Notes on Wednesday

Today is the day that I usually make a list of meals from the ads. I'll do that, but I found a recipe booklet at the dollar store that is well worth the buck. it is called America's Cookbook. It has shopping tips, recipes and the history of some foods. it is a great educational tool for children.

They have tips for shopping most of them I have already posted and knew. A couple of them I forgot about.

Never go to the store hungry. Everything looks good and it's to easy to impulse buy. Watch the scanner for errors. I was charged twice for the same thing the other day. Finding it after you leave the store is a hastle to rectify.

Beer Bread

3 cups flour
1T baking powder
1tsp salt
2T sugar
1- 12 ounce can of beer
1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 375

Mix together dry ingredients. Add the butter and beer. Fold together just until well combined. Batter will be sticky. Pour into greased pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until bread tests done. Cool and turn out onto a wire baking rack.

This booklet is a wealth of information. History of foods, nutrition facts, measurement table, a lot of good basic recipes.


Meal Plans

I usually use a template to plan meals.

2 beef
2 chicken or pork
2 vegetarian
1 fish

I try to stick to this plan so that we are balanced. Beef has some nutrients that no other meat has. If you pick your cuts and cook it properly, it can have less fat than a boneless, skinless chicken breast. Even Dr Oz says twice a week is OK. The two days are balanced by chicken, pork, and vegetarian and fish. When a family member only ate chicken and pork. They had to go to the hospital for an operation and he was so anemic he had to have blood transfusions before they could do surgery. I think the trick is moderation.

Tacos, refried beans
Pot Roast, red potatoes, carrots, salad

chicken pot pie
chicken soup

Potato Soup
quiche

salmon

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Jane

The ads. Again

I hit the wrong key and the entire blog erased. Basically, there are not many good buys this week.
QFC has good buys on dairy and Safeways has round steak and petite sirloin for 2.69.

QFC
18 coumt eggs 1.99
Butter 2.49
Cottage cheese 1.67
Strawberries 2.00

TOP

Oranges organic .89
Strawberries 2.00
Eggs1.50
Apples .99
Blues 18 oz 5.98
Salmon 7.00

Safeways
Round steak 2.69
Petite sirloin 2.69

Blue and blackberries B1G1
oranges .88
Buy 6: brownies or cake mix .99
Sausage B1G1. JOHNSONVILLE or chicken strips.
Ragu pasta sauce 2/3 plus get 1 pasta for free.

Albertsoms is just a bust. White breadnis .88, but I don't buy white bread.

Note.
Good ground beef is 3.99 a pound. Your best bet is to get round steak and grind your own. You can control the fat. If you don't have a grinder on your mixer, get the manual kind at a garage sale or a antique store or raid your grandmothers kitchen.


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Jane

Tuesday

I am researching my old personal cookbook. One of the ways to bust the budget is to buy seasoning mixes. Spices are a buck all over. For spices that you only need a little of, the bulk isle is your best bet. Basil is really cheap at Costco in a Large container...share!! We eat a lot of Tex Mex. I can make it and still accommodate the vegetarians without cooking separate entres.

Chili seasoning

4T chili powder
2 -1/2 tsp ground coriander
2-1/2 tsp ground cumin
1-1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Store on airtight container is a dry place

3 tsp for 2-1/2 quarts of chili.

Taco Seasoning
4 T chili powder
3T + 1 tsp paprika
3T cumin
2 T onion powder
1T + 2 tsp cayenne pepper

Makes 1 cup

Use 2 rounded Tablespoons per pound a meat. in cook the meat until no longer pink. Drain in a colander. Pour boilimg water over the meat. Return to pan with a little water and add seasoning. Bring up to temperature. Cool slightly and bag.


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Jane

Monday madness

I ran on to meal plans that I did In 2002..some ten years ago. You can tell the adjustments made for the rising cost of food and the more health conscious climate. This was for the month of May and assumed you would add the appropriate veggie and starch.

