Recent Dinners

The spring weather has had me in a cleaning/organizing frenzy, plus I'm trying to get ready for a trip we'll be taking in a few days. Consequently, dinners have been more about convenience than usual.

Thursday night we had burgers & tater tots. The ground beef was practically free after some creative couponing. I had a coupon for $1.50 off ground beef with the purchase of 2 Classico pasta sauces. Harris Teeter had that brand BOGO last week, plus a sale on ground beef for $1.47/lb. So I picked up 2 jars of sauce for $2.69, plus another .33 for the ground beef (price on package was $1.83 for something like 1.25 lbs.) I served a can of peaches on the side.

.33 - ground beef
free - American cheese (some long ago deal - time to use this up)
.59 - 1/2 package Food Lion brand hamburger buns
.75 - 1/2 package Food Lion brand tater tots
.50 - canned peaches

$2.17 for dinner for 4 (sister joined us)

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Friday was the second-to-last fish night of Lent. (Thank goodness. I love fish and meatless meals in general but I hate being told what night I have to have them.) I served a bag of Gorton's Crunchy Breaded fish fillets with hush puppies (bagged, frozen) and a can of Del Monte green beans with potatoes. (OK, these have "ham flavor" added so they're probably not technically meatless, but I won't tell the rest of my family if you don't.)

$2.25 - fish fillets (BOGO + super double coupon)
$1.25 - hush puppies (BOGO)
$1 - green beans with potatoes

$4.50 for dinner for 5 (sister joined us & brought home leftovers for brother-in-law)

______________________________

Saturday night I heated up the last of the Jack Daniel's heat-n-serve entrees. If you remember, I got these for $3 apiece because of a Harris Teeter raincheck. I noticed that they're on sale this week BOGO, so you can stock up on them for about $4 apiece if you 're interested.

I served the pulled pork BBQ on hamburger buns. Tater tots and leftover corn rounded out the meal.

$3 - pulled pork
.59 - buns
.75 - 1/2 package tater tots
free - leftover corn

$4.34 for dinner for 4

Tuesday & Wednesday Dinners

Chicken with Creamy Tomato-Spinach Rice

After an unlucky run of blah and just-plain-bad dinners, I was out of my "experimental" mode and determined to cook things I knew everybody liked.

Wednesday night I made the above, which is my own take on a recipe I found on Kraft.com. (I forget what they called it, but it was about as inspired as my title.) I've changed it enough to just post what I do:

Heat about 1/4 cup Kraft Sun-dried Tomato Vinaigrette in large non-stick skillet, and brown 1 lb. boneless chicken thighs or breasts (I prefer thighs). Continue to cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated from pan and dressing has cooked down to a thick, syrupy glaze on the chicken. (If you take chicken out when it's cooked through but the pan is still full of liquid, chicken will have no flavor at all.) Remove chicken from pan and keep warm. In same skillet, add 2 cups instant rice, 1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes, and 2 cups chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer until rice is tender - about 5 minutes. When rice is cooked, stir in 1/2 of a 8 oz. package of cream cheese, cut into chunks. Keep stirring until cheese melts and forms a creamy sauce for the rice. Add 1/2 of an 8 - 10 oz. bag of fresh spinach leaves. Cover pan for 3 -5 minutes, or until the heat has partially wilted the spinach. Stir spinach into rice, top with reserved chicken, and serve.

Totals:

$2 - boneless chicken thighs (from Aldi - $5.99/3 lb bag)
free - instant rice (after triple coupons)
.55 - canned tomatoes
.40 - 1/2 package cream cheese
$1 - 1/2 package spinach
.65 - chicken broth (1/2 carton)

$4.60 for dinner for 4 (+ sister) with leftovers for another serving (I used 5 chicken thighs)

We also had dessert last night - a Mrs. Smith's Dutch Apple Crumb Topped Pie served with Edy's Caramel Delight reduced fat ice cream. The pie was only $1.75 after sale + triple coupon, and Harris Teeter had Edy's ice cream on sale for $1.99 last week (so I stocked up as much as my full freezer would allow). Total for dessert was about .45 per serving.


