Aldi haul 6/16/2016

I got up the energy to finally get to Aldi (because Athens has so spoiled me that a store 10 minutes away is just. so. far.), and I'm so glad I did! They not only had their typical excellent produce deals (bananas for $0.29/lb?!), but also had grass-fed ground beef for $2.89/lb! That is by far the best deal I've ever seen on grass-fed beef, and it's even less than you can usually get the cheapest ground beef at any store.

Here's what I got for $50.54:

6 lbs of grass-fed ground beef
Bag of spinach
2 lbs of strawberries
1 pint of blueberries
12 oz of blackberries
1 mango
1 avocado
5 bananas
3 lbs of sweet potatoes
2 lbs of Vidalia onions
4 cans of cut green beans
4 cans of very small young peas
2 boxes corn muffin mix
6 lunch-sized applesauce cups
6 bagels
16 oz heavy whipping cream
1 lb butter
1 package of gallon freezer bags

Please ignore the mess behind the loot! At least one of everything I bought is pictured.

Recipe Ideas for Kroger Deals

Pork tenderloin: http://laurenkellynutrition.com/garlic-balsamic-crusted-pork-tenderloin/

Zucchini: http://www.jocooks.com/main-courses/pork-main-courses/stuffed-zucchini/

Salmon: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/114490015505694612/

Shrimp: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/114490015498337299/

I bought pork at Sam's Club, now what? Part One: Chops

So, you listened to my sage (lol) advice and purchased a pork loin at Sam's Club. You even braved asking an employee to slice it into chops for you. Awesome! You now have pork chops for approximately $1.89 or cheaper per pound. Way less than pre-cut chops at the store, which can run around $3.per pound. Now... what do you do with them?

I like to freeze my chops into dinner-sized portions. For us, that's about 4-5 chops at a time. For this, I use my FoodSaver Vacuum Sealing System (affiliate link), but you can certainly just use freezer grade ziploc bags (I buy mine at Aldi). If you are using ziploc bags, make sure you remove as much air as possible before sealing and freezing.

On pork chop day, I almost always use my favorite chop recipe from All Day I Dream About Food. I love this recipe because it is so quick and easy to make. I like to serve it with whatever vegetables were on sale that week. Or canned veggies from Aldi if there were no great veggie sales. Baked sweet potatoes (favorite recipe here) also go well with this, although they require a little planning ahead due to baking time.

The recipe calls for whiskey, but if you don't keep liquor in the house (what?!?), it works just fine without the whiskey. It also works just fine without the chicken broth, if you're like me and sometimes are too lazy to thaw pork chops AND broth in the same night. I have actually adapted this recipe and use wayyyy more heavy cream than the original calls for, because heavy whipping cream is this family's favorite ingredient. I also have adapted the cream sauce recipe for other meats (for instance, I botched the steak so we need to cover it with cream).

This pork chop recipe turned pork chop night from something my husband tolerated into a night he enjoys.

What to buy at Sam's Club

Southern Savers has a great post about what to buy at Sam's Club. Here's my take:

Nuts. I have done the unit price comparison, and buying nuts at Sam's Club is by far the cheapest option. They beat Aldi by a good bit. If you use a lot of nuts, it's a steal. My husband eats nuts for quick and easy snacks, uses them to make his favorite homemade protein bars and flavored nut mix, and eats them as salad toppings. We always run out before they go bad!

Tires. Yeah, I've bought tires at Sam's Club. They are usually a great deal, and I love that they will put them on for you right then and there. I'm a fan.

Fresh fruit. If you have a big family or are hosting a party, then absolutely shop at Sam's club for your fruit. When I'm being very frugal, I'll buy berries and freeze them for my husband's smoothies (almost always cheaper than buying frozen fruit). But for my smaller family, I found that buying fresh fruit at Sam's club often means it goes bad before we can use it.

Cheese. I love buying cheese at Sam's Club. I like fancy shredded sharp cheddar cheese, personally. I buy the 5 pound bags (which are a great deal when you look at unit price). Then I freeze the cheese in smaller ziploc baggies (or you could use a FoodSaver Vacuum Sealing System -- I love mine!). Shredded cheese holds up remarkably well to freezing. I just take a baggie out of the fridge as I need it.

Meat. My favorite deal at Sam's Club is the pork loin. At the club in Athens, pork loin goes on sale for $1.89 or less every couple of months. I buy multiple and have them cut the loin (which they do for free) into either smaller roasts or pork chops, which I then freeze in dinner-sized portions. This saves me a lot of money on pork.

I also buy laundry detergent, oxi clean, and Carnation Instant Breakfast at "the Club". What are some items you have found to be better deals at Sam's?

Deals this week at Publix

Publix has some produce deals this week that are cheaper than Kroger.

Raspberries 3 for $6
Blueberries 3 for $6
Strawberries 2 for $5
Avocados 10 for $10

Deals this week at Kroger

Pork loin $1.79/lb*
Kroger brand canned veggies $0.44 per can
Peaches $0.99/lb
Cucumbers 2 for $0.98
Sweet corn 3 for $0.99
Salmon fillets $4.99/lb
Key West shrimp $4.99/lb
Strawberries 2/$5 ($2.50/lb)
Zucchini or yellow squash $0.98/lb
Mango 2 for $0.98

*This is a decent price for pork, but I still prefer to buy mine at Sam's Club because they slice it for me. #lazymom

Did I miss any great deals on things you regularly buy?

How I Buy Chicken Breasts

Have you heard of Zaycon Fresh (referral link)? They are a company that provides bulk meat that you pick up at a location in your zip code on a specific date.

I just ordered my second case of chicken and spent an hour divvying up the breasts into dinner-sized portions. I also pre-cut some nuggets and chicken tenders for easier thawing and prep.

I first heard about Zaycon Fresh from a coworker. Intrigued, I bought a case (40 lbs) of chicken and was hooked. These chicken breasts come from giant chickens -- they are definitely the largest breasts I've ever seen (on a chicken). I also have found them to be of superb quality.

When I was unemployed and we were broke, I had a rule that I never spent more than $0.99/lb on chicken. This is very doable, but you have to really search for chicken breasts at that price, and you have to be willing to de-bone them yourself. This is not very difficult (I learned by watching a YouTube video), but it is time-consuming. Now that I work and have a child, I find it reasonable to spend slightly more for a little less work. Eventually, I would like to go back to the $0.99/lb rule, but for now, this will do. I buy my Zaycon Fresh chicken when they have deals, so I spend $1.95/lb on it. This price includes tax.

Zaycon Fresh has many other products, but I can only personally vouch for the chicken.

Our favorite thing to do with the chicken breasts is make chicken nuggets or chicken tenders. For this, we use our countertop deep fryer (affiliate link). This appliance has been one of my favorite kitchen toys. It makes delicious nuggets/tenders in about 8 minutes, can fry from frozen, and is also excellent for french fries or sweet potato fries. Mmmmm. We fry in beef fat from the half cow we purchased, but I have also had success with peanut oil (which I used to buy in bulk at Sam's Club before we began using the lard).