation which gives me food for thought (pun intended!).
@kristin @ going country, I do these sometimes with my kids. They love it. I call it snack dinner and it's sometimes a nice little way to clear out lunch-type odds and ends from my fridge. A little lunchmeat, some cheese, crackers, popcorn, veggies... the options can be endless.
@Amy, Half my kids don't even consider sandwiches a "real dinner," I would never be able to sell them on snacks. A problem of my own making. 🙂
I usually do grocery pickup, so I never see the shelves (and I don’t usually have trouble getting everything I need in my pickup orders so I assumed the stores were well stocked) but I went into a grocery store this week and did notice empty shelves. It was so odd though, it seemed to be random items, not so much staples. I went to get my kids some fruit snacks and the entire fruit snack section was empty (but the other snacks in the same aisle were well-stocked). I agree though, it doesn’t really bother me at this point!
Saturday - takeout Chinese food
Sunday - kielbasa, sauerkraut, egg noodles with butter and sour cream, steamed carrots and green beans, apple turnovers
Monday - spaghetti and meatballs
Tuesday - ground turkey tacos, corn, cilantro lime rice
Wednesday - creamy vegetable wild rice soup
Thursday - salad with chicken, chicken and veggie pearl couscous for the kids
Friday - homemade mushroom and sausage pizza
I spent $129 @ Costco on perishables mostly.
Saturday - It was cold so chili and cornbread fit the bill.
Sunday - Leftovers
Monday - Porkchops with gravy, rice, and pea salad
Tuesday - hubby had leftovers & I made a big pot of clam chowder with fresh bread and butter
Wednesday - Leftovers
Thursday - I pulled the last of the turkey that was frozen from Thanksgiving and some frozen asparagus and whipped up a quick casserole which we ate with leftover rice
Friday - Turkey breast in the crockpot, cornbread dressing to use the leftover cornbread & green beans from the garden
Saturday & Sunday - I don't any real cooking plans but since it is going to be COLD I am thinking that soup will be on our menu in some form or another
Happy Friday!
A cold has been passing through my family (all of us testing negative for Covid) so I just keep to myself at work and thank heaven that we all have our own offices in my work place. I work for a very small company so I don't have anyone to back me up if I miss work, and this was a week for important reports and payroll. I feel mostly okay during the day, but I'm wiped out in the evenings.
All that to say that my menu was pretty much whatever I scrounged.
I did cook a burger patty one night and had it sans bun, with cut up carrots and ranch dressing that I had thankfully already made before I got this cold.
The first night, when I didn't feel so bad, I cooked goat chops and roasted vegetable medley. I think I had fruit on the side.
I finished the leftover stew from the freezer.
I made macaroni and topped it with nutritional yeast for a bit of cheesy flavor with no extra work. Some spinach on the side.
I had one of my frozen Paleo On The Go meals that I keep for emergencies (they are AIP compliant).
And that's all I can remember.
I am going grocery shopping for two weeks' worth of groceries today, so I'll see what's on the shelves.
P.S. My company president's dog (a Labrador Retriever) keeps coming in to prop her nose on my lap and ask for scratches. I like working where any employee's dog can randomly show up to work now and then.
@JD, I know that feeling of being the primary cook and then getting sick, and grateful for anything that has been prepared before the illness set in. It's all well and good to say that someone else should be cooking for you if you're sick, but it often doesn't really work that way. I hope you feel 100% very soon.
@kristin @ going country,
Thanks, Kristin, I think I am on the mend at last. I'm tired of being tired!
I have noticed the shelves at the store but it doesn’t bother me much because I have a good food storage. I did walk through the frozen aisles last weekend because we were having appetizer night and I thought egg rolls or taquitos would be Sun addition but there wasn’t much to choose from so I changed my mind which was the healthier option.
Dinners at our house-
Friday- pizza takeout (which was just meh so this week we will do homemade I think)
Saturday- Appetizer night
Sunday- roast chicken with roasted veggies, pear and almond tart
Monday- homemade chicken noodle soup with bread and fruit
Tuesday- Mediterranean fish with wilted greens, white beans, cucumber & tomato salad
Wednesday- Spaghetti, spaghetti squash, meatballs, Parmesan chicken
Thursday- leftovers
I planned dinners for all of January which my husband complained about but he is adjusting because it isn’t really as restrictive as he thought it would be. We are having homemade soup every Monday, an appetizer night each week, a fish night each week (he loves fish and I tolerate most fish), a chicken dish every week, pizza each Friday so that only leaves 2 nights per week to plan for and I think leftovers will take one night. I’ve started planning February and I do think having several weeks planned is reducing our food costs which was my goal.
@Beth, I need to plan more. Great idea.
I just ordered for grocery pick up at Aldi and they were offering a lot of substitutions, which I do not want. Fingers crossed that most of the items are available and I won't have to go to another Aldi to get my items. Only 1 store in the area offers pick up service, so I can make it to the other store, if necessary. But I don't want to go into a store with Omicron since I just got over it. Trying to do store pick up where available.
Sunday: Chicken with cauliflower rice and salsa and cheese
Monday: grilled chicken with grilled veggies.
Tuesday: Shepherd's Pie
Wednesday: Quarantine was over so we went to our favorite BBQ place that has HUGE salads.
Thursday: White Bean soup from freezer
Friday: Cabbage soup from freezer
I didn't know there were empty shelves again. Benefit of not going to stores, regularly, I suppose. Although I did have to wait a week for frozen peas from Sysco. Obviously, this is not a big deal, given the quantity of food at my house I have at all times.
