What I Spent
We didn’t do one of these last week (what can I say, it was a discombobulated holiday time!), but I’m here this week.
Wouldn’t we all love to be this comfortable?
I know at least one reader (Hi Becca!) was feeling all off-kilter without knowing what we ate last week. So, hopefully this post will right her world. 😉
I spent a total of $157 on groceries this week.
What We Ate
Saturday
Chicken katsu, with cabbage salad.
I thought I’d posted the recipe here but I guess not; I use the one from Dinner Illustrated, a book from the America’s Test Kitchen people!
Sunday
French toast for dinner, with berries and whipped cream. And some orange juice and bacon.
We all know I can’t go a week without a breakfast for dinner meal. 😉
Monday
Pad Thai, which I hadn’t had in ages. I think my brain kept thinking it had to have shrimp in it, and I mentally wrote it off because Zoe is my dining companion. But duh, it can be made with chicken too!
picture from the recipe post, which obviously had shrimp!
Here’s the recipe I use for pad Thai (before my long Pad Thai hiatus. Ha.)
Tuesday
We ate some grilled cheese sandwiches before going to see some New Year’s fireworks with friends. 🙂
Wednesday
A stir-fry, plus some frozen egg rolls. Because homemade egg rolls feel like way too much work for such a small household.
Thursday
We had chicken sandwiches with some coleslaw and fruit.
Friday
I’m thinking some pizza, probably!
Colleen
Saturday 4th of January 2025
M-pot roast w/bread T- Indian takeout with a friend (vegetable balls in korma sauce) W-Indian leftovers R-tofu cream cheese fancy toast with guacamole & fried egg F-didn’t eat due to migraine S- pot roast juices over potatoes with braised lentils Sn- will be eating out with a friend somewhere
This week was more pantry style meals & eating out than I usually do. I feel it has a nice balance of splurging and economical home meals.
Colleen
Saturday 4th of January 2025
Forgot my cost analysis - Tuesday’s meal was $23 (but I got 5 meals from it between lunches & dinners).
Grocery for the week was: ~$40, I shopped before Christmas. It just covers me, my husband doesn’t really eat when he drinks so this year I am not including him in grocery or cooking for him due to high food waste.
Tracy K. In Illinois
Friday 3rd of January 2025
WIS $0 WWA - Saturday, Sunday, and Monday we were still cleaning up Christmas week leftovers of pulled pork, bbq brisket, beef roast, (no condensed soup) green bean casserole, cornflake potatoes, baked beans, homemade cream corn, homemade bread, blackberry dumplings, pumpkin roll and mounds of cookies. TOO MUCH FOOD! But they finished off the bulk of it Monday night. Tuesday - white chicken chili, Hawaiian bread ham sammies, chips and dip Wednesday - chicken strips, mashed potatoes Thursday - homemade pasta with our canned pasta sauce, garlic cheese biscuits Friday - leftovers
Hawaii Planner
Friday 3rd of January 2025
We were skiing (and, in a hotel), so I'll just cover what I ate. It was definitely not the healthiest eating week:
Friday - arrived at ski hotel #1. Took all four teens out to dinner at an Irish pub. I hate the potato leek soup + a beet salad. They served it with sourdough bread topped with some sort of chili oil. It was fantastic.
Saturday - took four teens out to dinner at the pub style restaurant in our hotel. I had a Cobb salad.
Sunday - carried on to ski hotel #2. Now it was just the adults + 3 teens. We went to an appetizer style restaurant at the hotel. I had appetizers + a lobster Cobb salad (delicious).
Monday - we went to a pasta restaurant at the hotel with 3 teens.
Tuesday - NYE. DH & I were invited to a 21+ party, so we ordered Chipotle for the teens & we had a pretty unremarkable dinner at the party. I ate the fish, he had steak. The dessert was a standout.
Wednesday - driving home from skiing, and ate at In & Out. I had an animal style cheeseburger.
Thursday - everyone has a bit of a head cold. I once again fed 3 teens (although a different combo this time, as DS18 invited his GF over). We had grilled chicken, garlic bread, salad & gyozas (mostly because we somehow ended up with 3 bags & are trying to work our way through them.)
Friday - I'm about to head off to DS17's soccer game. I'm guessing DS18 won't be home (he heads back to college tomorrow) & DS17 is always unlikely on a weekend. Probably just me + DH, so we will likely have the remaining grilled chicken over salad. Roasted acorn squash on the side, if anyone desires.
Dori
Friday 3rd of January 2025
Frugal Girl, how do you like to cook your bacon? I just thought I'd ask since I am also a smaller meal (2 person) household over here too. (We usually bake it in the oven)
Selena
Saturday 4th of January 2025
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, it can be done and it can be messy.
Central Calif. Artist Jana
Saturday 4th of January 2025
@Kristen, do people ever cook bacon in a microwave? I don't have a microwave and don't eat bacon, so just wondering. . . (inquiring mind as usual)
Dori
Saturday 4th of January 2025
@PD, Your method for cooking (and then freezing) bacon sounds really great! I'll have to give that a try.
PD
Friday 3rd of January 2025
@Kristen, someone's super power here is cooking perfect bacon- we should have them give us some hints!
Here's my go-to method, which work well for small portions. I bake a whole pound or two in the oven (separated on cookie sheets lined with foil for easier cleanup). +/-375 for +/-20 mins typically works well. I cool and drain the cooked bacon, then freeze it. The bacon fat gets poured into a jar in the fridge to have on hand for future cooking. Then, anytime we want some bacon we pull a few pieces out of the freezer and pop them in the toaster oven (usually on some repurposed foil...). It only takes a minute or two, and the bacon crispens up beautifully.
Maddie
Friday 3rd of January 2025
@JDinNM, good to know! thanks!
Elizabeth M
Friday 3rd of January 2025
What I spent: $0 Like many of you, I'm making a serious effort to eat down the pantry and freezer this month. I haven't bought any groceries this week.
What I ate: The past couple of weeks are a bit of a blur. I know we had ham and sweet potatoes for Christmas dinner. I also made focaccia that week. This week I have been eating smoked sausage in a few different ways: with homemade biscuits and a vegetable (sweet potato or broccoli); in a version of the poor man's meal from Depression Cooking with Clara, which is diced potatoes and sliced hot dog (or sausage) cooked in a skillet, which I served in corn tortillas like tacos; and chopped up in pasta sauce on gluten-free pasta. Tonight I'm going to make pancakes.