Mexican Chicken Cassarole

Ingrdents:  the quantities depend on how many you are serving.   It is meant to go with pasta, but I cooked it without pasta and it was fine.

Layer :
Cooked chicken :   I shredded a chicken breast that I cooked from frozen in the insta pot for 15 minutes on poultry.

A can of mild diced green chillies, drained

Mexican. Blend cheese

1 can of diced tomatoes with Mexican seasoning, drained.  

Finish with a cheese layer.

Bake at 350 until it is warmed through and cheese is melted...about 30 minutes.

You could serve it inside or on top of a tortilla or mix it with pasta before baking.

Alone, it is low fat and low carb.

Chicken wings in the insta pot.

Chicken Wings in the Insta Pot

1. Chicken wings 
2. 2T butter 
3. 1 cup bbq sauce of choice
4. Seasoning of choice:  Monterey steak seasoning 
5. Hot pepper sauce if desired.  

• Cut chicken wings in to a drum and the body of the wing.  
• Sprinkle with Monterey steak seasoning or seasoning of your choice. 
• Place on rack in the insta pot.  You don’t want the wings to touch water. 
• Add 1-1/2 cups water. 
• Place lid on pot , put lever on seal, and process on manual for 5 minutes.   
• Quick release after 10 minutes past its cycle ( L10) 
• Meanwhile, put bbq sauce in a microwave safe bowl and melt 2 T butter in the sauce. Add hot pepper sauce if desired. 
• When wings are out of the insta pot, place them on a broiler pan and brush with sauce.  
• Broil 5 minutes on 500 degrees 
• Turn the wings over and brush them with more sauce.   
• Broil 5 minute longer.   
• Test for doneness.   

Chicken Enchaladas

I watch u tube videos in the morning.   It gives me ideas and I always learn something.   Someone was making enchaladas from leftover meat.  That reminded me of Chicken Enchaladas.

Chicken Enchaladas 

1 chicken breast -cooked an shredded 

1/2 cup cheese - Mexican blend 

Flour tortillas 

Enchaladas sauce 

Make 2 cups of ‘white sauce” using chicken stock instead of milk.   

Add 1/2 cup of sour cream 

Add 1 can of diced green chilies, drained 

Enchaladas 

Pour sauce to cover a 8x8 square pan 

Mix shredded chicken, Mexican blend cheese, and a little sauce to combine. 

Place mixture on the lower 1/3 oof the tortilla and roll up.   

Place in prepared pan. And continue to fill the pan.  

Pour the rest of the sauce over the tortillas . 

Top with cheese 

Bake at 375 until heated through and cheese has melted.   About 30 minutes.   

Easy Peasy

Groceries on the cheap is based on finding groceries at the RBP and buyungnenough to last you until you find another RBP on the things you use on a regular basis.  Being adaptable to good food that you find really reasonable helps too. I am on a mission to find the best , simplistic, recipes I can that use inexpensive ingredients and are still not fat, sugar, salt, or hydroginated oil laden.   Efficient scratch cooking is key to avoiding bad ingredients and saving money.

Baking hard cooked eggs is efficient and makes for perfect eggs every time.  Dehydrating eggs when they are cheap is a way to stretch your food  dollar and have cheap eggs when they reach 2.00 a dozen.    French toast is a way to stretch eggs and cinnamon bread.  

Mix beaten eggs, some milk , and a tsp of vanilla.   Cook on a grill or in a frying pan until brown. Flip and cook the other side,   Serve with syrup and berries in season.  

Best ever Pizza crust

Its an empty food processer....the start of pizza crust 

Recipe on line

Gather ingredients : flour, salt, yeast, water, oil 

Add dry ingredients to food processer; add oil to warm water.   Pour 

Water through feed tube while processer is running.   

Done

Pour out onto floured counter. Knead lslightly with enough  flour to make the dough not stickey

Put into plastic bag if you are pre making.   

When ready to make pizza, take out of fridge to warm up and flatten on floured board either with hands or rolling pin.   

Filll pizza and bake at 450 until crust is crispy on 

bottom and cheese is melted.   

Meal Plans for week of JAN 8

Meal plans are a necessary part of groceries on the cheap.   They keep you grounded.   They satisfy the question. “What’s for dinner”.    They take a few minutes, and make your dinner hour a lot less hectic.   Most families have a list of ten or so meals that they cook on a regular basis.   The family likes them and it makes life easy.   We like to try new recipes every now and then, but basicly we tend to go for Tex mex and italian or the basic Meat, potatoes, veggie we grew up with.   Nothing wrong with the basics of a balanced meal.

