Pork Chops, and the Weekly Specials with Mary Anne

IGA has family packs of sirloin pork chops for 99 cents a pound. Select varieties of chunk cheese are $2.99 a pound (which is $1.50 for eight ounces, a common size for chunk cheeses). Select varieties of shredded cheese are three eight ounce packages for $5.00, or $1.67 for eight ounces or $3.34 per pound. “Bunched” broccoli and brunched cauliflower are both two for $4.00 or $2.00 each. I’m not sure what “bunched” means, and whether it’s a good price depends on how big they are. Tomatoes on the Vine are $1.99 a pound. IGA pasta is 88 cents a pound and 24-ounce cans of IGA pasta sauce are 88 cents each. These prices are good through next Sunday, March 2.

Marsh has strawberries, three one-pound boxes for $5.00, or $1.67 a pound. Not great, but better than they have been. Green or white asparagus (white asparagus is just green asparagus that was kept covered while it was growing so it didn’t turn green) is $1.77 a pound. Ground chuck is $2.79 a pound in the family packs. Whole boneless pork loins are $1.99 a pound. They average about six to nine pounds each, and Marsh will slice them for you for free. Sugardale hams are advertised for 69 cents a pound, but they were out of them last week and not giving rain checks, so don’t make a special trip without calling first. “Vine ripe” or Roma tomatoes are $1.49 a pound. 32-ounce (two pound) bags of frozen vegetables (the picture showed peas and green beans) are two for $5.00, or $2.50 each, or $1.25 a pound. These prices are good through next Wednesday, March 5.

Aldi’s best buys are, as usual, on produce. Avocados are 69 cents each. Roma tomatoes are 99 cents for 20 ounces, or 80 cents a pound. Grapefruit are 39 cents each. Bananas are 44 cents a pound. Cantaloupe are $1.89 each. If you like Mexican food, you might want to check out their ad at www.aldi.com. They have a lot of things advertised for making Mexican food, but I don’t know how good the prices for most things are. Just because they’re in the ad doesn’t mean that the price is anything special. These prices are good through next Tuesday, March 4.

Kroger has “medium size” fresh pineapple ten for $10.00, or $1.00 each. Asparagus is $1.28 a pound. Sour cream is ten 16 ounce (pint) cartons for $10.00, or $1.00 each. These prices are good through next Wednesday, March 5.

The pork chops are a good price this week, and they’re one of my favorite foods, so let’s work with them again. Don’t forget the other recipes for pork chops that have been posted here, too - 

Pork Chops (with Indian Seasonings)

Easy Mustard Pork Chops

Smokey Cacao Nibs Encrusted Pork Chops

Steamed Pork Chops

Pork Chops Bakes with Cabbage and Cream

Maple Mustard Baked Pork Chops

Mustardy Pork Chops with Apples and Onions

And hints for what goes well with pork -

Fruit
Vegetables
Herbs and Spices
Sauces

Sometimes I regret saying that I wouldn’t include “fillers” like potatoes and rice and such in my menus. Not because they’re cheap and make it easier to come up with complete meals at $1.50 or less per serving (which of course they are and they do), but because they go so well with some things. This recipe for CREAMY HERBED PORK CHOPS is an example. With all that gravy, mashed potatoes or rice would be great with it. But it’s not necessary! But it would be good. Sigh. 

Four pork chops plus the gravy should come to about $3.20. Serve it with a pound of the frozen peas ($1.25), a few sliced Roma tomatoes for color (60 cents for twelve ounces), and half a cantaloupe for dessert (95 cents) and you’ve got a big meal for $6.00, or $1.50 per person. Or have the pork chops and gravy plus a pound and a half of asparagus ($1.95 – you may need less, depending on how much of the stem you have to cut off), half a pound of sliced Roma tomatoes (40 cents) and half a pineapple (50 cents) for $6.05, which is just a nickel over my goal of $6.00 to serve four people. Use COPYCAT MONTREAL STEAK SEASONING to help keep the cost down - and so you don't have to buy a big jar of the seasoning when you just need a teaspoon. You can make a lot of different seasoning blends from just a few basic herbs and spices and really cut back on what you spend for seasonings.

I don’t cook with flour or breadcrumbs, so when I want to bread something I usually use either fine pork rind crumbs (I give them a whirl in my food processor until they’re very fine, though you could probably just put them in a plastic bag and roll them with a rolling pin. If you don’t have a rolling pin, a large round bottle works well. A wine bottle is just about the right size. It’s best if it’s full. If not, fill it with water so it has the extra weight. Just make sure it’s tightly corked! This works for making pie crust, too. Use ice water in the bottle, or chilled wine, when making pie crust. The chill of the bottle will help make your pie crust flaky.) or almond flour or coconut flour or just use all cheese. PARMESAN AND SAGE CRUSTED PORK CHOPS uses the traditional/normal way of breading pork chops with flour and bread crumbs, and adds some parmesan cheese to the mixture. The original recipe makes a point of using the real imported Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and fresh sage, but regular parmesan and dried sage will work, too, and cost a lot less.

The pork chops themselves are $2.00, and another 40 cents for the cheese (at Aldi, five ounces for $1.99), so let’s say $3.00 total for the four chops with breading and all. Cook a package of broccoli until it’s not quite done and then finish it off in the skillet, where it should pick up all the pan juices and nice crusty bits from the bottom of the skillet. I’m assuming you’ll use the whole package, though I don’t know how big the packages of “bunched” broccoli are. Finish up with either half a cantaloupe (95 cents) or a pineapple ($1.00). Or have some sliced tomatoes with the pork chops and broccoli instead of having fruit for dessert. Or have a pound and a half of asparagus instead of the broccoli. Or a pound of the frozen veggies instead of the broccoli, and you can have tomatoes with the meal and still have fruit for dessert.

Another way to fry pork chops or other meat is to coat the meat with mustard and let the mustard act as the “glue” that makes the flour stick to the meat, instead of using egg to do that. This recipe for SPICY MUSTARD PORK CHOPS does that.  This will come to about $2.75 or so, maybe a bit less depending on how much the flour costs. For some reason, I’m thinking a green salad would go well with this. How about half a head of iceberg lettuce, a tomato or two, some bits of broccoli and cauliflower, and some ranch dressing. Or whatever kind of dressing you prefer. A homemade oil and vinegar dressing with some extra mustard would be good. The salad should run about $1.00. Pick one of the frozen veggies from Marsh, for $1.25 for a pound. Green beans go well with pork, though I don’t much care for the taste of frozen green beans. That brings us to $5.00 for the pork chops, salad and a hot vegetable. You could leave it at that and have an extra dollar to spend on another meal sometime, or you could add half a cantaloupe (95 cents) or a whole pineapple ($1.00).

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!

Chicken Legs and Leftover Chicken

Kroger has boneless (and, I assume) skinless chicken breasts for $1.89 a pound and boneless (and, again, I assume skinless) thighs for $1.99 a pound. Bar S franks and bologna are 10 for $10.00, or $1.00 each. You don’t need to buy 10 of them to get this price. Honeysuckle 93% lean ground turkey is $1.99 a pound, limit of one, and you have to have a digital coupon. Canned veggies (tomatoes and beans for sure, maybe some other kinds) are two for $1.00 or 50 cents each. Anjou pears are 99 cents a pound. It sure seems strange to have fresh apples cost more than fresh pears. Organic sweet potatoes are 99 cents a pound. These prices are good through next Wednesday, February 19.

Aldi has eight ounces of mushrooms for 99 cents, broccoli crowns for $1.49 a pound, and onions three pounds for 99 cents. These prices are good through next Tuesday, February 18.

Not a very inspiring bunch of specials. In fact, I’m going to go with Walmart’s ten-pound bags of chicken leg quarters. They’ve raised the price to $6.90 for the bag, or 69 cents a pound, but it’s still a pretty good deal.

I’ve talked before about Walmart’s bags of chicken leg quarters. I’ve given recipes for cooking the leg quarters, but unless you have a big family, you may think that ten pounds is too much to cook at one time. I tend to agree with you, but, on the other hand, I hate to have open bags of chicken in the fridge. So I usually cook up the whole bag at once, which leaves me with lots of leftover chicken. Some of it I leave on the bone, but most of it I take off of the bone and use it in recipes that call for cooked chicken. Here are a few of my favorite recipes. A ten pound bag of leg quarters is usually about ten leg quarters, and each quarter yields about a cup of cooked chicken. These recipes will work with either ROASTED CHICKEN or STEWED CHICKEN.

