How are your supermarket shelves?

[prairiewindmomma]

19 minutes ago, Melissa in Australia said:

Have to say that I don’t recognise more than half of the products you guys mention. And the price  you guys say is high is almost half what we pay.

We’re at about double the price of meat from last year here.

How much is 500g of minced beef or chicken breast there? How has the price changed over the past year?

[Selkie]

We haven’t had any problem getting the foods we eat throughout the entire pandemic, thankfully - other than tofu, which was in short supply in the beginning, but has been readily available for months now.

We get 2-3 big produce boxes a week from Misfits Market and Worthy Flavors, and frozen produce every two weeks from Schwan’s (which is so much better than what is sold in grocery stores - highly recommend).

We don’t eat animal products or buy many packaged/prepared foods, so aren’t affected by shortages of those items.

[Melissa in Australia]

1 hour ago, prairiewindmomma said:

We’re at about double the price of meat from last year here.

How much is 500g of minced beef or chicken breast there? How has the price changed over the past year?

Minced beef is around $18 kilo, chicken breast around $15kilo.  Though chicken can be got for $13 kg regularly on special.They are the cheapest cuts of meat. Cheaper to buy by the kg and repack once home. It all goes up from there. The cheapest steak is abound $27 kg and goes up very steeply scotch fillet  is over $47kg.  I budget $15 to 20 for meat per dinner

deli meat starts around $15 kg, something like salami can start at $25 kg

the price of live animals has  almost doubled after it starting raining after the long drought. Live weight for cattle is over $10 kg at the cattle markets, so  it is to be expected that the cut up price will be higher than last year

 

i looked up several shops to check I was telling you the right prices. The first one I looked up, Woolworths, had all meat listed as unavailable. The second , food works  had some. I mostly buy bulk from  a butchers shop  but they don’t have an online shop for me to  check prices. I never buy seafood. It is astronomically expensive and I am sure only for very rich people. I get whatever they have on special, a few weeks worth at a time. And we eat according to what we have on hand.  We grow 90 percent of our own vegetables so I don’t have any idea about prices of those. We eat very little prepackaged food.

Edited January 22, 2022 by Melissa in Australia

[Ausmumof3]

2 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

We’re at about double the price of meat from last year here.

How much is 500g of minced beef or chicken breast there? How has the price changed over the past year?

Typically $12kg for chicken breast. You can get it on sale on the deli section periodically for $7-8 but you have to be picky as sometimes it’s borderline off

around 16-18 here for minced beef. However none of those cheaper options are available right now in many stores. Some independent grocers and butchers still have them.

Its much harder on low income families when supply chains get messy. For those with enough cash you can just switch what you buy but if you’ can only afford chicken or mince then they’re off the shelf there’s no other options. we have venison or we may have been eating vegetarian the last two weeks.

meat prices do tend to be pretty seasonal here and this time of year they shouldn’t be too high as people have all the new season animals and reduce stock over summer.

I’m also mindful that price links to welfare standards somewhat and we obviously don’t want them lowered. Chicken is mostly cheap because of the factory farm model which is nasty. Free range chicken is $16-$18 per kg.

There is much less lot fed meat here which I think makes it more expensive.

Then there’s things like bacon and ham etc. i won’t buy imported because of welfare issues but it means we rarely eat those meats because locally produced is very expensive.

[Ausmumof3]

Vege prices were really low here till about two weeks ago. We are probably still feeling some effects from the hail storm (seedlings etc from that time would be maturing now) and the lack of staff to pick and transport 

Its currently $1.20 per corn cob, $9kg for broccoli, $12 for capsicum, $3.50kg for potatoes. $3.50 for a lettuce. The only things that are cheap are stone fruit ($4.50kg) and cucumbers and tomatoes ($4.90kg). That’s supermarket prices but apparently the markets are also high.

Edited January 22, 2022 by Ausmumof3

[Rosie_0801]

1 hour ago, Melissa in Australia said:

i looked up several shops to check I was telling you the right prices. I never buy seafood. It is astronomically expensive and I am sure only for very rich people.

