What would Larry do?

My kitten buddy, mouse/snake/bird-er (Big Mighty Hunter), cuddle toy, smile maker, bad day better-er, you get the point- my Cat, is GONE!

Of course I've been sobbing, and casting my stubborn, un-realistic terrible mood over my whole life and the whole world.
I've actually burned out sort of early. There is another thing to be said about getting older.
My patterns don't hold my interest for as long anymore.

Now, I am getting ready for the next part, what ever that is.

And tomorrow is my Saturday, and I got paid today.
So, life goes on and it is time yet again to create a masterpiece of a grocery list, one so strategic, Grandma will be proud.
Last time, I fed us with two hundred dollars worth of groceries for two weeks!

I have become obsessed with re purposing meals, or elements of them.
The last weeks have been full of revelations. I have always read that you should stock up on things like pasta and canned goods and dried beans when they are on sale or in bulk even if you don't think you need them, but this is just a darn inescapable truth on the way to thrifty home eating.

I made sure to budget in a whole chicken, a large beef roast, and a ham last time, which was a bulk of the bill, but those critter pieces and a chance tube of ground beef was the only meat I needed to buy, so I focused on the other elements of limitless possibilities.

We had a beef, mushroom and pea pie with a creamy gravy mixed in from that roast and little fried meat pies.
We had spaghetti and left over spaghetti fritatta for breakfast one day from on sale five lb ground beef, as well as hamburgers, and meatballs which I added sausage to. Also, tamale pie, a first time dish for me. So that's four meals from the five lbs.
The chicken was gone fast the day I roasted it, but I made stock from it for chicken and dumplings, and split pea soup which I made with the left over ham.
I made hash with the left overs from the ham and the last of the potatoes with our freaking awesome caste iron grinder.

Of all of my favorite things to cook, I think the weird ones I make up when I have lots of left overs at hand are IT!

Alas, where would I be without bulk pasta for lazy days of instant gratification when all you want is pasta covered in bacon fat,egg and cheese?
Or the can of condensed cream-of-something soup, generic brand is fine with me-?
And, we shan't forget the on sale bags of frozen peas- of which, I have a stock that would make Costco blush.