$5 Dinner Challenge - Chicken Pot Pie

Erin over at $5 Dinners hosts a $5 Dinner Challenge - Check out Erin's blog and the other recipes you will find at $5 Dinners!

Chicken Pot Pie

This is a very forgiving recipe, feel free to change or add things!

*Shredded Chicken Breast (Cheap Chicken) $1.25 if I use the whole package
*1 package of frozen mixed veggies - $1 Cheap Trick - Save bits of left over veggies from previous meals in a ziplock bag in the freezer.
*1 can of cream of chicken soup or whatever you have on hand. I use the 98% Fat Free. - $1 - not on sale and no ad match! eep!
*Season to taste - I use Cavender's Greek Seasoning - .25 ?
*Cheese (optional) 1/2 cup - .65
*Biscuit recipe or Bisquick, mixed to a pourable consistency (add in a bit of garlic powder for extra flavor - you could even mix the cheese into the crust!). .50

Preheat oven to 400-425 degrees. Combine your first five ingredients in a lightly oiled casserole dish. Pour the biscuit "batter" or Bisquick over the top and bake until the biscuit topping is nicely browned. Approximately 35-45 minutes.

Total Cost $4.65

Master Dinner List

Disclaimer: Not all of these meals are healthy enough to be eaten on a regular basis and some are seasonal.

When I started meal planning, I decided I needed a Master List of all the dinners we eat. I can't tell you how much the list helps with planning. Especially when you just aren't in the mood to plan! lol

I try to cook at least one new dish each month and then we vote to see if it gets added to the list.

So, here it is... The List:

Baked Chicken Breast
BBQ Chicken & Calico Potatoes
Vegetable Beef Soup
Parmesan Chicken
Tuna Noodle Casserole
Red Beans & Rice
Meatloaf
Spaghetti
Tacos
Hamburgers
Pizza
Chili
Steak
BBQ Ribs
Potato Soup
Breakfast - Omelets
Breakfast - Bacon, eggs & pancakes
Ham & Beans
Chicken & Rice
Chicken & Dressing
Lasagna
Cashew Chicken
Pork Chops w/ cream of mushroom soup
Manwiches
Italian Sandwiches (my version of a sloppy Joe w/ an Italian twist -
Creamy Stuffed Shells
Swiss Steak
Roast
Taco Salad
Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken Alfredo w/ egg noodles
Fettuccini Alfredo
Baked Beans w/ Polish Sausage & Rice
Hamburger Steaks
Grilled Chicken Salad
Chicken Fajitas
Pork Chops w/ mushroom soup & cheese soup - crock pot
Deer Steak
Chicken & Rice Soup
Tomato Basil & Spinach Soup
Tortellini & Chicken salad
Enchiladas - Beef or Chicken
Jambalaya
Ham & Potatoes Au Gratin
Taco Soup
pork BBQ sandwiches
Chicken Pot Pie
Amazing Chicken
Black Bean & Rice Burritos
Pork Steaks
Chicken Breast w/pasta and marinara sauce
Chicken Sandwiches aka Chicken Burgers
Rotel Chicken & Rice
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Brown Sugar Chicken
Sweet & Sour Chicken
Souvlaki
Kona Chicken

As I share the recipes, I will try to remember to link them

Menu Plan Monday!

The P.D. is short staffed, so Tom's schedule is whacked! In addition to that, I am subbing at the school we plan to send Thomas to in the fall. So, our schedule is a mess.

Monday - I planned to go grocery shopping today, but was called in to sub. After work I picked up a gallon of milk and my must have item - Diet Coke. I thought we would have spaghetti for dinner tonight - I always have the stuff on hand to make spaghetti..... or almost always. I didn't have enough tomato sauce. No problem. I have a jar of alfredo stashed for just such an occasion. But, I didn't have enough spaghetti - This must be a joke - I NEVER run out of pasta.... well, almost never... So, just tossed together what I had. I cooked up some egg noodles, added some frozen peas at the end and drained. Added some seasoned hamburger meat and the jar of alfredo. It was pretty good. I don't know what to call it, so I am just going to call it dinner. :D

Tuesday - Kona Chicken that I didn't get to last week. It is a new recipe for us, we will see if it makes the list.

Wednesday - Potato Soup

Thursday - Cashew Chicken

Friday - Friday is easy, it is PIZZA DAY! Homemade pizza. I made it once and now there is no substitute.

Saturday - Enchiladas, probably chicken.

Sunday - Dinner with Nana & Papa

Planning how we spend our money - Budgeting.

Have you ever tried to be in two places at once? How did that work for you? It doesn't work for me. So, most of us have calendars, day planners, Blackberries and other tricks to make sure we don't "spend" the same time more than once. We plan how we spend our time. But we fail to plan how we spend our money. Then we wonder where all our money went and why don't we have enough left to do all those things we want and need to do. Money is like time, we can only spend it once and then it is gone.

