New Recipe from Amy!

So, my friend Amy tonight told me of a new recipe that sounds really delicious...

take a package of Chicken Breasts (2-3 skinless, boneless), 1 jar of Salsa, and 1 drained can of black beans and place in slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours.

After cooking, shred chicken and return to slow cooker. Add 1 can of corn (I plan on using frozen, but rinsed so that it does not lower the temp of the slow cooker too much!) and 1 package of cream cheese. Cook in slow cooker until cream cheese is melted. Serve over rice.

**AMENDMENT! Last night, Amy made this in a slightly different manner-- she did everything EXCEPT skipped the cream cheese- so the chicken was more saucy-- and then we ate it in tortillas with cheese and plain yogurt- it was AMAZING!! Much better even than the original!**

I went to the store right away to buy the ingredients for this one-- here is the cost for the entire dish:

Chicken (3 breasts): $5.35 (on sale! Yea!)

Salsa: $2.00

Black Beans: $1.29

Corn: $1.50 (full package was $2.99, and I don't think I will even use half!)

Cream Cheese: $1.69

Rice: $1.25 (full package was $2.49, won't even use half)

Total for entire recipe: $13.08

So, now... how many servings can I get out of it?! I will keep you posted!

Day 1

Here is a sample day from last week:

Breakfast: I purchased Pillsbury Biscuit dough and Bob Evan's sausage- made the biscuits (there were 8 of them!) and divided the sausage into 8 patties. The biscuits were $1.99 (on sale!) and the sausage was $3.79, which makes each sandwich $.72 each! Orange Juice on sale for $2.00 for a half gallon, so about $.25 per glass.

Total Breakfast= $.97!

Lunch: I was lame. Went to McDonalds after a rehearsal-- BUT I ordered off the Dollar Menu! One McDouble sandwich and a small fries was $2.20 with tax!

Dinner: I purchases some frozen breaded chicken breasts from the grocery store- the package was on sale for $7.99 and there were 7 pieces in it- so $1.14 per piece. Then I made a package of Rice-a-roni whole grain rice that was $1.50 (I had half for dinner, so $.75!) then frozen peas (about $.50!)

Total Dinner: $2.39

Total for the day: $5.56

: )

Welcome!

So, my car dies and I decided to bite the bullet and go purchase a new car. Of course, I have always wanted a new car... but was never able to afford a monthly car payment. I figured out my monthly finances and a price I could afford, went shopping, and got a great new car!

Then of course, literally the next morning my roommate announces that she is moving out in a month. AGHH! There goes the extra money for the car payment! Back to the drawing board... how to save money so I can survive?!

I have tried to go on a spending diet before... of course then things happen, i.e. it's my friend's birthday, and the old Saturn needed $400 worth of work, or.... you catch my drift. Goodbye diet.

Then, being a foodie certainly doesn't help my budget... I fawn over meals from Bon Appetit... things like Roasted Leg of Lamb and other $100 menus, which I always want to cook for and with my friends!

So, how to save money, and still eat? Well. It is certainly going to take some creativity. But I have been trying out some things, and I think that I really will be able to "eat like a queen" for less than $10 a day.

My sister Allie just moved out to LA without a job... so we are going to do this together! Let's see how we do!

Love,

Steph