The smartest way to shop if you're looking to pinch pennies is often with a menu and a list of specific ingredients in mind before you head to the store.

But for flexible home cooks who don't mind changing course on a dime, there's a lot of value in taking advantage of something you unexpectedly happen upon that's on super sale.

I had planned on making some sort of pasta dish when I set out for my local grocery earlier this week, since there's so many things you can do with a box of spaghetti or bag of penne — especially when local vegetables are still in season. Then, a red "sale" sticker caught my eye in the meat department and, being a thrifty shopper, I reconsidered.

I don't eat a lot of meat in general, and when I do, it's almost always chicken (preferably thighs) or ground beef or pork. But there it was — a 1.15-pound pork tenderloin roast with a "$3 off" sign on it, bringing the price down to a very reasonable $5.99.

Knowing I could easily get four servings out of the narrow, boneless cut of meat — that's just $1.50 per person — I threw it into my cart along with colorful bell peppers that also happened to be on sale, and quickly rejiggered that night's meal.

What I came up with was pork tenderloin lettuce wraps, a dish that not only comes together quickly (a petite cut of meat, tenderloin only has to roast for about 30 minutes) but when paired with an array of good-for-you veggies, it's also fairly low-cal and rich in nutrients.

Pork was known in the late 1980s as the "other" white meat because of its lower fat content compared to red meats like beef and lamb. Tenderloin is especially lean because it comes from the muscle that runs along the backbone, an area that is not heavily used.

Yet, it still packs a punch when it comes to protein, which is such an important building block in our bodies, especially as we get older. A 3-ounce serving of pork tenderloin packs about the same amount of protein (23 grams) as an equal serving of skinless chicken breast (25 grams).

Another reason I chose to make wraps: The meat that is tucked inside a piece of lettuce or flatbread is chopped into bite-sized pieces and combined with other ingredients, which means it goes a lot further in a dish.

Since a pork tenderloin is so lean, it's easy to overcook it. A good marinade solves that problem by helping the meat retain moisture during cooking and keeping it tender.

Luckily, I had my choice of already-marinated tenderloins on sale — I chose a honey garlic teriyaki — which helped keep the price of the meal down because I didn't have to make the mixture from scratch.

The soy sauce in the packaged marinade did add more sodium to the dish than I liked, but honestly, that felt like a one-off. (My son, who worked in a restaurant kitchen, tells me I always under-salt my food.)

To start the meal off on a fresh note, I plucked a juicy red pepper from the bag, cut it into slices and made it into a lightly dressed salad with cucumber, red onion and fresh cilantro, which cost $2.67 ($1.34 per person).

The lettuce wraps were a bit more expensive, thanks to the high price of leaf lettuce ($3.99 per head) and the addition of water chestnuts, but still well within my $15 budget. Because I only needed half of the tenderloin to serve two people, each serving cost less than $4.

That left precious dollars for a quick and satisfying $4.50 dessert — super-moist chocolate chip cookies studded with toasted almonds and infused with the bright, citrusy taste of orange zest. Cookbook author Sabrina Ghayour calls them "emergency" cookies because the recipe satisfies cookie cravings without the cook having to make a big batch. (It makes 3 big cookies.)

As always, I shopped my fridge and pantry to keep the total cost of the meal down. This week, that included everything I needed for the salad dressing, and the flour, baking soda and vanilla used in the cookies.

Total cost for this nutritious late-summer meal that also provided generous leftovers for lunch the next day: $14.98, or 2 cents under budget.

For more tips on how to save money while grocery shopping, go to post-gazette.com.

Cucumber, Pepper and Red Onion Salad

PG tested

This fresh and vibrant late-summer salad pairs the crunch of cucumber with red onion and sweet bell pepper in a zingy-sweet dressing. A snap to make, it's loaded with color, nutrients and flavor.

For salad

1/2 English cucumber, thinly sliced

1 bell pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

For dressing

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Place sliced cucumber, bell peppers, onion and cilantro in a large salad bowl.

Add the dressing ingredients to a glass jar with a lid. Shake well until emulsified, then taste and adjust as needed.

Pour dressing over the salad just before serving, and toss until well combined.

Serve immediately.

Serves 2, with leftovers.

— Gretchen McKay, Post-Gazette

Pork Tenderloin Teriyaki Lettuce Wraps

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I used a pork tenderloin that had already been marinated in teriyaki sauce because that was on sale, but you can use any marinade you like — either homemade or jarred — or no marinade at all.

Other options for vegetables include bean sprouts, green onion and shredded cabbage and carrots.

1 bell pepper, deseeded and halved

1-pound pre-marinated pork tenderloin

1/2 8-ounce can diced water chestnuts

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced or chopped

Salt or soy sauce, for seasoning

Chopped cilantro leaves, for garnish

8-12 butter lettuce leaves, washed and patted dry

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place halved pepper and tenderloin in a shallow baking pan. Roast in oven, uncovered, for 30-35 minutes, or until internal temperature reads 145 degrees in the thickest part of the tenderloin. (Alternatively, place it in a skillet and cook, rotating every 4-5 minutes, until browned on all sides and the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees.)

Remove from oven (or pan) and let pork rest for 3 minutes.

Chop the roasted pepper into bite-sized pieces. Slice pork into bite-sized pieces.

Place peppers and pork in large bowl. Add water chestnuts and chopped red onion, and toss to combine. Taste for seasoning, and add a little salt or soy sauce if needed.

Assemble the wraps: On a large serving platter, arrange "cups" of lettuce leaves with 2 layers of lettuce per cup.

Top each lettuce cup with a couple of big spoonfuls of the pork and pepper mixture. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve immediately.

Serves 2, with leftovers.

— Gretchen McKay, Post-Gazette

Chocolate, Almond and Orange Emergency Cookies

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Seriously, who doesn't love a soft and chewy cookie for dessert?

The original cookie recipe in British Iranian chef Sabrina Ghayour's soon-to-be-published cookbook, "Persiana Easy" (Mitchell Beazley, $35), calls for dividing the dough into just 3 portions — a tough proposition when you're making dessert for two diners. So I went smaller and scooped 6 cookies onto the baking sheet.

Don't love the zing of orange in baked goods? Opt for a mix of white chocolate, pistachio and lemon instead, or "go rogue with whatever you like and have on hand," writes Ghayour.

3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

4 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 egg yolk

Finely grated zest of 1 orange

1 teaspoon vanilla

2/3 cup flour

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

1/4 cup blanched almonds

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper.

Beat butter and sugars together in a mixing bowl with a wooden spoon until pale and fluffy.

Add egg yolk, orange zest and vanilla and mix again.

Add flour and baking soda and mix until a dough forms, then mix in the chocolate chips and nuts until evenly distributed.

Divide cookie dough into 6 portions and roll into balls. Place spaced out on the lined tray and bake for 12 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool on tray for 20 minutes before eating.

Makes 6 cookies.

— adapted from "Persiana Easy" by Sabrina Ghayour

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