What To Make With What’s On Sale: chicken, mahi mahi, and more

It’s the inagural week of What To Make With What’s On Sale!  Let’s get to work pulling together what’s on sale in Colorado Springs with what’s in our pantries from previous weeks, and plan meals for our families that maximize those sales.

:: Whole Chickens

Whole chickens are on sale for $0.67/lb at Sunflower Market.  There are lots of things you can do with whole chickens – in fact, we discussed what to make and how to freeze whole chickens awhile back.

A new favorite recipe for our family that uses whole chickens is Pioneer Woman’s White Chicken Enchiladas.  They are awesome, especially if you can still find some Hatch chiles and roast them to use in the enchiladas.  And for me, the best part is that they don’t use cream of chicken soup (a no-no at our house).

Extensive testing of the above enchilada recipe has taken place at our house in the past few week – I’ve seriously made three huge batches of enchiladas – and I can say that these enchiladas are great to prep ahead.  I’ve kept pans of enchiladas in the frig for several days and they were great.  Just pop them in the oven for 30 minutes and supper’s on the table!

:: Mahi Mahi Fillets

Mahi Mahi fillets are on sale for $3.97/lb at Sunflower Market this week, which is a great price!  I’ve only fixed it once, and while it wasn’t an instant favorite, I’ll probably buy some again to get some variety into our menu plan.

I fixed this recipe for Grilled Mahi-Mahi, Ceviche Style from Alton Brown.  It was pretty good, but after having it once fresh from the grill, and once reheated as leftovers, we concluded that the sauce was much better the second time around.  I think when it was fresh from the grill, the charcoal flavor overpowered the sauce.

I think I’ll be making the same recipe again this week, and maybe tweak it a bit or try to reduce it down so it’s a little thicker.

:: Bottom Round Roast

Bottom Round Roast is on sale for $1.99/lb at Albertsons, which is about as low as it goes except for maybe a store’s grand opening specials or something.  Russet potatoes are on sale for $1.49 for a 10-lb bag at Rancho Liborio, or red potatoes are $0.59/lb at Sunflower Market, so maybe a good week to have a pot roast?

I’m a huge, huge fan of Cook’s Illustrated’s pot roast recipe.  Their website is members-only, but they do have a free trial.  Anyway, in short – sear the roast well on all sides.  Mince a little carrots, celery, garlic, and onions and cook with a little oil after you sear the roast, then add in a cup of chicken broth and a cup of beef broth, put your roast back in and add potatoes and larger chunks of carrots, and cook for 3-4 hours in the oven on 300.  Flip the roast every half hour or so… Or whenever you remember!  Their full recipe is here.

:: Bartlett Pears

They’re on sale for $0.57/lb at Sunflower Market and Rancho Liborio (Thursday only).  I’ve got a bunch of cranberries in my freezer, left from ahem last December, so I’m planning on buying a bunch of pears and making Pearberry Sauce – or maybe you could call it Cranlett Sauce.

Basically, just peel and chop the pears, then cook for maybe 45 minutes to an hour along with the cranberries and 1/4 cup sugar.  When the pears and cranberries are soft and beginning to break apart, blend them up and serve as a warm side dish or cool snack.

Pearberry Sauce is also really yummy on pancakes!

:: Your Turn

What are you making with what’s on sale this week?  Got a tip, question, or recipe to share?  Join in the discussion in the comments!