No Manwich, grits or cornbread???

For the meatloaf, you can really thank two silly drunk girls who threw about 167 questions at me in five minutes after the pub closed on NYE.

Thank you two drunk girls!!  Ha Ha Ha

You know what I had a week or two ago? Queso dip made with Rotel tomatoes/chilies and good ole Velveeta! (Brought back with me when we went to the US in November - I held out this long!)  I didn't know Velveeta actually had added sugar (dried corn syrup) but to be honest, I doubt I ever read the label before.  Steve did & said - Why do the Americans put sugar in everything?   (I think Manwich probably has added sugar as well...) I was hoping I had lost my taste for Velveeta, and cutting off just a small hunk of it to eat as I was dicing it for melting - yeah it did taste pretty foul & disgusting, so I thought this is a good thing! But once it was all melted up with the Rotel & I was dipping Doritos into it - I am sad to report it was just as fabulous as ever! And so bad for me...all that fat & salt (and sugar!). Good thing it's really hard to come by over here...

Don't feel too bad....(sadly enough) Velveeta still has less fat than cheddar.  And they've come out with a 2% variety now.  I crumbled and brought some back with me for mac n' cheese 

I'm Canadian Bacon is a little thicker than what I'm looking for. I've never seen Irish bacon and I've tried looking for all variations that it could be called...standing there in the refrigeration section staring at each pack of bacon. 

Oh :-(
Well maybe something will pop along when you least expect it ;-)

Oh :-(
Well maybe something will pop along when you least expect it ;-)

I hope so!

And they've come out with a 2% variety now.  I crumbled and brought some back with me for mac n' cheese 

Yes, it's the 2% one that I had!

Totally great advice! One of the first things every newly minted expat has do - throw out the mental calculator! Otherwise you would never buy a thing here and that means you'll never get integrated. Just accept the prices for what they are and pretty soon you'll adjust to the cost of living being 'normal'.

I totally agree, except in cases where you go back to the states regularly. In that case, I would calculate the Us price of non-essential goods so that when you go "home" you know what's worth filling up your suitcase with. My first trip back 2 years ago, I weighted down my suitcases with peanut butter, post-it notes, grape jelly, Catalina and Easy Spirit walking shoes. Now, I pretty much stick with shoes, jelly and Catalina-I can get most other things(or substitutes) here, or the price difference is negligible.

Surprisingly, Costco's prices here are pretty close to US prices on most things when you do the conversion.

One very good thing about polish immigrants is the Polish grocers that are popping up. -

 Dill Pickles!!! 

(and perogies)

I agree-and the HAM...
For those of you in Leeds, there is a great new Polish Deli on Harrogate Road by Somerfield's and Casa Mia. I find all hams here to be either like biting into a salt lick, or terribly dry and tasteless. The Polish ham has been a great substitute.