Happy Friday! What are you up to this weekend? I’m heading out of town to celebrate a friend’s wedding so currently packing up my suitcase and double-checking I have all the essentials. Before I skip town, though, I have an in-office allergy challenge that involves me steaming a lobster tail this morning and bringing it to my doctor’s appointment. Keep your fingers crossed for me that everything goes well and I can continue to eat all the shellfish I want forever and ever.

It hasn’t really sunk in yet that I’m going on a trip. Hard to say if this will be a whiskey or a champagne wedding for me, but I’m definitely looking forward to tasting some new food while I’m away. Of course, I have some snacks packed.  Cleaning the fridge out before a weekend away is always interesting. Sometimes in a good way, sometimes not. This time around it at least resulted in some tasty kale salads.

If you’ve got any cooking or meal planning on the agenda for this weekend, here are some things that caught my eye.

I loved this post on creating a kitchen budget to get out of debt. Though I’m fortunate enough not to have that particular burden right now, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about ways I can save and make more money. Because I am a nerd who keeps Excel sheets of everything IWhat to buy, it helps me see where my money goes and shows me where I can cut back. I noticed recently that food costs have gone up in the past year or two. Though some of this is justifiable, taking into account how much more I work with and write about food, I think I could be a little more on top of sticking to a budget.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s fave lentil salad happens to be totally budget-friendly.

I know that meat-and-potatoes weather is on its way out (finally), but this bolognese with potatoes and kale is so up my alley. I consider this a great example of “when white potatoes are not the enemy.”

What’s on your plate this weekend?