From time to time I play a little game with my family. It's called something like..."How Long Can Mom Go Without Stopping At The Grocery Store?" or I like to call it "How Creative Can Mom Get Before We Refuse To Eat?" We've been playing the game this past week. We did really great until Sunday. Sunday was Easter and we had a wonderful dinner, while visiting family. But, we came home late and hungry.
I scanned the freezer and fridge. I decided to make some sort of creamy-lemon-caper-chicken-pasta thing. I was tired though and really did not feel like cooking. Natron made me a deal that we could order Chinese food for dinner if I could order for less then $20. DEAL!!! We had Chinese, sent the kids to bed, and all was good at the Olson House.
The next day for dinner I looked in the fridge for the chicken I had taken out the night before. Hmph. I can't find it. I search the freezer. No luck. Well, that's weird. I *know* I took it out to defrost because I was going to use it. What the heck? I search the fridge again.....and the freezer. Wow, it's no where to be found. And then I open the microwave...yep, there it is. Nasty, defrosted, ruined chicken. Did it wreck my game? Oh no, it just ended up getting a bit more interesting :)
Monday I made some sort of pork chop stir fry. Tuesday we had pork chop, rice, frozen veggie hotdish. (Nasty, but the kids ate it up like crazy!) Wednesday we had venison stroganoff on spaghetti noodles (totally klassy) and tonight....well crap. I'm out of proteins.
We had nine chicken nuggets that I split between the three kids. Then they ate up what was left of the noodles (no sauce) and hotdish. BUT WAIT. What is that shiny package at the back of the freezer? A rouge package of pork chops? I squeal with delight! I rip open the package and find: A FREAKING PORTION OF GROUND BEEF!!! SCORE! Thursday night ends with Italian Nachos (tortilla chips topped with beef - browned with the rest of the bruschetta I had in the fridge, and mozzarella cheese). It's Friday tomorrow and I get to go shopping. Team Olson wins!
Showing posts with label shopping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shopping. Show all posts
Pork Three Ways
I'm not a good grocery shopper. I've read about the rules on being a good grocery shopper. You know; make a list, don't buy anything that's not on the list, compare prices, buy what's on sale...blah blah blah. I just don't usually follow them.
I have a magnetic notepad stuck to my fridge. The rules of the house are "if we run out of something or it's low, write it on the list so I can pick it up the next time I go shopping." Nathan and the kids will sometimes jot stuff down on that list. In fact they are better at using the list then I am and I'm not sure why. See, I don't usually check that list before I go and it is even more rare if I bring that list along with me. I, more often then not, head out to the grocery store list-less. I know I need meat, veggies, and milk. The rest of what I need or exactly which cuts of meat or type of veggies I need I have no clue. I just kinda figure it out when I get there.
So last week the local grocery store had a sale on pork chops. A big, huge family-style pack of chops. We haven't had them in a long time, so I was super excited to put that huge pack of chops in my cart. I knew I wouldn't be using them until the next week, so I stuffed them into the freezer and forgot about them. A few days later I thought, "Hey, wouldn't pork chops be soooo good?" and I took the pack out of the freezer. Fast forward to tonight:
I get home from homeschool play day. I look in the kitchen and it's a mess. I do the minimum so I can start cooking. Nathan comes up from his home office to help me. I take out the pork chops. I start putting them on the pan. I notice the four pork chops that were on the top of the mega pack are nicely, uniformly cut. Underneath these first four pork chops are some smaller cut chops and then one *huge-ass* pork chop. I think, "Who the hell cut these pork chops? These four smaller ones look like freaking ribs and this giant one could very well be a roast!" I shake my head in frustration at the meat counter, internally cursing them for putting the good looking chops on top and then screwing me with these other grotesque cuts on the bottom. Then my eyes hit the label on my meat:
Pork Loin Assortment
I guess those four smaller ones *are* ribs and the giant one is indeed a roast. Morale of the story: Shop with a list AND read the label?
I have a magnetic notepad stuck to my fridge. The rules of the house are "if we run out of something or it's low, write it on the list so I can pick it up the next time I go shopping." Nathan and the kids will sometimes jot stuff down on that list. In fact they are better at using the list then I am and I'm not sure why. See, I don't usually check that list before I go and it is even more rare if I bring that list along with me. I, more often then not, head out to the grocery store list-less. I know I need meat, veggies, and milk. The rest of what I need or exactly which cuts of meat or type of veggies I need I have no clue. I just kinda figure it out when I get there.