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Tuesday was busy as usual for me, so it was more about putting a meal together than actually cooking. I made Veal Parmesan with Italian breaded veal cutlets from Aldi. These are a specialty item they don't carry all year-round, so now is the time to buy them if you're interested. (The High Point Road Aldi had plenty when I went on Monday evening.) At $6 for a package of 9 cutlets, they're also very economical.

After pan-frying, I topped the cutlets with mozzarella and baked in the oven to melt the cheese. I served them over spaghetti with jarred sauce (one of the 6 jars of Bertolli I got for free with raincheck and super double coupons). Frozen garlic bread rounded out the meal.

Totals:

$2 - veal cutlets
.50 - spaghetti
free - sauce
.75 - mozzarella cheese
.63 - garlic bread (HT brand - $1.68 for 8 slices)

$3.88 for dinner for 3

Recent Dinners

I haven't made any nightly dinner posts since last Wednesday, so let me do a quick update:

Thursday afternoon was spent sleeping off a migraine, so I was in no shape to cook that night (nor did I have much appetite). So my family opened up a frozen bagged meal - Birdseye Steamfresh was the brand, in some beef, mushroom and pasta flavor. The funny thing is, I served this exact variety a few months ago and everybody (including sister, who was joining us that night) liked it. Not loved it, but liked it well enough for me to buy the same thing again. This time, however, we all thought it was terrible. Go figure. I don't recall exactly what I paid for it, but I think it was around $3 after sale & double coupon. Good thing it wasn't expensive, because we didn't even keep the leftovers.

Friday we ate out.

Saturday I roasted a Hormel Mesquite BBQ Pork Tenderloin in the oven. On the side I served sauteed pierogies and buttered cabbage. The pork tenderloin was only $3 (down from $8 or so) after sale + super double coupon. The pierogies only .75 a box after BOGO + $1 off coupon. And the cabbage was about $1 for a small head. So $4.75 for dinner for 4 (sister joined us) with leftover pork and cabbage left over. It was a nothing-special sort of meal, but everyone left the table satisfied.

Sunday is The Kid's night at youth group, so we heated a frozen pizza.

Monday night was the biggest disappointment of all. I found this recipe for Balsamic-Glazed Lam Meat Loaf in last month's Real Simple magazine and couldn't wait to try it. The verdict: The Kid liked it a lot, but both of the adults thought it was awful. The thyme called for in the recipe completely overpowered the flavor of the meat, even though I had cut the amount by more than half. (I've come to the conclusion that I just don't like thyme and won't be using it in any future recipes.) I would have thrown out the leftovers but The Kid wanted to save them for lunches. (I think I'll serve it on pita bread with lettuce and tomato, sort of gyro-style.) The only saving grace of the recipe was the red onion/red pepper/white bean mixture served on the side. We all really liked that and I'll be making that on its own again. (I purposely left out the thyme, and used jarred roasted red peppers because that's what I had on hand.) Luckily I didn't pay much for the ground lamb. Harris Teeter was the only store where I was able to find it, but I got it on meat markdown for $2 instead of the normal $6/lb. The cost of the rest of the meatloaf ingredients were negligible, and the total cost for the bean/onion/pepper mixture was about $2.

Wednesday Dinner

Tonight's dinner was sort of a theme meal. We had something like a French picnic - chicken liver mousse/pate' served with a loaf of homemade bread, cracked wheat crackers, Dijon mustard, assorted cheeses, grapes and Granny Smith apples.

I won't go into a lot of details about the chicken liver mousse/pate' because I know that liver is one of those love it or hate it foods. My recipe is fairly standard and not unlike hundreds of others out there. I'm happy to share it if anyone wants it - just email me. The basic ingredients are bacon, chicken livers, onion, apple, brandy, and spices.

