Cheap Eats :: Sesame Chicken

I am back! I took a bit of a break from blogging last month because we decided to cram a bunch of summer into a couple of weeks and I wasn't planning my meals as much as I should have or even cooking at home as much as I could have.

School is back in session and cooking at home is a necessity again and the budget is as tight as ever.

The husband has been working nights and my little boy has been with his Dad, so it's just been me and Lucy for dinner time around here. I make enough for Tim, but he eats it when he gets home.

When it's just me and the baby, my motivation to make difficult meals wanes...especially when I have gotten out of the habit of making daily meals.

To jump back into the swing, I hit Pinterest, ya know, like I do. I pinned lots of inspirational recipes and began planning my next two weeks and did my shopping, all along crossing my fingers that I follow through and actually cook my planned meals.

I love Chinese food, I can't afford to eat take out often and it's certainly not as healthy or tasty as making it at home. I am often intimidated by making Asian-inspired foods but I've been trying to dip my toe in one recipe at a time.

Last night it was this recipe for Sesame Chicken I found here.

This recipe is easy, reasonably quick and above all it was really really delicious. Sooo good. I had to stop myself for gobbling up my husband's portion.

Sesame Chicken

 

Ingredients

 

Chicken

1 large egg
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 pinch each salt & pepper
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 Tbsp vegetable oil (for frying)

Sauce

2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp water
½ Tbsp toasted sesame oil
1½ Tbsp brown sugar (I used dark brown)
1½ Tbsp rice vinegar
1 inch fresh ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 Tbsp cornstarch

Instructions

 

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, 2 Tbsp cornstarch, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Trim any excess fat from the chicken thighs, then cut them into small 1 inch pieces. Toss the chicken in the egg and cornstarch mixture.

 

2. Heat a large skillet with 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is very hot (it should look wavy on the surface), add the chicken and all of the egg mixture. Cook the chicken, stirring only occasionally, until it is golden brown and cooked through (about 7-10 minutes). Drain off the excess oil, if desired.

 

3. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the sauce. In a small bowl stir together the soy sauce, water, sesame oil, brown sugar, rice vinegar, fresh ginger, minced garlic, cornstarch, and sesame seeds. (You can grate the ginger with a small-holed cheese grater).

 

4. Once the chicken is cooked through and golden brown, pour the sauce over top. Toss the chicken to coat in the sauce. The sauce will begin to thicken as soon as it hits the hot skillet. Once the chicken is coated and the sauce thickened, turn off the heat.

 

 5. Serve the chicken over a bed of rice and sprinkle the sliced green onions over top.

 

I love love loved this recipe and will definitely be adding it to the regular rotation. According to the author of this recipe, this will feed 4 and a grand total of $5.15. Not too shabby price-wise, eh?

 

Again, you can find the original recipe here.

Cheap Eats :: Peach Cobbler

Another summer treat I love is the almighty peach! Fresh summer peaches rock my world, but canned peaches have their own appeal to me. When I was pregnant with Lucy, I bought cans of peaches to munch. I loved slurping those slimy slices so much it was ridiculous!

I saw a can of peaches on one of my last shopping trips, and I admit, I bought this can because I loved the label.

Lady Elberta Brand Yellow Freestone Sliced Peaches (in heavy syrup) *Shortcake Style*. I loved the retro look and thought, for $.20 more, I'll go for it. I bought them at Winco by the way, if you want to find some. They were fabulous.

I decided to make cobbler. I have made crisps, but never a cobbler...so I went a-huntin' on the internet. I came across this recipe.

Let's just say...we killed the whole thing in one night. Yum.

Peach Cobbler

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
1 stick of butter (cut in half and melted separately)
1 can (28 ounces) sliced peaches, undrained

Directions 
(preheat to 350F)
1. Mix dry ingredients in a medium bowl, pour in half a stick of melted butter and mix until butter is absorbed and the ingredients are crumbly.

 
2. Pour 1/3 of the mix onto the bottom of an 8x8 dish.
3. Add peaches and juice. There should be plenty of juice, but if it looks dry, add more water.
4. Top peaches with the remaining cobbler mix.

5. Pour the other half stick of melted butter over the top and then sprinkle with the 2 tbsp of sugar.
6. Bake 30-45 mins at 350F until brown and bubbly!
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream! Yum!!

Cheap Eats :: Greek Marinated Chicken

Hey guys! I'm back after needing to rush out of town for my Grandmother's funeral. I had this meal done before I left, but no time to blog it. Better late than never!

