The 99 Cent Chef: Best Cheap$kate Food Finds of 2017

Deals Deals Deals - come and get 'em! 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 review.)

Egg & Smoked Gouda Breakfast Sandwich

Chipotle Lime Chicken

Ultimate Dessert Bar

I get comments all the time how awful dollar and 99 cent stores must be. I can't argue that, there's an abundance of dross and Frankenstein food stuffs -- 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.

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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, 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 food deals.

99 thanks 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.

This is a case where you want 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 head back 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 bullet. But don't worry all my fellow penny-pinching gastronomers, the 99 Cent Chef has your back, or at least your stomach. So check out my:

Best Cheap$kate Food Finds of 2017

White Asparagus

It's Smoothie-time!

I love cherries the most, especially for 99.99 cents per pound!

Dollar Tree is strictly second string. Mainly they lack a deep bullpen of fresh veggies and fruit. But they do get on base often and sometime even hit a chintzy home run. Round the bases below for some of the budget finds that will have you cheering from the cheap dinner table seats.

Looks like these great minds do think alike.

Biscotti & Coffee -- I sometimes satiate my sweet tooth in the morning.

Dollar Tree crackers and 99c only Store vegan cream cheese -- can we all get along? It's only a tenth of a penny that separates them. And these crackers by Greta would also pair nicely with my Homemade Clam Dip.