Every Tuesday when the grocery ads are dropped on my doorstep, I look through them all for fresh food to cook for the week and staples to stock up on. Most of these stores’ ads run Wednesday through Tuesday, but Meijer and Ultra Foods run Thursday through Wednedsay.
This isn’t necessarily a list of what I am going to buy, but the items that are good deals from a cook’s perspective. I’ll also throw in things that wouldn’t necessarily be part of a recipe but are wholesome and a good price. Here is what I see this week:
Caputo’s
- Cluster tomatoes on the vine, $.79/lb. Although I finally have red tomatoes in the garden, so I don’t need these! I’m excited to harvest them and share my friend’s roasted tomato basil risotto recipe soon.
- Red or black seedless grapes, $.89/lb.
- Ground chuck, $1.89/lb. This type of beef is perfect for burgers. It also works for Cuban Picadillo, cottage pie, meatballs, and countless other things.
- Pecorino Romano cheese, $3.99/lb limit 10 lbs. This often goes on sale for $4.99/lb but I don’t remember seeing it lower than that. This is a fantastic price for great quality imported real stuff. Use it on pizza or use it in an ingredient search to find for a new pasta recipe to try. When I was out of parmesan, I tried this and this and we loved both.
- Dean’s buttermilk quart, $1.99.
- Wild caught Copper River sockeye salmon, $11.99/lb. Not the cheapest, but still a good deal if you want good salmon. Try this light pasta recipe. Very shortly I will be posting a really simple recipe for cooking it with a spice rub.
- Lefas 3 liter extra virgin olive oil, $14.99. Under 15 cents per ounce is a great price.
- Seedless cucumbers, $.50 each.
- Green onions, $.25 each bunch.
- Local red beets, $.39/lb.
- 1 lb strawberries, 6 oz raspberries, or pint blueberries, $1.50.
Dominick’s
I don’t see anything that stands out. Some of the prices are okay, but only if you are there already there. To me, there isn’t anything to draw me in, even in theory, this week.
Jewel
- Boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.99/lb.
- Green seedless grapes, $.95/lb.
- Bartlett pears, $.75/lb. I bought some today and they were great.
- Athenos feta cheese, BOGO at $3.99. There have been $.75/1 and $1.00/2 coupons around lately (I found them in Dominick’s). Since Jewel will allow a coupon for both of the items, it is a decent deal if you use feta. I picked up two today since they were dated February 2014 and I always seem to find myself in need of feta when it isn’t on sale.
- Jewel gallon milk, $1.99 limit 2. Everyone seems to have cheap milk lately!
- Fresh wild caught tuna steak, $13.99. This is a splurge but I wanted to include it since I bought some today. It looks really good and couldn’t me much more fresh, as I watched the crate be opened and it get cut into steaks. We love this salad and haven’t had it in a while, so I went for it.
- Fresh wild coho salmon fillets, $9.99. Not Copper River, but a slightly better price than that at Caputo’s.
- Coupon books: If you find yourself at Jewel, look near the ads for a back to school coupon booklet. It has a few gems with long expiration dates, like $1.00/1 Earthbound Farm organic product and $1.00/1 Green Giant bagged fresh vegetables. Both are manufacturer coupons with no logos, so they can be saved for any sale. Earthbound Farm is regularly found at great prices at Meijer, like last week (sale continues through today).
Meijer
- Meijer gallon milk, $1.99 limit 4.
- Local personal seedless watermelon, $2.00.
- Michigan blueberries pint, $1.50.
- Local cucumbers, $.49/lb.
- Local green bell peppers, $.77/lb. For that Picadillo.
- Local grape tomatoes pint, 3/$5.00.
- Cherries, $2.88/lb.
- Fresh wild coho salmon fillets, $9.99. Again, good stuff and slightly cheaper than the Copper River at Caputo’s.
Tony’s
- Cantaloupe, $.79 each.
- Whole chicken, $.79/lb limit 4. If it isn’t too hot to have the oven at 450°, make herb roasted chicken and use the carcass for stock.
- Pork shoulder country ribs, $1.29/lb. Great price for meaty ribs. They are perfect for slow-cooker recipes like my carnitas.
- Roma tomatoes, $.69/lb.
- La Chona 16 oz sour cream, $.99.
- Cod fillets, $5.99/lb. If you are a masochist, try these fish cakes.
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs, $1.99/lb. Try butter chicken.
- Mangoes, $.50 each. For guacamole, smoothies, or just because they are delicious.
- Cabbage, $.25/lb. I never did make that Asian chicken salad….
- Tomatillos, $.49. I managed to grow an enormous tomatillo plant with not a single tomatillo. I just emptied the tide-me-over jar making these enchiladas last week, so I probably should give up buy these to make a batch.
- Bunch spinach, $.88 each.
- Local sweet corn, $.25 each.
- Serrano or poblano peppers, $.79/lb. The latter is another plant that refuses to produce for me.
- Limes, 12/$1.00. Limes are quite handy!
Ultra
- Assorted pork chops, $1.68/lb.
- Chicken drumsticks or thighs, $.88/lb.
- Pint Michigan blueberries, $.88.
- Home grown bi-color sweet corn, $.10 each Friday and Saturday only.
- Centrella gallon milk, $1.78 limit 2 Friday and Saturday only.
My plan
I am a bit underwhelmed with this week’s sales. Having just returned from being away for a long weekend, I went to Jewel and Meijer today to replenish the fresh stuff. I got grapes, pears, feta, and tuna at Jewel and got a bunch of produce, sausage, and bacon at Meijer (last week’s sale is still going through today). So far, our upcoming meals include this seared tuna salad and pasta with some sauce I have in the freezer. Also, we’re planning to go out on Saturday. I’ll probably try to get creative with what I have here in the house for a fer meals to get me through to next week’s sales. Or if I find that I need to shop, I’ll probably just make a quick trip to Caputo’s or Tony’s, depending on the ingredients I need.
