Meals & Deals

Deals to Meals takes the guesswork out of grocery shopping and meal planning. Our experts share which grocery stores, in your area, have the best deals. This information is updated weekly! Each week we give you a new, deliciously easy, meal plan. Our meal plan incorporates the current deals from your local grocery store. We keep you updated on the latest tips and tricks to make mealtime with your family more enjoyable. Don’t believe us? Try our service for FREE.

Sundried Tomato & Kale Turkey Burgers
November 7, 2018 | No Category | Deals to Meals

Simple 30 Minute Carne Asada Street Tacos
October 29, 2018 | No Category | Deals to Meals

Steak has been on sale the past couple weeks for great deals, so I have stocked my freezer with several packages for later meals. I only had a few minutes to make dinner the other night and decided to come up with a super simple steak street taco. The results were delicious …

One Pan Roasted Sausage, Potatoes and Peppers
October 10, 2018 | No Category | Deals to Meals

Asian Chicken with Broccoli Slaw
September 12, 2018 | No Category | Deals to Meals

Are you looking for a healthy, flavor filled, weeknight meal? This Asian Grilled Chicken with Broccoli Slaw is a favorite from our meal planner this week. The chicken is juicy, tender, sweet and delicious. Serve this chicken with the broccoli slaw and you have a healthy and …

Cheesecake Factory Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes {Copycat}
August 14, 2018 | No Category | Deals to Meals

Okay friends, with summer being busy, hot and crazy, my desire to invent new recipes has been less than typical. When I don’t create new recipes I get kind of bored in the kitchen. Are you guys …

Summer Squash Medley
July 30, 2018 | No Category | Deals to Meals

One of my favorite parts about summer is the fresh veggies from the garden. If you have a lot of zucchini, yellow squash, onions and peppers in your fridge, this is the recipe for you! When I’m looking for a simple side dish, this is my go-to this time of year. Hope yo…

Pesto Grilled Cheese and Vegetable Paninis
July 24, 2018 | No Category | Deals to Meals

With summer in full swing, I’m hoping your gardens are bursting at the seams with some delicious, fresh produce. Sunday night I had tons of leftover vegetables from my shop-a-thon last week and wanted a way to use up all my veggies before they went bad. There isn&#8217…

KSL TV Special: 5 Ways to Cut Your Vacation Food Budget in Half
July 16, 2018 | No Category | Deals to Meals

How fun is this?! I’m on Channel 5 KSL 10 p.m. news Thursday (7/19)! It’s been a couple years since I’ve done a t.v. segment and it was so fun to be in a studio again. I love to shar…

Creamy Vanilla Cheesecake Pudding Cups
July 12, 2018 | No Category | Deals to Meals

Simple Huevos Rancheros with Chipotle Sauce (Cubby’s Copycat)
May 24, 2018 | No Category | Shandra

One of my favorite places to go for breakfast is a local place called Cubby’s. They have some delicious options for any meal of the day, but one of the items on the menu I order often is their H…

Three Pizzas in Thirty Minutes: Veggie Ranch, Chicken Alfredo, BBQ
May 18, 2018 | No Category | Shandra

One of my secret weapons to an easy meal solution are these homemade pizzas. Now, normally you’d think pizzas…what’s easy about those? Well, if you use a couple of my secrets, these …

Hawaiian Turkey Meatballs and Rice
May 10, 2018 | No Category | Shandra

Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
May 1, 2018 | No Category | Shandra

Cauliflower Stir Fry by MyNovaVita
April 24, 2018 | No Category | Deals to Meals

Another delicious and healthy recipe from our friend Ellen Johnson from MyNovaVita (Instagram Account). She is amazing, talented and has a way of making eating healthy easy! I love the idea of fried rice made from cauliflower. Genius! Thanks Ellen for another wonderful recip…

Thick and Meaty Beanless Chili
March 21, 2018 | No Category | Shandra

Homemade Chocolate Pudding
March 21, 2018 | No Category | Deals to Meals

Caramelized Brussel Sprouts with Lemon Aioli
March 20, 2018 | No Category | Deals to Meals

Thanks to my friend Ellen Johnson from My Nova Vita, she is sharing a definite sure way to LOVE eating brussel sprouts. If you don’t think you’re a fan, you haven’t tried Ellen’s recipe yet. I didn’t think I liked these little cabbage bundles un…

Mexican Spaghetti Squash Turkey Lasagna {Gluten Free}
March 8, 2018 | No Category | Deals to Meals

I am super excited to share this recipe with you! If you are looking for a low carb, no sugar, healthy recipe, this is the one for you. My friend’s sister has been on a low carb diet and has los…

Caribbean Chicken with Pineapple Mango Salsa
February 28, 2018 | No Category | Deals to Meals

Looking for a fresh, healthy, delicious recipe to help brighten up the dreary days of winter at your home? This recipe will do the trick! As I was eating this grilled, marinated Caribbean chicken, I felt like I was transported to a tropical island with the fresh pineapple sa…

Crispy Tuna Patties with Homemade Tartar Sauce
February 16, 2018 | No Category | Deals to Meals

Asparagus Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts
February 14, 2018 | No Category | Deals to Meals

Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joes
February 2, 2018 | No Category | Shandra

If you are looking for a healthy option for your super bowl parties, these Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joes have Game Day written all over them! Switch up your traditional sloppy joe recipes with a little kick of Frank’s Hot Sauce and a little dash of sweet brown sugar. Ser…

Cheesy Three Meat Pasta Bake {Lowest Prices on Pasta & Canned Tomatoes}
January 26, 2018 | No Category | Shandra

Now I know this recipe isn’t the most healthy recipe out there, but boy, is it great! If you love Italian, cheesy, meaty goodness, this recipe i…

Grilled Vegetable Hummus Wraps
January 19, 2018 | No Category | Shandra

Sausage and Cream Cheese Omelets {Keto Friendly Recipe}
January 18, 2018 | No Category | Deals to Meals

Ellen is sharing with us today another Keto Friendly recipe that looks amazing! I can’t wait to give this a try. Who doesn’t love sausage in their omelet, let alone covered in cream cheese…

Healthy Asian Turkey and Cabbage Stir-fry
January 10, 2018 | No Category | Deals to Meals

Layered Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies
December 9, 2017 | No Category | Shandra

Fluffy Apple Waffles with Apple Cider Syrup
October 24, 2017 | No Category | Deals to Meals

There is nothing more fall than apples, apple juice and apple cider. This is the time my sweet tooth craves anything apple flavored. Apple Cake, Apple Puff Pastries, Spiced Apple Wassail, Apple Dips, Apple Pancakes, etc. You name it, if it has apples in it, I will love …

Cranberry Orange Quinoa Salad, Roasted Squash and Curried Cauliflower
October 20, 2017 | No Category | Deals to Meals

Caramel Apple Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
October 18, 2017 | No Category | Shandra

One of the great benefits to living in the basement apartment of my parents home is getting to enjoy some of my Mom’s delicious recipes. She doesn’t love to cook as much anymore, but she i…

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
August 23, 2017 | No Category | Shandra

Easy Cheesy BBQ Chicken
August 19, 2017 | No Category | Deals to Meals

Grilled Peaches, Grilled Tomato Sandwiches, Chipotle Turkey Wraps
August 18, 2017 | No Category | Deals to Meals

Grilled Peaches with Honey Lime Glaze: Summer is the perfect time to make these grilled and glazed peaches and pineapple. If you’re looking for a sweet, healthy treat, this is the time to …

Simple Pita Taco Pizzas
August 14, 2017 | No Category | Deals to Meals

BBQ Chicken Pizza Salad
August 12, 2017 | No Category | Deals to Meals

Healthy Buffalo Chicken Salad Sandwiches
August 8, 2017 | No Category | Deals to Meals

5 Favorite Camping Meals to Simplify Your Summer
July 27, 2017 | No Category | Shandra

Southwestern Quinoa Spinach Salad
July 18, 2017 | No Category | Shandra

Healthy Quinoa Spinach Pesto Frittata
July 7, 2017 | No Category | Shandra

Jalapeno Popper Chicken Quesadillas
June 30, 2017 | No Category | Shandra

Blue Bacon Hawaiian Burger
June 28, 2017 | No Category | Shandra

Potato Bar
June 10, 2017 | No Category | Deals to Meals

I wanted to share with you one of my go-to recipes when I don’t have a lot of time but need to get a homemade dinner on the table. The sky is the limit when smothering a baked potato in yummy goodness, but this is the way I grew up with and still love today…

Doug’s Famous Mojito Lime Fajitas
June 1, 2017 | No Category | Shandra

Cowboy Spaghetti
May 18, 2017 | No Category | Deals to Meals

Cheesy Chicken Lasagna
May 17, 2017 | No Category | Deals to Meals

Cheesecake Factory Copycat Thai Coconut-Lime Chicken
May 8, 2017 | No Category | Shandra

Ready for our Meal Planner Monday recipe? If you love Asian or Thai flavors, you’re going to love this one! A couple months ago Todd and I went to the Cheesecake Factory for our anniversary. Alt…

Cubby’s Copycat Tetonka Chicken Sandwich
May 1, 2017 | No Category | Shandra

BBQ Chicken Quesadillas
April 28, 2017 | No Category | Deals to Meals

Garlic Sundried Tomato Chicken Marinade
April 19, 2017 | No Category | Shandra

Amazing Grocery Deals THIS week!
January 27, 2017 | No Category | Shandra

Salami Chicken and Pasta Salad
January 27, 2017 | No Category | Shandra

Thanksgiving Favorite Recipes
November 19, 2016 | No Category | Shandra

Buffalo Chicken Pizza and Thai Chicken Pizza
August 26, 2016 | No Category | Shandra

Cheesy Tomato Avocado Pesto Paninis
August 23, 2016 | No Category | Shandra

BLT Barbecue Chicken Salad
August 12, 2016 | No Category | Shandra

Beach Street Chicken Lemon Linguine
August 5, 2016 | No Category | Shandra

13 Favorite Peanut Butter Recipes
July 29, 2016 | No Category | Shandra

Easy Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos
July 27, 2016 | No Category | Shandra

Asian Chicken Burgers with Coleslaw
July 12, 2016 | No Category | Shandra

Rumbi Island Grill Voo Doo Chicken Salad {Copycat Recipe}
June 28, 2016 | No Category | Shandra

Now that summer is well on it’s way, I thought I would share with you some of my favorite summer-salad recipes. I am a HUGE fan of salad’s for dinner in the summer. When I use the g…

Southwestern Chicken Paninis
June 15, 2016 | No Category | Shandra

Thai Peanut Coconut Rice Bowl or Wrap
June 3, 2016 | No Category | Shandra

5 Simple Tips to Save You Time and Money this Thanksgiving!
November 18, 2015 | No Category | Shandra

1. HAVE A PLAN The holidays are in full swing and all of us are looking for ways to save a little money and keep from pulling our hair out from unwanted stress. I am excited to share a few of my…

Orange Sesame Chicken Stirfry
July 11, 2015 | No Category | Deals to Meals

Cranberry Apple Salad with Sweet Lemon Dressing
September 23, 2014 | No Category | Shandra

Grocery Budget Extenders and Mexican Black Bean Corn Tacos
October 8, 2013 | No Category | Shandra

Have you ever heard the phrase ‘make your dollar stretch’? Of course you have, you’re reading Jordan’s amazing blog! Well, there are a few simple tips I’ve learned over the yea…

Lemon Chicken Costoletta
February 21, 2012 | No Category | Shandra

$115 Shopping Trip–GREAT deals this week! After a fun and relaxing vacation it was back in the saddle again this weekend in the kitchen. I love coming home to an empty fridge and being able to fill it up with all of the great deals of the week. This week there are SEVE…

Sundried Tomato & Kale Turkey Burgers

Hi Friends! I hope you are having a great week. I’m excited to share a new recipe I created that I’m highlighting from this week’s new meal planner. I bought the big jar of sundried tomatoes from Costco and I have been LOVING trying new recipes with them. The nice thing is they freeze great, so if you can’t use them all within a few months, just freeze them in small baggies for later.

If you want a healthy, new and flavorful turkey burger this recipe is for you! Not to mention you can make this entire meal for less than $10 for a family of 7.

*Btw, this sundried tomato spread is heavenly on pretty much every type of sandwich, as a veggie dip or warm it up and eat it with tortilla chips. Really, no matter how you serve it, you’re going to love it!

Sundried Tomato & Kale Turkey Burgers

Author: Deals to Meals
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 6 servings 1x
Diet: Gluten Free

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Description

This recipe is a delicious, flavor packed, low carb recipe you will love!

Ingredients

Scale

BURGERS:

2 lbs. lean ground turkey or beef

1 onion, diced

1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, diced

2 cup kale, minced fine

1 Tbs. Montreal Steak Seasoning

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 cup panko crumbs

1 tsp. black pepper

SAUTEED ONIONS/MUSHROOMS:

2 Tbs. olive oil or butter

1 onion, sliced

8 oz. mushrooms, sliced

SUNDRIED TOMATO SPREAD:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, diced

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp. garlic powder

8 ct. hamburger buns

1–2 tomatoes, sliced (optional)

5–6 pieces lettuce

Instructions

Dice the onion into small, fine pieces. Chop the sundried tomatoes into small pieces (keep the olive oil with the tomatoes). For the turkey burgers, mix together the turkey, diced onion, chopped sundried tomatoes, chopped kale, seasonings and panko in a large mixing bowl. Once the mixture is combined, form into 3-4 inch wide patties.

For the sundried tomato spread, heat the cream cheese in a microwave safe bowl until soft. Mix with a fork until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and set aside until ready to serve.

If you want carmelized onions and mushrooms with your burger you can slice those and saute in some olive oil until soft. Season with salt and pepper.

Grill the burgers on a hot outdoor or indoor grill, or on a flat griddle. Cook the burgers on one side until golden brown and then flip to the other side. Continue to cook until the center of the burgers is no longer pink.

Spread one side of the hamburger bun with the sundried tomato spread. Place the burger on the bun and top with lettuce, tomatoes and the sauted onions and mushrooms. If you like balsamice glaze, you can drizzle that on as well. Serve warm.

Notes

For a lower carb version, serve on lettuce instead of a bun.

Category: Main Dish
Cuisine: American

Keywords: Hamburger, Kale, Low Carb, Turkey, Beef, Main Dish

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Simple 30 Minute Carne Asada Street Tacos

Simple Carne Asada Street Tacos

Author: Deals to Meals
Prep Time: 20
Cook Time: 15
Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 6 servings 1x

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Ingredients

Scale

STEAK:

2 lbs. boneless beef steak
2 lbs. McCormick Mojito Lime Seasoning
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. lime juice
15–20 corn tortillas

1–2 cups shredded cheese

SALSA:

4–5 tomatoes, diced

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1/2 white onion, diced

1 jalapeno pepper, diced

Juice of 1 lime

Instructions

Place the steak in a gallon ziploc bag. Add the seasonings and lime juice to the steak. You can grill the steak right away or let it marinade for an hour or more.
When you are ready to cook, heat an outdoor grill to high heat. Place the steak onto the hot grill and cook for 1-2 minutes on one side until nice and browned. Flip the steak to the other side and turn the heat to medium heat and continue to cook to your desired doneness.
While the steak is cooking, make the salsa by chopping the tomatoes, onion, jalapeno and cilantro and place in a bowl. Season with salt and lime juice to your liking.
When the steak is done, remove from the grill and place on a plate to rest. Heat a flat griddle to medium heat.
Place several corn tortillas onto the griddle and place a small handful of cheese on each tortilla.
For the steak, slice it into thin strips or pieces. Place some of the steak on the tortillas. Cook until the cheese is melted.
Remove the tacos from the griddle and top with the salsa. If you like sour cream or guacamole you can serve them with that as well.

Category: Main Dish
Cuisine: Mexican

Keywords: Street Tacos, Beef, Steak, Carne Asada

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One Pan Roasted Sausage, Potatoes and Peppers

One pan wonders are becoming so popular and after making several of them, I know why! It is so awesome to only have to wash one cookie sheet and a cutting board. With some simple cutting and prepping, you are ready to roast and away you go! Dinner is done around 30 minutes later and you’re going to LOVE it! Visit our website Deals to Meals to get this recipe on our new meal planner. Get all of our other meal plan recipes and find out where the best grocery deals are in your area.

Asian Chicken with Broccoli Slaw

2018-09-12 22:48:36

Chicken Marinade

2-3 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup salad dressing (recipe below)
2 Tbs. McCormick Thai Seasoning

Asian Slaw

1 bag coleslaw
1/2 cup dried craisins
2 cans mandarin oranges, drained
1/2 cup sesame sticks or dried chow mein noodles
1/4 cup green onions, sliced
1 bag broccoli slaw bag

Dressing

1/3 cup canola oil
1/3-1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. sesame seeds
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. ginger, grated
1 tsp. garlic powder
Dash salt

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Instructions

In a bowl, whisk together all of the asian salad dressing ingredients. Remove a 1/2 of a cup of the dressing and place in a gallon ziploc bag. To the marinade, add the Thai seasoning and add the chicken to the bag. Zip up the top of the gallon bag and coat the chicken with the marinde. Place the chicken in the fridge until ready to grill. Chicken can be marinated for up to an hour, to overnight.
When ready to grill the chicken, remove the chicken from the bag and place on a hot grill that has been heated to medium high heat. Place the chicken on the grill and keep the marinade to boil for the top of the chicken. Cook the chicken on both sides until it is cooked through. Bring in the chicken marinade and pour into a small sauce pan. Bring to a high boil and boil for 5-7 minutes, or until it begins to thicken. Watch carefully so it doesn't boil over. Remove from the heat and drizzle over the cooked chicken when it's done. While the chicken is cooking, make the slaw.
For the slaw, toss all of the salad ingredients together in a bowl. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss until coated. Serve the slaw on the side of the grilled chicken.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Cheesecake Factory Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes {Copycat}

Okay friends, with summer being busy, hot and crazy, my desire to invent new recipes has been less than typical. When I don’t create new recipes I get kind of bored in the kitchen. Are you guys the same way? It had been awhile since I had made a copy cat recipe, so I got some delicious inspiration at Cheesecake Factory last week. This was just what I needed to make dinner fun again!!

