meat for the week merits no dearth

i only went to cetak's for a couple of pork chops, but walked away with all this for 6.65.

from the sale selections, got two steak hamburger patties for 1.21 and a wee pork loin for the amazing price of 2.77.
from the regular good deals, one garlic brat for 1.50 and a huge smoked pork hock for 1.17.

bacon-wrapped london broil for a dollar

hy-vee usually has one- or two- day sales in the monday journal star. this week they offered bacon- wrapped london broil for a dollar apiece! with asparagus on sale at ideal, this dinner you see here cost about a buck fifty a plate.

happy halloween: from the pistachio pork chop monster

two great tastes that taste great together, but look weird before cooking. i learned this from a whole roast pork loin recipe, which instructed me to incise into the fat with a small knife around the outside of the loin, and insert pistachio nutmeat. i liked the flavors so much i changed the technique a little for pork chops, which i enjoy more often. i cut slits into the chop near the ring of fat and then insert the nuts. even on the grill, most of the nutmeat will stay in the porkmeat--as the chops change texture while heating, they swallow the nuts into the flesh. served this with baked squash and a salad. nice flavors for autumn.

agent ninety nine

still on the sale rack at cetak's: napa valley thai basil marinade, now for 99 cents. combine that with a value pack of chicken thighs from hy-vee for 99/lb (that sale was over yesterday, though-sorry!) and sit back and enjoy how great this smells baking up.
this marinade would be great with pork...good prices on that all over town this week.

the meat for the week shall inherit the earth

and it's all centered at 70th & pioneers. i know it's out there. take your dog to the dog park, take a walk around holmes lake, get an oso burrito, have some stellar wheatgrass juice at nu java, browse the shoes and purses at footloose, have lunch at the new location for the oven, work in a meal or drink at venue if you have the bread.
anyway. the honey baked ham place is selling huge ham bones for 2.99 ea as a special. it's not per pound, it's per frozen bag o' goodness. i bought one, and there's a lot of meat still on the bone in question, but more importantly there is that huge bone that will flavor up some soup this weekend and make the dog very happy afterwards. see photo.
that was only the beginning. cetak's had the pineapple bratwurst marked down, and the top sirloin was 4.99/lb. then across the street at hy-vee, there was the start of a three-day sale of shrimp for 3.99/lb and sliced smoked turkey for 2.99/lb. they also had a lot of manager's specials in the meat dept of which i would have taken advantage if i hadn't already garnered such stated succulence. someone go buy that veal before i do. please.
the hambone and dogs went into the freezer. the sirloin and shrimp get cooked up tonight and the turkey is for sandwiches--lunch for the week.

good deals at cetak's

cetak's has a lot of stuff marked down today...got three butterfly chops for less than three dollars, and this eight-pack of garlic dogs for just over three.
while you're out that way, the 70th & pioneers hy-vee has some gallo wines on closeout for two bucks each. of course it's crappy wine, but two bucks! i haven't seen a price like that since i could get two buck chuck at trader joe's.
i cannot express how much i miss trader joe's. sigh.
anyway! sounds like time to make some mulled wine if it cools off out there...or sangria if it doesn't.

i heart midwest seafood!

as in the store on south 48th, across from o yummy. sure, the tuna was 16.99/lb, but it's sashimi quality. when i cut this piece into two steaks, the knife slid through it like butter. i just had to sear the sides and could leave it this beautiful dark pink inside. it tasted wonderful and the texture was lovely.
fresh fish flown in every morning. you've got to check it out.
http://maps.google.com/maps?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=s&hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=%22midwest+seafood%22&near=Lincoln,+NE&fb=1&view=text&latlng=40757991,-96653717,5141441228599470420#

brats and pierogi

jalapeno bratwurst from cetak's. fried it up in a pan with some onions and red pepper, while parboiling some premade potato

dumplings. moved the meat to a plate in the oven and finished the pierogi by browning them in the same pan the brats were in. there were salad greens, too...sure there were!

skin and bones

i didn't think i'd cook with so much chicken when i had a halfway (quarterway?) decent kitchen again, but then it keeps coming up at 99/lb somewhere. the bacon wrapped chicken of a previous post was boneless and skinless (and 99 instead of 3.99/lb), hence, the added fat of bacon. this last sale at hy-vee was for breasts with ribs still attached; and sure, that means bones, but it also means skin. then the marinade can be more about flavor than just keeping it from drying out. this batch got smeared with pureed red peppers and olive oil, mixed with diced red peppers and green onions.

bacon-wrapped chicken!

guess why? chicken thigh!

there are some dinners you keep in your back pocket. for the night after a big (awful) game, when some other (hopefully less awful) awards show is on. so, a week ago i got a marinade off the sale rack at cetak's (nothing awful about cetak's!); and yesterday i got a passel o' chicken thighs from hy-vee for 99/lb. this was the afternoon to put those together. note to all: cetak's has good sales. this is a plate of chicken staying warm in the oven while the sides get themselves together up top.

non-ad sale of the day

at the 70th & pioneers hy-vee, 12 oz oscar meyer bacon for 1.99. it's fancy package (as in re-useable for a few times) and center cut, dated 9/27--which is why it's on sale. that's about one third of regular price.

ham shank you very much

Yeah, easy joke. I didn't think to take a picture of the soup until too late, but here's one shanklet and the chili peppers that I pulled out before serving.