Tag Archives: dinner

Grocery Savings Challenge: Week 5

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Click the picture for more meal plans, grocery lists, and recipes

I can’t wait for the Farmer’s Market to open in May; local produce for better prices! But until then, I am left to wander the produce aisle at the grocery store (our former CSA box was just too much for us two).  I have been really craving strawberries and soon the many stands along the side of the road will be open as well.

But enough dreaming about the upcoming months (oh my goodness we will have baby in less than 3!), here is this week’s plan.

The Stores and their Deals
The Meal Plan
The Grocery List
The Final Cost

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Grocery Savings Challenge: Week 3

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This week is going to be a little odd for us with the Monday holiday, social gatherings, and Lent. We have dinner plans with family on Saturday, dinner plans with friends on Sunday, and two vegetarian meals for Ash Wednesday and the first Friday of lent. I’m only making four meals, and we are eating leftover vegetarian chili on Friday; Marc is fasting from lunch on Wednesday and Friday (for Lent, and I’m still pregnant, so not fasting), so making bigger meals all week to last through dinner and lunch, is not as big of a priority.

The Stores and their Deals
The Meal Plan
The Grocery List
The Final Cost

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Spinach, Pepper, and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts and Dessert

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We had a pretty low-key Valentine’s Day; we ate a lovely dinner and splurged with homemade lava cakes and cookie dough ice cream. We exchanged some notes and treats and called it good.

I decided to experiment with pepper stuffed chicken breasts and I’m so glad I did! They tasted great even for leftovers. We paired the chicken with some asparagus grilled with butter, lemon juice, lemon pepper, and a little bit of garlic (my favorite).

Wish I had a better photo, but I was too hungry to try!

Spinach, Pepper, and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts
I made about 5 servings, but ingredients can be easily altered to make more or less
Bake at 425 degrees

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My Favorite Homemade Chili

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I once found a random vegetarian chili recipe and with my own changes and additions it’s the only “chili’ recipe I make. I know that technically chili doesn’t have beans but for the sake of convenience, I call this chili. I’ve tried plenty of chili (especially with my old job and all the fire department chili cook-offs I attended), but I have stuck to this recipe or a slight variation of this recipe, ever since I tried making it. I generally make it without meat, but I am trying to up my protein intake so this time I added grass-fed ground beef.

Lulu’s Sometimes Vegetarian Chili

Makes approx. Seven, 1 cup servings

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium yellow or white onion, diced
  • 4 cloves of garlic, diced
  • 1 large bell pepper, diced
  • 2 chipotle chilis in adobo sauce, diced (comes in a can, I also like to add extra sauce from it as well)
  • 1 TBSP + 1 tsp (or 5 tsp) Cumin
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp paprikia
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • Olive oil or bacon grease
  • 1 pound grass fed ground beef (usually 80/20 around here) optional
  • 1 bottle of beer (most anything would work, but I would stay away from chocolate stouts) or 12 ounces chicken or beef broth
  • 1/4-1 cup chicken or beef broth for extra liquid if needed (I used about 1/3 cup)
  • 1 can or 2 cups cooked black beans (if using canned, rinse and drain)
  • 1 can or 1.5 cups cooked red kidney beans (if using canned, rinse and drain)

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Pulled Pork Recipe

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I think I may have had pulled pork twice in my life, but I have really been craving it! I finally bought a pork butt at the store with the plan to make it in the slow-cooker. It ended up being super easy (definitely hit the spot with a toasted buttered roll) and I will definitely cook it again.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Yummy pork goodness

Ingredients:

  • 4-5 pound pork butt
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 1/4 cup ketchup or tomato paste
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Paprika
  • Garlic Powder
  • Onion Powder
  • 1 bottle BBQ sauce

Directions:

  • Mix in the slow-cooker, all the wet ingredients except the BBQ sauce
  • In a small bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients, enough to rub over all of the pork
  • After rubbing down the pork, place it in the crock-pot on low for 5-8 hours, turning over once, half-way through
  • After it has cooked, drain the liquid out and place the pork back in the slow-cooker (still on low)
  • With two forks, shred the pork then add a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
  • Stir thoroughly and serve on toasted buns, make lettuce wraps, tacos, nachos, or eat it by itself or as a salad topper

This was great the next day too. We have already eaten 5 sandwiches from the batch and we still have plenty left!

