Meals on a dime
Well, not actually a dime, but I’ve decided to plan our meals in order to try and save money. Is anyone else finding themselves not having as much spending cash with the cost of gas, which has also increased the price of…well, everything? So, right now, I have the next three nights planned. By our next pay cycle, I’m going to have 10 meals planned, saving the weekends for things like pizza or whatever.
I took the recipes from Top Chef. This week’s episode was cooking meals with kids for under $10! The top three finalists’ recipes sounded awesome, so we’re trying it out.
Day 1
Pasta Putanesca (it’s cooking as I type)
Ingredients: 1 carrot, 1 onion, olive oil, 1 garlic clove, basil, 1 large can crushed tomatoes, pasta of choice.
Directions: Sweat carrot and onion in drizzle of olive oil. Add garlic clove, basil stems & crushed tomatoes. Let cook for 45 minutes on low, stirring often. (I added a few green olives to make it more authentic) Mix with cooked pasta and serve.
(in the future, I’d shred the carrots instead of chopping-they were just too big.
Day 2
Roasted Chicken with Apple & Mixed Vegetable
Ingredients:
Chicken (they call for thighs and drums- we will use thighs and breasts), 1/4 c olive oil, 3 large carrots-sliced, 12 garlic cloves-peeled, 1 yellow onion- julienned, 1 large apple-chopped, 1 pint Brusels sprouts-halved.
Directions: In a large skillet, season the chicken with salt & pepper and olive oil. Sear in hot pan to brown and place in the oven (in large pan). Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Add the carrots and garlic cloves. Cook for 15 minutes. Add the onions, apples & brussels sprouts. Veggies and chicken should be cooked in 45 minutes, but check the thighs to make sure.
This recipe has a side dish of cucumber & tomato salad. Mix cucumber & grape tomatoes in a salad bowl with olive oil and red wine vinegar. Season with salt, pepper and chopped fresh herbs (parsley, basil and thyme). Add chopped onion.
Day 3
Stir Fry Whole Wheat Noodles (this was the winner)
Ingredients:
Small package of whole wheat noodles, 1 lb chicken breasts, 1/2 bunch bok choy- chopped, 1 red bell pepper- chopped, 1/2 onion-chopped, 1 cup edamame, drizzle of teriyaki.
Directions: Cook & blanch noodles. Saute chicken & vegetables. Add some teriyaki to deglaze. Stir fry noodles with teriyaki & vegetables & chicken.
Other than the chicken breasts, parsley & thyme (which I had), all of the ingredients cost a little under $30. Not only was it cheap, the kids get to help!
Stay tuned to see how it all tastes!
Look yum, Beck. I need to do this again!
I’ve been doing this Menus 4 Moms email thing. It’s not as gourmet as Top Chef. They send you a Monday - Friday menu with recipes and a grocery list of things under a $100 each week for four servings each meal.
They also incorporate some stuff into the weekly shopping list to build staples for your pantry and freezer. It’s kind of cool so far and has REALLY brought down the ol’ grocery bill (if you don’t count the baby food!).
Apparently they have lunch and breakfast menus too, but we use leftovers from dinner for lunch and are cereal eaters for breakfast.
There’s a premium email you have to pay for - we just use the basic free one and the recipes have been yummy so far.
It’s at menus4moms.com
Click on Dinner Menu Plans and it will take you to this week’s menus and then have links to shopping lists and next week’s menus.
I promise they don’t pay me or anything to recommend it……just something that’s helping out this mom’s purse!
Planning your meals to save money is a great idea!! I try to do the same, but it is hard to stick to sometimes when you have had a long day and do not feel like cooking when you get home.
These look delicious though!