This recipe I am so totally excited to share with you. We ate this meal three days in a row (yep, I made three separate batches of corn cakes) and they were amazing every time! I even fed my sisters and friends and we all were in love with this recipe. You’re going to LOVE it! Especially you vegetarian’s out there. If I didn’t eat meat, I would eat this meal a couple times a week 😉 A couple things about this recipe. I found a copycat version online that I tried and liked okay. However, the 2 sticks of butter I couldn’t stomach on my healthy eating plan. So, I decided to change out a stick of butter with pureed white beans and it was awesome! You didn’t miss the extra butter at all and it actually cooked easier and better. Also, I cut the sugar in half since I didn’t want my corn cakes as sweet as they are at Cheesecake Factory. Less sugar isn’t half bad either when trying to be healthy, right? So..all in all, not only is this recipe incredibly delicious, it’s pretty healthy too 😉 Enjoy and let me know what you think!

*One tip to make these cakes cook easily is to refrigerate the cake mixture for an hour or more before forming into patties. You can roll them out like a biscuit or just form with your hand. Either way works great when the dough is cold!

Sweet Corn Cake Tamales (Cheesecake Factory Copycat Recipe)

2018-08-13 12:48:19

Corn Cakes

1 stick butter, room temperature (not cold!)
15 oz. can white beans, drained
3 Tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cup sweet frozen corn
1 cup corn harina flour
4 Tbs. all purpose flour (or use more harina flour)
1 cup sweet frozen corn (to be added at the end)

Cream Sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tps. paprika
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1-2 tsp. lime juice
Tomatillo salsa
Pico de Gallo
Cilantro, chopped
Fresh lime wedges

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Corn Cakes

In a food processor, combine together the two cups of corn, butter, sugar, salt, drained white beans and blend until smooth. Add the harina flour and mix until combined. Add the last cup of frozen corn and pulse just for a couple seconds, keeping these kernels mostly in tact. Place this mixture into a bowl and cover with saran wrap. Place in the fridge for 1-12 hours. Take this mixture out of the fridge and shape into 12-15 round patties about 1 to 1 1/2 inch thick. When ready to cook, heat a saute pan to medium heat. Drizzle the pan with a little olive oil. Place four of the patties into the pan once it is hot. Let the cake cook on one side for 4-6 minutes, or until golden brown. Flip the corn cake and cook on the other side. While they are cooking, make the cream sauce.

Cream sauce

Place all of the ingredients into a bowl and whisk together until smooth. Serve the hot cakes with the tomatillo salsa, pico, cream sauce, chopped cilantro and a wedge of lime.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Summer Squash Medley

2018-07-30 11:54:52

Ingredients

2 medium zucchini, diced
1 yellow squash, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 Tbs. butter or olive oil
1 Tbs. Montreal Steak Seasoning
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
Salt as needed

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If you don’t have Buy Me a Pie! app installed you’ll see the list with ingredients right after downloading it

Instructions

Dice all of the vegetables into small dices. In a saute pan, heat the butter or olive oil until hot. Add the onions, zucchini and yellow squash and saute until golden brown and tender. Don't over cook the squash or it will be mushy. Once the onions and squash are tender, add the red pepper and seasonings. Cook for another 3-5 minutes and serve. You can garnish with parmesan cheese if you'd like, or just keep it dairy free.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

*Login to Deals to Meals to find all of the best produce deals in your area. Everything you need for this simple recipe is on sale throughout the country!

Pesto Grilled Cheese and Vegetable Paninis

There isn’t a better way to eat garden vegetables than grilled on an outdoor grill with some olive oil and lots of herbs. I did this and then added these grilled vegetables to a flat panini bread from a local bakery and a bunch of cheese and pesto. The combination was heavenly and you didn’t even miss the fact there was no meat in this sandwich. This panini is a vegetarian dream come true. Hope you’re having a great summer!

If you don’t have a garden, that’s okay! Nearly every vegetable you’d want this time of year is ON SALE at your local grocery store. Login to Deals to Meals to see where the best deals are in your area.

Pesto Grilled Cheese and Vegetable Panini

2018-07-24 13:16:07

Ingredients

1 package bollilo or bread/rolls
1 cup mozzarella cheese, sliced or shredded
8 oz. provolone or havarti cheese, sliced
1/4 cup pesto

Vegetables of choice

1-2 zucchini squash, sliced
1-2 yellow squash, sliced
Colored bell peppers, cut in half
1 red onion, sliced
Mushrooms
Tomatoes, sliced
Olive oil
Dried Herbs

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Instructions

Rinse the vegetables and remove all of the skins, ends and stems. Slice the vegetables fairly thin and place on a cookie sheet. Drizzle the vegetables with olive oil and sprinkle with your favorite herbs and seasonings (garlic powder, salt, pepper, basil, parsley, thyme, etc.). Heat an outdoor grill to medium-high heat. Place the large vegetable pieces onto the grill and let them cook on both sides for a few minutes, or until they get some nice grill lines. Once the vegetables are tender, remove from the heat and place on the same cookie sheet you started with. Toss them a little bit in the leftover oil on the pan and seasonings.
For the sandwich, spread a generous portion of pesto on both sides of the bread. Place the sliced and shredded cheese on the bottom bun. Layer the sandwich with grilled vegetables and put the lid on. Place the sandwich into a warm panini maker and heat until the cheese is melted. You can also do this on a flat griddle if you have one. Once the cheese is melted, remove and serve.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

KSL TV Special: 5 Ways to Cut Your Vacation Food Budget in Half

How fun is this?! I’m on Channel 5 KSL 10 p.m. news Thursday (7/19)! It’s been a couple years since I’ve done a t.v. segment and it was so fun to be in a studio again. I love to share ideas and tips on saving money and I forget how fun it is to do it on t.v. Thanks KSL for this opportunity and the chance to share with your viewers five SIMPLE tips to help you cut your vacation food budget in half! Hope you enjoy!

Before we get started, if you are new to Deals to Meals, check out this blog post on 5 Steps to Save Time & Money Using Deals to Meals. We also want to say THANK YOU for viewing by offering our new KSL viewers our lowest membership pricing and get 3 months FREE! Head over to this post to get details on this special.

Alright, let’s get started on our 5 tips to save money on vacations.

Food on vacations can be one of the more expensive aspects to a family trip. Besides lodging and transportation, food can break a family’s budget if you’re not careful. Use these tips to help plan ahead and save hundreds of dollars on your next get-a-way.

1-Have a budget and a plan. Know before you go on your trip what you plan to spend on groceries. Have a plan to know what meals you’ll be eating out and which ones you’ll be eating in. Look online ahead of time to know which restaurants are close to your destination to give you an idea of how much you’ll spend. Search the web for coupons for any place you choose to eat-out. You’ll be surprised how many places offer coupons on the web to save your family some money. To keep your food budget low, try and eat more meals IN instead of OUT.

2-Watch the grocery sales and stock up on snacks, treats and food BEFORE You leave. Prices for groceries in a resort or destination area are MUCH more expensive than they would be at home. Use Deals to Meals to find out where the best deals are on groceries BEFORE you go to save hundreds of dollars. We bought all of these groceries for our upcoming weekend getaway for under $80! Nearly all of these groceries were on sale for 25-50% off.

3-Prepare some meals at home BEFORE you go. To feed a family of 4-6 at a restaurant can cost anywhere from $35-$100. However, if you prepare some meals ahead of time you can make a meal for your family for under $10. For example, boneless pork is on sale this week for only $1 a pound. Cook the pork in a slow cooker for 6-8 hours, shred and then add some bbq sauce. Let the meat cool and then place in a ziploc bag and freeze until ready to warm up on your trip. For an entire bbq pork meal, you would spend less than $10 instead of $60 that you would spend at a restaurant. If you have a stove in your hotel/condo you could even make up meals like lasagna and enchilada that can be made in a disposable tin and cooked on your trip.

4-Instead of buying prepackaged snacks, take a few minutes before you go and make them yourself. For example, a box of prepackaged rice crispy treats will cost you about $3 for 8 small squares. However, you can make a large batch of rice crispy treats at home for less than $3 and you’ll get 15+ servings. Snacks and treats always go on sale this time of year for the best prices, so if you don’t have time to make them, watch the deals and stock up so you can save money throughout the rest of the year. Login to Deals to Meals to see where the best treats and snacks are on sale in your area.

5-Choose the right lodging option. Find places to stay that have an ability to warm up food. Lodging is generally the most expensive part of a vacation. If you can find somewhere that offers a free breakfast and has a mini fridge and a microwave, you can save SO much money! If you prepare some food before hand you can easily microwave the meals to have a home cooked meal for much less than eating out. Families, depending on the size, can easily spend anywhere from $30-$100 on one meal. This can add up quickly if you are needing to eat out three meals a
day. That can be as much as $100-$250 a day spent just on food, depending where you choose to eat. The better option is to find ways to eat homemade meals where you will be staying. Whether you are sleeping in a hotel, a rented
home/cabin, camping in the outdoors, or in a condo, you can easily cook homemade meals and cut your food budget in half.

Get a list of our FAVORITE VACATION MEALS here.

Don’t forget to stock up on sale items when they are at their lowest prices. Groceries go on sale in cycles. This is the time of year to stock up on everything you need for your upcoming bbq: ketchup, mustard, relish, pickles, mayo, chips, snacks, watermelon, treats, etc. These deals will continue through Labor Day and then not return again until the next year. Don’t miss this chance to stock up and SAVE!

Want to watch another KSL segment? Check out our story of Coupon Clipping vs. Deal Shopping–see how we blew the coupon shoppers out of the water!

Have a great summer and feel free to email me at shandra@dealstomeals.com if you have any questions about how our service works. Thanks!

Creamy Vanilla Cheesecake Pudding Cups

One of my favorite aspects of summer is all of the berries on sale and in season. I can’t get enough of fresh blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. When they go on sale for ‘red’ deals (check Deals to Meals before you go shopping) I stock my fridge and freezer with them. This week at many stores you can get an 18 oz. package of blueberries for only $2.50-$3.50. That’s a great deal and the time to stock up!

I bought several packages yesterday and wanted to make a cool and refreshing dessert. I had some cream cheese in my fridge and came up with this super fluffy, rich, vanilla cheesecake pudding. Add some fresh fruit to the pudding and a spoonful of Cool Whip and you have a summer dessert everyone will love! Hope you’re having a great summer!!

Creamy Vanilla Cheesecake Pudding Cups

2018-07-12 19:31:24

Ingredients

2 (4.6 oz.) packages Jello Vanilla Cook n' Serve Pudding
5 cups milk
8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. marshmallow cream
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Fresh berries
Cool Whip Topping (or real whipped cream)

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Instructions

In a sauce pan, whisk together the pudding and the milk. Turn to medium-high heat and continue to whisk until the pudding begins to thicken. Once the pudding is thick, remove from the heat and place in the fridge for about an hour, or until cooled.
When the pudding is cooled, place the cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. With an electric beater, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the marshmallow cream, vanilla and salt to the cream cheese and continue to mix until whipped and smooth. To this mixture, pour in the pudding and beat until the mixture is combined and smooth. Place the pudding back into the fridge and keep cold until ready to serve.
When ready to serve, spoon out a generous portion of the pudding, top with a spoonful of whipped topping and top with fresh berries or fruit of your choice. Serve cold.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Simple Huevos Rancheros with Chipotle Sauce (Cubby’s Copycat)

One of my favorite places to go for breakfast is a local place called Cubby’s. They have some delicious options for any meal of the day, but one of the items on the menu I order often is their Huevos Rancheros.

Basically it’s a cheesy egg casserole with black beans, fresh pico salsa and crunchy tortilla chips on top (the chips happen to be one of my favorite parts). Combine it all together and you have a protein heavy, delicious meal!

It is savory, gluten free, light and full of fresh, amazing flavor. I recreated this recipe at home the other night and it was just as excellent and would be a perfect weeknight meal. Hope you love this recipe like we did!

Heuvos Rancheros

2018-05-21 12:51:36

SALSA

2 cans black beans, drained
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 white onion, diced
1/4 cup green onions, sliced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2-3 roma tomatoes, diced

EGG

8-9 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste

GARNISHINGS

2-3 cups tortilla chips, lightly crumbled
1 to 1 1/2 cup colby cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped (garnish)

CHIPOTLE SAUCE

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
2-3 chipotle peppers, chopped

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Instructions

In a bowl, whisk together all of the eggs and milk until smooth. To a saute pan, heat some butter or olive oil to medium heat. Add the whisked egg mixture and let it sit for a minute. With a spatula, pull all of the eggs away from the side and bottom to gently fold. Put a lid on the pan and cover on low heat until the eggs are scrambled and nice and fluffy (don't over cook because they will be cooked a second time--keep them soft and a little runny).
While the eggs are cooking, add the two cans of black beans (drained) to the bottom of a sprayed 9x13 pan. Dice the onion, red pepper, tomatoes and cilantro and add to the beans. Stir around (or stir together in a bowl and then add to the bottom of the pan). Season the top of the bean 'salsa' with salt and pepper. When the eggs are done, spoon them over the beans in the 9x13 pan. To the top of the eggs, add the cup of colby jack cheese. Spread some crubmled up tortilla chips on top of the egg and cheese. Top with the Monterey (or pepperjack) cheese. Broil in an oven on low heat for 3-5 minutes, or until the tops of the chips are golden brown and the cheese is melted.
When finished cooking, remove from the oven and garnish with more chopped cilantro. Serve with the chipotle sauce which can be mixed together in a bowl and served on the side. t

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Three Pizzas in Thirty Minutes: Veggie Ranch, Chicken Alfredo, BBQ

One of my secret weapons to an easy meal solution are these homemade pizzas. Now, normally you’d think pizzas…what’s easy about those? Well, if you use a couple of my secrets, these pizzas can be thrown together and served in less than thirty minutes.

A meal time saver in our home are the flat bread pita sandwiches from Costco. I keep these in my freezer at all times for quick wraps, sandwiches or pita pizzas. They freeze great for up to 6 months and work perfectly with this recipe.
I also talk a lot about my freezer grilled chicken meal planning tip. This method seriously saves SO MUCH TIME when meal prepping. When chicken goes on sale (like it is this week), buy several extra pounds and grill (or slow cook them) for future meals. Just keep the chicken breasts in the freezer until ready to use.

For the BBQ Chicken Pizza and the Alfredo Chicken Pizza, I used my freezer chicken and it was super slick.

Want to cut out the hassle of cooking meat? Try this Veggie pizza and you won’t miss it at all!

Homemade Pita Pizzas

2018-05-18 11:36:10

Ingredients

1 pkg. flat bread pitas
Mozzarella cheese, shredded

TOPPINGS

Grilled and seasoned chicken, diced
Pepperoni
Sausage
Sliced or diced vegetables of choice (red onions, grape tomatoes, bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, etc.)

SAUCES

BBQ Sauce
Ranch dressing
Marinara

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Prepare the chicken and/or sausage as desired. Prepare all of the vegetables by slicing them or dicing them.
Place the pitas flat onto a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Top the pitas with your favorite sauce and toppings. Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top of the pizzas and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the top is nice and bubbly and golden brown. Slice and serve.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Hawaiian Turkey Meatballs and Rice

Looking for a simple and healthy recipe for tonight? These Hawaiian Turkey Meatballs are a favorite of our clan and pretty healthy too! This recipe will feed about 8 people, so cut it in half if you need, or just freeze extra meatballs for later. Turkey, pineapple and green onions are all on sale this week so this is a great meat for under $10 for a family of 6. Login to Deals to Meals to find all of the best grocery deals in your area. Love Hawaiian Meatballs!

Hawaiian Turkey Meatballs and Rice

2018-05-10 10:33:28

Ingredients

2 lbs. lean ground turkey
2 eggs
2 Tbs. Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2-3/4 cup breadcrumbs or panko
3 Tbs. dried onions

SAUCE

2 cups pineapple juice
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp. Sriracha sauce
2 Tbs. cornstarch
1 tsp. salt

TOPPINGS

4-5 cups cooked rice
1/4 cup green onions, sliced

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Instructions

Start some brown or white rice in a rice cooker (or over the stove) and let it cook while you prepare the meatballs and sauce.
For the meatballs, place the turkey, seasonings, eggs and breadcrumbs into a mixing bowl and combine until everything is incorporated. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non stick cooking spray, or drizzle with some olive oil and spread around to coat the bottom of the pan. With a spoon, scoop out a golf ball sized portion of the meat mixture and palce on the cookie sheet(s). Place the meatballs in the oven and let them back until they are nice and golden bron on the top and the center is no longer pink (about 15-20 minutes, depending ont he size of your meatball).
For the Hawaiian sauce, combine all of the ingredients into a medium sized sauce pan, whisk and bring to a boil. Let the sauce simmer on low heat until it begins to thicken. Once the sauce is pretty thick, remove from the heat and let it rest.
Cut the pineapple up into bite size pieces. To serve, place a serving of cooked rice in a bowl. Top with the hot meatballs and some pineapple pieces. Spoon as much sauce as you would like on top and serve with sliced green onions for garnish.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

I am a huge fan of gourmet sandwiches for dinner. When I am in a hurry and need something I can whip together quickly, but allows us to feel like we’re eating a ‘real’ meal, this is my go-to recipe idea. For those of you on a low carb diet, I make these with those sandwich thins and you still feel like you haven’t ruined any of your diet goals. Today’s sandwich was made with leftover grilled chicken I had from a previous meal and was given a little buffalo twist and they were delicious!

