The Economy and Staying Open

I saw something on the news last night that a small store up in North Kansas City had come up with. They had hung a huge banner out front of their building that said, "Your Patronage Keeps Us Open." The owner or manager was interviewed and said they thought the banner would draw people in and it would be out there as long as it needed to be.



Does this work? The jury is out, I'm sure, but it makes me wonder.



I was talking to a friend a couple of days ago and how things are going with small businesses, and strategies that everyone was using to try to get people in. One of the things she cited was how Circuit City was "featured" in the news right before Christmas as a chain that was in trouble. She felt that the media attention was the death knell because all of a sudden, no one wanted to buy products from a company that might not be there to make good on warranties or to redeem gift cards. Immediately, everyone transferred their business to Best Buy "even though I might pay a little more." Certainly a valid concern, and you really can't blame anyone for thinking that way.



Do you as a customer care that the small businesses near you might go out of business? Or are you more interested in buying it cheaper at a big box store?



I grew up in a number of small towns. Everyone understood that if you wanted to continue to have local options you needed to shop with your neighbors and that they, in turn, would shop with you. However, once I moved to a metro area, that idea seemed to get lost somewhere.



I love being known at the places where I do business. It makes me feel like I'm contributing to the community and something more than some corporation's bottom line. Would people really rather be anonymous when they hand over their hard-earned dollars?



Maybe it's because no one knows who the actual owner is or they never give it a second thought. We're so used to the corporately owned store and would rather buy on price. WalMart is a great example when you look at small towns. Many a small town has seen their quaint downtown area go the way of the woolly mammoth once WalMart moved in.



I'm all for survival of the fittest and capitalism at its finest. Sometimes there really isn't a market for a better mousetrap. However, if there's a business that really does offer something to the community then doesn't it follow that customers need to remember that and offer a little extra loyalty when times get rough?



Small businesses typically have a relationship with their customers that you can't find at a larger store, whether it's a grocery store or a hardware store or the fast food place. Because we small business owners are so aware of how much our livelihood depends on our satisfied customers, we typically will go the extra mile to make sure our customers stay happy. In addition most of us try to patronize those who patronize us. It's disconcerting when there's a down month and we don't know if we've done something wrong, or if it's "just" the economy, or if there is some other reason that has nothing to do with us.



But do we really need to remind our customers that "Your Patronage Keeps Us Open?" I'd love to hear your opinions.

Winner of 4 Meal Package

Jennifer Smith won the 4 meal package drawing when she answered my question: What have been your favorite Social Suppers meals? Her answers were the Cranberry Chicken Salad Pitas, the Raspberry Chicken with Coconut Rice and the Magnificent Mac & Cheese.

Of 13 respondents (many gave me several meals that were favorites), the meals that were mentioned were:

Cranberry Chicken Salad Pitas (on the April menu, by the way) 2 votes
Longhorn Chicken Burritos (1 full in the Express Freezer) 2 votes
Chicken Tetrazzini 2 votes

The other items mentioned, at one vote apiece, were:
Double Dipped Potato Chip Chicken (also on April)
Beef Burgundy
Buffalo Chicken Calzones
Italian Meatloaf
Ginger Plum Chicken (In the Express Freezer)
Sesame Chicken
Gingered Honey Salmon (In the Express Freezer)
Shrimp & Crab Lasagna Bake
Calzones
Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches
Shredded Beef Sandwiches
Lasagna Wraps
Skinny Minnie Chicken Tortilla Soup
KC Strip Steaks with Social Suppers Sauce
Ranch Bacon Chicken Wraps
Pork Chops in Maple Cranberry Glaze
Balsamic Beef & Cheese Wraps

With only 13 respondents, chances are very good to win the package in future drawings; make sure you answer my next question, coming in a few weeks. If you're not on my email distribution list, email me at amyj@socialsuppers.com to be added!

Crusted Pecan Chicken

Keith and I had the Crusted Pecan Chicken from the March menu last night. It was SO tender and the pecans gave the chicken a nice, crunchy coating on the outside. Wish I'd had some sweet potatoes to use as a side item. I'm eyeing the one leftover chicken breast to use for lunch today. I'm thinking that it'll be really great sliced over a big salad!

Amy's Review of Social Suppers' March Menu Items

So far, we've tried the Irish Meatloaf, the Italian Pot Roast, the Rosemary Mustard Pork Chops, the Homemade Meatball Subs, the Creamed Chicken & Biscuits and, returning from previous menus, the Greek Herbed Lemon Pork Loin, the Bacon Cheddar Burgers and the Bacon Wrapped Pork Filets with Red Rocks Rub. There's really not a "dud" in there.

