What Do We Do With the Veggies, and the Weekly Special with Mary Anne

Marsh has meat this week. Family pack assorted pork chops are 99 cents a pound. Hormel Cure 81 Spiral Sliced Half Hams are 99 cents a pound. Sugardale hams (water added) are 69 cents a pound. And they have iceberg lettuce for 99 cents a head. These prices are good through next Wednesday, February 26.

Aldi has some great buys on produce. Green peppers are three for $1.49. Mushrooms are 99 cents for eight ounces. Roma tomatoes are 99 cents for twenty ounces, or 80 cents a pound. Red potatoes are $1.89 for five pounds, or a little less than 40 cents a pound. Onions are 99 cents for a three pound bag. These prices are good through next Tuesday, February 25.

IGA has turkey breast for $1.19 a pound. Ten pound bags of chicken leg quarters are $5.99, or 60 cents a pound. These prices are good through next Sunday, February 23.

Kroger has their regular one-week sale and also a special four-day sale. The four-day sale ends Sunday, February 23. On sale for those four days they have milk for $1.98 a gallon (limit 2) and ten pound bags of russet potatoes for $1.98, or 20 cents a pound (no limit). On sale for the week ending Wednesday, February 26, they have iceberg lettuce for 99 cents a head and leaf lettuce for 99 cents a pound. Celery is 99 cents a head and Roma tomatoes are 99 cents a pound. Ragu spaghetti sauce of various types is $1.29 a jar after a 50 cent discount for buying six of various things. Split chicken breasts (including bone and skin) are 99 cents a pound. Various cheeses are $3.49 a pound. Cottage cheese and sour cream are $1.99 for 24 ounces. 

I’ve given recipes for all of the types of meat that are on sale this week, so I’m going to do something a little bit different. I’m going to focus on the veggies instead of the meat. I’ll still give recipes and menus that come in at about $1.50 per serving for the whole meal, though, and they will all include meat. I just won’t limit myself to one kind of meat.

The first recipe, SMOKEDSAUSAGE AND PEPPERS uses Bar S Smoked Sausage that’s $3.99 for two and a half pounds, or $1.60 a pound, this week at Marsh. There are a few different kinds at this price. I’m going with the Polish sausage. In case you’re wondering why I say to cut the sausage on the diagonal, it’s because it makes the pieces look bigger! This will cost about $5.15 and will make four servings. You could add a lettuce salad and stay under $6.00. Or a can of fruit. Or carrot sticks and dip. Or you could add some more veggies to the sausage and peppers. Carrots would be good, or cabbage, or mushrooms.

One of my favorite vegetable dishes is MUSHROOMS AND ONIONS. It seems to go over well with guests, too. It goes with just about any kind of meat. Here I’ll pair it with pork chops. You’ll think this makes a huge amount, but because the mushrooms and onions cook down so much you’ll end up with a lot less than you expect. It makes four servings as a side dish. With the mushrooms and onions on sale, it will cost about $2.50. Add four 8 ounce pork chops for another $2.00, and a salad of iceberg lettuce, carrots, green pepper, and a diced Roma tomato for another $1.50, for a total of about $6.00.

And finally, PEANUT STIR-FRY. You can use whatever meat you want with this – IGA’s turkey breast or chicken leg quarters, or Marsh’s pork. It's the PEANUT SAUCE that's important here. Let’s go with the pork, shall we? Pork is so good in a stir-fry and goes well with peanuts, too. You can use pretty much any vegetables you have on hand. I just chose these because they’re on sale and the colors look nice together. Broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower are good in a stir-fry, too, as are fresh green beans, tomatoes, zucchini, etc. Pretty much anything goes. This will come to a little over $5.00 and will make a lot. You shouldn’t need anything to go with it.

Isn’t it great when veggies go on sale? These are good, but I can hardly wait till summer!

Mustardy Pork Chops with Apples and Onions

(from Dinner: A Love Story, by Jenny Rosenstrach)

Lard, drippings or oil
4 boneless pork chops, about 1-1/2 lbs total, salted and peppered
1 large onion sliced
1 apple, peeled and slivered to the same width as the onion slices
2 T mustard (Dijon or grainy)
2 T cider vinegar
1/4 c apple cider, water, or apple juice

Put the lard in a large skillet with a lid. Brown the pork chops, about 4 minutes each side. Remove them from the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low. Add a bit more lard, if necessary, and then the onions  and apples. Cook about 5 to 7 minutes, or until they have wilted.

Add the mustard, vinegar and cider to the pan and scrape up all the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Boil for about 1 minute. Return the pork chops to the pan and nestle them among the apple and onion. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook another 5 minutes, or until the pork chops are tender. If the pan sauce is too liquidy, remove the chops and boil the sauce for a minute or two until thickened.

Grilled Onions

Grilled onions are great in a hamburger or on a hotdog or just to eat, and grilled Vidalia onions are among the best. The sugar in them caramelizes making them even sweeter. Cut the onions into slices 1/4” to 1/2” thick, brush them with olive oil, and cook them for about 3 minutes per side. You’ll need a spatula to turn them so they don’t fall apart.

Pork and Peanut Stir-Fry

You can use whatever meat you want with this – IGA’s turkey breast or chicken leg quarters, or Marsh’s pork. Let’s go with the pork, shall we? Pork is so good in a stir-fry and goes well with peanuts, too. You can use pretty much any vegetables you have on hand. I just chose these because they’re on sale and the colors look nice together. Broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower are good in a stir-fry, too, as are fresh green beans, tomatoes, zucchini, etc. Pretty much anything goes.

