Quesa Quiche

Will be updated later with photos. 

I started this blog a long time ago, and I haven't updated it for more than 3-1/2 years. Its been a good place to store some recipes that my kids might use someday, but really it is THE place to get a manual for an old mixer. 5000 people have visited the Hamilton Beach Model E Mixer page. 

Quesa Quiche

• 1 ready-made pie crust (comes in package of 2)

• 6 eggs 

• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

• 1 package green onions, sliced from ends to about 2" into green

• 1 can diced tomatoes with green chilis, drained

• 8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese 

Bake pie crust according to directions. 

Whisk eggs and heavy whipping cream in medium bowl. 

Add onions, tomatoes and cheese. Stir until mixed. 

Add mixture to baked pie crust. 

Bake at 350° for about 35-40 minutes, or until center is set. Let stand about 5 minutes before serving.

Bacon + Butter = Nirvana

My adorable neighbor girl is going to turn 4 on July 12th. She told me that she gets to pick anything she wants for supper that day, so she chose fettuccine noodles with bacon butter. First, [shocker] a 3 year-old said this; and second, I wanted some too! I'm making it for supper tonight with spaetzle noodles from ALDI. Why not make it richer and calorie loaded? (fettuccine is a special purchase item, not always available) 

Bacon butter has taken over my thoughts since yesterday, so I looked for a recipe online. I found an awesome one that involved whipping cream and many steps and ice and other labor intensive activities, so the following is champagne bacon butter on a beer budget:

Bacon Butter

• 1/2 lb. (2 sticks) softened unsalted butter

• 1 pkg. real bacon bits ($1.49) 

• 1 tbsp. olive oil

Blend or mix butter and olive oil, add bacon bits. Refrigerate.  

Spread on toast, pancakes, waffles, noodles, sandwiches - endless possibilities. 

I am a Lymphomaniac

The Daily Mail recently published an article called, "The Real Reason Middle-Class Mums Love ALDI." It was for their gin. Nevermind that Brits can save £1,700 a year vs. a competing grocer. The article is here for those interested. 

I had gin once, thanks to some boys from Casco Point in Navarre, Minnesota. Not. My. Thing.  

A liquor store recently opened in the same building at my ALDI. Minnesota does not allow grocery stores to carry liquor, wine or strong beer, so there will be no competition.

What caught my eye in the Daily Mail article was that their ALDI stores carry compression bandages, and apparently they are right next to the cheese. I have become intimately acquainted with compression bandages, having been diagnosed with primary lymphedema at age 48. Turns out that at around 6 weeks gestation, my speck-size body decided to quit making lymph nodes. How or why I seemed to get along for nearly half a century without major problems from this is a mystery. I am paying for it now.

You may have seen people in double-wide wheelchairs with tree trunks for legs. That is lymphedema. That is where I thought I was headed. I later learned that most of those people do not have primary lymphedema (a congenital problem), or secondary lymphedema (from cancer or chemotherapy), but rather because they accumulated so much overhanging fat in their stomach that their lymph nodes became compressed enough to quit functioning. There are some people with primary lymphedema that are at that point, but I learned that it is because they refused to do the work that would keep that from happening. Then I learned about a phenomenon where a person begins to identify themselves as a person because of their disability, and wishes to remain disabled. Not. My. Thing.

Primary Lymphedema has become a part time job for me. I have to devote about 3 hours a day to caring for my leg or bandaging it, and getting both legs into high compression. For this devotion, my reward is no wheelchair, no handicapped parking tag, as well as no government assistance. I am wearing shorts for the first time in my life because my stockings are hotter than hell, and getting stared at because people wonder why I am wearing "tan nylons." That's another issue - high compression stockings come in one color, which is Jersey Shore Tan. Persons of color, or no color like myself, are of no regard to the manufacturers of these things. They are also not made with UPF fibers, which would protect against UV radiation. They also cost upwards of $150 per pair. I'm whining so much here that I am starting to think that I'd like to try some ALDI gin. I can't fly to the UK to get it though - air travel is not good for lymphedema. 

