Hy-Vee Meal Bargain Meal of the Week 3/4

You can see this week's ad online here.

This week's bargain meal is Skillet Mushroom Chicken with tossed salad and Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots, and sliced canteloupe.

Your grocery list:

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts $1.79lb.
1 bag Hy-Vee Garden Salad .68
1 2lb. bag of Grimmway Farms carrots .99
1 8oz. package of Monterey Whole White mushrooms .99
1 canteloupe $1.56

Your recipes:

Skillet Mushroom Chicken ($3.18 for 4 servings)

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts $1.79
1T lemon pepper
8oz. mushrooms, sliced .99
1T olive oil .10
2 T butter .20
2 cloves garlic, minced .10
1 cup chicken broth ( I make my own---use canned if you need to)

Heat pan to medium high heat. Sprinkle chicken with lemon pepper, add oil to pan and cook chicken 5 minutes on each side. Remove from pan. Add butter, garlic and mushrooms, cook 5minutes. Add chicken back to pan, add broth, cover and simmer at low heat 10 minutes. Serve chicken with mushrooms on top.

Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots (.74)
1lb. carrots, sliced .49
2T brown sugar .05
2T butter .20
1/2t cinnamon

In saucepan, cover carrots slices with water, bring to a boil and cook until tender. Drain carrots into a colander. Add butter and brown sugar to pan and bring mixture to bubbling over medium high heat for 2 minutes-add carrots and cinnamon, toss to coat and serve.

Serve with salad (.68) and 1/2 the cantaloupe (.78), seeded and cut into slices.

Total for Meal- $5.38

Did you know that March is National Frozen Foods Month?

Yes, a whole month dedicated to frozen foods.....




Please note that my freezer has only looked this nice when it was brand new and I was first transferring things over to it. Neither has it looked this empty...I'm always cramming stuff in. Two refrigerators, one deep freeze, and I fill it all up. No wonder I'm so intrigued by this month's theme.

Kudos to the inventor of frozen foods---Clarence Birdseye. Thanks to him, my life is much easier---I can buy foods in bulk when they are on sale and freeze them. I can have better quality veggies during the winter months. And I can prepare meals for use at another time.

You'll most likely see lots of great sales from the grocery stores as they celebrate National Frozen Foods Month. I thought it this was a great time to review storing foods in your freezer, how long things will keep, and freezer meals you can prepare at home.

According to the USDA, here are the lengths of time you can keep foods in the freezer at zero degrees for food quality (you can safely keep foods indefinitely):

Bacon and Sausage- 1 to 2 months

Casseroles- 2 to 3 months

Egg whites or egg substitutes- 12 months

Frozen Dinners and Entrees- 3 to 4 months

Gravy, meat or poultry- 2 to 3 months

Ham, Hotdogs and Lunchmeats- 1 to 2 months

Meat, uncooked roasts 4 to 12 months

Meat, uncooked steaks or chops- 4 to 12 months

Meat, uncooked ground- 3 to 4 months

Meat, cooked- 2 to 3 months

Poultry, uncooked whole- 12 months

Poultry, uncooked parts- 9 months

Poultry, uncooked giblets- 3 to 4 months

Poultry, cooked- 4 months

Soups and Stews- 2 to 3 months

Wild game, uncooked- 8 to 12 months

You can freeze a vast array of food, especially if you know the best practices. A great resource is the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

Once you are savvy about how long to freeze, and what you can freeze, you can store leftovers this way. You can also make meals specifically to be frozen and used at a later date. There are numerous cookbooks devoted to this. There are also many resources available online. Here are a few:

http://www.frugalmom.net/once_a_month_cooking.htm
http://organizedhome.com/freezer-cookbook-recipes-freezer-cooking
http://www.30daygourmet.com/
http://www.dinnersinthefreezer.com/


Just make sure you leave some room for ice cream! :)


Other Resources:

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/focus_on_freezing/index.asp

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/shopping-storing/freezing/how-long-you-can-freeze-foods-10000001012124/index.html

http://www.helpwithcooking.com/food-storage/foods-freeze-well.html

Walgreens Trip Today

Got my Walgreens trip in this morning to take advantage of some of the deals. I didn't get in and have a "free week" by any stretch, but I was able to get some pricier items that we use here on a regular basis at a savings, and also stock up on some soda. Today, no free toothpaste---toothpaste that paid ME to take it home! LOL. My cabinet is going to fill up pretty soon. Here's what I got:

3 12-packs Diet Mountain Dew @ 3/$11- you get a $3 RR
1 23 oz. Sugar Free Metamucil for $9.99 - $2 coupon I got for signing up for samples
1 17.9 oz. Miralax for $18.99 with a $4 RR- $2 coupon
1 Vaseline Lotion for $4.49 with a $2 RR - $1.25 from today's Red Plum
1 Fiber One Toaster pastries at $1.99 minus a .60 coupon
1 Chex Mix Bars at $1.99 minus a .60 coupon
2 Herbal Essences Shampoos at $2.99 each minus a $3/2 coupon
1 Colgate Max Toothpaste at $3.29- gave me a $3.50 RR, and I had a .75 coupon! Almost a dollar in overage! (***Please note that I looked at my RR twice--the ad says a $3.29 RR, but I really got a $3.50 RR, so your earnings may be higher as well!)

