COOKING ON A BUDGET 04/04/19
Week of Hams- Getting Ready for Easter – Save money and make your own glaze to take advantage of best deals.(Mix light brown sugar, honey, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, yellow mustard, cinnamon, onion and garlic powder, dried parsley, nutmeg, ginger and dried cloves – whisk all together in a pot until brown sugar is all melted. Put the glaze in between all slices of the ham. Wrap in foil and cook. Take out of the oven and take foil off.Add more glaze throughout the next 30 minutes of cooking.)
ALDI - ½ Spiral Ham only 95 cents a lb.
SHAWS - If you don’t have an Aldi by you Smithfield Hickory Spiral Sliced Half Ham – 97 cents lb. (with $25 purchase)
MARKET BASKET – Sugardale or Smithfield Leg Portion 79 cents lb., Butt Portion 89 cents lb.
HANNAFORD – Shank portion ham 55 cents lb. or spiral sliced ham 95 cents lb.
HANNAFORD – SALE ENDS SATURDAY
2 packages Hannaford Sliced Bacon - $2.99 (Need for your slaw and your chicken casserole)
ALDI – SALE ENDS SATURDAY
Boneless Chicken Breasts this week - $1.69lb (Going to freeze)
We always have guests so I always keep blocked cheese on hand to serve with crackers – 1.49 each!
Shredded Mexican Cheese (need for your Mexican stuffed spaghetti squash)
Shredded Cheddar Cheese (need for your chicken casserole and stuffed pepper soup)
Cream Cheese 69 cents each – I have a great Easter breakfast desert for you!(Buy 2 or 3 depending on how many desserts you will make. The recipe at the end and you will need ½ bar for your chicken casserole)
Bake House Crescent Rolls 89 cents each (compare to Pillsbury!) ( you will need at least 2 to use for Easter Breakfast Dish – I usually make a lot of these and buy 4)
Butter – $1.99 (Easter Breakfast Dessert)
Kids lunch bags this week - Mangoes – 69 cents each
SHAWS
3 Day Sale Items
-Whole Chicken, Thighs or Drumsticks – 88 cents lb.! (I will freeze these, a good deal)
-Cod Fillets - $5.99lb (don’t need for dinner next week, but can freeze)
- I love Canada Dry Seltzers – SCORE- 4/$11!!!
Kids lunch snacks and dinner veggies – Baby Peeled Carrots – 99 cents bag!
Fresh Sliced Galbani mozzarella - $2.99 (Steak Milanese and stuffed tomatoes)
Viva Paper Towels (6 Big Rolls) – 2/$10!! (Must buy two but a great price)
MARKET BASKET
Pork Loin Roast - $1.49lb (Pork dinner night)
Rotisserie Chicken – Always the best deal on these at MB (chicken casserole)
Thin Sliced Prosciutto - $5.99lb (for your steak Milanese –if you are making 6 steaks, get 6 slices)
Fresh ground beef (85% lean) - $3.99lb (Stuffed pepper soup)
Jimmy Dean Sausage Roll (hot or regular) - $3.99 (Stuffed pepper soup)
Cole Slaw 14 oz. bag – 99 cents (For you slaw)
Shady Brook Farms 93% Lean Ground Turkey $3.49 (For your Mexican stuffed spaghetti squash)
Dragone Ricotta Cheese – 2 for $5 (If you have some leftover you won’t need another container. If not buy one for your Stuffed tomatoes)
Grey Poupon Mustard – 2 for $5 (need 1 for your pork, and slaw)
Barilla Pasta Sauce – 2 for $3 (get 1 for your Stuffed pepper soup)
Cauliflower – 2 for $5 (2 needed, 1 for your chicken casserole and 1 for stuffed pepper soup)
Ken’s Salad Dressings on sale – Ranch 2 for $4 (1 needed for chicken casserole)
Red pepper - $1.99lb (2 needed – 1 for chicken casserole and 1 for your Mexican spaghetti squash)
Gunter Honey Bear – 2 for $6 (Buy 1 if you don’t have one for recipes this week)
Score – Doritos 2 for $5!
DINNERS FOR THE WEEK
Mexican Stuffed Spaghetti Squash - First let me tell you spaghetti squash are great but the trick is to poke holes around it in the spot you would cut in half.Put in the microwave for 5 minutes and it will be way easier to cut in half.Once it’s split scoop out the seed, rub olive oil and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and bake until easily able to scoop out the insides. While that is baking cook up your turkey burger, season with paprika, cayenne pepper, cumin, salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder, chili powder.Once cooked add a can of black beans (cleaned off), chopped up red pepper, fresh cilantro and my favorite Mitchell’s medium salsa. Once the insides are soft in the spaghetti squash, I put them in a bowl, mix with my turkey mixture and put back in the shell of the spaghetti squash, top with Mexican cheese and put back in the oven until melted.Top with fresh cilantro and serve with avocado and sour cream.
