WIS,WWA | The first one in 2018!
What I Spent
Well. I'm starting out the year over budget.
($150/week is my goal.)
My total for this week is $186.47.
But I stocked up on some organic chicken that was on sale, and I also got 3 pounds of sausage to put into the freezer.
So, my spending this week is going to help me out in future weeks. At least, theoretically!
I didn't get a Hungry Harvest box this week because I needed a break to catch up with my veggies. Luckily, you can pause deliveries whenever you want.
And I'm pleased to say that after a week off, my fridge is ready for some more produce.
What We Ate
Saturday
We ate at a family Christmas gathering, where I brought chips, veggies, dip, and drinks.
Sunday
We had a bunch of snacky stuff for our New Year's Eve meal...fruit, veggies, some frozen appetizers from Costco, and so on.
Monday
I tried a new recipe for shrimp tacos from my latest Cook's Country magazine. Super yummy!
We had some applesauce from the freezer with our tacos.
Tuesday
I made bacon-wrapped chicken, potato cubes, and a green salad.
Wednesday
I tried a new recipe for couscous risotto made with Israeli couscous (the larger sort). The risotto had fresh spinach in it, plus chicken and a leek (which is the main reason I picked it! I had a Hungry Harvest leek to use).
This recipe was just ok. But, it got us fed and it used up my leek, so, I'm happy with that.
We had clementines with our risotto.
Thursday
I made roasted chicken with bread stuffing. Plus fresh berries because they were cheap at Aldi this week.
(I'm pretending it's spring, guys. <eats another strawberry>)
Friday
I think I'll be making pizza because this weather makes it seem like a very, very good time to heat the oven up to 500 °.
Aaaand that wraps up our meals for this week.
We are still eating some Christmas foods. This week we have had roasted pork with baked vegetables, ham and salad, leftover turkey and pork with vegetables, chipolatas with refried leftover vegetables. I have had little food waste so I am pleased.
Wow everything sounds so yummy although it's from Christmas. We don't have any leftovers from the holidays, but it's mainly because we didn't make a lot and had a family member visiting. The food went fast!
I did a great job mealplanning and pre-cooking. (I work outside of the home and meal prep in the evening is hard):
Quiché with broccoli
Chicken stir fry with veggies
Tortellini with sautéed veggies and sausage
Stuffed peppers
Tonight is pork tenderloin since we are home for a snow day
Gold stars for you!
Monday: pasta with goat cheese and mushrooms, kale
Tuesday: spaghetti with tomato sauce, roasted root veg, broccoli
Wednesday: quesadillas, black beans, clementines
Thursday: stir fried rice with carrots, bbq tofu, green beans
A year ago, I used to have to mash tofu and mix it into my young daughter's rice and even then she made faces at me. Last night she was digging through the remains of her rice and I asked "what are you looking for?" She responded "more tofu." Big win there.
Monday: New Year's Day meal is always the same--pork for health (pork tenderloin this year), greens for wealth (kohlrabi greens I froze from our garden), and black-eyed peas for happiness. Plus rice, because . . . well, you have to have rice with black-eyed peas. I'm only a southerner once-removed because my mother is from New Orleans, but it's a family tradition I and my siblings carry on.
Tuesday: Lamb curry and rice
Wednesday: Shepherd's pie, sauerkraut (odd combination, but surprisingly delicious) and a bread pudding I made experimentally with straight-up bread crumbs instead of cubes because I had a gallon-sized bag of crumbs from the bread ends I found when rummaging for a buried ham hock for the New Year's Day black-eyed peas. I used a standard bread pudding recipe, and I'm pleased to say that I like the bread crumbs even better. More even texture. Good thing, because I have a LOT more bread crumbs to use up.
Thursday: Top round beef steak, rice, roasted butternut squash/onions/mushrooms, leftover black-eyed peas, and green salad
Tonight: I was thinking we might have leftovers to clean out the refrigerator, but there's a straight-up blizzard out there and cooking something to help heat the house seems like a good idea. Maybe pot roast.
