One of the best bargains this week is ground beef. All three major stores have some version at a moderate price. Of course you could always make burgers, maybe mushroom burgers or blue cheese and wine burgers (just mix some red or white wine with the meat, enclose a chunk or two of blue cheese in the middle and grill.) But there are literally cookbooks full of things to do with ground beef.

One favorite is a skillet dinner. Start with some gently cooked onion and garlic, brown your meat (removing excess fat as necessary,) then let your imagination run wild. Add a little liquid of your choice, wine, tomatoes, then add a vegetable, peas, corn, anything. Season with any flavor or combination. Try commercial fajita seasoning, or fresh herbs from your garden, or dried Italian herbs, or curry powder. Mix in some sour cream or plain yogurt. Serve over chunks of boiled potato or rice or toast or grilled bread or polenta or pilaf or ….. To please the younger crowd try Sloppy Joes as given below. If you have a favorite way to use ground beef why not share it with our readers by adding in a comment below.

Comparing Prices this Week—Ground Beef

Albertson: 85% lean, 3 lb or more $2.49/lb

Fry’s: 80% lean, 3 lb chub $2.19/lb

Safeway: 80% lean, extreme value pack $2.99/lb

Best Prices on Everyday Items

Milk: Albertsons $1.50/gal

Bread: Safeway, Ovenjoy sandwich $1.25; Albertsons, Nature’s Own Honey Wheat $1.27; Fry’s, Sara Lee, select varieties BOGO*

Eggs: Albertsons, Natural Choice Omega-3, large $2.50/dz

Best Bargains this Week

Albertsons

Special Sale Coupon Mania—Many good coupons including

• American Beauty pasta, 12-16 oz, limit 4 $.77
• Albertsons shredded cheese, 2 lb. pkg, select varieties $4.99
• MM/Mars single candy bars, limit 8 $.35

A special coupon for select con-agra products including Hunts tomatoes, ro-tel, Banquet. Buy 10 select items for $1 each, get 2 more free, final cost, $.83/item

Meat and Seafood

• Pork chops, center cut loin, bone in BOGO*
• USDA Choice beef, London broil, cross rib or bottom round BOGO*
• Jumbo Pack chicken, bone in, breast, thigh leg, leg quarter or whole chicken $.88/lb

Produce

• Blueberries, fresh northwest, 11 oz $.88
• Dole Organic bananas $.69/lb
• Broccoli crowns or cauliflower $.88/lb
• Tomatoes on the vine $1.99/lb

Other Grocery

• Carlita fajita tortillas $1.50
• Albertsons cheese slices, 8oz, select varieties $2.50
• White iced cinnamon rolls, 4 pk $1

Fry’s

Special Sales $.99 Sale—many items for $.99 including:

• Chicken of the Sea chunk light tuna $.99 for two
• Kroger tomato sauce $.99 for four

Meat and Seafood

• Kroger boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenderloins $1.67/lb
• USDA Choice cross rib roast or Texas broil $3.79/lb
• Wild caught sockeye salmon filets, fresh $7.99/lb

Produce

• Broccoli or cauliflower $.99
• Haas avocados $.88/each
• Peaches or Nectarines $.75/lb
• Cantaloupe, Arizona grown $.97/each

Other Grocery

• Red Baron frozen pizza, select varieties $2.99
• Kraft or Sargento cheese, select varieties $2
• Kroger butter $2.29/lb
• Progresso soup, select varieties $.99

Safeway

Special Sales $5 Friday—Wanchai Ferry meals, Primo Taglio Black Forest Ham in the Deli

See the special section on digital coupons—you have to go to Safeway.com where you can add them directly to your Safeway club card. Then when you purchase the item you automatically get the coupon price. For example, this week you can get a $1 off coupon for Best Foods Mayonnaise which brings the price down to $1.99.

Meat and Seafood

• London broil, extreme value pack $2.29/lb
• Fresh Flounder Fillets, weather permitting, wild caught $4.99/lb
• Safeway chicken drumsticks, fresh, extreme value pack $.75/lb
• Assorted pork loin chops, fresh, bone in, any size pkg $2.49/lb

Produce

• Sweet Ranier cherries $2.77/lb
• Hot house tomatoes $1.99/lb
• Olathe sweet corn from Colorado $1/4 ears
• Red Lion nectarines $.88/lb

Other Grocery

• Classico pasta sauce BOGO*
• Red Baron frozen pizza $2.99
• Nabisco Newtons cookies BOGO*
• Pepsi or 7up, 2 liter $.99

*BOGO—Buy One Get One of equal or lesser value Free

Sloppy Joes

1 small onion, finely chopped
1 ½ lb ground beef
1 can condensed chicken rice soup
½ cup catsup (or 1 small can tomato sauce)
¼ cup yellow mustard
2 Tablespoons Worcester sauce
Hamburger buns (toasted is best)

Cook the onions on low heat in a medium/large skillet with a little oil. Raise the heat to medium and add the beef. Cook, breaking into small pieces, until the meat is browned. Spoon off excess fat.

Now add the soup, catsup, mustard and Worcester sauce. Mix thoroughly. Cook uncovered until the sauce is somewhat thick.

Serve over toasted buns (or toasted bread if you have no buns.)

Grownups may find this a little excessively salty. You can use the tomato sauce instead of catsup and substitute some low sodium chicken stock and a little cooked rice for the soup. But it won’t be the same.

(Editor's note: this is the best, the ingredients may seem a little odd, but don't let that fool you.)

Recipes from Around the Internet

Cheese Stuffed BBQ Hamburgers

JC's 3 Ways

Gotta watch this one - there are some great surprises here. Of course, you'll be pretty hungry when you're finished watching it.

Sweet Potato Burgers

These are a bit different, but it looks good! It's worth a try, eh?

Hamburger Stroganoff Recipe

Buffalo Chicken Burgers

Italian Chicken Burger