PORK LOIN ROAST AND AN APPLE BACON JALAPENO SLAW – For your pork marinade, mix soy sauce, honey, olive oil, a little orange juice, and Dijon mustard, and some minced garlic, salt and pepper.Cut slits in the tenderloins and pour the sauce over the top and cook for 45 minutes or so in the oven (make sure every 15 minutes you spoon mixture from the dish on top of the tenderloin so it tastes moist).Or if it’s nice out put the pork and marinade in an aluminum foil wrap.(Depending on how your grill is could be done in 30 minutes) Let it sit before cutting into it. For your slaw Cook up some bacon and chop into pieces and then set aside.Mix some apple cider vinegar, olive oil, honey, Dijon mustard, chopped scallions and salt and then some of your bacon fat to make the dressing. In a bowl mix your bag of cole slaw with, some of your favorite apple that has been chopped (I use granny smith), and chopped jalapenos (if you like the spice), add the dressing, salt and pepper to taste and then top with your crispy bacon.Serve with your pork loin.
ITALIAN STEAK MILANESE WITH STUFFED TOMATOES – (You probably have left over ricotta and mozzarella left over from last week that you can use this week or buy from the sales above.) You need a top round sliced thin steak (this doesn’t cost much – usually find it at Market Basket for cheap – it’s not on sale this week, but not pricey at all). Mix some egg and milk.In a bowl, mix Italian style bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, and minced garlic.Take a steak coat in the egg wash, and put in the bread crumb mixture, cook in olive oil on high heat to give it a nice crust. (It’s a thin meat and you will also be broiling so quick cooking on each side to keep it tender.) Put the steak on a cookie sheet and top with a slice of prosciutto, roasted red peppers (I didn’t find these on sale, but worth buying them for this recipe), fresh shaved parmesan and sliced mozzarella. Broil until cheese is bubbling. For the tomatoes, buy somewhat firm large tomatoes, cut in half (crosswise) and remove the seeds as best you can.Pour a little bit of cooking sherry at the bottom or a casserole dish, and put the tomatoes on it and season with salt and pepper.In a dish mix some ricotta cheese, parsley, capers, Italian seasoning and minced garlic and stuff into tomatoes.Sprinkle with some of the parmesan and a slice of mozzarella and bake for about 10 minutes or until they are soft and cheese is melted.Serve up with your steak.
CHICKEN BACON RANCH CASSEROLE – Take a part a rotisserie chicken, chop the meat and set aside. Chop bacon, jalapenos, red pepper, grate cauliflower, salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder and cook until everything is soft. Then mix it with the chicken, softened cream cheese (1/2 bar), ranch dressing and put in a casserole dish, top with cheddar cheese and bake for about 20 minutes or until it’s a little crispy.
STUFFED PEPPER SOUP – I couldn’t find green peppers on sale this week, but I usually get the best deals on veggies at Aldi. (I won’t know until I go later today how much they are.) I cook up some hot Italian sausage (but you can use original too) and ground beef, set aside.Cook large chopped green peppers and small chopped sweet onion in some garlic, season with salt and pepper.I use 2 containers of beef broth, a can of Italian flavor diced tomatoes, add some Barilla sauce and add some water/corn starch mixture to get to a good thick soup consistency.Add your meat and peppers. Now you have two choices – you can either cook some white or brown rice and add to the soup or if you want lower carb like me, I grate some cauliflower and add as a rice substitute. Season with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning to taste.Cook until the cauliflower is soft.(I usually let sit on the oven for an hour or so at a lower heat, but you can cook faster if you want).If you are a cheese addict like me throw on some cheddar cheese when you serve.
EASTER BREAKFAST DESSERT – Lay out your sheet of crescent rolls and separate the triangles, put them on a pam sprayed cookie sheet. In a bowl, mix softened cream cheese, egg, vanilla extract, sour cream and some sugar (basically a cheese cake mixture.). Put a layer on the triangle except for the edges, add another triangle on top and seal with a fork.Melt some butter, and add in Honey-Cinnamon Camp Mix (it's the BEST) and brush on top of the dough and bake.Once they are done take out and sprinkle some more of the honey-cinnamon camp mix.Sooooo good!