Barganista Blog

Fox 40 Segment Recipe

admin — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 17:48:19 GMT

Monica, owner of the Rancho Cordova Grocery Outlet, will be demonstrating how to make a restaurant-quality steak with ingredients from Grocery Outlet on the news. Here is her recipe for your reference:

Restaurant-Style Marinated Top Sirloin Steaks
This marinade adds flavor and tenderness to lean top sirloin steak.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup light soy sauce
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup very finely chopped onion (add coarsely chopped onion to small food processor, if you have one, and pulse until almost pureed)
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
Pinch of cayenne red pepper

4 or 5 top sirloin individual steaks (about 5 ounces each), trimmed of visible fat

Preparation: 
1. In an 8-cup measure, whisk together balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, honey, olive oil, pepper, Worcestershire, onion, salt (if desired), and cayenne. 
2. Place steaks in a shallow glass dish and cover with the marinade. Turn to coat both sides well. Cover and marinate in refrigerator for up to two days.
3. Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Lightly coat the grill grate with canola cooking spray or oil. Add steaks and grill 5-7 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the steak and the desired doneness. Throw away any leftover marinade (because it has raw meat juices in it).

Enjoy your delicious steak! Serves 4-6.

Fresh-tival!

admin — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 11:04:33 GMT

I published a teaser post last week about Fresh-tival: our extreme bargain extravaganza on fresh produce. And now, here are the details:

Fresh-tival: Grocery Outlet's 72-hour Produce Sale
When: Friday, July 30th—Sunday, August 1st
Where: your local Grocery Outlet store

And here are a couple of the fresh produce bargains that will be in every store:

Juicy Watermelons, $1.99 each!
Sweet Cantaloupes, $0.99 each!
3 lb. Dole Bananas, $1.99!

Come check out Fresh-tival and enjoy summer's best sun-ripened produce at exceptional prices!

Sneak Peek!

admin — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 09:05:10 GMT

Psst! Next week, I'll be posting details, but I wanted to give our readers a sneak peek of our upcoming event:

Will you be attending? Leave a comment and let us know!

Those Summer Nights

admin — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:54:02 GMT

One of the best things about summer is how evenings last so much longer. You’re a little too keyed up to hit the pillows early, but what to do while the weather is so invitingly warm?

Our bargainistas compiled a couple of our favorite ideas on how to keep cool, save money, and take advantage of the long, dusky summer evenings.

1. Make special meals with your family. Avoid the high price of going out to dinner but increase the fun by cooking something out of the ordinary. In our $3-A-Day brochure, we have several inexpensive, easy recipes to help you shake up your routine.

2. Host a trivia night. You can either break out a traditional trivia game, or make up your own, based on whatever interesting facts you can find on the internet. One of our favorite things to do is to come up with trivia facts about our friends and family and share them at the end.

3. Have a campout overnight in your backyard. Pitch a tent or sleep out under the stars in your sleeping bag. Get a book on astronomy from the library, pull out your flashlight, and see if you can find Ursa Major and her little sister, Ursa Minor.

4. Speaking of flashlights, play Flashlight Tag! Choose someone to be “It”, and give that person a flashlight. The person who is “It” counts to 50 while everyone else hides. The person who is “It” tries to find people. When they find someone, they shine the flashlight on that person and call out their name. The first person to be caught then becomes “It”. Be careful bumping around in the dark though. Safety first!

5. Your Own Outdoor Theater - It doesn't take much to have your own outdoor theater. If you don't have a projector and DVD player, rent one (try your local library or community college). Hang a sheet on the side of your house, (preferably where people can lounge on the lawn or set up chairs) run an extension cord, set up the system and play a DVD from Grocery Outlet. Or throw open the windows and invite everyone around the TV. Paired with a barbecue, this will create an enjoyable night your friends and neighbors won’t forget.

Share your tips with us! What do you do on warm summer evenings?

What I did on my Summer Staycation

admin — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 09:42:01 GMT

Even though the economy has picked up a little, frugal families are still choosing to stay at home during vacation season. There are numerous benefits to a “staycation”—you save money and enjoy the comforts of home, while avoiding the hassle of travel and the stress of constant activity.