I won't price everything out individually, but it was very easy on the wallet - well under $5 with lots of leftover everything. Chicken livers are just about the cheapest meat around at $1.25/lb. A whole batch of pate' costs me less than $2. We always have crackers and Dijon mustard around anyway, and the fruit was what I had on hand for snacking and The Kid's school lunches. I can whip up a loaf of bread machine bread for under 50 cents. The cheeses would have been the most expensive part of the meal, but they were a freebie. If you're in Greensboro, you should really sign up with Earth Fare (Earthfare.com) to be on their email list. Every week they send out a printable coupon for a different free product - sometimes multiple free products! It really is the best deal going. This week's freebie was a 7 oz. block of Kerrygold Irish cheese with any purchase. The Kid and I each went armed with a coupon, so we got a block each of Irish sharp cheddar and a Gouda-like cheese called Blarney Castle. So we were able to add $7 worth of imported cheese to our meal for $0.


(NOTE: I love a good freebie like anyone else, but I don't like to feel that I'm taking advantage. Even though there's no minimum purchase required, I always spend at least as much as the freebie is worth. On this visit I got 2 lbs. of bulk dry soybeans for roasting, and The Kid bought a 1-lb container of organic dark chocolate peanut butter.)

Tuesday Dinner

Salmon with Lemon-Cilantro Vinaigrette
(served with couscous and steamed edamame)

Today wasn't my normal busy Tuesday, so I spent more time than usual in the kitchen. After the Muffin Fiasco this afternoon, I turned my attention to dinner. Luckily this recipe turned out perfectly, even better than I'd hoped, because I would have really been bummed if this one had been a failure, too.

This recipe came from RealSimple.com, and it was a winner (even though recipes called 'vinaigrette' that contain no vinegar is one of my culinary pet peeves). The treatment of the salmon was nothing special - just pan-seared in olive oil - but the lemon-cilantro vinaigrette really elevated this dish to another level. It was tangy and fresh and green, and I'd love to try it on grilled shrimp or chicken next. On the side I served couscous, as suggested in the recipe. I was apprehensive because I haven't been overly fond of couscous in other dishes. (Although, to be fair, I'm most familiar with it in salads using ingredients I'm not crazy about to begin with - namely cucumbers.) This dish might actually convert me because it was delicious when drizzled with the herby lemon dressing, and its starchy blandness was a perfect balance to the tartness of lemon and the richness of the fish.

This dish really called out for some sort of fresh vegetables I didn't have on hand tonight. I served steam-in-the-bag edamame, which wasn't a great combination, although it wasn't bad, either. It just didn't seem like a good fit - Asian with Mediterranean. Next time, I think I'll try it with sauteed spinach or maybe some sliced oranges.

Totals:

$3 - salmon (3 frozen individual portions from Aldi, sold in bags of 4/$3.99)
$1.25 - 1/2 box couscous
.30 - cup chicken broth (to cook couscous in)
.33 - lemon
.30 - cilantro, green onions
.83 - steam-in-bag edamame (sale + coupon)

$6.01 for dinner for 3

Cherry Ricotta Muffins

I spent way too long this afternoon making a batch of Cherry Ricotta Muffins with the last of my leftover ricotta. I'm not posting a photo of these because the photo that came with the recipe looked infinitely better than mine turned out. Those look golden brown and delicious, with big chunks of cherries throughout. Mine were pale and anemic (they just wouldn't brown for me), and all the cherries sunk to the bottom. Plus they stuck inside the paper muffin cups terribly, so they were all misshapen and weird when you pulled the muffin paper off. (There were other issues, too, like the batter being thin and runny and messy, and the fact that there was twice as much of it as there should have been, necessitating last-minute scrambling for more pans and paper liners, and so on.)

The verdict: yummy, but the results weren't worth all the trouble and expense. (Fresh cherries are out of season, and both canned and dried are very expensive. I went with dried, but I'm not sure I'd make these again even with fresh because of the time it would take to pit them.)

Monday Dinner

Braided Ham & Spinach Calzone (top view)

Braided Ham & Spinach Calzone (cut view)

I had a little more than 1/2 a carton of ricotta to use up and not much time to do it - it spoils fast. I did some online searches for "leftover ricotta" and calzone recipes kept popping up over and over again. I culled the best ingredient and technique ideas and here's what I did:

1. I made pizza dough in my bread machine. After looking at 4 or 5 different pizza dough recipes, I concluded they're all pretty much the same, so use your favorite. (Mine had water, bread flour, salt, sugar, olive oil and yeast.)

