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 :)

Day 13: BBQ!!! :)

BBQ chicken on a baked potato with butter and sour cream, Coleslaw, and oranges :)

Today I made barbeque chicken, coleslaw, and baked potatoes. A while back some good friends of mine introduced me to eating bbq on baked potatoes and since I can't have wheat it works out just perfect! :) Just dress your potato with what you like (mine is butter and sour cream) than put bbq on top and enjoy.

Pulled/chopped BBQ Chicken
About 2 lbs of Chicken or desired meat
1 onion
optional garlic
1/2-1 bottle of your favorite bbq sauce

I took the remainder (which was also the majority) of the whole chicken I bought on my last grocery trip and put it in the crock pot with a whole sliced onion. I put a few cloves of garlic in there but I think the only thing it really did was just make the house smell stinky... LOL :)
I cooked it on low all night (8hrs). Than in the morning before church I took the bones out. The chicken will literally just fall apart when touched so the bones are super easy to get out, just make sure you get them all out! After you debone the chicken chop it (again, really easy because it's so tender).

After that empty half a bottle or whatever the desired amount of bbq sauce is into the crockpot of chopped chicken. Mix and enjoy :) I just put it in the fridge for after church.

Easy Coleslaw
1 bag of coleslaw mix
1 cup of lowfat mayo
1/3 cup of sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
Fresh cracked pepper

Mix all ingredients but the coleslaw mix in a bowl. After the ingredients are mixed to make the dressing, pour over coleslaw and mix. Crack some fresh pepper over the top and mix more. Than enjoy! :) I personally don't add the whole amount because I like mine just a little wet, otherwise it's too sweet for me. This is just a rough quick recipe that I use sometimes :)

Day 12: Leftovers and a little Nostalgia

Today was a leftovers day. We finished the deli meat at lunch time and moved on to our chicken noodle soup leftovers for dinner. As I was thinking and planning for this next week's meals I came across something interesting... Here is a little background and something about me first...

I grew up on my grandparents farm and was always surrounded by fresh foods. In the spring and summer they grew a garden and worked to can and freeze enough for the winter. They had cows, and chickens for eggs and meat. I loved following the chickens around the farm with my sister to find where they were laying their eggs. Many times it led us to the barn and up into the bails of hay. This than led to a playful little game of jumping hay bails (if you have never done this, you are soooo missing out ;) ). The farm that my grandparents have has been in our family for years and years and belonged to my great grandparents who's old "home house" as my granddad called it, was ordered from a Sears catalog. They lived and worked hard to make a living and to have food for their family. I love to hear stories from the past and one thing that is really intriguing to me is recipes and cooking styles handed down through generations.

It's interesting to look back and see how our cooking and eating has evolved just in the past few decades. Tonight we are going to look at the simplicity of food from the great depression and this week we will dawn our mouths with the flavors of one of it's meals. I want you guys to watch a great video of sweet little Clara. She is in her 90's and has a recipe book full of her family's old Depression recipes. The video tonight is showing you how to make salad from a "weed." I have always heard of Dandelion salad and even seen it on a menu at an expensive restaurant but I have never had it myself. I think I might have to actually experiment with this. Please watch, enjoy, and appreciate the simplicity of food tonight. :)

Day 11: "The Stomach Bug..."

So today was a GREAT day! We went to visit my Daddy, Stepmom, and my little brother and sister. After we had lunch I took the boys to my Grandma's house and spent a fabulous afternoon there! :)
As soon as I pulled out of my Grandmother's driveway my 2year old got sick.... I will spare you the details beyond that point but what an ending to the day...

So even though I had barbeque planned for dinner, it was time to improvise... I had all the ingredients except a few to make some yummy chicken noodle soup. I had to go to the store anyway to get milk and bananas so off I went. I guess the barbeque will have to wait until tomorrow night but in the mean time here is on of my chicken noodle soup recipes when it just needs to be quick and easy! :) Enjoy!!!

Easy Speedy Chicken Noodle

1 tbs of butter
1 small chopped onion
1/2 cup of celery
1 cup of chopped carrots
49ozs (1 large can) of Chicken Broth
14.5ozs (1 regular size can) of Vegetable Broth
1/2 pound of cubed or shredded cooked chicken
1 1/2 cups of dry egg noodles
1/2 tsp of Basil
1/2 tsp of Oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Mix in carrots, onions, and celery and cook until they are just a little tender. Next pour in the chicken and vegetable broth along with the noodles, chicken, oregano, and basil. Salt and pepper it to taste (I do just a pinch of sea salt and a couple grinds of pepper). After the soup gets to a rapid boil, turn it down to a simmer and let it cook for 20mins. Enjoy! :)

Yummy veggies :) I love the colors!!!

Time to enjoy! Delicious!!!!

So there it is, some fabulous chicken noodle soup :) I am going to freeze half of it in a gallon ziploc and save it for another night toward the end of the challenge. Now for the rundown of what I got at the store:

1 gallon of milk
1 large can of chicken broth
1 regular can of vegetable broth
a pack of egg noodles
a jar of peanut butter
6 bananas
a pack of cherry tomatoes that were marked down to .50!!! :)

Total: $14.63
Total spent so far: $80.96 (Yikes!)