Gourmet Meals For Less

Because chocolate is a food group...Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies

 

Yum!  Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies.

 

Cookies can be a meal right? right? ..silence. Okay, but since it’s my blog,  and my rules I say they can be a meal.  They have oats…food group?, check!  Fruit…food group?, check!  White Chocolate Chips…food group?, check! (okay so it’s a food group in my mind, don’t ruin it for me.)

 

We love these cookies, they are a great mix of soft and chewy, sweet and tangy (because of the cran-raisins) and better yet, they were cheap to make since I scored the Ocean Spray* cran-raisins free on a special at Kroger.  Gotta love free!! 

 

Here’s the deal, I know I could have made something healthy with my free cran-raisins, like putting them in a salad (I have a good one I’ll share with you this summer) or sprinkling them on some healthy main dish, but this particular bag was just begging to be made into cookies, and who was I to deny it.  

So give your tired ole’ chocolate chip cookies a break and try these delicious little morsels with cran-raisins and white chocolate, I think you’ll love them!

*Disclaimer-I am in no way being paid, bribed or showered with free cran-raisins by Ocean Spray.  I just think this is an extra great recipe but I am not above buying store brand cran-raisins when they are cheaper.  In this instance, you couldn’t get cheaper then free so I bought the Ocean Spray ones.  Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

 

Rollover Menu.....Day 3

Indian Curry Roast Veggies with Spiced Rice

 

Last night concluded the third day of my rollover menu experiment.  I have been wanting to prepare one of Rachel Ray's Rollover Meal Plans, and was hoping I could bring it in at under $10 a night.  So far I have succeeded.  The first night's meal: Rollover Roast Pork Loin and Gravy with Roasted Veggies and Potatoes

came in at: $8.96

The second night's meal: Roast Pork Black Bean Chili

came in at: $9.39

My expectations for the third night's meal coming in at well under $10 were high.  1- because it was mostly made up of item's that were from the first night's meal cutting down on the cost and 2- because it was vegetarian.  The largest expense from the first two nights was most obviously the pork loin.  The two male's in my household were viewing with some trepidation the concept of eating dinner without any meat, (my hubby's only consolation to this meatless dinner was getting to take the left over chili to work) so I had to make sure last night's meal delivered...

How much does it cost to feed 9 hungry teenage boys...

No this is not a riddle....this is how many teenage boys I fed last night plus our family. 

My son is a big air-soft fanatic...his favorite times are when his buddies come over and they have air-soft wars in our backyard...don't worry we live on several acres so no neighbors are injured in the process. 

     

As anyone who has been around a teenage boy for more then 5 minutes knows, they get real hungry, real fast and they can consume large amounts of food.  Because of our challenge, I had to come up with a meal that was filling, had protein, made a large amount and most importantly was cheap.  What I wondered could I come up with that would meet this criteria and still taste good to finicky teenagers....Chili Mac!  My son's eyes lit up when I suggested it, need I say more?

 

Semi-Homemade Chili Mac with
Warm French Bread and 
Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Ingredients:
Serves 5

1 box Deluxe 2% Velveeta Shells and Cheese (Here is an item where I prefer the name brand over store brand but you could save a little here buy purchasing store brand) $1.52
1 lb ground chuck $2.72 (purchased on sale and was actually a 1.76 lbs)
1 can Kroger kidney beans $.67
1 can Kroger diced tomatoes w/green chilies $.79
1 tsp. chili powder (PI)
1/4 tsp cumin (PI)
shredded cheddar cheese (optional) .75

Directions:

Prepare shells and cheese according to directions in a large saucepan. Drain but do not add in cheese pack at this point.  While shells and cheese are cooking, brown meat in dutch oven and drain.  Add meat back to dutch oven and combine with kidney beans (drained) and diced tomatoes (undrained), chili powder and cumin.  Bring to a simmer.  Reduce heat and add in cheese sauce pack.   Stir until cheese is melted. Gently combine in shells and season with salt and pepper to taste.  You can serve as is but I like to pour into a 9X13 pan and sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese and bake at 350° for 15 minutes until cheese has melted.