Pizza, salad
Meat balls
Ham quiche
Hamburgers
Meatloaf
Dagwood Sandwiches
Tuna Cassarole
Beef Briskit
BBQ Beef Sandwiches left from yesterday)
Pizza, ham, pineapple, peppers
Hot Dogs
Roast Chicken
sloppy joes
Chicken pot pie
Tacos
Shrimp muffins, potato soup
Pizza, chicken, olives, onion
BBq spareribs
roast Pork loin
Shrimp fettichini
Pork stir fry
Bacon quiche
Tuna casserole
Pasta bake
Top round steak
Roast chicken
Hamburgers
London broil
Pizza
Chicken casserole
Spareribs

I'm not seeing much difference, except the large beef meals are a thong of the past most of the time. Steak is ten dollars a pound!

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Jane

Suddenly Sunday

Good Morning.

I just realized that I hadn't done meal plans for this week. I pretty much didn't buy much this week because most of the specials were all about expensive snack food and booze. it's just another good reason to stock. I still have enough food with the exception of fresh food to cook all week. I am using up the perishablesmthat are in the fridge so my split isn't as diversified as it usually is.

1) ribs, oven roasted red potatoes,green salad
2) Mac and cheese. ( uses up the odds and ends of the cheese) and green beans
3) quiche with ham cubes, strawberries
4) pizza, green salad
5) chicken stir fry
6) sausage and bean soup, brown and serve sourdough from Costco
7) Tacos, refried beans


Notes
Ribs were on sale at Safeways Friday. I buy lots of variety of cheeses because we like it. Cheese was 5 dollars for 2 pounds Safeways again. Ham cubes need to be used up. They work I'm pizza and quiche.
Chicken Stirfry is from chicken in the freezer pirchased at a dollar a pound. Sausage and bean soup and tacos use cans that I purchased for .50 last week. Total cost, rounding is 33.75 dollars divided by 7 is 4.82 a meal.

I could have substituted chicken for the ham on the pizza, but I want to use the ham up so it doesn't go to waste and it doesn't freeze well.

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Jane

Dinners

I spent 40.00 at the grocery store this week. There just wasn't much there. I spent considerably more last week because it was a good stocking week. This week most of the ads were about the big game party food and booze.

I mostly bought fresh veggies. My husband went ton the grocery outlet and bought green peppers and sliced cheese.

When it is cold or when I know that it's going to be along day, I like to putna pot of soup on or put it in the slow cooker.

Sausage and Bean soup

1 quart of water
1 medium potato, sliced and cubed
1/2 pound sausage, cooked
2cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2cans diced tomatoes
1/2 a small onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
Salt and pepper

Bring water to boil in stock pot. Add potato and cook for 10 minutes until potato is tender. Add remaining ingredients. Reduce heat to simmer and cook another 10 minutes or so until veggies are tender.


Creamy Chicken Soup

sauté in oil in a stockpot until soft

1 rib celery chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
1/2small onion chopped
1/2 tsp minced garlic

Add 3 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup of left over rice
Salt, pepper

Cook om low until heated through

Add 1cup cream or milk
And 1 cup diced chicken

Mix 2T flour with 2T butter to form a paste.

Add to soup stirring until soup has thickened and soup in appropriate temperature. Do not boil.
Over storing will make the chicken tough or stringy.

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Jane

Outsmarting the retailers

As I have said before, the retailers have spent considerable money to research our habits and find ways to get us to spend more money.

Advertising multiples, when you can only by one item is one trick they use. Because something is 3/1.00 doesn't mean that you have to buy three.

The longer you spend in a store, the more money you will spend. That's why some retailers change things aroumd frequently. Costco is notorious for it. If you have the mind set that you are on the clock and want to get the most bang for your buck, you'll spend less time. It's a game. I want to save as much as I can in the least amount of time.

