WIS, WWA | with some Chiquita
What I Spent
This week, I spent:
- $9 at Safeway
- $24 at Trader Joe's
- $30 on a Hungry Harvest box
- $5 at Firehouse Subs
Soo, $68 for me.
What We Ate
Saturday
This was the day I made the roasted veggie soup, so that was dinner, along with some toast.
Sunday
I made these Korean beef lettuce wraps, which we ate with some frozen Aldi potstickers.
I used the leftovers for a salad at work the next day.
Monday
I seasoned and sauteed some chicken after work, added some BBQ sauce, and we ate that on toasted buns.
And I added the leftover chicken to some protein pasta salad for the next day's lunch. 🙂
Tuesday
After work, we had Trader Joe's frozen orange chicken, along with some of their frozen fried rice, which I'd never tried before. It was surprisingly good, and I will buy it again for a quick post-work side.
Wednesday
End of the work week for me! I ate the last of my pureed veggie soup, and Zoe baked a frozen pizza.
Thursday
I was feeling a little tired, so I pressed a very easy button:
It only cost me $5 out of pocket, though, because I had a gift card and a coupon. PERFECT.
Also, Chiquita appreciated the cat toy:
Friday
You know the drill: I'll figure this out at some point today! My fr
Dinners this week.
Lots of grilled chicken and chicken sausages. Sides were fries hummus and crudités or chips. You choose.
We also had pork loin in the slow cooker with carrots and roasted potatoes.
One day we had big salads.
This was a chaotic and pretty sucky week.
M: Mr B made baked chicken schnitzel (which I'd prepped and frozen in advance,) frozen fries, and frozen peas.
T: Pasta with sauce leftover from last week, frozen peas.
W: Mr. B and I both worked late, and then I wound up having to spend half the night in the emergency dept. Not fun, but I'm ok. I bought a smoothie and some roasted chickpeas at work, then made a cheese sandwich to take to the hospital because I knew id get hungry. Not my first rodeo, unfortunately.
Th: Our weekly carryout pizza from the grocery store. No vegetable.
F: Mr. B is making our usual salmon, potatoes, and vegetable.
Phew. Let's hope next week is easier.
@Meira Bear, sorry you had a rough week. Hoping next week is better!
@PD, thanks! I'm hoping for uneventful 🙂
@Meira (meirathebear.wordpress.com),
Uneventful is often underrated!
I keep hitting the cooking wall. Haven't shopped yet for this week, but I think last week's grocery total hovered around $95. Today I have a very few things to pick up from HEB. However! I did start posting menus again (:
Monday - I had some leftover squash casserole and some rotisserie chicken from the freezer.
Tuesday - Skillet Tilapia, 1/2 recipe of squash casserole (freeze leftovers in portions), small sweet potato (baked 2)
Wednesday - Pork Roast in the crockpot with mini potatoes, peas (froze the rest of the pork in individual ziplocs)
Thursday - Mini meatloaf, (freezer) mashed potatoes, green beans (I only ate half of this because I was full of popcorn from going to see a movie!)
Friday - I have no idea yet but I am not going to cook anything from scratch...
Saturday and Sunday - leftovers for work - I have plenty of lunch containers in the freezer and will pick up some fruit today. Most of my eating out is a lunch thing, and I usually save half of it for another meal. And I DO love Firehouse Subs!
Have a good weekend~!
Suppers this week -
Saturday -mushroom ravioli with tomato sauce ( bought from the grocery store). It was ok.
Sunday -fish with rice and roasted veggies (sweet potato, white potatoes, cauliflower and asparagus
Monday - a small pork tenderloin with fried rice ( I added mushrooms, onions and corn to bulk it up). Bagged salad
Tuesday - spaghetti noodles with beef, cabbage, carrots, celery, onions in a Asian inspired sauce
Wednesday - spaghetti noodles with Alfredo sauce ( I found a super easy sauce to make), with shrimp, scallops and asparagus, garlic bread
Thursday - Kraft pizza kit- with mozzarella, mushrooms, shallots, pepperoni and salami.
Friday - ? The girls are away for supper, so I'm not sure what the adults will do.
We spent 270 on groceries and 23 at a new coffee shop. The chai latte was amazing!