The prices you're quoting are about the same as my local.
We don't get a great range of fish here, in my small, inland town, but we have some. Unless it is a very special occasion, I only buy it when it is discounted. They get their deliveries on Mondays, so there's usually discounted fish on the weekends. I remember Daughter telling me recently that three serves of fresh salmon in Melbourne cost her stepmother $36. I can get the same amount for $9-$12, if I'm in luck.

[prairiewindmomma]

That’s an important point. Chicken is so inexpensive here largely because it’s not done with welfare standards and it’s treated with chlorine wash, etc. 

You can buy better quality meat here, equivalent to Aus standards, but the prices are much much higher. Most families cannot afford it.

[Laura Corin]

9 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Have people started tearing up sheets to make hankies or are people still generally getting by? Do you still have toilet paper and diapers? 

There's no shortage of loo paper, so we'll live.

[Ann.without.an.e]

8 hours ago, Melissa in Australia said:

Minced beef is around $18 kilo, chicken breast around $15kilo.  ...

 

6 hours ago, Rosie_0801 said:

The prices you're quoting are about the same as my local....
 

 

6 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

....

6 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

That’s an important point. Chicken is so inexpensive here largely because it’s not done with welfare standards and it’s treated with chlorine wash, etc. 

You can buy better quality meat here, equivalent to Aus standards, but the prices are much much higher. Most families cannot afford it.

 

 

 

It isn't really a fair comparison. Minimum wage for the US is 7.25 for 2021 and 20.33 in Australia. What do worker's actually make per hour there in a lower income job? I will say that I don't know anyone who actually makes 7.25 but I know people who make 10-12. 

Edited January 22, 2022 by Ann.without.an.e

[Ausmumof3]

30 minutes ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

 

 

 

 

 

It isn't really a fair comparison. Minimum wage for the US is 7.25 for 2021 and 20.33 in Australia. What do worker's actually make per hour there in a lower income job? I will say that I don't know anyone who actually makes 7.25 but I know people who make 10-12. 

Yeah. We do have junior rates and juniors will often make 10-12 but not adults. Minimum for adults is maybe $20? I think the median wage here in Aus dollars is just under $50,000 and for the US it’s around $35,000. It is quite hard to compare. There are definitely things that are kind of taken for granted on this forum I would say are luxuries here, but then this forum is probably not totally representative in the US either. Distance for shipping etc makes things expensive. On the other hand no one has to worry so much about paying for health insurance if they don’t want to.  on the other hand, it seems like people in the US maybe have a higher expectation of health care in general than we do here.

Also as with the US there’s a lot of variation across areas. What buys a comfy house here in Adelaide would struggle in Sydney or Perth. 

[Carrie12345]

So, I had a pick up order last night in addition to my shop at Aldi and my quick run-through at Walmart.
The only item unfulfilled was pepperoni, and I’m kicking myself because Aldi had had plenty. Which I didn’t grab, because I knew it was on my pick up order. Sigh.

What got me was that I had ordered a family pack of pork chops and a family pack of chicken breast. What I received were four tiny pork chops (we’re a household of 5) and 1.7lbs of thin sliced chicken breast (acceptable, but I had planned 2-3 meals from the family pack.)

There are worse things in the world than having to adapt my menu but, with the closest thing to a consensus on issues resolving being in the second half of the year, it does make me concerned about just how much adapting we will need by then.

I used to shop multiple stores in order to save money when the kids were younger. Now I’m trying to get back in the groove of that so I can fill in the holes. (And make a meal that serves 5, lol.)

Any recommendations on what to do with four thin little pork chops to feed 5? I’m guessing a stir fry, but I’ve never actually made a pork stir fry before.

[MEmama]

I only buy organic or free range chicken (or at least the least horrifying option available) and I think around $6/lb is pretty standard. That’s not far off  the prices @Melissa in Australia and  @Ausmumof3 are quoting, if I’m doing my conversions correctly. 

[Longtime Lurker]

Here there is plenty of food overall, but stores are often out of specific items, especially if you want a specific brand. Cream cheese has been off and on for a while now. We don't buy it regularly but DD (about 30 min from us) buys it for her daily morning bagel. She said sometimes she has to buy the brick in stead of the tub or a different brand or fat free or organic or some type of substitute.

