free smells. + book club minus the books. {part 1a}

so remember how i was telling you about my craft night menu?  and i gave you the recipe for sharp white cheddar grilled cheese sammies?  and i told you it was important to use good bread?  well have i got a tip for you?!  you see, usually i get a nice fresh loaf of baguette from the grocery store.  but on this particular occasion (last thursday) i had gotten all of my ingredients in advance (the sunday before) or rather, i should say that taylor got all of my ingredients in advance, since he does our grocery shopping.  he came home (as directed) with 2 loaves of fresh baguette.  after i unpacked them i realized it was pretty silly of me to buy the fresh bread 4 days before i wanted to serve it.  i wasn't convinced it would keep OR that it would freeze and unthaw well.  (you see we don't really have the proper tools to freeze things...we wrapped it up well in saran wrap...but i still thought it would catch freezer burn.)  anyway.... get to the point, abigail!! 

so here comes wednesday, when i want to start prepping my menu for thursday's gig and i need new bread (since i didn't even bother trying to dethaw the bread in the freezer.  i just wasn't in the mood to be disappointed.)  so..i just happened to be thrifting around at our local second hand shop (Paradise Bound)...and thought...before i go home i am just going to stop in next door at Jimmy John's for some free smells.  (that's part of their marketing.)  just kidding, that's not why i stopped in.  but i do think their marketing is funny.  back to the point.  i stopped in because taylor and i know the best secret in Zeeland and i cannot believe i am about to give it away.  but, that's like me.  i am bad at secrets and i like to share the wealth.  are you ready for this?

Jimmy John's sells their day old bread (which isn't really day old, it's just like from that morning) for dirt cheap.  and i mean it.  dirt.  cheap.  and sometimes they give it away for free.  (especially late at night.)  so taylor and i like to scoop up some used bread and make sandwiches or garlic bread in the oven out of it.  so...i got to thinking...sure, i prefer  nice crispy baguette, but i could save myself a trip to the grocery store (and a few dollars) if i could get some day old bread from JJ's.  so i went right in and asked.  and guess what?  they gave me 8 (count 'em.  e.i.g.h.t.)  loaves of perfectly good bread for $1.49.  um..jackpot!

so i sliced it up nice and turned it into my sharp white cheddar grilled cheese sammies!

so now here is the catch...i only used like 3 loaves.  so then i had to attempt to freeze the rest.  (probably not successfully.)  so now, between the bread that taylor bought and this almost free Jimmy John's bread...i have a whole freezer full of bread.  and it's probably all catching freezer burn as we speak.

do you see a little hairy nose in the bottom left corner of this picture?  i believe that is yorker porker.  did you know that his fave food is bread?  just like his mom.  we are both carboholics.  he's also a big fan of peanut butter.  also like his mom. 

moral of the story.  check your local Jimmy John's for some free smells and some free (or almost free) used bread. 

2nd moral of the story -- for all you Zeelanders -- if i come to find out that you're beating me to all of the free Jimmy John's bread i am going to be pretty upset.  you've been warned.  :)