‘Twas a quiet Sunday at home. I ran to Walmart for my grocery pickup in the am, put things away, made sure dinner items were thawed, and then worked on computer stuff for awhile.
I had originally planned on Sunday Roast happening at lunchtime, but I got too caught up in work, so I made a yummy mac and cheese instead, and then we had our repeat Thanksgiving Dinner for dinner.
Groceries for the coming week:
I ended up making two shops this weekend.
Sprouts – Yesterday I went in with a small list of things needed before I picked up today’s bigger Walmart pickup. While there, I found Talenti on clearance of $1.79/pint. This is a deal one does not pass up.
Again, like the coffee, building up my store of goodies at prices I love so that we can have them when we want them.
I ended up spending $17 there.
Walmart – I loaded up on veggies, tortillas, and milk for the week as well as canned tomatoes since we were out. They were out of the flour and ricotta that I ordered so we will make do.
Total spent at Walmart was $68.
That brings our month-to-date total up to $367. Seeing as the latest food cost report from the USDA has us at $1101.06, I figure we’re still doing well.
Our meals for Day 17:
Breakfast – the usual
Lunch – Easy Mac & Cheese in the Instant Pot – I used some clearance sour cream that I had on hand, the last bit of cheddar from an open package and a chunk of gruyere I had in the drawer from before Christmas. I also added some chopped scallions. Super yummy!
Dinner – Herb-Roasted Turkey Breast, Easy Homemade Cranberry Sauce, Bulk Batch Herbed Stuffing with Onion and Sage, Mashed Potato Casserole, Quick and Easy Caesar Salad
My daughter had some tofurky chick’n from the last time we had this meal. I pulled some potatoes and some salad out before I added dairy. Her meal was very close to ours, but vegan.
I cheated a bit with the mashed potato casserole, using a container of Boursin left from Christmas instead of cream cheese and I added the rest of the sour cream from the clearance carton.
As I did two weeks ago, I set aside some stuffing for breakfast tomorrow because that was so good the first time!
Pat
Day 17
Breakfast and lunch were on your own
Dinner was l/o brisket, l/o cheesy potatoes and broccoli
Snacks were fruit, popcorn and or pumpkin bread
Cindy
Brunch: scrambled eggs, the last of the cranberry walnut bread, fruit/yougert coffee and tea
Dinner was turkey meatloaf, turkey from the freezer, onions, peppers, celery and sun dried tomatoes from the fridge, instant pot mashed potatoes and green beans – tasty and we had to buy nothing to make this meal!
I still need to make that grocery run but we made it thru today without having to do so!
Susan Clark
Week 17 We started our Pantry Challenge Dec. 31, 2020. Shopped again on 1/16/2021. Total Grocery shop $366.72. Will make a short trip next week. I estimate $30.
We are shopping for 2. Cook 3 meals a day at home. Sweetie is working from home and I’m retired.
Breakfast: Oatmeal, smoothies, eggs some way, bagels tea and coffee
Lunch: salad and/or leftovers
Dinner: A soup with Sammies, a pasta dish and Slow Cooker meal of some kind.
Since our Pantry Challenge has been so successful we have decided to increase our monthly donations to our local Food Bank.
Blessings to all.
tasty
I’ve had a fun time the last hour or so. Over the last couple of weeks, I have been going thru recipes I have saved on the laptop, many of which I have never, and probably will never make. Some of the more obvious ones have been deleted but there are many that I would love to try still. I may be half way thru if that. But this afternoon it was the turn of Crockpot recipes. Oh my goodness, what a treasure trove I found and I’m sure I haven’t looked at them in 10 years. I rarely use the crockpots now that I am at home full time – they used to be a great timesaver when I was working but that is not normally an issue these days. So many sound so good. We are going to have taco Tuesday tomorrow and I had thought I would just make regular tacos with ground beef but not any more. I have chicken breasts defrosting and we’ll try one of these yummy sounding recipes that I came across.
Fortunately I have everything I need to do this.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Sounds like a great source of inspiration. Enjoy!
Kim
Yay for new dishes! And good job on the decluttering
I was actually just thinking my personal February kitchen challenge should be one new recipe a week. I have tons of saved recipes, like you, and would love to work it down so I just keep the good ones.
Maureen
So fun! I bought myself a new cookbook years ago…it’s a photo album style, so I can slip recipes into the plastic sheet protectors. It’s become a mess over the last few years with all kinds of recipes just shoved in between the pages. One of my 2021 projects is to get it squared away again. I spent time after Christmas pulling everything out and sorting it – keepers, recipes to try, toss.
