WIS, WWA | Will I ever get to the store??
What I Spent
Well, I still didn't do a regular grocery shopping trip.
One of these weeks I will!
(Maybe today.)
I did get a $20 Hungry Harvest box. And Mr. FG and I made a $39 stop at Trader Joe's, plus a $10 milk run.
So my grocery spending this week is $69. That means my weekly average is working out to a very respectable $118.
Of course, I am going to have to actually haul myself to the grocery store this week, so my average will be up in the next report!
October Grocery Spending
Week 1: $224
Week 2: $152
Week 3: $27
Week 4: $69
What We Ate
Saturday
Mr. FG and I got Five Guys together, which we ate in our private dining room (a.k.a. his car. Ha.)
Sunday
Since Sonia still wasn't eating regular food with us (she had her wisdom teeth out last Friday), I took advantage of the opportunity to make ground beef tacos.
Sonia doesn't like ground beef and she doesn't like Tex-Mex either, so this was a perfect time for tacos.
Monday
I made a green salad with shrimp (chicken for Zoe), bacon, and apples (recipe from Dinner Illustrated), accompanied by buttery bubble bread.
Sonia mostly ate bread, not salad, because salad is sort of hard to eat when your mouth is full of stitches!
Tuesday
A lot of you had recommended Trader Joe's frozen Mandarin Chicken, so I picked up two bags of that and also some frozen spring rolls, which we ate with a pot of rice that I cooked.
You all were right; the chicken was pretty tasty for a frozen meal. I may keep a bag or two in my chest freezer for a meal-in-a-pinch.
Sonia managed some chicken, but mainly rice.
Wisdom-teeth-recovery = very carb-heavy week!
Wednesday
I made quesadillas with a corn/green onion/cheese/lime filling (using a recipe from Dinner Illustrated). I added some sliced hot peppers to mine, which was awesome. Totally doing that again!
We had clementines with our quesadillas, plus chips and salsa.
Quesadillas are hard to make for Sonia (she can't have cheese), so she ate spaghetti squash instead. It was meant to be, because this was the day a personal-size spaghetti squash arrived in my Hungry Harvest box!
Thursday
I made a pot of chicken noodle soup (nice and soft for Sonia!), and a pan of cream biscuits. More clementines on the side.
Friday
I'm not sure; I had pizza on the menu for tonight, but we decided to do homemade pizza on Sunday night instead. Maybe Sonia can handle pizza by then!
So I need to come up with an alternate plan; something still on the soft side for Sonia.
WWS: $0 (thank goodness after last week's amount!); WWA:
Saturday: dinner at a friend's house, outdoors. We brought cornbread, a giant salad with the chipotle honey vinaigrette (onceuponachef.com, and is unbelievably yummy); dilly beans made from the last harvest of our green beans
Sunday: ramen, that we made with homemade chicken and pork broths (leftover from carnitas), with tofu, sauteed zucchini, marinated soft boiled egg (Ajitsuke Tamago), green onions, cilantro
Monday: Homemade herb macaroni and cheese, roasted broccoli and the very last of the homegrown green beans 🙁
Tuesday: leftovers
Wednesday: Chicken thighs braised with acorn squash and kale. Served over rice
Thursday: Carnitas nachos with black beans and pico de gallo (made with the last of our garden tomatoes)
Friday: Lion's head meatballs, rice, cabbage & red pepper stir fry.
Wow, you've managed to get by that long without a big shop -- that's great! I have never had much luck at squeaking by with what we have, for some reason.
What we ate:
The last of the bag of frozen plain wings, seasoned and roasted, with salad on the side
Leftover roast beef served with regular or cassava flour biscuits, honey carrots and sliced cucumbers.
Meatloaf with English peas and more carrots
Sliced zucchini, summer squash and onions, sautéed in a little bacon fat after cooking the meal's bacon, plus chopped, roasted beets.
Pork loin chops, broccoli, leftover English peas for the man who isn't fond of broccoli, and mashed potatoes.
Sloppy joes made with tomato for him and made with Nomato sauce for me, dill pickle flavored chips for him, cassava chips for me, and sliced cucumbers for both of us. The meat was ground goat, which tastes very much like beef.