Saturday: My daughter's birthday. She requested chicken drumsticks, fried bread, and corn for her birthday dinner, with pecan pie for dessert. Done. I very much appreciated an easy meal, especially because we had been on a canyon adventure earlier, so I wasn't home to do anything elaborate.
Sunday: We had two additional young men eating with us, which meant quantity was a major consideration. Plus, one of them doesn't eat gluten. I made cottage pie--two, actually--carrot slaw, pickles, and an apple crisp with whipped cream.
Monday: I had a lot of chicken left from Saturday, some that I hadn't even cooked yet. I couldn't fit it on the pan to roast, so I just left it in the pickle juice marinade I used until I got to it, which was this night. The uncooked chicken I shoved in the oven with barbecue sauce to bake while I was picking my daughter up from cheer practice, and then I put the cooked chicken in there to heat up for the last fifteen minutes. I didn't have quite enough leftover rice for everyone, so I also made some pasta with cream cheese, butter, and garlic powder. Vegetables were tomato salad or frozen peas.
Tuesday: The rest of the pasta and chicken were combined with some tomatoes, roasted garlic from the freezer, and grated asadero cheese for a skillet thing. We also had some enchilada casserole left from Friday, and the catfish my husband caught when we went to the canyon Saturday that I han't cooked yet. Plus carrot sticks. An eclectic assortment.
Wednesday: I had a whole 8"x8" pan of cottage pie, plus some from the bigger one left, which was perfect for a day on which I was subbing.
Thursday: My sister and her boyfriend arrived for a short visit, bringing with them Pizza Hut pizzas from the nearest town they went through. Also salad.
Tonight: Because we have guests and it's cool enough, I can make tortillas. So I'll let our guests choose if they want corn or flour, and then make ground beef and refried beans, with all the toppings. I might even cook one of our giant calabazas we just harvested. These are a local variety of winter squash. Something for dessert, too. Again, I'll poll the guests and see what they prefer.
@kristin @ going country, my late MIL fried bread and better half has also done. It's been awhile - I believe both kiddos still lived at home. What does your family "top" it with - so many options (jelly/jam, cream cheese, cheese) - maybe I won't mention it to better half. He watches his bread (and pasta) consumption. Genetics play a big role but bread/pasta/potatoes don't affect my A1C/glucose like it does his.
@Selena, nothing! They eat it as is. Though I bet they'd be happy to top it with jelly if I offered them some.
@kristin@going country, cheese is also a good combo as is salami (especially with cream cheese). Protein helps balance out the carbs.
@Selena, when we've made fried bread as part of a special meal, the flavor of the fried bread is such a treat it goes solo for us, too. A treat for us with soup. A good reminder as it's been a long while since I made that.
WIS: $12
WWA: Chili with gluten-free cheddar-herb corn muffins. Gluten-free spaghetti with a red sauce jazzed up with Italian sausage and home-grown sweet peppers. A rice cooker meal of quinoa, broccoli and steamed tilapia. A use-it-up casserole with ground turkey, frozen veggies, spinach, some cooked pasta and a can of organic fire-roasted tomatoes from Ollie's Outlet. This last one turned out surprisingly well, rather like a veggie-heavy goulash.
WIS: About $165 - I didn't get to shop normally, I just had to grab and go, so this was probably more expensive than it should have been.
WIA:
Leftover pulled pork, cooked carrots, applesauce and potato chips (otherwise known as "I cooked burgers for the grandkids but only had enough for them, so I pulled random things out of the refrigerator and from what I served them")
Steak, which is really unusual for me these days, roasted okra from the garden and the rest of the cooked carrots.
I got two small steaks in my farm package, so I had steak again with cooked mushrooms and some other veggie I forget.
I cooked a pack of four pork chops, so I had a chop with roasted "honeynut" squash and green peas.
I had another one with a combination of chard and komatsuna greens from the garden and refrigerator pickled beets. The other two chops made work lunches.
Bacon with stovetop "baked" beans, greens from the garden.
Last night I had a chopped salad with longevity spinach, grapes, cucumber, carrot, capers, and pickled onions, topped with salmon and some of the pickled onion juice as a dressing.
