Food Lion Deals 5/1- 5/7

Starting tomorrow at Food Lion there's a few great deals that you want to pick up to help out your grocery budget.  I'm trying really hard to get my grocery budget back under control.  I haven't couponed in awhile (besides yesterday) so the past few months have been insanely expensive. Here are the deals:

•  Limes, 20¢ ea.
• Chicken Breasts Value Pack $1.79/lb
• Boneless Chuck Roast $2.99/lb
• Pepperidge Farm GoldFish $1.67
• Ronzoni Pasta, 12-16 oz, 99¢

-$1/2 Ronzoni pasta portions (regional), SS 3/24
-$1/2 Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta (Facebook) PRINTABLE
-$1/2 Ronzoni Healthy Harvest pasta (regional), SS 4/28
(makes it 49¢ if included)


What to do with all those limes?

The limes are at a price where you would want to stock up for 6 months, but after doing some research on how to store all those limes, I don't recommend getting more than 3-4 months worth.  It turns out you can freeze the limes.  I love lime slices in my water.....and other choice drinks which I won't be having until NOVEMBER. :)  I'll survive.....

You can freeze limes whole, but apparently they will be a little mushy, but the juice will still be perfect.  You can also slice them and freeze them on a cookie sheet, and then once frozen place them in a freezer bag and they'll be perfect for throwing into your water....or your alcoholic beverage that I will dream about....  And lastly, you can go ahead and juice those limes and freeze the juice in ice cube trays and once they're frozen, pop them out into a freezer bag.  Fresh limes, all summer long, great price.

Chicken Breasts & Chuck Roasts

These are also at a price per pound where you would want to get 3 months worth.  Again, I only recommend about 3-4 months worth because I just don't like meat to be freezer burned at all.  These go on sale enough throughout the year where 3-4 months worth at a time is fine in my eyes.  Here's some of the recipes I'm thinking about trying with some of the chicken I plan on getting.

One of the things I'm thinking about doing is placing some of the chicken breasts in a freezer bag with homemade Neely's BBQ Sauce.  This recipe calls for this sauce to be cooked on the stove for an hour and fifteen minutes before using.  HAHA.  Did you laugh too?  I'm going to mix all ingredients in with the chicken and then just throw it in the freezer bag.  When I'm ready to cook, I'll thaw it out and then dump it in the freezer and hope it all turns out.  I feel like it will.  I hope it will.....

I also plan on cooking some of the chicken, shredding it in my food processor and then freezing it in one pound freezer bags so that it's ready to go for soups, chicken salad and casseroles. Saves me a step later when I'm ready to throw it all together.  Here's my favorite chicken salad recipe: Giada's Italian chicken salad! It's so good!  And, here's another recipe is like to try with some of this chicken: Chicken Picccata! Seems easy without a lot of ingredients!

And, you're about to find out the reason I started this collection of recipes.  There's a recipe SOMEWHERE on my computer, or pinterest or bookmark that I want to make for this chuck roast and it would be a little more "spring time-ish" than just making a beef stew with it.  So, when I come across it, I'll add it to my collection.

HERE it is!!!  Turns out I didn't have it saved anywhere, just came across it one day and decided I would remember where I found it.....I guess at that point I wasn't pregnant and still had a brain and thought I'd know exactly where to find it....That was then, this is now.  HOT & SPICY ITALIAN DRIP BEEF

Be sure to check your email to see if there's any Food Lion coupons to use on meat or produce this week.  If you're not signed up for their Shoppers Companion email, you can do it here.


Oh, and if you want to see all the deals this week at Food Lion with their coupon matchups visit TheSmartDollars.

Neely's BBQ Sauce Recipe

Ingredients
2 cups ketchup
1 cup water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
5 tablespoons light brown sugar
5 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon ground mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce


Directions
In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring frequently, for 1 hour 15 minutes.




Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/down-home-with-the-neelys/neelys-bbq-sauce-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback

Lasagna Soup

Makes 8 servings

for the soup:

• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1-1/2 lbs. Italian sausage
• 3 c. chopped onions
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 T. tomato paste
• 1 28-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 c. chicken stock
• 8 oz. mafalda or fusilli pasta
• 1/2 c. finely chopped fresh basil leaves
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
for the cheesy topping:
• 8 oz. ricotta
• 1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• pinch of freshly ground pepper
additional cheesy yum:
• 2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparation

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage, breaking up into bite sized pieces, and brown for about 5 minutes. Add onions and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and stir well to incorporate. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the tomato paste turns a rusty brown color.

Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add uncooked pasta and cook until al dente. Do not over cook or let soup simmer for a long period of time at this point, as the pasta will get mushy and absorb all the soup broth. You may even want to consider cooking the noodles separately, and then adding some to individual bowls before ladling the soup over them. This would be an especially smart move if you are anticipating any leftovers. Right before serving, stir in the basil and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheesy yum. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.

To serve, place a dollop of the cheesy yum in each soup bowl, sprinkle some of the mozzarella on top and ladle the hot soup over the cheese.

From: AFarmGirlDabbles

Tortellini Vegetable Soup

What you'll need

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 small zucchini, diced
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
• 5 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon dried basil (more if fresh)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup canned crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 to 9 ounces fresh or frozen tortellini
• (cheese or meat filled)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• Black pepper, to taste

How to make it

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium soup pot or large saucepan. Add the onion, zucchini, and carrot. Saute over moderate heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until the onion is soft and translucent.
2. Add the stock, basil, bay leaf, tomatoes, and salt to the pot. Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a low boil. Add the tortellini and bring the soup back to a low boil. Cook it for 2 minutes, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 5 to 6 minutes longer. Gently stir in the parsley and pepper during the last minute or so. Makes about 5 servings.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Homemade Flour Tortillas

Makes 12 tortillas

Ingredients

• 2  3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus a little extra for rolling the tortillas
• 5 tablespoons vegetable shortening, lard or 2 1/2 tablespoons of each (for the most authentic version)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup very warm tap water

Directions

Combine the flour and shortening in a large mixing bowl and work the shortening into the flour with your fingers until completely incorporated.  If this isn’t done thoroughly (until no particles of shortening remain visible), the tortillas will have an irregular texture.  Dissolve the salt in the water and pour about 2/3 cup over the dry ingredients and immediately work it in with a fork; the dough will be in large clumps.  If all the dry ingredients haven’t been dampened, add the rest of the liquid (plus a little more, if necessary).  Scoop the dough onto your work surface and knead until smooth.  It should be a medium-stiff consistency – not firm, but not quite as soft as most bread dough either.

Divide the dough into 12 portions and roll each into a ball.  Set them on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and let rest for at least 30 minutes – this makes the dough easier to roll.

Heat an ungreased griddle or heavy skillet over medium to medium-high heat.

Flatten a ball of dough, flour it, then roll forward and back across it; rotate a sixth of a turn and roll forward and back again; continue rotating and rolling until you reach a 7-inch circle, lightly flouring the tortilla and work surface from time to time.

Lay the tortilla on the hot griddle (you should hear a faint sizzle and see an almost immediate bubbling across the surface).  After 30 to 45 seconds, when there are browned splotches underneath, flip it over.  Bake 30 to 45 seconds more, until the other side is browned; don’t overbake the tortilla or it will become crisp.  Remove and wrap in a cloth napkin placed in a tortilla warmer.  Roll and griddle-bake the remaining tortillas in the same manner – stack them one on top of the other in the warmer.

Sweet Chicken Bacon Wraps

Makes 12-15 wraps

4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts 
1 (1-pound) package sliced bacon
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons chili powder

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes. Cut each bacon slice into thirds. Wrap each chicken cube with bacon and secure with a wooden pick. Stir together brown sugar and chili powder. Dredge wrapped chicken in mixture. Coat a rack and broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place chicken wrap on rack in broiler pan. Bake 350 for 30 to 35 minutes or until bacon is crisp. 

