Thrifting Finds #47: This time, there's Pyrex!

Well!

As you can probably tell by my light 'n breezy tone, this was a significantly better week for thrifting than I've had lately.  I didn't get anything that I could resell for a fortune, and everything I got was useful and practical, but I'm happy with each and every purchase.

We did not go to the second part of the estate sale that I reported on last week.  Not for any moral reasons you understand, we just got a late start yesterday.  We would have arrived at the sale a half-hour before it closed and it didn't seem worth making the side trip.  I'm still signed up with estatesales.net, so if anything comes up, we'll give it another shot.

Anyway. On to what I got!

1.  A Food Merry-Go-Round!  I've noticed that the food in my microwave just isn't having a very good time, so I got it a little ride.  This is actually the second one I bought, the first turned out to be a dud.  This was just on the shelf so I could open it up and test it before purchasing.  I don't think it had ever been used. Savers, $4.00

2.  Another cookbook? Yeah, but look--it's not just any old way to Better Cooking: it's the Blender way!  I don't use my blender very often and I ran across this cookbook in an old ad somewhere and thought I'd see if I could find it.  Well darned if it wasn't just staring at me from the shelf at the store.  It's one of those typical blender cookbooks that has recipes for things like Cornish Game Hens--22 ingredients, only three of which actually become acquainted with the blender.  And even then, it'd be easier to just pull out a knife and chop by hand.  Once I stopped paying attention to the strained blender involvement, it turned out to be not half-bad.  Couple of things I want to try, actually.  Rescue Mission Thrift, $2.00

3.  Pyrex!  After making the rice that went with last week's Lemon Chicken, I discovered that the jar I had been using to store it smelled funky.  Perfect excuse to buy another piece of Tupperware, right?  I thought so too, until I came across this which is the right size, I think.  Savers, $3.00

Oh, P.S.:  Regular rice is kept in Tupperware.  Converted rice in Pyrex.  See how organized I am?

4.  New Electric Knife!  I was pretty pleased to find this baby--new in box, never opened.  The box was in kind of bad condition--clearly stored in a hot attic for years, which started dry-rotting the paper, but it's not like I'm going to keep the box anyway.  I loved my old Sunbeam electric knife but it died and I've been using some soulless Black and Decker horror that was made in China.  So I'm really glad to have this back in stock.  The storage rack is going because I don't need it and have no room for it.  Goodwill, $8.00

5.  More Pyrex!  I'm always on the lookout for a gravy boat that can go in the microwave.  So many of them have a gold or platinum band (that makes a dramatic display when you microwave it. Ask me how I know.)  Butterfly Gold isn't a pattern I collect (or even really like), but I couldn't pass up this little beauty with its matching saucer, especially when they also had a Spring Green gravy boat without the saucer for a buck more.  Naturally, I'd prefer blue cornflowers, but one can't always have what one wants.  Goodwill, $3.00.

In Other News Department:

It's always a good day when the vintage cookware arrives!  I had a set of Wearever Bounty cookware that said you could go ahead and use metal utensils.  Unfortunately, I did, and it didn't turn out well.  So I found this set on the 'bay and won it.  With shipping, it came to like $31.00, which I think was pretty good. One, two, and three-quart saucepans, small and large skillets and a 5-quart Dutch Oven, all with matching lids.  Brand new, never used. I'm really liking cooking in them, and despite what the instructions say, I will not be using metal utensils.  I've also learned not to put shiny aluminum in the dishwasher.

What I Made Department:

Not my picture

A:  Guacamole!  I've spent quite a lot of my life scraping guacamole off things under the assumption that I don't like it.  Well, when Aldi had avocados for 59 cents, I got one, thinking that they're really good for you and that maybe I should just suck it up:  one avocado ain't gonna kill me.  Once it got ripe, I pulled down my BH&G Cookbook and sort of followed the recipe--it called for lemon juice, salt, and chili powder.  I added some brown mustard as well for a little kick.  Wellsir, it was delish.  I had to force myself to not eat the whole bowl.  The Hubs said it was good, but unlike any guacamole he had ever had.  Unfortunately, I made the rookie mistake of thinking that closing up the leftovers in some Tupperware would keep it from discoloring.  Not so.  The next day it was sort of brownish-purple, the color of a really dandy bruise.  Ugh.  I'll know better this time.