Tonight, I'm actually on top of it: a stew with boneless goat meat, potato, celeriac, carrots, mushrooms, onion, garlic and bone broth is bubbling away right now in the crock pot. I prepped it last night so all I had to do today was put the crock in the cooker and turn it on.
During my working life, I have come to really count on my pressure cooker and crock pot. I would hate to be without them.
We went out one night for our 20th anniversary, and shared a rotisserie chicken salad (they have a lovely fire where you can watch the chickens being roasted) & a French dip sandwich.
Other meals included:
-Rice + beef & tomato dish. DS19 had his GF over, so we ended up doubling this, and getting really creative as we only had one can of diced tomatoes.
-I had a Costco rotisserie chicken, so I turned that into a black bean, salsa, rich, chicken dish that we had 2x.
-DH had a work dinner one night, so I had anniversary dinner leftovers.
-We had shrimp, pot stickers & edamame last night
As for tonight, I will probably pull something out of the freezer. Maybe fish & bake that?
That sounds like a unique spot for dinner! And congrats on 20 years!
@Hawaii Planner, Kenny Rogers Roasters used to wood cook turkey and chicken. They had the best side dish options to boot. We always intentionally over ordered for leftovers - the price was quite reasonable. We were all sad when it closed and younger kiddo's better half misses it too.
Glad you got to enjoy wood (fire) roasted chicken. Have you ever cooked beer can chicken on your grill? Doesn't half to be beer, some use different carbonated beverages. We have a chicken "stand" for when we do it.
Will also suggest to better half we put the rotisserie on the grill and do a chicken, turkey breast, pork loin etc. I do love animal protein - I come from a long line of farmers.
It was an uneventful week preparing for the cold weather ahead. WWA:
Saturday - falafels in pita with tzatziki and veggies (made extra for freezer stash)
Sunday - chicken piccata, rice, steamed snow peas
Monday - leftovers
Tuesday - black bean quesadillas
Wednesday - pasta with shrimp
Thursday - ham and cheese sliders
Friday - I plan to bake trout and veggies packets with couscous on the side
Wishing all a happy week ahead
I decided to sign up for CSA produce this fall. We get all sorts of interesting veggies and a of fresh bread every week. I am trying so many foods I’ve never tried before. It’s a non-profit farm that works very hard to feed folks facing food insecurity, so I’m happy to contribute to their mission. Bonus, if there’s something in the box I know I won’t eat, I leave it knowing it will go to feed someone else that wouldn’t otherwise have fresh veggies.
Some recent meals:
- An imitation version of the discontinued Panera Sierra Turkey. I used our fresh bread, made some chipotle mayo, and added red onion. Our CSA “zesty greens” were made into a salad.
- I tried fennel (from the CSA) roasted, plus roasted chicken thighs. My husband loved the fennel, the rest of us, not so much. The CSA spinach went into a salad with homemade dressing. It includes ketchup and a Worcestershire sauce, which shouldn’t work, but somehow does.
- Broiled steak, a roasted mix of potatoes from the CSA and my own garden, roasted turnips (also CSA) and mixed greens, both from the box. It was our first time trying turnips and the rest of my family thought they tasted like cauliflower.
- Asian sticky meatballs, rice, sautéed CSA bok choy.
- Turkey tacos with CSA and homegrown peppers.
- Tuna sandwiches and a random assortment of leftover veggies.
- Broiled steak again (it was on sale), tater tots, CSA okra and garden tomatoes. The kids had pepper slices from the garden.
I also made salsa with tomatoes from my garden and jalapeño from the CSA. Getting these different veggies is definitely making meals more interesting.
@JenRR,
Good for you trying new veggies. I am not a fan of fennel or anise, however, I love shaved fennel salad with spices walnuts and radish...fall is not complete until I make it!
My rule for this week’s menu was at least one ingredient had to come from the freezer. My goal is to get the freezer ready for holiday meal prep and also not let food in the freezer go to waste.
