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! 

[B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)]

kadikaboom - thanks for the recipe - I'll give it a try too!

[susan/momof3sailors]

I've always cooked something 'else' for myself as I'm a vegetarian. This is the page I started on facebook which may help with ideas. https://www.facebook.com/pages/What-I-Eat/431993840242095 My youngest left in July... he's waiting for others to 'class up' and is cleaning a lot down in Pensacola. It is a paradigm shift to be sure... a whole new way of thinking about everything! I cleaned my sewing kit out the other day, it was like nailing jello to a tree in the past as my son loved to sew and it was always a mess..lol! I do yern for it to be a mess again someday. I'm sure his interests will change. :) Hang in there! You'll do fine!

[MomLane Ship 13 Div 374 PIR 10/4]

Susan - just "liked" your FB page.  I'm at my desk just droooooooling!  Everything looks yummy.

[susan/momof3sailors]

*((blushing))* Awww thanks!

[susan/momof3sailors]

Feel free to post your 'culinary delights' too. I love to get creative..my son actually used to eat some of it, just have to get my husband trained. He's an 'I'm good with cereal or a sandwich' kind of guy.

[MomLane Ship 13 Div 374 PIR 10/4]

I think I can count on one hand the number of vegan recipes I have!  I try to go meatless 3-4 nights a week, working on getting to cleaner eating.  I just pulled a recipe out of REDBOOK for a vegan butternut squash soup that sounds SO good!  I think it was Kelly Osbourne's recipe!

[spomss]

good thing I just read all this now-otherwise my meatloaf sandwich with pickles would have become one of everything!

Yup lots of breakfast food for dinner here-cereal, pancakes, fried egg sandwich...

[MomLane Ship 13 Div 374 PIR 10/4]

The meatloaf comment has been nagging at me.  I really like meatloaf - it's comfort food for me.  My first thought was, "Meatloaf!  Another thing I won't be making for just myself!  I'll have to wait until I have guests coming."  But what if I need my comfort food and want to make it even if I don't have hungry friends coming over for dinner?  I've seen the recipes that make them in muffin tins, but even that will leave me with leftovers for a month.  (I really dislike leftovers.  I'm might have to get over that, but for now, I still dislike having more than one serving left over.)  So, I bought about a half pound of ground beef, and I made a few "meatloaf burgers."  I used everything I'd normally put in my meatloaf, formed them into burger size patties, and grilled them.  It saved me from heating up the house, I only have one burger leftover, and I got my meatloaf!!  :-)  

[kadikaboom626]

That sounds awesome and yummy! That's one of the first things I'm going to try. I have become the leftover queen. Even when the boys were home neither liked leftovers but I hate throwing food away. So I have figured out how to make an entire meal out of all kinds of left overs that don't even resemble the original meal. Now my kids love leftovers. In fact some of them have turned out so good, they taste better than the first time and are requested! The kids tell everyone when I open my dream restaurant they want ro call it "Leftovers". Terrible idea but it cute to hear them say it.

[B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN(Vet)]

Well I'm for sure gonna have to win the lottery now so I can hire you all to come cook for hubby and me.  I CAN cook I just don't get any enjoyment from it!  I do make a pretty good meatloaf though.  Luckily hubby & I have no problem eating leftovers.  Kadikaboom - like the idea of "Leftovers" for a restaurant.  I would be there!

Today is college sons 19th birthday!  We will see him on Saturday :)

[MomLane Ship 13 Div 374 PIR 10/4]

Leftovers!  I'd eat there!

[kadikaboom626]

Italian chicken recipe sounds so good! I need more Italian recipes! Anyone interested in wonderful Mexican recipes let me know. Yeah! I love yummy food!