So, ALDI, if you're listening.. maybe you would like to expand your compression bandage line to include compression stockings. You could place them next to the crackers.

Positively Painless Pickled Peppers

I'm not right in the head. A week ago, a woman rear-ended my car at a stoplight while my daughter was driving me to Aldi. My daughter is fine (TG!), I have a concussion. The woman's license plate number is imbedded in my bumper - it feels like it's imbedded in my head. Her inability to keep her eyes on the road has taken a week away from me, so far.

Concussions are strange. I have been doing some dumb things like walking straight ahead at the top of stairs and misjudging distances. Last night I put a Tide Pod in the dryer with wet clothes.  I feel like I am going to cry all the time, for no apparent reason.

There's another weird phenomenon that happens to people when you can't see an injury or illness - everyone thinks they are okay. I am not okay. Besides this temporary concussion, I have cancer (melanoma). I have several autoimmune diseases. I have primary lymphedema. I am on my way out. I don't know when that is going to happen, so I certainly didn't want to spend a week feeling rotten, filling out forms, seeing doctors, having an insurance adjuster come to my house and talking to several insurance adjusters on the phone. Its been a full time job. I'm writing this to remind myself, and anyone who might read it, that when you are driving a car, that is your full time job. You can text people or talk to them some other time. Be a secure person, nobody needs to hear from you while you are driving. 

A few weeks ago, Aldi was selling banana pepper, jalapeño and tomato plants that were pre-loaded with fruit for $7.99. Now I have banana peppers coming out my ears - I've made salads with them, added them to recipes and left them on neighbors' doorstops. Today, I made pickled peppers. It was so easy that even a brain injured person can do it (even though she can't recite the rhyme).

Pickled Peppers

• banana peppers (or any kind of peppers) (enough to fill 2 quart jars)

• 1 cup white vinegar 

• 1 cup water

• garlic (peeled cloves, sliced lengthwise - maybe 6 per jar)

• 3 tbsp. salt (I used Himalayan Pink) 

Wash peppers, cut the ends off and cut a slit lengthwise. Slide your finger down the center to remove seeds (it's okay if you don't get them all). Slice into rings.
Place pepper rings and garlic into a jar with a lid, or some kind of glass container that seals shut.
Heat vinegar, water and salt to boiling. Pour over peppers. Let cool for a few hours and then refrigerate. Eat within 2 weeks. 

No Spring for You!

I live in Minnesota, it's snowed every day here for the last 200 days. Okay, so I exaggerated a little, but seriously?! When is this going to end?

Aldi stepped into spring cleaning a few weeks ago. They have Swiffer WetJets for $16.99. Not a bad price, but its the sale price elsewhere. The hook was for Aldi brand pads to use on it, which I can assure you, are the real deal, at half the sale price elsewhere.

All this is well and good, but the solution is very expensive, and you will go through it really fast, and Aldi isn't carrying it. Besides, it's a chemical-laden product that you don't need (but it smells really really good!).

I only want to use vinegar and water to clean my floors, so I found this "hack" for the magic special bottle.. all you have to do is heat the cap in near-boiling water for a minute and twist it off (you'll never get it off otherwise). Then you take a nail clippers and trim off all the little self-locking tabs inside the cap. Now you have a bottle to fill with whatever you want to use to clean your floors.

I don't have a recipe to write about today, but as long as you have the vinegar out, pour some in a bowl, then add some sugar and then add some milk and stir it up. Pour this on top of some sliced mini cucumbers from Aldi and put it in the refrigerator for a few hours.

The Hopkins Model

The only people who are good at cooking at the ones who are stuck doing it every day. They don't look at food sites or buy recipe books or rip recipes out of magazines because cooking is a hobby, they do all that because they are stuck. doing. it. every. day.

When I was a kid, I would play at my friend Brenda's house nearly every afternoon. Around 5 pm, her mom would come home from work and magically turn a few ingredients into a magical meal for a family of 4 (5 if I was lucky, which was probably 80% of the time). I was completely fascinated with how Margo could do this - here she was tired from working as a secretary all day long, and she immediately went to work cooking. Everyone sat at their cool "breakfast nook" table together and visited and laughed during supper.

