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You may be
surprised by foods you'll find at local dollar
stores that include pickles, olives, mushrooms,
crackers and other packaged items with long shelf
lives.
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You may be
surprised by foods you'll find at local dollar stores -
and what you can make using $1 ingredients.
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When I
bumped into a great cook I know in the food aisle of a
Dollar Tree store recently, she gave me an enigmatic
smile.
Was she
embarrassed to be caught in this one-price-buys-all
emporium? Or signaling that we shared a valuable secret?
Soon I had
my answer.
"I cut
my grocery bill in half by coming here first," she
confided before rolling her rapidly filling cart away.
I can't
claim to have saved that much, but after weeks of visits
to Dollar Tree and a rival, Dollar General, I see their
appeal.
With food
prices climbing higher, more grocery shoppers may give
dollar stores a look. There are at least 37 such stores in
the Wichita, Kan., area, according to the current
telephone directory.
Here are a
few common perceptions about dollar stores and what I
actually found:
Perception:
Dollar stores are only good for bulk goods and pantry
basics such as pasta and canned tomatoes.
Truth: This
was the happiest surprise, as I found sun-dried tomatoes,
roasted red peppers and other "gourmet" products
for great prices.
Perception:
Dollar stores sell products that are damaged or have
reached their expiration dates.
Truth: I
found no evidence of the latter. It did seem as if there
were a few more dented cans than you'd find in a
supermarket.
Perception:
Dollar stores sell only obscure "off" brands.
Truth: In
fact, the products are a pretty good mix of national name
brands and others you probably won't recognize. Some of
the latter are regional brands or come from other
countries, but all that we sampled passed the taste test.
Dollar
stores say they can sell at low prices by using their bulk
buying power, taking advantage of product overruns by
other vendors and keeping their own costs low, according
to the stores' Web sites.
"Our
buying power is not to be taken lightly," Dollar Tree
spokeswoman Shelley Davis said of the Virginia-based
chain, which boasts more than 3,200 stores in 48 states.
About 40
percent of the chain's food products come from outside the
United States, which is why you might find brands of sweet
pickles from India or roasted red peppers from Turkey that
you wouldn't find in, say, Dillons. But other imports,
such as Barilla pasta from Italy, are well known.
DOLLAR
STORE DRAWBACKS
What
drawbacks to dollar stores did I find?
Not
everything is actually a dollar and/or a good deal.
Of the big
four chains with locations in Wichita - Dollar Tree,
Dollar General, Family Dollar and Big Lots - only the
first still sells everything for a dollar or less. About
two-thirds of the products sold in Dollar General, for
example, cost more than a dollar. One dollar for a can of
tuna, as some dollar stores charge, is actually more
expensive than the supermarket.
Organization
and cleanliness also vary from store to store, even within
the same chain.
Products
are limited and not always available.
Dollar
stores sell packaged products with long shelf lives. There
are no fresh sources of protein or produce (at least not
for a dollar). As for packaged goods, that great deal you
found last week may not be on the shelves today.
GOOD DEALS
Here are
some products we found for $1 at Dollar Tree and Dollar
General stores:
12-oz. jar
roasted red peppers
12-oz. jar
sun-dried tomatoes packed in water
2.5-lb. bag
long-grain rice
1-lb. box
Barilla pasta
9-oz. jar
pimento-stuffed green olives
16-oz. jar
salsa
1 bag (15
count) flour fajita-size tortillas
7-oz. box
Carr's stoned wheat crackers
10-oz. jar
marinated mushrooms
1 can (20
oz.) pie filling (chocolate, key lime and other flavors)
8-oz. jar
minced garlic
1 bag (3.5
oz.) dry-roasted almonds
Graham
cracker piecrust
Dried herbs
and spices, 50 cents to $1 each per bottle
1 box
(18.25 oz.) Duncan Hines yellow cake mix
1 tub (15
oz.) Pepper Jack cheese spread
---
DOLLAR
STORE DELUXE PASTA
A
restaurant might add some freshly grated Parmesan to this
dish. But with the strong flavors provided by the
sun-dried tomatoes, olives and other ingredients, tasters
didn't really miss it. As it is, the cost of the recipe,
which makes 6 to 8 servings. is about $2.50.
1 lb. penne
pasta
2/3cup
sun-dried tomatoes (the kind that come packed in water or
oil), chopped
2 whole
roasted red bell peppers (from a 12 oz. jar), cut into
strips
1/3cup
pimiento-stuffed olives, sliced
¼cup
chopped roasted almonds or other nuts
3
tablespoons olive oil or olive-vegetable oil blend
Minced
garlic (from jar) and Italian seasoning to taste
Kosher salt
and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
Cook pasta
according to package directions and drain. Toss pasta with
remaining ingredients and serve.
-The
Wichita Eagle
---
KEY LIME
PIE WITH COCONUT MARSHMALLOW `MERINGUE'
A quick and
easy twist on egg white-based meringue, the
marshmallow-and-coconut combo that tops this pie is
addictive. Substitute chocolate pie filling if desired.
Cost of pie, which makes 8 to 10 servings, is about $3.50.
1 graham
cracker piecrust
2 cans (20
oz. each) key lime pie filling
2 cups mini
marshmallows
3
tablespoons unsweetened grated coconut
Preheat
oven to 375 degrees.
Spoon pie
filling into piecrust. Spread marshmallows evenly over
filling and sprinkle with coconut.
Bake about
15 minutes or until marshmallows and coconut are lightly
browned.
Remove pie
from oven and cool on rack. Refrigerate at least 4 hours
before serving.
-The
Wichita Eagle
---
CHILI-CHEESE
ENCHILADAS
Talk about
a bargain: This recipe makes a tasty main dish for four or
five people for about $2.50. You can easily double the
recipe by buying a second can of chili.
1 cup salsa
Vegetable
oil
5
fajita-size flour tortillas (from 15-count bag)
1 can (20
oz.) chili with beans
½cup
Pepper Jack cheese spread (from 12-oz. tub), heated in the
microwave until spoonable
Place salsa
in a wide-mouthed bowl.
In a large
skillet, heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium-high heat. Add a
tortilla to the skillet and cook about 10 seconds per
side, or until tortilla begins to puff up, soften and
lightly brown in spots; do not cook until crispy.
With tongs,
dredge both sides of the tortilla through the salsa until
lightly moistened with salsa (try not to tear the
tortilla). Place the tortilla on a cutting board and
repeat with the remaining salsa.
Divide the
chili between the tortillas, top with cheese spread and
roll up. Place enchiladas in a lightly greased 9x13-inch
baking pan and top with remaining salsa from bowl.
Bake in a
350-degree oven about 30 minutes or until enchilada
filling is bubbly.
-The
Wichita Eagle
---
DOLLAR
STORE VINAIGRETTE DRESSING
We wondered
how an inexpensive oil blend and balsamic vinegar would
work in our favorite vinaigrette formula. The answer -
just fine, and for much less than $1.
3
tablespoons soybean-olive oil blend
1
tablespoon balsamic vinegar
½teaspoon
minced garlic
Kosher salt
and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Whisk
together oil, vinegar and garlic until well blended. (Or,
place in a small plastic storage bowl with a tight lid and
shake vigorously.) Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Toss with lettuce or spinach.