I just scored $64 worth of meat for $25!

I love getting a great deal and I have to share with y'all my trip to Harris Teeter just now.  The hubs wanted lottery tickets for tonight's $400M jackpot and asked me to run out for them.  He is already out but is unable to stop.  *sigh*  I was not happy about going to the ATM for cash and then hitting a grocery store at evening rush hour, but out I went.

As I'm walking in the door, I glance at the front page of the sales ad that ends today and see B2G3 free of shrimp.  Shrimp is B's favorite food in the world, so I headed back to the seafood department after getting the lottery tickets.  Turns out it was buy two 2 lb bags of shrimp and get three 2 lb bags free.  Ten pounds of shrimp is a bit much ;o) so I passed.

But while I was in the back of the store, I perused the meat section.  I only shop at the Teeter if I need one or two things (and I don't want to go farther to Wegmans) or I'm getting Teeter's Friday night fried chicken special.  But if I need to be in the back of the store, I check the meat department for markdowns.  I hit the mother load today!

1. Ready to Cook chicken breast stuffed with Bleu cheese and wrapped in bacon, 9oz.  Regularly $4.99, got it for $1.99.
2. Ready to Cook Chicken Cordon Bleu, 10oz.  Regularly $4.99, got it for $1.99.  Both this one and the one above have a sell by date of 3/19/14, so dinner for tomorrow is done!
3. Three Ribeye steaks, totaling 2.63 lbs.  Regularly $36.79, got them for $12.86.  
4. Trimmed and tied pork loin roast, 2.32 lbs.  Regularly $9.95, got it for $4.71.  That works out to $2.03/lb and I know I can buy a whole pork loin on sale for $1.99/lb.  But I'd have to wait for a sale, unwrap it, break it down into small roasts and chops and rewrap for freezing.  This roast is already trimmed and tied and a perfect size to feed my family for a week or to serve the next time we have guests.
5. Fresh Johnsonville Irish O'Garlic sausage.  Now, this one wasn't as big of a savings as the other items.  The 1 lb 3 oz package is regularly $5.49 and had a store coupon of  $1.50 on it since St. Patrick's Day is over.  This is for the hubs who will literally do a jig when he comes home and sees it.  Since I got such good deals on the other meats, and I want to see his jig, I "splurged" on this for him.

With tax the original price of all this would have been $63.77 but I got it all for $25.18.  It was meant to be and my freezer and I are very happy (we were down to just chicken breasts and ground beef before I went to the store).

Leftover Wednesday: Dinner Leftovers...for BREAKFAST?!

Yes, peeps, that's how I roll.  Most "breakfast" foods are starches and they don't stick with me but an hour or two, even the ones full of fiber that Weight Watchers swears fills you up for a long time.  My tummy's not built that way, evidently.  When I eat dinner leftovers for breakfast at 8am, I can go until 2pm before I get hungry again and I have plenty of energy.  And I'll eat all leftovers for breakfast - casseroles, pizza, grilled meats, whatever is in the fridge.  So let me tell you about my favorite leftover, Breakfast Hash!

Paula Deen and I have so much in common and one is that we both keep cooked potatoes around as a staple.  We happened to have steak and baked potatoes the night before, so I made sure I cooked extra potatoes.  Dice a baked potato, add to a hot pan with your favorite oil and cook until crispy on all sides.  I used to use butter in my hash but learned from my Uncle Lanny that butter was the reason they didn't crisp up.  You need oil for that!  I also salt, pepper and paprika the potatoes at this time (the paprika was another secret I got from Uncle Lanny).

After the potatoes are crispy all around, or just crispy on one side if you want some softness to your potatoes, add in some diced onion and cook until the onion is as done as you like it.

 Next, if I have other leftover veggies I want in my hash, I'll toss them in after the onions have cooked and before the meat.  They just need a minute or two to warm up; you don't want them overcooked.  Then you throw in whatever leftover meat you had for dinner the night before, diced up.  The smaller you cut it, the quicker it will heat up.  The longer you cook it, the tougher the meat will get, so just a minute or two will heat up diced meat.  Don't be hatin' on the temperature I eat my red meat, y'all!  ;o)

 Ta-da!  Yet another appetizing meal ruined with a crappy picture of the finished product.  LOL  But I eat with my taste buds not my eyes because I have learned from experience that you can't judge a book by it's cover!  This lovely hash was served with a zigzag of ketchup on top and set the tone for a productive and energized day!

 I hope you give breakfast hash a try.  It's a great way to serve breakfast for guests, especially at holiday time.  You always have leftover ham, potatoes and green beans after Easter.  Make a big, one-pot breakfast hash for everyone to eat!  You only have to cook once.  As people awake and stumble into the kitchen at different times, they can scoop themselves out some hash and pop in the microwave to heat up if need be.