Best Cheap$kate Food Finds of 2019

Deals Deals Deals - come and get 'em! 2019 was a great year for my budget food foraging finds, everything from Vegan Chao Slices of vegan cheese to old school Velvetta.

Well, if you are a frequent visitor, you have seen some of these photos illustrating my delish recipes, and special Deal of the Day reviews like below (click on names to see the original cheap$kate review.)

Raw Fresh Frozen Black-eyed Peas

Sriracha Chickien Bowl

 Tomato Basil Chicken with Spinach Bowl

 Classic Guacamole

 Cheese Ravoli with Sun-Dried Cream Sauce

Video Deal of the Day Reviews

Pizza by Oprah

White Castle Hamburgers

I get comments all the time how awful dollar and 99 cent stores must be. I can't argue with that, they carry an abundance of dross and Frankenstein foodstuffs -- hey, you get what you pay for. But I am a bottom feeder on a budget, with over a decade of blog experience picking out the best for less. But don't come down on me too harshly, I do highlight plenty of organic food-stuffs that Dollar Trees and  99c only Stores now wisely stock.

 Click on any photo to see larger - to read ingredients or descriptions.

Hey, I'll admit to eating, from time to time, a few preservatives and cooking with unhealthy oils like generic vegetable oil -- gotta keep my liver exercising! Of course, do substitute healthier ingredients in my cheap$kate recipes...if you have a Whole Food budget, or can even find any untainted ingredients in the food desert you may reside in.

I gotta give it up to my local 99c only Store and Dollar Tree. Without them, my food blog would be anemic and barren. When I'm low on food, I will go to a regular grocery store for coffee and freshly baked bread, veggies on sale, fresh seafood and specialty cuts of meat, but I always make time for a quick stop at my fave cheap$kate 99 cent and dollar stores for many food deals.

99 thanks budget stores and keep stocking the shelves for starving students, hardworking minimum wage earners, retirees on a budget, single-parent families, and everyone else without much change to spare and just plain old penny-pinchers.

For my Best Food Finds of 2019 I've learned to be an impulsive shopper - walk past one of these cheap$kate deals below, and by the time you get home, change your mind and return to get the deal, well, it will likely be gone.

Here's what you're missing all you naysayers and snooty gourmands. Sometimes you gotta bite the budget bullet, but don't worry all my fellow penny-pinching gastronomers, the 99 Cent Chef has your back, or at least your stomach!

Best Cheap$kate Food Finds of 2019

The first meal of the day for your tiny tot can be found at budget prices if you know where to look!

For adults, nothing beats a cup of joe first thing in the morning

 World famous chef Wolfgang Puck shows up on the shelves.

 Slow-cooked White Beans are in my fave French recipe Cassoulet.

 I like Anchovies in my pasta sauce and on pizza.

My Mango Pancakes recipe click here.

My Mom's Pumpkin Pie recipe is right here!

Add a little Fruit Vinegar to your salad dressing.

Get out the Tums!

Everything you need for a Tuna Helper Lunch

 Mmm...and Tuna Salad on Crackers.

A cupboard staple, Artichoke Hearts for Salads and Pasta Sauces.

France, the largest consumer and producer of Nutella.

Instant Breakies.

Well, excuse me...my Lobster Bisque cheap$kate review.

 

You want organic? Okay, you got it!

These Organic Raisins were kinda dry and mealy - not a fan.

Well, this man does not live by veggies alone...

One of the best deals this year, Slow Roasted Roast Beef.

Chili No Beans? Now that's what I'm talkin' bout !

I like me some Louisiana Hot Sauce and Creole Seasoning on mine, yeah.

And Newman's Own BBQ Sauce is good on almost anything.

 Whew, I need to lose a few pounds after this blog post!

And keep checking back for another year of scrumptious blog postings!

My Top 9 Recipes of 2019

As for year-end lists, my Top 9 Recipes of 2019 is one you can really sink your teeth into. And all of my top picks are deliciously cheap to make. Just click on any recipe name to see the original 2019 blogpost for tasty photos and my money-saving tips, and be sure to play any embedded video below. The ranking order is random and not by delectability, so go ahead and dig in!

1. Mango Pancakes
Let's start with breakfast. I love mangos and have a few recipes that feature them. One of my faves is to just slice out the soft and sweet flesh to add in a pancake batter. I add the slices directly on the griddle then pour on the pancake batter - the better to caramelize the sugary mango!



2. Mango Salsa
When I bring this to a party, along with tortilla chips, my Mango Salsa is the first pot luck dish to disappear. If you don't believe me try it when your next party invitation comes in!



3. Gazpacho - vegan soup
For chilled veggie soup on a hot summer day and all you need is a blender. Attention all you home gardeners and foragers of your local farmers market and roadside veggie stands -- this recipe is for you and it's vegan! Roughly chop bell pepper, onion, garlic, cucumber, and a whole lotta tomato. Add it to a blender and pour in olive oil (or any fragrant favorite veggie oil) and blend until smooth. Serve cold or at room temperature.



4. Mushrooms Sauteed in Coconut Oil
Keepin' it vegan, mushrooms sauteed in tasty oil is a simply luscious recipe. My local 99c only Store carried all kinds of mushroom this year including shiitake, oyster and even portabella. Of course, use any cheap ones you find like white or brown button mushrooms.



5. Easy Smoked Ribs
Going from vegan to meaty in a minute, I've finally gotten around this year to BBQ Ribs! Do check out the video below and watch my easy smoking version. The main trick is to bake ribs wrapped in foil until tender, then give them a quick hour smoke on the gas grill - that's how I do it. Hey, you can just bake them with your fave BBQ sauce and stop right there.



6. Black Pepper Chicken - Panda Express Ripoff Recipe
Boy, is this recipe cheap! Poultry is the least expensive meaty protein and the veggie accompaniment is cheap celery. This stir fry I ripped off from Panda Express, a local fast-food Chinese restaurant, does use more expensive purple onion, but it will taste just as good with budget yellow or white onion.



7. Mom's Cherry Pie
Pay attention to this recipe as I do not do desserts very often, but don't worry about my lack of baking prowess, as my Mom takes the reigns of this recipe. Mom makes a homemade crust, but you can buy a frozen one from your local grocery store. And she uses canned cherries, so anyone can make my Mom's delicious dessert.



8. Mom's Chili-Cheese Enchiladas
Mom's recipes are always on my Top 9 Recipes list and this one is a childhood favorite of mine. My highschool buddy Marvin would always "just show up" when Mom made a platter of gooey cheesy Enchiladas. And he makes a return visit to Mom's kitchen one more time in the video below. Check it out and see what my whacked-out flashback enchilada version of tasting a Madeline cookie in Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past" brings.



9. Deep-Fried Frog Legs - with the Swamp Chef
Let's wrap up the year-end rundown with my most outrageous recipe of the year! You probably won't cook one yourself, so at least watch how it's done. And believe it or not, but frog legs kinda taste like chicken! Allow my brother from another daddy, the Swamp Chef, to get the tasty cooking details from my Cajun nephew Chef Matt. And be sure to watch the video all the way to the end where green swamp croakers get their revenge!



It has been a fruitfully abundant year of recipes here at the Cheap$kate Chateau. I did the heavy lifting for you, so now all you have to do is pick a recipe link and save yourself some hard-earned cash by trying out any of the above. And if you have a favorite recipe of mine, then leave a comment to share.

And make sure to keep checking in here from time to time. I create yummy-looking blog posts with a dollop of humor, and while my tastes are cheap, my recipe flavors are top shelf !