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.

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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.

Tags: chicken recipe, dinners, gardening, Recipes, saving money

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 at 7:26 am and is filed under Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.