Saturday: Barbecue meatballs, mashed potatoes, carrot sticks with curry dip (mayonnaise+sweet curry powder), curried cauliflower
Sunday: Beef pot roast, rice, roasted golden beets, cucumber with ranch dip, ice cream (either with maple syrup or as a milkshake with cocoa powder--hooray for the immersion blender with which I can make a single milkshake without having to wash half a dozen pieces!)
Monday: I had made a big pot of gound beef and bean chili the day before, which we had this night with leftover quesadillas from school lunch, as well as some "failed" oatmeal-raisin cookies the school cook gave me. When the butter is too warm, the cookies are very thin and crispy, but I actually like them that way. So do my kids. I was in and out quickly between work and an event, and was too tired and rushed to serve a separate vegetable. No one got scurvy.
Tuesday: Chili mac with the leftovers from the big pot of chili, plus two boxes of overly-salty Annie's mac and cheese, but using only one of the cheese packets. Still plenty salty with only one of those packets. And a green salad.
Wednesday: Finally finishing the chili! This time in corn tortillas with cheese to make soft tacos. Plus frozen peas. There wasn't enough of the chili for everyone, though, so I took out a container of the post-Thanksgiving turkey soup that I froze without a starch in it (to avoid mushiness). I added leftover rice to that, plus frozen peas, and those who didn't have tacos had soup and cheese.
Thursday: Pork and sauerkraut, leftover mashed potatoes, various leftover vegetables, and an attempt to salvage a Very Not Ripe pineapple by caramelizing it in butter that really did not work. If a pineapple starts out tasteless, nothing will help it. Boo.
Tonight: Beef stir-fry and rice.
@kristin @ going country, I'm curious - if you lived in a more populated area with easier access to grocery stores, do you think you'd still stock your home in the same way or do you think you'd run much more bare? I tend to be an underbuyer and am constantly struggling to find that balance of having the right amount of food around.
BTW, I thought of you a few weeks ago - we flew in to Albuquerque and drove up to Taos and then on to Utah and saw the little communities dotted throughout. I grew up in Albuquerque so I was so happy to be back in the Land of Enchantment (and to be able to eat the delicious NM food). It's still such a beautiful place to me and it feels like home.
@kristin @ going country, I dehydrate tasteless pineapples and watermelons and love how it concentrates what flavor there is.
@CrunchyCake, By nature I'm definitely a stockpiler, although this is the first place I've ever had two large chest freezers. When I did live somewhat closer to stores, I had only one chest freezer. So I guess that's my answer: I'd probably have less than I do now, but definitely not "bare." Makes me too nervous. And if you can believe it, I have still never been to Taos or Santa Fe, the two places that people come to New Mexico specifically to see. Someday . . .
@Lindsey, Good idea! Next time. Although I actually hope there won't be a next time, because the children were very, very disappointed. Fruit is a rare-enough treat for them that being deprived of a very anticipated specimen was a real bummer.
All the news stories about empty shelves has been giving me low levels of anxiety but I keep reminding myself that we do have a stocked pantry and even if I had to get creative we will have plenty of food. We haven't had empty shelves but we do have shortages on certain items which just feels weird. I'm still working on cleaning out the freezer so that has kept me out of the stores and has my anxiety a little better.
Sunday - My husband and I came home from a weekend trip but he left again for a business trip. Since I cleaned out the fridge before we left my son and I went out for dinner.
Monday - I pulled some frozen leftover soup out of the freezer and made some homemade crackers.
Tuesday - Pot Roast (part of a frozen meat Christmas gift), mashed potatoes, braised cabbage (last of the CSA cabbage I froze this summer).
Wednesday - Pasta and red sauce (sauce was frozen from a larger batch I made).
Thursday - I tried a Cajun Chicken and Rice recipe that I had in my to-make pile and I wasn't in love with it. It wasn't bad but it won't be made again.
Friday - We'll be doing Friday Night Fancy - sous vide steaks and mushroom risotto.
Saturday - Chili and cheddar biscuits are on the menu.
I think I mainly feel less worried about it this time around because it seems quite certain that it will be temporary. And that's because this spike in cases looks to be over in fairly short order.
But you are right; it does feel super weird!
The Kroger where I shop seems to be about 85-90% stocked. However, when I stopped in Walgreens, I was amazed! Many shelves were completely empty, and overall, I would guess it was only about 40% stocked.
Here's what I had this week:
Saturday-egg, cinnamon rolls, hashbrowns, orange juice
Sunday-meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, pineapple
Monday-Knorr noodles, peas, carrots, pineapple
Tuesday-leftover meatloaf, etc.
Wednesday-leftover noodles, etc.
Thursday-last of the meatloaf
Friday-Panera bread pizza
@BarbG, For me, Walgreens was only slightly understocked, but CVS had huge gaps. My local CVS is usually understocked but this was even worse than their usual.
Yesterday: takeout.
Wednesday: chicken or veal cutlets and saffron rice.
Tuesday: steak for son, CPK copy kung pao spaghetti with chicken for me and daughter
Monday: ravioli
Sunday: leftover potato 'n' bacon soup
Tonight, pot roast.