I go to the store today, so we'll see how well I do on this bill. I stocked up on bath and beauty items and bought some extra meat last time, so while it was not a super high bill, it was not one of my lower ones, for sure.
Goat Cheese Risotto with grilled asparagus is my favorite soft dish.
My kids ate a lot of jell-o and milkshakes after wisdom teeth removal - we went through that four times, too. Thank goodness that teenagers heal so well! This week we ate:
Monday - Honey Dijon Chicken Bites, baked sweet potato, garlic toast
Tuesday - Tilapia (seasoned and baked), skillet potatoes, chard
Wednesday - Taco Bean Soup, corn muffins
Thursday - Pork and Eggplant Skillet, seasoned corn
Friday - Ba$tard BBQ, butternut squash, peas
Saturday - Free Choice!
Sunday - Scallop Stir Fry with green beans and lo mein (we never had this a few weeks ago)
I was thinking my daughter was coming in, but it looks like she isn't so we might eat out on Sunday, too!
I made your thin crust pizza dough recipe this week, and my family and I really liked it! I used jarred pesto sauce as the base, thin sliced tomatoes, shredded mozzarella, and thinly sliced basil. It was yummy—thank you for the recipe. 🙂
Yay! I'm so glad it worked out well for you.
I went over budget this week, but I am trying to add just a little extra each week- the pantry is on the empty side and I would like to build it back before winter (just in case).
Monday- My birthday!! Hubby makes a great baked pork chop over mashed potatoes - This is very rich dish and definitely not a meal you should have all the time but birthday calories do not count (right!?)
Tuesday- Sausage and Orzo Soup--- finishing the rest of it today for lunch!
Wednesday- I was not feeling overly inspired so spaghetti and meatballs- quick and easy
Thursday- Take out- our commitment to keeping local restaurants in business.
Friday- Tonight is grilled chicken. It is a beautiful day outside for late October.
Exactly right -- birthday calories do not count~so enjoy every bite -- Happy Birthday!
You can't go wrong with Trader Joe's! We like to keep Mandarin Orange chicken, fried rice, and several other things on hand in our freezer.
Trader Joe's frozen spanakopita and chicken wings are two of my standbys for evenings when I'm too wrung out to make something from scratch. But since the mandarin orange chicken is getting such a shout-out, I'll give that a try too.
This week has been typical with a mix of prepackaged frozen items and homemade.
We smoked a pork shoulder and had bbq sandwiches.
Then 2 chickens were smoked for sandwiches and enchiladas.
The rest of the week has been prepackaged breaded chicken and frozen dinners as these were purchased before our trip and they didn't get eaten by the others while away, so we ate them when we got back.
Saturday: I met with a small group of my family for a day at a kind of botanical garden. We had a late lunch of vegetarian tapas in a mostly empty restaurant.
Sunday: we made tinga de pollo, green Mexican rice, refried beans and guacamole - enough leftover for two generous lunches
Monday: we celebrated our anniversary with dry aged entrecote, roasted potatoes with rosemary and Brussels sprouts
Tuesday and Wednesday: fresh bread from our local bakery, cheeses, ham and cut vegetables/ green salad
Thursday: rice with bean stew, avocado and cilantro
Friday: Shakshuka with pita bread
Yep I don’t like grocery shopping either. We live in a rural town so no stores so we go a few miles to a couple of stores and they are always busy. Can go 20 miles and they aren’t as busy. But still don’t like it.
Sunday - chicken from Costco and squash and salad
Monday - burgers and homemade fries and pasta salad
Tuesday - little steaks, sauté yams squash and tomatoes. Pasta salad
Wednesday - spegetti meatballs
Thursday - supported local cafe
Friday - I would like to try that Trader Joes chicken
Love seeing everyone's meals on here. It gives me good ideas for meal planning.
Saturday - I made Kristen's orzo and sausage meal. It was so yummy and the leftovers made great lunches!
Sunday - I was hiking and packed tortilla chips with homemade refried beans and homemade pico de gallo.
Monday - Pasta with a tomato, sausage, and cream sauce. Still trying to use up tomatoes from my garden. Green beans on the side.
Tuesday - Tinga tostadas! I have friend living in my basement short term with her husband and cute baby and they made dinner and shared. So yummy!