Impulse buying is the retailers profit. They figure that 70 percent of what we buy is impulse. Often it is the most expensive things in the store that you don't really need. We want the retailers to prosper but they can do it on someone else's dime who can afford it.

Create your own path through the store, if you don't need anything in an isle, don't go there. The true necessities are on the outside perimeter of the store.

Sometimes, what is truly on sale isn't the featured items up front.

Exercise the hands off rule. Studies say that if you touch it, you are most likely going to buy it.

It's a well known trick that if prices have to increase, the manufacturers will reduce the size of the package instead of outwardly increasing the price.

Know your prices, the bulk isle isn t always the cheapest price.

Keep in mind that foods are sold other places other than grocery stores. Many time you can find overstocks at the dollar store, big lots, Bartells and almost anywhere. Keep your eye open, and know your prices.

Pick your grocery store based on the prices, not how friendly the clerks are or how fancy the store is, or how uncrowded it is. think about it, there is a reason why the store is crowded. Either they have just forecasted that dreaded S word, or it's because they have the best prices. You go to the grocery store to purchase your food.

Stores charge manufacturers slotting fees. Basically they charge rent for the eye level shelves. You can just bet they are going to pass on the cost. Look UP and DOWN for the best buys.

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Jane

The basics

Good morning. If you are just looking at this blog for the first time, this blog is about eating on the cheap.
Almost everyone has times in their lives when they need to economize. People loose their jobs, decide to save for a vacation or the down payment on a home, or just don't want to waste money. This blog is designed to save 1/2 on your grocery bill.

1/2 price groceries takes a three pronged approach :

Plan and organize
Shop wisely
Cook from scratch

1) plan and organize
Any endeavor starts better with a plan. Start with comimg up with at least 7 main dish recipes that use inexpensive protein sources that your family will eat. Try to eventually get tp 14 so that you have variety.

Plan your meals after you get home from the shopping trip. Use what you have in the refer that you need to use up and the new things that you bought. It doesn't have to be fancy, just jot down om a piece of paper the main dishes. One of the best way to derail your budget is to not have a plan. Having to answer the question " what's for dinner" after a long hard day makes it too easy to say. "take out".

Make a list of the staples that you use often. In our house it would be cheese, beans, refried beans, diced tomatoes, pasta sauce, some tuna and canned corn and green beans. Make a spread sheet or a small spiral notebook that has the name of the food, the size of the container, the date you bought it, the store, and the price. Pretty soon you will get a consensus of what the cheapest price for that food. This is harder with rising costs right now, but it still helps. When something is the rock bottom price, buy

A) as much as your money will allow
B) as many as the store will allow you yo buy
Or C) as many as you need to replenish your stock.
If I use the item once a week, I want to have 24. If I use it once a month I keep 6.
This isn't about hording.
Havimg a stock gives you a sense of security, you have enough to make a meal no matter what happens and makes you prepared for a natural disaster.


2) shop wisely
When the grocery ads come out. Take a piece of computer paper, divide it into fourths. Put the name of the store on the top of each quarter. Now go over the ads and write down everything you are out of, the meat and veggie ads Ttat are cheapest, and anything that you stock. Now cross off anything that is higher priced than somewhere else, cross off anything you don't need. Skip the snack and ready made foods. For the most part, they are a lot more expensive than scratch. There are a few things that are cheaper than scratch or are just too labor intensive to make scratch. Tortillas, mashed potatoes, refried beans pasta sauce are all cheaper at least some times of the year.

Now, pick the two stores that have the cheapest prices. Go there with your list and the grocery ads, get in and get out. The more time you spend in the store, the more money you will spend. The grocers have researched our spending habits and know what to do to get us to spemd more. The bigger the grocery cart the more you will spend. The fancier the store, the higher the prices. Someone has to pay for that fish tank. LOL And they have many more tricks too.

If you can, invest in storage solutions that keep your veggies fresh longer.
I keep a cooler bag in my car to store frozen and perishable foods between stores. I try to keep my shopping trip at a minimal time, and a route that takes the least gas.

