If you read yesterday's post you know I am on a chicken kick for the next few days. I had Jeremy throw this little Rotisserie Chicken together and when we got home I made Pioneer Woman's Rosemary Focaccia (whole wheat) and had roasted brussel sprouts.
Today we are eating other other half of the massive chicken breast and I am serving it with two of my favorite sides:
Grilled Cabbage
Source: greenlitebites.com via Emily on Pinterest
Unless I am actually grilling I will just put the foil packet in the oven, or shred it and saute it in a big skillet. Cabbage is cheap y'all! One head will make 4 good sized sides or 8 smaller ones.
My other favorite is more of a closet pre-packaged love is...Kraft Stove Top Whole Wheat Stuffing. It is really cheap and for some reason I love it. Guilty pleasure I guess.
Part of cooking in a frugal way is making a few short cuts, yes we like stuffing...but I only make the real thing on holidays. I tend to have bacon bits and everything else for the cabbage handy so it makes that recipe super easy. Try to make things that include ingredients you normally would buy and have on hand, I tend to spend more money when I go out for a crazy recipe with ingredients that are not easy to get around here. Slowly the foodie culture is creeping into our local grocery stores, but until that day comes where Wal-Mart has caught up with the health nuts and money conscious we won't be seeing cool ingredients for reasonable prices.
With fall finally rolling around and our local farmers market kicking back into gear it is a great time to discuss saving money by buying at a local market. Sometimes I find great deals on produce, other times they try to bribe me with"organic", which cost twice as much and that just doesn't work on our budget. Sometimes it just takes scoping out what they have before making your weekly grocery haul, don't bank on always purchasing their. There is a chance you will find a deal, and a good chance you won't. It just depends on their own crops and whether they are going the organic route.
Want to save more money? Don't eat out. I know my church friends were just waiting to hear me say it, I say it all the time. It is such a waste of money to eat out without it being for a purpose like a date or something special. I am not much for it, but give into my husband most Sunday's. Wednesday night, due to a time crunch, we had to eat fast food. I felt like I had just rode down main street tossing money out of the window. If you plan meals to cook at home you will save so much money, just think for two people to eat at a fast food restaurant it runs about $15 and a sit down restaurant it is at least $25 before tip. Too many of those and you have just spent an entire grocery bill on just a few meals...and unhealthy ones at that.
So be frugal and feed your family healthy meals! I'll get off my soap box now and finish dinner. Happy cooking & make sure and check out the other days of Frugal Meals!