We schedule work, activities, vacations and free time, but we don't do the same for our money. Why? Maybe it is because the word "budget" has such a negative connotation. It makes us feel deprived. It makes us feel "poor" to live on a budget. Why don't our calendars make us feel the same way? They make us feel powerful and organized. Well, the truth is, if you have a workable budget, it can make you feel powerful and organized.

If "budget" stirs up negative feelings for you, call it something else... Allocated Spending Plan, Money Plan, Spending Plan, Fred, Bob or George....whatever you want! It doesn't matter what you call it. It only matters that you plan how you spend your money - at least as well as you plan how you spend your time.

Don't be suprised if it takes a few months to develop an accurate, workable budget. Your first attempts at a calander were probably not as successful as you would have liked, but over time you got better at planning your time. The same applies to your money - you will over and under estimate how much you spend in different catagories. It just takes time and determination. Don't give up just because you didn't create a perfect budget from the very beginning. Just like any other skill, budgeting takes time to develop.

Homemade Laundry Soap

I am about 1/2 way through my first batch of homemade laundry detergent. Thus far, it seems to clean at least as well as the Purex brand I used to use. The only thing I miss is the scent of the store bought detergent.

1 quart Water (boiling)
1 bar of Fels Naptha (grated) - That was very hard to find!
2 cups Borax
2 cups Washing Soda
2 gallons of Water
1 bucket - a cat litter bucket works great!

Add finely grated bar soap to the boiling water and stir until soap is melted. You can keep on low heat until soap is melted.
Pour the soap water into a large, clean pail and add the Borax and Washing Soda. Stir well until all is dissolved. I used a large whisk. Add 2 gallons of water, whisk until well mixed.

Cover pail and use 1/4 cup for each load of laundry. The soap gelled up, so I used a whisk to break it up. According to the different recipes I have read, it should be stirred before each use, but since I whisked it up, it hasn't seemed to change consistency.

Cost break down:
(I can't remember the exact prices, so prices are approximate, but definitely rounded higher.)

Fels Naptha - $1.25
20 Mule Team Borax - $4.50 / 3 = $1.50
Washing Soda - $4.50 / 3 = $1.50

I should be able to get at least three and likely four batches out of the borax and washing soda, so I am dividing them by three. So $4.25 or less (very likely less) per batch. Each batch is 144 loads. It comes out to 0.0295138888888889, less than three cents per load.

Overall, I thought it was an interesting project and certainly a money saver, especially since the laundry detergent I was buying is steadily becoming more expensive.

Cheap Chicken

I processed all my split chicken breasts. I removed the skin and deboned each breast, then tossed the carcass with the tender into the stock pot - or in this case pots. I had three pots going on the stove at once.

I ended up with six 5.5 lb packages. I had seven, but Mom (who taught me how to price match) didn't manage to score any, so I gave her one - would have given her two, but she refused. Love you Mom! Most packages only had five breasts per package - they were big! I ended up with ten bags of three boneless skinless breasts. Five bags (approx. 2 cups each) of cooked shredded chicken. And last but not least, ten bags of broth (2 cups each).

The cost breakdown: Each package was 5.5 lbs and cost $3.14 @ .57 cents per pound. So, I got it all for $18.84 Roughly $1.25 per package and I should be able to get two meals out of each package. The broth, we will just count that as FREE!

It's funny, I wouldn't even let my Mom teach me how to cut up a whole chicken when I was a kid. I told her that I would buy my chicken already cut up! LOL Now, I prefer to buy it as unprocessed as possible. The less a food product has been handled, the fewer people have had their hands on it. And it saves money!

$5 Dinner Challenge

Erin at $5 Dinners has a Monday Night Challenge. Check it out!

Black Bean & Rice Burritos

1 onion, diced (.25)
1 tbs. oil
Black Beans - 2 cans, drained. I cook dried beans in the crock pot and package them in approximately 2 "cans worth". (.50)
Diced Tomatoes - 1 can (.50)
3 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoon ground cumin - cheap trick - buy in the bagged Mexican spices and pour into your empty container.
2 - 3 cups of cooked rice (.50)
Flour tortillas (1.50)
Cheese, cheddar 4 oz - I buy in bulk and repackage from Sam's (.65)
Sour cream (.50)

In a large skillet, sauté onion in oil until softened. Add the beans, tomatoes, garlic powder and cumin; heat through. Stir in the rice. Spoon about 1/3 cupful off-center on each tortilla. Top with cheese. Fold sides and ends over filling and roll up. Serve with sour cream.

$4.40 not counting spices. Cheap, healthy, easy and satisfying enough that my carnivore DH doesn't miss the meat!