Friday: Cilantro Lime Chicken with Lentils over brown rice
Saturday: Brats, Corn Orzo and Boursin Bake, fresh veggies with ranch dip
Sunday: Tri-Tip, Poblano Potato Gratin, fresh veggies
Monday: Chili and biscuits
Tuesday: Cheeseburger Eggrolls, bagged salad
Wednesday: Barbacoa Bowls
Thursday: Seafood Fra Diavolo
@Geneva, I love this idea (that one thing has to come from the freezer) and should probably incorporate it most weeks.
@Geneva, my better half is the king of freezer management. It is easier to cook for 4-6 than 2. For a while we had an outlet to handle the "4", now that is down to "1". While my dad (mid-80s) can grocery shop and cook for himself, we share with him. I am not the cook but the cook in my house tells me that on occasion, it is nice to not eat food he's cooked. I'm sure my dad feels the same. Plus none of us waste food. No food waste saves a lot of money.
Does Chiquita get bored with a new bag, or does she have a collection? Clark is always interested in a new bag, but after going in it once, he's done. But he's always looking for more cloth tents--we have one office chair that has a blanket tented over it permanently for the Commodore.
Saturday, Sunday: homemade pizzas, and I found a wheat-free, corn free flatbread recipe that was pretty tasty! Easy to make and DH-approved.
Monday: Homemade alfredo sauce over fettucine, with sauteed chicken breast and peas.
Tuesday: DS#2 made chili, and attempted the "corn-free cornbread" but forgot that when baking you don't put it on the top rack..we moved it down and baked it longer but it was still texturally a little odd. Tasty, though.
Wednesday: DH tried his hand at chicken enchiladas, and was determined to make a corn-free, wheat free pan of them (he used Siete's Cassava Flour tortillas), but was dismayed that the enchilada sauce he bought had cornstarch in it. So he pivoted and used some of our homemade pizza sauce that was still in the fridge. I said he was doing Tex-Mex-Italian fusion. 😉 They were good! Next time he'll make his own enchilada sauce. The regular enchiladas were devoured, and it was declared a new item for menu rotation. He also put out regular taco fixings.
Thursday: DS#3 made lasagna with Jovial rice lasagna noodles, and it was so good.
Tonight: DH is making burgers, I think, and baked potatoes. DS#1 and DS#4 have been fighting a small virus this week, so they're off the hook for cooking!
Oh yeah, she will be bored with it in 24 hours. Ha.
I spent $275 @ Kroger and $125 @ Costco
Monday: Chicken Chili with sour cream, cheese and crackers
Tuesday: Leftovers
Wednesday: my son's birthday dinner; sloppy joes on potato buns, potato salad, coleslaw and baked beans; lemon cake with cream cheese frosting & a peach cobbler for those with cream cheese allergies
Thursday: pregnancy craving claimed dinner and we went out for bbq sandwiches at a local spot - they have a vinegar based bbq sauce that is the most divine concoction I have ever tasted
Friday: Clean out the fridge - leftover potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans, chicken chili, sandwich fixin's
Hi, I'm new to this site, but I have been following Katy at Non Consumer Advocate for a while!
I made a large batch of blueberry pancake batter, using sour milk I had in the freezer. I ate that for brunch for three days, and today I put the remainder in the freezer.
Last night I made broccoli Swiss quiche -- two 6-inch pie pans. I ate one half of one, put the other in the freezer.
Yesterday I had a hot dog -- the last one -- with lots of mustard and relish to cover up the taste I don't like. I won't buy cheap hot dogs again.
The day before I had brunch casserole made from leftover bits from some restaurant breakfasts -- eggs, peppers, potatoes, onions, cheese, and some mushroom soup to turn it into a casserole. It was on its last leg. I threw away the last serving because it was just too sad.
With all these meals I ate stewed apples a la Cracker Barrel. I mean I made them, didn't bring them home from CB.
That's a much as I can remember!
Welcome! I'm so glad to have you here. There's a lot of overlap between NCA readers and FG readers. 🙂
@Beth W, Welcome! Stewed apples are a favorite around here, especially with ham.
@Beth W,
Hi Beth! Welcome to the nicest community in bloglandia!
@Kristen, we are a Venn diagram, that's for sure.
Chiquita looks so helpful 😉
Saturday: I went to a pizza restaurant in the town I was visiting
Sunday: Veggie stir-fry. I was busy congratulating myself on having all the food organised before I got back...and then realised I was out of sweet chilli sauce. I threw together a homemade version; it wasn't great but it wasn't terrible either!