My 11 year-old son pronounced the pot roast "amazing" last night--how often does a kid tell you anything you put on the table is amazing? Doesn't happen often in my household! We baked it in the oven and it turned out very tender. It has nice Italian spices with mushrooms and tomatoes in the juices. It can also be cooked in the crockpot.

We made the Homemade Meatball Subs last Saturday night because Nicholas was having a friend sleep-over. They are HUGE and delicious! The 3 boys--I'm including my husband--and I scarfed them! The following evening, when I said we were doing leftovers, all 3 of us were vying for the 2 leftover subs. Just to confirm my earlier statement about how large they are, the 3 of us split the two subs evenly and no one went hungry.

The Rosemary Mustard Pork Chops are good and would be something I might make for a dinner party. I'm not sure how kids would like them, but my husband and I thought they had a very nice taste. Definitely need our Garlic Roasted Mashed Potatoes to go with them.

The Irish Meatloaf is a fun twist on both meatloaf and a Reuben sandwich. It has a little bit of sauerkraut and a little bit of corned beef mixed in with the hamburger, a layer of swiss cheese in the middle and a very nice tomato and horseradish glaze on top. I have to say that this was possibly the best meatloaf I've EVER had! I do love a Reuben sandwich, though, so if a Reuben is not your cup of tea, then you may want to avoid it.

The Creamed Chicken and Biscuits is a returning favorite and is "comfort food" at its finest. What's not to like about brown, flaky biscuits perched atop a thick and creamy chicken sauce with cheddar cheese on top?

For the die-hard grillers, now that Spring is teasing us with 50 and 60 degree days sprinkled among the 30's, we have the Cheddar Bacon Burgers and the Bacon Wrapped Pork Filets with Red Rocks Rub. The burgers are my most requested burger recipe, and the pork filets? My husband insists that no man should go without trying them at least once! You will want to have both of these in your freezer ready for the next forecast of a warm day.

Last, but not least, is the Greek Herbed Lemon Pork Loin. With this roasting in the oven, you will be anticipating dinner with your mouth watering! It smells heavenly and tastes divine! Okay, maybe I'm being a little melodramatic, but try it out and see for yourself. This is another one that my son walked into the house while it was in the oven and said he couldn't WAIT for dinner, it smelled so good! This can be done in the crockpot, too, and that will just help build the anticipation.

We'll be moving on to the rest of the menu. Stay tuned!

Can Single People Benefit from Using Social Suppers

I've had quite a few people tell me that they can't really use food from Social Suppers because they are single. There may be underlying reasons for that reaction with which I'm unfamiliar. However, I actually have at least a couple of customers who are single who survive mostly on Social Suppers and have discovered it saves them money as well as provides good food that they can look forward to.

Let me pose a few questions:

• If you cook for yourself and you're single, how much of what you buy for a particular recipe sits in the refrigerator and spoils because you used what you needed for the one recipe and have no use for the rest of it?
• How many times do you just not make something because it calls for a specific ingredient and you know you may never use it again? (That applies to anyone regardless of how many people you're feeding.)
• If you don't really cook, how much money are you spending on eating out?
• How bored are you after eating cereal or frozen TV dinners from the grocery store for days on end?

Our 3 serving entrees are very easy to use for singles. We usually have a few items that are individually wrapped every month. For the items that are not individually wrapped, you can do a couple of things, depending on whether you eat leftovers.

1) You cook the entire entree and make enough of your side dishes for 3. Then you have a lunch to take to work later in the week and you make one frozen dinner by placing the rest of the leftovers on a plate and putting it back in your freezer. It will be ready to put in the oven for 30-45 minutes or the microwave for 5 minutes some busy night later in the month. If you're a guy, then maybe you get only 2 meals out of it.

2) If you don't like leftovers, then split the uncooked entrees before you put them into the freezer at home and then you only have to cook one pork chop or chicken breast at a time.

For a single person, a meal prep kitchen is ideal.

• You're not buying food that will spoil in your refrigerator because you had to buy too much to get what you needed.
• You're not wasting a bunch of calories eating fast food with God knows what preservatives, fat and sodium in it.
• You're not spending as much as you would eating out and again, not really knowing what's in it.
• You have variety because the menu contains lots of different choices and changes every month. Favorites are brought back every so often.
• Portion control is inherent in buying only a 3-serving entree. The serving size is a real serving size, not what restaurants are passing off as a serving.
• You're not living on cereal or boiled chicken breasts because it's easy and you're too tired to think about anything else.
• When you get home in the evening, you can now have dinner in somewhere between 10 minutes on the stovetop or 30 minutes in the oven, depending on the item. That's cook time so you can frequently be doing something else more exciting at the same time, like going through your junk mail!