It’s easy to get bored with the same old routine however, so we at Grocery Outlet want to share our favorite ideas on how to make your staycation spectacular:

1.   Treat your staycation the same way you would if you were a tourist in your home city. Plan out how you’ll spend your time, research popular tourist attractions, and map out the best way to group locations together so that you save gas by not driving all over town.
2.   Check the internet and your local paper for free or reduced admission blocks, which many museums, sporting events, and amusement parks have during the summer months.
3.   Look on your county and city websites for what the Parks and Recreation Department is up to. It may be a big surprise to you what cool stuff is going on in your neighborhood, and many times, for free! One of our favorite things is a free concert in the park. Grocery Outlet has a bunch of great deals on meat and picnic food, so stop by your local store on the way to the concert to stock up!
4.   Create a scavenger hunt for your kids around the house. Give a prize to the winner.
5.   Take a vacation for free—sit under an umbrella or pitch a canopy with some travel books, sip a cool beverage and imagine what it would be like to travel to the featured destination.   Truly free travel and an afternoon escape all in one!

Whatever you end up doing, enjoy it. Contentment comes not from the money you spend, but spending your time well.

Beautiful Pottery for Summer

admin — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 09:51:57 GMT

Now and again, I like to highlight a great product at Grocery Outlet that might be getting a little lost on the shelves. We have this fantastic dishware in stock right now:

There's a 12 inch plate and a 9 inch bowl to choose from—both only $0.99! It's an attractive set, and best of all, it's microwave and dishwasher safe!

Pretty, inexpensive, and low-maintenance: don't you wish everything could be this way?

Being Eco-Conscious at Grocery Outlet

admin — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 10:03:46 GMT

It may surprise you to know that Grocery Outlet is on a mission to become eco-friendly. Even though our primary goal is to bring you quality products at extremely low prices, we also include sustainability and eco-responsibility in our overall strategy. Here are some things that Grocery Outlet has done in our corporate offices to reduce waste, save energy, and make our planet a better place:

1. We used to provide free bottled water for employees. We've now switched to filtered drinking water coolers and drinking glasses. We recycle the paper cups we do use.
2. We bought Duplex Printers—we encourage printing on both sides of the paper.
3. We switched to energy saving smart power strips
4. We bought energy saving dishwashers. We switched to motion lights in offices to save energy.
6. We made the change to organic, fair trade coffee and biodegradable coffee filters.
7. We provide incentives for employees to ride their bike or carpool to cut down on emissions.
8. We recycle cardboard, plastic, cans, bottles, paper, bubble wrap, and Styrofoam, as well as cartridges, staplers, and other difficult items to recycle.
9. We buy recycled copy paper and office products.
10. We switched our janitorial supplies and paper towels to more sustainable, eco-friendly products.
11. We try to make electronic copies more than paper copies.

Also, we've made sourcing organic, sustainable, and eco-friendly products for you a priority. You'll regularly see brands like Amy's Organic, Kashi, Annie's, Nature's Gate, and many more in our stores. The eco-friendly product that I'm most excited about is Bear River Valley Cereals. We're featuring these cereals in our July ad (consider this a sneak peek!). Bear River Valley cereals use 75% less packaging than other brands, and the manufacturer supports renewable wind energy. Also, all shipping cartons are made from 100% recycled product. You can learn more about Bear River Valley here.

Best of all, each cereal is only 99 cents! You save up to $2 on this cereal. That's something to cheer about!

This is just one of many examples of how Grocery Outlet can help you save money and the planet. We'll keep our eyes out for more fantastic eco-bargains. Stay tuned!

Doug Visits Australia

admin — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 10:34:04 GMT

Doug Due, our Director of Wine and Beer, recently traveled to Australia for a big wine buying trip. Grocery Outlet's purpose is to provide quality products at extreme bargains, and sometimes we have to travel around the world to do that!

Vineyard in Australia's Barossa Valley

Here's my interview with Doug about his trip:

What locations did you visit? Sydney, Hunter Valley, Gold Coast, Griffiths/Riverina, Melbourne, Adelaide, Barossa and McLaren Vale Valleys.

What's the best growing season in Australia?
Australia is on the Southern side of the world so they are just the opposite of our growing seasons. They harvest in February and March, we harvest in September and October.

What's unusual or specific about Australian wines?
Australia wines are very similar to California in style—Australians are the best producers of Shiraz in the world and they also do well with Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Are there any wines coming down the chain from Australia that you're excited about?
We're bringing in Barossa and McLaren Vale Shiraz that we can sell at $5-6 a bottle. Other retailers are selling the same wine for $18-30 a bottle. I'm excited to provide that value to our customers!

