Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Check out these stores

I love to explore stores in my area. I have found a few that are really great and some that I will never go to again!
The ethnic stores have been a great find for me! The local Asian food store has great produce the my husband loves like Chinese Broccoli, baby bok choy, fresh bean sprouts. Also many types of tofu, baked, fried, flavored, and soft. If you are not a fan of these things, check out the meat dept! The ground beef and pork was almost half the cost of my regular grocery store and it was also much fresher. Chicken in all shapes and forms was very cheap too. Don't be afraid to pick up spices and sauces to experiment with.

What to look for there:

Asian stores
Produce:baby bok choy, chinese broccoli, cabbages, english cucumbers, fresh bean sprouts
tofu and soy products
meat: ground beef, ground pork, whole chickens, chicken wings and drumettes, chicken drum sticks, flank steak, pork roast
Spices: dry mustard, chili powders, dried onion and garlic
Sauces: Soy, chili sauces and paste, Hoisin sauce, Hawaiian BBQ sauce, Plum sauce
Canned: coconut milk, baby corn
Noodles and rice

Mexican Stores
Produce: Mangoes, papayas, pineapple, melons. potatoes, onions, garlic, avocados, fresh cilantro, yams and sweet potatoes
Meat: beef flank steaks, beef roasts, whole chickens, ground pork
Pantry: spices and dried chilies, cornmeal, tortillas and tortilla chips,
Sauces: chili sauces, tomato sauces, enchilada sauces, chili verde sauce
Canned: tomato sauces, canned chilies, salsas, canned pork, canned chicken.

Where have we been?!

We have been out of town for a week! It was so much fun to visit friends and family in our old home town. We miss our family there, but not the weather! It was nice to get out of the heat and back to the 70 degrees that we love here at home.
I have a new recipe for you to try, sorry no pics though!

Mexican Shredded Beef
1 beef roast, the one we used was about 4 lbs
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder
fresh garlic
1 can of mexican style stewed tomatoes

The roast we used was frozen, just season the roast the best you can. Add the roast to the crockpot with the garlic cloves, we used 4. Add the tomatoes and let it cook for 6-8 hours until very tender. Shred and eat. You could make enchiladas, taquitos,or just serve it with rice.