Recently in Food...
Roly Poly at Patton Creek in Hoover has kids eat free night on Tuesdays, and while I was there recently I noticed an unusual addition to the menu: Roly Poly Dessert Sandwiches. The concept of "dessert" + "sandwiches" caught me by surprise, so I asked the manager about them. She said the staff had been experimenting with different ingredients back in the kitchen and they decided these concoctions were so good that they would add them to the menu.
Looking at the descriptions, these seem like great ideas for snacks to make at home with the few leftover tortillas you have after making an enchilada casserole (I can never seem to make them all come out even). You sprinkle the ingredients on a tortilla and grill until golden brown:
- Peaches n' Cream - Cream cheese spread, fruity peach spread
- Roly Poly S'more - Marshmallow spread, graham cracker crumbles, chocolate syrup
- Hawaiian Bend - cream cheese spread, peanut butter spread, pineapple, cinnamon sprinkles
- Peanut Butter Twister - Peanut butter spread, peanut butter cookie crumbles, apple butter, cinnamon sprinkles
- Chocolate Brownie Surprise - Chocolate syrup, fudge brownie bits, cashews
These unconventional Roly Poly-ists also offer Scrambled Egg Rolys for breakfast, which has me thinking these would be easy on the run (a self-contained sandwich with as much substance as an omelette, only easier to eat).
Like other Roly Poly locations they cater and you can order online. My hat's off to the staff at the Patton Creek location for thinking up new things to put on a tortilla.
There are some people who are made for bringing their lunch and, in particular, eating the same thing every day of their working lives. I know moms who pack the same lunch daily for their kids (except on pizza day in the lunchroom) and I'm amazed that the kids don't rebel. It's probably a good habit, though, as I've thought back on some dyed-in-the-wool brown baggers I've known.
Savers - A former coworker amassed a tidy sum on a modest salary, in large part because he had the stamina to bring his lunch for years. This guy brought the same turkey sandwich, apple and chips every single day without fail, and only deviated if there was a special event lunch or - better still - the company was buying. (This guy went on to be self-employed and whenever I see him he reminds me that he doesn't "do" eight a.m. anymore.)
Pragmatists - I know another guy who made it all the way through college, med school, and a fellowship eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, six apple slices, and four lemon creme cookies for lunch every day. No, he didn't particularly like it, he says, but it simplified things. There wasn't time or money to go out, plus he could prepare his lunch the night before and then eat quickly whenever he had a moment during the day. Now he dines in the doctor's lounge for two bucks and is giddy over having real cafeteria food.
Calorie Counters - You know when these folks are starting a diet because they buy a new lunch pack and thermos to get them off to an enthusiastic start. The first test of their commitment is the birthday celebration at the nearby Mexican restaurant. Can't they just skip the cheese dip and still go?
Creatures of Habit - I finally quit calling a friend who could not be pulled away from her daily turkey sandwich for an impromptu lunch. "But I've already made my sandwich," she would say guiltily. This always frustrated me, as if that 4-slice turkey sandwich was waiting expectantly and wouldn't keep in the break room fridge for another 24 hours. Besides, she would have another one just like it the following day, and the next one after that.
On the other hand, if you made lunch plans well ahead (I learned this was the only way she could wrap her mind around anything other than her turkey sandwich), you had better not have anything come up to spoil the plans. A cancellation would throw her completely out of balance, as if she had cheated on her turkey sandwich and had been abandoned lunchless as cheaters deserve.
I've ultimately decided that these folks have the ability to be Zen masters of a sort. They don't care that much about food, so whether it's the same sandwich or a random soup doesn't matter to them. There is an upper limit on the amount of enjoyment they can get out of any meal, so there's really no use in them spending money or effort above the bare minimum. If they were in New Orleans they would still eat at Taco Bell.
I could stand to learn from these people. Maybe I would have a lot more money if I had their discipline (but hey, isn't good food one of the reasons to toil in the first place?)
What drives these types to tolerate sameness every day? Is it the comfort of routine, the promise of an eventual payoff, the ease of not having to think or plan? Because it surely can't be that they can't wait to bite into that cold turkey sandwich. Again.
Good news! The McAlister's Deli franchise operation in the Birmingham area, New Gourmet Deli, LLC, is extending the popular program for the month of February. This means every dark, cold day evening you are running behind or wishing you didn't have to cook, you don't have to. You can take the kids to McAlister's and let them bus the table.
