SECOND CHANCE NEWSLETTER
JAN. 27, 2004
Nickel Pack Of Crackers, Dime Slice Of Cheese
Years ago (60's and 70's), the standard lunch for a lot of men who did manual
labor was a pack of crackers (about 10 crackers) for a nickel, a dime slice of
cheese (great yellow "hoop" cheese, sliced on order and wrapped in wax
paper), a bellywasher (a 16 oz. soda, usually a grape Nehi or a Royal Crown),
and the meat choice of the day. The meat choice was usually limited to
whatever the country store had in cans, and the least expensive choices were
always favored. Potted meat, vienna sausages, sardines, and fish steaks
were always in stock, were inexpensive, and easily transported without
refrigeration. In the early 70's, I saw my first sardines packed in
flavored sauces. Mustard packed sardines were a huge development in dining
delight on Saturday work trips.
It's funny how different foods become ingrained in our psyches, and become
inextricably connected to good times and/or better times. Certain foods,
depending on your background, say "home", even if you don't have those
foods very often. In 1983, Lynn and I were coming back from a two week
trip to Mexico. I'd had raging fever and Montezuma's revenge for the past
couple of days, and Lynn had driven throughout the night, making a non-stop trip
from south Texas to Jackson, Miss. As I took over driving, I stopped just
across the Attala County line, went into a clapboard covered roadside
country store, and bought an RC and a big slice of hoop cheese, wrapped in wax
paper. That cheese and that RC told me we were finally home.
Stores like that are just about a thing of the past, and you can forget hoop
cheese by the slice these days. One thing that has survived is canned
sardines, a longtime favorite lunch choice for working folks. SCG just
received a large supply of Beach Cliff canned sardines, in a variety of sauces.
Beach Cliff sardines are all products of he USA, have no saturated fat, are
packed with Omega-3's (known to reduce heart disease), filled with calcium,
protein, iron, have no preservatives or glutens, and have only 2 carbs per can.
While mustard packed sardines are still a favorite, SCG also has packing choices
such as Louisiana Hot Sauce, soybean oil, water, oil with green chilies, etc.
SCG also has some Beach Cliff fish steaks (slices of smoked herring) packed in
similar sauces.
While the nickel pack of crackers has gone the way of 33 cent gasoline, a can of
sardines still remains a good value at today's price of one buck.
Shoulder To The Wheel
As of Saturday, Lynn, Ben, and Dave were still working to get the most
recent shipment checked in and on the shelves. This load has less gourmet
items, and more staples, such as canned corn, peas, green beans, etc. A
small supply of olive oil came in this load. Kraft Horseradish Sauce is 75
cents, Angelflake Coconut (the regular big bag) is $1.75. This
shipment had lots of Toastables (blueberry, iced strawberry, apple
cinnamon/brown sugar, cherry) for 85 cents.
What To Do With This Stuff
In the last newsletter, we wondered aloud as to what we can do with Naranja
Aria (Bitter Orange). One of our readers sent along this information:
Sour orange is the juice from "wild" oranges, the parent stock of
most cultivars of oranges. Emeril has used it to make a sauce for
poultry. It is a good substitute for vinegar-based marinades for venison
and other tough wild game. It is high in citric acid, which breaks down
meat fibers and is lost on cooking, unlike vinegar which hangs around. If
you know deer or squirrel hunters, suggest it to them.
French Chicken
We made up this recipe a couple of weeks ago, served it a couple of times at
home, and now our boys (even the seven year old) are asking when we're making
this again. This is easy, and once in the oven, you can walk off for an
hour and do something else. This is a super easy, impossible to foul
up chicken dinner for four. Double or triple the recipe as you see fit.
Four boneless chicken breasts
1 red onion
1/4 cup lemon juice
8 oz. Creamy French salad dressing
parsley, chopped (preferably fresh, dried if need be)
salt, black pepper, celery seed
In a casserole dish (or cake pan, or whatever you have with
sides that will hold four chicken breasts without overlapping) arrange the four
chicken breasts. There's no need to grease the pan. Pour the Creamy
French dressing over the chicken to coat the tops as much as possible. Top
each breast with a 1/4" thick slice of peeled red onion. Pour the
lemon juice into the pan (not on top of the chicken). Sprinkle the dish
lightly with salt and fresh ground black pepper (light on the pepper), and a bit
of celery seed. Sprinkle 2 T. chopped parsley over everything. Seal
the top of the dish tightly with foil (or casserole lid), and bake for 50
minutes at 400 degrees. Remove the foil, and allow the chicken to brown
for 10 minutes.
Put each breast on a plate, still topped with the red onion,
and dribble the orange pan gravy over the red onion. The onion will be
sweet, the French dressing will have mellowed significantly, and the chicken
will be just right. Garnish with a little fresh green parsley, and you
have a beautiful presentation of colors.
This takes all of five minutes to prepare, and a 16 oz.
bottle of Creamy French is only a buck down at Second Chance. Lynn said
this one was good enough to repeat and serve to company, and it's also very
Atkins-friendly and health-friendly. We served this with steamed, buttered
white rice and a fresh green salad.
