I’d Rather Be Playing Pickleball

Monday is grocery shopping day for me. It’s not a particularly good day for this activity, because the stores are all out of product following the busy weekend of shopping by those who work for a living. So Monday it’s just the retired set. Me included. The store shelves are bare and I know they will be bare, but I continue to shop on Mondays. There you have it.

I’m a fairly loyal Kroger shopper. King Soopers in Denver; Frys here in AZ. No particular reason other than I’m used to their brands and their prices are within reason. Not Walmart prices, but need I say any more about Walmart shopping?

The nearest Frys to our house, a couple of miles from here, is located in an area that is surrounded by park model communities. Now, prior to moving to AZ, I don’t believe I had ever heard that term – park model. In fact, the first time I heard the term was at my neighborhood nail salon, when a pleasant retirement-aged woman asked me if I lived in a park model. My sister Jen happened to be visiting, and we looked at each other with deer-in-the-headlight eyes. “I’m not sure,” I told the woman. “I don’t think so. What is a park model?”

Well, she clearly lived in a park model, and was quite put out with me. I don’t know if she was frustrated at my ignorance or annoyed that I didn’t live in one. She never bothered to explain the term to us.

For your information, park models are what we might call manufactured housing back in Denver. They are RV-like, but more permanent. They generally sit on some kind of a foundation, and are connected to utilities. And they are uber-popular with the over-70 community here in the east valley, and for good reason. They are inexpensive, offer recreational activities, and because they generally are part of a large over-55 community, provide immediate friends. Personally, I like my neighborhood where I can hear children playing, but God made us all different and I’m not judging.

All this is to say that shoppers at this particular store on this particular day of the week are almost all retired folks. Again, me included. But I differ from the majority of these undoubtedly very nice people in one way. I am shopping alone. Almost without exception, shoppers here are a team – husband and wife. Bill rarely shops with me, and never when I’m doing my weekly grocery shopping. He might accompany me on a Walmart run, but he will check out the auto parts or the sporting goods while I get whatever I came to buy. And personally, I’m very happy to have him not included in this particular activity, if for no other reason than I can’t bear to see his disappointed expression when I place the vegetarian-fed, cage-free-raised chicken eggs into my cart instead of the ones that cost a buck sixty-nine.

But here’s the thing. Again, almost without exception, the husbands look so darn sad. The wives are showing them the two-pack of Magic Scrubbing Bubbles and, with furrowed brows and frowning faces, are saying, “Weren’t Magic Scrubbing Bubbles on sale at Safeway last week? I think they might be thirty cents cheaper at Safeway” and the husbands SIMPLY DON’T CARE. They want to be back at home playing cards or pickleball with their friends, or, even better, on the golf course. However, they know full well that must accompany their wives to the grocery store to provide transportation and to reach things on the high shelf.

I feel for ya, Guys. And, by the way, thanks for getting that jar of Newman’s Own spaghetti sauce from the top shelf for me today.

I’m continuing to try and eat healthier meals, and found a delicious-sounding recipe in a Weight Watchers magazine. Last night's dinner!

Beefy Skillet Penne

Ingredients
1 lb. ground sirloin
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
½ lb. penne pasta, whole grain
2 c. roasted garlic pasta sauce
½ t. dried Italian seasoning
1/8 t. salt
4 oz. shredded Italian-blend cheese, divided
½ c. part-skim ricotta cheese.
Chopped fresh parsley

Process
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add first three ingredients; cook 5 – 6 min. or until beef is browned, stirring to crumble. Drain well; return beef mixture to pan.

While beef mixture cooks, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and add pasta to beef mixture in pan. Stir in pasta sauce, Italian seasoning, and salt. Reduce heat to medium.

Combine 2 oz. cheese Italian blend cheese and ricotta cheese in a bowl. Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls over meat mixture, and sprinkle with 2 oz. Italian blend cheese. Cover and cook 5 min or until cheese melts. Sprinkle with parsley.

Nana's Notes: 6 Weight Watcher Plus points for a serving of about 1-1/3 cups.Very quick to prepare. I almost left off the ricotta cheese, but I'm glad I didn't. It made the dish for me.