Day 23 - January 26, 2014: Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Coleslaw

My husband makes THE BEST pulled pork.  He uses a bbq rub that consists of just paprika, kosher salt, coarsely ground black pepper, garlic powder, and dry mustard.  He adds 1 tbsp of liquid smoke and sets the slow cooker to 8 hours on low.  After about an hour, the house smells wonderful and then we all have to wait another 7 hours to eat the delicious thing, which is probably the hardest part about making this meal.

Here is what we used:
3-pound Boston butt pork roast: $6.17
1/2 bag mixed slaw: $1.00
3 tbsp of Marie's prepared slaw dressing: $0.75
1 bag of take and bake rolls: $1.99
Total: $9.91

Before:

 

After:

Verdict:
Did I mention that my husband makes THE BEST pulled pork???  The verdict is that I can't wait to have the leftovers tomorrow :o)

Day 22 - January 25, 2014: Not much

We were running around so much yesterday that we didn't have a family dinner.  My daughter had a class in the morning, we had a play date in the afternoon, and another one in the evening.  For lunch, we grabbed a gyro and a souvlaki off a food truck ($16) and split those by 4.  And this is what the kids asked for at 5:00 pm, before we ran out the door again at 5:30...

Cheap dinner; certainly less than $10 :o)

Day 21 - January 24, 2014: Pumpkin Penne with Sausage (Rachael Ray)

On Friday night, I made one of our favorite meals.  Here is the link to the original recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/pasta-with-pumpkin-and-sausage-recipe.html

I didn't have time to pick up the fresh sage or garlic, which cut down on cost, both in ingredients and gas used to get to the supermarket.  I also use more pumpkin than the recipe calls for (about 1 1/2 cups) and I always get half sweet Italian and half hot Italian sausage.
So, this is what I spent:
Penne: $0.79 (yes, it was a really great sale; unfortunately, they limited me to 6 boxes, so I'll have to make it back to the store before tonight, to buy some more)
Sausage: $2.22 ( a little over a pound)
Wine: $1.25
Pumpkin: $0.99
Chicken Broth: $0.60
Onion: $0.20 (I only used about half of the medium onion)
Heavy Cream: $0.25? ( I used 2 Tbsp instead of 3, like the recipe says)
Condiments and Parmesan: ??, no more than $1, I'm guessing...
Total: less than $7.30

I added a green salad on the side for about another dollar, so I guess I should count that, too :)

 

Bon Appétit!

Verdict:
Caution: This makes A LOT of food!  Which, in our case, is good, because we love it so much that everyone always eats 2 portions of this.  My son only had one, but he is still working on an ear infection, so he just wasn't up for chewing too much.  And we still had 2 portions left, that my daughter and I shared with a friend after we got back from open gym last night.  Our friend liked it, too. 

Day 20 - January 23, 2014: Honey Balsamic Glazed Chicken with Broccoli and Rice

Tonight was the night for the family pack of chicken thighs I got at the $5 sale last week.  So I got one of those little recipe cards for chicken thighs from a local store and went for it.  Here is what I used for tonight's dinner:

I rubbed the grilled chicken seasoning over the chicken thighs and placed them in a pan, then baked the chicken at 375°F for 45 minutes, glazed it with honey and balsamic vinegar and some garlic and let it bake for another 7 minutes.  I drizzled a little more honey and vinegar over it right before serving.  While the chicken was in the oven, I steamed the broccoli (a little too much, unfortunately) and tossed it with some butter and shredded Parmesan.  Then I heated up one of those Minute Ready to Serve things.  THAT was a huge mistake.  The only reason I bought it was because our store had triple coupon week and I had a 75¢ coupon, so I only paid 26¢ for two.  Turns out, even that's too much to pay for something nobody likes and that you end up throwing away.  When will I ever learn?

