So sorry you had to throw out food @Massmomm . We lost power for over 3 hours on Monday . Luckily, power came back on before we lost anything (put some refrigerator perishables on ice about two hours in because the power company had no estimate about how long the outage would last). I’m going to try to stock up again in the next couple of days but might be more cautious going forward about buying too much at a time. Don’t want to lose food we’ve bought and hurricane season starts June 1.
So, for those of you who have used the grocery store pick up, do they do large amounts?
I don’t think there is a limit on items - except on certain products like tp, etc.
@conmama I have been less than thrilled with my grocery pickup. It doesnt matter the size of my order; I get about 1/2 of the things I put in my cart. This is with Kroger. I have been using them bc they are the only store that ever has available times. (Guess this is why.)
If it will make you frustrated to not get all the things you put in your cart - and potentially make you have to take a personal trip to the store anyway AFTER your delivery, I don’t know if it’s worth it.
My compromise to doing a service or going to a big box store with more people to come in contact with has been to use a local small grocery store instead. I pay more for a lot of items but there are less temptations for unplanned purchases, it’s quiet and has few shoppers and I can be in and out quicker.
I have been trying to largely do one weekly store stop with a rotation of these three places:
- Small grocery store
- Local produce/meat/dairy market
- Costco
Between the three I can restock the most of the main things - and all three have fresh produce to keep us stocked in the house.
Tonight was roast chicken, scalloped potatoes and carrots glazed in a dijon butter sauce.
I agree it’s not worth it if you’ll shop anyway. I havent stepped foot inside anywhere other than our house in about a month. We make do with what we can get and have.
I drove to Costco the other day bc I really wanted to go shopping, but I didnt get out. The parking lot was way more crowded than when I would normally shop. Crazy crowded.
Just witnessed a minor spat between my youngest daughter and son over his eating the last of the ice cream leftover from Easter. No other sweets in the house at the moment. My daughter has apparently spent a lot of time looking at dessert recipes b/c she then asked me if she could use some blueberries I just bought at the store today to make a blueberry muffin in a mug. It took all of 10 minutes to make in the microwave and while I didn’t try it, it looked rather tasty!
We haven’t don’t much baking because we are low on flour and I haven’t found any when I’ve been at the store. I suppose that’s better for my waist line but seeing all the things my friends are making and sharing on social media is frustrating. I only have a about a cup of flour left.
Today, my kids told me they missed restaurant food and I wasn’t offended. 
@4kids4us , Can I have the flank steak recipe?? Never made a flank steak before. @abasket , can I have your roasted Brussels sprout re I’ve, too?
I’m currently creating a menu for grocery shopping next week.
I’ve done brussels sprouts a couple different ways.
Often I do this:
Shred or slice each brussels sprout
Spread on foil lined baking sheet lightly sprayed w/Pam
Drizzle with olive oil and toss right on sheet.
Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.
Take 1/2 to one slice of raw bacon and snip in small bits on sprouts.
Sometimes I’ll chop a little garlic and sprinkle too.
Oven at 400 till crispy and browned probably 20-25 minutes. Take out of oven and lightly drizzle balsamic glaze on sprouts.
If you want a more specific recipe this one is also good:
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1890-roasted-brussels-sprouts-with-garlic
If you can’t see the recipe I will post the jist of it.
@abasket , thank you, thank you! Yum! I’m putting together 3 weeks of recipes this time. I might actually start doing this ongoing, it seemed before I was constantly going to the store.
So, here is a simple recipe On my list I haven’t made for awhile, as it takes so long. But considering I have nothing else to do…I’ll make more than 12, so will up the amount of ingredients.
Wings:
12 wings, cut off little arm, but leave skin
1/2 cup bbq sauce
1/2 cup Honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Seasoned salt
- Season wings with garlic powder, onion powder and seasoned salt. In separate bowl combine bbq sauce, Honey, soy sauce.
