For those of you in the Toledo area Kroger is having a great sale on eggs and meat. In honor of this week’s sales I have a couple of recipes to share.

Sale
Ground Beef- $1.88/lb
Buy 1 box of Rice-A-Roni [beef flavor]

Brown ground beef in a large skillet. When it is completely brown drain off fat leaving a tablespoon still in the pan. Pour in the Rice-A-Roni and cook according to package directions. Add a salad, vegetable and drink and you have a quick meal your kids will eat and you will enjoy. If you want leftovers use more ground beef &/or Rice-A-Roni.

Sale
Eggs 98 cents a dozen
Kroger Value Bacon $1.71/package

For a quick breakfast brown up the bacon the night before. Then, in the morning, toast an English muffin and fry your egg. You can enjoy a relaxing breakfast at home for less than $1 by adding some Jam to your muffin and brewing a cup of coffee.

If you need to eat on the run use a small sauce pan [the kind that holds about 1 cup of liquid. Calphanon has a great one for this.] butter it and crack the egg. Put the burner on medium and cover. Turn once. The egg will be done about the same time as the English muffin. Check to be sure the yolk is solid, build your sandwich with some cheese and out the door. Save money and time from the Fast Food places.

Chicken
Whole Chickens are 89 cents a lb at Kroger.

Buy a chicken [about $5] and put it in the crockpot before you leave. Throw in a bag of those mini-carrots and a can of broth. When you get home add a salad and rolls and you have a meal for the whole family waiting in 5 minutes for less than $8.

And tomorrow the left over broth and pieces of chicken will make a great base for Chicken Dumplings.

Receive notice when new tips are posted by subscribing here.

Tiffany Colter is a passionate freelance writer whose credits include Today’s Christian, Charisma Magazine, Toledo Business Journal, and the Afictionado E-zine. Tenacious in her approach not only to create a great story, but also to mentor other writers, Tiffany can always be found in the presence of a book or laptop. A former world traveler who is fluent in three languages, she strives to reach those who are hurting around her. She enjoys helping others build a strong business and writes a daily marketing blog for writers called the Writing Career Coach and a common-sense money management site, TheBalancedLife.com. Tiffany lives outside Toledo, OH with her husband, a recent cancer survivor, and their four girls.

Spring is coming and you can plan now for this delicious, cheap and FAST summer meal.

We plant about a row of lettuce [bib or whatever you prefer], a parsley plant, a rosemary plant, a basil plant and cilantro [if you like it].

What is great about these is all of them are small enough that you could grow them inside in a series of pots. We live outside Toledo, Ohio which is pretty far north. It is where Lake Erie, Ohio and Michigan all touch. Even this far north these things are grown in June and ready to eat. The following recipe works for us a couple times a week and ends up costing about $1.50-$2.00 TOTAL for the meal for 6 of us.

I buy the boneless/skinless frozen Chicken Breasts when they go on sale. I also buy the baguettes for $1.00 when they go on sale at the grocery then I cut them in 1/2 and wrap them in aluminum foil and freeze.

To assemble this quick and easy meal do the following.

1. Pull out a Frozen Chicken Breast and put it in a skillet with a tight lid. Put in enough water to go 1/2 way up the piece of chicken. Cover tightly and cook on high.

2. While that is cooking grab basil leaves, Rosemary, Parsley, Cilantro [if you like it], Lettuce leaves from your garden. Grab a clove of garlic from your fridge. Wash everything well and dry it on paper towels or in a lettuce dryer.

3. Check the Chicken and flip it over. It is still frozen in the middle. Add water if necessary.

4. Chop up the herbs and pull out 4 tablespoons of butter [I don't use margarine. I use real butter.] Put the butter, herbs and minced garlic in a bowl and set it on the counter so the butter can soften.

5. Pull a baguette from the freezer and warm it in the over.

6. Pull the chicken out and slice it thin [or even chop it if you prefer.] It is still raw in the middle and that is fine. Dump the remaining water from the skillet. Put the chicken back in the skillet, add about 1/4-1/2 cup Italian dressing to the chicken and cook until it is completely done.

7. Pull the baguette out of the oven and slice it long way.

8. Stir the butter and put it on the bread.

9. Put the lettuce leaves on a plate, spoon chicken on top and serve with the buttered bread.

Despite all the steps you see here this is done in 15 minutes or less. Fast, easy, healthy and filling.  I serve this for a quick meal or when I have friends over for dinner in the summer.

Save money without depriving yourself.

Receive notification when new tips are posted by subscribing here.

