This Week on the Dining Table

It's the "Can It Get Any Colder??" Edition--

I don't have a photo but idiot that I am, I went to Rite-Aid after dark last night.  I had planned on going Monday afternoon but they are predicting snow here for then so I ran out in the monstrously cold night.  Luckily I have a remote start feature on my Sonic so I didn't have to sit in the car waiting for the heat to kick in....but even so, it was beastly cold for here.  My car dashboard read 3F degrees...eek!  It was even colder Friday/Saturday night at negative something or other.  At that temp I didn't even want to look so I'm not sure how frigid it did get then. 8-o

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned last week.......

1. Sunday--Frozen Pizza, Salad
2. Monday--Barbecue Pork(leftover)on Rolls w/Cole Slaw
3. Tuesday--Sloppy Joes(using taco meat leftover)on Onion Rolls, Sugar Snap Peas
4. Wednesday--Bourbon Salmon fillets, Cole Slaw, Veggie TBD
5. Thursday--Beef Enchiladas(leftover)
6. Friday--Broccoli/Cauliflower Cheddar Soup, French Bread
7. Saturday--Leftover of some kind

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Frozen Pizza, Salad
2. Monday--Barbecue Pork(leftover)on Rolls w/Cole Slaw, Sugar Snap Peas
3. Tuesday--Chinese Take-Out(I was feeling sick so didn't cook)
4. Wednesday--Sloppy Joes(using taco meat leftover)on Onion Rolls, Leftover Sugar Snap Peas
5. Thursday--Leftover Beef Enchiladas, Corn
6. Friday--Broccoli/Cauliflower Cheddar Soup, Biscuits
7. Saturday--Subway Sandwiches

Being sick and getting Take-Out meant the Salmon got moved to this week but otherwise mostly the plan was stuck to.

I took the leftover taco meat and made it into Sloppy Joes, finishing off that leftover.

5 meals cooked at home(3 new meals-if you count frozen pizza as a new meal-and 2 using up leftovers) and 2 take-out meals.

As for my grocery spending so far for February.....Hubs made a stop at the store for me and spent $7 and that was everything for last week.
Added to the $242.28 spent in Week #1 that makes a running total of $249.28 spent in February and we have 15 days left in the month.

Leftovers going into this week......ravioli in sauce, pork bbq, Cole Slaw, Broccoli Cheddar Soup.  I will freeze the rest of the bbq this week as we have had it for dinner once and lunch twice last week.  I will eat on the soup for lunches for myself this week.

Here is this week's "food plan"--

1. Sunday--Bourbon Salmon, Mixed Veggies, Mac and Cheese
2. Monday--Chicken Parm, Veggies(Spaghetti for Hubs)
3. Tuesday--Chicken Fajitas
4. Wednesday--Bacon Mushroom Quiche(or another frozen pizza augmented with goodies)
5. Thursday--Shrimp, Cole Slaw, TBA?
6. Friday--Leftovers
7. Saturday--Leftovers

This week will see 5 new meals cooked and 2 meals of leftovers(re-purposed into new dishes or not).

What I need to buy for this menu?  Trying to keep spending down again this week so I concocted meals out of ingredients already in hand here.  I hope to stay out of the grocery stores again this week unless a great "deal" turns up.

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week?

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Eating Out A Lot" Edition..........

 

 

 

We went to Pittsburgh for a few days early last week before Christmas to see our eldest son.  College Boy came with us and got to hang with his brother AND eat his first Primanti's sandwich.  I had to take half of my sandwich back to the hotel! lolz

Onward to the meal planning.....................

What was planned last week--

1.  Dinner Out
2.  Dinner Out

3.  Dinner Out

4.  Chinese Out(Xmas Eve tradition)
5.  Rib Roast with Roasted Veggies, Homemade Rolls, Pumpkin Ravioli w/Sage Butter Sauce

6.  No Clue
7.  Mushroom Risotto, Tossed Salad Greens

 

And this is what actually happened--

1.  Primanti Bros.
2.  Rivertowne Restaurant

3.  Leftovers OR Fend For Yourself

4.  Chinese Out(Xmas Eve tradition)
5.  Rib Roast with Roasted Veggies, Homemade Rolls, Pumpkin Ravioli w/Sage Butter Sauce

6.  Calamari and Leftovers
7.  Spaghetti with Chorizo and Meatballs

We ate out a good bit as we were out of town in Pittsburgh.  Then more Eating Out Christmas Eve.  I cooked Christmas Dinner(I think I cooked 3/4 of the day!). I picked up a chunk of Chorizo sausage and Chicken Thighs for cheap on Xmas eve so we had spaghetti(using the sausage) on Saturday night and the Chicken Thighs will be cooked early this week.
I forgot to make the Calamari for Christmas(!!!)so we had it the night after Xmas.
 

Last week I made 3 trips to 3 different  markets and spent $153.26 on $289.94 worth of groceries.  1 trip to Weis for a Xmas roast and a few things, then a trip to Sam's Club for some stock-up things and then we went to Trader Joe's while in Pittsburgh, mostly to pick up a supply of lobster ravioli(mmmmm)as we can't get that around here.

 

Here is the plan for this week.........

1.  Leftover Roast & Roasted Veggies
2.  Eggplant Parmesan, Salad

3.  Chicken thighs, Veggies and Risotto

4.  Assorted Leftovers
5.  Brats on Rolls, Cabbage, Fried Apples

6.  More Leftovers
7. ?  Don't know yet.....more Leftovers if not already eaten by then

Lots of leftovers to work on but a little bit of new cooking.  The chicken thighs and the eggplant I picked up last week will get prepared.  We already have the brats, cabbage and apples.  I also have half an acorn squash to fit in somewhere and a head of cauliflower to use up.....and fresh mushrooms too.
 

