New Year, New Savings

Well, it's official: 2011 is gone, 2012 is here. With the new year comes new chances to save and new recipes to try. Going to try and keep up with your New Year's resolutions? If your goal for the year is to slim down your waist while fattening the bank account, here's a great place to start:

Albertsons:

Assorted Pork Loin Chops: (Bone-in, family pack) 1.77 lb.

Sanderson Farms Tray Pack Chicken: Buy One, Get One Free

Milk, Large Eggs AA: $1

3 lb. Sunkist Navel Oranges: $1

Red, Yellow, Orange Bell peppers: $1

Pork Center Loin Roast: Bone-In 1.99 lb.

Fresh Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Breast: 1.99 lb.

$1 Deals:

$1/1 lb.: Premium Fuji Apples, Texas Grapefruit, Roma Tomatoes

$1/each: Organic Hass Avocados, Hass Avocados, English Cucumbers, Red, Green, or Romaine Leaf Lettuce

Fry's:

Strawberries: 1 lb./1.77

Kroger Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts: 1.88 lb.

Kraft or Sargento Cheese: 2 for $4

Red or Green Leaf, Romaine or Butter Lettuce: .88 lb.

Minneola Tangelos: .88 lb.

Cauliflower: .88 lb.

Large Lemons: 3 for .88

Red Tomatoes on the Vine: 1.98 lb.

Bananas: .57 lb.

Safeway:

Fresh Eating Right Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts: 1.67 lb.

Safeway Bonless Skinless Chicken Breasts: 1.67 lb.

Rancher's Reserve Boneless Beef Chuck Pot Roast: 2.99 lb.

Sweet Imported Cherries: 2.99 lb.

Pantry Essentials or Dairy Glen Milk: 1.57 each

Tomatoes On the Vine: .99 lb

Assorted Pork Loin Chops (Bone-In): 2.49 lb.

Sanderson Farms Chicken Drumsticks or Thighs: 1.69 lb.

Lucerne Sour Cream (24 oz.): 1.99 each

Lucerne Butter (16 oz.): 2 for $5

Texas Ruby Red Grapefruit: .79 lb.

Hass Avocados: 10/$10

Jazz Apples: 1.49 lb.

Bananas: .57 lb.

Cara Cara Navel Oranges: 1.49 lb.

Seared Chicken in Spicy Tomato Sauce:

One of the things my family does when Mexican night rolls around is make a "main" sauce and serve it with everything you could want with it on the side. The beauty of this dish is that it can be used in at least two different ways: either make it Burrito Night with the chicken diced, or serve on top of brown rice for a warm meal. The best part about it is that it offers you a way to stick to a diet. The only problem, if you're anything like me, is trying to keep yourself from eating the whole thing at once.

2 tablespoons olive oil, with half reserved

2 teaspoons of cumin seed

1 onion, medium dice

1 red or yellow bell pepper, medium dice

1 clove garlic, minced

2 teaspoons ancho chili powder

Salt/pepper to taste

1 package boneless skinless chicken breasts (optional: diced)

1 can (8 oz.) of diced tomatoes

1 small can (2 oz) of green chilies

3 tablespoons salsa (optional)

12 Maranilla olives, halved

1 can black beans (optional)

1 cup of chicken stock

4 cups cooked brown rice

or, for burrito night:

12 medium-sized flour tortillas

1 cup each salsa, guacamole, sour cream, and grated cheddar cheese, diced fresh tomatoes and/or avocados, black olives, finely chopped fresh cilantro, etc.

Heat one large frying pan over medium-high heat. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, then add the cumin seeds. After giving them time to toast, add the onions and pepper to the pan, stirring occasionally. Cook until the onions are clear, then mix in the garlic. Season to taste, add 1/2 of the ancho powder and stir. Remove the vegetables and warm the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Season the chicken to taste with salt, pepper, and chili powder on both sides. Sear the chicken in the oil, flipping once. When both sides are a crisp brown, place the onion mixture with the chicken and stir. Add the diced tomatoes, chilies, olives, salsa and black beans (if desired), and chicken stock. Mix thoroughly. Simmer, uncovered, for about 10-20 minutes, until the chicken is completely cooked. Set aside and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before eating. Serve with brown rice or with all the fixin's for burrito night and enjoy.

Spiced Fruit Salad:

Fruit salad is normally served cold as a side or dessert. If you want something warmer, you could try poaching the apples, pears, and berries in spiced water (see below) and mixing everything else in with the warm mixture.

3 apples; peeled, cored and medium diced

2 pears; peeled, cored and medium diced

6 bananas; cut into 1/4 in. slices

1/2 cup blue or blackberries, rinsed and patted dry

1 cup strawberries, hulled and cut into medium slices (about 1/4 inch thick)

3 oranges, medium diced

2 grapefruits, medium diced

2 teaspoons or two sticks cinnamon

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1 teaspoon each freshly ground cloves, cardamon, and allspice

3/4 cup Splenda or 1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup finely chopped mint (optional)

2-3 cups of vanilla-flavored whipped cream, sweetened with Splenda (optional)

If serving cold, simply mix all the ingredients together and serve with whipped cream if desired. If serving hot, take about a teaspoon each of the above mentioned spices, unground, with juniper berries, and put into a cheesecloth bag. Place in a large saucepan pan with 4 cups of water over medium-high heat. When simmering, place apples, pears, and berries into the pan and simmer covered for 10-15 minutes, or until the apples are soft enough to cut easily with a spoon. Strain and remove excess water, reserving about 1/2 cup for later. Mix the other fruits with the fruit, making certain to mix evenly. Heat in the pan over low heat with the reserved spice-water, until consistently warm throughout the dish. Serve in a large glass bowl with whipped cream on the side and garnished with fresh chopped mint.

Bonus hint: To add a little extra flavor, try poaching the fruit in ginger ale instead.

And, while we're on the topic of fruit salads...

Fruit Cups

Chop up the fruit you wish to put in your salad. Suggested fruits would be apples, oranges, pinapples, strawberries, other berries, pears and peaches. If you want to use bananas, hold them until later, and add at the very last, so they don't deteriorate. 

Spoon into plastic cups filling a little more than 1/2 full. We've always used the kind that are narrow on the bottom and flair out at the top. But, it doesn't make a lot of difference.

Pour orange juice over the cups, not quite covering the fruit. Top off with Sprite, just to the top of the fruit. Cover each cup with plastic wrap. 

Place in freezer, preferably on a tray for ease of use. These will keep for several weeks, and can be pulled out when needed. When you take them out of the freezer, allow time for thawing. They're best when they're still a little slushy. Now's a great time to top off  with sliced bananas. Add whipped cream if you like, but they're yummy without. We used to make several dozen for potlucks and they were always a hit.