What’s for Dinner Wednesday - Utilize the markdowns!

Unfortunately I can’t tell you what is in the sale papers for this week. Mine were absent from my usual Tuesday mail bundle. Perhaps it was the preplanned three day weekend that turned into four due to snow. Whatever the reason, I have no fabulous deals to point out to you. I can, however, tell you about a few things that were on our menu.

Most grocery stores have an area for meat that is nearing it’s expiration date. This is where I find some of my most wonderful treasures! Because I am feeding a fair sized family, I don’t have to worry about not using all of it before it goes bad. Also, because I make up my menu on shopping day, I don’t worry about forgetting about my find. This past week I found a one pound package of smoked Cajun sausage for 99 cents! Woo Hoo! Meat for less than a dollar a pound! Yes, sir, I’ll take all 4. Three of them found their way into my freezer. I also found a 12 ounce package of sliced bacon for 99 cents. While it wasn’t quite as cheep as the sausage, it’s still below the $2 per pound limit that I have set for myself.

The bacon was used for my sweetie’s Valentine’s Day breakfast. There was even enough left for a little kitchen experiment of my own. I mixed up a batch of cornbread, then mixed in a little of the bacon grease and bacon bits that I’d just fried up. I dropped spoons of my batter into my nice black, greasy cast iron skillet. Oh yum! They turned out fantastic! A pan of cornbread is super cheep to make. The portion of bacon was probably only about 10 cents worth. Less than $1 to get my boys up and moving just from the smell wafting into their bedrooms makes me a happy momma.

The sausage went toward a slow cooker dinner. Those are my favorite kind. The best part is that there are only 4 ingredients: a bag of black beans, a bag of frozen corn, a package of sausage, chopped tomatoes or salsa. I used the salsa because that’s what I had on hand. I cooked up a pot of rice to be served in the bottom of our bowls just to bulk it up a little.

1 lb dried beans = about $1
1 lb frozen corn = about $1
    Or 2 cans
1 lb sausage = clearance $1
1 can chopped tomatoes = about $.75
    Or homemade salsa = pennies
A cup or two of rice = around $.25

Liz Price = less than $4.00 for supper for 6 people. That’s tough to beat.