This special is good every day of the month, so that covers lunch with a playdate, dinner before ball practice, or a meal after a game. Kids meals include options like a ham or turkey and cheese sandwich, a pita bread pizza, nachos, a hot dog, or a kids' salad along with a drink. For us moms, there are salads, sandwiches, soups and spuds. A personal favorite is the half and half, a combination two of any half spud, salad, sandwich or soup. And several of these combos are less than 500 calories, so we don't have to fear the dining-out weight gain (look for the "5 Under 500" display on the counter).
The February kids eat free special applies to McAlister's Deli locations in Hoover, Wildwood, UAB, Pelham, and Greystone, as well as the locations in Anniston and Mobile. A restaurant that gives me an excuse to go out with the kids and leave the dishes behind gets my vote as a Top 10.
The school coupoon book practically dictates our dining out options for the following year. With so many restaurants offering deals in these books, I have to insist we at least try to select something from them when we go out. In fact, the thought that one of us can eat free or that we'll get an appetizer thrown in is often my justification for going out in the first place.
That's why it's important that the coupon books be handy. It is hard to fully enjoy a meal knowing you've left a $10 entree sitting in a drawer at home in the form of a perforated slip of paper. A plastic envelope in the car will keep all your discount dining options accessible.
One of these document envelopes will hold a couple of coupon books as well as the Clipper Magazine, assorted Val-Pak slips, and direct mail pieces. It fits nicely in a seat pocket and is much easier to manage since the loose papers are always contained. You may even have space for a few favorite menus.
Despite the recession, Chick-fil-A has continued to prosper, enjoying robust growth in sales and aggressive store expansion. I think I know why. Even without the spokescows asking us to "eat mor chikn," Chick-fil-A has won a the approval of moms for understanding what we appreciate:
* Great service. Although the service is fast, it doesn't feel rushed. Courteous people ask, "How can I serve you today?" Besides appreciating this as a customer, I'm pleased to see the behavior modeled for the kids.
* Indoor play areas that are well maintained and viewable from the dining area
* Healthy options like whole wheat buns (small upcharge) and grilled chicken
* Fruit cups with a variety of fruits, not just apples
* Kids' meals with educational toys - not just movie promo trinkets - and the flexibility to swap the toy for an ice cream cone if your child prefers
* Good condiments: Real honey for your biscuit and the option of light mayo; ditto the real flowers on the tables, unheard of in fast food dining
* Hand-spun milkshakes (get one of these and bliss out while the kids play awhile longer)
* Community involvement, from school fundraiser nights to providing teachers and coaches with coupons they can use to reward their students' academic efforts
* SEC sponsorship, starting off our beloved football season with the free chicken sandwich day
Chick-fil-A has figured out how to get families in the habit of visiting regularly. For example, one local Chick-Fil-A frequently provides coupons - such as a free kids' meal with the purchase of a combo meal - for participants in Upward sports events. So where do you think all the players want to go for lunch after the Saturday morning game?
Chick-fil-A on highway 280 is one of the older freestanding restaurants, and it's still so popular that it actually has police directing traffic during the weekday lunch rush (sounds like a franchisee's dream). A friend of mine shares that she made a new mom friend there one day when she offered to share a table in the crowded dining room.
If all that wasn't impressive enough, Chick-fil-A is scheduled to be debt-free in three years. Isn't that remarkable? They should throw a ticker-tape parade with Dave Ramsey's devotees or, better yet, celebrate by giving away celebratory lemonades...
I'm going to give Mr. Truett Cathy, age 88 and founder of the company, a pass for his casual comment in this article saying he typically looks for "family men" when selecting franchisees. For one thing, I am certain that any "family man" has a wife at home telling him what moms want and he has wisely learned to listen. For another, I will wager that good "family women" franchisees - i.e., moms - can keep his business attuned to his best customers.
Finally, I have adjusted to the fact that Chick-fil-A is closed on Sundays. For ages it seemed that this was the one day I was likely to crave a chicken sandwich during a late afternoon run to the mall, and the dim storefront always seemed so forlorn. However, I now conceed it is a brilliant practice, both as a benefit for the employees and as an enticement for the rest of us to look forward to eating mor chickn on the following Monday.
Why I love Chick-fil-A on 119:
Last spring Coldplay had a concert at the Verizon Wireless Music Center, but I couldn't commit to tickets because of my son's potential playoff baseball game that evening. Sure enough, his team was in the playoffs (taking second place). After the game, hubs took the kids home while I raced to hwy 119 in hopes of hearing just a bar or two of Coldplay. I pulled into the Chick-fil-A parking lot on 119 with the restaurant just closing and the owner naturally patrolling to see his employees to their cars safely and making sure there were no loiterers (that would be me) in the parking lot.
