My Favorite Grocery Store

This weekend Kyle and I headed south to St. James, Missouri to spend the night at my parents' cabin in the woods and help them cut down a Christmas tree. We left right after work last night- I skipped out of work at exactly 4:15. I couldn't wait to get out to the country- gravel roads, no television, stars, snow, and my favorite part of it all: I-44 Surplus.
My mom and I discovered this store about 2 years ago and have been obsessed ever since. Imagine if everything in your grocery store was on sale- majorly on sale- like 40 to 80% off everything. Well, that's what this store is like! The first time my mom and I went to the store, we started in the bread aisle. We looked at the prices and thought, "NICE!" Then we walked a little further and saw even more incredible prices which is when I asked my mom, "Is this a food pantry?" The food was so cheap I thought it had to be some type of charity. Turns out, it's not a charity, but more of a 'scratch and dent' type of store. The prices are low because the box might be a little smashed in a corner, a can might be dented, or something might be expired. I try to stay away from the expired food, but I don't mind if the box to my granola bars is a little smashed. Of course, sometimes there is nothing wrong with the packaging at all- it's exactly as you would find it at Whole Foods!

The merchandise at 1-44 Surplus changes every day. There's a variety of everything from all food categories- cookies, cereal, soup, pasta sauce, tea, granola bars, cleaning supplies- everything. I never know what I'm going to find and since I buy mainly organic food- it's a complete treasure hunt. There's nothing better than finding a $7 bottle of Nature's Gate shampoo for $2.99!

With the store being so far away, I only hit it up once every few months and I buy a lot. Today I purchased 76 items for a grand total of $101.55. The most I have EVER spent at the surplus store, but also the most I have ever gotten. Here's a small selection of the items I purchased today.

Udi's natural artisan granola $1.99- I'm excited to eat this on top of yogurt for breakfast! Chocolate galore- all fair trade and organic: Theo vanilla milk chocolate 2oz. 75 cents, Dagoba dark 2 oz. 75 cents, Divine milk chocolate with spiced cookies 3.5oz. $1.25, Here's a few more REDONKULOUS prices: Late July cookies 39 cents, Pacific Organic soup $1.25, 1 oz. Justin's almond butter 20 cents, Traditional Medicines Breathe Easy Tea $2.75, BreathSavers 39 cents, Annie's Organic Macaroni and Cheese 99 cents. SCORE!
Cleaning supply action. Both my dish soap and glass and surface cleaner were $1.79 each- a savings of almost $2 on each of them from full price at the grocery store! It's pretty obvious why I love 1-44 surplus! Have you ever been to a 'discount grocer' like this?

Spreading Holiday Cheer and Calories

This time of the year is full of holiday parties. As part of my recent transformation from child to adult, I've had to bring food to these events. At first it was a daunting task- I'd sit for hours flipping through my Martha Stewart cookbooks trying to find a recipe that would impress everyone. The problem was- I could never decide. That's when I called in for back-up: mom.

I need only tell her the type of event and the size of the group; she in turn provides me with at least three different ideas about what to make. Notice the word, make as opposed to 'buy' which is not allowed in my family. This year, my mom gave me some ideas for my work holiday party, but I didn't want to make them- I specifically wasn't excited about her 'bacon-wrapped water chestnut' idea (even though they are delicious!). So I thought back to my favorite appetizer when I was growing up- you know the one you stood in front of all night and chowed down on, you know when you were socially awkward and probably had braces. Was that just me?

The food that kept me planted in front of the buffet table was my mom's crab rangoon dip with Parmesan wontons. It's my favorite! So I made it this weekend to share with my coworkers, and it was a HIT! Here's the recipe; it's adapted from the cookbook: Saint Louis Days Saint Louis Nights.

Crab Rangoon Dip with Wonton Chips
3-4 tbsp. melted butter (the real stuff!!! I used organic)
20-30 wonton squares
grated Parmesan cheese (can anyone find this organic? I haven't been able to)
8 oz. package of cream cheese (I used full fat and organic)
2 tbsp. milk (I used 1% and organic)
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
6 oz. crab meat (I used Geisha brand from the can- it's already cooked!)
1 tbsp. parsley flakes
sweet and sour duck sauce (this probably negates all the organic ingredients, but oh well!)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Put foil on a cookie sheet then brush butter over the sheet.
3. Cut wontons in half, place on the cookie sheet. (Interesting pattern optional)
4. Brush wontons with butter, then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
5. Bake in the oven for 6 minutes or until they begin to brown.


6. Let them cool on a paper towel. They should be crispy!


7. Soften cream cheese in the 'wave for 1 min, or until soft.
8. Add milk and garlic powder, stir until well-mixed.
9. Drain crab meat. Rinse with water, then pat dry with a paper towel.
10. Mix crab meat and parsley flakes with the cream cheese mixture.
11. Spread dip in a shallow (maybe 3/4 to 1 inch deep) serving dish.
12. Pour a thin layer of sweet and sour sauce on top.

Doesn't the finished appetizer look delicious? I could seriously eat this picture! This dish received so many compliments and tons of people wanted the recipe. I plan to make this recipe 3 more times before the holiday season is over- Christmas party, Christmas Eve, and Post-Christmas Party. Can't wait to share it with friends and family.

Gift Wrap Challenge

Did anyone else sell wrapping paper in grade school as a fundraiser? Remember the sample squares in the back of the catalog? They were so shiny and some were even textured! I couldn't get enough of those sparkling perfect squares covered in penguins, pine trees, and the occasional Menorah. Even these days I walk past the gift wrap in Target and think, "Glittery sparkles! So metallic!" The thought of giving gifts wrapped in such beautiful paper gets me all excited. Then I think about the environment. My guilt kicks in. According to one website, the average waste caused by holiday wrapping paper is 8000 tons. That's way too many elephant-sized wrapping paper balls going to the landfill. Too many for me anyway. So this year, I have challenged myself to use non-virgin material to wrap gifts for my family and friends. Here's what I've found to wrap with in the office closet: gift bags, boxes, tissue paper, ribbon, and bows. Throw in a little newspaper from the garage, and BAM! You get the presents above! All of the material they are wrapped in is reused! Well, except for the gift tags, I used those sticky tags charities always send because hey, they're already at my house and the only way to get rid of them is to use them or toss them. I'll use 'em. I've already decided to be 'that girl' on Christmas morning saving ribbons, bows, and bags. Dare I save wrapping paper like my grandma used to? Find out on December 26th! : )

Question.... Do you have 'wrapping paper' guilt the way I do?