Saturday: Spaghetti and the last of the frozen meat sauce
Sunday: Mushroom-barley-lentil soup
Monday: Chicken with roasted carrots, parsnips, and sweet potato
Tuesday: I was out at my parents,' my husband got something at the grocery store
Wednesday: I made a triple-batch of meatballs and tomato sauce, so we had some for dinner with spaghetti
Thursday: Takeout pizza! I made a little salad, but we didn't eat it because we just wanted pizza lol
Friday: White fish, I think, with roasted vegetables and leftover salad. Last week we had the fish roasted with onions, tomatoes, lemon, and herbs.
This week, I massively over-estimated how much we'd eat, and we wasted some leftovers. So I basically swung in the other direction from a few weeks ago, when I asked you all for advice because I wasn't making enough food! Oh, well. Maybe I'll inch towards the Goldilocks ideal...
No empty shelves here in Stuttgart/Germany.
Friday:
Had guests and served cheese fondue. The white wine, two different suisse cheeses and lots of bread needed for the recipe. I bought lots of these ingredients as I knew I would need them in the course of the week. With the fondue I served all sorts of pickles.
Saturday:
made a big batch of bread dumplings. Some of them were eaten with mushrooms (champignons) in a cream sauce, accompanied with a lambs lettuce salad with walnuts.
Sunday:
Had guests. We had a creamy chestnut soup. The left over white wine and the cheeses were needed for this.
Followed by Schnitzel from chicken breast and potato salad.
For dessert Tarte au citron
Monday:
Some of left over bread dumplings sliced and fried in the pan with two eggs scrambled over them. Salad of mixture of green salads, beet salad.
Tuesday:
Pumpkin soup from the freezer and cheese biscuits. Beet salad
Wednesday:
The rest of the bread dumplings sliced and turned into a salad with a simple vinaigrette and salad of radishes (the red ones. Small and round)
Thursday:
Spaghetti and tomato sauce and grated parmesan. Lambs lettuce salad
Tonight I am invited for dinner
@Lea,
Your meals sound delicious. I should make raclette. It's the perfect weather for it right now and I love it sooooooooo much.
I have never had raclette! But it looks so delicious.
Unfortunately, Mr. FG doesn't really like cheese, and of course, Sonia can't have cheese.
When I make my trip to Long Island, you and I can eat raclette. Heh.
@Rose,
Thank you Rose. Raclette is yummy and so easy to make. Thanks to you it is on my list now. I completely forgot about it. I do not own the Raclette Grill and spatulas etc but a friend of mine lends it to me whenever I ask for it. And of course I will have her over for dinner then 🙂
Kristen--and you married him anyway?!?!
My favorite food is cheese.
Well, he will eat cheese on and in things (like on pizza, or in a panini), but he is not a fan of cheese more on its own. Like he wouldn't eat cheese and crackers, cheese fondue, or raclette.
I, on the other hand, will happily eat cheese in pretty much any form!
@Lea, Oooohhhh, German pickles, schnitzel, potato salad. Wonderful.
@Lea, I'm drooling over your list of interesting and delicious dinners!
@Lea, What a delicious sounding menu! I want to eat dinner at your house!
Fish and corn chowder and garlic toast
Taco salads
Quiche and salad
Went out to dinner for a date
Pesto pasta and salad
I spent the week cleaning out the refrigerator trying to use up things that have been lingering
Saturday - Thai rice noodles with peanut sauce with 1/2 bag of spinach, 1 pepper, 1 zucchini, and 2 carrots.
Sunday - noodles again
Monday - roasted chicken thighs with fennel and oranges. We were supposed to have this over Christmas
Tuesday - steak (6 ounces), baked potato and salad.
Wednesday - Taco Salad
Thursday - Chicken Mediterranean (tomatoes, caper, olives and artichokes)
Friday - ?
On Saturday was the first time I noticed empty shelves, or more correctly that the stores didn’t have what I was looking for since I saw that they tend to fill the empty space with the neighboring product.
Saturday - foccacia from our favorite local baker. I buy only the bread itself there (frozen from the day before so it’s half price). Filled it with salad, mozarella and tomatoes.
Sunday - quick tacodinner since I was flying later in the evening.
Monday - ordered meze to my hotelroom. Have been to the restaurant preCovid but the takeaway was a dissappiontment.
Tuesday: partner made breaded cod with potatoes and shredded carrots.
Wednesday and Thursday: was home alone so ate a freezermeal. Salted mutton, sausage, mashed root vegetables and potatoes.
Today we will make homemade pizza with blue cheese and bacon, yum!
@G from Northern Norway, I never thought to add blue cheese to pizza but that sounds great! I have a big piece of it and no one else here eats it, I’m going to add it to a portion of the pizza I make tonight, thanks for the idea!
@LB, A local specialty restaurant here had pizza with blue cheese, figs, bacon or other cured meat bits, and last minute added arugula and I forgot what dressing, probably more fig. It was wonderful.
@Heidi Louise, that sounds so delicious!
@LB,
A vlogger I follow, Sam the Cooking Guy, has a mac & cheese recipe that involves adding bacon, bleu cheese and sauteed onion. He also, I believe, added panko to the top and put in the oven for a bit of crunch. I usually skip the last part out of laziness, but otherwise love it!!
@LB, happy that you perhaps found an additional use for the blue cheese!
We used to have trouble finishing a package before it went bad but after I started using it on pizza or in sauce (delicious on white fish) I have also started freezing the leftover cheese. Since it will be melting it doesn’t matter any longer that it gets kinda strange after defrosting.