Incidentally, there’s nothing that says you have to cook all of the chicken the same way. You could take out enough for whatever recipe you want to use for the legs as legs, and then cook up the rest for “cooked” chicken recipes.

When you’re trying to save on the food budget, it’s important not to waste anything. This goes for the bones, too. The bones from the chicken legs can be used to make CHICKEN STOCK, or BONE BROTH. Save up all of your bones in the freezer, and when you get a bunch of them (say, three pounds or more), make a big batch of stock and use it to make soup. Freeze the rest of the stock to use in soup later. The vinegar is to leach out the calcium and other minerals from the bones. You shouldn’t taste the vinegar in the stock or in the soups you make with it.

By the way, I include bones that I’ve chewed on. I make my stock in the slow cooker and cook it at least 24 hours. I figure that if there are any germs strong enough to survive that, they’re going to get me anyway! Out of consideration for the squeamishness of others, I wouldn’t use my chicken stock in a recipe that I’m serving to guests, and, unless they’re family, I wouldn’t use the bones that other people have chewed on. I’m sure they’d be safe and all, but I’m a bit squeamish, too.

I figure that the broth is free. Yes, there’s the cost of the onion, celery and herbs, but they don’t come to much. I make my broth in a 6-quart slow cooker and I usually get about eight pints of broth. That’s less than five cents a pint.

So far you’ve got the meat to use in recipes, and you’ve used the bones to make broth, but, if you stewed the chicken, that still leaves the skin. No point in wasting that, either. (If you roasted the legs, the skin should have puffed up and gotten crispy. I hope you ate it right away, because it’s much better freshly roasted.) Use the skin to make GRIBENES, or Chicken Crisps. They’re pieces of chicken skin that you’ve baked by themselves until they’re nice and crispy. They’re my very favorite chicken dish! I always figure that they're free, since I really bought the chicken for the meat, not the skin.

DOMADA, a West African stew, calls for both cooked chicken and chicken broth. In fact, it goes even further by calling for sautéing the vegetables in chicken fat! And why not? It adds another layer of flavor, as they say on the cooking shows.

A batch of this will make about eight cups and will cost about $4.80. It’s rich and thick and filling, and really doesn’t need much more. If you do want to add something to it, you could add a salad, or maybe some sliced pears, or canned fruit.

CHICKEN AND CABBAGE LO MEIN is a sort of a take on Chicken Lo Mein, but without the noodles. The traditional recipe is noodles, chicken and some vegetables. I use lots of vegetables instead. It’s something I usually make on the spur of the moment when I haven’t gotten anything out of the freezer, because the cooked chicken thaws quickly. You can use whatever veggies you have on hand. Broccoli is a good addition, or zucchini, for example. I like carrots, cabbage and onion because I usually have them and because they tend to be among the cheapest vegetables. This will come to about $4.25 for four big servings. Some sliced fresh pears would be good for dessert.

You probably have your own recipes to use the leftover chicken. You can use recipes calling for any sort of cooked chicken or cooked turkey, even if they call for chicken or turkey breast. I frequently use it in main dish salads and in main dish soups. The chicken freezes well, and so does the broth. Just be sure that you leave “head room” if you freeze the broth or it will break the container and/or force off the lid. 

A Valentine's Day Special

Kroger has whole chickens and chicken drumsticks and thighs for 89 cents a pound. Honeysuckle 93% lean ground turkey is $1.99 a pound with a digital coupon. Peeled baby carrots are 99 cents a pound, strawberries are two pounds for $4.00, or $2.00 a pound, and asparagus is $1.99 a pound.

IGA has seasoned ground turkey in one pound packages for $1.00.  One-pound bags of frozen vegetables are $1.00. Assorted pork chops are $1.59 per pound. These prices are good through Sunday, February 9.

Aldi has cantaloupe again for $1.49 each, and blueberries are $1.49 for 6 ounces. That’s almost $4.00 a pound, and I wouldn’t mention them except that they go so well with cantaloupe and Valentine’s Day is next week, after all. Cantaloupe and blueberries would make a good Valentine’s Day splurge, should you feel so inclined. Strawberries are $1.99 a pound, which again isn’t a great price, but would make a good Valentine’s Day splurge.

Marsh has boneless skinless chicken breasts in the family pack for $1.79 a pound. The pork combo packs (center rib chops, country style ribs and sirloin roast, all from the loin) are $1.29 a pound, limit two, with $25 in additional purchases. Not nearly as good a deal as the 99 cents a pound that they were just a few months ago, but not bad. Watch how much you pay for the “additional purchases,” or the extra costs may make the pork not such a good deal after all. Asparagus is $1.99 a pound, which isn’t great (it was $1.49 a pound at Kroger last week), and Red Flame seedless grapes (my favorite!) are $1.28 a pound. Hillshire Smoked Sausage in 14-oz to 16-oz packages are two for $5.00, or about $2.50 per pound. I’m not sure whether that’s a particularly good price. It may just seem like a good price because it really appeals to me today for some reason.

(Incidentally, that’s exactly why you should have a price book that lists the regular and sale prices of things you buy frequently or would like to buy if it is ever reasonably priced. It’s way too easy to justify buying something you want “because it’s on sale,” even when it’s not at a good price. I haven’t update my price book for several months, and prices have definitely changed over those months. That’s one of my goals for February, to update my price book, at least for the things I use most often and those I include in my recipes and menus here.)

How about a Valentine’s Day dinner for two this week, instead of supper for four? I’ll keep it inexpensive, but it will go over $1.50 per person. How does Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo, asparagus, garlic bread (just make sure you both eat it!) and chocolate dipped strawberries sound?

CHICKEN FETTUCCINE ALFREDO is a snap to make and somewhat reminiscent of that romantic movie Lady and the Tramp. (Remember the spaghetti scene?) If you don't eat wheat, you can put the chicken and sauce over spaghetti squash, broccoli, zucchini, or other vegetables, or just eat it plain, adding a salad to make it a full meal.

Selecting and cooking ASPARAGUS is really a matter of personal preference. Some people like the very thin stalks. I prefer the big fat ones. Some people like the stalks cooked whole. I prefer it cut into bite sized pieces before I cook it. Some people like it boiled or steamed. I prefer it sautéed in butter, with maybe some garlic. I’ll tell you how to cook it the way I like it, but you can cook it however you like. A pound of asparagus serves two to four people. With everything else in this meal, and especially the rich Alfredo sauce, I’m going with half a pound for two people. Don’t forget that you have to cut off the tough end of the stalk, which may be a lot or it may be just a bit. You won’t end up with as much as you might think you will, because of that waste.

GARLIC BREAD isn't really necessary, of course, but nice to have. (And I have a bit of a problem thinking of garlic bread as a romantic food, but as long as you both eat it…) Try to get just one small loaf of French or Italian bread – something like a hoagie roll. Check the prices, though. Sometimes that single roll can cost as much as a whole loaf of bread! To save some time, you can serve the loaf whole and cold and you can each butter your own at the table.

Not much says Valentine’s Day like CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES! I haven’t priced them in stores recently, but I remember that they used to be a dollar each at a candy store about twenty years ago. What an indulgence! What a ridiculous price to pay for something so easy to make!

So how much will this dinner cost? The Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo will cost about $3.50. $1.00 for the asparagus. The bread, about 50 cents. It depends on the bread you get. Assuming fifteen strawberries per pound, they’re about 20 cents each, so let’s say another dollar for the Chocolate Covered Strawberries. Total for the meal, about $6.00, or about $3.00 each. More than my meals usually run, but it is for Valentine’s Day, after all!

Of course, that’s a bit deceptive, because you had to buy a whole pound of strawberries, and the rest of the asparagus and the Parmesan and the cream, which probably cost more than you would normally spend for things. But it’s still a pretty reasonable price for a romantic dinner for two.

Herbs and Spices and Fish Stew

Remember last week, when I gave you a couple of recipes for Chicken Wings? Well, wings are on sale this week at IGA in Ellettsville and Bedford - $1.29 a pound. 14-ounce bags of frozen meatballs are 99 cents each. Eckrich Cotto Salami, Sliced Bologna, and Franks are $1.00 for a 16-ounce (1 pound) package. (Some of the franks are in 12-ounce packages.) Broccoli and cauliflower are both two for $4.00, or $2.00 each. How good a price this is depends on how big the heads are. Both make great dippers instead of chips. “Jumbo” lemons and limes are two for $1.00, or 50 cents each. 5-pound bags of red potatoes are two for $5.00, or $2.50 each, or 50 cents a pound. Friday and Saturday (January 31 and February 1) only, 1-pound bags of baby peeled carrots and pints of grape tomatoes are 99 cents each.