A few of DS23's favorite foods have been tricky to find regularly. He is not good at substituting due to his autism and he has no concept of what a supply chain is due to his cognitive delays. Thankfully, there are 3 Meijer stores within 15 minutes of me so I can check multiple stores if necessary. The whole grain frozen waffles he likes have been hard to find lately, but usually going to 2 stores will do the trick. I have also learned to stock up when his favorites are available.

[popmom]

What dh and I are noticing is that Walmart is better stocked than Publix. That’s disturbing but understandable. Walmart being worldwide vs Publix being just regional in the US…Walmart is getting priority on the goods. Publix is struggling to keep certain things in stock. Walmart isn’t having the same issues. I shop Publix as much as I can, but if they’re out of cat food… I’ve got to shop elsewhere.

Edited January 23, 2022 by popmom

[popmom]

17 hours ago, MEmama said:

I only buy organic or free range chicken (or at least the least horrifying option available) and I think around $6/lb is pretty standard. That’s not far off  the prices @Melissa in Australia and  @Ausmumof3 are quoting, if I’m doing my conversions correctly. 

I have been ordering through Crowd Cow (poultry too), but once my discount expires, I’m going to commit to a membership/CSA from a local farmer for most of my meat. I do think they ship within the US. Pasture raised, cruelty free. https://marblecreekfarmstead.com

Its affordable now that I’m only feeding 3 people most of the time. When I was feeding and cooking for 6, this wasn’t viable financially.

Edited January 23, 2022 by popmom

[Carrie12345]

Dh ran to yet another store (that’s actually 5 trips to 4 places in a 7 day span for us, which I think is ridiculous) because no one else had the soda he wanted.  He says our local ShopRite is truly fully stocked.

Now, he is SO infrequently in a grocery store that I don’t necessarily trust his judgment to know what it normally looks like, but they DID have his precious soda, so…

[HomeAgain]

Slight tangent, but are any of you finding supply chain issues affecting recipes online?  I was amused yesterday when I downloaded a new recipe with 5 notes on it, that were all structured the same way:
"The xyz is used to add this flavor or texture.  If you can't get it, abc can be substituted".

Don't get me wrong, I very much appreciated the information, but I laughed a little, too.  And I only had to make two substitutions of the 5, so it turned out fine and with the flavor I was wanting.

[MEmama]

6 hours ago, popmom said:

I have been ordering through Crowd Cow (poultry too), but once my discount expires, I’m going to commit to a membership/CSA from a local farmer for most of my meat. I do think they ship within the US. Pasture raised, cruelty free. https://marblecreekfarmstead.com

Its affordable now that I’m only feeding 3 people most of the time. When I was feeding and cooking for 6, this wasn’t viable financially.

I ought to figure out how to buy chicken from local farmers, now that we are eating it on the regular. I’m pretty sure it’s available seasonally so at least it would help part of the year. Our CSA doesn’t offer chicken (sometimes they do carry meat products but we only ear fish and chicken) but I know I’ve seen it in the freezers at some farm stands and at the markets.
 

I’m embarrassed to say the thing that’s holding me back is that I’ve no idea what to do with an entire chicken— how to prepare it (do I have to remove the guts?), cook a whole bird, or cut one up. The closest I’ve gotten is shredding the meat from a rotisserie chicken (I make stock from the carcass and weird bits), but of course it’s already been de-gutted and cooked. Perhaps this year I ought to learn. 

[KungFuPanda]

2 hours ago, MEmama said:

I ought to figure out how to buy chicken from local farmers, now that we are eating it on the regular. I’m pretty sure it’s available seasonally so at least it would help part of the year. Our CSA doesn’t offer chicken (sometimes they do carry meat products but we only ear fish and chicken) but I know I’ve seen it in the freezers at some farm stands and at the markets.
 

I’m embarrassed to say the thing that’s holding me back is that I’ve no idea what to do with an entire chicken— how to prepare it (do I have to remove the guts?), cook a whole bird, or cut one up. The closest I’ve gotten is shredding the meat from a rotisserie chicken (I make stock from the carcass and weird bits), but of course it’s already been de-gutted and cooked. Perhaps this year I ought to learn. 