B:  Potato Puff!  This recipe came from Dinner in a Dish that I got a while ago.  How to describe it?  Well, it's chicken, cheese, and broccoli (the recipe called for carrots) mixed in with mashed potatoes and egg yolks, then lightened with stiffly-beaten egg whites.  Sort of a souffle for imbeciles.  Odd, no?  Naturally, I had to try it.  And really, once we got over the initial shock, it was darn tasty!  I'll tell you though, I had some doubts about serving this.  Once plated, it was ugly.  I mean really bad.  Like something the dog couldn't keep down.  Luckily, it smelled good, so that was a plus.  And I got to pull out the MIghty Kenmore to whip those egg whites. so another plus.

On the other hand, I had to whip egg whites, and then fold them in.  I don't fold; it's too much work.  And I don't normally go to that much trouble for an ordinary dinner. Plus, it had to be baked in a bain marie.   And it took forever; after an hour in the oven, the middle was still jiggly.  

It was good enough to try again, though Hubs and I decided next time to forego the eggs entirely.  And I think I'll sprinkle more cheese on top.

And that's it for this week, kids.  I'm proudly linking up with Sir Thrift A Lot, Thrifter/Maker/Fixer/Farm, The Nifty Thrifty  and We Call It Junkin.

Thrifting Finds #46 and Something New!

Bleah.

It's March 3 and we're having another snow storm.  Work is closed, schools are closed, everything is closed.  Predictions (depending on whom you listen to) are for anywhere from 8 to 12 inches of snow.

I'm tempted to go outside and shake my fist at the sky and scream "Enough!"  like an old man.  Because I am one.

 Anyway.  We knew this was coming--and we're supposed to get more on Thursday, oh joy--so we made as many stops as we could this weekend.  Not that much turned up, you understand.  For some reason, the thrifts were all mobbed this weekend.  I can only imagine what the supermarkets were like.

But here's the Something New--we went to an estate sale!  I'm always totally jealous reading about the fabulous estate sales youall go to, several a week for each of you, it seems, and loaded to the rafters with cool stuff.  I don't know why, but we don't really seem to have estate sales around here.  Not to the extent everyone else does, anyway.

So I signed up with estatesales.net and got notice of a sale that was within a reasonable distance.  In fact, it was not far at all from our usual Sunday route.  So we went.

It was the last day of a 2-day sale so we didn't expect to find much.  We just sort of went for the experience, I guess.  I'm not sure I'll be able to go to any more.  I found myself feeling kind of creepy and embarrassed.  I mean, here was this person's house, kitchen cabinets and closets flung open for the world to paw through in the cruel light of day.  And there was nothing they could do about it. 

Do any of you ever feel this way?  Or is it just me?  Will I get over it?  Part two is next week and I don't know if we should go or not .  Am I just being silly?

I only managed to find one item this week:

1. What?  Another cookbook?  First there was the Cooky book.  Then there was Dinner in a Dish.  And now this.  You know what they say--three of anything makes a collection, so apparently I'm collecting Betty Crocker cookbooks.  I only flipped through it briefly, but it looks kind of cute.

And that's all I found.  Hopefully, next week will be better.  Keep your fingers crossed, won't you?

What I Made Department:

 

A:  Beef vegetable soup:  Knowing what the weather was going to be like this week, it seemed like a good choice.  And will be, when we have some tonight.

B:  7-Up Biscuits:  No picture, I'm afraid.  This was one of those recipes that pops up on Facebook, and I'm a sucker for weird recipes that contain some "magic" ingredient.  It's just 4 cups of Bisquick, a cup of sour cream, and a cup of 7-Up.  The instructions say the dough "will be soft" but not to worry.  Well, I did worry.  It was not a dough so much as a batter.  Making these was so frustrating!  It was like trying to wrangle quicksilver and made a HUGE mess and I ended up tossing almost half the "dough."  They came out all right, but they certainly weren't worth the trouble.  If I ever make these again, I'll do them as drop biscuits.  Oh, they're baked in a puddle of melted butter, by the way.

C:  Lemon Chicken with Broccoli:  This is actually a Weight Watcher's recipe that a friend (who is a famously picky eater) passed on to me.  Neither Hubs nor I were particularly impressed.  It was kind of meh.  If I make this again, I'm going to up the amount of lemon considerably and add a lot more pepper, too.

