Mom's Menu: King Crab Legs

Every family has traditional foods for the holidays, some of which can be quite pricey (which is why we only have them once a year!)  Shopping ahead for ingredients you need for family dinners, parties, and neighbor gifts can save lots of money and last minute trips to town.  Our family Christmas Eve always includes homemade French Dip sandwiches, for example, so I have had my boneless beef roasts socked away in the freezer for a couple of months now—purchased when the price was to my liking.

I decided from now until Christmas I would feature some of our family holiday favorites that are definitely more special than our usual, ordinary meals.  One of these is King Crab Legs, which just happen to be on sale this week at Smith’s for $6.99/lb.  In the ad it says these are frozen/defrosted, so I called the meat department to see if we could purchase them straight out of the freezer to take right home and freeze until ready to cook.  They said yes--so don’t just choose them out of the meat case already thawed, (unless you plan to cook them within a day or two at most); instead, have them pull you out frozen ones so you can put them in your freezer for later.  Don’t shop around with them in your cart—buy them last and hurry home so they stay frozen solid.  Crab is the easiest thing in the world to prepare, and if you love it like we do, it’s a great holiday treat.  If you’d like to give it a try, see my instructions at the end of the letter.

Tip of the Week

Using up leftovers should be a pleasure, if you go about it the right way.  When you finish a meal, prepare individual plates of food for everyone, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.  It’s as easy as that.  I even own divided microwave safe plates with lids for this very purpose, and we use them all the time.  They are especially handy when we have Mom and Dad for Sunday dinner and I want to send a plate of food home with them for the next night—or the night after that.  While I’m at it, I make  plates for my family as well, then everyone can have a meal waiting and ready in the fridge to warm up on a busy night when everyone has to eat at different times.  It’s best not to include rolls or garlic bread, as these will become far too overcooked.   Five minutes or less in the microwave, and dinner is on the table!

Mom's top picks for the week of December 2-8, 2013:  
My favorite deals are highlighted in green.

Maceys

Pepsi, 7-Up or A&W 2 Liter Bottle Products $.99
Nissin 2.8-2.82 oz Big Cup Noodles $.33
Macey’s 5 qt Ice Cream $4.88
10 lb Bag Russet Potatoes $1.88
1 lb Mini Carrots $.99
Jonagold, Cameo, Gala, Braeburn or Red Delicious Apples $.99 a lb
Western Family 1 lb Salted or Unsalted Butter $1.99
Western Family 6 oz Greek Yogurt $.60
Western Family 28-32 oz Bagged Cereal $2.49
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts $1.79 a lb
Progresso 15.25-19 oz Soup $1.25
Don Julio Flour Tortillas $.99
Great Grains 24 oz Bread $1.50 (I like this bread—comes in several whole grain varieties.  This is a good price).
Western Family 4 lb Granulated Sugar $1.49
Pillsbury 19.5 oz Brownie Mix or 15.25 oz Cake Mix $.99
Western Family 24 pk Bottled Water $2.99
General Mills 14.25-18 oz Select Cereal $2.50
(plus a FREE Gallon Milk with purchase of 4)
Western Family 32 oz Shredded Cheese $5.99
Western Family 18 ct Large Eggs $1.89
Campbell’s 10.25-10.5 oz Gravy $.67
Wacky Mac 12 oz Pasta $.99
Western Family 48 oz Premium Ice Cream $2.88
Herbal Essence 10.1-15.8 oz Shampoo, Conditioner or Body Wash $1.88
Weekend Savings – The weekend specials are “while supplies last,” so it’s best to shop on Friday or early on Saturday.
Western Family 8 oz Shredded Cheese $1.25 (Friday and Saturday ONLY- Limit 12)
10 lb. Case of Navel Oranges - $7.99 (Friday and Saturday ONLY) –See note about this below in the Lee’s section)
Tennessee Pride 16 oz. Sausage Roll - $2.00 (Friday and Saturday ONLY) (I consider this a good brand of sausage, and it freezes well for a long time).
Honey Crisp Apples - $1.99/lb (Friday and Saturday ONLY)
8 oz. Bag Pistachios - $3.99 (Friday and Saturday ONLY)
Hershey’s 4-4.4 oz XL Candy Bars $.99 (Friday and Saturday ONLY)
Pillsbury 15.25-19.5 oz Cake Mixes or Traditional Fudge Brownies $.88 (Friday and Saturday ONLY- Limit 12)
Holiday Gift Box Pears $5.99 (Friday and Saturday ONLY)
Keebler 9.5-13.8 oz Crackers (Friday and Saturday ONLY)
Use the on-pack $1 off 2 Keebler Crackers Coupon
Total cost $1.38 each
Don Julio 18 oz Tortilla Chips $1.88 (Friday and Saturday ONLY)
DaVinci 16 oz Pasta $.79 (Friday and Saturday ONLY)

