price chopper budget meals

For those of you in the Kansas City area, I have an exciting new feature for my blog (not that my entire blog isn't new...)!

Erin over at $5 Dinners sent a call out for bloggers to monitor grocery circulars in their area and suggest recipes based on each week's sales. I love a bargain, and I always read Wednesday's grocery circulars - so I jumped on the opportunity!

Each week I will review Price Chopper's circular and coordinate recipes using some of the best deals. These may or may not be recipes I've tried. If all goes well I'd like to add circulars from HyVee in the future.

Price Chopper Circular - February 4 - February 10 2009
Check out the link above for everything that's on sale this week. Here are a few hilights and some recipes to coordinate. This week's recipes came from my Dinner on a Dime cookbook and are also available on Taste of Home's website (see links):

Zesty Mustard Chicken:
Fresh Whole Fryer Chickens - $.99/lb

Cabbage with Meat Sauce:
Green Cabbage - $0.39
Tennessee Pride Sausage - $2.29

Cream Cheese Potato Soup:
Best Choice 8 oz Cream Cheese - $1.29
Farmland Special Select Ham Steaks, Cubes and Strips - $3.79
Sweet Yellow Onions - $0.99/lb

Other Hot Deals:
Best Choice Canned Vegetables - $0.49
Best Choice Diced Tomatoes - $0.49
Best Choice Condensed Soups - 3/$2
Best Choice 32 oz Pastas - 2/$4
Best Choice Jumbos Canned Biscuits - $1.29
Best Choice Frozen Vegetables - $0.99
Roma Tomatoes - $0.99

cola chicken

This recipe was a disappointment - but I can't really blame it on the recipe.

This star-crossed recipe just wasn't meant to be for me. First, I had to run an errand after work that kept us out past dinner time. As usual, we stopped at a burger joint and filled up on junk (yummy junk; the first I've had since starting my new healthy eating kick late last month... but junk nonetheless).

I was determined to make my Cola Chicken though. So, when we got home I pulled out my camera and the ingredients:



I took a shot of each step as I added the ingredients (after all, this was going to be a masterpiece - I had to document it for posterity and to share with all the world!)... After I put the liquid on to boil my toddler had a meltdown, and by the time I made it back to the kitchen the pan was smoking. Fail one.

I pulled the smoking pan off the burner while I opened the package of chicken - still mid-meltdown. In a horrible mommy moment I shooed my daughter out of the kitchen with what I am sure was a salmonella-ridden hand (probably not, but I am paranoid about chicken - I wash and Germ-X my hands every step of the way). Fail two.

Somewhere along the way I realized that I made an eerily similar recipe during my last stint on Weight Watchers (though I think the last round called for Root Beer rather than Cola). I hated it. When you mix soda with ketchup the result is a strange, tangy-sweet concoction similar to barbecue sauce or sweet and sour sauce. Did I mention I am not a huge fan of barbecue sauce? And that I hate sweet and sour sauce? Epic fail.

But I forged on so that I would have something to show you - and so that my husband would have dinner when he returns from work tonight; after all, I've already eaten, so I guess it doesn't matter if I don't like the chicken (until lunch tomorrow, that is)!

For those of you who enjoy strangely-sweet-and-sour-barbecue-sauce-concoctions, I will include the recipe below. Be sure to share any thoughts or suggestions that you might have to improve. I deviated a bit from the recipe instructions, so I'll note the changes too. Please also note that this experience hasn't soured my overall impression of the Dinner on a Dime cookbook - in fact, I am still smitten (just really glad that I tried the Stovetop Beef 'n' Shells recipe first - much love for that one)!



Cola Chicken

1 can (12 oz) diet cola
1/2 c ketchup
2-4 tbsp minced onion (I used chopped dried onion)
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
8 chicken pieces, skin removed (I used a package of boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders)

In a large skillet, combine first five ingredients. Bring to a boil; boil for 1 minute. Add chicken; stir to coat. Redce heat to meduim; cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Uncover and simmer for 45 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.

Yield: 4 servings

Source: Taste of Home Dinner on a Dime

dinner on a dime

Tonight's recipe will come from Taste of Home's Dinner on a Dime booklet. I picked this up at the grocery store last week (and yet I can't even say it is my newest cookbook! I know - it's a sickness).

So far I am impressed. The book is loaded with tips for saving money, which in this day and age is a necessity. Most (though not all) meals include a nice color photo (though I don't know why I always look for cookbooks with photographs - my meals never look like the one in the picture).

There are 25 recipes inside that I actually might try (that's huge for me - many of my more expensive cookbooks only have a handful that match my family's tastes, our budget and my cooking abilities). I made the Stovetop Beef 'n' Shells Monday night and it was a big hit. Think yummy goulash with smaller shells (easier for my toddler to eat)! I salted and peppered the beef before adding the rest of the ingredients (in addition to the seasonings the recipe called for) and my husband also added a generous sprinkling of seasoning salt. I bought a 15 oz can of tomato sauce (the large store brand can was cheaper than the small name brand can) and used almost all of it. I would actually suggest using the whole 15 oz can, since you simmer out much of the liquid anyway. It was just as good left over the next day (another big issue in our family, since none of us particularly like leftovers). This recipe will definitely go into our family favorites list.

After I tackle the Cola Chicken, I will post photos and let you know the results. Since the first meal was such a success I am excited about the potential in this book's other recipes. I would definitely recommend that you grab a copy while they are still available; the date on the cover says "Display until March 10, 2009".