Here is the breakdown for tonight's dinner:
Chicken thighs: $3.50 ( I made 7 and froze the remaining 3 - they didn't fit into the pan anymore)
Broccoli: $1.99
Honey: $0.80
Rice: $0.13
1 1/2 tbs of vinegar, a few shakes of seasoning, a pinch of freeze dried garlic, 1 tbs of Parmesan, and 1 1/2 tsp of butter: negligible
Total: $6.42

Verdict:
Aside from the rice, we all liked it.  The kids loved the chicken - my daughter finished her brother's, too.  My husband came home late and got stuck with the leftovers.  He thought the chicken was a bit sweet, but still had two pieces, so clearly, it couldn't have been TOO sweet ;o)

Day 19 - January 22, 2014: Takeout

Okay, I am going to admit that I got takeout last night.  I was on my way home around 6 pm, the kids were hungry, my husband was working late and I didn't feel like cooking.  Does that sound like a bad combination yet?  If not, it will once I admit to where I got "dinner" from.  Hardees.  Yup, you read that right.  We got some burgers and fries.  For dinner.  It tasted okay; not as special as I remembered it from craving it during a pregnancy 7 years ago, but okay.  We spent more than twice as much as we would have had we opted for a nutritious, home-cooked meal.  The only proud mommy moment in all this was that my 6-year-old had to explain to my 3-year-old what a drive-thru was, as he didn't remember the one or two other times he's ever been through one. 

Day 18 - January 21, 2014: Slow Cooker Beef Stew

I had bought some stew meat at the $5 sale last week.  So, I decided to make stew and use up some of the stuff in my refrigerator, like the celery that I bought to make tuna or egg salad 3 weeks ago, which I never ended up making.  Then I looked up a stew recipe (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-beef-stew-i/) and lined up my ingredients:

As you can see, I used only about 1/2 the amount of meat and threw in more veggies and potatoes to make up for it and to make it under $10.  And here is the list of ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of beef broth: $1.30
1.25 pounds of beef: $5.00
5 red potatoes: $0.50
1 yellow onion: $0.70
5 carrots: $0.25 (the 1 pound bag was $0.49 at Aldi!!)
Brussel Sprouts (2 handfulls?): $1.32
4 stalks of celery: $0.89
Condiments needed for recipe: negligible
Total: $9.96

I made it according to the directions on allrecipe.com and this is what I got:

Verdict:
Good taste overall.  The meat was a little dry but it was the perfect dish for today's snow day.

Day 17 - January 20, 2014: Meatless Monday

Looks like I have some catching up to do on my posts tonight...

Last night, we had a delicious dinner, inspired by a dish that I recently had at my friend Maria's house.  She had made farro with roasted butternut squash, zucchini, pine nuts, and beans.  So I tried to re-create her recipe last night.  Here are the ingredients I used:

1 cup of farro: $1.20
1 can of white beans: $1.19
1 Butternut squash: $0.79
2 zucchinis: $1.70
1 handfull of roasted pumpkin seeds: $0.35
Herbs (I used some freeze-dried basil) and EVOO: negligible
Total: $5.23

I tossed the cubed butternut squash in EVOO and herbs and roasted it for about 20 minutes by itself, then added the cubed zucchini and roasted it for another 20 minutes, at 325°F.  Next time I will definitely use a higher temperature, but I made banana bread at the same time, so I was trying to kill two birds..  In the meantime, I cooked the farro according to the directions on the package.  I left it all sitting on the stove and, when we got home at 6:50 pm, I heated everything up, including the rinsed beans, tossed in the pumpkin seeds and served it with some shredded Parmesan on top at 7:10 pm.  Only 10 minutes behind schedule :o)

Verdict:
It was a little different than Maria's, but still very yummy.  Maybe it was the pumpkin seeds.  I think she used pine nuts.  My husband loved this dish.  The kids weren't crazy about it, but they ate about half their portions; I think so they could get banana bread ;o) 

Day 16 - January 19, 2014: Leftover Spaghetti

I went to a hot yoga class this evening.  The first and last time I did hot yoga was in 2006 and clearly, and it wasn't a great experience back then; otherwise, I probably would have gone back sooner than 2014 ;o) 
But I thought I'd give it another shot tonight: Much better class, but not something I could see myself making my go-to workout.

Anyway, when I got home, the last thing I wanted to do was cook, so my sweet husband slaved over the stove for 10 minutes and cooked up some fresh spaghetti, while the left-over sauce from Friday night heated up.  It was even better than Friday night, I think.  However, that may only be because I was so darn hungry from not eating for a couple of hours before the yoga class and then actually doing the 1 1/2 hours of yoga.  Or maybe my husband cooked the spaghetti with more love.  Or the fact that it was basically a free dinner, save the $0.50 for another 1/2 box of pasta.  Probably all of the above.