3)cook from scratch

his isn't as daunting a task as it sounds. There are ways to make the task as fast or nearly as fast as the ready made.

If you spend more time on the front end of the "get the dinner on the table" train and less time on the back end, you will be better off. You gent"paid" for shopping-- not for cooking. If you save 75.00 a week on shopping and spend an additional 1/2 hour shopping, you are making 150.00 an hour. And if you work for a living, you would have to earn an additional 15 percent at least to spend that 150.00.

Back to strategies. Buying meat in bulk and batch cooking and storing with portion control saves time, dishwashing and money. your slow cooker and pressure cooker can be your best friends in the kitchen. Anything that you can prep quickly and put in the oven to cook while you make more things or do other chores is also a time saver.

Making a double batch of things like rice and pasta to use the other half another dayy is a great help. I call that stair stepping. I try to post ideas on the blog frequently.

next time-- what your grocer doesn't want you to know!

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Jane

Suppers

in ran on to a booklet that I had bought years ago. we all like easy recipes in this day and age of busy lives.

EASY CHICKEN

2/3 cup of flour
1 tsp EACH of salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning

1 cut up chicken or chicken parts to your liking

Butter, or butter and olive oil

2 cups chicken broth


Dredge chicken parts in seasoned flour.

brown chicken parts in skillet with butter and or olive oil

remove chicken from skillet to the slow cooker

Make a sauce using the remaining flour for a roux and the cynicism broth.

Pour sauce over chicken .

Cover and cook on high for 2-2-1/2 hours or untilmchicken is do e and the juices run clear.


GERMAN STYLE SPINACH

1 package frozen chopped spinach
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1T butter
3strips bacon, crumbled
Nutmeg
Salt

Cook spinach according to package directions
Drain well
in skillet, cook onion on butter. Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat through.


NoteS

Bacon was a buck at grocery outlet . I might use fresh spina h instead.
minced garlic is really cheap at Costco--cheaper than buying the heads of garlic and chopping them yourself.
If you don't think you can use that much, co sider sharing with a family member or neighbor.
I found split peas in bulk at Costco a lot cheaper than even grocery outlet. I just split them between my husbands siblings.


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Jane

The ads

Here are the ads for this week.

SAFEWAYS

Beef Top Sirloin 3.99
20 percent beef 2.49
Milk 2.59
Shrimp 5.00...Friday thru Sunday
Strawberries 5.00
Salsa 5.00
Shredded cheese 5.00--24-32 ounces. Get 32
Chili .99

TOP

PORK RIBS 1.57
dryers ice cream 2.99
Buy 10
Chili .75
Sour cream 1.49
Sirloin 3.49


QFC

chicken breast 1.49
Dryers ice cream 2.79
Sour cream 1.49
Frozen potatoes 2.49

Buy 5
Hebrew national. 2.99
Johnsonville brats. 3.49
Yoplait .50
Pasta 1.00

ALBERTSONS

blues 1.99
Apples .88
Dryers ice cream 2.88 coupon 1/31-2/3
Buy 10

Best foods 2.99
Coffee 7.99
Sour cream 1.49
Refried beans .49

Hot dog and hamburger buns 1.00


That's all. Not much this week. It is a "holiday " weekend. LOL

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Jane

And you spend WHAT on groceries?

And you spend what on groceries? There was a piece on the network newscast night about a family of four . They were talking about what they were spending on food and not throwing so much food in the garbage. They spent three hundred dollars a week on food. That's Four months on my budget. It did not sound like they were eating any different than we do for about 65.00. The difference is paying our utility bills and real estate taxes.

Beef Soft Tacos

3/4 pound cooked and defatted groumd beef
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 of a green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup green olives, sliced
1/2 tsp cumin
1can diced tomatoes
6 inch corn tortillas
Romaine lettuce,torn

Cook beef,garlic and green pepper in skillet for three minutes. Add remaining ingredients except lettuce. Cook 5 minutes more.

