A friend - knowing I spend much of my time tinkering around in the kitchen - gave me a bag of Hefty Half-Gallon Storage Slider bags as a Christmas stocking stuffer. The bags are terrific, first because they are a unique size. Often, I get out a gallon Zip-Lock that’s way too big but the closest size to what I need. These half-gallon sizes are perfect for things like a leftover meat loaf, half of a … [Read more...]

I saw some really nice looking cole slaw, pre-cut, at Whole Foods. It had a variety of cabbages and I bought it. At $3.99, it was about twice as much as I would pay for regular cole slaw, and it was also about twice as much as I needed. When I got home, I made a batch of slaw with half the mixture, then got out my trusty Food Saver and air-sealed the rest of the mix. A week later, I opened the … [Read more...]

I was in Sam’s recently and remembered that we needed eggs. Back in the Egg and Dairy section, I saw a shelf with Pasture Raised Eggs, a description I had not noticed before. Commonly, I see Cage Free Eggs, but never Pasture Raised. The eggs were large brownish eggs and were $4.98 for a dozen and a half – a little more than I pay for regular eggs but a little less than Cage Free eggs at … [Read more...]

  For 11 months, our little house plant sits in the corner, biding its time. Then, at Christmas, it goes into full bloom. It is, after all, a Christmas Cactus. Except, our little plant gets excited when the Christmas lights go up, and Christmas music echoes throughout the house. Then he blooms prematurely, sometimes as early as Thanksgiving. Christmas cactus is a favorite house plant … [Read more...]

We were having an open house for neighbors and ham was on our menu. While shuffling through the food aisles at Sam’s Club, Nancy saw a “carver ham.” No bones, no spiral cuts, just a boneless, pre-cooked ham and it looked easy to carve. We bought it. I sliced it thinly and we stacked it on Hawaiian rolls. It was a delicious and a huge hit. I can’t remember ever buying a “carver ham” … [Read more...]

We had some shrimp cocktail as an appetizer recently, and the shrimp were out of sight. Succulent, juicy, delicious. They tasted like they just came from the nets of a shrimp trawler out of Wanchese, North Carolina. Turns out, they were from Food Lion – extra-large, fully-cooked shrimp, about 26-30 per pound. I have had good luck before with Food Lion shrimp. On several occasions, I have … [Read more...]

I used to drive by the Food Lion in Greene County on my way home from work and stopped in often for groceries. But since we closed Lights Out, I rarely go out of my way to shop at a Food Lion, even though I have always enjoyed their products. Last week, I passed by the one near the old Toys R Us and stopped in for a few items. I needed some ham for lunch meats and saw a product called Frick’s … [Read more...]

We go through Ziplocs at our house like Taylor Swift does boyfriends. Sometimes we’ll put old Ziplocs in new ones. Not really, but we use a lot of these convenient little storage bags. Since Charlottesville imposed a nickel tax on those little brown bags you get at grocery stores, our Ziploc usage has increased. I hated those bags for groceries, but they were often handy for storage of certain … [Read more...]

Panic! I just used the last of my Charlie Mills BBQ Sauce Seasonings. I’m down to one pint jar of the splendid Carolina concoction in the fridge. In a few days I’ll have more because I just ordered two more bags. I used to make my own BBQ sauce, Carolina style, of course. But when I stumbled on Charlie Mills secret blend of peppers and spices, I no longer have to empty my spice cabinet to make … [Read more...]