Lee’s

Wednesday ONLY Traffic Stopper - Shur Saving Milk - $1.98 (Note:  For some reason, I didn’t see this advertized in their ad this week, so although I’m assuming they are still offering their usual Wednesday price, it could be that they have discontinued it.  We’ll see what they say next week, and meanwhile I think we can assume it’s still on).

Sunkist Choice Navel Oranges - $.49 (Note that you could put together your own 10 lb gift box of oranges by buying them at Smiths instead of the weekend special price at Macey’s of $7.99 (which would equate to $.79/lb.  Lee’s is also offering the gift box for $7.99, and they do say the oranges are “fancy” instead of “choice,” so there could be a difference in quality.
Fresh Limes - $.20/each
Texas Grapefruit - $.44 each
Cuties Clementines – 3 lb for $3.99/each
Libby’s large can Pumpkin - $2.50
Wilderness Pie Filling - $2.99
Farmland 12 oz Bacon - $2.99

Smith’s

Mountain Dairy Milk – $1.94 when you buy 2

Kellogs 10.5 – 18.7 oz Cereals - $2.00
Freschetta Pizza - $3.99
DiGiorno Pizza - $4.99
Marie Callender’s or Healthy Choice Entrée - $2.00
Southern King Crab Legs - $6.99/lb (SEE RECIPE BELOW)
Boneless Petite Sirloin Steak - $3.99/lb
Boneless Chicken Breasts - $1.79/lb
Kroger Cream Cheese - $.99
Kroger Vegetable Oil - $2.49
Duncan Hines Cake Mixes - $.99
Smiths Large Eggs - $1.50
Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk - $2.00
Shelled Walnuts, Pecans, Almonds or Cashews 12-16 oz in Produce Dept - $5.99
Toll House Morsels - $2.00
Kroger Spices or Extracts - $2.00
Huge Shrimp (15 ct per pound) sold in 2 lb bag at $8.99/lb
Doritos or Ruffles Chips - $1.99/each when you buy 2

Steamed Crab Legs

King crab Legs are already cooked when you purchase them. King crab legs are cooked on the fishing boats or immediately upon landfall to preserve freshness. They need only to be adequately heated before eating.  

Amount of King Crab Legs to Purchase: Purchase 8 ounces to 1 pound per person.

Storage: Thawed crab legs can be maintained in the refrigerator for two days, but they should really be cooked as soon after they have been defrosted as possible.

Preparation: Remove crab legs from freezer.  Arrange in shallow baking pan. Add hot water to fill pan 1/8 inch deep. Cover tightly with foil. Bake at 350 degrees until just heated through (15 to 20 minutes).

Garlic Dipping Butter - Melt butter in pan.  Add to this a few cloves diced garlic that has been very briefly sautéed in a small skillet (do not overcook or brown, just sauté a bit to make it more mild). Add this to the butter, then ladle into small servings cups for dipping the crab meat.  If some people don’t like garlic, remove part of the butter for them before adding the garlic.

Eating it!

To get to the crab meat, just use kitchen shears or clean scissors (unless you actually have some crab scissors).  Break the crab legs at the joints, and use the scissors to cut down the sides and split them open to get to the meat.  There are no rules—everyone does it their own way.

Questions? Leave a comment and Mom will answer!

Black Friday Sales Start at Midnight Tonight!

If you've been eyeing something in the Black Friday ads, you may want to check out the store's website at midnight tonight. Many stores will have the same prices online as they will in the store. Some stores, like Kohl's and Shopko, have already started their online sales. Happy Thanksgiving!

