Chicken & Goat Cheese Stuffed Potatoes

I have been such a slacker with blogging lately. I am working on being "unplugged" for most of the day and my blogging time has been much limited. I posted a picture of Chicken and Goat Cheese Stuffed Potatoes on my FB page and some people wanted the recipe. So, I thought what better way to get back to my blog than post a fairly inexpensive and clean dinner recipe! Here is the original recipe(from Clean Eating magazine):

Chicken Blue-Cheese Stuffed Potatoes

- 6 russet potatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs), peel left on and scrubbed well
- Olive oil cooking spray
- 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
- 1/2 tsp sea salt, divided
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 3 oz baby spinach (about 1 3/4 cups)
- 1/2 small yellow or red onion, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
- 1/4 cup reduced fat blue cheese, crumbled
- 2 tbsp low fat plan cream cheese
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. With a fork, poke holes in potatoes. Wrap potatoes separately in foil and bake in a large baking dish misted with cooking spray for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until tender. Let cook at least 15 minutes.

2. Season chicken with 1/4 tsp salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook for 5 to 6 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from skillet and set aside. Add spinach and onion to the same skillet and saute over medium heat until spinach is wilted. Remove from heat, set aside.

3. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise. Carefully scoop out centers, leaving 1/4 inch thick shells. In a large mixing bowl, mash potato meat, set aside.

4. Stir chicken and spinach mixture into potato meat. Add blue cheese, cream cheese, lemon juice and remaining 1/4 tsp salt, stirring well. Spoon mixture into potato shells, dividing evenly and place potatoes, cut-side-up, on a baking sheet misted with cooking spray.

5. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned and thoroughly heated.

As we all know, I cannot follow a recipe to save my life. I subbed goat cheese for the blue cheese and plain Greek yogurt for the cream cheese. I omitted the lemon juice and cooked the chicken breasts the night before. I had pounded the chicken to about 1/4 inch thickness and cooked them in a large skillet. I cut them into pieces the next day to put into the potatoes. I also added some Italian seasoning and paprika. I thought they needed a little bit more flavor (besides salt...I think everything needs salt). But, if you played with the flavors a bit, this would be a delicious dish!!!!

Cost per serving (estimate): $1.50

This dish is very economical as it uses only a half pound of chicken and not a lot of expensive ingredients. I thought it was filling and a good base recipe. Next time I will add some more seasonings...I just threw some extra things in there but didn't have a lot of time to get it just right. Hope you enjoy!

The perfect summer meal

A couple of weeks ago, we had a cookout with some friends of ours. I made this chicken that I had made in the past, but I also found a recipe for a black bean salad to accompany it. I thought the result was a great summer meal that was super tasty and fairly budget friendly. I made this meal for around $2/serving. If you bought factory farmed chicken (I used organic) and used the chicken as a garnish on top of a green salad, then you could significantly reduce the price per serving. Here are the recipes I used:

Cajun Chicken Sandwiches
Ingredients

• 6 (4 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 6 kaiser rolls, split and toasted
• 12 slices tomato
• 6 lettuce leaves

Directions

1. Flatten chicken to 1/2-in. thickness. Brush both sides with oil. Combine the seasonings; rub over both sides of chicken. Arrange in a 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
2. Coat grill rack with nonstick cooking spray before starting the grill. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 3-5 minutes on each side or until chicken juices run clear. Serve on rolls with tomato and lettuce.

Black Bean and Corn Salad
Ingredients

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (8.75 ounce) can sweet corn, drained

Directions

1. In a small bowl, mix together balsamic vinegar, oil, salt, sugar, black pepper, cumin, and chili powder.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together black beans and corn. Toss with vinegar and oil dressing, and garnish with cilantro. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.