Total was $73.18

With coupons, I paid $50.61

And I got $12.50 in RR, along with a $1 coupon for PopTarts. So with RR it was like I paid $38.11. Both the Miralax and Metamucil will work with my Flexible Spending Account, so I'll save even more!

Meal Plan Week of 3/2

I revised my menu just slightly for tonight. I'm reposting as tonight's chicken will feature prominently in a couple other meals this week. I was able to grab whole chickens for .59/lb at Hy-Vee, and so tonight's bird is 4lbs. I used to be soooo afraid of whole chickens because I didn't know what to do with them, but they are incredibly versatile and great value. For some advice on other things to do with whole chickens, click here.

This week's dinners clocks in under $21. Using coupons and homemade items can really make a difference in your weekly food costs!

3/1 Sunday

Crockpot Sticky Chicken (coat in olive oil, penzey’s minced lemon peel, penzey’s herbes de provence, garlic, salt and pepper and cook on low for about 8 hours) $2.90

roasted sweet potato slices .50

Fresh Asparagus .75 (steam- toss with 1T olive oil, 1T lemon juice, 1t Dijon mustard and 1T honey)

$4.15

remove leftover meat from frame for tomorrow’s meal and freeze a small amount for Wedensday’s quesadillas. Make stock for Wednesday’s soup.

3/2 Monday

chicken, spinach and mushrooms in angel hair pasta 1.65

chicken .00 (leftover from Sunday chicken), pasta .50, mushrooms .50, spinach (leftover from frozen stash), .00, garlic .05, onion, .10, olive oil .10, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, parmesan .40

salad .50 (lettuce, carrot, tomato, vinegar and oil)

frozen broccoli .40

$2.55

3/3 Tuesday

pan fried pork chops $1.80

au gratin potatoes .60

honey glazed carrots .50

$2.90

3/4 Wednesday

black bean soup $1.20

chicken and cheese quesadillas $1.00 (chicken .00, cheese .50, tortillas .50, sprinkle of Penzey’s adobo spice)

carrots in dip for the boys .40

$2.60

3/5 Thursday

Johnsonville smoked sausages (onsale w/ coupons for $1.20 for 6—will have 2 leftover for white bean and kale soup in the future) in Rotella’s brat buns .50(these are carb heaven, but a special treat) and cheese .25 $1.95

homemade steak fries .40

apple slices .40

$2.75

3/6 Friday

breakfast for dinner

ham, egg and cheese biscuits $1.40

tater tots $.75

$2.15

3/7 Saturday

chipotle steak, onion and pepper fajitas $4.05

steak 2.00, onion .20, pepper .75, tortillas .50, cheese .50, penzey’s adobo seasoning and penzey’s ancho chili powder .10

cheesy refried beans (made from pinto beans) .50

$4.55

3/8 Sunday

sundried tomato pesto chicken pasta (will post later) $2.50

frozen broccoli .50

$3.00

$20.50 for the week


Head over to Menu Plan Monday for hundreds of other meal plans. Laura, the queen of OrgJunkie.com has been a real inspiration in helping me stay organized and stick to my weekly meal plans!

Black Bean Soup

Michelle’s Black Bean Soup

This is a hearty meal that is easy to prepare, inexpensive and great served with quesadillas or cornbread.

4 cups of cooked black beans (or 2 cans) .50 (made from dried)

2 cups of chicken broth (or 1 can) .00 (I make my own-have also made this using my homemade vegetable stock--try substituting a Corona for some of the broth!)

3 slices bacon, chopped .30

2t olive oil .10

½ onion, chopped .15

2 cloves garlic, minced .05

1 stalk celery, chopped .05

1 carrot, peeled and chopped .05

1 can of diced tomatoes with juice .00 (I grow and can my own)

1t cumin

1T ancho chili powder (I’m using Penzey’s-you could use regular chili powder) .05

couple dashes of liquid smoke (optional, but ups the nice smoky flavor from the bacon and ancho powder)

Brown bacon in dutch oven over medium heat. Add olive oil, chopped onion, garlic, celery, and carrot and cook for 5 minutes until onion is translucent. Add broth, tomatoes, beans and spices, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Top with chopped cilantro and serve with lime slices and sour cream if desired.

This is VERY good when prepared the day before and reheated. It allows the flavors to really meld.

$1.25

Erin at www.5dollardinners.com cooks $5 dollar dinners every night! She's been a great source of inspiration and ideas---check her out here