CLEVELAND — For more than a decade, Giant Eagle chef Pam Goodman has been showing families how to save money and time in the kitchen.
Inspired by her mother and now sharing the same passion with her own children and grandchildren, Goodman says cooking is about more than food; it’s about memories.
One of her go-to recipes is what she calls Pam’s Penny-Pinching Pot Pie. The dish costs less than $3 a person and uses simple, affordable ingredients: chicken, cream of potato and celery soups, milk, frozen vegetables, and canned biscuits.
Goodman says the recipe is quick, easy, and filling, serving six people generously or stretching into two family meals. At about $16 total, she notes, it’s proof that a comforting homemade dinner doesn’t have to break the budget.
Pam's Penny Pinching Pot Pie
Ingredients:
- 1 can cream of potato soup
- 1 can cream of celery soup
- 1 c milk
- 1/4 tsp thyme
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 4 c frozen mixed vegetables, cooked
- 2 c cooked chicken, but up in its size pieces
- 1pkg refrigerated biscuits
To make:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except biscuits. Pour into a 9x13 baking dish. Bake 14 minutes. Remove from oven. Cut biscuits into quarters. Top mixture with biscuits and return to oven for 15 more minutes until golden brown. Enjoy.
Each week, we’ll visit Meijer, Giant Eagle, Aldi, Walmart, Heinen's and Dave's Market, checking prices on everyday essentials.
Those include: 2% milk, a loaf of wheat bread, chicken price per pound, ground beef tray or patty per pound (80% lean 20% fat), 12 dozen white eggs, and toasted oats cereal.
If you're willing to shop around, you can snag even deeper discounts on meat, dairy, and pantry goods.
We’re also giving you a chance to see how your favorite stores stack up week to week. We’ll compare how grocery prices change at each store on a weekly basis.
Here's how prices compare across stores this week:
Meijer
Giant Eagle
Aldi
Walmart
Heinen’s
Dave's Market
From buy-one-get-one-free meat deals to cereal under $2, our Don’t Waste Your Money team will be keeping an eye on store shelves and sharing what we find.
Find a better deal? We want to hear from you! Submit your finds through the form below. If you beat our prices, we’ll feature them.
And if you’re a savvy shopper, always chasing the best deals, we may even join you on your next grocery run.