I learned three things from that part of my childhood.. 
1. I was going to be a secretary because they could do everything.
2. I was going to have a real family and we were going to have supper at the table every day.
3. If anyone was at our house during supper time, they were going to eat with us.

So far that's worked really well. I was a secretary from ages 15 to 25. I have a great family and we eat together at 6 pm every day. Everyone we know has an open invitation to join us.

Thank you Margo, Denny, Brenda and Jason. I loved your family.

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La De Da Enchiladas

• 2 pkg. Grilled Chicken Breast Strips, Southwestern (fully cooked)

• 1 can cream of chicken soup 

• 1/2 cup sour cream

• 1 cup salsa

• 2 tsp. chili powder

• 1/2 cup Mexican shredded cheese

• 1 pkg. flour tortillas (10 count/medium size)

• 1 tsp. olive oil (to grease baking dish/pan)

• 1 can diced tomatoes, drained

• 1 bunch sliced green onions (or 1/2 diced onion) 

Mix soup, sour cream, salsa and chili powder in a bowl.

Chop chicken strips into smaller pieces and add them to another bowl, along with cheese and 1 cup of the soup mixture from other bowl.

Scoop chicken mixture into tortillas, roll them and place seam-side down into greased baking dish/pan. Keep doing this until you run out of chicken mixture or tortillas or space.

Pour remaining soup mixture on top of tortillas.

Cover and bake 40 minutes at 350°.

Top with diced tomatoes and onions.

Permit to Conceal and Carry a Grudge

The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.Voltaire 

I find myself in a crazy situation. You see, I somehow got cancer despite doing everything known that would prevent this particular cancer. I read that it's the smartest, which might prove that being smart is not really a good thing. It's so bad and smart that I don't have to bother myself with all the awful things that people associate with cancer - hospital gowns, bald heads, puking. You know, the kinds of things that bring out empathy in those closest to a person, the kinds of things that allow people to say the things they need to say. Things that give a sense of HOPE. I don't know if this cancer is killing me, or if my mind is killing me - but it's winning in either scenario. People ask me what stage cancer I have, I tell them they don't really stage cancer like this now, so I give them the designation of my particular tumor, I tell them my tumor had a high mitotic rate. They glaze over. I explain that the mitotic rate means that the cancer cells in my tumor were dividing very rapidly, which logically means that they are elsewhere. Elsewhere means metastasized. Where? I don't know, nobody knows, because of that smartest thing - somehow this cancer knows how to metastasize quickly and stay smaller than scans can detect until it's too late. That's pretty smart. 

I don't know how it happened, but the people who are into fundamentalist religion (or evangelical or non-demoninational or whatever name they are using at the moment), are also into the idea that modern medicine is the devil's work. It's kind of a side job because they also like to sell supplements,  acquire guns, mistrust "the government," wish they were independently wealthy, and so on. These are also the people who are usually kindest to me. I can't tell them that an alkaline diet is a bunch of BS because it will hurt their feelings. I can't tell them that sugars of any type turn into glucose and are used by all cells in a body, not just cancer, and a body could care less how it gets it's sugar - some sugars are just more efficient and lead to obesity and type 2 diabetes. No, I can't tell them that. Instead, I amuse myself with CANCER FIGHTING FOODS, which shows that I take their advice. I know how to eat, and most of the time I don't care what it is, because, to be honest, I really am not into food. So, like the vegetarian secretly discovered eating a Big Mac, I will, when convenience strikes, eat some healthy stuff. Yesterday I bought Organic Romaine Hearts at Aldi for 99¢. That's a really good deal.

WTF Aldi? WTF!

Horse meat? WTF? I know it's not your fault, and I know there are many other companies affected, but I love you, how could you do this to people? Please fix this NOW. Please be the leader in finding out how this happened.

For everyone else, the dishes affected are Today's Special Frozen Beef Lasagne and Frozen Spaghetti Bolognese. If you want to read about it, search for it. I'm too grossed out to link anything. It seems to be a UK/French issue with Aldi, but I couldn't read far enough to find out for certain. 