We ate these sandwiches with a simple spinach salad and had a meal on the table in less than 15 minutes. Just what I needed on a busy night! Login to Deals to Meals to find out where bread, chicken, cheese, avocados and tomatoes are all on sale for great prices! This is a meal well under $10 for sure 😉

Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

2018-04-30 13:20:41

Ingredients

3-4 boneless chicken breasts
1 Tbs. Montreal Steak Seasonings
1/4 cup Frank's Hot Sauce
2-3 Tbs. mayonnaise
8 slices cheddar or colby cheese
1-2 avocados, sliced
2 tomatoes, sliced
12-14 sliced whole wheat bread

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Instructions

Heat an outdoor grill to medium heat (chicken can be grilled or just cooked on or in the stove). Season the chicken with Montreal Steak Seasoning and grill on both sides until the center of the chicken is no longer pink. Once the chicken is cooked, remove from the grill and let it rest for a few minutes. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and place in a bowl. Drizzle the chicken with Frank's hot sauce and some mayonnaise. Place some of the chicken onto a slice of bread and top with some sliced avocado, sliced tomato and more sliced cheese. Put the sandwich top on the sandwich. Lightly butter both sides of the sandwich. Place on a hot griddle or panini maker and cook until both sides of the bread are golden brown and the cheese is melted. Serve warm.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Cauliflower Stir Fry by MyNovaVita

Cauliflower Rice Stir Fry

2018-04-23 13:25:00

Ingredients

2 cups frozen peas
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp sesame oil
6 green onions, sliced
1 large carrot, cubed
2 cloves garlic, minced
20 ounces shredded cauliflower
6 tablespoons soy sauce or coconut aminos

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Instructions

Stir peas and water together in a saucepan; bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook and stir until peas are tender and heated through, about 5 minutes. Drain and discard water.Heat 2 tablespoons sesame oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Saute green onions, carrot, and garlic in hot oil until just softened, about 5 minutes. Add cauliflower; cook and stir until cauliflower had a tender but firm to the bite, 4 to 5 minutes.Stir peas, and and soy sauce into cauliflower mixture and stir-fry until mixture is hot and slightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes.

By Ellen Johnson @ MyNovaVita

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Thick and Meaty Beanless Chili

This chili is fantastic! If you have a family member (like I do) who doesn’t like beans, this is an amazing, meaty, flavorful, spiced chili. Top this chili with all your favorite toppings and you have a hearty, home cooked chili that is great for a cold winter’s night. This chili would be awesome with cornbread, garlic toast or even over a hot dog. Pretty much this chili is great no matter how you serve it. Login to Deals to Meals this week to get all of our other meal planner recipes. Enjoy!

Homemade Chocolate Pudding

Our friend Crystal from Store This, Not That! is sharing with us her homemade chocolate pudding recipe. From the first time I started following Crystal, she introduced me to her special recipe for Magic Mix. Basically it’s a simple recipe made with flour, butter and powdered milk. It makes delicious desserts, homemade sauces, gravies and soups. If you are looking for a way to cut out some processed foods in your diet, this is a really simple solution. For much less than you can buy store bought pudding, you can make your own with ingredients you have in your food storage.

Butter is on sale this week at several grocery stores for amazing deals of $1.99-$2.49 a pound. Easter is a great time to stock up on some baking items, butter, ham, pork, potatoes and other items to add to your freezer and food storage. Login to Deals to Meals to get all of the best deals in your area.

Caramelized Brussel Sprouts with Lemon Aioli

I have to admit I’m a big fan now–especially with this lemon aioli. Pick up a bag of these brussel sprouts at your local Sprouts for only $1.49/lb. this week. Enjoy!

Lemon Aioli

2018-03-20 15:28:34

Ingredients

1/2 cup vegan or regular mayonaisse
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp lemon rind
4 cloves roasted garlic
1/2 tsp chopped chive
1/2 tsp chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

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Instructions

Mix together and enjoy!! Keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

By Ellen Johnson from My Nova Vita

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Carmelized Brussel Sprouts

2018-03-20 15:27:02

Ingredients

1 pound Brussels sprouts
4 large garlic cloves
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup diced red onion
2-4 tbsp maple syrup mixed in 1/2 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste

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Instructions

Trim Brussels sprouts and halve lengthwise. Cut garlic into very thin slices. In a large skillet melt butter with oil over moderate heat. Arrange sprouts in skillet, cut sides down, in one layer. Sprinkle sprouts with and salt & pepper. Cook sprouts, without turning, until crisp-tender and undersides are golden brown, about 10 min add onions and garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until onions are translucent about 2 minutes. Pour maple syrup/water mixture over the sprouts and continue to cook over medium heat until the water has evaporated and the sprouts are glazed. Serve warm!

By Ellen Johnson from My Nova Vita

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Mexican Spaghetti Squash Turkey Lasagna {Gluten Free}

I am super excited to share this recipe with you! If you are looking for a low carb, no sugar, healthy recipe, this is the one for you. My friend’s sister has been on a low carb diet and has lost over 30 pounds. She was sharing some of her favorite ‘diet friendly’ recipes with her and said this Mexican Squash Lasagna was one of her favorites. My sweet friend Amber made this last night and gave me a big piece of it today to try. It was SO delicious! I am making this tomorrow night for dinner and can’t wait to have my family try it. I really don’t think they will even know that it’s made of squash and not noodles. The texture was super fun and unique, but so healthy and delicious. I can’t wait for you to give this a try! Login to Deals to Meals to see where you can get all of the ingredients on sale this week as well: cheese, ground turkey, squash, etc. This meal is easily under $15 for a family of 7.

Mexican Spaghetti Squash Turkey Lasagna

2018-03-08 21:53:51

Ingredients

20 oz. 93% lean ground turkey
1 cup marinara sauce
1 packet fiesta ranch dip
5 cup cooked spaghetti squash
4-5 Tbs. egg whites (about 3 egg whites)

Cheese Filling

8 oz. or 1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
16 oz. or 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
6 Tbs. parmesan cheese, shredded
4 Tbs. egg beaters (or 2 eggs)
1 cup mexican style cheese blend, shredded
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. chili powder
Salt and pepper, to taste

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the spaghetti squas in half and scrapte out the seeds and guts. Put both halves into a large ziploc bag 3/4 of the way zipped. Cook in the microwave for 8-9 minutes, or until tender and then set aside.
In a saute pan, turn to medium-high heat and brown the ground turkey. Chop into small pieces.
When the squash is cooked, remove from the microwave with hot pads and scrape out both halves into a bowl. Drain as much water from the squash as you can. Discard the squash skin. Add to the spaghetti squash the salt and pepper to taste. Let the squash cool and then add 4-5 Tbs. egg whites.
Drain the turkey and add the fiesta ranch packet and marinara.
In a separate bowl, stir together all of the cheese filling ingredients.
Spray the bottom of a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. In the pan, place the spaghetti squash mixture along the bottom of the pan. Press down with a fork evenly over the pan. To the top, add the meat filling. Top the meat layer with the cheese. Place in the oven and bake for 40 minutes until bubbly. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing. Divide into 8 equal portions. Serves 8.

By Deals to Meals {Amy Jack}

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Caribbean Chicken with Pineapple Mango Salsa

I served this chicken and salsa over a bed of brown rice and it was lovely. Spruce up your menu plan this week and login to Deals to Meals to see the best grocery deals for this recipe, and all the others on our website.

Crispy Tuna Patties with Homemade Tartar Sauce

This week there are some awesome rock-bottom prices for several items you might want to add to your food storage: peanut butter, pasta, apple juice and tuna fish. Kind of a random bunch of items, but these are the stock up deals of the week that can save you 40-65% off! This is the week to stock up and save some BIG money if these are items you use on a regular basis. Tuna fish is a great item to have in your food storage to add protein to your food supply. Not to mention my kids love it, so I like to make sure we have a copule cases on hand at all times. At only $0.50 a can, this is the week to stock up!

Now, you can eat this tuna on a sandwich and that’s fun. However, my Mom made this recipe for Crispy Tuna Patties and they were the best thing I’ve EVER had with tuna in it. If you are hesitant to try these, believe me, they do not taste like fish out of a can. The lemon makes them taste fresh, flavorful and so delicious. Top these with a squeeze of fresh lemon and some homemade tartar sauce and you will think you are on the ocean eating fresh caught fish. This recipe is not only inexpensive, but a simple dish to make up on a busy night. Login to Deals to Meals to find all of the best grocery deals in your area.

Crispy Tuna Patties with Homemade Tartar Sauce

2018-02-15 22:25:43

Tuna Patties

4 cans albacore or regular tuna fish (5 oz. each)
2 stalks green onions, sliced
2 Tbs. Dijon mustard
4 eggs
1 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2 cups panko bread crumbs (for patties and breading)
Olive oil or butter

Tartar Sauce

1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1 clove garlic, minced
2 baby dill pickles, diced small
1/2 lemon, juiced
Zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
2 Tbs. capers
Dash hot sauce
1 tsp. coarse ground mustard
2 Tbs. white onion

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Tuna Patties

Drain the tuna from the can until completely dry. Dice the onions into small pieces. Place the tuna, onions, mustard, eggs, lemon juice, salt, pepper and 3/4 cup of the bread crumbs into a medium mixing bowl and stir to combine. Divide the mixture into 12-14 patties and set aside on a parchment lined sheet pan. Allow to rest for 15 minutes in the fridge. Place the remaining bread crumbs into a pie plate. One at a time, coat each round in the panko on all sides.
Heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a 12-inch saute pan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the croquettes and cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove to a cooling rack set over a half sheet pan lined with paper towels. Allow to cool for 2 to 3 minutes before serving.

Tartar Sauce

Place all of the above ingredients into a food processor and blend until mostly smooth. If you prefer a more chunky sauce, don't add the diced pickles or capers until the end. Keep chilled until fish is cooked and ready to serve.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Asparagus Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Happy Valentines Day friends! Hope you are having a lovely day today with those you love. I couldn’t be more grateful for the loves of my life. I love these kiddos and couldn’t be happier to be married to my best friend for over 30 years now. Love you Madsen clan!With our vacation, I am behind on all of my Valentines Day recipe blogging I had planned. So, hope you have something delicious and festive to make today. If not, I wanted to share a quick meal idea that looks super gourmet, but couldn’t be much easier. I’m disappointed in the way the picture turned out. It doesn’t do this meal justice. It really is such a pretty dish served with a simple spinach salad.

The best part about this recipe is you could make this entire meal for under $15 for a family of 6. Asparagus, chicken, bacon, cheese and cream cheese are all on sale. This is one of our delicious recipes this week on our meal planner. Login to get the recipes and see all of the best grocery deals in your area.

Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Asparagus Cheese and Bacon

2018-02-14 10:52:04

Chicken

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
3 Tbs. green onions, sliced
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. parsley
Salt and pepper
16 oz. bacon
30 spears of asparagus
Olive oil drizzle

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Instructions

Remove the chicken from the package and trim off any excess fat. Cut the chicken breasts in half horizontally so they can be stuffed. Don't cut through the chicken all the way through to the other side so that stuffing can stay in the chicken.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Drizzle a little olive oil on the bottom of an 11x14 baking pan or a cookie sheet.
Rinse the asparagus and trim off the ends.
In a bowl, place the cream cheese and beat until smooth with a fork. Add the cheese, green onions, salt, pepper, parsley and garlic powder. Once smooth, place a spoonful of the cheese spread into the center of each chicken breast. Lay 3-5 asparagus spears across the cheese mixture in the center of the chicken. Once you've done this with all of the chickens, place them in the pan and wrap each chicken breast with 2 slices of bacon. Place a sheet of tin foil over the chicken and place in the oven. Let it bake for 10 minutes with the tinfoil on, and then remove the tinfoil and let it cook for another 15 minutes, or until the center of the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink. If the bacon is not quite crispy, turn the oven to broil to get it more browned and crisp. Serve with a simple salad.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joes

Remember to login to Deals to Meals to find all of the best deals at your local grocery stores. Remember, our 2018 Lowest Pricing ends tomorrow, so hurry and take advantage TODAY! Email us at todd@dealstomeals.com to get this special pricing for two more days. That’s a year membership for only $42! That’s only $3.50 a month for the year 2018. Now that’s a bargain! :)Buff

Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joes

2018-02-01 15:41:01

Ingredients

2 lbs. ground chicken (can make from chopping up chicken breasts in a food processor super fine) or you can use ground beef or turkey
1 medium red onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
8 oz. tomato sauce
3/4 cup Franks hot sauce
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp. garlic pepper
1-2 Tbs. brown sugar
Hamburger Buns
Ranch or Blue Cheese Dressing (optional garnish)
Crumbled blue cheese

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Instructions

Dice the onion and celery into fine pieces. In a large saute pan, drizzle a little olive oil and add the onionmeat mixture s and celery. Saute until they are slightly tender. Add the ground chicken to the pan and with a wooden spoon, break up the chicken into small pieces. Once the meat is cooked, drain any excess moisture from the meat and discard. Add all of the seasons, the tomato sauce and hot sauce. Season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve the meat mixture onto the buns and garnish with a drizzle of ranch or blue cheese dressing, and crumbled blue cheese (optional). Serve.

Notes

Serve the meat mixture as a lettuce wrap for a gluten free meal.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Cheesy Three Meat Pasta Bake {Lowest Prices on Pasta & Canned Tomatoes}

Now I know this recipe isn’t the most healthy recipe out there, but boy, is it great! If you love Italian, cheesy, meaty goodness, this recipe is for you. It’s really comfort food at it’s best. Now, I know those of you who are trying to count calories are probably not happy with this recipe, but there is a reason I’m posting this one now. Not only is because it’s delicious, but mostly because Kroger is having some killer deals on pasta and canned tomatoes that you need to stock up on. This week you can get a pound of pasta for only $0.49. You can also get cans of Del Monte Tomatoes for only $0.49 as well. How awesome is that?! This is the week to stock up your food storage on pasta and canned tomatoes. Make sure and get a good variety of noodles (farfalle, penne, rigatoni, spaghetti, etc.) so when you see pasta dishes on our meal planner, you’ll already have plenty in your storage to choose from. You won’t ever beat this price, so make sure and stock up TODAY! Login to Deals to Meals to find out where these deals are in your area. It only takes buying 3 pounds of pasta to pay for your membership to Deals to Meals for the month. We promise you’ll save WELL over your $4.95 a month or we’ll refund you your money. Take advantage of our 2018 $18 off special (LOWEST price of the year!). Just email us at todd@dealstomeals.com to take advantage of this deal before January is over and this deal is gone.

Cheesy Three Meat Pasta Bake

2018-01-25 09:43:40

Ingredients

1 onion, diced
1 lb. ground pork sausage
1 lb. sliced chicken or pork sausage
1/2 cup pepperoni
3 garlic cloves, minced
24 oz. spaghetti sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
1-2 tsp. salt, as needed
Pepper, to taste
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
2-3 Tbs. fresh parsley, chopped
2-3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1 lb. penne pasta

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Instructions

Dice the onion into small pieces. Place in a large saute pan and saute with the pork sausage until the pork is cooked through. Slice the precooked chicken or pork sausage link into thin strips. Add to the ground pork and continue to saute until the slices are browned and cooked through. Cut the pepperonis in half and add to the meat as well.
To the meat mixture, add the spaghetti sauce, diced tomatoes, garlic and seasonings. Bring the sauce to a simmer and let boil for 10-15 minutes, or until the sauce begins to thicken. If the sauce isn't thick enough, you can always add a half of a can of tomato paste if needed. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the pasta. Cook the pasta until it is tender and soft. Place half of the noodles into the bottom of a 9x13 pan that has been sprayed with non stick cooking spray. Pour half of the spaghetti sauce over the noodles. Sprinkle with half of the shredded cheeses all over the top of the mixture. Add the rest of the noodles on top and spoon the rest of the sauce over the noodles. Sprinkle the top with the rest of the shredded cheese.
Place the pasta dish into an oven at 350 degrees until the cheese is melted and bubbly. If you want a nice golden brown on the top, you can broil for 30-60 seconds, watching carefully. Garnish the pasta dish with extra chopped parsley or sliced green onions.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Grilled Vegetable Hummus Wraps

This past summer I started making these grilled vegetable hummus wraps. you know when you are still making a recipe several months later, it’s a good one! Every week I try and serve at least one vegetarian meal to my family to help cut down our food budget, as well as cut some calories. If I haven’t done much prep work, this is the meal I turn to. With our warm January here in Utah, it’s nice to be able to do some grilling outside when it normally would be covered in snow. If you want a really simple, healthy recipe, this one is for you!Login to Deals to Meals to find out the best prices on produce in your area. There are some great deals this week, so make sure check the sales before you head out to do your grocery shopping!

Grilled Vegetable Hummus Wraps

2018-01-17 14:21:52

Ingredients

1 package whole wheat tortillas or favorite wrap flavor
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup favorite hummus
1-2 zucchini squash, sliced horizontally
1-2 tomatoes, sliced
1 red onion, sliced
1-2 yellow squash, sliced horizontally
Mushrooms, eggplant, any vegetables would work
Olive oil
Montreal Steak Seasoning
Garlic Powder, to taste
Salt & pepper, as needed

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Instructions

Slice the vegetables and place on a cookie sheet. Drizzle the vegetables with olive oil. Season with Montreal Steak Seasoning, garlic powder and salt and pepper. Heat an outdoor grill to medium-high heat. Place the vegetables on the grill and cook until they have nice grill lines on the back side and then turn and cook on the second side. Tomatoes will need to cook the least amount of time, so put them on at the very end of the cooking. Squash and onions will take the longest to cook so put them on first.
Once the vegetables are grilled, prepare the wraps. Spread a generous portion of the hummus on the top of one of the tortillas. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Place the hot vegetables on top of the cheese to melt it a little. Roll the wrap up and serve warm.

