The deal

So here's the deal. I didn't get a Wednesday paper because I had the paper stopped while we were in Idaho. And even if I did scour the online ads it's too late for this week.

Some of the great deals I've found at Bashas' since I've been back are:

Round steak for $1.69/lb. Add some of the canned tomatoes on sale and have swiss steak. Or a can of cr. of mushroom soup and some water, a little garlic salt to the crockpot for an easy peezy dinner.

Ground round for $1.69/lb., limit 2--I've gotten three packs of this already since Sat. and fried it off and bagged it for meals. It's in the freezer for when I need to make tacos, spaghetti sauce, burritos, shepherd's pie, casserole, etc. I even froze some raw that I can thaw out to make meatloaf out of. Or make into patties for hamburgers and freeze with waxed or parchment paper in-between the patties.

Whole chickens, .49/lb. Great price. Roast/bake the chicken or put it out on the grill on the side with the burners off and cook it out there to keep the house cool. I forget how long it takes that way. Google cooking the chicken on the grill and I bet you'll find the answer.

Dreyer's ice cream, 2/$5. Perfect as it is or scoop onto a peach/raspberry crisp or brownie or on top of strawberries.

Strawberries, .99. Make some freezer jam. I make enough in the spring and summer to sustain us for toast and as cheesecake topping throughout the year. Or if you're really a go-getter, make enough for your Christmas give aways now and then in Dec. you won't have to lift a finger for friend's and neighbor's gifts. Or use the strawberries to top ice cream.

Bashas' large eggs for .69/doz. Killer price on eggs this week. I think that there was a limit of two at a time. You could make a frittata or quiche, deviled eggs, egg salad sandwiches, omelots, egg in the hole.

Stokely's canned vegetables and Food Club tomatoes, .69. Taco soup, corn and bean salad or salsa, Chili, or vegetable side to your roast chicken.

I'm Home

I've been in Idaho the past week. I've seen lots of corn fields, wheat fields, hay and barns and even one very bloated dead cow. Ew. Photos to follow. I'll forgo the photo of the bloated dead cow waiting for the "dead" truck to pick it up. My kids think I am warped that I took a picture of it. Can you believe that there is such a thing as a "dead" truck? We went a different way this time and went through Las Vegas, aka Lost Wages. Hoover Dam was amazing and we went through all of the dam jokes we could think of, such as, there's the Dam water, the Dam bus, the Dam car, the Dam bridge, the Dam boats, etc., etc. Even saw the bronze statues that my Fantasy book genre loving son tells me are talked about in one of the Percy Jackson books. I got a killer picture of them as we wound around the road on the Dam and he, being the book nerd that he is, thought it was great that we have a picture of them. It is a 15-16 hr. drive from Phoenix to Boise. We stayed the first night in Layton, Utah at the Hilton Garden Inn. I had never stayed at a Hilton Garden Inn before. Still a little pricey but nice. Then on to Boise and Meridian where we stayed for five days. We ate at the hubs favorite Chinese Restaurant on the Planet, Golden Star. Good Chinese food but they cannot for the life of them get any of the American items that they have on their menu right. Or maybe it's just me that they have the problem with. The husband and the kids split 3 cords of wood with Grandpa and rode four wheelers around the block. We took a day with the brother in laws and sister in laws and took a drive to where my father in law was born and grew up, up in the hills of Ola and Sweet. On the trip home we decided to do it in 3 days, stopping off the first night in Layton again so that we could go to Lagoon amusement park in Farmington, Utah. Can I tell you that when I was a kid that the roller coaster there looked old. That was 35 years ago. No way I was getting on that thing again. It is ancient. I saw a sign that said it was built in 1921. My sis in law helped me get tickets online for Lagoon the night before we left Idaho. She is a whiz at getting deals and just for fun typed in "Lagoon promotion code" in the google box. She found two of them. I ended up getting $12 off per ticket for a total of $48 savings. Great trip, great to be home.
St. George Temple, St. George, Utah