And that's it kids.  Another slim week, I'm afraid.  Maybe next week will be better.  On the other hand, I feel like I'm getting another damn cold.

Linking up this week with Sir Thrift A Lot, Thrifter/Maker/Fixer/Farm, and We Call It Junkin.

Thrifting Finds #43: A Better Week!

We knew this weekend wasn't going to yield its typical thrifting.  My brother invited us to dinner on Sunday, so our usual Sunday rounds weren't going to happen.  Still, I had planned to drop in to the Goodwill Where We Never Find Anything (except a couple of cool lamps) and the GW in Frederick that we don't get to often.  Not much for a Sunday, but better than nothing.

On Saturday, we stopped in at our local GW, our "usual" Saturday GW, and both branches of the Rescue Mission Thrift (I wanted to get in as many stops as I could since I knew Sunday would be skimpy.)  So overall, we covered 6 thrifts this weekend, which isn't too bad.  What's even better, is that I actually found some stuff!

Want to see what I got?  Well, let's start with this

1. Piece of Avocado deliciousness!  Yessir, it's a mint, still-sealed Rubbermaid Message Center in lovely avocado!  Even still has the little packet of pushpins inside.  Now, this is not really my style, and definitely not my color, so I think I'm going to flip this on the 'bay.  Surely there's someone out there with a Brady Bunch-style kitchen who would be willing to shell out big bucks buy something as cool as this.  Rescue Mission Thrift, $2.00

(I also got a big serving spoon there for a quarter, but didn't take a picture of it.  Not taking pictures became a habit with me, as you'll see in a moment.)

2.   Rubbermaid Bread Keeper!  I've been looking for a Tupperware one but there are none to be found, so I picked this up since it was there.  Just plan on using it to keep bread in the freezer, since it seems to dry out if I freeze it in just the bag.  Goodwill, $2.00

3.  DVD Recorder!  My DVD recorder has been making a noise like a Diesel truck lately, so I figured it was time to replace it.  I wanted a recorder, not just a player, in case we ever want to record anything.  Okay, so we haven't recorded anything at all in years, but you never know.  They're expensive new, so I thought I'd take a chance at the GW.  The first one I saw was 20 bucks and didn't have the remote control.  I hemmed and hawed a little, but just a little.  Then I decided to go through the rest of the pile and see if there was another one.  Well, lo and behold, there was, and it had the cord and the remote.  Best part?  The price was only 10 bucks.  Of course, I had no idea if it would work or not, but I figured for the price, it was worth taking a chance.  I hooked it up and it does indeed work.  It's not great, and some buttons on the remote are kind of touchy, but it's definitely good enough until something better comes along. I looked up some reviews from the past (they don't make it any more), and some of them are absolutely scathing.  Still, for the price, it's fine.  Goodwill, $10.00

4.  Extremely Cool Coffee Pot!  This wasn't a thrift find (they never have cool percolators in the thrifts), but an ebay purchase.  Isn't it the coolest style?  Isn't it the ugliest color?  Do not adjust your monitor--it really is that ugly barf green/yellow.  Once the weather warms up, I plan on spray painting it a lovely off-white.  This is kind of an interesting design, as the percolator started out life as a corn popper.  See the base?  Yeah, that's a popcorn popper with a clear tank glued to the top.  Thrifty engineering, Chilton!  Oh, and it makes coffee that's actually hot, so I'm loving it.  Most other coffee makers seem to make lukewarm coffee.  I can't drink it unless it's scalding.

What I Made This Weekend Department

Not my picture

A:  Chili!  Haven't tasted it yet, but Hubby reports that it was good.  Not as good as his own, but good.  I don't think I've ever made chili before, so I wasn't confident that it would be edible at all.

Not my picture

B:  Cornbread!  To go with the chili, of course.  Hubby also reported that it was good.  It was a mix I got from Aldi.

Nope, this one's not mine, either.

C:  Chicken Pot Pie!  Haven't even baked it yet, so have no idea how it is.  Okay, I've made this hundreds of times before, so pretty sure it'll be at least somewhat better than meh.