Notes

*Serve on a gluten free tortilla for a gluten free meal. If your family likes meat, add some grilled chicken to the wraps for extra protein.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Sausage and Cream Cheese Omelets {Keto Friendly Recipe}

Ellen is sharing with us today another Keto Friendly recipe that looks amazing! I can’t wait to give this a try. Who doesn’t love sausage in their omelet, let alone covered in cream cheese? Pair that with a seasoned egg omelet and fresh tomatoes, that sounds heavenly! Thank you Ellen for another wonderful recipe. Remember to follow Ellen @MyNovaVita on Instagram for more of her delicious and healthy recipes.

Sausage and Cream Cheese Omelets

2018-01-17 14:38:59

Ingredients

16 oz. Jimmy Dean Sage Sausage
8 oz. cream cheese
Salt and pepper

Omelets

8 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup red onion, diced
1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup spinach, chopped
1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
Chopped parsley for garnish
Cooking Spray
Olive Oil

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Instructions

Brown the sausage in a saute pan until golden brown. Drain any excess grease from the pan. You can rinse the sausage if you are wanting to cut down on calories, but you will lose some of the flavor. Add the cream cheese to the sausage and continue to cook until combined. Season with a little salt and pepper and set aside.
In a seperate pan, saute the onions and pepper in a little olive oil until translucent and then remove from the pan and set aside.
In a bowl, whisk together the eggs. Heat the onion/pepper pan back up to medium heat. Pour a fourth of the eggs into the pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Cover over medium heat until the edges of the eggs are set. Sprinkle a fourth of the onion/pepper mixture, spinach and tomatoes on top then flip and cook until cooked through. Top with a fourth of the sausage mixture as the filling and serve. Repeat 3 more times to make four large omelets.

By Ellen Johnson @ MyNovaVita

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Healthy Asian Turkey and Cabbage Stir-fry

It’s a new year and I am excited to share some healthy recipes your family will love, and so will your diets! I am not great at sticking to strange fad diets, but I do know when I eat lean meats, plenty of fruits and veggies, whole grains, I feel a lot better. Sadly, sugar will forever and always be the death of my diets. I have such a home-baked sweet tooth. If I could stay out of the kitchen and stop baking, I would make things a little easier for my waistline. That being said, I still love coming up with fresh, whole food recipes and have an amazing one for you today!

My family has grown to love ground turkey over the years. Several years ago they used to whine and complain if I used ground turkey instead of beef. However, I know a 93% lean ground turkey is a healthier option than red meat. So, I tend to cook mostly with turkey lately and we love it. I wanted to switch things up a little tonight, so I came up with this Asian Turkey and Cabbage Stirfry that was amazing. Not to mention, it was so, extremely simple. It took less time than the rice did to cook. Twenty minutes tops and dinner is on the table. Lovely!Login to Deals to Meals to get this delicious recipe on our new meal planner. If you are not a member already, it’s the BEST time to sign up with our New Year’s Lowest Pricing. Save $18 in 2018 and get a year membership to Deals to Meals for only $42! That’s the lowest price we’ve ever offered. We want to help you save some serious time and money this year! Email us at todd@dealstomeals.com if you have any questions on how to GET THIS DEAL.

Layered Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies

With all of these amazing BAKING DEALS, I decided I wanted to come up with a dessert recipe that could use EVERYTHING on sale. It was kind of fun. I felt like I was on a cooking show. I got out the brownie mix, sugar, powdered sugar, butter, eggs, milk, peanut butter, cream cheese, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and put my recipe inventing cap on. Really, it wasn’t too hard 😉 With all of these delicious ingredients, it of course spelled a delightful rendition of a brownie. I decided to switch things up a little and make a layered brownie with a rich, peanut butter chocolate brownie, a smooth peanut butter cream cheese layer and top it off with a chocolate buttercream frosting. Not sure you can go wrong with this amount of sugar and goodness, but I gave it a whirl. The results were amazing!! Even though I feel like I have eaten more sugar in this past week than I have all year, it didn’t stop me from eating several pieces of this brownie last night. It really is a rich and decadent dessert that would be perfect for ANY Christmas party these next couple weeks. Not to mention, you can buy ALL of the ingredients on sale this week. Login to Deals to Meals to see all of the best baking, grocery deals in your area. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Brownie Cream Cheese Bars

2017-12-07 16:03:26

Brownie Layer

1 box brownie mix
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup oil
3 eggs
1 cup peanut butter chocolate chips (or mini peanut butter cups)

Cream Cheese Filling

8 oz. cream cheese
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
dash salt
1/4 cup half and half

Frosting

1 1/2 sticks butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3 Tbs. to 1/4 cup milk (as needed)
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Dash salt

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Spray a 9x13 pan with non stick cooking spray.
In a bowl, add the brownie mix, oil, water and eggs together. Fold in the peanut butter chocolate chips and spread the batter into the 9x13 pan.
Rinse out that same bowl and add the cream cheese ingredients into the bowl. With an electric mixer, mix together until smooth. Place large drops of the cream cheese mixture all over the brownie layer. With a knife, swirl the cheesecake layer into and around the brownie layer.
Place in an oven that has been preheated to 350 degrees. Bake for 38-45 minutes, or until the center comes out clean with a knife (this time seemed to vary when I've made it. You don't want it gooey, but you also don't want it over baked. Take it out once you don't see the batter 'jiggle' any longer).
While the brownie is baking, make the frosting. For the frosting, rinse out the cream cheese bowl and add the butter for the frosting. With an electric mixer, whisk until smooth and butter starts to turn white. Add the cocoa powder and beat until combined. Add a tablespoon of milk at a time as you add the powdered sugar. Add enough powdered sugar so frosting is thick enough to spread, but still soft. Add the vanilla and dash of salt and whip until fluffy.
Once the brownie is cooked through, remove from the oven and let rest until just about cooled. Spread with the frosting and serve.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Fluffy Apple Waffles with Apple Cider Syrup

2017-10-23 13:43:35

Waffles

2 cups applejuice
1 1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup oil
6 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup dried apples (optional)
2 1/2 cup white flour
2 1/2 cup wheat flour

Apple Cider Syrup

1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
3 apples, diced and core removed
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4-1/2 cup apple juice or cider
Dash salt

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Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the apple juice, milk, oil and eggs and combine together. Then add the salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, vanilla extract, sugar and dried apples and stir. Add the flour to the batter and mix just until incorporated. If the batter is too runny, add a few more tablespoons of flour. Once the batter is to the consistency you like, turn on the waffle maker and heat up.
When the waffle iron is hot, spray both sides of the griddle with non stick cooking spray. Pour about a half cup of the batter into the waffle iron. Cook until golden brown and then remove.
While the waffles are cooking, make the apple cider syrup. For the syrup, rinse off the apples and remove the core. Slice into pieces and dice into small pieces. Place the butter, sugar and apples into a sauce pan and bring to medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer and then add the remaining ingredients. Add enough apple juice/cider to make the syrup the consistency you like. As the mixture cooks, it will thicken, so add a little juice at a time so it doesn't get too runny.
Serve the apple syrup over the waffles when they are cooked.
This recipe makes quite a bit, so you can half the recipe if you wish.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Cranberry Orange Quinoa Salad, Roasted Squash and Curried Cauliflower

My friend Ellen Johnson has completely inspired me to incorporating more vegan and/or vegetarian recipes into my families diet. I have always loved cooking with fresh produce in season, but Ellen has taken my favorite recipes to a whole new level. She has a way of turning food into pure, healthy, vegan-magic! Here is some of the beautiful produce she bought using Deals to Meals this past week. Deals to Meals is a great way to help you save on all of your produce and healthy ingredient needs. Just because you want to eat healthy, doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your food budget to do so. Login to Deals to Meals to get all of the best grocery deals in your area.Not only are her pictures beautiful, but they are tried and true as well. Every recipe Ellen shares you know has been perfected in her kitchen before she shares. If you are not following her on Instagram yet, you need to (@mynovavita). Thanks Ellen for some delicious, whole food recipes we can’t wait to try 😉

Vegan Maple Roasted Butternut Squash

2017-10-19 23:22:46

Ingredients

1 butternut squash
2 tbsp melted coconut oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp Nutiva butter substitute melted (or ghee or butter)
1 tsp thyme
¼ cup Tbsp finely chopped pecans
Himalayan Salt and freshly ground pepper

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 425.
Cut butternut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and pulp from the squash and discard. Use a vegetable peeler, to peel off the skin down to the orange flesh. Place on prepared baking sheet that has been lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray, cut side down. Brush squash with coconut oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool until you are able to handle it 5-10 minutes
Remove squash halves to a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to cut slits 1/4-inch apart in the squash leaving about ½ inch intact on the bottom (if you place a wooden spoon along each side as your cutting it will stop the knife from accidently going all the way through)
Return squash back to the cookie sheet and brush with 1/3 of the Maple syrup and melted nutiva sprinkle once more with salt and pepper & also the thyme. Pour 1/4 cup water in to bottom of pan, then return to 425 oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, baste with more maple/butter mixture, add another 1/4 of water to the pan and return to the oven for a further 15 minutes.
Sprinkle the pecans over the squash and brish with the remaining maple syrup mix Add a final 1/4 cup of water to the pan and return to the oven for a further 8-10 minutes, or until squash is tender. Drizzle with more maple syrup if desired before serving.
This recipe was modified but the original recipe is from www.seasonandsuppers.com

By Ellen Johnson at MyNovaVita

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Candied Sweet Potato with Figs and Roasted Grapes

2017-10-19 23:26:10

Ingredients

1 sweet potato, baked
Goat cheese (optional)
Grapes
Figs
Maple Syrup
Chopped Candied Pecans

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Instructions

Just take a baked sweet potato (microwave or bake until tender). Cut the potato in half. Add the goat cheese or vegan cream cheese on top. Top with roasted grapes and figs (or fresh) and drizzle with real maple syrup. Top with candied pecans on top (optional).

By Ellen Johnson and MyNovaVita

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Cranberry Orange Quinoa Salad

2017-10-19 23:28:20

Ingredients

1 ½ cups water
½ cup orange juice +1 tbsp (not from concentrate)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup quinoa
3 tablespoons finely shopped green or red onion or both
1 tablespoon coconut oil melted
Rind from one orange (optional)

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Instructions

Bring water, ½ cup orange juice, cranberries and salt to a boil in medium saucepan. Add quinoa; reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 15 to 20 minutes or until water is absorbed. Drizzle with oil and remaining 1 tbsp orange juice before and sprinkle with onions before serving.

By Ellen Johnson at MyNovaVita

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Roasted Curry Cauliflower

2017-10-19 23:30:37

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower cut into ½ inch “steaks”
1/ 4 cup olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
½ tsp turmeric
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
Mix all ingredients except the cauliflower and cilantro in a small bowl until well combined.
Brush both ides of the “steaks” with the mixture. Be gentle, as the cauliflower steaks can break apart easily. Carefully place on baking sheet lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray & Roast for 20-25 minutes total, flipping carefully once at the halfway point to ensure even browning on both sides, or until tender and browned. I served with a cilantro mint chutney☺

By Ellen Johnson and MyNovaVita

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Caramel Apple Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

One of the great benefits to living in the basement apartment of my parents home is getting to enjoy some of my Mom’s delicious recipes. She doesn’t love to cook as much anymore, but she is a master baker. When our home is finished, I’m going to miss a lot of things about living with my parents, but her special treats, will definitely be missed. (Good thing we’ve got awhile…this house building process is slow ;/)

The other day she made this moist, apple-filled, amazing Caramel Apple Spice Cake. As soon as I saw it, I knew I needed to snap a couple photos and share the recipe with you. Not to mention, cake mixes, canned pie filling and apples are all on sale this week, so you can make this dessert for only a couple dollars! I can’t wait for you to give this recipe a try.

Caramel Apple Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

2017-10-18 12:21:04

Cake

1 box spiced cake mix
1 (20 oz.) can Caramel Apple Pie Filling (Wilderness brand is my favorite)
1 egg
1 fresh apple, cored and chopped (optional)
1/4 cup oil

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 stick butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 lbs. powdered sugar (might only need 1 1/2 lbs.)
2 tsp. vanilla
1 capful butter flavoring
Dash salt
Dash cinnamon (for garnish)

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Instructions

Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Open the can of the apple pie filling and with a knife, cut into the can with big strokes of the knife to cut up the apples in the can. You don't need to chop the apples super small, just cut up the apple pieces so they are not so large. In a mixing bowl, add the spice cake mix, can of apple pie filling, egg and oil. Whisk together until everything is all mixed together. If you like extra apple, you can cut up a fresh apple into small pieces (or shred) and add to the cake as well. Once the batter is mixed, spray a 9x13 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray, or spray two round cake pans. Pour the batter into the pans and place in the oven. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the pan. Don't over bake the cake, or it will dry out. While the cake is cooking, make the frosting.
Frosting: In a mixing bowl and with an electric mixer, beat together the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla, butter flavoring and salt and continue to mix. Add the powdered sugar and beat frosting until smooth and thick. If the frosting is too thick you can add a couple teaspoons of milk if needed. You will want the frosting fairly thick so it will hold stiff on the cake.
Once the cake is baked, remove from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes before removing the cake from the round pans. If using round cake pans, remove them from the pans. Place one of the rounds onto a cake plate. Frost the center with a layer of cream cheese frosting. Place the top round on top of the frosting and frost the top with the rest of the frosting (you might have a little extra you can save and use later). Sprinkle with a little cinnamon and serve.

By Louene Perry

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

It’s official, as of today all five of our kiddos are back to school. It’s a bitter sweet day. I thought all I wanted was some peace and quiet and now that we have the house to ourselves, Todd and I feel a little sad. We’ve watched several Hallmarks and now the cooking network and I have to admit it is kind of nice to not have Mom guilt for working while they’re home, but I do miss them. It’s been an awesome summer and I’m so glad I still get to be home with my best friend during the day. Thanks Todd for keeping me company!

So..for those of you looking for something to do before kids get home (ha!), here is a favorite cookie recipe my kids requested for yesterday. Who doesn’t love a classic peanut butter cookie? This recipe is a little more fluffy and cake like. If you want more of a chewy peanut butter cookie, here’s a recipe you’ll also love.

Not to mention there are some great deals on peanut butter throughout the country. Many Kroger sales have awesome deals on either JIF peanut butter or Kroger. Login to Deals to Meals to see all of the best grocery deals in your area. Check back TOMORROW for some back-to-school giveaways and an awesome Deals to Meals Membership SPECIAL!!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

2017-08-23 13:12:29

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup peanut butter
1 1/4 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. salt
4 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
6 1/2 cups flour
12 oz. bag peanut butter chocolate chips
12 oz. bag milk chocolate chips

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Instructions

Cream the peanut butter and butter in a large mixing bowl with mixer until light and fluffy. Add the sugars, vanilla, salt and eggs. Mix together until whipped and light. Add the dry ingredients and continue to mix until combined. Once the dough has come together, add the two bags of chocolate chips.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick cookie spray. Place golf ball sized cookie dough balls onto the cookie sheet. Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until lightly golden brown (don't over cook or they will dry out). Remove from the pan and let cool until ready to serve.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Easy Cheesy BBQ Chicken

Looking for a meal that seriously couldn’t be any easier? We had leftover mashed potatoes from our meal the other night and I wanted a simple chicken dish to serve with them. I only have about 20 minutes to get dinner on the table and I wasn’t in the mood to slave away in our hot kitchen (yep, no a/c at our rental abode–good thing summer is almost over ;). To make things really easy, I decided to pull out some frozen and grilled chicken breasts from our freezer and I turned them into this simple, Easy Cheesy BBQ Chicken. With the mashed potatoes and a spinach salad it was the perfect meal that took less than 10 minutes to throw together. Can’t beat that!

Easy Cheesy BBQ Chicken

2017-08-17 22:04:51

Ingredients

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 cup barbecue sauce
1-1 1/2 cup shredded colby cheese
1/4 cup green onions, sliced
1/4-1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved (optional garnish)
Mashed potatoes (optional side)

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Instructions

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Turn the oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken breasts into the 9x13 pan and lay flat. If you want your chicken to cook more quickly, cut them in half horizontally. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Cover with tinfoil and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in the center. When the chicken is nearly cooked through, remove from the oven, remove tinfoil and drain any extra chicken broth from the pan. If there are fatty parts to the chicken, cut those off as well. Cover the chicken breasts with plenty of bbq sauce on both sides. Add a generous portion of shredded cheese on top of each chicken piece. Turn the oven to broil and broil chicken for 2-3 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and brown. Garnish chicken with sliced green onions and diced tomatoes. Serve warm. Serves 6.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Not to mention the chicken, cheese, bbq sauce and potatoes are all on sale at your local grocery store. Check out all of the best grocery deals in your area by logging into Deals to Meals. Saving money on your grocery bill doesn’t have to take a lot of money or time. Let us help you with a membership to Deals to Meals. Remember, if you don’t save, you don’t pay! Head over to Deals to Meals to check out what we have to offer 😉

Grilled Peaches, Grilled Tomato Sandwiches, Chipotle Turkey Wraps

Grilled Peaches with Honey Lime Glaze:

Summer is the perfect time to make these grilled and glazed peaches and pineapple. If you’re looking for a sweet, healthy treat, this is the time to make this recipe while peaches are on sale for only $0.98/lb.

Have any tomatoes from your garden? These grilled cheese tomato sandwiches are a favorite around here. Buy several of Smith’s sliced cheese for only .99 each and keep some in your freezer for later. You’re going to love this simple recipe!

