Sunday, July 19, 2020

Sunday Meal Thoughts for the Week

     I'm a horrible meal planner-well, good planner, poor follower. No matter, we obviously are getting fed, and lately fed a little too well as a few pounds have crept back on me. Wrong direction, Sam! DD2 has been gone this weekend, and once home, she has to work either at 4:00 or 5:00, likely until closed though she is only scheduled until 9:00. I was happy she is able to have at least two nights, a full day, and a morning with a few friends. Depending on how hot and if I can  get DH out of the comfort of air conditioning, we may pack some food for an outing. I might anyway as I'm home too many days in front of a computer screen. Nothing fancy-just some sandwiches, fruit, and snacks and loads of water. As for meal planning, I had an idea of meals for last week.

Chow mein, rice, and egg rolls
Chicken patties, homemade french fries
Cottage pie with hamburger and mixed vegetables
Butternut Squash in mushrooms and roasted vegetables
Penne Pasta with roasted vegetables
Tuna Tettrazini with mixed vegetables
Egg bake with cheese and onions, diced potatoes
Homemade pizza with cheese and vegetables
Curry and rice with naan


What we really ate:

Sunday-This and that, leftovers
Monday-Cottage pie
Tuesday-Goulash with steamed carrot
Wednesday- TJ's chow mein, rice, and TJ orange chicken (people were hungry, and leftovers eaten on Thursday lunch)
Thursday-TJ's butternut squash ravioli and roasted mixed vegetables
Friday-Homemade chicken strips, ramen noodles, Asian salad kit form Aldi
Saturday-Mexican Fiesta food at my sisters (I made black bean and corn salsa, bought chips and guacamole)

     After my huge Aldi shop,  I should have no shortage of meal ideas. Yet, I do still get blocks and ruts. Cream of Mushroom soup was nowhere to be found this past week. Also, whole kernel canned corn and diced tomatoes. It is odd to me what sometimes is not available. Anyone have any insight on the these items being AWOL on grocery shelves? No doubt I will slowly be adding more stock pile items to our reserves on some basics. Here's a weeks plus worth of possibilities, hopefully yielding leftovers for lunches. I bought the baking mix (like Bisquick), as I didn't want to bother making my own, so added a couple things I've wanted to try and maybe get out of the same old habits.

  • Sausage apple and cheese balls using plain Aldi sausage instead of Jimmy Dean 1/2 recipe, sweet potato fries, and roasted vegetables
  • Homemade Gen Tso chicken, rice, roasted vegetables
  • Chicken Cordon Bleu, potato wedges, and steamed vegetables
  • Rotini pasta with meat sauce
  • Chicken and vegetable stir fry and rice and ramen, salad
  • Chicken and rice hotdish with broccoli and cheese
  • Penne pasta with chicken and Alfredo sauce
  • Tika masala with rice-homemade chicken strips and rice for DH
  • Homemade pizza with vegetables and sausage
  • Turkey meatloaf, mashed potatoes, steamed carrots
     We are already at $558 for July on household and grocery/take out, and suspect we will have close to another $75 more before months end just with fresh fruit, veg, milk and bread, and if I can find some of those staples I want back in my pantry. While that seems high when I was aiming for a budget of $400 on average, or $5,000 for the year back in January. I'm including take out as part of the food. We are not eating out at all and other entertainment is sort of included in either our utilities or these shopping trips. greatly offsetting the high shop. While I've had a few Aldi shops, I'm still relying mostly on the local, but expensive store. This includes buying two large multi packs of paper towels which should last a year and toilet paper. I also grabbed another multi pack at Aldi, because the shelves were so abundant. We happened to need a lot of odds and ends supplies. The above total includes another few bottles of sunscreen, bug spray, and aloe lotion-summer necessities. What are you eating this week? Any new dishes to encourage me to break out of my pasta and rice rut?

19 comments:

  1. I have no ideas for meals whatsoever. About this time of year, I tend to become very lax about meal planning, letting people do what I call "forage." I've been picking lots of Romaine lettuce from the garden, though, as well as snap peas.
    Several nights ago I pounded some boneless, skinless chicken breasts very thin, placed them in a 9x13 dish with broccoli, and sliced cherry tomatoes on top. I poured on about 1/4 cup melted butter, and sprinkled an old packet of Italian dressing mix over that. Baked at 350 degrees, and voila, dinner! (Not sure what I was doing with a packet of Italian dressing mix.) It wasn't something I'd eat on a regular basis--a bit salty for my tastes, but the family liked it, it was quick, and it used up a lurking packet of dressing. If I make it again, I'll use olive oil instead of butter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That impromptu dinner sounds really good, and think I'll take it for a try as I have it all. I will use you olive oil substitute and maybe use a mix of garlic, onion powder, and maybe some Italian seasoning in place of the ranch dressing.

      Delete
    2. No ranch dressing, it was a packet of Italian dressing. I might try again with my own herb mixture! (Thanks for the idea.)

      Delete
    3. I looked too fast and then assumed ranch! I have plain taste buds so simple now sounds good to me.