Tiffany Colter is a passionate freelance writer whose credits include Today’s Christian, Charisma Magazine, Toledo Business Journal, and the Afictionado E-zine. Tenacious in her approach not only to create a great story, but also to mentor other writers, Tiffany can always be found in the presence of a book or laptop. A former world traveler who is fluent in three languages, she strives to reach those who are hurting around her.     She enjoys helping others build a strong business and writes a daily marketing blog for writers called the Writing Career Coach and a common-sense money management site, TheBalancedLife.com. Tiffany lives outside Toledo, OH with her husband, a recent cancer survivor, and their four girls.

We all need to eat, right? This area gives great ways to save money on your food budget without feeling deprived. Some of these recipes are great to eat as a family and others are nice enough to serve to guests. What all of them have in common is that they are easy on the bank account AND taste buds.

Here is a great recipe that can feed your family a pot roast in under an hour for about $5-$10!!

Pressure Cooker Pot Roast

Buy an inexpensive roast when they go on sale. Remember, 4 ounces of meat per person is a serving! That means a 2 lb roast is sufficient for 6-8 people [yes, it really is]. Brown it quickly in a pressure cooker. Add garlic, onions, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, basil, oregano….whatever! I pub in about 4 cups of water [so there is plenty of broth]. Then close the pressure cooker and cook it at 15 lbs of pressure for about 25 minutes [don't start the timer until the weight is rocking]. While that is cooking peel and cut some potatos, celery, carrots and whatever other vegetables you like [root vegetables seem to work best]. When the 25 minutes is up let the pressure drop by taking it off the heat. When the lock disengages add the veggies and a bit more liquid [maybe a cup or so]. Add salt and pepper if needed then put the lid back on, bring it up to pressure and let it cook for 6 minutes.

It sounds like a lot of steps but it is actually a quick, one pot meal that goes from fridge to table in under an hour. Slow cooked taste, at the speed of the 21st century!

Got any tips to share? Let us know.

***

Free Webinars are coming! Sign up for “The Balance Sheet” on the right and click the Webinars option to be sure that you are among the first to find out about webinar topics and registration information.

***

Receive notification when new tips are posted by subscribing here.

Tiffany Colter is a passionate freelance writer whose credits include Today’s Christian, Charisma Magazine, Toledo Business Journal, and the Afictionado E-zine. Tenacious in her approach not only to create a great story, but also to mentor other writers, Tiffany can always be found in the presence of a book or laptop. A former world traveler who is fluent in three languages, she strives to reach those who are hurting around her.     She enjoys helping others build a strong business and writes a daily marketing blog for writers called the Writing Career Coach and a common-sense money management site, TheBalancedLife.com. Tiffany lives outside Toledo, OH with her husband, a recent cancer survivor, and their four girls.

We all need to eat, right? This area gives great ways to save money on your food budget without feeling deprived. Some of these recipes are great to eat as a family and others are nice enough to serve to guests. What all of them have in common is that they are easy on the bank account AND taste buds.

Crepes

Crepes are more than super thin pancakes, in Brittany, France they are a cultural tradition. In this month’s newsletter, the Balance Sheet, I give a number of great fillings to serve with these crepes. What I like about this recipe is they are simple enough that a child can help mix them but elegant enough to serve when company comes over. If money is tight you can fill them with less expensive fillings. When celebrating a special occasion you can jazz them up a bit.

Be sure to sign up for the newsletter so you receive it when it releases next week.

Crepes

2 1/4 cup flour [Use all-purpose flour. The others may not work as well]

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3 cups Milk

3 eggs

2 tablespoons melted butter [I sometimes use olive oil]

Mix the dry ingredients, the add the wet ingredients and whisk until smooth. Melt 1 teaspoon butter in a large skillet and spread it around with a pastry brush. Add just under 1/2 cup batter to the center of the pan and rotate it as you pour in the batter [you want this to cover the bottom of the pan and be as thin as possible.

Cook unit it looks dry on top and the bottom is brown. Then flip the crepe and cook the other side for a minute or two. Stack the crepes on a plate and keep them covered so they don't dry out.

You can do them ahead and refrigerate up to 2 days [or freeze up to 3 months].

This recipe costs less than $1 and, depending on the filling, can feed a family of six or more.

Receive notification when new tips are posted by subscribing here.

Bio
Tiffany Colter is a passionate freelance writer whose credits include Today’s Christian, Charisma Magazine, Toledo Business Journal, and the Afictionado E-zine. Tenacious in her approach not only to create a great story, but also to mentor other writers, Tiffany can always be found in the presence of a book or laptop. A former world traveler who is fluent in three languages, she strives to reach those who are hurting around her.     She enjoys helping others build a strong business and writes a daily marketing blog for writers called the Writing Career Coach and a common-sense money management site, TheBalancedLife.com. Tiffany lives outside Toledo, OH with her husband, a recent cancer survivor, and their four girls.