So last week the local grocery store had a sale on pork chops. A big, huge family-style pack of chops. We haven't had them in a long time, so I was super excited to put that huge pack of chops in my cart. I knew I wouldn't be using them until the next week, so I stuffed them into the freezer and forgot about them. A few days later I thought, "Hey, wouldn't pork chops be soooo good?" and I took the pack out of the freezer. Fast forward to tonight:
I get home from homeschool play day. I look in the kitchen and it's a mess. I do the minimum so I can start cooking. Nathan comes up from his home office to help me. I take out the pork chops. I start putting them on the pan. I notice the four pork chops that were on the top of the mega pack are nicely, uniformly cut. Underneath these first four pork chops are some smaller cut chops and then one *huge-ass* pork chop. I think, "Who the hell cut these pork chops? These four smaller ones look like freaking ribs and this giant one could very well be a roast!" I shake my head in frustration at the meat counter, internally cursing them for putting the good looking chops on top and then screwing me with these other grotesque cuts on the bottom. Then my eyes hit the label on my meat:
Pork Loin Assortment
I guess those four smaller ones *are* ribs and the giant one is indeed a roast. Morale of the story: Shop with a list AND read the label?
Black Friday
Growing up, Black Friday had always been a very thrilling day for me. My mother and I would scour the ads and plan our attack. We'd get up before dawn and gather with the other shoppers, taking advantage of sale prices and grab bags. After all the deals were snagged, we'd stop for lunch and then drag our weary bodies back home.
I quit going shopping with my mom on Black Friday many years ago. She had been making choices in her life that were destructive. I needed to limit my contact with her to only phone calls and a few person to person visits each year. Unfortunately she ended up really blowing it. Her behavior made it no longer safe for me, or any of my family, to have contact with her. With this loss of my mother, I lost many things, including the fun, and excitement of Black Friday.
This year I re-claimed it. Black Friday was mine. Granted I fell asleep about an hour before I wanted to head out the door, but my step-daughter (aka The Artist) woke me up about 10 minutes before I wanted to leave anyways.
Me: running my fingers through my hair, throwing on my glasses, and collecting my purse.
The Artist: wanting to take a shower, grabbing clean clothes, and putting on make-up.
Me: "We're leaving in 5 minutes."
The Artist: "Dang girl, you get ready fast!"
Me: "It's shopping spree, not a fashion show."
And out the door we go! This was The Artist's first time going out on Black Friday. As we traveled down the deserted streets at 4:30 in the morning she says, "hmmmph. Are we the *only* ones out shopping? I thought there would be more people then just us."
I smiled a silent smile and continued our journey to our first destination: Super Walmart. As we pulled into the shopping area, the look on her face was priceless. Her eyes were wide with excitement and terror. Her jaw dropped with shock. We stared into a parking lot completely full of cars...I say to her, "I guess we're not the only ones." And our journey of re-claiming Black Friday has officially begun.
I quit going shopping with my mom on Black Friday many years ago. She had been making choices in her life that were destructive. I needed to limit my contact with her to only phone calls and a few person to person visits each year. Unfortunately she ended up really blowing it. Her behavior made it no longer safe for me, or any of my family, to have contact with her. With this loss of my mother, I lost many things, including the fun, and excitement of Black Friday.
This year I re-claimed it. Black Friday was mine. Granted I fell asleep about an hour before I wanted to head out the door, but my step-daughter (aka The Artist) woke me up about 10 minutes before I wanted to leave anyways.
Me: running my fingers through my hair, throwing on my glasses, and collecting my purse.
The Artist: wanting to take a shower, grabbing clean clothes, and putting on make-up.
Me: "We're leaving in 5 minutes."
The Artist: "Dang girl, you get ready fast!"
Me: "It's shopping spree, not a fashion show."
And out the door we go! This was The Artist's first time going out on Black Friday. As we traveled down the deserted streets at 4:30 in the morning she says, "hmmmph. Are we the *only* ones out shopping? I thought there would be more people then just us."
I smiled a silent smile and continued our journey to our first destination: Super Walmart. As we pulled into the shopping area, the look on her face was priceless. Her eyes were wide with excitement and terror. Her jaw dropped with shock. We stared into a parking lot completely full of cars...I say to her, "I guess we're not the only ones." And our journey of re-claiming Black Friday has officially begun.