Corn field, Meridian, Idaho
Another corn field
Wheat field, Meridian, Idaho
The story of our life. Our vaction life, that is.
On the way to Ola
A sign in Ola, Idaho, next to a school. I thought it was funny.
Cows eating in Emmett, Idaho
Somewhere in Northern Utah. I love contrasting field colors.
Lagoon Amusement Park, Farminton, Utah. The old, old, old roller coaster
The hubs loves old tractors, this one was on a trailer. He had to speed up so that I could snap a picture of it. Sorry. Glare from the window
On approach to Hoover Dam, the new bridge they've built
The statues talked about in the Percy Jackson book. Not sure which book of the series Lake Mead

A strange obsession

The last time I had bratwurst for dinner, I put the Polynesian dipping sauce from Chick Filet on it. YUM. I know, it just doesn't make sense. But it works for me. Maybe all of the acidity in the sauce cuts through the fattiness of the sausage and that's what I like about the combination.

So tonight I had bratwurst for dinner and I thought that the leftover sweet and sour sauce from the sweet and sour pork the other night might be good on it. Tasted just like the Polynesian dipping sauce from Chick Filet.

My husband used to buy the Yoshida's brand sweet and sour sauce to put on meatballs found in the frozen section at Costco and use for appetizers at weddings. So I'm thinking that this sweet and sour sauce would be good for that also. Also probably good in a crockpot full of lil smokies.

Or on a homemade burger with a ring of pineapple on top of it.

Frozen chocolate chip cookie dough balls dipped in chocolate

Yeah. You read the title right. Sheer genius from Joy the baker. Check it out.

http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2010/06/chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-balls/#more-2980

Sweet and Sour Chicken

I made the Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe tonight for dinner that was in the post earlier today that I got from the "two peas and a pot" blog. Except that I switched out pork from a pork loin instead of using chicken. It was yummy, yummy. I have never been a fan of homemade sweet and sour before because I could never find a sauce to my liking. This one is good. If I would make any changes, I might thicken the sauce slightly with some cornstarch and add it to the pork right before serving so as to keep the pork crisper. Everyone gobbled it down, even the child who is a self proclaimed hater of Asian cuisine. But then again, I don't really know how authentic sweet and sour pork made with ketchup is. I had some sauteed red pepper strips and pineapple chunks on the side for those who like to add one or both of those. Next time I may get crazy and have sauteed onions on the side.

Sweet and Sour Chicken
from the blog, "Two Peas and a Pot"


3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 C. cornstarch
1/4 C. canola oil

Cut the boneless chicken breasts into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Coat chicken in cornstarch. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients together and pour over the chicken.

Sauce:
3/4 C. sugar
4 T. ketchup
1/2 C. vinegar
1 T. soy sauce
1 tsp. garlic salt

Bake for 1 hr. at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes. If you want extra sauce, make another batch and put in a pot and bring to a boil. Keep at medium heat, stirring often for 6-8 minutes until reduced slightly.

Menu with what's on sale for the week of July 7-July 13

Just finished sewing on merit badges on the sash of the BS uniform. Half of them had been stapled on with numerous staples on each little circle. Board of Review tonight, they would have no use for staples holding on merit badges.

You can make this a cheaper week by omitting the shrimp that I put on the menu. If kind of put things over the top. But for those of you who like shrimp it will give you an alternative to the normal chicken and hamburger that are usually found on this blog.

And omit any of the fruit you don't want, that will make the price of this week go down.

$81.41

Breakfast
1-Cold cereal, milk and orange juice
2-Oatmeal, blueberry muffins from recips to right
3-Cold cereal, milk, apple juice
4-Oatmeal, orange juice
5-Cold cereal, milk, apple juice
6-Oatmeal
7-Egg, bacon breakfast tacos. Only use a couple of slices of bacon for this.

