What's Good at the 99 Cent Only Store this Week? 4-28-14

I apologize for leaving you all hanging for so long!! You'll all be happy to know that I haven't stopped shopping at the 99 Cent Only Store. Life just got in the way, but I'm back!

I've been primarily shopping at the store that is closest to me, but due to having a Dr. appointment in another city, I decided to stop by my "other" store on the way back home.  For the most part, even though this store is brand new, it tends to disappointment me. However, I think I might just be going at the wrong time of day. Early birds don't always get the worm! Even though deliveries come early in the morning, the employees don't get around to stocking the shelves until early afternoon.

Here's what I picked up today:

My favorite finds of this trip were the 10 oz. bags of Pirate's Booty in Aged White Cheddar (Does it come in any other flavor?)  On recent trips, I have also found 12 count 1/2 oz. and 6 count 1 oz. single serve bags. I bought a bunch of those of course, but when I went back to my "regular" store this past Friday, they were all gone :-( So, I was so happy to find these 10 oz bags!! This is an even better deal than the lunch size bags. These are "best buy" 5-21-14.

My other favorite find was the 4 count boxes of GoGo Squeez Apple Cherry Applesauce pouches.  These are "best buy" 8-2-14.

Other items I purchased, pictured above are:

10.25 oz. Lean Cuisine Honestly Good Pineapple Black Pepper Beef Exp. 7-2014. There was also a salmon variety, as well as another type of fish.

14.4 oz. Honey Maid Graham Crackers Exp. 5-13-14

10.3 oz. Cap'n Crunch Cinnamon Roll Crunch Exp. 6-23-14

11.1 oz. Velveeta Cheesy Casseroles in Chili Cornbread Exp. 7-27-14. It seems that the 99 Cent Only Store has been regularly carrying these dinner kits, but I had not seen this one before, and had some ground beef sitting in my freezer, so I thought I'd give it a try.

10 oz. Honey Maid Teddy Grahams in Strawberry Banana. Exp. 5-30-14

8 oz. Nabisco Wheat Thins in Cheese Crunch Exp.5-9-14

6 count (.95 oz.) Kraft Cheese and Ritz Cracker Handi-Snacks Exp. 5-3-14

2 count (3.25 oz.) Dole Fruit & Oatmeal in Apples and Brown Sugar Exp. 8-13-14

4 count (5.3 oz. ) Yoplait Greek 100 Calorie Yogurt in Bluberry Exp. 5-8-13. There was also non "light" Strawberry & Blueberry.

6 oz. Weight Watchers Smart Ones "Artisan Creations" Stone Fired Cruse Pizza in Four Cheese. Best buy 11-28-14.


Please come back and see what I pick up at the 99 Cent Only Store later this week!!

Skinny Cinnamon Chip Cream Cheese Muffins

A few days ago, I was e-mailed this delicious looking recipe for Cinnamon Chip Cream Cheese Bread, from Erin over at Making Memories...One Fun thing After Another. I've never made a recipe with Cinnamon Chips before, and Erin's bread seem like the perfect recipe to give them a try.

I lightened up this recipe by reducing the amount of Cinnamon Chips to half a bag, instead of the entire bag, as well as, replacing the full fat cream cheese for 33% less fat cream cheese. I also replaced the sugar with Splenda. 

I turned this recipe into muffins for portion control, to help aid in my weight loss efforts. I weighed in last Sunday, and forgot to mention I lost 3 pounds! Yay!

I thought I was being clever my baking these in individual portions, but to be honest, it created a lot more work! So, if you would like to follow the original recipe, the batter is baked in a loaf pan for 55-60 minutes.

And, before you go on a wild goose chase all over town looking for Hershey's Cinnamon Chips, Vons/Safeway was the only store that carried them in my town. They were $4.09 a bag.

Skinny Cinnamon Chip Cream Cheese Muffins

Batter
1/2 c butter, softened
1/2 c Splenda sugar substitute
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 c flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 c milk ( I used 2%)
2 egg whites
1/4 c Splenda sugar substitute
5 oz.( 1/2 a bag ) Hershey's Cinnamon Chips

Cream Cheese Filling 
8 oz. 33% less fat cream cheese
1/2 c Splenda
1 egg

Glaze
2 tablespoons Splenda sugar substitute
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon water

 

With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, 1/2 c Splenda, and egg until smooth. Set aside.