Macbeth Potatoes

My friend Jane told me once that I must buy organic potatoes - all other were unsafe. I followed her advice, which really meant that I quit buying potatoes altogether. I felt like I couldn't afford organic potatoes. Well, my friends, those days are over. Aldi now has 99¢ organic potatoes!

Jeffrey Moyer, chair of the National Organic Standards Board, has this to say about potatoes:

Root vegetables absorb herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides that wind up in soil. In the case of potatoes-the nation's most popular vegetable-they're treated with fungicides during the growing season, then sprayed with herbicides to kill off the fibrous vines before harvesting. After they're dug up, the potatoes are treated yet again to prevent them from sprouting. "Try this experiment: Buy a conventional potato in a store, and try to get it to sprout. It won't," says Moyer, "I've talked with potato growers who say point-blank they would never eat the potatoes they sell. They have separate plots where they grow potatoes for themselves without all the chemicals." (PREVENTION Magazine)

Chemicals are so absorbed into the very being of non-organic potatoes that even obsessive Macbeth-ish washing is not going to make one bit of difference. 

No recipe today, who needs one? A baked potato is pure perfection.

Ghetto to Gangnam

A new Aldi opened next to my CVS yesterday. If you know me, the significance of this is too great to put into words.

I've been shopping at an Aldi in a VERY BAD AREA for a few years now, so my first trip to the new Aldi was pretty exciting, knowing that I didn't have to fear for my life. Instead, I encountered one confused-irritated person after another leaving the new store empty handed. This is called First Trip to Aldi Syndrome.

Everyone who isn't wondering where their next package of Ramen is coming from will probably suffer from FTTAS, but it is highly curable.

The food at Aldi is the identical food you buy at any other grocer. It tastes the same, it is the same. The difference is that it probably costs 30-50% less at Aldi and you won't see a logo you are familiar with. If you don't like something, for whatever reason (such as the corn flakes taste like Kellogg's and not Post, or the cheese crackers taste like Sunshine and not Nabisco), then you bring your item back to the store and Aldi will return your money, plus give you a replacement product. That's a pretty bold guarantee.

If you're new to Aldi, start simple and buy some fresh produce, condiments and dairy items.  The next time you go, add a few more items, such as a box of cereal and something frozen that looks good. It won't take long to win you over.

My husband and I went on a 7 day Caribbean cruise with the savings from shopping at Aldi in one year's time. I like labels and logos as much as the next person, but I like white sand beaches and someone else cooking me elegant dinners a whole lot more.

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Zucchini Sausage Bake

• 2 zucchini, sliced (3 for $1.29-$1.69)
• 1 pkg. smoked brats, sliced ($2.49)
• 3 tbsp. butter (1 lb. $2.29)
• 1 pkg. (brick) cream cheese ($1.19)
• 1 tsp. minced garlic in olive oil 
• coarse ground black pepper
• 1/3 pkg. garden vegetable crackers, crumbled ($1.49) (these are identical to Carr's Gourmet)

Sauté sliced brats, zucchini and minced garlic on medium-low heat for about 5-10 minutes. Add butter and continue to sauté until butter is melted. Add cream cheese, cut up into sections, and stir until melted. Add black pepper to taste.

Transfer mixture to a baking dish. Crumble crackers over top and bake at 350° for 30 minutes.
Less than $1 per serving.

Turkey Wrap it Up and Shut it Down

Is it just my neighborhood, or are people drinking like it's 1981 again?

Happy 4th of July! Not.

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Turkey Wraps

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon dill weed
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic in olive oil
• 10 (6 inch) flour tortillas
• 1 medium onion, sliced thin
• 10 (1 ounce) slices cooked turkey breast
• 10 slices cheddar cheese
• Fresh Spinach

In a small mixing bowl, combine the first five ingredients; beat until smooth. Spread over the tortillas.
Sprinkle with onion; top with turkey, cheddar cheese and spinach. 
Roll up tightly; serve immediately or wrap in plastic wrap and chill.

