WIS, WWA | I’m anti-Kodiak mix

What I spent: $55 at Kroger $28 at Edward's Cash Saver (most of this money was for 3 bottles of prune juice which is more than $2 cheaper a bottle than Kroger) What we ate: Monday -- homemade split pea and ham soup, ham and cheese sandwiches. Tuesday -- more split pea soup, shrimp, veggie stir fry with rice Wednesday -- pork roast made in crockpot then browned in the oven, acorn squash, leftover corn casserole from Sunday. Thursday -- BBQ pork sandwiches made from left over pork roast, green salad, tater tots. Friday --hubby went out for heavy lunch with a buddy. I may make frozen chicken cordon blues from Sam's and a veggie instead of meatloaf, potatoes and veggie I was going to make and have meatloaf, etc. tomorrow.

My retired husband does the shopping and cooking (Yes, I'm keeping him!!!) so I mostly make my own breakfasts lunches, plus cook the occasional dinner on a weekend as I'm still working 60+ hours a week.

I make a grain free high protein pancake recipe but it's keto so not low calorie. It uses some coconut flour, Greek yogurt, and whole eggs. No pancake mix. It's not going to have the same texture as regular pancakes, but delicious to me. I make a batch on the weekend and freeze 3-4 pancakes (they are small) per serving for a quick breakfast during the week.

I discovered how to make perfect "jammy eggs" in my electric pressure cooker last weekend (3 minutes at high pressure, immediate release, 5 minute ice bath), and I ate them with some tahini and Everything But the Bagel Seasoning. Yummy! We've been buying Costco eggs because they are less than 1/2 the price of other stores right now. I normally don't mind paying more for eggs from "pastured" hens, but $12+ a dozen right now is NOT in the budget. I hate Costco's plastic egg cartons, though.

Most of my lunches are leftovers from our dinners, I use stainless steel or glass containers and I have a kitchen with a full fridge and microwave at work with real dishes and flatware at the office, so it's easy to store and heat my food.

I haven't been "going out for coffee" for years, but I was really craving some coffee drinks. My daughter got herself a Nespresso coffee maker (she's single and has a huge salary). I'm trying not to be judgmental, but the coffee maker and the pods are very expensive and then the pods have to be disposed of--they can be mailed back to the company for recycling, but most people toss them. I just can't see doing that myself. So I bought an Aeropress coffee maker to make my own espresso-like (decaf) coffee with milk, and once you learn how to use it correctly the coffee is REALLY good--I like it better than what I've tasted from my daughter's machine. The only waste is the spent coffee grounds and paper filter--we compost both. Some people reuse the filters 2-3 times to reduce wasting those, or get a reusable metal mesh filter (but I prefer paper).

WIS: New Season’s - 12.14; Costco - 80.00; Grocery Outlet - 84.90; Winco - 62.25; Fred Meyer = 91.84 for a Total of $331.13

I still need to make a quick trip to Safeway for a few more things. We have family (6 people, including teens) arriving today and will have a family dinner (16 - 17 people, including teens!) tomorrow. We’re having a taco/burrito bar for the family dinner. Our out-of-town family is staying 5 days, so there was a lot to get. I’ve been working on the freezer since January and have only bought one package of meat that went in the freezer. Yesterday at Fred Meyer, I couldn’t resist! I got some marked down ground turkey 3# @ $2/lb, 4 pkgs of marked down ground pork @ $1/lb plus 2 whole fryers on sale & corned beef. I also did a bit of stocking the pantry, but most of what I bought is for company. It’s all worth it! I feel like my garage refrigerator is Fort Knox with eggs, and all the extra food.

WWA: M - Leftover roast beef, mashed potatoes, carrots, onions, & gravy T - Leftover sausage, fried potatoes, peppers & onions My motto is cook once, eat twice as much as possible! W - out to dinner with friends H - Because of all my shopping, I ended up getting a store-roasted chicken and a package of broccoli slaw at Fred Meyer. Chickens are $5 on Thursday. That was a quick dinner! F - Tonight will be lasagna soup with bread, salad, and cookies S - Family dinner with a taco/burrito bar S - Rice bowls with all the leftovers from the taco bar

I do not recall purchasing any menu items this week, except I did get a Misfits box on Saturday for $56. Sunday night I made egg roll in a bowl and white rice. I used the Asian salad mix and the bok choy from the Misfits box as a base. Bulk pork sausage I'd gotten a couple of weeks ago, cut into three chunks and frozen. Used one chunk and some bacon in this. This makes more than I can eat (and enjoy), so I sent two servings home w my niece. I also prepped the last of the head of iceberg lettuce and spinach and other salad fixings. Monday night I fixed a quesadilla with deli turkey (Aldi), gruyere shredded cheese (Aldi), some green onion and my favorite local onion vinaigrette. It. was a delicious odd combo. Tuesday: A couple of weeks ago I picked up some Banquet pot pies for a dollar apiece remembering the pot pies of my younger years. Sadly, the chicken pot pie was not remotely like way back then. The crust was not bad, but there was much less filling and the chicken was, uh, pressed meat. I should have known. Plus, I had been spoiled on Schwan's chicken pot pies in the interim from younger years to now and they were the best on the market, hands down. Alas, they are no longer in business. Wednesday: eggroll in a bowl and rice. Thursday: since I canceled weekend plans d/t not feeling well, my niece brought me a Sonic (the big one) cherry limeade and some cheddar bites w ranch after she got off of work. I didn't eat them all. Later, I had a chef salad with deli turkey and Lebanon bologna. I'd had cottage cheese for lunch and then the cheddar bites and knew I needed some roughage. Tonight: I may have salad again. I sure have enjoyed it. Since I am not/did not go out of town as planned, I may order Dominoes for Pi day. I have several points and I think I have a free "pi" in my account. As for the tuna melt with the yellow tomatoes, I was also taken aback with "What is that? what did she use six egg whites for? So thank you for explaining. Plus, I have several cans of tuna and appreciate the reminder of tuna melts as a menu idea. I have also had a hankering for pimiento cheese spread.

I've never tried the Kodiak mixes. I keep seeing them pop up in frugal videos though. Are they really inexpensive or something?

WIS: 16 @my local health food store and 41 on a quickity Aldi fill in trip, so 57ish this week.

WWA:

Fri: salad and focaccia plus some apple slices tossed in cinnamon and sugar.

Sat: roasted potatoes, salmon croquettes, quick pickles and tatsoi salad.

Sun: leftover salmon croquettes, potatoes, waffles and tatsoi.

Mon: pasta carbonara with turkey bacon, Parmesan and peas, pea shoots salad.

Tue: steamed broccolini, younger son made pizza bagels-half were cheddar and salsa and the other half had only ricotta and mozzarella on them.

Wed: older son helped make bibimbap bowls which included jasmine rice, romaine lettuce, sautéed peppers and onions, grilled salmon and grilled sausages, plus lime juice and gojuchang sauce.

Thu: salad, older son made canellini beans with fennel, Parmesan and spinach served with a crusty sourdough baguette.

Tonight: salad and focaccia, but there is talk of making it more “pie like” in honor of pi day.

Have a great weekend, everyone!