Day 15 - January 18, 2014: Charlene's Chicken Broccoli Casserole

Last night we had Chicken Broccoli - I had made it on Friday night, because the chicken also had a sell-by date of the 20th.  Here are the ingredients I used.  The recipe is actually from my Mother-in-law's friend Charlene; the only difference is that I used fresh broccoli and, at my Mother-in-law's suggestion, Panko crumbs instead of regular bread crumbs.  So, this is my, slightly adapted, recipe:

Preheat oven to 350.

Melt 2 Tbs. butter in bottom of a 13x 9 dish

Put 1lb. bag of cut-up, fresh broccoli in the bottom of dish.

Cook 4 to 5 chicken breasts (I poached them in the chicken broth), shred into pieces and layer that on top of broccoli.

Mix together 1 lg can of cream of mushroom soup

1 cup of light mayonnaise

2 Tbs. of lemon juice

Layer over top of broccoli and chicken.

In a measuring cup in microwave or on top of stove melt half stick of butter and add bread crumbs till good consistency.

Then sprinkle on top of mixture.... bake for 45 min..... that’s it..... really easy.

Broccoli crowns: $1.18 ($0.99/pound)
Chicken breasts: $4.95
Chicken broth to cover the chicken breasts during poaching: $2.29
Panko breadcrumbs: $0.99
Mayonnaise: $0.50
Cream of mushroom soup: $1.79??  I don't remember, but I can't find my receipt, so this number is totally made up, based on the fact that I got this at Aldi's and their stuff is usually much cheaper than any other store's...
2 tbsp of lemon juice: negligible
Total: $11.70

More than $10, but I knew that going in.  The fact is: This makes enough for 2 dinners, and I could have halved the recipe to be come in under budget, but with a feverish little kid all weekend, I'm glad I didn't.  Look at how much this recipe yields:

Verdict:
This is yummy, really rich and NOT low-cal.  It will definitely satisfy that craving you had for comfort food!  Twice!  At less than 6 Bucks a pop!  Can't beat it.

Day 14 - January 17, 2014: "Whatever needs to leave your refrigerator" Spaghetti

I will start this post by admitting that I hardly ever look at a calendar for the date.  I should, but I don't.  As a stay-at-home mom, it is much more important to know which day of the week it is, so the correct child gets sent to the correct school on the correct weekday with the correct books and uniform pieces.  So, I walked around all day believing it was the 19th today.  I found a great meat sale at a local store - $5 per package if you buy 3, so I bought ground round that would have normally been over $8, stew meat ($2 off) and a family sized package of chicken thighs (originally $14.40!).  The caveat: Everything but the chicken thighs had a sell-by date of January 20th on it.  I still had chicken breast in my refrigerator with the same sell-by date.  It was such a great deal though!  So I bought all this meat anyway, mentally prepping for a night of cooking several meals.  After tonight's dinner was done and tomorrow's dinner was in the oven, my husband casually mentioned that today was the 17th, and that someone with whom he went to elementary school had a birthday today.  I realize that this last piece of information has nothing to do with this blog, but I already made the effort to type it, so there you are: Happy Birthday Scott!
Anyway, the 17th... WHAT??  The 17th???  That means I have 3 (three) days to make the stew!  I have just been given the gift of time!!!

So, this is what we had for dinner tonight, before we threw it all into a pan and served it over spaghetti:

Spaghetti: $0.99
Mushrooms: $0.59 (Aldi Produce Pick)
1 Zucchini: $0.60
1/2 Onion: $0.15
1 Jar of Pasta Sauce: $2.00 (2 for $4 sale at our local grocery store this week; for that amount, I really don't want to spend the time to make the sauce from scratch)
1 1/2 pounds of Ground Round: $5.00
Total: $9.33

After browning the meat with the chopped onion, I added the chopped mushrooms and zucchini, then the sauce.  Served over cooked pasta, with some shaved Parmesan cheese on top.

DONE!
And, might I add: YUMMY!  The kids pretty much finished everything that was on their plates, my husband had two servings.  I added some crushed red pepper to mine.  I usually use spicy basil pasta sauce when I use the jarred kind, so I was missing the kick in this sauce.