Heat tortillas accordimg to package directions.
Add torn lettuce to top of taco.

Notes. I would serve with rice cooked with salsa.
Romaine is the least expensive of the lettuces because it lasts so long there is usually no waste. The darker the green, the more food value it has.

Quick Crazy Tamale Dish

Combine 3/4 pound of cooked ground beef, 1-1/2 cups salsa and a can of kidney beans in a microwave safe square dish.
Heat on microwave until warm--about 8 minutes. ( cover to reduce splattering.)

Place a tube of polenta on a 9 inch square casserole. (microwave safe) Cut in slices to cover bottom of pan.
Place meat mixture on top of polenta.
Cover dish with plastic wrap and cook for 6 minutes or until thoroally heated. Sprinkle with cheese and heat until
cheese is melted. Serve with salsa, as spicy as your family likes.

Note
You could substitute small pieces of cubed cooked chicken foe the beef and make polenta and spread it in the pan.

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Jane

Monday madness

It's Monday. We went to world market yesterday because I got a coupon for 49 percent off. My husband likes their fancy olives. We had to go for some supplies at Michaels too. I try to group my trips so that we use less gas. We stopped by Grocery outlet on the way home. I got feta cheese with roasted red peppers and basil, pepperoni with cheese, and my husband got bacon for a buck a pound. He came home and cooked it on the George Foreman. I like to use a little bacon in some things for flavor. One slice of bacon in a dish cam make a real difference. They have a wide variety of cheeses for a reasonable price. They had 32 ounce jars of mayo too, but their pull date was Jan 11---too far out of date to make it safe in my book. Wen can freeze the cooked bacon and pull it out when we need it. You never know what you are going to find-- not everything is full of sodium.LOL. they have good prices on other things too.

I think my point is that I am cognizant of prices where ever we go.Good prices on food can be everywhere. Often times good buys can be in stores who's main focus is not food. I watch pull dates and brands.

I had always gone grocery shopping by myself. Since we have been retired, my husband goes with me. He also went with me when we were both out of work. I didn't think he was paying attention to anything as he wheeled the cart around. One day we were at a store and there was and end cap with 8 ounce cans of tomato sauce for .25. He said, that's not on sale, we paid .10 last week for them. Boy, was I surprised!

A bit of a splurge, but sometimes Bartells has artichokes on sale. The price of tuna balances it.

Tuna melt on English Muffins

1/2 cup artichokes, drained and rinsed
1/4 sliced green onions
1-T lemon juice
1tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
1can tuna, drained and flaked

2 English muffins, split and toasted
1-1/2 ounces of grated provolone or sharp cheddar.

Preheat broiler5
Combine first 7 ingredients and a dash of pepper.
Divide evenly among English muffin halves
Sprinkle with cheese.
Place on baking sheet. Boil 4 minutes until golden.

Serves 2

Notes

This calls for canned artichokes. Artichokes in a jar are cheaper.
Just. Don't use the oil. If I didn't have green onion, I would use some onion powder and parsley. English muffins are at the bread store often.Sometimes they are on sale 2 for at the regular chains.

I also read Panini with chickpea spread and sautéed spinach. itncaught my eye because I got garbanzo beans for .50 last week.

Process 3/4 cup garbanzo beans
2T lemon juice
2tsp capers
1 T water

Combine in a food processor until blended.

Sauté spinach on 2tsp olive oil. Add dash of pepper and 1tsp garlic minced.
slice sub rolls lengthwise. Fill sandwich with a layer of bean mixture and a layer of spinach. Top.

This would also taste good with thinly sliced chicken or pork and maybe a little white cheese.

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Jane

Suddenly Sunday

It's already Sunday. The weekend goes to fast!