Kroger has asparagus for $1.49 a pound and sour cream for $1.00 a pint. Pears are 99 cents a pound, as are Roma tomatoes and jalapeno peppers.

Aldi has organic baby carrots for $1.29 a pound and organic grape tomatoes for $1.49 a pint. Those aren’t bad prices even for regular unorganic baby carrots and grape tomatoes. Cucumbers are 99 cents for a three pack, mushrooms are 99 cents for 8 ounces, and broccoli crowns are 99 cents for a one pound package. Celery is 89 cents a head. All of these make good dippers, too. Avocados are 49 cents each. Avocados are really good for you and go great in a lot of Mexican dishes.

It’s not a very inspiring bunch of specials this week. Seems like a lot of the “specials” are prepared and processed foods and drinks for watching the Super Bowl. Check last week’s column about how to keep the cost of your Super Bowl down to a reasonable level. Of course, the actual prices will be different this week, but most of what I said still applies.

Since the specials didn’t give me any ideas for what to talk about, I’m going to talk about seasonings (herbs and spices, mostly) and three recipes for fish soup. Kroger still has Swai (catfish) nuggets for either $1.29 or $1.39 a pound, or at least the store near Seminary Park did when I checked there about a week ago. Or you could use the catfish fillets that the HUB has had recently instead of the nuggets.

The three fish soups are very similar, although they come from all across the globe. All are made with Swai (catfish) nuggets (though that’s not the fish in the original recipe – I substituted Swai for the more expensive types of fish called for) and all have onion, tomatoes, pepper and garlic. They’re very similar – but they’re also very different! The difference is in the seasonings. I hope it will inspire you to vary your menus with different herbs and spices.

I’ll get to the recipes in a minute, but first I want to talk about herbs and spices. They can be hideously expensive, especially if you have to buy a whole jar and only need a tiny bit. However, BUYING IN BULK can bring the cost way down.

The first recipe, BRAZILIAN SEAFOOD STEW, originally called for shrimp in addition to cod, striped bass, or snapper. What makes it different from the others is coconut milk and lime juice. I come up with a cost of about $4.00 for this, depending mostly on how much the green onions and cilantro cost. You’d lose the visual effect, but you could substitute a fourth of a cup of chopped onion for the green onion. If you don’t want to spring for fresh cilantro, you could use Italian parsley instead, though I’m not sure it’s any cheaper. Or you could use a couple of tablespoons of dried cilantro. Be sure it’s the leaf, not the seeds. Just be aware that you’re losing some of the ethnic flavor of Brazil by not using fresh cilantro. However, it should make a good fish stew anyway, even if it’s not very Brazilian. This looks like it should make about six cups, or four servings of about a cup and a half each. That seems a bit skimpy for a main dish soup, without something to go with it. You could add another pound of Swai nuggets, bringing the cost up to about $5.40 and the servings up to about two cups each. How about some cucumbers in sour cream to go with it? Or leave the fish at one pound, and have devilled eggs and carrots and celery (or maybe some broccoli or cauliflower) with ranch dressing. Either way, the total cost of the meal would be around $6.00, or $1.50 per person.

The second recipe is for CARIBBEAN FISH CHOWDER. The original recipe called for shrimp and clams in addition too generic “fish fillets.” What makes it different is the burgundy wine (a red wine, and usually white wines go with fish) and all of the herbs and spices. Don’t be put off by all the ingredients; most of them are just dabs of seasonings. This one is definitely the soupiest of the three.

If you don’t have burgundy wine, or you don’t have wine at all in your home, there are some substitutions you can make. Any wine made with Pinot Noir grapes will be similar to burgundy. Examples are Merlot and Cabernet or Pinot Noir. If you want to avoid the wine altogether, you can use a non-alcoholic wine, or a combination of rice wine vinegar and grape juice. Try about 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 6 tablespoons of grape juice in place of the half cup of burgundy. If you only have white vinegar, just use a tablespoon of it. You could also use half a cup of red wine vinegar.

This will come to about $6.00 by itself, but should make about ten cups, or two and a half cups per serving. That doesn’t leave any room for something to go with it, but the servings are big enough that they should be enough on their own. Or call it six servings of a little over a cup and a half each, and add some salad as I suggested for the Brazilian Seafood Stew.

The final recipe, FISH STEW, isn’t identified as to country but looks like it may be Mediterranean. Not that either of the others is necessarily at all authentic, either, especially after substituting Swai nuggets for the fish and shellfish in the original recipe! It has the more usual white wine to go with the fish. The original recipe calls for fillets of “sole, halibut or other firm white fish.” Unlike the other recipes, the original recipe does not call for shellfish in addition to the fish. It’s interesting that it says to serve it on a platter and not in a bowl. The almonds are another unusual touch. This should make about eight cups, or two cups per serving, which is a reasonable size for a main dish soup. It comes to a little over $4.00, which leaves about $2.00 for something extra to go with it. Again, the salad suggestions from the Brazilian Seafood Stew would be good. Or Marsh has jumbo cantaloupe for $2.99 each (not a great price – they were $1.50 each a couple of weeks ago), and you could have four nice wedges for $1.50.

You didn’t hear it from me, but GARLIC BREAD would go well with any of these soups. Or hard rolls. You can buy pre-made garlic bread, but you might as well make you own. It's cheaper and better and better for you, too. 

Baked Kale Chips

1 bunch kale
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon seasoned salt

 Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a non insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.
3. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.

Super Bowl Snacks on a Budget

Did you know that Americans spent over $1 billion on snacks for the Super Bowl in 2012? Over a billion dollars! On snacks! For one afternoon! Yes, it’s fun to have special snacks while you watch the game, but it doesn’t have to be that expensive.

The specials on groceries aren’t great this week (except for the ham and I’m tired of it!), so I’m going to do something different. Instead of presenting recipes and menus for inexpensive dinners using meats that are on sale, I’m going to give some ideas for making less expensive Super Bowl snacks.

But first, this week’s specials.

IGA has ground chuck for $2.69 a pound in 3-pound packages. 8-ounce packages of shredded cheese are 3 for $5.00, or $1.67 each. That’s $3.33 per pound. Canned tomatoes are three 14.5-ounce cans for $2.00, or 67 cents each. 28-ounce cans are 99 cents each. Tomato juice is 10 for $10.00, or $1.00 per can. These prices are good through Sunday, January 26.

Marsh has regular ground beef for $2.49 a pound in the family packs. Hormel Cure 81 Spiral Sliced Hams are $1.27 a pound, which I think is even better than it was around the holidays. Turkey thighs are $1.79 a pound. I don’t know if that’s a good price, but it should be mostly meat with little bone, so I’m guessing it’s not bad. Prices should be good through Wednesday, January 29.

I don’t know what it is with Aldi and pineapples, but they’re still 99 cents each. Cantaloupe are $1.89 each this week, and avocados are still 49 cents each. Cherry tomatoes are 99 cents a pint, celery is 89 cents a head, and baby carrots are 69 cents a pound. Prices are good through Tuesday, January 28.

Kroger has split chicken breasts for 99 cents a pound (that’s bone-in and skin-on). Eggplant is 10 for $10.00, or $1.00 each, which is probably a good deal, depending on the size. Select varieties of cheese are $3.29 each, for 12 to 16 ounces. 24 ounces of cottage cheese is $1.79.

I don’t know what you traditionally eat while you watch the game, but sandwiches, Buffalo wings (or wings of other flavors), chili, nachos, and chips and dips seem to be pretty standard. I’ll work with those. And I know you don’t want to be stuck out in the kitchen while the game is on (on the other hand, maybe you do!), so I’ll keep things simple and with as little last minute work as possible.

Let's start with sandwiches. Ham and cheese are both on sale, which is handy since HAM AND CHEESE SANDWICHES are usually popular with everyone. You can easily make a few without the ham for any vegetarians who may be watching with you. In fact, you might want to leave a few without the meat just in case.

Wings used to be practically given away, until someone came up with the idea of marketing them as special snack food. Now they’re often more expensive than boneless, skinless chicken breast! But they are traditional for a lot of Super Bowl parties, so let’s see what we can do with them. It’s going to be cheaper to make your own than to buy them ready made. I’m sure that doesn’t come as any surprise to you. Here are a couple of fairly easy recipes that don’t require a lot of last minute work. FYI, you should figure on about 15 raw wings per pound, or about 30 wing segments, plus the wing tips you should save to make CHICKEN STOCK or BONE BROTH. And another FYI – you can do something fairly similar with drumsticks or with strips of chicken breasts (99 cents a pound for bone-in, skin-on breasts, and don’t forget to make GRIBENES (baked Chicken Crisps) with the skin and to save the bones to make CHICKEN STOCK or BONE BROTH).

