Neti Pots

     Go and get your free Neti Pot from NeilMed while supplies last.  It's a good item to have around for allergies and colds. 

If your not sure what a neti pot is for, or you've never tried it, then get this free one to test it out.
  I remember when I got my first neti pot.  It actually set on the hall linen shelf for a long time.  Then my sinuses went whacko, and I was either going to have to take some antihistimines, or, shock, try the neti pot.
  I tried the net pot and the rest is called history.  It has kept me from getting a sinus infection quite a few times, and having to make a trip to the doctor.  One of my kids just recently decided to try it.  She too kept putting it off, but out of desperation with her clogged sinuses from a cold she decided to try it.

Yeah, it didn't exactly go perfectly for her the first try.  I think her sinuses were so clogged it just kind of sat in there.  But she tried it again, and it not only cleared up her sinuses, it seemed to have helped her cold out.
  
So, go get this neti pot.  My daughter has the free one, and I have a nice porcelain one that I received as a gift.  They both work great and if I didn't have one I'd probably be using a teapot. Okay, maybe not.


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Ways To Save Money on Poultry

     

      Have you noticed that you don't see coupons for meat too often and when you do it's not usually a very good deal anyway?  Most seem to be for luncheon type products or processed type meats.  Now, when I say meat, I'm including poultry, pork, lamb, and anything else in the "meat" department.  

     I used to keep my spending on meat at about a dollar a pound.  That usually worked out quite well if I could get my poultry well below that.  Then with the savings on that I could spend a bit more on something else.  It's not always easy to follow this rule as it requires checking the managers specials, unadvertised specials and really doing a run by the meat when you step into the grocery store.  You just never know when a good deal will come up.   

     Chicken seems to go on sale quite frequently and it's very versatile.  Once you've found chicken for a buck a pound or less buy the limit if there is one, or whatever will fit into your freezer.  

  Once home, I line them up by the sink and gather my supplies.  Needed will be plastic freezer bags, (unless you have better freezer containers), a marker to label the bags, scissors, a sharp knife, a clean sink and a bowl to put the chicken in.  That is unless you have a helper who will put the parts into the plastic bag for you.   

   

     After fighting to get the chicken out of it's packaging, I then pull all the gizzards out of the birds cavity.  If this bothers you, think of pleasant thoughts, but not of food.  The gizzards can be saved for broth or some people like to fry them and eat them or give them to the cats. 

    First, I must remind you all that this is poultry and to make sure that when you are done to sanitize your area with hot soapy water, and all utensils.  I always start on the side of the sink with no dishes with a clean sink.  I usually do my cutting right there at the sink, but on the links I see they use a cutting board.  Only use a cutting board that you can sanitize or put into your dishwasher. 

   There are many websites that do a good job.  I've picked a couple that I like but I'm sure after you do this a few times you will have your own way to do it.  I like to use both scissors and knives, and sometimes I like to remove the bones too.  I use gallon size freezer bags for the wings so I can add to it and for the leftover pieces or scraps which I will make broth/soup from.  I then use the quart size for the legs, thighs, and breast.  It will depend on the size of your family on how many you will put into each bag. 

By doing the work yourself you can save a lot of money, and make your chicken go further.  Why cook an entire chicken if all you need is two thighs? 

  

This video is from the Americas Test Kitchen  How To Cut Up a Whole Chicken  you will see there are many videos on you tube, check them out.

This next website is a picture tutorial that might be easier to follow.Cutting Up Chicken

   Check out these tutorials and get a start on saving your hard earned money.

My Not So "Cool" Winco Shopping Trip

     Today we decided to do our once every two or three month trip to Winco which is about a half hour away.  Unless they are looking for drugs at the checkpoint.  In that case, add on about ten more minutes in which you can listen to nursery songs and examine people around you. 

     Not even considering the weather before I left, something told me to change my dark green knitted short sleeve shirt.  When we arrived it was still early, parking was easy, but it was hot, really hot.  Okay, so it only said 89.  But 89 there is totally different than 89 in my city. No big deal,  but then it was way before noon. 
    

     We went straight to the bulk bins feeling super organized.   As fun as it is to look at all that candy, we bypassed it.  Unfortunately they didn't have the turbinado or raw sugar.  We got a little over a pound of cocoa, used for chocolate milk, ice cream, baking and syrup, about five pounds of brown sugar, 5 pounds of the dark chocolate chips, carob chips, pepper, minced onions, which I'll use to make onion soup mix to put on casseroles and make dip out of, organic buckwheat flour for baking and pancakes, whole wheat elbow macaroni, oregano, sunflower seeds, peanuts, red beans to cook and freeze, baking soda for cleaning, making products, natural roast beef, vinegar, cheese and organic hot dogs.  Not as much as we usually get, but since I finally seem to have my pantry stocked better it makes for less to purchase on my trips.    

  
     This might seem like an odd array of food items, but also know that I'm just adding to my pantry to keep it full with the right ingredients.  Winco has a nice selection of pasta, all shapes, sizes and whole wheat or plain.  I actually had filled a bag with the elbows last trip, but to this day I don't know what I did with it.  I laugh thinking that someone else went home with my whole wheat elbows.    
    
      Ever shopped with a two year old?  Yeah, you know what I'm talking about.  Wanting to "help".  Then they are hungry and want to check out every bin.  Heck, even I was getting hungry.  Which is why we got some California Rolls to go eat at the duck park.  That's the uncool part of this trip.  By the time we came out of winco, it was well over 90.    After we ate our lunch even a walk around the pond seemed horrible.    What really annoyed me was the guy pulling up and asking where the public pool was.  Did I look like I lived there?  For heavens sakes I  was wearing a green knit shirt in almost 100 degree heat. 

     By the time we left, I was feeling like the baby, hot and irritable.  We had to pull off at the 76 and I-15 to cool him off.  We stripped him, poured water over him, got him some apple juice and then let him scream for a minute while I jealously looked on wearing my green knitted shirt.  I really wanted to join him but I think only little ones can get away with doing that in a parking lot  He even got to sit on his own toilet right there next to the car.  I looked around and all I saw was an outhouse with the heat waves of stink wavering around it.  Lesson learned, check the weather and dress accordingly.  Bring a lunch or buy something in winco, like the natural roast beef. 
  
      If you ever are needing bulk foods that are reasonably priced, check out winco.  They have more bulk food than any store I know of.  They are starting to bring in more organic foods, such as rolled oats in the 25 pound bag.  There are many kinds of flour, sugar, granola, pasta, cereals, (hot and cold), rice, beans, dried fruits, snack items, nuts, and of course, try not to look at the candy. 

     Yeah, we have heat waves in our city, but with the ocean so close, it's a hop and a skip to cooling off.