A whole chicken isn’t that hard and is usually cheaper. You don’t have to do any of the real work if gutting. They do it for you and put the liver and stuff in a bag for you. Just remove the bag, rinse the bird, and go from there. You can roast it whole or cut it up with a knife or kitchen shears. You’ll get extra meals because you can make bone broth with the bones. There HAS to be a YouTube video you can watch. You may even be able to get the in-store butcher to cut it up for you, but I just do it with kitchen shears.
 

A roasting chicken always gave my family of 4 at least 4 meals. I’d roast the whole thing and we’d eat some for dinner. With the leftovers I made chicken salad with the white meat and some sort of casserole with the dark. Lastly, I’d make stock from the bones that produced at least one soup meal. 
 

If you snag an extra Turkey when they’re holiday-cheap, this whole concept makes even more  meals for less. Also, purchasing more than one corned beef on or after St.Patrick’s Day let’s you stock up on beef for really low prices. 
 

If you spatchcock a chicken or Turkey they cook faster and take up less oven space. You just remove the backbone by cutting along both sides. Then you open the bird like a book. Flip your ‘book’ over and push down hard to snap the breast bone. Now you have a flat bird that cooks more quickly and evenly and leaves oven space for other things.

Edited January 23, 2022 by KungFuPanda

[Pam in CT]

Cooking a whole chicken...

2 hours ago, MEmama said:

... the thing that’s holding me back is that I’ve no idea what to do with an entire chicken— how to prepare it (do I have to remove the guts?), cook a whole bird, or cut one up. The closest I’ve gotten is shredding the meat from a rotisserie chicken (I make stock from the carcass and weird bits), but of course it’s already been de-gutted and cooked. Perhaps this year I ought to learn. 

... is, honestly, the easiest thing in THE WORLD.

There are a zillion variations. Here is a standard.

1. Take the plastic off, rinse it, pat it dry with a paper towel.
2. Reach into the larger cavity on the back end and pull out any (already-detached, often wrapped in butcher paper) innard parts.  You can make broth or gravy out of these for extra points, or just throw them out.
3. Stick a whole lemon inside the same cavity. (Or an apple, or orange, or other fruit whose taste you might like in the drippings, which again, you can add to your gravy, or not.)
4. Rub the outside of the chicken with butter, or olive oil, or anything else with a bit of fat.
5. Sprinkle some salt, pepper, and rosemary all over; and rub into the skin a little bit. (Or any other flavoring you're aiming for.)  If you want, jam some garlic cloves under the skin.
6. Put into the oven legs side back (the backside takes longer to cook than the front.) Bake at ~375 according to the weight of the chicken (there's usually a chart on the package) or until the juices run clear when you pull the legs away from the body. 
7. Go for a walk. Or take a nap. Or put your feet up and read a book. Isn't cooking grand?
8. Once you take it out, let it sit for 15 minutes before you carve it; it will go better.

 

[Faith-manor]

On 1/21/2022 at 7:58 PM, prairiewindmomma said:

We’re at about double the price of meat from last year here.

How much is 500g of minced beef or chicken breast there? How has the price changed over the past year?

I our area, minced (ground) chicken is about $5.00 per lb (1.1 lbs would be half a kg), and that is up $1.00. For beef, it is up to $3.99-4.29 depending on the store for that same amount which is up $.50-1.00. We bought a half beef from a local producer at $2.79 per lb hanging weight (which is butcher speak for organs removed, head removed, hooves off, but the other bones still intact so the price per unit is taking into account that bone weight). This comes out to approximately $3.00 a lb or roughly for you $6.60 a kg and that was cut how we wanted, wrapped, frozen, and ready to be picked up. We paid roughly $1000 and had 200 lbs of minced beef, plus a crazy amount of steaks, roasts, some stew beef and soup bones. We did not take the organ meat except a couple of packages of liver which we gave to my mother in law. She cooks and eats liver. I cannot get past the smell of the stuff cooking. 

What has gone up a lot more in price here has been seafood, chicken breast, and beef steaks and roasts in terms of meat market and supermarket prices buying a package at a time. Chicken breast bought in a 10 lb bulk bags is $3.99 a lb. A year ago, $1.99, and it is 4.59 per lb if purchased as single packages.  A simple round steak was $4.99-5.99 a lb a year ago, and is about $8.99 now. Roasts have nearly doubled in price as well. Turkeys have until this year always been the cheapest meat at $.99 - $1.79 a lb. Those have almost doubled in price except before Thanksgiving Day when the supermarkets sell them at cost if you buy X dollars of other items.