I think Buffalo Wings pretty much started the wings craze, but they're usually fried which is messy and time consuming. UNBELIEVABLE BAKED BUFFALO WINGS are baked (duh!) instead of fried but still come out nice and crispy. Much easier and tidier!

Another kind of baked wings is SWEET HOT MUSTARD CHICKEN WINGS. They're not particularly messy to make but, because the sauce is added at the last minute, they are messy to eat. And the sauce may get flung around the room with an exciting play! They are, however, very good.

I’m not going to give you a recipe for Chili. I assume you have your own favorite recipe. Instead, I’ll tell you where to get some of the ingredients on sale. IGA has ground chuck for $2.69 a pound, and regular ground beef is $2.49 a pound at Marsh. IGA has tomato juice, canned tomatoes, and tomatoes sauce on sale. Avocados are 49 cents each at Aldi. Three 8-ounce bags of shredded cheese are $5.00 at IGA, and 12 to 16 ounce blocks of cheese are $3.29 at Kroger. Sour cream isn’t on sale this week, but it’s usually cheapest at Aldi. These same ingredients are used in making Nachos, too. Add the COPY CAT FRITO LAY BEAN DIP to your Nachos.

Chips and dips are popular, too. Chips of all sorts, and dips of all sorts. I’ll give you recipes for SPINACH ARTICHOKE DIP and COPY CAT FRITO LAY BEAN DIP. They’re both ridiculously expensive if you buy them pre-made. Or try one of the other dips posted here, like PESTO, HUMMUS, or CREAMY WHITE BEAN DIP. Don’t forget raw veggies as alternatives to chips. Aldi has 1-pound bags of baby carrots for 69 cents, celery for 89 cents a head, and grape tomatoes for 99 cents a pint.

You can make your own chips, too, if you want. They’ll probably be cheaper and will definitely be healthier. (I know – “healthy” isn’t necessarily a priority for watching the Super Bowl.) PITA CHIPS, TORTILLA CHIPS,  and FRENCH BREAD CHIPS are all super easy to make. Or, for a change of pace, how about serving GARLIC BREAD as a base for the dips, and spread it on the bread instead of dunking it?

So there you have it – a plentiful spread for Super Bowl Sunday, and for way less than a billion dollars!

Pork Chops and the Weekly Specials with Mary Anne

IGA has iceberg lettuce for 99 cents a head. Honeysuckle 93% lean fresh ground turkey is $2.99 for a 1.2 pound package, or $2.50 a pound. Country style spare ribs are $1.99 a pound. The ad says that Pilgrim’s whole cut-up fryers are $1.59 each, which would be a fabulous price! Unfortunately, the ad is wrong – it should be $1.59 per pound, which isn’t a good deal at all. Canned beans (the picture shows chili beans) and black-eyed peas are 79 cents a can. “Slicing tomatoes” are $1.59 a pound.

Marsh has family pack “assorted pork chops” for $1.29 a pound, or smaller packs for $1.69 a pound. Bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts are $1.29 a pound in the family pack or $1.49 in smaller size packs. Brown mustard is 10 for $10, or $1.00 each for 10 ounces. Red, orange and yellow bell peppers are also 10 for $10, or $1.00 each. Cukes and green peppers are 88 cents each, and iceberg lettuce is 99 cents a head. Sweet potatoes are 79 cents a pound. Country style spare ribs are $1.99 a pound and pork sirloin roast is $1.69 a pound.

At Aldi, a 2-pound bag of carrots is just 89 cents. Mushrooms are 99 cents for an 8 ounce package. Pineapple are still 99 cents each, and grapefruit are 39 cents each. Frozen peas and corn are both 95 cents for a 1-pound bag. A heads up about Aldi – they had great prices on dairy (butter, eggs and cheese in particular) during November and December, but the prices have shot back up to where they were before the holiday season sales. Still ok prices, just not nearly as good as they had been.

Kroger has large eggs 4 dozen for $5.00, or $1.25 per dozen. Boneless skinless chicken breasts are $1.99 a pound. And sour cream is 10 for $10.00, or $1.00 a pint.

Not a very inspiring bunch of specials, is it? Actually, $1.29 a pound for pork chops is a pretty good price, so I’ll go with that. By the way, I haven’t been to the stores to check on prices since early December, so my costs may not be current. I had planned to go Thursday, but after slipping and sliding on the roads in the morning, and hearing that there would be more snow, I decided against it. The sale prices are from the ads, so they should be right, and the other costs should be close, at least.

I like cookbooks. I like reading them and using them and collecting them. I almost always go to the last day of the public library’s book sales and the last day of the Red Cross book sales. Books are free those days. In fact, they want people to take them so they don’t have to get rid of them. I usually bring home several boxes of cookbooks. All kinds of cookbooks. I copy out the recipes that look good, and then take them to the next book sale in hopes that someone will buy them. I don’t keep very many of the cookbooks I find anymore, but then I’ve got over 20 linear feet of them already. And that’s after I gave away several boxes of them! And I’ve got close to 300 cookbooks saved to my Kindle. Did I say that I like cookbooks? 

Anyway, this first recipe is from a tiny little cookbook that I got at one of those book sales. Probably the Red Cross sale last fall. I don’t know why I picked it up, but I did. There’s only one recipe in it that sounded good to me, for STEAMED PORK CHOPS, and here it is. It’s A Little Bahamian Cookbook, by Rosamund Lambert, by the way, published in 1990 in the Bahamas. Assuming that the pork chops weigh about half a pound each, this should cost about $4.20 for four servings, or $1.05 per serving. I think I would get a box of the mushrooms from Aldi, slice them up, and add them along with the other vegetables. That would bring the cost to about $5.20 and you wouldn’t need to add another vegetable. Half a head of lettuce, for 50 cents, and some salad dressing, would round out the meal and keep it to a bit less than $6.00 for four servings, or about $1.50 per serving.

This next recipe, PORK CHOPS BAKES WITH CABBAGE AND CREAM (and yes, I think that’s really the name of the dish, though it doesn’t sound right), calls for boneless pork chops that are 3/4” thick. The ones that are on sale aren’t boneless and are probably going to be closer to 1/2 thick. I wouldn’t worry about either one. The bones won’t hurt anything, and other than maybe cooking a bit quicker, the fact that they’re thinner won’t hurt, either. This is a full meal in itself, so you could just call it good at $4.40 for four servings, or $1.10 per serving. It’s going to be pretty blah looking, though, so you might want to cook up some carrots to serve with it. A pound of carrots, for 45 cents, and a whole pineapple for dessert at 99 cents, and you’ve got a huge meal for less than $1.50 per serving.

This next recipe, MAPLE MUSTARD BAKED CHICKEN THIGHS, is, obviously, a recipe for chicken rather than pork chops. But it’s very good and both maple syrup and mustard go well with pork, so I’m going to include it. Just substitute four pork chops for the chicken. You could brown the pork chops first, if you wanted, but I probably wouldn’t. The sauce is flavorful enough that you shouldn’t even notice that the chops weren’t browned. I don’t know where I got the recipe, but maple mustard chicken recipes are all over the internet.

Assuming that you’re using two pounds of pork chops instead of the chicken, this will cost less than $4.00. How much less, I don’t know, because I don’t know how much the maple syrup will cost. The sauce is really good over broccoli, and you can add two pounds of frozen broccoli from Walmart and keep it right about $6.00 total, or about $1.50 per serving. At least you could the last time I checked. The price of broccoli may have gone up since then.

Did you know that you can make your own MAPLE SYRUP? That's what I grew up with. Just combine twice as much sugar as water (so maybe two cups of sugar and one cup of water) in a saucepan. Bring it to a boil, and boil it until the sugar dissolves and the syrup is clear. Then add half a teaspoon or so of Mapleine (an imitation maple extract – you should be able to find it with the vanilla and other extracts and flavorings) and stir it well. It tastes very much like maple syrup for a fraction of the cost. You can use brown sugar instead, without the Mapleine, which I think I liked better. Or sometimes we made it with white sugar and no Mapleine, and it was still good over pancakes and French toast and so forth.

Chicken Breast and the Weekly Specials with Mary Anne

The sale dates are still messed up from the holidays. I’ll try to include them here, but be sure to check them before you shop.

Aldi has started to carry more organic produce. I have friends in other parts of the country who say that their stores have lots of organic produce, but I haven’t seen much here. You might want to check the store to see what’s available if you want to get organic. This week, though, for conventional produce, fruit seems to be the thing. Pineapples are 99 cents each, cantaloupe are $1.49 each, and blackberries 99 cents for 6 ounces, or about $2.50 per pound. These prices are good through Tuesday, January 7.

