Randoms

A bunch of little things have been happening and even though some may deserve their own blog post I decided to do one big hodgepodge post to let you know a few things that have been going on - so here we go!

 

For a long time now I have heard people rave about Honest Weight Food Co-Op here in Albany.  I know people who volunteer there, people who do pretty much all their shopping there and others who go on a pretty regular basis.  The co-op just moved into a brand new, state of the art building; previously it had been located in a not so great section of town with bad parking and overall a pretty unwelcoming exterior, but now that they have moved their building is pretty fabulous!  For as much as I have heard about the co-op I had never gone, so last week we decided that we needed to head over and check it out - I was blown away!  Yes everything is a little more pricey because it is all organic and straight from the farm but their selection was AWESOME!  I particularly loved all the 'bulk' items - coffees, flours, spices, grains, pastas - you name it, they probably have it in bulk!  I picked up a few things on our first trip - almond milk, some organic strawberries and a few things from the bulk section (I am forever on a search to find a 'good' replacement for white pasta).  So all in all my first trip to the co-op was a MAJOR success and I am looking forward to going back.

 

New sign for a new building and location!

 

We have been rocking the farmer's market lately.  Despite being such a small community Delmar has an AWESOME farmer's market every Saturday.  Adam typically buys greens for his weekly salads and I will pick up whatever strikes my fancy - this weekend that happened to be squash, zucchini and cherries (hands down the best cherries I have ever had).  Also represented at the farmer's market is The Peanut Principle which is a local peanut butter company out of Cohoes.  I always feel somewhat bad because I feel like I always sample from this lady but never buy anything, so about two weeks ago I pulled the trigger and bought the Very Berry Peanut - next up I think I will try her Cinnamon Almond Butter!

 

I came back the other day to find the cat asleep under the coffee table with one paw on his beloved hedgehog - seriously, the cat cuddles with this thing, it's cute but sort of strange.

 

 Kitty-Bumpkins and his hedgehog!

I have been having 'fun' with arts & crafts at work as of late.  The map below shows where SOAR is and is not active in NY - we have a BIG NYS SOAR meeting on Wednesday and I am thinking that a nice visual representations of where we need to focus our attention would be most helpful.  ;)

 

 

Saturday before the movies we were walking around the mall and went into the pet store - there we found this ferret, completely passed out (no he was not dead) half in and half out of his little sleeping sling!

 

 That is one happy/exhausted ferrett!

Sunday we headed up to Saratoga to watch a friend/co-worker skydive!  She had a great time and it was crazy to actually watch them free fall then parachute to the ground.  I don't know if I would be up for ever skydiving but she said it was awesome and that she would do it again in a heartbeat!
 

 

Before leaving Saratoga we decided to stop by Hattie's Chicken Shack for lunch.  Hattie's is famous in Saratoga for delicious Southern food and the Chicken Shack is an offshoot of the main restaurant where they serve their AMAZING chicken sandwich.  I had never had the sandwich before but Adam raves about it and always makes sure to get one when he goes to the Saratoga Race Track.  So we stopped by Hattie's for lunch, order the famous chicken sandwich and it did not disappoint.  It was also HUGE!  A boneless chicken thigh on a bun topped with coleslaw - you didn't even need the fries!  Hattie's also has a great back story and their founder (Hattie) lived a pretty interesting life - her story is printed on a large placard in the restaurant!

 

Home of Southern Louisiana

 

 THE chicken sandwich!

So those are some random happenings as of late - Happy Monday!

Weekly Meal Plan + More

It is going to be a BUSY week!  Next week I start traveling again for work and will be in NYC for half the week, so I am working to prep and wrap up things at the office before heading out on Sunday.  This week I am also taking advantage of a free week at F.I.T. Boot Camp in Albany.  My neighbor Jamie is a member there and has been encouraging me to give it a try, so when the opportunity for a free week was presented to me I said - yes!  I am pretty nervous about it because I have heard that boot camp completely kicks your ass, but I am willing to give it a try!

 

Now on to this week's meals - I'm not sure how long I will continue to actually post our meal plans for the week but at this point I still get really excited and begin searching my recipe list and thumbing through the grocery store circulars early Sunday morning.  Last week's meal plan was pretty much a success (I forgot a few things for some of the meals which meant I had to make a few little trips to the grocery store) so my goal is for this week to be even more organized!

Weekly Meal Plan

Sunday

Fish Sandwich w/Spicy Cole Slaw

Monday

Buffalo Chicken Wrap w/Sweet Potato Fries & Veggis

Tuesday

On Own/Sushi Night w/the Girls

Wednesday

Chili Mac w/Green Beans

Thursday

On Own/Dinner with my friend Jamie

Friday

Goat Cheese Chicken Pesto Sandwich w/Steak Fries & Veggie

Saturday

Crock Post Chicken & Broccoli over Rice

 

Here is a preview of the hike we did this past weekend - Haystack Mountain in Vermont! 

