We WON, Y'all! Food Lion Frugal Cook-Off Raleigh 2014 GIVEAWAY

The Food Lion Frugal Cook-Off Raleigh 2014 was last week. We love this North Carolina Grocery Store for all of its great food, customer service and quality at low-prices. We were so thrilled to Win the competition! Thank you, Food Lion. 

Christie Funchess and Malise Terrell
Food Lion Frugal Cook-Off Raleigh, 2014
Winners 

My family is such a part of my team, I have to show you the support I received that night. 
Priceless. 

Carolina Mama and Family 2014
Food Lion Frugal Cook-Off
Raleigh, NC

Christie and I pre-event. So eager and excited here at Lafayette Village, Raleigh, NC 

Food Lion Frugal Cook-Off Raleigh 2014
Carolina Mama and Small Steps, Big Picture
WINNERS

So, as a Carolina Food Blogger, I literally jumped at the idea of getting to participate in the Food Lion Frugal Cook-Off. Then I set out to find a cooking partner, which I did, in my sweet young Mom, Christi of Small Steps, Big Picture, is a mother of five children six and under. Christi's husband is our sons' Youth Pastor. We are blessed with this sweet family. 

Christie Funchess, Small Steps, Big Picture
Like me, Christi loves to cook tasty homemade meals at a frugal price for her family and we both love to blog. So there you have it, destiny. Between the two of us, we had our blogging and our frugal cooking on. When I asked Christi, I knew we would have fun. I love participating in events with Food Lion because we shop there, all.the.time. Basically, I said let’s read some cook books this week, just do our best and have fun. Well, that's what we did! 

The Writer in me began writing as I was driving in the lovely 540 beltline traffic connecting Durham to Raleigh. Fun times. My writer self have three grounding points to center upon for the night.

Our Team is:

From the South
Fun with Family and
Frugal with Food Lion.

We were going to stick to our roots, Southern fare with the best flavor we could offer.

Christi and I met there. We’re modern families, she arrived with her five girls in tow. You know, “just a Mom.” Love her and her family. And I drove solo while my sweet, Boulder Mt. Man, ran the boys to Basketball practice and across the beltway to meet me. They are my secret sauce. I am so used to us being a Team. I almost invited the boys to cook on my team or my "Chef" Husband. Nonetheless, they arrived just when we were starting to get into the heat of the race. It was so wonderful to see them. As always, they so cheered me on. Here they are taking pictures of us cooking. :) Love.


Malise Terrell of Carolina Mama and Jennifer of Jael Custom Designs 

http://foodlion.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=34137&item=937
Food Lion Frugal Cook-Off Raleigh 2014 Staples for each Team

Christi and I did convene a minute before the competition began. For some reason, we thought of recipes for all three but the ground turkey. Then I remembered my Writer’s Outline :) and my roots and declared Turkey Burgers! Then, my sweet Mama must have whispered in my ear, the Southern Surprise Burgers. She made these when we were children and we LOVED them. That was it, IF we got ground turkey. 

I was feeling good when our station had the red cutting board....


Christi Funchess, Small Steps, Big Picture and Malise Terrell, Carolina Mama
Budgeting for the Food Lion Frugal Cook-Off Raleigh 2014
Then, we had to choose a number for our protein. Christi, asked what I had, 3. My sisters and I played basketball for years and there was always a 3 in our numbers. Well, there were 3 pointers, too. You guessed it, #3 was the ground turkey meat!

Destiny was waiting for us.... We had some work to do.

We had 10 minutes to plan our menu, 10 minutes to show with $15 to feed (4). Our protein was provided along with our staples. We got busy. We had 45 minutes to make the magic happen and be ready to present to the Judges.

Something reminded me that Chefs use Sous Chefs to do all of their chopping. So, we literally chopped and prepped first. I really wanted to use the Beautiful Buttercup Squash.




And I knew I had to turn my family favorite Sweet Potato Fries into Buttercup Squash Fries. Oven-baked made them frugal on calories, too.



First, we had to “reckon” with the Buttercup Squash. It was large and difficult to slice. Once we had that under control.... sort of.... 