Marsh has strawberries $5.00 for two 1-pound boxes, or $2.50 per box. Canned vegetables are 49 cents each, but you have to buy at least ten “participating items” to get that price. Western style ribs, which come from the shoulder, are $1.99 a pound. Some of them will have bones, but you may be able to find some that are boneless, or nearly so. Pork sirloin roast is $1.69 a pound. It comes from the loin but it does have a bone. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are $1.99 in the family packs. These prices are good through Sunday, January 5.

Kroger has 5 cans of tomatoes for $3.00, or 60 cents a can. Cottage cheese is $1.25 a pint. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are $1.97 a pound. Two 1-pound boxes of strawberries are $5.00, or $2.50 each. And iceberg lettuce is 99 cents a head. These prices are good through Wednesday, January 8.

IGA has sirloin pork chops for 99 cents a pound in the family pack, and boneless, skinless chicken breasts and tenders for $1.99 a pound. Cabbage is 33 cents a pound. These prices are good through Sunday, January 5.

Looks like just about everyone has boneless, skinless chicken breasts on sale this week. Maybe because they figure everyone made New Year’s resolutions to eat healthier this year, and they figure that chicken breasts fit right in there? Whatever the reason, let’s talk about them again this week. Be sure to check the older posts for recipes, too, including the ones for turkey breast.

I spent the holidays in Idaho with Mom, and we had chicken breasts a couple of nights. Mom usually slices, breads and fries them, but since I don’t eat grains we had to improvise. We came up with PARMESAN ALMOND CHICKEN BREASTS. It was a matter of dumping in some of this and some of that, but I think this is pretty close to what we had. It turned out really good, too – especially the crispy coating. In fact, we talked about maybe just frying the coating next time! We got two meals for two people each out of this, plus one slice left over, but the portions were a bit on the skimpy side. Let’s say four servings, because there is the extra protein from the cheese and the almonds. The total cost should be about $3.40, or 85 cents per serving. The first night we had a salad and buttered carrots with it, and the second night we had CREAMED SPINACH and buttered carrots. A pound of carrots would be 70 cents, plus a tablespoon or so of butter would bring it to about 75 cents. A head of the iceberg lettuce that’s on sale plus some ranch dressing would bring the total for the meal to about $5.50. You could add some extra veggies to the salad if you wanted and still keep it under $6.00 for the meal ($1.50 per person), or you could have half a pineapple for dessert. The Creamed Spinach runs about $2.25 for the batch, so that, plus the carrots and the chicken comes to about $6.40, or $1.60 per person, which is just over my goal of $1.50 per person.

I wrote this column while I was still at Mom’s house, so I looked through her cookbooks for recipes. She doesn’t have a lot, but she has some good ones. Mom grew up in near Des Moines, where Better Homes and Gardens had their headquarters (they may still be there, for all I know), and her sister still lives there. Mom has lots of their cookbooks. ORANGE CHICKEN comes from a 1969 cookbook. A batch will cost about $3.40 (I’m guessing on the cost of the orange juice concentrate), or about 85 cents a serving. With the orange juice and ginger, it would be great over broccoli. A pound of frozen broccoli was 98 cents at Walmart the last time I checked, but I’d use two pounds. That would bring the total to about $5.40. The culinary etiquette gurus say you shouldn’t have fruit in more than one course of a meal, but I’d have fruit for dessert anyway, since it’s on sale this week. You could have half a pineapple for a total cost of about $5.90, or you could have half a cantaloupe and bring the total to $6.15. Or you could have just a pound and a half of broccoli and keep the cost under $6.00 (under $1.50 per serving) with either kind of fruit. Or, if you wanted to be really fancy, you could combine a 6 ounce box of blackberries with some cantaloupe. It would bring the total cost to a bit over $6.00, but blackberries and cantaloupe go so well together. You could skimp a bit on another meal to make up for it.

The next recipe, EASY CHICKEN DIVAN, is one of my favorites. It uses cream of chicken soup, though, and I try to avoid processed foods like that. You could substitute homemade CREAM OF WHATEVER SOUP MIX if you wanted. This costs about $6.50 if you use the canned soup, or about $6.00 if you make your own. It makes six to eight servings. At six servings, it would be $1.00 per serving, which would bring it to $4.00 for four servings. (I’ll tell you what to do with the other two servings in a minute.) You could add some buttered carrots for another 75 cents and a big lettuce salad with a grated carrot and some dressing for less than a dollar more. Or skip the skip either the salad or the carrots and have fruit for dessert. It will still cost under $1.50 per person.

As for the extra two servings of the Chicken Divan, add it to a cup of milk and a pint or so of chicken broth, heat it, and use a blender to make Cream of Chicken and Broccoli Soup out of it.

I hope you have a fabulous New Year, and I hope to see you at the HUB sometime! Check out their schedule of cooking demos and tastings. The last time I talked to Kayte, she said they hope to have something going on every day. And don’t forget the cooking and gardening classes. I know it’s still January, but it won’t be long before it will be time to start your seedlings inside!

Lucky New Year's Foods and the Weekly Specials with Mary Anne

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! I did. I spent it with my family – Mom, three brothers, and some sisters-in-law and nieces. It was great to see everyone.

There’s really not much going on this week in the way of bargains. At least not bargains in the kind of food I eat and that I talk about in this column.

As usual, Aldi’s best buys are on fresh produce. Avocados are 49 cents each, Cucumbers are three for 99 cents. Baby carrots are 69 cents for a one pound package. Two peppers, one red and one yellow, are $1.49 for the two of them. Grape tomatoes are 99 cents for a pint, and celery is 89 cents a head.

The folks at Kroger have apparently heard of lucky foods for the New Year. They have corned beef for $1.97 a pound, and cabbage 4 pounds for a dollar. (That’s a fabulous price on cabbage! Buy some extra if you can. It keeps a long time in the fridge.) Canned black-eyed peas are 79 cents a can.

IGA in Ellettsville and Bedford has ground beef for $1.99 a pound. Cabbage is 39 cents a pound, which is not a great buy, but is cheaper than usual. Premade meatballs are 99 cents for 14 ounces, with a coupon from their flier. Dips and sour cream are 99 cents a pint (16 ounces).

As I said, not much this week in the way of bargains.

We’ll do something a bit different this week. Instead of concentrating on what’s on sale, this week’s recipes will be for lucky foods to eat on New Year’s Day. You’ve probably heard that it’s lucky to eat Hoppin’ John (a black-eyed pea dish) on New Year’s Day. But did you know that there are lucky foods for the New Year in many cultures? And they’re remarkably consistent, too. Greens, because they look like folding money and because they symbolize life. Pork, because pigs root forward, symbolizing progress. Beans, lentils, and other legumes, because they look like coins and because they swell when cooked, symbolizing increasing abundance. Long noodles, to symbolize long life (but be sure not to break them when cooking!). Cornbread, because it looks like gold. Round fruit, especially grapes, because they look like coins. Fish, because the scales look like coins. And lots of others.

A good place to start is with Southern style HOPPIN’ JOHN, GREENS, and CORNBREAD. You’ll get four lucky foods in that way! The HOPPIN’ JOHN recipe originally called for chicken stock, but I changed it to water, because it’s unlucky to eat chicken on New Year’s Day. That’s because chicken’s scratch backwards, symbolizing lack of progress. The ham hock (pork) and the black eyed peas are both lucky foods. The recipe makes ten servings, which is a lot, but you’re supposed to eat the leftovers on the 2^nd as Skippin’ Jenny, to symbolize frugality and even more prosperity in the New Year. A whole recipe of Hoppin’ John will cost between $4.00 and $5.00 and will make ten servings. Let’s call it 50 cents a serving, just to make the math easy.

Collards and kale are the traditional Southern greens to serve on New Year’s Day, but cabbage is the traditional lucky green in Germany and Sweden. And cabbage is on sale this week.  Cole slaw would go well with Hoppin’ John, and would be lucky. But I’ll give Paula Deen’s recipe for COLLARD GREENS, just to keep with the Southern theme. Her recipe calls for another tablespoon of seasoned salt, but that’s too salty for me, especially with the salt in the ham hocks. You can add it if you want to, though I’d wait and add it at the end, if you think it still needs it. 

