Stockpile Supper - Sausage, Cabbage & Potatoes

I made a quick and easy supper from items that were very inexpensive due to sales at Harris Teeter last week.  

I got the Butterball Turkey Dinner Sausage that was on sale for $1.00 and the cabbage that was 39 cents a pound. I already had the Bob Evans mashed potatoes that were part of the meal deal the week before, and which had ended up costing 92 cents. 

My head of cabbage weighed a little over 2 pounds and cost 87 cents. I sliced up half of it and put it in a skillet with a little water to steam until soft. 

Then, I cut the sausage into bite-sized pieces and added it to the cabbage to warm up, since it was already cooked. 

The potatoes were easy to make in the microwave, and dinner was ready in about 15 minutes.

The total cost of this meal was $2.35 or about 59 cents per person! 

My Stockpile Supper - Sweet and Sour Meatballs

This was one of the easiest and most delicious stockpile suppers that I have made yet!

Some time last year, Reynolds crock pot liners were free during a Super Doubles even at Harris Teeter. Inside the box was a recipe for Sweet and Sour Meatballs, that I decided to make for my daughter's 16th birthday dinner. 

I had all of the ingredients needed in my freezer and pantry and all were free from various Super Doubles events, except for the Domino's Brown Sugar, which was a recent Saving Star freebie! 

I served the meatballs with this rice, which I also got for free with coupons a while back. 

Here is the original recipe:

Combine the following in your crock pot:

3 lbs frozen cooked meatballs

10 oz jar of sweet and sour sauce

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 medium red bell pepper, cubed

1 20 oz can of pineapple chuncks, drained

Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours or high for 4 to 5 hours.

I had a two pounds of meatballs, so I just reduced all the other ingredients a bit. It made just enough to serve the 5 of us dinner. I thought I had a green bell pepper in the fridge, but it had been used up in a salad, so I found a jar of red bell peppers in olive oil in the pantry and used a few of those instead.

My Stockpile Supper - Homemade Tomato Soup

I noticed that we had a lot of tomatoes from the garden and that some of them were starting to look soft, so I decided to use them up in a home-made tomato soup recipe for dinner. 

This also seemed like a good way to use up some the excess of free croutons that I had in my pantry from previous Harris Teeter Super Double events.

You may not have fresh tomatoes in your garden, but if you have a stockpile of canned tomatoes like I do in your pantry, those could also be used.

I made a triple batch of the original recipe, so that we had enough for more than one meal. 

First, I ran hot water over the tomatoes in order to easily slip the peels off.

This turned out to be a waste of water as it took a while, so I ended up filling the sink with hot water and letting the tomatoes soak in it until the peels were ready. 

Then, I chopped a few cloves of garlic, sauteed them in olive oil, and added in 2 large sliced onions, some salt, pepper, sugar, cloves and Italian seasoning.  

Once the onions were translucent, I added in all of the chopped tomatoes, which came to 12 cups. 






I let those cook over medium heat for a few minutes, then poured in 6 cups of chicken broth. You could also use vegetable broth. I also added a cup of milk.






Boil gently for about 20 minutes so that all the flavors can blend. Then, you can use a submersion blender or a food mill to make the soup a creamier texture. I didn't have either, so I carefully poured several ladlefuls at a time into my blender and pulsed.  You don't want the blender even half full, or you will have a hot, nasty mess when it spews out the top! Be sure to hold the top on while blending. 





Next, I melted 3 Tablespoons of butter and whisked in 3 Tablespoons of flour to make a roux, then cooked over medium until it was brownish. This thickens the soup a bit and adds flavor. Whisk a bit of the tomato mixture back in at first, then stir in all the rest in and simmer for a few minutes. 

At this point, I tasted the soup and found it was kind of bland, so I added more salt and pepper, then looked in my pantry for something to add that would give it more flavor. I found a can of Progresso Fire Roasted Tomato Recipe Starter, and added that, which helped.

It doesn't look like a lot of dinner, but it was very filling with the croutons. I used the cheddar/bacon ones for extra flavor. And we had enough left over for several more lunches or dinners! 