[Longtime Lurker]

5 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

Dh ran to yet another store (that’s actually 5 trips to 4 places in a 7 day span for us, which I think is ridiculous) because no one else had the soda he wanted.  He says our local ShopRite is truly fully stocked.

Now, he is SO infrequently in a grocery store that I don’t necessarily trust his judgment to know what it normally looks like, but they DID have his precious soda, so…

I am finding that having familiar foods is comforting in these volatile times. I totally understand going to multiple stores (even though it can be impractical) to find things. I do try to stock up when I find them so I am not running around all the time. I avoid taking the last one of an item if possible, unless it is for my DS with autism, and then I will buy as many as I reasonably can.

[prairiewindmomma]

Stretching pork chops: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/232420/pork-chop-skillet/

[prairiewindmomma]

Everyone here is allowed one “must have” food (dealing with some SN issues and food allergies) and I am trying so hard to keep a stash of the “must haves” for everyone. ITA that having at least one reliable thing during so much chaos is helpful. 
 

 

[math teacher]

I haven't been inside to see the shelves, but Walmart pick up is running at least an hour behind schedule. I was told some of the employees who came in to fill orders tested positive and had to be sent home.

[Lady Florida.]

16 hours ago, popmom said:

What dh and I are noticing is that Walmart is better stocked than Publix. That’s disturbing but understandable. Walmart being worldwide vs Publix being just regional in the US…Walmart is getting priority on the goods. Publix is struggling to keep certain things in stock. Walmart isn’t having the same issues. I shop Publix as much as I can, but if they’re out of cat food… I’ve got to shop elsewhere.

I was at Publix this morning for a big shopping trip and the shelves were pretty well stocked so it might be regional even for this regional chain. The one thing that has been consistently short or out is canned cat food, especially Fancy Feast which is currently the best choice for my diabetic elderly cat. As for other items I did see some bare shelves but not really many, and fortunately nothing we needed or wanted was out. I was able to get some cat food but didn't want to be the jerk who clears the shelf (there wasn't a limit).

[freesia]

Chicken breast are back and on sale for 1.99 a pound. Crazy times. At least I didn’t have to drive to Maine 😃

[Carrie12345]

Anyone using Walmart pickup, beware substitutions.

I don’t know if I missed a memo somewhere. If I did, I’m guessing others have. My WM has always price matched substitutions. But I cooked my chicken last night and the price tag got me thinking.

I had ordered a family pack of chicken breasts at $2.08/lb, and they had subbed a small pack of thin sliced breasts.  I went back to my email and discovered they charged me $6.81 for 1.68lbs, or more than $4/lb for the privilege of a ‘service’ I didn’t want to begin with.  Had I noticed, I would have rejected the sub.

I’m not saying it’s WRONG to offer subs at regular prices, but I wasn’t expecting it.

 

 

 

[bodiesmom]

1 hour ago, Carrie12345 said:

Anyone using Walmart pickup, beware substitutions.

I don’t know if I missed a memo somewhere. If I did, I’m guessing others have. My WM has always price matched substitutions. But I cooked my chicken last night and the price tag got me thinking.

I had ordered a family pack of chicken breasts at $2.08/lb, and they had subbed a small pack of thin sliced breasts.  I went back to my email and discovered they charged me $6.81 for 1.68lbs, or more than $4/lb for the privilege of a ‘service’ I didn’t want to begin with.  Had I noticed, I would have rejected the sub.

I’m not saying it’s WRONG to offer subs at regular prices, but I wasn’t expecting it.

 

 

 

This same thing happened to me with WM this last week. Thankfully, I caught it before and denied the substitution. 

[kbutton]

On 1/22/2022 at 6:55 AM, Carrie12345 said:

Any recommendations on what to do with four thin little pork chops to feed 5? I’m guessing a stir fry, but I’ve never actually made a pork stir fry before.

Pork fried rice
We made this with lean ground pork, but it would be fine with strip of pork too: https://unboundwellness.com/paleo-egg-roll-soup-whole30-aip/   My kids LOVED it. 

On 1/23/2022 at 9:22 AM, Pam in CT said:

Cooking a whole chicken...