Grilled Cheese Tomato Sandwiches

What’s more perfect for summer than Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches? You’re going to love these and with ice cream only $1.99 for a half gallon, it’s a great time to splurge 😉

Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches

I love having several bone-in turkey breasts in my freezer for those days I need a quick, slow cooker meal. Since they are on sale for only $1.49/lb., it’s a great time to stock your freezer. I also love when I have leftover shredded turkey for sandwiches or wraps. Try these Chipotle Turkey Avocado Wraps for a simple weeknight meal your whole family will love!

Chipotle Turkey Avocado Wraps

Simple Pita Taco Pizzas

While we were back East this summer we went to a restaurant that served the best taco pizza. Every time I see taco pizza at a buffet I am leery of giving it a try. Not sure that’s a combo that should be together. I thought that anyway, until I gave it a try. It ended up being all of our favorite pizza and couldn’t get enough of it. I was in a pinch to make dinner the other night and realized I had some frozen pita bread in my freezer (from Costco–love that stuff) and some frozen, pre-cooked taco meat in my freezer. I whipped together these Pita Taco Pizzas and they were a big hit for all of us. Nothing fancy, just good, cheesy, delicious flavor on a soft, pita crust.

If you’re looking for a super simple meal idea, login to Deals to Meals and check out our recipe for Simple Pita Taco Pizzas. Login and also see all of the best grocery deals in your area. All ingredients (besides the pita bread) is on sale this week, which makes this meal for a family of 6-7 for well under $10! Hope you enjoy.

BBQ Chicken Pizza Salad

I was looking through my menu planner this week and remembered a salad I shared many years ago that is still one of my favorites. I love the combination of flavors and how when I eat this salad, I feel like I am eating a delicious slice of BBQ Chicken Pizza–without all the carbs! This salad would be so great on a hot, summer night. I’m adding it to my meal planner this week and I hope you do to. Get this recipe, along with all of our other favorite recipes at www.dealstomeals.com.

Need help with your grocery shopping and meal planning? Don’t forget to login to Deals to Meals and let us do all the hard work for you. Try Deals to Meals for two weeks free and see how much time and money you can save!

Healthy Buffalo Chicken Salad Sandwiches

For those busy nights I don’t know what to make, I love to pull out the grilled and frozen chicken from my freezer and whip together a quick sandwich for lunch or dinner. The other day I was looking to jazz up our traditional Chicken Salad Sandwich recipe to bring on a picnic in the mountains and decided to add a little buffalo flair to the mix. It was so good, I wanted to share this with you in case you need a simple dinner idea, or a grab-and-go lunch.

You could also ‘healthy-ize’ this meal by using greek yogurt instead of mayo and serving it on a sandwich thin. I many times do half mayo and half greek yogurt and you can barely tell. You could also serve these in a lettuce leaf for a low-carb version 😉 Hope you enjoy!

5 Favorite Camping Meals to Simplify Your Summer

This post is probably coming a little too late, but in case you have a trip planned later this summer, I wanted to share a few tips to make camping easy (and delicious)! My husband and I are big fans of camping. We love to get away and spend some quiet time with the family in the beauty of nature. Whether we are camping, or even on an extended stay in a hotel, there are a few meals I never leave home without.

These meals are so simple, even a kid can make them! My son Isaac loved turning on the stove each night to warm up our dinner. With just a little forethought, you can make camping a breeze!

BREAKFAST

Breakfast and lunch have become simplified over the years for our family. I used to make big, homemade breakfasts. I have to admit I have become a little lazy over the years and we now only have cereal, yogurt and granola, or bagels with fruit. These meals are super simple and allows us to not have to clean any dishes–which is a bonus!

However, my sister did make these Overnight Oatmeal Jars which were super yummy and would be easy to make ahead of time. These jars can be made a few days in advance and will be ready to eat when you need. All you do is add regular oats in a jar, some fresh fruit, real maple syrup, dash of salt and almond milk and lightly shake. Keep these jars in the fridge overnight (or for 1-2 days) and then serve with a little more almond milk as desired. You can play around with any flavors you’d like–add some chocolate protein powder, some coconut, chocolate chips and bananas for a chocolate version. Add some pumpkin and cinnamon for a fall flair. The options are limitless.

LUNCH

Lunch is even easier, we only do sandwiches. Bring a healthy portion of bread, lunch meat, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese and condiments and you’re set for days 😉 Nothing fancy, just easy to throw together in a hurry.

DINNER

Dinner is my favorite meal while camping. Don’t you think everything just tastes better up in the mountains? Maybe it’s just me, but I LOVE meal time while camping. It makes me happy!

Here are the five meals we ALWAYS eat when we’re camping. I’ve become so accustomed to it that I don’t even think anymore. The week or two before we go camping I double these recipes and freeze half of them to enjoy while away. These are some of our family’s favorites, easy recipes and I hope you enjoy them too!

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Who doesn’t love these? They are great for lunch or dinner, whichever you need. In fact, I usually make a huge bowl of this so we can enjoy them for a simple dinner (usually the first day when we’re setting up) and for lunch the next day.

Mexican Tacos with Black Beans and Corn

The thing I love about these tacos is they can feed an army! With the black beans and corn added to the meat, this meal can be stretched to feed several people. I love to make extra of this taco meat and use for a taco salad for an easy lunch. There is nothing easier than tacos when camping. Shred some lettuce, dice some tomatoes, serve with shredded cheese and away you go! If you like double decker tacos, warm some refried beans and serve some beans in between a flour and hard shell taco. Your family will be filled and happy before you know it!

Shredded BBQ Chicken or Pork Sandwiches

Can’t get easier than this recipe. Throw some chicken or pork in a slow cooker and let the machine do the work. After serveral hours drain off the excess juices and shred the meat. Add BBQ sauce before you pack the meat, or serve it on the side once you’ve warmed the meat up at camp. For a little gourmet flair, add some sliced avocado and some chipotle mayo (shown above). Serve these sandwiches with baked beans, watermelon and chips. Easy-peasy and super yummy!

Tangy Sloppy Joes

What’s more American than a sloppy joe? The best part about these, is when I make up a big batch of taco meat, I double the ground beef and use the other half for the sloppy joes. The base is the same of an onion and ground beef (or turkey), so it makes these two recipes easy to make at the same time. Once the meat is ground, I put half of the meat in a second pan and turn that into sloppy joes. I love my Mom’s original recipe for sloppy joes. They are a little tangy, spicy and sweet. The perfect combo, if you ask me!

Hot Dog or Hamburger Barbecue (or Healthier Salad Option)

My husband and kids love hot dogs and their camping trip wouldn’t be complete without that as a meal. I on the other hand, like a little healthier option of a homemade salad. I usually plan a nice salad as a side dish to the hot dogs then we both are happy. We have too many delicious salad recipes to mention, so just search ‘salad’ and you’ll have plenty to choose from. Want a fun twist for your hot dogs? Give these Hawaiian Polish Dogs a try. They are so good even I would like them 🙂

I hope these meals will help you with your next camping trip or vacation. If you have any favorite meals you like to make, I’d love to hear about them 🙂 Leave us a comment and give us some more ideas!

Southwestern Quinoa Spinach Salad

Here’s the recipe I promised you for the Southwestern Quinoa Spinach Salad I told you about yesterday. If you are looking for a healthy, hearty side salad, this is the one for you! If you are a vegetarian, this would also make for a fresh and delicious main dish salad as well. The dressing for this salad is light, healthy and perfect for any salad. Login to Deals to Meals to get the recipe for our Cheesy Jalapeno Chicken I served this salad with for the perfect, summer dinner. Hope you enjoy!

Southwestern Quinoa Spinach Salad

2017-07-07 10:58:56

Ingredients

2 cup cooked quinoa
2 cans black beans, drained
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
1 pint grape tomatoes, in half
2 cup spinach leaves
1/2 cup lime juice
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup honey
1 Tbs. jalapeno jar juice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cumin powder
3/4 cup Kraft roasted red pepper salad dressing

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Instructions

Place two cups of quinoa and four cups of water into a large pot. Bring to a boil then place a lid on top of the pot. Turn the heat off and let the quinoa cook for 10-12 minutes, or until fork tender. Once the quinoa is cooked, set it aside to cool.
Drain the cans of black beans. Dice the yellow pepper, orange bell pepper and cut the grape tomatoes in half. Tear the spinach leaves and place in a large serving bowl. Once the quinoa is cool, add that to the serving bowl too.
For the dressing, whisk together the lime juice, oil, honey, jalapeno jar juice, salt, cumin and roasted red pepper dressing. Whisk together and drizzle over the salad as desired.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Healthy Quinoa Spinach Pesto Frittata

If you are looking for a healthy, homemade, vegetarian breakfast, this is the recipe for you. I just made it this recipe this morning and my sisters and I are in love with this recipe! For those mornings you’re not wanting a syrupy, sugar filled breakfast, this is a really quick and healthy breakfast or simple dinner. And for those of you counting calories, you could use egg whites, lowfat mozzarella or parmesan cheese and you have a hearty meal that is not only healthy, but delicious! Hope you enjoy and are having an awesome weekend.

Healthy Quinoa Spinach Pesto Frittata

2017-07-07 10:53:32

Ingredients

2 cup baby spinach
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 red bell pepper, diced
12 eggs
1 cup milk
1 Tbs. pesto
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

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Instructions

In a pan, place a 3/4 cup of quinoa and 1 cup of water. Turn the heat to medium-high heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Turn the heat to low, put a lid on the quinoa and let it cook for about 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and let it cool until room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add the cooked quinoa into a mixing bowl. Add the spinach, diced red bell pepper and mix together. In a bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, pesto, salt and pepper. Pour this mixture over the spinach/quinoa mixture and toss. Spray two glass pie plates with cooking spray. Pour half of the mixture in each pie plate. Sprinkle on the top of each pie plate with the shredded cheese. Put in the oven and bake for 28-30 minutes, or until the center no longer jiggles and is firm. Remove and serve with salsa.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Jalapeno Popper Chicken Quesadillas

Like I mentioned earlier this week, I am all about easy and fast meals lately. What is quicker than quesadillas? This is not your normal quesadilla though. These are taken to a whole new level. Great news though, although these quesadillas are simple, they aren’t lacking flavor. They are creamy, cheesy, spicy, full of tender chicken and pickled jalapeños. If you’re looking for a simple meal, you’re going to LOVE these!

And of course, all of the ingredients are on sale again this week: shredded cheese, tortillas, chicken, jarred jalapeños and sour cream. Login to Deals to Meals to get all of the grocery deals to make this meal for well under $10. Enjoy friends!

Let the adventure begin! We closed on our land this week and now have the super fun job of getting four tons (literally) of wood concrete forms that were left on our lot. Lucky us! If any of you have some fun, DIY project that could use these wood forms, you are welcome to them!! Email me at shandra@dealstomeals.com and I’ll let you know where you can pick these up for a really, really low price of NOTHING! 🙂

Jalapeno Popper Chicken Quesadillas

2017-06-28 22:37:47

Ingredients

4-5 boneless skinless chicken breasts
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2-1 cup pickled jalapeños peppers, with some of the juices
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. cumin powder
1 cup shredded colby jack cheese
1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
10-15 burrito size flour tortillas

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Instructions

Put the chicken breasts into a crock pot and season with salt and pepper. Cook the chicken on low heat for 4-6 hours, or until tender. Once the chicken is tender, remove the chicken from the crock pot and shred (leaving the extra broth in the pot). In a serving bowl, place the cream cheese and microwave for 30 seconds, or until able to mix with a spatula until creamy. Chop the jalapeno peppers into small pieces and add to the bowl. If it's too thick, add a little of the pepper juices to give more flavor and spice. Add the rest of the ingredients and the shredded chicken. Season with salt and pepper.
Heat a griddle to medium heat. Spray with non stick cooking spray or melt a little butter onto the griddle. Spread a generous portion of the chicken mixture onto the tortilla. Place a tortilla on the top and put it on the griddle.
Cook both sides of the tortilla and heat until the cheese is melted and it's golden brown. Remove from the griddle and slice into pieces to serve. Garnish with chopped cilantro and/or more jalapeños.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Blue Bacon Hawaiian Burger

Can you believe it is almost the 4th of July? Where is this year going to? We have been so busy this summer getting our home ready to sell, showing it (ugh…keeping a house clean with kids out of school is an impossible task!) and packing up, that I haven’t had much time for making dinner. We’ve been surviving off of sandwiches, cereal and some freezer meals. If I can’t throw it together in less than 30 minutes lately, it’s not going to work for me.

The other night I knew my family was in need of some ‘real’ food. I had some turkey thawing and I decided to throw together some burgers on the grill to keep the kitchen clean. These Blue Bacon Hawaiian Burger were extremely simple, and yet full of delicious flavor and texture. They were a huge hit for everyone and if you’re looking for an easy recipe for your upcoming bbq’s these burgers are great!

Best part about it is ALL of the ingredients you need are on sale this week: ground beef, canned pineapple, bbq sauce and buns. This meal is well under $10 for a family of 6. Login to Deals to Meals to see where all of the best 4th of July deals are located! Happy shopping and saving money!

Blue Bacon Hawaiian Burgers

2017-06-28 14:16:02

Burgers

2 lb. lean ground turkey or beef
1/2 onion, diced small
1/2 cup favorite bbq sauce
1 egg
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 Tbs. Montreal steak seasoning

Toppings

1 can pineapple rings, drained
1 cup crumbled blue cheese (optional)
1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled
Extra bbq sauce
Hamburger buns

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Instructions

Cook the bacon in a skillet until cooked through and crispy (or use precooked bacon for an easier option). Let the bacon drain on a paper towel until ready to serve.
For the meat, dice the onion and place in a mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and combine together. Form the meat into 8 patties. Heat an out door grill to medium-high heat. Once the grill is hot, place the beef patties on the grill. Let the burgers cook until they get nice grill lines on the under side. Flip the burgers over and cook on the other side until all of them are no longer pink in the center and cooked through.
Remove the meat and serve on a bun with a slice of pineapple, the strips of bacon, crumbled blue cheese and extra bbq sauce. You can also add lettuce and tomatoes if you wish, or just eat them this way with fewer ingredients. They are great both ways!

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Potato Bar

I wanted to share with you one of my go-to recipes when I don’t have a lot of time but need to get a homemade dinner on the table.

The sky is the limit when smothering a baked potato in yummy goodness, but this is the way I grew up with and still love today. I love just about every vegetable you can think of on my potatoes. Add some shredded cheese and a drop of ranch dressing and you have a healthy, fresh, easy dinner your family is sure to love. Best part about it is everyone can create their own masterpiece with their favorite toppings, so everyone leaves happy. If kids are happy, mama is happy!

Login to Deals to Meals to find out where you can get all of the ingredients for this meal on sale at your local grocery store. Cheese, potatoes, frozen vegetables, tomatoes, eggs, sour cream, ranch dressing, and MUCH more are all on sale this week. This makes this meal well under $10, so give it a try today!

Baked Potato Bar

2017-06-07 16:41:03

Ingredients

1 large russet potato per person

Toppings of your choice

Kidney beans, drained
Broccoli, diced
Shredded cheese
Frozen peas, thawed
Tomatoes, diced
Hard boiled egg, peeled and chopped
Meat of your choice (optional): crumbled bacon, cubed ham, etc.
Ranch dressing or sour cream
Salt and pepper

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Instructions

Scrub the potatoes until clean. Poke with a fork and microwave (or bake) for 14-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender. Remove from the microwave or oven and cut a slice in the top of the potato. Open up the potato and top with your favorite toppings. Serve with sour cream or ranch dressing.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Doug’s Famous Mojito Lime Fajitas

It’s just about summer and around here that means the next few months will be filled with family vacations, church camps, a youth pioneer trek, young men adventure camps, girls camps and much more. That is something I love about our church. My teens don’t have a choice to sit home and be bored during the summer. Yes, they’ll have their fair share of sleep-in, do nothing days, but they’ll also ahve some fun adventures with some amazing youth.

If you are in charge of food for one of these youth events, or just need an amazing recipe to take camping, I wanted to share our friend’s famous recipe with you. Meet Doug. He is a crack-up! You can not be with him without laughing hysterically within minutes. Not only does he have a great sense of humor, he makes the BEST fajitas on the planet. Doug has been known to drive hours to a youth activity for our church to make these amazing fajitas. Here he is a couple summers ago cooking up enough fajitas to feed over 300 people! Now that is an act of love.

Whether you are feeding 300 or just 3, you are going to love this recipe. They really are quite simple, but with a few special tips, they go from being average to amazing!

There is a secret ingredient though. You need to have a bottle of McCormick’s Mojito Lime Seasoning. You can buy this stuff in little dorky packets from Walmart, or you can get this size online from Amazon. I promise you…you will want the BIG container. This seasoning is good on SO many things: Fajitas, taco meat, shredded beef, chicken, fish and so much more. It has this awesome spice with a sweet and sour lime undertone. It’s delish!

