Just in time for Father's Day, here are some excellent values at PNW grocery stores:

• Cherries, per pound 
  • Albertson's - $3.99
  • Fred Meyer - $2.49
  • Safeway - $1.99
• Chicken Breast, Fresh, Boneless, Skinless, per pound 
  • Albertson's - $1.99
  • Fred Meyer - $2.79
  • Safeway - $2.99
• Doritos Chips, 10-13 oz bags (the big ones) 
  • Albertson's - $3.29
  • Fred Meyer - $1.99
  • Safeway - $2.49
• Corn, Ears, Fresh, each 
  • Albertson's - $.50
  • Fred Meyer - $.40
  • Safeway - $.66
• Salmon, Fresh Sockeye 
  • Albertson's - $14.99
  • Fred Meyer - $11.99
  • Safeway - $9.99

Find even more good savings on our main price pages on ground beef (less than $2 per pound for 80% lean!), chuck roast or steak ($2.49/lb), and many more. Happy Father's Day!!!!

OK, Frito-Lay has a new flavor of potato chips: "Balsamic Sweet Onion." I used to believe that balsamic vinegar could make just about anything taste better, but no more- these chips are so strange, I barely got the first one down. And I love potato chips, especially from a nice, new, freshly opened package when all the big chips are conveniently nestled there right on top.

The flavors of sweet onion, thyme and balsamic vinegar are nice, even nice together, but they do NOT belong together on a potato chip. Maybe it's the starchy, creamy goodness of the underlying potato clashing with the herby, oniony tartness. Maybe it's the simple flavor of fried potato rejecting the complexity that Frito-Lay tried to lay on top of it. Whatever 'it' is, the mix just doesn't work.

But wait, you say, this is the guy who never (ever!) throws food away! The guy who extracts stocky goodness from piles of bones, globs of fat and sad looking, limp vegetables. The guy who thinks wasting pan juices is a crime punishable by dinner with "the Ronald". Will he throw away a full-minus-one-chip-bag of Lay's? Can there be any possible use for a bag of crunchy, savory, herb-laced but mismatched mistakes? Therein lies the recipe for....

 Frito-Lay Balsamic Sweet Onion Potato Chip Chicken.

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 large  bag (minus the one chip you ate) Lay's Balsamic Sweet Onion Potato Chips (10.5-11 oz)
• Vegetable oil for frying

Lay one chicken breast flat on a cutting board. Put one hand flat on top of the meat and press the meat down to hold it in place. Using your other hand to hold a knife with the blade parallel to the board, slowly and carefully slice the meat flat-wise into two thin pieces each about 1/4 inch thick. Repeat with the other breast. Set aside.

Put the flour (unseasoned, because the chips have plenty) on a plate big enough to hold one piece of chicken flat. Set next to the chicken.

Crack the eggs (also unseasoned) into a wide bowl deep enough to hold them AND a piece of chicken at the same time. Beat lightly. Set next to the flour. 

Crush the potato chips in the bag, using your hands, a rolling pin, or whatever you like. Go nuts, the crumbs need to be small. Pour the crushed chips into a wide bowl, and put that next to the eggs.

Put the first piece of chicken in the flour, rolling and turning it until every surface is coated, then shake off any excess flour, dip in the beaten egg to coat completely and then into the pulverized chips, layering on the chip crumbs as heavily as possible until no more will stick. Place on a rack and repeat the process with the remaining slices of chicken. Fry immediately or hold for up to half an hour.

Pour about 1/4 inch vegetable oil in a frying pan and heat over medium high until hot but not smoking. Gently lay the chicken pieces in the oil without crowding the pan. (Fry in batches if necessary, or use two pans.) When bottom is lightly browned and juices begin to show on the top, turn carefully to avoid splashes and fry the other side until done. Transfer to a rack in a paper towel lined pan and serve immediately. (Or, you can hold in a 225 oven until the rest of dinner is ready, but they won't be quite as crispy.)   

You'll be shocked at how nicely the balsamic/thyme/onion/potato flavor fits with the chicken. In fact, it's one of the better coatings I've ever used, and I hope they keep making these chips. That doesn't seem likely....   

As you can see, I served the chicken with mashed potatoes and very young green beans from the garden. It was a nice dinner, simple and good. But these would also work well on hamburger buns with lettuce, tomato, onion and a big slather of mayo, too. Maybe some homemade potato salad. Coleslaw. Iced tea. Stop me now, please....