Wednesday - Grilled cheese on sourdough, tomato basil soup with tomatoes from the garden, and a green salad. This was my roommate's choice that I made for her birthday dinner.
Thursday - Chinese takeout. It was $7 with tax and by adding some frozen veggies on the side, I can get three meals out of it. Also supporting a small family owned restaurant.
Tonight- I have not idea. Maybe leftovers? There is still leftover chicken tinga in the fridge. Maybe I'll grab some lettuce from the store and we can heat that up tonight. Or grilled cheese and tomato soup. Or pizza has been sounding really good for a while. That sounds like a fun Friday dinner, although less frugal. We shall see. I wish you were all my neighbors. I have been giving tomatoes away to everyone I can and still have a lot left!
I ask myself that question in your title a LOT. 🙂
This week in food . . .
Saturday: Rooster and rabbit tacos--rooster from a friend who had an extra, rabbits from my husband who is on high alert for the rabbits that start to encroach as vegetation dies down for the winter and they find the bark on our grapevines and young trees highly appealing. I also made corn tortillas--hooray for cool enough weather than I won't pass out from heat while making tortillas!--roasted squash, guacamole (also hooray for guests who stop at the grocery store before they come to our house!), and some pinto beans from the freezer.
Sunday: Daughter's third birthday. She chose stir-fry for her birthday dinner, which I made with pork, and a chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. YUM. I also made Mason jar ice cream, because I didn't have any ice cream (and wasn't going to drive 60 miles to get some) but did have a lot of heavy cream on hand.
Monday: Kids had frozen chicken patties, leftover rice, and raw sugar snap peas. The adults had scrambled eggs with tomato and cream cheese, leftover rice, and steamed asparagus.
Tuesday: Bunless cheeseburgers, roasted potatoes, roasted squash/bell pepper/onion, leftover asparagus
Wednesday: Breakfast sausage links, pasta with pesto, boiled green beans, leftover vegetables
Thursday: Beef steaks with garlic scape butter, garlic bread, tomato salad, roasted green beans and tomatoes with garlic
Tonight: Split pea soup, leftover steak with eggs, rice, green salad
This week we had plenty of choices as my daughter's college changed their minds for having in-class instruction again after we spent $148 on food for her to take with her. They are trying again for middle of next week. Not sure why, as there will be about three weeks left to the term. But I digress.... Here's what we ate:
Saturday - Frozen pizzas.
Sunday - Stuffed shells and yummy fresh Italian bread.
Monday - Breakfast for dinner. Eggs over easy, bacon and toast.
Tuesday - Chicken patty/vege-burger melts with veggie medley of steamed cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts and carrots.
Wednesday - Leftover stuffed shells.
Thursday - Build-you-own quesadilla.
Friday - Salmon in a coconut lime sauce with rice.
Does Sonia like peanut butter? I remember having a lot of peanut butter milkshakes (not sure if she can handle ice cream/ice cream-like substances?) after wisdom teeth removal. My sister went through cases of pepperidge farm BLT soup (which has apparently been discontinued, to her chagrin).
She does like peanut butter, but alas, peanut butter does not like her. Dairy either, for that matter. Sigh.
Otherwise, I would have fed her many milkshakes at this point! It's a perfect time for them.
She's really got it tough not to be able to enjoy milkshakes at a time like this.
Our $$ was HIGH as I paid for a quarter of a cow... But that will get us by for a bit...
I cooked something last Saturday but cannot remember for the life of me...
Sunday husband and I had a date late afternoon and kids were on Fend for yourself duty...
Monday I made a huge meatloaf (3lbs) to try out the beef and put some leftovers into the fridge for the next few days... served with mashed pototoes, steamed broccoli and a package of garlic noodles... some also made a green salad
Tuesday we did NOT have a volleyball game for the first time in 2 months.. so TACO TUESDAY.. served with refried and seasoned black beans.
Wednesday- I ordered a ton of pizza for our Choir Booster Fundraiser night ( the only time I ever pay full price for pizza). This was eaten before the volleyball tournament.
Thursday- weather flipped from COLD, rain and windy yuck to gorgeous near 80*... So odd for this time of year... so yeah.. we ate beef again! I grabbed 2 packages of steaks out and we sliced those down and ate those with sweet potatoes, corn, sourdough bread and salad...