Meal Planning

Planning is a huge part of saving at the grocery store! For me, the first step is having a "Master Dinner List". A list of all the meals we enjoy. Some will be seasonal or meals that we wouldn't have on a regular basis, but I include everything we eat on the list.

Some examples from my list:


Rotel Chicken & Rice
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Brown Sugar Chicken
Sweet & Sour Chicken
Souvlaki
Tomato Basil & Spinach Soup
Tortellini & Chicken Salad
Enchiladas - Beef or Chicken
Black Bean & Rice Burritos
Cashew Chicken
Meatloaf
Steak
Pizza
Hamburgers

I have over fifty items on the list and I try to add a new item at least once a month.

I collect all the local ads and see what meat items are on sale for the week and try to plan my menu around that and what I have stockpiled in the freezer. I also try to plan at least one meatless meal per week.

Before I developed my Master List, I would look at the ads and draw a blank. As a plus, I can give the list to DH and ask him what he would like next week. It adds a great deal of variety to our dinners. Studies show that without prior planning, most people eat the same ten meals 80% of the time. I know I would make spaghetti several times a month before the List. Now the only thing we have that frequently is pizza. Since I started making homemade pizza, we have instituted "Pizza Fridays".

I don't plan what day (except Friday) we are going to have particular meals so we have some flexability.

Pop Tart Deal at Wal-Mart

This week our local Wal-Mart had the NEW 20% daily value Fiber in Frosted Chocolate Fudge and Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon priced at $1.98 for the 8 pack. Each box had a $1.00 pull off coupon. I was able to combine this with price matching at 3/$5 making them $1.66 each, less the $1 coupon for a grand total of .66 per box.

Meal Planning Monday

This week's menu looks like this:
Rotel Chicken
Pizza
Kona Chicken (a new crockpot recipe we are trying)
Pork Steak
Chicken Pot Pie
Black Bean & Rice Burritos
Dinner with Nana & Papa



Thanks for reading!

Win a $25 Wal-Mart Gift Card

Erin over at $5 Dinners is giving away two $25 gift cards compliments of Wal-Mart. Who couldn't use an extra $25? Go! Sign up!

She has offered three entries to everyone! Good luck!

Oh, and while you are there, be sure to check out Erin's blog. You will find tons of great information.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

A few weeks ago, my son wanted a particular Hot Wheels toy at Wal-Mart. Even at four years old, we are trying to teach him to save his money for larger purchases. He didn't have quite enough money for the item he wanted, so I told him, "You need to save for a bit longer to get what you really want". He replied, "What I need is a coupon and a sale!" Wonder where he gets that? :D

I confess, it was hard not to just give him the extra couple of bucks, but I think we did the right thing.

Shopping at Wal-Mart

I know some people hate Wal-Mart. But, not everyone in these United States has the luxury of multiple stores from which to choose. The closest town with more than two grocery stores is almost 40 miles from here. But, I can and do save a lot of money by shopping at Wal-Mart. None of the stores here double coupons, so if you are in an area with lots of choices and they double coupons, you might do better elsewhere.

Wal-Mart price matches. So, I can collect the ads from neighboring towns and WM will sell me their sale ad items for the same price. You have to match size and brand exactly, except in the case of store brands like "Best Choice" or "Always Save", then WM will sell you their store brand "Great Value" for the other store's price.

This week a local store had split chicken breasts on sale for .57 lb. That is correct. Fifty-seven cents per pound. So far, I have bought five packages.** I debone the chicken breasts (discarding the skin) and package them to freeze. Since I am not great at deboning, I put tender and bones in a stock pot and boil with some onion, celery and carrot. I pull out the meat and pick it off the bones - great for chicken noodle soup, chicken salad - anything you would use canned chicken for and it tastes so much better. Strain the stock and you will never have to pay for chicken broth again. I just freeze it in a ziplock type bag. Easy Peasy.

The best way to get the most bang for your buck at WM is to match coupons with your price matching. This week Ritz crackers (that the boy LOVES and his mommy is usually too cheap to buy - lol) were $2.98 at WM. Country Mart had them on sale two for $5. And I had a coupon for $2 off two. My price? $1.50 per box. Almost half price.

Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner. It can't remember the exact price, but it was over $3. This week another store had them 2/$5 and I had a $3 off two. That is $1.00 each. Cheaper than Suave!

** I didn't buy all five packages at once and I didn't take all they had. I will make at least one other trip this week to WM - when we go to church - I can't make special trips to town for just chicken - lol. We are fifteen miles from the nearest town.

Saving money is better than earning more money.

I always thought, if we needed more money, well, we could just earn more. It wasn't until I wanted to stay home with our son that I learned saving money is better than earning more. Why is saving money better than earning more? Taxes. If I need $100 more per month, then I need to earn $100 PLUS about 15 to 25 percent more to make up for the taxes. If I shave $100 out of my current budget, then all I need is $100.