Twenty years ago, I was published in the Woman's Day magazine for a recipe for economical pizza. Since then I foumd an easy recipe for pizza crust in the food processor. The kids always liked watching the sponge develop. --great science experiment. ( see earlier post). They insisted on substituting sausage in casing for bulk sausage. Sausage is cheap at Costco and sometimes Grocery Outlet.


Breakfast Pizza
Cooking Light All Time Favorites

1-8 oz can low fat crescent dinner rolls

Cooking spray

12ounces turkey breakfast sausage
1cup shredded hash browns, thawed
1cup shredded cheddar no fat cheese
1/4 cup fat free milk
1/4 tsp pepper
1-8 oz carton egg substitute
2 T parmesan

Preheat oven to 375

press dough together to form a 12 inch circle. Make a rim and place on a pizza pan that has been coated with cooking spray.

Cook and drain sausage.

Top dough with
Sausage
Potatoes
Cheese

Combine milk, salt, pepper and egg substitute. Whisk.
Carefully pour into crust. Sprinkle parmesan.
Bake at 375 for 25 minutes until crust is browned.

8 pieces. Cal 203, carbs 20

Note. Cost over the top! Eggs are a dollarmandozen at QFC. If you are worried about whole eggs, use one egg and supplement the eight ounces with egg whites. I would bet that somewhere on the Internet there is a recipe for egg beaters.
The other thing that is expensive is the dough.


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Jane

Notes on Fridays shopping

I was surprised to find out that I could have vegetarian refried beans and low sodium beans as well. All of the canned goods were at least a buck a can off. That ads up fast. I got ten refried beans, 10 diced tomatoes and 10 beans. They had garbanzo beans too so five of them were garbanzo beans. My daughter likes humus. I spent 15.00. I saved over thirty dollars from the regular price-- I paid 33 percent on the dollar.

Another way to look at it is that no bank is ever in this day and age going to give you 67 percent interest on your money.

The more meat skyrockets in price, the more recipes we will see for token meat dishes and rice and beans. I so far, am seeing meat on sale for a reasonable amount. Certainly, it is not as cheap as this summer, but it isn't too outrageous yet.

Meals from the ads


2 beef
2 chicken or pork
2 vegetarian
1 fish


1) meat ball subs, vegetable chips
2) tacos, refried beans, rice
3) chicken ( oven fried) mashed potatoes
4) sausage and saurkraut
5) quiche
6) pizza
7) salmon

Notes. Spinach artichoke chips were 2.00 at big lots. Refried beans were .50 at albertsoms. We got groumd beef for 2.50 a pound at Safeways a few weeks ago. Chicken is a buck a pound at albertsoms. Sausage is 5.00 for 10 large ones Safeways Five dollar Fridays that have been extended with just 4U. Eggs are a buck at QFC.
Carrots were .79 a poumd at Albertsons. sauerkraut is cheap at big lots.


Fusilli with creamy panchetta pea sauce

About 1 ounce of panchetta or bacon
1tsp olive oil
1cup diced onion
1tsp minced garlic
2T flour
2cups low fat milk
1/4 cup low fat cream cheese
2-1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
1-1/4 cups grated parmesan cheese
Basil
Salt, pepper

5 cups cooked fusilli

cook panchetta or bacon, remove from skillet.
Add oil to skillet. Add onion and garlic
Add onion mixture to meat.
Add flour to pan. Make a roux with milk.
Add cream cheese. Stir until cheese melts and sauce is smoot.
Stir in basil, salt, pepper, and 1cup parmesean. Add cheese sauce and parmesean to the
meat mixture. Toss with pasta.

From cooking light

Notes. I got low fat cream cheese at QFC last week for .50.
I think almost any small pasta would work for this.