2 lbs pork spareribs

3 T oil

2 peppers

3 carrots

8 oz mushrooms

2 onions

PEANUT SAUCE (recipe follows)

Start by preparing the meat and vegetables. It goes together quickly once you start cooking, so you want to have everything ready before you start.

To Prepare Ingredients:

Remove the meat from the bones and cut it into thin slices, about 1/2”x1/2”x2.” Basically, you want matchstick shaped pieces, as tall as they are wide. The length of the pieces will depend on the size and shape of the pork chops. Set the pork aside. Save the bones to make bone broth.

Remove the seeds and stem from the peppers and slice them about the same size as the pork strips. Peel the carrots and cut them on the diagonal into 1/2” slices. Peel the onions, halve them through the stem and root ends, and cut them into 1/2” slices. Clean the mushrooms (the experts say to wipe them with a damp cloth, but I rub them gently under running water) and slice them into 1/2” thick slices. If the mushrooms are big, halve them before slicing.

Make the PEANUT SAUCE (recipe below)

To Cook the Stir-Fry:

Heat the oil in a big skillet or wok. When it’s hot, add the meat and keep it moving around in the pan until it’s done. Not necessarily browned, just done. Remove the meat. Add the carrots and onions to the oil and drippings in the skillet and toss them around for a couple of minutes, then add the mushrooms and peppers. Remember you want the meat in a stir-fry to be crisp-tender, and they’ll cook a little bit more after you add the meat and sauce. (If you like your veggies soft, go for it! Just cook them a few minutes longer. I won’t tell.) Add the meat and sauce and toss it over the heat just until the meat is heated through and the sauce is evenly distributed. Add water a tablespoon at a time if you need to thin the sauce.

PEANUT SAUCE

(A Cookbook for the Financially Challenged, by Alexandra Pauley)

½ c smooth peanut butter

2 T soy sauce

2 t minced garlic (or 1 T garlic powder)

1 t chili powder

1 t minced fresh ginger (or 1 t powdered ginger)

Combine everything and pour it over the cooked meat and vegetables. Toss well to coat. You may need to add a bit of water to thin it, but wait and see how it works once it’s on the meat and vegetables. There may be enough moisture in them to thin it enough.

Mushrooms and Onions

1 lb mushrooms, sliced

2 onions, thinly sliced (about 1 lb)

2 T oil or drippings

Parsley or thyme (optional)

Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the mushrooms and onions. Sauté them until all the liquid is cooked out of the mushrooms, and the mushrooms and onions are cooked way down and are soft. Add the parsley or thyme, if using, about 5 minutes before the vegetables are done if using dried herbs and at the end if the herbs are fresh. Add salt and pepper to taste.

You’ll think this makes a huge amount, but because the mushrooms and onions cook down so much you’ll end up with a lot less than you expect. It makes four servings as a side dish.

Smoked Sausage and Peppers

2 lbs Polish sausage, sliced ½” on the diagonal

2 onions, sliced (about 1 lb)

3 peppers, sliced

1 T oil

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Toss the veggies with the oil and add them and the sausage to the skillet. Toss the veggies and meat in the skillet done to your liking. In traditional Italian Sausage and Peppers, the veggies are cooked until they are very soft. On the other hand, in a Chinese stir-fry the veggies would be cooked only until they are tender-crisp. Take your pick.

Sauteed Mushrooms and Onion

1 lb fresh mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

1 onion, chopped

2 T drippings (or olive oil or other oil, but drippings are best)

Salt and pepper to taste

Parsley and/or thyme (optional)

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, and add the drippings or oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions and mushrooms. It will look like way too much, but it will cook down a lot. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms have exuded their liquid and it has evaporated. (If you’ve never cooked with fresh mushroom, they’re full of water, which cooks out. There will be a fair amount of liquid in the pan, but then it will evaporate and the pan will be dry again.) The mushrooms and onion should be browned and the mushrooms should have shrunk a lot. Add some salt and pepper, and some parsley and or thyme if you happen to have it. Serve as a side dish, or put in an omelet, or add some cooked chicken or cooked pork for a full meal.

Stir-fried Italian Sausage and Peppers

Do you like Sausage and Peppers? I usually don’t, because the peppers are always way overcooked, at least for my taste. I prefer them tender-crisp, like in a stir-fry. If you like the peppers "overcooked" and soft, try ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND PEPPERS. But if you like your veggies to still have a bit of bite to them, try this stir-fry dish. Take your pick. A lot of people must like the overcooked peppers, because that’s the way most recipes say to cook them!

(based on a recipe from Taste of Home, Apr/May 2003)

1 lb Italian sausage links, cut into 1/4” slices

1 medium green pepper, cut into thin strips

1 medium or 1/2 large red pepper, cut into thin strips

1 medium onion, thinly sliced and quartered

1 T lard (or oil or half butter and half olive oil)

1 firm tomato, coarsely chopped

1 t minced fresh parsley, or 1/2 t dried parsley

dash each salt and pepper

Cook the sausage over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Turn the heat up to high and add the peppers, onion and tomato and stir-fry until tender-crisp. If using dried parsley, add it with the vegetables. If using fresh, add it at the end. Check the seasoning and serve.