Do other countries provide better bargains than the U.S.?
The simple answer is yes. Producing wines in California can be more expensive than Australia or South America—the cost of land, building a winery, and hiring employees can all be more expensive. That's a very general statement and there are always going to be exceptions, but overall, Australia and South America can offer better bargains because their cost structure is less.

The extension of that question is how does that benefit our customers? The more competition we have for our shelf space the better. By working with other countries, our California partners have to provide as good if not a better value to earn shelf space. Some countries do a better job with a specific varietal, for example Argentinian Malbec, Chile Carmenere, Australian Shiraz, and New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc are all top varietals, and that's reflected in their value.

What's your strategy in regards to traveling to different countries to buy?
We want to buy the best wines from the best regions in the world. With our buying power and efficiency of supply chain, we can offer varietal and regionally correct wines beating our competition on quality at the same price point or beating them on price while matching their quality. We're very proud of that.

Thanks Doug! And welcome home.

1st Place Winner - Victor Colon!

admin — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 09:11:07 GMT

Victor was our most prepared, even-keeled chef. He came in early to scope out Grocery Outlet and see what our product offering was before he crafted his dish. Victor is from Puerto Rico, and wanted to pull together a classic dish with tastes of his home. His dish, Mojito Mofongo, is a dish of mashed plantains with rice. He paired it with shrimp cooked in salsa. The dish impressed our judges with its flavor, elegance, and presentation. It was closest to the caliber one would expect from a fine restaurant. Just goes to show that good preparation and planning pay off!

Victor scopes out the Crown Hill Grocery Outlet.

Victor's ingredients.

Victor comes in just under budget.

Victor zesting a lemon while STAR 101.5's Jill Taylor interviews him.

Mojito Mofongo, with Shrimp in Salsa and Coleslaw Salad.

As our first place winner, Victor won $2000 towards his tuition to the Art Institute of Seattle. In a surprising twist, he told our audience that as a military veteran, his schooling is paid for by our government, and that he would like to give his winnings to Alex Marshall, our 2nd place winner!

Victor is truly a class act, and we wish him, Alex, and Josh the best for their continued culinary education. We hope we'll be eating in your restaurants some day guys!

For Victor's award-winning Mojito Mofongo, click here to download a PDF.

To see Victor's receipt, click here.

2nd Place Winner - Alex Marshall

admin — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 09:42:26 GMT

Alex was outgoing, funny, and had some fantastic culinary ideas. The judges liked his concept of Chicken Thighs with Beurre Blanc (a sauce made from butter and white wine) and thought his dish was refined, but he got points knocked off for execution. The judges wanted the rice to be a little more cooked, so when you make his recipe, be sure to check the rice.

Alex, prepping.

Alex cooking.

Alex plating the Rice Pilaf with Asparagus.

Alex cheering, upon winning second place.

Though Alex didn't win first place, he made a delicious dish that was inexpensive and paired well with wine. He's also the only chef who used wine to cook with in his dish.

Click here to view Alex's recipes.

Click here to see his receipt.

3rd Place Winner - Josh Schimmel-Bristow

admin — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:08:17 GMT

Josh Schimmel-Bristow was our 3rd place winner with his Lemon Chicken with Parslied Rice Pilaf. Josh was an engaging, personable chef with admirable knife skills. I was impressed with his talent in the kitchen and his take on classic comfort food. Of all the recipes, I think his meal would appeal most to our customers with families—it's the most kid-friendly and would make a fantastic fall or winter dinner.

Josh picks out his ingredients.

Josh comes in just under his $20 budget, even with wine and half and half!

Prepping the chicken and vegetables.

Lemon Chicken with Parslied Rice Pilaf

Click to download a PDF of Josh's recipes.
To see Josh's receipt, click here.

While all of the dishes scored very well, there can only be one winner. Stay tuned for Alex and Victor's dishes!

Fresh and Frugal Chef Showdown

admin — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 15:23:08 GMT

On June 5th, Grocery Outlet hosted a Fresh & Frugal Chef Showdown at our Crown Hill store. Our premise: 3 student chefs from the Art Institute of Seattle compete for tuition money by creating a restaurant-quality meal for a family of 4 (plus wine!), using ingredients solely from Grocery Outlet.

This event was a fantastic example of what creativity and frugality can do when combined. Our chefs created and executed delicious meals, and they all came in under their goal of $20. We're even going to post the receipts to prove it!

Follow along this week as we post their dishes and recipes. In the meantime, here are a few pictures from the competition.