My Stockpile Supper - Chicken Cordon Bleu with Asparagus and Mashed Potatoes

Tonight we had a cheap, yummy and very easy supper:
- Barber Chicken Cordon Bleu - 4 for $1.00 at Harris Teeter Super Doubles today
- Fresh asparagus - $3.99 a lb at Food Lion last week, minus $1.00 produce FLIP and 20% cash back from Saving Star
- Betty Crocker boxed mashed potatoes that were free at Harris Teeter Super Doubles in November

I popped the chicken into the oven on a cookie sheet for 30 minutes, steamed the asparagus on the stove-top and, in the meantime, fixed the potatoes in the microwave. 

Total cost for dinner - about $1.00 per person! 

My Stockpile Supper - Shirataki Noodle Casserole

I had those Shirataki noodles in my fridge for a while that were 19 cents at Harris Teeter and was trying to figure out how to use them. I wanted to make some sort of Asian dish, but I didn't have all the oriental oils and spices necessary for any of the recipes I found. I finally decided to use them in a tuna noodle casserole. 

I had the Starkist tuna from last week's Super Doubles event at Harris Teeter in my pantry, but I didn't have any cream of mushroom soup. I found a jar Prego three cheese Alfredo sauce and a can a mushrooms, and decided to use them instead. I also found a can of peas from the last Food Lion Store Brand sale to add in. 

You have to rinse the noodles really well after you open and drain them, so that they don't smell and taste like the solution they are packed it. 


I layered the noodles into my casserole dish, then poured in the Alfredo sauce, then add the mushrooms and peas. 






Afterwards I stirred it all together and it looked a bit soupy, so I decided to add another can of tuna and to sprinkle some french fried onions on top.  

Then I popped it into the oven at 375 degrees for 1/2 hour. It came out good, but perhaps a little bland. Next time I would add some salt and pepper and a lot more french fried onions on top! 

I almost threw out the Prego jar without cutting the Campbell's Label for Education off, because it didn't look like the usual ones.

The Prego was 50 cents at Harris Teeter (same week as the Nasoya Shirataki noodles) and the French Fried onions were free at Harris Teeter during a previous Super Double event. This entire dish cost me about $2.00 to make and serves four people!

Did you know that the Tuna Noodle Casserole was invented by the Campbell's Soup company as a way to get people to buy more Cream of Mushroom soup?

My Stockpile Super - Pork Chops, Rolls & Veggies

This was a pretty easy dinner that I made with ingredients from my stockpile. 

Remember those pork chops that I got at Food Lion on my 1 cent shopping trip last month? I pulled those out of the freezer and fixed them with the Classic Four Cheese Kraft Fresh Take (which also came out of the freezer where it has been since October).

My daughter, Bridgette, prepared them while I got the rest of dinner ready.

The Birdseye Baby Potato Blend vegetables also came out of my freezer and I got the Pillsbury Crescent Rolls this week at Harris Teeter for 15 cents each. 

I missed this deal in my match-ups but it is still good through Feb 18th:  
Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (4 ct) - $1.00 each
- Load the the ZVR for 50 cents off 2 to your Vic card
- Activate your Saving Star offer to get back 40 cents on two
- Use this coupon, doubled:

Final Cost - 30 cents for two!

Anyway, the pork chops went into the oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, then the rolls went in with them for another 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, the veggies were cooked in the microwave, and dinner was served.

I wish my photo was sharper - I guess I blurred it in my hurry to sit down and eat! 

My Stockpile Breakfast - Craisin Bran!

This isn't really a recipe, but it cracked me up when my daughter took out a box of Total cereal and a bag of Mariani dried cranberries....

.....combined the two, and said "Look, Mom, I made Craisin Bran!"

The dried cranberries were free at Harris Teeter Super Doubles in October and the Total cereal was 24 cents at Harris Teeter, also in October.

My Stockpile Supper - Baked Beans and Sauage

I needed to take something to a potluck tonight for my daughter's end-of-season cheerleading banquet. Each grade was assigned a different type of dish, and her grade had to bring a main course. I wanted to bring something that tasted good and would serve a lot of people but didn't cost a fortune. Most of the other families had signed up to bring pasta dishes. Here is what I came up with:

I opened up three cans of baked beans from my pantry that I got last June during Super Doubles for 25 cents apiece, drained them and poured them into my crock pot:

I pulled 2 boxes of Jones sausage links that I got for 28 cents each at Giant last October out of the freezer and defrosted them in the microwave:

Then I mixed everything together and cooked on low for 5 hours:

Total cost for this dish that serves about 12 people: $1.31 or 10 cents each.  
Go Wolverines!!