Day 13 - January 16, 2014: Lentil Stew - Finally

So, after the little crisis from Day 12, we finally got to enjoy our lentil stew last night (Day 13 of the challenge).  Anyway, I owe you the ingredient list and the pictures, I know.  Here is the before picture:

Ingredients:
1 can of diced tomatoes: $0.59
1 bag of baby carrots: $1.29
1 cup of dry lentils (I used red lentils, but any color is fine): $1.00
1 package of chicken sausage: $3.99
2 cups of beef broth: $1.75
about 4 1/2 oz of baby spinach (The original recipe calls for more, but this was all I had left and, if I haven't mentioned it already, my kids really dislike leafy vegetables, so I put in less just to reduce my headache later.): $1.80
Total: $10.42 - OOOPS!

Directions:
I made it exactly like Stephanie O'Dea suggests on her blog crockpot365.blogspot.com.  Well, not exactly, I guess; otherwise, it would have been done after 4 hours...  But I have made it exactly like she says in the past and it always turned out great!  And here is the after picture:

Verdict:
Once it was finally done, it was delicious, even warmed up a day later!

Day 12 - January 15, 2014: Lentil Stew... or sandwiches

So, tonight I made this lentil stew, which is one of our favorites around here:
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2011/10/sausage-and-lentil-stew-slow-cooker.html

I put everything into the crock pot at 3 pm, and it's still cooking at 10 pm.  I don't know why.  I suspect it's because I didn't chop up the carrots as much as I normally do, or because I am using a different crock pot today, or because I set it the temperature to low instead of high, or because this new bag of lentils is bad, or because it was cold today, or because the sky is blue.  Really, any of those things could have done it, but it was very likely a combination of several of them.

Realizing that dinner was not going to ready before the kids' bedtime, I improvised.  I made sandwiches (their third sandwich of the day, poor kiddos) and fried up the last couple of noodles with some egg and s+p.  They also each got a string cheese and a fresh pear.  Dinner?  Done!  Sometimes, you gotta just roll with the punches.

Day 11 - January 14, 2014: Tilapia Sandwiches

Tonight was one of those nights where things had to go fast.  So, instead of trying to find the recipe that I was actually going to make, I opted for breaded tilapia fillets served in warm rolls with lettuce and tomato instead.  Trader Joe's has some decent frozen fish, which is not expensive and doesn't have 10 ingredients one can't pronounce.  I usually get their "Battered Halibut" for this recipe, but that's $8.99 for the box, instead of $5.99.  So, in order to stay under my $10 goal, I tried out the "Panko breaded Tilapia Fillets" and I think I will get them again sometime.  They did work well with this.

So, here is what I spent on tonight's dinner:
TJ's panko breaded tilapia fillets: $5.99
Aldi's dinner rolls: $1.99
ca. 2/3 tub of spring mix greens: $0.90
1/4 cucumber: $0.12
1 tomato: $0.78
Total: $9.78

I tossed the greens, sliced cucumber and tomato, in an olive oil vinaigrette, baked the tilapia and the rolls according to the instructions and assembled everything as such:

Verdict:
My husband and I liked it.  We each had about 3 servings of salad.  Yes, that's because my kids are very much anti-salad, unless it's fruit salad.  So they picked out the cucumber and tomato and my husband and I had all the leafy greens to ourselves.  Though the kids liked the fish sandwiches - without greens but with mayo, please.

Day 10 - January 13, 2014: Baked Acorn Squash

I just returned from a weekend away.  It was nice to not have to cook for 3 days, but it definitely created a hole in my otherwise so nicely laid out food budget for this month ;o)

I still had 1 pound of Italian sausage from Thursday's dinner left, so I used that and couscous to stuff some acorn squash. 

Ingredients:
3 Acorn squash @ 69 cents each: $2.07 (I made an extra one for my husband's lunch on Tuesday)
1 pound ground Italian sausage: $1.99
3 green onions: $0.25
1 cup of couscous: $0.50
fresh grated parmesan: $0.20?
Total: $5.01

I was short on time tonight, so I microwaved the squash for 3 minutes first.  Then, I cut the squash in half, scooped out the seeds and baked it at 400 degrees F for 40 minutes (upside down in a little water).  Since the sausage was already browned, it just needed to be warmed up and mixed with the couscous, prepared according to package directions (yes, with the 2 tablespoons of butter, because fat tastes good...).
I mixed the sausage and the couscous and filled my acorn squash halves, added a sprinkle of sliced green onion and grated parmesan on top.

