Food Shopping 101

Oh, you know it.  I’m about to bore the pants off of you once again with my inability to apply my knowledge of using APs and coupons – not being remarkably frugal.

My friend Wendy was insistent I use her Harris Teeter.   She likes their meat department.   Okay I say, okay.  My husband was a little envious that Wendy’s hubby was getting a fabulous homemade meal on Sunday.   After church, Wendy was slathering butter all over a rather large chicken.  I was trying to have a serious conversation with her, but I found myself so distracted at how much butter she was lathering on this bird. That and her adorable vintage apron.  If the butter was sun screen – lets just say no UVA/UVB would get to the delicate skin of this rather gross looking chicken.   But then came the herbs.   My friend just morphed into Martha Stewart!

*****

Football Superstar gently threw out a pass.   I caught his pass.   I purchased a whole chicken and all its accessories.

I also purchased culinary gloves, because I just can’t touch raw naked chicken.  [see disaster post Thanksgiving – 2010]  After I lathered up the bird with sunblock butter, I added Rosemary, Thyme and fresh Parsley.  Dash of Kosher salt and cracked pepper.  Now for the potatoes.  My family loves Uncle Larry’s mashed potatoes, with herbs, cream cheese and sour cream. There were plenty of mashed potatoes.    Brussel sprouts with garlic and olive oil.  And for dessert – Pumpkin cookies!

But as I shopped to prepare this roasted chicken dinner and all it’s fixin’s…..I also needed to get my weekly grocery items too.  I found myself stopping at two different stores.  My typical shopping hangout – Wegmans.  Then to Whole Foods [someone slap me] because it’s the only food store that carries Football Superstar’s granola.  [no shaking your head]   Apple Cheeks likes Wegmans brand individual organic apple sauce packets for lunch and I grabbed vitamins for our College Daughter.

Jake from Wegmans is back in college, new girl Danny is my check-out for today.  Danny is very quiet.  She reminds me of College Daughter, except for the purple stripes that highlight her hair.   Danny never thought to remind me of my coupons or my trendy AP.  Danny has some training to conquer.   Unlike Jake from Wegmans.   At times, I bumped ran over people with my shopping cart to get in his line, I knew my support system was behind his greeting.  Maa’m….AP or coupons?     Danny did ask if I wanted cash back.  After my eyes rolled up in my head when I noticed the total…I said no….oh, my gosh…NO!         I got myself together just in time before I ran over a display of Redskins shirts next to the magazines.   They really need to move that display, because I’m coming back Friday.

I saved $9.81.       So the $9.81 was my partial donation to Whole Foods.    As I checked out at WF‘s Tula greeted me and asked if I found everything that  was on my list.    My list?    Of course I did….your aisle specialist are like security guards at the airport.   Thanks to Tula, I found myself walking jogging to my car singing the sassy French tune that got stuck in my head while running from the security guard aisle specialist because I had chocolate in my hand.   And it wasn’t organic chocolate.  So….I was caught red handed in the junk aisle.   So what- sue me.     But thanks to Tula’s triumphant personality….I managed.

Why do I pick on Whole Foods so much and continue to be one of their consumers?   Why then it wouldn’t  be as exciting would  it?!

* Melt-In-Your-Mouth Pumpkin Cookies can be found here –  http://www.bhg.com      Better Homes and Gardens  

** For the record:  Wendy does not own nor does she have any stock in “her” Harris Teeter.

*** And that baked chicken dinner with all the fixin’s …..lets just say I’ve got a contract to make it again.  [that’s football lingo for this was delicious, lets have it again]