All in all it was a really good week. We ate at home almost every meal, and it’s really the first week I feel settled in the new home. There are still a ton of small organization projects / rearranging / decorating / donating to do, but that’s how these things go. We’re so happy to be here.
WEEK OF NOVEMBER 05 – NOVEMBER 11
GROCERY SHOPPING = $189.27
$113.98 at Trader Joe’s for the Big Sunday Shop, $75.29 at Schnucks for all of the name brand items Trader Joe’s doesn’t have.DINING OUT = $35
My husband and I had lunch together midweek at a new-to-us deli in our neighborhood.SUNDAY LUNCH
My favorite local pizzeria sells their pizzas frozen at Dierbergs, so I popped one in the oven when we got home from Hebrew School, paired it up with a simple green salad, and beef & barley soup from Shabbat: soup, salad, and pizza, YUM!SUNDAY DINNER
I’m feeling really motivated to update this little blog of mine with better photos, and spent the better part of last week rewriting some recipes, and redoing the beef with broccoli photo was on the list, so that’s what we had tonight!MONDAY LUNCH
Our new home 5 minutes away from my husbands office, so today he came home for lunch. We had leftovers, beef and barley stew for me and the baby, and beef with broccoli for him.MONDAY DINNER
Prepping Monday night dinner was tough, my husband stayed a bit late at work and each of the three kids had their own unique meltdown. Sheet pan salmon, bok choy, and shiitake mushrooms with a simple teriyaki sauce was the easiest to prep during that time. Thrown in a bowl with rice I had made over the weekend, it ended up working beautifully.TUESDAY LUNCH
The kids were off from school today (election day?), so we spent the morning at our favorite park with packed bento-boxes of turkey, strawberries, grapes, cucumbers, tomatoes, biscottis, apples, and of course goldfish.TUESDAY DINNER
When we got home from the park and the baby went down for a nap, I prepped another batch of rice and meat sauce for stuffed peppers. That way, when 5pm rolled around, I was a bit more prepared to stuff peppers and prep a small side salad. My cousin joined for dinner, which is always a treat.WEDNESDAY LUNCH
We decided to skip baby gym this morning, the baby really needed the nap with the time change. My husband worked from home today, so the three of us decided to go try the deli around the corner (it’s been around since the 1960s). It was absolutely fantastic – we each got a sandwich and shared a bag of chips ($35 with tip), 10/10 we will be back. Excellent lunch spot! We walked around the neighborhood afterwards, and grabbed an iced latte, it was such a wonderful afternoon.
WEDNESDAY DINNER
Tonight was a quick and easy one pot dish, we had chicken-feta-orzo, which is pretty quick and simple to throw together. We don’t have a rigid 6pm dinner every night, but we aim to eat as close to 6pm as possible. 3 toddlers, you know?THURSDAY LUNCH
The baby and I shared left chicken noodle soup that was made last week. So good.THURSDAY DINNER
My husband got home a bit later than usual, and tonight was one of those nights where I was absolutely exhausted. We had a lot of leftovers in the fridge, and decided to do a ‘everything must go’ instead of the corn chowder and homemade bread I planned.FRIDAY LUNCH
We had all three kids home today, and my husband was off work. We spent to morning at the park, and came home to eat frozen Trader Joe’s Indian dishes. My older son had a PB&J instead.SHABBAT DINNER
I made a fennel and rosemary roast with onions and carrots. I paired it with mashed potatoes and roasted Brussels sprouts, it was pretty good, but I’m still figuring out my wonky oven — as the temperatures are wildly off. Anyway.SHABBAT LUNCH
I was craving something hot and cheesy, so I made two boxes of Annie’s macaroni and cheese for the five of us, plus some left over pot roast to add some protein in there.
The whiskey sours are so simple, and so good! 1 part maple syrup, 2 part fresh lemon juice, 3 part whiskey over ice with a pinch of cinnamon.
SATURDAY DINNER
I decided to make the corn chowder and homemade bread that I earmarked for Thursday night. I also made a batch of maple-whiskey sours, since we had friends and family over, plus it was our first night lighting a fire in our new fireplace. We made s’mores for dessert, it was really fun.When we approach the $200 mark for weekly groceries, it’s definitely panic inducing, but I have to remind myself that this money covers nearly all of the 21 meals each week (breakfasts, lunches, and dinners), plus snacks and beverages for two adults and three toddlers. Even if you take out the toddlers, $200 for two adults for nearly 21 meals breaks down to $5 per person, per meal, and that’s including coffee, wine, snacks, etc. It’s really not that bad when you look at it that way!