2. While the dough is mixing, make the filling. Thaw a small box of chopped frozen spinach and thoroughly wring out all the water. (I use a clean dish towel for this.) In a medium bowl, mix spinach, 1 cup ricotta, 1/4 cup grated parmesan, 1 cup grated mozzarella, with salt, pepper and ground nutmeg to taste.

3. After dough has proofed, stretch out as large as you can without tearing, then use a rolling pin on floured surface to roll into a large rectangle. (Mine was about 12 x 15, and was a cross between a rectangle and an oval.)

4. Use the straight edge of your baking sheet to measure out a wide strip of dough in the center - about 5 - 6" wide. Use a paring knife to cut the dough along the sides into strips about every 1.5 inches. The whole thing should look something like this:

------l l-------
------l l-------
------l l------
------l l-------

Does that make sense? I hope so. The Kid called it a mutant spider.

5. Spoon the spinach-ricotta filling down the center portion of the dough. Top with about 8 oz. thinly sliced ham, chopped.

6. Now "braid" the strips over the filling. Start at the top, folding a right strip over the center, then a left, and so forth until the bottom. (This really is easy - don't be intimidated.)

7. Brush all over the top with beaten egg, then sprinkle with a little more grated parmesan.

8. Bake in 350 preheated oven for 35 - 40 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting into slices to serve. Pass heated marinara or pizza sauce at the table for dipping.

Totals:

.25 - ingredients for crust
$1.22 - chopped ham (Food Lion sale on deli ham this week)
.75- ricotta
$1 - mozzarella
.25 - parmesan
.66 - spinach
.10 - egg
.50 - leftover jarred marinara

$4.73 for dinner for 4, plus another serving leftover for lunch

$4.23

Saturday Dinner

Mexican Gumbo

I got the idea for this dish from something similar served by Qdoba Grill. Basically, it's a big scoop of rice and meat with tortilla soup poured over. They call it Mexican Gumbo, so I'm sticking with that.

I made a quickie tortilla soup: Saute 1 chopped onion in a little canola oil for about 5 minutes or until translucent. Add 1 tsp. minced garlic and saute another minute or two until golden. Add 1 can Rotel tomatoes with green chiles (I use the 'Mild' variety), 1 can corn, drained, 1 16 oz. can tomato sauce, and 1 32 oz. carton chicken broth. Add about 1/2 t. ground cumin and 1 T chili powder, plus salt & pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until slightly thickened. (If I were serving as soup I'd stop now and top with shredded cheese and crumbled tortilla chips.)

To serve as gumbo, I put a big scoop of hot white rice in each bowl, then topped this with about 1/3 cup of the leftover shredded pork. I poured the hot soup all around, then sprinkled with chopped cilantro and diced avocado.

On the side I served cheese quesadillas cut into wedges. (It turns out we didn't need them - the gumbo was more than filling enough on its own. Next time I'll just serve tortilla chips for dipping.)

It was a delicious and hearty dinner. The soup was a bit spicy for the rest of my family (not me), but it was nicely mellowed by the smooth, buttery chunks of avocado. If I hadn't had that, I would have topped with a dollop of sour cream.

Totals:

free - leftover roast pork
.20 - rice
.78 - avocado
.30 - tomato sauce
.21 - canned corn (raincheck + sale)
$1.29 - chicken broth
.59 - Rotel tomatoes (purchased w/ Buy 2, get 1 free coupon)

.50 - tortillas
.66 - shredded Mexican blend cheese (about 1/3 bag)

$4.53 for dinner for 4 (sister joined us), plus leftover soup for another 2 - 3 servings (and we still have leftover roast, too)

NOTE #1 : I didn't use the full 16 oz. tomato sauce - I used an 8 oz. can tomato sauce and the 1/2 can left over from the other night. Also, I used reduced sodium chicken broth.