We were supposed to be in Philly and NYC visiting my best friend but since EVERYONE has covid (including my husband and probably me..pending my pcr results), I didn't have a lot on hand for dinner prep. Thank god something told me to do a decent-ish grocery shop on Sunday before everyone's test came back positive.
Sunday- frozen snacks and a bagged salad. not the greatest, but we were fed
Monday- takeout pho, my husband was feeling the congestion and wanted the nourishment of asian noodle soup
Tuesday- Turkey/lentil chili
Wednesday- tofu and potsticker bowls w various veggies to use up
Thursday- bucatini with greens from the garden and roasted butternut squash
Friday- I have been promised takeout pizza since this week has not been the vacation I was promised
Saturday- probably shrimp tacos since I have everything I need for them without grocery shopping
For reasons unknown, our stores have been out of heavy cream. I finally scored some but it's a large container. What to do with all this cream? I am bummed to hear of the unsubscribed, but I also understand. The unvaccinated are almost being ridiculed in this country (well, not almost, I'm looking at you President Biden). So perhaps it feels like all they can do to stand up for themselves and do things like unsubscribe to a happily vaccinated blogger . I personally long for the days to return to privacy over such matters...your health should be your business and yours alone. (No offense, Kristen, for openly sharing.)
Ummmm, I have no problem using up a container of heavy cream. Ha. Whipped cream and fruit? A lovely sauce? A splash in coffee or tea? Cream biscuits?
Add it to scrambled eggs, or pour it over your oatmeal. Or you could make some ice cream!
There is never such a thing as too much heavy cream. 🙂
@Sarah C.,
Although I am confused as to what you mean by the subscriptions decreasing, I do agree with your point. More medical privacy and tolerance of others' personal beliefs are greatly needed.
Anyway, I was perusing my favorite cooking website, (Mels Kitchen Cafe), and found a couple of recipes that you might find helpful for your "creamy" situation!
Creme Fraiche (asks for whipping cream, but you can use heavy cream instead): https://www.melskitchencafe.com/creme-fraiche-how-to-and-caprese-focaccia/.
Peaches and Cream Sensation: https://www.melskitchencafe.com/peaches-and-cream-sensation/.
Heavenly Raspberry Cream Angel Food Cake: https://www.melskitchencafe.com/raspberry-cream-angel-food-cake-dessert/.
Parmesan Cream Corn: https://www.melskitchencafe.com/delicious-parmesan-cream-corn/.
This is just a small sample of the amount of recipes on her site. I encourage you, and others, to check it out! I have never made anything from Mel's that is not worth the effort. Thanks and God bless.
Oh, in my email to subscribers today, I mentioned that a higher-than-usual number of people unsubscribed yesterday, and I assume it is because I mentioned that we are vaccinated.
And I said that regardless of vaccination status, all are welcome here, and I don't think it's an issue to break friendships over, but that I understand if other people disagree.
@Sarah C.,
We have a lot of random things missing here in Idaho so far, but have everything we need.
I think you’re on to something re unvaccinated unsubscribing. I am currently unvaccinated, a decision I did not make lightly, and I still happily follow vaccinated and unvaccinated bloggers alike bc I believe we all must follow our conscience and allow others the same freedom. I’m so glad Kristen has such a welcoming, helpful blog! In other spaces (completely unrelated to health!), I do see shame, judgment, and ridicule, and even invitations for the unvaccinated to unfollow, so I imagine some of them are becoming very defensive. Thank you Kristen for making this a welcoming space for all! The vaccinated and unvaccinated have so much more in common than their vaccination status!
I figure that you always catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Being all, "Eff you! Unfollow me if you aren't vaxxed!" is only going to make people dig in more, I think. At a minimum, it's unhelpful. At worst, it's counterproductive. And in every case, it ends up creating an echo chamber of a community.
I think of it like this: if I wanted to convince people to bake their own bread, and I said, "If you refuse to bake your bread, just unfollow me now.", that would be kind of dumb. Much better to cheerfully share about my own baking, share how-tos, and then see what happens.
As someone with no actual authority over my readers, I think it's always better to inspire than require. 🙂
@Sarah C., As someone with a family member whose medical history makes it dangerous for them to be vaccinated (as in, their doctor begged them not to because just the usual side effects would land them in the hospital), I’m also REALLY tired of the blanket disdain. I have had all available shots for their sake; for their sake, I also hope for eventual herd immunity and more people getting vaccinated. That said, I know well it’s a more nuanced decision than it’s given credit for. I don’t automatically assume that everyone who doesn’t have a shot is a monster, nor should I have to give a primer on my family member’s medical history to prove that they’re not, either!
In short, I’m perturbed with both sides of the equation, and I’m grateful for Kristen’s graceful take on the subject.
@LizAnn, That is the outlook that I have, but you said it better.
@Sarah C., the run on heavy cream may be in part due to so many people eating a keto/low carb diet. It is legal and used in many recipes and in coffee.
@Sarah C., Kristen and all, I agree with wanting respect for all and the loveliness of this nonjudgmental community. It’s a joy to come here!
While I’m sure you’re all correct on why a bunch unsubscribed, there is also the possibility at some of them at least are doing a clean out of their newsletters which is common every January. Perhaps they feel they get too many emails. They may not be like the majority of us here who look for Frugal Girl's blog post first thing in the morning with coffee. A very happy pairing!
So, it’s possible that the extra high numbers included some that just wanted to pare down their incoming emails. I bet they return, too!