My Stockpile Supper with Homemade Salsa

Here is an easy dinner that I made with the Jose Ole Taquitos and Knorr Mexican Rice from Harris Teeter that I got yesterday. I wanted salsa to dip the taquitos in, but we were out of all the free ones I got during prior Super Doubles, so I decided to make some from scratch. 

The ingredients you need for homemade salsa are:

1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes, drained (or two 15 oz cans)
1 can Rotel
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Cumin
Juice of 1/2 lime

First, dump the tomatoes and onions in to a food processor or blender:

Then add the Rotel and and minced garlic:

Next add in the salt, sugar, cumin and lime juice. I didn't have a fresh lime so I squirted in some juice from a bottle of lime juice that I had in my fridge:

Finally, pulse 7 or 8 times and taste. I didn't have any chips so I tested it with those Rice Thins that we got free recently with doubled coupons at Harris Teeter:

It had a bit of a kick due to the jalapeno peppers in the Rotel, but worked fine for my Taquitos and Mexican rice dinner:

There was a lot left over, so we will be munching on Tostitos during the Superbowl with what remained. Through tomorrow you can get Tostitos at Rite Aid for $2.00.  They are on sale for $3.00 and there is a $1.00 Video Value coupon. I picked up 2 bags today and paid with UP Rewards and my gift card!

My Stockpile Supper - Chicken Parmigiana

When Giant had those "Write Your Own" coupons back in October, I found these Banquet frozen chicken patties on sale for $1.50. I used the $1.00 coupon for frozen food and paid 50 cents out of pocket.

When I pulled them out of the freezer recently, I noticed they had a recipe on the back for Chicken Parmesan and I decided to try it.  I already had the spaghetti noodles and pasta sauce on hand that I had previously gotten for free.  

I baked the chicken patties in the oven according to the directions. Meanwhile, I boiled and drained the pasta, then mixed it with the pasta sauce, and laid it into a casserole dish.

The chicken patties got laid on top with a handful of shredded cheese, then the whole thing got returned to the over for 5 minutes or so until the cheese melted. 

This entree was yummy, easy to make, and a big hit with the whole family!

My Stockpile Supper - Turkey Tetrazzini

I'm sure that you had or may still have a bunch of leftover turkey from Thanksgiving like me!

Here is what hasn't been eaten yet from the Jenny-O turkey that came with my $9.99 holiday meal at Food Lion:

I found a recipe for Turkey Tetrazzini to use some of it up. The original recipe serves 6 and called for these ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) package cooked egg noodles
2 tablespoons butter
1 (6 ounce) can sliced mushrooms
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 cups chopped cooked turkey1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

I modified it according to what was in my stockpile, and because reviewers said it was a bit dry and needed more liquid and seasoning.

These egg noodles were already in my pantry, because I got the free at Harris Teeter in October:

I boiled them for about 10 minuntes in some salted water, then drained them and laid them into a 9" x 12" casserole dish:

Meanwhile, I sautéed a can of mushrooms, that were cheap from the Food Lion Super Sale back in September, with some butter:



Then added a can of Cream of Celery Soup that I got for 9 cents at Food Lion last month, a can of Carnation Evaporated milk that I got for 45 cents at Harris Teeter in November, and a big dollop of sour cream that I got for free at Harris Teeter this week:

You can use regular milk instead of the evaporated milk, but I was out.

Next, I added in the salt, pepper, and some poultry seasoning, plus the chopped turkey, and a handful of shredded cheddar cheese. I got 10 bags and froze them when it was $1.16 at Harris Teeter in October:

After everything was heated through and thoroughly mixed, I poured the sauce from the pan onto the noodles, then sprinkled another 1/4 cup of cheese on top.

I wish I had a photo of the final product, after it was baked in the over for 25 minutes at 375 degrees, but I don't. I gave this dish to my husband, and he took it along to Pennsylvania and served it to all the guys he was hunting with up there over the weekend.

I understand it was a big hit, and since I still have a lot of leftover turkey, I may make it again for dinner one night this week!