No beaver this week, eh? 😉
Such a dull week, right? I do have another beaver leg in the freezer that I have not yet mustered the will to cook. Today is probably not that day, however.
lol...you know....my husband is a hunter/fisher as are all our friends and we all eat what we get. My family however are displaced Californians that...ahem...arnt. At first the thought of eating anything right off the hoof was for them...alarming...they've gotten better but at times they still poke at whatever's in front of them and ask if its something weird. I will say though I've yet to try beaver...I've had to help displace a few of their dams in order to prevent havoc (and yes, I feel guilty but those critters can cause some serious damage)...they are intimidating when your thigh deep in their pond and they start slapping their tails...yikes! And I don't blame you, don't know if id be to enthused about eating one of those either.
Have a good day and stay warm
There's really no reason not to eat them. The meat is objectively better than most wild game I've had, even milder than the lamb we raise ourselves. My kids love it. And there's certainly a more-than-sustainable population. It's totally psychological for me.
I have lived at the very top of Alaska and became quite accustomed to eating whale, seal, caribou and wild geese. I had a relative who came every summer start arriving with 10 pound blocks of frozen hamburger. I think what we ate was healthier than what she brought.
This week was "use up what we can 'cause we're going back north (BRRR!)" in our home-away condos (Charleston and Williamsburg -- we got all our groceries at the Williamsburg ALDI ad Trader Joe's before we went to Charleston).
SAT: last night in Charleston - pasta with leftover sauce, remaining chicken sausage, and last of the frozen mixed peppers.
SUN: back in Williamsburg -leftover pulled pork nachos with cheese and salsa -- went great with beer and some binge TV
MON:Cooked an on-sale southwest seasoned chicken breast from ALDI with an acorn squash and green peas. New leftovoers!
TUES: we\re in love with Black Angus steak from ALDI! Had it with leftover- cooked- potato home-fries and peas-and-carrots. Cooked a chicken casserole with rice, chicken ,squash and peas for travel home.
WED: Had a comfy chicken casserole supper out of the microwave where we stayed.
THUR: Home! Unpacked the car, Put away lots of stuff. Our supper was sandwiches of leftover pulled pork on leftover sandwich rounds with a side of leftover chicken casserole.
FRI: I look at my full fridge freezer and stuffed chest freezer in the basement: what haven't we had in a while? Maybe fish -- there's those organic carrots we brought home and I have a full pail of potatoes in the basement.
Ooh, are there no Aldis and Trader Joes in Charleston?
I suppose you all were freezing even down in Charleston this week!
There is a TJ's in Charleston. We go up there from Savannah, the closest one. Not sure about Aldi. We don't have one here.
Kathy,
There is an Aldis slated to open in early 2018 at I-95 exit 104 Pooler GA (Savannah/Hilton Head airport exit).
I can't wait!!! I live a few more exits south from the 104 exit.
There is an Aldi's in Charleston, if we are taking SC. It's off Hwy 17N just about a mile down the road from TJ's. It opened about 6 months ago.
Yes, it was cold for Charleston. They do not have plows or even many shovels. (I have been here for about 3 years--from up North). Airport is slowly opening some runways--again lack of equipment.
We have enjoyed being nearer a Trader Joe's than ever, and we are delighted to now have a very close Aldi, too. For years in Houston and then here in the Charleston area I was jealous of your Aldi love!
It's a pantry challenge around here plus super cold. We had potato and ham soup, pork loin with veggies and sliced oranges,chicken noodle soup with sliced apples, chicken and dumplings and fruit salad, leftovers with a few new stir fried veggies, Tacos (then taco salads for lunch the next day with leftovers), and homemade pizza and fried apples will be on the menu tonight. I also made croutons with bread from the freezer and bone broth with the Christmas turkey bones plus baked pumpkin bread and an applesauce cake just to use things from the pantry and freezer and save $$. It's been a week of cooking around here.
goat cheese and leek tart is delicious next time you have a leek to use up!
I've been trying to decide if pizza is for dinner tonight or lunch tomorrow to warm up the house!
Lunch tomorrow - you'll be awake and in the kitchen longer, taking better advantage of the heat generated by cooking.