Verdict: Yummy!  I added spice to mine (Have you ever heard of "Slap ya mama"? - It's from New Orleans and my friend Maria suggested it to me.  It goes on everything that needs a little kick).  The kids ate a healthy portion each.  I wanted to serve a green salad on the side (since I found organic greens at Aldi today for $1.19), but didn't have to time to make one.  Oh well.  Tomorrow.  Maybe.

Day 9 - January 9, 2014: Sausage, Kale, and Cranberry Pasta

Tonight's recipe came from Rachael Ray.  Here is the link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/sausage-kale-and-cranberry-pasta-recipe/index.html

I actually pretty much follow the recipe on this one, except for that I use less onion and more cranberry sauce.  I used to have to run the kale through the food processor, so my kids would eat this dish.  But now, even the 3-year-old is okay with leafy vegetables in his food most of the time, so I don't bother anymore.  Here is what I spent on these ingredients:

Pasta: $1.29
Whole berry cranberry sauce: $1.99
1 pound mixed Italian bulk sausage: $1.99
1/2 red onion: $0.50
3 garlic cloves: $0.10
1 bunch Kale: $0.99
Total: $6.86

Verdict:
Mmmmm-m-m, awesome!  Luckily, my husband loves this dish, so I can tell myself that I made it specially for him on the eve of his birthday.  Not for me at all.  I don't even like pasta, definitely not like this.  Now, after 2 1/2 (albeit small) helpings, is it wrong that I wanted to lick the bowl???

Day 8 - January 8, 2014: German potato salad with polish sausage

Tonight, I used this:

1 bag Yukon potatoes: $1.49
8 eggs: $1.00
4 polish sausages: $2.00 (they were on sale and now I know why: They were so so so bad!  I should have sprung for Hebrew Nationals since it only happens about 4 times a year that I serve anything resembling hot dogs in our house.  But for the sake of this blog, I forgot about the sake of my body - live and learn!)
Mayo: ~$1.40
1 1/2 apples: $0.80
ca. 10 gherkins: $1.80 (don't get the sweet ones - that was my second buying mistake.  Although, to be fair, my husband brought these back from the store; I was just too cheap to get a second jar of something else when I was out today)
1 tbsp mustard
Total: $8.49

To make this:

I hard-boiled the eggs and (I guess soft-)boiled the potatoes, peeled and diced the apples, diced the gherkins, added 2 tbsps of chopped yellow onion and mixed it all together.  Then I squirted about half the bottle of mayo on it, the mustard, s+p and mixed some more.  I simmered the polish sausages according to the directions on the package.

Verdict:
The potato salad was alright (reminder: no sweet gherkins next time!) and satisfied my craving for authentic German food.  However, it is really heavy, so less than my portion probably would have satisfied my craving just the same.  Or, maybe if I hadn't wasted space in my stomach for that half of a god-awful "polish sausage" (really, it didn't even taste like a real hot dog, let alone a polish sausage), I wouldn't feel like I need some sort of aquavit now.  Live and learn?  Let's hope so ;o)

Day 7 - January 7, 2014: Spaghetti with langostinos, asparagus, baby spinach and sun-dried tomatoes

The kids and I were on our own for dinner tonight because my husband was working late.  That usually means some kind of pasta dish, because, well, pasta is awesome.  I still had the other half of the asparagus from the baked potato day in the refrigerator, so I knew I was going to use that.  I also found an unopened package of sun-dried tomatoes in the cabinet, which probably should have been eaten a little sooner than 3 months past the sell-by date, but who's counting?  And, with a short soak in hot water, the tomatoes looked and tasted as good as new.

So, here are all the ingredients (I have to totally guess on what I spent on the sun-dried tomatoes - my grocery price memory only last about 6 months and I clearly bought these way before that date):

1/2 package of thin spaghetti: $0.45
2-3 handfulls of langostinos (I used about 1/3 of the frozen package from TJs): $4.00
1/2 bunch asparagus: $1.50
1/4 bag of baby spinach (you should use more, but my kids are not terribly crazy about spinach, so our version was definitely on the lighter side of spinach): $0.50
1/2 oz sun-dried tomatoes: $0.50 (total guess, based on a $2.99 price for 3 oz that I literally pulled out of thin air...)
1/4 of a ball of mozzarella: $0.67
a handfull of roasted pumpkin seeds (I paid $2.99 for the whole bag, so...): $0.35?
evoo, s+p: negligible
Total: $7.97

Cook pasta according to package directions.  In a pan, sauté first asparagus in 1 Tbsp evoo for about 3 minutes, then add spinach, langostinos, and sun-dried tomatoes at the same time.  Sauté about 2 more minutes, just until spinach wilts a little.  Turn off flame and toss with spaghetti and roasted pumpkin seeds and another tbsp of evoo.  Divide among 4 plates and add a few slivers of mozzarella to each.  Add s+p as you wish.