• Soup:   Baked potato cheese soup ; rolls 
• Pizza
• Pork roast, mashed potatoes, green beans 
• Spaghetti with meatballs , salad 
• Pork sliders, veggie tray 
• Homemade chicken nuggets, oven fries, veggie tray 
• Breakfast for dinner.  

Notes  :   Having soup any day that you know that it is going to be heticor that people will be coming and going at different times is a good thing.   Soup in a slow cooker can be dished up at will.   Add a piece of freshly made bread and you have a meal.   

Pizza is always a welcome dish here.   Its cheap and everyone likes it.   Cheese was .99 a 8 ounce bag Saturday at Kroger.  (QFC and Fred Meyers here ) .  That’s two dollar a pound.   You can freeze cheese that has been grated.   Add a little tomato and  a pizza crust for .17 and dinner is cheap.   

Pork Roast is from a pork loin purchased for .99 a lb.   It is morphed into sliders later in the week.   That does necessitate me making rolls.  I am on a mission to find a good , easy roll recipe.   Sometimes it takes a while, but once you find the perfect recipe for your family, it makes life so easy, it well worth the experience.   Considering that the cooking of the roast meal is a piece of cake, the rolls aren't a big deal. 

Chicken nuggets take a breading of nuts, parm cheese, and bread crumbs.   Never buy bread crumbs. You are paying tsometimes upwards of two dollars and fifty cents a lb for someone elses dry bread.   Its just stupid to throw your bread heels away and purchase someone elses dry bread.   

Oven fries take a few minutes, but are well worth the time.   I have been known to buy frozen fries, in a pinch, winco is the best price on those.   The large bag isn’t a bargain.   The smaller ones most of the time are the same price per pound.   The fries aren’t perfectly , evenly, sized.  They all cook at the same time.   The ‘tater tots” are all the same size , just a bit thinner than the real thing.  

Breakfast for Dinner is a staple here.  Everyone cooks something, its a family affair.   Even the granddaughter can butter bread.     She has been known to make waffles now too with some supervision.   Eggs were .99 here this week with limits.   Sometimes chopped veggies can do double duty with pizza and Omlettes.    

Balancing some meals that are really easy with a few that take some time is a way to make good meals attainable.   Its like balancing a cheap meal or two with some that are more expensive.  It makes it feel like you aren’t on a disaster budget.   No one likes beans seven days a week.   LOL

Pizza

Looking through a cookbook I got for Christmas , I had an epiphany.   This recipe was not for a pizza.   What struck me was the selection of ingredients.   Some combinations of ingredients just sound good and can be adapted to other recipes.  


Pizza Dough —the blog as a recipe for easy food proesser,  no kneed pizza dough.   It takes just a few minutes.  Pizza can be one of the cheapest dinners and is a favorite of many children.   That’s a winning situation in my opinion.    A cheese pizza is about a dollar if you get your ingredients at the RBP.  

Top with :
Olive oil
Parmesean cheese ( or Romano or another hard cheese can be used)
Grated  white cheddar cheese
Thinly sliced Roma tomatoes, seeded.
Salt, pepper
Italian seasoning.

Roma tomatoes are usually less expensive than other tomatoes and because they are more ‘meaty” and have less seeds, they are a better buy.  


Bake as directed for the pizza crust/.

Meal Plans

Meal plans help keep meal time less hectic.   Its the basis for your grocery recipes and helps keep you organized.   

We use a matrix for meal planning for simplicity.   

Monday:  soup. - its an easy dinner when people have to eat at differnt times.   A simmering slowcooker  is always a welcome thing to come home to. 

Tuesdays:   Pizza - a really inexpensive dinner that is a winner in most houses.  

Wednesday:  chicken or pork

Thursday:  beef 

Friday:  pork or chicken 

Saturday: Pork or chicken 

Sunday :  Breakfast for Dinner

Week 1: 

• Vegetable bean soup , rolls 
• Potluck 
• Chicken Pot Pie - pudding 
• Tacos 
• Pork chops with dressing, green beans j
• Pork stir fry , rice
• Breakfast for Dinner

Week 2

• Baked Potato cheese soup , rolls 
• Pizza
• Pork roast , mashed potatoes, green beans 
• Speghetti and meatballs
• Pork sliders, veggies 
• Homemade chix nuggets, oven fries veggie platter 
• Breakfast for Dinner

Week 3 

• White bean chicken chilli , quesadilla
• Pizza 
• Chicken cassarole , peas and carrots. 
• Burrito bowls 
• Roasted chicken with oven roasted root vegetables 
• Pork chops , mushroom gravey, corn
• Breakfast for dinner.   