Okay, enough about how great these fajitas are. Here is Doug’s simple, yet amazing recipe! Enjoy 🙂

Doug's Famous Mojito Lime Fajitas

2017-05-30 09:39:31

Marinade

2 Tbs. McCormick Mojito Lime Seasoning
1/4 cup canola oil
2 Tbs. lime juice
2 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 lbs. chicken, sliced into thin strips

Fajitas

1 onion, sliced thin
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
1 green bell pepper, sliced thin
1 pkg. flour tortillas
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Cilantro and limes for garnish (optional)

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Instructions

Combine all of the marinade ingredients together and place in a large bowl or ziploc bag.
Slice the chicken into thin strips, removing any of the excess fat.
Place the chicken into the marinade and let it sit for 1-24 hours in the fridge.
When ready to cook, prep the onions and peppers and set aside.
In a large saute pan or wok (Doug only uses a wok), heat the pan to high heat. You want the pan super hot to get a nice sear on the chicken.
Once the pan is super hot, add a little oil and place enough pieces of chicken onto the pan as you can in one single layer. Don't place the chicken on top of each other or they won't get a nice, golden brown side.
Let the chicken cook in the oil and heat for a minute or two, or until the bottom side of the chicken is nice and golden brown. A nice sear will give the chicken some good flavor. Once the one side of the chicken is seared, you can saute the chicken and turn down the heat a little. Continue to cook until the chicken is no longer pink in the center. If the chicken is cut super thin, the chicken won't take long to cook.
Once the first batch of chicken is cooked, remove from the pan and place in a bowl with a lid to keep warm.
Bring the pan back up to a high heat, add a little more oil to the pan and continue to cook all of the chicken in this same method until night and golden brown and cooked.
Remove all of the chicken and heat the pan again to high heat. Add a little more oil and add the vegetables. Saute the vegetables until they are tender, have some charcoal spots and are cooked to your liking. Season the vegetables with more Mojito Lime Seasoning.
Once the vegetables and chicken are all cooked, you can add the chicken back to the pan to keep warm until ready to serve.
Serve the fajitas mixture in a tortilla with shredded cheese, sour cream and garnish with lime wedges and chopped cilantro.

By Doug Edwards and McCormick Seasonings

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Cowboy Spaghetti

Looking for a quick, weeknight meal for your family? This Cowboy Spaghetti is the perfect solution. Have you heard of this before? This was my first time making it, and it was a huge hit! Not sure how it’s different than normal spaghetti other than the fact it is chuck-full of yummy meats like pepperoni, ground beef and bacon. I’m assuming cowboys love meat? I guess I’m a cowgirl at heart 😉 If your family likes a meaty, hearty spaghetti, this is the recipe for you!

Cowboy Spaghetti

2017-05-18 12:29:05

Ingredients

1 Tbs. olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. bacon
1 cup pepperoni, diced
8 oz. white mushrooms, diced small
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
1 cup chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup green onions, sliced
1 lb. spaghetti noodles
1/2 cup olives, sliced
Shredded cheddar cheese

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Instructions

Dice the onions, slice the mushrooms and set aside. Heat a large saute pan to medium-high heat. Drizzle in the olive oil. Add the onions and saute them until they are tender. Add the mushrooms and continue to saute. Add the ground beef and bacon to the pan and break up into small pieces and the bacon is crispy and the ground beef golden brown. Once the meat is cooked, add the diced pepperoni.
Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, broth, seasonings, etc. Let this sauce simmer until it begins to thicken. While the sauce is simmering, boil the noodles and cook until the pasta is tender. Drain the pasta and serve with the sauce.
Garnish with the sliced green onions, cheddar cheese and sliced olives.

By Deals to Meals

Adapted from Favorite Family Recipes

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Cheesy Chicken Lasagna

The other day I was making dinner for a friend who doesn’t eat red meat. I had all of the ingredients for a homemade lasagna but was a little perplexed how to make it without using Italian sausage or ground beef. I put on my thinking cap and remembered I bought some ground chicken sausage from Sprouts awhile back. I thought I would give it a try and you know what? I didn’t miss the sausage at all! The chicken made for a delicious, light, healthier flavor and I loved it every bit as much as my traditional marinara sauce. So, if you want a lasagna without the red meat, this recipe is a keeper! This is a cheesy, family-friendly recipe your family is going to love.

Don’t forget to login to Deals to Meals to see where all of these items are on sale at your local grocery store. Pasta sauce, noodles, cottage cheese and cheese are all on sale. It’s the perfect week to make this recipe for under $10!

Cheesy Chicken Lasagna

2017-04-27 22:28:35

Sauce

1 Tbs. olive oil
2 lb. ground chicken sausage
1 onion, diced
3 cans diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
2 tsp. brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
2 tsp. basil
1 tsp. garlic powder

Filling

2 (16 oz.) cottage cheese
1 tsp. basil
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 package oven ready lasagna noodles
2-3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

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Instructions

Dice the onions into small pieces. Heat a large saute pan and drizzle with the olive oil. Bring the pan to medium-high heat until the oil begins to heat through. Add the diced onions and saute until tender. Add the ground chicken sausage to the onions and continue to cook until the chicken is browned. Break up the pieces of chicken so it is completely ground and broken up. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, brown sugar, salt, Italian seasoning, basil and garlic powder. Let this mixture simmer on a low boil for 5-7 minutes until it starts to thicken. While the sauce is cooking, make the filling.
For the filling, combine the cottage cheese, basil and mozzarella cheese together until smooth. If you don't like the texture of cottage cheese, you can use ricotta cheese or puree this filling in a blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
To assemble the lasagna, spread a generous portion of sauce onto the bottom of a 9x13 or 11x14 pan. Lay out a layer of the oven ready lasagna noodles. Spread a layer of the filling on top of the noodles and top with more sauce. Sprinkle a layer of shredded mozzarella cheese on top. Do this 2-3 more times until the lasagna is layered and to the top of the pan. Have the top layer be the filling, sauce and then top with the mozzarella cheese. Garnish the top with some fresh basil or parsley if desired.
Spray a rectangle piece of aluminum foil with cooking spray. Place over the lasagna and bake at 350 for 60-70 minutes, or until the noodles are tender and the lasagna is bubbly and hot. If you want the top of your lasagna browned, remove the tinfoil the last 10 minutes of baking.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Cheesecake Factory Copycat Thai Coconut-Lime Chicken

Ready for our Meal Planner Monday recipe? If you love Asian or Thai flavors, you’re going to love this one! A couple months ago Todd and I went to the Cheesecake Factory for our anniversary. Although I have my favorites on their menu, there arsse times I want to branch out a little and try a new meal. They had just added a couple new recipes to the menu. This Thai Coconut-Lime Chicken did not disappoint. It was full of flavor, texture, sweetness, a little spicy, creamy and sweet. The mango salsa on top was one of my favorite parts. Add the spicy curry chicken sauce and it’s delicious new recipe to help get your kids to eat their veggies; )

Visit www.dealstomeals.com for this recipe, along with the other meal planner recipes for this week. If you are new to Deals to Meals or want to try a membership to our service, you can take advantage of this one-time low pricing rate! All you need to do is visit this post to find out how to sign up for $3.50 a month. That’s the price of a gallon of milk. Start saving $100’s on your groceries and learning to cook healthy, homemade, delicious meals like this recipe. Hope you enjoy 😉

Cubby’s Copycat Tetonka Chicken Sandwich

There is a new place in town that is our go-to ladies lunch (or breakfast) destination. It’s a place called Cubby’s. Their philosophy is to make fresh, healthy food that both your husband, and yourself would like. Instead of only serving ‘chick’ food, they serve all sorts of juice hamburgers, sandwiches and salads. They serve buffalo cheese fries too, so both my hubby and I are happy 😉 If you live in Utah, you should check out Cubby’s. They are expanding out of state too, so watch for them soon.

They have a favorite sandwich, the Tetonka, I love to order there. I was craving it the other night and decided to recreate them for dinner. The chicken was marinated in a super simple marinade and then grilled and diced. Toss the chicken in a yummy sauce and serve on a warm hoagie bun. This sandwich will make any dinner or lunchtime something special. Login to Deals to Meals to get this recipe from our meal planner this week. You’re going to love it! 🙂

BBQ Chicken Quesadillas

Ready for a really inexpensive, delicious meal you can make in less than 30 minutes for under $10? This is the recipe for you! Login to Deals to Meals to see all of the great grocery deals in your area. One of the ways Deals to Meals can save you so much money is by turning the grocery deals into your weekly meal plan. Here is an example. Smiths (and Kroger) have chicken, pineapple, bbq sauce and cheese all on sale. What meal does that spell? For me, this means BBQ Chicken Pineapple Quesadillas are on our menu. These are so easy to make and such a delicious way to make a homemade meal without spending a lot of money. Login to Deals to Meals to have access to all of the best deals in your area, as well as our meal planner to help simplify your life.

BBQ Chicken Quesadillas

Garlic Sundried Tomato Chicken Marinade

It’s Wednesday and that means I get to share with you one of our recipes from our Deals to Meals meal planner. Most of our recipes we try and make so you can feed your family for well under $10 (for a family of 6-7). This chicken marinade is no exception. We made this chicken when we were out of town last week and it was super simple to put together. The chicken was so flavorful, tender and made a delicious and healthy meal for our family. Great for any barbecues or quick meals.

Chicken and Kraft dressing are both on sale this week. Serve this chicken with a Smothered Sweet Potato and a side salad and you’ll have a meal that’s inexpensive and will be a favorite marinade this upcoming summer. Login to Deals to Meals to get all of the best grocery deals in your area and enjoy more great recipes from this week’s meal planner.

Garlic Sundried Tomato Chicken Marinade

2017-04-20 13:47:00

Marinade

5-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup Kraft Sundried Tomato Vinaigrette
2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 Tbs. parsley, chopped

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Instructions

Trim the chicken of the excess chicken fat. If you want the chicken to cook faster, and to be more flavorful, cut the chicken in half horizontally into two thinner pieces. Place the chicken in a Ziploc bag or large tupperware and add the marinade ingredients. Mix the chicken around into the marinade and keep in the fridge until ready to grill.
When ready to grill, heat the outdoor grill to medium high heat. Once it's heated, remove the chicken from the marinade and place on the grill. Let the chicken cook for 5-7 minutes, or until the bottoms are nice and golden brown. Brush the top with the leftover marinade and then turn them over to continue to cook on the second side. Brush the tops of this underside with the rest of the mariade and continue to cook until the center of the chicken is no longer pink. This time frame will vary depending on how thick your chicken breasts are.
When chicken is done, place on a plate and drizzle with the remaining salad dressing leftovers. Garnish with the fresh, chopped parsley

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Only two more days of our giveaway! Don’t forget to enter to win. Your chances of winning are great.

Amazing Grocery Deals THIS week!

There are so many great grocery deals this week I had to share a few. If you live in the western United States, you have a great chance to take advantage of some rock-bottom grocery prices. Smith’s Grocery Stores and Harmon’s have their case lot deals happening this week (ends Monday). Besides Smiths, there are also great deals at Maceys, Fresh Market and other grocery stores. There are some items like peanut butter, tuna fish, canned beans, canned tomatoes, canned vegetables, canned fruit and other pantry stock up items that need to be stocked up on asap. These are prices we haven’t seen for a couple years, so don’t miss this opportunity to STOCK UP!! Check it out and save $100’s by logging into Deals to Meals.

Salami Chicken and Pasta Salad

Check out our website this week for this healthy, delicious Italian Salami Pasta Salad. This is a delicious whole foods recipe that will be great for any of your diets or healthy eating goals. Get this recipe at www.dealstomeals.com. Not to mention, pasta is on sale for a FABULOUS deal this week! It’s the perfect time to stock your food storage shelves with pasta of all varieties. At fifty percent off, this is a deal you don’t want to miss. Login to Deals to Meals to see where you can get this great deal all around the U.S.

Thanksgiving Favorite Recipes

Since I have been working on our new blog layout (entering 1500 recipes takes forever–yikes!), I thought I would share a link from a post last year with some of our favorite Thanksgiving recipes. Now, if you want ALL of our favorite recipes, you need to login to Deals to Meals, but this is just a sneak peak 😉 Hope your Thanksgiving prep is going great and I just want you to all know how thankful I am for YOU!!

Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes

Buffalo Chicken Pizza and Thai Chicken Pizza

Last weekend we had the best time making homemade pizzas with my extended family. We experimented with lots of different flavors and combinations and were in LOVE with these two gourmet pizzas. The first pizza we used our favorite quick pizza crust recipe and topped it with grilled chicken, ranch dressing, fresh tomatoes, green onions, crumbled blue cheese, lots of mozzarella cheese and Buffalo sauce. It was amazing!!

On the second pizza we topped the crust with Sweet Thai Chili Sauce, added grilled chicken, green onions, diced bell peppers, chopped cilantro and lots of mozzarella cheese. This Thai pizza was a hit and the sweet and spicy flavor was unforgettable. My mouth is still watering thinking about these pizzas. If you want to have a fun, family activity, whip up a batch of homemade pizza dough and have fun playing with new toppings and flavors. Hope you have a great weekend! Enjoy 😉

*Btw, there are TONS of great deals on produce and meat this week, so login to Deals to Meals to find where to get your pizza toppings at the best price.

Favorite Pizza Dough Recipes:

America’s Test Kitchen Overnight Pizza Dough
Quick and Easy Pizza Dough

Mel’s Kitchen Cafe Simple Pizza Dough

White Bean Pizza Dough

Grilled Blue Buffalo Chicken Pizza

2016-11-21 14:26:16

Ingredients

1 recipe pizza dough (or you can use those flat pita breads from Costco for a super simple method)
Follow this link to find out how to grill the pizza dough. If you don't want grilled pizza, just cook on a baking stone and they will still be fabulous!

Toppings

Grilled and chopped chicken (seasoned with salt and pepper), about 3-4 chicken breasts
3 tomatoes, sliced
4 stalks green onions, sliced
2-3 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 c. crumbled blue cheese
Franks' hot sauce
Ranch or blue cheese dressing (I like ranch best)

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Instructions

In a bowl, combine a cup or two of ranch dressing. Add the crumbled blue cheese to the dressing and mix. Once the pizza dough has been grilled slightly on one side, flip and then add the blue cheese/ranch sauce on the pizza. Add the chopped chicken all over the pizza and then cover with some mozzarella cheese. On the top of the cheese add the sliced tomatoes and the green onions. Crumble an extra amount of blue cheese on top (optional) and drizzle the top of the pizza with Frank's hot sauce (to your liking--I like a lot :). Continue cooking the pizza until the cheese melts and gets golden brown. If you are in a hurry, I have been known at times to pop my pizza in the broiler for a minute to get the top a little more crispy. Serve pizza hot off the grill for best results.

Notes

HEALTHIER OPTION: Serve on a whole wheat pita or pizza crust.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

*Everything for this recipe is on sale this week: chicken, cheese, tomatoes, green onions, and ranch dressing. Login to our website to see where the best deals are in your area.

Cheesy Tomato Avocado Pesto Paninis

Ready for one of the most simple, healthy, delicious sandwiches you’ve ever had? You are going to love this meatless meal you can make in less than 15 minutes. Not to mention, it uses fresh tomatoes and basil from your garden so it’s fresh and summer-licious. We made these for a quick dinner the other night and they were a hit with the whole family. For my hubby and teenage son I added a few slices of deli turkey to give their’s a little more protein. For the rest of us, we loved the fresh vegetables melted in between layers of cheese and pesto. Oh, it was lovely! Can’t wait for you to try them 😉 Enjoy!

*Login to Deals to Meals to see where all of these ingredients are on sale in your area: tomatoes, avocados, cheese and bread are all on sale for great prices this week.

Cheesy Avocado Pesto Paninis

2016-11-21 15:24:18

Vegetarian Recipe

Ingredients

10-12 slices of bread
2-3 large avocados, seeds removed and sliced
3-4 large, vine tomatoes
10 slices of cheese (provolone, Swiss, Monterey, etc.)
2-3 large basil leaves per sandwich (optional)
1/4-1/2 cup pesto
Mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional sliced deli turkey
Butter

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Instructions

Peel the avocados and remove the seeds from the center.
Slice the avocados into long, thin strips.
Slice the tomatoes into thin slices as well.
Slice the cheese if it is not already.
Heat a panini griddle or a flat griddle and turn to medium heat.
Assemble the sandwiches with some mayo and pesto on both sides of the bread (mayo is optional).
Spread the pesto mixture.
Place a slice of cheese on both sides of the inside of the bread/sandwich.
Slice the tomatoes and avocados on top of one slice of bread.
If you like fresh basil, place some basil leaves on the top of the avocados.
If you are using turkey, you can add several slices to the sandwich at this point.
Place the sandwich lid onto the sandwich after seasoning with salt and pepper.
Spread a thin layer of butter onto each side of the sandwich and place on the griddle.
Heat the sandwich until nicely golden brown on both sides and the cheese is melted.
Serve sandwiches warm or cold.

Notes

HEALTHIER OPTION: Serve on whole wheat bread instead of white bread.
VEGETARIAN MEAL

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

BLT Barbecue Chicken Salad

On our meal planner this week on Deals to Meals you will see one of my favorite summer salad recipes. We had this last week and we couldn’t get enough! We were literally licking the bowl clean. I love everything about the combination of this salad–salty, crispy bacon, bed of crisp lettuce greens, grilled chicken smothered in barbecue sauce, crunchy croutons, shredded cheese and drizzled with a cool, ranch dressing. Man, my mouth is watering just thinking about it! This salad is like a BLT in a salad–only kicked up a notch. I can’t wait for you to try this salad recipe this summer. You are going to love it!

Not to mention, every ingredient for this salad is on sale this week. There are great deals this week on chicken, bacon, tomatoes, lettuce, salad dressing, eggs, cheese, etc. Make this meal for well under $10 by logging into Deals to Meals and checking out the best grocery deals in your area.

*Don’t forget to enter to win an Amazon Gift Card! Only one more day to enter.

BLT Barbecue Chicken Salad

2016-11-21 16:01:50

Ingredients

½ c. ranch dressing (good quality)
1/4 cup BBQ Sauce
8 cups torn salad greens
2 large tomatoes, chopped (or use grape tomatoes)
2 stalks green onions, sliced
1 cup croutons
3 boneless, chicken breasts, grilled, seasoned and diced
10 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
2 eggs, boiled and sliced
1/2 cup shredded cheese

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Instructions

Grill the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the grill and cut into cubes. Place the chicken in a bowl and cover with barbecue sauce. Set aside. Prepare the salad by cutting the lettuce and placing in a bowl. Dice the tomatoes, green onions and also place on the bowl. Boil some water and add the eggs. Boil for 7-10 minutes and then let cool. Once the eggs are cool, peel them and then slice them to add to the salad. Cook the bacon until crisp and then place on a paper towel to let the grease drain. Once the bacon is cool, crumble and add to the salad. Add the shredded cheese and croutons to the salad, along with the chicken. Drizzle the entire salad with the ranch dressing and then serve.