Source: Paula Deen and The Food Network

CrockPot Potato Soup

1 30oz. bag of frozen, shredded hash browns {I used Ore Ida}

3 14oz. cans of chicken broth

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/4 tsp. ground pepper

1 pkg. cream cheese {don’t use fat free.  It WON’T melt!!!}

In a crockpot, combine everything EXCEPT for the cream cheese.  Cook for 6-8 hours on low heat.  About 1 hour before serving, add cream cheese and keep heated until thoroughly melted.  Serve with cheese, sour cream, bacon bits, green onions, or whatever else you think would be good!!

From, Pearls, Handcuffs, & Happy Hour

Pioneer Woman's Homemade Ranch Dressing

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 to 1/2 milk or buttermilk, depending on how thick you want it
1/4 cup Italian flat-leaf Parsley
1 tbsp Fresh Chives
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
1/2 tsp distilled white vinegar
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp black pepper
dash of hot sauce
2 heads of lettuce
fresh bacon (cooked & crumbled), chives & grated cheese (this is what I added in)

Mince the garlic with a knife and then sprinkle the salt on it and mash it into a paste with a fork. Chop the parsley, chives and all of the other herbs very finely and add to the garlic.Wow, another great recipe from Pioneer Woman and a dressing that will be repeated for sure in my house.

In a bowl combine all ingredients, tasting frequently and adjusting seasonings as needed. Chill for a couple of hours before serving, thin with milk or buttermilk if desired.

Wash and dry the iceberg lettuce and then cut into wedges. Add the cooked bacon, chives and cheese (if desired) and then drizzle generously over the wedge.

Pimento Cheese

This is the BEST pimento cheese you will ever eat in your life.  Seriously, you will dream about this stuff at night....

Ingredients

6 cups freshly grated sharp Cheddar cheese (1 1/2 lb.)

• 1/2 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened 
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise 
• 1 tablespoon grated yellow onion
• 1 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 (7-oz.) jar whole peeled pimiento, drained and cut into fourths
• Garnish: freshly ground pepper

Preparation

1. Beat Cheddar cheese, cream cheese, mayonnaise, yellow onion, and ground red pepper with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer at medium speed 1 to 2 minutes or until blended but not smooth. Add pimiento; beat 1 to 2 minutes or until pimiento is shredded and mixture is blended and somewhat smooth. Garnish, if desired.

Louis Osteen, Southern Living
FEBRUARY 2012

Dinner tonight: Easy Vegetable Soup

Rain, rain go away. Come again some other day....how bout mid summer when my veggies really need you? Rainy days call for soup and grilled cheese. It's like they're all meant for each other. Rain, soup, grilled cheese.

Tonight I'm headed out for a "girls night" couponing/grocery shopping. (Try not to get too jealous...) so ill be making an easy vegetable soup. Here's the recipe (if you can consider it that)....

One can of each:

Cooked chicken(drained)
Minestrone soup
Bush's chili starter beans
Cream corn
Rotelle (or diced tomatoes with chiles)
Veg-all (mixed veggies) (drained)

Now, don't let your wrist get cramped from all the work involved in this recipe....

Open all cans and dump them in a large pot. Turn stove on med-low and let simmer until hot.

Now....while you wait you can hold the screaming child clinging to your leg....

Enjoy.....oh wait....do you need the recipe for the grilled cheese?

Tater Tot Casserole

This week at Food Lion there is a GREAT sale on ground beef.  It's a value pack on sale for $2/lb and there's a Food Lion coupon which I've given you the link below to print.  Combined with coupon, it comes to about $1.30 or  so a pound!!  It is a 73% beef, but I always drain the fat off anyways so it doesn't make much of a difference for me!  This sale ends Tuesday, so make sure to get some before then!!

Print your Food Lion Coupons to use on the ground beef.  You can print more than once, but you can't use more than one meat coupon at a time.  I've gone to the store a couple different times to get more than one pack to stock up.  It's a great price to stock up for at least 3 months.  After tomorrow I will have 14 lbs. of beef in my freezer.  :)  I'm excited, so I thought I'd share what I've done with the meat to make my life easy.