This dinner would take a little planning because the chicken has to be marinated and the salad should sit overnight for its fullest flavor. It's worth it if you can plan the day before to have this delicious, summery meal. Surprisingly enough, I didn't alter the recipes hardly at all. I used Sucanat in place of the sugar in the black bean salad, but I would venture to say you don't even need that. I used olive oil in place of the vegetable oil and I omitted the cilantro since I didn't have any. It was yummy just the same! Happy cooking! :)

March budget update and an epiphany (of sorts)

In case any of you are wondering, I have successfully brought down my grocery budget pretty significantly. I have been keeping track of my receipts and it looks like we are averaging around $80/week for the month of March. Wahoo! We were a little over last week, but I went to the Farmer's Market and bought enough meat to last us a few weeks. So, that extra $$ will translate into less spending in the coming weeks. $80/week may sound like a lot, but I was averaging around (sometimes over) $100/week in January. I will take the extra $80/month!!! :)

So, how have I cut my grocery budget (when I say "groceries", that includes all household supplies like cleaning agents, paper products, etc, as well as food)? Well, I cut down on my use of paper products for one, which has nothing to do with my shopping, but everything to do with saving some money. I was using a fair amount of paper towels in the past. Not only does this increase the amount of garbage I'm producing, but I'm basically throwing money down the drain. I'm trying to be more conscious about my use of them and use rags or dish towels whenever possible.

I also am keeping a good eye on the sales fliers for my local grocery stores, CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid. I am fortunate enough to have 4 grocery stores within 10 miles of my house and 3 drug stores within 15 miles. I have lots of places to bargain shop and coupon match. That's another thing: I started using coupons. I can find them online or in the newspaper. I have to say that I love the site Money Saving Mom, which tells you the super duper deals out there, when there's free samples, or great coupons to take advantage of. I look at that site daily so I don't have to spend a lot of my own time tracking down the deals.

When I first started price matching, I was taking a fair amount of time doing it. I was saving money, but it was way too time consuming for me. Now I probably take a total of an hour to an hour and a half per week (throughout the course of the week) looking at circulars, checking Money Saving Mom, and printing coupons. I don't think that's too bad when it usually saves me about $50-60/week.

I have also been trying to shop at my local farmer's market more often. It's been tough to get there in the last month or so because my little baby girl is sleeping SO poorly that she usually sleeps in on Saturday mornings (after being up from 1:30 AM to 4:30 AM) and I get to too. The farmer's market ends at 1 PM, so we have missed it a few Saturdays. I think we are getting back on track though, so we'll be getting there more frequently in the coming weeks. I am planning on talking with one of the ladies from Stony Ledge Farm about their CSA for the harvesting season. I am hoping that will save me even more money once May rolls around.

So, on a more personal note, I had an epiphany of sorts yesterday. I realized that I spend a lot of time doing things FOR my family and not as much time WITH my family. I don't know if any of you have a problem differentiating between the two, but there is a big difference. I have been thinking of them as the same. I cook, clean, do laundry, etc. and I often don't know where the time goes. When I was thinking of it yesterday, it didn't seem that I was spending enough of the day with my family. I may be too hard on myself, but I'm okay with that.

I am going to try to be better about my time management. I will limit myself to an hour of computer time in the morning while J plays and I have my coffee. I may also jump on later in the day during nap time or after she goes to bed (FYI, in case you're wondering, she's napping right now. ;)). Then I will limit my kitchen time (this is a huge step for me) to no more than an hour and a half per day. If I'm not able to get everything done that I want to in that time period, I will just have to pick up where I left off the next day. I will do household chores periodically throughout the day, making sure that I am spending plenty of quality time with J and Sam, when he gets home from work. I think this is going to make for a happier household.

So, there's my confession. I encourage you to make sure that you know the difference between doing things FOR your family and spending quality time WITH them. I am more aware now. :)

The month of February

As you all know, I started this blog to document the lessons I'm learning in how to save money while still being healthy. My learning process has only just begun. This month I have learned a little bit on what has and has not worked in my endeavor. Let me share those things with you.

