Two for One and Other Deals

Today I performed my regular weekend magic trick called "Throw it in the Pot," which entails rummaging the pantry and fridge for anything that looks like it could make a one-dish meal. I started with two packages of boneless, skinless chicken tenders pulled from the freezer a couple of days ago. (These are part of a plethora of meats I recently purchased on sale - paying only $1.57 a pound for these babies.)Each package went into its own crock pot where one became an Italian seasoned rice dish while the other bathed in crushed tomatoes, green chilies, and chipotle sauce. While the two pots simmered I went about my Saturday routine of grocery shopping.

Grocery deals seem to run in cycles. Last week at Fry's I bought a ton of groceries on sale plus used nearly $20 in coupons. This is always fun since some items - like a Jimmy Dean breakfast bowl - cost only 50 cents after the coupon is deducted from the sale price. In addition, later in the week we made a pit stop at Albertson's after school to pick up a loaf of French bread and stumbled across nice, medium-priced steaks at buy one package get two free savings. (Yeah, we double-checked the signs three times to make sure.) Then, upon check-out we were handed game pieces for a store Monopoly contest which yielded a box of free cookies from the bakery. (Not the cheap, hard ones, either. These were the large, brown-sugar laden white chocolate macadamia nut variety.) Today I had another coupon that netted a free honey wheat baguette from the Fry's bakery, which tasted great with the crock pot chicken and rice dish. (I shredded the other pot of chicken and saved the spicy sauce for enchiladas tomorrow night.)

I love a good deal and free is always better than cheap, but I've noticed a few things haven't been on sale recently including sodas. Arizona is considering adding a sin tax to sodas and junk food, ostensibly to encourage people to stop eating/drinking them and lose weight. I don't think it'll work, though. Let's face it, as a 45-year-old English teacher I don't have too many vices left. Sodas, coffee, and chips are among the biggest. (Yes, there is an occasional martini or bottle of wine with dinner, but certainly not to the excesses of my youth.) Does the government really think that adding 10 cents a bag to my chips or soda will keep me from buying them or encourage me to diet? (Oh wait, this is the government we're talking about. Never mind.)

Ultimately, grocery shopping has been fruitful over the last couple of weeks. I anticipate deals will wane soon, though, and recur just in time for Easter dinner, so I'll be keeping an eye out for all the goodies my freezer can hold.