Hi Friends 🙂
I feel like I say this every day – but can you believe how quickly October is passing us by? Its almost half over! It will be Thanksgiving before we know it!
My flowers are blooming nicely:
Dinner was very successful last night, due to a recipe I saw on Healthy Coconut.
I used chicken breast instead of shrimp, and I omitted the chili paste (I didn’t have any). I also mixed in an entire bag of broccoli/carrot slaw for more veggies.
This was wonderful Lea! And it made a HUGE amount of food – I have lunch for the next two or three days!
Peanut sauce over noodles is so delicious, and when I went to the cupboard to grab some peanut butter, I found this:
Goober!
Jason bought this for me as a stocking stuffer the first year we were dating (2007) – we were PBJ fiends but even then I could not consider opening the jar – I mean, who could eat something called “Goober”???
Since peanut sauce is so wonderful, I wonder if PBJ sauce on pasta would be good…Goober Pasta, any takers?
Uh, no thanks 🙂
1. Best movie you’ve seen in a while? We finished The Book of Eli last night – and it got “better” but it was still very odd. I think I was expecting too much. And I’m not a huge fan of Mila Kunis, so maybe if her character was played by a different actress it would have been better – who knows? I think the last GOOD movie I watched was Inception.
2. Do you return food/condiments to the grocery store if you don’t use them? Here’s the situation. I went to the store after work to pick up groceries for Lea’s recipe – and I bought soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil that I thought I needed. I came home to find that we have those ingredients. Jason said it is perfectly fine to return unused unopened condiments. I agree, but I feel really odd for going back to return them. What do you think? Would your answer change if I had bought produce instead of bottled condiments?
I know, these are such DEEP questions for a Thursday 🙂
Holly
The Couch Potato Athlete 
October 14, 2010 at 6:56 am
Oh my gosh when I was little, I used to BEG my mom for that peanut butter/jelly in the grocery store. She would never buy it for us. I wanted it so bad! These days it grosses me out… lol.
October 14, 2010 at 6:59 am
Really enjoy peanut butter with noodles & chicken. It’s not too hard to make but still feels like a special dish. Your recipe looks like it turned out great.
October 14, 2010 at 7:02 am
You certainly can return unused condiments! Although, I agree, I might feel silly doing so.
In college I had friends that returned EVERYTHING to Walmart (college kids = broke). They would return cans of coup, magazines and an unopened package on bandaids- haha!
Walmart takes everything back 🙂
October 14, 2010 at 7:19 am
i definitely think you can return unopened condiments. we had a lady come into the store the other day with an empty meat package wanting her money back. despite the fact that she had eaten all the meat, she just didn’t like how it tasted and wanted a refund. whaaaaaa?????
October 14, 2010 at 7:30 am
Omg GOOOBEERR!! hahaha! I don’t eat the stuff anymore, but I remember loving it. Half the time I wouldn’t want jelly and request my mom only use the PB part and she’d get really annoyed. I wouldn’t take any regular ole’ PB..something about the jelly being next to it gave that peanut butter a special taste.
October 14, 2010 at 7:31 am
I love peanut sauce with noodles! One of our favorite versions is a Moosewood recipe for whole wheat noodles, homemade peanut sauce, and chopped cucumber, grated carrot, and sesame seeds. Your delicious dinner just reminded me of it 🙂
I wouldn’t think twice about returning an unopened and un-used condiment–who needs an extra bottle of soy sauce laying around?!
October 14, 2010 at 7:46 am
I think you can return them but knowing me, I probably wouldn’t just because I know eventually Id use them. It is similar to makeup-I accidentally bought two new mascaras and then realized I had two in the cupboard…I figure I’ll get to them eventually ha.
October 14, 2010 at 8:00 am
I am sure you can return it if it’s unopened.
I am getting the Book of Eli tomorrow from Netflix and I can’t wait to watch it!
October 14, 2010 at 8:29 am
Goober! I always crack up when I see a jar of that stuff for some reason. I’ve actually never tried it, but I can see the draw for busy moms. One less step. Dang those marketers are good!
October 14, 2010 at 8:35 am
These are my type of questions – light and fun 🙂
I seen The Social Network – just wrote about it – go see it! I think you’d like it 🙂
I have to try a peanut sauce, looks great.
October 14, 2010 at 8:36 am
I’ve returned things to the grocery store many times. If you don’t need it you can always return it. Even produce (if you’ve purchased it within a reasonable period of time)
October 14, 2010 at 8:36 am
That Goober product always grossed me out too! I love the flowers though and also can’t believe October is nearly half over. It’s been the craziest, busiest month for me ever and I’ve seriously blinked and half of it was gone. I think I need to slow down and enjoy the rest.
October 14, 2010 at 8:39 am
I Actually love goober 🙂 pasta…no!
October 14, 2010 at 9:10 am
hahaha ewww that goober jank looks GROSSSSSSS! I prefer my PB and J seperate, thank you very much!!
October 14, 2010 at 9:42 am
If they are items that don’t go bad for a long time, then I certainly will keep them and just store in my pantry. Otherwise, go for it..they’re not opened so you’re all good!
