In an attempt to make it FEEL like July right now, I decided to have a picnic for dinner!   The catalyst for this dinner was the fact that I had brats in the freezer, and since I am still limping towards my weekly $100 grocery challenge (more on that below!) I decided to build my menu around them.  By all means, if you have access to this brand of brats (sorry Hannah and Tony, these were not cheese brats!) – they are made in Wisconsin:

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So what goes good with brats?  Um, chips?

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And then since I used my tomato slicer at lunch, I decided to make this for Tony:

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And while I like all things tomato, including TOMATO SOUP which is my fav, I don’t like sliced tomatoes at all!   So I made mine with an English cucumber like this:

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My side salad tonight:  Black Bean and Corn Salad

  • 1 can black beans, rinsed
  • 1 can white corn, rinsed
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice (lime juice would have been better, but I didn’t have any!)
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • cracked pepper to taste

All together, with a slice of watermelon to boot!

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Okay, so anyone following along, you’ll know I didn’t do my typical grocery shopping this past weekend.  Monday, I spent $40 at the grocery store and $13 at Panera for our lunch.  Yesterday, I accessorized our dinner (the whole chicken was in my fridge already) with potatoes and chicken gravy, for a whopping spend of $3.26.   Tonight, I had to buy buns, a slice of watermelon, potato chips, fresh mozzarella, and more fruit for Hannah now that she is going to be home since finals are over, for a total of $23.00 even.   Then I spent $1.07 for my McDonald salad at lunch, bringing my grand total this week so far to $80.33.    So that leaves me with $19.67 for the next two days – totally doable!!

I am now watching the second night of American Idol – I am a total sap for it!   See you tomorrow, one more step to the weekend!