Stuffed Portabella with Garlic Toast

Hey my hungry clan!!! I realize I'm pretty much talking to myself but pfffft at least I'm eating good!

Tonight I'm fixing a stuffed portabella with texas garlic toast and tomato slices on the side. It was only a matter of timing I scammed on this TGIF loaded baked potato cheese dip at the 99¢ but what's really important is getting the mushrooms and then cram them with whatever sounds good.

It's kind of hard to put a price on this so I'll just be offering a guesstimate that will probably fall within a dollar of actual cost.

First I diced up a slice of white onion, about a 6" stalk of celery, couple of slices of zucchini and chopped some walnuts. I removed the stem from the mushroom and chopped that up, scraped the inside of the cap as well and then I put that along with the celery and onions in a pan with butter and sautéed them for 5 minutes or so.

 

I'm using a 1/2 bag of Mrs Cubbison's classic stuffing that I got of the cheapie bin at Food 4 Less. It's a two pack box so I definitely get my 79¢ worth. You can use stove top just as easily. After the veggies are done toss them in the stuffing and add just enough water to soften the bread crumbs

 

Next I put the zucchini slices in the cap and topped with pepperoncini pieces (if you want a real bite use jalapenos)

 

Next I added the stuffing so it was just a small mound over the top and added enough water to cover the bottom of the dish.

 

Cover with foil and put in the oven at about 375 for 15 minutes. Check and see if the mushroom is cooked well and if not add whatever time until it looks done.

While the mushroom was cooking I heated up the TGIF cheesy potato dip

 

If you've never tasted this it's definitely worth the 99¢, but not sure I'd pay a regular store price.

 

During the last few minutes of baking the mushroom I tossed in the Texas toast, sliced some tomato and topped it with crumbled Feta cheese. Then I topped the mushroom with the cheese sauce and wallah!

 

 

My random guesstimate would be around $3 or less for the entire meal.

 

ENJOY!

Unexpected Treasures today at the 99¢!!

Stopped at the one by my other house just to see if they had anything good and woweeee did they! I'm not sure on the prices of the dressing (it's a huge bottle) or the TGIF cheese sauce but I saw the same FETA cheese at Food 4 Less and it was priced $5.98. I imagine it's a quite a bit more at other stores like VONS. So instead I spent $5, got lots of good stuff and going to make a stuffed Portabella for dinner tonight!!! Yummmms!

70¢ for a squeeze of cheese? Chili Cheese Dogs for about 55¢ ea!!

Hey hungry people this is probably something you'll like more on colder days but we had drizzle yesterday so I decided to do one last hurrah before focusing on the warm weather foods.

I love der wienerschnitzel chili cheese dogs and even though the regular chili dogs are only 99¢ the cheesy ones cost approximately $1.69 a piece. That's 70¢ for a squeeze of cheese? Oh hell noooo...Der crazy!

You can whip these up in about 10 minutes or less.

OK here's your shopping list from the 99¢ store, minus the cheese (unless you're going squeeze brand) ----

(Get two chili's for 8 dogs)

 

I'm using boxed Velveeta on mine because I have plenty, but when I don't, I use this type from the 99¢ (or Dollar Tree) and it's good too. I'd recommend keeping this type in the cabinet so it squeezes out good and then after you top your chili with it put the plate in the microwave (for maybe 10 secs at a time) until it melts good.

Now your hot dogs at the 99¢ are going to vary from crap brands to better brands and if you're lucky you might strike it rich on one like this---

 

(I'll note here that even when I show a pk of dogs and there are only 4, they were originally a full 8pk or sometimes 10)

 

I also found these one day when I made a random drop in. I haven't tried them yet but when I grill them you'll be the second to know!

 

 

And again, I can't stress the point if you see a good deal on stuff like this (and have the spare change) grab what you can and freeze for later. They normally carry Bar S brand and Hoffy but Hoffy seems to get s tough skin on the BBQ so I avoid them for anything else too. Bar S is ok....but sometimes you can even get Famer John brand at Food 4 Less for a decent price. Last week they were 88¢.

 

Alrighty now comes the chili. The drawback of beanless chili is stores tend to charge a lot more than regular beaned chili, so I was normally buying mine at Sav a Lot Foods for around $1.29 or so.

 

Then I met Dolores!!! This same brand is sold in regular stores in a larger size, but this one comes from the 99¢ (in the freezer section) and while it's not a 100% regular stocked item, it is usually available on one trip or the next. I try to keep 2 in the freezer for when the mood strikes to fix some of these up. Depending on how much chili you want on yours this is plenty for 3 and could actually do 4 with a decent amount on each one. If your making the total 8 dogs then get two pkgs.

 

OK so heat the chili first and either boil the dogs at the same time or toss in the microwave after the chili. Put the dog in the bun, top with the chili and cheese and pop in microwave for about 30 secs and here you go!!!

 

 

Total cost in making 8 dogs around 55¢. In reality you've just made the entire chili cheese dog for less than that squeeze of cheese at DW!