Total Cost of Chili Mac $6.45

Now I tripled this for the 12-13 people we had eating at a total cost of
$20.73 for the Chili Mac

I was able to purchase a fresh loaf of french bread on sale for $1.00 and bought break apart cookies for $2.09

The Total for our meal for 12-13 people was....$23.82
this breaks down to $1.83 per person or

$7.32 for a family of four including dessert.  I think that was money well spent! 

So before you order several pizza's at $60 plus or run through the drive-thru at $6.00 a meal when your kids have friends over consider cooking an easy, delicious and most importantly budget friendly meal for them.  They'll think you're a cool mom for caring enough to cook them a homemade dinner.  This meal received two thumbs up from all the boys and lots of thank you's (in case any of their mom's are reading...)

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Smothered Beef Burittos....

This recipe has become one of my family's favorites.  My in-laws (who happen to be mexican food aficionados) love it when I cook this and in fact joined us last night for dinner.  I wish I could claim credit for this recipe but I have to give props to my friend Tonya who shared this with me years ago.  This is one of those recipes that makes enough for two meals and freezes beautifully.  So, if you're a family of four or less wrap up half of the dish in aluminum foil and a freezer bag and save for a busy day.   Today's menu is:

Smothered Beef Burritos with Mexican Rice and Salad

Smothered Beef Burritos
(Serves 8/or 2 meals for 4)

Ingredients:
1 lb hamburger or ground round (I try and use ground round. It is a little bit more but definitely healthier) $2.59
1 package taco seasoning .43
1 large can refried beans (or two small ones whichever is a better price) $1.38
8-10 soft taco size flour tortillas $1.39
1- 2 cup package shredded cheddar or mexi-blend cheese $1.99

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º. Brown your beef until no longer pink.  Add taco seasoning as package directs and simmer for 10 minutes. While taco meat in cooking, spread refried beans on edge of each tortilla, roll and place seam side down in 9X13 pan you have lightly sprayed to prevent sticking.  You can pack as many tortillas in as you can fit, I have even lined two across the top of the pan.  I usually can get 8-10 in a pan depending on how tight I roll the tortillas and how much filling I put in each.  Spoon taco meat across tortillas and sprinkle with cheese.  Use as little or as much cheese as you and your family like.  I like to reserve some for my salad.  Bake at 350º for approximately 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Simple Mexican Rice

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (PI)
1 onion, chopped .35
1 teaspoon minced garlic (PI) (you can use fresh clove or I like to keep on hand the minced garlic that's in a jar you can usually find it in the produce section. it's great for when you're in a hurry or don't want to clean out your garlic press.  I consider garlic a pantry item, can't cook with out it but if you have to purchase approx. .10 worth)
1 teaspoon chili powder (PI)
1 tablespoon ground cumin (PI)
1 cup uncooked short-grain white rice .75
1 3/4 cups chicken broth .64
1/4 cup tomato paste (freeze the extra tomato paste for later.  I actually ended up using 1/4 cup tomato sause because I didn't realize I was out of tomato paste and it tasted great so use what you have) .45

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook and stir until onion is translucent. Stir in the chili powder and cumin, and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the rice, chicken broth and tomato paste, and bring to a boil. Transfer to a 1 quart casserole dish, and cover with aluminum foil or a lid.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until liquid has been absorbed and rice is tender. Let rest for 3 to 5 minutes before serving. (This can be placed in the preheated oven a few minutes before your burritos, this will allow you to have both items ready at the same time.  As you can see in the picture I also added in some black beans I had left over in the fridge.  I love to use up those left over items hanging out in there when I can)

(*PI=Pantry Item)

Salad:
Kroger Spring Mix $1.50
Handful of seasoned tortilla salad strips .35

I purchase the large tub of Kroger brand organic mixed greens.  It's around $5.00 but lasts FOREVER!  This tub will make several salads; so we will be having salad a lot the next few days...I'm sure I'll be having some for lunch too.  Tonight we had it with sliced black olives (already had opened in fridge),seasoned salad tortilla strips, a little bit of mexi cheese and the dressing of choice.

Total: $11.72 (but remember this is for 8 so freeze the other half for that crazy night when you don't have time to cook)

TOTAL for 4: $7.83

Now that's some bang for your buck!  Tomorrow...Shrimp Creole and Southern Buttermilk Cornbread. 

Enjoy!