NOTE #2: I discovered something very interesting about Harris Teeter rainchecks the other day. I had a raincheck for their house brand of canned vegetables (corn, peas or green beans) for 3/$1. The week I used the raincheck, they were already on sale for .77, down from .89 each. So when the cashier ran the raincheck through, she manually marked the price of each can I bought to .33 each - then the computer automatically took off another .12 per can to reflect that week's sale. So I got 12 cans of assorted vegetables (the limit I could buy with my raincheck) for only .21 each!

Friday Dinner

Tonight I was back to a heat n' serve sort of dinner, mainly because that's what I had on hand (and it's Friday, so it had to be fish or otherwise meat-free). So I served crunchy battered Gorton's fish fillets, hush puppies (bagged, frozen), and collard greens.

Totals:

$2.25 - Gorton's fish fillets (after BOGO + super double coupons)
$1.25 - bagged hushpuppies (BOGO)
$1 - Margaret Holmes canned collard greens

$4.50 for dinner for 4 (sister joined us) with leftovers of everything for 1 more serving

Thursday Dinner

I was still in a cooking frame of mind tonight, but in the mood for something a bit more homey.

I made Ultimate Chicken Fingers (an oven-baked recipe from the side of the Bisquick box) - they're so buttery and good you don't need sauce for them. They're also 10 times better than frozen, pre-breaded tenders, with the added benefit of knowing exactly what went into them. (The only change I make from the recipe is I don't use the parmesan cheese.)

On the side I made orange mashed sweet potatoes and spinach with hot bacon dressing. Both went really well with the rather plain chicken and the flavors played nicely off each other. As a bonus, I was able to put both side dishes together well ahead of the entree, so I didn't have to time everything together perfectly at the last minute.

I've had a big can of sweet potatoes in syrup kicking around my pantry since Thanksgiving (I decided not to make them), and I thought they'd go well with the chicken. I brought the entire contents of the can to boil in a saucepan. Then I drained out the syrup, mashed the sweet potatoes with a fork, and added the juice and zest of 1 orange, a pat of butter, salt & pepper, and a dash of pumpkin pie spice. They were perfectly sweet and creamy without any additional sugar, and the orange flavor was wonderful and fresh. (I made them a little early, then reheated in the microwave for 2 minutes just before serving.)

For the hot bacon dressing, I diced 1 slice of bacon and cooked it until crisp in a large skillet. I removed the bacon from the pan and added the following to the bacon drippings: 3 T. each of cider vinegar and water, 1 T. of sugar, plus salt, pepper, and a dash of ground mustard. I did this part ahead of time and left the dressing in the pan. At serving time, I reheated the dressing until hot, then added 1/2 of a bag of fresh spinach and quickly tossed to coat. Sprinkle with reserved bacon and serve.

Totals:

$2 - chicken breast (frozen, bagged, BOGO)
$1.39 - sweet potatoes (always cheap around Thanksgiving)
$1 - 1/2 bag spinach
.50 - remaining ingredients (butter, orange, etc.)

$4.89 for dinner for 4 (sister joined us), plus leftover chicken and sweet potatoes

Wednesday Dinner

Pork Carnitas with Pineapple-Avocado Salsa

I feel like flinging myself through a doorway and yelling dramatically, "I'm back!"

I honestly don't think it would be possible to make a better meal, for less money, than the one I made tonight. It would have been wonderful at 2 or 3 times the cost, but for as cheap as it was it was truly astounding.

It started with a pork shoulder - the other half of a larger piece purchased 1/2 price ("buy 1, get 1 free") at Lowes Foods. I'd had my butcher cut in half for me. We had the first half in Spicy Asian Pork on a snowy January weekend, and I froze this one. First, I made a rub out of Kosher salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, and a few drops of liquid smoke. I rubbed it all over the roast and let it stand for about 2 hours. Then I dropped it in the crock pot, poured over 1/2 cup cider vinegar, and let it cook on low overnight. This morning the meat was falling-apart tender. I took it out of the liquid and let it cool to room temperature before shredding. Meanwhile, I refrigerated the liquid so the fat would rise to the top and solidify. Once I could spoon off the fat, I poured the liquid into a saucepan, added another 1/2 cup cider vinegar, 1/2 cup tomato sauce (1/2 of an 8 oz. can), 2 T. brown sugar and a few more drops liquid smoke. I brought to a boil, let reduce by about 1/3 until thickened, then strained to get any little bits out. I passed this sauce at the table - a sort of South of the Border BBQ sauce.