Just as we stir the foods we eat, those foods stir our memories and bring people and places from long ago back to the surface. What was a cloudy moment from thirty or forty years ago is a shockingly vibrant image when an aroma or a flavor triggers some pathway in our mind. Back then, they were all so close and clear: a small group of friends, wine so red it looked like blood, steam gently rising from an ancient pot on an even more ancient stove, and fresh bread as clean tasting as water. For me, onion soup is one of those foods, bringing back layer after layer of memories from some cold, wet, winter nights of 1972 Seattle. Here's to Max and Rachel, Dan and Mary, Denny and Roxie. I remember you all...and the onion soup, too. 

Onion Soup

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 8 to 10 cups thin sliced onions
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 good grinds of a peppermill
• 2 quarts homemade beef stock
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup (or more!) dry sherry
• 2 slices of dry toasted french bread per bowl
• 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese per bowl

In a very large saucepan or a dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Add onions, salt and pepper and cook down slowly, stirring often, until onions are deep golden brown, about 30 to 45 minutes. You will need to adjust the heat up as the onions sweat out their moisture, and down as that moisture evaporates. Taste the onions to test doneness: they will be be soft, sweet and sticky with caramelized sugar from the juices when they are done.

Add the beef stock to the cooked onions and raise the heat to medium high, stirring to incorporate all the sticky onion parts on the bottom of the pan. When the soup is gently boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Check and correct salt and pepper if needed. Stir in the sherry.

Preheat oven to 350 and make sure oven rack is centered. Put serving bowls on a cookie sheet for ease of handling. Ladle soup into bowls and float two or three pieces of toasted french bread on each. Cover the entire bowl surface of soup and bread with a layer of swiss cheese. Switch oven to 'Broil' and put cookie sheet with soup bowls on center rack. Broil until cheese is melted and lightly browned. Bowls and soup will be VERY hot, so be careful serving. 

I know there's already french bread in the soup, but these breadsticks are incredible as a crusty, crunchy contrast of textures. These will absolutely not keep, even overnight, so eat them fresh and plan to make breadcrumbs out of any left over.

Sesame Breadsticks - the Easy Way

• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups bread flour 
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• Cornmeal for the baking sheet
• 1 egg white
• Sesame seeds

Load the water, salt, flour, and yeast in a bread machine. Select the dough setting and press start. When the dough has mixed and risen the first time (1 hour 40 minutes on my machine), the machine will beep. Flour a cutting board or countertop and dump the bread dough out. Remove the paddle!

Spread a thin layer of cornmeal on a heavy baking sheet. On the cutting board, form the dough into a rough cylinder about 12 inches long, then cut chunks an inch long from it. You should have 12 pieces. Roll each piece in flour and form into a breadstick about 10 inches long and 1/2 inch in diameter. Put it carefully on the cornmeal covered baking sheet; repeat with the other pieces of dough.   

Cover the breadsticks with a dry dishtowel and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 15 minutes, meanwhile preheating the oven to 350. Remove the dishtowel. Beat the egg white with a little water and use a pastry brush to gently coat tops and sides of bread sticks. Sprinkle sesame seeds all over the wet breadsticks.

Bake at 350 about 20 minutes, rotating the pan about half way through to ensure even browning. Bake additional 10 minutes if you like them extra crispy, but take care not to burn tops OR bottoms. Remove pan from oven, let cool 5 minutes, then remove breadsticks from pan and cool on racks, or just eat them right out of the pan.

If you think about it, asparagus is a pretty weird thing to eat. The shoots come out of the ground, and before they can get big, we snip 'em off and cook 'em. That must have been one hungry prehistoric tribe the first time they decided to try them. But, wow, aren't we glad they did? The spears you see here are in our garden. And started from seed just a little over a year ago, no less! Thank you, Tori!

• Cooking Sauce:
  • 1 tablespoon dry sherry
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock (or water)
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil (I love this stuff- you might start with 1 teaspoon if you're unsure)
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, stir until sugar and cornstarch are dissolved, set aside until the very end.

Then, have all the following ingredients prepared and ready, like in the picture above, because there's no time to stop and chop anything after you start cooking.

• Main Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 cup cashews
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
  • 1 tablespoon fermented black beans, rinsed and gently smashed with the back of a spoon
  • 2 boneless/skinless chicken breast halves, cut into bite sized pieces and combined with a teaspoon each of soy sauce and dry sherry
  • 1/2 pound of asparagus (bases trimmed off if they are tough), cut into 1 1/2 inch lengths
  • 1 cup of green onions, sliced in 1/4 inch lengths
  • Extra water or chicken broth

Ready, Set, COOK!