 

Have a great day!

SIZE DOES MATTER!!! (avocado alert)

OK I'm just tossing this in there because the 99¢ has been having these nice sized avocados for like 2 months at least. They have great flavor, and what I've noticed is the general stores are advertising $1 avocados!!! But the problem is they are much smaller in size. So here is what the 99¢ is selling, and of you've bought your own somewhere else and the size doesn't compare? Try the 99¢ and YW!! :D

normal size dinner fork

Short Rib Dinner $3.00

Hello hungry people!!! This entry is going to show you how you can fix a great meal using store discounts. This may seem like an obvious thing for a lot of people but I'm running into people who really aren't all that familiar with shopping for themselves and tend to spend more on what seems simple (like a pizza or fast food) when something like this is cheaper and almost just as simple.

These short ribs were originally $8.21. The potatoes sell at Albertsons for over $4 unless on sale, but I'm sure they probably run somewhere in the $3+ range at someplace like F4L (food 4 less) but for the time being the 99¢ has them. The lg can of greens beans is a more normal than not item but to be safe don't just run in thinking you'll be leaving with them. You can always go for the 10/$10 frozen bags that tend to be on sale a lot at Ralphs or F4L.

OK so using the regular prices----

Ribs-----------$8.21
Potatoes------$3.00+
Green Beans-$1.00
Total             $12.21

Now here's where your savings kick in. The ribs were on sale for $6.21 at VONS, but also were in the e-coli bin at 50% off so the actual cost was $3.07. We also took off at least $2.00 on the potatoes.

New Price----

Ribs-------------$3.07
Potatoes--------$1.00
Green Beans---$1.00
Total                $5.07

Now the cost is less than 1/2 it's original and if your fixing it for 1 person that means you've got dinner for tonight plus leftovers to freeze and have another night, so the cost is approximately $2.50 per meal. Try getting that price at any restaurant!! No really.....go try and get back to me. :)

Normally I would be BBQing these ribs and even though the weather is outstanding right now I'm still going to opt for doing them in the oven. I've got them marinating in this great BBQ sauce and while it's a bit pricey it's well worth it. OK I'll admit I got it at the 99¢ last month! There were several flavors and it's great tasting.....but for those of you that missed it, you can usually find Hunts at the 99¢ or F4L pretty much all the time.

I get most my spices at the 99¢ as well, but something to also keep in mind is there are some items that seem like a deal at the 99¢ until you see it elsewhere cheaper. This is one of those things. You can get some of the same popular spices (same name brand) for 50¢ out of a bin at Walmart. So again it's about keeping prices in your mind of who sells for less but you don't spend $5 in gas to get there.

Anyways I don't think this is in the Walmart bin (it's more stuff like garlic salt, powder, parsley) but I use this tenderizer seasoning from...ummmm....uhhhhh........oh YEAH!! The 99¢!!!

   Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..............................................

 

Again I'm using the 2qt pot for the green beans so you can see that can gives you a HUGE ASS portion that could actually stretch over into 3-4 meals if you're not a green bean piggy like I am. The good news is for those of us with gardens this becomes a great treat because nothing tastes so good as home grown. For those of you that don't, no crying (yes there is crying in cooking but not right now) because you can get some great fresh ones at the (yeah yeah yeah) 99¢ or even on sale at sprouts at a low prices. I've got mine on low with a teaspoon margarine, a small piece of ham bone (left from Easter ham) and some of the ham fat I always save and freeze to use for flavor. Same with Bacon grease and chicken broth after I boil chicken for whatever.

 

 

The potatoes are good for the grill, but again I'm just putting them in the oven, adding some shredded cheese and a dab or sour cream once done and here's a tasty Rib dinner for under $3.00!

 

 

 ENJOY!! And feel free to share you great finds out there or share ideas!!

75¢ Stuffed Bell Peppers

Alrighty let's get cooking!

You'll need---

4lg bell peppers or 6 small ($1)
1 cup white rice (69¢ or less)
1 can of cheddar or cream type soup ($1 or less)
Some type of cheese to top off once baked. Some idea---sliced cheese, Velveeta cheese, shredded cheese or even Parmesan.

Total price without the cheese and spices----

$2.69/6=45¢ ea. $2.69/4=67¢ ea.

Lately the 99¢ has been having bags of stuffed bell peppers but aside from those, the various little farmers markets (actual stores not the weekly swap meet type) sells greens one 4/$1 and sometimes the other colors too if they have overstock. In my case I have 6 small red ones, plus a green one to dice up in the rice mix. IMO (I can have one because it's my blog hehe) this would probably also fill 4 lg peppers and be less than 75¢ per serving.