I didn’t check the price on collards, but I’m guessing that this would cost about $3.00, or about 75 cents a serving. And finally, some cornbread. Just make your own favorite recipe, or use Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix. Add some canned corn if you like. The nuggets of corn look like nuggets of gold, for even more prosperity in 2014! The whole meal, then, of Hoppin’ John (half the recipe – don’t forget to save some for Skippin’ Jenny the day after New Year’s Day), Collard Greens, and cornbread, will cost right around $6.00, or about $1.50 per person. You can add some extra luck by having fruit for dessert. Something round, like an orange (which looks like gold!) or some grapes.

In Italy, the traditional lucky food for New Year’s Day is lentils and pork, as in this recipe for LENTIL-ESCAROLESOUP WITH SAUSAGE. The idea is the same as with Hoppin’ John – pork is lucky because pigs root forward, symbolizing progress, and the lentils look like coins and swell when cooked, symbolizing abundance and prosperity. This soup includes greens, too, for even more good luck! Again, I’ve substituted water for chicken broth, because it’s unlucky to eat chicken on New Year’s Day. A batch of this costs about $4.50. Cornbread would go well with this, too, and of course some round fruit.

Another meal with multiple lucky foods is FISH AND BOK CHOY NOODLE STIR FRY. It includes fish (lucky because the scales look like money and because fish swim around in schools, symbolizing abundance), greens (symbolizing money because they look like folded bills), and noodles (long noodles symbolizing long life). This one dish meal will cost about $5.00, leaving a dollar for some round fruit to finish off the meal.

Of course, you don’t have to eat meat to be lucky in 2014! SPAGHETTI WITH CREAMY SPINACH AND TARRAGON is vegetarian and includes long noodles (spaghetti) for long life and greens (spinach) for prosperity. This is one time when fresh spinach would be better than frozen. A batch of this costs about $4.00. You could add to your luck by also serving a lentil, black-eyed pea or bean salad, some corn bread, and some round fruit and keep the cost under $1.50 per person.

So there you have it. Lucky foods for a lucky start to a healthy and prosperous New Year. And even if you don’t believe that certain foods are lucky, these foods are also good for you and inexpensive, and a great and healthy way to start your New Year’s resolutions to eat healthy and save money in the New Year! 

You Mean There's Still More Ham Left?!

This week’s ads look an awful lot like last week’s. Ham is still king. I’ll give a run down on ham at the various stores first, and then move on to other things. It looks like a lot of the price differences are based on whether you’re getting a “name brand” or a “store brand,” as well as on how much water is added in the processing. I’ll let you know what I find about the type of ham (how much water is added), but be sure to check the packaging, too. I’m just relying on the little bit of information given in the ads.

Kroger has Kroger Spiral Sliced Ham for $1.27 a pound, limit of two with $25 in additional purchases. Cook’s Shank Portion Ham is 97 cents a pound, limit of 2 with $10 in additional purchases. Cumberland Gap Semi-Boneless Whole Ham is $1.99 a pound, and Hickory Hills Boneless Ham is $2.49 a pound. John Morrell Spiral Sliced Ham is $2.69 a pound and Private Selection Spiral Sliced Ham is $2.99. Whew! That’s anywhere from 97 cents to $2.99 per pound!

It’s a similar story at Marsh. Hormel Cure 81 Spiral Hams are $1.37 per pound, limit of one, with $25 of additional purchases. Sugardale Prestige Fully Cooked Shank Portion Hardwood Ham (water added) is 97 cents a pound, limit of one with $25 in additional purchases. Indiana Kitchen Heritage House Spiral Sliced Ham with Glaze Packet is $2.49 a pound. Alexander Hornung boneless hams and semi-boneless hams are $1.99 a pound. Marsh Honey Gold Spiral Sliced Glazed Ham is $10 off a half ham or $20 off a whole ham, but they don’t say how much the ham costs to begin with, so there’s no way to tell how much it ends up costing per pound. You’ll have to do the math when you get there.

Aldi has Appleton Farms hams on sale, $1.49 per pound for a spiral sliced half ham, 99 cents for a shank portion, or $1.19 for a butt portion.

IGA in Ellettsville has Best Choice Spiral Sliced Half Ham for $1.89 per pound, limit of one, with $15 in additional purchases, Field Kentucky Legend Boneless Whole Ham for $2.69 a pound, also with a limit of one and with $15 in additional purchases. Emge E-Z Carve Boneless Half Ham is $3.19 a pound and Boneless Whole Ham is $2.99 a pound. Carolina Pride Super Trim Half Ham is $1.39 per pound. Cumberland Gap Semi-Boneless Half Ham is $2.19 a pound, and Semi-Boneless Whole Ham is $1.89 a pound. Kretschmar Boneless Half Ham is $2.69 a pound, and Whole Boneless Ham is $2.49 a pound. Baking hens, roasters and whole fryers are all 99 cents a pound.

Other sales at Kroger include pints of sour cream or dip, 10 for $10, but it doesn’t look like you have to actually buy 10 items. Tennessee Pride breakfast sausage is 2 for $5, with packages ranging from 8 to 16 ounces. Various cheeses are $1.99 per 6 to 8 ounce package. Private Selection or Kroger turkeys are 99 cents a pound, and fresh Honeysuckle turkeys are $1.69 a pound. Cantaloupe are 2 for $3, or $1.50 each. That’s a great price, even for the summer. Fresh green beans are 99 cents a pound.

Marsh has fresh Florida strawberries, two pounds for $5, or $2.50 per pound. Various canned veggies are 49 cents a can. Thursday through Saturday only, whole pineapples are 99 cents each, limit of two with $30 in additional purchases. Indiana Kitchen bacon is $2.99 a pound. Zucchini is $1.29 a pound. Butterball Fresh All Natural turkeys are $1.99 a pound, and Norbest Fresh All Natural Family Tradition turkeys are $1.69 per pound.

Aldi’s vegetables are about the same as they have been. Potatoes are $1.89 for 10 pounds, sweet potatoes are $1.49 for 3 pounds. Oranges are $2.49 for a 4 pounds (but they were actually only $1.99 when I was there on Tuesday!), and mixed fruit (apples and oranges) are $2.49 for a 3 pound bag. Grapefruit are 49 cents each and pineapples are 99 cents each. Butter is $1.69 a pound and cream cheese is 89 cents for 8 ounces. If you’re interested in things like canned sweet potatoes, stuff to make green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed potatoes, etc., you might want to take a look at Aldi. They have most of that stuff on sale, too.

IGA has turkeys for $1.19 a pound, while supplies last. Oranges are $3.99 for an 8 pound bag. Canned veggies are three for $1, limit of nine cans. Various Kraft cheeses are buy one, get one free, but it doesn’t say how much they cost. Sour cream and dips are 99 cents for 16 ounces (one pint). Best Choice Fresh Turkeys are $1.49 per pound. Cooked Perfect Meatballs are 99 cents for 14 ounces. Birds Eye frozen vegetables are 10 bags for $10, or $1 each, for 10 to 16 ounce bags, and so are Steamfresh frozen veggies. Red Delicious apples are $5.99 for 8 pounds.

Since ham is still on sale, I’ll do another column working with that. Again, I’ll be mostly talking about the leftover ham. There can be lots of leftovers and it can get pretty old! However, it does freeze well, and then you can use it later when you’re looking for a break from chicken or whatever. I’m figuring on 60 cents a cup again, like last week, when I cost out the recipes and menus.

This first recipe, HAMAND SPINACH CASSEROLE, does have grain in it, both in the white sauce and in the buttered crumbs on top. (As you may know by now, I don’t eat grains in any form.) I left them in the recipe in case you do eat them, which most people do. If you don’t want the wheat, you can substitute one can’s worth of the Campbell’s Soup Casserole Sauce Mix (I gave the recipe last week) for the white sauce, and add the cheese to it. As for the bread crumbs, you could use some slivered almonds if you wanted to, or more cheese, or just leave the topping off altogether, which is what I would do.

If you make this with half and half cream, the total cost will be about $4.50. With the soup mix or with milk it would be a bit less. Some CARROT SALAD would be good with this and would brighten up the plate. With the Carrot Salad, the meal would cost about $5.50, or a bit less than $1.50 per person. Or you could serve fruit and still keep it under $1.50 per person. Fresh fruit is best, of course, but canned without sugar is good, too. You’ll want something with it, anyway, because the servings are a bit smaller than I usually give.

Here’s a really easy way to use up some of that leftover ham. HAM AND BROCCOLI SAUTE is just ham and broccoli and cheese. You can’t get much simpler or quicker than that! Sometimes, especially in the middle of getting ready for the holidays, you just don’t want to spend much time or energy getting a meal on the table. Here’s the answer. This costs under $4.00, leaving a bit over $2.00 for things to go with it. How about some sweet potatoes, either baked or boiled, than whipped with some butter? You’d still be under $5.00 for four servings, or a bit under $1.25 per person.