I can't take any credit at all for the Pineapple-Avocado Salsa recipe. It was 100% Melissa d'Arabian from Food Network's 'Ten Dollar Dinners.' She used hers on marinated fish, but I'd seen similar fruit salsas served with pulled pork, so I decided to give that a try. I used fresh pineapple instead of canned because I ran across a great price on fresh at Aldi, and I added a teaspoon of minced garlic, but otherwise I went straight off her recipe.

juice of 1 lime
squeeze of honey
drizzle canola oil (about 1 Tablespoon)
2/3 fresh pineapple, cut into small chunks (The Kid commandeered the rest)
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1 small fresh jalapeno, seeds and white membrane removed, finely diced
1 tsp. minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
1 avocado, cubed
1 small bunch cilantro leaves, chopped
salt & pepper

Mix lime juice, honey and oil together, add pineapple, onion, garlic, jalapeno, and salt & pepper. Mix well. Let stand at least 15 minutes. (I made mine the night before). Just before serving, gently fold in cubed avocado and cilantro leaves.

To assemble, I spooned the heated pork over heated flour tortillas, drizzled with a little of the sauce, and topped with a generous scoop of fruit salsa.

Totals (you won't believe it):

$2.30 - pork shoulder
.25 - dry rub + additional sauce ingredients

$2.55 for pulled pork shoulder for 8+ (we only served about 1/2 tonight)

$1.29 - fresh pineapple
.78 - avocado
.35 - 1/2 red onion
.09 - 1 jalapeno
.10 - cilantro
.33 - lime

$2.94 for big batch of salsa (we used about 1/3 of the batch tonight)

If I added in the cost of a full package of flour tortillas ($1.79), I could have served 8 people easy for under $8. Add some sides of rice and black beans (at pennies per serving), and a pitcher of Margaritas, and you've got a party. (You can put the money you've saved on the food toward a bottle of the really GOOD tequila.)

NOTE: I've found that WalMart is the cheapest option for specialty produce IF (and this is a big if) it's used in Mexican cooking. I think that's because Harris Teeter and Lowes Foods cater to an upscale clientele that occasionally dabble in ethnic cuisine., but WalMart caters to working-class folks who cook with it daily. A very small bunch of cilantro was $2.29 at Lowes Foods, and if I wanted to buy the cilantro concentrate in a tube (so it would go bad so quickly, I presume), I could have spent $3.99. I've seen similar prices at Harris Teeter. But WalMart sold HUGE bunches of cilantro for 79 cents. I couldn't possibly use it all before it goes bad, but at that price I don't care. (Although I have another dish using cilantro planned for later in the week.) Also, Lowes Foods didn't sell loose jalapenos at all, but WalMart had them for $1.38/lb. It's amazing how cheap this ingredient really is when you consider that you'll probably only need 1 or 2 peppers at a time - I paid 9 cents for mine.

Monday & Tuesday Dinners

Sorry for the gap in postings, y'all. But in my defense, there really weren't any interesting dinners going on at my house over the past week. Lots of leftovers (I'm now deathly sick of turkey), and a night of cheeseburgers and fries was as good as it got.

I've missed cooking and would have been back in the swing of things Monday night, but The Kid had a function and we had to eat and run. I managed to get a quick dinner on the table with Trader Joe's Teriyaki Chicken, white rice, and steam-in-the-bag edamame. (This represented the last of my Trader Joe's stash, so it's about time to make another run up to Chapel Hill.)

Monday Totals:

$4.99 - teriyaki chicken
.20 - rice
$1.35 - edamame (BOGO)

$6.54 for dinner for 3, plus a full serving for lunch (which The Kid promptly claimed and brown-bagged)

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As I've mentioned, Tuesday is usually a busy day for me. Today was no different, so dinner was more about putting different elements together than it was about really cooking. I made meatball subs with a bag of frozen turkey meatballs, heated in jarred spaghetti sauce, sprinkled with shredded mozzarella, and served on soft bakery sub rolls. On the side I tossed a quick Ceasar salad with romaine, bottled dressing, a sprinkle of grated Asiago, and garlic-butter croutons.