More on the hike later!
 

Gorgeous view!

Meal Planning 101

Remember back when I was somewhat of a crazy couponer?  This is not a post about that but it is a post about meal planning, saving money and getting back to my weekly couponing.  For various reasons we are trying to be frugal - it is the year of austerity!  We sort of sat down and said where can we save money and a big area was grocery shopping.  In the past year or so I have really gotten away from my weekly grocery shopping and couponing and have gotten in the habit of going to to the grocery store multiple times during the week which may be more convenient and require less planning but is also much more expensive!

In an effort to curb my recently adopted multiple grocery store trip a week habit we decided to start meal planning and then go to the grocery store only once per week (if it can be helped - sometimes you just need to swing by and grab something).  So far I am really liking this plan - it makes me feel prepared and I know I will save money by only going to the grocery store once a week.  This is only the first week so some meals are TBD and others are non-specific (on own = we won't be cooking together that night). 

So here it is - week #1 of meal planning!

Weekly Meal Plan

Monday

On Own

Tuesday

Chicken Cesar Wraps w/Sweet Potato Tots

Wednesday

Caprese Pasta Salad

Thursday

Out to Dinner with Friends

Friday

Chicken Lazone

Saturday

Tacos

Sunday

TBD

Thrifting, Cooking & Trails

Happy Weekend!  I had a pretty good one - went out for sushi Friday night and rocked a pretty cute outfit; Saturday I had a very successful Target (when is a Target not successful) and Goodwill shopping trip, nearly passed out during hot iron yoga after running the UAlbany loop and made some pretty awesome things in the kitchen! 

I love thrift store shopping - you never know what you are going to find and it can always be very hit or miss - this weekend was definitely a hit!  Here are some of my finds!

Cute skirt for spring - breaking the bank at $3 - and it fit at two sizes smaller!

I am always on the hunt for cute small plates and I definitely found some!

So last weekend I decided to shatter one of my favorite baking dishes (not on purpose but cold water on a hot glass dish does not mix) so I have been looking for another large sturdy baking dish and I found one!  This one is large, super sturdy and has handles!  Yet another bank breaker at $2!  I also bought a 'new' pink colander - the one I have now lost it's handles which is not good when handling hot pasta or veggies.

 

My new baking dish in action!  I decided to make the Skinny Baked Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese again because I once again had a craving for mac and cheese (which seems to happen about once a week) and I wanted something delicious to accompany my 'Justified' and 'True Blood' watching.

As I was laying in bed this morning contemplating what if anything I should make for breakfast I realized that I had some buttermilk left over from making corn bread last weekend and I thought - homemade buttermilk biscuits!  So I looked up a (southern) recipe for buttermilk biscuits and went to work.  Here are some pictures with recipe to follow ...

They don't exactly look like biscuits - the whole shaping without sticking was a little tricky - but the end result was pretty tasty despite not looking perfect.

End result on one of my new plates!

Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

 2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons cold butter/margarine

1 1/4 cup buttermilk

Mix together the dry ingredients - cut in the butter (tablespoon by tablespoon) and mix on low until the flour resembles a coarse meal - add the buttermilk - place some flour on the counter and transfer the dough - press out the dough and use a cookie cutter some something circular (I used a coffee mug) to 'cut' out the biscuits - place in a greased circular pan and bake on 400 degrees for about 20 minutes!

My cooking creations also led me to make some crock pot jambalaya - yum!

Slow Cooker Jambalaya 

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts - cubed

1 pound sausage (I used turkey kielbasa instead)

1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes with juice

1 cup chicken broth

1 large onion - chopped

1 - 2 bell peppers - chopped

1 cup celery - chopped

2 teaspoons died oregano

2 teaspoons died parsley

2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning (I used Soul Food Seasoning)

2 teaspoon (or less depending on desired spice) - crushed red pepper or cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Combine chicken, sausage, tomatoes, chicken broth, onion, peppers and celery in slow cooker - then season with all other ingredients.

Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours.

Serve over rice and enjoy!

(It is also possible to add 1 LB of shrimp - if you do add to the last 30 minutes of cooking)

And lastly - today I decided to head up to the Pine Bush Preserve which is just outside of Albany.  I wouldn't exactly call it hiking but there were some nice trails and a couple of good views.  It'll definitely be a good place to go and do some trail running!

Reorganizing the Stockpile!

Last week I found a six tiered shelf in the 'trash room' of my apartment building that (I assume) was meant to be thrown away, however it is a perfectly good shelf and something that I realized would be great for organizing my couponing stockpile!  So I took everything out of the linen closest (where my stockpile had previously been stored) and placed the new(ish) shelf in the walk-in closet of my bedroom.  I separated the items into 'edible' and 'non-edible' and this is the result - now I have even more room for free/couponed items!  Yay!

