This week's deals & annual taste test

My family and I just returned from a week vacation to a little city near Palm Springs California called Indio. It is my most favorite trip we take all year because it gets us out of the gray, cold weather of Utah into the sunny, blue skies of California. I can't tell you how amazing 80 degree weather felt. To be hot and have sun hit your face is something those of us here in Utah miss for half of the year. For 10 days straight we pretty much do NOTHING other than sit and bask in the sun, swim, cook and eat amazing food (we're talking a ten pound gain for all of the men)! I have blogged about this trip before and one of our favorite traditions of our annual food taste test. Every time my family gets together we always choose an item to taste test and then all decide which item/brand we enjoy the best. We have done so many items in the past it is getting kind of tricky figuring out which items to do this time. Thanks to my brother in law, he chose the amazingly processed and all-too fattening idea of Queso Cheese Sauce & Tortilla Chips.

Last year we already came up with the winner of the best tortilla chips and that winner went to Don Pancho Resteraunt Style Tortilla Chips. They are crisp, salty and hold sauce or salsa perfectly. We bought 4 bags of these chips and it was scary how fast we consumed them. They are totally great!

So, onto our Queso dips. We found several different varieties at the local Costco and Winco and here is what we came up with.  The FIRST place winner went to Tostitos Queso Dip. It was nearly a tie with Mission (to me they tasted the same). The worst queso dip was the powdered sauce mix from Winco's bulk section. Oh, that was bad!! My personal favorite was the fire roasted cheese dip from Costco. It had a totally different flavor (obviously) since it was made from real ingredients and not processed cheese, but the men weren't big fans. It was a little chick-food tasting for them. Another surprising favorite if you want a traditional ball-park nacho cheese dip, was Farrero from a can. It really had pretty good flavor and although it was a tad boring with no peppers or anything, it actually made some pretty great nachos.

So, that is it for another year. If you are wanting to make the 'perfect' nachos in our book...stock up on some Tostitos Queso and some Don Pancho Tortilla Chips and the men in your life (and maybe even you) are sure to be in heaven!!

2 weeks of groceries for only $189.58

18 lbs. boneless chicken breasts, celery, grape tomatoes, jalapenos, bananas, 9 heads romaine, yellow peppers, orange peppers, red bell peppers, 4 avocados, 8 limes, 7 lbs. fuji appls, broccoli, cauliflower, 5 lbs. tomatoes, 2 lbs. carrots, green onions, cilantro, onions, 2 lbs. boneless ham, 5 lbs. red potatoes, 2 pkgs. bagels, 8 tortillas, 20 yogurts, 70 corn tortillas, string cheese, 4 gallons of milk, 6 Fage greek yogurts, 5 lbs. clementines, 10 lbs. shredded cheddar cheese, 4 lbs. mozzarella cheese, 4 lbs. butter, 2 sour creams, 5 loaves bread, 4 (40oz.) peanut butter's, mushrooms, 6 lb. boneless pork roast, bag tortilla chips and 5 dozen eggs.

Enough ingredients, meat, dairy and produce to last my family for 2 weeks. I am excited about some of the meals on our meal planner these next couple of weeks. I can't wait to blog about our AMAZING recipe for Green Thai Chicken Curry. Oh boy! It is a winner. I have to make that again (two days in a row now). We will also be making Red Chile Enchiladas, Chicken Chopped Salad, Crispy Buffalo Tacos, Balsamic Chicken w/ Asparagus, Creamy Bolognese, BBQ Chicken Wraps, Turkey Provolone Melts,  and MUCH more.

If you need help saving money on your grocery bill and making delicious, homemade recipes, visit our website for a TWO WEEK FREE trial to Deals to Meals. You are sure to save $100's on your month's groceries and there are no contracts of risks. If you don't save more than your $1.13 week rate, we are more than happy to refund your money! Have fun shopping :)