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Budget Meal-Spicy Thai Chicken Salad
Being on a budget doesn’t mean you can’t eat well. Rice and a package of coleslaw stretches the chicken in this tasty chicken salad. Here’s what you’ll need… 6 ounces of grilled chicken, cut into about ½ inch strips 3 cups cooked rice 6 cups of coleslaw mix 1/4 cup chopped cilantro 1 jar of Thai peanut sauce 1/4 cup oil 1/4 cup water 3/4 cup coarsely dry-roasted peanuts, chopped In a large bowl, combine the chicken strips, rice, coleslaw mix and cilantro. In a medium bowl, whisk together peanut sauce, oil and water. Add to the rice mixture and toss well. Garnish with peanuts.
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Budget Meal-SLOW-COOKER SEAFOOD CHOWDER
This time of year, fish is on sale so it’s a great time to stock up or at least buy a large bag and make several meals with it. Here’s a recipe for a seafood chowder that uses a slow cooker. It’s quick and delicious combined with bread and/or a salad. Here’s what you’ll need… 2 lbs. frozen fish filets 1/4 lb. bacon, diced 1 medium onion, chopped 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed 2 cups water 1 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. pepper 1 can evaporated milk Thaw the frozen fish in refrigerator and cut into bite-sized pieces and place in a slow cooker. In a skillet, saute the…
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Budget Meals- Bean and Tuna Salad
Here’s what you’ll need- 2 cans cannellini beans 1/3 cup olive oil or one of your choice 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1 teaspoon salt Pepper to taste 1 medium red onion, peeled and chopped 12 ounce can tuna, drained In a bowl, mix together oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. In another bowl add the beans and onion then add the oil/vinegar mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Transfer the bean mixture to a serving platter and add the tuna on top of the beans.
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Budget Meal-ALL DAY MACARONI AND CHEESE
It’s comfort food and it’s also affordable but who says you have to serve mac and cheese from a box just because you’re on a budget. Here’s a version that adds a few more ingredients and best of all, uses a Crockpot to save on your energy bill too. What you’ll need- 8 ounces elbow macaroni, cooked and drained 4 cups(16 ounces) shredded sharp Chedder Cheese (divided) 1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk 1 1/2 cups milk 2 eggs 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper Place the cooked macaroni into the Crockpot that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Add the remaining ingredients but keep back 1 cup…
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Budget Meal-Calzones
Calzones can be made with just about any ingredient and this version uses ground beef and some taco seasoning for extra taste. If you can make your own pastry that’s great but if not, you can pick some up next time your supermarket has a sale. What you’ll need… 1 (15-oz.) package refrigerated pie crusts 1 pound ground beef 1 (4-oz.) can diced green chiles 1/4 cup water 1 (1.25-oz.) package Taco Seasoning Mix 1 cup shredded mild Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, divided Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Brown the beef in a large skillet and then drain off the fat. Add the chilis, water and seasoning…
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Budget Meals-SALSA CHICKEN & RICE
Here’s an easy meal that’s perfect to make when chicken is on sale. What you’ll need- 2 cups cooked white rice, kept warm 1 tablespoon oil 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into strips 1 medium onion, chopped 1 small red bell pepper, sliced 1 jar (16 oz.) Salsa 1/2 cup shredded Mexican-blend cheese Sour cream (optional) Chopped fresh cilantro (optional) Over medium high heat and in a large skillet, heat the oil. Add the chicken, onion and bell pepper and cook stirring occasionally for 10 to 12 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Stir in the salsa and bring to a boil then remove it…
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Speedy Chicken Curry
Here’s a recipe to try when chicken’s on sale. If you want to reduce the cost of making this dish even more, try using chicken thighs. Lots of supermarkets have deals on skinless and boneless chicken thighs. Sometimes it makes for a tastier dish for less and I always use them for curries and pot pies. Here’s what you’ll need- 2 teaspoons brown sugar 2 teaspoons curry powder 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard 1/4 teaspoon pepper 4 boneless chicken breast halves, cut in bite-size pieces 14.5 ounce can chicken broth or if you have homemade on hand, you’ll need about 1-3/4 cups 1 1/2 cups orange juice 1 1/4 cups long…
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Friday News You Can Use
It’s Friday and lots of you told me how much you enjoyed me digging through the Budget Smart Girl archives and finding past posts to include in News You Can Use. I had people who have been subscribers from the very beginning tell me they enjoyed seeing these articles again. Others, brand new to the site, appreciated me bringing these tips and hints to their attention. So, with that in mind, I’ve pulled out three more. It’s time to getting gardening and this first link will take you to a post from 2008. Isn’t it funny how old topics become new again and this one also from 2008, tells you…
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Friday News You Can Use-More Budget Meals
It’s Friday already and time for news you can use. Stretching your food budget is a concern for many people right now so I thought for this week, I’d find three sites that focus on budget meals. This first site, is one of my favorites. I have Beth’s cookbook…highly recommend it. https://www.budgetbytes.com/category/recipes/ This site lets you pick how much you want to spend per meal which I think is a great feature- And finally, Taste of Home. These recipes look delicious and it’s hard to believe they’re budget friendly. I think I’ll give some of these a try and post a review on my food and cooking site www.cookinggrubhub.com and…
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Friday News You Can Use-Budget Meals
I t’s the first Friday of March. Here are three useful articles I stumbled upon this week- I found this site called The Balance Money which has lots of great articles, but I thought this one about budget worksheet was especially good- https://www.thebalancemoney.com/basic-monthly-budget-worksheet-1289585 Another new to me site, Be The Budget has these easy to follow budgeting tips- And as I’ve had more requests for budget meals, I found these goodies on The Spruce Eats- https://www.thespruceeats.com/affordable-budget-meals-for-families-4845538