Price Chopper Budget Meals 3/18 - 3/24

Click the image above to see everything that's on sale this week.

I am so wrapped up in my Four Ingredient Cookbooks that I pulled this week's recipes from there - what better way to save money than to combine sales with just four ingredients? I definitely intend to try these recipes and I'll let you know my thoughts when I do. I have one more fish recipe slated for tomorrow night, then unfortunately I'll probably have to move on to another book before I spill all the secrets in this one! But I definitely recommend that you purchase a copy of your own!

For coupon matches to these deals check out Little People Wealth and Cutting Coupons in KC. Note that these deals pertain only to the Price Chopper stores in Kansas and Missouri.

Recipes:

Barbecued Spareribs
4 lbs spareribs (Country Style Ribs $1.48/lb)
2 medium onions, sliced (Sweet Yellow Onions $.039/lb, 3/19-3/21 only)
1 (18 oz) bottle barbecue sauce (KC Masterpiece 4/$5)
1 tsp brown sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place ribs in roaster. Add onions and brown sugar (optional). Pour sauce over ribs and cook covered for 1 1/2 hours. Remove cover and cook 30 minutes longer. Serves 4.

Pork Potato Casserole
4-6 pork chops (Lean Pork Loin Chops $1.48/lb)
4-5 potatoes, peeled and cut in 1/2 inch slices (Large Baking Potatoes $.039/lb, 3/19-3/21 only)
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1/2 can milk

Place two layers of potatoes in bottom of a greased casserole dish. Place pork chops on top. Combine soup and milk. Pour over chops. Bake covered at 350 degrees for 1 hour; uncovered at 375 degrees for 1/2 hour. Serves 4-6.

Mushroom Chicken
6 chicken breasts, thighs or legs (Chicken Drumsticks or Thighs $1.49/lb)
3 Tbsp oil
2 (4 oz) cans button mushrooms
2 cans cream of mushroom soup

Brown chicken in oil in frying pan. Remove and arrange chicken in casserole. Combine soup and mushrooms and pour over chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Serves 4-6.

Broccoli Tuna Casserole
1 (6 1/2 oz) can tuna, drained (Best Choice Chunk Light Tuna $0.69)
1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained (Westpac Classic Vegetables $0.69 3/19-3/21 only)
1 can mushroom soup
1 cup crushed seasoned potato chips (Lay's Potato Chips $1.79 3/19-3/21 only)

Layer tuna, broccoli and mushroom soup in small baking dish. Cover with crushed potato chips. Bake, uncovered, ta 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Fish Delight
4 fish fillets (Tilapia Fillets $3.99/lb)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 tsp sugar or ginger (optional)

Place fillets in greased casserole dish. Mix soy sauce and lemon juice with sugar or ginger if desired. Pour over fish. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Place under broiler for 10 minutes. Serves 2-4.

BBQ Cups
1 lb lean ground beef (Certified Lean Ground Chuck $1.49/lb 3/19-3/21 only)
1/2 cup barbecue sauce (KC Masterpiece 4/$5)
1 can refrigerator biscuits Best Choice Jumbos Biscuits 4/$5)
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

Brown meat, drain. Add barbecue sauce and set aside. Place biscuits in ungreased muffin cups, pressing dough up sides of edge of cup. Spoon meat mixture into cups. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes. Serves 4-5.

Scalloped Corn
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup milk
1 cup cracker crumbs
2 (16 oz) cans corn, drained (Best Choice Vegetables $0.48)

Blend all ingredients together. Bake in lightly greased loaf pan for 1 hour at 325 degrees.

3/18 - 3/24 Deals:
Fresh Lean Pork Loin Chops or Country Style Ribs - $1.48/lb
Best Choice Canned Vegetables - $0.48
Rice-a-Roni or Pasta Roni - $0.78
Chicken Drumsticks or Thighs - $1.49/lb
Tilapia Fillets - $3.99/lb
Price Chopper Hot Dog or Hamburger Buns - $0.99
KC Masterpiece Barbecue Sauce - 4/$5
Deli Fratelli Tomatoes - 4/$5
Libby's Canned Fruit - 4/$5
Best Choice Chunk Light Tuna - $0.69
Best Choice Jumbo Biscuits - 4/$5
Red Delicious Apples - $0.99/lb
Hot House Tomatoes - $0.99/lb
Argentine Bartlett Pears - $0.99/lb

3/19 - 3/21 Deals
Oscar Mayer Meat Weiners - $0.99
Certified Lean Ground Chuck - $1.49/lb
Lay's Potato Chips - $1.79
Westpac Classic Vegetables - $0.69
Dannon Yogurts - $0.29
Large Baking Potatoes - $0.39/lb
Sweet Yellow Onions - $0.39/lb

Orange Salad

Another FABULOUS four ingredient recipe. I love Ambrosia. I pile my plate high every time I find it at a pot luck or buffet. But for some reason I have never tried making it at home - now I think I'll keep a steady stock in my fridge for all eternity!