Tasty
I have so many recipe books and magazines, it’s not funny but they can be great inspiration and with so much time at home this last year, a good source of entertainment
Sarah
B: oatmeal bake (freezer) with peanut butter
L: takeout chicken congee
D: chicken tenders (freezer) and leftover Mac and cheese
S: ice cream; GF Graham crackers with pb
I wasn’t feeling well so I ended up with takeout congee since I didn’t have any of the ingredients and wasn’t well enough to cook it. It was sooo good.
I’m not saving a ton of money (well in theory I am because I’m cooking for 2 instead of just me so of course it will be more expensive then I’m used to) but I am enjoying really having a handle on the kitchen inventory and getting creative instead of impulse takeout/snacks so I feel like it’s a win.
We went to the store today and got some meat since we are low on proteins but it wasn’t very much and we didn’t make any impluse purchases/stuck to the list. We are out of some things but we don’t really need them yet and can make do without them for now.
Kim
B- bacon,egg, & cheese on English muffins
L- football day with our neighbors, I used the other half of the pork roast from freezer to make green chili (unfortunately I used too much meat and didn’t up the veggie ratios so it was more taco topping than actual chili but it worked. I did have to get a few ingredients at store but it was worth it to be able to use the pork and free up freezer space. They brought delicious appetizers and dessert so plenty of food, I see some easy leftovers in my future.
D- lunch kinda ran into dinner…
Saints lost, poor Drew Brees. So our team is out for SuperBowl too. Guess that means I can focus on the food instead of the game 🙂
I am a little under grocery budget but not as much as I could be, going to try to really buckle down this last half of challenge. I do like having my inventory done on paper, makes it easier to meal plan from anywhere and not waste what we have. Have been ordering takeout less with knowing what I have at home. And love reading through all the comments for new (or reminded) ideas!
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
About every team I was pulling for lost! Not the kind of game Drew wanted to end with, for sure. Poignant.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
1/17/21
B: oatmeal with raisins, coffee
L: bits and bobs of leftovers (pork, veggies, fruit)
D: turkey loaf, re-stuffed potatoes, Caesar salad, orange slices
S: ice cream
I’ve been trying hard to use up or make do with what I have for the Pantry Challenge. For instance, I have many, many tins and boxes of loose tea and teabags in a variety of flavors, but none of my favorite-Earl Gray, which I have really been missing. I’ve been drinking the others in the evenings but still wishing for Earl Gray. The last time I was at the store I was tempted to purchase some, but talked myself out of it since I had so many options at home. I was so excited to happen across a tin of not just Earl Gray, but lavender Earl Gray (the best!) tonight in a different place from where I usually keep my tea! Enjoying a cup now 🙂
Lily R.
Just curious, have you tried PG Tips tea?
Tasty
I was brought up in the UK and PG Tips is what Mum always used to buy.
Lily R.
It’s so good!
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
I have and I agree, it is so good. Like Tasty’s mum, it’s my mother’s favorite as well.
Maureen
My son made homemade mac-n-cheese for everyone for lunch. I pulled out some prepped raw veggies and fruit to go with it. Hubby grilled again for dinner. The big kids wanted a wild rice dish that a couple of us don’t like, so I made baked potatoes, too. Only a few potatoes left in the bag, so potato soup will be on the menu later this week. I made a quick list of meals and items that I’d like to make or use up. I’ll keep adding to it and crossing things off for the next couple of weeks. Hopefully that will deplete a bunch of the things I’m trying to get rid of. I’ll be hitting the store Tuesday, since I’ll already be out, so I plan to stick to produce, a little bread, and dairy/eggs. I also spent a few minutes reorganizing the overflow pantry, and I couldn’t think of anything that we’d need this week that we don’t already have.
Heather M
Sunday was a bit bittersweet as we dropped the second at the airport to head back to university. Back to the empty nest until May. Stopped at the store afterward because I’m without the car at least the first half of this week(complicated access/work situations this week so we decided it would be easier for him to take the car-he’s mostly been working from home since the pandemic, we live near public transit, etc., and with 2 kids in college we gave up our 2nd car to one of them and haven’t really needed a second. Making do and it usually is fine). We are well stocked for the week, I think. Spent $49.29 on fresh fruits and vegetables, some beef on sale, milk, bread, eggs(didn’t need but weekend only price of 77c/dozen), and a few other needs. Keeps us at around $150 so far this month. I’m pretty pleased. And I sat down and meal planned a bit as well. I don’t necessarily assign days with meals, but put together a list of things that can be made with what we have and go from there. We have so much good stuff and have barely made a dent in the freezer or cupboards. Hoping to keep spending down for a few months.
Breakfast: skipped
Lunch(it was mid afternoon, so decidedly not brunch): husband had the last slice of pizza; I had been craving a bagel for ages, so picked up a single everything bagel at the grocery store- I was so happy!
