I’m pretty sure if it wasn’t for my efforts to only eat one helping for dinners, I’d be passed out on the floor, rubbing my pasta filled belly, and using leftover garlic bread as a pimple while I drool the sauce.
Needless to say, I rather like pasta.

Discounting the seasoning things that last next to forever between restocks, I figure this works out to about $3.50 of deliciousness.

The beef cube steaks were under $5 for a package of two, and trivially fried with a smidge of sea salt and a nice helping of black pepper. I find it rather curious how my mother usually fried these, and made brown gravy because her mother  never used it in their cooking; my relationship to black pepper is pretty much the same thing a generation forward.

Much to my surprise, I found edamame in the frozen food section, and this was about half a $1.70 bag. Steamed, tasted, and salted. If it wasn’t my first time trying it, I’d probably have mixed it into the rice. The leftover half makes me wish I bought beer.

Some leftover rice was passing time in the fridge, so a little soy sauce and beef flavored rice seasoning solves the filler. The variety bundle of furikake packets I bought basically is the gift that keeps on giving, in terms of how long the packets last. Plus rice is basically free IMHO. The 5 and 20 pound bags work out to somewhere between $1 and $1.25 a pound, even with buying a kind that I can use for onigiri.

Willow’s number one problem is having to wait until after human foods before dog treats occur. Misty just wishes all food was belong to her.

But I am still forgiven for enforcing the pecking order, that their main treats come after dinner. Which tonight amounted to a helping of canned meat/gravy yumnums, and then a regularly scheduled dog treat, lol.

Part of me thinks the genetics and upbringing assured that I’d be capable of eating like a proverbial horse. Part of me thinks of I wanna live to die an old fart, I should probably exercise more and eat less.

Willow on the other hand wishes she could swipe my tuna.

While I can’t say that I’ve ever had much opinion of codfish, Kroger having frozen family sized packages (2 lbs) on sale for under $10, I couldn’t resist last time I went shopping. Plus some tater rounds, because why the frell not?

Thus, tonight went to frying four or five of the fillets. Which a were large enough to cut into about as many frying sized pieces, each. Working on the assumption that I don’t need to eat enough food to feed a family, in one sitting, I’m pretty sure that I’m going to be having leftover fried fish for a good while.

Picture not taken because belly too full, and dog glares at life threatening levels between bribery with a chip.

Even without eating the whole she bang, a food coma may not be optional, lol.

Kroger had frozen Mahi Mahi on sale again, and I finally gave in and bought some. Compared to the tilapia I often get, it’s still expensive when you consider the difference in servings per package. Took a quick Google, and decided to make a lazy adaption of this recipe for the seasoning and the results were very, very yummy. A package of Knorr Sides Spanish rice, and some onions/peppers in the frying pan round out the rest.

Not too bad, considering it’s the only time I’ve had this particular fish. Making this more an experiment than assured success. But I think it came out delicious 🤤.

25 Old-World Italian Cookie Recipes Your Grandmother Made

I’ve probably had too many of these, at one point or another in my life. Also a nice find off Flipboard, because some of my mother’s baking recipes were lost or trashed during my last move. Among them the Italian sparkle cookies.

Maybe a decade ago, ma came across the recipe in a magazine or a website and it became yearly tradition to make a batch for the holidays. It was as close to a cookie one of the old Italian relatives used to make when she was younger, as she could find; I think it was one of my grandmother’s sisters that made them.

The difference is, our relative made them as huge cookies. My mother, made as many freaking dozen cookies as she could™. I think the recipe called for something like 6 dozen cookies, and she usually made a couple dozen more, demanding so when six eggs were involved in the process. We usually had plenty for Christmas,plenty to give others, and a few frozen to help tide us over until next holiday season.

While I stand by my grumbling about having to make so many extra cookies, it was fun helping my mother bake the sparkle cookies 👍. I’ve often thought, that I might take a shot at it if I ever found a similar recipe, someday.

Some years ago, I remember my mother had a great desire for some lo mein, and the Chinese place we liked is one of my favorite restaurants in the area; because the food is good and bountiful in portion. I had made the decision, order an extra helping since I had never had it. Two orders worth combined with my meal and some other goodies, we were eating for days. It had been an experience, memorable, and delicious smorgasbord of Chinese food.

Tonight, I opted to stop off and get my favorite meal there, and I asked for an order of pork lo mein to go with my usual Szechuan style fried chicken. As anticipated, they’ve yet to learn how to skimp on the food.

That is to say, I ate like a freaking hobbit and have enough leftover for lunch plus dinner tomorrow. And Corky tried to get his nose on the fortune cookies.

+/- the soda, me trying to not eat like a horse.

Yummy cheese burger with mushroom, pickles, and burger sauce. Accompanied with tater tots / garlic sauce and some beans I wanted to get rid of. Misty was just happy taters mean sharing, lol.

I’ve been known to make meals like this with a second burger and about double the taters…. and eat most of it in one sitting.

Scalloped Truths

Things I’ve come to accept as truth about scalloped potatoes:

  1. At ~97¢, I can’t beat the cost of Kroger’s box.
  2. This is probably true of most cheesy goodness 😂.
  3. Effort, quality, cost is as positive as you can get and still need 450 F.
  4. I’ll eat the whole box. Every time.
Truths four and one are especially self evident.