Vons has Dollar Days!

Vons or Safeway, depending on where you live, is NOT a dollar store. They are in fact a slightly upscale (or at least midstream, waning toward upwardly mobile) supermarket, again depending on where you live. Where I live, Vons is feeling the pressure, and offering better and better bargains.

The sale flyer this week features some pretty good "Dollar Deals" -- Here is what they offer for 99 cents or less --

Wishbone salad dressing
Fresh Express Garden Salads
Artisan Cake Slices
Ice Cream cups
and Angel Soft Bath Tissue.

Not bad . . . I usually shop at Vons for Seltzer Water and Sourdough French Bread, but I will definitely be loading up my shopping basket with more goodies this week.

Elvis Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches

In honor of the anniversary of the King's passing today we make Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches, using the recipe printed on the potholder I bought at Graceland.

When Life Give You Berries, Make Berry Pie

This being summer, the 99 Cent Only Store has had an awesome selection of Strawberries, Blackberries, and Blueberries.

Since I had an extra frozen pie crust from when I made my South Western Quiche, I decided to make a berry pie.

Pies are really simple, especially when you use a frozen crust. It may not be considered Kosher to use this convenience food, but sometimes I prefer to take the easy way out.

I used a streusel topping which is basically sugar, brown sugar, flour, a little salt and butter mixed together until it is sort of crumbly.

As a binder, I cheated further and used a can of strawberries from the dollar store. The heavy syrup from this mushy stuff usually sets up well for the pie filling if you mix some corn starch in.

So thats it. Fresh berries mixed with the canned strawberries with some corn starch (a tablespoon is plenty). Streusel topping on top, and in the oven. You know the drill - 350 degrees, 40 minutes or so.

Berry pie for the Summer. Yum!

Cash is King Ranch Casserole

Nothing stretches your food budget like a casserole, and the King Ranch Casserole is a classic.

It is a simple combination of tortillas (corn, flour, or tortilla chips), chicken, cheese, onions, salsa or picante sauce, and cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soup.

All you do is layer tortillas (grease pan first), mix the two soups with half a can of water and layer, add chicken, onions, cheese and salsa. You can layer high in a small pan, or low in a big pan.

I got everything at the dollar store, with the exception of the shredded chicken breast which was leftover in my freezer from a couple of weeks ago. Every now and again if chicken breasts are on sale I will cook them, eat one or two and freeze the rest for projects like this King Ranch Casserole.

You bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, depending on your layering technique. As with most casseroles this one tastes even better the second day, and freezes well.

For less than 10 bucks you have a hearty entree that feeds six. Add a tossed side salad and dinner is served.

That's it. Delicious.

Recessionista? Recession Pizza!

I make the best french bread pizzas with stuff from the dollar store.

I usually buy a loaf of Sourdough french bread for $1.49 from Von's (Safeway) because they bake it fresh every day.

I'll eat some of it while it is fresh, making sandwiches, or eating with soup or spaghetti, but after a day or two, the leftovers start to go stale and stiffen, which means pizza time!

I simply cut the leftover loaf in half, spread with spaghetti sauce that I mix some other stuff like balsamic vinegar and italian seasonings into, and load up on the toppings.

If you've been reading my other entries, you can probably guess what these toppings are - mushrooms, onions, olives, sausage, pepperoni, mozarella and cheddar cheese - the same stuff I use for quiche and pasta.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or so, and mangia!

Like most of my other recipes these refrigerate and freeze well. Everytime I bring one into work (refrigerated) and heat 1 minute in the microwave before noon, everyone says how good it smells and looks, and is soon running out for lunch.

You too can be the envy of your co-workers with your buck lunch.

Granny Goose Dip Chips

I grew up on Granny Goose and Laura Scudder potato chips. So I was thrilled to see a bag of Granny Goose Dip Chips in the 99 Cent Only Store.

These delectable ridged slices of spud really make your sandwich shine. I look forward to any lunch that includes potato chips, don't you?

As this photo attests, they are also a hit at the fanciest of feasts including Thanksgiving.

The Granny Goose brand was a regional company headquartered in Oakland, California (both my parents were born and raised in Oakland, and all my brothers and sisters were born there -- then the folks moved over the hill to suburbia in Castro Valley, where I, the youngest, was born.)The company began in 1946, and heavily marketed their potato chips through the 1960s. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granny_Goose

Laura Scudder was one of the original potato chip mavens and was from Southern California http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Scudder

The brand was bought by Borden who then sold it to Granny Goose, but ultimately neither could compete with Frito-Lay and in 1995 Granny Goose was sold to a division of the Smucker company.

Along with Mother's Cookies, Granny Goose was one of those great local brands I grew up with.

Here's to Laura Scudder and Granny Goose!

Midor Gourmet Swiss Cookies

These Midor Swiss Cookies from the 99 Cent Only Store, are the real deal. High grade gourmet fare, imported all the way from Switzerland. I'm guessing they showed up on the shelves here because they expire Sept. 30, 2009 but trust me, these will get eaten immediately once you bring them home.

My favorite is the "Famosa" with hazelnut filling, but the Chocobisc Noir biscuits with dark chocolate are pretty awesome as well.

This is just the sort of thing to put in a gourmet gift basket, or impress the relatives and co-workers with.