Verdict: Really really yummy!  This is definitely a keeper.  As a matter of fact, it was so good that I may have eaten my husband's portion after the kids went to bed.  But if he asks, I left the door open and a raccoon came in...

Day 6 - January 6, 2014: Pork medallions with mushrooms, twice-baked potato, and swiss chard

Today was probably the coldest day I've ever experienced.  I was outside for a total of 20 seconds - once to throw the dismantled Christmas tree on the porch and once to bring the broom inside that was still sitting out from the day before.  Brrrrr!

So, we needed comfort food.

The other day, I baked 4 extra potatoes.  Those became twice-baked potatoes tonight.  Soooo good.  Here is everything I used to make dinner tonight:

4 once-baked potatoes: $0.28
1 pork tenderloin: $4.89
1 bag of swiss chard: $1.99
1/4 yellow onion: $0.20
1 container white mushrooms: $1.00
1 oz Vermont with cheddar: $0.65
1 oz butter: $0.20?
a splash of red wine: $0.30?
a splash of heavy cream: $0.25?
Total: ~$9.76

Here is what I did with everything:
While the oven was preheating to 400 degrees F, I scooped out the insides of the potatoes, microwaved them for 90 seconds and then mixed the warm insides with the butter and the cheese and a sprinkle of smoked paprika.  I filled the potatoes back up and put them into the oven for 30 minutes.  During that time, I cleaned and sliced the mushrooms and diced the onion.  I sautéed the onion in evoo for a couple of minutes, then added the chard and a splash of vegetable broth.  Put the cover on and waited 15 minutes - done, with the aid of s+p and some freshly ground nutmeg.  While the chard was cooking, I sliced the pork tenderloin into disks and sautéed those in some oil until cooked through, but slightly pink in the middle.  I took them out just before the chard was done, covered them in aluminum foil and let them rest while sautéeing the mushrooms in the pan.  When the mushrooms were starting to get soft, I added a splash of red wine; about a minute later, I added a splash of cream.  Now I just had to arrange everything on plates and call the troops to the table - that would prove to be the hard part of dinner ;o)

Verdict:
The twice-baked potatoes turned out phenomenally!  I had never made twice-baked potatoes before and I have to say, I was pretty impressed with the result ;o)  The meat and mushrooms were very yummy, too, but once I tasted the chard, I suddenly remembered why I'm not a fan.  Even though I have certainly had chard that was much more bitter in taste than this one, I could still detect a hint of bitterness in it.  It wasn't bad, but will probably not become a staple in our house.  The kids, of course, only tasted the bitterness.  So, I added honey to theirs and they both ate about half of their portions.  Now, that's how I could eat chard more often, too!

Day 5 - January 5, 2014: Grilled Brie Sandwiches and Salad

Okay, to tell you the truth: I messed up today.  I was originally going to make something completely different.  But time got away from me, so I threw this together at the last minute.

Ingredients:
Brie: $2.69
1/2 loaf of bread: $1.50
1/2 bag of baby spinach: $1.00
1 apple: ~$1.00
1/2 cucumber: $0.75
1/8 red onion: $0.10
A handfull of cherry or grape tomatoes: $0.50
2 tbsp evoo and balsamic vinegar for the dressing: negligible
Total: $7.54

Recipe:
Assemble sandwiches; I put the sliced Brie on first, then the sliced apple, and spinach last, but I'm not sure the order matters.  Heat butter in skillet and add sandwich; brown from both sides.  Throw salad together while sandwich is in the skillet and serve immediately.  I did toss in the few lettuce leaves that were left in the bag that I used last night, so the leaves tonight had a little bit more color.  

Verdict:
Everyone enjoyed it.  We had our neighbor over for dinner and he mentioned twice how good the sandwich was.  I'd call that a last-minute success :o)  By the way, our neighbor shared some really yummy homemade minestrone with us - check back for that dinner; I will definitely make that soup on one of these cold winter nights!