Our esteemed judges: Jill Taylor from STAR 101.5, Chef Jason Wilson from Crush, Lorna Yee from Seattle Magazine, and Marlee Ginter from KOMO 4.

10 Simple Ideas for Re-Using Jars

admin — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 13:17:28 GMT

I'm always thinking about creative ways to both save money and the environment at the same time. I turn to Apartment Therapy's Re-Nest blog often for its useful and fantastic ideas on how to be an eco-frugalist.

One article I return to constantly is this one: 10 Simple Uses for Spaghetti Jars. It has great ideas on how to re-use those jars—packaging we mostly overlook before we (hopefully) throw it in the recycling bin. You can save a lot of money by re-using and re-purposing items you might otherwise throw away. And the nice thing about jars is that they look great and don't degrade while leaching icky chemicals the way that plastic does.

Here are some of their tips on how to re-use jars, plus some of our own:
1. Storage of bulk foods - re-use jars for storing sugar, flour, grains, rice, etc. when the original packaging wears out, or if you split with a friend.
2. Watering your houseplants – skip a watering can and fill up a jar instead.
3. Cold drinks - add some lime or lemon juice or some cucumber to a jar of water, put the lid on and give it a little shake. Then stick in the fridge until you need some refreshment. Works well for iced tea too.
4. Breakfast on the run – add instant oatmeal, dried fruit and brown sugar to a jar and toss in your bag. Once you're at work, at some hot water, mix well and enjoy.
5. Leftovers – who needs expensive Tupperware? Great for dips, sauces, and soup.
6. Organization - keep various screws and nails of all sizes in these, or cotton balls and swabs in your bathroom. Jars are clear so you can see what's inside.
7. Gifts – pass along those sauces, mixes, and other edibles in a jar. Tie a pretty ribbon around the lid and you’re done.
8. Make your own flavored olive oil – mix oil with your favorite herbs like rosemary or basil and let sit for a few days. Drizzle a salad or dip in some fresh bread.
9. Ribbon or string/yarn/twine storage - Cut a hole in the top for a twine dispenser or slit for ribbon dispenser.
10. Piggy bank – corral loose change and keep handy for those parking meters and bus fares.

Check out our varied selection of pasta sauces and jarred foods to spice up your lunches and dinners. We offer sauces, jams, pickles, peppers, and all kinds of other jarred foods whose packaging can be reused in creative ways.

Fresh & Frugal Chef Showdown!

admin — Wed, 12 May 2010 12:30:22 GMT

We are very excited to announce our upcoming Fresh & Frugal Chef Showdown!

We challenged three culinary students from the Art Institute of Seattle to create a restaurant quality meal (including a wine pairing!) that serves four for only $20. Our esteemed judges include Marlee Ginter from KOMO-4, Jill Taylor from 101.5 FM, Lorna Yee from Seattle Magazine, and Jason Wilson, Executive Chef for Crush Restaurant, and recent winner of the 2010 James Beard Award for Best Northwest Chef! Congratulations Jason!

When: Saturday, June 5th, 1-3 p.m.
Where: the brand-new Crown Hill Grocery Outlet - 8700 15th Avenue NW, Seattle, WA 98117

This event is free and open to the public. We'll have live entertainment, food, and prizes. Come join us!

Gourmet Cooking from Cans

admin — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 15:04:58 GMT

Canned food sometimes gets a bad rap. There’s a misunderstanding about the freshness and nutritional value of canned fruits and vegetables, but much of this bad press simply isn’t true. Canned fruits and vegetables are comparable in nutrition to those that are cooked fresh or frozen. In fact, just like frozen food, canned fruits and vegetables are picked and processed at their peak, which seals in nutrients.

Also, canned foods are convenient: since the food inside is usually already cooked, it lessens your cooking time, allowing you to get food on the table faster.

Grocery Outlet has long promoted the benefits of canned food items, and we’re here to show that you can create gourmet-style meals in your kitchen that are healthy, cheap and easy to make. Here's our first recipe, an easy asparagus soup that you can make in minutes.

Asparagus Soup

Ingredients:
1 (15 ounce) can asparagus
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Blend the asparagus, with liquid, in a blender or food processor until completely smooth.
2. Heat asparagus and chicken broth together in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in milk, and bring to a low simmer. Stir in butter to finish, and season to taste with, Parmesan, salt and pepper.

Serves 4.

For more delicious recipes, click here to download our Cooking from Cans recipes. We've even included a dessert!

Remember: just because it's inexpensive doesn't mean it's any less delicious. Enjoy!