With eggs, cheese and milk on sale this week at all three major supermarkets, this may be the week to do something creative with eggs. Try something as simple as a fried egg sandwich. Cook the eggs over/hard, or beat and make a simple small omelet. Let the eggs cool a little on a paper towel (to soak up any extra oil.) Prepare your bread with anything from mayo and catsup to cream cheese, sprouts (they have dynamite sunflower sprouts at the Farmer’s Market these days), and olive tapanade, slide in your egg and have a delicious and nutritious breakfast, lunch or snack.

Most world cuisines have egg dishes. A simple egg curry is tasty. Chinese fried rice is a great way to use up leftover bits of veggies. Just whisk up a few eggs, pour them into a non-stick pan, fry on both sides, cut into strips and arrange over the fried rice for an inexpensive dish. At these prices you’re paying between $.12 - $.18 for a 10 oz. serving of protein with only 89 calories, using one whole egg and 1 egg white. You also get significant amounts of Vitamins A and D, selenium and potassium.

Other ideas:

• Make an egg salad of hard boiled eggs, roughly chopped, pickle relish, mustard, and mayo.
• Add halves of hard boiled eggs to a green salad.
• Bread pudding
• Strata (especially in the winter time—the ultimate comfort food).

Eggs

• Albertsons: Store brand eggs $.77/dz (with coupon)
• Fry’s: Store brand eggs $1.49/18
• Safeway: Store brand eggs $.99/dz

Milk

• Fry’s: Store brand milk $1.67/gal
• Albertsons: Shamrock farms milk, 12 oz $1, Shamrock farms half and half, 16 oz $1.79
• Safeway: Store brand milk $1.57

Cheese

• Safeway: Lucerne, 8oz chunk, select varieties $2
• Albertsons: 16 oz. American slices; or store brand shredded, 8 oz, select varieties $1.99;
• Fry’s: Kroger, 8 oz, slices, select varieties $1.88

Best Bargains this Week

Fry’s

Special Sales—The buy 10 items get $5 off sale continues with many of the same items as last week.

Meat and Seafood

• Atlantic Salmon Fillets, farm raised, fresh $4.97/lb
• Boneless pork loin, ½ loin $1.97/lb (limit 2)
• Foster Farms chicken, split breast, thighs or drumsticks $.97/lb (limit 4 pkg)
• USDA Choice New York strip steak 50% off

Produce

• Bananas $.49/lb
• Blueberries, 6oz $.88
• Broccoli and Cauliflower $.99/lb
• Lettuce, red leaf, green leaf, Boston, romaine, iceberg $.88/head
• Haas avocados $.99/each
• Red tomatoes on the vine $.88/lb

Other Grocery

• 7 up sodas, 12 pk, cans $10 for 4 (limit 4)
• Pumpkin pie, 8 inch $2.88
• Nature’s own bread, select varieties $1.67

Safeway

Special Sales

$5 Friday—Hillshire Farms Sausage, 42 oz--Blueberries, 2 lb

4 Day Sale Friday—Monday

• Gorton’s Frozen fish, select varieties $2.99
• Hillshire Farms, deli carvers BOGO
• Little Debbie snack cakes $1.25

Meat and Seafood

• Fresh Keta salmon fillets, wild caught, weather permitting $4.99/lb
• Chicken Breasts, boneless, skinless $1.77/lb (extreme value pack)
• Ground Beef, fresh, 93% lean, any size pkg $3.99/lb
• Oscar Meyer bacon, select varieties BOGO*

Produce

• Sweet red cherries $1.28/lb
• Grapes, red seedless $.79/lb
• Red plums $.99/lb
• Russet potatoes $.99/lb
• Iceberg lettuce $.99 each

Other Grocery

• Quaker Life cereal, 13 oz $2
• All liquid laundry detergent, 150 oz, 2x $9.99
• Safeway Kitchens bread, select varieties $2.50
• Nabisco snack crackers BOGO*
• Kellogg’s raisin bran $2

Albertsons

Special Sale—Coupon Madness Good coupons for many items—be sure to check limits.

• Blue Bunny or Ben & Jerry ice creams $2.49
• Langers Juice Blends $.99
• Deli turkey breast, Jennie-O (redeem in service deli) $2.99/lb
• Chunk Cheese, Albertsons brand, 16 oz $2.99/each

Meat and Seafood

• Chicken, boneless, skinless, thighs or breasts, tray pack Buy One Get Two Free
• Ground beef, 93% lean, buy 3 or more lb $2.77/lb
• Pork loin back ribs $2.77/lb

Produce

• Cantaloupe, large $2
• Mangoes, large $.50
• Red grapes $.75/lb
• Cherub or Sunburst mini tomatoes, 10oz $2.50

Other Grocery

• Albertsons ice cream $2.50
• Da Vinci pasta, 16 oz $1.29
• Lundberg rice 20% off regular retail
• Planter’s peanut butter, 16 oz $1.99

*BOGO Buy One Get One of Equal or lesser value Free

Both these recipes are based on ones from the Incredible Edible Egg web site, a production of the Egg Marketing Board. If you’re looking for egg based recipes this is a great place to look. Don’t be afraid to modify them to meet your needs. If you’re going to use a combination of whole eggs and egg whites (to save a little fat and cholesterol) remember that a whole large egg is by volume about 3 ¼ Tablespoons, of which 1 Tablespoon is yolk. If your recipe calls for 4 eggs beaten, you will need approximately 2 whole eggs and 3 egg whites.

Very Simple Strata

8 inch baking dish liberally buttered
4 slices good firm whole wheat bread
4 eggs
½ cup milk
1 lb. Italian style fresh sausage, cooked and broken into medium chunks
½ cup shredded cheese, swiss, cheddar or whatever you have

Cut bread into chunks. Place in baking dish in single layer.

Beat eggs and milk together. Pour over bread and sausage.

Cover and place in refrigerator at least 1 hr., or as much as overnight.

About 40 minutes before you are ready to serve take egg dish out of refrigerator, heat oven to350 degrees F. Bake dish10 minutes covered, then 20 minutes uncovered. Remove from oven, sprinkle on cheese, return to oven for 5-10 minutes longer until brown and puffy.

This recipe can be easily doubled but you’ll have to cook it a little longer. The meat can be varied, maybe Canadian bacon, or regular bacon cooked and crumbled, or leftover cooked ham or chicken with some chopped fresh herbs or tomatoes. You also might want to add more cheese. Let your imagination run riot.

Baked Eggs

This can be cooked in individual dishes or in a baking dish. You can make any number of eggs you need, just keep the proportions about the same.

1 lb fresh spinach, washed and chopped
¼ onion, diced small
¼ red bell pepper, diced small
4 eggs
½ cup chunky salsa
½ cup shredded cheese, Monterey Jack, cheddar, or Mexican

Preheat oven to 325 F.

In a large skillet using a little oil or bacon grease, sweat the onion and pepper, add the spinach and cover the pan to wilt. Toss to combine.

Either divide the spinach mixture into 4 individual ramekins or custard cups, or spread in the bottom of an 8 x 8 baking dish. With the back of a spoon make little wells in the spinach mixture. Carefully break an egg into each well. Surround with salsa, sprinkle with cheese and bake until the eggs are the desired degree of doneness.

Eggs Around the Web

Eggs are a pretty universal, multi-cultural food. Here are a couple of recipes you might enjoy.

Egg Fried Tomato - Traditional Chinese Dish

Egg Dishes: Italian Brunch Casserole

How to Make Egg Pakoda

High Wire Egg Dishes - Barefoot Contessa