      Delete
  2. I am a good planner and a poor follower too. Before I go shopping, I plan my meals sensibly and healthy but then, I make whatever I fancy and they are not usually very healthy. I have gained some weight too and I must get into a sensible routine, healthy food and exercise and all. Tonight, I am making chicken francese one last time till I lose 5 pounds. I will not make pasta and have a sald instead.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We have the other 1/2 of the salad kit to use up, and chicken already cooked, so I think tonight will be Chicken and vegetable stir fry and rice and ramen, salad. Our heat has broke so made plans for some walks with friends, and hopefully tennis.

      Delete
  3. It's a plan and plans can always be changed...I quite often swap days around as I don't fancy what I've written down or something has come up and we've got less time to cook. Arilx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We've been eating later as I wait for someone to tell me what sounds good on a given night.

      Delete
  4. Your meals sound delicious, Sam. From what I've been reading...pasta, rice, olives including olive oil are all going to be in short supply. Canning supplies are also running short.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I just hope people prepare, but don't get greedy and selfish. There will be people that can't stock pile and there needs to be resources for all.

      Delete
  5. My problem is that I'll set out with a meal plan but only be able to procure 60-80% of the ingredients. There's a plan B of course or sometimes an easy sub but still adds to the current frustration and really shows what we took for granted pre-Covid.

    About a month ago, I contacted our store's purchasing manager and ordered a case of low sodium canned kernel corn and low sodium black beans. They called when it was in and I picked it up on my next trip but it helped them in that I didn't clear their regular stock shelf. I plan to do this again in early October since I think we're in for it again. When I open a can of either, they fit perfectly in the small Mason jars with plastic lids from a pack I got at Walmart (no hate please, I couldn't find them anywhere else). With just two of us, we get a lot of mileage out of a can: burrito bowls, tacos, bulgogi, quesadillas, salmon salad.
    I've decided that the next shopping list will be crock pot cooking heavy. One mess, often multiple meals from that one mess, no oven to add to the hot summer house and far less time thinking about cooking. Fortunately I have a husband who doesn't mind leftovers and sometimes doesn't even notice they're leftovers. My best mileage was a pork roast with one of the Aldi slow cooker packets. Meals produced from that one 2ish lb roast (shredded):
    Over mashed potatoes with the fresh juice as gravy (this works best the first/fresh night)
    Bbq sandwiches
    Street tacos
    Cuban wraps (yellow rice, black beans)
    Bbq paninis
    And one or two repeats from that list to finish the dregs but I never felt like we were eating the same thing over and over again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No one will ever get hate on my blog, even if a different opinion! We all do what we can, when we can, and I have the best blog community around. That said, I have thought about perhaps buying the restaurant size cans, and then refreezing what's not used within a few days-particularly some of the cream soups. I think I'll buy the largest bags of rice, just to have on hand. I think as long as supplies are limited, we shouldn't have the nonsense of last spring-unless the food chains get disrupted.

      Delete
    2. I have thought of buying the #10 cans of tomatoes and tomato sauce and freezing in pint bags. You might have inspired me to do just that (after I clean the freezer and shuffle things to make room for new things)

      Delete
    3. I am not sure if I actually hit publish on my previous comment or not, so I am commenting again. If I did comment please just delete this one.
      I had not thought of buying #10 cans and freezing them in usable (for us) portions. It is a brilliant idea. We use a lot of canned tomatoes over the course of a year, as well as a lot of tomato sauce. After a freezer clean/purge I am going to do this, but I might go ahead and purchase them right now just to have them.

      Delete
    4. If restaurants go backwards, there might be a lot of bulk items available. I think that is how I got the 5# of mozzarella so inexpensively back in April.

      Delete
  6. It’s too hot to cook or eat, in my opinion. I love summer but 93 degrees every day gets old. And I have multiple 1-7:30 shifts at work this week so it’s challenging to make sure there’s food ready for the fam when I’m not here. Tomorrow will be leftover cheeseburgers hubby made, tuesday some chicken fried rice with planned over chicken, Wednesday I’m trying a meal my friend said she made last week, nothing fancy but ham steaks chunked up with frozen green beans and potatoes in the crockpot. That’s as far as I’ve gotten for the week. I had ice cream for dinner today. Oops! JoAnn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's a rough schedule for feeding people. Crock pot becomes your friend. I made up a bunch of chicken tenderloins, so will have for fast stir fries, fried rice, wraps etc. I'm finding ht air fryer is good for reheating things without the soggy microwave texture.

      Delete
  7. I think planning is fun and I thing deviating from the plan is kinda fun too. It's just dinner and I really don't worry terribly about staying on plan or veering way off track. We eat every day and we don't complain about what it is too often. Our zucchini and green bean harvest is commandeering any and al meal plans as I try and use what we are growing. The cucumbers are beginning to produce and okra, though lagging behind ,is starting to grow., I still have my master plan but I am pretty sure the veggies are going to shanghai everything!.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Planning is more to have ideas to draw from for me-and to avoid waste by making sure to use up things that need to be used up. I wish I had been successful at gardening, but I see the roadside stands are up and running.I'm happy to support the cause.

      Delete

Join the conversation. Your comments are welcome. Dissenting and different opinions are welcome as makes for good conversation. I moderate comments to be sure I read them all and stay ahead of the spam. Advertising products or services without permission will be deleted, as will anything that may be harmful to others-read promotion of debunked "experts" and conspiracies. If you're a blogger, feel free to include your blog URL.