Normally, I take an hour on the weekend to plot out my week, and that includes picking out meals.
I did not do that this week and oof, that made dinnertime much more stressful this week.
I hate planning a menu, but I hate not having a menu plan even more!
What I Spent
We spent $138 on groceries this week, plus $45 on the random fast food on Tuesday.
March Grocery Spending
Week 1: $101
Week 2: $183
What We Ate
Saturday
We didn’t do our usual takeout date night; it ended up being a fend for yourself type of night for us all.
Sunday
Pizza from a local spot for four of us, and a rice-noodle bowl of ramen for Miss Sonia.
I happen to like a lot of vegetables on my pizza, and no one else in my family shares this preference. But this time I decided to order a small pizza JUST for me, with all the vegetables I wanted.
Extremely luxurious!
Monday
I made a buffalo chicken salad with cornbread on the side (the gluten-free kind in the cast iron pan, and I finally remembered to use the correctly sized pan this time.)
Some of you asked for the cornbread recipe; I just use the one from Cook’s Illustrated, which calls for heating bacon grease in a pan in the oven and then adding the grease to the batter before pouring the batter into the hot pan.
Tuesday
My lack of planning led to us getting fast food.
And this is why I blog about what we ate, not what I planned for us to eat. Because if I only posted plans, you all would start to think I am more perfect at this cooking-at-home thing than I am.
Better to share the real than the aspirational!
Wednesday
I thawed a container of homemade sausage ragu and cooked two partial packages of pasta to use them up.
Green salad on the side and dinner was done.
from this summer, when we had fresh basil.
Thursday
Sonia requested hot ham sandwiches, and I was grateful because that way I didn’t have to think of a meal idea!
I gathered all the random fruit in the fridge and made a fruit salad to go with our sandwiches.
Friday
I have book club tomorrow night, so maybe we will do our takeout date night tonight instead.
Tracey
Sunday 14th of March 2021
We spent $28 on groceries this week. It included a side of salmon which I will make three meals out of and corned beef brisket for our traditional St. Patrick's Day dinner.
Here's what we ate this week:
Saturday - Venison steaks, mashed potatoes and salad. Sunday - Garlic parmesan chicken and mixed veggies. Monday - Eggs and toast. Tuesday - Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Wednesday - Fried chicken, potato salad and green beans. Thursday - Dinner date with another couple at a local restaurant. Felt wonderful to eat out again. Friday - Homemade mac and cheese, salad and fresh baguette.
The Millennial Money Woman
Sunday 14th of March 2021
We typically try to plan out our week as well - and we meal prep together on Sundays and freeze the remainder of our food for the rest of the week. This week, we focused on rice, carrots and peppers and chicken. We try to be a little creative with the food so we don't get too bored with our recipes throughout the week, so one night we had chicken and pasta, while the other night we just had chicken and rice. Although this is a thrifty way to save money when it comes to grocery shopping, it's not always easy to resist going out to eat or ordering take out, so on Saturday night, we both ordered Indian food from our local Indian restaurant, which cost roughly $45. I'm OK to splurge a little once in a while!
Thanks for sharing your tips!
Cheers,
Fiona
Becca
Saturday 13th of March 2021
We had: BBQ baked chicken wings, sweet potatoes, and cheesy cauliflower bake
Tomato, vegetable, noodle soup & garlic bread
Cheeseburgers, baked beans, & asparagus
White chicken chili
Lentil sloppy joe cornbread casserole
Ham & pineapple homemade pizzas & side salads
Becca
Saturday 13th of March 2021
F: foccacia and salad S: chicken and waffles, sautéed arugula S: leftover tofu fried rice, steamed broccoli, salad (kale) M: leftover tofu fried rice, salad (arugula) T: bacon, eggs, toast, warm kale salad W: turkey and avocado sandwiches, leftover chicken wings, leftover kale salad T: chicken and Swiss chard, brown rice, tomato and cucumber salad F: foccacia (mushrooms, olives, tomatoes, cheese) and mixed greens salad S: breakfast casserole (eggs, tofu, red peppers, onions, cheddar cheese), lettuce and sorrel salad with blueberries
Bee
Saturday 13th of March 2021
Some how, I managed not to cook very much this week. It was an oddly social week and it was so nice to have a break. I feel restored and will be ready to cook again this weekend. Sunday - My son invited us to dinner. He and his SO were making homemade pasta. We stopped at TJ’s and picked up GF pasta for me. They are always so kind and accommodate my allergy. Monday - Baked Sheepshead ( fish) with garlic and ginger butter that my husband had caught. We had jasmine rice and fresh green beans. Tuesday- Chicken pumpkin chili that I had made last month and frozen. Wednesday- We had dinner at a local restaurant with my SIL who I hadn’t seen in nearly a year. She had her second vaccine and was happy to be out. We ate outside. The weather is great right now in FL. I had forgotten how expensive it is to eat out and how mediocre it can be. However, the company was good. Thursday- I had my Zoom book club. We had a fend for yourself night. Friday - We went to a back yard get together. Saturday - I will see what comes in my farm share today and plan around that.
Have a great weekend everyone!