... it was “secret” seasoning time and into the convection oven they went. The convection oven was a nice little addition to our kitchen. The fries cooked so soft, evenly and quickly! And they saved us time which was crucial to win.

Christi, got busy creating the incredible Apples and Onions Side she scouted out on Pinterest. It was amazing! We chose red and green apples to make it pop. It did. Look at these amazing and tasty apples.



Then, I said a prayer to remember my Mom’s Southern Surprise Turkey Burgers.... Literally, Christi and I both added spices and dashes to prepare the meat. I filled them with the secret ingredients (see our recipes below for all the details to create your own with your Food Lion groceries). Then, I sautéed the onion and mushroom topping for the burger.

Christie worked on creating a homemade BBQ sauce that was a nice zesty blend for dipping fries. Or, for the burgers. 

We got to spruce it all up with the ramekins and restaurant touches from Driftwood Restaurant in Lafayette Village, Raleigh, NC. They really spoiled us and let us take over. It is an awesome restaurant. Their Chef was a great support to each team. He even washed a pan for us to use so I would have a non-stick for our Turkey Burgers grilling. 

Then, VOILA!!!  We presented our creations. 

Food Lion Frugal Cook-Off Raleigh, 2014 WINNER!
Southern Surprise Perky Burgers, Apple Onion Side and Buttercup Squash Fries

They asked questions, they tasted, asked more questions, wrote down some things.... then the waiting began.... 


and we were so excited for a WIN!!!   We were so excited! I LOVED that Boulder Mt. Man and my Tigers were there videoing and photographing and cheering us on. This picture shares the joy. 



Thank you Food Lion and everyone for the fun and support.

http://carolinamamablog.com
Food Lion Frugal Cook-Off Raleigh 2014 Winners
Small Step, Big Picture and Carolina Mama 

We even got to pause with both of our families.  This kept our minds off of waiting for the winning results. See even the baby seat on the left. Notice how tall my Tigers have gotten. :)



Here are the awesome Recipes for your enjoyment. I hope these are simple enough you will want to try them. They are pretty fool proof. Email me if you have questions.

Southern Surprise “Perky” Turkey Burgers
Makes 4 servings
Cost of meal: (not including ground turkey and spices) $15.70
Approximate cooking time:  45 minutes
Shopping List:
Ciabatta bread
1 lb. Ground Turkey
Parsley
Green Onion
Garlic
2 Onions
Acorn Squash
Parmesan cheese
Mushrooms
3 Apples
1 Orange
1 bunch of Spinach
Directions:
Southern Surprise "Perky" Burgers (Turkey Burgers)
Ingredients:
1 .lb Ground Turkey
Olive Oil - coat non-stick pan
¼ c.  Parsley
2 T. green onion chopped
2 T. yellow onion chopped
½ t. each Pepper, Cayenne
1T. Italian seasoning
1 t. salt
¼ c. Balsamic Vinegar
4 Garlic Cloves - diced
Topping and Surprise:
½ c. yellow onion
4 Garlic Cloves - diced
¼ c. Real Parmesan Cheese - shredded
1. c. Fresh Mushrooms - rinsed and sliced
Flour to dust
Ciabatta Bread - sliced into squares
Heat Olive Oil in non-stick pan over medium heat
Mix ground turkey and the next eight ingredients on the list and mix thoroughly
Separately, sauté the topping and surprise ingredients in the pan for about three or four minutes (except the flour)
Back to the turkey mixture, form balls that are the size of sliders/thick 3-4 inch burgers
Press the center, spoon a bit of onion and garlic into the center and then, spoon in a teaspoon of parmesean, form a ball and dust with flour
Grill evenly on both sides about 4 minutes each
Do not press burgers while grilling
Remove burgers from pan, place on bottom of Ciabatta bread sliced in squares
Take the top of the bread and wipe the pan adding the oil mixture and flavor from the pan to the bread
Spoon some of the mushroom and onion mixture on top of each burger
Add Spinach to burger and a slice of orange for color.
Buttercup Squash Parmesan Fries
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Pour Olive Oil onto non-stick baking pan, distribute evenly
Slice squash open, clean and rinse
Begin slicing into long slices for french fries
Once sliced to desired size, spread the buttercup squash onto the cooking pan evenly and where each slice of squash is flat on the pan, not stacked
Evenly sprinkle the seasoning mixture of Parmesan Cheese, salt and pepper, cheyenne pepper and garlic powder onto the fries
Bake for 10 minutes then take the pan out and flip fries over with a spatula and cook for 10 more minutes.
Apples and Onion Side
Chop apples into bite size pieces
Slice onions
Sauté in olive oil 5-6 minutes. Season with salt & pepper. Cover and cook five more minutes. Squeeze fresh orange over the apples and onions & serve
Orange BBQ Sauce
Squeeze 1T of fresh orange into 1/2 cup of barbecue sauce. Stir in pepper, cayenne, and sugar to taste. Enjoy.