Notes

HEALTHIER OPTION: Omit bacon and use light ranch dressing.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Beach Street Chicken Lemon Linguine

I mentioned on Instagram earlier this week one of my all-time favorite meals. In case there is someone out there who hasn’t tried this recipe, you are missing out. Don’t wait another week to give this recipe a try. It is such an unusual pasta dish with different flavors like Cajun, soy sauce, lemon and a sweetness from some brown sugar. At first you might look at this recipe and think it is kind of strange. However, it is AMAZING! The flavors all come together so perfectly unlike any pasta dish you’ve ever had. Hope you love it!

*Don’t forget to login to Deals to Meals to find out where you can get chicken and pasta on sale this week. Both are on sale for great deals. In fact, some stores have chicken as low as $1.29/lb. How great is that?!

Beach Street Lemon Linguine

2016-11-21 16:10:43

Ingredients

1 lb. linguini (or Fettucini) pasta
2 T. olive oil
Zest from one lemon
Juice from one lemon
½ c. chopped green onion
¼ c. chopped fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Parmesan cheese

Marinade

½ c. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, whole
2 T. Cajun seasoning
1/4 c. lemon juice
2 T. minced parsley
1/4 c. brown sugar (or more if you like it a little sweeter)
3 T. soy sauce
2 chicken breasts, sliced

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Instructions

Combine the marinade ingredients in a Ziploc bag. Slice thawed chicken (or shrimp). Pat dry and toss in marinade to coat. Refrigerate 1-12 hours. Cook marinated chicken with the marinade sauce in a large saute pan on medium heat until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink.
Cook linguini in boiling salted water until done; drain well and rinse noodles. Combine juice of one lemon, zest, olive oil, green onions, and fresh parsley together. Add hot pasta into bowl and toss well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add chicken with the marinade into the large pasta bowl. Toss in parmesan cheese to taste and serve warm.

Notes

HEALTHIER OPTION: Serve on whole wheat noodles.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

13 Favorite Peanut Butter Recipes

For those of you who live near a Kroger, Smiths or other Associated Kroger Stores, this is the week to stock up on Peanut Butter!! Who doesn’t love JIF peanut butter and Smucker’s Jam? This week these stores are offering these two items for only $0.99 each (check your local ads, some stores have them for $1.49 which is still a good deal). This is over 60% off the regular price, so it’s the best time to stock up. Login to our website to see what specials your local grocery stores are offering.

To get you excited to stock up on peanut butter I wanted to share with you some of my favorite peanut butter dessert recipes. Who doesn’t want a little sweet treat this time of year? I know I do! And if it has peanut butter and chocolate in it, I’m in heaven! Enjoy 13 of my favorite pb and chocolate recipes. Enjoy and let’s all get out and stock up on some peanut butter and save some $$!

Homemade Nutter Butter Cookies

Take 5 Caramel Bars

3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut Butter Sheet Cake

Peanut Butter Brownies

Triple Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut Butter Pie

Salted Nut Rolls

Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut Butter Bars

Peanut Butter Protein Balls

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes

Peanut Butter Scotch-o-Roos

Easy Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos

Want a simple, weeknight meal you can make for under $10? Don’t settle for a boring pot roast with little flavor. With a few simple ingredients, you can take a beef roast from boring to incredible! I love using this shredded beef for simple tacos, burritos or I use it in my enchiladas. This meat is so tender and amazing that I could really just eat it by the plateful. This meat does call for one of my favorite Mexican seasonings that you might not have–but you’ll want it. It’s the McCormick Mojito Lime Seasoning. You can buy it at a grocery store in a small packet for $2-$3, but I buy it online in a 26 oz. size because it is so delicious on all of my favorite Mexican dishes.

The best part about this recipe is nearly all of the ingredients are on sale at your local grocery stores. Beef roasts are on sale for great prices, which make this meal super inexpensive and a great solution to your weeknight menu plan. Plus, if you cook up a large roast you can use the extras for later meals or freeze for another night. Enjoy!

*Don’t forget to enter to win the Amazon Gift Card on our past post. And check out our favorite Product of the Week 😉

Easy Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos

2016-11-21 16:20:40

Ingredients

3-4 lb. boneless beef roast
1 onion, diced
1 Tbs. Montreal Steak Seasoning
2 (4 oz.) cans diced green chilies
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 tsp. salt, or to taste
1 Tbs. cumin powder
1 tsp. McCormick Mojito Lime Seasoning
1 Tbs. chili powder

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Instructions

In a slow cooker, place the boneless beef roast. Dice the onion and place over the beef roast. Season the top of the roast and onions with the steak seasoning. Put the crock pot lid on the roast and turn on med-high heat. Cook the roast for 5-6 hours, or until the roast shreds easily. Once the roast is ready to shred, remove some of the excess fat and discard. If there is too much juice, drain some of the juice from the roast (don't discard, but keep in case you need to add it back to the meat). To the meat, add the diced green chilies, diced tomatoes, salt, cumin, Mojito lime seasoning and chili powder. Shred the meat and season as desired or needed.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Asian Chicken Burgers with Coleslaw

I am so excited to share this recipe with you! I am a new fan of ground chicken. Have you tried cooking with it yet? It is so fun! You can infuse the ground chicken with so much flavor it is versatile and fun to cook with. I buy my ground chicken at Sprouts. It’s nearly always $1.99/lb., so it’s not that much more than buying regular chicken breasts per pound. Not to mention, it’s healthier than ground beef which is a bonus 😉 The other day I wanted to try an Asian flair with these burgers and was so happy with the delicious results. The coleslaw is sweet and tangy, and paired with the savory, chicken burgers it was a perfect 10 in my book! The best part is if you are looking for a low-carb option, I ate these burgers piled on a large portion of coleslaw and it was SO good! It tasted so fresh and full of flavor, I can’t wait for you to give them a try. Enjoy 😉

Login to Deals to Meals to see the best grocery deals in your area–along with our delicious meal planner to simplify your dinnertime craziness 😉

Asian Chicken Burgers with Asian Slaw

2016-11-21 16:42:12

Ingredients

Asian Chicken Burgers with Slaw

Chicken Burgers

3 lbs. ground chicken
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 stalks green onions, sliced
2 Tbs. red onion, diced small
2 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. sesame oil
2 Tbs. coleslaw dressing
1 package hamburger buns

Slaw

1/2 purple cabbage, sliced thin
2 stalks green onions, sliced
1/4 cup cilantro

Slaw Dressing

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup white vinegar or rice vinegar
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. soy sauce
Salt to taste
1/3 cup sugar, or to taste
Dash Sriracha sauce

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Instructions

Prepare the coleslaw dressing and set aside. For the burgers, combine all of the ingredients together in a large bowl and mix together until the chicken is combined with all of the ingredients (including two tablespoons of the coleslaw dressing you made previously). Patty the chicken burgers into large patties. Heat a flat griddle (or outdoor grill) to medium-high heat. Once the griddle is hot, spray with non-cook spray or drizzle some olive oil on the pan. Place the chicken patties on to the griddle and let them brown on the bottom side of the burger. Once the burger is nicely browned on the bottom, flip to the other side to continue to cook. Turn down the heat to medium-low to make sure the patties are cooked all the way through to the center.
While the patties are cooking, prep the rest of the coleslaw. Slice the cabbage very thin. Add to a salad bowl. Slice the green onions and cilantro and add to the cabbage. Pour the rest of the coleslaw dressing on to the cabbage and toss. When the patties are cooked, place a hot patty onto the bottom of the hamburger bun. Top the patty with some of the coleslaw and then serve.

Notes

HEALTHIER OPTION: Serve on a whole wheat bun or serve bunless.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Rumbi Island Grill Voo Doo Chicken Salad {Copycat Recipe}

Now that summer is well on it’s way, I thought I would share with you some of my favorite summer-salad recipes. I am a HUGE fan of salad’s for dinner in the summer. When I use the grilled and cooked chicken from my freezer, these salads can come together in just a few minutes. Also, the salad dressings will last up to two weeks in the fridge, so they are nice to make up and have ready for salads throughout the month.

As I was looking through my blog recipes, I was shocked I hadn’t blogged about this Rumbi’s Island Voo-Doo Salad recipe. This copycat recipe I have been making for over 8 or 9 years now and it is a favorite! I went to Rumbi’s Island Grill long ago and got this salad. I knew we could make this salad better and had fun playing with the recipe until we got it just right. The combination of mango fruit, tomatoes, red onion, feta cheese and chicken is just plain delightful. Top the salad off with a creamy, sweet, chili dressing and you have a salad everyone will crave and love for years to come! Hope you’re having a great summer and staying out of the heat 😉

Rumbi Island Grill Chicken Voo Doo Salad

2016-11-21 16:54:16

Salad

2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped
1/2 cup feta cheese
3 tomatoes, diced
1 mango, peeled and diced
1/2 red onion, diced small
2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, grilled and seasoned then chopped
1 bag tortilla chips or strips
2 cups cooked white rice (optional)

Dressing

1/4 cup Dijon Mustard
2 Tbs. lime juice
1 tsp. chili powder
3/4 cup Mayo (I always use Best Foods LIGHT)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 Tbs. minced garlic
2 tsp. ginger powder

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Instructions

Grill or bake chicken that has been heavily seasoned with lemon pepper or steak seasoning (or just salt & pepper). Cut chicken into cubes and set aside. Cut lettuce, tomatoes, and mango and place in a large salad bowl. Cook the rice until tender and set aside to cool slightly. For the dressing, blend the ingredients together until smooth. Add extra sugar if needed. Layer the salad on your plate with rice on the bottom of your plate, then lettuce, tomatoes, chicken, mango, feta cheese, and tortilla chips. Serve the salad with the dressing.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Southwestern Chicken Paninis

The other night we had one of those nights when it is either eat a Little Ceasar’s pizza for the second time during the week (yes, we frequent there nearly every Friday night for our children’s date-night dinner :)–or, come up with a dinner that could be made in just a couple minutes. I decided to throw together some easy chicken panini’s and give them a southwestern flair. Not only were these panini’s delicious, but they were so easy to make, I just had to share. If you are one who struggles with dinner prep, please use our tip of having grilled and cooked chicken in your freezer at all times. I promise, this one and only tip will save your dinner-time stress and make cooking fun again. I hate thawing out meat when I am in a hurry to make dinner. Having pre-grilled chicken breasts in the freezer I can quickly pull out and throw in the microwave to use for meals, makes life so much more simple. Chicken is on sale in nearly every state this week, so while the weather is nice, head out to your grill and grill up some chicken for those busy nights. You’ll be so glad you did because then you can put together these sandwiches in just a couple minutes.

Southwestern Chicken Paninis

2016-11-21 17:16:21

Ingredients

1 loaf wheat or white bread (heartier the better)
1 jar red bell peppers, drained
2 avocados
3-4 grilled chicken breasts, seasoned and sliced thin
1/4 red onion, sliced thin
6-8 sliced Provolone cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2-3 Tbs. jarred jalapeno peppers, diced
1 tsp. cumin powder

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Instructions

Grill or bake the chicken breasts before preparing the sandwiches. In a bowl, mix together the chopped jalapeno peppers and cumin powder. Season with salt and pepper as needed. Drain the oil or water out of the red pepper jar. Slice the red peppers if you wish. Slice the red onion. Peel the avocado and slice into thin strips (or mash). Slice the chicken breasts and season with salt and pepper. On one slice of the bread, spread with a generous portion of the mayonnaise. Add the avocado slices, the sliced chicken, sliced red onion and a slice of provolone cheese. Put the lid of the sandwich on top and place the sandwich in a panini press or on a griddle. Cook until both sides are golden brown and cheese is melted. Serve warm.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Thai Peanut Coconut Rice Bowl or Wrap

Anyone who knows me, knows that Thai food is probably my favorite type of food of all time. There is something about a creamy, peanut coconut sauce that speaks to my heart. Pair that with some seasoned chicken, brown rice, cabbage, carrots and bell peppers and you have a healthy meal your whole family will love. Even my 9 year old tonight at dinner said, “I think this is my new favorite dinner.” I have to admit I was a little shocked because of all the vegetables. The great thing about this recipe is it can be eaten as a wrap, as a salad or as a rice bowl. No matter how you put the ingredients together, you are going to love them! The best part about it is you can use your pre-grilled chicken from your freezer and the rest comes together in only a few minutes. Great for a quick weekend meal. Hope you love it as much as we do 🙂 Have a great weekend!

Thai Peanut Coconut Rice Bowl or Wraps

5 Simple Tips to Save You Time and Money this Thanksgiving!

1. HAVE A PLAN

The holidays are in full swing and all of us are looking for ways to save a little money and keep from pulling our hair out from unwanted stress. I am excited to share a few of my favorite time and money saving tips to help you during this Thanksgiving holiday.

First and foremost, have a plan! If you are able, start planning your Thanksgiving meal at least a week (or more) before the holiday begins. Have a quick list of what items you would like to make, who will be making each recipe, and have a game plan for the busy day. There are lots of different components to planning a Thanksgiving meal, so think through the different aspects to the meal (and day) and put it on paper. Everything from decorations, shopping, food prep, cleaning can all be organized and put to a schedule to help the day go more smoothly.

Our free Thanksgiving Menu Sheet is a great way to stay organized. We upload this as a Google document so family members can all add to the document and decide what they would like to help with.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2GlPW5TKJfmelV4MGR0RnJLUFk/view?usp=sharing

Want help with your menu plan as well? Deals to Meals is here to help simplify your life! On November 18th we will give all Deals to Meals members a detailed Menu Plan and Grocery List to help make your meal planning easy and fun! Members of Deals to Meals also have access to all of our tried and true recipes we know your family will love.

2. START EARLY AND MAKE EXTRA

Once you have a plan, it’s time to start thinking about ways you can relieve stress the day of your party, by doing things ahead of time. Many Thanksgiving recipes can be made a week, or several days before, and frozen for later.

Here are some of my favorite recipes that work well with this method.

*Sweet Potato Casserole freezes beautifully and can be baked an hour before serving (thaw in the fridge the night before).
*Homemade Cranberry Sauce can also be made several days in advance and either frozen or kept in the fridge.
*Homemade Pie Crusts are another great recipe that can made, rolled out into pie shells, and frozen until ready to bake (or of course, you can use store bought if you wish).
*Mashed Potatoes can also be frozen ahead of time. Make them as usual, let them cool, and then freeze in a large tupperware or Ziploc bag. Before serving, thaw the potatoes in the fridge the night before. When you are ready to reheat the potatoes, place them in a crock pot to heat slowly. Add some more heavy whipping cream and butter to help soften the potatoes and whip them with an electric mixer once they are warmed through.
*Turkey: if you are using a turkey breast, you can crock pot the turkey, shred the breast meat and freeze until the day of the dinner. When ready to reheat the turkey, you can place into a crock pot and warm on low heat for 3-4 hours, or until ready to serve. Add some chicken broth to keep the turkey nice and moist before serving.
*Homemade rolls are so fun to make ahead and have in your freezer (I use this method all year–no more Rhodes in our freezer!) Make the dough recipe as normal, put the rolls on a greased cookie sheet and then wrap with saran wrap. Put the rolls in the freezer as soon as you have them rolled out (you don’t want them to begin to rise). The morning of Thanksgiving, pull the frozen rolls out of the freezer and place in a warm spot of your home. Let the rolls rise on the counter on a pan (about 2-3 hours) and when they have doubled in size, bake them as usual until they are golden brown. If you want to have these rolls on hand for other recipes, just put the frozen balls of dough into a Ziploc bag and keep in the freezer until ready to use. These work great for monkey bread, calzone dough, etc.

Another tip is to double your holiday recipes so you have plenty of leftovers you can enjoy the following week, or freeze the extras for later. For example, my family loves sweet potatoes all year but yams are rarely on sale besides in November. I always make 3-4 pans of the sweet potato casserole and then freeze several of them for later. Keep freezer tins/pans on hand to make freezing the recipes easier. We also love having cooked meat in our freezer for quick meals on busy nights. So, while I am cooking one turkey breast, I always throw in a second so I know I have lots of leftovers and turkey for another meal. You can do this same thing if you are cooking a ham, pork roast, beef roast, etc.

3. BE AN INFORMED SHOPPER

Being an informed shopper will save you BIG money this week. Most families will spend an average of $50-$100 on this one meal, so it’s important you know what you are buying and where to get the best deals. Some of the year’s BEST grocery deals are on this week. Nearly everything you need for your holiday meals will be on sale. Whether you are looking for turkey, canned pumpkin, frozen pies, stuffing mix, soda pop, potatoes, yams, etc., it is ALL on sale this week.

Deals to Meals will tell you where all of the best grocery deals are in your area. We compare all of the grocery store prices to Costco and Walmart and tell you when items go on sale for great deals (without having to use coupons). Just login to our website, click on the stores you want to shop at, and you’re set to save!

4. STOCK UP AND SAVE

There are over 25 grocery items everyone should be stocking up on this week. If you miss the chance to stock up on these items, many of them won’t be go on sale again for another 365 days! That’s a long time to wait for a another sale–especially if it’s items your family uses on a regular basis. So, save yourself from having to buy these items at full price throughout the year and stock up this week!

