SECOND CHANCE GROCERY NEWSLETTER MARCH 1, 2004
A Simple Fix
Living way out in the country as we do, we frequently have to "make
do" with whatever's in the cabinet. It also means if we reach way,
way back into the back of the cabinet and get that last pack of crackers, they
may have been there a while, and you know what that can mean........ staleness.
More than once we've found ourselves faced with crackers, peanuts, tortilla
chips, potato chips, taco shells, and other things that have gone stale.
The difference between crispy and stale is moisture content. The fresh
crackers (the crisp ones) have almost no moisture content, whereas the stale
ones (the not-so-crisp) have absorbed a bit of moisture, making the crackers
much less desirable.
Some time back we discovered a simple way of restoring the freshness of
crackers, and further experimentation found it works just as well with chips,
taco shells, etc. Preheat the oven to 225, put the crackers on a cookie
sheet, and let them sit in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Once they cool, they're
back to their original crispy freshness. It's an easy way of getting your
chips in order without heading to the store.
60 Days Plus Some
Christmas is just barely two months past, so we're seeing some seasonal
Christmas items. One of these is bags of Nestle's Toll House Morsels,
called "Shapes and Morsels". This is a bag of chocolate chips
with little red and green colored shapes in them. Being on the Atkins
diet, I can't partake of these, but in the interest of research, I broke with my
restrictive diet and dived into a bag of these. If you close your eyes,
all the morsels and shapes taste like chocolate. I would imagine they
would make some great chocolate chip cookies. If nothing else, snatch up
several bags and freeze them for next year's Christmas cookies. Hey, only
300 more shopping days.........
Black Bean Sausage Chili
Sue Murphy shared this with Lynn, we tried it, and it was so good there were
no leftovers. Sue found this in the Taste Of Home" cooking magazine,
so we give credit to the mag.
In a 3 pt. saucepan over medium heat, brown together:
1 pound Italian sausage (we substituted smoked sausage, worked great)
3 garlic cloves, minced.
Add:
1/2 c. shopped green bell pepper
1/2 c. chopped onion
Cook and stir until onion is tender. Drain.
Add:
1 15 oz can black beans
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 11 oz can whole kernel corn (drained)
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 6 oz can paste
1/2 c. water
1 t. oregano
1/2 t. basil
1 T. chili powder
3/4 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 30 minutes, or cook in a crock pot for 2 hours
on high. Serve garnished with grated cheese.
Some Recent Arrivals
Pringles Pizza-licious Chips, $1.00 (would go GREAT with a cold Coke)
Bradshaw's Spicy Cheddar Cheese Straws, $1.75
Sunsweet Cherry Essence Dried Plums, $1.25 (add these to your next salad for a
change of pace)
Reese's Fast Break Candy Bars, 6 pack, $1.50
McArthur's All Purpose Flour, 5# bag, 80 cents
Chock Full O' Nuts Coffee, $1.50 (and that's a bargain!)
Sunflower Seeds, $1.00
Spring Funfetti Cake Mix, 75 cents
Spring Funfetti Cake Icing, $1.00
Go Nuts For Cheap
SCG has lots and lots of small bags of various nut in stock for only 50 cents a
bag. We're been adding slivered almonds to salads, pecans to brownies,
walnuts to waffles, etc. It's amazinf just how much more
"special" a dish can be with the addition of a few common or unusual
nuts. Chopped pecans, walnut halves, chopped black walnuts, chopped
hazelnuts, whole almonds, walnut pieces, chopped pecans, chopped macadamias,
slivered almonds, sliced almonds (sliced have the brown outside, slivered
don't), not toppings for ice cream, and pine nuts are plentiful at the moment.
As expensive as nuts are in the Big Stores, this is a great time to stock up for
later. Fill up a large ziplock bag, throw them in the freezer, and you're
all set.
A note about pine nuts...... You can't make proper pesto without pine nuts, and
you'll never find 1/2 cup bags of these nuts at this price anywhere else.
If you plan to plant basil this summer, be sure to snatch up your pine nuts now,
and freeze them for use in the fall for your fresh pesto sauce.
Java, Not Jive
SCG has lots of Folger's in stock right now, all bags ranging form 11.5 oz to 13
oz, for only $1.50 each. The Folger's choices at the moment are:
french Roast, Classic Roast, Columbian, Gourmet Supreme, and Special Roast.
Speaking of coffee, if you're in the mood for something a bit different, how
about a fancy cup of foamy coffee at home? SCG has three different flavors of
Nescafe' Frothe' Coffee House Style java in stock. The three flavors
are Enchanting Vanilla, Captivating Caramel, and Divinely Mocha. Add 3-4
spoonfuls to a mug, add hot water, wait for the foamy top to develop, and enjoy.
Two bucks gets you out of the expensive coffee house trap, and into luxury on
demand.
And Now For Something Completely Different
Lynn's not usually the one trying recipes out of magazines, but she found
this one in Woman's Day (www.womansday.com)
and made it this past week. It calls for the Classico Sun Dried Tomato
that she has in stock, and it was just too tempting to pass up. It was
really good, and the kids loved it (always a good sign at our house). Evan
suggested she make it again, another sign of a sure winner.
Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta
16 oz bow-tie pasta (she used shells, worked great)
2 cups frozen baby green peas
1 jar Classico Sun-Dried Tomato
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups cooked chicken, in strips
1. Cook pasta in lightly salted water per package directions, adding peas to
water 3 minutes before pasta is done. Drain and reserve 1/3 cup of pasta water.
Return peas and pasta to pot.
2. Put remaining ingredients and reserved pasta water in a large non-stick
skillet. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until heated through.
3. Pour mix over pasta and peas, toss to mix and coat.
Therefore He came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water
wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he
heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was
imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death.
So Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply
will not believe." The royal official said to Him, "Sir, come down
before my child dies." Jesus said to him, "Go; your son lives."
The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off. As he was now
going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living. So he inquired
of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him,
"Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him." So the father knew
that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives";
and he himself believed and his whole household. This is again a second sign
that Jesus performed when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.
John 4:46-54
Most folks know Ben and David. If you see a new guy working at SCG, that
will be Nick. Come by and meet Nick, have a cup of coffee, visit, and remember
to bring a friend.
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