DOLA?

Downside of Living Alone? 


It's not totally a downside...maybe just a side-effect. Or an oddity. Or  something.


It has to do with food. 


When I grocery shop, I tend to buy things that are on sale. Especially produce. Things that are in-season are fresher, better and more likely to be on sale. So that's what I do. And if something's on REAL good sale, I buy a lot. 


This is a great strategy for buying healthy, affordable groceries. Not so much for making meals that aren't bizarre.


As a result, I tend to eat a lot of side dishes. Most things that my mother would consider a side dish, I consider dinner. For example, this week, because cabbage was on sale, I made an awesome cabbage/apple slaw. And proceeded to have that for dinner. It was delicious. But it was a side dish.


I consider this a side effect of living alone. It's rarely worth the effort for me to plan and cook a full meal for just myself. Between the shopping and preparing and cooking - AND DISHWASHING (reminder: my apt does not have a dishwasher. I wash everything by hand.) - it's just not something I'm into. 


So I guess I'll continue having side dishes for dinner. Maybe I should reinstate family dinner night for FrankieWayne and The Tad. Hmmm....

RILLA #23

Reasons I Love Living Alone #23

I made crab & corn chowder for dinner. Then, I sat on the couch with the soup pot in my lap and ate directly from the pot. Because I didn't want to dirty another dish.

And no one has to know.

Korean Monkey Baby is greatly pleased

Last night was Family Dinner #4. Modifying a recipe from PattyCake, I made white chicken enchilada casserole, with chips & salsa and rice & beans.

Evidence that it was pretty bangin':
- everyone went back for seconds
- I greatly pleased Korean Monkey Baby
- I got 4 high fives and a slap on the ass
- The Tad* said it was good...twice**
- FrankieWayne mumbled (through a mouthful) that it was really good
- they asked if we could have this again next time, too

In case I havent mentioned lately that I LOVE family dinner...let me just say it now. I LOVE FAMILY DINNER!

*The Tad is generally referred to as "my idiot friend". However, there are two subjects about which I will always trust The Tad: the internet and food.
**The Tad does not give compliments. The Tad generally makes fun of you using slightly offensive references to show his superiority over you.

Family Dinner

FrankieWayne and The Tad are kinda my go-to guys. I'm kinda their go-to girl.

They put up with my dumb girl questions. I tolerate their stupid boy humor. We do dumb things together and usually end up cracking up. A lot.

Recently, we decided* that since we're all single and a) tired of spending money going out to eat and b) unmotivated to cook for ourselves, that we should join forces and do weekly dinner night.

Basically I cook and FrankieWayne and The Tad come over and eat.

FrankieWayne gets some company, The Tad gets out of his house for a bit and I get to hostess. It's a win-win-win.

Some people might think that I really get the shaft in this deal, but I kinda think I win. I like to cook, but dont do it often because I'm not going to go through the trouble of cooking for just me. They give me cash and I plan the menu and grocery shop. I get to cook for people...who give me grocery money...and make me laugh.

If I had a dishwasher, I'd almost feel bad for ripping them off.

We just concluded Week 2 and it's going well so far. In honor of this week's Gamecocks game, we ate shrimp 'n' grits. Taking a risk and breaking the cardinal rule of entertaining (don't do a recipe for the first time when company's coming) worked out well. The guys both went back for seconds, so I guess that's a win.

We have a couple of ground rules: no wheat, nothing super spendy, nothing with too much cheese and we have to vote on inviting additional people to join family dinner. So far, so good.

* By "we decided" I really mean "The Tad decided". Because that's how things work in this dysfunctional group of friends. The Tad always drives. The Tad picks the music, the restaurant, the route, the time of the outing and what time we go home. That's how it's always been and how it always will be.