In Other News Department:

Don't you love Walgreen's?  Heaven knows their regular prices are nothing to write home about, but they sure do know how to do a sale.  Between sales, coupons, and Register Cash, I got two big bottles of Scope for $1.50 each (regular price is like $4.79) and two bottles of Hubby's Nivea Shower Gel for $2.50 each (regular price $5.29 each.) Then I used the coupon for a free jar of Noxzema ($4.99.)  Plus, I got 2000 bonus points (worth $2.00) on my card!  After ringing me up, the cashier said "Nice job!"

Since I actually found some good stuff this week, I am proudly linking up with Sir Thrift A Lot, Thrifter/Maker/Fixer/Farm, and We Call It Junkin.

Thrifting Finds #32!

Things were a little topsy-turvy here at Fondue Headquarters this weekend.  We lost our interwebz on Wednesday.  An hour on the phone with tech support on Thursday brought a technician out on Friday.  He managed to fix the problem within about 15 minutes.  Friday night, the interwebz went out again, so another hour on the phone on Saturday brought another technician out on Sunday.  This was a bit of an ordeal, as it took him nearly 3 hours to fix the problem. He had to replace our router and modem, and then take everyone in my building down.

I was okay with that.

It was still working this morning when I left for work, so yay.

On to the thrifting!

This weekend was a little more productive than the last few, I'll admit.  I still didn't get anything really fabulous, but I do like what I got.  I was tempted by a couple of things:  a Tupperware chip & dip set and a Corningware pan in a size/shape I had never seen before.  I toyed with getting them, but finally realized that I really didn't actually need either, so left them behind.  Interestingly, the Goodwill had three of the unusual Corningware pans.

Here's what I got:

1.  Magazine rack!  This is kind of mid-centuryish and I definitely need one (the one I had kept collapsing.)  Magazine racks seem to be hard to find around here for some reason.  I should probably polish the "brass" parts and wax the wood handle, but I probably won't do either because I'm lazy.  This was $8.00 at the Goodwill, which I thought kind of pricey, but as you can see, I paid it anyway (I'm kind of rich this week--see below.)

2.  Folding chairs!  I hemmed and hawed over these because the second I walk into a thrift store I become Mr. Indecisive.  We already have folding chairs, but they're from Ikea and not very sturdy.  We need folding chairs often enough to warrant having nice ones, so I'm not sure why I was so hesitant about buying these.  They're sturdy, reasonably comfortable, and they were only $4.00 each, for crying out loud.  As you can see, they did end up coming home with me.  They could do with a little wiping down, but nothing major.

(I actually bought one more thing, but I'm saving that for next week, because I think there will be very little thrifting next weekend.)

In other news:

In reading other people's blogs, I realized there are a couple of things I have never seen in a thrift store:

A) Knee huggers.  I would really like to have a few to put around the house, as I think they're kind of fun and cool.  Have never seen a single one in person.

B) Vintage tablecloths.  Christmas or otherwise.  In fact, I'm not entirely sure I've even seen contemporary tablecloths in any of the thrifts.  People keep finding the most fabulous Christmas linens all over the place, and I'm completely jealous.  I'd probably have better luck at estate sales, but we don't really seem to have those around here.

Hey, remember Creepy Snowflake Girl and the framed photograph of the gun?  Here's a little unsettling news:  they've both been sold.  At any rate, they were both gone from the store, which seems to indicate that someone bought them. *Shiver*

Ebay success!  Remember the Eames coat rack and the free laptop I got a while ago?  Well, I stuck them both up on Ebay last week, and they both sold!  It's been a while since I sold anything on Ebay, so I'm behind the times, but when did they start collecting fees on the amount of postage?  That just seems wrong to me. Between the Ebay fees and the Pay Pal fees, it's seems to be only worth posting something really valuable that you got for a song.

What I Made This Weekend Department

Crock-Pot Meatballs.  No picture because while delicious, the finished product just was not very photogenic!  There really isn't much of a recipe either--just combine a couple of cans of cream of celery soup with a good tablespoonful of beef broth base (not bouillon), Throw a bag of frozen pre-cooked meatballs in the Crock Pot (I used Aldi's Fit & Active turkey meatballs), pour the sauce on top, and cook on low for a couple of hours.  Since everything's already cooked, it really just needs to heat up.  Serve over noodles.