I second the goat and leek tart. We raise leeks every summer, primarily because we love leek tarts and leek pie so much.
It is SO cold here in Ohio. My car said -5 coming in to work today. And it's my birthday. Boo!
Monday I made a large batch of white chicken chili. My husband though it was just meh, but I loved it. So I brought leftovers to lunch each day this week. Yay for no food waste!
Tuesday is bowling night so my husband and little one fend for themselves and I pack an extra large lunch to eat on my way to bowling.
Wednesday I made mini meatloaf muffins with some mashed potatoes (from a bag, no shame). Husband loved them.
Thursday, I made some pasta to put the mini meatloafs over to use them up!
Friday - my birthday! My mom planned large family outing (30 people!) at a local country type restaurant that has an amazing buffet.
Happy, happy birthday! Enjoy your dinner out (no cooking is a very, very good birthday present. 😉 )
Ohioan here.. school cancelled last night.. when I crawled out of bed at 8am it was -4* with wind chill is was -21*! Drive safely!
Hi Savannah! Where about do your u like in Ohio? I’m in the Akron-Cleveland area (boy was it cold here!)
My favorite way to use a leek is potato leek soup. Yum!
About those leeks:
1. You can use leeks in any recipe that calls for onions. It'll be similiar but - if the recipe calls for a lot of onions - milder.
2. Leek-cleaning tip: cut/slice/chop them *before* cleaning them. Cut them, put in colander or salad spinner, clean away. The grit will fall away more easily from the small pieces than from a whole (or halved) leek.
It's an implicit Freezer Challenge Chez WilliamB. Mine are STUFFED, thanks to all the good deals from December (such as $3 full-sized frozen pizza or $14 for 28 oz of cooked, peeled shrimp). My challenge is to keep good track of inventory, not throw up my hands and go out to eat, and to resist any more good bargains.
The start of the year has been more or less on target for us. We had an Aldi run for about $15, a Walmart run for about the same (sadly our local Aldi is getting more expensive than the crazy blue box so we've had to go there for some other things) and a couple other local grocery store runs.
But for cooking, well it's been an interesting week, I guess.
Sunday: My wife made a turkey pot pie with leftover turkey we were sent home with after Christmas. She loved it. My daughter was meh on it and I ... well, I tried it but it's just not my thing.
Monday: Top sirloin steak! This was our way of celebrating. It was on sale the week before at $2.99/lb and I can't remember the last time I ate beef. We also had little mini-potatoes to go with it.
Tuesday: Leftovers. We had a lot leftover so we ate Monday's dinner again.
Wednesday: Leftovers 3.0 (well, more clean out the fridge.) There was leftover pie, some ham, some beef etc. It was more of a hodge podge dinner but it worked for us.
Thursday: Snowpocalypse! We're in New England so the wife was snowed in. I'm essential personnel so I worked. For dinner she made chicken thighs in a honey soy sauce and we served it with rice and vegetables.
Friday: I'm not entirely sure yet. We're either doing breakfast for dinner or possibly pizza as well.
Mr. FG is essential personnel too...which is why he has a car with all-wheel drive and winter tires. He never gets snow days!
I work for State government and am never so happy to be considered "non-essential" as when it means I can go home/stay home due to extreme weather!
Monday we had traditional Pork and Saurkraut, with fresh bread, mashed taters and corn
Tuesday- baked large potatoes and served with chili from the freezer and bacon that I fried up
Wednesday- Cooked 2 chicken breasts in the crock pot with a jar of salsa.. brown rice, black beans, corn and homemade corn cake
Thursday- made homemade meaty marinara and served with macaroni shells, garlic bread and fruit
Friday- Homemade pizza sounds tempting...so cold here!
If you ever find yourself with leeks to use again...you MUST try the Pioneer Woman's recipe for pasta with pancetta and leeks...it is AMAZING....pancetta isn't exactly the most frugal of ingredients but you don't need much and the recipe is awesome. It is in my regular rotation!
