Pork Roasts and Fall Squash Make This Week's Best Deals

This week's flyers lean hard toward pork and fall produce, and I'm happy about it. Pork roasts and loins are marked down at several stores, and the apple, squash, and potato prices make for good cold-weather cooking. If you've been waiting for a reason to turn the oven on, this is the week.

This Week's Best Deals

Pork roasts and loins, $1.49 to $1.99 per pound. Food City has Fresh Whole Boneless Pork Loin at $1.49/lb. Meijer has Whole Pork Shoulder Butt Roast Bone In at $1.99/lb, and ALDI has Smithfield Fresh Pork Butt Roast at the same $1.99/lb. A butt roast cooked low and slow will feed you for days, first as a Sunday dinner, then as sandwiches, then in soup. Food City also lists a Ceramic Stoneware Crock-Pot Slow Cooker (4.5 qt) at $29.99 and Simply Done Slow Cooker Liners (4 ct) at $2.99, if yours has given up the ghost.

Chicken thighs at Meijer, $1.69/lb. The Fresh from Meijer Family Pack Chicken Thighs are the cheapest chicken I see anywhere this week. Thighs forgive a distracted cook, and they stay juicy whether you roast, braise, or simmer them.

Avocados at ALDI, 55¢ each. Kroger has Medium Avocados at $0.77 each with card, but ALDI wins. Buy a few that are still firm and let them ripen on the counter through the week.

Squash and cabbage at Food City. Acorn, Butternut or Spaghetti Squash are 99¢/lb, and Cabbage is 69¢/lb. Roast the squash with a little butter and braise the cabbage in a pot with some pork. That's about as honest a fall supper as you'll find.

Apples at Meijer, 99¢/lb. The Local Apple Tote Bag is the lowest apple price I see. Giant has Honeycrisp Apples at $1.99/lb, and ALDI has New York Gala Apples at $1.99 per 3-lb bag. Bake some, slice some, and keep a bowl on the table.

A note on dates: Piggly Wiggly's sale runs Monday, October 12 through Sunday, October 18, and Giant's runs October 16 through 22. The others run roughly October 14 through 20.

Quick Breakfast & Lunch Ideas

• Eggs and toast. Lidl has Green Valley large white eggs, grade A, 18 ct for $2.49, and walnut bread for $2.49 each. Scramble the eggs and toast a thick slice of the bread.
• Yogurt and apples. Lidl's blended nonfat plain yogurt, 32 oz is $2.79. Slice up a few of those ALDI Gala Apples ($1.99 per 3-lb bag) into a bowl with it.
• Rotisserie chicken lunch. Giant's Rotisserie Chicken is $6.99 each, and a Taste of Inspirations Salad Kit is $3.49 each. Pull the meat off the bird, toss it in the salad, and save the carcass for broth.

Plan Your Week

I've built this week's full meal plans around these prices, so you can see how the pork, chicken, and fall vegetables stretch across a whole week of dinners. Take a look, pick the store or stores that suit you, and let the sales do some of the work. It's always a pleasure cooking along with you.