May groceries!

We didn't do too bad...I got $157.24 worth of groceries from Country Mart and Warehouse foods for $103.75...a savings of $53.49. I had $18.50 worth of coupons and by using my Country Mart card I saved an additional $31.19. We also had $3.80 worth of "Magic Coins".

We used almost all the in store coupons at Country Mart and got free Oscar Mayer Jumbo Franks, Velveeta, Miracle Whip, Kraft Ranch dressing, 2 bottles of barbecue sauce, 10 lbs of 80/20 ground beef for $1.99 a lb., packaged into 5 packs of 2, 1 lb pieces, bacon for $1.79 a pound, 3 pkgs. boneless skinless chicken breast @ $1.99 lb, 1 pkg. chicken leg quarters @ $5.90, and a whole chicken.

At Warehouse Market we got Best Choice stewed tomatoes for $.25 each (I got 8 cans), and 2 bottles of vegetable oil for $1.29 each using the coins, a large pkg. of pork steak, a boston butt roast, assorted chops, 2 pounds of breakfast sausage, 20 lbs. potatoes for $4.99 (that comes out to $.25 cents a pound), fresh mushrooms for $1.19 a pkg., and lots of other food items for which I had coupons.

All in all, we ended up with plenty of ground beef, chicken and pork to last a good while - our freezer is full.
I also got the stuff to make MORE CAKE BALLS! Onions are still outrageous...I think there's been an onion blight. And as I sit here typing would you believe I forgot to get eggs. Oh, well, as Scarlett says, "tomorrow is another day."

Fried Okra

Baked pork chops and fried okra was our supper last night...the okra came from our garden last year. I froze some of it cut up so when we want it fried all I have to do is take out however much I want, run some cold water over it, and put it in cornmeal seasoned with seasoning salt, black and cayenne pepper. Shake off some of the excess cornmeal and put it in a little hot oil seasoned with bacon drippings. Wow! The pork chops were about $4.00 - I lined a cookie sheet with foil, laid the chops on and seasoned them with garlic, salt and pepper. Bake at about 325 degrees until they are browned and falling apart. If they get done before you are ready to eat all you have to do is wrap them in foil to keep warm.

Sweet Tooth

Got a sweet tooth the other night so I decided to make mini pineapple upside down cakes. The recipe made 8 serving size cakes and were delicious.

The canned pineapple chunks were $1.00, the other ingredients were nominal, including 1 egg, 1 cup of flour, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/3 cup brown sugar, and 1/3 and 1/4 cup butter. The entire recipe will be posted under the recipe page link.

After a short vacation from the kitchen (my Ninja Turtle injuries) I finally got to make the roast pork and dressing I'd had in mind for some time.

                                      

The small pork roast ($3.53) was lightly browned and placed in a 6 qt. slow cooker on medium heat. It cooked until it was tender and almost done. To that, I added my dressing mixture.                   

Cornbread, buns and light bread from my freezer were allowed to thaw and get stale. I crumbled everything and seasoned with salt and pepper and sage from my garden. Sauteed onion and celery were added, along with 5 eggs.

                                   

I added enough chicken broth to make a soupy mixture and poured it into the slow cooker around the pork roast. When the mixture had puffed and crisped around the edges it was ready to serve.

                                    

It was very tasty with the spiced cucumber rings I canned last summer. They are very similar to apple rings, but are made with the cucumbers that are too large to use for pickles. I would generally serve a veggie of some kind, but hubby said all he wanted was dressing and roast. There was plenty of leftover dressing which reheats very well, or it can be shaped into patties and lightly fried in a little butter.