... is, honestly, the easiest thing in THE WORLD.

If you don't feel a need for crispy skin...even easier/lazy...dump it in the crock pot with an inch of water or broth. Spice as you like. If you have an old style crockpot that doesn't get as hot, you will need to have it completely thawed or else start it early. If you have a newer, hotter crockpot, you can get by with partially frozen.

I think people Instant pot them from frozen also.

[Faith-manor]

Dh just reported that the market is out of refried beans, pintos, and black beans. Are people stocking up for Super Bowl Nachos? They also had no gallons of milk, and only 1% and fat free half gallons unless buying organic. I don't stock much milk, and they had half n half which is what I use in my coffee. So I am okay! 😁

I have some canned black beans in the cupboard and a bag of dried pintos so we are good.

He did note that a deli, rotisserie chicken was now $12.00. That is very high for this area.

[MEmama]

2 minutes ago, kbutton said:

Pork fried rice
We made this with lean ground pork, but it would be fine with strip of pork too: https://unboundwellness.com/paleo-egg-roll-soup-whole30-aip/   My kids LOVED it. 

If you don't feel a need for crispy skin...even easier/lazy...dump it in the crock pot with an inch of water or broth. Spice as you like. If you have an old style crockpot that doesn't get as hot, you will need to have it completely thawed or else start it early. If you have a newer, hotter crockpot, you can get by with partially frozen.

I think people Instant pot them from frozen also.

Of course, all these “easy” methods still assume some level of chicken knowledge I don’t apparently possess. I can shred a rotisserie chicken for later use, make broth out of the bones and veggie scraps, make chicken soup, and air fry thighs/ cutlets. That’s it. “Just toss it in the crockpot” assumes I know what to do with the innards and carcass, whether and how I remove the skin (because yeah, we’re not eating skin or picking anything off bones on the dinner plate), what seasonings make sense, how long “til it’s done” actually is, and what in the world I'm meant to do with it next. Lol! 
 

I appreciate that once I branch out I’ll laugh at my ignorance, but for now chicken makes me super nervous. I’m actually a fine cook, even I don’t enjoy it much, but this just leaves me drawing a blank. I’ve come a long way with preparing chicken in the short time we've been eating it, but it is very new to me and I guess I’m a bit paranoid. 

[kbutton]

1 hour ago, MEmama said:

Of course, all these “easy” methods still assume some level of chicken knowledge I don’t apparently possess. I can shred a rotisserie chicken for later use, make broth out of the bones and veggie scraps, make chicken soup, and air fry thighs/ cutlets. That’s it. “Just toss it in the crockpot” assumes I know what to do with the innards and carcass, whether and how I remove the skin (because yeah, we’re not eating skin or picking anything off bones on the dinner plate), what seasonings make sense, how long “til it’s done” actually is, and what in the world I'm meant to do with it next. Lol! 
 

I appreciate that once I branch out I’ll laugh at my ignorance, but for now chicken makes me super nervous. I’m actually a fine cook, even I don’t enjoy it much, but this just leaves me drawing a blank. I’ve come a long way with preparing chicken in the short time we've been eating it, but it is very new to me and I guess I’m a bit paranoid. 

Others covered the innards. 

Once it's done, you have a rotisserie chicken but not crispy skin. If you are fine with rotisserie chicken, I didn't think you needed to know how to serve it. 

I find raw chicken icky to handle, to be honest. It's just juicy and squishy and germy, lol! I don't want to get as cozy with it as I'd have to in order to rub spices under the skin. I am good with sprinkling and plugging in the pot. 🙂 

If you don't want to pick a chicken at the table, then I would make it ahead for whatever you use a rotisserie chicken for. I wouldn't take the skin off before cooking because it will be less juicy, and raw chicken skin is kind of yucky to peel off the legs and wings--it gets stuck, IME, and then I have to cut it. Just, no. 

I don't really use a crock pot for a precise time--I didn't think anyone did. You can use a meat thermometer or "falls off the bones" to test whether it's done if you use the crockpot method. Otherwise, google would be your friend for crockpot timing.

[MEmama]

12 minutes ago, kbutton said:

Others covered the innards. 