 

 

Next, mix the 2 tablespoons of Splenda, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 teaspoon of water.  Set aside.

 

 

In a large bowl, cream the butter and Splenda together until light and fluffy.  Add the vanilla and egg yolks. Mix well.  

 

 

Mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Alternate the flour mixture and the milk.  Mixing after each addition.

 

 

In another bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.  Add the 1/4 cup Splenda, 1 tablespoon at a time, until egg whites are stiff.  

 

 

Fold the egg whites into the batter mixture. 

 

 

Then, add 5 oz.(1/2 a bag) of Cinnamon Chips. Stir.

 

 

Line 2 muffin tins with 16 cupcake liners. Spray inside of cupcake liners with cooking spray. Scoop one heaping tablespoon batter into each cupcake liner. With a knife, spread batter evenly.

Top with one heaping tablespoon of cream cheese mixture. Spread to make it even. 

 

 

Add another heaping tablespoon of batter, and spread as best you can. It doesn't have to be perfect.

Drizzle a little bit of glaze over each uncooked muffin.

 

 

 

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 14-16 minutes. Tops will not be brown, so don't wait for that to happen! Let cool completely before unwrapping.

 

This recipe makes 16 servings. If you are following Weight Watchers, each muffin is 5 Points Plus.

 

Turkey Empanadas with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Okay, I admit it. I'm guilty! Guilty of STILL having leftover turkey in my freezer from THANKSGIVING! Anyone else in the same boat? Luckily, this dish was the last of it. I also made Turkey Enchiladas a couple of days ago, but didn't get any pictures taken before it was devoured, so you'll just have to use your imagination there.

Bits of meat like this has to be used up fairly quickly after freezing, because of that funky freezer burn it gets. I have ham in my freezer about to suffer the same fate. That's next on my list.

This recipe came from Haley at Cheap Recipe Blog. When I was reading the recipe, I thought her substitution for capers said green onions, but it said green olives. Oops! Luckily, I had green olives leftover from my Turkey Enchiladas. I'd already chopped up the green onions, so I just added those in as well. I also decided to saute the white onion in 1 tablespoon of EVOO, before adding it to the rest of the mixture, instead of throwing them in raw.

On another note, I'm officially back on Weight Watchers this week. No more excuses! I'll report back on Sunday with any pounds lost.

Turkey Empanadas with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

This recipe has been doubled

Filling

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 packages of Goya Brand Empanada Dough (In freezer section of ethnic grocery stores, I went to a store called Valley Produce Market. They were $1.99 each.)

3 c cooked turkey, finely chopped

8 oz. light cream cheese, softened

1c cheddar cheese, shredded

1 large onion, chopped

4 tablespoons capers (or 1/2 c chopped green olives)

1/2 c green onions, chopped

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

2 roasted red peppers

1c light mayonnaise

1/2 c light sour cream

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium sized skillet, set on medium heat, saute white onion in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, until lightly golden in color. Set aside. Mix all other filling ingredients. Add sauteed onions, and mix to incorporate. Place one large tablespoon of filling in center of empanada dough round. Moisten edges with water, then fold the dough over, and seal the edges. Crimp edges with tines of a fork. Place in oven on greased baking sheet for 15 minutes, or until crust is browned and filling is hot. To make roasted red pepper sauce, combine all ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth.

This recipe makes 36 Empanadas. 3 Empanadas with 1 oz. of Roasted Red Pepper Sauce is 12 points plus.

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Chicken Stroganoff

 

Here's another easy and tasty recipe from my new Taste of Home, Best Loved Recipes cookbook. It combines the smoky flavor of bacon, earthy flavor of mushrooms and, creamy sour cream. 

I ended up adding a bit cornstarch mixed with cold water, to thicken the sauce, a little bit more at the end. So, you may need to do this as well, or add some additional flour when the recipe calls for it.

My husband really liked this and I think you will too!

This recipe was created by Laura Schimanski from Coaldale, Alberta, Canada.

She says, "I came up with this recipe, a variation on Beef Stroganoff, as a way to use up roasted chicken. It was a hit. I'm usually the only one in my family who enjoys noodles, but even our son will have more when they're topped with the creamy poultry dish."