As I sat with my window cracked - yes, I'm that much of a Coldplay fan - he drove by and I practically begged, "I couldn't buy tickets because of a ballgame but I just want to hear a few tunes" - and this nice fellow smiled and said to enjoy the music before rolling on through the lot. Then I heard the beginning of "Clocks" echoing against Oak Mountain and I was satisfied I had gotten my fix before heading home. Here's a shoutout and a thankyou to the Chick-fil-A on 119!
A few years ago I went through the process of Once A Month Cooking, or OAMC, so I could have a month's worth of prepared meals at the ready for hectic evenings. The practice is just like it sounds; you take one day to cook and make entrees for an entire month. It is tremendously nourishing to come home to the best of both home cooking (flavor, control for likes/dislikes) and takeout (heat and eat). Every winter I attempt some version of OAMC (usually less ambitious than a full month's worth of entrees). Winter is always the best season to cook at home because it's dark and cold outside.
I must tell you that my initial experiment was successful but personally unsustainable.
Attempting OAMC is a big undertaking. You go the store and buy a whole month's worth of ingredients, then come home and cook as if your life depended on it. Every burner on the stove is going with chicken, ground beef, pasta or rice, and once you're started there's no stopping the gravy-making train. At the end of the day you have the satisfaction of using every bit of your ingredients in a variety of dishes and employing every casserole dish at your disposal. Unfortunately, you may be so wiped out that you need a week to recover. You would happily eat cold cereal for days just to not have to wrestle another sheet of heavy duty foil and a freezer bag.
I couldn't consistently find a full day each month to dedicate to volume cooking, so I eventuallly gave up the full-scale effort. However, I strongly recommend you try the practice at least once and decide for yourself. I still use many of the lessons I learned and cook ahead as often as I can comfortably manage. With proper planning you can save on your grocery budget, but the time advantages are even greater, particularly if you don't get home until later in the evening when you're wiped out and starving. Our deal was always to put the entree in the fridge the night before so it could begin thawing. Whoever got home first started the oven.
Several cookbooks are available with ingredient lists and recipes for large scale cooking, but don't invest in one until you've tried it out at the library first. (Interesting fact: Cookbooks have been one of the top categories of loaned books during this recession, according to a Hoover librarian.) There are also several websites with tips and ideas.
A few additional notes about OAMC: One month of pre-made meals is likely to last more than four weeks thanks to leftovers. Unless your family will wipe out an entire 9x11 lasagna in one sitting, you'll have a couple of lunches or mis-matched servings leftover each week, helpful on light nights or when everyone is eating in shifts.
Glad ovenware (or similar) is perfect for this type of cooking, because you can reuse the containers or give them away. For example, if you have a friend who is ill or could use a dinner, you can grab one of your frozen entrees and a bag of salad and drop them by. The best part of the favor is that your friend doesn't have to worry about returning a dish.
Also, don't forget to pull out your meal the night before and thaw it in the refrigerator. If you forget, you are almost no better off because the defrosting time added to the reheating time will likely put you behind your schedule. There is nothing more frustrating than realizing you went to all that effort to plan ahead and still don't have a bite ready to eat. A breakdown over a frozen casserole isn't a pretty sight for the kids (thanks heaven again for cereal).
When the kids were infants and I despaired of ever providing a meal in a semi-controlled environment, I did quite a bit of research on how to manage mealtime. One recommendation that came up repeatedly was to freeze ahead or follow a program of Once a Month Cooking. On this advice, we purchased a freezer for the basement and I have to say it has been one of our best investments. If you don't have one already, it's time to give in to full adulthood and get yourself a freestanding freezer..
Like our grandmas, I've come to depend on the freezer, not just for routine meals but for parties and entertaining. What I didn't realize when we bought it was how much we would come to rely on frozen pizzas, snacks, and even popsicles as the kids got older. When it was just the two of us, all we needed was a space for frozen dinners and a cooler for drinks. Now that we're in full throttle family mode, I laugh to think of the days when the freezer was just a repository for Lean Cuisines.
You've heard it all before, but I can personally vouch for the benefits a freezer can offer your family:
* Buy in bulk, not just to save money, but to have fewer trips to the store.
* Large cuts of meat are no problem to store. Now you can buy a turkey, ham, or pork loin during the best sales and have a big meal whenever you get ready. You can take advantage of buy one/get one offers without displacing a month's worth of frozen dinners.
