Shop Smart, Eat Smart

McDonald's  I think I will have to create a label for fast food, because I know I tend to eat too much of it. I was busy today running around doing paperwork and all manner of adulting tasks, so I forgot to eat lunch. I grabbed McDonald's about 4:30, and then I actually wanted it making a cheese quesadilla as an evening snack.  My youngest was at the babysitter's house again tonight, and I finally did some gig work for a few hours.  With prices continuing to rise, the only logical way to order food at all, is through an app where you get points. So tonight I used the online coupon to get the large fries at $1.99.  So with the iced tea and tax the total was $4 exactly.  That I shamelessly went back in line, and used 1,500 of my points to get the cheeseburger for free.

Girl Dinner.  Okay, I did not actually eat popcorn for dinner.  My youngest daughter went to the babysitter's house tonight.  I should have done something productive, but I took a much needed mental health break tonight.  I keep getting a ton of chicken thighs at the food bank, so my neighbor grilled off another batch of them tonight.  So I did actually have a chicken thigh for dinner, I just didn't feel like cooking anything on the side, and I really need to go grocery shopping. So popcorn with tons of butter & salt was the only logical side dish.  It also paraps surprisingly well with wine. Yes, that is the Tupperware Smart Stacker.  You technically should really not cook popcorn in it, is I know they have an actual popcorn cooker now.  And I actually did start melting the lid on my newer one.

Leftovers.  Just one of those crazy weekends.  Today I balanced working, with dropping my youngest daughter off to hang out with herr dad today, and driving around doing all the things.  We didn't get home until after 7:00, so I was really glad we had the leftovers to eat.  I had the hash that I made the other day,   And my daughter had the leftover chicken and rice with vegetables.

Just a classic...  Baked chicken, Rice-A-Roni, and steamed veggies.  I should have gone to the next step and made a butter lemon sauce for the veggies, but butter, and S&P are always a good choice. Cost:  The chicken came from the Food Bank. The box of Rice-A-Roni was $2, and I steamed about $2 worth of the veggies.

Corned Beef Hash.  I almost forgot to post a picture last night. But this is one dish that is infinitely better than canned, and immensely personally satisfying when I get to use that boring leftovers.  😎 Cost:  $3.27 for the Great Value brand of canned corned beef, because we ate up all the leftovers.  😅

Yes, tonight is one of "those" nights.  My youngest daughter is spending the night at the babysitter's house.  And it is just me, so I'm out working.  One of the main ways that I still make money right now is delivering for DoorDash, Instacart, and Spark.  I try not to eat a lot of fast food, but Wendy's is one of my favorites. The problem is that the Biggie Bag, as pictured, now costs $7.  It was $0.55 to upgrade my Dr. Pepper to a large, plus $0.55 for tax, so I spent a whopping $8.10.  I do always order through my app, so that I earn points to use later.

Mish-Mash Disclaimer:  This is actually a stock photo, because I was 3/4 of the way through my chicken, before I thought about taking a photo.  😇 I fully intended to cook a corned beef hash for dinner.  We had eaten almost all the corned beef last night, so I bought a can of corned beef.  But when I got home my neighbor let me know that he had grilled a bunch of chicken thighs and I was welcome to join them.  So that's what I grabbed for our main course.  Then I did heat up the leftover carrots and brussel sprouts as a side.  The potatoes and onions that are left I think I will turn into a corned beef hash, and freeze it for maybe this weekend.

Corned Beef & Cabbage.  Again.  🤣 This is seriously one of my favorite meals. It was nice eating at my mom's house on Saturday, but I definitely wanted to make it on my own too.  So my sister comes up a couple weekends a month, and stays for like 3 days. We live about an hour away from my mom, and my oldest daughter is going to college, about a 30 minute drive away.  So that is an awesome opportunity to see my daughter, when she comes over for dinner.  I think Save Mart had the best sale price on corned beef, this weekend.  It was $1.97, so I bought two small ones which were about $4.85 each.  I tossed the meat in a pot about noon when I was home, and let it simmer until about 6:00.  The yellow potatoes and carrots are free from the Food Bank.  The brussel sprouts were $3.99, and the bag of petite onions were $3 (though I only used half the bag).  I do wish I had planned ahead and hunted down fresh onions instead of the ...

Artichokes  Since my parents have been getting older, it's been my goal to see them every other weekend, when my sister drives up.  This morning I joined my BF for breakfast, and he made steak & eggs.  When I got back to my parent's house, we were working on a sorting project of eBay clothes.  So we did a McDonald's run.  Then my younger daughter and I got home about 5:00, and I wanted a super simple dinner. So girl dinner it was, since tonight is a school night.  The artichokes I got at Grocery Outlet, and I think they were 3 for $4.  Then I also pulled out a tray of spamacopia from the freezer.  That was free, because my mom bought an extra box of it from Costco.  😇

Corned Beef & Cabbage Tonight, I'm at my mom's house, which means my sister cooked.  😇 I'm actually not a fan of cooked cabbage.  But my sister for a small package of brussel sprouts that needed to be used up.  So the question if the century, is what do you put on your corned beef?  We are team ketchup here.  

Welcome to Shop Smart, Eat Smart - my little corner of the internet where I share exactly what I make for dinner each night.  Nothing fancy, nothing staged, just real meals from a real kitchen. I post one photo and a short note every evening, building a cozy record of everyday cooking and the rhythms of home.  Some nights it's a full recipe, some nights it's leftovers, and some nights it's whatever I can pull together after a long day.  It's honest, simple, and meant to feel like you're flipping through a warm, well-loved kitchen journal. If you're here for inspiration, comfort, or just to see what someone else is actually eating in real life, you're in the right place.  Pull up a char - dinner's ready.