Bargain Meal of the Week: March 24-30, 2010

Take advantage of the Easter egg opportunities right now, and use the cheap eggs for something even better! This meal reminds me of springtime....... :-)

Egg Salad Sandwiches and Fruit Salad
(I roughly used this recipe.....substituted rolls for wheat bread, and left out the chives. You can do as you wish. ;-)

King Soopers Large Eggs--$0.88/dozen (need 6=$0.44)
Kroger Celery Hearts--2/$3 (use 2 stalks=$0.30)
Kaiser Rolls--$1.99/6 ct. (use 4=$1.32)

Seedless Navel Oranges--4/$1 (need 1=$0.25)
Braeburn Apples--$0.88/lb (need 1=$0.22)
Kroger Canned Pineapple--$1.00 (use 1 can=$1)
Strawberries--$2.99/1 lb. (use 6 berries=$1.20)

Est. Cost: $4.73

~Remember to check out the Grocery Gathering for your local store deals, as well as King Soopers site and Springs Bargains for local Colorado deals. ~

Am I raising a pack of wolves?! :-)

(I got all of this for $5!)

I am sure many of you took advantage of the Kelloggs cereal/milk deal at King Soopers several weeks ago.
I ended up with 12 boxes of cereal and 6 gallons of milk, all for $10!

Somehow I imagined that this stockpile would last for quite awhile. I don't know what delusion I was under......2 weeks later, we have 1/2 gallon of the milk and 6 boxes of cereal left.

This got me thinking about what foods we go through like water in our house. There are many items, which is scary since my kids are all under the age of 8.
What will I do when they are all teenagers?!

Besides the basics (milk, eggs, bread, butter), we seem to fly through these things:

~rice
~baking items
~oatmeal
~cheese
~yogurt
~crackers
~tomato products (sauce, diced, etc.)
~beans
~tortillas

I just started going to Costco, after months of resisting it. And I have found that I save quite a bit on these basics that we use so often. Especially when I use the monthly coupons that they send. That, along with searching the store sale flyers, has helped me keep up with my ravenous family.

What items does your family go through, and how do you keep up with it?

Bargain Meal of the Week: March 10-16, 2010

My husband's doctor told him he needs to lower his cholesterol--high cholesterol runs in his family.
Which means that I ought to be cooking heart-healthy foods for the guy......yeeeeeaaaaahhh. I have been a bad wife and have not researched heart-healthy cooking like I should. I mean, really--how hard is it to pick up a Mediterranean cookbook at Borders?

In an effort to look like a caring wife, I am going to be trying out a heart-healthy recipe once a week. Hopefully, I can find ones that he will enjoy or this whole "helping my hubby eat better" thing might not go over so well. ;-)

Here is the first one I am trying.....enjoy!

Spicy-Crusted Salmon Over Spinach with Rice (serves 4)

*Kroger Value Fish Fillets (Salmon)--$3.99/lb.
(need 4 pieces=$4.00)
*Private Selection Organic Baby Spinach--$3.99
(need handful=$1.00)
*Zatarain's Rice Mix--10/$10
(pick a lower sodium one=$1.00)

Est. Cost: $6.00
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remember to check out the Grocery Gathering for local deals
and King Sooper's homepage for coupons!

A little bitta tweaking and.....wah-lah!

I am a huge fan of Taste of Home. I own 4 of their cookbooks, I receive two of their magazines, and I used to visit their headquarters at least once a year (before I moved away). In fact, many of my favorite recipes have come from one of their cookbooks or magazines.

But sometimes, I have to make the recipes fit my family (and our budget). As "down-home" as they are supposed to be, many of them still contain ingredients that, frankly....I'm never gonna purchase. Whether that is due to budget constraints, laziness, or my lack of confidence in the produce section at Whole Foods, I am just not gonna use certain items.

Anyways, I found this potato salad recipe and thought it sounded good. But I did not have gorgonzola cheese handy, nor any chives. So I switched it up a bit, added some pickle juice (for good flavor) and, here ya go.....


Loaded Potato Salad (formerly known as "Bacon & Gorgonzola Potato Salad")

1 3/4 lbs. potatoes, peeled and cubed
3/4 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup sour cream
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 celery rib, finely chopped
2 T. dill weed
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. coarsely ground pepper
1/4 t. sugar
1 cup shredded cheese
1 cup bacon bits, divided
2 T. pickle juice

Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Drain and cool.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the mayo, sour cream, onions, celery, 1 T. dill, salt, pepper and sugar. Stir in cheese and 1/2 cup bacon bits. Fold in tomatoes and potatoes. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Just before serving, sprinkle with remaining dill and bacon.

I'm going all granola on you....

The Bargain Meal post is coming--I promise--but first, I had to post what is on my mind today.

Do any of you make your own granola?

I bought a honking 9 lb. box of Quaker oats from Costco last week (because we love us some oatmeal in this house) and now I am thinking I might need some fabulous oatmeal-ish recipes to go along with those 9 lbs. of oats. And because I adore eating granola on top of my Mountain High for breakfast, I thought I would make some of my own.....some minus preservatives and excess sugar. (Cuz I am healthy like that....I mean, I do live in Colorado.)

I think I will use this recipe--it seems to have all of the components I am searching for.
(Doesn't that sound like I am all scientific and professional?).
But if any of you have any better recipes, please do share!