Candy Buyback

A local dentist is offering to buy back Halloween candy at a rate of $1 per pound. Check out this article for more details.

Angel Food Ministries Food Review March 2008 Menu

This is a review of the menu items supplied in March of 2008 by Angel Food Ministries. This was the first month we purchased the plan. I would purchase again. Real "Foodies" will want to stay away from this plan but that isn't who it's intended for anyway. If you marinate and tenderize the meats, you can't go wrong for $30. I will participate in this again.

Hamburgers. 6 burgers were cooked to perfection on our George Foreman grill. I didn't expect much as they seemed from their appearance to have a lot of fillers and the fat pan almost filled up with the 6 burgers. However, I was pleasantly surprised with the first bite. JUICY and tender. I ate 2. Needless to say, there weren't any leftovers. Would definitely purchase again.

Frozen Mixed Veggies. Came packaged in clear plastic. No labeling. Microwaved in Pampered Chef Batter Bowl. Good color and flavor. Uniform in size. Would purchase again.

Borden Shelf-Stable Milk. To me, there is something inherently wrong about boxed milk. However, this came in very handy when we ran out of jugged milk. Baby did not complain. Drank greedily as always. Nice thing to have on hand in a pinch.

Macaroni and Cheese. Boxed. Hospitality brand. Stove preparation. Similar in quality to Kraft. Would purchase again.

Waffles. Pillsbury brand frozen. Toaster prepared. No complaints.

Dessert Item. Mrs. Smith's Apple Pie. Delicious consumed at room temperature. This had sugar crystals sprinkled on the top. High quality. Would definitely purchase again.

Boneless Pork Fillet. Second meat item I cooked that was tough and dry. These meats are obviously cheaper cuts and I see now the need to marinate and tenderize. We are making the rest of the steaks the end on the month so I'll see then if that works. Disappointed.

Breaded Chicken Breast Strips. Southern Style. Directions called only for deep frying but I baked on Pampered Chef large bar pan. Very tasty and crunchy. Nice change from the usual nuggets.

Marie Callender Chicken and Dumpling Soup. Opened can. Dumped in bowl. Heated in microwave. Nothing very special. Nice big soft chunks of celery. Edible.

Frying Chicken Leg Quarters. Baked in the Pampered Chef rectangular deep baking dish. Very large. I wasn't expecting a lot after my latest disappointments but these turned out to be quite good. And there was enough left over to make a Chicken Noodle Casserole the next day.

5 lb. Thick Cut Rib Eye Steaks. Initial 2 were cooked Medium on George Foreman Grill. Very disappointing. These were very dry and tough. Will tenderize and marinate the other 6 the end of the month and update this post.

**UPDATE**The remainder of the rib eyes were tenderized with a meat cleaver and soaked in a marinade for 12 hours. Cooked up on the George Foreman because we were out of propane for the outdoor grill. SURPRISE SURPRISE They went from a F to a B- in quality! I think the Angel Meats just need a lot of TLC.

Dinner: A Logistical Nightmare

My husband has been a "selective" eater all of his life. So when it comes to feeding our group he feels they don't need to eat if they don't "like" it. As you can imagine, we never have healthy salads and some of our children rarely consume any veggie except corn, which I personally consider a starch not a veggie.

I serve chicken nuggets over 10 times each month. Other popular dishes are: hot dogs, hamburger, hamburger helper, and pizza(every Friday). This diet has led to among other things, a frequently clogged toilet in the children's bathroom.

This is one of those "agree to disagree" issues. I am a very adventurous eater who enjoys all different types of cuisines and lots of fresh veggies. We have come to the compromise that the children are allowed to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when they don't like what is for dinner. This has worked fine until Brooke recently converted to her own brand of vegetarianism, which for some reason does not include an intense appreciation for the vegetables at the root of it's name. Also, Emma came home from the church's youth group spring break trip to Myrtle Beach with the same conversion.  (I'm not sure that's the conversion the leaders were hoping for.)

Now in addition to having a houseful of selective eaters, I have to pander to two girls who won't eat the main dishes most often served at the "Family of 9" dinner table. Our own personal Golden Corral annexed to the back of our house is unfortunately out of the question.

Angel Food Ministries

I learned about this nationwide grocery ministry on my Cafemom group Dave Ramsey Fans. Angel Food Ministries began in 1994 in a rural Georgia community. Now it is in over 35 states. The best I can describe it is that it is a HUGE grocery co-op. Angel Food partners with churches and community organizations throughout the country to distribute reasonably priced food items.

We are giving this a trial run this month. Today was the once a month "pick-up" day. I walked in the door after my workout at Curves and was warmly welcomed by a gentleman who had been on the lookout for me all morning. He had seen my name on the order list and knew about the Good Friday Miracle Fishsticks. He called me a local celebrity.

Then I came home to find a message on the machine from an old friend in Florida. Seems we were a trivia question on a NPR radio show.

But Oprah hasn't called yet....

Bonus Food

There is a McDonalds in the downtown area of our city. Often after church on Wednesday night we drive by for a quick bite. Last night we went for the second time in April. They have a slam dunk meal for $5.99. You get 20 nuggets and two large fries. This is a nice snack for us to share. Last night for the second time this month they gave us extra food. The girl in the drive through handed me the bag, commenting that it was very full. I pulled away not thinking too much. Then realized there were 4 boxes of 10 nuggets each in the bag. 4x10=40, not 20. I hope this girl was just being careless and that it's not a reflection on the math they are teaching her in our city schools.
On our other visit in April, I ordered a fish sandwich, sandwich only no fries. We also had an order for an extra value meal and a happy meal. Well, we got up to the drive through and were told to pull ahead because the fries weren't done. The happy meal was handed to us because there were enough fries for that one. We pulled ahead and when the fries came out, there were 2 big and one small. We were only owed one big.
Bonus food is always appreciated.