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| Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen |
We've been in use it up mode this week and I used up several ripe/spotted bananas in smoothies for breakfast along with the last of the frozen peaches and blueberries. The blueberries were the Great Value brand and were kind of bitter, so I replaced those with the GV wild frozen blueberries and I’ll see if that makes a difference.
We went to Walmart on Tuesday and bought a few groceries like chicken, ground beef, spices, cranberry beans, white popcorn kernels, tortillas, cauliflower rice, bean sprouts, peanut butter, frozen strawberries and blueberries.
I took inventory of all the canned goods and dried beans we have in our pantry, which will help me a great deal with meal planning.
There is a YouTube channel I’ve been watching this week for MeatDad. You can find him on all the popular social media platforms. He is a butcher and teaches people how to save money on meat, how to cut up large portions of meat into smaller portions, and how to cut up chicken to save you the most money.
He demonstrated in one of his videos how buying a whole chicken was cheaper than buying two boneless skinless chicken breasts. He doesn’t blame people, but rather society for not teaching each other about these money saving skills.
I checked the price of whole chickens at Walmart and they are $1.14 a pound right now when you buy two of the Perdue oven roasters. That is definitely cheaper than boneless, skinless thighs or chicken breasts.
Recipe of the Week
Pico de Gallo Grilled Chicken
Ingredients:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 & 1/8 cup cilantro
2 limes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
Directions:
Combine one cup cilantro, juice of 1 lime and 1 teaspoon salt.
Add chicken and marinade for 15 minutes.
Mix tomatoes, onions, garlic, cilantro and jalapeño pepper.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add lime juice and toss.
Grill chicken and let it rest for a few minutes.
Top with Pico de Gallo mixture.
What’s for Dinner
Monday ~ Chicken Taquitos, Corn on the Cob, Fresh Broccoli.
Tuesday ~ Movie Night Pizza
Wednesday ~ Grilled Chicken Club Croissant Sandwiches, Potato Salad.
Thursday ~ Roasted Chicken, Baked Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans with Onions. This was the whole chicken we picked up for free during Trade Day in August. I roasted it in the crockpot with multiple spices and some orange flavored soy sauce and chicken broth. It came out moist and delicious and fed both of us for dinner with plenty of leftovers.
Friday ~ Repeat of Thursday’s Roasted Chicken, Fried Potatoes, Green Beans.
Saturday ~ Bailey had a movie night with a friend, so I was on my own for dinner. I made a vegetable plate with a baked sweet potato, green beans with onions, sliced tomatoes, and carrot and celery sticks with cucumber ranch for dipping.
Sunday ~ Asian Ground Chicken with Pineapple & Toasted Sesame Oil, Cauliflower Rice, and Edamame.
What’s on the Menu for This Coming Week
These are the items we have on hand that I can use to make meals this week.
Chicken Breasts
Chicken Thighs
Canned Chicken
Ground Beef
Dried Beans (Great Northern, Garbanzo, October Beans)
Canned & Frozen Salmon
Tuna
Be sure to come back next week to see what sides we serve with these main dishes.
resourceful and raid your cupboards or
Belinda
Leftover Jell-O that didn’t set up well or Jell-O that you make for this purpose from a store brand.
Juice or syrup left over from canned fruit.
Juice that has been in the fridge and needs to be used up.
Kool-Aid or lemonade mixes bought on sale.
It all sounds wonderful. I am sure it was greatly enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Cheryl. It is less expensive to cook at home as you know. Bailey has a birthday in October, so we are going to go out to wheat for that.
DeleteUntil much later in life, my Mom never bought anything but whole chickens and by the time I had my own home I had seen hundreds of chickens go through the cut up process. One day I was babysitting a friend's kids and her 12 year old daughter came in the kitchen as I was taking a whole chicken out of the bag to cut it up. She was horrified by the thing and said she was never eating chicken again because all she had ever seen were boneless, skinless breasts! It's crazy how far removed we are from the actual whole foods now. With the huge size of chickens now and just the two of us I cut them in half right down the breast bone and back bone and vacuum seal half chickens for our use. If for some reason I choose to freeze a whole chicken I take it out of the original package and remove the innards and extra skin and freeze it in a gallon ZIploc. It can go straight from the freezer to the crockpot that way or it will thaw a whole lot faster in the fridge with out all the stuff inside.
ReplyDeleteIt is crazy how far removed we are from whole food these days, Lana. Stuff my grandparents aye we no longer eat like liver, gizzards, and such.
DeleteCutting yours in half is a great idea and freezing them without the innards is brilliant! I had a hard time getting them out of mine the other day as I froze it with them inside. I’m no longer going to do that, so thank you for that tip.
Hi Belinda. Thanks for a couple of meal ideas.
ReplyDeleteWhole chickens are definitely cheaper to buy. I am thankful my mother taught me how to cut up a whole chicken. I recently cut up one, it had been years since I'd done that and I was a little rusty. I purchased some good knives and they make a world of difference.
I hope you have a great week! Sky
I need a good knife for the same reason, Sky. My Dad didn’t like chicken when we were growing up so my Mom never cooked it, so It was all new to me when I started cooking in my own kitchen. He will eat it now, but is particular about it.
DeleteNow I want chicken
ReplyDeleteWe eat a lot of chicken here as it’s not as expensive as beef is these days.
DeleteA few butchery skills can save a small fortune, can't it? Well worth the bit of effort it takes.
ReplyDeletexx