In January and February, I decided I was going to plan my meals and shop for an entire month. Obviously, I would still have to go to the store for my fresh produce, milk, things like that. The meal planning initially took me forever. However, after the first session of planning, I found that February's menu was much easier to figure out. I looked at the grocery store circulars and tried to plan according to what was on sale. I went to the farmer's markets and purchased some meat and produce. I also began incorporating more vegetarian meals into my repertoire.

I found out that meal planning for an entire month is not only time consuming, but it didn't end up saving me any money. As a matter of fact, I think I spent more money in those two months than I had in the previous months. My theory behind planning for a month was that I wouldn't have to go to the grocery store as often, so I would buy less (because of less impulse buying). Well, I am NOT an impulse buyer at all. I go to the store, with a meal plan, and I get what I need. That's it. For those who get tempted by all the sale signs and new products, this may be worthwhile. It was not for me. I'm glad I found this out though because now I know I don't have to go through the arduous process of planning for a whole month.

I also found that I was missing the really good sales on certain things. For instance, in the last few weeks, there have been sales on cereal at the local grocery stores. Well, for me to stock up, I had to go over budget. Also, I took a trip up to Whole Foods and was able to buy a case of rice milk, which is extremely cost effective. Not only is the rice milk cheaper at Whole Foods than the cheapest price I can find around here, but because I am able to buy it by the case, I save an additional 10%. I had already spent my $$ for the month, but it just made financial sense to purchase what I did while I was there.

All of that to say that I will be buying for a week or two at a time and looking at my month as a whole (as opposed to trying to stick to a weekly budget). This will break down to a certain dollar amount that I am aiming for per week, but will give me a little more flexibility to stock up with the really good sales.

So, I have told you what didn't work for me...those things that DID were perusing the circulars for the best deals and coupon clipping. I wasn't much of a coupon clipper until recently. I have saved SO much money in the last couple of weeks by getting online coupons at sites like coupons.com, smartsource.com, and redplum.com and clipping coupons in the Sunday newspaper. By matching up the coupons with the sales in the circulars, I am getting things for free or darn close to it! I am working on my "stockpile" right now to tide me over between sales, but I am having some pretty good success! This is my stockpile trip this week (spent $50, saved $75...no, the candy is NOT "clean", but it was a treat for the hubs ;)):


Another thing that I have done is to make sure I'm not wasting food. Sounds simple, right? How much food do you throw away on garbage day? Kristen over at thefrugalgirl.com began chronicling her food waste by starting Food Waste Friday. Many bloggers have participated and while I have not participated formally, I have been more conscious of what is in my fridge. I use up leftover ingredients before they expire and am proud to say that in the last three weeks, I have had no food waste!! What a simple way to save money.

So, that's my month and education in summary. Hope this is helping someone besides me...it certainly helps to keep me accountable!

Buy the whole stinkin' bird

I have been trying to find good ways to cut my grocery bill while still being able to eat healthy. I have found that buying and roasting a whole chicken is super economical. Yes, it's true...the thigh, drumstick, and wing meat of the chicken are not as healthy as the breast. However, if you compare the nutritional values of the dark meat to a very lean beef, the chicken usually still wins. Take a look at this, for example:

Type of Meat	Calories	Total Fat	Saturated Fat	Protein	Cholesterol
Chicken Breast (skinless)	120	1.5 g	.5 g	24 g	70 mg
Chicken Breast (with skin)	170	7 g	2 g	25 g	70 mg
Chicken Drumstick (skinless)	130	4 g	1 g	23 g	70 mg
Chicken Drumstick (with skin)	180	9 g	3 g	23 g	75 mg
Beef Tenderloin (fat trimmed)	180	8.5 g	3.2 g	24 g	70 mg
Beef Sirloin (fat trimmed)	170	6.1 g	2.4 g	26 g	75 mg