And finally, BAKEDYAMS, APPLES AND CANADIAN BACON (OR HAM). As you might guess from the name, I took a recipe that calls for Canadian bacon and made it with leftover ham, instead. If you have sliced ham, go ahead and use it but follow the directions for Canadian bacon. This costs right about $4.00 and makes four generous servings. How about serving some coleslaw to go with it? I’ve given my recipe a few times (shredded or chopped cabbage, chopped onion, mayo, lemon juice, sweetener), but you’ve probably got your own favorite way of fixing it. However you do it, a basic coleslaw shouldn’t run more than $2.00 (mine would come out closer to $1.50), keeping the total cost of the meal for four people at less than $6.00, or  less than $1.50 per person.

Okay, so this next one is really the last one. HAM, POTATOES AND GREEN BEANS is a concoction that Mom used to make. And with ham, potatoes and green beans all on sale this week, I just have to include it! At this week’s prices, this would run about $3.60 and makes four generous servings. What would really go best with it would be corn bread (less than $1.00 for Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix and butter), but since I said I wouldn’t be including bread in my menus, let’s have some devilled eggs (eggs were $1.29 a dozen at Aldi on Tuesday) and carrot sticks, and a pineapple or cantaloupe for dessert.

If you have just a dab of ham left, you can add it to lots of other things as an accent. It goes great in potato soup, or in a salad. You can chop it up small and add it to corn bread before you bake it. Throw it in some eggs and either scramble them or make an omelet out of it. Put it in mashed potatoes or scalloped potatoes. Make fried rice with it. Fry it up with some cabbage or put it in green beans. Or just eat it!

And whatever you do, don’t throw out the ham bone! Use it to make bean soup. Or make HAM BROTH and freeze it to make soup with later.

Hamming It Up

HAMMING IT UP

Marsh has some meat on sale. Fresh picnic roasts are $1.29 per pound. As I’ve said (probably several times!) this is absolutely my favorite cut of meat. Unfortunately, there’s a big bone running through it, which ups the effective price considerably. By “effective price” I mean the price per serving. I’ve never actually weighed it out and everything, but I’d guess that on a per serving basis, or on how many ounces of actual cooked meat you get, pork loin at $2.00 a pound would be cheaper than the picnic at $1.29. But oh, the picnic is so much better! I just now looked up how much meat is left after you take out the bone on a ham, and it said to allow three-quarters of a pound per person for a bone-in ham, and just one-quarter of a pound for a boneless ham. Which leads very nicely into the next things they have on sale, which is ham! Hormel Cure 81 Spiral Ham is $1.37 per pound, limit one, with additional $25 purchase. Sugardale Prestige fully cooked hams (water added) is 97 cents a pound for a shank portion, limit one with additional $25 purchase, or $1.29 per pound for the butt portion, with no limit and no additional purchase required.

Aldi also has ham on sale. Appleton Farms shank portion is 99 cents per pound, and the butt portion is $1.19 per pound. Spiral sliced is $1.49 per pound. Sweet potatoes are still $1.49 for a three pound bag, and russet potatoes are $1.89 for a ten pound bag. Navel oranges are $2.49 for a four pound bag, and pineapples are 99 cents each. “Mixed fruit,” which seems to be red and green apples and oranges, is $2.49 for a three pound bag. Eggs are $1.29 a dozen, with a limit of six dozen. 5-ounce cartons of feta or blue cheese crumbles are $1.89 each. Evaporated milk is 65 cents a can and pumpkin is 89 cents a can. Cream cheese is 89 cents for eight ounces and butter is $1.69 per pound.

Kroger has ham on sale, too. Kroger spiral sliced ham is $1.27 a pound. I’m getting the feeling that ham is what’s traditional for Christmas around here! Frozen veggies are 10 for $10, or $1 per bag, and the bags range from 8 to 16 ounces. Cumberland Gap Semi-boneless whole ham is $1.99 a pound. They also have Cook’s shank portion “ham and water product” for 97 cents a pound.

It's hard to figure out how much ham costs per serving, because of the bone and the skin and all. However, MY BEST GUESS is about 60 cents per cup of ham. That's figuring the cost for leftovers, of course, since you don't usually serve it the first time around by the cup. That's about 4.85 ounces of cooked meat, which is probably more helpful if you're serving it sliced. And it takes about 6.5 ounces of ham as you buy it with, with the bone and skin and all to get one cup or 4.85 ounces. At least that's the best I can figure based on information I've found online.

Trying to figure out the differences between "ham," "ham with natural juices," "ham, water added," and "ham and water product"? Or whether it's worth the extra cost to get a spiral sliced ham instead of one that's not sliced? Check HERE for some tips.

So now for some recipes. The problem is that when I think of things to do with leftover ham, it’s mostly things like Ham Fried Rice, Ham and Beans (or lentils or split peas) Soup, or Scalloped Potatoes and Ham. Something that’s mostly a starchy “filler” type dish, and I’m staying away from those. Which is another reason I haven’t given ham recipes before!

The first thing you might think to do with leftover ham (after the ham sandwiches, that is) is to put it in eggs. Just fry some diced ham in some butter to warm it, then add eggs and scramble it as usual, for SCRAMBLED EGGS AND HAM. Or add it to an omelet along with some chopped green onions and chopped bell pepper for a DENVER OMELET. Don’t add any extra salt, since the ham is salty. 

Or you could do a HAM AND WHATEVER ELSE IS HANDY QUICHE. I’ll give a recipe using ham and frozen broccoli, but you could use spinach without changing the price more than a few cents a serving. A whole quiche will cost just under $5.00, assuming you use half and half cream and two cups of ham. That would come to about $1.25 per serving if you make four servings or about 85 cents a serving if you make six servings. A fourth of a quiche this size is plenty for either lunch or supper for me, without anything else. Or you could add an eighth of a head of lettuce plus a tablespoon or two of dressing and still keep it under $1.50. If you use frozen chopped spinach instead of broccoli, it will add about 10 cents per serving.

Here’s an old-fashioned sort of recipe. QUICKCREAMED HAM is basically Ham a la King. It’s traditionally served over something starchy, like toast, muffins, biscuits, waffles, rice, etc., but I serve it over a vegetable, instead. Broccoli is good, or spinach. It would be good over a baked potato, too. The cost of a recipe of this would run about $1.50. Add two pounds of frozen broccoli at 99 cents a pound (Walmart), and you’re up to $3.50 for four servings. How about some fresh pineapple for dessert? That’s 99 cents at Aldi this week. That brings the total for the meal to about $4.50, or about $1.15 per person. If you make your own soup, you’ll save about 30 cents total, bringing the cost per person down to $1.05.

Let’s go to Germany next, for Blumenkohl und Schinkenpudding. That’s CAULIFLOWER AND HAM PUDDING, for us Americans. I was surprised to find it in a German cookbook. Those of us who don’t eat potatoes frequently use cauliflower as a substitute, but apparently it’s not just a faddish, low carb thing. It’s also a traditional German thing, at least as far as this recipe goes. It’s more or less Scalloped Potatoes and Ham, but with cauliflower.

HAM LOAF is another very old-fashioned dish. It’s sort of like meatloaf, except it’s made with leftover cooked ham instead of raw ground beef. MUSTARD SAUCE and HORSERADISH SAUCE would be good with  HAM LOAF or with plain ham or roast beef., or in ham or roast beef sandwiches instead of mayo.

If you like pineapple or other fruit with your ham try PINEAPPLEUPSIDE DOWN HAM LOAF. It starts with the basic HAM LOAF, but is baked like a Pineapple Upside Down Cake, then flipped over so the decorations show when it’s served.

Nothing Warms You Up Like Chicken Soup

I’ve got specials from four stores today – Aldi, IGA, Kroger and Marsh. And the sales are for four different periods – Wednesday through Tuesday for Aldi, Monday through Sunday for IGA, Thursday through Wednesday for Kroger, and Thursday through Sunday for Marsh. Not that that’s anything new. I’m sure you’re already aware of it. Just thought I’d mention it.

Marsh has their pork combo packs again for 99 cents a pound. That’s about 10 -15 pounds of chops, roasts and ribs. It’s a great price, but you have to buy at least $25 of other stuff to get that price, and there’s a limit of two combo packs. It’s still a pretty good price, even if you do have to pay a bit more for the other things. But watch how much more you pay for the rest. Perdue boneless skinless chicken breasts are $1.99 a pound in the family pack. 28-ounce to 29-ounce cans of tomatoes are ten for $10, or $1 each. I didn’t see that you have to buy ten items to get the special price, but watch for it when you check out.