  

One of my friends told me that my stockpile looks like a bomb shelter - but in my defense, this is definitely a bomb shelter you would want to be in if something were to happen!

Odds & Ends (Part II)

In my book Sundays are usually reserved for sleeping in (and/or possible hangover recovery), coffee, couponing, political shows, church, grocery shopping, working out, cooking a fabulous dinner and possibly doing some homework.  I must admit though that one of my favorite parts of any given Sunday is couponing; clipping then comparing the coupons from that and previous weeks to the circular and heading to the grocery store to find the deals!  So here are some of today's deals!

Large laundry detergent - $5.99 per bottle - BOGO - plus $1 off two coupon - essentially $2.50 a bottle!

Suave Professionals Shampoo/Conditioner - 2/$3 - $0.50 off 2 coupon - coupon doubles - $1 a bottle!

Campbell's Soup - 1/$1 - $0.75 off 4 cans - coupon doubles to $1.50 off 4 cans - $0.62 a can!

I have been working on putting together a large donation for the Schenectady Food Pantry for their Thanksgiving food baskets and I found great deals on some needed items!  $0.50/1 can - $0.50 off four cans - coupon doubles to $1 - $0.25 a can!

Continuing from yesterday's post...

The now filled 'bean jar' from the Good Will!

And if you can believe it, my bathroom has gotten worse!

Yesterday

Today!

  
And lastly, I ran across this article in the paper this morning (warning - it is very sad and disturbing), but it goes to one of the points that I have always stated... certain people should be required to take a test before they become parents!  (And if you don't believe me or think my idea is crazy, I encourage you to come sit in the lobby of NPCS for a day.)

Couponing for a Cause

Many people ask... you're 24 years old, why do you coupon and where do you have room to store everything?  The truth is that couponing is challenge and it really does save you money!  When I started I will admit that I was spending a little more than average on creating the base of my 'stockpile' but now I have seen my weekly grocery bill go from around $50 to about $20!  

Stockpile!

Items that I stock up on are thing that I use on a daily or weekly basis; toothpaste, toothbrushes, body wash, pasta, powerade and garnola bars.  Sales go in cycles so when I find a coupon that I like I typically jump at the opportunity, buy multiple coupons (either through ebay or a coupon clipping company) and then take advantage of the sale for as long as I can.  My grocery store (Price Chopper) also recently began doubling coupons up to $0.99!  

One of the best and most recent example I have is Barilla Piccolini pasta!  $0.55 off any one box of Piccolini pasta.  That doubles to $1.10 off per box.  An in-store sale has all Barilla pasta at 4/$5 or $1.25 a box.  I buy in bulk and I am getting each box of pasta for $0.15!  Another example is Powerade, which I drink  more of now since I have been training.  All summer Price Chopper has had a sale on Powerade for $0.88 a bottle.  I ordered a great coupon, $0.75 off any 2 Powerades; double this and it becomes $1.50 off two bottles.  Two bottles of Powerade with the in store sale total $1.76, subtract the coupon savings and divide by 2 and you are getting each bottle of Powerade for $0.13!  Deal!

So enough about merely couponing because after all the title of this post is 'Couponing for a Cause'.  I am not one of those extreme couponers who have garages full of stockpiles and buy cat food even though I do not own cats.  I will not let my stockpile go beyond my linen closet, I only buy and coupon towards what I consume and I donate a good portion of what obtain.

In June I recruited for the program that I coordinate (Northeast Energy Corps) at the Schenectady Inner City Mission (SICM) Food Pantry in downtown Schenectady and the need was incredible.   (SICM has a mass distribution day the last Thursday of every month but also serves those in need any day of the week throughout the year.)  Individuals and families lined up hours before and in the month of July the SICM served over 500 ticket holders.  Ticket holders could be an individual or a family of 10, so just imagine how many families in Schenectady are in need.  

That same weekend I was sitting in church and the priest was giving a sermon on how great the need is in this country and the world; he focused mainly on the famine in Somalia but toward the end he spoke about how many people go hungry in the Albany/Capital Region area as well (with Schenectady being one of the poorer, if not the poorest area in the region).  He ended the sermon by saying that it was all a damn shame because probably none of us in the congregation has ever had to go hungry.  Then he paused and said, "and some of you may leave here focused more on the fact that I said the word 'damned' than on the actual need."  Something clicked - he was completely correct!  So many people in this country focus on the wording, the perception and the verbage rather than the actual problem.  I asked, what can I do and I realized that my couponing skills could be used to help others!  So I started couponing for SICM and I now try every week to bring a (reusable) grocery bag of food to the food pantry every week.  I know it isn't much and there are so many people in need but I figure that every little bit helps.  And after all, I live by myself, how much pasta and powerade can one girl consume!

This week's SICM donations