It's A Gran Life

06/17/2026

This is meal three of our Dollar General grocery challenge of 7 meals for under $35.

Chicken Alfredo

Guys, this isn't news. It's pretty easy.
Use half the box of spaghetti noodles. I break them in half because I think it's easier to eat that way. (My inner Italian is screaming. )
Boil salted water and add the noodles to it.
While that's boiling in a separate pan we're going to heat those chicken pieces over medium high heat with just a couple tablespoons of the pasta water. This helps steam the pieces to keep them moist and it helps build up a roux as well. Starchy pasta water is amazing stuff.

Once the pasta is tender, drain all but about ¼cup of the pasta water and then pour your alfredo sauce in with the pasta and water. Give it a good stir and bring it to heat through.

Easy enough, right? Now how do you get get it to that next level? Easy!

A little bit of italian spices, some shredded parmesan on top... *chef's kiss*

Tell me you're ready to eat without telling me you're ready to eat! Y'all get on in there!

06/16/2026

Let's do meal two of our Dollar General challenge of seven meals for under $35

CHILI MAC

Talk about your childhood in a bowl!

For 2 people that 1 can of chili and a cup and a half of dry macaroni pasta made PLENTY! And this just doesn't get much easier.

1 ½ cups dry macaroni pasta
1 can chili
⅓cup Milk
½cup shredded cheese
2Tbsp melted butter
2Tbsp flour

Bring 4 cups salted water to boil.
Add dry pasta. Turn down to medium high heat. Slow boil for 10 minutes.
Heat your chili in a microwave safe bowl for about 5 minutes to cook through.
Drain all but about ½cup pasta water. This starchy water actually helps the cheese sauce stick to the pasta.
Pour the pasta and water into a bowl and set aside.
Melt the butter in that pan over medium high heat.
Mix with the flour.
Add the milk slowly to get a good roux.
Add your pasta water to the roux and then add your shredded cheese.
Stir until smooth.
Add back in the pasta.
Add your chili and stir to combine.

Y'all let's eat!
❤️Gran

06/15/2026

First up in this week's Dollar General meal challenge of seven meals for two four under $35

Breakfast burritos

4 eggs, whisked with ½cup Milk
½cup shredded cheddar
1 can Treet luncheon meat, diced
2 medium potatoes, diced (optional)
6 tortillas

Shred your cheddar cheese. Set aside.

In a skillet over medium high heat drizzle olive oil (or use tallow or lard like we do) and cook your diced potatoes until they are fork tender.

Add your diced meat.

Give it all a stir and cover with a lid.
Stir occasionally to disperse heat.
In a side nonstick skillet over medium heat, drizzle a bit of olive oil and cook your whisked eggs.

Stir frequently making sure to keep the eggs moving so they don't stick. (They're so much prettier when they don't stick.)

When the meat is cooked through even slightly charred, remove the meat and potatoes and place on a paper towel to drain. Drain the oil from the pan. Don't wash it yet. Put it back on the stove over medium heat.

Spritz the tortillas with just a little water and heat in the skillet you just drained. The spritzing of water helps the tortillas stay pliable so they wrap easier.

Then assemble!

We couldn't eat all 6 so my son was ever too obliging and helped us out and ate the other two. So far we've got a supper for 3 out of this challenge. And look how packed they turned out!

Breakfast burritos are one of those meals that checks all the boxes.
Fast ✅️
Filling ✅️
Frugal ✅️

Let's eat!
❤️Gran

06/14/2026

I made $35 today from a baked goods delivery so that means we're doing an extreme grocery challenge!

Let's get at least 6 meals from that $35. Actually let's make it SEVEN!

Chkn alfredo
Chili Mac
Chicken fried rice
Breakfast burritos
Fagioli
Egg sandwiches
And some aglio é olio just for good measure!

Let's talk about this for just a minute because I've got some new folks to this page.

I have been there! All the struggle and the feeling of panic of how are we going to get through this week with only a few bucks. It's not easy. But it's not time to panic. It's time to make a plan.

Instead, try this.

Take an inventory of what you have.
Learn to make bread. It isn't hard. In fact, it's very easy! And the taste of fresh bread you just cannot beat.

If you can make bread, you can make tortillas, English muffins, cupcakes, pizza dough, pancakes and waffles, cornbread and even noodles and pasta.

Yes. You can.

A bag of flour costs less than a loaf of bread and from that you can make bread, tortillas and the rest you need to get through a week. $5 or less for five pounds of flour and yeast.

Meals aren't supposed to be seven courses with all the trimmings. Even the very wealthy will tell you that. Those are event dinners. Suppers at home are supposed to be enough to fill your belly so you can focus on the rest of your life. They don't have to be fancy. They don't even have to be beautiful. But they do need to be filled with nutritional value that will keep you going. Especially when we're talking about your Littles. They especially need those vitamins and calories.

Budget does not mean boring. And here you'll find some recipes, some stories, some sass and sale prices. And you might even find some more baking.

So welcome to this week's grocery challenge. Dollar General we're counting on you this week for this challenge! Seven meals under $35 for 2 adults. Let's get this one done!

05/30/2026

05/23/2026

One oreo cheesecake coming up!

Relax. This was for family.

05/17/2026

When your husband acquires a merry wee band of bonus kids at his work, the best way to have a good Monday is with food!

Pepperoni, prosciutto, peppers, jalapeños and onions

And the rolls are also pepperoni and cheese filled!

Homemade crust
You may drool now.