Friday- beautiful day again!! I am defrosting pulled pork for sandwiches tonight ( and weekend leftovers!).. Husband already said he wants leftover taco meat and beans! Probably air fry some french fries and pull out the last of the salad.
I use Insta cart for my groceries and I love it. I am home bound and it is a life saver for me. I can do publix, Aldi or Winn Dixie in my area.
I had to be on a soft diet for over a year and learned lots. Smoothies really saved me nutritionally. Did you know you can put white or garbanzo beans in a smoothie and it won't tasted like beans? I still put in 1/3 c beans in all my smoothies. Avocado, greens, nuts can also add more nutrition. Hope Sonia heals quickly!
I really like to grocery shop but I have been staying out of the store. Before school started back I did a humongous grocery shop and have only had to supplement with quick trips for produce and dairy every other week. I seriously don't need to go to the store but I really feel like I should grab a turkey breast, pumpkin, cranberries and some potatoes for Thanksgiving so I don't have to be caught up in the busyness that may come right before the holiday.
Meatloaf, potatoes, carrots and green peas
Chili and cornbread for 3 nights
Bacon, egg, biscuits, peaches
Barbecue pork, baked beans, slaw
Planning to have a toasted biscuit sandwich with bacon, fried egg and tomato with tater tots tonight
Feel better Sonia! My 16year old daughter had 6 teeth extracted right after Labor Day. 4 wisdom teeth and 2 12 yr molars later, she was on the carb heavy soft food diet for a few weeks. Lots of mac and cheese and scrambled eggs for her.
Yes, at least eggs are a way to get some soft protein in. Unfortunately, since Sonia can't have dairy, a lot of the other soft proteins are unavailable to her!
I dislike any kind of shopping
Kristen, when my son was recovering from a broken jaw, I would put rigatoni and sausage soup in the blender for him. He said it tasted like pizza.
For dinner this week, my husband had leftover beef-barley-veggie soup or ham sandwiches, and I had either hummus with fruit, crackers, carrots and a little cheese, or made up a fruit salad with cottage cheese (preceded some Lactaid since I can't tolerate much dairy). On Monday, we did have pizza with ultra-thin crust out at a restaurant next door to the veterinary allergist while our dog was having tests run. We ate alone on the patio and it was very nice.
Sat/Sunday: Bulgogi, fruit salad.
Monday: French onion soup, oranges.
Tuesday: hamburger beef wellingtons, cuke salad, oranges
Wednesday: baked halibut fingers with homemade tartar sauce, cuke salad, baked potatoes, apples.
Thursday: spaghetti and meatballs, fruit salad.
Friday: Filet of fish from McD for me, Firehouse sub for him. I have not left the house all week so we are going to run a few errands (like putting our ballots in the official receptacle and picking up books at the library) and have a fast food fix.
I hope Sonia heals well and quickly. I had all four of my wisdom teeth taken out at once to get it over with. Much as I love them both, I couldn't even look at mashed potatoes or yogurt for 2 months after I recovered. I didn't mind scrambled eggs though.
Sunday we finally ate the last bit of stew from last week with other leftover bits and bobs.
Monday was pan fried haddock with salad.
Tuesday and Thursday we had roasted chicken parts and potatoes with braised red cabbage.
Wednesday was a crazy day so we opted to order in Chinese food and had the leftovers for lunches. Although we try to cook if we do have to order in we try to get something we can stretch for a few meals to mitigate the cost a bit.
Tonight it will be fettuccine with pesto sauce, salad and demi-baguette.
Very busy week with grandkids around. We made pasta with meat sauce. Then I took meatballs out of the freezer to get another meal. Beans and hot dogs. Chicken noodle soup. Plus leftovers. Eating out of pantry and freezer. I love it when husband says cereal jar is empty I just refill from pantry. Also took bread out of freezer. Hope your daughter feels better soon.
Wisdom teeth are a bear! Feel better soon Sonia!
Saturday I pulled two chicken carcasses from the freezer and made bone broth. I poached two chickens in said broth and made homemade chicken noodle soup. We ate this with homemade applesauce.
Sunday we ate chicken noodle soup with frozen cheese sticks and applesauce for dinner.