The Morning after Candle Salad

Candle Salad has made a come..back.

Most people don't know that it was Minnesota's own Betty Crocker who started this holiday tradition, and she was reeling them in early. Candle salad was in the Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys and Girls, published in 1957. You can get your very own free copy of this cookbook here. If the link goes dead, email me and I'll send you a copy (it's a 10 mb pdf file).

This recipe might explain the peculiarities of the Jones Generation (people born between 1954 and 1965). 

Of course you can squirt some Reddi-Wip on the candle, if you are so inclined. Aldi has their own magic whipped cream, half the price, most likely canned at the same location.

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I don't know what to do about Christmas Eve and Christmas Day meals. We had ham yesterday for an early celebration; we ate turkey for a week after Thanksgiving; and my mom is making prime rib for the grandchildren Christmas on Sunday. I'm thinking about Shepherd's Pie with a cornbread topping. Sounds fitting for Christmas and remembering why we celebrate the day.

As I sat here making a grocery shopping list, I also decided that I would make a Christmas breakfast. Thankfully, this recipe involves minimal morning effort..

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Morning after Candle Salad

• 1 loaf French bread 
• 8 large eggs
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon almond extract (or vanilla) 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 4 ripe bananas, sliced
• carmel sauce
• canned whipped cream (for the table)
• butter (for greasing dish and the table)

Slice bread into 1" slices. Arrange in a buttered 9 x 13" baking dish in two layers, overlapping slices. In a bowl, mix eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg with a whisk. Pour mixture over the bread slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

Bake at 325°for about 40 minutes.

Heat carmel sauce in microwave, pour over casserole when removed from oven, top with sliced bananas and serve immediately. Individuals add butter and whipped cream.

As the Cookie Crumbles

I can't bake a cookie to save my life. More holiday guilt. Have you finished your Christmas shopping? I've bought one gift card. Have you wrapped all your presents? Did you know that Christmas Eve is only 11 days away? 
Everyone I know has everything they need, and they know it. My older kids just want money. My youngest wants presents, but she can't find anything she wants for a present. Want to know why? Because SHE ALREADY OWNS EVERYTHING. 
I've managed to avoid the cookie exchange for exactly 15 years. I actually ran away from home the morning after the last one I attended. This year, I did have one looming. Thankfully, a blizzard took care of that on Saturday.

So, I can't make cookies. Shoot me. I can, however, make cookie dough. If anyone here wants cookies, I will hand them a brick of dough and a pan.

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Dough for Dummies

(one recipe, hundreds of variations)

• 3 cups all-purpose flour 
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder (omit if making thumbprint with filling, ball or spritz)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Place the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat on medium-high speed for at least 3 minutes or until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg, mixing well after it's added, and then add the vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, and beat until combined.
If not using dough right away, wrap well in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. You can freeze the dough: Wrap well in plastic wrap and place in a sealable bag. It will keep 1 month.

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Chocolate variation: Replace 1/3 cup of the flour with 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder.

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Spice variation: Add 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper when you add the flour mixture.

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Citrus variation: Replace the vanilla extract with 1 teaspoon finely grated citrus zest (lemon, lime or orange) and 1 tablespoon fresh citrus juice.

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Peppermint variation: Replace vanilla extract with peppermint extract.

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Thank you Martha Stewart Magazine

Bring on the Bourbon!

This was my shopping list for Thanksgiving:

• Turkey
• Sage-Seasoned Sausage (fresh)
• Sage (fresh)
• Rosemary (fresh)
• Thyme (fresh)
• Celery
• Garlic
• Lemon
• Onions (white)
• Onions (yellow)
• Shallots
• Potatoes
• Sweet Potatoes
• Mushrooms
• Eggs
• Butter (lots!)
• Cheddar Cheese
• Evaporated Milk
• Olive Oil
• Brown Sugar
• Green Beans
• Corn
• Creamed Corn
• Cream of Mushroom Soup
• Chicken Broth
• Vegetable Broth
• French-fried Onions (sold out)
• Bread Cubes (I wanted bakery dried)
• Cranberry Sauce (had dried, but not canned)
• Pickles
• Black Olives
• Green Olives
• Sparkling Apple Juice
• Heavy-Duty Aluminum Foil
• 1-Gallon Zip Bags
• 1-Quart Zip Bags

