Grocery Shopping & Cooking for an Empty Nest

[MomLane Ship 13 Div 374 PIR 10/4]

       I have absolutely no idea how to shop or cook for an empty nest!  In 2008, the boys' dad & I divorced, and the oldest left for boot camp, so it was just the youngest and me.  Even then, it was rarely just the two of us at the dinner table.  More often than not, I had a kitchen full of football players or wrestlers or newspaper editors or some random ensemble of teenagers.  My youngest left for boot camp two weeks ago, and now I am a complete bonehead when it comes to shopping and cooking.  

      On my first post-departure-for-boot-camp trip to the grocery store, without thinking, I did a typical shop - half a dozen boxes of junk cereals, 3 gallons of milk, enough deli meat to feed a small army, snacks galore, etc. Where the heck was my brain?!?!  I don't eat most of that stuff, and there was way too much of the stuff I do eat.     

     On my second trip, I walked around and around the grocery store, and I had no idea what to put in the cart!  Everything I reached for was teenager food.  I ended up buying yogurt and bananas.  That's it.

     And the cooking!!  The first week he was gone, I made dinner twice, and ended up with enough leftovers to get me through a month.  I can only pawn so much off on friends before I start to look like a crazy Betty Crocker!  

     Is anyone else experiencing this insanity?  I never would have guessed that THIS would be the hardest adjustment for me to make! 

[CO-TwinSalorsMom]

I totally know what you mean. Some nights I come home and have cereal.  I love to bake so I bake and box it up and mail it.  I try to cook for one but some things you can't cook that way so I make more but not too much and freeze it. I know the grocery issue also. When one of mine came home on Leave I was excited as I go  and buy a lot again.

[BJA57]

Haha! MomLane... I feel your pain of a too full refrig. and nothing to eat! ;)  We have been emptynester for about 7 years, and I still find myself making way too much food! When I come home from the grocery store, I divide all my meat/ entrees into individual portions in freezer bags. It helps with the portion control. Good luck... have fun with this new found culinary freedom! I am having a ball trying new dishes and cuisines... I am off to make curried pork for tonight's meal...

[MomLane Ship 13 Div 374 PIR 10/4]

I think I may become a professional dine-outter!  I bake quite a bit in the winter, and I never have trouble with people taking that stuff off my hands.  But I try to hand out some full-fledged meals, and people balk!  Craziness.  

I was prepared for the empty house, the quietness, the extreme decrease in laundry... but not the empty dinner table!

[kadikaboom626]

So yesterday I had pop tarts for dinner. One day last week...brownies. It took me three weeks and my youngest stopping by to pack his lunch to finally eat all of the leftovers from my sons going away party.

One of my co-workers has a "Wednesday dinner", there are 5 neighbors and every Wednesday they take turns making dinner, everybody comes to that house. They have the greatest time and have been doing this for years. I think I am going to try and organize my own little group.

[MomLane Ship 13 Div 374 PIR 10/4]

Oh, that's a neat idea!  Keep us updated on how it goes.  

And my son always said Pop-Tarts are the dinner of champions.  LOL  I had a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios for dinner tonight.  I put sliced strawberries in it to pretend there was some nutritional value.  

[kadikaboom626]

There are still leftovers from the party. I am ashamed to say I had homemade nachos for dinner which I am positive had absolutely no nutritional value whatsoever. But the dog thought it smelled great so I shared some with him.

We should use this place to share our favorite recipes. There's another recipe discussion group but no one has posted in a long time. I love new recipes.

[CO-TwinSalorsMom]

I thought Cheerios were very heart healthy and low in calories, strawberries a great addition. I got a crown on my tooth so dentist told me shakes and soup for 24 hours till cement cures. Had strawberry shack and pea soup.

[MomLane Ship 13 Div 374 PIR 10/4]

I think plain Cheerios are good, but I think the Honey Nut Cheerios are less healthy.

Pea soup & strawberry shake?  I'm assuming not together!  That'd be one heck of a combo.  I hope the tooth sealed well and isn't giving you any trouble.

I'd be up for sharing recipes... but all my favorites feed 6, 8, 10 people!  LOL  I'll have to see what I can do to reduce them.

My big accomplishment - I made vegetable fried rice for myself for dinner last night, and there was only enough leftover for a lunch today!!  I was so happy that I didn't have a mountain of leftovers.

[CO-TwinSalorsMom]

For those who like spicy, Slice up a skinless chicken breast and staute in butter and Chinese sesame oil.  When golden add equal to the butter  you used Durkees Hot sauce. serve over rice with Blue Cheese dressing.  This is easy to make for one 1 chicken breast, rice for one. equal parts butter and hot sauce, sesame oil and blue cheese.

[B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)]

CoTwin - sounds yummy!  I will try for hubby and I. 

Also I'm always looking for easy crockpot ideas if anyone has any....

When sailor son was still home he would usually do all the grilling and I would throw together the sides.  Hubby and youngest (college son) don't cook at all.....I've taken back over the grilling - not quite as good as sailor's but I'm getting there LOL.  Fortunately hubby will eat ANYTHING so he doesn't complain.  Now that college son is back to school it's hard to figure out what to cook.....and some nights when I get home from work I'm just too tired to even think about it.  I used to have a co-worker that would plan her meals for the ENTIRE month!  Of course her hubby cooked a lot and she had 4 daughters to help.  Oh well, I'm happy if I know in the AM what's for dinner that night. 

If I ever win the lottery (I know I have to play first!) the first thing I would do would be to hire me a personal chef. Oh that would be soooo wonderful - hey if I ever do win you could be my personal chef Co-Twin!  That would be a win-win for both of us!

[CO-TwinSalorsMom]

Sound good to me about the Loto, only thing better for me is if I won it. 

[kadikaboom626]

Easiest green chili ever!  (and people will think it's amazing)

 

I normally cook this in a roaster pan, but I'm pretty sure a crockpot would work too. 

(just toss meat and sauce in pot)

Cook country style pork ribs covered for 1 to 1 1/2 hours at 350'  

(sometimes you can find cubed pork, cut back cooking time, you can add just a smidge of water to keep from drying out if needed)

Add 505 Green Chili Sauce (aqua label, medium). 16oz jar for 2lbs of meat, 32oz jar for 5 lbs. Cook additional hour.

Cook covered until meat falls apart, but over-stirring will make it gummy.

You don't have to stir it often, once or twice is all. If you want a soupier chili add more sauce.

 

 One comment, only make what you can eat in 1 week or so, otherwise the green chili starts to get really spicy hot

(that includes unused sauce in the jar, leave it in the fridge for 2 weeks and it is SPICY!)

 

Serve over refried beans, add shredded cheese and sour cream to top and a flour tortilla. This is really great when it's cold outside.