Food Lion and the Frugal Cook-Off Bloggers Raleigh 2014













Food Lion generously offered each of the Bloggers Food Lion Gift Cards to Giveaway to YOU our readers, the lucky ones who win. So read ahead to learn how to win. One of you will win just what I won, a $250 Food Lion Gift Card.

ENTER TO WIN $250 Food Lion Gift Card!

1) Comment below your favorite thing you look for in a grocery store;
2) Share this link with your Facebook people;
3) Follow Food Lion on Facebook; and
4) Comment on Carolina Mama with your best frugal cooking tip.
BONUS: Tweet this link for others.

Contest closes November 12th at 8PM EST. Must supply working email for mailing within 24 hours of winning. Otherwise, another winner will be chosen.

Again, another hearty Thank You Food Lion for all the fun! And the frugal shopping!



                                          


Warmly, Carolina Mama

FTC Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Food Lion. As a North Carolina Food Blogger,  I participated in the Food Lion Frugal Cook-Off Raleigh 2014. All opinions are my own. We are excited we won! 


58 comments:

Beth in NC said...

You are just TOO smart! I love it! I am SO EXCITED for you!!!

Mami2jcn said...

I look for nice-looking fresh produce.

mami2jcn at gmail dot com

Mami2jcn said...

I follow Food Lion on Facebook as Mary Happymommy.

Mami2jcn said...

shared on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/mary.happymommy/posts/845423148821383

Mami2jcn said...

My best frugal cooking tip is to buy in bulk and freeze meals.

sonyamorris (Sonya Morris) said...

My favorite thing to look for in the grocery store is fresh meat section!
sonyadmorris@gmail.com

sonyamorris (Sonya Morris) said...

Shared on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/sonya.morris.9/posts/721533714604812
sonyadmorris@gmail.com

sonyamorris (Sonya Morris) said...

Following Food Lion on Facebook as Sonya Morris.
sonaydmorris@gmail.cmo

sonyamorris (Sonya Morris) said...

My best and most recent frugal tip is to save the chicken broth when I paraboil chicken by freezing it. My kids don't like to eat a lot of meat so I use the broth and make dumplings for them.

sonyamorris (Sonya Morris) said...

Link to tweet:
https://twitter.com/catholicfanatic/status/530824379085897728
Thank you!
sonyadmorris@gmail.com

kellyr78 said...

I like to look for fresh fruit in the supermarket.

FB Share
https://www.facebook.com/KellyDSaver/posts/809774769073320?pnref=story

I like Food Lion on FB(Kelly D Saver)

My best frugal cooking tip is to incorporate leftovers into a new meals. For example, using leftover pasta sauce to make pizza.

kellywcu8888ATgmailDOTcom

Jessica To said...

I like a grocery store that is clean and has good prices. My best frugal cooking tip is to make extra when you cook so you can freeze a meal for another time.
reklaw422 at Hotmail dot com

Unknown said...

I look for a great produce section in a grocery store.

Congrats on the WIN!!!

Hsmomto5 said...

Way to go! Looks delicious...

Ellen said...

I look for cleanliness in a grocery store.

Ellen said...

Follow Food Lion on fb - ellen casper

Ellen said...

shared on fb - https://www.facebook.com/ellen.casper.9/posts/10202953829714285

Ellen said...

Frugal tip - buy in bulk and when their are sales.