First, I cooked each pack of beef, about 4 lbs. at a time, in my crockpot. (Learned that from my friend Anna, over at SmartDollars.  I bought packs that were pretty close to 3 or 4 pounds so I could evenly divide it after it's cooked.  After it's cooked through, I drain it in a collander and dump it onto a cookie sheet covered with foil and spread out to cool a bit.  Then, separate it into 4ths or 3rds, according to however many pounds I got.

So, here's what I did....my first pack of meat was 4 pounds, so I took two separate pounds and put them into freezer bags to have on hand to make life easy when it comes to adding it to spaghetti sauce, or lasagna, quick tacos, anything really.  It will make those dinners that much easier, not having to cook that meat first.  Then, I made two casseroles to keep in my freezer.  I mixed all the ingredients into two separate freezer bags and then laid flat in my freezer.  I also wrote the directions on the front of the bag to make cooking easy.

Now, I have two meals that I pull out of my freezer to thaw, and then throw into my crockpot.  I'm cooking another 3 pound pack as we speak and I'm just going to put those into one pound increments and freeze, and I'm using one of those pounds for dinner tonight.  Here's the best part.... 7 meals, 1 mess!!  Woohoo!!  I'm heading back to get one more pack tomorrow, which I'm going to be making some baked ziti with to  stock my freezer.  I'll post that recipe later in the week.

Here's the recipe for my Tater Tot Casserole.  I have made it before and we really like it!!

Tater Tot Casserole Recipe

32 oz bag tater tots

1 lb ground beef, browned

½ t. salt

¼ t. pepper

2 cans green beans

1 can cr. Mushroom soup

½ chopped onion

¼ c. milk

Cheese (optional for sprinkling over after cooked)

Freeze all but tater tots & cheese in freezer safe bag.  Try to thaw the bag in the fridge, the night before cooking so it will spread out over tots easily.

(Write on bag) To cook, line crockpot with tater tots, cover with bag of ingredients.  Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3.  Sprinkle each serving with cheese.  

Baked Ziti

Baked Ziti 
Ingredients

• 1 pound dry ziti pasta (or really any kind of pasta would work- I actually used Penne pasta)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 pound lean ground beef (season with pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and minced garlic)
• 2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce (I added a zucchini to my sauce just for more veggies!)
• 8 slices provolone cheese
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 7-8 minutes; drain.
2. In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray 2 8x8 inch pans with non-stick cooking spray. Layer as follows in each pan: 1/4 of the ziti, 1/4 of the sauce, 4 slices of Provolone cheese, 1/2 of sour cream,  1/4 of ziti, 1/4 mozzarella cheese and 1/4 of sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese and remaining mozzarella cheese.
4. Bake covered for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.

ou can eat one for dinner now and freeze the other for dinner another day!

These fill the 8x8" pans to the top, so I cooked mine on a large cookie sheet just in case they bubbled over.

Recipe from SixSistersStuff

Hawaiin CrockPot Chicken

Combine all ingredients into a crockpot and cook on low 6-7 hours or high 3-4 hours.


4-6 chicken breasts or tenders
1 bottle Hawaiin marinade
1 can of crushed or diced pineapples

Easy Vegetable Soup

This is a "recipe" that I got from my mother in-law.  It's just a bunch of different cans of things that you mix together and it is the perfect soup for a cold, rainy night and takes literally 5 minutes to prepare.  It's so quick, easy, and the cleanup is a breeze!  My kinda meal!  I've listed the ingredients, and for one can of each I'd say you have a good 6 hearty servings.  It doubles and triples easily.  Just add one or two more cans of each item!


Ingredients:

1 can Minestrone
1 can Cream of Corn
1 can of Veg-all (mixed vegetables)
1 can Bush's Chili Starter Beans
1 can Rotelle (tomatoes with jalapenos)
1 can cooked chicken (I like Swanson)


Combine in a pot and cook over medium until heated through.  You could put it all in the crockpot all afternoon and let the flavors simmer together for a few hours.  Serve with grilled cheese, or salad and crusty bread if desired!!!

