Grocery Challenge & Supper Wars - Week 13

A few days late posting this, but it took me a while to figure out where the receipts were and what we'd eaten for dinner. Sunday was a lot harder on my brain than I thought it would be. Not the run, but the part about getting up at 4:00 a.m. after a restless night of paranoid dreams about sleeping through the alarm.

Week 13 Shopping:
Whole Foods - $26.20
Publix - $50.34
Trader Joes - $26.81
Total - $103.75
Year to Date - $1,876.43

Average weekly spending - $144.34


Another good week with the shopping budget. Almost made it to another $100 grocery week. Biggest reason for this was the small stockpile of meat and poultry in the freezer. The weekly average is continuing to drop, even if only by a few dollars each week. This week's spending will be higher, as I'm having to pick up the protein from the regular stores, instead of the farmers market. Was planning to make a trip out to Dekalb this week, but there's a lot of work on projects I'm trying to get finished before the kids are out for Spring Break.

Next week, we'll be taking a half-day trip to the farmers market. Whichever day is not suited to outdoor play will become our food adventure day. I'll figure out some sort of scavenger hunt to keep them occupied. Maybe the search for everything we need for a three course pizza dinner. Wonder if I can steer dessert away from the normal peanut butter and chocolate this time?


Supper Wars -

Cheddar Stuffed Burgers, Green beans
Roasted sweet & russet potatoes
Easy win. Burgers were chicken & turkey combo, prepped & frozen last week.

Parmesan Chicken, Salad
Roast Winter Vegetables
The kids like parsnips when mashed, but not so much when roasted. General kid consensus? Creepy. Squash, potatoes & carrots all okay though.

Baked pasta & broccoli (kids)
Butternut Squash & Mushroom Risotto
The kids tried the risotto, and thought it was okay... except for the mushrooms, which are apparently even creepier than roasted parsnips. (Figured this, which is why there was pasta for them.)

15 Bean Soup, Fresh Whole Wheat Bread
Don't want to talk about reactions to this meal. Not a win with the kids, even though it's one of my favorite soups.

Beef in Beer & Onions, Brown Rice, Broccoli
Used guinness instead of lager, so there were a few faces made upon sight of the very dark gravy. Until they tried it. B2 declared it the best ever.

Garlic Ginger Baked Tofu, Veggie Fried Rice, Salad

Brinner - Bacon, Eggs, Fruit (kids)
Sweet Potato, Spinach & Chickpea Curry
The curry was not for the kids. That wasn't a battle I was interested in fighting Saturday. Found the recipe for the curry here. Modified it slightly by making my own curry paste (onion, jalapeno, grape tomatoes, garlic, ginger, spices), and it was delicious. Plenty of leftovers, which made for the perfect hot food to warm me from the inside out after Sunday's run.