With two out of the nest, and dh away, my food bill has gone way down! No more stocking two refrigerators/freezers, shopping for mega sizes at Costco, buying 48 rolls of toilet paper, etc. I've even been a bit lax about fixing a proper dinner at night. Some days we have a sandwich or breakfast for dinner. Easy meals are my new best friends. There was a time when I'd have made homemade everything: yeast rolls, salad dressings, cookies, etc. But my motivation has changed to making do with less and that which is easier. Now that my daughter Ann is looking for employment, that means just Nathan and myself for dinner ... cereal anyone?? I saw this same pattern happen with my mother-in-law when her husband passed away. She almost forgot how to cook for a crowd. Just to keep my cooking skills honed, I try to have my daughter and son-in-law over for Sunday dinner each week. And with talk about the "bird flu" still present in the local papers, I guess I should really do a little more emergency preparedness by stocking a supply of canned goods and medicine should we have to stay home for a period of time. So what about you? Are you at the stage in life that requires less cooking? Have you prepared for an emergency? It's pretty scary to think that most of us have only enough on hand for a few day's supply of food. Is your pantry pathetic or practical?
9 comments:
We're pitiful here. We have two freezers and two refrigerators and a pantry stocked full --and only two adults and one four-year-old living in our house.... I'm obsessed with making sure we always have more than enough. (We live over 50 miles from the nearest Sam's Club or Costco so we do a lot of stocking up at Aldi's). If there's an emergency - we're set!
Ready for an emergency - us? Oh ya, I'm married to a retired firefighter who was the Director of Emergency Management for the City. I believe in being stocked up with supplies myself. My cooking has gotten a bit simpler with just the two of us, but I still like to cook a decent meal although tonight was breakfast for dinner.
We're a very emergency ready couple - we have to be, our kids depend on it!
I could eat for two weeks without going to the grocery store. The other day I bought 5 lbs of pork chops for 2 (sometimes 3) of us! My cupboards are overflowing. I think it stems from being poor... I used to make $30 of grocery money last 1-2 weeks.
WEeeelll...I used to be much better than nowdays and if it were up to me I'd probably never cook again...but seeing as how my hubby has serious diet restrictions AND my daughter and grandchild have moved back in...well dinner gets made much more often these days than it did say 5 yrs ago when my kids were teens on the go..I also hate going to the grocery so I try to stock up a bit when I do go which means larger packs of toilet tissue, chicken etc...so i guess we would survive for a short emergency...but not more than a couple of weeks...:)
Is that your pantry? If so, my hats off to you! Did you say birdlfu? Emergency preparedness? Ah you speak my langauge. Yes, I am prepared. We could go about 4 months without groceries if we had to. I'm stocked on everything, batteries, food, 50 gallons of water, wood stove with lots of wood, kerosene lamps, 2 generators, candles galore, wind up flashlights and battery operated Tv's, fruit trees, berry bushes, veggie garden, herb garden, canned goods, dry goods, quilts, hey you name it I have it!
And yes, I'm still cooking big meals. I wonder if there will ever be an end!
Not so prepared, I think we could only make it 3-4 days without having to go the store.... That is pitiful I know! I need to get better at this whole wife and mother thing, and make sure that I get out to the grocery store, quickly!
"Easy Meals are My New Best Friends'...what a great title for a cookbook..=). I like it , I like it! Yes, I am at the stage in life when simple 'rules'. Calories are the enemy these day...so simple things...meat and salad. Soup and dessert...whatever...we enjoy. And, no we don't prepare for emergencies. Hubby always has lots of pop and bottled water on hand. And, lets see....one gallon of fruit cocktail or peaches would last us awhile...grin. Throw in some rice cakes for dessert with jam on top..ok? =) For supper tonight...its left over chicken breast...chopped into cream of chicken soup with mashed potatoes...steamed broccoli and maybe salad. Add some blackberry jello in fancy dishs with Cool Whip on top and get ready to watch 'The Rifleman' at 7pm. sounds like a good plan to me...=)
That sounds like my kind of dinner Maggie Ann. Dh and I would watch the Rifleman too and eat off the TV trays perhaps :) Cook Whip makes jello or pudding a special treat. BTW that is not my pantry. I'm still in between homes ... but I can wish that my pantry was so generously stocked :)
That's "Cool" ... not Cook Whip .. silly me, I'm a bit dyslexic at times.
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