Sunday, February 24, 2019

Meal Options in a Blizzard Challenge

I guess we officially are in a blizzard! I was at the high school all day helping to host our teams Show choir competition. There was some change of schools, so did not want to chance the weather, but one school brought two additional choirs, and we ended up only short two slots. I am worried about a couple schools and hope they get back safe today. It is blowing, though the snow has stopped. It started about 8:00 last night. When DD2 and I left , as DH left a bit earlier in his car, there was white out conditions on a couple stretches of our drive home. We're all home today, safe and sound. If you are in this swath, stay safe. I might be able to keep under $350 for the  month if we buy nothing else, but I'm sitting at $348. I found some things in the freezer I forgot we had, and I have a lot of pantry ingredients. Still no oven, but I'm adapting pretty well. Here's the rough plan for the week.

  • Vegetable noodle soup and tuna sandwiches
  • Meatballs in cream of mushroom soup over egg noodles
  • Italian sausage, sliced and fried, with mashed potatoes and corn
  • Tuna hot dish with green beans
  • Chicken fried rice with egg's
  • Homemade beans  and meatballs in BBQ sauce, French fries
  • leftovers and reheats

Nothing fancy, but it will keep us fed. There is frozen chicken wild rice soup in the freezer as well, plus boxed mac and cheese, and some odd and ends cheese and deli meat. We've got apples and bananas for fruit, plus some canned pineapple and applesauce. My work schedule for my flex days are goofy after being sick and doing some work at home days, but with Friday being March 1, I have a new start. How are you doing with your household and grocery budget as February winds down? Are you getting creative in your cooking? 

10 comments:

  1. Your menu sounds good. It always amazes me how well we can actually eat when I think I have very little. I am still trying to clean out the freezer and use things I have in there, b ut this week I actually added quite a bit to it.

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    1. Last might was an odd week, and I admit, I picked up take our burritos. Some days are like that, but back to the plan today.

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  2. I think we're actually going to come in under our grocery budget for February! But, it's the shortest month, & I used our 2018 Costco reward for Friday's shop. Either way, I'll take it!

    I made a huge batch of carnitas (they were great, have never made them before) & we will eat that, plus Asian cabbage rice & a few other things this week.

    Stay safe & warm!

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    1. I have some ideas for planning ahead once I get my oven back. I'm making it work, but man I miss it!

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  3. I'm starting to fall into some kind of routine here after a chaotic start to my retirement. What I am finding is that there are many days where I just don't spend anything. I cook for several people even though I'm on my own and then eat leftovers the next couple of days so the money is staying in my purse rather than being wasted buying even just a coffee like I did when I was at work. I need to work on emptying my freezers though. One thing at a time I guess. It seems weird that you should have such appalling weather while we're being lulled into thinking it's spring. Temperatures in the 50s and bright sunshine. Stay safe!

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    1. I pulled out a messed up soup (past agot added before veggies done and it became a mess) I will eat, evn though it is not fantastic, and save the time and money of grabbing something else for lunch. I' not picky-just some days need fuel and that is all I consider food. Other days, I want to savor every bite.

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  4. I am getting creative in my cooking, as I REALLY want to clean out the freezer and pantry before we move. To do this, I am trying to stay out of the stores, and just use what I have on hand. Yesterday I planned chicken breasts baked with barbecue sauce, but I couldn't find the bottle of barbecue sauce I just *knew* I had in the pantry. I don't have any ketchup, nor tomato paste, so I couldn't even make my own barbecue sauce. So, I baked the chicken with envelope of McCormick's Buffalo Wing seasoning I had lurking--not sure where it came from, perhaps a Friday Freebie? I never would have bought such an item. Served them with bleu cheese dressing, and it was a hit. I also baked a pear pie with canned pears to get those out of the pantry. It was quite good. Of course, wouldn't you know that today when I was cooking dinner, I noticed the barbecue sauce in the refrigerator--eldest DS had used it on a hot dog he prepared after night class earlier in the month. *sigh*
    Snow at higher elevations and over the pass, but not here, hopefully. C'mon spring!!!

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    1. My family would have loved the buffalo chicken. Good save!

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  5. I am over the grocery budget by $30.00 because I stocked up on meat, but I was okay with that. I wish I could see you daughter's show choir it sound like so much fun.

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    1. Once I get a more public link, probably when season ends, I can send you a YouTube link. It is a really good show this year.

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