Why yes, yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus...

...and he brought a new market to Lisbon Iowa!

(Before we begin you should know, I believe capitalism and healthy competition are some of the cornerstones of a healthy economy )

I finally had time yesterday for a recon mission to the new grocery store in Lisbon, they had been open since the week of Christmas but bad roads and the Head Cold from Hell had kept me away, so I was very excited to scope out the place, check some prices and see what they had available.

My daughter will be delighted the next time she opens the freezer and finds Rhodes Frozen Caramel Rolls because there they were, right in the frozen food cupboard, big as you please! – we've been unable to buy them locally since moving to Iowa from Southern Missouri. Man, wish I had gone by earlier, these were a Christmas ritual growing up!

Anywho....

As you would expect, the place is brand new, sparkling clean and every item on every row lines up perfectly with the edge of the shelf. Don't you love new stores? The stained concrete floors were beautiful, I'd have them in my home, seriously. The dairy cases, and other cold food stores like butter, eggs, lunch meat and the likes were in closed door cases. Very unlike most markets that have frozen foods behind doors but “refrigerated” items in open shelves that are cooled from below/behind. I'm just assuming this is an energy saving measure, but it certainly makes for a fancy looking display. I'll be interested to see how the free edge glass doors hold up to customer usage over the next year, but I'm a pessimist in that regard.

(I'm also completely OCD about fingerprints. They could hire me to clean them all day and I'd been in Windexed heaven.)

There is a coffee shop immediately upon entering the store and this is where I started my observation. The staff was beyond friendly and helpful, and the older workers who were obviously training the younger crew were kind and patient which is already a step above what I've witnessed in the other local market.

(nothing like being witness to an employee getting reamed at the front checkout in front of 20 customers to totally ruin a shopping trip in Mt. Vernon for me)

The little coffee nook has a Cowboy theme, plentiful plagues with colorful sayings fill the walls (Minnie Pearl Style price tags dangling – so they are for sale) and the cozy corner fireplace and rustic lodge style furnishing all do their job in inviting a person to sit, relax, sip a latte and go over your shopping list. I had a lovely toasted bagel with peanut butter (best not to shop hungry you know) and a Hazelnut Latte. Good foam, nice temp, not too bitter, and I witnessed the delivery of what looked to be a simply divine cinnamon roll – that's next on my list to try. I counted no less than 9 electrical outlets. Yep, this might be the place to hide away and write the next great american novel....or a nice blog post. Two overstuffed chairs in the window invited....but my spot in front of the fireplace was already a done-deal. So....it's not a real fire...but it looks pretty, and it blows hot-air right on the back of my neck. Happiness.

There is a deli in the back, with another area for eating, I didn't have time to stop and test drive their selection of deli sandwiches, but I will soon, I promise. My mouth is watering just thinking about roast beast and provolone with mayo on whole wheat....

What were we talking about again?

Oh yeah, so me with a little cart, and some paper and pen slowly walking up and down each isle, gripping the handle (new bi-focals) soon attracted some attention. A few employees asked after my day, was I finding everything? Just pleasant enough without being overly so....then a man I can only assume was either a general manager or owner approached me as I gandered at the raw chickens and asked me to “let (him) know how we do in comparison” with a smile and a nod towards my list of scribbled prices. Just the right amount of friendly, I appreciated that.

The provisions were gathered for chicken and stuffing to be put into my slow cooker the moment I got home. Check-out was easy and swift as a checker with obvious experience coached a young man in how to properly load a grocery sack. This was good to see! Loading groceries so you don't get home with broken eggs and squished bread might soon be a lost art because unlike crochet patterns they can't exactly be pinned on Pinterest.

The offer was made to carry my three little sacks to my car – I declined. Reminded me of my favorite local market in Missouri (my home for 17 years) – Murfins Market – where you were not allowed to decline, ever.

Overall I found it to be a pleasant experience, I'm delighted there is another option in the Mt Vernon/Lisbon area for food shopping, a good latte, and a place to plug in the laptop to work, if you're so inclined. I wish them all the best and will certainly be a repeat customer. Although, all those good points aside, the truth is that the average American shopper is always on the lookout for bargains and value. I chose a few random items to compare with the market in Mt Vernon, just to see how prices were:

                                                                Gary's           Brother”s

Classico Spaghetti Sauce                       $3.19 *            $3.39

Bigelow Tea – box                                  $2.75 *            $3.99

Betty Crocker Cake Mix                         $1.99              $1.29*

Smart Balance Peanut Butter               $4.69              $4.49*

Jiff Creamy PB                                        $3.69              $3.49*

Cream of Chicken Soup –Campbells   $1.79               $1.19*

Milk – 2% - gallon                                  $3.47 *            $3.79

*denotes the less expensive of the two

I only checked the price of one cleaning item, Clorox 2 . Gary's didn't have it, it was $4.89 at Brothers, and $4.25 at Dollar General, and I had a DG coupon...so there you go.

Generally speaking I don't purchase any cleaning or household products at a grocery market, because they always seem to be more expensive. There are times when convenience wins out and I will grab something, but not often. I wait for the $5 off Saturday coupons at Dollar General!

When you are trying to compare store to store there are intangibles  like atmosphere, and tangibles like price. If you're the kind of person that likes to pour over the weekly ads, find the best prices, and stack coupons on sales, I can see where you would find great deals either place – just do your research. Having been on the front row when employees were dressed-down and reprimanded in front of customers in Gary's I can tell you as a customer that really upset me, and if you've ever tried to use a cart to take your groceries to your car you will understand why it affected my desire to shop there - those are the intangibles. 

So welcome to the area Brother's Market!

Now....pass me one of those cinnamon rolls would'cha please?

Disclaimer:

I have no affiliation with either Brother's Market, Gary's Market, or Dollar General. This is just my experience yesterday, and I took the prices of the items off the front of the shelves, I can't guarantee that's their price.

Now....I know you're wondering about the chicken and stuffing recipe -- right?  

Slow Cooker Chicken and Stuffing

(as originally written)

4 pieces of chicken, I use two thighs and two breasts – I prefer boneless

1 box of stuffing mix

1 can of cream of chicken soup (use whatever you have on hand)

1 cup of sour cream

Lay the chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker. Pour the dry stuffing mix over the chicken  mix the soup and sour cream together and spread this over the top. Turn the slow cooker to high and cook 2-3 hours.

Now, what did I do different? I put about a half tsp of chicken bouillon sprinkled over the chicken and poured about a 1/3 cup water over the chicken before I put the rest on the top. I was just sure the chicken would burn if I didn't.

Review:

I think my slow cooker is too hot for the high setting for that long, because the chicken did scorch around the outside and it came to such a fierce boil that the sour cream separated a bit.

It tasted quite good actually, but wasn't pretty....so I believe next time I will NOT add the water. Since I used frozen chicken I think they had enough moisture, and I will leave on high for about an hour and then turn the temp to low for the remainder of the cooking time.

I'm debating about mixing the stuffing and soup together from the start....I'll let you know....the end product might be prettier that way?

Happy Sunday everyone!