October 14, 2010 at 10:52 am
Holly, I’m glad you tried the recipe and liked it 🙂 I do want to add more veggies next time and your broccoli/carrot slaw add-in is great idea 🙂
There shouldn’t be a problem returning a sealed item. I’ve actually returned an open protein powder container at Wholefood’s before, after I tried it with one scoop, I knew the taste was not my cup of tea so I brought it back to customer service and they were fine with it.
October 14, 2010 at 11:33 am
I worked with a guy who ate that Goober stuff all the time. It was nasty!
I’ve returned stuff like that for sure. Produce too. If you think you’ll use them, ight as well keep them, but if your sesame oil bottle is full and you don’t use it much, I’d return it.
October 14, 2010 at 12:16 pm
I think it’s OK to return something to the grocery store if it’s sealed, though I’ve never done it. I would probably just keep them in my pantry because those items are things I use pretty frequently so I would definitely get through the opened bottles in time to use the new ones.
October 14, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Your PB noodles look awesome, I love those noodles with sesame seeds. Yum! I never tried that pb/jelly mix before but I really wanted to when I was younger. Not so much today!
October 14, 2010 at 1:34 pm
I think it is fine to return them!
Some coops let you return opened things if you don’t like it, and if I get produce that turns bad right away (especially if it was from a nice store and was expensive) I’ll return it. (Not every time, but if I’m headed back to the store or something)
October 14, 2010 at 1:58 pm
If you think you’ll have a need for them, I’d hold on to the condiments. Otherwise, there’s no shame in returning them. I especially love Trader Joe’s policy- they’ll take back things you’ve opened and don’t like! Now that’s customer service…
October 14, 2010 at 2:18 pm
Oh my gosh, I didnt’ know they still sold that stuff! That’s so awesome : )
October 14, 2010 at 2:23 pm
That dinner looks SO good!!
I just watched Letters to Juliet and it was super cute.
I’ve never returned something to the grocery store, but I don’t see any problem returning unopened condiments. My idea is that even if I have them already, when they are done I’ll need more – so I should just keep the ones I bought.
October 14, 2010 at 2:39 pm
I definitely have returned condiments and other packaged things to the store. My regular grocery store has a produce guarantee, so if I buy something that turns out to be not fresh or gross in any other way, I take it back and switch it out; they don’t even ask questions.
October 14, 2010 at 4:58 pm
I must have been a strange child, but I hated grape jelly. I would only eat strawberry jam with my PB. It was that or nothing!
I’ve never returned anything at a grocery store. I can see where it might be awkward, but I know people do it. It seems acceptable 🙂
October 14, 2010 at 5:17 pm
Hi! Just stumbled onto your blog and glad I did:)
I love peanut sauce! I used to live in Thailand and ate it more often. These days I hardly ever make/buy it…your noodle dish made me seriously miss it.
I would probably not return the condiments, assuming I’d use them eventually. But I definitely don’t see anything wrong with it. However, I think returning produced (as mentioned in some of the comments) seems very odd. I wouldn’t want to buy produce that had been returned.
October 14, 2010 at 5:47 pm
http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2010/06/shopping-finds-deal-of-week-returning.html
That was my post on returning items. 5 – 10 yrs ago i never would have but you know what, unopened random things like some exotic spice, paste, etc that id only use in ONE recipe and realize i dont need it, i return it.
Salad dressings that were an impulse buy for 4.99 and 3 mos later i still dont use it? I take it back. And respend the money on something i will eat.
I have also opened things, i.e. a box of chips or crackers and if they are stale or just not what I thought they were gonna be, I take them back. i.e. certain coffee from TJ’s that was supposedly dark roast but wasnt type of thing. I know that sounds awful but just being honest. When shopping for a family, I have realized that it all adds up and why keep things i dont want/need.
Peanut sauce and noodles, I have a few recipes for it on my site. Peanut sauce makes everything better 🙂 And my recipes guaranteed you’ll have it all on hand if you’re ever in a jam and dont want to buy jars of stuff just to make a jar of stuff 🙂
October 14, 2010 at 6:25 pm
I was always a bit grossed out by the idea of peanut butter and jelly together in the SAME jar! And why do they have to call it GOOBER?! That doesn’t make it sound anymore appealing!
I’ve actually only returned ONE thing to the grocery store ever– it was a jar of peanut butter! I accidentally bought a brand with added sugar, and meant to buy an “all natural” version. I had no problem returning it, since it was un-opened, though. I don’t think I’d ever return fresh produce… but I’m pretty non-confrontational, and don’t like to cause a stir. 😉
Best movie I’ve seen lately was The Social Network! I really liked Inception, too!
October 14, 2010 at 8:06 pm
Peanut noodles, YUM!
I have never returned anything to the grocery store…but there have been many times I should have/ever had guts to do it.
I gave you a shout in my Friday 5 for tomorrow, so check it out in the AM 🙂
October 14, 2010 at 9:06 pm
Those peanut noodles look delicious! My sister and I used to beg my mom for the mixed pb&j too and now I understand why we never got it! I can’t believe they put all that stuff in it…
October 15, 2010 at 6:49 am
[…] Blogroll ← Peanut Butter Pasta […]
October 20, 2010 at 8:57 pm
Um… I need to eat those noodles… like right now! haha 🙂
Oh and P.S. I used to LOVE Goober Grape. I haven’t had it in years and with those ingredients, I probably won’t touch the stuff ever again!