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Jane

Friday

I would like to stop for a few sentences and talk about learning how to cook from scratch. I dont know the age group of my readers, so I'll address this issue anyway.
It is well worth your while to get a basic knowledge of cooking. It's not hard. I went to cooking school when I had a chance, but I have also learned a lot from Tv cooking shows. PBS has a lot of them. Martha Stewart has a series going on about basic cooking and there are more. Kids need to know that food doesn't always come out of a box or the deli! LOL

Chicken strips are on SALE for 7.49 for 2 pounds or less. Chicken has been on sale for a buck a pound lots. one week I got it for .88. crispy chicken strips is breaded chicken that has been baked. It takes as long to cook the frozen pieces as it does doing it from scratch. I got bread free at the bread store. It took a few minutes to dry it in the oven, put it in the food processor, and dry it . I did it while banana bread baked and put them back in the oven when the banana bread was done and I turned the oven .

This is a good week to stock up. refried beans, beans and diced tomatoes are all .50. That is the lowest price that I have seen. A lot of times, they are close to a dollar.
There are a lot of dishes that you can make from them, and they are good for you. beans are good for your cholesterol. Just rinse them well to reduce the sodium.

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Jane

FINALLY, THE ADS

I finally got the ads.

QFC

Sirloin Roast B1G1 nets 3.25
Strawberries 2/5.00
Eggs 1.00
Tomatoes and beans .50
Brats 3.49
Raspberries, blackberries 2.99

SAFEWAYS
Pot roast 2.69
Loin chops
Top round, London broil

Grapes 1.99


5 buck Fridays
Blues -18 oz
Cream pie
Diced tomatoes .75 ***
Donuts 4.00. Just for u

TOP

10 for 10 sale

Romas
Carrots, baby
English cucumbers
10-16 ounce frozen veggies

Chuck roast 3.00

ALBERTSONS

APPLES .88
chuck roast 2.99
Chicken, whole, drums, thighs
Green peppers .50
Carrots .79
Refried beans .49. (10)
Chili .99


Notes

Note spread on canned tomatoes, pot Roast.
.50 on beans and refried beans is the lowest price they have been in a long time.
Fresh veggies are an additional 20 percent On just4 U.


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Jane

The OTHER white meat

The ads on TV and the print ads a few years ago Refered to pork as the other white meat. They have made pork lean and more healthy. It is also less expensive than beet generally. I had not cooked pork until I got married. My husband cooked pork chops and I learned to cook more. I found pork tenderloin and loin roasts. I can still fimd pork chops and roast for 2.00 a pound or so. Basically, you can cook pork the same as chicken.

Pork loin roast can become chops before it is cooked, or sliced as roast and thinly sliced to make a bbqnpork sandwich.

Years ago, I made up a recipe for a pork hero sandwich that was published in Taste of Home.

Note, there was a typo in the recipe.

1 loaf French bread
3T olive oil
2 pounds pork tenderloin cubed
1 julienne green pepper
1 julienne red pepper
1/2 cup celery, sliced
1small onion, chopped
2tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1tsp pepper

1/2 cup chicken broth
2 cups sliced plum tomatoes
1cup shredded mozzeralla cheese.

THIS FILLING MAKES TWO BATCHES. YOU CAN EAT HALF, AND FREEZE HALF.

Cut the top fourth of the bread off, reserve.
Hollow out the bread leaving a 1 inch shell. Save the extra bread for breadcrumbs.
Set aside.

In large skillet, heat oil. Add pork cubes and brown. Add vegetables, except tomatoes, and cook until pork done and vegetables are tender. Add chicken stock and simmer until mixture is reduced.

Set aside 1/2 of the filling and freeze.

spoon 1/2 of filling into bread shell. Mixture should not be soupy. Top with tomatoes and cheese. Replace bread top.


Wrap in foil. Seal tightly. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.

NOTES

I would use pork cubes that have already been cooked and might use pork loin instead of tenderloin. I would use Roma tomatoes that have been seeded.


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Jane

Sunday notes

Yesterday my daughter and grandaughter and I went shopping. I found a blank weekly calendar with big squares for writing. It was 2.00 less 70 percent. Itnwould have been less if I had the 25 percent coupon from the Internet. We went on the spur of the moment and I didn't prepare. I am going to use it for meal plans.