So we start by adding just enough water to cover 1 cup rice and teaspoon of margarine or butter (if you can splurge on butter leave now this is for poor people lol) in a 2 quart pan. What is 2 qt you ask? It's the one that's bigger than a sauce pan. Which one is the sauce pan? Use GOOGLE! In any case it looks like this----

2qt pot

And yes I did see the water leaking out of that yellow container when I came out here to upload the pics haha

OK back to business---Heat on medium and stir frequently until it reaches boiling and then cover, reduce heat to low for about a minutes, turn off heat and let sit while still covered. DON'T peek you'll let out the steam!!!!

Next (while in my case your waiting for your power to be restored by SDGE) cut the tops off the peppers and clean out the insides.

Now at the time of the pic I was going to put the tops on while baking but this is now a day later (thx to SDGE) and I decided I'm not going to bother and besides they get sloppy. Hey made nice pic though! :) So you're better off to just dice off what you can from the tops and use that like I did the extra green one I had. You don't need a lot, just something to add more taste to the rice.

 

I decided to make this batch using mushroom soup but you can use the cheddar mix, creamed broccoli or any other that have a nice creamy texture. Dump the soup in (don't add any water) toss the diced pepper in the rice and stir on low heat until mixed in good, add whatever seasonings, salt, pepper, etc to your own taste...

 

(BTW, not to brag but when I grabbed the can of soup out of the cupboard it was one I got out of the cheapsters bin at food 4 less and actually was 49¢ instead of $1 so even cheaper than 75¢ peppers for me!!! muhahahahahaha)

 

And now it's time to get to stuffing!!! Using a teaspoon (or tbl spoon for large ones) scoop the mixture in and push down so it fills the entire pepper until it's even to the top. Pour about a 1/4" of water in to the dish,  cover with foil and put in the oven at about 400. Set timer for 30 minutes.

 

At 30 minutes you should see the peppers starting to "give way" or shrivel from baking. At this point depending on how crispy or soft you want the actual pepper it's time to make a DECISION!!!!!

 

I KNOW Dude!!!! (or as my friend AD would say..Dudette) this is where YOU have to step up to the plate!!!!!! 

 

Mine look like this right now. If  yours are black (or even dark brown) looking at this point, abort abort!!!! Call Pizza Hut or make a sandwich!

 

OK so assuming you're not eating Pizza right now...or maybe you are and thinking---WTH did I do wrong here? (oven temp and slacking off would be my guess) I went ahead and added what I will call---put this in your Earthquake kit (with a can of SPAM and have a great fresh meal in 2100) or shortened....VC!!!

 

You can add whatever you want. (Well DUH!) But I'm going with VC and then turning off the oven letting them sit in there until the cheese is melted.

So there they are then and here they are NOW!!!!!

 

Again, if yours don't look like this....I can't help you!!! Assuming they do, I took a little fresh broccoli tops and crumbled them on top.

 

 

 And here is the final view just before I munched down. BTW that's guacamole I made because the avocado needed to be used..

 

So there's your first thing to try, and I hope they turned out good. They are simple to freeze and thaw (just put them in a ziplock baggie) and you can use them as a main course, or a side dish with some type of meat. I also make them by putting shredded chicken in the rice and that's more of a main course thing. But hey, get crazy and mix it up!!! WOOT!

 

If you make them, let me know how they turned out

99¢ Alert

Stopped by the 99¢ on the way home (58th/University) and they had piles of these Velvetta Cheesy Skillet Dinners--Broccoli and Cheese. While it says add 1 lb diced cooked chicken breast, I'll more than likely substitute that with diced ham since I have 10lbs of it in the kitchen right now. However that will be for another day this week as tonight I'm going to share how to make stuffed bell peppers for about 50¢ a piece.

A look at the 99¢ Only Store Deals

I think I gotten the look I want for now, so let's get down the nitty gritty.

First and foremost when and where you shop can make a huge difference in the cost of a simple meal. When I see people spending $3-$4 for the EXACT same product they can get at the 99¢ Only store, Sav a Lot Foods or Dollar Tree.

The 99¢ has a vast selection of fruits and vegetables as well as name brand items to meet just about any budget. They also get weekly deliveries of various breads from Sara Lee where you can get some great bread for a much lower price. SF Sour Dough, lower calorie, Oro Wheat, etc..

If you're throwing a party you can't beat their 24pks of hot dog or hamburger buns and several times I've stocked up on some pretty sweet deals on hot dogs like you see below.

 

Something that also needs to be remembered when shopping at the 99¢ if you see a great deal and don't buy it that day, don't plan on buying it the next day either! LOL My garage freezer has about 12 boxes of Magnum Almond Ice Cream Bars right now because they had them piled high in the freezers last week. Those did stick around a few days but it's rare. So YES you see it you buy it or cry later. :)

Right before the holidays the La Mesa store had Cracker Barrel White Cheddar Cheese and Johnsonville Summer Sausage. I priced the exact same cheese at Ralphs and Vons and it was around $4.

So those are just some of the great finds over the recent months but you just never know when you drop in what might be waiting to go home with you! In my next entry I'll rate the various 99's around town in terms of choices and check out lines.

 

Until then....Happy April Fools Day and keep safe!