This week we at up a lot of leftovers and so-called frugal meals, but for some reason my budget was still out of whack - $150 at my house for 4 people seems steep! Here's what we ate:
Monday - Ham Balls, cabbage, black eyed peas, rolls, walnut raisin pie
Tuesday - Mexican Chili crockpot
Wednesday - Freezer meal: Tamales and pintos
Thursday - Freezer meal: leftover grilled chicken and dutch oven potatoes
Friday - Hamburger Helper for the win
Saturday - Roast Turkey, stuffing, Arkansas green beans
Sunday - Corn Chowder
Hubby and I are so tired a the end of the day...but Saturday we shall FEAST on a turkey that Firstborn brought home. It's been thawing in the fridge all week - can't wait to fill my house with all the smells!
I haven’t spent any money yet this week on groceries, but I’m headed out to the store after work! I’m thinking I’ll spend $40-50.
This week we ate:
Leftover frozen chili
homemade veggie noodle soup (2 nights)
Onion, celery, carrot, peanut stir fry
This weekend we’re headed out to celebrate my best friend’s 30th birthday!
We are also eating leftover Christmas snackies and trying to come up with reasons to turn on the oven. I've noticed that it stays light outside for a liiiiittle longer every day, so I'm thankful for that!
Love it! Bah, going over budget is worth it to stock up on good sales, especially for meat. I kept our total around $60 for the week, thanks for "clear out the cupboard" recipes.
This week we ate:
Monday: Green smoothie.
Tuesday: Been and cheese tostadas.
Wednesday: Mediterranean chicken paninis. The new recipe of this week and it was so good!
Thursday: Company dinner/ venison with rice pilaf and salad.
Friday: Fast food (I'm traveling home from working out of town) / chicken wings.
Do you ever make mashed potatoes? I don't read about that in your blog. Being from the midwest and living on a farm all my life (and my husband, too) we are more of a meat and potatoes kind of people, but we do like soup in the winter.
{Raises hand to chime in on the beaver discussion.} I've had a fair bit of game, I eat venison regularly, but have never sampled beaver. My husband who has cooked beaver ala nugget style says we don't know what we're missing!
Feeling grateful for our very toasty home. Stay warm everyone!
I had meat in the freezer that needed to be used, a ham bone, and some canned/boxed goods in the pantry. Here’s what our week looked like!
Monday: Black beans and rice, quesadilla appetizer and Asian green salad
Tuesday: Cooking Light Lemon Skillet chicken with salad and new potatoes
Wednesday: Spaghetti and meatballs from the freezer, salad, sliced pears.
Thursday: Ham and Bean Soup (Hambone from Christmas in freezer) from Damn Delicious website, cornbread, canteloupe, spinach, avocado and berry salad. (Love that berries are so cheap right now).
Tonight: Leftovers for dad and I, Costco Pizza for the boys ;)!
I left beans and rice and ham soup leftovers in the fridge/freezer for the boys that remain home this weekend. I’m serving food to 100+ at a swim meet one of my son’s is participating in. Crazy to think about putting on a swimsuit in this weather. Brrrr!! Looking forward to Monday —I think that will be a homemade Mac and Cheese day...so cold here!
Monday- Ham sandwiches, corn casserole, fruit and grilled veggies.
Tuesday- meat loaf, mashed potatoes and gravy and mixed veggies
Wednesday- Squash soup, crackers and cheese
Thursday- Salmon, baked squash and onions with olive oil and a dash of salt
Friday- chicken, baked veggies and fruit
Hello virtual friend, happy new year! Question about the leek situation. Did you already have Israeli couscous in hand? And if so, why?! When I look at a recipe I invariably don’t have several ingredients and then need to shop just for that meal.
Okay, after multiple edits of this question I have answered it myself. I assume you menu planned, chose the recipe before doing your shopping and knew to buy couscous. <> After 10 plus years reading your blog I should know better. I blame the cold weather for freezing necessary brain cells.
Seriously... I cannot get past the html police. *palm slap to forehead*
You are exactly right! I made a note that I'd need Israeli couscous when I menu-planned, and then I added it to my shopping list.
I definitely don't keep it on hand!
