Buying Groceries at Ross Dress for Less and Big Lots

     It is no secret that I am a fan of Ross Dress for Less and Big Lots.  I have discovered that blog land is inhabited by many people who feel the same way.  For me it’s part bargain and part flying low under the radar. Surely there is someone out there who relates to the flying low under the radar syndrome???

     Where else can you find groceries in the lingerie section- possibly on the floor?  Why at Ross’s of course.  In my deepest psyche there must be someone struggling to surface, who enjoys rooting around and digging. 

       Big Lots makes it so much easier for the aspiring gourmet cook.  There is an actual grocery section- what a concept.  Big Lots is such a wonderful mystery.  How did cases of Italian water reach their shelves?

     Today when I was in the mood to cook, using what I had in the pantry , I found some of these treasures.

  

     I wasn’t deterred by the fact that the temperature inside my car had registered 107 degrees when I retrieved my purse earlier in the day. Why not have some wonderful HOT soup?    I assembled my ingredients.

     I added an onion, a can of whole tomatoes, some fresh cabbage that was quickly reaching the end of the road, and fresh grown carrots from a fruit stand at the flea market.  My husband, who is a wonderful cook, suggested I add links of sausage, which I did.  After adding 6 cups of water and the seasoning packet, I let it cook all day.  It was really good.  We only had to lower the AC to 55 degrees to fully enjoy it.

     I was on a roll . I located the following ingredients in my pantry and refrigerator and decided to go for it.

     The chili seasoning packet is from Big Lots.  After it was all mixed ,I added a can of kidney beans- also from Big Lots- and a package of frozen corn.  It was really good .

     I was having so much fun . I used to do this all of the time when the girls were little.  I loved cooking out of the pantry and using up what I had on hand.

     I then made a pasta salad out of rotini pasta, Marie’s raspberry vinaigrette dressing, craisens, sweet pickle juice and jalapeno juice, and a little bit of feta cheese. I was out of walnuts. It was pink! My husband’s comment? “I’ll eat it.”

     Then I spied two over ripe bananas.  I was able to make a half recipe of banana bread. No picture available…we ate it hot out of the oven with butter slathered on top.

     One last plug for Big Lots.  If you see this dressing, buy it, it is wonderful to put on meat- along with our all time favorite TexJoy.  Guess where we buy TexJoy?  Academy.  That makes perfect sense to us. How about you?

     Enjoy!