Meijer Bargain Meals - Week of 2/22

There are lots of great deals to be found at Meijer this week! I especially love taking advantage of the "10 for $10, 11th item free" deals. Lots of great deals means lots of great bargain meals!

Stop by my friend Sonshine's blog to see a list of the top deals to take advantage of at Meijer this week and every week.

Breakfast Idea - Mini-Blinis
Mini-blinis are one of our favorite breakfast treats. They freeze perfectly too, so they're great to have on hand all the time. Mini-blinis are part of our traditional Christmas morning breakfast, but we like them so much we have them all year long too.

• 1 loaf thinly sliced white bread (Aunt Millie's - 10/$10; 11th free)
  
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened (Meijer brand - 4/$5)
  
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 c. butter or margarine, melted
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 T. cinnamon

1. Cut crusts off each slice of bread. With a rolling pin, roll each slice of bread until flattened.

2. Beat together cream cheese, sugar, egg yolks and vanilla until well blended.

3. Spread about 1-2 tablespoon cream cheese mixture on each slice of bread and roll-up jelly roll style.

4. Mix together 1 cup sugar and cinnamon in a shallow dish. Roll each blini in melted butter, then roll in cinnamon-sugar combination.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned.

To freeze: Place unbaked blinis on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer to flash freeze for about an hour. Transfer blinis to a freezer bag and keep frozen until ready to eat. To serve: Place frozen blinis on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until edges are lightly browned. You can also cut each blini in half when serving a crowd.

Dinner Idea: Blackened chicken & Roasted asparagus bundles

• Chicken breasts (from 40oz frozen Tyson chicken breasts bag - $4.99)
• Blackening seasoning (I recommend McCormick or Penzey's)
• 1 lb. asparagus ($.99/lb)
• 1/2 lb. Thorn Apple Valley bacon (2/$5)
• Olive oil
  

1. Heat a few tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet. Cover both sides of chicken breast with blackening seasoning. Add to hot skillet, cook 3-4 minutes on the first side, flip, cover skillet and continue cooking until done, about 10-15 minutes.

2. Snap ends off of asparagus. Divide into 5 stalk bundles. Wrap each bundle with one slice of bacon. Lay bundles on a cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

Don't forget to stop in at $5 Dinners to see all of this week's bargain meals.