@Sarah C., I TOTALLY agree with your remarks. Although Kristen usually replies in a diplomatic way, her readers are not always as gracious. One reader “can’t wait for CDC camps for the unvaccinated and functioning… at least they will be segregated”. This rhetoric is divisive and cruel. I personally have several friends who are unvaccinated on the advice of their personal physicians. Should they be “locked away”? This type of statement may spur readers unsubscribe.
As for medical privacy, my 34 years of serving in the field brings a solid understanding of the HIPPA laws and for the rights of a patient to the utmost privacy.
It amazes me what people feel is theirs to know, often to the point of rudeness. My medical history is private until I choose to share it.
We had several variations of potato / protein / produce. We managed to use up several leftovers and by yesterday the crisp drawer was nearly empty. Today the green grocer has delivered two weeks worth of fruit, potatoes and vegetables. It is sufficiently cool in our garage.
I love how creative you get when you have a great variety to choose from and combine!
We are also seeing some bare shelves here in NH. There doesn't seem to be much of a pattern to it this time.
Sunday: We had lasagna and garlic bread. I also made some plain pasta for one child who avoids dairy and served it with some meat sauce leftover from assembling the lasagna. I always make a very big one to create several lunch portions for those family members who like it.
Monday: Pulled pork sliders, using a pork roast from the freezer. I was going to make coleslaw, but the cabbage was moldy, which is very odd. Usually cabbage keeps very well. I made a sort of slaw out of shredded carrots. It was ok.
Tuesday: Chicken Fajita Bowls. One of my kids' favorite dinners, so they were very pleased.
Wednesday: Homemade macaroni and cheese with fruit salad. Always a hit!
Thursday: Chicken patty sandwiches (using frozen patties), lettuce, tomato and pickles to top the sandwiches, raw veggies and some random chips.
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I don't understand your remark about the panini recipe. How is sage & apricot wrong? There is NO SAGE in the recipe.
Oh that's so weird! The cookbook version (which I used) has fried sage leaves in the recipe. I had assumed the online version would be the same, but I didn't look that closely.
@Kristen, no, it has spinach leaves and sounds great. I was curious, too, about what you said. I think sage is delicious in nearly everything, and I have sage plants in the garden that have stuck around for about 12 years, so it’s basically free. In winter the leaves are withered and ugly under the mulch but taste OK in recipes. If I didn’t have the plants I’d never pay $3-5 at the store- not frugal and definitely not worth frying and fooling around with. This would call for improv- maybe some fresh parsley and dried poultry seasoning chopped up together, sprinkled on the panini? My parsley and thyme, chives, and a little tarragon are still hanging around (for free!) under the mulch, adding flavor and green and nutrition to meals (for free!)
We've definitely been having empty shelves around here, too. And I cracked up when I looked on the Aldi app and saw that one of next week's special buys is Halloween sticker books! I guess they finally made it off the ship!!!
I find that the price increases are contributing to my struggle to menu plan. I typically plan around what meats and veggies are on sale, but now I look at the prices and think, "I'm not paying that. That's not a good sale." So meals lately have included more of using what's in my pantry or freezer (which isn't a bad thing) and I haven't had a good solid week's worth of meals planned out in a while. Sigh.
Saturday - Having taken inspiration from Kristen's baked ziti last week that was composed of random-ish noodles, I made baked ziti out of rotini and macaroni noodles with green beans on the side.
Sunday - Meatloaf from the freezer, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce
Monday - Tacos
Tuesday - Pork roast, roasted butternut squash, leftover cranberry sauce
Wednesday - Pork BBQ sandwiches on Kristen's homemade fluffy hamburger buns and potato salad. I had planned on having broccoli too, but by the time I finished making the buns and potato salad I was done.
Thursday - Turkey broccoli alfredo and garlic bread from the leftover buns
Friday - I got chicken leg quarters from Aldi today, so I'll do something with them. We have a lot of potatoes to use up, so maybe some oven fries to go with them. And I'll find a green veggie somewhere. I always have peas in the freezer for such an occasion!
Kristen, after years of being a faithful reader, I can't imagine unsubscribing over your vaccination status! It has nothing to do with your blog at all. Some people are so quick to dismiss people over petty things. I had a friend once dump me because I didn't want to use formula in my baby's rice cereal. Her baby was exclusively formula fed. I guess she felt it was a judgement against her choices. Can't we agree to disagree on some things and appreciate the other things about people?
I often think this type of reaction must be about the other person's insecurities because it's not like you were trying to tell her what to do! She must have been feeling raw about this topic to begin with.
I haven't really been in grocery stores lately to see all the mess but yeah, Just in Time inventory really breaks down easily it seems, especially with regards to
It does worry me a bit and triggers my hoarding tendencies but I remember that I have plenty of rice, plenty of flour, plenty of meat etc. Basically milk, vegetables and fruit are the only things I'm not fully stocked on.
Saturday: Cracker Barrel 😀 (we used a Christmas gift card)
Sunday: Beef chuck roast, mashed potatoes, gravy, various vegetables
Monday: Leftovers from the previous night
Tuesday: Drawing a complete blank here but I know I worked overtime so I suspect it was nothing all that complex.
Wednesday: Homemade chicken tenders (breaded and baked) leftover mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn, broccoli and carrots.
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Pizza night tonight (homemade.)
Yup, just-in-time works as long as everything goes smoothly!