                                   Chicken Stroganoff

4 strips bacon, diced

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4" strips

1 medium onion, diced

2 jars (4 1/2 oz each) sliced mushrooms, drained (I used one 8 oz. can)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 teaspoons salt

1/8 teaspoons paprika

Pepper to taste

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup (8 oz. ) sour cream

Hot cooked noodles

Additional paprika, optional

In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon to paper towels to drain; reserving 2 tablespoons drippings; set bacon aside.

In the drippings, cook the chicken, onion and mushrooms until the chicken is no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add the broth, salt, paprika, pepper and bacon. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Combine flour and sour cream until smooth; add to the skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with noodles. Sprinkle with paprika if desired.

 

This recipes makes 4 servings. If you are following Weight Watchers, each serving over 1 cup cooked hot noodles is 12 points plus (7 points plus for 1/4 serving of Chicken Stroganoff, and 5 points for the noodles.)

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Sweet 'N' Spicy Chicken

Happy Monday Everyone! I'm glad to be home. My family and I got back yesterday afternoon, after 3 days and 3 nights at the Disneyland Resort. We had a blast, but as you can imagine, I'm one tired mommy!

On top of being exhausted, I received a message on our answering machine from my son's Dr., asking for me to give them a call. I called this morning, and they wanted me to come in and discuss results of an MRI my son had several weeks ago. After hanging up with the Dr.'s office, I had 2 hours until my appointment, so of course, I was quietly freaking out during that time. The reason my son had a MRI was because he was experiencing frequent headaches, so I'm thinking they're going to tell me he has a brain tumor or something. Thank goodness, that's not the case! However, he does have sinus issues, and is being referred to an Ears, Nose & Throat specialist.

Anyway, after an emotionally draining morning, and not really having much in my fridge, due to being out of town, I wanted something super easy & yummy for dinner.

I just bought this awesome cookbook, Taste of Home Best Loved Recipes, where I found this recipe by Sheri White from Higley, Arizona.

Sheri writes: My family loves this tender chicken that has a spicy sauce. Peach preserves add just a touch of sweetness, while taco seasoning and salsa give this dish some kick. This entree can be made even zippier yet by adding more taco seasoning and using spicier salsa.

I thought the balance of flavor in this dish was perfect. I wouldn't change a thing! It only took about 20 minutes to make.

Sweet 'N' Spicy Chicken

3 Tbsp taco seasoning

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2" chunks

1 Tbsp canola oil

1 jar (11oz) chunky salsa

1/2 c peach preserves 

Hot cooked rice

Place the taco seasoning in a large resealable plastic bag; add chicken and toss to coat. 

In a large skillet, brown the chicken in the oil until no longer pink. Combine the salsa and preserves; stir into skillet. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Serve with rice.

This recipes makes 4 servings. If you are following Weight Watchers, each serving is 7 points plus.

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Child's Choice Cookies

Originally, this recipe was going to be my very first post. I was going to make these cookies as my tribute to the Sandy Hook victims, but with Christmas quickly approaching, I couldn't find the time to make them until today.

This recipe comes from a cookbook called Cooking for Kids, which I picked up at ROSS many years ago. ROSS is like a TJ Maxx or Marshall's for those of you who are not familiar with it.

This recipe goes against many things we all know about baking cookies. First of all, the recipe calls for shortening, instead of butter. Then, you beat the shortening into the dry ingredients, instead of creaming it with the sugar. Huh, what? Let's just say, my Keurig Coffee Maker is sitting on my counter right now with a fine coating of flour from the mess that created! And, greasing the cookie sheets? Most cookie recipes call for ungreased, of course. And, last but not least Maple flavoring.... I can honestly say this is a first for me. I've never used this ingredient before. No Vanilla extract to be found in this recipe.

These cookies are quite tasty! My husband and I liked them. They are crunchy on the outside, and chewy on the inside with a very strong Maple flavor. However, they're not my child's choice! My 4 year old daughter didn't care for them. I'm not sure if she didn't like the texture from the oats, or the maple flavor. Oh well, more for me!

Child's Choice Cookies

2 1/3 cup all purpose flour

1 butter flavor CRISCO stick or 1 cup butter flavor CRISCO all-vegetable shortening

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. maple flavoring

2 cups oats

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup peanut butter chips

3/4 cup mini marshmallows

cooking spray to grease baking sheet

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease baking sheet with cooking spray. Combine flour, shortening, baking soda and baking powder in a large bowl. Beat on low speed with an electric mixer until blended. Increase speed to medium. Mix thoroughly. Beat in granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and maple flavor. Add oats, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips and mini marshmallows. Mix with a wooden spoon until well blended. Shape into 1 inch balls . Flatten slightly. Place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet.  Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Do not overbake. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet. Remove cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely. 