- Heat oven to 350. Put 4 Tablespoons of mixture on bottom of baking sheet. Place seasoned chicken wings on sheet. Bake at 45 min. EACH side.
- Pour sauce over wings and bake addl. 30 minutes.
We’ve been trying to be good local citizens, so we’ve been using multiple food delivery services for local restaurants. Usually 2-3 times a week we get some sort of delivery, be that lunch, dinner, or mid morning coffee snack. So my kids are still getting their favorite restaurant foods… except for Elmo’s. They tried delivery but it didn’t work out for them… we are sad!!
I’ve been having really good luck getting all I need with various delivery services. I have not stepped foot in a grocery store since March 14. I really think the risk is too great.
FLANK STEAK MARINADE
2.5 lb flank steak
1/2 C soy sauce (I use reduced salt)
1/2 C olive oil
4.5 T honey
6 minced garlic cloves
1 T rosemary
1 1/2 T pepper (I use half this)
1 1/2 tsp. salt (I use less)
Whisk all ingredients together and pour over flank steak. Let steak marinate all day, or even overnight.
We grill ours to medium rare, let it rest for 5-10 minutes then slice thin against the grain.
*Original directions call for you to save the marinade. Heat to a boil then let it simmer for a few minutes. It can then be used to drizzle over the steak before eating.
Oh, that sounds so good! I’m amazed at how tasty soy sauce makes so many things taste! Thanks @4kids4us !
A friend of a friend owns a wholesale meat supplier in NJ (www.debragga.com) and they are doing direct to consumer sales. It’s not inexpensive but I’m feeding 5 adults on a daily basis and the stores have been woefully short on meat options where I am. My package came overnight with each item individually packaged so I could put what I’m not making this week in the freezer. I am cooking 6 nights out of 7, opting to order in from local businesses on that one night. To be honest, I haven’t cooked this much in 20 years. My DIL, who is living with us, is GF, so that’s an extra added concern. My experience with a large grocery store yesterday has sent me right back to our overpriced nearby market. Fewer than expected masks, no one paying attention to the one-way aisles, and people coming far to close. Also, very little fresh produce and no paper products.
Lat night I made a new marinade for grilled chicken (it was delicious, but basically olive oil, balsamic vinegar, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, garlic, and brown sugar ) and made quinoa with sautéed shallots and garlic and sautéed green beans with orange zest. Tonight we’ll be having tomato soup I made and froze a month ago with grilled cheese sandwiches from cheese I ordered from Beehive.com at the recommendation of another CC poster. Tomorrow I’ll be roasting a DeBragga chicken over sliced brussels sprouts in an adaptation of the Smitten Kitchen recipe of roasted chicken over cabbage. I feel like I spend more time coming up with dinner plans than ever before, all while trying to keep my shopping expeditions to 1x weekly. I’ve tried to get delivery but other than the meat and cheese, I’ve had no success.
Always looking for new marinades so thx to @4kids4us and @runnersmom
I’ve ordered high-quality beef from Debragga for quite a while (great dry aged beef - expensive but…). However, I must admit that I’ve avoided ordering from them now since NJ is a hot spot. Am I paranoid?
I’ve switched over to Snake River Farms for now - so far so good.
I admire everyone who plans meals. We eat horrible compared to what everyone shared here. We spend a lot of quality time together as a family, but eating just isn’t one of our rituals. Our “menu” is usually just 1 item each meal, doesn’t take more than 20 mins to make. Yesterday HD made tuna can mixed with mayonnaise on sliced bread, toasted. Day before Costco breaded chicken. Before that Penne pasta and Ragu sauce.
Our special treat is when DD made carbonara, or when we ordered Thai, Italian, pizzas deliveries. I work through lunch so I don’t know what the kids eat. They make whatever they want, usually just throw some frozen something in the oven and done in 20 mins. Sometimes they boiled eggs and eat them for lunch. Same with dinner sometimes.