Because I had to work through the weekend and thus not have the time needed for a weekend cook-ahead session, my family did for themselves for supper all week. I came home so tired every day that a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with an apple felt gourmet. My husband had ham sandwiches with fresh veg, cheese and nuts.
Last night we did a rare thing for us and bought take-out from a nearby BBQ place that has a walk-up window on a breezy open air porch too small to accommodate more than three people. The food was delicious.
Yes, lots of empty shelves in Oregon as well. It’s good practice in flexibility. We had homemade pasta and sauce a few nights in a row this week and then switched to burritos with homemade refried beans (so much better than the kind from a can) for a few nights. We are practicing our burrito making skills, and making good progress. It was a busy work week so it was nice to have quick meals on hand.
Normally I stay stocked on food but this week I had a difficult time finding powdered sugar to make my son's birthday cake. I suppose I could have bought store-bought frosting but I persevered and found some at store #3. This came in handy when we too made waffles and could make whipped cream 🙂
Other meals were tacos, chicken parm, potato soup, tomato soup, and plenty of leftovers.
@Jennifer, Pardon me if you already know this, but you can make powdered sugar by putting regular sugar into a food processor and pulverizing it...
@Lindsey, and Jennifer, everyone: or just use regular old table sugar! I never heard of using powdered sugar or spending time pulverizing sugar for whipped cream until this year. I have successfully whipped cream for 50+ years without any complaints. My points today are to be flexible and experiment a little. Alton Brown’s books and TV shows (and others) explain the science which helps understand what can and can’t work. I think it’s frugal to save time and energy, too.
I never have used powdered sugar for whipping cream either; just regular granulated. I wonder what the benefit of powdered sugar for this is?
I did a “big shop” yesterday, as I go 2x a month. Costco was out of the cheap organic apples I buy, but other than that, the shelves looked stocked and I got everything on my list. I did notice the price increases, especially at Costco.
We batch cook and eat the same thing 2 or 3 days in a row.
Saturday- Homemade Mushroom Pizza
Sunday - Homemade Mushroom Pizza
Monday- Instant Pot Vegetable Lo Mein
Tuesday- Instant Pot Vegetable Lo Mein
Wednesday- Chicken breast, mashed potatoes & peas
Thursday- Chicken breast, mashed potatoes & Brussel sprouts
Friday- Steak, Ratatouille, mashed potatoes
Kristen, with all the division in our world today, it is so refreshing that you said, "regardless of your vaccination status you are welcome here." I've been reading your posts for many years and you are one of the most genuinely thoughtful people.
I noticed the same the last few weeks. The bread aisle has been sad, there were only a few containers of tofu and there's at least one item on my list each week that's out of stock. No biggie - I just adjusted and will wait. First world problems, I guess.
Our dinners have been all over the place:
Saturday:
Sunday: Ramen
Monday: It was my big girl's 11th birthday so we let her pick take out; she chose The Cheesecake Factory (at least the portions were big and she's been eating the leftovers throughout the week)
Tuesday: Taquitos and fruit for the kids, Zucchini bake and fruit for the adults.
Wednesday: Salmon, Sweet potato hash, sugar snap peas, cantaloupe (OMG it was the best cantaloupe we've had in ages), and left over pasta.
Thursday: Pizza and fruit
Friday: Thinking something Japanese - Onigiri, sushi or a don of some sort. I have some avocado I want to use up and I haven't made something like this in a while so I think the kids will like it.
Oh! I remember what we had on Saturday - I made a vegan garlic chili noodle recipe. It was DELISH. Definitely putting that into the rotation. And also I made a caesar salad at some point this week too.
I was looking for a box of tea and realized that in the same cupboard I had 13 boxes of rotini pasta. I have no idea how we ended up with so many, but this week was use up some of the pasta week. Last Saturday I made a HUGE pot of homemade mac and cheese. We ate it plain with a salad.
Sunday, took a portion and added sauteed peppers and onions to it. Cole slaw.
Monday, took another portion and added some sausage to it. More salad.
Tuesday, took another portion and added sauteed mushrooms to it. Fruit salad for a change.
Wednesday I realized that we had less than a cup of mac and cheese left. Gave it to the dog and we ate chicken fajitas and fruit salad.
Thursday it was cheesy scrambled eggs and toast. There were two sad apples lurking about so I peeled and sliced them and sauteed them with a bit of butter, sugar and cinammon.
Today it is chili for him and filet of fish for me.
I was stunned by the empty shelves, particularly in the produce department, at a local major grocery store. It's not my usual place, but since I was in the area for a doctor appointment, I figured I'd stop by. Probably won't be doing that again.
While out today, I found a 10 pound bag of fingerling potatoes for $5. I'm looking forward to roasting a bunch of them for dinners next week. My brother and his family will get a substantial portion of the bag also.
Dinners this week were:
- beef roast with potatoes and carrots
- spaghetti squash (half of one I'd roasted the week before) topped with leftover meaty pasta sauce, mushrooms, and mozzarella cheese, served over rice for the adults and pizza pasta for the kiddo, using up random bits of salami, ground sausage, ham, and pizza sauce
- grilled salmon and cod, roasted Brussels sprouts, boxed angel hair pasta mix from Aldi
- broccoli, onion, and ground chicken stir fry AND a small stir fry of onion, garlic, and silkworm pupa!!! We tried the latter, decided that while it wasn't great, it was still edible, but passed on the remainder after our taste tests. It was fun to try, not something we'll try again.