Dinner: chicken, mango, goat cheese salad with homemade lemon vinaigrette and a side of pan con tomate. Have wanted this salad for awhile so it was the first thing I made without kids- my son wouldn’t love it, but we both do! Instead of the usual marinated and grilled chicken, I used the leftover roasted chicken from last week. It came together very quickly because of this. Had purchased mango last time I shopped because of wanting this salad, and have plenty of goat cheese(we have lots of cheeses right now). And, I chopped up the wrinkled overripe grape tomatoes and last roma tomato to make the garlicky olive oil tomato spread. Yay for no waste! And, yes, new tomatoes were purchased at the store. 🙂
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
LOL re: using up your wrinkly tomatoes too! I’ve still got a few left to use up as I don’t want any food waste either. Probably should have used them in the soup I made. Wish I’d thought of that.
I totally get it re: the bittersweet Sunday, especially since you put both your son and daughter on planes!! It is no better once they are out of university since once in the working world the time together is limited by vacation days. That’s why having my daughter for about a week at Christmas was such a blessing. Unfortunately, only had son for Christmas Day, but that was better than nothing. With DD married and son in a serious relationship, we’re having to share, which is fair, I’m just not used to it yet! I always get tears when mine leave here to return to their lives elsewhere. 🙁
Heather M
I bet you’re not used to sharing yet. It’s an adjustment after having your kids their entire lives and then suddenly it’s their turn to do what we did before they came along. I’m just grateful technology has made staying in good touch so much easier than when I left home.
Marci
Oh…garlicky-t0mato mixture with wrinkly tomatoes. thanks for the idea, using up my costco-sized tub of grape tomatoes tomorrow.
tasty
A lazy day here yesterday, I made some biscuits for breakfast but that was quite late and kind of set the pace for the day. I also made a new-to-me recipe for pea soup which is a thing we really enjoy. This new recipe was pretty good altho hubby prefers what I usually make. This new one used the immersion blender so was very smooth. That was so late that even tho I had made shepherd’s pie for supper, we ended up eating chicken fingers instead and then finished the apple strudel. We will have the shepherd’s pie on Monday instead – no work for that!
Jennifer
Yesterday was game day in Cleveland but sadly the Browns lost. But we had yummy food anyway.
B – we all had oatmeal and fruit
L – the boys made it home from camping and devoured numerous leftovers. I had a fruit smoothie and dh had some smoothie and leftovers. Mac n cheese was made by someone.
D – We slice up a hickory farms gift box we got for Christmas along with the remains of Dubliner and Brie cheese from the fridge. Numerous crackers also made their way to the tray. We had a large veggie tray with carrots, celery, pepper and cucumber with hummus for dipping. Also toasted up french bread slices to top as people wished.
I did hit the grocery store in the morning to get a loaf of french bread and 2 roma tomatoes. I made a homemade bruschetta topping to go with the french bread for my dd who is almost vegan. She is vegetarian but allergic to dairy. So much of what I served up she could not eat.
S – starbucks in the morning and a beer with the game.
Heather M
That dinner was perfect for game day. Sorry your team lost. I have no team anymore(it was the SD Chargers, but no way it’s the LA Chargers), so I follow players now, for the most part. And the Browns picked up a player from our town- the first who was drafted from my kids’ school district. He graduated same year as my daughter. All that to say, was hoping the Browns would make it through even though I really enjoy watching Mahomes play, too.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Jennifer, we were rooting for the Browns too, though like Kansas City as well. Was hoping Cleveland would pull it out. Of course our team (Panthers) were no where to be seen in any playoff games!
Sandi
I frequently add Boursin to the mashed potatoes. It’s super easy and dresses it up immensely.
Lily R.
Same here. And our wholesale club has them for $6 for a 2 pack when there’s a coupon!
Sandi
B: oatmeal
L: carrot sticks, mixed nuts
D: chicken quesadillas, fiesta black beans, southwestern corn – leftovers will be easy burritos/bowls later in the week
Carol B.
Usual breakfast and lunch.
Planned take out for dinner.
I got all of my grocery list at pick up ( first time, I think) and so some has to go back into the freezer. ( rats) Luckily, there is now a little space.
I am definitely spending less this month, so that is a win.
Lily R.
Day 17
Breakfast: I made zucchini and onion cakes (kind of like latkes) and we had them with fried eggs.
Lunch: My cousin is married to a Turkish fellow and is learning to make some traditional dishes. I was her taste tester for borek today. Super yum!
Dinner: I made dosa with eggplant and okra curries on the side. Served with mango chutney.
I made a grocery run today and we are stocked for about the next week and a half!
Heather M
So fun to do taste testing! YUM!
Lily R.
I’ll be a taste tester any day!
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
I make zucchini and onion cakes too. I think they are so good!
Lily R.
They really are!