Recipe: Easy Chicken Tenders

This recipe actually started out as a sesame chicken recipe gone a bit wonky. However, the recipe came out really well and these chicken tenders were much tastier than the kind you buy in frozen foods section.

- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into strips or small pieces (use your judgement)
- 3/4 cup bread crumbs
- 2 tbsp parmesan cheese
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- salt and pepper to taste
-1 egg beaten (recipe may also use 1/3 cup melted butter if baked instead of cooked in a skillet)
- a little bit of veggie or olive oil (if cooking in skillet)

1. Mix ginger, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese and bread crumbs together (I do this by throwing it all in a plastic baggie, sealing, and shaking)

2. Dip strips into egg then in breadcrumb mixture

3. Heat oil in skillet on med high heat and cook strips for about 5 minutes on each side (longer if needed depending on how thick your chicken is)

4. Serve with choice of sauce.

The variation on cooking this is to put on a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

Estimated cost: about $2.00 per person per meal

Recipe: Onion Baked Pork Chops

Another fairly cheap recipe and a tasty one!

4 bone-in pork chops (center cut) (bought on sale for about $1.00 each)
1 envelop Lipton Recipe Secrets Golden Onion soup (about $.65 as the whole box was only like $1.29 and you only need one envelope)
2/3 cup Breadcrumbs (already had stocked, but Wal-Mart sells big cans for less than a dollar)
1 egg well beaten (about $.15)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine soup mix and bread crumbs in plastic storage bag. Shake until well mixed then pour out on flat dish.
Dip chops in egg then coat with crumb mixture on both sides.
Grease baking pan and arrange chops
Bake uncovered 10 minutes, then turn and bake for another 10-15.

We served this with macaroni and cheese, which we bought for $.33 a box at Aldi. We had enough for two meals, so we had leftovers a couple days later. The leftover taste was fine, but the pork got a little bit tough when re-heated in the microwave.

The estimated cost per person per meal: less than $1.50.

Recipe: Garlic Mushroom Chicken Melt

This recipe was completely awesome and the BF loved it too. We actually had the leftovers tonight and even they were really good. It's a pretty cheap and easy meal too.

4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts ($.75 a piece per the bag we bought...that may vary)
1 envelope Lipton Recipe Golden Onion Soup (about $.65 as the whole box was only like $1.29 and you only need one envelope).
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained ($.48 Great Value brand)
1 tbsp olive oil (can also use veg. oil)
sprinkle of garlic salt (optional)
sprinkle of italian seasoning (optional)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (used the imitation Kroger brand for $1.50)

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees
-Arrange chicken in 13x9 baking or roasting pan
- Blend soup mix, tomatoes, and oil together (I didn't have a blender but stirring it worked just as well)
- Pour over chicken
- Bake uncovered for 25 minutes
- Remove and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese
- Bake for 2 more minutes or until cheese is melted

We served this with spaghetti noodles ($.48 for smallest GV box) coated in a little bit of margarine and parmesan cheese and got two meals out of it.

Total cost: approximately $1.25 per person per meal (if I figured that out right).

Note: The original recipe called for Lipton Secrets Savory Herb w/ Garlic Soup Mix, which is where I'm assuming the mushrooms came in. WalMart didn't have it so I grabbed the golden onion and substituted the garlic salt and italian seasoning.

Wal-Mart Shopping

Wal-Mart is a little pricier than stores like Aldi and Sav-A-Lot, but they have a good selection and you can still find some pretty cheap finds if you hunt for it. On our latest WM shopping trip, the BF and I did everything we could to spend the least amount of money and get the most meals out of it.

Bar-S Hot Dogs are only 67 cents for a package of 8. Many people don't like hot dogs at all, and if they do eat them, they have to be beef. If you're like me and don't care, you can make these last for a couple of meals. We paired a pack of them with a loaf of GV bread ($0.96) and some mustard which we already had. Pringles are a dollar per can, so we bought two. This gave us a dinner and a lunch. We also picked up two cans of GV tuna fish (0.56 each) and two GV Cheesy Pasta dinners (like Tuna Helper but semi-generic) for 96 cents each. That's two more meals, four if we halve each one.

We splurged a little on a pack of 98 cent GV cookies. The most we spent was $1.88 for a canister of GV sugar free drink mix. Though we spent over a dollar on it, it's actually the best deal. You get 6 tubs of mix in a canister, and each makes 2 quarts of drink. Since it's sugar free, it's already flavored, so we saved by not having to buy sugar. Once we figured it out, we found it was the healthier and cheaper option.

The total cost for four meals for two people, including dessert and drink: $10.23.

Not too shabby.