The twins love raisins, or I should say, they love raisins when they can eat them on their own, but not when they are an ingredient (this is the kind of stuff that makes me a little nutty).  I’ve started putting them in their lunches recently, an easy low fat snack.  They feel like they are eating candy with the colorful package and sweet taste, I feel good that they are eating something that is good for them, especially since the O Organic raisins do not contain any preservatives.

I love almost all the Artisan dinner breads from the Safeway In-Store Bakery, especially the Kalamata Olive. I don’t buy it very often because by the third day at home, it has become dry and does not have the same wonderful texture as it did when it was fresh. Half of the loaf ends up getting tossed in the garbage can. That is, until my sister had me over for dinner last week. She served aluminum foil wrapped bread, hot out of the oven, Kalamata Olive bread from the Safeway bakery. I folded the corners of the aluminum foil back and took out a piece of the hot bread then proceeded to dip it in olive oil. Pure heaven I thought. Then my sister asked, “Did I like the bread?” She knows it’s my favorite, so why would she be asking? I replied “yes, it was great”. She said, “I bought it last week and we didn’t finish it, so I wrapped it in aluminum foil and threw it in the freezer. Today I took it out for about a half hour, and then put it in the oven with the heat turned up pretty high”.

I have quite a number of years in bakery, but this was a new one on me. So now I enjoy the Kalamata Olive bread one night, and then just wrap it up, pop it in the freezer. When needed, I throw it in a 450 º oven or put it on the grill for about ten minutes, and I get to enjoy the same loaf with its crispy crust and soft interior all over again. This works for all the Safeway Artisan Dinner breads. This is a great way to enjoy your favorite bread and save some money doing it.

For those in a grocery delivery service area, Safeway.com has a fabulous offer this Thanksgiving. Place a $200 or higher order on our website and receive free delivery and a free turkey. Simply order your groceries, include a Safeway turkey (value up to $7), and enter two promotion codes at checkout (“SMART” and “FREEBIRD”) to take advantage of this offer.

See the website for offer details. http://shop.safeway.com/superstore/default.asp?brandid=1&page=corphome

We’ve been going through fresh fruit faster than usual these days – the quality and prices have been great so I’ve found myself going back to the store “mid-week” to replenish to get us through to my next shopping trip. Given that extra trip I wanted to take advantage of great deals with a “second round” of Super Coupons on the items we use regularly as well – but where to find another set of coupons? I took a look around my store and found that they stock extra ads on the customer service desk. Look around and ask; the location will likely vary depending on the store. So now, I regularly pick up a second ad and clip out the Super Coupons that I think are really great deals. And, I’ve noticed there are free newsletters at the desk as well – Tony Tantillo’s Fresh Ideas Magazine was the one that caught my eye. Published monthly, it’s packed with recipes using seasonal produce – you should check it out!