ICE! Featuring Frosty the Snowman at the Gaylord Opryland

 Christmas, travel  36 Responses »
Dec 072013
 

Thank you to the Gaylord Opryland for providing accommodations and tickets to ICE!.  All thoughts and words are my own.

Our family has always talked about going to see the lights at the Gaylord Opryland just outside of Nashville, Tennessee.  We enjoy driving around and seeing our local light displays; we even once visited a display set to music.  And the Gaylord Opryland also has other fun holiday events, like a Shrek Holiday Feast, ICE! Featuring Frosty the Snowman, shops, a nativity, and more.

So when the lovely folks at the hotel offered for us to come down and check out the ICE! Featuring Frosty the Snowman display, we of course accepted.  I thought Bubbles would get a kick out of the brightly-colored ice figurines and spending a night on such a beautiful property sounded great, too.  And as the Gaylord Opryland is within convenient driving distance from us, it was a good fit to go.

Gaylord Opryland

Waterfall in the Cascades Atrium of the Gaylord Opryland

Cascades American Cafe at the Gaylord Opryland

After checking in, we wound our way up through a beautiful indoor atrium in what is called the Cascades area.  It’s aptly named as there’s actually a cascading waterfall on one side of the atrium.  On the other is one the hotel’s main restaurants, the Cascades American Cafe.  The dress is casual – the seating is open to the atrium – and upon check in it was the eatery recommended to us as one of the most family-friendly spots in the hotel. Continue reading »

Fill Your Freezer with Fresh Chicken from Zaycon Foods

 Recipes, Reviews  37 Responses »
Nov 052011
 

How to Save Money Buying Chicken In Bulk

How to Save Money on Proteins Buying in Bulk

I’m pretty sure that we all have noticed the increase in prices as the grocery store over the last few months.  One area I’ve noticed a huge difference in is fresh proteins.  In the past I could sometimes find boneless, skinless chicken on sale for under $2/lb; now it is regularly $3.30/lb and sales are few and far between.  While there are coupons for many products those coupons rarely include fresh meat, so you might be wondering how to save money in this area.

One way to save is when you buy in bulk.  Normally I make my bulk purchases at warehouse stores.  But I recently discovered a new option: Zaycon Foods where I can buy fresh boneless, skinless chicken breasts for under $1.50/lb!

Zaycon Foods was founded in 2009 and is based in Washington state.  The goal of their company is to bring fresh meats and other products direct to consumers at wholesale prices.  They combine the buying power of multiple families in each community which allows them to negotiate huge savings.  Then they look for farms or processors in each community and bring you the foods directly from them; your meats are as fresh as if you owned a farm yourself (without all the mess and work!).  And they sell the meat by the case; this allows them to further keep the costs down by skipping handling charges.

I had the opportunity to participate in a Zaycon Foods event this week and I honestly, I wish all my shopping was that easy.  A couple of weeks before they came to town I went online to reserve my case.  (Chicken cases each contain 40 lbs. of chicken.)  I choose the event closest to me (they generally have multiple events in each state), ordered my case of chicken – each case of chicken costs $60-65 – and printed out my confirmation.  Then this week on my assigned day and time I drove to the delivery location and waited.  The driver was a few minutes late, but once he did arrive, I was in and out in less than 2 minutes.  I didn’t even have to get out of my car!  Just drove up next to the truck, told the guy where I wanted my chicken stowed, told him my name and off we drove.

The chicken is fresh and comes packaged in a big box (designed for refrigeration).  When I got it home and we opened the box, there were four plastic bags of about 10 lbs. each, and they were all sealed inside a larger plastic bag.  The breasts were huge with very little fat on them.  We portioned them out to roughly two double-breasts to each gallon-sized ziptop plastic bag. That way we can pull out only what we need for each meal.

What to do with all that chicken?  Well, to start check out this recipe I prepared using my Zaycon chicken.  You can also check out my Pinterest recipe boards for additional ideas.  And be sure to like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter as in addition to updates about deliveries in your area and new additions to their offerings I have also found that they share recipes.

Giveaway is now closed.

I received the above stated product(s) in order to facilitate my review. No other compensation was received and all opinions are 100% that of myself and my family.