Heat the oil in a wok or large deep pan over medium high heat, add the cashews and cook until they are golden brown. Remove and set aside cashews using a slotted spoon, so the hot oil stays in the pan. 

Reheat the oil if necessary and stir in the garlic, ginger and black beans until they sizzle but aren't brown. Increase the heat to high, add the chicken and stir fry until the chicken is completely opaque and is just beginning to brown. Lower the heat to medium high and add the asparagus. Stir fry, adding a little water or chicken broth if the pan is dry, until asparagus is bright green and still crisp-tender. Stir the cooking sauce briefly to remix the cornstarch. Add cooking sauce, half the green onions and the reserved cashews, stir-frying until sauce is thickened and coats the meat and vegetables.   

Serve over steamed rice and garnish with remaining green onions. Serves two with large appetites, four more modest eaters.  (I ate every scrap of the plate pictured.)

Barley doesn’t get used much these days. It’s not sexy the way quinoa is, or haute-Asian, like the black, red and purple rice varieties I’ve tried and found eminently forgettable. But barley is cheap, nutritious and has a pleasant earthy aroma and texture. It adapts well to a lot of recipes in place of rice or potatoes.  Tori and I like barley, just cooked in broth, or in something, like Beef and Barley Stew:

• 1 1/2 pounds beef chuck, most of fat removed, cut in bite sized chunks
• 2 Tbs butter
• 3 good sized carrots
• 1 rib celery
• 1 onion, cut in half
• 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms
• 1 cup pearled barley, sorted, washed and drained
• 2 to 4 cups beef stock, preferably homemade and unsalted
• 1 tsp dried thyme (or 1 Tbs fresh)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
Using a large (4 or 5 quart) saucepan or dutch oven, saute the beef in butter over medium high heat until well browned and almost dry, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, finely dice 1 carrot, the celery, half the onion, and a couple mushrooms. Add the diced vegetables and cook until the onion begins to brown, about 5 more minutes. Add the barley and stir to coat with the butter and juices that have rendered out of the meat and vegetables. Add the thyme, salt, pepper and enough stock to cover everything well, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until meat is tender and barley is fully cooked, about 2 hours, adding more stock as necessary to keep everything completely submerged.

Correct the seasoning with additional salt and pepper, if needed, at this point.

Chop the remaining carrots, mushrooms and onion into large bite sized pieces, add them to the pot, and simmer until crisp-tender, about another 15 minutes. This stew rarely needs thickening because the barley absorbs so much liquid, but if you do need to thicken, just take out a couple tablespoons of the cooked grain, mash well with the back of a spoon and then stir back in over medium-high heat.

I love good bread with this stew, especially when it’s homemade. See http://grocerybagsavings.com/BagTalk/post/Make-Homemade-Bread-The-Easy-Way.aspx and enjoy a loaf of REAL bread for a change.

PS: I like soup every day with lunch (it’s just a thing...) and my wife thought it was terribly clever when I used some additional strong beef stock to thin the leftovers from this recipe into a very nice soup the next day. Just don’t forget to correct the salt.

Everyone needs a little fried food once in a while, and this is about as good as it gets. I use 1/4 inch thick slices of pork sirloin, pressed and flattened, but chicken breast sliced or pounded flat works well, too.

• 1/2 pound of pork sirloin, sliced 1/4 inch thick across the grain, pressed out flat and thin
• Salt and pepper
• Flour - about a half cup, on a plate for dredging
• 2 eggs. lightly beaten, in a wide bowl
• 2 cups dried bread crumbs, in a wide bowl or plate
• Oil

Salt and pepper the pork slices well. Working the first piece of pork, flour it well until all surfaces are well coated and none of the meat is bare. Shake off excess flour. Dip slice into beaten egg to coat evenly on both sides, then into the bread crumbs. Make sure every surface is covered with bread crumbs. (It sounds messy, but don't be afraid to pile the bread crumbs right on top of the pork and press them in.) Place the first piece on a rack to dry. Do all the rest of the slices the same way, putting them on the rack when you're done.

You can let them rest on the rack up to 30 minutes, or fry immediately.

To fry, heat 1/4 inch vegetable oil in a wide frying pan until hot but not smoking. Lay the pork pieces in carefully without crowding the pan. (You can do them in batches if necessary.) Fry until the bottom is golden brown and juices begin to form on the top. Flip carefully and fry the other sides until brown. Remove to a paper towel lined tray and hold in a 225 oven till they're all done. 

I like to dip my Katsu in teriyaki sauce and here's a good one:

Combine 2 cloves garlic chopped fine, 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger, 2 green onions chopped fine, half cup soy sauce, half cup rice wine (mirin) or cream sherry, quarter cup sake or dry sherry, and a quarter cup brown sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Thicken with a little cornstarch (about 2 tsp) dissolved in water.