I went shopping last week and spent $109 on many of the Thanksgiving deals I wanted to stock up on and saved $166! That’s nearly 60% off Walmart’s regular low prices. How cool is that? Tip: don’t just buy the items you need for the one holiday meal, stock up and buy several to put in your pantry or food storage for a later time. Check the list below to see which items you might want to stock up on.

Visit Deals to Meals for a detailed list of where all of these grocery items are on sale. Focusing each week on the gold starred items (meaning they are LESS than Walmart and Costco), will save you the most money (up to 70% off)!

5. SIMPLIFY

There are many things you can do to simplify for the holidays. Here are some of my favorite tips:
*Use paper products instead of fine China. If you are less formal, this is an easy way to save you hours of doing dishes.
*Let people help you. Don’t try to put the entire meal together on your own.
*Keep your menu simple. Stick to only those recipes your family loves and cut out any extra recipes that don’t seem to be people’s favorites.
*Cook a turkey breast instead of a whole turkey. Turkey breasts can be cooked in a crock pot and are much easier to carve and bake. Here’s our favorite turkey recipe.
*Remember the real meaning and purpose behind the holiday season. It’s not a time to be stressed and run around unable to enjoy the holiday. Keep your focus on family and relishing the moments we have together.
*Keep your meal plan simple, do a lot ahead of time, watch for the best deals, stock up when items are on sale, and you will be set for the greatest holiday season ever!

Here at Deals to Meals, and One Good Thing By Jillee, we wish you a most delightful (and delicious) Thanksgiving season.

Orange Sesame Chicken Stirfry

Ahh, isn’t that pretty? It still amazes me that kids don’t like vegetables, they are really the prettiest food around town don’t you think? Well, this is a dish that even your picky-nonvegetable-eating kids will love! This sticky, slightly spicy, sweet, orange sauce is better than anything you can get at a Chinese restaurant. The best part about it for mom, is it is not only healthy but easy to make. I served this stir fry over brown rice last night and it was a huge hit!! I was able to use the zucchini and peas from my garden and it tasted so fresh and yummy I am excited to share this recipe with you. The best part about this sauce is it comes together in just a few seconds. It’s nothing fancy, just dump a few ingredients together and you have one of the best sticky orange sauces you can find. Homemade is much better than store bought and it only takes a few minutes. Hope you love this recipe like we did!

Sesame Orange Chicken Stirfry

2016-12-30 21:23:24

Sauce

18 oz. jar orange marmalade
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup rice vinegar
Juice and zest of 1 orange
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. sesame seeds
1/3 cup chili sauce (found by the ketchup)--or just use ketchup
1-2 tsp. Sriracha sauce (or more if you like more spice)
3 tsp. cornstarch

Stirfry

3 cups cooked white or brown rice
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch chunks

Vegetables of your choice--I used the following

2 cups baby peas
1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 medium zucchini, sliced into 1 inch pieces

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Instructions

Whisk all of the sauce ingredients together in a seperate bowl. Then prepare the chicken and vegetables. In a wok or saute pan, add a few tablespoons of olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the cut up vegetables and saute just until tender, keeping them slightly crisp. When tender, remove the vegetables and set aside. Add a little more oil to the pan and then add the chicken pieces (if you want your chicken to have a little breading, just dredge in some flour, salt & pepper and then add to the pan). Let the chicken cook on one side until lightly golden brown. Once one side is golden brown, you can stir the chicken around to cook all sides and let cook on medium heat until the chicken is nearly cooked through. Then, pour the sauce over the chicken and let simmer until the sauce begins to thicken. Once the sauce is thick, turn off the heat, add the vegetables and serve all over cooked rice.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Cranberry Apple Salad with Sweet Lemon Dressing

Dynamic Deals, Deal of the Day, Deals to Meals Updates, Shopping Deals, Recipe: Salad, Recipe: Side Dishes, Recipe: Main Dish, Recipe: Fruit, Recipe: Vegetables, Cranberry Apple Pear Salad with Sweet Lemon Dressing

Home sweet home! It’s so great to be back home after a great trip to California. So glad to come home to more sunshine too, that’s a fun bonus! Hope you had a great weekend and I am excited to share some of the great deals this week you need to take advantage of. After being gone for ten days my fridge was completely empty and I was in desperate need of restocking our fridge for this week’s menu. I got SO many great deals, it made my day! Chicken, ground turkey, pork, butter, eggs, tortillas, yogurt, sour cream, milk, bread, rolls, and all of the produce we need for this next week. Isn’t price matching the best? I had to laugh when a lady behind me in line was talking to me and said, “Oh, my friend keeps trying to talk me into signing up for that Meals to Deals website (ha!) and I keep telling her I don’t have time, and I don’t want to pay to save money”. I just laughed when I told her I use that website too (what a coincidence) and she was shocked when my huge cart of groceries was less than $100. I had to have a manager come over because I saved more than $50. She said, “Maybe that is worth the $5 a month” I left laughing at how funny it is to think so many of us think we ‘don’t have time’ to save money. It doesn’t take more than a few extra minutes and pays you back in BIG savings. If you ever need help or have questions on how I shop, please email me at shandra@dealstomeals.com. I would love to help you save too!

weeks groceries for only $90, Deals to Meals, Shopping Deals, how to save on groceries

This week there are produce deals all over the country for winter squash (my favorite!) like banana squash, spaghetti squash, zucchini, yellow squash and butternut. This is a great way to bring in the fall with some of these delicious squashes and recipes. I will be sharing a few of my favorite squash recipes later this week, so stay tuned. There are also great deals on apples, peaches, pears, tomatoes and avocados. Pretty much if you need produce, it’s on sale! So, take a few minutes, login to our website and go shopping for all of the best deals in your area.

This brings me to this awesome salad we had last night for dinner! It was a side salad for our dinner but could easily be a dinner salad if you add a little chicken or bacon..or eat it just the way it is. Everything in this salad was on sale this week which was why I couldn’t help but throw this together as I was putting away all of my groceries. The thing I love about this salad is the lemon dressing. It is so simple, nice and light, fairly low calorie (adjust the sugar to your liking) and tastes great on any salad toppings. It’s a fun new dressing if you want a change from ranch, poppyseed, etc. Hope you enjoy this recipe!

Recipe Schema Markup

Cranberry Apple Salad with Sweet Lemon Dressing

2016-12-29 19:38:53

Salad

1 large head romaine lettuce, chopped (could also add some spinach if you would like)
3 carrots, shredded
1/2 cup craisins or raisins
1 cup apples, diced
1 cup pears, diced
1/4 cup red onion, sliced or diced
Shredded parmesan cheese (or gorgonzola)
Croutons
Candied nuts, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
Bacon or chicken, optional

Sweet Lemon Dressing

3/4 cup lemon juice, fresh or bottled
1/2-3/4 cup olive oil (I like less oil so use however much you like)
1/3-1/2 cup white sugar (again, if you like it more sweet, add more sugar)
1 Tbls. dried onions or fresh chopped onions
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. poppyseeds

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Instructions

Chop and prepare all of the salad ingredients. Place in a large salad bowl and prepare the dressing. For the dressing, put all of the ingredients (minus the poppyseeds) in a blender or in a bowl. Whisk or pulse until the oil begins to emulsify and become incorporated into the dressing. Add the poppyseeds and serve dressing over the salad when ready to serve.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

Grocery Budget Extenders and Mexican Black Bean Corn Tacos

Have you ever heard the phrase ‘make your dollar
stretch’? Of course you have, you’re reading Jordan’s amazing blog! Well, there are a few simple
tips I’ve learned over the years that have really helped my family’s dollars
stretch…especially when it comes to meal planning and shopping. I am excited to share with you a few
of these simple ways you can help your money go further at the grocery store.

If you are like my family, we go through WAY too much of
certain items. A few of those items that I can’t seem to keep on hand long
enough are butter, bread, meat, milk and eggs. I feel like I am always pulling
out a pound of butter here and a pound of butter there. Too often I find myself
digging through the depths of our freezer hoping to find one more pound of
butter for a recipe I am making. Well, here in the U.S. a pound of butter costs
anywhere from $2.85-$5.00 a pound—crazy! If you are using a lot of butter, like
me, that can add up very quickly. I am SO excited to share with you my favorite
tip to save money on butter, and many of these other ‘staple’ items!

Use white bean puree instead of butter and oil.
What? Beans instead of butter?! I promise, it works and it’s awesome! If you do
a lot of baking like I do, pureed white beans makes for a healthy AND
inexpensive replacement for butter. If you are new to using pureed white beans,
here is a
post where I explain exactly how to do it. Basically you cook hard white
beans in a crock pot until completely tender. Drain the water and then put the
cooked beans in a food processor and puree until smooth (you may have to add a
little bit of water to help them puree easier—don’t add too much though or they
will be too runny).

Once the beans are pureed, put ½ cup measurements of beans
into Ziploc bags. Keep these bags in your freezer and pull out when you are
ready to bake. In a recipe you can replace HALF of the fat in a recipe with
beans. Keep the other half the butter or oil that is called for in the recipe.
Using half white beans will not change the texture of your recipe but will add
nutrients and help keep the cost of your recipes down. Your kids will never know! Here are some of my
favorite recipes where I replace fat with beans:

*White
Bean Chocolate Chip Cookies

*White
Bean Banana Bread

*White
Bean Cornbread

*White
Bean Pizza Dough

*White
Bean Bread

Use powdered milk. Besides butter, milk is
another expensive part of a family’s meal plan.
If you have children like I do, I am sure you go through several gallons
of milk a week. A simple way to cut down on your grocery bill is by replacing
half of your regular milk with powdered
milk. When a gallon gets to less
than half of the jug I prepare some powdered milk and pour it into the milk jug
back up to the top. So far my kids haven’t caught on that the milk seems to
keep replenishing itself 😉 Besides using powdered milk for drinking, you can
also use it in your baking. I use this
trick ALL of the time and love it!! If a recipe calls for a cup of milk in a
recipe, you can add instead 3 Tbls. dry powdered milk and 1 cup water. You
don’t need to mix this before hand, just add the dry ingredients with the dry
ingredients in your recipe and the water with the wet ingredients. It works
great in many recipes. Here are a few of my favorites:

*Waffles

*Cornbread

*Frozen
Hot Chocolate (like Wendy’s Frosty’s)

*Homemade
Puddings

Make your own bread from scratch. Homemade
wheat bread not only tastes better, but is much less expensive than store
bought. Learn to make homemade breads of all kinds to save you money throughout
the month.

*Homemade
Hamburger Buns

*Homemade
French Bread

*Homemade
Whole Wheat Bread

*Homemade
Breadsticks

Use Meat Extenders. Meat is one of the most
expensive parts to a family’s meal.
Besides going meatless, there are simple ways to help stretch the meat
in your meals so you can use less to feed more people. One of my favorite ways
to do this is with Mexican food. My family of 7 would normally have to use 2-3
lbs. of meat when making a recipe. However, I always add black beans and corn
to my taco meat to make it so I only have to use one pound of meat instead
(that’s a savings of $6-8 each meal!). Not only does it save money but it is
actually healthier too!

Another tip, if you enjoy ground beef use half beef
and half turkey. Turkey is $1-$2 less per pound and when added with regular
ground beef you can not tell a difference, and it’s healthier. It’s a win-win!

Here is a recipe for one of my family’s favorite Mexican
dishes that helps stretch your grocery budget.

Mexican Tacos with Black Beans and Corn

2017-01-05 13:05:42

Ingredients

1 lb. lean ground beef or turkey
Taco seasoning, to taste
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 can black beans, drained
Hard shell tacos or flour tortillas
Shredded lettuce
Shredded cheese
Sour cream
Salsa

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Instructions

In a sauté pan, turn to medium heat and ground the beef or
turkey until mostly cooked. Season with the taco seasoning, add the tomato
sauce and sour cream and then add the corn and black beans. Simmer until warmed
through and serve on your tacos with your favorite garnishing’s.

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/

We also love to use this replacement in these Turkey
Enchiladas—they are wonderful and healthy!!

Besides using corn and beans, you can also use cabbage. Here
is my recipe for Mom’s Sweet
& Tangy Sloppy Joes where you add shredded cabbage to extend the meat.
It works great and your children won’t even know you have added cabbage and
some extra nutrients.

You can also add shredded potatoes to your taco meat as
well. Just microwave your potatoes until tender, peel and then shred the
potatoes into your cooked ground beef. All of these meat extenders help fill
your family up quicker too so they eat less, and you can feed more people on
less 😉

Use Powdered Eggs. I know most people have
never used Powdered
Eggs but I encourage you to give them a try! With egg prices continuing to
rise, having powdered eggs on hand can help save you money on those months your
food budget is tight. You can use powdered eggs in nearly every recipe you use
regular eggs in and they work great! Just like with the white beans, if you use
half regular eggs and half powdered eggs you will never know the difference!
Here are a few recipes where powdered eggs have worked great for me:

*Pumpkin
French Toast

*Ham and
Egg Roll Ups

*Waffles

Learn to cook from scratch. Boxed items and
prepared packages will cost you much more than learning to make items yourself.
A muffin mix can cost you up to $4-$5 but if made from scratch would cost less
than $1-$2. Boxed rice sides like Rice Roni will cost you over $1 and if made
from scratch would be pennies. It’s nothing more than rice with seasonings and
a little butter and chicken broth. Pancakes
from a box? Learn to make your favorite breakfast items too to save you lots of
money over time! Our blog has hundreds of homemade family favorite recipes to
help you learn to cook from scratch.

Buy items when they are on sale and stock up.
I know I say this all the time, but this is the best trick to cutting down your
food budget. When items go on sale for
great/red deals on our website, this is the time to head to that store and stock
up! If it’s an item that can be stored long term, then buy as much as you
can afford of that item and keep it on hand for when you’ll need it in the
future. This way, you will try and reduce the times you have to pay full price
for groceries. Watching for items to go on sale will save you anywhere from
30-75%. This will bring BIG returns throughout the year! If you have questions,
check out Jordan’s blog
post where she explains how she saves 50% on groceries (without using
coupons!). Or, visit our website or blog to find out the best deals in your area
and get started saving money!

See why Jordan chooses to use Deals to Meals to save her BIG money on her groceries!

Lemon Chicken Costoletta

$115 Shopping Trip–GREAT deals this week!

After a fun and relaxing vacation it was back in the saddle again this weekend in the kitchen. I love coming home to an empty fridge and being able to fill it up with all of the great deals of the week. This week there are SEVERAL amazing deals on fresh produce and meat. I was able to fill up my entire fridge with every type of produce you could want (tomatoes, celery, cilantro, peppers, onions, bananas, berries, lemons, limes, lettuce, green onions, avocados, carrots, cucumbers, potatoes, cauliflower, apples, oranges, and MUCH more). I also stocked up on meat that is on sale this week for an awesome price! I purchased 4 lbs. of ground beef, 8 family packages of chicken, and 3 lbs. of boneless pork. Great deals also on eggs, sour cream, bread, milk and everything else you need for your 2 week meal plan. Such a great week to go shopping!

So…once I returned home, packed the fridge, I had to decide what to make for dinner. We had gone to my favorite restaurant The Cheesecake Factory while on vacation and ever since I have been craving their Chicken Costoletta. I decided to put together my own version with a little flare and it was AMAZING! I would have to say this was one of the most delicious dinners I have ever made (that’s saying somethin’!). I loved the combination of the mushrooms & onions, the crunch from the golden brown chicken, and the creamy, cheesy lemon sauce. This sauce was heavenly poured over the chicken and mashed potatoes. If you need a dinner that will WOW your family or friends, this is the one. It is not only beautiful but scrumptious as well!

Lemon Chicken Costoletta

2017-01-09 19:04:21

Ingredients

5 chicken breasts, cut in 1/2 horizontally (so they are thinner and easier to brown)
1 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning
1/2 tsp. Montreal Steak Seasoning or Garlic Seasoning
Zest of one lemon
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Lemon Sauce

1/2 red onion, diced very small
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
Juice of one lemon
Zest of one lemon
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2-1 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. cornstarch
8 oz. sliced white mushrooms
1 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cup whole milk (or half & half)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

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Instructions

Chicken: Cut the chicken breasts in half horizontally. Place the chicken breasts and the above seasonings into a large bag or bowl and cover chicken breasts evenly with mixture. In another bowl combine 2 eggs and beat until smooth. In a second bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese. Dip each piece of chicken into the egg mixture until covered. Dip the wet chicken breasts into the breadcrumb mixture.
Once the chicken breasts are breaded, place a few of them in a saute pan that has been heated to a medium high temperature. Let 2 T. butter melt and place the chicken breasts into the melted butter. Let the chickens stay in the pan until they are a golden brown color. Turn the chicken breasts over to the other side and continue to brown on the second side. Don't cook the chicken all the way through, just brown it. Place the browned chicken breasts onto a cookie sheet or in a 9x13 pan and continue browning all of the chicken breasts. Keep the chicken in the oven at 350 for an additional 8-10 minutes, or until the center of the chicken is no longer pink.
Lemon Sauce: Don't clean out the pan that you browned the chicken in. Add the red onion that's been diced, minced garlic and two more tablespoons of butter. Saute the onion and garlic for 3-5 minutes on low heat, or until the onions are soft. To the onions, add the dijon mustard, juice of one lemon, zest of one lemon, black pepper, salt and cornstarch. Whisk the sauce continually while the sauce begins to thicken. Then add the sliced mushrooms and chicken broth.
Continue to stir the sauce until the mushrooms are soft and tender. Once you are about ready to serve the sauce and the chicken is done, add the whole milk or half and half, and extra parmesan cheese.
Keep the sauce on low heat and let it simmer until the sauce is to your desired thickness (it will continue to thicken as it sits).
Serve the breaded and cooked chicken on a plate with a generous amount of the lemon sauce on top of the chicken. Serve the chicken with mashed potatoes and a steamed vegetable for a delicious meal!

By Deals to Meals

Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/