Slow Cooker Lasagna

Every time I use my crockpot I think, "why do I not use this thing everyday?"  It's so hard at 5 o'clock to get dinner made with a screaming toddler attached to your leg!!  I love crockpot recipes that are just ready to toss in without much work, and this is one of them!!  It's so easy to make, and I love the smell of it cooking all afternoon.  


First, brown your meat in a skillet and drain.  Add a jar of spaghetti sauce and one cup of water.  I stock up on ground beef when it's on sale and go ahead and brown a bunch of it and keep it in one pound packs in my freezer.  Then, when it's time to make a recipe like this one, I just pull it out and thaw it. So, in my case, I put my beef, sauce and water into a bowl and mix. Set aside.

Then, in a separate bowl combine your ricotta cheese, one and a half cups of your Italian Cheese, two tablespoons parmesan, egg, and fresh parsley.  

It doesn't have to be fresh parsley....but I love pulling fresh parsley from my garden!  Plus, it just makes it that much better!  

Now, you're ready to assemble.  Put one cup of sauce into your crockpot.  Lay out 3 of your lasagna noodles, broken to fit.  

Top this with half of your cheese mixture and spread out.  Don't worry about spreading it perfectly, because it will all melt together.  Then, top with two cups of sauce.  

Top with remaining noodles; then the rest of your cheese mixture and sauce on top.  Cover with lid.  Cook on low 4-6 hours until liquid is gone.  After it's cooked, top with remaining Italian Cheese and let it stand for ten minutes for it to melt.  I added a little Parmesan cheese on the top this time while its cooking.

I usually serve this with some crusty bread and a big salad!  I hope you enjoy this as much as we do!  I usually try to keep most of the ingredients on hand since it's so easy to throw together when I'm out of ideas!!






Ingredients:
1 lb. lean ground beef (could be substituted for Italian sausage)
1 (24 oz) jar spaghetti sauce
1 cup water
1 (15 oz) container of ricotta cheese (can use skim ricotta)
1 pkg. Kraft Italian Cheese (approx. 2 cups)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
6 regular lasagna noodles, uncooked

Directions:

Brown meat in large skillet; drain.  Stir in spaghetti sauce and water.  

In separate bowl, mix ricotta, 1-1/2 cups Kraft Italian cheese, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, egg and parsley.

Spoon 1 cup meat sauce into slow cooker; top with 3 lasagna noodles, broken to fit; and half of cheese mixture.  Cover with 2 cups meat sauce.  Top with remaining noodles, broken to fit; cheese mixture and meat sauce.  Cover with lid.

Cook on low 4-6 hours or until liquid is absorbed.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese; let stand, covered, 10 min. or until melted.


Recipe from SixSistersStuff

One Hour Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 c. warm water 
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/3 c. oil
• 2 Tbsp. yeast
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 1/3 c. flour

Directions

1. In a kitchenaid mixer bowl, mix together warm water, sugar, oil, and yeast. Let stand for 15 minutes until yeast mixture is bubbly.
2. Stir in salt and beaten egg to yeast mixture.
3. Gradually add flour. Dough will be kind of sticky, but add enough flour until it's manageable. Let dough rest in the kitchenaid bowl for 10 minutes.
4. Spray hands with non-stick cooking spray and form dough into balls. Place balls so they don't touch on a cookie sheet (18" x 26" pan). Let rise for 20 minutes.
5. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes.

Makes about 24 rolls.  

7 up Biscuits

2 c Bisquick mix
1/2 c sour cream
1/2 c 7up
1/4 c melted butter


Preheat oven to 450º

Cut sour cream into your Bisquick mix, then add 7up - it will make a soft dough. Now sprinkle your counter with a little Bisquick mix then add dough and pat it out.


Melt butter and pour it into a 9" square baking pan. Cut your biscuits up and arrange them in pan on top of melted butter.


Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.



Thanks, Monster Mama