This is the kind of broth base I use, but I'm sure other brands would be just as good.  Just don't try to use bouillon which is super-salty, not to mention nasty.  This stuff is kind of salty too, so be careful.

Barbecue Chicken Pizza.  No picture for this either, because I haven't made it yet!  I'll update tonight, as long as the finished product is presentable.  Not much of a recipe for this one, either:  Unroll and press out a Pillsbury pizza crust.  Spread some barbecue sauce on top.  Throw some diced, cooked chicken on top of that (I love the precooked chicken chunks you get in the meat department.)  I like to put a drained can of tomatoes with chilis on, as well.  Throw on as much cheese as your conscience will allow, and bake according to the directions on the pizza crust tube.

Edit:  Here's the picture

And that's it for this week, kids!  This week I'm linking up with  Sir Thrift A Lot, The Nifty Thrifty, The Remnant and We Call It Junkin 

Thrifting Finds #29!

Once again, it was a rather disappointing weekend for thrifting. Unfortunately, we didn't get to do our usual Sunday rounds.  Instead, we went to hubby's office and worked on a project that needed to get done.  The good thing is that, given the way the thrifts have been lately, it's unlikely we missed out on much!  With any luck, we'll be back to our usual routine next week.

I did find a couple of things, and I have some other stuff to share, which makes me feel better.  Since I really only post once a week, I hate it when we find nothing and I have nothing to post about.

So let's get to it!

1.  Blown glass snifter!  Lately, hubs and I have been hitting the thrifts and hubs makes a quick trip around then goes out to smoke while I look more carefully.  When I saw this on the shelf, I figured he had either seen it and didn't want it or missed it completely.  As soon as I spied this beauty, my little hand shot out and snatched it.  Those who have been paying attention probably realize that I love this color, having in the recent past purchased this:

...and this:

...and this:

So after I bought it, I showed it to hubs, who immediately made an "Oooh!" face and said he must have missed it.  Since he liked it so much, I gave it to him to add to his collection at work.  Also, the price was right:  $0.48!

2.  Cookbooklets!  I love these little booklets, generally put out by food manufacturers, encouraging mid-century housewives to use, say, Crisco, in everything from biscuits to coffee.  The one on the left touts Mirro bakeware, the other one is published by Pet evaporated milk.  Neither one seems to have any outstanding recipes, but I only glanced through.

And here's my rant about these.  Someone gave a buttload of these to one of the Goodwills I frequent.  What the GW has done is painstakingly adhered a non-removable price sticker to each and every one, each with the price of $1.19!!  Really, Goodwill?  A lot of these are like, four pages long, and now they're ruined by having huge price labels on them.  What they should have done was put a fistful of them in a baggie, and sold that for $1.19.  The only reason I bought these two was because it was half-off red tag day.

What I Made This Weekend Department. 

I'm not exactly sure why I took these pictures this weekend, but as long as I did, I thought I'd share 'em.

Dinner!  Last night we had Ritzy Pork Chops with spaetzle and mixed vegetables.  I thought the chop was kind of meh, but hubby liked his.  This is one of those dishes I'll make one more time, changing up the seasoning.  If we don't like it the second time, I won't make it again.

Go check out Heidi's blog, if you can.  She doesn't update regularly, but I've come across a lot of recipes there that I want to try.  

Tonight's dinner!  This is Chicken & Wild Rice soup, that I thought I got from Colorado Lady but when I went to look for it, I couldn't find it.  I have a really bad habit of copying recipes from the Interwebz and not noting where I got them.  We haven't had this yet, so I can't give a review.  I'll update tomorrow and let you know what we thought.  If it's good, I'll share the recipe, too.

Edit:  Hubby approved of the soup (though again, I thought it was kind of meh), so here's the recipe:

Chicken with Wild Rice Soup

1 celery rib, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

1/3 cup chopped onion

5 1/2 cups water

1 package (4.3 oz) long grain and wild rice mix

1 envelope chicken noodle soup mix

2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup

1 cup cooked cubed chicken

In a sauce pan saute together the onions, carrots and celery (add a little oil if you want, it's really not necessary)*.

Add the water, rice with contents of seasoning packet and soup mix. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir in soup and chicken. Cook 10 minutes longer or until the rice and vegetables are tender**.

* I used a little oil because I didn't want it to stick.