That's a little asian style spicy stir-fried cabbage, and just plain steamed rice from my rice cooker in the finished picture. If you'd like the recipe for the cabbage, let me know. I'm always happy to share, either here or on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Seattle-WA/grocerybagsavingscom/127010455348

Great buns don't come cheap, especially here on the Big Island, where you can expect to pay over 3 bucks for a package of regular hamburger or hotdog buns. But here's an easy way to have great buns the next time you fire up the barbeque: make your own using a bread machine....

Great Buns - The Easy Way

Load in the machine:

• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup bread flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour (or you can use 3 cups AP only)
• quarter cup sugar
• shy quarter cup olive oil (cheap kind is fine)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast (I use the Costco kind that's one-twentieth the cost of grocery stores, and keep it in the fridge)

Select the "dough" setting on the machine and press start. At the end of the cycle, the machine will turn on the paddle again and punch the dough down for you. Flour a board, dump the dough in the middle and pull out the paddle. Roll the dough into a rough cyclinder and cut it in half, then cut those pieces in half, and then those pieces in half again. You will have 8 pieces. (I have a scale and just whack off 100 gram chunks, which comes out just right for 8 pieces). Flatten the chunks a little and form the pieces into buns by turning the outside edges gently under and in, so you have a smooth top, and put them on a greased, heavy cookie sheet. Cover with a dry dishtowel and let them rise in a warm place until doubled. Preheat the oven to 400 while they rise. When the oven is ready, bake on the center rack for about 10-12 minutes, or until they're brown on the outside. I rotate the cookie sheet after 8 minutes. Cool on racks.

Use as is, or let cool and split and toast on the BBQ for some extra crunch.  

And, you know, I can do the whole clean up in the time they take to bake in the oven!

Maybe ethnic food tastes better because people had to work with the ingredients they had at hand in the olden days (no air-freight or barges!), but they also had time to experiment and discover what flavors went well together. At any rate, it's time to celebrate Cinco de Mayo again, and that calls for some ingredients on sale:

• Pork Sirloin Chops, Boneless
  • Choicemart - $2.59
  • Foodland/S'nS - $2.99
  • KTA - $2.79 (Not sirloins, but center cut boneless chops - closest they had)
  • Safeway - $3.49
• Beef Chuck
  • Choicemart - $3.59 (Boneless Steak)
  • Foodland/S'nS - $3.99 (Boneless Steak)
  • KTA - $3.59 (Boneless Roast)
  • Safeway - $1.99 (Bone-in Steak)
• Refried Beans, Canned, 15-16 oz
  • Foodland/S'nS - $1.59 (Old El Paso)
  • KTA - $.99 (Taco Bell - Coupon - Limit 5)
  • Safeway - $1.25 (Rosarita)

I put refried beans on the values list above because they are convenient, but here's a recipe I use that Tori swears are the best beans she ever ate. It takes a while, but it's worth it. 

Tori's Favorite Frijoles 

• 1 lb dry pinto beans, sorted, washed and soaked overnight (or you can power soak with hot water for about an hour),
• the water you soaked the beans in
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 medium bell pepper, diced, any color
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 whole bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 cups meat stock, any kind, preferably homemade and unsalted
• 1 teaspoon salt (adjust if your stock is salted)
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• Optional - 1 good squirt of ketchup (it's weird, but works)

Put the soaked beans and the 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large, heavy, covered pot and add enough of the soaking water to cover by about an inch. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, until the beans are soft but not fully cooked, about an hour. Make sure they don't run dry! (When they are done enough, the skins will curl up if you remove a spoonful and blow on them.) Drain the beans in a colander, reserving the cooking liquid.

In the same pot cook the onion, bell pepper and garlic in the oil until they're soft and the onion is clear but not browned. Add the bay leaves, thyme, cumin, meat stock, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Add the beans back to the pot and simmer about another hour, adding reserved cooking liquid as needed to keep beans just barely covered. When the beans are fully cooked, add the squirt of ketchup and stir, then correct the seasoning with additional salt and pepper, if needed. Ladle into bowls to serve. Cornbread goes well with this recipe. 

These beans freeze well, but they tend to break up and take on more of a refried consistency. I like them in burritos after they've been frozen, and you will too.

