Thanks Bless. Was feeling soo bad I called dr and not only do I have bronchitis but also fluid in both ears.....might explain the dizziness and ear aches! On several drugs and will have a few days off to sleep and get well. Not gonna push anything, just taking it easy.

SO stopped at his favorite party store and brought home subs for dinner(they make their own buns!) Very yummy and no cleanup either!

I did go through my stuff the other nite and found a good recipe for the granola that is quite tasty. I will make some up during the day tomorrow since I did pick up the items I was missing. I also had some nuts leftover from the holidays so I shell them last nite and will toss them in to the mix too.....oats, brown sugar, honey, powdered milk, raisins, oil, and assorted nuts....can't wait. And since I may have the boys over again this weekend, lots of cheap snack food as most of the items I had and the few I did pick up will be used for other things too.

BL: Make sure you rest now and not overdo things.

Breakfast for dinner, last night. Made French toast and crepes. Extra crepes in the fridge to have as a snack, today.

DD took a sandwich for her brunch, today; I brought leftover rice/meat/veggies for my lunch.

Dinner - ?? I am wondering if I should make chicken pot pies. I have frozen cooked chicken, celery, carrots, onions, peas, and frozen puff pastry for the tops. Only to make a white sauce...

I ate leftovers all week.

Tonight for supper, I made poutine (french fries, cheese curds, and gravy) **gravy was leftover and frozen.

This weekend I am cooking two big meals in order to eat during the work week. I haven't decided what I am cooking yet- I am just using stuff in my pantry, fridge, and freezer.

Beaglelady: I have a upright freezer and got so tired of trying to organize it I measured the shelves and found baskets that would fit across. I assigned a type of food to each basket and labeled the front. You can just slide the basket out and load or unload. I freeze alot in ziploc bags that I have froze flat and then can stand up in the basket and not slide through the grates. I did this on all shelves but one and left that for box type items and stacked were you can see the ends and know what you have. This has helped me on grocery day also because I know were to look to see if I have an item for a recipe and not freezing digging though the piles.

Last night I used a frozen quart-bag of roasted turkey meat, quart-bag of roasted turkey broth, and a whole stack of fresh veggies to make "Reverse Dumplings"... nice turkey/veg soup poured over teaspoon-sized drop biscuits. I figured that would be a nice pre- or post-dance option for the herd of teenagers that generally end up in my living room, but everyone one of them had eaten before, so we have leftovers for lunch today.

I also did up a 2-gallon batch of granola last night... YUM. Breakfast this morning was granola with Greek yogurt. Happy children.

We may pull out the hamburger pockets and do up some potato wedges for supper, just for fun. Or maybe pull out some chicken leg/thigh quarters and roast those. Nice to have options!

Made the chicken pot pies last night and they were an instant success! Have 2 leftover for tonight's dinner.

Made chicken stock with the bones and bits. Will add veggies to it to make a chicken-veggie soup for tomorrow night's dinner.

Need to go grocery shopping today.

I made meatballs last night in a veggie sauce which allowed me to use some frozen roasted red peppers and some fresh mushrooms.
Paired this with some whole wheat pasta.

Tonight will be shake and bake chicken legs with baked potatoes (using up some potatoes before they go bad and some sour cream), plus some fresh baby carrots and broccoli.

Both will give me leftovers for during the week.

Friends challenged me to participate in a No Discretionary Spending February. I'm not able to participate this time but thought someone here might find it interesting. It requires stock-up, meal planning using pantry/freezer supplies on hand with a set amount designated for fresh fruit and dairy.

Giving up restaurant/take-out/fast food/deli counter meals can mean more entertaining at home and advance planning for taking luch to work and Valentine for example. The non discretionary bills are listed like mortgage/rent, utilities, transportation, payment that are ongoing like car loan, credit card etc. [it's meant to give a head's up]

All entertainment need to be at no additional cost so use membership or prepaid, library DVDs/books/music/guest speakers, H Sch. College/Uni plays, concerts, lecturers and Community no cost celebrations for example. Can you give up going to the Mall for the 29 days in February? The point is to learn about many no cost events in your community and possibly find new, non spend-y interests. It has potential for mindful spending habits since it's slightly over 21 days of repetition

The end result is to reward yourself with $50. to use as you wish if you stuck to your plan.

Cyd, I might try that for March. February is my birthday month and we've already planned a night out to dinner. Plus my DH's family is coming to town the first weekend and there will be costs associated. March is a distinct possibility.