I got a flier from IGA this week, so I’ll include their sale prices, too. They have stores in Ellettsville and Bedford. Probably not worth a special trip out there, but if you happen to be out there anyway, you might want to check them out. First, they have some special deals that are only good on Friday, December 6. Large eggs are 99 cents a dozen, with a limit of four dozen eggs. Idaho potatoes are $1.99 for a ten pound bag, and I didn’t see anything about a limit on them. Bacon is $3.99 for a 24 ounce package. And finally, whole boneless center cut pork loin is $1.49 a pound, limit of two roasts. Again, the sale on the eggs, potatoes, bacon and pork loin is only on Friday, December 6. The rest of their sales are from Monday, December 2 through Sunday, December 8. Boneless, skinless chicken breast or chicken breast tenders are $1.99 a pound. Onions are 99 cents for a three pound bag. Some canned vegetables are 39 cents a can, with a limit of ten cans. Peas, corn and green beans were pictured. Shredded cheese is $1.47 for an 8 ounce bag.

Aldi has four pounds of oranges for $2.49, which is by far the best price I’ve seen so far this season. Eggs are $1.29 a dozen, limit of 6 dozen. Ham is still anywhere from 99 cents a pound to $1.49 a pound.

Kroger has boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs for $1.97 a pound and various cheeses – shredded, bars or singles – for $2.99 for 12 to 16 ounces. It’s a good price for 16 ounces, not so good for 12 ounces. Boneless pork loin is $1.99 a pound. Cream cheese is 10 for $10, or $1 each for 8 ounces. I checked to see if they still have the Swai nuggets I wrote about a few weeks ago, and they do. The regular price has come down, too, to $1.29 a pound.

As you know, I usually only talk about meats, eggs, veggies and dairy. In part that’s because that’s the way I eat, but mostly it’s because I have no idea what the regular price on most other things is, and what’s a good deal. I’m making a couple of exceptions this week on things that seem to be a better than usual price, but please use your own judgment on them. Don’t take my word that the prices are good. Marsh has four pound bags of sugar for 99 cents a bag, if you spend at least $30 on other stuff. There’s a limit of two bags. Sugar is $1.47 for a four pound bag at IGA, and flour is $1.59 for a four and a quarter to five pound bag. Flour at Aldi is $1.39 for a five pound bag and sugar is $1.49 for a four pound bag.

There really aren’t any great meat specials, but since Kroger, IGA and Marsh all have boneless skinless chicken breasts (and thighs, at Kroger) for $1.97 or $1.99 a pound, I was going to go with that. But then I was sitting here watching the rain turn to freezing rain, and listening to the forecast of 6 to 10 inches of snow, and thought soup sounded awfully good. I started changing recipes to use the boneless, skinless breasts, but the bony pieces are really lots better for soup making, because you can make the broth as you go. So I’m going to use the ten pound bags of chicken leg quarters from Walmart again. I didn’t check when I was in there on Thursday (it was a mad-house with everyone stocking up before the storm), but I’m assuming that they’re still $5.90, or 59 cents a pound. At least, that’s the price I’m going to use in costing out the recipes.

Half a bag of the leg quarters, roughly five pounds, should give you enough chicken and broth for at least two big batches of soup, maybe more. I'm going to assume that you're only cooking half the bag to use in these recipes, though you can always cook them all. The other half can be roasted or fried or cooked however you like, or you can make a double batch of chicken and broth, or you can freeze the other half to cook later. Whatever. A ten pound bag of chicken can be a bit intimidating, and I want you to be aware that it doesn't have to be.

Start by making STEWED CHICKEN WITH CHICKEN BROTH.  You'll want to take the skin off the chicken first and make GRIBENES, or CHICKEN CHIPS, with it. That's scrumptious bits of crispy baked chicken skin. Save the bones after you've cooked the chicken and taken the meat off of the bones for the soup, and use them to make BONE BROTH. You should end up with about five cups of meat that you've taken off of the bones, about two quarts of the Chicken Broth you made while cooking the chicken, and another quart or more of Bone Broth. Not bad for a $2.95 investment!

Seems like folks everywhere make chicken soup. As I look at the three recipes I have for you today, they seem sort of similar. The big difference is the seasonings. MEXICAN CHICKEN SOUP has Mexican-ish seasonings, with cumin, coriander and jalapenos. TURKEY CREOLE SOUP is Creole-ish, from around Louisiana, with green pepper and tomatoes, and parsley, thyme, bay leaf and basil. I know, it's turkey soup, but chicken will work just as well. The third recipe, MULLIGATAWNY SOUP is based an Indian-ish recipe, or at least a recipe that the British brought back from India after Anglicizing it.

This first recipe, MEXICAN CHICKEN SOUP, is really a chicken tortilla soup, without the tortillas. You could add them, if you wanted to. Cut a small package of small tortillas in half, then cut each half in thin strips. Add the tortilla strips with the broth and chicken. Or a generic chicken soup can be made by leaving out the jalapenos, cumin, and coriander, and using parsley instead of cilantro. I don’t know how much jalapenos run, but assuming they cost 25 cents and you’re using homemade CHICKEN BROTH, then a batch of this will cost about $3.75 and will make four servings of over 2 cups each at about 95 cents each. Add a wedge of lettuce with two tablespoons of dressing to each serving, and top each bowl of soup with 2 tablespoons of sour cream and a fourth of a cup (1 ounce) of shredded cheese and it comes to just a tad under $1.50 per serving. Avocados are 49 cents each at Aldi this week, so you could split one among the four servings for just twelve and a half cents per serving.

TURKEY CREOLE SOUP, or Chicken Creole Soup for our purposes, has the classic Creole seasonings of green pepper and tomatoes, and parsley, thyme, bay leaf and basil. A batch of this soup, which will make over eight cups and serve four generously, will cost about $4.50, depending mostly on how much you have to pay for the pepper. I figured a dollar, which may be high. That leaves $1.50 for something to go with the soup to round out the meal. You could do a salad and salad dressing, starting with half a head of lettuce (about 55 cents) and adding other ingredients like carrots and celery and onion until you reach the $1.50 limit. Not that you have to spend all of the $1.50 per person, of course! You could probably pick up a cucumber, and serve it either in ranch dressing, or sour cream, or vinegar. Some devilled eggs would be good with this, too, and would increase the protein considerably. There’s only two cups of meat for four people, which is a bit skimpy, though I increased it from the single cup that the original recipe called for. Eggs are $1.29 a dozen at Aldi, so you could have up to 3 whole eggs each if you wanted to. Or you could use a few eggs for garnish on the salad. Or you could serve some fruit for dessert. A two pound bag of pears is $1.49 at Aldi this week, oranges are $2.49 for four pounds, and apples are $1.99 for two pounds. You should be able to give each person a whole piece of fruit for dessert and still keep it under $1.50 per person, or if you bought a couple of different kinds, you could make a fruit salad for this meal and serve the rest of the fruit later.

The final soup today, MULLIGATAWNY SOUP, is an Anglicized (or Westernized) curry soup from India. The British brought it home with them when they returned from serving in India, back in the days when India was a British colony. It’s one of those basic recipes, like chili here in the States, that has lots and lots of variations. The main things seem to be chicken, apple, and curry powder. It’s traditionally served over rice, but I increased the chicken and vegetables instead. You could certainly serve it over rice if you wanted to. Like the Turkey Creole Soup, this should cost about $4.50, but it will make about twelve cups of soup. I’m still going to call it four servings, though you could get six out of it if you wanted to. A salad would go well with it, or fruit. See the Turkey Creole Soup recipe for suggestions. A dollop of yogurt would be good on it, too.

All of these recipes could be served over or with rice, but, as you know, I don’t eat the stuff and I don’t include it in my recipes. Instead, I’m going to give a recipe for CAULI-RICE, which is a rice substitute that is used a lot by folks who don’t eat grains. Now, don’t turn up your nose at it until you’ve tried it! Yes, it’s made out of cauliflower, but because it’s not overcooked it doesn’t taste like cauliflower. And because all of these soups are spicy (not necessarily hot, but with strong seasonings), even if it did taste a bit like cauliflower you wouldn’t know because the spices would cover the taste. Try it, and see for yourself. Don’t let the rest of the family know that it’s not really rice and, after they’ve eaten it and enjoyed it, ask them what it was. You know as well as I do that if you tell them ahead of time that it’s cauliflower they probably won’t eat it!