Early Best Buy Deals!

Best Buy is having an early access Black Friday sale where you can grab several of their Black Friday doorbusters early online, such as the previous generation Kindle Fire HD 16GB tablet for $99 that was advertised on the front page of Best Buy's Black Friday ad. 

Just put the item in your cart and then use the special promo codes found here at checkout to get the deal. Plus shipping is free when you spend $25. 

Black Friday Has Started at Kohl's!

You can already shop Kohl's Black Friday ad online! Use code blackfri at checkout to get an additional 15% off your entire purchase. Shipping is free with a $50 purchase and you get $15 Kohl's cash for every $50 you spend.

Check out the items with rebate offers on pgs. 16 and 64 of the Kohl's ad (the ones that say $9.99, $12.99, and $7.99). When you use the 15% off and then mail in your rebates, you can get some awesome kitchen electrics for as low as $4.99! I( like to use these deals to stock up on wedding gifts.

These are already starting to sell out online, but if you missed the one you want, you should still be able to get it by going to Kohl's at 8:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving. And keep an eye out for extra coupons in your newspaper. In past years, Kohl's has sent in-store-only $10 off coupons that may be combined with the 15% code. This could make one of your rebate items completely free!

Happy shopping!

Buy One Get One 1/2 Off Popular Board Games

Amazon is currently running a buy one get one 50% off promotion on a number of games. I would not consider this a good deal on games that can be bought in regular stores such as Blokus, Clue, Jenga, etc. since many stores have great Black Friday sales on these games. (Fred Meyer and Smith's Marketplace usually do a Buy One Get One Free sale on their entire stock of games). But for games that usually have to be ordered online or purchased as specialty game stores, such as Ticket to Ride and Settlers of Catan, I think this is a pretty good deal.

Black Friday Already Starting

Black Friday week has begun and lots of stores are trying to get in on the action. Stores like Sears and Best Buy are already selling some things at Black Friday prices for rewards members, and other stores are running pre-Black Friday sales with the same or similar prices to what they will have on Black Friday. Be sure to compare the ad prices at bfads.net.

Keep a close eye on Amazon. They will drop prices based on what other stores are doing. I like to put the items I'm searching for in my shopping cart and then hit "save for later." When you check your shopping cart later, a little message will pop up at the top of the page indicating whether the price has changed on any items in your cart. I like to check my shopping cart a few times a day to keep an eye on price shifts. You will also want to keep an eye on their lightening deals throughout the day.

If you have looked through the ads and figured out what you want to buy on Black Friday, consider checking the website of the store that has advertised the item to see whether they have dropped their online price early. You may be able to snag your item early without going to the store. I would start watching especially closely starting on Wednesday.

Also consider keeping an eye on bfads.net, since they will post updates on what stores have started their sales.

For additional advice, check out our previous Black Friday Tips post.

Disney Movie Deals

Right now Best Buy, Amazon, and Target are having some pretty good deals on Disney blu-ray favorites.

Target has Little Mermaid, Planes, Finding Nemo, Tangled, Wreck-it-Ralph, and Brave for $15 each, but the deal is only available in stores.

Both Best Buy and Amazon have Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3 Wreck-it-Ralph, Peter Pan, Finding Nemo, Brave, Cinderella, Planes, Tangled, Bolt, Robin Hood, Oliver & Company, the Sword and the Stone, and Monsters University priced at $16.99.

Keep in mind that a few of these may go lower later in the week, especially the newer releases such as Monsters University, Planes, and the Little Mermaid (Monsters will be $10 at Walmart on Black Friday). But this may be as low as some of them go (especially movies that have been out a little longer like Peter Pan and Robin Hood) and you do have the benefit of getting them early and not having to fight the crowds.

If you took advantage of the Planes deal last week and have Toys-R-Us gift cards to spend, you may want to think about having Toys-R-Us price match these deals so you can use your gift card. All you have to do is show them the ad or pull up the item from the other store's website on your smart phone. This may also be a good idea for getting the $15 Target price if Target runs out of any of the movies you're looking for.