Tuesday Totals:

$1.50 - meatballs (sale + HT super double coupon)
$1 - spaghetti sauce (about 2/3 jar purchased for $1.50 after sale + super double coupon)
$1.66 - sub rolls (4 out of package of 6)
.75 - mozzarella cheese (1/2 package)
.66 - romaine lettuce (1/3 of $2 package)
free - dressing (after triple coupons)
free - croutons (after double coupons)

$5.57 for dinner for 4 (sister joined us), plus leftover meatballs in sauce for another sandwich

Tuesday & Wednesday Dinners + Making Markdowns Happen

Tuesday was another of my busy days, so I put together a largely heat n' eat meal when I got home. Jack Daniels Sliced Beef Brisket in BBQ Sauce (heat n' eat entree), packaged buttered noodles, and a combination of leftover veggies from the fridge. Nothing to write home about, but everyone was satisfied...plus there was Italian Love Cake for dessert.

Tuesday Totals:

$3 - beef brisket (rain check for BOGO)
.04 - Knorr/Lipton Buttered Noodles (after triple coupons)
.20 - butter and milk for noodles
free - leftover veggies

$3.24 for dinner for 3

_____________

Wednesday also turned out to be a busy day. The Kid was out of school (along with the rest of GCS students), so we took advantage of the free day and got a lot of shopping and errands out of the way (including a rather expensive trip to Michael's for social studies & science project supplies). A quick grocery trip to pick up a few essentials netted me some great meat markdowns (including ground beef), so I picked up buns and frozen fries for a Cheeseburger & Fries meal.

Totals:

$1.25 - ground beef
$1 - buns (1/2 package)
$1 - fries (1/2 package)
.30 - cheese

$3.55 for dinner for 3


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Make friends with the employees at your local grocery store, especially Harris Teeter. These people are invaluable for helping you get the best deals and special finds.

Case in point: This week I was browsing the imported/specialty cheese counter at a local Harris Teeter. I struck up a conversation with the employee behind the counter. She pointed to a basket with 2 large wedges of cheese in it and told me to always look in that basket for "Manager's Specials" - code for markdowns. I looked over the contents and remarked that $5 was still too expensive for me. She said, "Let me see the dates on those....how about $2 apiece?" I agreed, and she marked them down on the spot. Keep in mind these would have been $8 - $10 apiece at full price. So now we have some exceptional snacking cheese in the house for less than a package of store-brand American would have cost.

A Harris Teeter deli manager sold me a food-service sized bag of chipotle mayo at less than his cost after I commented on how much I loved it but couldn't find a comparable product on their shelves.

I offered to buy several marked down seafood items if the seafood manager could go a little lower on the price. He agreed because he'd rather see it sold than thrown away.

I got several good meat & seafood markdowns yesterday, but two were really exceptional deals: .50 for a nice piece of smoked salmon (regularly $4.99), and $4.25 for a $17+ boneless leg of lamb. The lamb went into the freezer and the salmon is going to be a snack with cream cheese and crackers this evening.

From the Bakery

Italian Love Cake (modified)

I started with this recipe from Allrecipes.com, but I made a few changes. Most importantly, the original called for the cake to be topped with a chocolate pudding & Cool Whip mixture that I didn't think would do the recipe justice. I admit to loving me some Cool Whip, but it always seems rather low-end, 1970's housewife to me, and the rest of this recipe seemed to have some real high-end potential. So I made a simple chocolate ganache to go over the top. I think my instincts were dead-on. It was fantastic, and you'd never guess it started with a mix. If I baked it in a springform pan and served it whole and unmolded on a cake stand, you'd swear it came from a posh bakery.

The other changes I made were small ones, like increasing sugar and vanilla extract, using whole-milk ricotta instead of skim, and reducing baking time because it was done before the recipe said it would be. Here's the recipe in a nutshell:

1 box chocolate cake mix (I used Supermoist Chocolate Fudge), prepared according to package directions

Pour batter into greased 9 x 13" pan and set aside.