My husband is not particulary fond of chicken and pork. He wants us to go back to the good old days when pork hadnfat on it. LOL. Because of trying to eat a bit more healthy, we are eating a variety of meats. His main beef about chicken is that it has no taste. I am trying to find chicken recipes that are more tasty.

Jerk Rub for chicken

1T allspice
2tsp cinnamon
1tsp nutmeg
2tsp minced garlic
Salt and pepper

Combine ingredients. Rub on chicken or pork. Grill or broil.

Balsamic vinegar glaze
Thyme, berry preserves, and a touch of balsamic vinegar.


chicken and pasta.

1/2 package of a long pasta....spaghetti, linguine, fettichini
1/2 pound cooked chicken cubes
Olive oil
1small chopped onion
1tsp minced garlic
1cup chicken broth
8 cups spinach
4 ounces swiss cheese

Sauté cooked chicken in olive oil. Add chicken broth,onion, garlic,salt, pepper. Combine pasta, spinach, and cheese in large bowl. Add chicken mixture and toss.

Thanks for stopping by
PLEASE share

Jane

Sunday Dinner

We don't always have Sunday Dinner.That is, we have dinner, it just isn't always a special dinner. It depends on what is going on that day.

Rosemary Potatoes

1T butter
1tsp minced garlic
1tsp dried rosemary
1/2tsp salt
1-1/2 pounds red potatoes, quartered

Melt butter and garlic in a 8 inch square baking dish in the microwave. microwave on medium high for 45 seconds.
Add rosemary, salt, pepper and potatoes. Toss.
cover, and microwave on high for 15 minutes


SPINACH AND MANDARIN ORANGE SALAD

1-10 ounce bag of spinach, torn
8 ounces of mushrooms, sliced
2-11 ounce cans of mandarin orange, drained well
1ounce crumbled blue cheese
2T chopped pecans
1/2 cup raspberry vinaigrette

Toss all ingredients

NOTE.. To make this low-cost, I would use a regular orange or a tangerine. you use walnuts if pecans are more expensive or dependimg on what you have after Christmas.


PORK CHOPS IN HONEY MUSTARD SAUCE

4 pork chops
2tsp olive oil
1-1/2 cups white wine
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup Dijon mustard

salt and pepper pork. Brown on both sides in oil about 5 minutes each side.
Add honey, mustard, and wine and bring to a boil for three minutes.
Add the pork to the pan. Simmer for 6 minutes A SIDE or until pork is done.

Adapted from Cooking light
NOTES. Honey is the one food that never goes bad. If it crystalizes, heat it in the microwave or in it's glass jar , uncovered in boiling water.

chicken broth would be a substitute for white wine.



Thanks stopping by

Please share.

Jane

Suddenly Saturday

It's Saturday and I have three days off.Yeah! I have a sinus infection but I am going to enjoy them anyway.

New Menus from the WinCo shopping trip. Not having an ad for WinCo, I went with my ten dollar coupon just looking for bargains and knowing what I was short of. I bought just the amount of particular product that I knew I had used up lately.

Almost everything that I purchased was either the same as a sale price ( Roma tomatoes )or cheaper than my current lowest price--about twenty to twenty five percent for the same or comparable brands. Add another twenty percent and I averaged 40 percent off of SALE prices or about sixty percent. Our car uses little gas, but the savings was well worth the trip. you have to know your prices, some things were more.



Not knowing what you are going to find, or NOT find, is why it is prudent to do your meal plans after you shop. Case on point-- QFC had pork loin on for 2.00 but when I got there, they looked terrible. The strawberries had gray hair prettier than mine!!

Two beef, two pork or chicken, two vegetarian and a fish.

1)sloppy joes, oven baked fries
2)spaghetti and meatballs
3)roast chicken
4) chicken pot pie
5) quiche
6) pizza
7) tuna melt

Thanks for stopping by

Please share

Jane