Days 14 and 15: Delicious dinner

Yesterday I didn't post because it was just a day of leftovers. However, I did make a super quick store run and got some great deals on stuff! Here is what I bought:

1 white peach (random I know, however, I had a coupon that printed out last trip to get a free one)

2 huge sweet potatoes

2.5 pounds of chicken breast tenders

a pack of hamburger buns priced at .50

6 discounted bananas (they were starting to get just a few spots on them, but spots just mean their sweeter and we LOVE them that way ;) )

 1 store brand Mtn. Dew (we have been drinking all water or milk at home so just a little caffeine was needed!)

Total: $8.54

Total thus far: $89.50 (Looking like we might not make it but now it's time to get creative!)

 Now, on to today!

Dinner tonight was fabulous! My husband and I were laughing and saying it felt like we were having a feast! We had delicious grilled chicken tenders, baked sweet potato chunks (sort of like fries), fresh green beans, biscuits, and fresh sliced tomatoes. The tomatoes came from a sweet couple at church. They brought a ton of them to give out at church from their garden and they are SOOOOO yummy!!! The biscuits... well... here comes the funny part. I had a coupon for a free chicken biscuit a little while back. I went to get my biscuit from Chickfila and since they were switching to serving lunch they had tons of leftover plain biscuits. The girl jokingly asked if I wanted them because they were just going to throw them away. I unjokingly said, "YES! I will take them ALL!!!" She loaded me up and I took them home and put them in the freezer. I popped one for my hubby and one for my 2yr old in the oven tonight for a few minutes and WOW! Hubby said they tasted fresh. :) Next time you are there ask if they have any! :)

So here is what I did for dinner:

Fresh Green Beans: (This is how my grandma taught me to make them and I LOVE them!)

*String and break 1 1/2- 2pounds of beans
*Place in a large pot and cover with water, make sure there is 2 inches more water than beans
*Let them boil/simmer on the stove covered for about 20mins than drain and place back in the pot with just enough water to cover the beans half way.
*Add 1 1/2 cubes of chicken bouillon crumbled and let the beans simmer and cook covered until the water is almost all gone and the beans are very tender.

"stringin'" my beans!

Baked Sweet Potato Bits

*1 very large sweet potato, peeled, and chopped into large bits, or you can slice them.
*Than add just enough olive oil to barely coat the sweet potatoes.
*lay the bits out onto a large pan and sprinkle with just a little sea salt and fresh ground pepper.
*Bake at 350 just long enough to make tender.
(You can also adapt this to make them a little crispy. To do that, you will need to increase the amount of olive oil and slice the sweet potato into very thin slices.)

Delicious and Easy Grilled Chicken Tenders: (They taste almost like the ones at Cracker Barrel)

*Mix about 1/3 cup of Italian dressing in a ziploc bag with 1Tbs of honey.
*Add 1 pound of chicken breast tenders to the mixture and let it marinate in the refrigerator for about an hour.
*Cook the chicken either on the grill or on a George Foreman style grill until done. About 15 mins.

So there you have it! Dinner! :)
Join me tomorrow as I plan our menu and stay tuned for some creative dishes to help us stay within our budget :)