Chicken Curry with Onions and Peppers

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When Marc and I were living in Fresno we enjoyed going to this small Thai Fusion restuarant a few minutes away. My favorite dish was the spicy red curry – chicken, red peppers, and onions in a spicy coconut curry sauce.

We decided to replicate the dish and it turned out tasty and was  a great break from the ordinary

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Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas with Green Sauce

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While my husband and I are for the most part, grain-free, we do allow ourselves cheats or treats occasionally. Chicken Enchiladas are one of our favorite leftover-chicken-meals and it’s quick, easy, and flavorful.

Disclaimer: These are white girl enchiladas, but I still maintain that they taste pretty good.

Chicken Enchiladas with Green Sauce

A small batch on Enchiladas before going into the oven.

Exact measurements aren’t important when it comes to making these. You can make as little or as much as you want, just adjust the ingredient amounts. I have listed the amounts we usually use, but these are in no way, the only amounts in which to make enchiladas. Play around with what works for you!

Ingredients:

  • Leftover chicken, shredded (approx. 1/2-1 full size chicken)
  • 1 jar salsa verde, divided (we like the one from Trader Joes)
  • 1/4 cup sour cream + more for serving
  • 1/2-1 lb pepper jack cheese, shredded and divided
  • Flour tortillas (Depends on size, but we usually use 3-8 tortillas)
  • Optional: Seasonings for chicken (Cumin, garlic, chili powder, etc.)
  • Other optional ingredients: Green chiles, olives, and veggies

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease pirex dish or other pan.
  • Mix shredded chicken, 1/4 cup sour cream, 1/3 jar salsa verde, 1/4-1/2 amount of cheese, and any other seasonings or ingredients.
  • Spoon into center or tortilla, and roll tortilla. Place tortilla roll seam side down in dish. Continue until you use all of the chicken mixture.
  • Spread 1/3 jar of salsa verde on top of enchiladas and the sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.
  • Bake 10-15 minutes or until cheese it melted and enchiladas are cooked all the way through.
  • Serve with sour cream and green sauce.

This small batch on Enchiladas uses 3 large sprouted tortillas and has green chiles in the filling

Spaghetti Sauce vs Tomato and Beef Soup

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I’m a picky red-sauce eater. Most restaurant sauces make me gag; they are too sweet and I don’t care for the green pepper taste that many of them seem to have. I prefer to make my own sauce at home. Spaghetti was one of the first things I learned to cook – my dad taught me, so I have fond memories with it as well.

This week I was craving spaghetti sauce but since we aren’t eating pasta, I could only eat the sauce. Then I got to thinking, meat sauce is just like tomato soup with ground beef (close enough, right?). So I kept telling myself that it was perfectly okay to eat the sauce sans noodles. And I still enjoyed it. I could try it over zucchini strips (aka zucchini pasta) or any other vegetable. You can also dip celery or vegetables into it, or just eat it with a salad.

It’s still warm and sunny here, but this would be a nice winter meal, too.

Serve meat sauce/tomato beef soup/spaghetti sauce in a mug or a bowl

Lulu’s Favorite Garlic Meat Sauce

Makes approx. 4 servings (more if using pasta and not heavily sauced)

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Crockpot Beef Stew

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Ingredients:

  • 2 packs stew meat
  • 1/2 cup coconut flour
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3 cups beef broth / water
  • 1 small 8 ounce can tomato sauce
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • 1 onion, sliced or diced
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • Water
  • 1 cup diced carrots
  • 1 cup diced sweet potatoes
  • Olive oil

Directions:

  • Heat olive oil in pan.
  • Mix flour, garlic, pepper, and salt together.
  • Dredge meat in flour mixture and brown in olive oil.
  • Dump meat into crock pot set on low.
  • Pour 1 cup of water into pan and stir to remove flour and drippings, dump into crock pot.
  • Add tomato sauce, onions, garlic cloves, white wine, and enough water and broth to cover meat.
  • Cook on low for  4 hours and add carrots and sweet potatoes and more water or broth if needed.
  • Cook on low an additional 2-4 hours until carrots and potatoes are fork tender and meat is falling apart.