More Bargain Shopping Tips

In the past I've posted about bargain shopping but I realized today that one of the things I didn't talk about is a method that I've been using for a while now for planning my meals and purchasing my meat.  Although I've been slacking lately, I usually have my meals planned out for 2-3 weeks at a time.  I even have a calendar file on our home server that's titled "dinner" that Tim can access from work (or anywhere) and see what we're having for dinner that night!  Creating a schedule of meals has really helped me to reduce our family's food waste, eat healthier and save money.  To start, I use the calendar of planned meals to determine how much chicken/ground beef/pork/etc. that I will need for that time frame.  I rarely purchase my meat from the local grocery stores unless I see a REALLY good deal advertised.  The reason for this?  Because I've found that most often, even the major grocery stores' best price is STILL not nearly as inexpensive as the local deli/meat stores.  When we lived on Plank Rd., I traveled to Halfmoon/Clifton Park weekly and did the majority of my grocery shopping at the Walmart SuperCenter for my non-perishables, and then I would head to Sorrentino's Delicatessan for my deli/meat purchases.  On average, their boneless/skinless chicken breasts are $1.99/lb and on sale as cheap as $1.69/lb.  Fred the Butcher is currently running their chicken at $1.69/lb. if you purchase their 10 lbs. bag.  Since Clifton Park is a haul for me now, I'd decided to have a little chat with Jeff Kissinger, the owner of Route 66 Meats & Smokehouse.  He told me that he'd match his competitor's prices if I purchased a high quantity from him.  Today, he sold me 10 lbs. of chicken for $1.79/lb and I was happy with that since I didn't have to drive up to Clifton Park.  So the bottom line is, do your homework, call for prices and talk to the owners of the local owned places.  I find that their meats are often fresher, better tasting and I feel good knowing that I'm giving the local guy my business.

So the next step... once I've got this meat in large quantity sitting in my fridge, what do I do with it?  Usually if you buy in bulk, each type of meat comes in one big bag/package.  So I have my trusty Ziploc Freezer bags and sharpie at my side and I start trimming the fat and dividing the meat.  

If my calendar says I'm going to cook Stir-Fry Chicken & Veggies one night, I'll cut up the meat in little pieces and label the bag "stir fry" so all I have to do when it's time to cook is thaw the chicken and dump the bag in the wok!  Sometimes I'll package one single breast in a bag for that occasional time when we'll have an unexpected guest for dinner.  This way, I don't have to worry about thawing an entire bag of 4-5 breasts for the one person!  

In the summer time, when purchasing ground beef, I often divide 3-4 pounds into two 1.5 lb packages to make meatloaf and then make hamburger patties out of the rest.  Everything goes into my freezer and I've found that the freezer bags generally do a great job of keeping the meat from getting freezer burn for a good 2-3 weeks.  

I try to use what I have within 3 weeks, although I'm sure it will keep longer than that!  It's a lot of work initially to tenderize & divide the messy chicken, package & label it all, but it's totally worth the 30-60 minutes of my time on one single day to be able to avoid the meat prep part of cooking every day.

Carrot Cake

We're having dinner with my brother & sister-in-law this evening and I offered to make a dessert.  I guess baking cakes is sort of my forte this week because it was decided that I would make a carrot cake.  I was anxious to begin my baking this morning as I've never made a carrot cake from scratch.  Several months ago, I found a classic carrot cake recipe in an edition of Taste of Home Magazine and wanted to try it then but never did.  This was the same edition of the magazine where I was introduced to the (now infamous) Layered Mocha Cheesecake and Tiramisu brownies that I've made.  The cream cheese frosting is very creamy; perfect for smoothing on the cake but not very good to work with for decorating the cake with borders, etc.  I'm pretty happy with the way the cake came out.  I just hope it tastes as good as looks!  

Boob Cake ***CAUTION - Not for little eyes!

So here was my "project" for the day.  Yes, you read the title correctly, I made a "Boob" cake.  And despite a slightly collapsed left breast (there were issues after getting it out of the pan), I would say that it almost met my expectations.  I underestimated the amount of flesh toned frosting I'd need, and wasn't able to create an upper chest area and slight shoulder line for the straps to rest on.  But despite this, (and the collapsed breast... did I mention that?) I think it looks pretty good.  All complete with a heart "tattoo" that reads the guest of honor's name and a sexy bra to go with it!  This project came about after talking with my friend, who's husband is hosting a bachelor party tomorrow night that hubby will be going to.  The food will be BBQ style and I offered to make something for hubby to bring.... aha!  How about a cake?  And not just ANY cake, of course... something appropriate for the occasion.   I hope the guys like it!