Day 4 - January 4, 2014: Apricot Chicken With Peppers Over Rice

So, the basis of tonight's recipe actually comes from one of my favorite blogs, crockpot365.blogspot.com.  If you have a crock pot and you haven't been to this blog, you should really head over there, by the way.

Ingredients for tonight's dinner:
6 Chicken thighs: $1.75 (99¢/pound, manager's special!)
2 Peppers: $3.00 (I could have done better at Aldi - 3 peppers for less than $2.00, or Trader Joe's - $1.19/pepper, but I was too far away from either of those stores)
1 10 oz jar of apricot preserves: $2.79
1 1/4 cups of rice: $0.79
1/8 yellow onion: $0.10 (Stephanie uses dried minced onion, which I have been out of for a while but always forget to pick up when I'm at the store; hence the fresh, chopped onion in this recipe)
Condiments, as detailed by Stephanie O'Dea on this site: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/03/crockpot-apricot-chicken-recipe.html: ~$0.15?

Total: ~$8.58

I did serve a green salad on the side, which probably added about 2-3 bucks (thereby putting me over the limit for my challenge), but we had company over for dinner and I just thought it would be uncouth to not serve a salad ;o)

Directions: Trim as much of the fat from the chicken thighs as you like and plop them into your slow cooker (I used a 4-qt slow cooker).  Add chopped peppers and onion.  Mix the sauce: jar of apricot preserves, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp Dijon mustard, 1/4 tsp ginger and 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper.  Pour over chicken and set slow cooker to 4 hrs on high.  That was enough for my semi-frozen chicken thighs.  Boil rice and serve chicken and sauce with the rice, like this:

Or, if you have company, like this:

Verdict: The apricot chicken went over really well, as usual.  Everyone liked it, kids and dinner company included :o)

Day 3 - January 3, 2014: Over-Stuffed Baked Potatoes

I was very excited to find really good-looking strip steak on sale for $5.99/pound and asparagus for $2.99/pound.  However, steaming or roasting the asparagus and serving 3 strip steaks (the kids always split one) alongside baked potatoes, would have added up to... umm, to..., well, more than $10.  Am I a math genius or what?

So, I just combined all those ingredients in one item.  Et voilà, this is how the over-stuffed baked potatoes landed on our plates tonight!

The list of ingredients:
4 russet potatoes: $0.28 (a couple of weeks ago, I bought the bag of about 20 russet potatoes at Aldi for $1.39)
1 strip steak: $3.95
1/2 of the bundle of asparagus: $1.47
1 oz Vermont white cheddar cheese: $0.65
2 green onions: $0.30
Total: $6.65

Recipe:
After washing and scrubbing the potatoes thoroughly, I lightly coated them in rapeseed oil (canola, vegetable, or olive oil will work just the same, but I have to use my rapeseed oil before it expires).  Then I baked them in a 400 degree F oven for 50 minutes.  In the last 10 minutes, I sautéed the asparagus (cut up into pieces) in a pan, added in the meat in the last 5 minutes (I cut it into chunks before), and then tossed the whole thing with the green onion rings and s+p.  I placed one potato on each plate, cut a piece out of each potato, added some of the cheese and a pat of butter and spooned the asparagus/steak/onion mixture on top of the butter, letting the steak and asparagus spill over onto the plate.  The piece that I had cut out was placed back on.

Verdict:
This was delicious, although my husband wasn't truly sated until he had finished off our children's plates after they were done.  Since there was plenty left in the budget tonight, I probably should have made an extra potato for him :o(
But I did serve everyone dessert tonight (yeah!): Stonyfield Vanilla Yoghurt ($4.and change for a big container - I used about 1/4 on dessert tonight) over fresh blueberries which I got at Aldi for $1.19.  So, that makes for a 2-course meal right around $9.00.

Tomorrow night will be Apricot chicken thighs - manager's special for $0.99/pound, as they had a sell-by date of the day I bought them.  I took them out of the freezer last night, so they should be ready to go into the slow cooker tomorrow morning :o)

Day 2 - January 2, 2014: Pasta with tuna, garbanzo beans, cherry tomatoes, and zucchini

So, here's hoping that today's meal will actually be under $10... fingers crossed!