Monday we ate baked flounder, jasmine rice and peas with bacon and onions.
Tuesday was breakfast for dinner...scrambled eggs, sausage, creamy grits and buttermilk pancakes.
Wednesday...I know we ate something but I can’t for the life of me remember what.
Thursday...family birthday dinner for my little guy so we had his favorite meal...beef stroganoff, peas, corn, yeast rolls and homemade chocolate pudding with whip cream for dessert.
Friday....leftovers for the little guy and bacon egg and cheese sandwiches for the rest of us.
Saturday is the party for our son so we will have sloppy joes, corn in the cob, cucumbers, and grapes.
Sunday...I am not sure yet but am thinking about something I can throw in the crockpot like chicken and noodles.
Have a great weekend everyone!!
Happy birthday to your little guy!
I can't remember all our meals for the week. I made a roast lamb with vegetables, meat and salad bread rolls have been eaten twice, I bought Chinese from a local shop for one meal, I roasted a chicken and vegetables on the weekend. On a side note we eat a lot of clementines. I love them so.
I hope Sonia feels much better very soon.
I don't know if this appeals but I love leftover roast lamb & gravy toasted sandwiches in the jaffle maker - it's my favourite part of cooking a roast & a family favourite meal. You can even freeze a mix of lamb & chopped gravy to nuke in the microwave to make these when you can't be bothered cooking or just crave one. ( only don't make the mix too sloppy).
& the filling gets uber hot so let cool a little & go carefully
That appeals but we don't have a jaffle maker anymore. My son stayed for dinner and then he carried the leftovers down to his sister for their dinner. I really didn't want him to but he was adamant that they would enjoy it. They had the lamb for dinner on Friday night which was great as Pip had a migraine.
Five Guys sounds good!!
We had...
Saturday: Little Caesar's pizza since the apple crisp I was making took a lot longer than I expected (I'm not disappointed with how that worked out)
Sunday: Pork BBQ sandwiches and sweet potatoes
Monday: Burrito bowls
Tuesday: Spaghetti squash for me, regular spaghetti for the kids
Wednesday: Grilled cheese and tomato soup
Thursday: Grilled chicken, salad, broccoli with cheese, grapes
Friday: Brats, sweet potatoes, pineapple
Oh I love tomato soup - thanks for the idea, I might have that for lunch today
In no particular order;
- One pot savoury ground beef & mixed vegies - think I had this twice
- 5 banana bread muffins lol
- Baked bean, spinach, sriracha, cheese toastie
- zucchini slice
- a beef suimin instant noodle cup
Read everyone's comments & remembered one night had spaghetti bolognese; I make mine with onion, 1 zucchini, 2 carrots, & 2 pieces celery grated as well as 500g ground beef for extra veg.
Hah -- now I want banana bread for all meals!
...it was yum
We had take out once this past week -- Pollo Loco so pretty cheap. I also treated a lovely friend to (also cheap) Del taco lunch -- she is well worth it 🙂
Can't remember which meal on which day but it was LOTS and LOTS of discounted boneless chicken breast on big salads with lots of added veggies and chick peas -- at least 2 nights.
Frozen pizza doctored by husband one night -- soooo delicious -- with salad
Chicken breast with bone -- kinda late so I just nuked the darn thing with onion and garlic powder and had with more salad. Not bad 😉 Made better by husband's sauteed broccoli and spinach
One night Rana cheese raviolis with peas, butter, parm and steamed broccoli on the side
And last night, Friday, was turkey burgers, baked potato and green salad.
Breakfasts for me -- oatmeal or yogurt; husband -- cereal
Lunches - quirky mixes of stuff to take to school or to my "private office" 🙂 hah -- PBJ, weird salads of whatever veggies were starting to disappear; plus grapes, apples, kiwi, red pepper slices -- random snacky things based on Needs To Be Eaten. Helping not to waste and forcing me to try different combinations of veggies and dressings.
"Frozen pizza doctored by husband one night" I love how u put that - such a good idea! I love spinach on pizza. You've inspired me for my lunch tomorrow too to get a bit creative with what needs eating in my fridge too.
Aw yay! I get so much inspiration here and am thrilled to pay it forward a bit!