It's getting close to Cinco de Mayo, so some appropriate values this week in the stores:

• Ground beef
  • Albertsons - $2.99/lb (85% lean patties, 3 lb pkg - Moran's; Cheapest they had)
  • Fred's - $1.68/lb (80% lean, 3 lb pkg)
  • Safeway - $1.79/lb (80% lean)
• Tomatoes
  • Albertson's - $1.99/lb (On the vine)
  • Fred's - $.97 (on the vine)
  • Safeway - $1.49/lb (Roma)
• Cheese - store brands
  • Albertson's - $4.49/lb (1 lb brick or shred)
  • Fred's - $1.99/lb (2 lb brick)
  • Safeway - $1.99/lb (2 lb brick)
• Chicken Breast - Boneless/Skinless
  • Albertson's - $3.99/lb
  • Fred's - $2.48/lb
  • Safeway - $2.99/lb

I like tacos, whether they're made with beef, chicken or fish, but those packaged taco seasoning mixes are expensive for the 2 ounces of spice you get. Plus, making your own from scratch tastes much better, and you can make it as spicy (or not) as you want! Here's a simple recipe that I use for ground beef taco filling:

Simple and Cheap Beef Taco Filling

• 1 lb ground beef (I grind my own and it's about 90% lean, but 80% will work just fine, too.)
• 2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin (I like cumin a lot.)
• Big pinch dried oregano
• 8 oz can tomato sauce (or use jarred salsa)
• As much hot pepper sauce as you like - I use Sriracha Rooster Sauce, 1 tablespoon for medium hot
• About a half a cup of water
• 1/4 cup (or more!) fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

Cook ground beef in a saute pan, breaking beef up into small pieces as it browns. When it's almost done, stir in the garlic and onion and cook until the onion is clear and the meat is fully browned. Spoon off excess fat. Add the chili powder, cumin, oregano, tomato sauce or jarred salsa, hot pepper sauce and water, stirring to mix well. Cover pan and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes to meld flavors. Remove cover. Finish over medium high heat, stirring to allow steam to escape until sauce is thickened, about another 5 minutes. Stir in cilantro just before serving. Makes enough for about 8 generously filled tacos.

Once you've tried this, you'll never buy the packages again! I vary it from time to time by using different salsas, and have had great results using the Safeway brand Peach-Pineapple Medium hot. It's good, and goes on sale regularly. 

Big, big differences in grocery prices this week on BI- and in this post we give you some good examples. You can find the rest on the main BI pricing pages! (And don't forget to check that coupons.com ad for some great brand name coupons, like Cheerios and Betty Crocker Potato mixes!)

Rice, 20 lbs- Safeway: $13.99 (Limit 2, but why???); KTA: $10.99; Foodland/S'nS: $8.99 (Limit 2, for good reason!)

Beef Rib Steak Bone-in- Safeway: $8.99; KTA: $7.99; Foodland/S'nS: $5.99

Cabbage- Safeway: $1.25/lb; Choicemart: $.89/lb; Foodland/S'nS: $.69; KTA: $.59/lb (Local, too!)

Local Tomatoes- Foodland/S'nS: $2.29; Safeway: $1.49/lb; Choicemart: $1.49/lb; KTA: $1.39/lb

Grapes- KTA: $2.49/lb; Foodland/S'nS: $1.99; Safeway: $1.39

It really makes a difference where you buy your stuff!

Hey, I love coleslaw. I bet you do, too. It's easy to make, and goes with all kinds of outside (and inside) recipes. BUT, I was always annoyed at how much the stores charged for coleslaw dressing, so I made up my own very simple recipe, which you can customize as much or as little as you like:

Basic Coleslaw Dressing

About a half cup Mayonnaise- you don't have to measure it, just glop some into the bowl.

1 tablespoon vinegar (I use cider vinegar, but any kind will work)

1 tablespoon sugar (Yep, brown/white, all good. But no sugar substitute, please)

Couple shakes of salt

Couple grinds of pepper

Put it all into a bowl and mix well, taste it. Correct what you want- more sugar, more salt? Mix with about half a head of shredded cabbage. Pouf. Coleslaw. Double recipe for a whole cabbage if you're feeding an army.

Fancy and Optional things you can add (the list is endless):

Got an orange tree? Squeeze a little juice into the finished dressing, and use a little zest, too.

Got a lemon tree? Use lemon juice instead of vinegar. 

Paprika- as much or as little as you like. Adds a nice subtle flavor. Makes it pink, though.

Curry Powder. Some people really like this, some not so much.

Fresh Herbs- finely minced, please, and just a little thyme or savory is good.

Dried herbs- Uhhhh, be careful.

Plain yogurt or sour cream- makes the end product creamy and smooth tasting. I like it, but I don't always have these things in my refer.

Etc....