-1 package of pasta (I used a package of rotini and farfalle, both of which were half empty, and mized them): $1.00 (the store had a sale; 10 for $10 a while ago and I stocked up)
-1 can of tuna: $1.49 (I don't remember what I spent on this particular can, but, according to TJ's website, this other can of tuna (skipjack) is $1.49, so we'll go with that)
-1 can of garbanzo beans: $1.19
-1 zucchini: $0.50
-a couple of handfulls of cherry tomatoes: $2.00
-a shot of white wine: $0.40
-1/4 yellow onion: $0.20
-parmesan or romano cheese: $0.50
-s+p, evoo, various spices: negligible

Grand total: $7.28

Now, we're getting somewhere :o)

Recipe:
Cook pasta according to directions.  Sauté chopped onion in a little evoo, then add drained tuna.  If you like, throw in a little garlic, too.  Sauté for about a minute by itself, then add cut-up zucchini and a splash of white wine.  Cover and let steam for a few minutes to soften zucchini.  Add drained+rinsed garbanzo beans and tomatoes.  At this point, I added Italian herbs and salt+pepper.  Sauté for another minute or two, then toss everything with the cooked pasta.  Grate cheese on top and serve, like this:

Verdict:
Everyone loved it.  The kids ate it as is, my husband added smoked paprika spice to his, and I sprinkled some crushed red pepper on mine.  And there were leftovers.  My husband will take lunch tomorrow and my daughter will see her leftover portion as a cold noodle salad in her lunchbox when she gets to camp.  Dinner for 4 and lunch for 2, all under $8.00.  Yes!

Day 1 - January 1, 2014: Meatball Sandwiches with Roasted Broccoli

This is Day 1 of my one-month challenge of cooking dinner for less than $10 every night for our family of four.  Yes, I do realize that with all of the other food blogs out there (crockpot365, 365daysofcrockpot, dinner365, etc.), one month may seem like no challenge to many people.  But since it's only one of several challenges for the new year for me, I figured I'd start on a smaller scale.  Especially since I promised myself to not resort to my favorite quick cheap dinner at all this month: Boxed Mac&Cheese with whatever leftover veggies and meat I have on hand.  That would be cheating, since it would only involve boiling water that day.  However, I will not make every sauce from scratch, or never buy a rotisserie chicken.  I also won't create a lot of recipes from scratch, but I will give proper credit and links, when I use other people's recipes.  This way, who knows, maybe you'll find a link to a food blog you didn't know about before... and everyone wins. 

So, tonight, I am making baked meatball sandwiches with roasted broccoli on the side.  Here is a tally of the different items I purchased for this meal:
1.01 pounds of ground beef: $4.03
6 dinner rolls: $1.99
heavy whipping cream: $1.99 for 473ml, of which I used 150ml, so that's ~$.65?
ball of mozzarella cheese: $2.69 (I don't know how much the TJ brand actually is; I usually get the Aldi's brand for $2.69, so I'm going with that)
broccoli crowns: $1.60
packaged Knorr tomato soup mix: free to me, since my Mom brought it from Europe, but it usually costs about 65 cents there...
plus: salt+pepper+evoo
So, I spent $10.96 on dinner tonight.  Definitely over the challenge goal, but not by much.  Maybe this challenge will be harder than I thought.  I should have done the math before I desperately tried to use up all of the mozzarella - that much cheese was not needed and I admit that I did eat 2 pieces instead of putting them into the dish, so technically, technically.... ;o)  Oh well, we have pasta with tuna, tomatoes, and garbanzo beans on the menu for tomorrow - hopefully, I didn't grossly miscalculate that one, too! 

Btw, this recipe is adapted from a Knorr Fix recipe, I am pretty sure the original is called "Hackbällchen Toscana". 

And this is the recipe:
Season meat with some salt and pepper, form little meatballs and put them into a pyrex dish.  Mix tomato soup packet with 1 1/4 cup of liquid - I used 2/3 cup heavy cream and filled up the rest with water.  Pour over meatballs and top with sliced mozzarella.  Bake covered for ca. 25 minutes, remove cover and bake for 20 minutes more at 400 degrees F.  During those last 20 minutes, put the broccoli, tossed with olive oil and s+p, into the oven to roast.  Throw your rolls into the oven for the last couple of minutes to warm them up.  I used take&bake rolls, so mine took about 7 minutes.

And here is the final (a little over $10) product:

The kids didn't want meatball sandwiches, so they had their meatballs on the side:

Everyone had seconds and there was plenty for my husband to take to work tomorrow; I threw in rice from the night before, since the roll that was left doesn't reheat as well.