My Favorite Bargains This Week

Grocery Outlet, Eureka:

North Coast Organic Apple Sauce with Berries 24 ounce (1 lb. 8 oz) $1.29 

Eden Organic Sauerkraut 32 ounce (2 lbs) $2.99 - the only ingredients in this product are the following Organic Cabbage, Water and Sea Salt


 Live Butter Lettuce $2.99

Glacier Foods Freestone Frozen Peaches 2 lbs $1.99

Eureka Natural Foods: 

Beelers 2 pound Bacon with No Nitrates, No Nitrites or other icky stuff, $11.99 

Organic Braeburn Apples   $0.89 per pound 

Organic Fuji Apples of all sizes, tiny to big  $1.19 per pound 

Organic Cauliflower $1.49 per pound ( although this is considered a clean veggie, I like to buy organic when I can and the price is comparable if not cheaper than non-organic right now) 

Costco:

Organic Fresh Blueberries From Chile $6.49  for 24 ounces

Organic Frozen Blueberries $10.99 for 3 lbs

Brussels Sprouts  2 lbs $3.79

Italian Summer Squash

4-5 very large yellow summer squash, cut into strips ( I cut them in half and then into strips because they were so large)

2 yellow onions thinly sliced (or any onion of your choice)

2 tsp minced garlic

1 1/2 tsp basil

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

2 bay leaves

olive oil

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and cook unti tender.  Then add the tomatoes, , squash and remaining ingredients and simmer covered over low heat until squash is done to your liking.  Stir occasionally while it is cooking and don't forget to remove the bay leaves before serving.

Dinner in a Hurry!

Last night was one of those scrounge and throw it in a pot dinners, today is grocery shopping day so the night before can be a bit scarce.  Funny thing is it ended up being the best soup ever!  It got high fives from all the kids and that is a hard thing to do.  Unfortunately I didn't' keep track of amounts on my ingredients.  But after it was such a success, I sat down with my oldest daughter and we tried to recall everything that went into that pot so we can try to recreate it.  If we succeed you will definitely see it here. 
 Here is a list of the ingredients, the base was actually leftover Italian style yellow squash (which is yellow squash with onions, basil and canned tomatoes).  I will post that recipe right after I finish this post.

Everything But the Kitchen Sink Soup

This makes a huge stock pot of soup, we had some leftovers which the kids were happy about.  Lunch for them today!

3 boxes of chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes
4 scallions chopped
1/2 red onion chopped
1 leftover batch of Italian Yellow Squash
3 pounds of Turkey Sausage Homemade Breakfast sausage
2 small bunches of Kale chopped
2-3 large handfuls of spinach chopped
Basil
1 tsp minced garlic
garlic powder
Onion powder
Pepper
1/2 tsp red Pepper flakes
2-3 mini yellow peppers
2-3 mini red peppers
fresh parsley chopped ( close to a cup)
Chopped Carrots
6 slices of Bacon Chopped and fried (I did this first and then cooked the turkey sausage in the grease)
Broccoli chopped (small amount)
entire bunch of  celery including leaves chopped


Combine and simmer until done, yummy!  Like I said if I succeed at re-creating this I will post a more exact recipe later.

Spanish Cauliflower Rice

This is my version of traditional Spanish Rice with a twist, it's not rice!  It's actually cauliflower, and  it is so good, you won't believe you are eating cauliflower!

2 heads of cauliflower, just florets removed and pulsed in food processor till size of rice,  (save the stalks for making soup or broth later).

3 TBSP bacon grease

1 onion chopped

2 cloves of Garlic chopped

1/2 a small green pepper, chopped, (I was out so I subbed 1 mini red and 1 mini yellow pepper and it was great!)

1 (10 ounce) can Mexican Recipe Stewed tomatoes (I chopped my tomatoes smaller)

1 teaspoon Hot Mexican Style Chili Powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Heat your bacon grease in a heavy skillet, I always use my cast iron 10" pan.  Add the onion, peppers and garlic and saute for a few minutes till onions are soft.  

Then add your riced cauliflower and fry over high heat for a couple of minutes.  Stir in your canned Mexican tomatoes and continue to cook for a couple more minutes over high heat until the liquid has evaporated, stirring only occasionally.

And your done, serve it up and enjoy.  

A great quick, easy, tasty side dish. 

Try adding a protein to it for a complete meal.   It is a very forgiving recipe, so you could try adding some Jalapeno, cilantro, whatever sounds good to you.  I like it just like this, mildly spicy, if you want it more bland try substituting regular chili powder for the hot chili powder.  

Enjoy!