- roast beef (leftover), mozzarella, onion, and multi-colored pepper sliders, with some pierogi that had been thawed but not yet cooked
- loaded baked potatoes (broccoli, bacon, green onions, cheese) and salad
I'm at the point of only buying produce and meat that is on sale, but that's been nice because there's something different on sale each week, keeping us from getting into a rut.
Our dinners this week were nothing to write home about....way too much carry-in.
FYI, about the unsubscribing....I found myself "unsubscribed" a week or so ago, even though I had not intentionally unsubscribed myself. Far from it - I quickly realized I was not getting your new blog posts, which I usually read during my lunch time at work. I was able to re-subscribe easily. I don't know if I somehow did it by mistake (I have no idea, but would not put it past my limited tech skills, lol), or if there's something weird going on.
If it's related to your mention of being vaccinated, well, I'm sorry if those subscribers felt the need to leave. This is one of the friendliest, most welcoming places I've found on the Internet.
Oh man, I'm so sorry to hear that. I need to ask ConvertKit about this issue; it seems to happen here and there to readers who do actually want to be subscribed!
We live in a very urban area, so there are tons of stores everywhere, and I notice the shortages occur differently among different stores. Plus we had an unusually heavy snow for this area that shut down highways, so a lot of deliveries probably didn't get made. Giant was out of a lot: no meat, no produce at all, not a loaf of bread to be had. Publix was missing a lot of things. Target was out of some things. On the other hand, Wegmans looked absolutely normal, full of everything you'd want. Supply chain most likely. Weird. But like a lot of you, I don't worry about it, I just find something else to serve. Probably we've all become more flexible, or maybe this group is.
Sunday we had fresh salmon roasted, with mexican style rice and steamed spinach.
Monday we had leftovers from that dinner. Roasted salmon reheats really well.
Tuesday we had vegetarian burritos using a can of refried beans and various vegetables from the crisper.
Wednesday we used up some hot dogs from an open package on some slightly stale rolls (toasting fixes everything) with leftover mac and cheese.
Last night was burgers with lima beans cooked in milk.
Tonight will be tuna salad and potato chips (takes me back to public school in MA where the schools always served fish on Fridays although they may not now). We try to eat fish a couple times a week, and only salmon, cod, trout and canned tuna are affordable these days.
I haven't made chili in forever; thanks everyone who mentioned making chili. We're to have a snowy weekend, and it will be perfect.
WWS: $17 (Aldi) .60 (Shaw's)
WWA: (pretty much phoning it in)
Sat: ribollita
Sun: homemade mac & cheese, kielbasa, roasted broccoli
Mon: Colby Garrelts' Sweet & Sour Pork Loin Lettuce Wraps (Food 52). I thought they were delicious.
Tues: broccoli & cheddar soup
Wedn: leftover mac & cheese & kielbasa
Thurs: out to work dinner
Fri: lamb chops, rice & summer squash
I’m loving all these dinner ideas! I stocked up last week and this because our grocery workers started a strike Wednesday.
- kale tortellini gratin with grilled chicken (last minute find via Google because I didn’t want to make what I originally had scheduled - it was easy, quick and delicious!)
- garlic shrimp with pasta
- pork green chile with tortillas
- Asian salad bag with leftover grilled chicken
- dirty rice and salad (used leftover shredded pork roast, added a lot of veggies … not authentic but delicious)
- grilled cheese with chips, seared zucchini, and orange slices
- spicy sausage pasta (will sub out leftover shredded pork roast for the smoked sausage)
My husband does the cooking and shopping (he's retired, I work 60 hour weeks!), but I had a hankering for braised short ribs. I found some in the store--3 short ribs for $24!!! OMG! So I did the frugal thing--I didn't buy them. ;o)
We are eating pot roast lately, when my husband can find inexpensive cuts in the "used meat" section. The electric pressure cooker can work miracles with tough cuts of meat.
This is the fourth comment I've read about nearly empty shelves. I hope my area doesn't get that memo.
This week we spent 145.02, so about the same as last week.
We had:
Man n cheese and popcorn chicken
Meatloaf and mashed potatoes
Spaghetti and garlic bread (made with extra mini sub buns we already had)
Chicken alfredo with garlic bread
White chicken chili
Breakfast pizza and oj
Shepherds pie (cottage pie really)
Now that I'm remembering, part of this WIS was not groceries but painting supplies. I did not look at the receipt and separate the totals.
I've heard a couple of people mention empty shelves and it is not something I've experienced. We've had Covid and I haven't been in a grocery store in over a week. (Friends have been delivering meals.)
My last time in the grocery store, buying cough syrup for what I thought was a cold, I remember noticing that only the nasty flavors of less popular cough syrups where available. Ha!
I tried the FLASHFOOD app for the first time. Kinda fun. Check it out. I spent 55 at Kroger pick up and 9 at flash food at Meijer. Lots of empty shelves last time I was in a physical store.
Sunday- sausage and veggie egg bake and air fryer asparagus.
Monday- cannot remember but I cooked
Tuesday/ Wed- slow cooker red sauce with Turkey Italian sausage and mushrooms and microwave polenta
Thurs- hubby was reffing- cereal for dinner/ wheat chex with bananas and blueberries
Friday- air fryer breaded cod with rice peas and salad
Tomorrow- pizza
We had:
-Meatball soup & sourdough bread
-White chicken chili & bread
-Tacos
-Homemade taquitos, guacamole & sour cream
-Crockpot chicken tikka masala & rice
-Salmon & rice
-One dinner was leftovers
Tonight will be the end of the chicken tikka masala.