**This took more than 10 minutes to cook the rice.

Goop!  That's what hubby calls it, anyway.  Actually, it's homemade moisturizer, courtesy of Colorado Lady.  Hubs and I both get really dry skin in the winter (and I've started already), and I thought I'd give this a try, just to say I did.  It certainly was easy to make!  I've only used it a couple of times and it seems pretty good, but it'll take a couple of weeks of regular use, I think, to really come to any conclusion.  I thought it was going to be too greasy for hand cream but it's not.  Still, if I make this again, I might cut down on the petroleum jelly next time.

And that's it from Fondue Headquarters!  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that next week I'll have all sorts of really nifty bargains to show you!

Linking up this week at Sir Thrift A Lot, The Nifty Thrifty, and We Call It Junkin 

Thrifting Finds #14!

Thrifting find, actually.  It was kind of a slow weekend.  Still, I really like what I got:

1. Rollers!  Just couldn't say no to a package of mint, shrink-wrapped bouffant rollers!  With the original price tag, yet--and you know how I love my original price tags! Savers, $.99 

Oh, and by the way, I'm pronouncing "rollers" the way the gal in this commercial does:

Now, you may be wondering just why the heck I bought a pack of rollers in the first place.  Well, it's because they'd go so well with my awesome collection of defunct hair-care products.

I've never mentioned that collection?  How remiss of me!  Here's a preview in case anyone cares:

If anyone's interested, I'll post more pictures.  I've got a lot of this crap.

In other news, The Girl Child blew in last night amid a tornado of luggage, Apple products, and girly-scented things.  We're more of a way station than an actual destination, but at least we get her for a day!

And because she's here, I did a little cooking.  I made Peanut Butter Candy Bar cookies and Caramel Apple squares. 

These are the Peanut butter bars:

There's a peanut-butter cookie base, covered by a layer of peanut cream, covered by a layer of caramel with salted peanuts, all covered with a layer of milk chocolate.  Needless to say, these were a lot of work.

Can't find the pic of the Caramel Apple squares, so picture an oatmeal cookie base with chopped apples, caramel, and more oatmeal cookie on top.

I also made deviled eggs for the first time.  The whole hard-cooked egg thing is kind of icky to me, but TGC likes them and I got to use my awesome Tupperware Deviled Egg Server!

I actually did make enough eggs to fill the container but one of them was so hard to peel that I had to toss it.  We're having these tonight with Buffalo Chicken Barbecue, potato salad, and some crudites.  Sort of a little indoor picnic!

So that's about it.  Only one purchase this weekend, but I'm sure you'll forgive me as I was a little busy.  Hopefully, next week will net many, many cool purchases!

Linking up with all the deliciousness at Sir Thrift A Lot, The Nifty Thrifty, and The Remnant

Recipe Roundup: Buffalo Chicken Barbecue

We're having this tonight, as a matter of fact, and both hubs and I enjoy this so much that I thought I'd share the recipe.

I totally stole this found this on some other blog, but I can't remember which one.  I'd gladly give credit if I could only remember.  If this is your recipe, let me know!

Buffalo Chicken Barbecue

1.5lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4C Buffalo wing sauce
1 packet Ranch dressing mix.

Dump the chicken in your Crock Pot.  Mix the Ranch dressing mix and the wing sauce and pour over the chicken. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours.  Check it after 5 hours, because it's easy to cook this to a pulp.  You know your own Crock Pot. so let experience be your guide.  When done, remove the chicken and shred it.  Return it to the pot for a minute to soak up the juice.  Serve on sub rolls with a squirt of Ranch dressing on top.
Double (or more!) this recipe because it's easy, it's delicious, and it freezes well.

But wait, there's more!  How about some photographic documentation?

I forgot to take a picture of the chicken, so use your imagination.

That Louisiana Supreme wing sauce?  Best.  Stuff.  Ever.  I've been putting it on everything.  I get it at the Dollar Store, so you might want to look there and see if yours has it.  If not, I'm sure whatever wing sauce you usually use will be fine.  Likewise the Ranch Dressing mix.  I bought the kind that happened to be on sale.

Finished product!  I know it doesn't look like much, but it's hard to photograph food well, and I'm not a good photographer in the first place.  You can trust me, though--this stuff is delicious.  Make a lot and freeze some.