This is a recipe I got from Budget Bytes. It was quite good and a hit with the whole family. I served it with lemon and butter Orzo pasta and fruit.

I followed the recipe pretty much exactly, except I used actual Greek Yogurt instead of plain.

Greek Marinated Chicken

 

Ingredients

1 cup plain *Greek* yogurt
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ Tbsp dried oregano
1 medium lemon
½ tsp salt
freshly cracked pepper
¼ bunch fresh parsley
3½ to 4 lbs chicken pieces

Instructions

 

 

1. To make the marinade, combine the yogurt, olive oil, minced garlic, oregano, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper in a bowl. Use a fine holed cheese grater or a zester to scrape the thin layer of yellow zest from the lemon skin into the bowl. Also add the juice from half of the lemon (about 1-2 Tbsp). Stir until the ingredients are well combined. Roughly chop a big handful, or about ¼ bunch, of parsley and stir it into the marinade.
2. Add the chicken pieces and marinade to a gallon sized zip top bag. Remove as much air as possible, close the bag tightly, and massage the bag to mix the contents and make sure the chicken is well coated. Refrigerate the bag for 30 minutes.
3. After marinating for 30 minutes, either cook the chicken on a grill OR preheat the oven to 375 degrees in preparation to bake the chicken.
4. To bake the chicken, place the chicken pieces in a large casserole dish (9×13). Bake the chicken in the preheated 375 degree oven for 45-60 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

original recipe here

Meal Planning :: Dinner Menu for June 24 thru July 8th

The Meal Plan:

1. Tri-Tip
2. Tri-Tip Leftovers
3. Chicken Thighs (recipe pending)
4. Spaghetti and Meatballs
5. Zoupa Toscana*
6. Sticky Chicken
7. Pork Fried Rice
8. Greek Marinated Chicken*
9. Creamy Pasta
10. Tri-Tip
11. Tri-Tip Leftovers
12. Chow Mein*
13. BBQ Chicken
14. Pizza 

*will be blogged

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I'm a bit late with this post, but we've had a crazy week.
This month, I bought some extras but haven't gone too far out of budget to do it, thankfully. So far, I'm only about $15 over budget and I've gotten some tasty extras.

At Costco, I went meat-crazy! I got my much-longed-for bacon, some ribs, tri-tip, chicken thighs and bread. This came to around $85.00 But that's 4 lbs of bacon, two huge slabs of ribs, two tri-tip roasts, 3 meals worth of chicken thighs, and two huge loaves of bread.

Then my trip to Winco was $82.81! Not too shabby...and we actually bought soda! But not again...I think we both regretted buying them.

So, for the first half of the grocery shopping month, I'm at $168 (give or take a dollar). Not bad and I could actually stay in my monthly budget if I scrimp on the next menu.

Treat Eats :: Tri-tip in the Oven

I'm starting a new category "Treat Eats" for when it's time to "Treat Yo'self". Sometimes I carve out a little extra cash and cut some corners from other meals so we can have something special. This month, it was the summer favorite, Tri-tip!

At Costco, which arguably has some of the better prices for meats, I got it for $5.99/lb. For 2 Tri-tip roasts, it's was $23.42.

That's not cheap eats, by any means.

I'm used to grilling my tri-tip, I have a system, it works beautifully. Problem is, in my current home, has a strict HOA and barbecue grills are forbidden. (Condos...*eye-roll*)

So in the heat of the summer, my choices are go to the lake/river or the park to grill outside or use my oven. Since I'm not planning to take my tri-tip on a vacay this time, the oven it is.

First step to tri-tip is the rub or marinade. I'm normally a rub girl, but I decided since I'm roasting this bad boy for the first time, I'll go with the marinade method.

Tri-Tip Marinade

1 white onion coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic
1 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons cracked black pepper

1. Add all ingredients to blender, food processor or like me your stick blender measuring cup and puree ingredients.
2. Add tri-tip and marinade to a gallon sized zip-top bag and seal, removing as much air as possible
3. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours.