We made tacos last night. We will eat on them for several nights in various ways--more tacos, make taco salad, or put in a soft shell and add refried beans for a burrito.
This weeks meals were -
Shrimp Scampi
Pork roast with mashed taters
Chips n cheese kid style. Shredded colby jack carefully placed in Tostito scoops. Topped with peach salsa.
More pork roast with broccoli and cheese
Shrimp scampi. I used my son's recipe and it was delish! He puts his on the smoker for half hour but we don't have one.
Breaded chicken strips with roasted taters.
We had a salad or vegetables with each meal. Mostly broccoli as Aldi had huge heads on sale.
One night I was tired I thought we could just have cheese cake for dinner. I made mac n cheese to go with it.
This week:
1. Curried chickpeas, veggies and rice
2. BBQ ham with pinapple fried rice
3. Minestrone soup and sandwiches
4. Turkey meatballs w/mixed veggies
5. Veggie burgers, mashed potatoes and broccoli
6 &7: Leftovers
I had to remind myself not to panic when I was in the store Saturday a.m. There was very little in the way of pasta, soup, yogurt...YOGURT?
Still, it's been a good food week here. We're going camping next week so I made some meals that can be frozen now and reheated for camp dinners. Sam's still had plenty of salad ingredients and we've got veggies frozen and fruit canned.
Tonight we had crab cakes and egg rolls from the freezer with brown rice / cauliflower rice and salad.
Thursday we had pizza and salad
Wednesday I used up taco filling and black beans in a chili I made with cornbread and, yep, salad.
Tuesday we had...veggie burgers with roasted potatoes and cauliflower.
Monday...we had tacos with baked brown rice and black beans that I cooked in the crockpot.
Most of my meals this week seemed just "ok". I would rather have something jazzy to look forward to but its a work in progress. Cooking for one is challenging! This week:
Monday - (freezer) Thanksgiving meal
Tuesday - Stuffed Gnocci with Italian sausage and marinara, broccoli
Wednesday - Leftover Chicken Enchiladas from Sunday, Mexican street corn
Thursday - (Christmas) Ham, Mediterranean chop'd salad
Friday - Tilapia, zucchini, grape tomatoes, and pasta skillet - plus I cleaned out my fridge to meal prep for next week
Saturday - TBD but I want a burger and fries!
Sunday - Buttermilk Herb Chicken, rice, salad
I haven't seen shelves like that at my HEB in Austin, but I have been mainly shopping via curbside and there have been substitutions lately. Minor ones, but still.
I'm in South Carolina and we're gearing up for a snowstorm with up to 12" of snow, which is a huge hairy deal here in the south (mostly because the roads do not get salted or plowed, but also because the lines are not made for any kind of snow load so we get power outages). I'm NOT looking forward to the snow. But I am NOT clearing out the grocery store like everyone else is doing. Usually when a snowstorm is coming the bread and milk are completely wiped out, but this time I saw that the eggs were completely gone, as well as the ready to heat pizzas and frozen pizzas. I don't know what people are planning on doing with their eggs if their power goes out. Haha
@Tammy, I've a gas stove. I can light it with a match and fry eggs. (and since the stove is 60 years old, I often do have to light it with a match....although I kinda love doing that.)
Curious to know where the empty shelves are. Where I live in CA they’re as full as ever.
@Bean,
Also…
Everything homemade and most recipes from The NY Times
Monday - broccoli and cheddar cream soup with an oatmeal, honey ww bread (King Arthur flour recipe - I make the dough in my bread maker and then bake it in a loaf pan)
Tofu Tuesday - sweet and spicy tofu with soba noodles
Wednesday - picadillo tacos
Thursday - turkey pot pie (pioneer woman recipe) and biscuits
Friday - pizza (salami, roasted pepper, olive and sun dried tomatoes) and a movie (Hotel Transylvania 4 - fun and worth the watch)
Saturday - shredded chicken tacos
Sunday - short rib French onion soup (this recipe is from smittenkitchen.com)
I’m not seeing any empty stores here in California. Although, Trader Joe’s has not had crystallized ginger or canned coconut milk. I have been experimenting with a new cookbook, The Weeknight Vegetarians. Pretty good! I have really enjoyed the marinated beans, Caesar dressing, cauliflower fritters, and a crunchy cheesy bean bake. I am thinking about buying the book.
Monday: Caldo verde soup and grilled cheese
Tuesday: tacos with roast cauliflower and impossible meat
Wednesday: crunchy cheese bean bake
Thursday: Instant noodle omurice (via kitchn), lemon garlic broccoli
Friday: rotisserie chicken, cauliflower fritters and raita.
My granddaughter asked for cornflake chicken for tonight's dinner. Her mother took her shopping for the chicken and there was none in store. Poor little Mia found it difficult to understand as the abundance she is used to was not just not there. Fortunately squiggly meat tacos were accepted as an alternative.
Kristen,
I am sad to hear that others have unsubscribed because you chose to get a vaccination shot. So weird that this is an issue with others!
I was also going to comment on the empty shelves. I feel that I have been somewhat sheltered from that, since our local supply chain must be pretty strong. However I went to Aldi yesterday and they were really picked over. Like almost the entire frozen food section was empty. Pretty creepy. I did stop at Costco after an appointment as well and they were well stocked. So, maybe Aldi just didn't get a truck in. Hmm.... Hope it isn't a new trend.