The only items I couldn't purchase at Aldi are in red, the sage sausage is in green because it came from Trader Joe's (owned by Aldi). Have you been near a regular grocery story this week? Do people only eat once a year? The trip to Aldi took less time than the trip to pick up the items in red. There were fantastic sale prices at the other grocery stores, but I still saved $27 dollars by choosing Aldi.


I'm making two new recipes this year. One is stuffing with sage sausage and the other is sweet potatoes on the grill with fresh rosemary and olive oil. I'm on my 14th year doing an herb-infused turkey, which is a big pain in the butt, but worth it. We're also having our die-hard traditional mashed potatoes with shallot and herb gravy, green bean casserole and bourbon corn pudding. My mom is bringing dessert and rolls (my favorite).


This Thanksgiving I am feeling especially thankful for my husband. He offered to take everyone out for dinner this year (even researched places to go) because of how rapidly my health has deteriorated in the last 6 weeks, but I couldn't do that to the kids; so instead, he drove me grocery shopping and is planning to chop, dice and slice with me for a few hours tomorrow night to get ready.


Wishing everyone reading this a Happy Thanksgiving full of friends and family and good things to eat!

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Bourbon Corn Pudding

• 3 large eggs
• 1 can evaporated milk
• 2 cans cream-style corn
• 3 cups corn (frozen or drained from can)
• 3 tbsp. butter, melted
• 3 tbsp. brown sugar
• 3 tbsp. cornstarch mixed with 3 tbsp. water
• 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 5 tbsp. bourbon (my friend Sara said molasses works great as a substitute and they carry it seasonally at Aldi) 
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground white pepper

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Butter a 2-quart baking dish.

Beat eggs and evaporated milk together in large bowl. Stir in all remaining ingredients and pour mixture into baking dish. Bake 45 minutes or until slightly browned and a knife inserted in center comes out clean.

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P.S. I still can't get the formatting right for this blog since I switched to a Mac!

Aldi vs. the Drive-Thru

My friend Jane and I were talking about how sad it is that it's far less expensive to eat at fast food dollar menus than it is to cook at home. I've cut our grocery expense in half by shopping at Aldi, but I could cut it again by 50% if I were to get dinner at the drive-thru every night. 


Seriously. 

In my lifetime, I have seen the number of grocery stores reduced dramatically. I lived in a town of 12,000 people for several years and I believe there were 11 full stores when I moved there, as well as several neighborhood stores; and by the time I left, 13 years later, there were 2. I listened to many excuses for this, the main one being that the two stores remaining were larger and more competitive. I believe it was really about the fast food industry, and the push to convince people that their time was too valuable to shop for and prepare food.


I live within a few minutes of every imaginable fast food place, and I can still make supper quicker than it takes to get to, and go through, a drive-thru (notice we don't even have time to write out the word "through"). I won't even get into the nutritional and health difference.


Shopping for food is another story, and I believe that is where everything went to hell. Just the thought of having to go to a big grocery store, especially after work, is enough to make anyone want to head to the nearest yellow letter in the sky; and this is precisely why I became an Aldi addict. Aldi is small - there are 5 aisles; you can be in and out in 10 minutes with enough food for the next 3 days. There's no maze to wander through and no fancy displays of high-profit impulse items. 


Aldi has brought back the main street grocery store.


Reconditioning yourself to let go of the familiar label is the only difficult part - it's still the same stuff inside, Aldi's products come from all the popular brands; the advertising cost is removed to save you money. If you don't like something, you can return what's left, and they refund your money and give you an alternate product. Who else offers this kind of guarantee? 


So, instead of making supper, I wrote this. I'll see you later, I have to go to Mc.. kidding! We are having left-overs, another great benefit from cooking your own food. Have you ever tried to eat left-over fast food? Enough said.