Week 4 

• Chicken Noodle soup , cheese and crackers , fruit 
• Pizza 
• Chicken papakash 
• Enchaladas 
• Pork chops , baked potatoes, stuffed tomatoes 
• Chicken Parmesan , salad 
• Breakfast for dinner 
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• Chicken tortilla soup
• Pizza 

• These are based on buying rotation bulk protein.   Chicken breast is 1.77 a pound again at Fred Meyers .  (Kroger) .   We got pork loin for .99 a lb last weeek at QFC (Kroger ) .   We got hamburger (sirloin roast) at safeways a few weeks back for 2.40 a lb using a basket coupon.   Pepperoni was purachased with a coupon on sale.   Pepperoni has a long shelf life and we got cheese for 2.00 a lb.   cheese is also 2.00 a lb Saturday only , next saturday at Fred Meyers.   I suspect that it will be at qfc as well.   There is a limit of 2.5 lbs., use a digital coupon, and buy ten dollars of other merchandise.   Watching and taking advantage of special buys goes a long ways to bring your cost of food down.   

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New chicken enchiladas.

Chicken enchaladas...scratch

Enchilada sauce can really bump up the cost of chicken enchaladas.   Making your own can be easy and use up things hanging around in the fridge.


Sauce :

Make a roux with 1/2 stick of butter and 4 Tbls flour.  Add 3 cups of vegetable or chicken broth gradually and whisk until liquid is incorporated and getting thick.   Add sour cream a little at a time until combined.   Set aside -sauce will thicken.  Stir occasionally so a skim doesn’t form.

Meanwhile, cook 2 chicken breasts in the oven or insta pot.   When done, cut cooked chicken into small cubes.  

While chicken is cooking, in small bowl. Combine :

1. Mild green peppers chopped (can) -1/2 can drained. 
2. Mexican blend cheese 
3. Salsa or some of the sauce.
4. Add cooked chicken. 

Roll chicken mixture into 6 inch tortillas.   Corn or flour. 

Place some sauce in bottom of baking pan.   

Place tortilla rolls in sauce.   Top with remaining sauce, cheese 

Add tomatoes /and or reserved peppers for garnish if desired.   

Bake at 375 degrees until bubbly and cheese is melted.   About 20 minutes if room temp, more if you have made it ahead and refrigerated it.   

Pork Loin sale.

The family is galaventing downtown.  This small town has trolly rides and festivities.

I am listening to Holiday Music, drinking Irish Cream Coffee, and butchering two 1/2 pork loins.
I made 20 pork chops. 2-1/4 lbs of ground pork. 1/2 lb of stir fry meat.   I was out of quart bags , so I cut pork chops, layered them with cereal box liners, and bagged 4 at a time .   The less than perfect slices, I cut into stir fry meat while cutting off anything that didnt seem desireable.   I ground what was left of meat and fat.   I can use it when making meatballs or meatloaf from the 7 percent hamburger.   Meatloaf is better is it has some fat in it.   When cut with extra lean hamburger, a little ground pork would be good.

Seven meals for four divided by 8.58 is 1.23 a meal.

Dinner

Dinner tonight : spareribs , pasta salad, apple pie

Gather ingredients for the pie 

Fill greased pie plate with cut , sliced , apples 

Make custard 

Make streusel topping,   Bake pie. 

Salad 

Make dressing 

Slice veggies ; marinate in dressing 

Cook pasta, chill in ice bath, add to dressing. 

Brown meat in insta pot in olive oil setting on sauté . 

Pour beer over ribs and change setting to slow cook.  Cover and coook 8 hours or until done.   

Pizza casserole in the insta pot.

Well, kinda.   I cooked the pasta for two minutes and manually de pressurized.   I used 1 quart of water to 1 lb of penne pasta,   It was perfect.  


