A few weeks ago a friend of mine name Shandra from Deals to Meals took me grocery shopping for my weekly groceries. This included what I needed to make this creamy broccoli and potato soup. Shandra was going to show me how to save on my groceries without using coupons.
We started off at my home where she showed me how to use their site to plan my grocery shopping. You can use her site in several ways.
She has menu plans for you. You can add your own recipes or use her’s. Each week she gives a menu plan that matches with the deals of the week at the grocery stores.
When we went, I had a week of meals already planned and then I did another week of meals using her recipes. One of those happen to be the soup recipe I am sharing with you all today. So we went to get what I needed for 2 weeks worth of meals for a total of 10 meals (I get pizza on the weekend and then we have another meal of what you can find in the house) plus a few items that were priced good enough to stock up on.
Shopping with Deals to Meals
You can shop the deals on her site for a specific store that you like or for all the stores in your area and ad match at Walmart. This is the best way to maximize on the deals for the week and only have to shop at one store. You just select the items on sale that you want and it generates a shopping list for you.
We had a fun time shopping and got everything I needed. When we got in line at the check out Shandra asked me how much I thought my groceries would cost. I said it’s got to be at least $200. To my surprise, when I was done my total was $98.96. The savings are well worth the $4.95 a month fee to use Deals to Meals.
So here is what I got for the $98.96
- 2 pkg flour tortillas $2
- 3 pkg fudge brownie mix $2.37
- 1 pkg cheese ravioli $2.97
- 5 pkg peanut butter $8.70
- 1 pkg tostada shells $1.88
- 1 pkg cheese tortellini $2.97
- 2 pkg powdered sugar $2
- 1 jar pasta sauce .99
- 2 pkg brown sugar $2
- coconut milk $1.28
- 10 lb bag of potatoes $1.49
- 2 jars of salsa $3
- 3 bottles of ketchup $2.37
- 1 gallon of milk $2.22
- 2 pkg. Sliced Cheese $3.58
- 2 (32 oz) pkg shredded cheese $9.98
- 1 small block of cheese $1.25
- 3 pkg of GoGurt $4.47
- 1 jar roasted red peppers $1.50
- 1 (16 oz) container sour cream .99
- 2 (16 oz) pkg ground turkey $4.98
- 1 pkg frozen peas .88
- 1 pkg pecan halves $2.28
- lemons .66
- onions .36
- red onion .35
- bananas $1.35
- cucumber .88
- 1.09 lbs broccoli .96
- 1 8 count pkg buns $1.50
- 1 pkg coconut $1.17
- strawberries $3.48
- cilantro .33
- 2 heads of red leaf lettuce 2.37
- italian parsley .50
- 1.65 lbs roma tomatoes .79
- baby carrots .99
- green onion .33
- a serrano pepper .15
- 1 lb asparagus $1.99
- 3.27 lbs beef sirloin steaks $9.78
for a total of $96.08 before tax
I made a total of 5 meals from the deals to meals site. We had Chinese lemon chicken, marinated steak, sticky chicken salad, creamy broccoli and potato soup, and turkey burgers. The only meal that was not a hit for us was the turkey burgers. We ate them but they just weren’t a “make again recipe”. Plus, I have yet to find a recipe for turkey burgers that does not fall apart when you cook them.
The soup recipe I am sharing today along with the lemon chicken were our favorites and definitely recipes I will make again. The soup was nice and thick and cheesy!
Creamy Broccoli and Potato Soup and Deals to Meals
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1/3 cup flour
- 3 cups water
- 2 Tbsp chicken bouillon base
- 4 russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1 inch cubes
- 3 cups milk
- 1–2 cups chopped broccoli (I only used the crowns)
- pepper to taste
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, divided
Instructions
- In a stock pot, melt butter and add in the diced onion. Saute onion until it just begins to soften.
- Add in the flour and cook for a minute or two until it sticks to the onion.
- Then add in the water, bouillon base, and potatoes. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes until the potatoes are slightly tender.
- Next add in the milk, broccoli, pepper, and garlic powder. Bring to a boil again and simmer for another 5 minutes until the soup is thick and the vegetables are tender.
- Add in 2 cups of the cheese and stir until completely melted. Garnish with the remaining 1 cup. Serves 6.
Recipe adapted from Deals to Meals.