Roasting Instructions
1. Let roast come to room temp on the counter for about an hour before roasting.
2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
3. Place the roast on a rack in a shallow roasting pan so air can circulate around the entire roast.
4. Place roast in the oven and roast, uncovered, for 30 to 35 minutes
5. Remove from the oven and cover with foil. Let the meat stand for 15 minutes, which will bring the temperature up to 145 degrees F (medium rare) after standing.
*for a medium done roast, go 40-45 minutes
6. After your meat has rested, cut into thin slices against the grain

Cheap Eats :: Hot and Spicy Taco Filling

To be honest, I use this taco filling for burritos more often than tacos lately...but this recipe gets played in nearly every single bi-monthly meal plan.

It's on the spicy hot side, so I'll add notes for ways to cool it off for families that aren't into the extra kick. My son has a harder time with the spiciness, but we are trying to toughen him up...he can power through this recipe as is, but the husband adds Tapatio to it. That should give you an idea of the heat scale.

Hot & Spicy Taco Filling (or burritos)

Ingredients

• 1lb ground beef
• 1 8oz can of El Pato Tomato Sauce (Mexican style...aka hot!) *use regular plain old tomato sauce if you don't want the heat
• 1/4 can of Rosarita Traditional Refried Beans *use the rest as a side dish
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp dehydrated onion
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Directions
1. Brown and drain ground beef
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and beef back to the pan and combine well.
3. Cook on medium heat for 5-7 mins until most of the liquid has evaporated.
4. Serve in taco shells or in burrito-sized tortillas with your favorite cheese and toppings!

 

 

Taco Night is on!

Cheap Eats :: Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce with Noodles

This is a personal favorite of mine. I don't know if it's the mix of carb-loaded noodle joy  mixed with peanuts...but I love love love Thai-style peanut sauce, really on anything.

I found this recipe and got excited. The only really exotic ingredient is sesame oil. I can swing that cheaply (TJs) and the rest is already in the cupboards.

Again, I threw half of a grilled chicken breast on top, because it was there...but this is great alone on noodles.

You can dress it up with green onion, or not. Crushed peanuts, or not. Some Sriracha, or...well, you get the picture. Just by itself, it's amazing.

Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce
sauce for 1-2 servings (double to serve 4)

Ingredients
1 tbs brown sugar
1 tbs peanut butter
2 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs sesame oil
red pepper flake (to taste, I used about 1/4 tsp for mildly spicy.)
1/4 tsp sesame seeds (optional )

Directions
1. Mix ingredients in a bowl until smooth
2. Toss with noodles
3. Top with crushed peanuts, chicken, green onion, sesame seeds

Cheap Eats :: Creamy Garlic Pasta

I found this recipe on Pinterest a couple months ago and it quickly became a family favorite around here. For me, it's how fast and easy it pulls together. For them, it's the amazing taste!

My son, the picky one, always gobbles up every last bite and asks for seconds. My daughter, the baby who eats everything, loves it enough to grunt for more. The husband, who isn't the biggest eater, will eat a heaping bowlful happily. It's a guaranteed crowd pleaser...and a joy to make. I have the recipe memorized now, I've made it THAT much.

Tonight, I made it with an added element...chicken breast. I know, I know...chicken breast?! From the dark meat lady?! Well, to be fair...I was gifted the chicken breast by my sweet cousin who brought me some groceries after an especially bad day. I already had creamy garlic pasta in the menu and thought the chicken would be a nice treat! (Thanks cuz!)

Otherwise, this makes a fantastic meatless (not vegan) meat.

It's feeds 3-4 people with no leftovers. If you have big eaters, I suggest doubling it. We are not big portion types, so this is perfect for my family of two adults/two kids.

Creamy Garlic Pasta + Chicken

Ingredients
2 tsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic; minced
2 Tbs butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 c chicken stock water +
2 tsp chicken bouillon
8 oz angel hair pasta
1 c grated  shredded parmesan cheese
3/4 c heavy cream
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (optional)
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2 thin chicken breasts (hammered thin or sliced thin)
1 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions
Pasta

1. In a pot, bring the olive oil to medium-low heat. Add the garlic and stir, allowing it to cook for 1-2 minutes.
2. Add the salt, pepper, water + bouillon. Raise the heat to high and let it come to a boil.

3. Once it is at a rolling boil, add the pasta and cook until tender.
4. Reduce the stove to medium heat and mix in the parmesan until completely melted.

5. Turn off the heat and stir in the cream. Serve immediately.

Chicken
1. Coat chicken in oil and season

2. Heat skillet or griddle to med-high
3. Cook chicken while pasta cooks turning half-way through (about 8 mins on each side)
4. Cook until chicken is no longer pink
5. Slice and divide among pasta bowls.