* Watch for markdowns. One of my usual grocery stores marks down meat on Sundays and I run in just to grab good cuts at half price. Since I'm freezing it right away, it's no problem that the sell-by date is imminent.
* Enjoy freezing leftovers instead of feeling pressured to consume pounds of meat before it spoils. (This pressure is, after all, the reason people develop an aversion to turkey after Thanksgiving.) Better yet, when a hostess insists you "take some of this home," you've got a place for it.
* Double your recipes and freeze the second batch for later. This is by far the easiest way to prepare ahead and make your meals easier. You can store a big casserole or containers of soup without disrupting your hidden stash of ice cream bars.
* Birthday parties - whether you favor individual cups or the big gallons of ice cream, you have the space to hold them, both in preparation before the party or as a surplus afterward.
* Entertaining and family gatherings - you'll have room for the big boxes of hors d' oeuvres from warehouse stores as well as a couple of bags of ice. You know those heavenly loaves of bread at Costa's on Lorna Road in Hoover? Costco sells a similar baguette frozen in boxes of eight (apologies in advance for the easily confused names). With a freezer, you can buy a box and have them ready for a large spaghetti dinner for guests or work your way through a box one at a time - a good fate either way, if you ask me.
A small chest freezer is under $200, but go for a larger model if you can. A mid-size version is adequate for a family of four or five. Freezers can be bought used through estate sales or from empty-nesters and downsizers, but older models may not be as energy efficient. I don't recommend paying more for a frost-free model since it's not much trouble to manually defrost a freezer and, besides, you need a good reason to completely clear it out occasionally.
For less than a month's grocery bill you can have the assurance of being prepared for unexpected guests, impromptu get-togethers and snack attacks. You'll recoup the cost over your years of saving on bulk purchases and markdowns. If you cook ahead or freeze leftovers, you'll thank yourself every time you dig into your freezer to produce a no-sweat home cooked dinner.
You know I'm a big fan or roasted chickens from the market and consider them to be cheaper to buy than to prepare at home, especiallly the larger ones that come from a Sam's or Costco. However, there are ways to eke even more value out of this take home meal solution.
My goal is to get my money's worth from the first meal, then enjoy everything else as a bonus. Here is an example of frugal fowl:
It starts as a roast chicken dinner with sides and rolls, serving the drumsticks for the kids and sliced chicken breast for mom and dad.
After that meal, pull and shred remaining meat to simmer in taco seasoning for tacos or enchiladas casserole. It's also good preapared with barbeque sauce to top a baked potato or to make barbeque sandwiches. If there is a good deal of white meat left over, chicken salad is always an option. For winter, a pot pie may be even better.
Perhaps you've noticed that gelatinous substance in the bottom of the plastic pan used for transporting the chicken. Moms, this is gourmet gold, which you can make into a wonderful base for chicken stock and broth. Emeril Lagasse would never let this stuff go to waste.
I shake these pan drippings into a stew pot along with the rest of the chicken carcass and cover with water, then add celery, carrot, bay leaf, onion and some oregano. Once this has simmered for 30 minutes or so, I have a rich, golden broth to strain and then freeze for upcoming recipes or soups. Last week I used the broth I'd prepared from a single roasted chicken in black bean soup, zuppa toscana, and mashed potatoes.
This process isn't nearly as much trouble as it sounds. The chicken simmers on the stove while we have dinner and cools while we settle into our evening routine afterwards. I come back to the kitchen to strain the broth directly into plastic containers that go into the freezer. The pot goes into the dishwasher to run overnight. It couldn't be simpler and it is gratifying to have your own homemade broth ready when you're in the mood to cook.
Given that a can of chicken broth is around $1 for a 14 ounce can and I can make about five from one hen, that's like getting five cans free with each bird. If they offered that deal at the supermarket you would take it and run.
By working your roasted chicken, you can transform your humble $6 purchase into an impressive $10 value, giving you 2/3 more for your money. That's a great way to stretch your buck and your bird.
Your can treat your halloween visitors or be prepared for your own cravings this fall.
At participating Wendy's, a $1 donation to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption will be met with a gift book of 10 coupons, each for a Jr. Frosty.
At participating Burger King restaurants, a $1 donation to the Burger King Scholars program will be met with a gift book of eight coupons, each for a value size fry.
Between these coupons and the value menus at these chains, you can make yourself a portion-controlled combo.
