Friday, July 10, 2009

Stop and Shop Bargain Meal, week of 7/10-7/16


Okay. So far, I have put the Stop and Shop circular in the recycling bin twice- by accident, I swear. But I think it's my subconscious telling me that I'm not all that excited by the deals this week.

I am moderately excited by the 2 for $3 Kellogg's cereal deal, except that the only cereals I'd buy are Blueberry and Cinnamon Pecan Special K. And much to my chagrin, I only have one coupon for Blueberry Special K... all the rest of my Kellogg's coupons are for Mini-Wheats. The other frustrating part of this deal is that you could use it for the Kellogg's Fuel for School Rebate (buy 10 items in a single transaction, save $10), except that the cereal sale is "limit 4." There are other participating products on sale, like Pop-Tarts, Morningstar Farms, and some Keebler products, but nothing that I'm too excited about. Oh well, the rebate goes through September 30, so I am sure I will be able to hit a good cereal sale before then.

The $5/$15 meat coupon is available again, good through the 16th, so you might be able to use that to get some okay deals on meat this week. The pork and chicken on sale this week is bone-in, which a lot of people are okay with... me, I am a big baby when it comes to things like bones. So I will probably skip buying meat at Stop and Shop this week. As far as produce is concerned, B1G1 free lettuce might work out to be a good deal- as crazy as it sounds, B1G1 free sales annoy me because I often have no idea what the non-sale price is- it could be a great deal- or not. Otherwise, nothing much.

Most people are pretty lucky in that when their regular grocery store is lacking in deals, they can always go to a different store. But what if Stop and Shop is your only store for miles around? I found out recently that my local Stop and Shop has very low prices on dry beans and lentils, lower than my local Walmart. I got a pound of lentils there for eighty cents. You can pick up zucchini & summer squash for 1.29/lb, which isn't too bad, especially if you only get a couple. The rest of the ingredients are usually already in my pantry. This is my favorite thing to do with lentils-( I submitted it to All Recipes for approval, but they haven't approved it yet...) but I will share it with you.

Italian Lentil Stew

1 tbsp olive oil (.10)
1 tbsp minced garlic (.10)
1 medium onion, cut into large chunks (.30)
3 stalks celery, cut into 1 inch pieces (.40)
4 peeled carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces (.30)
1 cup dry lentils (.40)
3 bouillon cubes (.15)
4 cups water
2 cans (15 oz) diced Italian style tomatoes (1.00)
1 bay leaf (.01)
1/2 cup small pasta (like bowtie) (.05)
1 medium zucchini, cut into large chunks (.50)
1 medium yellow squash, cut into large chunks (.50)
1 tsp dried basil(or to taste) (.01)
1/2 tsp dried oregano (or to taste) (.01)
Ground pepper, to taste (.01)
Grated cheese (romano, parmesan) for garnish (.50)

(Approx. $4.34 for a meal that makes a lot of leftovers)

  1. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Saute celery, carrots, onions, and garlic, until onions are clear.
  2. Meanwhile, rinse lentils. Put water, bouillon, bay leaf, and tomatoes in a large pot on medium heat. Add carrots, celery, onions and lentils- simmer for about 7 minutes.
  3. Add pasta and let cook for 3 minutes- then add zucchini and squash- cook until tender but not mushy. Add oregano, basil and pepper and remove from heat- let sit for 30 minutes, covered.
  4. Serve with a topping of grated cheese. This dish goes great with a nice crusty homemade bread.
My husband is a big meat n' potatoes fan- he is tolerant of occasional meatless meals, but without meat he becomes sad... :-( He tends to make fun of foods like couscous, lentils, sprouts, etc. But he absolutely loved this. The key is to cut the vegetables into really big chunks, so they feel nice and substantial in your mouth. This makes a lot of leftovers- the squash & zucchini tend to get sort of mushy on the reheat, but it don't bother me none.

Happy shopping!

1 comment:

Kate/Massachusetts said...

This sounds great! I made the Zucchini and Sausage soup from last week and it was a big hit! I would make it again. In fact, I froze a pint of it for lunches. Thanks for the lentil soup recipe. I will make it soon!

Kate/Massachusetts