1 lb penne pasta , Barilla .73
1 jar pasta sauce .74
1 package Italian grated cheese 1.00
1/4 package pepperoni. ,85, cut rounds in half

Parsley and red pepper flakes

Process pasta for 2 minutes in the insta pot.   Self de prsssurize , drain .
Add all other ingredients except parsley and pepper flakes, stir.
Top with parsley and peppers flakes

Total 3.22. : servings 8
1.61 for four servings.  

Berry Muffins ....easy

a good way to use up sour cream before it goes bad.


Blueberry muffins :  ( I used cranberries )

2 cups baking mix
3/4 cup sugar

Mix dry ingredients

1 cup sour cream
2 eggs
Mix together wet ingredients.

Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients

Add 1 cup berries.  Use fresh or frozen that haven’t been thawed.  

Fill greased or lined muffin cups 2/3 full.
Sprinkle with sugar or cinnamon sugar

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Easiest Chicken EVER

There are whole cookbooks on recipes that start with a rotisserie chicken.   Rotisserie chicken is the biggest ripoff of the century.  When you buy a three pound chicken, 1/2 of that chicken is bones you don’t eat.   So, whatever you are paying , you are paying double per pound.   That makes a 7.99 chicken that is three pounds. 5.33 cents a lb.  Even the chicken at Costco is 3.33 a lb.

Easiest EVER chicken. 

1. Peel and very rough chop a large onion, or two small ones. (In half if its small or in quarters if its large) .  This onion isn’t consumed , so it works even if someone doesn’t  like onions.   
2. Put in bottom of a slow cooker. 
3. Take the chicken out of the package.  I do this in a clean sink.   Drain any liquid off of it.   Place chicken on a plate and dry with a paper towel.   
4. Sprinkle with a dry rub.   
5. Place chicken in slow cooker.
6. Cook 1 hour per pound on high heat or until the chicken tests done....I use 180 degrees as a benchmark and when its no longer pink.    

This chicken will not have a crispy crust.  It will make a good stock base.   Put it through a colander.   The breast is usually intact, the rest of the chicken will be good for soup, enchiladas, etc.   

I discovered this recipe when I walked into our Kroger and they had whole chickens marked .50 per pound because the pull date was the next day.   I bought three and cooked two in the oven and one in the slow cooker.    

Recipe: Sausage stuffed acorn squash.

The other day, I found acorn squash for a dollar.   I can always find stove top stuffing for a dollar..   That’s my RBP.   That makes this dinner far less than a five dollar dinner.   By sneaking in a few really inexpensive dinners, you can afford some more expensive dinners and still average five dollar dinners.

Serves 4

2 acorn squash
Butter
Poultry seasoning

Cut acorn squash in. Half the long ways and take the seeds out.   Place a pat of butter in each half and sprinkle with poultry seasoning.   Bake in 400 degree oven for an hour.  Or in the microwave for 8 minutes or until the flesh is fork tender.  

1 pkg stove top stuffing
Butter and water that the package calls for

1 cup cooked sausage
1 medium apple, chopped.

Add sausage and apple to the stuffing before cooking according to the package directions.  

Fill the cooked squash with the cooked stuffing.

Basics : Part 3

Basics, part 3: Rotation buying 

The biggest hurdle to get over is the transition between buying your food on a weekly basis at one store and buying rotation at two stores. 

If you buy your groceries at one store and you are buying just what you need for a week, the odds are against you , about the same as winning at the casino.    One of the easiest change  for most people is to investigate which two stores in your area have the best prices.    If you only have one store, think about going to a neighbouring town once or twice a month and either getting them to mail you their flyers or finding them on line.    If it's too far, group them with other errands or carpool with a neighbor or family member.    Buying the real specials that you will eat at two stores cuts your grocery bill a lot.    Here, Winco and Fred Meyers have the best prices , but that can change.   

The biggest difference you can make is to know your prices. 

My mother used to say that some people could have a bargain get up and bite them on the butt and they wouldn't see it.   Don't be that person.   

You don't have to know the prices of everything in the store, but you need to know the RBP of the things you use in a regular  basis.    That can of cranberry sauce that you buy once a year won't make much difference in the overall scheme of things, but the can of diced tomatoes you use twice a week will. 

Make a list , one item per sheet on a small spiral pad.  They are three for a dollar at the Dollar Tree.  Write the prices off the sale ads for those products and the dates.   You will soon see a pattern and can predict when things will go on a good sale.

