What I Spent
I was thinking this week…feeding only three people for dinner is a whole lot easier than what I’m used to! And that’s a serious mercy since I am spending so much time on schoolwork these days.
Don’t worry; I did not eat this mushroom. 😉
This week, I spent:
- $25 on a Hungry Harvest box
- $11 at Safeway
- $50 at Lidl
- $16 at Aldi
- $14 on a bowl of pho
So, $116 for me this week. That’s better than last week, which included my BJ’s trip!
What We Ate
Saturday
Oh man, I am struggling to remember.
I remember that I spent a lot of my day sanding and painting the dining chair, so I probably made something easy for dinner, but my goodness, I cannot remember what.
Sunday
The girls both had plans, so I got a bowl of shrimp pho. 🙂
Monday
I made ATK’s skillet-baked ziti, and on the side, we had sauteed broccoli.
Tuesday
I had a bag of potatoes I needed to work on using, so I made burgers with potato cubes and some fresh produce on the side.
Wednesday
Lisey was out with friends for a birthday dinner, so Zoe ate the last burger and I made some mashed potatoes and topped them with two fried eggs.
Thursday
I made a pot of broccoli-cheese noodle soup plus a batch of cream biscuits.
Friday
I’m waiting to hear what the girls’ Friday night plans are so I know how many people I’m feeding!
If it’s just me here, I might repeat my mashed potato/egg bowl because that was so good.
Michelle
Tuesday 1st of November 2022
Kristen,
So.. on an earlier (but recent) post, you referenced your method for making chicken broth.. Thank goodness for you!!!
I have a long living and well loved upright commercial freezer in my house. A very useful item when there are 6 or more people at any given time. The issue is that the door is juuuuuuust out of alignment, so if you do not press it all the way closed, it might not close. With 3 littles (pre-teen/teen) in the house, they are in too big of a hurry to make sure the door is shut every time.. so... it snows in my freezer semi-regularly. This weekend I had to defrost the freezer because I no longer had any idea what was in it. In the snow piles, I found 5 chicken leg quarters that were starting to get a little freezer burn on the edges. I put those out to thaw, and completed my freezer cleaning and reorganizing, and then browned up the skins and backbones off the quarters in the bottom of my pot and followed your directions from there. Can I say.. the BEST chicken broth I have had in ages!!! And it made delicious "Campbell's" style chicken noodle soup for dinner a few nights later! Years ago, I would have just thrown out the chicken and moved on. This was a MUCH better use of food.
Thank you Kristen!
Hawaii Planner
Sunday 30th of October 2022
We were on vacation all week, and ate some amazing meals out. My parents were at our house with the teens, and made lots of yummy meals, and left a few things in our freezer, for future dinners. We are so lucky! On Friday, I was not feeling it, so I made Trader Joes orange chicken & fried rice. It was delicious & easy. Just what was needed.
On vacation, we had lots of delicious things, but the Hawaiian snapper was a favorite (over a bed of amazing risotto), as well as fish & chips at my favorite spot (made with local fish as well). Yum. I don't drink cocktails much, but I also had a game changer pina colada one day. Woo, it was so delicious.
Ruth T
Friday 28th of October 2022
I should come in slightly under budget this month! Yay! I've been slowly trying to lessen what's in the freezer and I'll need to kick that into gear next month so I have room for turkeys.
WWA: Saturday: We were at my aunt and uncle's 50th anniversary party, so I didn't have to cook! Sunday: I made my last Easter ham and we had skillet corn and applesauce with it Monday: One-pot ham and veggie pasta (my 4yo ate 3 helpings of this!! Win!) with veggies and hummus on the side Tuesday: Air fryer pizza puffs Wednesday: Cheesy scalloped potatoes with ham Thursday: Summer vegetarian chili over brown rice Friday: I pulled a pan of stuffed shells out of the freezer. I just stopped by the produce store and came home with a purple cauliflower, so I may roast that to go with it!
Kayla
Friday 28th of October 2022
@Kristen,
How do you prepare your potato cubes? Do you par boil then fry? Or just fry them raw?
Samosa
Friday 28th of October 2022
Those potato cubes look so crispy and yummy, Kristen! We had a kitchen fire a couple of weeks ago and I have been scared to cook since. So, we eat 1 or 2 meals a day and it's mostly fruit/veg, take out, frozen meals from Trader Joes. So this will be kind of a sad food week recap haha Monday - Frozen TJ butter chicken and salad Tuesday - Thai food (pad kee mao) with a new friend Wednesday - dips and carrots Thursday - Turkish meal with a new-ish friend Friday - salad and frozen chicken pot pie
I need to get over this fear because cooking is my most favourite thing! I also just moved that this is the biggest kitchen I have ever had in NYC. But just the thought of turning the stove on scares me.
Becca
Friday 4th of November 2022
@Samosa,
I'm sending you some more love, Samosa! I hope you post today! Even reading your takeout menu is exciting because there is just so much variety in NYC.
Samosa
Saturday 29th of October 2022
@Becca, thank you so, so much for all the support! i did make post it notes above my stove so I can see it and feel safe. Still haven't cooked today! Soon. fingers x.
Kristen
Friday 28th of October 2022
Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry to hear that you had a fire. I hope that you can feel comfortable in your kitchen again soon.
Becca
Friday 28th of October 2022
@Becca,
No! He says one should say "Technically, it's charred."
Becca
Friday 28th of October 2022
@Samosa,
At first I was like "Yay! Samosa is back to posting!" And then I was like "What? A fire? In the new kitchen? No!!!" And by the time I got to the end, I was emotionally wrung out! I'm sending good vibes for you to conquer this totally legitimate fear so you can get back to what you love! Maybe keep like a big old pot lid, a bowl of baking soda and a fire extinguisher right next to your stove and call them your fire besties just in casies? I think you should draw faces on them with a sharpie and conversation bubbles that say reassuring or amusing confirmations, like "Don't worry! I got this covered!" on the lid. I've put my husband on thinking up funnier ones for the baking soda and extinguisher...he says the baking soda could say "Fire just adds flavor!" and the extinguisher could say "It's still good!"