Ellen said...

tweeted - https://twitter.com/usnamom2014/status/531642740602576897

Tabathia B said...

I look at the apples and the steaks

tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com

Tabathia B said...

like food lion on facebook: michelle barrett

tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com

Tabathia B said...

My frugal tip is to purchase pre-sliced onions and peppers that are packaged together sometimes they are cheaper than purchasing them individually for meals

tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com

Tabathia B said...

shared on facebook https://www.facebook.com/michelle.barrett.562/posts/947955611900604

tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com

Tabathia B said...

tweeted https://twitter.com/ChelleB36/status/531678132278157312

tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com

Elle said...

I look for fresh, good looking produce and also a good fresh fish selection.

prettyinhotpink6 at gmail dot com

Elle said...

I follow Food Lion on Facebook.

Elle said...

I shared this post on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/EllePink6/posts/1543134889264243

Elle said...

My frugal tip is to grow your own veggies (when the weather allows). You will save so much money and have lots of fresh produce for the family.

Ashley said...

I look for sales and fresh produce.

hewella1 at gmail dot com

Ashley said...

I like Food Lion on facebook.

Ashley said...

My tip is to cook a big batch and eat it throughout the week.

Amy Orvin said...

My favorite thing I look for is great prices on items I buy.

2dogs5catscrew@att.net

Amy Orvin said...

Facebook share - https://www.facebook.com/amyorvin/posts/896859600333839

2dogs5catscrew@att.net

Amy Orvin said...

Following Food Lion on Facebook as Amy Orvin

2dogs5catscrew@att.net

Amy Orvin said...

My best frugal cooking tip is to use coupons on top of sales on your favorite meals to save money.

2dogs5catscrew@att.net

Amy Orvin said...

Tweeted - https://twitter.com/amyorvin/status/531837798941069313

2dogs5catscrew@att.net

Unknown said...

I look for affordable products and good produce (yucky produce is always a deal breaker!). Congrats on winning!!

Unknown said...

Here's my facebook share:
https://www.facebook.com/TheMamaZone/posts/1018854291464930

Unknown said...

I follow Food Lion on FB as Anitra Elmore

Unknown said...

My best frugal tip is to plan ahead so you're not just picking up random items when you shop.

Leigh Powell Hines said...

I am SO PROUD of you. So proud. That is AMAZING. You were in your element.

Bobbi said...

it looks like you both had so much fun. congratulations! I'm always looking for a great sale. I always check the clearance produce section.

Anonymous said...

I look for good sales when I go to a store.

Jennifer Marie

lilnursejen at yahoo dot com

Anonymous said...

shared on fb

https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.m.moyer.3/posts/10154902050960372

Jennifer Marie

lilnursejen at yahoo dot com

Anonymous said...

I like food lion on fb (Jennifer Messner M)

Jennifer Marie

lilnursejen at yahoo dot com

Anonymous said...

My best frugal cooking tip is to look for sales and buy ahead so you aren't forced to pay high prices for items.

Jennifer Marie

lilnursejen at yahoo dot com

Cindy said...

I love to look for my fruits and veggies at Food Lion!

Cindy said...

I have shared your link on FB! :)

Cindy said...

I like Food Lion on FB!

Cindy said...

My best frugal cooking tip is that I don't always buy name brand, try the store brand. It's usually just as good and cheaper!

shelly said...

I look for great deals, clean environment, and fresh food.
donnyandshelly at yahoo dot com

Anonymous said...

tweeted

https://twitter.com/JenniferCNP/status/532326259527659523

jennifer marie

lilnursejen at yahoo dot com

Elle said...

Bonus Entry: https://twitter.com/PrettyHotPink6/status/532550606808834048

KR said...

I look for a friendly butcher who is willing to cut and package what I need!

mjhouck said...

Being a vegetable and fruit foodie, 1 thing I look for in a grocery store is fresh. If it isn't I move on.

jenhouck@gmail.com said...

One thing I definitely look for in a grocery store is reasonable and fresh since I cook with them a lot.

jenhouck@gmail.com said...

I already like Food Lion on FAcebook and twitter

Carolina Mama said...

Congratulations to our WINNER!! #14!! Congratulations HSMomto5!!!