Combine 32 oz. whole milk ricotta cheese (one of the big containers) with 1 cup sugar, 2 t. vanilla extract, and 4 eggs. Mix well, then carefully spread evenly over cake batter, all the way to the edges.

Place in oven preheated to 350 degrees. Ricotta layer will sink and chocolate cake layer will rise to top while baking. Bake at 1 hr. 15 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of cake layer comes out clean. (Recipe called for 1 hr. 15 - 1 hr. 30 mins, but mine was done at 1 hr. 15.)

Let cake cool.

For chocolate glaze: heat 1/3 cup heavy or whipping cream in microwave until very hot but not boiling (about 2 minutes). Stir in 2 Hershey's Special Dark chocolate bars, broken into pieces, until mixture is smooth. Let cool for 10 minutes, then spread evenly over cake. Refrigerate several hours before serving (and store in fridge because of all that dairy).

Monday Dinner

Pork Chops Paprikash

I came across one of Mom's old recipes that she used to make when I was growing up. There was a lot about it that I loved (mmmm...sour cream gravy) and a lot I didn't (pork chops cooked 1 hr. + until stiff as a board), so I modified it. The result tasted exactly as I remember, maybe even better - but I did it in less than 1/2 the time.

1 lb. thin-cut boneless pork chops
flour for dredging, seasoned with salt, pepper & paprika
1 T. vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 t. each: paprika, caraway seed
1/4 t. each: dill weed, garlic powder
1 8 oz. carton sour cream
Salt & Pepper to taste

Dredge pork chops in flour that has been seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika. Heat oil in skillet until hot, and pan-fry chops for 2 minutes on each side, or until nicely browned and cooked through. Work in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding pan.

Remove chops from pan and keep warm in oven.

Add sliced onion to pan - with a little additional oil if necessary - and saute for 3 - 5 minutes. Deglaze pan with chicken broth, scraping up any browned bits, and add spices. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, or until liquid has reduced by about half and onions are tender. (Add a little more broth as necessary.) Reduce heat, stir in sour cream and heat through but do not let it boil. Serve chops with generous spoonful of sauce over hot cooked rice or noodles. Garnish with a sprinkle of paprika.

We cleaned the fridge out of leftover veggies - green beans and collard greens - to make this a really economical meal.

Totals:

$2.20 - pork chops (meat markdown)
.25 - onion
free - sour cream (after super double coupons)
.20 - rice
free - leftover veggies

$2.65 for dinner for 3 (The Kid and I were extra hungry and both went back for seconds, but normally this dish serves 4 - 5, depending on how many chops you get to a pound.)

Sunday Dinner

Tamale Pie

My late father really loved this recipe. I've never met anyone who didn't, really. It's rich and hearty so it's perfect for a cold winter day.

Tamale Pie

1 lb. ground turkey
1 packet Taco seasoning mix
1 14 oz can corn, drained (or 16 oz bag frozen corn)
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
2 8 oz cans tomato sauce
1 large can French Fried Onions (I think this can is in the 3 oz range)
1 package corn muffin mix, with milk and egg called for on package directions
1 cup shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese

Brown turkey, drain fat if necessary (I never need to). Add taco seasoning, corn, tomatoes and tomato sauce. Cook, stirring constantly, until hot and bubbly. Stir in 1/2 can fried onions. Spread in 9 x 13" pan. Top with corn muffin batter that you've prepared according to package directions and spread evenly to seal edges. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes, or until cornbread is done. Sprinkle with cheese and remaining 1/2 can onions, return to oven for 3 - 5 minutes or until cheese melts and onions are lightly browned. Pass sour cream at the table. Serves 6 - 8. (We served 5 generously and had leftovers for lunch.)

Sunday Totals:

$1.39 - turkey
free - taco seasoning (after triple coupons)
.33 - corn
$1 - tomatoes and tomato sauce
$1.50 - fried onions (Aldi brand)
.50 - corn muffin mix
.25 - egg & milk
$1 - cheese

$5.97 for dinner for 5 (sister & husband joined us), plus leftovers for 2 - 3 lunch servings