Lunch
1-Hot dog, grapes
2-Cottage cheese, fruit cocktail, carrots
3-PB&J sandwich, fresh peach, carrots
4-Bologna sandwich, pudding cup
5-PB&J sandwich, banana, brownie
6-Pizza, applesauce
7-PB&J sandwich, popcorn

Dinner
1-Teriyak london broil, shrimp and pineapple kebobs, green salad, crusty bread
2-Sweet and sour chicken, Rice, vegetable See http://twopeasandapot.blogspot.com/2010/07/sweet-and-sour-chicken.html
3-Spaghetti, red sauce, garlic bread
4-Red or green chicken enchiladas, salad
5-BLT's, deviled eggs
6-Shrimp tacos, lettuce (cut into shreds from bag salad), tomato, cheese, sour cream
7-Leftovers

Dessert/snacks:
Popcorn
Brownies
Strawberries (add a can of whipped cream from Bashas, Food Club for $1.99 if you wish to have Strawberries and cream

Grocery List:
Albertson's
Blueberries, .99
London broil, $1.77 lb., buy 1 lb. if you can
Albertson's milk, $1.67, limit 2, buy 2
Malt O Meal or Albertson's cereal, .88, buy 3
Bar S meat franks, .88
Bar S meat bologna, .88
don Pancho flour tortillas, .88, buy 2
Hot house tomatoes, .88 lb., buy 1 lb.
Medium raw shrimp, $3.99 lb, in a 2# bag for $7.98
Albertson's taco shells, 10/$10
La Moderna Pasta, 7 oz., 4/$1, buy 2 at .50
Donald Duck orange juice with coupon from ad, .99, limit 1
Freschetta Pizza with coupon from ad, $3.77
Albertson's sandwich bread with coupon from ad, .88, limit 3, buy 3
Albertson's Premium bacon $2.48 with coupon from ad, limit 2, buy 1

Bashas
Red or green seedless grapes, .88 lb, buy 2 lbs.
California peaches, .88 lb, buy 3 lbs. at $2.64
Sanderson Farms boneless skinless chicken, $1.77 lb, buy 3 lbs. at $5.31
Crusty bread, $1.19, buy 2
Las Palmas enchilada sauce, 2/$4, buy 1
Food Club applesauce, 2/$3, buy 1
Bashas hot dog buns, $1.29
Food club pudding cups, .88
Bashas cottage cheese, $1.79
Dole bananas, .48 lb., buy 5 lbs. at $2.40
Eggs, aprox. $1.39, buy 2 doz.

Fry's
Strawberries, .88, buy 2
Kroger shredded cheese, $2.99
Kroger sour cream, $1
Dole Premium Classic Salad, $1, buy 2
Fry's fruit cocktail, $1, buy 1, buy one Pineapple chunks, $1
Birdseye steamfresh or Pictsweet vegs, $1
Duncan Hines Brownie mix, $1
Kroger popcorn, $1
Langer's apple juice, $1.39
Kroger mini peeled carrots, $1
Rice, I've allowed for $2.99
Kroger peanut butter, I've allowed for $1.49
Fry's spaghetti sauce, I've allowed for $1.19

Items not on the grocery list:
Condiments
mayo
brown sugar
white sugar
oil
flour
soy sauce
ketchup
vinegar
garlic
dry mustard
bamboo grilling sticks

Other great deals this week:
Kroger fruit snacks, $1-Fry's
Big K soad, .69-Fry's
English cucumber, $1-Bashas
Food Club mini marshmallows, .88-Bashas
Food Club whipped cream, $1.99-Bashas
Ground beef, 5# or more, $1.77 lb.-Albertson's
Libby's saurkraut, 10/$10-Albertson's
Rosarite refried beans, .88-Albertson's
Mini carrots,10/$10-Albertson's
English cucumber, 10/$10-Albertson's

Sprouts
Oatmeal, .69 lb., buy 2 lbs. at $1.38

Favorite Chicken

Favorite Chicken aka Chicken Risotto
From Sooz

6 T. butter/margarine
1 lb. chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 C. uncooked rice
3 green onions, chopped
3 C. chicken broth
1 tsp. basil
1 C. shredded cheese

In a large skillet melt 2 T. butter. Add chicken and cook over medium heat about 5 minutes. Remove chicken from skillet. Add 4 T. butter, rice and garlic to skillet and cook until rice is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add green onions and mushrooms if desired. Cook 2 minutes. Stire in chicken broth and basil. Bring to a boil; cover and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in chicken, continue simmering until chicken is heated and rice is tender, about 5 minutes. Top with cheese and serve! Makes about 6 servings.