Once it's done, you have a rotisserie chicken but not crispy skin. If you are fine with rotisserie chicken, I didn't think you needed to know how to serve it. 

I find raw chicken icky to handle, to be honest. It's just juicy and squishy and germy, lol! I don't want to get as cozy with it as I'd have to in order to rub spices under the skin. I am good with sprinkling and plugging in the pot. 🙂 

If you don't want to pick a chicken at the table, then I would make it ahead for whatever you use a rotisserie chicken for. I wouldn't take the skin off before cooking because it will be less juicy, and raw chicken skin is kind of yucky to peel off the legs and wings--it gets stuck, IME, and then I have to cut it. Just, no. 

I don't really use a crock pot for a precise time--I didn't think anyone did. You can use a meat thermometer or "falls off the bones" to test whether it's done if you use the crockpot method. Otherwise, google would be your friend for crockpot timing.

Thank you—that’s helpful information!

The only thing I know what to do with a rotisserie chicken is shred the meat for later use (I freeze it in freezer bags). I tried serving the breast meat sliced once but it was sooo dry. 
 

I'm glad to hear I’m not the only who is squeamish about the preparation. Thanks for the tips! 🙂 

[math teacher]

WalMart must have been completely out of cough drops, or they chose not to substitute. They were out of/didn't substitute paper plates, personal size watermelon, nectarines, plastic forks. My one gallon of milk, they subbed a more expensive half gallon. 

Dollar General cold medicine aisle was nearly wiped out. They were real low on paper plates and plastic cutlery.

[Ausmumof3]

7 hours ago, bodiesmom said:

This same thing happened to me with WM this last week. Thankfully, I caught it before and denied the substitution. 

Yes I’ve got caught. Ours have to charge the original price or lower but they often sub a smaller package that’s more expensive as a unit price thing thought the overall price is lower but have got caught buying far more expensive items than I ordered.

[Storygirl]

On 1/23/2022 at 5:17 PM, Lady Florida. said:

I was at Publix this morning for a big shopping trip and the shelves were pretty well stocked so it might be regional even for this regional chain. The one thing that has been consistently short or out is canned cat food, especially Fancy Feast which is currently the best choice for my diabetic elderly cat. As for other items I did see some bare shelves but not really many, and fortunately nothing we needed or wanted was out. I was able to get some cat food but didn't want to be the jerk who clears the shelf (there wasn't a limit).

I ordered Fancy Feast from Target online when I saw how sparse the cat food shelf at the grocery was this past week. Bonus -- if you have a Red card, you'll get free shipping and 5% off.

[vonfirmath]

2 hours ago, MEmama said:

Thank you—that’s helpful information!

The only thing I know what to do with a rotisserie chicken is shred the meat for later use (I freeze it in freezer bags). I tried serving the breast meat sliced once but it was sooo dry. 
 

I'm glad to hear I’m not the only who is squeamish about the preparation. Thanks for the tips! 🙂 

When I have to deal with raw chicken, I like wearing gloves I can throw away later

 

[JFSinIL]

SO far only some frozen foods seem to be missing at our local Walmart...and the smaller size of 2% milk  I like to get.  So I stopped at the nearby Meijers (regional chain) since they do have the milk, and better produce, although baby carrots, of all things, were out.  Meijers is the ONLY store I go to (out of a half dozen within 20 minute drive) that has bare shelves in many aisles AND the signs noting limit two (or four, depends) due to shortages. Woodmans, Jewel, Butera, Caputos, Walmart (except some frozen) no signs, no bare shelf space.  Have not been in the local Aldi or TJ for couple years now, so no comment on them.

Meat prices higher across the board.

 

[SHP]

We shop mostly curbside pick up, on a rare occasion one person will go inside during slower times to pick up things that are showing unavailable with curbside or we want to get items from a store that has drastically marked products up in app.

I have had trouble getting the strangest of things cabbage, grapes, eggplant, different types of dry beans, rice, oranges, grapefruit, etc. I have found some smaller bakeries that I hit for bread, otherwise it is hit or miss for fresh baked breads. 

We don't eat a lot of meat and the meat we do eat is limited to poultry and fish. I live in the Midwest and have never been rich enough to buy the fish that was caught the day before and flown in overnight and I haven't noticed a huge increase in price for the fish for the rest of us. Ground turkey has gone up.