The recipe makes appox. 4 1/2 dozen cookies. If you are following Weight Watchers, each cookie is 3 points plus.

Cinnamon French Toast Bake

I was watching Cooking Channel a few days ago, hoping to come up with an idea for Christmas morning breakfast. From The Kitchens of....with Brigitte Nguyen came on with several recipes from Pillsbury. Her special guest was our very own Jenny Flake from Picky Palate, so of course I paid close attention!

This recipe is delicious and super easy! It came together in no time at all. It has all the cinnamon goodness of a cinnamon roll, and the soft custard like texture of the inside of french toast. And, the best of both worlds when it come to toppings, icing and maple syrup. Yum!

I only used 1/2 c of Pecans, sprinkling on only half of the dish because my husband and children don't like nuts. Also, this dish is plenty sweet without the powdered sugar and additional 1/2 c of maple syrup. There's plenty of syrup at the bottom of the dish to spoon over the individual servings.

Here is the link from Cooking Channel.

 Cinnamon French Toast Bake

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 (12.4-ounce) cans Pillsbury refrigerated reduced fat cinnamon rolls with icing

6 eggs

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons vanilla 

1 cup chopped pecans

1 1/2 cup maple syrup

Icing, from cinnamon rolls package

Powdered sugar, for dusting (Optional)

 Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Pour the melted butter into an ungreased 13 by 9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish.

Separate both cans of dough into 16 rolls and set the icing aside. Cut each roll into 8 pieces and place the pieces over the butter in the dish.

In medium bowl, beat eggs. Beat in the heavy cream, cinnamon, and vanilla until well blended. Gently pour the mixture over the roll pieces. Sprinkle with pecans and drizzle with 1 cup maple syrup.

Bake 20 to 28 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove covers from cinnamon bun icing and microwave on Medium
(50-percent), 10 to 15 seconds or until thin enough to drizzle.

Drizzle the icing over top and sprinkle with powdered sugar. If desired, spoon the syrup from the dish over the individual servings. Serve with the remaining 1/2 cup maple syrup, if desired.

The recipe makes 12 servings. If you are following Weight Watchers, each serving with nuts is 11 points plus, and each serving without nuts is 9 points plus. The picture of the plate below shows 2 servings.

Merry Christmas!

Chocolate Peppermint Popcorn

My daughter decorated Gingerbread People in her class this past Friday, and each child was assigned a couple of goodies to contribute. We brought Jet-Puffed Peppermint Mallows, and after all was said and done, came home with over half a bag. Right on the back of the bag there is a recipe for Chocolate Peppermint Popcorn. I altered the recipe slightly, as the original recipe didn't call for the additional Peppermint Mallows you see in the picture. I felt the final product was not "pepperminty" enough, so I added more after the popcorn cooled. The extra mallows add additional texture and color, which I think the original recipe was lacking. I would even go as far as adding some peppermint extract to the melted chocolate. I didn't have any on hand, so I worked with what I had.

Chocolate Peppermint Popcorn

1/2 tsp. salt, divided

12 cups warm air popped popcorn

4 oz. Baker's semi-sweet chocolate (I substituted 4 oz. Hershey's Milk Chocolate Kisses, about 26)

1/2 cup butter

40 Jet-Puffed Mini Peppermint Mallows

5 oz. Jet-Puffed Mini Peppermint Mallows

Heat oven to 275 degrees. Sprinkle 1/4 tsp. salt over popcorn in a large bowl;toss to coat. Set aside.  

Melt chocolate and butter in a medium saucepan on low heat, stirring frequently. Add 40 marshmallows; stir until completely melted. Remove from heat; stir in remaining 1/4 tsp. salt. 

Pour over popcorn; toss to coat. Spread onto greased baking sheets. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until crisp; stirring after 15 minutes. Cool on wax paper. When popcorn is cool, transfer to a large bowl and toss with additional 5 oz. marshmallows. Store in an airtight container.

Makes 24 servings, 1/2 c each. If you are following Weight Watchers each 1/2 c serving is 4 Points Plus. The amount shown in the foil papers below are 1/2 c servings.