Meal Planning :: Dinner Menu for Jan 12-25, 2014

The menu for the next two weeks.

1. Tacos (baked like always)

2. Pot Roast (will actually be sausage since chuck roast was too expensive)

3. Fried Rice

4. Thai Peanut Noodles

5. Creamy Garlic Pasta

6. BBQ Chicken Pizza

7. Chicken Salad

8. Chicken Parmesan Casserole*

9. Kitchen Sink Soup*

10. Green Chile Enchiladas

11. One Pot Pasta*

12. Tomato Soup

13. Out

14. Out

* new to me recipe, will be blogged

I never make them in order. Bought all my groceries this morning for $80! (At Winco, as usual)

It's normally $75 but I got a few treats today because I was hungry (always a bad plan). 

Cheap Eats :: Creamy Baked Pasta with Spinach

This is my husband's absolute, outright favorite dinner ever. He begs for it all year and he gets it...well, he gets it about once a year. It's his special birthday dinner, but this year he was working on his birthday so we didn't get around to making it until now.
He was so excited and he and Lucy gobbled it up like it was going out of style!
This is a meatless dish and could easily be made vegan with some substitutions. Not mention...it's pretty danged cheap:

Creamy Baked Pasta with Spinach

Ingredients
8oz penne pasta (or any other pasta)
1 (24-28oz) can of spaghetti sauce
8oz softened cream cheese
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
5-10 oz chopped frozen spinach (thawed and squeezed dry)
*I used 5 oz because I like less
dash of nutmeg
pinch of salt & pepper
1 cup mozzarella cheese (shredded)

 Directions (Pre-heat to 350F)
1. Cook Pasta according to directions/drain
2. Whisk cream cheese and milk until smooth
 3. Add spinach and parmesan to cream cheese
4. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg

5. Mix pasta with spaghetti sauce
6. Layer 1/2 the pasta in the bottom of baking dish
7. spread cream cheese mixture over pasta layer
8. Top with remaining pasta
9. Add mozzerella cheese to top

10. Cover with foil or lid and bake @ 350F for 30 mins
11. Remove cover and bake an additional 10-15 mins until cheese browns at the edges

 

Cheap Eats :: Garbage Cookies

The holidays came and went and my family thought we were done with sweets, but nooooo. We needed more cookies in out lives apparently and inspiration struck on Pinterest, as usual.

I've had shredded coconut sitting in my cupboard for a few months, I bought it for a chicken recipe, but never got around to making it. So this recipe was right up my alley because I had all the ingredients on hand.

The original poster mentioned that you could add in almost anything, so I threw in some leftover peanut butter and chocolate chips I had laying around.

These were soo good. They were gobbled up almost immediately and the photos here are from the second batch in 3 days. I dare you not to love them!

Garbage Cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Butter, Softened
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Egg
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 1/2 Cups Flaked Coconut
1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter Chips
Pinch of Salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 Degrees.

1. Cream together the butter, sugars, egg and vanilla.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda,
baking powder and salt.
3. Slowly incorporate flour mixture in with the creamed
butter and sugar.

4. When well mixed, add the flaked coconut and chips.
5. Once that is combined, drop onto parchment lined
baking sheets and bake for about 8-12 minutes
or until browned.
6. Let cool and serve.

Printable Recipe Card Below

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

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!