 

What I need to buy for this menu.........nothing.   The plan is not to shop this week, other than milk.


I am up to $440.87 spending for December with 3 days left in the month.
But I do have that Rite-Aid overage in Nov./Dec. and a SavingStar account deposit for 2014 hitting my bank this week.  These will help offset/be applied to my Dec. food/toiletries spending.

 

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?    

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten that week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week, other than clearance deals on Xmas themed plastic and paper goods?

Sluggy

This Week On The Dining Table

 This reminds me, it's almost lunch time! woohoo!!

 

Here's what was planned last week--

Sunday--Leftovers(Quiche or Enchiladas)
Monday--Hot Dogs(on leftover buns)w/Chili or Burritos w/Chili
Tuesday--Chicken Salad Sandwiches, boxed veggie
Wednesday--Eating out after taking #2 to camp
Thursday--Mushroom Parmesan, Salad
Friday--Probably more leftovers
Saturday--Salmon, Coleslaw, boxed veggie

 

Everything was served as planned except for Fri. and Sat. meals were switched.

 

It was another big spend grocery week here with the addition of stopping at the grocery outlet on Saturday.  I also bought some food items at Big Lots the previous week and forgot to add those costs in to my spending.  I spent $167.64  on $298.93 worth of groceries at 3 stores last week(+ 1 from previous week).   So much for my "only spending $38 on food" last week, huh? lol
 

This means I have $140.69 left in my food budget for the rest of July(or $70+ change for each of the next 2 weeks).
I have a 43.56% savings rate at this point in the month.

 

Going into this week the leftovers that remain are-some chili, hot dog and burger rolls, small tortillas, a portion of salmon, cole slaw, chicken salad and some pepper strips that came out of the freezer. 

I also have a large quantity of mozzarella cheese that was in the freezer that needs to get used as it's taking up fridge space and won't last forever in there. 

I'll have some of the chicken salad for lunch today and the rest I'll feed to the dogs w/their dinner-no grapes in it so no worries.  We've had a lunch and a dinner using it and it's not going to be "fresh" beyond today so the pups will feel special tonight dining on human food.

 

(I've made bold the leftover items I've used in the menu below.)

 Here's this week's meal plan--
 

Sunday--Chicken Fajitas(using some tortillas and pepper strips)
Monday--BLTs, cole slaw
Tuesday--Chicken Sandwiches(using some hamburger rolls), corn, pickles
Wednesday--Lasagna(using some of the mozzarella cheese), Green Salad (Very small piece for me but a really big salad.)
Thursday--Pork Chops, Green Beans(from last Summer's garden), Roasted Potatoes or Mashed
Friday--homemade Pizza(using more of that mozzarella cheese), Green Salad (I'll have leftover something instead and a salad.)
Saturday--Leftovers

It's going to be a scorcher this week so I plan on running the oven Tue. and Fri. only.  I'll cook the lasagna on Tues. while I am cooking the chicken for sandwiches and on Wed. we can reheat the lasagna in the microwave oven.  The pork chops and potatoes on Thurs. will be grilled outside.  I might attempt grilling the pizza on Fri. instead of using the oven.  Wish me luck with that! lol

On the shopping list for these meals--Ricotta cheese, lettuces and turkey deli meat.  That's it.  I may pick up some OJ and fruit(maybe a cantaloupe)but we still have cherries, grapes and that watermelon I didn't slice up yet so we are good for now.  I'll be going to the farm stand next week so saving my food budget money for fresh local veggies at the end of July.

 

I'm figuring about $25 for the list above.  After last week, I need a low spending food week. 8-)

That's what's appearing on the kitchen table this week here at Chez Sluggy.

 What's getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Sluggy

I'm A Cheap Dinner Date

Here's what I did with the leftover Fajita filling I had.
I took a page out of Alex M.'s playbook.
I whipped up a pie crust dough and made quasi Tex/Mex Empanadas.
The weather was rainy and cool enough to consider running the oven today.

Circle of dough, put filling on half, sprinkle some cheddar cheeses on top, fold over and seal/crimp with a fork.
Then I placed on a spray oil coated foiled cookie sheet and sprayed more oil on top of each.  Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

The burnt stuff is filling that leaked out and stayed on the foil.  the fajita filling was juicy enough that it didn't need a sauce put inside these.

Each was really too big for one meal, so I cut mine in half and the other piece will be lunch or dinner tomorrow.

some leftover corn and a big dollop of sour cream finished off my plate.

Hubs preferred his with hot sauce and a can of chili.....

Of course he dumped all the chili on it before realizing he couldn't eat the whole thing in one sitting.
Well, he could of eaten the whole thing in one sitting but he thought that wouldn't be wise....lol

The costs of this leftover meal?
.33¢ for the box of Jif pie crust mix and $1.00 for the can of chili(both bought ahead on sale) and pennies(let's say 5¢) for my dollop of sour cream.
$1.38 plus we have enough left for another meal.

I spent $61.95 at the grocery store yesterday and it really wasn't a lot of food.  $19.49 of that was for #2 Son's requested foods that I won't be eating, so $42.46 for fruit, juice, meat, lettuce, tomato sauce, onion rolls.  $92.74 worth of food all totaled.
I still need to get more fruit, salad greens, milk and half & half tomorrow and I am done spending this week.
If the weather cooperates tomorrow, I'll bake off 2 quiches(1 for the freezer)and make spaghetti sauce and the bulk of cooking for week will be complete.

Sluggy