Been there. The freeze thaw thing is the worst because stuff looks fine until you touch it and then it's just slime city. I usually do pantry week when this happens, beans and rice with whatever sad veg is left, but I hit the store for a few cheap staples like eggs and tortillas so it doesn't feel like full on survival mode. If you've got celery and beans you can do a decent soup with some bouillon if you have it. Four dinners out of those thighs was a good plan though, that one hurts.

Isn't it kind of telling that the thing that saved you was a neighbor who just helped, not a plan or a rainy day fund? Everyone always says save three months of bills, but when payroll bounces and your kid is sick, no savings account is gonna watch your kid while you get to work. Maybe the real answer is having people around you, not just money in the bank.