I do have to admit that as the recipe is written, it was a bit of a disappointment. I am used to sweet and chunky ambrosia. My first go at this orange salad tasted a bit more like cottage cheese than ambrosia. Couple that with undissolved JELL-O granules and chunks of unmixed Cool Whip and you see why I was disheartened (I thought I remembered that you should only lightly fold whipped topping to keep it from turning into cream... well you really have to mix this recipe hard to incorporate everything)!

Rather than giving up I decided to tweak the recipe a bit. I found an 8 ounce can of pineapple slices in my pantry and commenced shredding with two forks. I added this new ingredient to the bowl and stirred (vigorously). The result? FABULOUSLY sweet (and slightly chunky) ambrosia!

As I sit here eating a serving of this delectable salad (along with leftover Pasta a la Vodka Rustica), I can attest that it only gets better with time! The flavors have melded very well and the snack is truly scrumptious!

While I used fat free cottage cheese, I did grab full-fat Cool Whip and full-sugar JELL-O; next time I'll try the lighter versions of all ingredients. If it works, this would be a great healthy snack for all of my Weight Watchers buddies!




Orange Salad

1 (8 oz) tub Cool Whip
1 (8 oz) can Crushed Pineapple (I added an 8 oz can roughly shredded pineapple slices)
1 (3 oz) package Orange JELL-O
1 (12 oz) tub Cottage Cheese (I used fat-free)

Combine all ingredients.

Source: The Four Ingredient Cookbooks

Soy Sauce Chicken

This recipe sums up why I love The Four Ingredient Cookbooks so gosh darned much. It uses only four ingredients (whose names I can pronounce and generally have on hand), which is a huge plus! Also the ingredients are inexpensive and often on sale, so it's a great budget meal. And it takes just four simple steps (though I still managed to mess one up - GO ME! I forgot to read the little part about bake COVERED, so for the first 20 minutes my poor little chicken breasts baked without the protection of foil). Also, if you prepare with light sour cream and low sodium soy sauce, this would be a great healthy meal!



I definitely recommend this recipe for any family on a budget or anyone just learning how to cook. It's easy enough for a weeknight dinner and delicious enough to serve to company. The chicken was probably more moist than any other chicken I've ever prepared (though it was a tiny bit tough - I think because it baked naked for 20 minutes by mistake! OOPS). The leftovers are also fabulous, though they don't look nearly as appetizing as they taste after sitting in the fridge overnight (but I promise they are still delish)!




Soy Sauce Chicken

4 chicken breasts, skinned and boned (I used 5; there was still PLENTY of sauce)
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 tsp black pepper (optional)

Place chicken in greased casserole dish. Mix sour cream, soy sauce and black pepper (optional) together. Spread over chicken. Bake covered [at 350 degrees for 1 hour].

Yield: 4 servings

Source: The Four Ingredient Cookbooks

The Four Ingredient Cookbooks

I have had this cookbook seemingly forever. I stole, er borrowed, um obtained this book from my Grandma's cookbook collection years ago. It is packed full of recipes so I flip through it frequently. Most are at (or only slightly above) my cooking ability - I mean, how difficult can you get with only four ingredients?

I love that most of the ingredients that the book calls for are typical pantry fare. I immediately throw a recipe out if it has an ingredient I can't pronounce or wouldn't know where to find (and more importantly, wouldn't ever use again). And because the recipes are limited to four ingredients, they are relatively inexpensive (sometimes downright cheap)! In this day and age, that's a big plus!

The biggest drawbacks are that there are no photos (as I've said before... not sure why I am so hung up on photos, since my meals never look as good as the polished studio confections anyway!) and that the book is a compilation of three separate cookbooks. For example, if you are looking for main dishes, you have to look in three different spots. While that's a bit frustrating at times, the value in this book is definitely worth it!

I can't wait to get back to cooking and try out some recipes in this book that I've never made before. Between Price Chopper and HyVee this weekend I found boneless skinless chicken breasts. ground beef, chicken leg quarters and pork chops all at good prices - so my fridge (soon to be freezer) is packed with meaty goodness just begging to be baked, broiled or sauteed!