Psst, I make money on some of the links in this post at no cost to you. It keeps the lights on around here. Amazon links are affiliate. 

Oh dang, y’all, what a week. I had a nuts time at work but mostly managed to stay on track with home cooking. I’m very relieved it’s Friday and nearly time for some TLC.

See what we ate this week and how much it cost. Did you try a cool new recipe this week? Share in the comments! 

P.S. Be sure to check out The Picky Pinchers Cookbook! 

Monday

Breakfast: Berry whole grain toast with yogurt cheese. I pressed the easy button this morning and made a simple toast for breakfast. I toasted some 21-grain Dave’s Killer bread and topped it with homemade yogurt cheese, strawberries, blueberries, and honey. Mmmmm.

I absolutely love yogurt cheese, y’all. It mimics the texture of cream cheese but is jam-packed with probiotics.

Lunch: Leftover mac ‘n’ cheese casserole. We made this for Sunday Dinner and it was so-so. I topped the casserole with homemade pulled pork and served it with a salad.

It was okay, but I’m not really a fan of mac ‘n’ cheese casserole (I call it “asserole”).

Dinner: Chili cornbread bake Chikfila

Y’all.

I was trying to be on my game today. I cooked a chili cornbread bake, which is one of our favorite dinners. In an effort to reduce the grocery bill, I didn’t buy Jiffy corn muffin mix. I got all Martha Stewart and made my own cornbread.

I won’t share the recipe I used for the cornbread because it was AWFUL. The texture didn’t come out right and it tasted flour-y. The dish was totally inedible and I was heartbroken.

Chikfila had sent me a coupon for a free sandwich, so we went there for dinner.

Tuesday

Breakfast: Omelets.

I love omelets! They’re one of the best ways to use up produce odds and ends. You can’t tell from the picture (sorry), but today’s omelets were made with bacon, bell peppers, onion, jalapeno, and Mexican cheese.

Omelets are also kickass because hubs can take them to work and easily reheat them.

Lunch: Corn dogs.

Yeahhhh. I was stressed today. I was doing event planning for a Wednesday-Thursday work event and didn’t have time to think of a real “meal.” I threw two frozen corn dogs in the microwave and called it Lunch. It’s not healthy, but it wasn’t takeout.

Dinner: Pizza.

Oops!

We were supposed to have Mediterranean chicken sandwiches today, but we realized they’re not good for leftovers. Instead I cooked one of our frozen pizzas for dinner. Again, 100% not healthy, but it wasn’t takeout, so that’s a little win.

Wednesday

Wednesday and Thursday were a real ass-kicker for me, y’all. I had to drive to another city to put on an event for work. It was about four hours of driving each day, plus picking up a coworker, plus setting up and managing the event. It wasn’t easy!

Breakfast: Cauliflower breakfast bowl / yogurt bowl.

I had to leave at 6:30 today, so I fixed myself a yogurt/fruit bowl before heading out the door.

Lunch: Work lunch. I was working in the office of Mega Famous Tech Company where we were holding the event, so I got to eat lunch there. The food actually wasn’t that great, which was a surprise to me.

Dinner: Pork chops with rice pilaf and salad / Chipotle

Mr. Picky Pincher was on his own for dinner today, so he made pork chops (I HATE pork chops lol). I was on my way home from the event, so I picked up Chipotle on the company’s dime.

Thursday

Breakfast: More berry toast.

Yes, friends. I wasn’t feeling creative since I had to get on the road by 5:45 this morning. Ugh. Toast was all my half-awake brain could handle.

Lunch: Work lunch. Day 2 of a weird lunch at Mega Famous Tech Company. Today I had a salad and it was … equally disappointing.

Dinner: Jambalaya with sausage. I was able to get home at 4 pm today, which meant I could actually cook dinner. Last week I bought a few boxes of jambalaya mix. I used one of those and threw in a few chopped sausages.

I’m sure a real Cajun would roll their eyes at our poor “jambalaya,” but it was a hot meal.

Friday

Breakfast: Tacos.

Taco Friday, y’all! I heated up the pinto beans that Mr. Picky Pincher cooked in our Instant Pot (Amazon link here).

Lunch: Leftover jambalaya.

Dinner: White bean chicken chili.

It’s been stormy and gross lately, which is the perfect time to make chili! I’ll use this Budget Bytes recipe. 

Grocery Costs

Let’s see what we spent this week!

On sale: $1.00

Coupons: $3.84

Total: $70.92

Goals for next week

Welp, that grocery total ain’t too shabby. I’m pretty satisfied with how it went, although I know it could be much lower. I think we’re over-budget for February, but the bright side is that we’re much lower on costs than we were in January.

Next week will be a little wonky since it’s the start of a new month. And that means it’s time for us to bulk up on our once-a-month meat purchase at Costco, which will be ‘spensive. However, aside from the shopping trip, I’m looking to stay the course with eating home cooked meals next week.

I think we’ll keep up with monthly meal planning in March, just to give it a fair shake. I do love not having to frantically meal plan each Friday!

Also, If you’re interested in our grocery shopping system, I go over it in depth in this eBook.

We want to know: How did you save or spend money this week?

The post What’s for Dinner? February 23 appeared first on Picky Pinchers.