If you ate the drumstick without the skin, it would still be less fat and calories than beef tenderloin (a very lean meat). Now, we all know that we shouldn't eat red meat more than a couple of times a week, for a variety of health reasons. I am not saying that you should abandon eating red meat and switch to eating the dark meat of chicken all the time. However, when I roast a chicken, I usually can get 5 meals out of it between the chicken breast and the dark meat. We have the chicken breast for two meals and then the dark meat of the chicken I use for soup, chili, fajitas, mixed in with pasta sauce, or in a stir fry. Many time, I will freeze some for a later use...you know, those nights where you forgot to take something out for dinner or need to eat quickly. We switch this up with vegetarian meals, fish (rarely because my husband hates it), or lean red meats.

That said, some people are nervous about roasting a whole chicken (have you seen the Perdue commercial about roaster-phobia? That used to be me.) or they think it takes too much time. I promise, it doesn't. It takes 10 minutes to prep and an hour and a half in the oven (for an average 4 pound bird). During that hour and a half, you can do whatever else you need to do in the house...it's a cinch! I usually sprinkle it with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and parsley inside and out. Spray the chicken all over with cooking spray, put a medium onion (cut into wedges) inside the cavity and on the top of the bird. Cover with aluminum foil and a half an hour before it's done remove the aluminum foil to brown the skin (if you don't eat the skin, this step doesn't matter...I just leave the aluminum foil on the whole time). That's it!

Once you've picked the meat off the bones, you can easily make your own stock with the bones, some water and veggies. Low sodium and all natural...plus you know what's in it and can pronounce all the ingredients. ;)

This may not be a new concept for any of you, but I have just begun to realize how much I can save by just buying the whole stinkin' bird. Happy cooking!

The wonderful world of lentils

So, this is the way my kitchen looked today:


In the front left pot, there was lentil soup; in the front right, rice to make J some rice milk (another post for another day); back left were sweet potatoes for J's lunch, and in the oven I was roasting a chicken. All in a day's work. ;) I'll just focus on the soup for this post.

In order to cut down my grocery bill for the month, I have decided (much to my husband's dismay) that we will have at least one vegetarian dish each week. I don't know about the rest of your significant others, but my husband is all about meat at every meal, preferably red. He doesn't realize that there can be too much of a good thing. Anyway, I digress...

In came the lentils. I had never tried lentils before. I bought a 16 oz bag of Goya lentils that were in my local Stop & Shop for about $1. I searched for a recipe using lentils because, as many of us do, I originally bought these for another recipe that I never made. I found a recipe for lentil soup...this time of year is great for soup, right? I found a good one on allrecipes.com (if you haven't been to this website, you need to check it out). With the ingredients listed, it would cost between $.80 and $1 per serving (best I could figure). Not bad!

Here's the original recipe:

• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 pinch fenugreek seeds
• 1 cup dry red lentils
• 1 cup butternut squash - peeled, seeded, and cubed
• 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat, and cook the onion, ginger, garlic, and fenugreek until onion is tender.
2. Mix the lentils, squash, and cilantro into the pot. Stir in the water, coconut milk, and tomato paste. Season with curry powder, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes, or until lentils and squash are tender.

I used sweet potato instead of squash, powdered ginger, extra garlic, no fenugreek, no cilantro (didn't have any and knew it would go bad before I used the rest), chicken broth in place of the water and probably used more like 3 cups, 3/4 can of lite coconut milk, extra curry powder and cayenne, and added probably 10 shredded baby carrots (I only use recipes as guidelines. ;)). I simmered it for more like an hour because I kept messing with the spices and the liquid until it tasted just right. Once it was done, it was delicious!!!!


Okay, it may not look delicious, but it really was. I still feel like it might be missing a little something. One of the reviews on allrecipes recommended adding portabella mushrooms. That might help, but the flavor was great. I definitely recommend this recipe...I'll let you know if my husband would. :)

Do you have a favorite lentil recipe? Please share! :)