By coming into a Social Suppers kitchen, you can make about 6 entrees in an hour, figuring about 10 minutes per item. Compare that to how long it would take preparing your food to go into the oven at home. Your time is worth something, especially when you're managing a household by yourself.

If you don't want to make it yourself, we can make it for you and you just pick it up. The nutritional information is all on the website so you can make informed decisions.

Check out the website at http://www.socialsuppers.com/ and come see me in Olathe, KS!

January 2009 Menu Comments

I've just about made my way through the Social Suppers menu for January at this point.







So far, I have to say that my favorites, not necessarily in order, have been:

• the Lasagna Wraps - a great way to hide spinach in a meal kids usally enjoy, the lasagna noodles are rolled around a cheese, ground beef and spinach filling, making it a fun shape
• the Hawaiian Pork Quesadillas - the jalapeno, pineapple and cilantro are great counterpoints. Even my I-hate-pineapple-in-anything husband couldn't resist.
• the Mojo Cuban Pork, which is a returning favorite - the cilantro/garlic/lime sauce is to die for! This is pictured above.
• Allison's Mango Curry Chicken - a surprise to both Keith and me. Something about the sweet taste of mango & raisins, coupled with the savory spice of curry. It's really interesting and tasty.
• Lemon Chicken - Nice & light, a perfect New Year's Resolution meal with lots of taste
• Cincinnati Chili - I really liked this, though I must admit I was skeptical. However, I approached it as: It's not Chili and it's not spaghetti, it's something I've never had before. The cinnamon, molasses, cumin and chili powder, among other things, made it highly fragrant. The leftovers were good, too.

Stay tuned. I still need to check out the Luigi Steak and the Artichoke Stuffed Chicken. I'll probably have the Gingered Honey Salmon again just to refresh my memory, too. It's one of my parents' favorites, but it's been awhile for me. This is definitely one of the fun parts of this job!

Email me at amyj@socialsuppers.com if you have questions about the menu. I'm always glad to help! Definitely, if you have anything to add about any of the menu items, please post!

Meal Wars

A few months after Keith and I were married, my stepson who was 16 at the time, complained rather vehemently about a meal I had made. Unbeknownst to me, he didn't (and probably still doesn't) like seafood and we'd had Garlic and Clam Sauce over Linguini. After a rather loud exchange, I pronounced that he would be making dinner the following evening and I would be choosing the menu. I would have liked to have him choose the menu, but figured he'd make frozen pizza and that wouldn't really teach him anything about what it takes to put a meal on the table.

The following day he arrived home from school to find a note taped to the door that outlined what I expected and that it should be on the table at 6:30 when I returned home from work. Now, let me say that I don't really think that was the best method for teaching a child what it takes to put a meal on the table. In self-defense, I wasn't used to having a teenager in the house and my other son was only 4.

Ideally, when meals are being made, everyone should take part and as most parenting advice columnists tell you, the little kids can set the table, older children can peel carrots and teenagers can help out by starting the roast, or whatever. Peel carrots? I'm embarrassed to admit that I haven't peeled a carrot in at least 5 years. That's why they make the baby carrots!

So for the rest of us, how do you get dinner on the table with a minimum of argument and not have to do it all yourself after getting home from work at 6:00pm or later? Every study that comes out on the subject talks about how important it is to have meals together and all the benefits for your children. The benefits range from lower incidence of alcohol and drug abuse, and higher grades to healthier eating habits and kids that are more confident. Just Google "importance of eating together as a family" and see how much comes up.

Fixing a meal doesn't have to be tough and it doesn't have to be take-out.

A meal assembly kitchen like Social Suppers can split the difference between a restaurant and doing everything from scratch at home. Many of my customers bring their school-age children with them and are surprised at how much more a child will try once they see what's going into the food. It provides a little one-on-one time with Mom or Dad, it takes a fraction of the time to put together several meals when all the chopping and ingredient shopping has been done for you, and it allows variety that you might not attempt at home due to ingredient constraints. (Who wants to buy the $10 spice that you may never use again?) And then you get home and the child who helped can read the directions that are on a 2" x 4" label and start dinner all by themselves. Talk about building self-esteem! It's not exactly the same as learning to make homemade bread with Grandma, but it still teaches kids how to read a recipe, what goes into a dish and tastes good together, and that food doesn't just magically appear on the table.

Oh, and for those wondering about how my stepson did with his dinner assignment: He did a lot of worrying and made it harder than it had to be, but in the end carried it off with grace, style and humor and we all enjoyed our meal that night. He also stated that he now understood what it took to put a meal on the table. Guess what else? He's married now and he does the cooking! That's what his wife and I call a good thing.