[Carrie12345]

Period products. 😱 

I had to run out and so I took a peek inside a place I haven’t been in a while.   Pads and tampons (more so pads) were *low* low. 
Picked up a prescription at CVS and found the same, but opposite. Nearly no tampons.

There are emergency options stashed at my house, but I am VERY picky. Ugh. 

[Bambam]

Another thing I've noticed that is consistently low is the canned biscuits. Almost that entire section of cooler was filled with eggs (far from where the eggs normally are, and the normal egg section was stocked normally.  They had a few canned cornbread (I did not even know this was available) and a few crescent rolls and some super expensive Annie's canned bread products. 

[Tenaj]

On 1/25/2022 at 10:47 AM, JFSinIL said:

SO far only some frozen foods seem to be missing at our local Walmart...and the smaller size of 2% milk  I like to get.  So I stopped at the nearby Meijers (regional chain) since they do have the milk, and better produce, although baby carrots, of all things, were out.  Meijers is the ONLY store I go to (out of a half dozen within 20 minute drive) that has bare shelves in many aisles AND the signs noting limit two (or four, depends) due to shortages. Woodmans, Jewel, Butera, Caputos, Walmart (except some frozen) no signs, no bare shelf space.  Have not been in the local Aldi or TJ for couple years now, so no comment on them.

Meat prices higher across the board.

 

I've been wondering if Meijer may be in a bit of trouble financially or just going through a down time?  Ours has been sparse, too.  In our area they were the last to get organized for pickup orders and the shelves seem really sparse the last few times I've been in there.  Our store just has a generally unkept look which is very unusual.  It was my go to store for years but I had to switch during the pandemic because of their lack of/poor quality pickup service so it makes me sad to think they may not make it.

[Melissa in Australia]

3 hours ago, Bambam said:

Another thing I've noticed that is consistently low is the canned biscuits. Almost that entire section of cooler was filled with eggs (far from where the eggs normally are, and the normal egg section was stocked normally.  They had a few canned cornbread (I did not even know this was available) and a few crescent rolls and some super expensive Annie's canned bread products. 

What are canned biscuits ?

why would bread come in a can? I am having trouble imagining it. Is it to take camping so it doesn’t get wet?

 

[prairiewindmomma]

20 minutes ago, Melissa in Australia said:

What are canned biscuits ?

why would bread come in a can? I am having trouble imagining it. Is it to take camping so it doesn’t get wet?

 

I think she’s thinking of American biscuits, similar to fluffy scones. The dough is mixed then refrigerated and packaged into cylinder shaped paper wrapped packaging with metal ends. One purchases it, then bakes the biscuits at home. 

[Melissa in Australia]

Just now, prairiewindmomma said:

I think she’s thinking of American biscuits, similar to fluffy scones. The dough is mixed then refrigerated and packaged into cylinder shaped paper wrapped packaging with metal ends. One purchases it, then bakes the biscuits at home. 

Oh, thank you so much for the explanation. I would have never worked it out. I had a mental image of a can like a bean can that you opened with a can opener and was full of cookies. Cookies are  what we call biscuits .

[prairiewindmomma]

2 minutes ago, Melissa in Australia said:

Oh, thank you so much for the explanation. I would have never worked it out. I had a mental image of a can like a bean can that you opened with a can opener and was full of cookies. Cookies are  what we call biscuits .

Yeah. I realized the cross-cultural mistranslation and was having a good laugh myself. 
 

Ok, question for you @Melissa in Australia, in your neck of the woods does mayonnaise come in a bottle or in a tube? 

[Melissa in Australia]

You can get both. I buy it in a glass jar. You can get squeeze tubes but it is that cheep sweet mayonnaise.

[alisoncooks]

On 1/23/2022 at 5:01 PM, math teacher said:

I haven't been inside to see the shelves, but Walmart pick up is running at least an hour behind schedule. I was told some of the employees who came in to fill orders tested positive and had to be sent home.

I order groceries online every week. Last week, just a few hours before my grocery pick up (and the day before a snow forecast!!!), the grocery store called and said they had to cancel my order because they were short staffed.  Stunner. 

[shawthorne44]

I got all excited when Trader Joe's had Butter Lettuce back in stock.