Take little steps.   Start with the first thing you find that you use on a regular basis that is on a RBP.   Buy two instead of one ( probably no more capital outlay) .  Ditch  one on the back of the pantry.   Keep doing it.   Just plug away at it.   Soon you will have a stock built and instead of buying a weeks worth at a time, you can only buy what needs to be replentished and you will be shopping your  pantry  instead of shopping  the stores.    That six pack of green beans you bought this week, will be replaced by a six pack of corn next week, and so on.    This will be easier if you get your budget amount in one lump sum.    Buy your basics and set aside a certain amount a week for the perishables.  When you buy your food 1/2 price, it doesn't take long to realize the profit. 

Being in a position of not having to buy things gives you the upper hand.   You can wait until the price is the lowest to buy your food.   This won't work for produce. But it will work for a lot of staples.   Watch for dairy sales.   I can almost always get milk for 2.00 a gallon.  Sour cream for a dollar for 8 ounces,  butter for 2.50 a pound. And yogurt for .40 or less.    I only buy yoplait light because I watch my carbs and they are the lowest I have found.  There is always a coupon for them. 

Stocking is a good thing of you know your limits.   Have a good idea and a limit set in your mind of how much you use and how much of a supply you are stocking,   I have shelves in my pantry and a certain amount of shelf  space is allocated to a particular food.   I can tell at a glance when I need to watch for a sale.    Moderation is the key.    Watching pull  dates is key.    No one needs a whole closet full of pop, or anything else for that matter. 

Two major things you can do to cut your food budget drastically and grow a stock is to

1) don't buy snack foods and drinks,   1/2 the average grocery cart is snacks and drinks,   Stick to coffee, tea and milk.  Give your children the RDA of milk a day including what they get in their cereal and in pudding etc,   And, don't buy chips and snack foods, especially the individual packages.

We buy tortilla chips in the big sack at Costco. Anything else has to come out of a entertainment budget.

2) shop two stores and shop the RBP..  Let your meal plans be dictated by the produce in season and the foods that are on a good sale.    Note that not everything listed on the "sale " ad is really on sale. 

Cereal bars

Cereal Bars 

An attractive to rice crispy treats 

3 cups oatmeal rounds ( like cheerios ) 

1/2 cup peanut butter 

1/4 cup honey 

1 cup white or chocolate chips 

1/2 cup nuts 

1/2 cup dried cranberries 

Mix all ingredients together. 

Place is greased 9 X 13 pan 

Chill for at last 30 minutes 

Cut into bars 

Store covered.  

This is more like a granola than it is like rice crispy treats.   Tastes good, but it is not sticking together.   

Fish Packets

A good, easy dinner fix that can be adjusted for peoples food preferences.


Layer on parchment paper square:

A spinach leaf or two or use a leaf of romaine.
A scoop of cooked rice
White fish portion
A green veggie:   Broccolli or green beans work

Seal packet.   Re wrap the parchment packet in foil.

Bake at 400 for 30 minutes.  Check fish for doneness.  

Clam chowder or potato soup in the insta pot.

This can easily be adapted to the stove top.

In the insta pot on sauté function, sauté  in oil until the bacon is cooked, and the celery is soft.
1T olive oil
1 celery rib , chopped
1 slice of bacon, cut into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces.

Turn off sauté mode.

Add 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
Six cups of potatoes, peeled and diced into 1 inch cubes
Salt and pepper
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp onion powder.

Cover, seal, and cook 25 minute on manual.
After the insta pot is done cooking, CAREFULLY de pressure.  USE a towel and an over mitt.  
Open the top away from you.  There will be steam.

Turn off the insta pot.
Use a blender stick to blend the soup.  Leave a few chunks.   (This step is optional)
Add enough milk or cream to reach desired consistency.

Garnish with parsley or cheese.  

For clam chowder.   Add the juice from the can of clams to the vegetable stock, and add the clams after the base has been made when you add the milk or cream.  

Note:   Half the amount of potatoes 🥔 took 10 minutes.  

Bullets: old salads, new again

Old salads we grew up with that can be new again .....

• Carrot and raisin 
• Pineapple and cottage cheese 
• Pear and cottage cheese with blue cheese in the hole 
• Apple and celery , with or without grapes 
• Jello with crushed pineapple, grated cucumber and green pepper.   (Lime jello) 
• Pear salad
• Cucumber and tomatoes with vinegar 
• Stuffed tomatoes 
• Tomatoes with a topping of breadcrumbs, parm, and basil - broil just until warmed and a little toasty.   
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