Care For A Refreshing Beverage?
Koolaid and Wylers (all the flavors I can imagine) for 10 cents a pack.
Mist, Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, NuGrape, Mountain Dew, Diet Mountain Dew, Grape Slice,
all in the "bellywasher" size, 75 cents each, or (a better deal) a six
pack for $2.50 (that's 45 cents each).
Traditional Medicinals (herbal teas) $2.50 (BSP is $5.15), Read about
these teas at www.TraditionalMedicinals.Com.
Lynn's got some printed propaganda on these, which makes them sound like the
end-all, be-all health tea of the century. I haven't tried them yet, but
my curiosity if definitely up........
Pulse Heart Health Formula nutrient supplement. This Canadian nutrition
drink comes in flavors like strawberry kiwi, mandarin orange, and melonberry.
These are 50 cents each for the pint bottle. What are these good for?
Read about them here: www.pulsenutrition.com
Just When I Thought I'd Seen It All...................
Having completed third grade and having seen two county fairs, I like to think
I'm pretty wise in the ways of the world, a real food-savvy guy who's not
surprised by much any more. This week I got my come-uppance. As we
were talking about the newsletter, Lynn said I should mention her popcorn
selection. Popcorn? I made the mistake of telling her that popcorn didn't
seem very interesting, so she took me to the popcorn aisle (yes, it almost has
it's own aisle now). The shelves were packed with varying quantities,
sizes, and flavors of Pop Secret, Orville Redenbacher, and other brands in
flavors such as Kettle Corn, Lie, Land O' Lakes Butter, 94% Fat Free Butter,
Cheddar Butter, Jiffy Pop, etc. All in all, SCG had 36 different
varieties and flavors of popcorn on the shelves. Most are only a buck, while
the big six-pack boxes are two bucks.
Live and learn............. live and learn.
Miscellaneous Other Thangs
Braswell's Artichoke Relish. Made with Jerusalem artichokes, red peppers,
mustard, onions, sugar, spices, etc. The sample I brought home still has
the BSP tag of $2.99 on it, SCG has marked this $1.50.
Tropicana 100% Juice Blends. Lots of different flavors, the sample I
picked up was Strawberry Orange. The big 64 Oz. bottle (as opposed, I
guess, to the little 64 oz. bottle) is $1.50.
Carroll Shelby's Original Texas Chili Kit. These brown bags of chili
fixins have been around a long time, and one bag makes two pounds of ground beef
into a big pot of chili. Each bag can make the chili hot or mild,
depending on how you use it. The spices are packed individually so you can
adjust according to your tastes or tolerances. This qualifies as "good
stuff", and it's 60 cents.
Tabletop BBQ Grill. I had to study on this one. This is over on the
Weird Aisle, by the wall. This is a steel pan with a bag of Royal Oak
charcoal in it. On top is a chrome grill with a wooden handle.
Inside is a pair of tongs. Basically, you take out the tongs, put a match to the
bag of charcoal (you don't open it, you just light the bag), put the grill on
top of the pan, and you have an instant BBQ grill rig. The grill is
12" in diameter, so you can do some serious cooking on this little grill.
The whole shooting match is only $5. Last week I was forced by necessity
to buy a small bag of charcoal at one of the Big Stores, and that's about how
much the one small bag cost. The pan and grill can be saved for reuse, or
just take it along for picnic/campout cookouts, and dispose of when done.
This would be ideal for campers who don't like cleanup.
20 pounds of wild bird seed, $12. Grow your own wild birds?
2 1/2 pounds Cockatiel seed, $2.50. Grow your own cockatiels?
This Week's Newspaper Special
Campbell's Tomato Soup, 40 cents a can. What a deal.
Layered Cheesecake Bars
This recipe calls for a jar of mincemeat, which is usually $6 BSP. Don't
freak. The SCG price is $1, so you can enjoy these rich treats regardless
of your bank balance. This is Lynn's current favorite recipe.
Layered Cheesecake Bars
1 27 oz. jar Nonesuch Mincemeat
2 c. unsifted flour
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
1 stick butter
1 14 oz can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT evaporated milk)
2 8 oz packages of cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
24 walnut halves or chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350. In medium bowl, mix flour and 1/2 c. walnuts; set
aside. With mixer, beat butter in large bowl for 30 seconds.
Gradually beat in 1/3 of the Eagle Brand. Beat in flour/walnut mix until
crumbly. Press on bottom of 13 x 9 baking pan. Spread with mincemeat.
In another bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in
remaining Eagle Brand and eggs, carefully pour over the mincemeat. Top
with walnut halves or chopped walnuts. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
Makes 24 bars.
And Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you
well." Like 18:42
And a friend sent this along this week.... "Sorrow looks behind, worry
looks around, but faith looks up."
Come visit. Have some coffee (maybe even a cheesecake bar, if any are
left), and bring a friend. Thanks for subscribing to our newsletter.