Monday: Aubergine curry
Tuesday: Chilli mac and cheese
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: The falafel wraps with tzatziki sauce which Kristen gave a recipe for recently. They were really good!
Friday: I'm not fit for anything except takeout!
What I spent: $52 at Aldi
What I ate: I don't remember last Friday or Saturday. I knew this week would be busy, so I made two meals for myself on Sunday: one was scrambled egg and sausage bowls with potatoes and spinach, and the other was a chicken enchilada casserole. I've been alternating those meals for lunches and dinners this week. Today I'm out of leftovers, so I'll cook some beans this afternoon and make some rice and veggies to go with them.
B for D Individual frittatas, steel-cut oatmeal with sautéed apples and toasted walnuts, turkey bacon
One pot chicken lo mein
Turkey meat loaf, baked potatoes
Sweet and spicy chili (from Iowa Girl Eats), coleslaw, garlic bread, homemade sesame cake
Rotisserie chicken, roasted sweet potato, leftover cake
WIS: $22 @ restaurant supply, $24 @ Costco, $8 @ bread outlet
Sunday family dinner: Sauerbraten, potato pancakes, greens w/bacon, roasted root veggies. Apple cake with caramel drizzle.
Monday - salad, Hawaiian meatballs & rice
Tuesday - fajitas
Wednesday - all day town day threw leftover fajitas in cuisinart, added a qt of tomato sauce and a pint of chicken broth. Soup.
Thurs - rest of soup and apple & grapes
Friday - salmon, salad and lemon squares
Saturday - harvest festival, our group is making minestrone and fresh pretzels to sell.
WIS: $30 at Ollie's (not all of which was for food) and $49.50 at Wegmans.
WIA: More fun with Wegmans salmon scraps at $2.99/lb., including an SST (salmon, spinach, and tomato) sandwich with some of the salmon skin fried up as "bacon." Otherwise, nothing too exciting. But I roasted a pan of root veg yesterday and am looking forward to trying Kristen's pureed roasted root veg soup, as soon as the turkey broth I got out of the freezer thaws.
Happy Friday, everyone! We spent $158 ($55 at Aldi, $46 at Target, $18 at natural foods co-op, and $37 at Trader Joe's).
- Homemade chunky applesauce with cream and granola
- Salad
- Popcorn and fruit
- Pasta, broccoli and parmesan
- Pasta and homemade pesto
- Pumpkin pancakes (restaurant leftovers)
- Spanish tortilla with peppers, onions and kidney beans
Chiquita is not impressed by all the non-carnivorous noms.
Better half cooks and does the grocery shopping. Being retired, he has time to hit the local non-Wally, non-Aldi grocery store for marked down meat. It is my esteemed opinion the American beef farmer is not getting rich/over pricing their product. When a store can sell 2.31 of Angus rib-eye steaks (package of three) for $22 off original price, it is not the farmer. Saved $3 on a package of ground round (likely over a pound but on the under 1 1/2 lbs - he froze it and I'm not getting up to dig through the freezer!
The best cat toys are typically not a purchased cat toy. You should plant some catnip, it is very easy to grow. Then Chiquita and Shelly can partake of organic catnip.
It was a crazy busy work week for me, so hooray for YOYO nights! (You’re On Your Own.)
Monday: made a skillet meal that had hamburger, onion, and zucchini with a sweet and spicy sauce. Like Kristen, I’m a More Sauce Please person, so will double it next time for sure!
Tuesday: YOYO! I had a slice of a quiche-ish zucchini and onion bake I’d meal prepped, along with some mini cucumbers.
Wednesday: YOYO! Leftover rotisserie chicken, meal prepped roasted root veggies, and raspberries
Thursday: you guessed it, YOYO! Another slice of zucchini pie and more roasted root veggies
Friday: celebrated making it thru the week with the treat of dinner from my favorite local Chinese place
Chiquita has been quite busy this week! haha Now we need a pic of Shelley (I think that's the name of your other cat who hangs out with Zoe all the time) sometime, just to check in. 🙂