I used up a frozen ham bone to season a pot of white beans, made teriyaki chicken with onions and green peppers, a large pot of soup from frozen veggie stock, fruit, cheese crackers, and nuts for New Years Day, mostly used up refrigerator and freezer stock.
We had our traditional collard greens, black eyed peas, hog jowl and corn bread for New Year's day. I'm from the upper south, my husband from the deep south. We just have to eat that on New Year's day.
Tuesday was stir fry, which used up some cabbage we had, plus was mighty good, even being meatless.
I had cooked a roast on the weekend, so Wednesday was leftover roast with fresh gravy (we didn't have gravy on the weekend, but I saved the juices to make some) as a hot sandwich for my husband and over leftover rice for me, with cole slaw and apple sauce, because those were already made.
Thursday I pushed the easy button -- a veggie pot pie for my husband and a frozen Indian dinner for me.
Tonight, I'm not sure. I'll go grocery shopping before I get home. I'm starting an elimination diet next Monday, so the meals should be really interesting next week!
I need to start commenting on these more, for accountability..... hubby and I decided we need to get our eating back under control... we fell off the wagon of home cooking and we feel crappy so now it's back to healthy homemade food for our health, and our kiddos. I'm 7 months pregnant but there's no time like the present.
Monday- New Year's Day dinner at the in-laws'
Tuesday- Gourmet hamburgers and roasted beet salad, both leftover from our New Year's Eve dinner party at home, made by my hubby
Wednesday- One-pot chicken quarters, brown rice and veggies
Thursday - Leftover homemade lasagna my mother in law kindly sent home with us; sauteed green beans on the side (Kristen's recipe!)
Friday- leftover chicken, brown rice, and veggies from Wednesday!
My budget and my body have been much happier this week! 🙂
I was off from work this week but illness, plumbing problems and a litany of other household problems threw me off my meal game and I wound up eating soup, cheese and crackers, quesadillas and pizza instead of what I had planned. Good news is I will just need to pick up some milk and produce for next week since I can repurpose what I was supposed to eat this week. I am going to try an Instant Pot recipe for General Tso's chicken tonight, though.
Hope those of you in the deep freeze stay safe and warm.
I laughed at your pizza reasoning because we are having pizza tonight and can't wait to turn on that oven! Brrrr. (We're in Virginia.)
Meatloaf, sweet potatoes, and broccoli
Beans n cornbread
Beans n cornbread
Chicken noodle soup (sorta homemade, sorta not)
Omelettes n veggies
Salmon patties, sweet potatoes, and broccoli
Pizza
I spent $115 on food this Tuesday and that will get us through early next week before we need some fresh items. We’ve been eating lots of soup from our freezer and I too enjoy the warmth from an oven baked dinner! I made granola last night while the oven was going and then muffins this morning.
We ate spaghetti and meatballs with salad, tacos, ratatouille with garlic bread, tomato soup with grilled cheese and applesauce, homemade pizza and crudités, tonight is minestrone or broccoli cheese soup with rolls, and tomorrow will be a roasted chicken dinner with potatoes and beets.
Have any of you heard anything about the Romaine lettuce E. coli rumor???
Sat - Spaghetti Bolognese
Sun - homemade rice paper rolls made with red curry chicken balls, carrot, cucumber, rice
noodles,coriander & vietnamese dipping sauce
Mon - can't remember
Tues - chicken and vegie risotto
Wed - honey on toast as wasn't very well
Thur - Turkey and gravy toasted sandwich
Fri - rice paper rolls again as they were so yummy
Btw Kristen the taco recipe looks delicious, can I ask does your food budget include all breakfasts, lunches, & snacks for everyone in your family?
My Aldis had fresh cranberries on sale for .49 cents a bag! I am always looking for inexpensive fresh fruit, so I bought a case of them! I do not want to pour sugar over them however, so made them into a fresh Cranberry Salad. Our family LOVES this, and we eat it on top of oatmeal for breakfast. I have the recipe over on my blog.
http://tnquiltbug.blogspot.com/2018/01/frugal-friday-december-31-january-6-2018.html